In chapter 2 of Blood for Blood, part of the ongoing Sorcerer-Kingmaker adventure path conversion for Dark Sun, the PCs head out looking for information- and possibly revenge- from House Drelev for their cowardly attack on Siltford. The Hooktongue Badlands, a craggy and dangerous area to the southwest of the Stolen Lands, holds many challenges and foes which the PCs might run across.
Exploring the Hooktongue Badlands A. Collapsed Mine: A wooden mine head frame in the side of a sloped hill marks an old House Drelev mine site. It collapsed when a wall gave way and flooded the mine entrance with sand. A rich vein of silver lies several hundred feet below the surface, but tons of loose sand, and several vengeful dwarven banshees block access to the treasure. B. Giants' Cave: An old mekillot caravan has been torn apart and scattered about the entrance to the cave. Some enormous bones and shell fragments belonging to the mekillot are scattered around. A trio of desert giants dwell loudly within the cave, and their paranoia and xenophobia have led them to attack any travellers who pass by. C. Wyvernstone Ford: A cobbled stone ford once attempted to bridge the silt flow here. Built over two hundred years ago, it has settled and sunk in substantially, with little maintenance. Its two ends are marked with wyvern statues in Kalidnay's stylized aesthetic. D. Dwarven Ruin: This ancient dwarven ruin is detailed in Part 4. E. Cloudberry Field: This region holds a field several hectares wide of golden cloudberries, a semi-tart fruit used in pies, jams, and prized alcoholic drinks. The berries ferment in sunlight, making the field attractive to wildlife. This area usually attracts a random encounter roll, with a 35% chance that whatever creatures are encountered are heavily intoxicated, their mouths stained yellow with the berries. F. Slig Ambush: A war-party of 14 Sligs have laid an ambush in a canyon here, leaving the corpse of an elf (badly gnawed and very truly dead) curled around a half-empty water-barrel in the open as bait. They launch the attack with a shower of bone javelins, then close the distance, trying to flank and bring down their prey. G. Decayed Corpse: The remains of a long-dead Tyrian explorer lie partially buried here in a cleft. Most of their gear has rotted away, but they have fallen upon a finely-made shield (+1 enchantment) of stretched Hatori hide. The scale pattern is immense, implying that the beast must have been one of the greater variety, perhaps hundreds of feet long. H. Tembo litter: A twisting set of burrows houses a mated pair of Tembo, and their two juveniles. The adults are vicious and hardened killers, able to lure off explorers and take them by surprise with their psionic powers. Exploring this den could be lethal. I. Mastyrial Crevasse: A crevasse in the valley floor here is devoid of vegetation and littered with bones. The nearby stone outcroppings bear large scratch marks left behind by some unseen animal or beast. A trio of Desert Mastyrials make their home here, and the great scorpion-like beasts prey on anything in the area. However, they will flee if they are badly wounded, burrowing into the sand. J. Silt Flats: This area is littered with patches of still silt, and exploring the area risks an explorer falling prey to stepping into a silt hollow. K. Spinewyrm Lair: A narrow valley filled with thorny plants lies nestled between two sharp-sloped hills here, with a forbidding rock outcropping towering nearly seventy feet from the floor. This is the lair of a mature adult Spinewyrm that the local folk have named Speartooth. So far, it has eluded every effort from Fort Drelev to capture or kill it, and has killed no less than two dozen of its hunters over the last decade. Among the picked-clean bones in its nest are shattered and whole weapons carried by many of the hunters, including a magical Spear of Wounding. L. Haunted Vale: The entire northern area of the Hooktongue Badlands has a reputation for being haunted, but this particular stretch of jagged stones is the worst, and is known locally as the Haunted Vale. Rumours speak of how hunters and escaped slaves who stray too far into this vale hear voices calling out for them, and bodies found have often had their brains and eyes nibbled away but have left the rest of the body relatively untouched. In reality, it is the home of a Gaj which likes to savour the fear of its prey, sending small rocks tumbling and deliberately giving its victims red herrings to increase their panic. M. Fort Drelev: This area is detailed in Part 3. N. M'botuu: This is the home of more than fifty Sligs, having built themselves a very crude mud-and-rock fortress over a network of caves, littered with traps which they can all activate quickly and easily upon attackers. They are warlike and determined, and curiously, have no leader- all of the sligs communicate via local-range telepathy. They have Ka-Kekt, a Thri-Kreen, as hostage and/or food for later. He will communicate his thanks for being freed, if possible, and invites them to visit his clutch, if they have a chance. O. Hooktongue Badlands: The deep, shadowed canyons of the Hooktongue Badlands reach a height of several hundred feet in some places, and when the rare rains come, the canyons are awash with fast-moving, angry water. The canyons are said to be the lair of Hooktongue, an ancient Nightmare Beast which slumbers for years or decades at a time before awakening to devastate the lands around. Hooktongue still slumbers for the purposes of this adventure, but the canyons are far from safe- they are the home of gargantuan megapedes, large nests of antloids, and great crab-like chasmdevils. P. Bamboo Glade: This area contains a large glade of patchy bamboo and muddy pools, as well as a Cha'thrang, a great turtle-like monster which can fire spines into its prey and haul them back to be chewed with its large beak. Q. The Bad Scar: Some terrible event here has scarred the badlands here in primordial times, tearing through towering rocks and stretching across gaps, with a vast crater at its centre. The crater is riddled with the rubble of the rock towers around, forming lots of little nooks and crannies. Making her home here is the spirit naga Ngara, a voracious and avaricious creature with psionic charms and sorcerous power. R. Wild Inixes: A large pack of over twenty inixes roam the wastes here, led by one that is noticeably larger, with red colouring on its frills. They are wild, but could be captured and domesticated, with some work, and used for heavy cavalry. S. Chuul Lair: A rocky cave marks a steep hillside by the edge of the badlands, nearly hidden from sight by high scrubby bushes screening it from view. Four Chuuls make their lair in this cavern, the walls decorated with crude depictions of tentacled crab-beasts eating elves, formed of dried blood. T. Weird Water: A large, crystal-clear pool of water, easily a hundred feet across, is nestled in a canyon with a very narrow opening. At the water's edge is a Grey Render, entranced by the serpentine figure of water (a Water Weird, awakened by Nyrissa, the mad Pyreen) before it. However, if they are disturbed, the water weird 'instructs' the Grey Render to attack anyone approaching. U. Lily Patch: The azure lily is a highly sought-after, and incredibly dangerous, plant growing almost exclusively in the Hooktongue Badlands. This cluster of the rare flowers has five of them, each loaded with enough toxic pollen to permanently paralyze a mekillot. Someone taking the risk to harvest and develop the rare pollen could make a lot of money. V. Toqu'Nixhrat: A clutch of a dozen Thri-Kreen make their homes here. Although Thri-Kreen are generally nomadic, the Badlands offer sufficient nourishment for the clutch, but are dangerous, meaning they have formed a semi-permanent home of snail resin and the existing rock. The Thri-Kreen are insular and standoffish, but if they have rescued Ka-Kekt from the Slig castle M'botuu, they are welcomed as pack members and offered warm sap and food. Their clutch leader Toqu'Tekt is an aged warrior, and is familiar with the ways of city-dwellers. W. Hall of Bones: Carved into the rock of the badlands is a colonnade and wide opening, leading into the hillside. The wind itself is still and silent here, and the ever-present sand has been swept away, leaving the steps clean. The tunnel is masterfully-cut into the stone, and holds alcoves lined with dwarven skulls, stretching back into the darkness for dozens of feet before terminating in a cataclysmic cave-in. Everything beyond this point has been ruined, and thousands of hours of work, even with magical assistance, would be required to begin clearing this region. Walking calmly from the darkness comes a baroquely-clad dwarf with an intricately-braided beard, calling a challenge. This sister complex to the Dwarven Ruin at area D was destroyed in an earthquake centuries ago, although the dwarven Meorty that guards it has kept it as tidy as it could. It warns that trespassing is forbidden, and refuses to acknowledge even a modern dwarf as one of its race, lacking the signature beard and braided hair. If challenged, it summons up a magical axe and defends the complex with its blade and psionic powers, seeking to drive intruders out rather than slaying them, if it can. X. Desperate Refugees: A forlorn group of refugees who have fled from Balic have been making their way towards what they have heard is a kinder, gentler land - the PCs' settlement. However, their journey has met with disaster, violence, and horror- they have lost their wagons to accidents, their belongings to bandits, and six of them died only recently after an attack by an enormous Hydra. They are crafters, traders, and experts, and will benefit the settlement greatly if rescued. Y. Hydra Den: One of the most dangerous predators in all the Badlands dwells here- a 12-headed Hydra. The beast lies mostly submerged under warm sand when resting, which grants it a +10 bonus on Stealth. Z. Pterrax Nest: A high alcove hosts a nest of a half-dozen Pterrax, which wheel and swoop on prey if they spy it. With effort and magic, they could be captured and trained. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 18 December 2020. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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