Fortress Layout

The Main Fortress

This fortress presented a little different challenge for setting up. It is located on top of a small elevated plateau, with access only from the sky and tunnels into the plateau. There is no entry gate, and no need for open space to move around the compound.
This meant that the outer walls could double as the actual main keep. There is a central tower where the head of the cult lives and works. The secondary lieutenants are located in the outer walls of the keep.
There are five spires rising high above the keep, four on the keep's corners, and one from the central tower itself. These spires are spiral staircases rising into the sky, with open roofs. The two buildings open at ground level into a surrounding courtyard. There are also catwalks connecting the roof of the main building and tower above the courtyard.

I still need to plan the interior and populate it. I think most of the inhabitants have been mentioned, but where they are and how they respond require some thought. There are also a number of alarms and silent defenses that need to be plotted and explained.

Cult Encounters

EN46			1367	8200
Monster	XP Value	Quantity	Multiplier	Total XP
Half-Red Dragon Veteran	1800	1	1	1800
Shadow Demon	1100	1	1	1100
Revenant	1800	1	1	1800
Hobgoblin Captain	700	3	1	2100
Winter Wolf	700	2	1	1400
EN47			2625	15750
Monster	XP Value	Quantity	Multiplier	Total XP
Orc	100	5	5	2500
Orc Chief	1100	2	5	11000
Orc Eye of Gruumsh	450	1	5	2250
			1	0
			1	0

These are built up based on a party of 6 characters, so the total 8200 XP for an encounter is worth 1367 per character. In the second encounter table, I added a multiplier (x5) to show the effect of taking a fairly modest battle group and using it multiple times. For this encounter, the point was to generate a generic cluster of monsters to use as groups in the warren of tunnels. These can be varied in number or quantity of certain types, but they are all barely more than faceless minions, and the encounter can be built using a stock set of simple creatures, that just keep coming and coming.

I wasn't sure what to use for cult members, but I think something like this is good enough. In my mind, they are a mix of half-orcs, humans, and orcs, so using an orc template is a good base monster. Same idea with the chiefs - they don't need to be anything specific, just tougher than the run-of-the-mill grunt types. And the Eyes of Gruumsh work as well as anything as generic spell casters. In the end, making up a base party for encounters like this is a quick way to put the encounter together, and keep it simple. 

The first encounter is the real encounter. The XP for the Revenant is included, but the party doesn't need to oppose him unless they choose to. I think that if both sides work together to get into the fortress, and achieve their goals, then they are entitled to the experience for making the cooperative effort work. There might even be a cluster of the second style group around as support within the fortress in addition to the big guys.

Aside

Don't have anything really much to add today, but I wanted to put something up. I've been starting to think about something to run for the upcoming Tomb of Annihilation release. We have talked about islands and sea-going adventures for some time, and this provides a stimulus to develop them.
I've started a quick encounter, just to introduce some of the aspects. I think that its important to look at trade between islands as similar to trade between towns on the mainland. The sea routes then become the roads connecting the island settlements. Finding reasons to stop at islands is similar to anything on the road - somewhere to spend the night, find fresh water, make repairs, trade with natives or a small village, etc.
Once you start having reasons to be on the sea, and putting in at the islands, it is easier to build an encounter from there.

Tidbits

I'd like to get back to daily updates (it is the blog title, after all). In fairness, I reached a point where I was feeling burnt out, and needed a break. I think the biggest trouble I was facing was that I locked myself into adding to this one encounter daily, so that when I hit a wall, it stopped me cold.

I need to feel comfortable adding generic dungeon commentary as well as information specific to this adventure. Of course, having a break has finally given me some breakthrough into how I want to shape this part of the adventure, so I may not need too much off-topic commentary for now.

I'm still only dealing in general terms, but I think I've got a good fix on what to do here. The guards can be pretty standard orc/bugbear types, although I'd make a good number of the half-orcs to better fit the motif. The acolytes don't need to be anything too developed. Both of these are mostly for stalling the party's advance or for fodder in a fight. They will only really threaten the party by force of numbers. I don't think any quantity needs to be fixed, just have 3 to 5 come at them, and keep coming.

The guards will be more specifically developed. They can be encountered individually in the wild, and that can have ramifications on how the encounter develops, but they don't necessarily need to be unique groups. I think making a stock guard party will be enough, then use as many as they encounter guards.

The acolytes should feature 2 or 3 prominent, higher level casters, but the majority can be generic. Something like Cultists, but I think they are too low level for this encounter. Mixing them into a larger group would work. I'm not sure what the bulk of them should be, I'll have to think about that and look at some numbers. Again, the idea would be to create a stock encounter group of 4-6 characters, and keep throwing them into the fight.

The point with both of these groups is to badger the party, churn through their resources, irritate them. Ideally, they get the point, and move away toward the fortress. These groups will chase them into the tunnels leading to the fortress, but only a small handful (one group, maybe) will pursue them into the tunnels. The guards will return to their posts, the acolytes will mill around near the connecting tunnel, attacking if the party returns. Gradually, they will thin out and go back to business.

Entering the Cult Complex

There is a main keep built on the island of rock jutting up alone from the valley floor. It is constructed on the site of the copper dragon nesting grounds, and is only accessible from the air. There is no gate in the surrounding wall. Access is from the air, or from underground. A tunnel connects the main fortress to the main warren of tunnels under the central spur. There I no tunnel connecting the central guard tower to either outpost on outer spurs. They open onto the hillside, but only the central tower is connected to the tunnels.

The warren of tunnels are the home to the acolytes and guards of the complex. The guards tend to remain close to the central tower, or one of the auxiliary ones. The main fortress is reserved for the primary cult leaders. The tunnel to the fortress is alarmed to alert those inside to movement through the tunnel. The courtyard around the central keep within the fortress walls is also alarmed in the same way.

As the party arrives at the mountain pass accessing the valley, they are noted, and followed quietly. A shadow has seen something in them that it hopes to use for its own benefit. The shadow is a Revenant seeking to avenge itself on someone within the complex, and needs the character’s assistance to enter. In return, he will offer to direct them as well as he can to whatever objective they have. As it turns out, the Revenant is seeking the head of the cult as well. He has no means of bypassing the alarms, but knows roughly where they are, and can point them out. Once inside the fortress, he is not aware of any alarms that have been set, but his innate abilities can direct him to the leader.

The leader of the cult currently is a Half-Red Dragon Veteran named Paul Kamina. His mother was Erin, and his father was our grand villain… polymorphed. Erin Kamina fell under the dragon’s spell completely, and became pregnant. She convinced Ran Tethrek to work with her to betray the rest of the party by suggesting some of them were in league with the dragon, and that they needed to eliminate them and open a channel with the copper dragons to avenge the deception. This is what they did.

When she gave birth to Paul, it became obvious that there was a deeper truth behind what Ran had been told. Erin set herself up in the main fortress with Paul and a small group of extremely loyal minions. Ran was left to organize the acolytes and train the guards. He only saw Erin on rare occasions, and Paul was kept out of sight and raised in private. Ran became concerned about the visitors coming to the fortress in secret, and the withering of the connection with the copper dragons. He began to question what Erin’s real motive was, and resent the role he had played in helping her.

Eventually, in the last five years, Paul emerged to assume full control of the cult, and began directing its movements across the mountains searching for relics and powerful artifacts, some dangerous to dragons, some lost benefits. The acolytes in the tunnels were barely tolerated, and treated as second class members, largely ignored. The main power of the cult flowed from within the fortress, and was reaching out its long, greedy tendrils to all corners of the north.

Ran heard the disgruntled rumblings of the acolytes and went to confront Erin. His movement tripped the hidden alarms, and he found Erin frail in her library. He burst in on her, intending to demand answers, only to find himself surrounded by a private guard and Paul. Paul tried to keep him from speaking with Erin, but he brushed him aside and confronted her. She seemed distant and unfocused. He asked for answers and she gave him stares. Paul tried to corral him and shepherd him from the room. He erupted in anger, shoving Paul to the ground and threatening him with a drawn blade. Erin came alert instantly in a powerful rage, and attacked Ran. He took the brunt of her fireball, which killed most of the guards, then lost his mind and savagely attacked Erin, killing her. As he turned to leave, Paul subdued him, and had him executed for his treachery. Now, his revenant seeks to avenge his death against Paul.

Erin had been under the sway of the dragon’s charms and so devoutly consumed by his rage, that she was not easily destroyed. Eager to live forever, she was in preparation for becoming a lich, and barely human any more. In fact, once struck down, the frail body disappeared, and her power and evil manifested itself as a Shadow Demon. She was violent and beyond reason, and locked in her suite in the tower, but still dangerous. Her chambers hold the secret treasure chambers, and much of the powerful items the cult has gathered. Paul either doesn’t know of these chambers, or is so convinced of his own physical presence and might that he cares not.

Roadblocks

I've hit one again. We're at the fortress of the dragon cult, and I stuck... I think there are three elements important to this scenario - the patrols, the tunnels, and the fortress. There are two main patrols supporting three guard outposts, one on each mountain spur. The tunnels hold the bulk of the acolytes serving the cult. They are a warren of lower level trouble, with more powerful leaders mixed in. The third key is the fortress itself. This is where the cult leaders are located, where their powerful treasures are located, and where there defenses are strongest.
I'm still unsure of what to use as the villains here. It seems likely they should be a series of NPCs, but I don't know if that is the way I want to go. I would rather have one or two powerful NPCs with support.
I had thought of orcs, but they seem too low level for the main enemy. I don't know what to use...

Inside the Dragon Cult

The origin of this enterprise lays with two figures, Ran Tethrik and Erin Kamina, half-orc and human. They founded a temple dedicated to studying the dragon, learning its ways, its strengths and weaknesses, it's style and technique in the air or in battle. The copper dragons felt a kinship with them, and fed them detailed information usually reserved for dragon-kin. They talked with them for long hours, shared secrets and relics of their treasure hoards, and fostered their spread.

As the years went on, the dragons because concerned that the cult was attracting orcs and other evil creatures more akin to red dragon worship than the good alignment of the copper dragons. This alarmed the dragons, and caused them to become guarded in their interactions with the cultists. Gradually, they settled into an unspoken truce. The cultists were content to keep their practices secret, and the dragons became content to sit high on the hills and watch.

That sets the backdrop for the evolution of the cult. The question, though, is what makes it up now? Are they human or orcs, or a combination of them and others? Another question on my mind is when this group formed (how long ago)? What happened with Ran and Erin, and who is in charge now?

Part of me thinks the cult works best as a group of human and orc types. They can be either, they can be any class, and various levels. Another thought, and this one might go too far, is for Erin to have become a lich or demi-lich, and still be in command. If I wanted to be cruel, Ran could be a death knight as well. I think both are too powerful, but maybe a lesser undead presence would fit.

Another thought would be for them to have had falling out... maybe she was seduced by the red dragon's power and hatched the plot to betray the party and win the allegiance of the copper dragons to get an artifact from them feared by the red dragon. He didn't see her alliance with the red dragon, and began to resent the change in her. She became more evil, he became more scared. Eventually they fought, and either he left or was destroyed by her. Some shade of him could linger in the hills or the fortress, an prove a boon to the party's success against the cult.

Overlooking the Complex

Without the assistance of the copper dragon, the party must locate the valley with the cultist' compound in it. The trail they are following runs to the northwest into the steepest spires of the Iron Teeth massed to the west. It is a feeder trail for the slaad, in particular, although other trade between the Iron Teeth and the giant strongholds of the eastern mountains has used this route long before the slaad arrived.

The valley of the cultists is not easy to find, but even a reasonable perception roll (DC15), or survival roll will note an eerie watchfulness to the north of the trail as the party passes the valley to its south. There is not a visible route toward the valley, they will need to move across country to get there, but the sense is palpable enough that they won't miss the valley, but making them roll until they are successful can give a location to send them into the valley from.

I think five points should be enough to be interesting (I'll add entry points to the map I sketched and include it again). The first point is early awareness, and allows choice over the first two points noted on the map. Successive rolls move the entry further along, with anything more than five bringing them to the final access point on the map. If the number of failed attempts is too great (say, seven or more), have them locate the final access point but at nightfall, rather than mid-afternoon. This will force them into the mountains at night, or to make camp before entering and exploring the valley, causing its own worries and a night encounter from something. All of which increases the chance of discovery and the likelihood of raising an alarm within the cultist complex.

Access point one brings the party into a high pass that gives them a chance to notice all of the patrols on the mountainside. They can then decide the approach they wish to use to enter the valley. They notice the regular guards on a perception (DC14) and the secret patrol on a perception (DC20). Survival can also be substituted for perception for anyone skilled in it. Access points 4 and 5 are on the far side of the valley, which has steep, difficult paths to negotiate. With successful stealth/survival rolls (DC20), they can avoid detection and reach the guard outpost on the isolated spine, but they still are separated from the main complex.

Camping beyond the Crossroads

The copper dragon will attempt to convince you to come with him to deal with the cultists. If the party chooses to fight the dragon, play it out. The dragon is reluctant to do combat with the party, but will assuredly defend itself. It will fight for a round or two, but then take to the air and fly off toward the northwest, denouncing the party as villainous and reprehensible for their actions.

The dragon will take to the skies angrily, and fly off to stew. Eventually, it will calm and shadow the party if they continue toward the cultists' complex. It will not interact with the party directly, but will try to protect their approach by intercepting any enemies along the way.

If the party decide to take the offer made by the copper dragon, it will agree to lead them. The dragon will take them a couple of hours northwest on the trail, and show them a secure location to camp for the night. If the party follows its' lead, they will not have any trouble in the night (the dragon hunts), and will awake fully recovered in the morning. Without the dragon's guidance, they will not find the secure location, and will risk discovery by passing groups in the night.

Two groups will pass by, first a trio of blue slaad making their way to the swamp. Have the slaad and any awake characters on watch roll perception checks. DC20 will notice the other group, DC10 or less will reveal a group's position whether they notice or not. The second group is a band of orcs on the hunt through the mountains. It is unusual to find them on the trail, but they are using it as a reference moving toward the crossroads, and will break away from it once past that.

The orcs consist of 5 generic orcs, and an orc war chief. They are actively scanning the area as they march, so a perception DC12 will reveal the PCs to them. The PCs can notice the orcs while they are still 80 feet away with a perception DC18. Otherwise, they will notice them within 20 feet, but not have time to awaken anyone prior to rolling initiative.

If either of these battles goes really badly, the copper dragon will sweep in to help win the fight, but will not stick around afterward for anything less than a truly inspirational moment.

At the Crossroads

After finally climbing up out of the last dregs of the quagmire passing for a swamp in the foothills of the eastern slope of the volcano, the faint traces of a path continuing up the exposed hillside toward the volcano can be found and followed. The slaad village pointed you in this direction, either from information gathered from them or from searching their remains. Ahead of you is a hundred mile trek up into the mountains, with the scarred, smoking peak of the volcano lying straight ahead. There are many ridges and difficult terrain ahead, but the way is clear and the land rises before you toward your goal.

The path appears to lead in that direction. Moving forward along it, you are able to make out prints indicating regular use, but they appear to be slaadi, with a few orc-like prints mixed in. After a couple of hours, you sense the trail is shifting slightly to the north. Before long, there appears to be a drop off to the right of the trail, and the trail itself appears to drop over it a few hundred yards ahead of you.

If the party approaches with caution, give them advantage on their perception rolls as they crest the ridge. There is a crossroads 500 feet down the hillside. The trail continues past the crossroads, but turns more directly north, and away from the volcano. A smaller trail crosses it, leading along the inner ridge of the valley more due west. To the right, it appears to drop rapidly down a steep hillside to the northeast toward the plain far below.

At this point, the party will have to decide where they wish to go. The information they gathered in the swamp suggests that they may be able to gain entry to the dragon's lair through a kobold lair located on the northern slope of the volcano. It also mentioned the presence of a cult of dragon worshippers in the mountains to the north of the volcano. A successful survival check (DC12) will believe the kobolds can be found along the crossing path, while the trail you have been following will lead to the cultists. There is evidence of heavier travel north toward the cultists.

Perception (DC16) rolls will reveal the presence of a lone figure huddled to the northwest of the crossroads in a curve of exposed ledge, apparently waiting. Undiscovered, it will hail the party at the crossroad as they decide which way to go. Either way, it will step forward revealing itself to be a tall humanoid, cloaked in a heavy, copper-colored cloak, drawn closely around its face. As it rises, it shakes off a great cloud of dust as if it had been waiting for a long time.

The traveler is actually a copper dragon disguised as a human hunter. It has been waiting for a party to come along that it believes can help its cause. It will approach with friendly, although guarded, intentions. It offers to treat the party to a meal and rest at its shelter a mile up the road and into the pines that are growing on the northern slope as it drops back toward the plain below. If they refuse, it will offer to lunch with them at the crossroads, though it cautions them about the risk of kobolds and orcs traveling along these same paths.

Unless it is directly attacked, the copper dragon will persevere until it has the party's attention. It will make it known that it opposes the red dragon, and would like to see it defeated or driven away. It will encourage the party to visit the temple of the dragon cult before heading to the volcano. The cult is dangerous and readying some action aimed at increasing the power of the red dragon, and must be stopped. The dragon will also mention that the cultists are in possession of an item that could be useful in helping defeat the red dragon.

Cult Backstory

Copper dragons and red dragons have long been adversaries. The copper dragons like the high hilly terrain west of Aron's Bowl, and have long lived within a broad valley sheltered within the high mountains surrounding it. Many years ago, two adventurers entered the valley as members of a party slaying dragons. The coppers had word of them, and hid in their caves. The reputation of the party was grim.

Erin Kamina and her best friend Ran Tethrek began adventuring as young people. Erin was in her thirties when she started out into the wild, a wizard finally out of the academy, and itching to impact the world. Ran was younger, mid twenties as far as he knew, a half-orc raised on the fringes of civilized society. He didn’t like to admit it, but he felt a touch of blood lust, and yearned to savage anything he could. He was not readily welcomed in most adventuring circles because of his looks and wild nature. Erin was often dismissed as old, and weak, and out of touch. They found each other, accepted their differences as a bond that couldn’t be shaken, and joined forces against the world. They quickly made their fortunes, and a strong reputation for success in their endeavors. Once shunned, they became sought after for adventuring groups. In time, the call came for a dragon quest. It was to change their fortunes.

The adventuring party had been making their way through the mountains, slaughtering any dragon they could hunt down. They had made a name for themselves coming up from the southeast, killing several dragons - white, blue, and if you believed rumor, even a gold. There was a terrible commotion in the volcano to the south of the coppers valley two weeks prior to their arrival in the valley. The coppers were hopeful they had driven the red off, and some hopeful that it was dead, when the party arrived in the valley. This made them slightly less cautious than they should have been.

Concern grew as the party advanced on a central promontory that had long served as a nesting site for the coppers. The eggs would be cared for their under the watchful eyes of coppers ringing the valley protectively from the high encircling hills. Three of the party advanced on the promontory while two stayed back. Suddenly, as the coppers were poised to come to the defense of their nest, a massive red dragon swooped down into the valley from the direction the party had come, and unleashed a cloud of flame that enveloped the three out ahead as well as the nesting area. A great cloud of smoke and flame hid the terrible battle from view, but in the end, the dragon rose and soared away, leaving burning carnage in its wake.

The two stragglers had taken cover, and hidden from the dragon's assault. Eventually, the coppers came down out of the mountains to assess the damage, and to unmask the two characters they had watched hide. The nesting site was a smoking ruin, and thankfully, had not been in use at the time of the attack, but the coppers no longer wanted anything to do with it. The two members of the defeated party, Erin and Ran, threw down their weapons and surrendered, begging to be spared. With their hatred of reds, and having witnessed the destruction of their nesting grounds as well as the party members, they took pity. Erin and Ran threw themselves at the mercy of the dragons, and swore off adventuring, asking to stay and learn from the dragons.

The coppers consulted, and thinking they could work together, offered to provide the two with a sanctuary to study in and be safe while drawing together the resources they needed in their study. They also suggested that a way could be found to avenge the loss of their party members and seek revenge in one last dragon attack against the evil red that had attacked them. They all agreed, and a fortification was erected on the promontory for their use. The nesting grounds were relocated to a more secure (and secret) location. The group sent out word and rapidly grew.

In time an unease grew around the coppers, as they began to suspect treachery among their new neighbors. They slunk into the background and watched. The cult grew and expanded their fortifications, mostly underground. They maintained a neutral external presence, but became more secretive. The coppers suspected their intentions. They also suspect the two made an alliance with the red to expose and destroy the rest of their party, gain the confidence of the coppers, and wait for a signal to trigger some trap against them.

The dragon cult have an item they will use against the copper dragons when the time is right to act, an item dangerous to any dragon. The cultists came to the area claiming to seek the coppers’ alliance against the red, though in fact working with the red to undermine them. The copper dragons are keeping a watch on the cultists - preparing to attack, waiting for the cultists to make their move. They both think the other is not aware of their motives. The coppers began suspecting the cultists’ true allegiance and have become watchful. The cultists have become increasingly secretive.

Dragon Effects

What are the lair effects of a red dragon, and how can they manifest in interesting ways?

Lair Actions (occur on init count 20) - can't use the same action twice in a row:
-magma erupts from the ground within 120' creating 20' high geyser with a 5' radius. DC15 Dex ST, 6d6 fire damage or half
-tremor shakes the lair in 60' radius, DC15 Dex ST or knocked prone
-volcanic gases form in 20' radius sphere within 120', lasts until next round, DC13 Con ST or poisoned until the end of its turn, incapacitated

Regional Effects - one or more of the following (fade 1d10 days after dragon's death)
-small earthquakes are common within 6 miles of the lair
-water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally warm and tainted by sulphur
-rocky fissures within 1 mile of the lair form portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire, allowing elemental fire creatures to enter

Ok, I seem to be developing the end game for this adventure path from the end back to where the party is. That is fine. Frankly, I think it is the best way to design any encounter or run of encounters where you expect them to play critical roles in the adventure. This is simple to explain, the essence is to create the monster, give them a home and a habitat, a reason to be where they are, then explain how they'll defend themselves. It creates a believable scenario, believable intelligent acting adversaries, and a playable defense for an encounter that matters.

The lair actions and regional effects are essential for properly playing the area approaching the lair. I've just pulled the info straight from the MM. I think I will tweak the regional effects to expand their impact. The following is a detail of the area in question.

I've left enough to the east to show the location of the swamp and the direction of the Slaad village. In fact, the party will probably pick up their journey at the red dot on the right, 100 miles from the volcano's peak.
The white cross is the actual peak of the volcano. The entrance to the dragon's lair is on the southwestern slope, with the entrance to the kobold lair on the northeastern slope. I've added trails that are likely in play (note that the Dragon Cult has no direct connection to the volcano or the kobolds. They are at the fringe and slightly separate, though I have decided how or why yet. I feel there should be something at the center red dot, fifty miles from the swamp to the peak. My thought is for the party to start toward the peak, divert to the cult, then return to the kobold lair to enter the mountain.
The kobolds have a warren of tunnels and dens, with a series of natural caves and tunnels through the heart of the volcano leading to the dragon's lair. I think any part of the mountain, at least under it, will be subject to the regional effects of the lair. The kobolds sit at the outer limit of this effect, and it is part of the reason approach through their lair into the dragon lair can be made without alerting the dragon directly.
I need to map the cult fortification complex, the kobold lair, the volcano, the dragon's lair, and create an encounter for the fifty mile mark. At least the game is closing in on completion. I think I need to stat out the actual red dragon, and the leaders of the cult. The rest of the areas can be stocked with more generic entries, although the fifty mile encounter should feature something specific rather than general.