3.5E D&D - Adventure 15 - Matters of Vengeance, RPG, DnD, Adventures

3.5E D&D - Adventure 15 - Matters of ...

3.5E D&D - Adventure 15 - Matters of Vengeance, RPG, DnD, Adventures

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MATTERS OF
Matters of Vengeance
is a short D&D adventure for four
15th-level player characters (PCs). The story is set in
and around the village of Three Forks. You can place the
action in any remote section of your campaign world
that is a few days’ ride from a city. The area you select
should feature nearby forested regions and be able to
accommodate an abandoned village and a nearby
manor house as well. The adventure is designed to take
place during winter to help set the mood, although you
can change the season without changing the adventure.
As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here
as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
A Short Adventure for Four
15th-Level Player Characters
PREPARATION
You (the DM) need the D&D core rulebooks, includ-
ing the Player’s Handbook,the Dungeon Master’s
Guide, and the Monster Manual.This adventure uti-
lizes the v.3.5 rules, but it can easily be used with the
3.0 rules as well.
To get started, print out this adventure (including
the maps). Read through the scenario at least once to
familiarize yourself with the situation, threats, and
major NPCs (particularly their motivations). In addi-
tion, you might want to familiarize yourself with the
death knight template from Monster Manual IIand
the swordwraith from Fiend Folio,though all the statis-
tics needed to run those creatures are provided with
the adventure.
Text that appears in shaded boxes is player informa-
tion that you can read aloud or paraphrase for the
players at the proper times. Any unshaded boxes con-
tain important information for you.
CREDITS
Design:
Darrin Drader
Editing:
Penny Williams
Typesetting:
Nancy Walker
Cartography
:
Rob Lazzaretti
Web Production
Julia Martin
Web Development:
Mark A. Jindra
Graphic Design:
Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege
Based on the original D
UNGEONS
& D
RAGONS
®
game by E.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the
D
UNGEONS
& D
RAGONS
game designed by Jonathan Tweet,
Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
D&D, D
UNGEONS
& D
RAGONS
, and D
UNGEON
M
ASTER
are registered trademarks owned
by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The d20 logo is a trademark owned by Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses
thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
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, Inc.
ADVENTURE
BACKGROUND
Ombrol Losladan was born in the small village of Three
Forks to an honest peasant family. As a child, he made
friends with a girl named Taryn Bistimmer, who was
nearly his age. As the two children grew older, their
friendship blossomed into romance, and they began to
court. Their love was a simple one, uncomplicated by
jealousy or parental expectations. But they were poor,
so Ombrol knew he must make his fortune before
claiming Taryn as his bride. On his sixteenth birthday,
he pledged his undying love for his lady fair and gave
her his family locket as a promise to return and marry
her. Then he left the village to join the militia in a
nearby city.
©2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Made in the U.S.A.
This product is a work of fiction.
Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places,
or events is purely coincidental.
This Wizards of the Coast game product contains no Open Game Content.
No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without
written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License
and the d20 System License,
please visit www.wizards.com/d20.
For more D
UNGEONS
& D
RAGONS
articles, adventures, and information,
visit
www.wizards.com/dnd
1
VENGEANCE
During his absence, Taryn’s family fell on hard
times. Several seasons of poor crops put the family
deeply into debt. Taryn’s father died of a wasting dis-
ease, and to keep their home, her mother had to grant
her only daughter’s hand in marriage to the local baron,
an older man named Kaiius Holden. Thus, when
Ombrol returned home six years later as a decorated
soldier, he found that his one true love was already mar-
ried, though the union had produced no children.
Instead of returning to the city, Ombrol stayed on to
help his family, since his parents were growing old and
could no longer farm the fields as they once had. Mean-
while, he kept a silent watch on Baron Holden’s manor
and pined for Taryn. His love for her drove him to
obsession, and he began to keep track of the times that
Taryn left for the village. Eventually, Ombrol worked
up the courage to approach her in the market.
his cell and unshackled him. Knowing that both of
them would face the baron’s wrath if they stayed, the
two lovers fled the manor on horseback.
The baron and his men scoured the nearby woods
for his wayward wife and his treacherous guardsman,
and their trail was quickly found. The baron’s men set
up an ambush for the pair along a wooded roadside
and fell upon Ombrol and Taryn as they passed
through. Ombrol was quick to rise to his lady’s
defense, but Baron Holden’s forces had the advantage
of superior numbers. Though Ombrol fought furi-
ously, dispatching several of the guards who had once
trusted him as one of their own, the baron finally
ended the battle by firing a bolt through his wife’s
heart. She died in Ombrol’s arms. After watching the
life fade from her eyes, Ombrol offered no resistance
as the baron’s guards chained him and returned him to
the manor.
FORLORN LOVERS
Their meeting was brief, and what Taryn said unsettled
Ombrol, worsening his already fragile mental state.
Baron Holden was a cold man who was interested only
in his own happiness and comfort. His youth had long
been over, and their marriage was a loveless one. Worse
yet, she constantly feared for her own safety, since all of
the guards answered to him and gave her little regard.
Taryn longed to return to her one true love, but break-
ing away from the baron would place the two lovers
and both their families in grave danger. When their
rushed conversation was over, Ombrol sullenly
watched Taryn leave,
Over the next two months, the former lovers met in
secret on several occasions. Each time, their separation
weighed more heavily upon them. Ultimately, Ombrol
decided to take action. Donning his armor and sword
once more, he pledged his services to the baron so that
he could be closer to his beloved Taryn. Baron Holden
accepted Ombrol’s pledge of loyalty and placed the
young soldier in his personal guard.
By this time, Ombrol was well aware of the baron’s
schedule, and he often found excuses to stay behind
while the baron went hunting or walked among his
people. Ombrol and Taryn sometimes managed to
sneak away together in the baron’s absence. Ultimately,
however, another guard caught them trysting, subdued
Ombrol by force of arms, and took him prisoner. Left
shackled in the dungeon to wait for the baron’s return,
Ombrol bemoaned his fate. But his lady love was a
resourceful woman, and she managed to obtain the
keys to his cell and his manacles from one of the
guards. Sneaking into the dungeon, she let herself into
2
DESCENT INTO MADNESS
For years Ombrol prayed for death as he wasted away in
Holden’s dungeon. He mourned his lost Taryn, but his
grief slowly gave way to a cold anger. During his long
incarceration, Ombrol plotted how he would kill the
baron. In the end, however, Kaiius Holden simply dis-
appeared. Though his loyal retainers spent months
searching for him, he was never found. When they
finally gave up on finding the baron alive, the guards
freed Ombrol. They bore him no ill will for what he had
done, and they didn’t wish to see him waste away for
the rest of his life.
Upon his release from captivity, Ombrol learned
that his parents had died poor and destitute. The baron
had told them that their son had deserted them and
their village, and he levied twice the standard taxes
upon them as punishment for the young man’s crimes.
Upon learning their fate, Ombrol became sullen and
angry. He returned to the house where he had been
raised and began to drink heavily.
During this inebriated period, a voice began to
speak to him, offering words of comfort and urging
him toward revenge. It taught him to cultivate his
hatred and focus his loathing until he could use the
skills he had acquired in combat against people who
were normally considered good and upstanding citi-
zens. The voice belonged to none other than the demon
prince Orcus, who sought to make the unhappy
Ombrol his tool. Ombrol returned to the manor by
stealth and slew the guards who still lived there, along
with their families and the few members of Baron
Holden’s family that remained. Now a known killer,
Ombrol went into hiding, but he was eventually
tracked down and slain by the local militia.
mony in which he will end the bloodline of his most
hated enemy by sacrificing his last relative to Orcus.
Upon entering the village, the PCs must fight their
way past some undead patrols and living guards. Once
inside, they find various clues that divulge the history
of the death knight. To save Erim’s life, the party must
dispatch the undead within the manor, deal with the
mercenary company, and stop the death knight before
the sacrificial rite has concluded.
DEATH KNIGHT ASCENDANT
But Ombrol was not to be allowed the peace of death.
Orcus animated his lifeless husk of a body, transform-
ing him into a death knight. He recruited the undead
from the surrounding area into his service and used his
fearsome army to conquer the manor house where he
had once served the baron. Realizing that they had
fallen under the control of a fearsome undead lord, the
villagers quickly fled the area. Their dwellings eventu-
ally fell into disrepair, and the once verdant fields
became choked with weeds. The death knight stayed in
the manor, biding his time and occasionally ordering
brutal attacks on people traveling through the area that
he controlled.
ADVENTURE HOOKS
There are several ways that the characters may become
involved in this storyline. They may be drawn by tales of
the abandoned village and the nearby manor filled with
undead, or they may be acquaintances of Erim Holden
who have agreed to help him regain his property. Per-
haps the PCs are simply be passing through the area
when they hear that a newcomer is in need of adventur-
ers. Alternatively, one of the characters may either be
from the city or have roots in the village of Three Forks.
As the DM, it is your job to decide how best to
involve the characters in the adventure. You can use the
following hooks to spur your imagination, modifying
them as necessary to fit your campaign or the characters.
BLOODLINE
And so matters remained for more than two hundred
years. Recently, however, a young noble named Erim
Holden came to the area with his entourage. A descen-
dant of the baron’s nephew and the last living descen-
dant of Kaiius Holden, Erin sought to reclaim the
family property. Upon realizing that only undead now
inhabited the village, he left for the city to seek rein-
forcements. But Ombrol had seen Erim and instinc-
tively recognized him as a relative of the hated baron.
Lord Ombrol ordered his undead followers to attack
the baron’s men and take the noble alive. The undead
slew many of Holden’s guards, but Erim himself
escaped to the city on horseback.
Ombrol, intent on revenge, hired the Dragon’s Fang
mercenary company to help him deal with the living
inhabitants of the city and locate the baron’s nephew.
The company distrusts the death knight, and many of
its members feel that their leader, Akaron Swiftblade,
has made a critical error by aligning them with an
undead lord. Erim Holden, for his part, seeks a group of
adventurers to clear his manor and return him to his
rightful position of power.
• While traveling through an area of the campaign
world they have not previously explored, the PCs
happen upon the abandoned village. After they
encounter a few undead patrols, it should become
clear that a more powerful evil directs these groups.
If they withdraw to seek more information before
approaching the manor, they can glean some half-
remembered tales about the village from the most
venerable nearby residents, as well as wildly inaccu-
rate tales from the superstitious locals, who believe it
to be a place of extreme evil.
• During another adventure, the party finds an old
tome with yellowed, crumbling pages. This book
describes many notable events that took place in this
area about two centuries ago. Some of the more inter-
esting entries describe the plight of the villagers,
who vacated the area when it was overrun with
undead. Although the village has long been
forgotten, tales told by bards and locals maintain that
little has changed since the tome was penned.
• A necromancer who is on friendly terms with the
PCs approaches them with an interesting conun-
drum. Ever since he moved approximately 50 miles
from the village, the undead he has created and
charged with guarding his property have been
ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
The characters receive an offer of employment from
Erim Holden, who wants some adventurers to rid his
manor of an undead infestation. Shortly after the party
leaves for the abandoned village, however, Erim is
abducted by members of the Dragon’s Fang mercenary
company and whisked away to the manor. Ombrol
immediately begins making arrangements for a cere-
3
wandering away, seemingly of their own volition. He
can point the PCs in the direction the undead have
been going, but he knows nothing else of the area.
• The party learns of a trading caravan that was set
upon by undead creatures while passing through the
area. More than half of the soldiers guarding the
caravan were killed, and their corpses were pulled off
the road and toward the village.
THE VILLAGE OF
THREE FORKS
Three Forks was so named because of the three creeks
that converge within its limits. It is windy and snowing
heavily when the party arrives, and the light that filters
through the trees is dim. Characters can see to a maxi-
mum range of 100 feet without low-light vision or 200
feet with it. Darkvision allows vision to its normal
range or 100 feet, whichever is longer.
At any range less than or equal to maximum visibil-
ity, creatures have concealment (20% miss chance).
Artificial light negates the concealment, but only
within the area that the light source illuminates
brightly. Darkvision negates this concealment within
its normal range.
Many of the dwellings have fallen apart completely,
and the rest are in extreme disrepair. The only excep-
tion is the manor on the hill, which has been immacu-
lately maintained.
When the PCs first enter the village, read or para-
phrase the following aloud.
BEGINNING THE
ADVENTURE
Whether you use one of the plot hooks above or make up
one of your own, the party should meet with Erim
Holden before tackling the manor house. He is presently
staying at an upscale inn located in the nearby city. While
a meeting with him is not absolutely necessary to begin
the adventure, it helps convey the history behind the
manor, lets the PCs know who Erim Holden is, and warns
them that undead inhabit the village of Three Forks.
Erim Holden stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and appears
strong and stocky. His hair is brown, and the top of his
head is bald. He keeps his remaining hair at shoulder
length and wears it in braids caught with platinum
bands. Long sideburns run to his chin, and he has a
long mustache bound with ornate golden bands.
Erim shows the PCs the deed to the property, which
dates back five hundred years. He tells them of his
uncle, Kaiius Holden, who he believes died at the
hands of the undead now holding the manor and the
village. He describes his visit to the village, mentioning
that he saw the silhouette of an armored figure, with
red pinpoints of light where its eyes should have been.
Erim offers the characters 8,000 gp worth of gems if
they can successfully clear out the manor. A successful
opposed Diplomacy check raises his offer to 10,000 gp,
but no higher. One of the conditions he sets is that the
characters not disturb any of the treasures they find
within the manor, since he wants to preserve any
family heirlooms that remain. While he prefers to
make full payment upon completion of the job, he does
offer the characters 50% of the market value of any
treasures they find within the manor.
Creatures: The inn is filled with numerous travelers
and servants, plus the innkeepers. Five of Erim’s guards
stay in a room across the hallway and can be sum-
moned in a single round with a shout.
D
Erim Holden: Male human aristocrat 7; hp 34.
Guards: Male or female human warrior 5; hp 35.
The windblown snow carries a chill that seems
even colder than the wintry conditions would
merit, and the light that filters down from the
gray sky is dim at best. No sounds break the still-
ness of the falling snow.
Ahead lie the remains of a village. Many of the
structures still stand, though they display the rav-
ages of extreme age and lack of maintenance.
Many of them are little more than weatherbeaten
wood planks just barely held together with rusted
nails. Upon the highest hill, however, stands a
fine manor that appears to be inhabited, judging
by the lights in the windows.
4
Unless the PCs have taken great pains to make them-
selves invisible, they are already being observed by the
undead patrolling the village in area A.
Creatures: Undead patrol areas A and B, while the
human fighters of the Dragon Fang mercenary com-
pany guard area C.
Tactics: The undead do not attack until the PCs
come within 50 feet of their positions. They coordinate
their activities only with others in their own groups;
they do not assist groups in other locations.
Development: The undead guardians do not bother
to report the presence of the party to their master, since
they assume that the intrusion will be observed by the
guards on the hill near the manor.
5
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