RC10 The Great Flanaess River Adventure Chapter 10: Iron Wood By The Oliver Brothers A CAMPAIGN ADVENTURE TAKING CHARACTERS FROM LEVELS 1-10+ Once again, into the woods! This time the adventuring party find themselves not only in the middle of Greyhawk’s Iron Wood which lies just north of the Kron Hills and west of Verbobonc, but they will also find themselves in the middle of one of the greatest endeavors to overthrow all of Oerth. What secrets lie in the Iron Wood, beneath the waters of the hidden lake, or underneath the unnatural hill where lies the Ancient Temple of Karaan? Find out in the player characters’ greatest challenge of the River Campaign in these very pages: Chapter 10 of the Great Flanaess River Adventure! Get ready to return to the greatest world in all of modern role playing for some old school, classic, First edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Chapter 10 - Iron Wood are said to roam the forest. The Iron Wood, you see, is believed “to be haunted by lycanthropes.”4 “When camping in such a wilderness as this, you Those stories of such hauntings comes from ancient are prepared to hear sounds from some of its lore, but in recent months those words have inhabitants which will give voice to its wildness. seemingly become true for with each passing day, Some idea of bears, wolves, or panthers runs in your lycanthropes from all over Oerth having been head naturally, and when this note is first heard very migrating to this small forest that lies near the center far off at midnight . you conclude that it is a pack of the known world. of wolves baying the moon.” Chapter Overview -Henry David Thoreau, Canoeing in the Wilderness What attracts the lycanthropes of Oerth -- a group that has long been marginalized and living on the fringes of this world -- is the reopening of the Temple Introduction of Karaan, a temple dedicated to the lesser god of lycanthropes. Built in ancient times, it was long ago Iron Wood abandoned and covered with the detritus of the forest. Although known to many lycanthropes by The Iron Wood is an aptly named forest that marks way of the ancient lore - much known only to them the boundary between the Viscounty of - it has seldom been visited and was only recently Verbobonc and the Archclericy of Veluna. While reopened by several werewolves who had more iron wood is both a tree and a term to mark a forest recently been in the service of Iuz. that is filled with various forms of hardwoods, in this case, both are correct for the Iron Wood is filled not When the Temple of Elemental Evil was felled by a only with iron-wood, but many other hardwood party of interfering adventurers, the werewolves trees as well. Many recall the Iron Wood to be “a managed to escape. Realizing the plans to very dense forest, known primarily for its abundant overthrow Oerth had failed and angered over their deklo treet which grow to heights of over 100 feet” continued marginalization in the process, they put and that there are “quite a few tracts of poplar out a clarion call to all lycanthropes across the land and hickory trees,”1 while others recall the forest as to journey to the Temple of Karaan, where they are being “a fog-cloaked collection of roanwood, planning to no longer be agents in the designs of yarpick, and ipp trees.”2 The height and density of others, but to become their own conquering the trees creates an almost underworld effect and people. They see themselves as the chosen ones to when combined with the thick undergrowth rule both man and beast for they see themselves as vegetation and the fog induced by the the true embodiment of both. evaporation of the leaves, it is truly a thieves’ Upon returning to the location of the Temple of haven. Karaan, they found someone had changed the This latter statement is factual for thieves and bands geography in the vicinity of the temple but had not of cutthroats often use the woods as a hideout in- entered the temple itself. That someone was the between their raids, thefts, and murders. In fact, it aristocratic thief, Bennal Tyneman of Caronis. After has been noted that while “a trade road passes one of his more successful and brazen thefts, he through from Verbobonc to Devarnish,” only a fool earned the equivalent of several hundred thousand would take such a risk to life and limb as “most gold pieces and the wrath of several noblemen. merchants prefer to travel by river than enter Hiding in the Iron Wood until things cooled off, he here.”3 It is the Velverdyva by which most pass came across a large hill, north of the Velverdyva through the forest as it lies on the northern end of River, overlooking a large depression. He began the wood and is a mere 20 mile stretch to gain the dreaming of a chateau on the hill, overlooking a other side. The alternative, of course, is to skirt the lake that would fill the depression, filled by water forest edge. from the Velverdyva. All he needed was a group of secretive workers to make it happen, and since it One reasons that many men choose to skirt the was unlikely anyone would find the location, he forest is not out of fear of thieves or robbers, but could build freely, and thus, several years later, rather out of terror of the half-man, half-beasts that work was begun. 443 Supplies and workers were transported from opportunity presents itself that they can overthrow Caronis, down the river, to the secret location. The the werewolves either because they are being depression was then worked to further deepen the attacked or distracted, they will put their plans into eventual lake which was then filled by the digging action and take out the wererats, then target the of a canal from the river to the depression. Soon, weredire, hence cutting off the head and claws, so Heron Lake was born, named because he had also to speak. The timing of the attack is left up to the Dungeon Master. dreamed of importing those birds one day to roost in the lake. Next came the laying of the foundation The player characters will also discover that nearly of the chateau,5 and that was as far as every lycanthrope is represented in the Temple of construction was able to develop before the Karaan, with especially large populations of four werewolves killed or imprisoned the workers and kinds: werewolves, wererats, wereboars, and reopened the Temple of Karaan. werebears. The werewolves are the leaders and the wererats the common soldiers. The wereboars, As the adventuring party enters the Iron Wood, they alongside the velanti (wild boars), roam the forest will experience the darkness, immensity, and fog of north and south of the river as guards on land, while the forest, but little else. It is not until they approach the seawolfs control the lake, canal, and river. the location of the canal, which is camouflaged by Finally, the werebears are prevalent, but vegetation, that they will be attacked. In this case, standoffish. Most of the lycanthropes believe this is it will be from a group of seawolfs (greater) who because of both their nature and their prowess, but have answered the call and now guard the canal in reality it is because they are against the entire entrance by patrolling the Velverdyva. They will plan. They are sympathetic to the adventuring capture the party and be aided by a group of party and it is they who will help them to escape. werebears on land. In order for the game to proceed, it is imperative that the party is captured. Key to Iron Wood The seawolfs and werebears will then take the party to the far end of the lake where, in the side of the hill, is the now exposed iron bars that serve as the main entrance to the Temple. Because of the elevation of the lake, the Temple is now partially filled with water. The highest level, which is also the smallest, remains above the water line, the second level, where the entrance is now located, has locations that are submerged, while the third and lowest level is partially submerged in water. The player characters will be stripped of their equipment and thrown into one of the iron barred rooms on the second level. Their gear will be stored Hex70 (R4-97) in another room where man-items are being stored to be forgotten. The lycanthropes plan is to rule “I read on the trunk of a fir tree blazed by an axe naturally, without the aid of man’s tools or his an inscription in charcoal . it was surmounted by magic. a drawing of a bear paddling a canoe.” The adventuring party will discover that the -Henry David Thoreau, werewolves are in charge and have established Canoeing in the Wilderness themselves as the lords over all lycanthropes with the weredire the de facto leader of the 1. INTO THE WOODS, AGAIN werewolves. Although this is not satisfactory to all Due south, rising majestically out of the grass plains, present in the temple, those in disagreement quietly is another forest. The river disappears into the bide their time. This is especially the case for the woods, swallowed up by both the immensity and werelions and others of the feline category who have a revulsion to the werewolves.