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BENEATH THE STREETS
Sample file By Monte Cook
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WWW.PTOLUS.COM 2 PTOLUS: BENEATH THE STREETS TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
■ Introduction Where Do I Start? ...... 4 Page Numbering ...... 4 Time for Delving! ...... 5 Acknowledgments ...... 5 What is Ptolus? ...... 5
BELOW THE CITY
■ What’s Down There? Chamber of Longing ...... 19 ■ The Caverns The Draw of the Realm Below . . .6 Dark Market ...... 19 Running the Caverns ...... 39 Undercity vs. Dungeon ...... 7 Longfingers Guild The Giant’s Staircase and Using the Underlevels Headquarters ...... 21 Eternity Cave ...... 40 in the Campaign ...... 8 Mirror Maze ...... 28 Serpent Caves ...... 43 Pits of Insanity ...... 8 The Prison ...... 28 Locathah Cavern ...... 44 Ghul’s Labyrinth ...... 10 Vaults of the Rhodintor ...... 45 Information Panel: ■ TheSample Sewers file Caverns of the Galchutt ...... 45 The Banewarrens ...... 11 The Nature of the Sewers ...... 31 Dark Elf Caverns ...... 46 Layout of the Sewers ...... 32 ■ The Undercity Using the Sewers ...... 32 ■ Dwarvenhearth The Nature of the Undercity . . . .15 System Monitors ...... 34 History of Dwarvenhearth . . . . .52 Undercity Market ...... 15 A Ratman Nest ...... 34 Dwarvenhearth at its Height . . . .54 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
CREDITS WRITING: Monte Cook
EDITING AND PRODUCTION: Sue Weinlein Cook
COVER ART AND LOGO: Todd Lockwood
CARTOGRAPHY: Ed Bourelle
FEATURED ARTISTS: Jason Engle, The Forge Studios (Maciej Zagórski and Pawel Dobosz), Michael Komarck, Eric Lofgren, Howard Lyon, and Michael Phillippi.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Toren “MacBin” Atkinson, Kev Crossley, Talon Dunning, Brian LeBlanc, Alan Pollack, rk post, Peter Schlough, J.D. Sparks, Arne Swekel, Adventuring in Sam Wood, and Kieran Yanner Dwarvenhearth ...... 56 GUIDE TO THE PTOLUS PDFS GRAPHIC DESIGN: General Locations ...... 64 Throughout this book you will find Lisa Chido and Brian Rasmussen Specific Locations ...... 68 references in the text and in the side- Dwarvenhearth Scenarios ...... 75 panels to other books in the PT series TYPESETTING: of Ptolus PDF editions. For your con- Lisa Chido venience, here’s a listing of all the titles APPENDIX in the Sampleseries and their corresponding file PROOFREADING: title codes: Brian Gute and Miranda Horner
■ Reference Maps and More A Player’s Guide to Ptolus PT1 INDEXING: Open Game License ...... 76 The World of Praemal PT2 Lori Ann Curley Organizations PT3 Legal ...... 76 MIDTOWN PARTISAN: Ptolus City Map ...... 77 Districts of the City, Vol. 1 PT4 Erik Mona Dungeon Side-View Map . . . .78 Districts of the City, Vol. 2 PT5 Proclamation ...... 79 DM’s Companion PT6 PTOLUS RESIDENTS: Beneath the Streets PT7 Ptolus Miniatures ...... 80 Michele Carter, Andy Collins, Sue Ptolus Map Products ...... 81 Adventures PT8 Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, Jesse Decker, The Spire PT9 Erik Mona, Christopher Perkins, Sean K Reynolds, and Keith Strohm
VISITORS TO THE CITY: Steven “Stan!” Brown, Jeff Quick, Keri Reynolds, Charles Ryan, Ed Stark, and James Wyatt
HEROES OF ANCIENT PRAEMAL: Michele Carter, Bruce R. Cordell, Christopher Perkins, John Rateliff, Teresa Reid, and Sean K Reynolds 4 PTOLUS: BENEATH THE STREETS
INTRODUCTION
As exciting as the surface of Ptolus can be, many adventurers find what goes on beneath the city streets to be of even greater interest. Most locals call such subterranean places collectively “the Dungeon,” and many adventures in the typical Ptolus Campaign take place below the city.
PAGE NUMBERING elcome to Beneath the Streets, which those are for the DM to reveal as time goes on. unveils to you the mysterious and DMs should print out a copy for each player. Two sets of page numbers appear dangerousSample world of the Undercity file Let everyone have a chance to learn about the at the top of the pages that come W and Dungeon beneath the City of Ptolus. The city and get a feel for the setting. after this introduction. The main material in this book corresponds directly to Where you go next depends on how you’re page numbers correspond to this Part IV (Chapters 19 through 23) in Ptolus: going to use Ptolus. If you want it to be your book’s table of contents. The ones Monte Cook’s City by the Spire. campaign setting, start reading PT2, The World in parenthesis correspond to the This is one in a series of nine Ptolus PDF of Praemal and learn all the basics of the world. page numbers of the Ptolus print releases from Malhavoc Press. When used togeth- If Ptolus is destined to become a city in your book. They are there so you can er, they comprise the entirety of the Ptolus print existing world, jump straight to the Districts of properly check the side-panel cross- book. Each one is also usable on its own for city- the City PDFs (PT4 and PT5) and read about references of important words that based fantasy d20 roleplaying campaigns. the various parts of town. you’ll find boldfaced throughout If you only want to mine the setting for ideas, this book. These cross-references tell WHERE DO I START? flip through the various PDF releases that inter- you where to find more information If you’ve purchased this book as a general est you and look at whatever strikes your fancy. about a given term, character, or sourcebook and you’re not sure what Ptolus is, You’ll find interesting city locales, strange and place. They direct you to either a check out the sidebar on the next page for a fascinating NPCs, dungeon complexes, evil page number in this book, a chapter primer on the product and the city it details. If fortresses, haunted ruins, complex organiza- in another book, or a page number on the other hand you’re starting to plan your tions, a few new races, monsters, prestige class- and title code of another install- own Ptolus Campaign, here are a few guidelines es, spells, and a lot more. ment of the PT series. We reference on how to get started. Ready-made adventures for characters of the page numbers from the print Whether you are a player or a DM, start by level 1 to 4 are available in PT8, Adventures. book so that, whatever edition of reading A Player’s Guide to Ptolus. That For those of you who need adventures beyond Ptolus you have, you can discuss book—free to download as a PDF at those offered there, check out the ninety-six- page references with friends and
If you want to read every last bit of information Much of the information in this book may available on the city, look for two Ptolus-related interest players, but it should remain a secret at products previously released by Malhavoc Press: first. Consider the majority of the details in these The Banewarrens and Chaositech. pages privileged information—facts the PCs To delve even deeper into Ptolus, check out the might discover as the campaign progresses. official comic book, published by DB Pro, avail- Throughout Beneath the Streets, all references able from Diamond Comics. We’re also proud to to spells, feats, and other rules come either from offer metal miniatures from Paizo Publishing, this book or from the v. 3.5 revision of the three specialty map products from cartographer Ed Core Rulebooks: the Player’s Handbook, DMG, Bourelle’s SkeletonKey Games, and the Ptolus and MM. This book is protected content except Counter Collection from Fiery Dragon for items specifically called out as Open Game Productions. Content on the Legal page. For full details, please turn to the Appendix. Open content is not other- TIME FOR DELVING! wise marked in the text of this book. Beneath the Streets introduces Ptolus’ fascinating Bonus source material and ideas to augment underground areas, including Ghul’s Labyrinth— the information in the Ptolus PDFs appear on my a network of passages and rooms created long website. Find the links to these free web enhance- ago by a dark lord—and an “unofficial” under- ments, my campaign journal, and much more ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ground territory called the Undercity. Both adven- online at
WHAT’S DOWN THERE?
Beneath Ptolus lie vast chambers, caverns, and tunnels. In fact, there are whole cities of dwarven and dark elven creation below the surface. But how can this be? And why here? There are many reasons, and there is one reason. . . .
“Dungeons” are not a common he so-called “Dungeon” has many por- the dwarves who built Dwarvenhearth were concept in the rest of the world. tions: natural caverns, the infamous tricked into coming here and digging deep. That is to say, dungeons are T expanse of SampleDwarvenhearth, the file even The Galchutt wanted to be found. They want- holes in the ground where older Banewarrens, the extensive Labyrinth of ed creatures near them to seduce and control prisoners are thrown in the Ghul, various crypts and independent under- even as they slumbered deep below the ground. lowest level of the castle, but ground complexes, and even the sewers. And Their powerful essence worked on the subcon- they are not vast labyrinths filled then there’s the Undercity Market and environs, scious minds of nearby creatures, and they with treasure and monsters. which is almost like another district of the created servants—those who would follow their The concept is unique to Ptolus. surface Ptolus. All have their own reason empathic suggestions; those who would worship for being, their own creation stories, and them as gods. Most such servants do not under- their own particulars. stand the forces that work upon them and are The Banewarrens, page 419 But the one reason, the ultimate explanation not even aware that the Galchutt exist. Labyrinth of Ghul, page 418 for why they are all here—the Banewarrens, the But the presence of the Galchutt serves as Undercity Market, page 423 monster-infested underground Labyrinth, the a clarion call for every evil beast, chaotic crea- dark elven grottos, the zaug caverns, and even ture, and malevolent monster. Subtly, slowly, the vast Spire itself—is the Galchutt. the lure has worked on the instincts of creatures Galchutt, PT2: page 60 from aboleths to yeth hounds. Without knowing THE DRAW OF why, a disproportionately large percentage of THE REALM BELOW the world’s evil creatures has gathered around or Unbeknownst to him, Danar Rotansin—who beneath the Spire, drawn by the power of the Danar Rotansin, PT2: page 75 became the Dread One, who built Jabel Shammar Galchutt. And as the Galchutt begin to stir and Ghul, PT2: page 81 and the Banewarrens and caused the Spire’s the dreaded Night of Dissolution approaches, the creation—was drawn here by the subconscious, sympathetic pull of their essence only grows Night of Dissolution, subtle, seductive power of the Galchutt. Ghul, stronger. Even non-evil creatures with savage PT2: page 60 the Skull-King who built Goth Gulgamel and the natures, like owlbears and rust monsters, gather vast Labyrinth that radiates out from below the here in greater numbers than anywhere else. Spire, was brought here because of the legacy of The Elder Elves recognized that an evil attrac- the Dread One, whom he sought to imitate. Even tion surrounded the Spire. They saw it affect