HSP 2 The Castle in the Marsh

Dungeon - Corridors and stairs connecting gatehouse to storage level, storage to servant's tower, and general dungeon level holding prisoners and critters.  The majority of the orcs will be found here in the dungeon area, slain by the minotaur skeleton, which is itself fairly battered now. Guard room has a dead orc and two shattered skeletons. Dungeon has two skeleton guards, inert skeletons of prisoners, two dead orcs, and the Spectre of a prisoner who died in the calamity. Minotaur skeleton resides in the Minotaur's lair, and will move to the sounds of battle. The barracks holds bunks for ten, two skeleton guards, numerous bones, and several dead orcs. Pit trap is 20' deep, and filled with seepage water. Slide trap will drop the players into 15' deep water, and a torpid Gelatinous Cube used for trash disposal. . 

A typical orc will have a shield, axe or sword, and 2d6 sp in treasure on them. Skeletons will be wearing chain shirts in disrepair, but will have 1d10 sp on them in pay. 

Servant Tower - kitchen, mundane functions of the tower. The lower level includes bunks for four servants and guards. There are three skeletons in here. These skeletons will attack with claws for 1d4 damage.The upper level is a storage loft with a variety of personal items, some of which might have some resale value but some stirges are nesting up there. 

Wizard Tower - five stories, residence for wizard, apprentices, his lab and storage. Something terrible happened here.

First Floor - The storage level is largely devoid of monsters, and oddly cold. Nothing from the dungeon level will willingly enter this room. Along the wall of the larger room are the ingredients for all manner of potions, as well as some completed potions - "Weak Oil of Sharpness (+1)", two "Potions of Necrotic Resistance", "Potion of Flesh to Stone", and four glass jars, each with a single "Bean" from the Bag of Beans. Sitting at the far end of the table in the main room, in a state of torpor, is one of the former apprentices. Use stats for a Zombie (AC-12, HP-12, +2), but he babbles to the party while attacking. Also, both he and the table are covered in brown mold (DMG 105) for 1d10 damage. The apprentice was working on a potion, and the brown mold was an ingredient. The room by the stairs is quite mundane, and is simply a kitchen. A continuously burbling fountain under the stair is a "Decanter of Endless Water", while a trash chute leads to the Gelatinous Cube.

Spellbook: Charm Person, Disguise Self, False Life, Magic Missile, Sleep, Thunderwave

Current spells: Disguise Self, Magic Missile, Thunderwave     Cantrips: Create Bonfire, Gust, Thunderclap

Spell slots: 2 first level     Spell save DC: 12     Spell Attack Modifier: +4     Can prepare 3 spells

Race magic: Shape Water     Spell save DC: 12     Spell Attack Modifier: +4

Second Floor - The apprentice's quarters include three rooms - Each one has a locked chest with personal belongings, a potion of healing, a random spell scroll of 1st level, and a bag with 10+2d6gp. One of the rooms has a journal in a language none of the PC's speaks, that will reveal what happened. Lying on one of the beds is a Zombie apprentice (AC-12, HP-12, +2), who attempted to escape his doom by mixing up a potion incorrectly. He will also yell at the PC's in anger, but will not attack unless they enter the room. In addition, each room has a nice light crossbow and a quarrel of six +1 magic bolts. These were used by the apprentices to cover the wizard's summoning experiments. 

Spellbook: Burning Hands, Earth Tremor, False Life, Find Familiar, Shield, Sleep

Current spells: Burning Hands, Earth Tremor, Shield, Sleep     Cantrips: Acid Splash, Minor Illusion, Shape Water

Spell slots: 2 first level     Spell save DC: 13     Spell Attack Modifier: +5     Can prepare 4 spells

Familiar: Rat

Third Floor - Caged in the lab level. are a quasit in one pen, and a faerie dragon in another pen, both in the form of ravens. Whichever one is freed will attach itself to the party in animal form after warning of the other one. They are kept to serve as guides and advisors when interacting with fiends or the Fey respectively. In a sealed glass orb is a Manticore. If the orb is ever shattered, the Manticore will attack anything it can for several rounds before grabbing the closest dead thing and flying away to freedom. Otherwise, there are a full assortment of magical ingredients, spell components, and a variety of tools necessary for magical experimentation and the crafting of small, intricate items. Locked in an iron box is a scary looking iron wand - touched to a corpse, it will cause the thing to burst into flames and leave an animated skeleton that will (1d6) 1-4 obey the commands of whoever reanimated it, 5 attack whoever uses it, or 6 disintegrate explosively (1d6 fire damage). Recharging it requires stabbing a sacrifice, which will give it 1d6 charges. 

The door to the inner sanctum is trapped with a Glyph of Teleportation - anyone touching the door without speaking the (now lost) command word to the bronze face on the door who fails a DC-16 WIS save winds up in the dungeon, along with a live skeleton and a dead orc. In the center room is the Orrery, the wizard's most prized possession. It allows the castle to travel through dimensions, but its operation is quite arcane. Essentially, at Quarten's closest approach every 60 days, the device allows the castle to jump to any plane or place on Aestas. The process is traumatic, both internally and for the terrain. On the table is a fairly complete set of maps of the known world, parts of other continents, and other less describable locations. One map also shows the locations of the Deoron gate its connections. 

Fourth Floor - The door to the wizard's room is protected by a Glyph of Teleportation, DC-16 to resist. The room is dark, being dimly lit by the glow coming off the corpse on the bed. 

• 1. The wizard Keregvortis still remains, albeit in an undead shell of his former self. He lies in state on his bed. His corpse glows with a faint pinkish/purple glow, which will unleash a spectre (AC-12, HP-30, +4, 2d6 necrotic life drain). Around his neck is a key to his desk. If anyone thinks to throw open the windows, the spectre will flee back into the corpse and remain inert there until nightfall. The specter will attack as soon as the corpse or the desk is disturbed. 

  2. On the floor is a "Rug of Smothering" that will attack the first person to step on it. AC-12, HP-35, +5/2d6+3 bludgeoning, escape grapple DC 13. 

  3. In his locked rolltop desk is his spellbook and journals, with several useful spells if the book can be decoded. His desk is protected by a Glyph of "Flesh to Stone", DC-16 to resist.  A black leather-bound book contains the journal of the castle's travels. Decoding the book will require a DC-20 Arcana check. This will allow the reader to decipher specific destinations, each one requiring a separate DC-20 Arcana check to manage. The spellbook contains the following spells, assuming the archaic Sevastin language can be decoded:

• Spellbook: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Feather Fall, Find Familiar, Longstrider, Mage Armor, Shield, Sleep, Blindness/Deafness, Crown of Madness, Mirror Image, Web, Hypnotic Pattern, Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Lightning Bolt, Vampiric Touch, Blight, Conjure Minor Elementals, Ice Storm, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, Conjure Elemental, Creation, Dominate Person, Transmute Rock

Fifth Floor - The top floor is pretty much empty other than two skeleton guards with longbows, but offers a nice view of the surrounding terrain, including the approaching orcs. 

From this nice vantage point, the players will be able to see a moderately large group of Orcs, with one Ogre in tow, making their way through the swampy terrain to investigate the new castle.  There are enough of them to make the fight worthwhile. They are related to the first band, and will hold the party responsible once they reach the first floor and find the carnage.