Sample file CREDITS Author: Brian Hamilton Maps and Map Objects: 2-Minute Tabletop, Caeora, Cze and Peku, and Inkarnate Template: Simple Microsoft Word Template by Laura Hirsbrunner Disclaimer:Sample The designer of this template did not come up with a clever disclaimer, but felt obligated to format this template with it nonetheless.file DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. pp This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Brian Hamilton and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Credits ................................................................................ 1 Table of Contents............................................................... 2 Preface ................................................................................ 3 Introduction ....................................................................... 4 Story Overview ...........................................................................4 Running the Adventure ............................................................4 Adventure Summary .................................................................4 Starting the Adventure ...................................................... 5 Samesaj Gate .............................................................................. 5 The Dark Bazaar ........................................................................ 5 The Grey Callers ...................................................................5 Trading Secrets ................................................................... 6 Attendants ............................................................................ 6 The Muzad ................................................................................. 6 Sholeh Sabban ..................................................................... 6 Temple of Old Night Altar ..................................................7 The Sewers ........................................................................... 9 The Lost Sewers ................................................................. 10 Uncharted Regions ............................................................ 12 Lake of Steam ................................................................... 13 Travel Distances ...................................................................... 13 Other Parties ............................................................................. 13 Church of Bane ................................................................... 13 Yakfolk ................................................................................. 15 Ithal Pass ................................................................................... 15 Omlarandin Mountains .......................................................... 15 Random Encounters .......................................................... 15 Omlar Mine ......................................................................... 15 Kzelter ........................................................................................ 17 The Villagers ....................................................................... 17 The Duskeyes ...................................................................... 17 Rock Maelstrom ................................................................. 18 Wooden Palisades .............................................................. 18 Random Encounters .......................................................... 18 1. Town Gate ........................................................................ 18 2. Greenfield Farm ............................................................. 19 3. The Tyrant’s Hope ......................................................... 19 4. Black Lord’s Keep ......................................................... 20 5. Dao Caverns ................................................................... 22 Conclusion ............................................................................... 25 We’ll Have No Part in This .............................................. 25 Return of the Black Gauntlet .......................................... 25 Rise of the Yikaria ............................................................. 25 We Can’t Just Leave .......................................................... 25 More Adventures............................................................... 25 Side Quests ...................................................................... 26 The Rat’s Nest ......................................................................... 26 The Xorn Cage ................................................................... 26 The Clawtooths ................................................................. 26 Run for it ............................................................................. 26 Appendix .......................................................................... 28 New Monsters ......................................................................... 28 Baneguard .......................................................................... 29 Banelar Naga ...................................................................... 29 EarthSample Elemental Myrmidon ............................................ 30 file Marut ....................................................................................33 Mercane .............................................................................. 34 Skeletal Tomb Guardian ................................................ 35 Skum .................................................................................... 35 Yakfolk (Yikaria) ............................................................... 37 Handouts .................................................................................. 38 2 PREFACE In writing this adventure series, I have relied heavily on the history presented by previous authors for the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. The writings of Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan, Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout, Darrin Drader, Jason Carl, Jeff Grubb, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan, Skip Williams, William W. Connors, Rob Heinsoo, Monte Cook, Eric L. Boyd, Sean K. Reynolds, and of course Ed Greenwood have all been instrumental in helping me get a feel for the lands bordering the Shining Sea and the Lake of Steam as well as the elemental planes from which the genie lords originated. The depth of information available has inspired so much of my writing it’s hard to put in words how grateful I am for their influence. This adventure was inspired by a sentence from Lost Empires of Faerun. In -7717 DR, “The reigning ataman of the Great Dismal Delve (a dao lord) [established] a portal between his holdings on the Elemental Plane of Earth and a cavern complex beneath what is now the occupied town of Kzelter.” I was intrigued. Quickly, I began poring over the lore of the region. Who are the inhabitants of Kzelter? Why were the dao interested in this area? What role did the ‘dao lord’ play in establishing the early Calim Empire? The book goes on to mention a small resistance force What was his name? What happened to him and the as well as vague rumors of buried Tethyrian armories other dao at the end of the First Era of Skyfire? To my filled with magical weapons and armor. However, the surprise, this line appears to be the only official lore shops, taverns, guilds, and places of worship normally about the dao in this early part of Calishite history. included in any town described in the world of Toril were What was even more surprising was how little all destroyed. information there was on Kzelter. According to Empires There is very little mention of Kzelter elsewhere. of the Shining Sea, “Much of Kzelter burned in the battle Dungeon #69 mentions that the Banites struggled to against the invading Banites. The original buildings that find the lost Tethyrian armory and the 3.5 Forgotten remain are of timber, with thatch or slate roofs. Most of Realms Campaign Setting mentions the town in passing. the town of Kzelter is the tent city that holds the Banite However, it was not mentioned at all in the Forgotten troops and mercenaries.” Realms Campaign Guide or, to my knowledge, any publication since. So, what did happen to Kzelter? Did the Banites ever find the Tethyrian armory they were searching for? Did they rebuild the town? How big a presence do they maintain there now? To my knowledge, no official answers to these questions exist. It is thus, with trepidation, that I have had to imagine much of Kzelter’s history over the last century for this adventure. I have tried to consider how a tyrannical, militaristic culture might have responded to the events of the Spellplague and the Second Sundering and how they might have rebuilt the town in their image. In addition, I have tried to fill in the gaps regarding the dao’s history. I have chosen to largely ignore the canon of the dao no longer serving the Yikaria, since it was little more than a throwaway line at the end of Storm King’s Thunder and is one of the few details, I feel, gives the dao some depth and