Dungeon Magazine #177.pdf

ISSUE 177 | AprIl 2010

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

Contents

4 themazeofshattereDsouls

By James Wyatt

A Dungeons & Dragons Eberron adventure for

characters of 15th level.

31 ChaossCar:eyesintheforest

By Robert J. Schwalb

A chance encounter in the Chaos Scar allows the

characters the opportunity to avenge another group of

fallen adventurers—unless the foes that claimed their

lives prove too much for the heroes! A Dungeons &

Dragons adventure for 1st-level characters.

57 theDeCkofmanythings

By Rodney Thompson

The legendary artifact is back, complete with a

full-color deck of cards you can print for use in

your campaign!

69 Deities&DemigoDs: torog

By Brian R. James

The minions of the King that Crawls are some of

the most feared in the Underdark. Discover more of

Torog’s history, secrets, and ambitions for the world.

90 CampaignWorkbook:

kaiusDantus

By Peter Schaefer

This powerful necromancer seeks mastery of the

dead, and he’s ready and waiting to torment the

characters of your campaign.

95 eyeontherealms

By Ed Greenwood

The Naerhand family is wealthier than the largest

city guilds and weilds more power than many

rulers.

98 rulingskillChallenges

By Mike Mearls

Mike continues to educate on the nature of skill

challenges, with unique applications and examples.

102 DungeonCraft

By James Wyatt

James launches a new campaign this month!

77 realmslore: vaasa

By Brian R. James

While the Warlock Knights rule Vaasa with fists of

steel, the land is rife with adventure possibilities.

84 theminD’seyeopeneD

By Robert J. Schwalb

The psionic power source might appear to be

a problematic addition to your campaign, but

discover several options for psionic incorporation

in your home campaign.

36 ChaossCar:gloWstoneCaverns

By Jennifer Clarke Wilkes

The Gnawstubble goblin tribe has stumbled

upon a strange series of caverns filled with an

unfamiliar metal—and a dark evil. Now the goblins

have found new power in the Scar, as well as a new

source of corruption. A Dungeons & Dragons

adventure for 4th-level characters.

48 nightmaresunleasheD

By Craig Campbell

A family’s tortured dreams have become reality,

thanks to an ill-timed ritual used in desperation.

Now a village is threatened, and the characters

must act quickly to stop this nightmare from

spreading. A Dungeons & Dragons Side Trek for

4th-level characters, with expansion possibilities

for further play.

ontheCover

Illustration by Ralph Horsley

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Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.

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articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd

E D i T or i A l

177

READ THIS ALOUD

Dungeon

Ap r i l 2010

Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs

We have discussions around here that folks in other

sorts of jobs might find odd. one day, we discussed what

sort of sensory overload a beholder experiences, what

with the eleven eyes and all. Another day, we might

have a meeting about the best ways to evoke the feel of a

sewer adventure. But the other day, as Bart, Steve, and i

sat around avoiding real work, the topic of conversation

turned to read-aloud text in adventures.

Steve had just read an adventure submission that fea-

tured an ambush encounter, which opened with some

read-aloud text.

“You know what,” Steve observed. “read-aloud text

basically tells the players that they’re about to start an

encounter. You might as well just drop the 5-foot-square

grid down over the characters’ heads. if you’re reading text

to your players, they should just roll initiative. read-aloud

text is one of the ultimate metagame tip-offs.”

And he’s right. Sure, there might be other ways to

metagame an encounter. Most of the time, that doesn’t

matter much. Players are often already expecting the next

encounter. But it can certainly wreck the mood if you’re

trying to lay an ambush or spring a trap on the characters.

As soon as you break into read-aloud-text voice, the players

know something is up.

That’s a bummer.

read-aloud text can be evocative, if done well. When

executed perfectly, it sets the scene, gives the characters

information relevant to the encounter, and evokes the

proper mood. Good read-aloud text can help an encoun-

ter the same way a good soundtrack can help a scene in

a movie.

in organized Play events, especially competitive ones,

it’s a great way to level the playing field and ensure a fair

experience is had by all the players. i remember playing

in the D&D open at Gen Con many years ago, and more

experienced players in my group made everyone at the

table listen closely to the read-aloud text. Sure enough, if we

were paying attention, the read-aloud text almost inevitably

revealed some clue that helped us in the ensuing encounter.

Bad read-aloud text, on the other hand, can be as

destructive as good read-aloud text can be helpful. it

might presume character action.

As you open the cupboard door and peer inside ...

And it might presume monster action.

. .. the goblin inside leaps out and bites your face!

Both of which are best left in the hands of players and

DMs.

Bad read-aloud text is clunky and sounds like, well,

text that’s being read aloud. if i wanted to listen to a story,

i’d bring my blankie and go find a grandpa.

All of which amounts to more reasons why we need

to be discerning about read-aloud text. i’ll be the first to

admit that it’s an element of an encounter i often pay the

least attention to. i want to dig into the nitty gritty of the

encounter, check the setup, make sure the tactics and ter-

rain make sense. But DMs everywhere need to remember:

When you’re running a published adventure, the first con-

tact a player will have with an environment or encounter

is nearly always the read-aloud.

if you’re running a game, always read the text quietly to

yourself before reading aloud to your players. Try to sound

natural. Even better is taking a highlighter to it and focus-

ing on the key elements of the text so you can paraphrase

and make it sound less stuffy, less story-timey. Maybe

best of all, throw some evocative text into non-encounter

areas or roleplaying encounters. Give the read-aloud text

treatment to your area descriptions whether there’s an

encounter brewing or not. Not only will your adventures

(published or home-brewed) feel more immersive with a

greater focus on evocative descriptions, but your characters

will likely be lulled into falling prey to more ambushes!

How do you feel about read-aloud text? When you run

published adventures, do you use it as written? Do you

paraphrase? Do you generate the equivalent of read-aloud

text for your home-brew adventures? And tell us about a

time when using evocative, descriptive language improved

your game. You can send your feedback and answers

to dndinsider@wizards.com or post them on the D&D

insider community page.

SeniorCreativeArtDirector

Jon Schindehette

WebSpecialist Steve Winter

WebProduction Bart Carroll

ContributingAuthors Craig Campbell, Ed Greenwood,

Brian r. James, Mike Mearls,

peter Schaefer, robert J. Schwalb,

rodney Thompsen, Jennifer

Clarke Wilkes, James Wyatt

Developers peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, rodney Thompson

Editors Miranda Horner, Steve Winter

CoverArtist ralph Horsley

ContributingArtists Wayne England, Christina

MacTernan, patrick McEvoy,

raven Mimura, William O’Connor,

Craig J. Spearing, peter Tikos,

Tyler Walpole, Kieran Yanner

Cartographers Sean Macdonald, Mike Schley

PublishingProductionSpecialists Angelika lokotz, Erin Dorries,

Christopher Tardiff

WebDevelopment Mark A. Jindra

D&DCreativeManager Christopher perkins

ExecutiveProducer,

D&DInsider Chris Champagne

DirectorofRPGR&D Bill Slavicsek

SpecialThanks

richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Michele Carter, Jennifer Clarke

Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce r. Cordell, Jeremy Crawford, peter

lee, Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, Matthew Sernett, rodney Thompson, James Wyatt

THE

MAZE

SHATTERED

SOULS

AN ADVENTURE FOR 15TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS

By James Wyatt

illustration by Patrick McEvoy F cartography by Jason A. Engle

The Demon Wastes: a blasted land cursed for

countless ages by the taint of ancient evil. A land of ash

and rock, harsh and unforgiving, and its few mortal

residents are equally harsh. The Ghaash’kala guard

the Labyrinth, preventing anyone from entering

or leaving the Demon Wastes lest the taint of evil

spread to the world beyond ...

Ap r i l 2010 | Dungeon 177 4

THEMAZEOFSHATTEREDSOULS

The Maze of Shattered Souls is a Dungeons & Drag-

ons® adventure for five characters of 15th level. This

adventure is set in the world of Eberron. The Eberron

Campaign Guide and the Eberron Player’s Guide contain

information that may enhance your experience, but

neither book is required to play the adventure.

Deep in the heart of the labyrinth stands an

ancient structure called the Maze of Shattered Souls.

The demons that inhabit the Wastes view the Maze as

a place of power, for they can tap magical energy from

the mortal souls trapped in its halls. in particular, the

fiendish schemers known as the lords of Dust hold

the place in high regard, for they believe they can

learn more of the mysterious Draconic Prophecy by

studying and communing with the souls trapped in

this place.

Few of the demons who visit the place and draw

on its power have any inkling that deep below the

Maze of Shattered Souls lies the prison of one of

the great fiendish overlords of the Age of Demons, a

being known as the Stalker in Darkness. Most of the

imprisoned overlords have exarchs to serve them.

These agents do their overlords’ will in the world and

coordinate efforts to free them from their prisons.

The Stalker in Darkness, though, has no exarch. The

position fell vacant thousands of years ago, and the

overlord has fallen into obscurity.

A rakshasa noble called Zathasram has taken up

residence in the Maze of Shattered Souls, seeking to

amass enough power and knowledge to become the

exarch of the Stalker in Darkness. With lesser raksha-

sas and demons as guardians and allies, Zathasram

holds the Maze against intruders, jealously guarding

its knowledge and power for himself.

order to leave the labyrinth and return to the world

beyond the Wastes.

The characters might seek out the Maze of Shat-

tered Souls for any of a number of reasons. it’s even

possible for different characters to have different—

possibly even conf licting—reasons, and different goals

once they’ve found it. The quests at the end of this

section describe various motivations and goals that

might bring the characters into the Demon Wastes in

search of the Maze of Shattered Souls.

The encounters in this adventure occur in three

phases: getting through the labyrinth to the Maze of

Shattered Souls, exploring the Maze and overcoming

its defenders, and leaving the labyrinth again.

While traveling to the Maze, the characters might

have an encounter in the village of Festering Holt:

either members of the Children of Winter (if you use

the Captive Savant quest) or agents of the order of the

Emerald Claw (if you use the Grasp of the Emerald

Claw quest). These encounters help point the charac-

ters to the Maze if they’re not already looking for it.

The characters also encounter Carrion Tribe barbar-

ians in the labyrinth before they find the Maze.

Within the Maze, the characters face an array of

demons in a bewildering environment. lesser rak-

shasas guard the entrance, various demons haunt the

inner passages, and Zathasram himself with his goris-

tro bodyguard haunts the inner sanctum.

After leaving the Maze, the characters must face

a party of Ghaash’kala trying to prevent them from

carrying the taint of evil out from the Wastes. The

characters are offered the choice to either join the

Ghaash’kala or die, and if they wish to leave the

Demon Wastes, they must contend somehow with

these good-aligned and well-intentioned defenders.

BACKGROUND

The Demon Wastes is a blasted and haunted land

stretching across the northwestern coast of Khorvaire.

it is infested with all manner of evil beings, from

demons and night hags to gnolls and plague-tainted

barbarians.

Two physical barriers stand between the Demon

Wastes and the rest of Khorvaire. The first is a long

mountain range, called the icehorn Mountains in the

north and the Shadowcrags in the south. The second

is the labyrinth, a twisting network of barren canyons

full of deadly hazards.

The Ghaash’kala—four clans made up primarily

of orcs but including members of other races who

have joined their cause—are a third barrier protecting

Khorvaire from the evils of the Demon Wastes. The

holy warriors of the Ghaash’kala are sworn to keep

the taint of the Wastes contained behind the laby-

rinth, so they keep constant vigil to prevent anything

from leaving the Wastes. They also watch to stop

those adventurers foolhardy enough to venture into

the Wastes, for any who enter that blasted land inevi-

tably take on the taint of its evil.

ADVENTURESYNOPSIS

The heart of the adventure is the characters’ explora-

tion of the Maze of Shattered Souls and their ultimate

confrontation with Zathasram. To get there, the char-

acters must make their way through the labyrinth.

Then they must also deal with the Ghaash’kala in

Ap r i l 2010 | Dungeon 177

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