D&D Forgotten Realms Lost Empires of Faerun - Secrets of Imaskar.pdf - D&D 3e Forgotten Realms - magh24

L OST E MPIRES OF F AERÛN W EB E NHANCEMENT

Secrets of imaskar

An Adventure for Four

6th-Level Player Characters

F ORGOTTEN R EALMS Campaign Setting —its magic,

its greatness, and its failures. The book also offers

invaluable tips for making a campaign world’s past relevant to cur-

rent events.

Secrets of Imaskar is a short D&D adventure for four 6th-level

player characters (PCs). This short adventure uses feats, spells, mon-

sters, and historical elements from ancient Imaskar. The action

takes place in far eastern Mulhorand, at the edge of the Raurin

Desert. In other campaign worlds, this adventure can be placed any

place where the ruins of an ancient empire might be found. As

always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit

to make it work with your campaign.

Preparation

You (the DM) need the D&D core rulebooks—the Player’s Hand-

book, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual —as

well as the F ORGOTTEN R EALMS Campaign Setting and Lost Empires

of Faerûn— to run this adventure. The information presented here

utilizes the D&D v.3.5 rules.

To get started, print out the adventure, including the map. Read

through the scenario at least once to familiarize yourself with the

situation, threats, and major NPCs (particularly their motivations).

Text that appears in shaded boxes is player information that you can

read aloud or paraphrase for the players at the proper times. Mon-

ster and NPC statistics are provided with each encounter, either in

abbreviated form or as references to the appropriate pages in Mon-

ster Manual or Lost Empires of Faerûn.

Some material used in this adventure comes from Complete War-

rior and Magic of Faerûn. If you don’t have the book in question,

replace the element with a similar one from a book you do have.

Additional Credits

Design: Robert Wiese

Based on Materials by: Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout

Editing: Penny Williams

Cartography: Dennis Kauth and Rob Lazzaretti

Typesetting: Nancy Walker

Web Production: Julia Martin

Web Development: Mark A. Jindra

Graphic Design: Robert Campell, Cynthia Fliege, Dee Barnett

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Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses

thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This material

is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.

Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork

contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity

to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.

This Wizards of the Coast game product contains no Open Game Content.

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System License, please visit www.wizards.com/d20.

Based on the original D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® game by E. Gary Gygax and

Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the D UNGEONS & D RAGONS game

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M ASTER are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Visit our website at www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms

L ost Empires of Faerûn details the ancient past of the

Unapproachable East Web Enhancement

Background

Adventure Hooks

As DM, you know best how to involve your PCs in an adventure.

Though this one comes to the PCs in the person of Jarval Keth, you

can use one of the following suggestions to draw them into the

action.

Mulhorandi and Imaskari ruins dot the landscape in and around

the area known as the Raurin Desert, which was once the seat of

the mighty Imaskar Empire. One such ruin, the fort of Maskana,

lies on the southern edge of the Plains of Purple Dust, a little

closer to the Dragonsword Mountains than to the Giant’s Belt.

This Mulhorandi fortress was built just before the fall of the

Imaskar Empire, to guard the Mulhorandi against incursions by

their former masters. Eventually the danger of such attacks

passed, and the fortress fell into disuse and then ruin. Over the

centuries, the ruined fortress has been thoroughly explored by

adventurers, scholars, and looters, who ferreted out whatever

secrets it may once have held. Now the site is nothing more than

a curiosity to most.

But one secret of Maskana remains undiscovered. The Mulho-

randi ruin was built atop an older Imaskari fortress that had

fallen into disuse centuries earlier. The ancient Mulhorandi

wanted to keep track of this location because it contained a

number of permanent extradimensional spaces that they hoped to

utilize someday. But in the chaos of the uprising, the old ruins

were forgotten.

The ruin is decorated with Mulhorandi pictographs in an almost

aggressive way, as if the people who built it wanted to leave no room

for Imaskari influence. One of these drawings, however, contains an

oddity that has gone undiscovered until recently. An explorer named

Jarval Keth recognized one of the symbols, which had always been

assumed to be Mulhorandi, as the work of the Imaskari. Excitedly,

he returned to Gheldaneth to investigate further. There he ran afoul

of Tyaral, a cleric of the dead god Bhaal, who sought a source of

power to help revive his deity. Upon hearing of the ancient Imaskari

image, Tyaral captured Jarval Keth and tortured him until he

revealed all he knew. Then Tyaral set off for the ruin to investigate

the explorer’s story.

Unbeknownst to Tyaral, Jarval Keth has escaped confinement,

stowed away on a ship sailing west, and made his way to the area

where the heroes are resting between adventures. Upon noticing

that he was gone, Sithena Tinzon, Tyaral’s chief inquisitor and

torturer, immediately set off in pursuit with three minions.

Through her powers of persuasion, she learned which ship Keth

had boarded. By hiring a faster one, she reached Keth’s destina-

tion ahead of him. Now she lies in wait to kill Keth as soon as he

surfaces.

• The PCs have heard rumors of ancient Imaskari magic buried

beneath the sands of the Raurin Desert.

• Jarval Keth is a distant relative of a PC and charges the group

with uncovering the truth of his find.

• An old enemy of Tyaral hires the PCs to investigate his activities.

Beginning the

Secrets of Imaskar begins as an event-based scenario and ends with

the exploration of a keyed site. The adventure begins wherever the

PCs are currently based. The events proceed more smoothly if they

are near the Sea of Fallen Stars, but you can make the necessary

adaptations for any area of Faerûn.

Faraway Land (EL 7)

Sithena Tinzon finds Jarval Keth as soon as he encounters the PCs.

Ideally, this encounter should take place at night on the docks or in

an alley.

The night is dark, and Selûne’s face is hidden behind clouds, cast-

ing the narrow streets of the port district into deep shadow. Sud-

denly, a man stumbles forward out of the night. He is still some

distance away when four humanoid figures move toward him in a

menacing manner. The man starts to run, and the terror on his

face becomes clearer as he moves closer. “The purple fort in the

east hides the secrets of Imaskar’s past glories behind the crescent

and the fox,” he gasps. “Don’t let them succeed. . . .” Before the

man can utter another word, his attackers are upon him.

Adventure

Synopsis

The villains attack as soon as Keth utters the word “succeed.”

Creatures : Sithena Tinzon and her three minions are all Mulho-

randi (Mulan) humans, as is Jarval Keth.

Sithena is proud and cruel. She started life in the streets and does-

n’t want to return there. In her youth, she embraced the worship of

Bhaal to ensure that she could treat others with the same cruelty

that she herself had been treated. She earnestly desires not to fail

Tyaral—not because she is afraid of him, but because she wants to

advance in power, and he is her means to that goal.

Because of the torture he has endured at Sithena’s hands, Jarval

Keth is mentally deranged and unable to communicate coherently.

He goes off on tangents easily, forgets important points, and speaks

in vague phrases. Only a heal spell can restore his sanity at this

point.

Just as Jarval Keth makes contact with the PCs, forces loyal to

Tyaral attack the explorer. Whether he dies in the encounter or not,

Keth passes on a clue about his find. If the PCs wish to investigate,

they must travel east to Mulhorand and investigate the strange pic-

tograph that Keth described. At Maskana, they find the secret door

into the older Imaskari ruin, fight several ancient creatures, and

confront Tyaral just as he unearths an ancient Imaskari artifact

that has lain hidden for centuries.

Adventure

A. Death in a

Unapproachable East Web Enhancement

D Jarval Keth: Male human (Mulan) expert 4; CR 3; Medium

humanoid; HD 4d6–4; hp 13; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 11, touch 11,

flat-footed 10; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; Atk or Full Atk +3 melee (1d3,

unarmed strike); AL LG; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 10, Dex

12, Con 8, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 13.

Skills and Feats: Decipher Script +10, Gather Information +4,

Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (architecture and engineering)

+10, Knowledge (geography) +10, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowl-

edge (Mulhorand local) +10, Knowledge (religion) +10, Search +12,

Survival +9; Great Fortitude, Investigator, Track.

Possessions : None of value.

D Sithena Tinzon: Female human (Mulan) rogue 2/cleric 4 of

Bhaal; CR 6; Medium humanoid; HD 2d6 plus 4d8; hp 25; Init +6;

Spd 20 ft.; AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19; Base Atk +4; Grp +5; Atk

or Full Atk +6 melee (1d8+1, masterwork heavy mace) or +6 ranged

(1d8/19–20, light crossbow); SA rebuke undead 6/day, (+3, 2d6+7,

4th), sneak attack +1d6; SQ trapfinding; AL LE; SV Fort +5, Ref

+7, Will +7; Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 16.

Skills and Feats: Balance –1, Bluff +10, Diplomacy +16, Heal +6,

Intimidate +14, Jump –14, Knowledge (Mulhorand local) +6,

Knowledge (religion) +5, Search +6, Sense Motive +7, Spot +7,

Tumble +2*, Use Magic Device +8, Use Rope +7; Improved Initia-

tive, Persuasive, Servant of the Fallen**, Spell Focus (divination).

* Cannot tumble in her armor.

**New feat from Lost Empires of Faerûn.

Sneak Attack (Ex): Sithena deals 1d6 extra points of damage on

any successful attack against flat-footed or flanked targets, or

against a target that has been denied its Dexterity bonus for any

reason. This damage also applies to ranged attacks against targets up

to 30 feet away. Creatures with concealment, creatures without dis-

cernible anatomies, and creatures immune to extra damage from

critical hits are all immune to sneak attacks. Sithena may choose to

deliver nonlethal damage with her sneak attack, but only when using

a weapon designed for that purpose, such as a sap (blackjack).

Trapfinding (Ex): Sithena can find, disarm, or bypass traps with

a DC of 20 or higher. She can use the Search skill to find, and the

Disable Device skill to disarm, magic traps (DC 25 + the level of the

spell used to create it). If her Disable Device result exceeds the trap’s

DC by 10 or more, she discovers how to bypass the trap without trig-

gering or disarming it.

Cleric Spells Prepared (caster level 4th): 0— cure minor wounds

(2), detect magic, light, resistance; 1st— command (DC 13), cure light

wounds, doom (DC 13), faith healing ( Magic of Faerûn ), inflict light

wounds D (DC 13); 2nd— cure moderate wounds, death knell D

(DC 14), sound burst (DC 14), zone of truth (DC 14).

D: Domain spell. Deity: Bhaal. Domains: Death (death touch

1/day, damage 4d6), Destruction (smite 1/day, +4 on attack, extra +4

damage).

Possessions : +1 full plate armor , masterwork heavy mace, light

crossbow with 20 bolts, cloak of resistance +1 , wand of cure light

wounds , wand of ray of resurgence MF , silver holy symbol of Bhaal,

religious robes, 104 gp.

D Thugs (3): Male or female human (Mulan) warrior 2; CR 1;

Medium humanoid; HD 2d8+4; hp 13; Init +1; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17,

touch 11, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +2; Grp +4; Atk or Full Atk +5

melee (2d4+3/18–20, masterwork falchion) or +3 ranged

(1d8/19–20, light crossbow); AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1;

Str 15, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Climb +2, Intimidate +2, Jump –10, Ride +6,

Swim –3; Dodge, Lightning Reflexes.

Possessions : +1 breastplate , masterwork light shield, masterwork

falchion, light crossbow with 10 bolts, travel clothes, 2 potions of

cure light wounds

Tactics : Sithena Tinzon and her minions reach the PCs just after

Keth blurts out his garbled message, and they attack him

immediately. They have no reason to attack the PCs unless they try

to intervene. Sithena uses death knell on Keth as soon as he falls

unconscious.

Development : If Keth dies, Tinzon tries to cut off his head,

intending to take it back to Mulhorand with her. If the PCs manage

to slay the attackers, they can easily discern that all four are Mul-

horandi by searching their personal possessions. If Keth survives this

encounter and his sanity is restored, he can reveal the information

he knows (see Adventure Background), and he asks the PCs to

accompany him to the ruins and help him explore his new find.

Troubleshooting : If your PCs are not interested in going to Mul-

horand to investigate this lead, Tyaral soon discovers what happened

to Sithena. He decides to make an example of those who slew his

trusted lieutenant, so he sends wave after wave of attackers to kill

the PCs. If you choose this method, you may have to alter the end

of the adventure a bit by giving Tyaral a fortified position and some

minions at the ruins of Maskana.

B. Finding the Path

The PCs’ trip to Mulhorand proceeds without incident provided that

Sithena Tinzon is dead. If she escaped, she attacks them again—

either on the way or upon their arrival, as you choose.

Jarval Keth did not tell the PCs where to start their search; he

described only their final goal. Since the central section of Mulho-

rand is sparsely populated with rural folk, the characters’ best

chance of learning any helpful information in his absence is in one

of the coastal cities. The most likely choices are Skuld and Ghel-

daneth, but the PCs might also want to visit Neldorid.

In any of these cities, the PCs can learn about the general history

of the region (as described in Lost Empires of Faerûn ) and the loca-

tions of known ruins. Plenty of records exist on both topics, so find-

ing the locations of the six known ruined forts in the Plains of

Purple Dust region (and of at least fifteen other suspected ruin sites)

is an easy task (Gather Information DC 10). Acquiring any other

information requires considerable digging. Anyone the PCs ask about

such an issue directs them to the Great University at Gheldaneth

(see encounter C).

University at

Gheldaneth

The best source of information about Maskana is Gheldaneth, where

Jarval Keth performed his research before he was abducted. Ghel-

daneth is the site of the Great University, which houses detailed his-

torical records and other materials relating to ancient Mulhorand.

It was here that Jarval Keth performed his follow-up research after

finding the Imaskari image.

PCs who manage to talk to someone at the university about Keth

(Diplomacy DC 20 because they are not members) discover that he

was interested in specific Imaskari images and was poring over old

records of them before he disappeared. If they request the materials

that he was studying and peruse them carefully (Search DC 15), they

can find the ancient Imaskari representations of crescent moons and

foxes, and even compare them to Mulhorandi images of the same

subjects. The Imaskari and Mulhorandi representations are very

C. The Great

Unapproachable East Web Enhancement

similar, but slight differences make them distinct from one another.

Careful perusal of these records combined with knowledge of the

area (Gather Information or Knowledge [Mulhorand local] DC 18)

also reveals which ruin Keth must have visited most recently.

A good line of questioning coupled with a DC 20 Intimidate check

or a DC 15 Diplomacy check reveals that Anheris saw Jarval Keth

hanging around the temples trying to talk with the priests. He

doesn’t know the subject of these discussions, but he’s sure the man

was up to no good. In addition, on the day that Keth disappeared,

Anheris saw him in the company of a man who had a very pale,

almost skull-like face. Jarval seemed uncomfortable in the man’s

company, but he didn’t call for any help.

Asking about Keth at the temples he visited produces no new

information. The priests know only that Keth was interested in

Imaskari religious imagery, and they didn’t have any samples avail-

able. They all recommended that he try the Great University.

D. The Mean Drunk

Mulhorand is a class-based society, and tensions flare readily

between people of different social standing. Adventurers rank near

the bottom, at about the same level as grave robbers, and the bureau-

crats tend to treat them accordingly. While the PCs are in a tavern

one night, they are accosted by a drunken bureaucrat who wants to

vent some aggression he has built up over family problems.

Upon entering the establishment, the PCs see a group of bureau-

crats drinking liberally, as if in celebration. They don’t want com-

pany—especially that of adventurers and foreigners—so they rudely

rebuff any PCs who try to join them. As the evening progresses, the

bureaucrats become more and more drunk, and their mood slowly

changes from happy to angry. Read or paraphrase the following

aloud when the confrontation occurs, adapting the text as needed if

the PCs actually hail from Mulhorand.

E. Guide Through

When the PCs are ready to travel into the desert in search of the

ruin that Keth visited, they may want to hire a guide to lead them.

They don’t really need one, but if they have not traveled in this

region before, they may want to take the precaution of hiring one,

since getting lost in this country is quite dangerous. Most guides

won’t venture into the Plains of Purple Dust at all, but a DC 15

Diplomacy or Gather Information check produces the name of a

man who is willing to take them there.

Creatures: Museris, a guide who regularly braves the Plains of

Purple Dust, is a normal human (Mulan) male. Though he is the son

of a soldier, he chose not to enter the army himself because he dis-

agreed with the pharoah’s plans for expansion. Instead, he traveled

north to Aglarond, where he learned about the wilderness. After

returning to Mulhorand, he spent years learning how to survive in

the dusty deserts of his homeland, and now he makes his living

exploring ruins and ancient sites where others fear to tread and guid-

ing clients through places of danger. He charges 100 gp per week,

plus expenses.

Museris is practical and competent, but he always thinks he is

right and tends to belittle the opinions of others—until they are

proven right. He is not afraid of traveling into the desert, but he has

explored the ruin that the PCs are interested in and is sure that noth-

ing of interest remains there.

If the PCs are attacked while in the company of their guide,

Museris fights beside them until his life is really threatened. At that

point, he retreats, but he won’t leave the PCs to die.

D Museris: Male human (Mulan) ranger 4; CR 4; Medium

humanoid; HD 4d8+8; hp 30; Init +2; Spd 30 ft., AC 17, touch 12,

flat-footed 15; Base Atk +4; Grp +5; Atk or Full Atk +3 melee

(1d8+1/18–20, Large masterwork scimitar) and +4 melee

(1d6/19–20, masterwork short sword) or +6 ranged (1d8+1/ 3,

composite longbow [+1 Str bonus]); SQ animal companion (light

horse), favored enemy humans +2, wild empathy +3; AL CG; SV

Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +1; Str 13, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 11,

Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Hide +8, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge

(nature) +9, Listen +7, Move Silently +8, Spot +7, Survival +10;

Endurance B , Monkey Grip*, Skill Focus (Survival), Track B , Two-

Weapon Fighting B , Weapon Focus (scimitar).

*Feat from Complete Warrior.

Animal Companion (Ex): Museris has a light horse as an animal

companion. The companion’s abilities and characteristics are sum-

marized on page 273 of the Monster Manual.

Animal Companion Benefits (Ex): Museris and his horse enjoy

the link and share spells special qualities.

“Grave-robbing foreigners, that’s what you are!” says one of the

drunken men in a loud voice. “You heard me! My slave is better

than you are, you filthy outlander!” Three other men gather

behind the speaker, but whether they intend to support him or

restrain him is not clear.

The speaker, Anheris, is angry and frustrated with life. Because of

his dour mood, he is determined to provoke a fight, even though he

knows he’s likely to spend the night in jail for it. Once combat

begins, Anheris’s three companions join in on his side.

Creatures : Anheris and his friends are normal Mulan humans.

Anheris is a bureaucrat in the temple of Anhur, and the family trou-

bles he is having right now have put him in a bad mood. He doesn’t

hate the PCs specifically; they are just convenient targets for his

wrath.

D Anheris: Male human (Mulan) expert 3; CR 2; Medium

humanoid; HD 3d6+3; hp 13; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 12, touch 12,

flat-footed 10; Base Atk +2; Grp +2; Atk or Full Atk +2 melee (1d3,

unarmed strike); AL LG; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +4; Str 10,

Dex 14, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +2 (+4 when appraising woodworking),

Bluff +5, Craft (woodworking) +11, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +1,

Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (Mulhorand local) +8, Knowl-

edge (religion) +8, Listen +7, Sense Motive +7, Spot +7; Dodge,

Improved Unarmed Strike, Skill Focus (Craft [woodworking]).

Possessions : None of importance.

D Anheris’s Friends (3): Male and female human (Mulan)

expert 2; CR 1; Medium humanoid; HD 2d6+2; hp 9; Init +0;

Spd 30 ft.; AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10; Base Atk +1; Grp +1; Atk

or Full Atk +1 melee (1d3, unarmed strike); AL LG; SV Fort +1,

Ref +0, Will +4; Str 10, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 11.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +6 (+8 when appraising woodworking),

Bluff +5, Craft (woodworking) +9, Diplomacy +2, Intimidate +2,

Jump +5, Knowledge (Mulhorand local) +6, Listen +8, Search +6,

Spot +8; Alertness, Skill Focus (Craft [woodworking]).

Possessions : None of importance.

Development : If this encounter takes place in Gheldaneth,

Anheris has information of value to the PCs. Should they win the

battle without killing the woodworker, they can interrogate him.

(EL 5)

the Wilderness

Unapproachable East Web Enhancement

Link (Ex): Museris can handle his horse as a free action. He also

gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and

Handle Animal checks made regarding his horse.

Share Spells (Ex): Museris may have any spell he casts on him-

self also affect his animal companion if the latter is within 5 feet at

the time. He may also cast a spell with a target of “You” on his

animal companion.

Favored Enemy (Ex): Museris gains a +2 bonus on his Bluff,

Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these

skills against humans. He gains the same bonus on weapon damage.

Possessions : +1 chain shirt , masterwork falchion, masterwork

short sword, composite longbow (+1 Str bonus) with 20 arrows,

wand of cure light wounds (31 charges), wand of endure elements

(24 charges), two weeks’ rations for self and horse, tent, cooking

equipment, maps of Mulhorand.

F1. The Secret Way

into Old Imaskar

The secret door into the Imaskari sublevel is marked on the map.

The Search DC to locate it is 30 for a character who has already

found the Imaskari image or 40 for one who has not.

A character who has found the secret door must make a DC 25

Search check to locate the opening mechanism because fallen stones

have concealed the trigger stone from view. The DC is 40 for a char-

acter who doesn’t know the secret door is there. Taking 20 on this

check also requires a full hour.

F2. The Desert Creature

(EL 6)

While the PCs are searching the ruins, some creatures of the ancient

desert enter the area in search of food.

Creatures : The four giant whip scorpions that have come here to

hunt are covered in purple dust, so they look like bizarre, purple

scorpions. These creatures live in colonies in the Plains of Purple

Dust, where they harry travelers and serve as snacks for the drag-

ons dwelling there.

D Giant Whip Scorpions (4): hp 30 each; see Lost Empires of

Faerûn , page 160.

Tactics : The giant whip scorpions attack immediately because

they are hungry. Like any other mindless creatures, they simply

attack anything that appears edible until it is dead, and then they

eat it if no other obvious dangers are threatening them. They may

attempt to drag a dead PC into the desert where they can consume

the corpse in peace, since they have no reason to fight all the PCs

once they have secured a meal.

F. The Ruins,

The trip to the ruins can be without incident, or you can present the

PCs with random desert and plains encounters along the way.

The ruin known as Maskana was once a Mulhorandi outpost built

into the side of a flat hill at the edge of the Plains of Purple Dust.

An Imaskari fortress once covered the whole hilltop, but the Mul-

horandi destroyed it early in their uprising, tearing it down to the

very ground. The former slaves then built their own fortress against

the side of the hill, facing east toward the Imaskari capital city. The

reason for its placement was twofold: to guard against the Imaskari,

and to block access to the hidden sublevel of the ruined Imaskari

fortress. One of the fort’s towers rose above the hilltop, providing a

good view of the surrounding area. Eventually, this fortress fell into

disuse, and the Plains of Purple Dust wore it away to ruin.

G. The Ruins,

Walls

Crumbling walls no more than 3 feet high mark where Maskana’s

outer walls once stood. Hewn purple stones from these walls have

fallen into the central courtyard, where they now lie half-buried in

the dust. The interior structures, built in haste from wood rather

than stone, have disintegrated completely.

The only wall that now stands more than 3 feet high is the back

one, which is braced against the hillside. All of the interior wall sur-

faces are covered with faded religious and cultural imagery common

to the Mulhorandi of ancient times. These symbols are all recog-

nized as Mulhorandi today, even though many of them have several

variants. (For example, at least four fox depictions, each a little dif-

ferent from the others, decorate the walls, and all are thought to be

Mulhorandi.). A successful DC 30 Search check (or DC 20 for PCs

who have spent time researching symbols at the Great University)

is required to locate the Imaskari fox-and-crescent image that Jarval

Keth found. A character can take 20 on these checks, but doing so

requires an hour of searching rather than the usual 2 minutes

because of the chaotic nature of the ruins. The symbol in question is

on the back wall among various Mulhorandi symbols placed here to

ward against threats from the old Imaskari ruins within the hill.

The Imaskari symbol stands for the Artificers’ Guild and marks the

secret door leading into the hill (encounter F1).

Nothing else of interest remains in the ruins of the Mulhorandi

fortress, since they were explored and looted long ago.

Lower Level

The secret door opens on a hallway leading into darkness. This sec-

tion of the ruins appears much older than the surface structures and

is in fact about 3,500 years old. The walls are built of purple stones

hewn in the same manner as those in other Imaskari ruins, and they

are in excellent condition because they have been spared the rigors

of weather for all these centuries. The corridor is unlit, and the tem-

perature is a constant 51 degrees Fahrenheit. All spaces within this

underground complex are 10 feet high unless otherwise specified in

a particular area description.

This sublevel once lay beneath an Imaskari fortress atop the hill.

The belowground portion was an Imaskari research facility where

artificers investigated the abilities of unusual creatures. These

researchers made use of several permanent extradimensional spaces

within the normally constructed rooms. Thus, some of the rooms in

the complex are larger than they appear and radiate strong trans-

mutation magic.

G1. Storage

Mounted on stands in this chamber are four suits of banded armor

and five suits of splint mail that belonged to the defenders of the

fortress that once stood above these ruins. The armor is in good

Top Level

D&D Forgotten Realms Lost Empires of Faerun - Secrets of Imaskar.pdf

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