Domain of the Dwarf King

A Tales of the 13th Age adventure for 13th Age characters of 4th level, in five two­hour sessions

By Aaron Roudabush, Ryven Cedrille, and ASH LAW

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About this adventure The adventurers find themselves caught in the dwarven stronghold of Ironvale when it is suddenly attacked by orcs. A beleaguered guard captain turns to them for help. The adventure is a mission of mercy that just so happens to coincide with the adventurers saving their own hides.

Credits Writers: Aaron Roudabush and Ryven Cedrille and ASH LAW With: Lawrence A Mignola and Ed Kabara Adventure Development, Editing, Maps: ASH LAW Executive Producer: Rob Heinsoo Art from the 13th Age Bestiary: Rich Longmore Art from the core 13th Age rulebook and 13 True Ways: Aaron McConnell and Lee Moyer Maps created using: Excel, GIMP, and Pro­Fantasy’s Campaign Cartographer.

Additional Resources Many thanks to Kendall Jung for creating pre­generated characters of levels 1­10 and hosting them on fan site Vault of the 13th Age Barbarian (Forgeborn) Bard (Half­Elf) Cleric (Halfling) Fighter (Human) Paladin (Human) Ranger (Wood Elf) Rogue (Halfling) Sorcerer (Dark Elf) Wizard (Human) Maps from this adventure and from previous adventures can be found here. Links to all published Tales of the 13th Age adventures can be found here.

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The Icons The Orc Lord has been uniting the belligerent orc tribes under his banner, through a combination of reawakened race memory, charisma, and conquest. He’s been drilling the orcs, training them, turning them into a unified force. General Gul, leader of the Red Flag Army, has got tired of waiting and has marched her portions of the orc horde south.

The Archmage knows that the orcs will destroy many of his wards if they are allowed to rampage. The odd orc incursion he can tolerate, but General Gul’s forces are headed right towards the hidden Blackglass Tower. The cloaking spells around the tower won’t hold if ten thousand orcs march past it.

The Crusader knows that if the renegade general continues unimpeded the Emperor will call upon him to march against them. He’s in the middle of a delicate military operation with his forces scattered across the area south of the Stalking Trees, he can’t just drop everything to deal with General Gul. A well placed strike force, or a team of adventurers, might save him a long march and many headaches.

The Diabolist is interested in General Gul, such a thirst for power opens the way to temptation.

The Dwarf King is being attacked by General Gul. He’s called upon ancient treaties, and the elves are on their way, but he needs help more urgently than the elves can provide.

The Elf Queen is bound by treaty, and is rushing to the aid of the dwarves. She is hesitant to commit fully to battle against the orcs, after all it was the elves that created the Orc Lord. She will provide what help she can, but needs to guard against tretchery from within and without.

The Emperor sees the start of his empire unravelling, or maybe just the first true test of his reign. Either way this orc army must be stopped. A band of adventurers might do the job of an army if they strike quick and true.

The Great Gold Wyrm has had recently paladins disappear in the Frost Range. The orcs are probably to blame. The gold dragon can not afford to have an all out war, not with already fighting off demonic incursions elsewhere.

The High Druid knows orcs to be despoilers of nature. The march of the orcs needs to be stopped before they burn or eat everything in their path.

The Lich King fears and respects the Orc Lord, as it was the Orc Lord that slew him. If General Gul wants to make a name for herself it is logical that she’d march to The Fangs and set sail for the Necropolis to try her strength against the ‘rightful’ ruler of the known world.

The Orc Lord is very angry. Ravenously angry. If General Gul goes unpunished it will encourage his other subordinates to rebel. Eventually the Orc Lord will lead his forces to victory, but they will march at his command ­ not General Gul’s!

The Priestess stands with the forces of light against the debased primal things that the orcs worship.

The Prince of Shadows is probably grinning to himself right now. As always his involvement is an unexpected twist. Who can say for sure which side he is really backing?

The Three have trade interests in the region, particularly in Ironvale. The Blue trades for water, said to have magical potency. Rumor has it that she won’t polish her scales with anything else.

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Previously in Tales of the 13th Age... How to integrate characters from previous adventures? Here are some ideas. Characters from Crown of the Lich King…

The Lich King’s agents have found you! You need to flee, and into the heart of the Orc Lord’s territory is the safest place… or at least the place where the Lich King is least likely to send his agents. They want the phylactery back! Ironvale is a nice anonymous place to lie low.

You have impressed the Lich King. The theft of the phylactery was an audition to see if you were worthy of acting as his agents in the frozen north. He has asked you to report to him the goings on with the dwarves and orcs.

The Orc Lord is amused at the bloody nose you have dealt his ancient enemy. Not that the lich king has a nose any more. The Orc Lord wishes to ‘reward’ you by giving you a quest to kill General Gul.

Characters from Wyrd of the Wild Wood…

The High Druid is grateful to you for helping to restore balance in the Wild Wood, and arranges for bards across the land to sing your praises. The dwarves of Ironvale invite you to come feast with them.

The High Druid is angry. Fleeing to the frozen north seems like a good idea. Ironvale is a good place to lie low for a bit.

Your investigations into the crash of the Darkskye prison show that orcs were on board with a glowing shard of something or other. The dwarves know a bit about magical treasure, and your investigations bring you to Ironvale.

Characters from Quest in the Cathedral…

The future that you saw a glimpse of involved a golden statue of you in the town of Ironvale. Characters from Shadowport Shuffle...

The Prince of Shadows left you with a load of orcs deep in the Bitterwood. You fled from them, right into the arms of a group of orcs loyal to the Orc Lord. Now you are working for one or both of them as a spy in dwarven lands.

The Prince of Shadows had you steal a diamond that controls a flying island that orcs crashed into the Wild Wood! The Prince of Shadows had you steal a flying ship that the orcs used to get to the cathedral and set up a portal to kidnap somebody important. It looks like the Prince of Shadows has done a lot of damage through you, now you must undo it.

The Prince of Shadows has a small favor that he wants you to do for him... Characters from Omenquest…

You returned the Darkskye Diamond to an icon, and they sent you north to keep Ironvale safe. You stepped through the portal and ended up in Ironvale just as the orcs attack.

Characters from The Folding Of Screamhaunt Castle...

You can not unsee the horrors of that night. You throw yourself at the first dangerous quest that comes your way. After Screamhaunt Castle you can face anything.

When you escaped Screamhaunt Castle you found yourself haunted by a spirit. Clerics of light can not do anything about it. Maybe heading to the far north can put enough distance between you and that accursed place?

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Starting with magic items… Characters may start the game with one magic item per adventure that they have completed. If they gained more than that then they have since lost them in battle or sold the excess magic items. If they gained less than one magic item per adventure completed then they have found some magic items in their ‘off­screen’ adventures. Additional benefits... Characters who went to the Necropolis in Crown of the Lich King gain +1 to attack halfling watchdogs and dwarven centipedes, as they are used to facing distorted monstrosities. Characters who escaped the Wild Wood in Wyrd of the Wild Wood gain +2 to hit in the final fight with General Gul, as the rock the final battle is on is sacred to the High Druid. Characters who sought knowledge of their future in Quest in the Cathedral gain one re­roll of a d20 during this adventure (their d20 roll or somebody else’s) due to having some prior knowledge of their fates. Characters who worked for the Prince of Shadows in Shadowport Shuffle gain +5 to two stealth­type rolls during this adventure. Characters who chased the Darkskye Diamond in Omenquest gain +1 to defences against magic for one fight, due to the lingering energies of the enchanted gem. Characters who survived The Folding of Screamhaunt Castle gain +1 to their attacks in session 4 and when facing time elementals in session 5 of this adventure. They have experience fighting supernatural creatures.

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Game advice Organized play for 13th Age is a little different from normal organized play. This document gives you tools to create a linked series of adventures that will highlight the cool things about 13th Age (One Unique Things, Backgrounds, Icon Relationships). You will need around 2 hours per session.

The organized play plan The plan Each game of 13th Age is different because the one unique things and backgrounds of the characters in separate groups will be different. The plan here is to have players be able to find and take part in 13th Age games around the world with a continuity of story. As a GM this will require you to be on your toes, but we think you have the chops for the job. This document gives you six linked adventures to take place over six weeks, and advice on running the adventures. Feedback We’ll be asking for feedback from both GMs and players. We want to know what works, what doesn't, what people enjoy, and what could do with revision. We’ll also want game reports … we want to know what happened, what cool and awesome things you did with 13th Age. Part of our ethos is giving you the tools to play the game you want ­ so if we get a lot of feedback saying “Hey ­ what are the rules for exploding gems? My players found this crystal throne and exploded it, and I’d like some rules for that.” then we might want to consider addressing that in a See Page XX article or in a future supplement. You can give feedback here. One Unique Things Once you’ve run a couple of dozen games for strangers you’ll notice that certain unique things come up surprisingly often. Illegitimate sons of the Emperor seem to populate half of all adventuring parties, and there are a ton of adventurers who used to be animals. In your home game it is cool to build a story about the Emperor’s only illegitimate son because you know that nobody else in your game is going to pick that, but in an organized play program you may have players who created their character with another organized play GM. So as to avoid conflicts of Emperor’s only son meets Emperor’s only son we are saying:

No ONLYs please You can be one of the last of your kind (or one of the first) but you can’t be the only one. You can be a prisoner sent forward in time from the first age as a punishment but you can’t be the only one to whom that happened. You can be a rare half­human half­clockwork creature and you might be under the impression that you are the only one, but maybe you aren't the only such creature. If you're one unique thing relies upon you being the only something think about how you could make it cooler and more unique.

If somebody does pick an ‘only’ type of unique remind them that their character believes themselves to be the only one but in fact they may not be. Backgrounds All characters ave 8 background points, and can spend up to five of them on any one background. Try to encourage players to tell you stories about their backgrounds rather than just a list of words. This... ­ Climber 4 ­ Urban Survival 3 ­ Artist 1 … is boring and as a GM tells you very little about the character and doesn't give you a lot to work with. Encourage the players to talk about their backgrounds and name them appropriately. With a little nudging the above list of words can blossom into... ­ Second best rooftop runner in Horizon 5 ­ Member of the Beggar’s Guild 3 … which is awesome and tells you a lot about the character.

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Statements about the world One of the cool things about 13th Age is that players help to define the world. There is no standard universal Dragon Empire, each game is different. This presents challenges for organized play and as a GM you need to be on your feet. Whenever a player mentions something about the world either via a background or one unique thing or just as a plain statement make a very quick note about it and repeat back to them what they have just said. As an example:

Player: “... and then I bend down and look into the mechanism. Half orcs know a lot about this stuff. How hard is it to disable the trap?” GM: “Half orcs do know a lot about traps ­ why is that?” Player: “Oh I meant half orcs know a lot about breaking things. We love smashing clockwork.” GM: “Why do half­orcs like smashing clockwork?” Player: “It gives us headaches, nobody knows why.” GM: “Ah, you need to get a 15 to break the trap without setting it off” (makes a note ‘Clockwork = causes headaches for half­orcs’).

Each session recap all the statements about the world and ask if anybody has extra input on them. Be sure to ask each player if they have anything to add to the world. It’s a little ritual that helps to build a stronger game for your players.

GM: “Ok, so last week we discovered that orcs hate clockwork because it gives them headaches” Player 1: “Ah, I figured it is their two natures waring in them. There is something mystical about clockwork”. Player 2: “Yeah, like maybe it is trying to separate out your two natures ­ giving you a ‘splitting’ headache” GM: (makes a note) “I like that. What else did we learn. High elves fear mice, they think mice are spirits of the dead. That is an old elf legend.” Player 3: “Yeah! It is just a legend, but they still creep elves out” GM: “As you are new to the group, what things did your character discover last week?” Player 4 (the new player): “Orcs have clockwork axes” GM: (makes a note) “So some tribes of orc are able to use clockwork, but obviously not all tribes.”

… then recap them with the added player input and ask if anybody has anything more to add. GM: “So clockwork gives half­orcs headaches, but some orc tribes use clockwork. That is true. What else is true?” Player 2: “Only some orc tribes are lucky enough to mutate into half­orcs, and those tribes don’t use clockwork. They have to get rid of it to commune with the spirits and begin the transormation process.” GM: “Yes, that is true.” (makes a note) “And elves fear mice due to legends revolving around mice and ghosts. That is true. What else is true?” Player 3: “Maybe their god of the dead uses mice as messengers, and elf necromancers have mice familiars” GM: (makes note) “Yes, that is true”

In this way your players build the world with you, and you remind them each week of the world that you have built together. You also let new players know what your game is like, and you let them bring in the bits of the 13th Age game they played last week into your game that are important to them.

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Skill checks Use your index cards The humble index card is one of the best gaming tools I’ve discovered in years. Write down each character’s backgrounds and set the index cards out in front of you. As play progresses glance down and put obstacles in the path of the party that speak to the backgrounds possessed by the party. For example if your party’s dwarf has the background ‘Mistress of Metal: I train dwarven smiths’ then during play announce “The path is blocked by a partially toppled statue. It is made of metal of intricate design,” and then look around and ask “Does anybody here know anything about dwarf metalworking?”. Bring in interesting options for success and failure (perhaps success reveals that the statue has coins in the base to keep it upright, a common practice from an age where gold was more plentiful ­ and failure results in the hollow statue shifting and making a huge racket sure to attract monsters). By bringing backgrounds into play you make the story about the characters themselves. When not to roll Being a game with limited time you don’t want to roll for every little thing, especially if pass/fail doesn't really matter. Only have players roll dice when failure would be an interesting outcome and would impact the story. If a character has a background specific to a task and failure wouldn’t be interesting narratively invite them into the task.

“That wall looks tough to climb, but you know that your Dwarf friend used to be an acrobat. He could easily climb the wall and pass a rope down to you”

One roll should do it When you have a character attempting something with lots of steps in it you don’t have them roll for every step, in fact you probably shouldn’t. If a character is drinking from every bottle of elven wine in a castle cellar looking for the best vintage don’t have them roll once per bottle ­ just one roll should do it. Fail forwards Remember to Fail Forwards.

...outside of battle, true failure tends to slow action down rather than move the action along. A more constructive way to interpret failure is as a near-success or event that happens to carry unwanted consequences or side effects. The character probably still fails to achieve the desired goal, but that’s because something happens on the way to the goal rather than because nothing happens. Suppose a player makes a Charisma check to have his or her rogue rustle up some clues as to where a certain monk of the black dragon might be hiding. The player fails the check. Traditionally, the GM would rule that the character had failed to find any information. With 13th Age, we encourage you to rule that the character does indeed find clues as to the monk's location, but with unexpectedly bad results. Most likely, word has gotten to the monk that the rogue is looking for him, and he either escapes before his lair is found, or prepares for the group, either setting up an ambush or leaving a trap. The failure means that interesting things happen.

Escalating risks If a character fails it is interesting to offer a choice to the player ­ fail forwards as above OR succeed but with a complication. In this case the player gets what they want but it causes another problem. You then pass that problem on to the next player and ask them if they want to attempt to solve it or leave it where it is. Consecutive failures can have interesting results as the consequences escalate as shown in the example below...

The halfling rogue successfully climbs the stable wall but drops their lantern into the straw below starting a fire.

The elf wizard successfully convinces the angry crowd that the fire the rogue started was the doing of the Dwarf King, but now the crowd wants to lynch dwarves.

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The dwarf paladin successfully smuggles the dwarven ambassador out of town away from the angry guard but the ambassador figures out that the party are to blame for the fire and is going to tell agents of the Dwarf King.

The human sorcerer successfully bribes the dodgy­looking boat captain to take the dwarven ambassador somewhere where they can’t contact the Dwarf King’s agents but as he sails away the party realizes that the captain is a slaver.

Montage! Sometimes you don’t want to go into details but do want to give a sense of time passing. Overland travel, random dungeon exploration, fortifying an old farmhouse against zombies. All these things can happen in a montage if they are not the focus of the montage itself. Go round the table and ask each player:

“Describe an obstacle that the party encountered but defeated.” Then turn to the player to their left:

“Your character was the one to get the party past that. How did you succeed?” They don’t need to roll for this ­ they just tell you an awesome thing that their character did that solved the problem. Repeat this around the table until everybody has had a chance to come up with a death­trap or a wandering monster or whatever their imaginations can conjure up and a chance to overcome an obstacle. As each player tells you how their character saved the day narrate back to them what they have said and put a spin on it to highlight their heroism.

“Yes! The party encountered a minotaur’s ghost and you entertained him with your bagpipes. Not only did that pacify the ghost but several other ghosts appeared to hear you play and in gratitude led you part­way through the maze.”

“Awesome ­ you killed the magically animated pagoda with your mighty axe. Later you came to an underground river and crossed it using your foe’s remains. Good job.”

“Brilliant. With a flick of your wrist you turn over your last card. The skeletal guards are amazed by your winning streak and untie your companions as agreed. They are so impressed with your poker­face that they tell you how to get to the center of the maze. Congratulations ­ you have a better poker­face than skeletons and they don’t even have faces!”

Pacing Sometimes things go slowly. Players get the idea that there is a secret door they can find if only they spend another 10 minutes searching for it. In organized play you’ve got limited time available to you. If the players start going off track supply them with unambiguous information by using the phrase “It is obvious to you that...” “It is obvious to you that there is no secret door here.” “It is obvious to you that the dwarf is telling the truth.” Rolls­>follow­>fiction not rolls=fiction What does that mean? YOU tell the players when to roll, based upon what they say their characters are doing. If somebody announces “I’m rolling to see if I can get past the guards” put your hand out in a ‘stop’ motion and ask “HOW are you attempting to get past the guards?” and play onwards from there. Talk about how the guards look half­asleep, how the character notices one of them is wearing new boots but the other one is dressed shabbily, how the guard on the left gets distracted when he looks at the food cart nearby. Role­play the encounter, and build the scene using a back­and­forth exchange of information and suggestions between you and the player. Only call for a roll once the character acts to change the situation and the outcome is in question and failure would be interesting. Let the rolls flow from what characters do. It is a small thing, but important.

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Monsters Some of the monsters that appear here are from the core 13th Age book but others appear in forthcoming books like the Bestiary or 13 True Ways. Choosing and balancing monsters In the adventures we’ve put in the monsters that we think you’ll need, and a guide to how many to include in a fight. Using alternate monsters The backgrounds and uniques of the player characters and the statements by players about the world may mean that the monsters we’ve provided are not suitable for your needs. In that case there are three options. Hopefully you can stretch the existing monsters to fit your needs ­ if one of the adventurers has the unique ‘Raised by giant rats’ you can just say that the skeletons the party are about to fight are the skeletons of giant rats. If that doesn't work for you you can ‘reskin’ the monsters for the adventure ­ instead of fighting skeletons you use the skeleton stats but call them ‘giant rats’ or ‘pixie swarms’ or ‘loquacious rust­golems’ or whatever the story needs. If neither of those options works for you the core rule book has a ton of advice for creating new monsters on the fly. Big damn heroes Combat is a prime opportunity to remind players that their character is awesome. When an adventurer hits an enemy take the opportunity to describe the hit.

“With a mighty swing of the sword you slice the zombie in two! Hyah!” “Lightning crackles from your eyes as you unleash your spell. ZZZZT!” “The eyes of your enemies widen in shock as you destroy their shaman with a well placed arrow.

Zonk!” “The hag runs towards you screaming and reaches out towards you, but you duck her swing and

launch a bolt of pure sizzling magic into her. She screams as the burning energy sinks into her body.”

“You swing the sword and the dragon jerk’s it head back … but your cunning backswing slices deep into its gums ­ it roars in rage and you dash in under its maw to strike a deep blow into the tender flesh under the chin!”

Even miss damage is cool... “You do miss damage? Your axe whizzes past the goblin’s head, but your foot connects with his

knee­cap!” “The zombie staggers backwards and your axe misses. You take the opportunity to kick it in the

groin. normally this wouldn’t faze a zombie but your kick is bone shatteringly powerful!” Don’t be afraid to really get into it. Stand up from the table. Mime the zombie who takes an arrow through both eyes. Snarl like the hob­goblin chieftain as you caper about with bent back swearing vengeance on the cleric. Just a second or so of play­acting each round to highlight an awesome hit or near miss goes a long way towards drawing our players out of their shells. Once you start doing it your players will too. Tone The tone of your game will depend a lot on who you are running it for. A group of 12 year olds may not appreciate gory decapitations (or they may, pre­teens are a bloody lot) but it is part of your job as a GM to gauge what your audience wants. In the words of Tyler Durden “If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out …” then you may want to tone it back a bit. If you know your audience well and have previously discussed what their limits are then you can play within those limits. Remember if you are running the game in a public place to keep it appropriate. What is cool to shout out at the top of your lungs at a friend’s house may not be acceptable to say at all in a game store or at a convention.

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Pacing The escalation die and the design of monsters in 13th Age means combat is pretty fast moving, but you may still be pressed for time. The store that you are playing in is closing for the night, or you have a limited time at a table at a convention, or one of your players needs to leave early. If some outside constraint is limiting your time you may want to end the combat early. Drop the defences of the monsters and adjust their damage downwards. If you are still pressed for time have the monsters run away or use a dramatic moment to kill the big bad guy (the gnome bard who hasn’t hit all day gets in a crit and takes the head of the dragon in one blow). Tips to make your job easier and the game more fun Index cards Seriously. Grab a pack and... Make name tents Each player gets a name tent. Fold the index card in two and write the character name on it and put it in front of the player. Now instead of saying “your dwarf” or “the ranger” you can call the characters by name. This is an awesome thing for you to do, it links players to their characters. Write out one unique things and backgrounds Go around the table and have players recap their uniques. As they do so jot down their uniques on index cards ­ two or three uniques per card using a short phrase. Use big letters so you can quickly glance down and see what is going on. As the game progresses glance down and introduce skill challenges or obstacles tailored for the party. As each party member succeeds (or fails in an interesting way that advances the story) cross their unique or background off. Use them to make scenery & minis If you are using minis to map out battles (while 13th Age does not rely upon minis using them does make visualizing relative positioning in battles easier) you can draw scenery on index cards and put them down on the table to indicate terrain or objects. If you need to improvise a large creature that you don’t have a mini for you can make a tent out of an index card and write the monster’s name on both sides. Seriously ­ get some index cards! Minis When running combat in 13th Age remember that miniatures don’t represent exactly where a character really is, it is a rough approximation of where characters are in relation to each other. You don’t need minis to run 13th Age combat but your job of letting players know what is happening and where things are in relation to each other is made easier by having them.. Terrain Rob has this to say about terrain: Play terrain any way you like, but don’t worry about it. There isn’t really time to get deeply into terrain action when people are playing for the first time. The ease of simply moving your characters around and attacking should be the priority. If you don’t know 13th Age already, grab any style of fantasy terrain/setting as the location of the battle. Miserable swamps, ruined temples, ghost towns, haunted orchards, regenerating graveyards, living dungeons, spiral towers, woodlands, grumbling volcanoes—they all exist somewhere in 13th Age.

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Initiative This is how I do initiative. You might prefer your own system, but I find this speeds up play

1. Everybody rolls initiative. All monsters share the same initiative, unless they are of very different types. All goblins share an initiative, all spiders, etc. If in doubt fudge monster initiative downwards.

2. Count out how many characters and groups of monsters there are. Write numbers from 1 to the total number of characters and groups of monsters acting on index cards. Write big. If there are 6 adventurers and 2 types of monsters (or two different groups of monsters acting on different initiatives) you would have cards numbered 1­8.

3. Start counting upward from 1. When you get to an initiative that an adventurer or monster has, hand them the highest numbered card you have. In a fight with six adventurers and two monsters the lowest initiative gets the card with ‘8’ on it, the next lowest initiative gets the ‘7’ card, and so on.

4. Each round just look around the table for the person with the number 1 in front of them and tell them it is their turn. After that glance around for the number 2 card, then the number 3 card, and so on. Players can also use the cards to write you quick notes if they wish to, or to take notes during combat. I like to use the index cards with the monster initiatives on them to track conditions, HP left, etc.

‘Bus Stop’ GMing… What? The idea behind the Tales of the 13th Age organized play program is that players should be able to play in London one week and New York the next and be able to pick up where they left off. This means that the games can not be completely freeform. However, they are not rail­road adventures either. Each session has a start point and an end point and how you get from one bus stop to the next is up to you, the driver of the bus. If you decide to substitute goblins for kobolds or your players decide to circumvent an encounter or battle then that is fine, provided you end the session in such a way as it leads naturally on to the next session as written. Side­quests, digressions, and player­generated plots are cool ­ encouraged even. You can go whichever route you choose and do whatever weird stuff you and your players like along the way, just make sure you get to the next bus stop so that anybody who wants to get on your bus at that point can. Dealing with a TPK. Total. Party. Kill. We haven't made this adventure super­deadly... but sometimes the dice are against the players, bad decisions are made, and the unthinkable is thought. If the entire party dies then the following session tell the tale of how their new characters were following their old characters, always a day or so behind on the same quest, finding dungeons pre­looted and monsters already defeated; they have finally caught up with the heroes only to find them dead. The next session starts normally, but perhaps their new characters start with some recovered loot from their former characters’ corpses. Or if you prefer use Jonathan’s idea from pg 170 of the core rule book.

When to give treasure out At the start of every session roll icon relationship dice. If the dice would seem to indicate it have adventurers find treasure during montage scenes. Aim to give out one item of treasure each week like this. Some sessions also have sections that will tell you that it is time to hand out treasure.

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Character Creation If it is published then it is permitted If it appears in a 13th Age rulebook you can play it, and we are allowing anything the designers have released for current playtest too. So yes, you can play the classes from 13 True Ways and the new Tywyzog race from the Bestiary. If you play something still in playtest send your playtest notes to 13thAgePlaytest@gmail.com. Note that we’re not making you sign an NDA but we do have a request: If you’d seriously like to help the playtest process for unpublished classes and races, don’t post your playtest feedback publicly or discuss it on the internet. In our experience, publicly discussed playtests generate less useful data because people start agreeing and echoing each other (or getting concerned about disagreeing with other people) rather than testing things for themselves. Incremental advances Each week every character that participated should receive an incremental advance... unless somehow the party fouled up beyond belief, or chose to flee a battle. Details on incremental advances are on page 189 of the core rules. This adventure is designed for level 4 characters from beginning to end. Aim for a full heal­up at the end of every session.

Useful resources General: http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=8764 Character sheet: http://www.pelgranepress.com/site/wp­content/uploads/2012/08/13th­age­character­sheet­fillable.pdf Harassment policy: http://www.pelgranepress.com/site/wp­content/uploads/2013/07/13th­Age­OP­Harassment­Policy.pdf

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Session 1: Straight into the fire 1.0 Prelude/Introduction. The characters are caught up in a sudden assault on dwarven territories and must help fend off General Gul’s Red Flag Army to buy enough time for proper defenses to be established.

Session Start Session End

Adventurers are immediately caught up in an attack in a dwarven temple in Ironvale.

The adventurers discover that Ironvale is cut off.

The characters are wandering through the large and well known temple in the Dwarven town of Ironvale. The town of Ironvale is well protected by mountains and high walls, and is considered impregnable. Its stability and safety has led to it becoming a prefered location for merchants to stop and trade. Many regional merchants travel here to sell their goods and collect dwarven crafted items to sell elsewhere. The streets of Ironvale have a noisy and almost festive atmosphere as people of all races call out to passing travelers to look at their wares. Go around the table and ask each player to describe something unique or interesting about the temple of Thorodin that their character notices. Here are some examples you can use to give players ideas.

(Scent) “You’re not sure what kind of incense is burning, but it smells fantastic. Spicy and smoky.” (Touch) “A mountain breeze through a high window leaves you feeling cool and refreshed.” (Hearing) “You overhear an argument between a priest and a merchant about the price of cheese.” (Sight) “Children clap & cheer outside as two street performers re­enact a legendary duel between

dwarves.” (Taste) “You’d never heard of swamp­drake jerky before coming to Ironvale, and after tasting it you

know why.” Overall the party need a unifying reason to be together. They’re going to get one in the next section when the orcs attack. Mutual self­interest in staying alive is a fantastic motivator to work well with others.

Don’t forget to roll icon relationship dice at the start of every session and have any 6s give a positive benefit and any 5s give a benefit with a story complication.

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1.1 In media res The adventurers are at the temple of Thorodin in Ironvale, when they feel a strange rumbling in their feet and chests, followed by the sound of crumbling and falling rocks somewhere nearby. With a scream, a nearby priest falls into a hole that opens up beneath his feet. Before anybody can check if he’s alright, dirt­covered orcs and goblins pour out of the hole with bloodthirsty screams and baleful cackling.

Ironvale Market fight Number of

PCs Orc Tusker Cave Orc Goblin Sapper

3 2 8 9 4 3 9 10 5 4 10 11 6 5 11 12 7 6 12 13

Goblin Sapper 3rd level Mook (Humanoid) Initiative: +7 Pickaxe, hand­drill, or hammer +7 vs AC—6 damage Calamity in a bottle At the beginning of each turn,, roll a d6 or choose one of the following effects: 1­2: Demo Charge, 3­4: Fire Grenade, 5­6: Acid Bomb.

R: Demo charge (1d3 nearby enemies) +8 vs AC—4 damage

R: Fire grenade (Up to 2 nearby enemies) +7 vs PD—Ongoing 3 fire damage

R: Glue pot +7 vs PD—Target becomes stuck (save ends)

What’s that noise? Whenever a Goblin Sapper rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll or is hit with fire or lightning damage, roll a regular (11+) saving throw. On a failed save, the Goblin Sapper immediately suffers the effects of a successful calamity in a bottle attack AC 18 PD 18 HP 10 (Mook) MD 13 Mook: Kill one goblin sapper mook for every 10 damage you deal to the mob.

Orc Tusker 3rd level troop [HUMANOID] Initiative: +7 Club’n’tusk +5 vs. AC—7 damage Furious charge: The attack instead deals 12 damage on a hit if the orc tusker first moves before attacking an enemy it was not engaged with at the start of its turn.

Miss: 4 damage and the orc tusker pops free of all enemies.

AC 22 PD 17 HP 45 MD 13

Cave Orc 3rd level mook [HUMANOID] Initiative: +6, or +12 at night or in dark caves Obsidian knife +8 vs. AC—4 damage, and +1d4 damage for each other orc engaged with the target (max +4d4).

R: Rock +7 vs. AC—5 damage Hears everything: Increase the DC to sneak past cave orcs by 5.

Nocturnal predator: If the battle is at night (or in darkness), the orc gains a +2 attack bonus. If the battle is during the day (or in daylight) it takes ­2 penalty to all defences.

AC 19 PD 18 HP 10 (mook) MD 12 Mook: Kill one cave orc mook for every 10 damage you deal to the mob.

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The temple has collapsed into the goblin tunnel beneath it.

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1.2 Ironvale rescues The orcs and goblin tunnelers are running rampant through Ironvale. Elsewhere in Ironvale orcs are pouring out of cellars and swarming into houses. The town guard have mobilized and are valiantly attempting to fight off the sudden incursion from below. Fires, sinkholes, collapsing buildings, panicked mules with carts, all are a threat to life and limb for adventurers and townsfolk alike. Go around the table and ask each player to describe a danger that they saved someone else from (this can be a member of the town guard, a citizen, a trader, or a fellow adventurer), then have them make a skill roll with a suitable background against a DC of 25. If they fail, choose an appropriate danger from the list below for their character to run into. If players aren’t the rescuing sort, lower the DC by 5 (to 20) and the threat instead represents an obstacle they run into while getting out of the danger zones themselves.

A Collapsing Booth Exploding Ale Barrels Runaway Cart

Shelves full of goods and the walls they’re attached to are about to fall with crushing weight.

Dwarven ale is renowned across the land for its high alcohol content. Shame it doesn’t play nice with fire...

This donkey is angry, scared, and has a cart full of ironworks still attached to it. If the hooves don’t get you the fireworks will.

+10 vs PD—3d8 damage and lose 1 recovery

+15 vs AC—4d6 fire damage each +10 vs PD—3d6 damage

Panicked crowd Food Poisoning

Sinkhole

No orderly queues to be found as the citizens in the marketplace flee for their lives.

In the middle of chaos, you realize that goat skewer you ate earlier tasted suspiciously like troll jerky.

Orcs and goblins aren’t exactly known for the quality of their tunnels. Unlucky for you.

+10 vs AC—2d10 damage +10 vs PD—lose a recovery +10 vs PD—lose a recovery

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1.3 The needs of the many With both the efforts of the players and the town guard, the orcs and goblins have been pushed back into their tunnels, at least for the time being. The scent of blood and smoke fill the air, screams and cries for help ring out from all around, and citizens pulling people out of rubble. As the adventurers are catching their breath from the mayhem, a dwarf in bloody and dented armor approaches them. He sits down on some rubble and lights a pipe on a smoldering piece of wood, all while directly looking at the players. Breathing out a puff of smoke, he speaks to them. “I’d heard that there was someone else out here giving these scum a hard time and you’re the ones that were pointed out to me. I’m Guard Captain Axeheart and if you’re not too busy, I’ve got a job offer for you.” Guard Captain Axeheart goes on to outline the situation and what he needs. The orcs have dug tunnels to bypass the defenses of Ironvale. The town guard doesn’t have enough manpower, even with volunteers, to both guard from further attacks and to send troops to collapse the orc tunnels. In addition an orc army with red flags has been spotted marching over a mountain pass towards Ironvale. Captain Axeheart needs the adventurers to follow one of the tunnels up to the orc camp, kill as many of the tunnelers as they can, destroy their supplies, and then collapse as much of the tunnel as possible as they return. His men and other volunteers will take care of the other tunnels and any orc camps they find. The situation is bad enough that Axeheart is even offering the payment up front. He hands each player a pouch with a healing potion and a promissory note for 100 GP of pure gold (or equivalent precious metals, gems, or goods and services) that they can redeem in any dwarf settlement loyal to the Dwarf King. If any players rolled a 5 or a 6 on their Icon Relationships at the beginning of the session, they also receive a true magic item (for a 6) or a magic oil (for a 5). See Appendix 3 for true magical items that the adventurers could receive.

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1.4 Tunnel rats The tunnel the adventurers follow is littered with detritus. Broken pickaxes, rotting food, shattered tunnel supports, empty lanterns, and unwholesome and unidentifiable things. The tunnel intersects with natural caverns at several points, but it’s clear to the adventurers which way they need to keep going. Eventually, the adventurers see daylight ahead and the tunnel opens into an abandoned mine whose roof has collapsed. The orc camp is a mess: disorganized boxes of mining equipment, ratty and smelly tents, and bonfires with charred mystery meat on spits. The tattered red banners are the first indication to the adventurers that these orcs aren’t necessarily here on orders of the Orc Lord (use the “It is obvious to you that…” technique). A few of the orcs are here, as are some strangely hunched over goblins, but it’s unclear where the rest of the orcs are. Certainly more orcs retreated from Ironvale than are here.

Previously… This is the vanguard of the Red Flag Army that appeared in Wrath of the Orc Lord and Elf Queen’s Enchantment. Ironvale itself appears in session 2 of Wrath of the Orc Lord, where the forces left behind by General Gul in the conquered Ironvale are met by the player characters from that adventure.

Let the players come up with a plan of attack for the camp. This is a narrative exercise, not a mechanical one. Encourage the most awesome or fun plan you hear and give everybody at the table a chance to contribute to it. If players insist on doing something that is patently ridiculous (like tricking a nearby giant into sleeping on the camp) or almost impossible (like diverting a nearby river into the camp to drown the orcs), ask for background checks at a DC of 30. If more adventurers succeed than fail, then they manage to pull off an incredible idea against despite sanity, reality, or geography being against it succeeding. As long as the players do put together a coherent and fun plan, start the next fight with the escalation die at 1 to represent the momentum the characters have going into combat. If the players have blown you away with a creative, witty, or completely awesome plan here or have roleplayed coming up with the plan in a fantastic way, feel free to go ahead and skip the following fight if your group agrees to it. Creative collaborative efforts should be rewarded in the strongest way possible. If you still would like to do the fight, start the escalation die at 2 instead.

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Orc Tunnel Camp fight Number of

PCs Guard Dog Goblin

Orc Beastmaster

Orc Hunter

3 12 2 1 4 15 2 2 5 17 3 2 6 19 3 3 7 21 4 3

Orc Funk ­ There is an odor that lingers in the area. You can’t smell it—your nose refuses to report back—but the back of your sinuses burn and your eyes water. While in the area of funk, when an enemy of the orcs rolls a natural 1 or 2 on an attack roll or on a save, it’s dazed (save ends).

Orc Hunter Whether it’s dinner or enemies, these orcs know how to make things bleed until they die 3rd level troop [HUMANOID] Initiative: +9 Hunting Spear +8 vs. AC—9 damage Natural Even Hit: Ongoing 5 damage (save ends) Natural Odd Miss: Target is vulnerable to all attacks until the start of the orc hunter’s next turn

R: Shortbow 9 vs. AC—7 damage Closing Shot: When the orc hunter is unengaged and an enemy moves to engage it, roll a d20. On an 11+, the orc hunter can make a shortbow attack against that enemy as a free action before being engaged.

Bloodthirsty: The crit range for an orc hunter is expanded by 3 unless it is staggered

AC 19 PD 16 HP 42 MD 13

What are those things? Really play up the disturbing nature of the warped halflings. Most adventurers might not even know that such a terrible thing was possible. The Orc Lord is more than just another chieftain or warlord, he’s an icon filled with the horrifying power of corruption!

Halfling Watchdog These pitiful halflings have been mentally and physically warped by the dire power of the Orc Lord! 3rd level mook [BEAST] Initiative: +8 Claws and Fangs +8 vs. AC—6 damage Natural Even Hit: 3 additional poison damage

Tenacious: Enemies attempting to disengage from a halfling guard dog take a ­2 penalty for each halfling watchdog engaged.

Go For The Throat: A halfling watchdog crits on a 19­20. AC 19 PD 18 HP 11 (Mook) MD 11 Mook: Kill one halfling watchdog for every 11 damage done to the mob

Orc Beastmaster There’s no motivation problem that these orcs can’t solve. 3rd level leader [HUMANOID] Initiative: +7 Thorn Whip +8 vs. AC—8 damage, plus an additional 1d4 for every beast engaged with the target (max +4d4)

Pack Master: Nearby beast allies gain +1 to attack and damage

Not Yet You Don’t: Once per battle, whenever a nearby beast ally is reduced to 0 HP, that ally may immediately make an attack before dying. Get A Move On: As a quick action, the orc beastmaster may allow any 1 nearby ally to make a move action. This may be used more than once per turn. AC 18 PD 17 HP 48 MD 14

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1.5 Axeheart’s sacrifice It’s not difficult to bring down the orc­dug tunnels. They’re practically falling apart even without interference from the adventurers. It’s obvious to the characters that there are plenty of methods which will ruin the tunnels (burn the supports, chop them nearly through, blow areas up with spells) for further use while still allowing the characters to retreat back to Ironvale. When they do reach Ironvale, the town guard, volunteers, and mercenaries are keeping a watch on the tunnels, having clearly been in some fighting themselves. The PCs are asked to return to Captain Axeheart, who wanted to speak with them when they return. Axeheart is in his office in the Ironvale Bastion, a grand title for a rather unimpressive two story building of quarried black stone. He has maps spread out on his desk, and it is clear that Ironvale is soon to be under siege by the orcs coming over the mountains. When the weary dwarf sees the players enter his office, he nods to a handful of chairs and tells them to sit and have a rest. He starts to speak, beginning with thanking them for their efforts, when the door to the office bursts open and a injured dwarf guard steps inside with a worried look on his face. Read the following aloud to the players (or paraphrase as you choose, of course). “It is obvious that Ironvale is doomed. An army of orcs marches upon us. There is a dwarven treasure vault hidden deep beneath the earth, and the refugees will need to head there for safety. I’m going to lead the defence to give you heroes time to either light a beacon fire to signal for help, or to attempt to rescue some of the dwarves that have been taken. I can give you an hour or so, and then we’re collapsing the underway to the vault and making our last stand in the city.” The captain steps out into the corridor to leave the adventurers to decide what they would like to do. Based on the maps that are on his desk, the only way out of the valley is through the vault. In the next session the adventurers have a choice to make… rescue the captives or send for help.

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Session 2: Out of Ironvale 2.0 Prelude/Introduction. The dwarves are leaving Ironvale before it is over­run with orcs, but first there is a chance to either signal for help or attempt a rescue of the missing dwarves.

Session Start Session End

The adventurers set out on a daring mission.

The adventurers flee Ironvale into a long­sealed off tunnel network.

Take this opportunity to recap last week’s adventure. If new player characters are joining the group, here are some ideas for how to integrate them...

The character is an escaped prisoner of the orcish army The new character is a dwarf who has built up the nerve to become a hero The character is a refugee from another dwarven town that has been destroyed, and reached

Ironvale just ahead of the dwarven army. Once the group has reason to be working together, it’s time for action!

Don’t forget to roll icon relationship dice at the start of every session and have any 6s give a positive benefit and any 5s give a benefit with a story complication.

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2.1 Getting out of the city The dwarves are opening up a long­sealed dwarven tunnel, and plan to evacuate through it. The adventurers have been invited to go with the dwarves (to remain in Ironvale is a death sentence). However, the adventurers have been asked to either light a beacon fire to signal for help, or attempt to rescue some captured dwarves. Before they can do that they have to get out of Ironvale itself. It is montage time. Go around the group and ask each player to describe a hazard or problem that the party faces on its way out of Ironvale. Then ask the player to their left to narrate how they solved that problem and allowed the party to move closer to leaving the dwarven settlement. Go around the group until everybody has had a chance to create a problem, and solve a problem that originated with another player’s description of the confused and hurried evacuation of the city.

2.2 The choice The adventurers have three choices: Rescue captured dwarves. The adventurers could use one of the orc tunnels that was not fully collapsed, pop up somewhere behind orc lines, and intercept a group of orcs with captives… then flee back to the city collapsing the tunnel behind them. First run section 2.3a. This is the party catching up with the captured dwarves and fighting their captors. Then run section 2.3b. This is the party fighting their way back across a river ford to the city. Finally run section 2.4a. This is the party escaping back to the city and being among the last out. Light the beacon. The adventurers could sneak past the orcs and light the beacon, then attempt to get back into the city and into the dwarven tunnels with the refugees before the orcs overrun Ironvale. The beacon will alert other dwarven settlements of the danger, and eventually the news will reach the Dwarf King and he can send help. First run section 2.3c. This is the party creeping up close to the beacon. Then run section 2.3d. This is the party fighting the troll that guards the beacon. Finally run section 2.4a. This is the party escaping back to the city and being among the last out. What have the dwarves ever done for us anyway? Bah! The adventurers decide they owe the dwarves nothing. They creep into a dwarven tunnel (not the one that the dwarves are escaping through) and hope to make good their own escape. First run section 2.3e. This is the party creeping around in dark tunnels. Then run section 2.3f. This is the party blundering onto turf defended by paranoid drow. Finally run section 2.4b. This is the party meeting up with the refugees in the tunnels.

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2.3a Attack the orcs The orcs are very surprised to see the adventurers climb out of the tunnel. They are not, however, entirely unprepared. Giving the leashes of the captured dwarves to a nearby group of snivelling goblins they advance upon the adventurers. Rescue the Dwarves Fight Chart Number of

PCs Orc

Warrior Slaver’ s HP Orc

Filthbearer

3 2 65 HP 0 4 2 65 HP 1 5 3 65 HP 2 6 4 120 HP 1 7 5 120 HP 2

Orc Slaver 5th level leader [HUMANOID] Initiative: +5 Longsword +11 vs. AC—18 damage, and willing­underling triggers Miss: 5 damage Willing­underling: Until the start of its next turn, the first time an attack would hit the orc slaver, it can partially avoid that attack if it has a nearby orc ally. It only takes half damage from the attack, and that ally takes the rest. I said move, you worms!: Once per battle when the orc slaver rolls a natural multiple of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20) for an attack, all lower­level non­mook orc allies heal 10 HP. Well­armored: Ignore all damage from a hit (but not a crit) against AC once per battle.

AC 21 PD 18 HP (see chart above) MD 15

Orc Warrior 3rd level troop [HUMANOID] Initiative: +3 Longsword +8 vs. AC—10 damage. Natural even miss: 3 damage.

AC 19 PD 14 HP 45 MD 14

Orc Filthbearer The orc carries a sling and clay jars of orcish filth that orcs know the other races hate. 3rd level spoiler [HUMANOID] Initiative: +6 Sickle +8 vs. AC—7 damage R: Filthjar +8 vs. PD (up to 3 nearby enemies in a group)—5 poison damage and target is vulnerable to all damage (save ends) Fling: When an enemy rolls a natural 3 or less on an attack, the orc filthbearer can use an interrupt action to make a filthjar attack that targets just that one enemy.

AC 18 PD 16 HP 40 MD 14

Fleeing this fight means that the adventurers will not rescue any dwarves. If they win the fight the adventurers rescue around one hundred dwarves. Though the dwarves are non­combatants and can not help the PCs in future fights, they do have a priest with them who can bless each of the adventurers (once only per adventurer: the adventurer may heal using a recovery as a free action, provided they are with the refugees).

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2.3b Fighting retreat The tunnel that they used to come here has collapsed. The adventurers must make their own way back to Ironvale. Their fight with the orc slavers did not go unnoticed, and by a ford at a river the pursuing orc forces catch up with them.

Fighting Retreat Fight Chart Number of

PCs Orcish Archer

Orc Berserker

Orc Shaman

3 2 3 2 4 3 3 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 5 4 7 4 7 4

Orcish Archer 2nd level archer [HUMANOID] Initiative: +5 Scimitar +6 vs. AC—6 damage R: Short bow +6 vs. AC—7 damage

Natural 1–5: Reroll the attack against a random nearby creature. If the rerolled attack is also a natural 1–5, the orcish archer takes 3 damage from sheer agonized frustration, but it doesn’t get to make another attack.

Final frenzy: When the escalation die is 3+, the orcish archer gains a +3 bonus to melee attacks and melee damage.

AC 18 PD 17 HP 32 MD 11

Orc Berserker 2nd level troop [HUMANOID] Initiative: +5 Greataxe +7 vs. AC—8 damage Dangerous: Orcs have a melee crit range of 17+ unless they are staggered. Unstoppable: When an orc berserker drops to 0 hp, it does not immediately die. Ignore any damage in excess of 0 hp, roll 2d6, and give the berserker that many temporary hit points. No other healing can affect the berserker or give it more temporary hit points: when the temporary hp are gone, the berserker dies. AC 16 PD 15 HP 40 MD 13

Orc Shaman 2nd level leader [HUMANOID] Initiative: +5 Spear +6 vs. AC—6 damage Dangerous: Orcs have a melee crit range of 17+ unless they are staggered. R: Battle curse +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby enemies)—4 psychic damage, and for the rest of the battle, melee attacks by orcs deal +1d4 damage against the target (non­cumulative) AC 18 PD 12 HP 36 MD 16

Fleeing this battle means that the adventurers are forced to leave the rescued captives behind as they run away.

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2.3c Sneaking about The adventurers can see the hill with the beacon fire atop it in the distance. At the foot of the hill is an orc encampment. Fortunately as the adventurers crawl through the long grass towards the foot of the hill a horn blows in the distance and most of the orcs jump to their feet and run to answer the call of the battle. The encampment looks empty, all the adventurers have to do is stay low and get through the empty orc camp, then dash up the hill.

Orcish camps ripe are, of course, rife with hazards, which are mostly likely to affect characters who take a moment to search for loot... HAZARDS

Corrosive Lichen Wolves Pit trap

The orcs cultivate this for food. At the moment, though, it’s trying to eat through your hand.

Orcs and wolves have a long history together. This is not a ‘fight’, they bite but are driven off quickly.

You discover that the orcs have dug a latrine, you discover this by falling into it.

DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 15 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 20

+5 vs PD—1d10 acid damage +15 vs AC—4d6 damage +10 vs AC—3d6 poison damage

Stuff­slide Rusty metal

Orc totem spirit

The orcs have left a load of looted weapons in a pile and as you sneak past it noisily collapses

You put your foot through discarded rusted and gooey armor , suffering potential injuries.

Orcish shamans leave the darndest things lying around, including angry ancestors.

DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 20 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25

+10 vs AC—1d12 damage +10 vs AC—2d6 damage +15 vs MD—lose a recovery

Each adventurer is allowed a single pillaging skill roll if they wish to pause to loot the camp. Ask whether each adventurer is attempting to look for anything useful not nailed down (DC 10), proper war trophies (DC 15) or unique and magical goods (DC 25). A failed pillaging skill roll may be rerolled by accepting an attack from an environmental hazard (see the chart above), but only one time per adventurer ­ and there is no skill roll to avoid the hazard if you’ve rerolled the looting check. Anything useful not nailed down: 2 healing potions; a pouch containing 3d6 x 10 gp in looted jewelry; a Champion­tier (+2) oil; a normal weapon Proper war trophies: Orcish jewelry worth 2d4 x 100 gold (in the right cities); a wicked­looking weapon built using the bones and skin of vanquished enemies; an ornate elven shield, probably stolen. Unique or magical items: A cruel dagger (or similar light weapon), a belt of victory by inches, banded (heavy) armor of iron will, boots of ferocious charge (all adventurer tier, see core rulebook).

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2.3d The mountain trolls The beacon has been left to the care of trolls. They are not the brightest of creatures, but the orcs have promised them that they can eat anyone who tries to light the beacon. Oh look, here comes lunch!

Trolls Fight Chart Number of

PCs Trolls

3 2 4 2 5 3 6 3 7 4

(If there are an odd number of adventurers give the trolls ­1 to hit on rounds when the escalation die is odd)

Troll Large 4th level troop [GIANT] Initiative: +9 Greedy wicked claw +8 vs. AC (two attacks)—15 damage Rending: If both claw attacks hit the same target. that target also takes 10 ongoing damage. Trollish regeneration: In order to kill a troll, you have to deal damage equal to its total remaining HP in a single round. All damage dealt to a troll that does not come from fire or acid is erased at the beginning of the round. Fire and acid damage lowers the HP total as normal and makes it easier to kill. Nastier Specials Mutant: Fire and acid do not mess with the troll's regeneration, lightning or cold does instead. Hungry gnarly bite +10 vs. AC (quick action)—10 damage Special: Useable only on rounds where the escalation die is even. 0 is an even number. AC 17 PD 17 HP 60 MD 13

It takes two standard actions to light the fire. If the adventurers light the fire and fight the trolls for 4 rounds after that then they will see a signal fire on a far mountain peak be lit in response to theirs. At that point fleeing the fight does not incur a campaign loss.

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Lighting the beacon to signal for help

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2.3e Into the deeper tunnels The adventurers decide to escape the valley and leave the orcs and dwarves to their argument. Overland escape is impossible, so the adventurers are forced to investigate the tunnels that the orcs dug. The tunnels connect to another network that looks much older. The older tunnel network is trapped… Each adventurer traversing the tunnels must face a hazard. If they fail a skill roll to detect the hazard and avoid it, or dodge out of the way, or mitigate a trap by disarming it; then the hazard makes an attack on them and if it hits deals damage. HAZARDS

Pit trap Giant spiders Corrosive Spider Web

A simple pit, covered with a rock­colored cloth.

Urgh! Spiders! This is not a ‘fight’, they bite but are driven off quickly.

Thin metal wires coated with an acidic slime, the whole thing is barely visible.

DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 15 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 20

+5 vs PD—1d10 damage +15 vs AC—4d6 damage +10 vs AC—3d6 acid damage

Mechanical scorpion tails Swinging blades

Falling Rocks

A pressure plate stepped up unleashes a down brass tails with their singers aimed at your ankle!

What is that “wooshing” sound? Is this a trap, or just the results of the goblin sappers digging those tunnels up above?

DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 20 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 25

+10 vs AC—1d12 damage +10 vs AC—2d6 damage +15 vs AC—2d6 damage

Traps, weird spider webs and occasional carvings suggest that these tunnels are part of the domain of the dark elves.

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2.3f Wrong turn The dwarves aren’t the only ones who have tunnels under this valley. Some of the deeper tunnels are at the edge of a drow kingdom. The drow are well aware of the orcs up above, and want nothing to do with the dwarves’ fight. They certainly don’t want dwarven refugees entering their kingdom.

Drow Scouts Fight Chart Number of

PCs Young Spider

Mount Drow Cavalry Cadet

3 2 2 4 3 2 5 2 3 6 3 3 7 2 4

Young Spider Mount It’s larger than a horse and has fangs the size of steak knives. It moves with a series of sudden scuttles. 4th level troop [beast] Initiative: +15 (or same as rider if it has one)

Bite +9 vs. AC—10 damage, and 4 ongoing poison damage

C: Web +9 vs. PD (up to 2 nearby enemies in a group)—The target is stuck (save ends)

Wall­crawler: A spider mount can climb on ceilings and walls as easily as it moves on the ground, and so can its rider.

Uncontrolled: A riderless spider mount will eventually run away. At the start of the spider’s turn roll a d4; if you roll less than the escalation die, the mount flees.

AC 20 PD 18 HP 40 MD 12

Drow Cavalry Cadet Scuttling into view with lances and sabers, the drow cavalry moves like a dark and silent wave. The drow are young and poorly equipped for drow cavalry, they are just cadets.

Double­strength 3rd level wrecker [humanoid] Initiative: +8

Glass­tipped lance +8 vs. AC—14 damage, and the target pops free from the cavalry and is weakened (save ends)

Limited use: 1/battle, during a surprise round or the first round of battle.

Spider saber +8 vs. AC—14 damage

Expert spider­rider: While mounted, the drow cavalry deals +6 damage with its attacks, hit or miss, against unmounted enemies.

Mounted combatant: Reduce the drow cavalry’s attack damage by 6 when it’s not riding a spider.

Spider mount: Whenever the drow cavalry rolls a natural 1–10 on an attack roll, its spider mount acts independently, choosing one of the following options:

Bite—The spider makes a bite attack. Jump & Scuttle—The spider and its rider pop free from all enemies and can move somewhere nearby. Web—The spider makes a web attack.

AC 19 PD 17 HP 64 MD 13

This is not a fair fight. Let the players know that. Remind the players of this rule:

Flee Fleeing is a party action. On any PC’s turn, any player can propose that all the characters flee the fight. If all players agree, they successfully retreat, carrying any fallen heroes away with them. The party suffers a campaign loss. The point of this rule is to encourage daring attacks and to make retreating interesting on the level of story rather than tactics.

In this case the campaign loss will be that the dwarves will learn of the adventurer’s cowardice in neither attempting to free the captives nor light the beacon. Word will spread quickly through the dwarven ranks.

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2.4a A heroes welcome! The adventurers reach Ironvale with but moments to spare. As soon as the adventurers are through the gates the defenders slam them shut in the face of pursuing orcs and pour boiling oil over the walls on the pursuers. There is cheering from the battlements if the adventurers return having lit the beacon or rescued the captives, otherwise they are met with grim silence. The adventurers are led by the dwarven defenders to the entrance to the tunnel that the dwarves are escaping through. The last the heroes see of Ironvale is the orc horde pouring over the wall and overwhelming the meagre defenders. The defenders buy the refugees and the heroes just enough time to get deep into the tunnel before the entrance to the tunnel is collapsed.

2.4b A heroes welcome? The adventurers follow the sound of voices and come into a cavern where the dwarven refugees are huddled. The dwarves initially think that the adventurers are heroes that helped light a signal fire. However, if the adventurers reveal otherwise they are treated with contempt. If the adventurers ran from the fight with the drow then the drow will follow them and warn the dwarves to stay out of their tunnels (and if the adventurers have lied about setting the signal fire then the dwarves will see the lie for what it is).

Rob says: Personally, I might say that the scorn of dwarven refugees isn't enough. Adventurers who chose this route chose the path of cowardice and I'd probably do something to them like this: any magic items they possess that are fueled by valor refuse to function in the next battle; and any 6s rolled with the next icon relationship dice count as 5s instead.

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Session 3: The vault 3.0 Prelude/Introduction. The citizens of Ironvale flee through long­sealed tunnels to a long­sealed dwarven vault. The adventurers are sent into the vault itself to check that it is a safe place for the fleeing dwarves to take sanctuary in.

Session Start Session End

The adventurers are in the tunnels under Ironvale. The adventurers have learned about the orc pit that has appeared in the tunnels nearby.

If you have new players joining the group this week then new characters this could be rescued prisoners helping as a way of paying off that (figurative) debt, Ironvale guardsmen or citizens inspired by the adventurer’s efforts in defending Ironvale, or mercenaries who have decided to rob the vault while nobody is looking. Overall the party need a unifying reason to be together. The fact that if the adventurers don’t work together they will surely die at the hands of the orcs should be enough to motivate them.

Don’t forget to roll icon relationship dice at the start of every session and have any 6s give a positive benefit and any 5s give a benefit with a story complication.

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3.1 The long march in the dark It has been several hours since the last dwarves left Ironvale. Go around the group and ask each player to describe something that the refugees of Ironvale came across in the long sealed­off tunnels, a problem that threatened their safety. Turn to the next player and ask them to describe how their character resolved the problem and allowed the refugees to move onwards. Go around the group until everybody has had a chance to introduce a problem, and everybody has had a chance to solve a problem. Eventually the dwarves come to a set of carved stairs and pause in trepidation. As the dwarves prepare to move out the head of the miner’s guild, Hale Pacestone, gestures to the party to join him and pulls out a flask of strong drink that he passes around. Read the following aloud (or paraphrase as needed): “Drink up now while I talk. That’s some of the best ice ale south of the Northern Colossus. Now, I don’t know how many of the folk from Ironvale those orc scum have, but I’d wager that they are dead or worse by now. No turning back lads. There are too many orcs for us to fight and sooner or later we’re going to run into them down here too. Orcs are stupid but there were close on ten thousand of them in that army, so I recon’ anybody leading them isn’t that daft. I’m sending you ahead. You can move faster than a couple of thousand dwarf families and their livestock, and I can’t send my guards with you because I need them here keeping the civilians safe from the dangers that lurk down this far. You head to the Vault, and make sure that it’s safe for us to enter. These tunnels are normally forbidden to us, by ancient treaties with the Drow. No doubt they’ll show up sooner or later, and we need to be inside the vault by the time that they do. The Vault is ours, see? Our territory. Its been so long since anybody was down here that nobody can remember what traps are guarding the treasure. You go in, clear a path, set off the traps, er­ I mean disarm them, and come tell us when its safe to enter.”

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3.2 Monsters of the dark The long stairs downwards lead to a bridge, at the other side of which is a mighty set of doors… surely the vault. First there is the cavern to cross... Creatures have been lured from the depth by the smell and sound of the dwarven refugees. Such monsters will be more than happy to attack the dwarves, but the adventurers look like an easier target...

Tunnel Fight Number of

PCs Ochre Jelly Fungaloid Drudge

3 2 0 4 2 1 5 3 1 6 4 0 7 4 1

Fungaloid Drudge Some look like walking mushrooms with arms and faces, others are clearly skeletons that have become infested with spores, and still others are shambling mounds pulling crude carts with their misshapen limbs.

3rd level troop [PLANT] Initiative: +5 Pitchfork +8 vs. AC—10 damage Natural 16+: The drudge can make a fungal attack this turn as a quick action. Fungal attack—Make ONE fungal attack. Choose from one of the following. C: Piercing shriek 8 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies)—7 psychic damage

OR C: Brown noise 8 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies)—6 ongoing thunder damage AC 19 PD 17 HP 32 MD 13

Ochre Jelly Large 3rd level wrecker [OOZE] Initiative: +2 C: Acid­drenched pseudopod +8 vs. PD (1d4 attacks, each against a different nearby enemy)—6 acid damage

Natural even hit or miss: 3 ongoing acid damage. Splitter: The first time an ochre jelly takes 20 or more damage from a single attack, it splits into two normal­size ochre jellies, each with half the original’s current hit points plus 2d6 hp for good luck. Treat the new jellies as undamaged jellies at their new hit point totals, but they don’t have the splitter ability. (Maybe they get back together if they survive the fight. Maybe they don’t.) Flows where it likes: The ooze is immune to opportunity attacks. Ooze: The ooze is immune to effects. When an attack applies a condition to an ooze (dazed, hampered, weakened, ongoing damage, etc.), that condition doesn’t affect it.

AC 18 PD 17 HP 90 MD 16

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3.3 The vault itself The vault doors stand askew, as if rent by an explosion, but the dust on them suggests that this happened a long time ago. Outside the vault are several skeletons, some wearing armour. They clutch gold in their hands, and piles of coins are near them. Some of the skeletons are facing away from the vault as if they died running away from it, while others fell in poses suggesting that they were attempting to throw the stolen treasure back into the vault. This is surely the result of the dwarven curse on the vault. Inside the vault mirrors reflect any light source a hundred fold and show off many different trophies and objects placed on bright white marble pillars and tables. Most of the objects are actually worthless as treasure, but are treasure to the dwarves due to the histories attached to the items. Here is a dusty old brush, there a broken spear shaft, there a piece of fabric that might once have been a flag. Thick layers of dust cover most of the objects, showing that this place had not had visitors in some time. Doors lead deeper into the vault… Go around the group and ask each player to provide a danger or situation that the party faced in the outer vault as they explored it. Then turn to the player next to them and ask how their character was instrumental in overcoming that challenge. Go around the group until each player has had a chance to introduce a trap or problem, and everybody has had a moment in the spotlight solving a trap or problem. The Dwarf King is notoriously possessive of magic items like the ones found within the vault, and there will be objections to someone looting a site of such significance like this. Offer each adventurer a choice to loot a magic item: they can claim a true magic item, but they might be subject to a curse. (See the appendix for a list of magic items that adventurers could receive, or use the treasures in the core rule book) If the player chooses to take a magic item then in section 3.4 they suffer the effects of a curse mid­combat.

Curse of Hungry Spiders Curse of Inversion Curse of Bonelessness

One of your eyeballs transforms into a mass of spiders!

Your outsides attempt to become your insides!

“Blurk!”

+15 vs PD—3d8 damage +15 vs PD—4d6 fire damage each +10 vs PD—You become stuck and hampered (hard save ends).

Curse of Snakes Curse of the Moon

Curse of Hunger

You vomit snakes, that then bite your face over and over!

You go a bit… loony. Your own flesh looks mighty tasty. A quick nibble wouldn’t hurt… much.

+10 vs MD—2d10 poison damage +10 vs MD—Dazed (save ends) +15 vs MD— 3d8 damage the next time you miss in combat.

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3.4 The inner vault The penultimate room is also the biggest room in the vault complex. The adventurers don’t have long to examine or admire the treasures here; almost immediately, guardian constructs made of steel and stone stride out of recesses in the walls…

Treasure Room fight chart Number of PCs

Thunderous Protector

Vault Keeper Broken Down Guardian

3 1 1 5 4 1 2 10 5 2 2 5 6 2 2 10 7 2 3 10

Golem Immunity: Non­organic constructs (which these all are) have golem immunity. They can’t be dazed, weakened, confused, made vulnerable, or touched by ongoing damage. You can damage a golem, but that is about it.

Vault Keeper This construct resembles a stone dwarf guardsman 3rd level troop [CONSTRUCT] Initiative: +6 Ornate Spear +11 vs. AC— 10 damage

Natural 16+ Hit ­ Target is Stuck until the end of its next turn. R: Arm­Mounted Crossbow +11 vs AC ­ 10 damage

Quick shot ­ Once per round as an immediate interrupt, the vault keeper may make an arm­mounted crossbow attack at an enemy moving to engage an ally. This may not be used if the enemy is moving to attack the vault keeper itself. AC 19 PD 16 HP 32 MD 13

Thunderous Protector This massive construct’s steel fists crackle with electricity Huge 3rd level wrecker [CONSTRUCT] Initiative: +5 Thunder Fists +8 vs. AC—25 damage and the target is Dazed (save ends)

Miss: 12 damage. Natural 20 ­ Instead of doing double damage, this

attack adds 10 ongoing lightning damage and stuns the target (save ends each separately)

Natural 2: Reroll the attack if you missed with a natural 2. C: Thunderwave +7 vs. PD (each enemy engaged with the thunderous protector)— 15 thunder damage and each target hit pops free. Quick use: This power only requires a quick action (once per round) instead of a standard action when the escalation die is even. AC 19 PD 17 HP 135 MD 12

Broken Down Guardian These vault keepers have nearly succumbed to the ravages of time. Nearly. 3rd level mook [CONSTRUCT] Initiative: +4 Shattered Spear +7 vs. AC—6 damage

Natural odd miss: The broken down guardian may reroll the attack with a ­2 penalty R: Decrepit Crossbow +8 vs AC—7 damage

Hold Them Steady: If firing at a target already engaged with an ally, add +1 to the attack roll and +2 to damage if the attack hits. On a natural 1, inflict this damage instead on the ally. AC 18 PD 16 HP 14 (Mook) MD 13 Mook: Remove 1 Broken Down Guardian for every 14 damage done to the mob

Remember: If an adventurer has a curse from the last section (3.3) then it kicks in during this combat.

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3.5 The heart of the vault The center of the vault, the innermost chamber, is a simple room with a very large stone sphere hovering in the center in a shaft of light. The sphere slowly rotates, revealing that it is carved with a stylized dwarf face. The eyes of the face open to reveal the the inside of the sphere is molten rock “WHO. ARE. YOU?” The rest of this scene is pure role­play, and we leave it up to you how it pans out. Once the heart of the vault understands that dwarves are in danger it will gladly disarm any remaining traps in the vault, and will ensure that the many golem defenders of the vault do not attack the dwarves. However, the heart of the vault has bad news. It has sensed an orc spawning ground, an orc pit, somewhere nearby. This is a recent thing, and if the adventurers hurry they could shut it down before it floods the tunnels with orcs. If it is not shut down then within a day or so all of the under­realm will be awash with savage orcs bent on destruction and mayhem. It will even offer the adventurers their pick of magic items from the vault as incentive to go sort out the pit (provided the adventurers have not already engaged in looting, in which case it only attempt to bribe those who haven't looted the vault). It will also undo the effects of any curses that triggered in section 3.4… after they deal with the pit.

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Session 4: The orc pit 4.0 Prelude/Introduction. The adventurers encounter and destroy an orc pit.

Session Start Session End

The adventurers set out to destroy the orc pit The adventurers face the orc pit

If a character is new to this week, ask the player about how their character ended up in the deep under darkness with the dwarven refugees Overall the party need a unifying reason to be together. If nothing else, the fact that they are about to be over­run with orcs should give them the desire to work as a team.

Don’t forget to roll icon relationship dice at the start of every session and have any 6s give a positive benefit and any 5s give a benefit with a story complication.

4.1 Nearing the orc pit The heart of the dwarven vault informed the adventurers that an orc pit was somewhere nearby. The tunnels here have a miasma of corruption, and the walls drip with slime that occasionally bubbles up into a snout or eye. Go around the group and ask each player to provide a description of an obstacle or danger that they face in locating the orc pit. Turn to the next player and ask them how their character solved the problem. Go around the group until each player has had a chance to narrate a danger that the party faces, and has had a chance to solve a danger too.

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4.2 The new orcs The adventurers hear something up ahead. It is the sound of splashing. When they investigate they see a host of orcs standing waist deep in a lake. They are watching one of their number strangle and drown another. The orcs are naked and unarmed. These orcs have obviously just been ‘born’ from the pit. As the adventurers watch the dim light of orcish intelligence sparks in one of them, and it picks up a rock and bashes its neighbours head in. The orcs have left a trail of bodies leading back to the orc pit, finding it should be easy. Unfortunately that means getting past these orcs first.

Orc Pit Fight Chart Number of

PCs Orc Grunts

3 25 4 30 5 35 6 40 7 45

Orc Grunt 3rd level mook [humanoid] Initiative: +5 Rock +8 vs. AC—7 damage Mob of seven: The maximum size of a mob of orc spear grunts is 7 mooks. When you include more than seven orc spear grunts in a battle, use another mob. Bestial reversion: When an orc grunt’s attack drops an enemy to 0 hp or below, or when one or more orc spear grunts drops, roll a single normal save for the orc spear grunt mob, with a bonus to the roll equal to the number of remaining mooks in the mob (for example, 4 mooks left = +4). If the save fails, all the remaining mooks in the mob cast away their weapons and become savage grunts until the end of the battle (use that stat block instead).

AC 20 PD 16 HP 13 (mook) MD 12 Mook: Kill one orc spear grunt for every 13 damage you deal to the mob.

Savage Grunt 3rd level mook [humanoid] Initiative: +5 Claw and teeth +6 vs. AC—5 damage Feral aversion:When a savage grunt is engaged with a non­staggered target at the start of its turn, roll a d20 that will become either an attack roll or a disengage check! On a natural even roll, the grunt uses the roll as a claws and teeth attack. On a natural odd roll, the grunt uses that roll as disengage check that may or may not succeed. If the grunt disengages, it will move to engage and attack a staggered enemy, if possible. If the grunt doesn’t disengage, it will stay and fight.

AC 17 PD 15 HP 10 (mook) MD 12 Mook: Kill one savage grunt for every 10 damage you deal to the mob.

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4.3 Killing the pit The adventurers come to a deep pit in the earth, full of writhing bodies covered in filth. The many large creatures in the pit are obviously in pain. The creatures are orcs being ‘born’. Around the edges of the pit are the filth­encrusted clothes of captured humans and dwarves… fuel and raw material for the pit, brought here by other orcs. This place is an orc pit, where the power of the Orc Lord taints the forms of those he has decided will become his children; and where orcs spring fully formed from the wound in the world. This is far from anything that General Gul is involved with, it looks like the Orc Lord is raising an army beneath General Gul’s feet. There is grave danger here. The longer the adventurers stay here the more likely that some contagion of foul magic will cause them to become orcs. There are thousands of proto­orcs in the pit. The pit is very deep and very wide, and the tunnels that lead away from it have a nasty, almost magical, tendency to lead back towards it. Somehow the adventurers have to kill this orc pit, to shut it down before it kicks into high gear and starts pumping out orcs by the thousand. There is no right or wrong way to go about this. Maybe a ritual caster could use a magical ritual. Maybe the adventurers could attempt to collapse the tunnel. Maybe the party could climb into the pit and set a fire. However they choose to go about it, this will require skill rolls. This requires three separate skill rolls. The first has a DC of 10, the next of 15, the next of 20. Every failed skill roll introduces an extra Pit Orc Mutant to the fight in section 4.4. If all three rolls fail then the party needs to start again, but this time the DCs are easier (5, 10, 15) as their last attempt taught them how best to shut the pit down.

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4.4 The pit dies As the adventurers succeed in ‘killing’ the pit, it erupts in death throes. The writing bodies in the pit turn to sludge and coalesce into noisome tentacles, and the pit attacks the adventurers. Those orcs not absorbed into the tentacles fuse together to become mindless monstrosities which attack anything non­orcish.

Orc Pit Fight Chart Number of

PCs The Pit Pit Orc Mutant

3 1 0 4 1 1 5 1 2 6 1 3 7 2* 0

* Although this says 2 pits, it is representing a single larger, more ferocious, pit. Pit Orc Mutant 4th level wrecker [humanoid] Initiative: +6 Too many arms, too many claws +9 vs. AC—14 damage

Natural 16+: The pit orc mutant can make a too many jaws attack against the target or another creature engaged with it as a free action. [Special trigger] Too many jaws +9 vs. AC—7 damage, and the pit orc mutant can make a savage frenzy attack against the target as a standard action during its next turn if it’s engaged with that target [Special trigger] Savage frenzy +11 vs. AC (3 attacks)—7 damage Orcblind: This creature will prefer to target non­orcs over half­orcs, ignoring half­orcs unless there are no non­half­orc targets left.

AC 20 PD 18 HP 54 MD 14

The Pit Huge 5th level wrecker [beast] Initiative: +9 Noisome tentacles +10 vs. AC (5 attacks)—10 damage

Miss: 5 damage. Immune to conditions: The pit cannot be confused, dazed, hampered, stunned, or weakened. Huge reach: If you are in the battle you are engaged with the pit Orcish strength: The first and second times the pit becomes staggered, as a free action it gains 40 hit points and an extra noisome tentacles attack.

AC 20 PD 19 HP 150 MD 15

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4.5 A new hope With a final shudder the pit dies; the pit becomes nothing more than a deep hole in the ground filled with half­formed bones and slime. The pungent smell of the pit would cause those made of weaker stuff than adventurers to gag and retch, but to the adventurers it smells like victory! Propelling the repugnant odor is a breeze. Somewhere nearby is a tunnel that leads to the surface. The adventurers realize that they are no longer under Ironvale, and may even be somewhere near the imperial fort of Scarsdale! If they can find the tunnel they can lead the dwarves out of the vault in which they are hiding and towards help.

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Session 5: The end of General Gul 5.0 Prelude/Introduction. The adventurers lead the dwarves towards the surface, hoping to find help at Scarsdale Fort

Session Start Session End

The adventurers lead the dwarven refugees towards safety.

General Gul has been finally dealt with.

At the start of the session recap the adventurer so far: The town of Ironvale was overrun by orcs of the Red Flag army, and the dwarves fled to a vault deep under their home. Trapped with the dwarves the adventurers found themselves facing first the guardians of the vault and then an orc spawning pit. Now the adventurers believe they have found a path to safety. If you have new players joining your group take this time to help them work out how they ended up with the dwarves. Overall the party need a unifying reason to be together. Being down in the dark far from help should convince them that they need to work together, remind them of this fact.

Don’t forget to roll icon relationship dice at the start of every session and have any 6s give a positive benefit and any 5s give a benefit with a story complication.

5.1 Into the dark The adventurers, last week, found a way to lead the dwarves from the vault in which they were sheltering up into the light, possibly even to Scarsdale Fort where help can be had. However, taking thousands of refugees through dark and dangerous tunnels is no easy task, even when the refugees are dwarves. Go around the group and ask each player to provide a description of a problem that the dwarven refugees face. Perhaps they run out of food, or become ill, or are slowed down by their injuries. Turn to the next player and ask them how their character solved the problem. Go around the group until each player has had a chance to narrate a problem that the dwarves face, and has had a chance to solve a problem too.

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5.2 Navigating the tunnels The closer the adventurers lead the dwarves to Scarsdale the more dangerous the tunnels grow. Most of these tunnels were cut by water, not by hand, and so are wet, slippery, uneven, and sometimes unstable. Each adventurer must succeed on a DC 15 skill roll to navigate through the tunnels. A success means that they are closer to the surface, but a failure means that the adventurer encounters a hazard. HAZARDS

Pit Shifting shale and falling rocks

Low ceilings

In the dark it looked just like another depression in the uneven floor.

This cave just doesn't like you! This section is tricky ­ too tall to crawl through but too low to walk through.

DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 15 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 15 DC to disarm/dodge/detect: 15

+5 vs PD—2d6 damage and some of the dwarves are injured

+15 vs AC—2d6 damage and some of the dwarves are injured

+10 vs AC—2d6 damage if you aren't a dwarf of halfling or gnome

Once all the adventurers have made their skill rolls they come upon a winding dwarf­made stair. The dwarves have heard of this stair, it was once part of a castle that was washed away by the same river that cut these tunnels. If the adventurers have found the stair they can’t be too far from the surface! The dwarves say that if they follow the stair upwards then they’ll reach the waterfall, and daylight. From there the imperial garrison of Scarsdale Fort will be in sight, and there they can find refuge from General Gul and her orcs.

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5.3 The lurker in the dark The adventurers lead the refugees up the long dwarf stair towards the daylight. But something is lurking in the dark on the stairs…

Lurker in the Dark Fight Chart Number of

PCs Fresh

Pit­Spawn Orc

Dwarven Centipede HP

# of dwarven centipede attacks on each of its turns.

3 20 180 3 4 20 240 4 5 20 300 5 6 20 360 6 7 20 420 7

Freshly­made Pit­Spawn Orc Double­strength 3rd level mook [HUMANOID] Initiative: +2 Punch or bludgeon +7 vs. AC—8 damage Mob attack: The crit range for pit­spawn orcs is 17+. Whenever a pit­spawn orc scores a critical hit, each pit­spawn orc mook in the battle gains a +1 cumulative bonus to damage until the end of the battle.

Nastier Specials Boiling rage: When an enemy engaged with the orc hits it with an attack, the enemy takes 4 damage as the orc bites and claws it back.

AC 17 PD 15 HP 12 (mook) MD 12 Mook: Kill one pit­spawn orc mook for every 12 damage you deal to the mob.

Dwarven Centipede These dwarves have been merged into one singular beast by the corrupting power of the Orc Lord. Weird 3rd level troop [BEAST] Initiative: +6 C: Clawed fingers +8 vs. AC—6 damage, +1d6 damage for each other clawed fingers attack made against the target this turn (to a maximum of +4d6).

Dying segments: For every 60 HP the dwarven centipede loses it may make one less attack on each of its turns

AC 19 PD 18 HP (see chart) MD 12

What is this thing? Really play up the disturbing nature of the dwarven centipede. Most adventurers might not even know that such a terrible thing was possible. The Orc Lord is more than just another chieftain or warlord, he’s an icon filled with the horrifying power of corruption!

This is not a fair fight. Let the players know that. Remind the players of this rule:

Flee Fleeing is a party action. On any PC’s turn, any player can propose that all the characters flee the fight. If all players agree, they successfully retreat, carrying any fallen heroes away with them. The party suffers a campaign loss. The point of this rule is to encourage daring attacks and to make retreating interesting on the level of story rather than tactics. In this case the campaign loss will be that they many of the dwarven refugees they were helping are killed by the orcs and dwarven centipede.

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5.4 Into the light The adventurers see daylight! They hear the waterfall! Up a slick wet shaft, a crack in the rock leads to behind the waterfall. However, as they get closer they discover that the crack is so small that they almost can not navigate through it. Only by removing their gear and pushing painfully through the crack can they pass to behind the waterfall. The adventurers find themselves on a spit of rock between the cataract of two waterfalls. To their backs is one waterfall, in front of them another. As the adventurers put their armor back on they begin to hear a great sound over the roar of a waterfall. They are on a cliff far above the plain that Scarsdale Fort is upon. The sound that they hear is that of a mighty battle between the forces of elves and dwarves, and the foul Red Flag Army. Scarsdale Fort is surrounded. Far below the adventurers is an orc encampment. It appears that the army is following the instructions of whomever is in the camp. It must be General Gul. Go around the group and ask each player to provide a description of something that they see take place in the battle. Turn to the next player and ask them how that situation resolved. Go around the group until each player has had a chance to narrate a scene of battle, and has had a chance to resolve a scene of battle too. The battle looks like it is going to be won by the orcs, then the dwarves and elves, then finally the orcs mount a roaring charge that seems destined to win them the battle. Just then a small raiding party attacks General Gul, and pushes her off a waterfall (see Wrath of the Orc Lord, session 6). Whatever hold she had over the orc army has gone. The orc army crumbles, and begins to run away in fear.

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5.5 An unexpected guest As the adventurers watch the battle from their vantage point, they see the great orc General Gul fall. The great orc catches the wing of one of the elven eagles and attempts to wrest control of it from its rider. In a spiraling aerial battle the general rises into the sky. The other eagle riders fight the great orc, who falls from the back of the eagle that she was attempting to commandeer. The great orc lands with a thud on the rock that the adventurers are standing on.

Previously… If the players have played through Wrath of the Orc Lord then they might hear their characters from that adventure fighting at the top of the waterfall. If the players have played through Elf Queen’s Enchantment then they might hear and see their characters from that adventure fighting General Gul on the backs of the eagles! This is an ideal time to evoke those earlier adventures, with some recalled dialog and a shout­out to moments of awesomeness that the players had with their other characters.

The massive orc stands up, and from her size and her battered yet still ornate armor it is clear that this orc was once favored by the Orc Lord and carries a portion of his power. The gap back into the tunnel is too narrow to fit through in a hurry, and the climb down too dangerous to attempt with General Gul there. She pulls out a pair of battle axes and begins swinging for the adventurers, hoping to clear a way for her to escape the battle that she has lost before her enemies find her.

General Gul The giant orc towers over the adventurers. In each hand she holds an axe with a blade as large as a tavern table. Huge 6th level wrecker [HUMANOID] Initiative: +9 Massive axes +11 vs. AC (3 attacks)—21 damage

Critical hit: Normal crit (double damage) and the target is weakened (easy save ends) and General Gul makes a mighty kick attack against the target as a quick action.

[special trigger] Mighty kick +8 vs. AC—20 damage and the target pops free and is booted far away. Tribal rage: General Gul rolls two d20 for each melee attack and takes the better roll; if both dice are 11+, the melee attack is a critical hit. Orcish escalator: General Gul’s crit range expands by the amount on the escalation die (0=20, 1=19­20, 2=18­20, 3=17­20, 4=16­20, 5=15­20, 6=14­20) Reach: If General Gul has nobody engaged with her she can attack any nearby enemy with her massive axes attack but not her mighty kick attack.

AC 19 PD 18 HP 400 MD 17 Fleeing ­ From this fight you can’t flee.

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5.6 The Death of Gul Gul dies. If her corpse is taken to the Dwarf King the adventurers will be showered with praise, and presented with a champion­tier magic item each. Gul dies. If her corpse is presented to the Elf Queen the adventurers will have songs created in their honor, and will each receive four epic­tier healing potions. Gul dies (or is incapacitated and captured by the adventurers). If the adventurers take the corpse to the Orc Lord he will eat it raw. Gul dies. If the adventurers leave her corpse where it is or take it back to civilization then they will receive a message from the Diabolist inviting them to stay at her pleasure in a location in Hell Marsh (and if they are foolish enough to accept that invitation that will lead neatly into one of our later adventures). Provided the adventurers survived they are able to climb down the waterfall and fetch help for the dwarven refugees. In gratitude the dwarves of Ironvale erect a statue of the adventurers. It is a gold statue, it is twenty feet tall, and it revolves.

Rob says: And is it a statue of everyone? Encourage one final role­play moment as the adventurers determine which of the heroes is chosen as the main subject of the statue!

This concludes the adventure! Go around the table and ask each player what their adventurer does next. Do a mini­montage to give closure to the adventure. If they head southwards you might want to run the 5th level adventures in Three Hearts Over Glitterhaegen. Thank the players for being great. If you enjoyed GMing for the group (and we hope you did) then let them know. Ask for feedback on the adventure, and on 13th Age in general. We want to hear what you think. … and finally THANK YOU.

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Appendix 1: Temporary Magic: Potions, Oils, and Runes. Players can purchase or find temporary magic items during the adventure...

Item Cost Effect

Healing potion 50 gp Recovery +1d8 hp (max 30 hp of healing)

Resistance potion 100 gp Resist 16+ against one damage type

Oil 100 gp +1 (see oil chart in the core book)

Rune 150 gp +1 (see the rune chart below or in the core book)

Random Rune Effect on Armor 01–20 The bonus also applies to PD 21–40 The bonus also applies to MD 41–60 The bonus also applies to both PD and MD 61–80 As 41–60, and you can reroll one failed save while the rune is active 81–100 You can take your first rally this battle with a quick action (if you can already rally with a quick action, the action is free) Random Rune Effect on Weapon 01–20 +4 bonus to opportunity attacks 21–40 Weapon gains an energy damage type such as fire, cold, etc., and deals +1d4 damage (champion: +2d6; epic: +5d6) 41–60 +4 attack bonus on first round of combat 61–80 Weapon deals +1d10 damage while escalation die is 3+ (champion: +4d6; epic: +3d20) 81–100 Reroll one missed attack roll with weapon Random Rune Effect on Spellcasting Implement 01–20 +1 additional attack bonus if spell has only one target 21–40 Implement gains an energy damage type such as fire, negative energy, etc., and deals +1d4 damage (champion: +2d6; epic: +5d6) 41–60 +1 additional attack bonus with daily spells 61–80 +1 additional attack bonus if spell has more than one target 81–100 Reroll one missed attack roll with implement

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Appendix 2: Cheat sheet. Conditions 13th Age uses the following conditions. You can only be affected by the same condition once at any time; for example, if two effects would confuse you, the worst one affects you and you ignore the confuse portion of the lesser effect. Similarly, penalties from these conditions don’t stack. If you’re both weakened and stunned you only take a –4 penalty to your defenses (plus other different effects). Confused: You can’t make opportunity attacks or use your limited powers. Your next attack action will be a basic or at­will attack against at least one of your nearby allies, usually determined randomly. If you don’t have any nearby allies, you either do nothing much or, at the GM’s option, act in a strange confused manner that suits the story. Dazed: You take a –4 penalty to attacks. Fear: Fear dazes you and prevents you from using the escalation die. Hampered: You can only make basic attacks, no frills. You can still move normally. (Fighters and bards, that also means no flexible attacks. Monsters, that means no triggering special abilities for specific attack rolls.) Helpless: If you’re unconscious or asleep, you’re helpless and a lot easier to hit. While helpless, you take a –4 penalty to all defenses and you can be the target of a coup de grace. Stuck: You can’t move, disengage, pop free, change your position, or let anyone else move you without teleporting. You’re not otherwise penalized, necessarily. Stunned: You take a –4 penalty to defenses and can’t take any actions. Vulnerable: Attacks against you have their crit range expanded by 2 (normally 18+). Weakened: You take a –4 penalty to attacks and to defenses. Skill Check DCs, Trap/Obstacle Attack Bonuses & Impromptu Damage for Adventurer Tier Characters

Degree of Challenge

Skill Check DC

Trap or Obstacle Attack Roll vs. AC/PD/MD

Impromptu Damage (Single Target)

Impromptu Damage (Multiple Targets)

Normal task 15 +5 2d6 or 3d6 1d10 or 1d12

Hard task 20 +10 3d6 1d12

Ridiculously hard task

25 +15 4d6 1d12 or 2d8

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Appendix 3: Magic Items. Remember to mention that items are alive and have personalities, so that characters using magic items can have personality quirks if they wish. If you have more items than your level, your items take over and you become a vehicle for their personalities!

Dwarven Cloak of Cold Far­Reaching Gloves Summoning Stone

A sky­blue velvet cloak that feels chilly to the touch. When used to move stealthily, the wearer is invisible to detection by heat.

A pair of supple black leather gloves that radiate soft magic to those who can see such things.

Some say the facets of the gem show you a thousand other dimensions. Others say you see all the facets of your own mind. Maybe there’s no difference.

+1 to PD. Resist fire 12+

As a quick action cast mage hand once per fight or about every five minutes, lasting for one minute per casting.

Daily: When you cast a spell that summons more than three creatures, you summon one extra.

Quirk: Sweats profusely in warm weather.

Quirk: Likes to steal small items of no consequence.

Quirk: Tends to miscount money, people, etc..

Gauntlets of Speed Dwarven Gem Ring Eternity Ring

These simple gauntlets are lined with silver and gold threads on the inside, granting your hands lightning speed.

This ring is set with thirteen different gems.

A ring inscribed with the names of the months. The bearer develops an uncanny sense of timing and rhythm.

Once per fight, when you make more than one attack in a turn; add a cumulative +1 to each attack roll.

Once per fight, when you roll for a random effect and don’t like your result, take 5 damage and roll again. You must accept the second result.

Daily: You may use an interrupt action that would normally require a trigger or cost, ignoring the trigger or cost .

Quirk: Insists on eating without utensils.

Quirk: Gambler. Quirk: Drums fingers when idle.

Adamantine Armor Demonbane Weapon Orcish Wand

Heavy steel armor reinforced with a special metal that can only be forged on high holy days.

A weapon empowered by a dark rite. Falls neatly into the category of “good is not always nice.”

A rough bone spike from an orc pit. It isn’t pretty but it gets the job done.

+1 to AC and PD Recharge 16+ after battle: Turn one critical hit made against you into a normal hit.

+1 to attack and damage Critical hit range against demons OR devils (choose which when you attune) is expanded by 2.

+1 to attack and damage with spells. Increase all ongoing damage dealt via this implement by 3.

Quirk: Parsimonious. Quirk: Says out loud the thing everyone else is thinking but won’t admit to.

Quirk: Love of corruption… I mean “change”.

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