"Menace of the Icy Spire" is an adventure set out of Loudwater in the Forgotten Realms. Fully detailed in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, Loudwater is a tremendous launch point for a new Realms campaign. In the deep forest near Loudwater, legend tells of a warlock who meddled with powers beyond his ability to control in pursuit of new power. Now his tower is home to a force that could cause tremendous devastation in the wrong hands. An adventure for 2nd-level PCs.
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About 30 years ago, a dwarf warlock named Draigdurroch came to the Gray Vale. Draigdurroch was part of a cabal of warlocks, and his particular research dealt with the creation of new types of eldritch pacts. He believed that the Dire Wood contained a particularly potent source of untapped energy -- the remains of a failed deity. Thousands of years before the Spellplague, a Netherese city called Karse stood in the area, and the demigod Karsus was its patron. Karsus tried and failed to ascend to full godhood, dying in the process, and his city (along with the rest of the ancient Empire of Netheril) fell not long thereafter. Draigdurroch's research suggested that the petrified remains of Karsus yet lie beneath the forest's heart. Draigdurroch hoped that he could tap into the latent energy that Karsus had accumulated and use it to power his new pact. The dwarf warlock built a tower about a mile outside the Dire Wood and began his experiments in earnest.
Didn't realize Karsus was a demigod.:P
-I guess thats WotC's B-Day present to him? :P
18DELTA ;)
-I guess thats WotC's B-Day present to him? :P
18DELTA ;)
Great point!
I want to put him in my Realms.
Didn't realize Karsus was a demigod.:P
-I guess thats WotC's B-Day present to him? :P
18DELTA ;)
-Yeah, tell me about it. What-have-you-done-for-me-lately, indeed.
-I get no respect, I'm telling ya, no respect...
-I got Fudgie the Whale, though, so it's all good, in retrospect.
-Is this supposed to be retconning the reason for the 'Wizard Weather' in the Dire Woods?
-After reading it again, I guess so...:P
18DELTA ;)
-After reading it again, I guess so...:P
18DELTA ;)
-Right. I read it, and I wasn't sure if they were trying to imply that this guy was the source of the Wizard Weather, or if he is completely unrelated, and just made the weather funky in a completely different manner.
Unless you mean blaming that nasty "Karsus" bloke's rotting corpse:
Draigdurroch’s research sug-gested that the petrified remains of Karsus yet lie
beneath the forest’s heart. Draigdurroch hoped tha
he could tap into the latent energy that Karsus had
accumulated and use it to power his new pact. The
dwarf warlock built a tower about a mile outside th
Dire Wood and began his experiments in earnest.
Well, doesn't wizard weather rather pre-date this guy's arrival, by about 150 years at least?
-That's why I'm confused about what they're trying to do here, as I said.
18DELTA ;)
I think they're blaming Karsus - this guy was just taking advantage of the pre-existing conditions and trying to control them.
-Well, Karsus was the reason, but as I said, I got the impression that they were implying that the wacky weather was caused by Mr. Draigdurroch, with his ice spells, and icy spire (d'oi!), and all that.
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...got the impression that the wintery weather was caused by the gem left behind by fey creatures to punish the warlock for his threatening them (he actually threatened to burn them).
Where did you get the stats for those arctic dwarves? I couldn't find them in the adventure.
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I noticed WotC co-opted some artwork from the 3E Eberron Campaign Setting for those Iron Defenders (on page 17 of the adventuure).
Hey Diffan,
Where did you get the stats for those arctic dwarves? I couldn't find them in the adventure.
I actually just created them using the dwarven Bolter and Hammerer stats found in the Monster Manual but decreased their level to 3 each. I gave them the Ice Walk movement ability and Resist 5 cold as well as followed some examples given to me by the goblins. Though their name should probably be changed to Frost Dwarves.
1) The big monster at the end should just be standing right near the stairs when they come in. That's right, walk up the stairs, BIFF, provoke, provoke, provoke. Why do they always make creatures do the dumbest things on earth?
2) Why hasn't the army dealt with this? They should have.
I actually just created them using the dwarven Bolter and Hammerer stats found in the Monster Manual but decreased their level to 3 each.
Ah, I should have checked my Monster Manual first. My bad!
Still, I like 'em and gosh darnit I'm gonna steal them for my own game. ;)
Ah, I should have checked my Monster Manual first. My bad!
Still, I like 'em and gosh darnit I'm gonna steal them for my own game. ;)
Hey, I made a little mistake about how many the PCs should face in the encounter. It should read, 1 Axe-bearer, 1 Bolter, 1 Warlord, and 2 Kruthik Hatchlings. That equals 662 xp. Anyways, I hope you like it and let me know how things turn out.
"What feeling is that?" you may ask.
It's the, "There are more adventures than I have time to run!" feeling.
And that's a good one to have. Pretty soon I'll be mixing in stuff from several adventures all at once for my campaign, just like I do for our 3.5 Realms game.
w00t!