KEEPER HILL
A Fantasy Core and
D&D 5th Edition Fantasy Ireland
© Jerry Harris 2016
(This link will take you to the
Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)
MINES LEVEL “THE STONE
GRAVE”
Entry
1) After a few twists and turns through a cramped,
rough-hewn tunnel, the party arrives at a shaft going down with hand and foot
holes carved into the rock. At the
bottom is a mine shaft and stonework of superior Dwarven make. The floor is damp and slimy, as the river
crests and falls, water flows in and out of these shafts. The footing is a bit precarious as there is a
small amount of space around the shaft.
Wraiths
1 XP for getting
past the gauntlet quickly.
2) Sarn seems a bit
nervous as the party enters the hall.
“The spirits that haunt the mines have been awoken by the disturbance
above. Your Elf blades will be of use
here. Follow me quickly.” As soon as the party enters this chamber they
are immediately taunted by disembodied voices, “Elf friends! Death to the Elves!” Wraiths,
perished Dwarves, equal to the number characters surround the party and
attack. (At last, after a novel’s worth
of backstory, some action!) Sarn,
lacking a magic weapon, will not be attacked to this point (he had to run the
gauntlet to get out of the Mines to begin with). He will call to the group to disengage and
follow him down the hall to the Main Chamber.
Two more Wraiths will appear
behind the group. Another will appear before Sarn in the corridor and attack
him. Only escaping into the Main Chamber
will stop the attacks.
The Main Chamber
3) I hope Sarn is still alive and with the group, because
otherwise the Goblin and Grimlock guards are going to be predisposed to attack the
Characters unless they can talk fast.
Otherwise, Sarn will vouch for the group. Immediately, a wild-looking Goblin covered in
magical fetish items hysterically barges his way in, “Don’t disturb my
wards!” The Goblin witch doctor, Magnus, falls to his knees, quickly
repainting and chanting charms over the magical symbols the group has trampled
over. The symbols are keeping the
Wraiths out.
This large room is dominated by the two large elevator
lifts. They were operated by pulley and
winch and oxen. They are currently non-functioning,
but the scaffolding around them is easy enough to climb up in two rds. There are also four large tables, mostly
rotted away. The current occupants of
the chamber are a multitude of Goblins and Grimlocks, roughly over 60. They are all shaken and worried-looking, as
they should be, as they are in cramped quarters with little food and water to
survive on.
“You brought us something to eat, Captain?” inquires one of
the Goblins hopefully. “Maybe later,
we’ll see how things go,” Sarn answers. A
large furry, Wolf-headed creature with neon blue eyes forces his way to the
front, Lord William, better known as Billy
the Barghest. “Is this it? Is this all she sent me? This pathetic rabble of Milesians? Prepare for a feast!” The assembled group of Humanoids lets out a
cheer and begins to menacing move toward the Characters. “My lord,” interjects Sarn, “A word.” Billy stops the crowd to listen to the Hobgoblin’s
whispered words in his ear. Billy more
carefully appraises the Characters, especially their magic weapons and
nods. “My mistake! These are our saviors!” The crowd collectively snorts and wanders off
grumbling.
Billy takes Sarn and the Characters off to the side, away
from the crowd. If the Players didn’t
ask Sarn before or even if they did, Billy will rant about what’s happened to
him, whether they want to hear it or not.
[Have you read the Background section yet?] Unlike Sarn, Billy will mention the magic
mirror. He’ll immediately stop himself
after he’s done it as he should have kept it a secret. (Billy’s had a hard day. Things really haven’t gone the way he hoped.)
Regardless, the Goblin and Grimlock clans have been run out
of their home. While the lesser undead
could have probably been dealt with, the Barrow Wights who lead them are immune
to normal weapons. Further, these Wights
are also able to turn anyone killed into undead creatures. This is why the colony fell so quickly. (What Billy does not know is that this is
that there’s Mummies on the Noble Level that is creating new Wights as well.)
Billy is forced to admit that his own fairly weak troops
would be more of a hindrance than a help.
Unfortunately, Magnus will also have to stay behind to keep up the
wards. Since he cannot return in force,
Billy wants the Characters’ help, specifically their skill with their magic
weapons. (Elvish magic weapons will typically
not work, if not outright vaporize, in the hands of a Formorian.) Billy is proposing eliminating the Wights,
since this would then allow the rest of the undead to be mopped up
quickly. He thinks there are at least 10
of them on the Work Level. (Billy can’t actually
count past 10. There were 12, but two
have been killed since.)
Billy questions the Characters as to why they agreed to
help. Let the Players answer for
themselves here, there’s no wrong answer.
[I write that knowing full well that the Players will find a “wrong”
answer.] “Should you drive out this
undead menace,” Billy chokes a little, “You and your people shall ever have the
gratitude and indebtedness of the Goblin and Grimlock clans of Keeper Hill.” And with that oath, the Characters will
potentially now have a trump card on any future encounters with these
Formorians, but first things first: clear out the undead. Also, Billy has a couple of little personal matters,
namely finding his locket and ferreting out the traitor delegate, that he’ll
want to clear up along the way.
The Rest of the
Level
The lower mine shafts are flooded. This level itself is often underwater
whenever the river floods. As such, nothing normally lives here, except for
the Wraiths, who are usually dormant. If
the Elvish enchantment that caused the river’s diversion could be broken (along
with hallowing the grounds), the mines would be open again. As there are still valuable silver deposits
present, you can bet that the Formorian clans will want to mine it (including
those outside the county who find out about it). Dwarves and humans will also have a keen
economic interest in the area as well.
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