Wednesday, April 29, 2015

KARAK. The dungeon that doesnt Die! TFT/HaOW version

Karack lvl 1

(Warning... try as I might, I usually miss some editing, so please mail me back and ill correct stuff, thx, Joel)

Before we begin, I want to you clue you into the history of how we got here. First off, this is the adventure supplied by the original Warhammer Quest Boardgame Roleplay game. This was Adapted by Chris over at Kestral Arts into Fantasy Hero Games. He does lots of Warhammering, and Heroquest.

I did the second rewrite which came as an adventure for Dungeon Crawl. This game can be found on boardgamegeek:  

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42415/dungeon-crawl

This adventure is the Third Re-write of this adventure. It is quite old and was by Chris written as a hero fantasy games adventure. I liked it so I decided to give it a whirl as a TFT/HaOW
Fan Adapted Adventure.   This should be a very difficult run for 1st level Heroes. I wrote it that way. There are 3 levels. I haven't looked at the other two levels yet. If you find it to difficult, then yell and scream at your DM for being sadistic. Dont talk to complain to me. Talk to the hand.

Important: Room 5 Is on the other map below





Please follow all basic rules for Either Heroes and Other Worlds OR TFT/Melee/Adv Melee etc. In addition please use the new RULES outlined here:

Rule  1: I'm introducing a new variant mechanic called the LUCK/UNLUCK roll. At specific times players roll a D6.  On a 1 they have unluck.  On a 6, they have LUCK. Say nothing about this until they hit encounter.

Rule 2: In some places the dm will read the world READ:. This means that you read that line, usually bolded to the players. This is a simple google document I dont have time or fortitude to put player info in boxes. Give me lots of “G+1” on my goggle blog and maybe be can be coaxed into upgrade this.

Rule 3:  For each room:  Roll for random trap in room.

Rule 4: For each unexplored corridor:  Roll for random monster, or draw standard monster card.

Rule 5: Use Init cards.  Mark on index cards 1 for each player, and one for the bad guy group.  So if you have 4 players and you have cards numbered 1 through 5.

Rule 6: There is a chance of TPK. This is a fact of the adventure. Stress this to them. TPK is not a bad thing. It use to happen now or again back in the hayday of gaming.



1. Entrance

Read: You stand at a rough archway scrawled in large archaic letters reading: “Oh, it gets worse!”. The ground before it goes up and down like a roller coaster finally settling down into a deep dark stinky stairway covered with old potato chip bags and mad magazines. The foul dank odor of old socks and an oddly warm waft of air from the deep.

Basic dungeon entrance. nothing special. At bottom of stairs the passage ends in a T with closed doors at both ends.

2. Junction.

Read. Door on west end: Covered with glowing magical sigils arranged in a picture of Alfred E Neumann.  No writing on east door.

Door on the west end of hall cannot be opened without a key.  If players step on either square in front of the door this door, a SWITCH TRAP triggers a loud bell and the east door bursts open flooding the corridor with with orcs and goblins from Room 3 (Guard room). Bad guys get init. deal remaining init cards to players.

3. Guard room

Read: old stools, beer bottles, a table, filth, roleplaying books, liter the floor.

If guards hot not been alarmed by door #2, then orcs and bogs are arguing playing dice, etc.  There are D3+3 Orcs and D3+3 goblins.  Do initiative as normal.

During room search, each player gets a random potion if his search is successful, instead of treasure cards.  No roll for treasure search on table. Table has some dice to take and 15gp! Thats the spirit!

4. Long corridor

L shaped corridor with a door in the the middle.

Secret door on north wall. one of the 3 torch lights in the L shaped room opens the secret door. Requires doing things in room. If they figure out nothing, then have them roll to discover twisting torch.

Two pits at the end of the hallway adjacent to room number 8: if players stand on squares adjacent to archway a portcullis closes in front of them, it dumps players into pit trap. Pit trap is hard to spot. Search for traps:  If search fails then players fall into a pit causing 4 dice of damage defendable. Spread the damage around evenly to all players. Subtract what was defended. Give them a LUCK ROLL! on a LUCK result remove a point of. On an UNLUCK result, add a point of damage.  Portcullis has 15 points of damage that must be dealt to it before it cracks.  


5. Well of DOOM!

Read: Dusty, grimy room. Spiderweb cloaks in the corners, and old bones scattered around the rooms. On one corner is a large wooden chest and the other a skeleton. oops!  in the middle of the room is a sunken area filled with foul smelling pudding. Spiders the size of dogs are on walls and floors and moving toward you.

D6+1 hunting spiders. FIRE WILL DESTROY ALL SPIDER SILK!  At the bottom of the pool of pudding theres a gold glowing key (for room 6). Skeleton has poor quality plate, and chain, and sword looks worthless, but may be an artifact! Roll 2D6. IF its double 6’s then its an artifact! (+1 weapon or armor, or in item with a spell in it.

Chest has 4000 copper, weighing 250 lbs. 4000 copper is about 400 gold value. The chest is monstrous and weighs 500lbs. Moving the safe or coins triggers a trap! Big surprise :)  For every 100 coin removed, the sunken area gets a little deeper D3 spiders appear  from cubby holes.  This can happen 40 times. If your players are stupid enough to keep doing it, its their own fault

6.  Minotaur Lair

READ: as the players open the door, a loud growl sound. The smell of sweltering unwashed herds of cattle and wet dog fill your nostrils. A pair of Fancy Scottish minotaurs appear with horns and axe aplenty! A large powder horn is on the floor.

2 Minotaurs.  Standard 1 search per player.   Under the kilt of one his ‘sack’ is filled with 25 gold. Horn on floor contains 1 random potion.


7. Fire Chasm

Read: flames leaping out of a chasm, illuminating the room. An old rickety bridge crosses the chasm leading to a towering bronze statue of a dragon!

Room does not become active until the players step onto the bridge.  At that point Enter: 1 bat per person and 2 sewer rats per person.   They appear to be coming from the area of statue of the dragon.  

IF any one rolls 2 ones on an attack roll while on the bridge, they fall off the bridge catching the railing and looks their next turn trying to scramble back up the bridge or roll a luck die to recover. on UNLUCK, lose 25 gold or a potion!

Examining the dragon statue reveals a pull out drawer of 25 gold and an ITEM. If the players take the gold then the dragon awakes and sprays in a 4d of damage in a continuous circle. This continues until players return gold, 10ft away or dead.  Item is ok to take.

If players leave coin alone or return it before leaving the dragon eyes glow green and say:

READ: Brave adventurers. Heed my words. Beware of the hidebound door. Only if you bear no arms will you open this cursed portal.

If players attack dragon it shifts into normal form and TPK.  oops! Bad day!

8. Tomb Chamber

READ: huge stone coffin stands in north end of room with a recumbent knight holding a sword.

No monsters here. Roll to see if theres a random encounter.  After players search room players notice 1) switch to open portcullis, and also a dimly phantom critter (ghost). The Ghost natters, spends some time and walks through a wall. See below.

Tomb is trapped as SPEAR trap. Contains a skeleton with a sword in its hand. The sword is a broadsword which does 1 additional dice of damage to undead. Lucky you, you're alive.

Roll to spot trap door, only if players walked within 10 feet of it.  Trap door can only be opened by destroying it.  Door must take 6 damage.

North wall, search to spot mechanism AFTER ghost walks through it. Players can search room a second time after ghosts goes through wall. They do not find it a first time (dramatic license). Players REQUIRE A lightsource to avoid combat darkness penalty of room 9.

If you examine the map you will note that the lower portion of the room, just down the stairs is a trap door to the next level. It is not a hidden door.

9. Hidden Corridor

Examining bones reveals:  A Warhammer, a small scroll stuck in the dirt floor. and  pouch with 20 gold.


10. Ring of Drool

A pale green misty smoke rises from the floor. There is a just barely visible magic
circle inscribed on the floor and hear an eerie, dull chanting.

Do not incur a random monster encounter in this room. It is pre populated.
Use minotaur and spellcaster as appropriate for your group refer to the rules.

As the party enters the room seems empty, but as soon as they begin to take any action other than running away, forms become visible in the room. The smoke clears and two Minotaurs are standing in the magic circle, one on either side of Skabnoze the Orc Shaman.

Skabnoze holds an old book and has a key hanging on a chain around his neck. As soon as the Minotaurs are dead or Skabnoze is otherwise pressed in combat, he uses his magic ring and vanishes in a poof of smoke. If Skabnoze has been knocked out, he wakes up and uses his ring while the PCs are otherwise busy. However he leaves, in his haste, Skabnoze drops his book and leaves it behind. Bend the rules if you have to: Skabnoze gets away this time.

Once the room is cleared of monsters, the PCs find only a small tightly wrapped scroll, 3D6 silver on each Minotaur body, and the book. The first page of the book reads (in yrch)

Skabnoze’s buk - sekrit - hands off and dis meens yu! If anyone can read yrch or has a spell to translate with, handout 3 has what is legible in the book. One page holds a rough scrawl of a cross section of the deep. The book is signed by Skabnoze and then Magrak Manbane, inexplicably signed four times in exactly the same script.

That’s it for the first Deep, the PCs can head back to Karak Azgal to train and equip, heal and ready.  

Hand out 3…” i gotz vun keey and you gotz da udder.  yu lot can hv da ax. itz ded and silly. i getz da star fing and we splitz any udder stuf fifti-fifty. def to uz if you break da deel.




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