AD&D FR-Ruins of Adventure.pdf

Ruins of Adventure

CREDITS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Writing: Mike Breault, David Cook, Jim

Ward, and Steve Winter

Editing: Scott Haring

Cover Art: Clyde Caldwell

Interior Art: James Holloway

Cartography: Diesel, Dennis Kauth, and

David Sutherland

Typography: Betty Elmore

Keylining: Stephanie Tabat

Introduction .........................................................................

Civilized Phlan ......................................................................

Reconquest of Sokol Keep ............................................................

Kovel Mansion ......................................................................

Mansions ..........................................................................

Slums ..............................................................................

The Temple of Bane .................................................................

Delving Into Kutos Well .............................................................

Mantors Library ....................................................................

Stojanow Gate ......................................................................

Podol Plaza ........................................................................

The Cadorna Textile House ...........................................................

Valhingen Graveyard .................................................................

Valjevo Castle .......................................................................

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House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby

trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United

Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd. ADVANCED DUNGEONS &

DRAGONS, AD&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS,

PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the TSR

logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

Sorcerers Island .....................................................................

Zhentil Keep Outpost ................................................................

Thri-Kreen Village ...................................................................

Orcs ...............................................................................

Nomad Camp .......................................................................

Lizardmen Lair ......................................................................

Kobolds Kingdom ...................................................................

These adventures are protected under the copyright

laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction

or unauthorized use of the material or artwork printed

herein is prohibited without the express written

permission of TSR Inc.

Hobgoblins Lair .....................................................................

Random Encounters Section .................................................. .81

Forest .................................................................. ..82

Grasslands .............................................................. ..83

River & Coast Areas ....................................................... ..84

Low Hills ................................................................ ..85

Mountains ............................................................... ..88

Human Town Areas. . ...................................................... . .87

Unorganized Inhuman Town Areas ............................................. .88

Organized Inhuman Town Areas ............................................... .89

Outside Town Areas ........................................................90

Specials..................................................................91

Evil Specials ............................................................. ..92

Humans.. .......................................................93

Inhumans ............................................................... ..94

RandomMonsters....................................................95

Swamp ................................................................. ..96

TSR,Inc.

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TSR, Inc.

PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 0-88038-588-X

9238XXX2001

Ruins of Adventure is a module that

allows players of the ADVANCED

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game to

enjoy the same adventure as players

of the AD&D® computer game, Pool of

Radiance, produced by SSI, Inc.

Ruins of Adventure uses the same

plot, background, setting, and many

of the same characters as the com-

puter game. In fact, players of Pool of

Radiance will find useful clues to the

successful completion of their com-

puter mission in this module.

Ruins of Adventure is set in Phlan, a

small town on the northern shore of the

MoonSea in the Forgotten Realms.

Anyone running a FORGOTTEN

REALMS™ campaign will have no trou-

ble fitting this module right into their

game. While this module is designed

for beginning and low-level characters

who will grow in power as they take on

bigger and bigger challenges in the

ruins of Phlan, it is also flexible

enough to accommodate player char-

acters of nearly any level.

The module is divided into many

separate episodes, some taking place

inside the city of Phlan, and some

occurring in the wilderness around the

area. Some episodes are crucial to ful-

filling the ultimate goal of the

adventure—freeing Phlan from the

evil forces that have held it for 50

years—and others have no specific tie

to the goal at all, and are in the adven-

ture for a change of pace. Many of the

episodes will also lead off into tan-

gents of their own if the DM wishes to

develop them, giving a party of adven-

turers many choices throughout the

play of the module.

The DM should read through the

various episodes carefully. Also, pay

attention to the descriptions of Por-

phyrys Cadorna, Tyranthraxus, and

the various “stock” NPCs that appear

later in this introduction. Use these

NPCs liberally to encourage the play-

er characters to tackle the various

challenges of Ruins of Adventure only

as they become strong enough to han-

dle them. The PCs should not go after

Valjevo Castle first, for example, and if

they seem intent on it, find an NPC

that can guide them to an adventure

more to their initial level.

Many of the episodes in this module

can be lifted whole from the Phlan set-

ting and used in an ongoing AD&D®

campaign in a completely different

fantasy world. This is especially true

of the wilderness adventures.

So take the elements you like out of

this module, leave the rest, and struc-

ture an adventure that best fits your

preferences and your players. And

most of all . . . Have fun!

tary survivors straggling in to lose

themselves in the maze of the slums.

Then families arrived perched on

plodding wagons. They told stories of

neighboring villages set to the torch,

the humans slaughtered—or worse.

Trade dropped off. Fewer caravans

arrived. Fewer ships came to collect

the scanty cargoes. The merchants

were concerned. Scouts were sent.

They returned telling of hordes of

orcs, goblins, ogres, and giants doing

what they had never done before—

marching as armies with order and

discipline. It was the fear of their com-

manders, fearsome dragons, that

held them together. Towns closer and

closer to Phlan fell, the stream of refu-

gees increased. Cautious merchants

packed their goods and left. Greedy

merchants hurriedly amassed for-

tunes from the frightened people

while keeping one eye always on the

door. The Council fretted and fussed.

Some wanted appeasement, some

favored an army, and still others

poured money into the walls of Phlan.

But no strategy was ever agreed

upon.

When the armies finally came,

Phlan was simply not prepared. For a

day the Council watched the lines

drawn up outside the walls—ranks of

leering, skull-painted beasts dragging

obscene machines of war. They could

not surrender, for they knew there

would be no mercy from these

cohorts. Valiantly, but futilely, they

mustered their men. Their spearmen

were ready to meet the charge.

From the start of the attack, the

humans were defeated. They were

out-numbered, out-fought and out-

generalled. The first wave struck from

the air—wheeling flights of dragons

after dragons swept over the rooftops,

setting ablaze vast portions of the city.

As the flames licked over the chim-

neys, the attackers charged into the

trapped militia. The Battle of Phlan

was a massacre.

In 50 years, however, the dragon

armies have flowed and ebbed, leav-

ing behind pockets of despair and

desolation. These isolated domains

cannot withstand the unstoppable

Background

It has been 50 years since the city of

Phlan was a small but growing city on

the shores of the great MoonSea.

Trade sailed into to Phlan, past the for-

tress of Sokal Keep where the watch

scanned the sea for pirates, into the

small harbor at the mouth of the Sto-

janow River. Galleys, pinks, cogs, and

schooners came from the merchants

to the south, braving the sea to this

small northern port. Townsmen off-

loaded pungent spices, dark woods,

reptilian leathers, filmy cloth, gnarled

barks, hammered steel, veined

marbles—the riches of the southern

shores. From the north came thick-

bearded men—men of the bitter

plains, granite mountains, and icy

swamps beyond, leading caravans

burdened with silky furs, heavy wools,

rare ores, straight-beamed woods,

and the ivories of beasts long-

forgotten in lands further south. Slow-

ly, with patience and endurance, the

caravans plodded to Phlan meeting

others, friends in the dwarves of the

Dragonspine and elves of the Quiver-

ing Forest, foes in the orcs who came

from the Tweenhill gap or the reptilian

race of the swamps. In Phlan north-

man and southerner met, haggling,

cheating, lying and drinking. Phlan

was well on its way to becoming a

prosperous trading town.

And then the dragons and their arm-

ies came. At first the men of distant vil-

lages stopped trekking to Phlan. No

trader came back with tales of new

discoveries. The distant outposts

slowly disappeared. Then refugees

began to arrive. At first they were soli-

flood of human dominance. Men have

returned north of the MoonSea and

are determined to reclaim their lost

homes.

Such is the case in Phlan. Although

the city proper—its districts and its

fortresses—are still held by the twist-

ed offspring of the original conquer-

ors, good men have managed to gain

a foothold in the ruined city. Fired by

the feelings of destiny and progress,

they have set their sights on reclaim-

ing all of Phlan and restoring it to its

former glory. To this end, they are

backed by a new Council, a consorti-

um of the children of the original mer-

chants of Phlan and new, eager

speculators.

unknown. The location of the pool is a

lost secret, now only known to the

Boss. By now suspicious of the

motives of the player characters, Por-

phyrys leads his own band of adven-

turers on a mission to extract the

Boss’s secret.

However, reaching the boss is not

an easy matter. It is known that he

uses the fortress on the hill as his

base. The only landward approach is

heavily fortified—a small army would

be needed to penetrate the main gate.

Along the river, the ground rises in

steep cliffs (though not insurmounta-

ble). Worse than this, the Barren River

(once known as the River Stojanow)

prevents anyone from reaching this

side. This river is a seething current of

acid and poison. Somehow the water

is steeped in acids so powerful they

can destroy a boat (or person), even if

the deadly toxins don’t kill first. As if

these two were not enough, horrible

unknown creatures crawl the banks,

looking for prey. Until the river is

cleansed, there is no way to reach the

fortress of the Boss.

However, the Boss has not been

blind to what is happening. As the

player characters become more suc-

cessful, the Boss tries to organize bet-

ter defenses for the tribes under him.

When these fail, the Boss goes about

gathering new recruits. He makes a

point of having his agents avoid con-

tact with the player characters, if at all

possible. The player characters will

become aware of these movements

as they deal with those outside the city

and they pass information on to them.

In the final confrontation, if the party

succeeds in reaching the Boss, they

discover the evil leader is a Bronze

Dragon. However, bronze dragons are

not normally evil. Instead the poor

creature has been possessed by a ter-

rible and powerful being—the Pool of

Radiance was not all it was supposed

to be. When the dragon bathed in it

centuries ago, a thing lurking there

seized its mind. Boring into its skull,

the creature has controlled the dragon

and through it the forces of the city.

However, the creature is not immor-

tal and must find a new host quickly if

the dragon is slain. Thus, at the same

time as the player character arrives,

so does Porphyrys and his party. A

battle may break out. If the player

characters concentrate on defeating

Porphyrys, the dragon/thing will use

the diversion to escape. If the charac-

ters concentrate on the dragon, Por-

phyrys will try to stop them (since he

does not want the dragon killed). One

way or another, the spirit possessing

the Bronze dragon will transfer to

another character (Porphyrys, unless

he is defeated, or another non-player

character) and, in a massive demon-

stration of new power, make its

escape. The dragon, confused, will

continue to attack, believing (perhaps

rightfully so) that its life is threatened

by the player characters.

With their leader gone, the evil

inhabitants of Old Phlan will become

divided, disorganized, and easily

defeated.

The Plot Overview

The basic story is very simple. The

player characters are hired to help

clear the ruined city of Phlan of the evil

creatures that have overrun it. The

reward will be cash, although property

can be taken instead. As the player

characters begin the task of block-

clearing, they hear rumors and threats

about the “Boss” —the master brains

behind the uneasy confederation of

evil creatures. It is clear that this

“Boss” holds some special great

power over the goblins, orcs, hobgob-

lins, and others of the city, binding

them to his will. All of them speak of

him with hushed awe and fear, but

none know exactly what his hold is. At

the same time, Porphyrys, the son of

Cadorna the Cloth Merchant (one of

the old families of Phlan), becomes

curious about this “Boss” and the

source of his power. Using his position

on the council, he begins to send the

characters on different missions,

ostensibly to clear the city, but also to

gain secret knowledge for himself. As

the characters complete these mis-

sions, they bring back more informa-

tion about the nature of the Boss’s

power. Gradually, the son of Cadorna

(and hopefully the players) learn of the

Pool of Radiance. This pool suppos-

edly confers great power and leader-

ship on those who bathe in its waters.

However, the location of the pool is

Porphyrys Cadorna

Central to the story of the Ruins of

Phlan is the rise to power (and treach-

ery) of Porphyrys Cadorna, the last

scion of the Cadorna family. Although

acting primarily behind the scenes, he

is one of the central antagonists and

motivating factors in the adventure.

Given here is a complete descrip-

tion of Cadorna, both his abilities and

background. After that is a description

of how Cadorna would like to orches-

trate the reclamation of Phlan, and

how he will try to manipulate the play-

er characters and the other key NPCs

to get his way.

Porphyrys Cadorna

Normal Human

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 13

Constitution: 8

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 9

Charisma: 13

(Although statistics are given for

Cadorna, they should not be impor-

tant to the adventure. Cadorna never

advances in level, gains additional hit

points or improves his abilities. His

power is measured more in influence

and importance on the Council and in

the resources he has at his disposal.)

their wealth with them to live in com-

fort elsewhere. The rest they carefully

hid, thinking the hordes would shortly

pass and they would return. But this

was not the case.

During this exile, Porphyrys was

born and raised. All through his youth

he listened to the bitter stories of his

father—stories of the stolen grandeur

of the Cadornas, stories that made

excuses for Eugenia’s failures. Even-

tually his father and mother died,

poorer than they had been, though by

no means poor. Their dreams of

restored glory died unfulfilled. Thus,

Porphyrys has inherited their cup.

Then opportunity came as the

recovery of Phlan began. Using his

funds and the influence of the

Cadorna name, Porphyrys returned

and claimed a seat on the Council. But

it is a far cry from the old days. His

position is minor and his advice sel-

dom sought. Porphyrys is determined

to change all that.

clear the intervening blocks also. The

rest of the Council will offer other,

lesser missions. Cadorna will actively

support the player characters in dis-

cussions with the Council. His stock

with the other members will rise slight-

ly. If the characters have found infor-

mation on the Pool of Radiance,

Cadorna will become interested in

their faint clues. He will hire a thief to

steal any materials on the subject that

the characters may have.

Once the characters clear the Tex-

tile House, Cadorna will move in and

demand extra protection. This he gets

in the form of extra watchmen. These

watchmen quickly become a private

army and reactions to all strangers in

the area are unfriendly. He also

uncovers the lost family treasure and

begins to use it buy influence. By this

time he has moved up a notch or two

on the Council’s ladder.

By now, Cadorna is greatly inter-

ested in the Pool of Radiance and

wants to learn its location. Under the

guise of saving the city’s historical

treasures, he offers the player charac-

ters the mission to the Library. There,

they are to gather various books and

materials and return them to him.

Cadorna hedges his bets by buying

several NPCs in the town, such that at

least one new NPC in the player char-

acter party (if there is one) will secretly

be in the service of Cadorna. This

NPC is to make sure that nothing is

kept from Porphyrys and that certain

books are taken without the player’s

noticing.

After the characters have gathered

the information from the Library,

Cadorna decides he has no further

use for them. He believes he knows

the location of the Pool and now wants

any possible complications out of the

way. At first, he attempts to get rid of

the characters by having the Council

only post the most dangerous

missions—the storming of the gate,

the cleansing of the river, etc.

If these fail, Cadorna will hire a par-

ty of NPCs (of equivalent level to the

player characters) to track and kill the

party. To avoid being implicated, he

Hit Points: 3

Armor Class: 10

Weapons: A dagger is concealed

under his robes and another worn

openly at his waist as is common for

the time.

Equipment: Robes, brown or

orange in color, and a house in the set-

tlement. No magic items or other

equipment of significant importance.

Appearance: Porphyrys Cadorna

is a short, gaunt young man of about

22 to 27 years of age. His hair is dark

black, thick and straight. His cheek-

bones are well-pronounced and his

nose is sharp and pointed. His brilliant

green eyes sparkle with a keen intelli-

gence. When he speaks, he speaks

softly yet his voice is penetrating. A

sarcastic wit and urbane tone give his

words impact.

Personality: Here is a man not be

trusted, except that no one has fig-

ured this out. At his core he is grasp-

ing, venal, and obsessed with the idea

of achieving the glory his family once

held. Thus he has rationalized all

manner of excuses for the failure of

his family. The blame is always placed

on others; conspiracy and treachery,

he thinks, have robbed him of his

birthright. Outwardly he appears intel-

ligent yet lackluster, clever enough but

a lazy dilletante. Others consider him

harmless yet not perfectly trustworthy.

However, this fault they ascribe to his

lack of diligence rather than any direct

malevolence on his part.

Background: Porphyrys Cadorna

is the son of Eugenia Cadorna, once

master of the Cadorna cloth mer-

chants. Before the collapse of Phlan,

the Cadornas had been masters of the

leading cloth guild. But even by the

time of Eugenia, their power had been

on the wane for some time. Then

came the invading armies. Eugenia

and his family fled, taking enough of

Cadorna’s Plan

When the characters first approach

the council, Porphyrys holds the least

significant position.

Porphyrys’ first ambition is to regain

the lost fortune of the Cadorna family.

He must find strong and capable

adventurers who can do the job for

him. He supports the missions of the

Council as a way of testing applicants.

The first mission of significance to him

is the clearing of Sokal Keep. If player

characters accomplish this, other mis-

sions (that meet his ambitions) will be

offered. If the player characters return

to the Council without clearing the

island, he will be quite sarcastic and

galling (“So, a bunch of frogs were

just too much for you?,” etc.). He

votes against allowing any more mis-

sions to the PCs until the island and

keep are cleared.

Once the characters clear the keep,

Porphyrys will decide they are capa-

ble of tackling the Textile House. This

mission will be offered, with the stipu-

lation that payment will not come until

the block is settled and not before.

Therefore the characters will have to

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