-- •••••-•fev.-;-^*-',"-j?,:.-<-. j Sample file Sample file Q% V \ \ \ Sample file Sample file Where PCs enter city Gate to Fortitude Stone gargoyle • f IMS •* DlS C9N+CN+S AN INTRODUCTION 2 Including the Background of our story, a Summary of the adventure, notes for Preparing to Play, and an overview of the Factions and Nonplayer Characters that may become Involved. CHAPTER I: THE STING 6 In which a Paladin is beset by Fiends, and the Heroes are charged with recovering a dear Object that has been Lost. CHAPTER II: UNDER THE RIBS 14 In which the Heroes may seek Aid from the citizens of Ribcage to ease their Passage through a dark and Evil plane. CHAPTER III: RED JOURNEY 22 In which the Heroes must cross the Perilous wasteland ofAvernus in search of the Doorway to Dis. CHAPTER IV: A CITY THAT BURNS 34 In which the Heroes find the Scorching city of Dis to be as great a Menace as its Inhabitants. CHAPTER V: THE LORD OF DIS 46 In which the Heroes seek and find the Object of their Quest within the treacherous Iron Tower of Dispater. CHAPTER VI: HEARTS AND MINDS 56 In which the Heroes restore the lost Object to its owner and must Resolve the differing Fates of a cunning Fiend, a faithless Paladin, and a shifting Gate-town. AN APPENDIX: ON BAATOR AND THE BAATEZU 64 Including the dark of Magic on Baator, the considerable Powers of the Fiends found there, and the Ways by which they may suffer Harm. Sample file C Rf D I + S Original Design: Steve Perrin • Editing and Additional Design: Ray Vallese Conceptual Artist: Dana Knutson • Interior Artist: DiTerlizzi • Cartography: Rob Lazzaretti Color Plates: Scott Burdick, Ned Dameron, Dana Knutson, Alan Pollack, Sam Rakeland Graphics Coordinator: Sarah Feggestad • Art Coordinator: Peggy Cooper Electronic Prepress Coordinator: Tim Coumbe • Typography: Angelika Lokotz Border Art: Robert Repp • Graphic Design: Dee Barnett, Dawn Murin Proofreaders: David Wise, Tim Beach, Michele Carter Design Review and Special Thanks: Rich Baker, Monte Cook, Colin McComb ADVANCED DUNGEONS ft DRAGONS, ADHD, and MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM are TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. PEANESCAPE and the TSR logo are 201 Sheridan Springs 120 Church End trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. c 1995 TSR, Inc. Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton All Rights Reserved. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide WI 53147 Cambridge CB1 3LB distribution rights in the book trade for English-language products of TSR, Inc. United Kingdom Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibited without the express written consent of TSR, Inc. A dastardly plot's hatching in Dis, a chance for the hordes of ultimate evil to strike a hammer-blow against the forces of good. It'll take cutters with brains as sharp as their swords to journey into fiery Baator itself and try to put things right. But look out, berk, 'cause there's plots on top of plots, and it's hard to see the dark of things when you're caught in a fiendish peel! BACKGROUND The plane of the Outlands is theoretically shaped somewhat like a ring, and along its outer edge lie sixteen gate-towns, so named because they were built around or near gates leading to the sixteen surrounding Outer Planes. For the most part, the attitudes and beliefs of the folks in each town mirror the nature of the plane the burg's associated with. So the town of Plague-Mort, for example, built around the gate to the Abyss, is about as chaotic and evil a gate-town as a body'd ever want to see. Excelsior, on the other hand, poised at the base of Mount Celestia, is a town that literally glows, full of sods so pleasant they might drive a visi- tor barmy. Fact is, if the folks in a gate-town get so worked up that it becomes too much like its next-door plane, the whole place goes sliding right off the Outlands and becomes part of the plane. Well, berk, the chant is Fortitude's finally ready to make the big leap into Arca- dia. The Harmonium - the faction with the strongest influence in the gate-town and the plane as well - has been whipping the folks of Fortitude into a fevered pitch of order, harmony, and good, hoping to push the town's alignment to the point where it'll start to slide. What few know, though, is the dark of the faction's zeal: They want to make up for land they lost from Arcadia. See, they brought chaotic types into the lawful plane to turn them into "proper citizens," but the influx of chaos caused a whole layer of Arcadia to slip into another plane. To usher Fortitude into Arcadia, the faction's planned a sparkling ceremony — dubbeSampled the Harmonious file Ascension — and they've arranged for a much-venerated paladin from Arcadia to preside. This paladin, known as Daneel the Smiter of Fiends, has cut such a noble swath through the forces of evil with his famous holy avenger Y0U CAN' sword Guardian that he's practically the living embodiment of law and order. With a CHANGE A BERK-S m ND bit of luck, his presence and guidance at the ceremony'll stir up the citizens of Forti- Wi + H A S + ICK. tude just enough to push the town over the edge. i+ + AKES A HAmmeR, A+ LEAS+ flEND INeiN + ITl£N Daneel's legendary campaigns against evil have earned him a few enemies, not the least of which is the archduke Dispater, ruler of Dis on the plane of Baator. Practi- PR0VERB cally a power, Dispater could kill the paladin easily enough - if that's how the baatezu went about their business. However, the lawful fiends prefer to outwit their enemies and ensnare them in subtle traps. Dispater's got just such a trap laid out for Daneel. From Anarchist spies who've wormed their way into the ranks of the Harmonium, Dispater learned that Daneel's making a trip to Sigil to meet with Factol Sarin just a few days before the Ascen- sion. The archduke's arranged for a gang of baatezu to waylay the paladin, lift his prized holy sword, and bring it back to the Iron Tower on Dis. When righteous bash- ers come after the sword, Dispater'll let 'em have it back without too much fuss — primarily because the sword'll be tainted by then, inscribed with a secret gate spell designed to open a path between the planes. A blood can probably guess what'll happen next. The holy avenger'W be returned to Daneel, and the Hardheads'll start the Ascension just as quick as they can. But as soon as Fortitude starts to shift, the sword'll open a gate to Dis, allowing the spirit of a fiend to come through and take control of Daneel. The fiend'll make • 2.