The Ebony Fortress

The Ebony Fortress is a fully playable and playtested "funnel" adventure written for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Funnels are RPG modules where the characters are 0-Level (Peasants), death is expected, and survival grants that character the opportunity to level up and continue on to more fantastic adventures. The gaming system used, along with the monster types, are the property of Goodman Games.

 Introduction:

In an effort to be a light in the darkness, the characters put their trust in an astronomical event and infiltrate the mountain fortress of vampire Baron Magnus Keinzul. While the stars are aligned, the Baron is much more vulnerable than usual. However, the alignment only lasts for 24 hours. Characters must make their way through the castle to destroy the vampire lord. The characters fight colossal leeches, a man-bat, and a vampire lord and negotiate various mechanical and magical traps on this dangerous journey.

This adventure functions as a funnel. Players need 15-20 0-level characters, so each player has a minimum of 2-3 characters. This ensures that players are able to continue enjoying the module even if some of their PCs die off. 8-10 1st-level characters can also play the adventure if the Judge so chooses.

Background:

Two millennia ago, the vampire Baron Magnus Keinzul received word that the humans under vampiric rule had discovered a collection of ancient texts and were planning an uprising. The Baron did not doubt his mountain fortress’s defenses, but these texts supposedly spoke of spiritual and astronomical events that could affect him as a creature of the night. After considering it, Keinzul decided to err on the side of caution and retreated to a secret chamber deep within the mountain on which his castle rested. There, he entered a prolonged slumber and rested safely while the humans rose against the other vampire lords.

Three centuries ago, the Baron woke to find his castle intact but occupied by a human Count. While he had slept, a mining village called Phaerin had established itself where the forest met the mountain range not far from his fortress. Keinzul seized the opportunity and killed the human regent, claiming rulership over the village. Since that time, the people of Phaerin have suffered. Monsters infested the land. A pestilence-like evil spread throughout the nearby forest, and nighttime abductions of villagers took place each year.

The toll on the village has been tremendous. Just last month, two women and five children disappeared over three weeks. Then, two days ago, a mining crew found several strange texts in an ancient language. The village council believed it to be the scrolls used by ancient humans to stand against the vampires, so they began translating them. This morning the council told the village that, if the translation was correct, the stars would align tonight in a way that would make the Baron weak enough to kill. The PCs have volunteered to attempt to slay their Vampire oppressor and, if any are still alive, rescue the abductees.

Player Introduction:

You’ve lived your entire life loathing Baron Magnus Keinzul. He rules with fear and cruelty, coming in the dead of night with no warning to whisk loved ones away to his ebony fortress. All villagers are viable targets. No one is safe.

However, hope remains. Miners from your village recently discovered a set of ancient scrolls, which chronicle an alignment of stars that weakens vampires and only happens once every few millennia. At some point, everyone in the village has lost a loved one to the Baron. Now, you have an opportunity to stop the cycle once and for all. No more children need to wake up an orphan, and no parent needs to fear losing their child to the creature that rules the night. The abductees taken last month may still live; if so, you can save them. You’ve made your vow. Either you kill the vampire lord who rules over you, or you die trying.

Tonight, the normally chalky white moon appears as a crimson light in the night sky, The Alignment transpiring as predicted. The time for you to take up arms and avenge your village for centuries of oppression is nigh. The Baron’s reckoning awaits.

General Features:

Unless otherwise noted, the interior of the castle is cool and dark. Baron Keinzul does not fear death, so only a few doors in the Baron’s Wing are locked. The Lower Levels have primarily gone untouched for various reasons, so many passages in that area are locked or sealed. Each of his “pets” has its own lair, so they do not leave their designated rooms.

Upper Castle 1-1: The Whispering Garden

You emerge from the mountain pass, stepping through an arch of black stone. The courtyard before you more resembles death than a garden. No grass grows here, instead replaced by dry, cracked earth. Dead trees line what appears to be a path from the archway to a crimson wooden door at the back of the keep. A dried-up pond sits off to your left. A cluster of wood snags jut skyward in the middle of the pond, a strange glow emitting from somewhere amongst them. From the courtyard layout, one can imagine how this may have once been a pleasant place to visit. Now, it serves as a cemetery for these lifeless shards.

A gust of cold wind blows, dust billowing up from the desolate landscape between you and the keep. The entire courtyard sits in shadow, the sheer size of the fortress blocking the moonlight. An otherworldly whisper suddenly drifts to your ear in a language that isn’t Common, constantly repeating itself. It comes from everywhere and nowhere at once. A sense of dread falls heavily on your shoulders. You take a deep breath and take a step forward.

If a PC steps into the pond bed, the soil suddenly softens. The PC must make a DC 18 Reflex Check. With a failure, tentacles fly from the quicksand-like dirt, dragging the person to their death. A success allows the PC to dodge clear of the pond. After the tentacle attack, the ground hardens and looks as if nothing happened once the sand consumes the PC. If more than one PC enters the pond bed, those that survive the attack must pass a Luck Check or become stuck in the pond. Those stuck PCs must repeat the process, starting on their next turn. When the original PCs who entered the pond are either dead or have escaped, the glow amongst the snags disappears, and two tree shards fall away from the cluster. These spears are retrievable with no further danger.

If a PC speaks Infernal (Demonic), they understand the whispering trees. If not, it sounds like garbled nonsense. The disembodied voices carry a warning, “Death sleeps beyond the Crimson Door. Speak the language of Death and command it to sleep for eternity. Thrice must you repeat the words, or your life is forfeit.” If a PC says “sleep for eternity” in Infernal, the skeleton guards in the first room do not awaken. If spoken in Common or any other language, only two awaken. The Crimson Door takes the party to Upper Castle 1-2.

To the far left of the area lies a steep rock cliff that leads down and around the castle. A passive INT 12 or higher allows the PC to see a gravel path winding through the boulders that populate the cliff. The rock trail leads to Upper Castle 1-1B (pg.15).

Upper Castle 1-2: Burial Chamber

The door creaks open, revealing a dimly lit room in disrepair. Across the room, directly opposite where you stand, is another door. Wind rushes in from outside, disturbing the multiple layers of dust on the stone floor. The flickering light of two candelabras dances along semicircle inlets cut into walls to your left and right, many filled with cobweb-covered skeletons. The peculiar smell of dust and bone mingles to create a scent not unlike the old church that resides just outside the village. Suddenly, the entrance slams shut behind you. Silence wraps around you like a blanket.

Once the party is in the room, the encounter begins. The skeletons are angry you’ve trespassed in their tomb and attack with haste while blocking the path forward. Depending on if a PC spoke the words whispered to them by The Whispering Trees, the number of skeleton guards that awaken could be zero, two, or four.

SKELETON: Init +0; Atk claw +0 melee (1D3) or by weapon +0 melee; AC 9; HD 1D6; MV 30’; Act 1D20; SP un-dead, half damage from piercing and slashing weapons; SV Fort +0; Ref +0; Will +0; AL C.

Searching the room reveals two skeletons of note that do not awaken. Both possess scrolls that tell of their life deeds. The first is a knight who died defending his king long before the village of Phaerin existed. His skeleton still possesses his greatsword (two-handed)*, which a PC can take for themselves (must have STR 10 or higher). The second is a cleric who served the royal court for over 50 years. He possesses a ring that gives whoever wears it infravision.

*Refer to pg.71 in the DCC Corebook for rules on two-handed weapons

Upper Castle 1-3: Hallway of Shadows

The way to the Baron lies ahead, but the shadows here have weight. You feel cool, damp air on your skin as darkness consumes your view. Something tugs at your conscience, and though you are uncertain, it feels like someone or something is looking back at you through the shadows.

PCs with infravision see the hallway’s stone construction as the same stone used for the castle’s exterior. A single torch rests in a holder on the wall. If a party member has a flint, they can light the torch. Cold entities brush the PCs as they traverse the hallway if a party member does not ignite the torch. However, if a PC uses the torch, the entities flee, and the PCs feel nothing other than the cool, damp air of the castle hall.

A PC with an INT 10 or higher recalls a tale from their childhood about a group of academic men invited by the Baron to educate him on what had transpired while he slumbered. After they taught him everything they knew, he drained them of their blood and sealed their bodies within the castle walls. Their souls now wander aimlessly through the dark corridors of the keep. The trapped souls wish the party no harm.

The first leg of the hallway ends in a right-hand turn. From there, the party sees a dim lantern next to a door at the end of the next passage. The firelight within the lantern glows a strange green. Halfway down the second leg of the hallway, another hall splits off to the left. If the PCs continue on to the lantern, a foul stench fills the air as they approach. The door is covered in moss and leads to Upper Castle 1-4.

If PCs take the alternate path, they find a heavy metal door that requires STR 12 to open. Once ajar, a loud knocking reverberates through the walls, and every torch in the castle suddenly lights. On the other side of the metal door is Upper Castle 1-3B (pg. 19).

Upper Castle 1-4: The Green Room

The smell of putrid flesh hits you hard as the humid air in this large, rectangular room envelopes you. Dim bioluminescence glows in blue-green bulbs growing near where the walls meet the ceiling. You can see the other side of the room in the faint light, if only just. There, a door awaits in the shadows. Between you and the door is a garden unlike any you’ve ever seen. Plant life ranging from moss to small plants covers the entire floor, while thick vines climb the walls toward the eerie lighting. Peculiar purple flowers stand out amongst the different shades of green. To the left of the door sits a large pile of moss-covered rocks, while a strange trench filled with water rests in the middle of the room. You hear a gurgling sound coming from the direction of the moat-like channel that divides the chamber. It is hard to discern what the noise is, but it doesn’t sound human.

A pair of Colossal Leeches live in the trench. They track prey by sensing vibration and converging on the source of that vibration as quickly as possible. The floor is slick in this room due to the humidity and plant life. Players must stay on their feet (DC 10 Reflex save) or fall to the ground. The leeches burst from the water and attack the nearest fallen player.

LEECH, COLOSSAL: Init -2; Atk bite +4 melee (1D6 plus blood drain); AC 14; HD 2D8; MV 10’ or swim 30’; Act 1D20; SP blood drain (automatic 1D4 dmg per round after bite); SV Fort +4; Ref -2; Will -4; AL N.

The moss-covered stones are light enough to lift and throw with ease. The leeches cannot tell the difference between a footfall and a rock fall, so tossing the rocks can distract the monsters. To the left side of the moat, a thin walkway leads to the other side. The walkway is slick, but those crossing can use the vines on the walls to steady themselves (DC 5 Reflex save).

If a PC takes one or more purple flowers, the oils on its petals heal 1D4 HP. If a PC looks into the murky waters of the moat, they make out a suit of armor at the bottom (Luck Check). The armor is made of leech hide and grants immunity to the leeches’ bite. Once on the other side of the moat, recessed in the wall, is a black door.

Leech Hide Armor: AC +3; Check Penalty -3; Speed -0; Fumble die 1D12; GP =55; Special -immunity to leech atk bite

Upper Castle 1-5: The Infinite Pit

You find a narrow rock bridge stretching out before you that looks carved out of the mountain stone on which the keep rests. Strong wind smacks you in the face, unwavering and constant, while darkness obscures the ceiling and floor. The stone walls look as smooth as a tabletop. For all appearances, the room is a hole cut through the world, with only the bridge to cross it.

Another black door waits on the other side of the bridge with a lantern on each side. The firelight inside the lanterns flickers but is otherwise unphased by the wind. The wind howls louder, growing so loud that you can barely hear the person next to you.

Upon inspection, the party can see the bridge is old and cracked in multiple places, yet it remains solid. However, if looked at closer, the darkness above looks like it moves. It functions as a portal. Slipping off the bridge causes the PC to fall away into the darkness below, only to come through the “ceiling” above. The cycle is never-ending.

Another doorway is set high up the wall, hidden by shadow. PCs with infravision can see it. However, no direct path leads to it. If a PC tries climbing the wall, they must succeed a DC 15 Strength Check. A failure results in the wind knocking them off the wall. If a PC reaches the door, they notice that a faint red glow emanating from it. If the PC attempts to open it, they are thrown across the room and slam into the opposite wall. The force of the impact does 1HP of damage. The PC then must succeed a Luck Check to land back on the bridge. A failure lands them in the infinite portal.

The bridge is the only way across, and the door opens into a staircase that spirals upward with torches at regular intervals.

Upper Castle 2-1: Man-Bat Cave

A long, dark hallway leads away from the stairwell into another dimly-lit circular room. You see clumps of fur and bones scattered across the floor. Opposite where you stand sits an old door. You can’t quite make it out, but something appears carved into it. Suddenly, out of the shadows steps a large creature with enormous leathery wings, its body covered in fur. Moving toward the party on two human-like legs, it lets out a guttural growl. A foul stench assaults your nose. In the dim light, its face looks as though it could have once belonged to a human, but equally appears like that of a bat. Its large ears quiver, followed by its nostrils flaring. “Trespassers,” it seethes through razor-like teeth, spreading its wings wide. With several mighty flaps, it catapults itself upward into the shadows.

The carving on the opposite door is the Baron’s crest. The creature is a Man-Bat, and a PC recognizes this with a DC 10 Intelligence Check. It’s eight feet tall and has brown fur, large clawed feet, and talons on its wings. With a DC 15 Intelligence Check, a PC remembers hearing a rumor that Man-Bats don’t normally speak and also realizes it’s strange this one does.

The Man-Bat does not attack, content to hang upside-down in the shadows watching them. If a party member steps toward the door, the Man-Bat swoops, lifts them high into the air, and lets them fall to their death. A PC can dodge the attack with a DC 10 Reflex Save.

CURSED MAN-BAT: Init+4, Atk bite +6 melee (1D6); AC 12; HD 2D8; MV 20’, fly 40’; Act 1D20; SP carry off prey; SV Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +2; AL C

 The Man-Bat drops anything in its grip if it is injured mid-flight. Ten damage causes it to land and attack with its wing talons. When a party member strikes the final blow to the Man-Bat, the monster appears dead but is not. When the party starts to leave, it cues the following dialogue:

“Wait,” the Man-Bat growls. “As thanks for releasing me from this prison, I grant you a gift. The Baron’s magic is potent, but you can use it against him. Partake of my blood, and you shall become stronger than you are now.”

The Man-Bat bites his wing and offers it to the party to drink. If a PC chooses to ingest the Man-Bat blood, they have three options. They can take a sip, a drink, or a gulp. All options alter the character to some degree, making them better suited to hunt vampires. A sip grants immunity to Charm and the ability to sense when vampires are nearby. A drink grants the same benefits as a sip plus a permanent Strength +1, permanent Agility +2, and Infravision. A drink also gives the player the added status of “Supernatural.” This status causes the player to suffer 1D4 damage if they come into contact with garlic. They also suffer a Reflex Save penalty of -1 when exposed to daylight.

While the side effects happen in a matter of minutes, the mutations are much more unpredictable. If a PC chooses to take a gulp, they get all of the above-mentioned side effects, but the -1 to Reflex Saves in daylight becomes a -2. They also must roll 1D4. The result of the roll determines their new mutation, based on the following information:

1D4 Rolls with Resulting Mutations

1 = Ears mutate to large proportions*

2 = Fingertips mutate into claws**

3 = Nose becomes more like that of a bat***

4 = Grows taloned wings that fold neatly between shoulder blades for concealment****

Mutation Effects:

*Mutated ears provide the player with a +3 to any check involving sound

**These claws are considered natural melee weapons (1D4 damage)

***Mutated nose provides the player with a +3 to any check involving smell

****These wings have sharp tips that can double as biological spears (1D6 damage) when not flying. The folding ability of the wings allows the PC to conceal them under an overcoat. They improve the PC’s movement speed by 10ft when used for flight.

Upper Castle 2-2: Vampire Lounge

You enter a luxurious room with a magnificent fireplace surrounded by stylish couches and chairs. Shadows dance here and there from the light of the fire. A grand staircase stretches upward, crimson carpet and ivory railing trailing along its steps. How far the stairs rise is unknown as they disappear into a thick darkness above the vaulted ceiling. At the foot of the stairs, a dark passageway leads off into the unknown. Opposite the staircase is a wooden table covered in ornate cups and casks. Above the table, a painted portrait. In the corner to your right rests a closed door. A strange metallic grating covers a vent shaft above the entryway.

A party member can determine the portrait is of Baron Keinzul with a DC 10 Intelligence Check. It is worth 50 gold pieces. When party members near the door, they hear what sounds like children talking at a distance. These are the surviving family members abducted by the Baron. The floor in front of the door is pressure sensitive, and anyone who steps there triggers the metal grating above, which drops to the floor. A PC can dodge with a DC 15 Reflex Save. The grating is sharpened and functions much like a guillotine, that retracts to its spot in the ceiling after falling. If it does so while the party is in the room, they can hear the grating lock in place with a loud clank. The stairway leads to Upper Castle 3-1.

The dark passageway at the foot of the stairs leads to a wooden door, which opens to Upper Castle 2-3 (pg. 20).

Upper Castle 3-1: The Baron’s Throne Room

At the top of the stairs, a foyer sits empty and cold. Two large doors swing open on your approach as if they were expecting you. They open into a large, rectangular room with an extravagant throne at its center. The jewels that bedazzle the arms and back glisten in the moonlight shining through two large windows. Two doors sit on opposite sides of the room, while the candelabra guarding the fireplace’s mantle provides the only other light. A golden lever protrudes from the floor between the throne and a grating in the floor. The smell of roses suddenly tickles your nose as the air around the throne shimmers.

“Welcome,” a voice says. A chill runs down your spine as Baron Magnus Keinzul materializes next to his throne. He is statuesque in appearance, his dress the same as the portrait from the painting. The black and red doublet he wears offsets his long blonde hair, the lace cuffs of his shirt jutting from the sleeves to cover his pale hands. Black breeches and boots complement the top as a rapier hangs at the Baron’s hip to complete the outfit. “If there is a leader among you, come,” he says, scanning the party with his dark, soulless eyes. “Sit. We have much to discuss. You went to all this trouble for an audience. Well, now you have it.” A fanged smile crests his lips.

Any PC who drank Man-Bat blood does not have to roll. Those who did not drink Man-Bat blood must pass a DC 15 Willpower Check or be charmed. Of those who fail, have the players roll 1D20 to see which PC is the unlucky soul. The Baron’s throne is trapped. If anyone other than the Baron uses it, a pike thrusts upward through the seat, impaling them where they sit. A PC can avoid impalement by passing a DC 18 Reflex Check. Keinzul waits to see if a PC accepts his invitation. If one does, he allows the trap to activate before attacking the group.

VAMPIRE LORD (YOUNG): Init +4, Atk bite +6 melee (1D6) or as weapon +4 melee; AC16; HD 4D8; MV 30’; ACT 1D20; SP charm, call bat swarm; SV Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +6; AL C

The lever next to the throne deactivates the trap above the door in Upper Castle 2-2. Voices come from wherever the shaft the grating covers. A PC can tell they are the same voices heard behind the door in Upper Castle 2-2 with a DC 10 Intelligence Check.

One of the doors in the Throne Room leads to a room full of treasures.* The other exits into Upper Castle 1-5 (it is the door visible from the bridge).

*Treasure Room Contents: All armor and weapons are considered Ancient and have unique designs, as they are centuries old. Each has been meticulously cared for and works just as well today as the day they were forged.

Crimson Banded Mail Armor – 1

Longsword – 1

Dagger – 1

Flail – 1

Warhammer – 1

Chest – 150 gp.

ALTERNATE PATHS:

Upper Castle 1-1B: Rock Cliff

Boulders of varying sizes litter the cliff face. As you make your way down the path, you notice chunks of stone missing from the side of the castle. These gashes in the masonry don’t penetrate the walls, but the few locations where large stones still rest against the castle make it clear what caused the damage.

You round a considerably large boulder to find the path broken. Where there was once dirt and fine gravel is a sheet of loose rock. The trail down the cliff resumes a few feet beyond the loose stones before you.

A PC can successfully jump over the loose stones if they are agile enough (DC 12 Agility Check). If a PC fails the agility check, they can still save their landing (DC 18 Reflex Save). A PC can carefully walk halfway across the stones with a successful Luck Check. A second Luck Check is needed to complete the transition. Once across, the trail leads farther down to a hole in the castle. Stepping through the hole puts a PC in Lower Castle 1-1.

Lower Castle 1-1: Dilapidated Study

The broken wall opens to a room covered in thick dust. By the moonlight, you see an old wooden desk sitting in one corner with a sheet of paper and an ink bottle. Other sheets of paper lie scattered across the floor, likely put there by the unpredictable winds of the mountain. On the wall opposite the desk rests a framed, hand-drawn map of the region. A door next to the desk serves as the only exit other than the hole you entered through.

The sheets of paper on the floor are old and frail. A PC can read them if they pass a Luck Check. If they fail, the paper disintegrates before they can read what it says. The papers on the floor are historical accounts of the region. If a PC checks the desk, they find that the paper weighted down by the ink bottle is a warning to the people of the region. It tells the tale of a historian who discovered that the Baron was not dead but only slept deep inside the mountain. The paper also states that certain “elements” were concerned about how the populace would respond if such news got out. Widespread panic was not something the King’s advisors wanted. The end of the warning mentions that the writer had an appointment with one such advisor later that evening and planned to get his warning to his scribes regardless of how that meeting went. “The people need to know” is the very last line.

Lower Castle 1-2: Ancient Hallway

The moonlight doesn’t extend into the hallway. Multiple old torches sit in holders along the wall. Thick dust covers everything. The doors that you can see, if only just, on both sides of the hallway appear to be closed. Up ahead, the hallway turns left.

This is an old non-descript hallway. It appears to have not been used in years. If a PC inspects the hall, they find that the dust is so thick they can track their footprints. All the doors in this hallway are locked. After the bend, the only other door in the hallway rests at the very end, a large wooden door that requires a luck check to unlock.

Lower Castle 1-3: The Living Statue

The door opens into another dusty room. A stone statue of a knight stands next to the door on the far wall, holding a sword with both hands. The tip touches the stone floor. The scene is almost picturesque in view and ironic in nature, a stone guardian keeping watch over nothing for eternity. As you move nearer, you notice that the sword doesn’t look to be made of stone.

The living statue waits until a party member is close enough, then strikes with its longsword. After that, the figure immediately attacks the rest of the party. It considers them trespassers and does not answer bargaining or negotiating efforts.

LIVING STATUE: Init +6 (surprise); Atk weapon +3 melee (1D8); MV 40’ or climb 20’; Act 1D20; SP camouflage; SV Fort +2, Ref -2, Will -2; AL N.

Once defeated, a PC can loot the living statue for its longsword. The door is unlocked.

Lower Castle 1-4: Corridor of Stone

This dark, cold hallway stretches for 60’. Halfway down the corridor, an unearthly light glows from inside a wide doorway. Any other sign of life that may have once decorated this hall is gone.

No decorations adorn this hallway. It’s a plain, stone passage court personnel used to travel the castle in the days of old. The open doorway leads to Lower Castle 1-5. The stairwell leads to Upper Castle 1-3B and Upper Castle 2-3.

Lower Castle 1-5: The Dead Pool

A vast room with tall pillars filled with moonlight stretches out before you. Numerous broken statues and bones litter the aged marble flooring. The air feels heavy. Whatever happened here, you sense this room has seen much death. Not far from where you stand sits a dilapidated fountain. No water trickles from the broken-winged angel poised above its pool. You notice a faint blue glow above the water as you look closer. A low, almost imperceptible hum reaches your ear.

The water in the pool looks dark and lifeless. A DC 10 Intelligence Check confirms the strange humming sound originates from the water. A DC 15 Intelligence Check allows a PC to faintly make out skulls and bones in the bottom of the water. If a PC touches the water, it transports them to Upper Castle 2-4 (pg.21).

Upper Castle 1-3B: Chamber of Spikes

The metal door opens into a circular room about 60’ in diameter. In the middle of the room, a marble statue of the Baron stands on a pedestal and points a longsword at the party as if to challenge them. The steel of the blade gleams in the bright light shining down from a hole above the statue. Dark iron spikes cover the walls of the room. Strange grooves cut in the floor run from the wall toward the statue but stop short of it. A wooden door is on the opposite side of the room from where you stand.

The longsword is removable from the statue. If a PC does so, the trap is triggered, and the floor under the pedestal collapses to a five-foot radius from where it stands. The PC who climbed the statue and removed the sword must succeed on a luck check or fall into a pit of spikes. Any PCs standing around the statue have one opportunity to jump clear, or they also fall into the hole. (DC Reflex 10). The spiked walls immediately begin closing in on the middle of the room. PCs who jumped clear of the statue must again leap to safety between the closing spiked slabs (DC Reflex 15). PCs located at either door are not in danger. The wooden door opens to a stairwell that leads up and down. Going down takes the party to Lower Castle 1-4. Going up takes the party to Upper Castle 2-3.

Upper Castle 2-3: Wooden Hallway

You step into a well-lit hallway with torches at regular intervals along the walls. The light reveals beautifully-stained hardwood flooring and a mural that spans the entire length of the corridor. On the wall opposite the mural are numerous paintings of rulers, and at the end of the hallway rests another door. Halfway up the passage, you can see a break in the mural. Across from that break is another hall.

This passageway connects the stairwell from Upper Castle 1-3B to Upper Castle 2-2. If a PC inspects the mural, they find it tells the tale of how the castle was built. Since the castle originally belonged to Baron Magnus Keinzul, the story is that of enslavement and torture for the humans toiling away. Meanwhile, the Baron and other vampires reveled in their power over those perceived as lesser than them. The mural makes it clear that much human blood and suffering occurred during this imposing palace’s construction. If a PC inspects the paintings, they find that each one is the portrait of a ruler going back to the year Baron Keinzul went into his vampiric hibernation.

The hall across from the mural has a door at the end. If a PC inspects this hallway, they notice strange scratches on the wood flooring. With a DC 15 Intelligence Check, they deduce humanoid fingernails inflicted the scratches. With a DC 18 Intelligence Check, the PC also notices a fine wire stretching across the hall halfway toward the door. If a PC cuts or trips this wire, the entire passageway drops to a slant, becoming a smooth, wooden slide that leads into a chute below the door. A PC can stop their slide with a DC 18 Reflex Save. The chute drops the PCs directly into the water in Upper Castle 1-4.

If any PC can save themselves from the slide trap and try the wooden door, they find it locked. A PC unlocks the door by passing a Luck Check.

Upper Castle 2-4: Portal Closet

The door opens to reveal a small, dark room that is little more than a dusty closet. The room contains two other doors made of dark wood, one of which has blue light shining from around its edges. A mannequin displays a set of fine clothes in the shadows of one corner. Two wooden chests sit against the wall next to it.

The royal staff of the old human Barons once used this closet. A DC 10 Agility Check will open the chests in the room. One contains more fine clothing. The other has 300 silver pieces.

The door that spills light from behind it opens to a bright, swirling pool of blue energy. This portal transports whoever walks through it to the Dead Pool in Lower Castle 1-5.

The ordinary door made of dark wood opens to Upper Castle 2-3 into the slide trap part of the hallway.

The door a PC seeks depends on which direction they are coming from.

CONCLUSION:

If a PC deactivates the trap in the Upper Castle 2-2, the door opens to a stairwell leading down to holding cells. 2D6 family members wait there. 1D3 survivors are adults, while the rest are children. Some of the survivors found at the Baron’s castle are not from Phaerin, and they tell a tale of a growing vampire menace across the land: murdered royalty, lands seized, families destroyed, and the trafficking of living prisoners among the vampire elite.

Weeks later, Phaerin begins to thrive with a new livelihood. However, those who drank the Man-Bat blood feel like they no longer belong there. An urge to hunt creatures of darkness pulls at their very core. The knowledge that other vampires roam free to cause chaos consumes their thoughts, leaving them little choice. The hunters feel they must set out to stop the vampires before they become a plague upon the world. For surviving heroes who did not partake, the choice is simple. Either they stay to safeguard Phaerin from future vampire advances or join their comrades in a crusade to eliminate the vampire threat.