ISSUE 171 | OctObEr 2009 A Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game Supplement Contents ® 4 Chaos Scar: stiCk in the mud 38 grasp of the mantled 3 editorial By Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel Citadel By Creighton Broadhurst 82 deities & demigods: A group of bullywugs have claimed the muddy Raven Queen ruins of an ancient keep as their own. Can the PCs The Scales of War Adventure Path continues. The By Robert J. Schwalb root them out and find out what lurks at the heart of characters continue their quest to find a well- Learn about the groups who pursue the Raven their lair? A Chaos Scar adventure for 1st-level PCs. hidden ally of Tiamat, in a pocket domain hidden Queen’s agendas across the world and beyond. within Monadhan, the domain of betrayal. As the 15 treed! PCs enter the lair of a foul and corrupt enemy, they 89 eye of JustiCe learn the full scale of Tiamat’s agenda, and defeat Torm’s followers are numerous, but some seem to By Tim Eagon a pair of powerful foes before the full horror of her have the god’s sanction despite less savory practices An owlbear has been tormenting a tribe of elves plans can be revealed. A Scales of War adventure in his name. and trapped a gnome from the Feywild. The for 22nd-level PCs. PCs have the opportunity to find passage to the 98 Campaign Workshop: hero Battle: drizzt Feywild and earn the elves trust if they act quickly. By Chris Sims & Chris Youngs A Side Trek for 7th-level PCs. Face off against the legendary dark elf hero in this ready-to-play encounter, with several hooks for 23 Chaos Scar: den of the possible expansion into a full-scale adventure. Slave-takers 104 ruling skill Challenges By Rob Heinsoo By Mike Mearls An gnoll outcast has taken up residence in the Mike continues to educate on the nature of skill valley of the Chaos Scar, hoping to do a brisk challenges, with unique applications and examples. business in the slave trade. But his allies have different plans for the captured slaves. A Chaos on the Cover 109 save my game Scar adventure for 1st-level PCs. Illustration by Mark A. Nelson By Stephen Radney-MacFarland A DM’s best friend? Stephen Radney-MacFarland, back with more advice and letters from the mailbag. 113 dungeonCraft By James Wyatt, Andy Collins & Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Dungeon, Dragon, d20, d20 System, Wizards of the coast, all other Wizards of the coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the coast, LLc, in the U.S.A. and other countries. Christopher Perkins this material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the coast, James discusses the latest changes to his fledgling Inc. this product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2009 Wizards of the coast, LLc. campaign. This month: Guest columnists! No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. For more Dungeons & Dragons articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd e D i T o R i al 171 Du ngeon October 2009 Playing in the Deep End Editor-in-Chief chris Youngs Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette Web Specialist chris Sims As long as the game’s been around, D&D has been the same core of stable players. Some of the current Web Production bart carroll, Steve Winter played the same way, more or less. The editions have crop in the two games have been playing in his cam- changed, campaign settings have come and gone, and paigns for nearly ten years. Contributing Authors creighton broadhurst, tim Eagon, the starting level of your character might have varied, Chris’s biggest contribution to our immersion level rob Heinsoo, Mike Mearls, but the basics were the same. is choice. He lets us choose our own fate. His goal in Stephen radney-MacFarland, Someone decides to run a campaign. He or she gath- giving us so many choices and decisions to make in the Aeryn “blackdirge” rudel, ers up some friends to play in it. The DM creates and campaign is to give us a sense of control. We have the robert J. Schwalb, chris Sims, runs the adventures. The players respond to the DM’s ability to choose our fates and thus make an impact on James Wyatt, chris Youngs stimulus and follow the trail of hooks he or she leaves the world in the places where we feel the most contact. from adventure to adventure. it’s why, despite running two campaigns, with two dif- There’s nothing wrong with this basic formula, at its ferent groups, in the same world, our two groups have Developers Stephen radney-MacFarland, heart. But you might have noticed lately that a number diverged so much. The players in each group value Peter Schaefer, Stephen of folks on D&D insider have taken an opportunity to different hooks and stories, so we pursue those to the Schubert, rodney thompson propose a new way of thinking—the art of saying “Yes!” exclusion of others. As a result, we are fully, completely Editor Miranda Horner, Steve Winter What do these things—the classic campaign arche- immersed. type and the “Say Yes” strategy—have to do with one This is one of the many reasons why i’m so excited Cover Artist Mark A. Nelson another? about this month’s launch of the Caves of Chaos proj- Here’s the thing: i think, more often than not, DMs ect. This is a campaign designed from ground zero to Contributing Artists Rob Alexander, Drew baker, try to shoulder too much. DMing gets arduous, and be about player choice. our story is broad, general, and Stephen crowe, Wayne England, as a DM’s interest in his or her own creation begins to deliberately filled with holes to fill in. The players have raven Mimura, William O’connor, flag, so too does that of the players. DMing should be as the opportunity in this campaign, unlike many others, Evan Shipard, Sarah Stone much fun as playing. We’ve all been in campaigns that to really choose their fate. Do they go into a tough cave have quietly eroded away as interest fizzled out. What’s or an easier one? Do they pursue the purple glowing Cartographers Jason A. Engle, Kyle Hunter, the answer? dungeon or the one that appears to be the source of a Sean Macdonald, Mike Schley In my view, it’s immersion. A player who is more massive pool of mud? As they venture through, what Publishing Production Specialists Angelika Lokotz, Erin Dorries, immersed in the campaign—the combats, the world, sorts of stories draw them in? What makes them sit up christopher tardiff the story, the adventures, the characters—is likely to and pay attention? maintain interest. it seems obvious, but providing an And what about you, DMs? What tricks and tips do Web Development Mark A. Jindra immersive experience is perhaps a DM’s toughest chal- you use to immerse your players? Send us your ideas! lenge, among a host of tough challenges. How do you D&D Creative Manager Christopher Perkins do it? i can’t say how all DMs approach this, but i know Executive Producer, how one DM does it. Chris Perkins, himself a proponent of the Say Yes D&D Insider chris champagne strategy, runs our Wednesday game, and by the folks in Director of RPG R&D bill Slavicsek his two campaigns, he’s widely acknowledged as one of the best DMs in a building full of good DMs. His cam- paign worlds are ridiculously detailed, his NPCs rich Special Thanks and complex, and his stories full of unexpected twists. richard baker, Greg bilsland, Logan bonner, Michele carter, our characters always have more goals to pursue, in Jennifer clarke Wilkes, Andy collins, bruce r. cordell, more corners of the world, than your typical world Jeremy crawford, rob Heinsoo, Peter Lee, Mike Mearls, leader. Chris’s campaigns run for years, with mostly Kim Mohan, cal Moore, Stephen radney-MacFarland, Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett, rodney thompson, James Wyatt Stick in theMud A Chaos Scar Adventure By Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel illustrations by Drew Baker cartography by Sean Macdonald tM & © 2009 Wizards of the coast LLc All rights reserved. “Stick in the Mud” is a short adventure for five 1st-level characters that takes place in the Chaos Scar, near the King’s Wall. it pits the PCs against a tribe of evil bullywugs that have taken up residence in a long-ruined keep. The keep, once the abode of a goliath sorcerer, holds a powerful magic item, the staff of earthen might. The staff has been damaged and is hemorrhaging magic. This leak has ripped open a small portal to the elemental Chaos. A tide of mud has been steadily flowing through the portal and into the cellars beneath the ruins, creating a muddy wallow that is ideal for bullywugs. For details on the Chaos Scar and its environs, read the Chaos Scar introduction and check out the map of the entire valley. October 2009 | Dungeon 171 4 Stick in the Mud Background swamp drained away, leaving only a desolate, dry ruin the ruined keep’s deterioration and damaged Voran’s in its wake. only the ground floor of the keep and the staff of earthen might.