THE THUNDER BELOW An adventure for four 17th-level characters CREDITS Design: JAMES JACOBS Editor: DALE DONOVAN Editorial Assistance: MIRANDA HORNER, PENNY WILLIAMS Typesetting: NANCY WALKER Cartography: TODD GAMBLE Web Production: JULIA MARTIN Web Development: MARK A. JINDRA Graphic Design: SEAN GLENN, CYNTHIA FLIEGE Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison. Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................2 Sarwin Castle ..............................................................19 Preparation ...................................................................2 Timeline ..................................................................19 Adventure Background .................................................2 The Invaders of Sarwin Castle ...............................21 Adventure Synopsis ......................................................4 Tiboquoboc..............................................................21 Starting the Adventure ................................................4 Alraugh ....................................................................24 Sarwin Village ...............................................................5 Irika .........................................................................26 Searching the Village ................................................5 Muraxus ..................................................................27 Specific Clues ...........................................................7 Lzierabel ..................................................................30 Tracking the Culprits ................................................8 Sarwin Castle Features ...............................................34 Using Magic .............................................................8 Encounter Areas in Sarwin Castle .............................34 Research ...................................................................9 Ground Floor ..........................................................34 Tanya’s Tale .............................................................10 Second Floor ...........................................................44 What Next? .................................................................12 SampleTower Levels file ...........................................................53 Routes to Sarwin Castle ............................................12 Dungeon Level ........................................................61 Encounter Areas .........................................................14 The Stasis Chambers .............................................63 The Orc Camp (EL 23+) .............................................14 Concluding the Adventure .........................................66 D&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FORGOTTEN REALMS, GREYHAWK, AND DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 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For more DUNGEONS & DRAGONS articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd ® 1 THE THUNDER BELOW INTRODUCTION minor artifacts (the sky key and a book of infinite spells) and two major artifacts (the stasis scepter and the skytower portal). “The Thunder Below” is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® adven- These artifacts are quite powerful, and you should be famil- ture that can easily accommodate larger groups of PCs, and iar with the powers they grant to their users before run- it can handle parties of 15th or 16th level or even 19th or ning the adventure. Honorable PCs won’t try to claim any 20th level, once a few adjustments are made. (See the “Scal- of these artifacts for their own, although using them in the ing the Adventure” sidebar.) Lower level parties need more course of the adventure is certainly acceptable (and in time to recover between adventures, while higher level or some cases required for success). Once the adventure ends, larger parties require less time but gain fewer experience the PCs should allow the artifacts to remain in the posses- points than would lower level characters. sion of the Sarwin family. Those who do not and try to This adventure is “world-neutral” and designed to be claim them as their own do so at their own risk, for the dropped into any campaign with little modification. spirits of Annah and Zebulahr Sarwin soon learn of the Names of large cities, famous NPCs, and the like are kept theft of their creations, as detailed in the section Conclud- generic so you can replace them as necessary. Names of ing the Adventure. deities are taken from the Player’s Handbook, but you can substitute the names of equivalent deities from your own campaign. You should also adjust this scenario as you see ADVENTURE fit to account for the heroes’ past activities; make it seem a BACKGROUND homegrown part of your campaign. Ideally, you can fore- Although a small settlement, Sarwin is old and steeped in shadow the events of this adventure by having player char- tradition. Founded nearly 600 years ago by the cohorts and acters travel to the village of Sarwin before it suffers the adventuring companions of the newly wedded Annah and terrible doom at the start of this scenario, or you can even Zebulahr Sarwin, the village sprung up overnight. With have them meet and interact with various members of the their powerful magic and well-trained minions, the Sar- Sarwin family before things fall apart. Their return to wins easily repulsed the uncoordinated hordes of orcs and Sarwin and Sarwin Castle can be much more dramatic giants that assaulted the region after every spring thaw. with a little planning. Likewise, their presence quelled the frequent earthquakes This adventure features several opportunities for the that had plagued the region. Today, the orcs and giants are party to bite off more than it can chew. Most of the foes are a distant memory, and the few earthquakes to strike the long-time allies and they fight well together. To prevail, region have been minor and explained to the children of players should expect to have their charactersSample make multi- fileSarwin as “underground thunder,” or long-delayed echoes ple attempts against their enemies and possibly whittle of ancient battles between the orcs and giants. down their foes’ defenses over the course of several attacks Since that time, the people of Sarwin have known peace before swooping in for the final blow. Keep in mind, and relative quiet (with the exception of those increasingly though, that a deadline is detailed later in the adventure rare earthquakes). Although Annah and Zebulahr have under the Timeline section. In short, the players have long since passed away, their family line has remained approximately six days to stop Tiboquoboc the ghostly orc strong and it has held the estate with efficiency and grace, druid from raising the Thunder Below. much to the appreciation of the folk of Sarwin. Little do the villagers know the true nature behind the earthquakes PREPARATION or the source of the orcs’ obsession with the region . that Before you run “The Thunder Below,” you should have a the Sarwin family has been keeping a terrifying secret copy of the three core rulebooks (the Player’s Handbook, from them for the past six centuries. the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide, and the Monster Manual). It was not by chance that Annah and Zebulahr chose This adventure also makes use of many monsters and this remote location to retire. In one of their final adven- prestige classes found in other Wizards of the Coast tures, the Sarwins defeated a powerful cult of orcs that products, such as the Monster Manual II, the Fiend Folio, worshiped an ancient being known as Ubothar, the Thun- the Manual of the Planes, and Masters of the Wild. When der Below. The Sarwins knew that Ubothar was not a material from these books is used, enough information is deity, but an immense creature of awesome power that included in the text to allow you to run the encounter had slumbered for eons deep beneath the site of the orc with ease, or suggestions on how to replace this material cult temple, and that the leader of these orcs, a powerful with information found in the core books is given. All druid named Tiboquoboc, was close to finishing a com- 2 material drawn from earlier sources has been updated to plex ritual that would not only let him awaken the Thun- be fully compliant with the newest edition of the game. der Below, but also allow him to control and direct its You should note that this adventure introduces two actions. Fortunately, the Sarwins