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warlock of theston&cnSwnsA BIRTHRIGHT acfventure

for characters levels kIt r mu 10Written by Wolfgang Bauri Edited by Dan Wenger

Creative Direction by Karen S. Boomgarden• Art Coordination by Bob Galica] Cover Art by Roger LovelessI Conceptual Art by Tony Szczudloi Interior Art by Matt Cavotta

Period Illustration by Alyce Biicker-CosartGraphic Design by Dee Barnett and Renee Ciske

Mapping by Dennis KauthTypesetting by Nancy J. Kerkstra

Playtested by Carrie Bebris, Karen S. Boomgarden, Dave Gross, Bruce Heard,Duane Maxwell, Ed Stark and Dan Wenger

Thanks to Rich Baker, Liam Gallagher, Robyn Hitchcock, Steve Kurtz,Colin McComb, Roger Moore, Liz Phair, and Trent Reznor

TSR, Inc.201 Sheridan Springs RoadLake GenevaWI 53147U.S.A.

TSR Ltd.120 Church End

Cherry HintonCambridge CB1 3LB

United Kingdom

3110XXX1501ISBN 0-7869-0185-3

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, and AL-QADIM are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

BIRTHRIGHT, PLANESCAPE, MONSTROUS MANUAL, and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

© 1995 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English-language products of TSR, Inc.Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distribu-tors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of thematerial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc.

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table of contentsIntroduction & Designer's Note 3Background 3

Son of the Awnshegh 3The Gorgon's Bastard 4Adventure Hooks 6

The Death of Magic 6The Game of Kings 6The Treacherous Trader 7The Robber Baron 7

The Stonecrowns 8Goblin Raiders 8The Wandering Watchtower 8The Dark Road 11Meeting the Warlock's Army 13

War Cards 13Mountain Warfare 16

Trigger Events:Twisted Ley Line 16The Tempest 16The Hidden Citadel 16

Citadel of the Warlock 18Citadel Defenders 18Sieges 19Shadow Paths 19The Outworks 20Troll Dens 21Slag Heaps 21

The Lower Keep 21\ The Inner Keep 26, V The Shadow Keep 33i ' \ ^Waitjng T r e e 3 3

The Upper Keep 35The Bastard's Burrows 43

Earthquake Trigger 43The Temptations of the Wyrm... 55

Return in Glory 60Mhorien's Gratitude 60Cariele's Betrayal 60Tuarhievel's Indifference 60Five Peaks Alliance 60

Further Adventures 60Appendix 61

The Warlock NPC 61The Warlock's Spells 62Fhoimorien Giant 63Stonecrown Ogres 64

sidebars f4

The Midnight Cauldron 4 •The Elixir of Undeath 8Dark Road Encounters 14 tThe Warlock's Timetable 17

mapsWandering Watchtower 9The Dark Road 12Wyrmstone Citadel, upper level . . . 38The Bastard's Burrows 48

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introduction ™* backgroundW!r arlock of the Stone crownsBIRTHRIGHT™ adventure designed for3-6 player characters (PCs) of levels4-10 (about 32 total levels). At least one of thePCs should be a regent in the north of Anuire,and one wizard-regent is also required. Theaction takes place in the Stonecrown Mountainsnear Mhoried, the Five Peaks, and Cariele.

Notes are provided for using this adventure suc-cessfully with both lower-level (4-6) and higher-level(7-10) parties. Lower-level parties may approachthe adventure more than once, and may gain levelsbetween attempts. The adventure's open frameworkallows for more than one successful conclusion.

This adventure also includes trigger events tokeep the plotline moving if the PCs reach a stall.They are included in each section.

note from thedesignerw:"orking on this BIRTHRIGHT adventurerestored my love of high fantasy, astyle I'd gotten away from whiledesigning for the estimable AL-QADIM® andPLANESCAPE™ settings. Of course, just becauseWarlock is high fantasy doesn't mean that it's atypical adventure by any means. It rearrangessome of the basic elements of fantasy role-play-ing adventures. Why is Warlock of the Stonecrownsdifferent? Three reasons dominate.

First, Warlock can unfold over years of gametime. The long time span means that a party maybegin the adventure at mid-level, but finish it athigh levels.

Second, the Trigger events allow the DM tochange the pace as necessary. They also allow thePCs to pursue the widest possible range ofapproaches to completing the adventure.

First, unlike more traditional, linear adven-tures, the plot is open-ended and the story'sdirection is determined by the players. Forcing aparty through Warlock won't work. Don't try tolead your group around by the nose. Warlock cantell more than one story; let the players solve itschallenges their own way.

Most of all, this is your adventure to do withas you will. Modify it as necessary, ignore thetext if it doesn't seem right, and always, alwaysmake sure your players have fun.

Wolfgang BaurApril, 1995

ince the death of the gods at Mount Deis-maar and the furious bloodtheft that cre-ated the abominable awnsheghlien, the

Gorgon has plotted to found a dynasty to rule hiskingdom. Soon after forging his mountainousdomain, he selected a number of concubines tobear the progeny that would rule after him. Hischildren were horrible creations, being neitherentirely human nor entirely awnshegh. But soonthe Gorgon began to suspect that age alonewould not kill him.

In fact, like many awnsheghlien of powerfulbloodlines, the Gorgon is immortal—and immor-tal kings need no successors. In fact, his heirswho would never succeed to the throne weregreater threats than lieutenants. Something hadto be done, and quickly, before his children drewthe same conclusions.

As evil turns against itself, so the Gorgon sent hisassassins to seek out his various legitimate and ille-gitimate offspring and slay all that could be found.Most of the Gorgon's children were murdered thatyear, but a few—the cautious few—survived.

The Gorgon eventually ended his hunt; hisremaining bastard children may yet be useful asdistractions: Long years ago, the Gorgon'sarmies swarmed into the lands of Kiergard, Mur-Kilad and Markazor. Since that time, the Gor-gon's every move has been closely watched bythe rest of Anuire, and the awnshegh's chancesof a second surprise invasion are slim indeed.

Of course, the Gorgon has no intention of givingup his schemes to conquer all of Cerilia, but he ismuch too clever to make the next move wheneveryone is watching. Warfare, after all, is thegame of kings, and he doesn't intend to lose. Whatis called for, then, is a distraction. The Warlockunwittingly seems willing to be that distraction.

But if the Gorgon isn't careful, his distractionsmay become a much bigger problem than he everintended.

the son of theawnshegh

e early days of hisI ' ^ g y y) • rule, the Gorgon spent a

good deal of time hand-picking his successor. He fedsome of the youngawnsheghlien from birthwith his own hands,strengtheningthem

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with human flesh torn from prisoners, making themutterly dependent and utterly loyal to him alone.When they came of age, he made the creatures hisvassals, bound with magical chains of ice, shadow,and blood. Among these offspring, the creature hecalled the Drake served him best. But after thecleansing war, and when it had slain many of its sib-lings, the Drake grew rebellious, snapped its chains,and stole away to the deepest caverns of theStonecrowns to escape the Gorgon's wrath. TheDrake's days as a vassal were over, but it was not yetfree of the bonds of fear, and so it lived in darkness.

For long ages the son of the awnshegh hid, callinghimself Saeryk the Warlock and mastering the artsof invocation, realm magic, and manipulation of leylines that channel mebhaighl from the wellsprings ofmagical power into the mage's hands. He learned toassume his namesake's half-draconic form and wentout seeking brides and concubines. In the fullness oftime the Warlock fathered children of his own,infusing his blood into the fhoimoriens, creatingfhoimorien warlocks (all of them his sons) and giv-ing them a taste of magical power. The orogs grew toworship the Warlock as a god, sacrificing their plun-der to him and turning to him for protection in thedark times, when human and dwarf armies forcedthem to hide deep under the earth.

The Warlock was not like his followers, formore than he feared the armies of men, the War-lock feared that the Gorgon might discover hishiding place and seek his destruction. The orogsdug deep into the mountain, driven by the War-lock's fears. With the stone they quarried fromthe depths they built the Wyrmstone Citadel, aspiralling, twisting keep high in the mountainscalled the Stonecrowns.

the j 2bastard

aeryk is a powerful warlock, a master thief,and a regent with a bloodline strong enoughto rival the. raw power of the true dragons,

living creature; but he and the Gorgon knowshis true parentage, though the goblins of the

Five Peaks know a part of the truth; they1 say Saeryk was the Gorgon's pet dragon,> but he escaped (not so far from the

truth, though goblin literalminded-ness makes the Drake a true

dragon). Others claim that, ?i he is a bastard the Gor-

i gon's dragon siredon some suc-

cubus, orit

he is neither dragon nor human, but simply theresult of a foul magical experiment—a sort of hor-ribly enhanced homonculus.

As far as the PC regents are concerned, itshould matter little who sired Saeryk. What shouldmatter is that he is cruel, ruthless and strongenough to storm out of the Stonecrowns when hisplans are ripe. And the time is drawing nigh.

the midnightcauldronTo help achieve his dreams of conquest, rap-ine, and slaughter, the Gorgon commandedhis twisted smiths, the dwarves of Mur-Kilad,to create a source of power for him, a vessel tosteal and hold the very power of the landitself. After long years and the sacrifice ofmany virgin souls, the master smith of thedwarves of Mur-Kilad presented the MidnightCauldron, and the Gorgon was well pleased.The Gorgon gave the Cauldron to his son,who risked his life to take it with him when hefled his father's home. None know the extentof its powers, but after years of study has theWarlock learned to use it. He keeps it hiddenin his mountain domain, fearful that the Gor-gon will track it down and demand its return.

The Midnight Cauldron is an enormous vat,10 feet in diameter and fully 5 feet high, andcarved from top to bottom with tarnishedmagical signs and disturbing figures of theGorgon and his armies with rusted highlightsthat seem hideously deliberate. The interior islined with a silvery mithral alloy.

The Midnight Cauldron siphons raw powerfrom the aqueducts of ley lines to itself, creating areservoir of mebhaighl. Source levels of all neigh-boring provinces and the value of all ley lineswhich cross through those domains are drainedby one level each, and the energy creates a sourcevalue equal to the number ofdomains and leylines the cauldron taps (in the Warlock's case,begin with a source value of 7 for realm magic).This reservoir of mebhaighl can either be used tocast realm spells, or it can be distilled into a pow-erful magical elixir that strengthens troopsbrought to it for a form of dark baptism. Theorogs call the Cauldron's draught the "DarkGift," though the Warlock simply calls it the elixirofundeath. The Cauldron can create enough ofthe elixir to baptize a number of units equal tohalf its source value per year, which is also howlong those effects willlast.

Using the Cauldron requires a domain actionroughly equivalent to casting a Realm spell. Itcosts 4 RP and 1 GB per company affected. It isan evil artifact, forged by the same magicalprocesses that animate the undead and, likethem, is tied to the Shadow World.

Anyone entering the cauldron when there isno elixir brewing suffers effects described inarea 74, below. Destroying the MidnightCauldron requires powerful magic such as acrystalbrittle, disintegrate, or limited wish spell.

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CoverWarlock of the StonecrownsTable of ContentsIntroductionBackgroundSon of the AwnsheghThe Gorgon's BastardAdventure HooksThe Death of MagicThe Game of KingsThe Treacherous TraderThe Robber Baron

The StonecrownsGoblin RaidersThe Wandering Watchtower

The Dark RoadMeeting the Warlock's ArmyWar CardsMountain Warfare

Trigger Events:Twisted Ley LineThe TempestThe Hidden Citadel

Citadel of the WarlockCitadel DefendersSiegesShadow PathsThe OutworksTroll DensSlag HeapsThe Lower KeepThe Inner KeepThe Shadow KeepWaiting Tree

The Upper KeepThe Bastard's BurrowsEarthquake TriggerThe Temptations of the Wyrm

Return in GloryMhorien's GratitudeCariele's BetrayalTuarhievel's IndifferenceFive Peaks Alliance

Further AdventuresAppendixThe Warlock NPCThe Warlock's SpellsFhoimorien GiantStonecrown Ogres

Back Cover