D&D Iggwilv’s Legacy - The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.pdf - D&D 3e - magh24

Iggwilv’s Legacy:

The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

by Ari Marmell and Edward Albert

art by Howard Lyon and Francis Tsai

cartography by Rob Lazzaretti

Introduction

To the inhabitants of the war-torn world of Oerth, the

spellcaster Iggwilv is a footnote to history, an advisor and

facilitator to greater evils. They forget that Iggwilv—master

of demons, mistress of Graz’zt, and mother of Iuz—is a

mighty witch, was once greater still, and that she conquered

an entire region with her potent spells and demonic minions.

Even today, when so many have studied her writings, and

all have heard of the so-called lost caverns where she hid her

greatest of treasures, Iggwilv keeps a secret or two regarding

her rise to power.

For centuries, the mountain called Iggwilv’s Horn has been

little more than a landmark, the guide by which explorers

have sought out the nearby caverns of Tsojcanth. Its twisted

and craggy peak has featured in numerous tales of mystery

and horror, but always for what it represents and not for

what it truly is. The time has come, at last, for the truth

to be revealed. Iggwilv’s Horn is no mere landmark, but

a wellspring of evil that taints the surrounding lands. The

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth was only one of Iggwilv’s homes,

yet it was here that the conjurer learned her greatest powers,

scribed her greatest works, and congressed with demons. And

it is here that brave heroes must eventually come, if they are

to forestall the rise of an even greater evil, for Iggwilv’s Horn

stabs not only into the heart of Oerth, but into the depths of

the Abyss. . . .

primarily good-aligned characters, but this is by no

means a hard and fast requirement. Indeed, a party of

all neutral (or even evil) characters might benefit just

as much from exploring the halls and twisting passages

of Iggwilv’s Horn and its Lost Caverns.

WhaT you Need To PLay

This material makes use of information from vari-

ous supplements, including Heroes of Horror , Fiendish

Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, Dungeonscape , and various

Monster Manuals beyond the first. Essential details and

simplified rules are presented here where appropriate;

thus, although these supplements can add detail to the

adventures, they are not required.

As written, the Caverns of Tsojcanth and Iggwilv’s

Horn exist in the World of Greyhawk, but they can

easily be adapted to Eberron, the Forgotten Realms,

or any other setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) need

only find a location for the mountain in an appropriate

borderland region, and room in the world’s history for

a demon-conjuring archmage.

BaCkgrouNd

Some of the following originally introduced the 1st edi

tion module S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth , concluding

the famed S-series that included Tomb of Horrors, White

Plume Mountain, and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks:

WhaT Is IggWILv’s

LegaCy?

Iggwilv’s Legacy is a web-based adventure expanding

the former lair and home of the dread archmage. The

first part, “Iggwilv’s Horn,” details the history of the

archmage’s mountain, its outer slopes and caves, and the

lands surrounding it. The second part revisits the clas-

sic adventure “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” updated

to use 3.5 D ungeons & D ragons rules. The third part,

“The Hollow of the Horn,” explores yet more of the

chambers within the mountain’s deadly interior.

“Iggwilv’s Legacy” is designed for a party of four

11th-level characters, but any combination of 10th- to

12th-level characters should suffice. The group mem-

bers should possess at least one magic weapon (if not

more) and have a spellcaster among them. Given the

story’s focus on horror, play runs best with a party of

refereNCes

Iggwilv’s Legacy makes substantial use of characters

from the long history of the D ungeons & D ragons

game. Although a comprehensive list of the sources

that feature these characters would be prohibitively

large, the following serves as a summary.

Fraz-Urb’luu: Book of Vile Darkness, Fiendish Codex I:

Hordes of the Abyss, Dragon #333, S4: The Lost Caverns

of Tsojcanth, Monster Manual II (1st Edition)

Graz’zt: Book of Vile Darkness, Fiendish Codex I:

Hordes of the Abyss, S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,

Monster Manual II (1st Edition)

Iggwilv: Dragon #336, S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsoj-

canth

Iuz: Complete Divine, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

Tharizdun: Complete Divine, Lords of Madness, WG4:

The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun

Tsojcanth: S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

ZagigYragerne: Dragon #336, S4: The Lost Caverns

of Tsojcanth

Nearly a century ago, the archmage Iggwilv sent her

evil minions to conquer the lands around her abode. So

successful was she that the Marches of Perrenland were

subjugated for a decade, and great indeed was the loot

brought to answer her insatiable demand for treasure.

Legend states that the archmage gained much of her

prowess from discovering the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,

wherein was hidden magic of unsurpassed might. It

is certain that Iggwilv ruled her domain from these

caverns. There she also conducted arcane experiments

and rituals, trying to further increase her powers.

These experiments were her downfall, for she

accidentally freed the demon Graz’zt, whom she had

imprisoned and forced into servitude. A terrible battled

followed, and although the demon was forced to flee

to the Abyss, Iggwilv was so battered from the contest

that her powers and strength were forever lost. With

her diminished might, Iggwilv’s realm was sundered.

Her former henchmen and slaves stole her treasure

and scattered to the four winds in the face of enemy

armies.

The archmage, however, used the last of her power to

prepare a hiding place in the caverns for her remaining

wealth. Legends say that this treasure included several

tomes of great power and the fabled lamp called Daoud’s

Wondrous Lanthorn. No one knows what else might be

hidden, for no one has yet discovered Iggwilv’s hoard.

None know whether Iggwilv still lives. Until recently,

though, the stories of her secret cache of treasure in the

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth were regarded as another

grandfathers’ tale to amuse younglings. Tapestries, rugs,

statues, and rare art have been recovered over the years,

as well as chests of precious metals, sacks of coin, and

coffers filled with gems and jewelry. It was believed

that all her treasure had been looted and that no magic

or wealth remained. However, recent investigations

have indicated that the magic lanthorn did exist and

that Iggwilv possessed it. Iggwilv’s lair was definitely

located somewhere along the gorge of the Velverdyva

River in the mountains between Schwartzenbruin

and Highfolk. The realms of Iuz, Perrenland, and Ket

have sent expeditions into the Yatil Mountains seeking

the location of the caverns; the few survivors have all

failed.

greater demons and experimenting with ever more foul

horrors. The truth, however, is that the mountain was

a font of power long before the archmage ever made

her presence felt.

No one alive today can say with certainty why mon-

sters have long been drawn to this mountainous region,

why those who spend too long here grow diseased in

body and mind, why the air weighs heavy with the pres-

ence of evil. A few scholars have suggested that, eons

before recorded history, demonic creatures might have

used the mountain as a prison. They refer to legends

that claim the great demon lord Graz’zt once confined

a hated foe here for millennia before finally tiring of

the enemy and utterly destroying him. The presence

of this great demon, and his struggles to escape, might

indeed be the source of the taint that clings to the region

like a ravenous leech, or this tale might just be another

among the layers of misunderstanding and deception

that cloak the Caverns and Horn.

The rIse of TsojCaNTh

Years ago, but not beyond the reach of a historian’s

quill, an Oeridian archmage named Tsojcanth rose

to power. The predecessor of more famous wizards,

such as Mordenkainen and Otiluke, Tsojcanth was a

student of great magic and a protector of the mortal

realm. For many lifetimes, Tsojcanth defended Oerth

from incursion and assault. He battled the minions of

the demon princes, Orcus and Graz’zt, slew a wielder

of the horrific Hand of Vecna , and even stood against

the forces of the mad god Tharizdun. Yet these battles

exhausted him, and the time soon came when even

the great Tsojcanth knew he must pass on. Legend says

that he made his crypt deep in the caverns beneath the

mountains, where he, in his final rest, might serve to

dampen the area’s evil energy.

In truth, everything known of Tsojcanth—even his

name—is myth and misdirection. The being who called

himself Tsojcanth was no human wizard, however

powerful, but the half-breed child of an Abyssal prince.

A master of sorcery and deception, Tsojcanth learned

many secrets from the orders of good. He steered them

away from his own machinations, and aided them in

fighting both his own rivals and those of his demonic

sire. After Tharizdun’s defeat, Tsojcanth determined that

he had spent long enough masquerading as a mortal and

allowed that identity to fade as he moved on to other

diversions.

The rumors of The horN

Most who know of the lost caverns and their sur-

roundings hold Iggwilv responsible for the evil that

has occurred here. And why should they not? The vile

archmage dwelt here for centuries, conjuring ever-

Dungeon October 2007

The ComINg of IggWILv

For centuries, the region waited. Communities and

nations sprang up around the mountain, but nobody

claimed it for long. The taint of the Abyss was subtle

yet omnipresent. This stretch of mountainous land

became a magnet for conflict. Border skirmishes, far

out of proportion to the land’s worth, raged in its valleys.

Monsters, from goblins to giants to dragons, made it

their home, though the land had little to offer.

And then a young, depraved witch named Iggwilv

found her way here.

Until this time, Iggwilv had dwelt in the city of Grey-

hawk, apprenticed to the mad wizard Zagig Yragerne.

She learned much at his side, including the secrets

of demon lore. Together, using their mightiest spells,

they bound the demon prince Fraz-Urb’luu. Hungry

for greater power and determined to repeat such a

feat on her own, Iggwilv questioned the imprisoned

archfiend outside the presence of her master, and she

learned much, including the true nature and true name

of Tsojcanth, Fraz-Urb’luu’s own misbegotten son.

Absconding with many of Zagig’s artifacts and

writings—including the Tome of Zyx , which would

one day form the foundation of the dread Demonomi-

con— Iggwilv traveled to what was thought to be the last

resting place of Tsojcanth, the peak that would one day

bear her name. Accompanied by an array of humanoid

and fiendish minions, she made her way to the center

of the inner complex, hungry for the knowledge she

believed it would contain.

To her dismay, she found no books of spells and no

ancient artifacts. She did, however, sense the Abyssal

energy that flowed through the mountain like an

unseen current, and the potential was not lost on her.

She believed that with this energy and her knowledge of

his true name, she might not only summon the fiend of

whom she had recently learned, but bind him as well.

The battle of wills was fierce indeed. Planar boundar-

ies ruptured like pustules, and the flow of the Abyss into

the mortal realm increased from a trickle to a torrent.

Yet in the end, Iggwilv’s will prevailed. In this, her first

summoning since emerging from the shadow of Zagig,

she proved successful beyond her wildest dreams.

For generations, Tsojcanth was the greatest of

Iggwilv’s slaves. He became her advisor, her enforcer,

her font of lore and demonic secrets. Although he hated

her with intensity surprising even among demons,

Tsojcanth had no power to escape the mystic shackles

under which he labored.

As the decades passed, the witch’s interaction with

Tsojcanth became a twisted game. She could command

his general obedience, but not acquiescence to her every

demand. She baited him and challenged him with

questions, and he tested the limits of her control.

One day, however, the witch’s interest in her Abyssal

slave suddenly waned, for she had unearthed a greater

prize. Somehow, Iggwilv had learned the true name

of the demon prince Graz’zt, and she summoned him

forth.

If the archmage’s struggle for dominance over Tsoj-

canth had been mighty, her war of wills with Graz’zt was

titanic. Many of Iggwilv’s minions were slain, much of

her magic hoard and mystic writings destroyed. In the

end, however, her depth of demonological knowledge

and her arcane power were sufficient to defeat even so

mighty a being as Graz’zt. The archfiend was humbled

before her, a demon prince laid so low as to be slave to

a mere mortal.

This, then, was the height of Iggwilv’s reign, for she

commanded a growing army of demons. She became

undisputed master of the region surrounding what was now

known as Iggwilv’s Horn. Neighboring lands, such as Ket

and Perrenland, sent forces against her, and she obliterated

them. Iggwilv and Graz’zt became lovers, and the witch

gave birth to a half-blooded son she dubbed Iuz.

To her slave Tsojcanth, Iggwilv assigned a less pleasant

fate. Unwilling to risk dividing her attention between the

two great demons, she confined Tsojcanth to the nearby

caverns. There he was tasked with overseeing her lesser

minions and forgotten experiments, allowed out only when

she required him to perform a specific task.

Had circumstances remained thus, Iggwilv and her

demons might well have conquered the entire region,

perhaps even major portions of Oerth. Eventually,

however, the witch and her demonic consort realized

that the flow of Abyssal energy from the depths of the

mountain was increasing, and formerly healthy areas

had grown severely tainted. The darkness Iggwilv

had released in her various summonings and experi-

mentations had grown strong, and threatened to tear

a rift between Oerth and the Abyss. Already, several

uncontrolled demons had slipped through, riding the

waves of chaotic magic.

Iggwilv knew she must plug the leak. She hardly

cared for the well-being of the world around her, but

the notion of an influx of demons over which she had

no control disturbed her. None of her magic proved

able to seal the gap, however. Finally, after discussion

with Graz’zt, Iggwilv determined that the only way to

Dungeon October 2007

stem the Abyssal flow into Oerth was to trap a great

source of power and magic in the rift, anchored to

the Material Plane. She would have to sacrifice one of

her demons, imprisoning him permanently as a plug

between worlds, using his own magic and energy to

block those coming from the other side.

In this, the great mistress of demons was deceived.

Graz’zt, despite his carnal relations with his mistress,

had never accepted his lot as a mortal’s slave. Where

he could have elucidated other ways to seal the rift,

he instead fed to Iggwilv the one that might win him

freedom. Graz’zt knew that only he and Tsojcanth, of

all the archmage’s demons, had the power to serve as a

living barrier. He knew that Iggwilv would not sacrifice

him. And he knew that Tsojcanth would never quietly

accept such a fate.

And indeed, when Tsojcanth saw the symbols on the

floor, around the growing rift to the Abyss, he real-

ized what was to come. For the first time in decades,

Tsojcanth battled his mistress.

Caught by surprise, Iggwilv was still able to defeat

her errant slave, leaving Tsojcanth barely alive on the

floor of the chamber. The battle left the witch drained,

however, bereft of her mightiest spells. Graz’zt had

anticipated this weakness, and he chose to strike in

this moment.

Yet even the mighty Graz’zt, in his hubris, underes-

timated the sheer power the archmage had achieved.

For hours the lovers battled, and the mountain

shook with magic beyond the ken of most mortals. Iuz

attempted to interfere, but instead the chaotic energy

mauled and deformed him, warping his handsome

visage into the repulsive guise he must wear today.

The last barriers between Oerth and the Abyss were

torn asunder, and the taint of chaos and evil swept the

region like a flood.

And still, Iggwilv emerged triumphant. She could

not rebind Graz’zt, but she slew the prince’s physical

form, banishing him to the Abyss for a hundred years.

She raised the still-living form of Tsojcanth and bound

him permanently into the planar fabric.

But Iggwilv’s victory cost her dearly. The battle had

exhausted all she had and all she was. Her great artifacts

now lacked power, burned out in the conflict. Her body

and soul were broken and twisted, no longer capable of

harnessing the mighty magic she once wielded.

Determined not to let her minions detect her weak-

ness, Iggwilv moved all her treasure into Tsojcanth’s

former caverns, placing traps and monsters to defend

her valued possessions. She left many guardians in the

caverns, but one in particular, her daughter Drelnza,

she trusted above all others to keep her treasure safe.

Then, when all was complete, Iggwilv departed the

caverns and disappeared. Historians suggest Graz’zt’s

minions spirited her away to the Abyss for further

tortures (and, some scholars maintain, an eventual if

unlikely rekindling of their romance); others claim

that she traveled Oerth and the planes, seeking a way

to recover her power. Most presumed she had simply

died. Her minions slowly departed the caverns and

the Horn, and the world turned its attention to other

evils.

reCeNT hIsTory

Specific knowledge of Iggwilv’s reign slowly faded

into the mists of time and legend. The precise location

of Tsojcanth’s caverns was forgotten. Iggwilv’s Horn

became a mere landmark, a symbol of a horror that

once was. Civilization sputtered in its effort to claim the

region. A gnome community appeared at the northern

base of the mountain. The people of Ket and Perrenland

discovered great quantities of ore in these mountains,

and they established a mining camp on the western

slopes of the Horn itself. Many humanoid tribes, some

descended from Iggwilv’s minions, took up residence

in the surrounding hills and mountains.

But even with the Abyssal portal sealed, the leaked

energy never totally dissipated. Several fiendish entities

yet dwell in the vicinity of Iggwilv’s Horn, and sporadic

taint still infects the land. Worse still, in the past several

years, monstrous activity has risen once more, echoing

the days of Iggwilv’s reign. Evil once more festers in

and around Iggwilv’s Horn, emerging from the depths

of the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.

ChoosINg aN

adveNTure hook

Although the simple notion of exploring the infamous

lost caverns, or of delving into Iggwilv’s lore, might

be enough for many adventurers, others could require

additional motivation.

Imprisoned Maiden: Travelers passing by the horn

Iggwilv’s Horn, or those humans and gnomes living

on the horn, tell of a common dream in which they

see a beautiful maiden laid out on a stone bier, caught

in everlasting sleep. The woman is in fact Drelnza,

Iggwilv’s vampire daughter.

Mapping the Way: A treasure hoard the party

obtained in a prior adventure includes a rough map of

Dungeon October 2007

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