Free Roleplaying Module: "Refuge Deep"

The League of Fear is a secret society of priests that, during one of the last incidents of the plague, sold their souls to the devil to live through the effects of the disease. They are led by Abbot Brock, the head of the monastery at the time of the plague.

The monastery, the Refuge Deep, is presently occupied by the cult, though great effort has been made to silence any that would reveal the true nature of the Refuge. The Refuge Deep is located on a high, craggy cliff overlooking the forest of Flynn. It is visible for up to 50 miles away, perched atop the plateau.

Great secrecy surrounds the Abbey, those of its order sworn to an oath of silence to any other than themselves. The isolated fortress was once a place of a very strict order of Good priests. As the plague swept through the elven communities below, the order held up in the lofty heights above. Eventually the black death reached the outpost as well.

One of the priests came down with the illness, and was cast from the cliffs as a sort of gesture to please their strange God. No answer to their prayers were recieved, and desperation ensued as one priest after another was covered with the black sores of the plague.

One Krill the Dragon Charmer came to the monastery to visit a friend, Ragot of Alexander, one of the high priests of the order. Great awe was expressed as to how he was able to escape the black death, having travelled through the lands struck worst with the dread disease. He was dressed in silvery black armor with a crimson cloak bearing the emblem of a skewered cockatrice. He was of the order of Krill, a black magic wizard of the North forest in the land of the Dwarves.

Krill told the handful of remaining priests of the protective powers of the order to its members vs. the plague. The priests were horrified when Krill told of the nature of his order, a demonic sect with evil powers. Krill redied himself to leave when he was stopped from descending the winding stairway to the abbey by a cry from Cardinal Gorton. He explained that Abbot Brock had developed large sores and was coughing up blood. Krill was summoned to his bedside. When asked as to whether Krill could heal him, the standard cure disease spells proving useless against the disease, which was caused by the order of Krill itself, Krill answered that he could on conditions of the abbey being turned to his faith and he being the leader of the group.

In desperation, Brock complied. Krill healed him, the disease leaving his body within minutes. Krill moved into the monastery and a seemingly endless trail of his faithful leaders came to the monastery from the north. His high powered thugs roamed the citadel, keeping any opposition quiet, often silencing it by casting them from the heights of the cliffs.

He seemed to rule with unquestioned authority until one day, one of the guards was found dead, a poisoned arrow shot through his facemask. Much investigation followed, but in the end, no evidence turned up as to who had done it. A week later to the day, one of the newly organized cardinals was found in a pool of blood, stabbed in the back with a slender dagger. Another of the guards was found at the base of the cliffs, having been shoved off.

Krill was furious! A full scale witch hunt began, searching for the cause of the deaths. Accusations were made, and many innocent were tried and murdered, but the deaths continued. Brock studied the black arts more and more, filling in the gaps in his former faith with the black arts of Krill.

Soon he had gained in power to rival that of Krill. They battled, and Krill came out victorious, Brock and his cardinals fleeing the fortress. On their way out, Brock caused an explosion that caved in the stair entrance to the monastery. It would take a month or so to dig out the only way out.

With the help of the witch Wayloe, Brock and his fallen cardinals summoned the spirits of those killed by Krill's men to haunt the monastery. Krill was powerful, but was unable to fend off the effects of time-based attacks that the ghosts made on him and his guards. They died of old age, and the news was given by the witch to Brock.

As reward for her services, Wayloe was to live the rest of her years in the monastery as a guest. The stairs were cleared, and Brock and his cardinals took posession of the outpost without a fight, dead bodies of the aged littering the fortress. Brock claimed Krill's set of full plate mail armor for his own. In it was magic to make its wearer invulverable to missle attacks and +2 in all other respects. It can only be worn by those of chaotic evil alignment.

Brock incorporated the wisdom of the witch with Krill's knowledge and his priestly powers. His followers are fierce to fight indeed, being of a double class type of fighter and mage, having up to two of the theif abilities at 80%.

He has befriended a tribe of landshark, which he uses to burrow through the rock below the citadel to make hallways and rooms. His four cardinals ride these in attack situations.

It is now 200 years later. The land sharks have since died out. Brock and his four cardinals live still, as undead, as part of their deal with the demons that saved them from the plague. The ghosts of those killed by Krill's men steal life from others and give it to Brock's men. The ghosts still roam the monastery occasionally, but only when summoned.

The party is to find and destroy Brock, who has made a deal with Delig to help destroy Asterland and give it over to the Trolls and Goblins of the east. They are given a magic amulet that will afford protection from magic 70%. It will create an anti-magic field that will make all spells within the 10' radius ineffective. The amulet must be returned after the mission. The party is also to steal information about the spells and nature of the cult to bring back.

The fortress is impossible to take by air unless one can do it by pegasis or griffon, as the amulet will not allow the funtioning of magic withing its area of effect. Thus a flying carpet of ring of flying will not work.

It is watched over by three watchmen with a telescope fitted with a gem of true seeing to detect invisible. The best bet is to be teleported to a spot just below the cliffs, near the entrance. From there, one must pass up the stairs by night, pick the lock to get into the stairs, and, once at the top, hunt down and kill Brock. No magic can be used against him as long as the medallion is worn by someone not more than 10' from each character.

ST 15
A.C.-4
DX 18
Class: Priest/Fighter(/Thief)
CO 18
Level: 10 / 6 (Special)
WI 17
H.P.: 75
IN 14
Magic Resistance: 20%
CH 11

Abbot Brock wears metallic black armor that is +2 in all respects except that it makes the wearer invulnerable to missile attacks as per shield spell. The power of the shield is such that it will take up to 20 h.p./attack. If more is absorbed than this, the shild property will fail for 5-10 minutes before returning.

Cardinal Gorton

ST 12
A.C. 1
DX 16
Class:Priest/Mage
CO 17 Level: 7 / 6
WI 18
H.P.: 43
IN 15
Magic Resistance: 15%
CH 16

Cardinal Gordon wears metallic green plate mail. He is a tall, robust figured man with a deep, commanding voice. He prefers to talk his way out of problems, but will gladly use his crossbow or 2-handed sword if provoked. He can often be found reading in the archives. He is especially interested in old history. He casts magic spells from an ivory orb into which he has stored spells, thus he takes no penalty for a mage wearing armor. Cardinal Gorton has a banshee scream attack which has the effect of deafening all within 50' (subject to saving throw vs. Petrification). All within the range must save vs Petrification or run in fear.

Cardinal Grigg

ST 18/00
A.C. -2
DX 15
Class:Fighter/Priest (necromancer)
CO 18
Level: 15 / 9
WI 17
H.P.: 84
IN 13
Magic Resistance: 10%
CH 14

Cardinal Grigg is a very tough opponent! He is ambidextrous with the Bastard Sword, and attacks using one in each hand. He is fearless in battle, having an extreme willpower that lets him fight to -5 before going unconscious. He is a specialized bowman and will often use called shots to a part of the body which is unprotected. He has a ring of teleportation, which he will use if in trouble. He has a strength bow which gives him +5 damage. It is good if he can be avoided altogether. He will most often be found drilling troops or working out/training. He is very disciplined. He wears yellow and black plate mail. Cardinal Grigg has done extensive research into the negative material plane and its effects on those in the prime material plane. He can control undead at 80%. He has an attack, as an undead, of touch which drains 1d4 strength points. These can either be temporary or permanent, depending on the gamemaster. This is especially effective against characters with very high strengths, as it tends to erase their strength damage bonuses. Thus, a fighter with an 18/00 strength that gets +7 on damage can easily drop to no damage bonus.

Cardinal Rufus

ST 12
A.C. 2
DX 14
Class:Fighter/Mage
CO 18
Level: 10 / 6
WI 14
H.P.: 97
IN 10
Magic Resestance: 30%
CH 14

Cardinal Rufus wears ruby red metallic armor and is quite the ladies man. Though undead, he has a human form over his skeletal form, allowing him to blend in with humans and interact well. He spends much of his time in the wine cellars beneath the monastary. He hates animals of all kinds as well as theives. He was once a town guard for Innlandstadt, thus explain- ing why his hatred for theives. Rufus fights with a bastard sword, but prefers bow attacks where possible. He is a master of poisons and uses them with all bow attacks, either petrification, damage, sleep, or death. He has antidotes to each of these as well. He is a master of acids as well. He fights as often as not with a sprayer of his own device, which has a range of 40' and does 2d12 damage if hit. He can make smoke bombs out of pepper and oil that make breathing all but impossible for any within its area of effect. As a semi-undead, he need not breathe for up to 10 minutes, making this an effective incapacitating weapon. Those failing a save, which must be made once per minute, will fight at -4 on all attacks, with movement at 1/2 normal.

Cardinal Oren

ST 13
A.C. -1
DX 18
Class:Fighter/Assasin
CO 18
Level: 13 / 12
WI 14
H.P.: 85
IN 18
Magic Resistance: 25%
CH 13

Cardinal Oren is probably the most difficult opponent to defeat. He is very cunning in strategy and tactics. He has an improved invisibility ring, and uses it much of the time. He has a permanent silence 10' radius cast on his armor, which is metallic blue. He is all but impossible to hear, and, when invisible can only be detected by the aura of silence around his person. He has gauntlets of Ogre Power, making his attacks at +5 damage. His normal tactics are to steal items from a party that may be used against him and confront them later. He is expert in martial arts, and acts as the head combat trainer for the troops. He will often toy with a party or opponent as if it were a game. He often roams the endless tunnels below the monastary, searching for items of power that belonged to Krill while he was in power, which have not been found yet. He is expert in setting traps, which are sucessful 85% of the time. Cardinal Oren secretly wishes to take over Abbot Brock's position, deeming himself a better 'man' for the job.

Over the past years, the league has kept very low key, allowing very few to venture into their lair. Once in the league of fear, one is allowed to exit only when the Masters (the four cardinals and Abbot Brock) allow it. In the last year or so, the cardinals have began venturing outside of the citadel more and more, often making allies to furthur their cause of causing chaos in general. They have sacrificed some secrecy for mobility.

Abbot Brock has made an agreement with Delig and Bandor to teach them the art of necromancy, which they used to raise the dead of Mirril for their purposes. Presently, arrangements are being made to teach the skills of magic as it applies to time travel. Delig wishes to travel forward in time to steal inventions for use in his campaign of destruction. A time door has been opened, located somewhere inside the citadel. Abbot Brock has entered it and has not returned since. He will do so within a month with technology of mass destruction.

The Great Council in Flynn has learned of this plot twist and wish to send the party to destroy the time portal. A magic "booga bomb" has been prepared for the destruction of the time portal. On the utterance of the key word "booga", an antimagic field is generated which will dispel the magic portal that Brock entered and seal up that particular time "wormhole," making his return delayed. It took over a full year for the wizards of the Citadel to gather enough magical power to open the portal. It is thought that it would take a similar length of time to create another once the wormhole is destroyed through which Brock first time traveled.

Brock took Cardinal and Rufus with him, leaving the citadel less protected than normal. It is still no easy task to enter the refuge and get to the portal.

The Sucession of the Citadel Abbots

There are 23 abbots that have passed the realms of this world. They are now stone demons, called upon to learn the knowledge of the world to use against the forces of good. Once summoned, they will attempt to hunt down their intended victim until either they have been destroyed or its victim is. Their succession has been over the last 246 years, from when the plague spread across the land and they made their pact with Krill.

Abbots are allowed to be in the post until such time as Krill decides that they are ready to pass to the state of stone demon. They are killed in a ceremony that makes them into a stone demon, with all of the powers of their former selves in addition to the ones that they gain by nature of being stone demons. The succession of abbots is listed below:

Abbot Brock was the first of the Abbots at the time of the great plague. He ventured out for Krill in search of great magic with which to make the league of fear a dominant force in Asterland. He returned only recently to stay from journeys into the abyss of the many planes. He, upon returning, retook his place at the head of the league.

Abbot Harmony was the last of the abbots to attain the status of Stone Demon. Abbot Brock now leads, having the knowledge of the plains and dimensions on his side. While away, he learned the secret of space/time, and the magic to control it. He reigns in prelude to conquest. He uses Delig and Bandor to serve his purpose, letting them think that they are in command. They are very, very wrong.

Note: When an abbot is changed into a stone demon, he will gain 10 hit points, due to the tougher nature of their bodies. There are two hit point values listed below. The larger of the two values is the amount of damage to destroy the demon outright or to destroy it in its native rock form. The second value is the amount of damage required to change the stone demon back into a harmless rock statue. The rock demons will regenerate slowly (one hit point per hour) until they are fully healed, at which point they will be able to attack again. No sign of their regeneration will be seen unless one watches them over time, since they heal so slowly.

Types of Negative Energy Drain:

A Aging (d6 years/attack)
C Constitution (1/attack)
Ch Chill Hands (d8/attack)
H Hit Points (d4/attack)
L Level Drain (1/attack)
Z Turn to Zombie (save vs. Petrification /Polymorph)

The Path to the Refuge Deep is a dangerous one. The Flynn forest surrounding it is a deadly place to travel. Evil Ents live in the Chillpool Glenn, from the floor of which rises the rocky spire upon which the citadel rests. It is a quarter mile wide, rising a full 1500 feet in the air, practically straight up. It is a very difficult climb for even the most skilled mountaineer. The craggy cliffs are the home of various serpents which live in the cracks of the cliffs.

At the base of the hill is a path which leads to an ornate porch with a thick crystal door sealing the way to the citadel above. Near the top of the spire can be seen by the obserbant viewer windows carved in the stone. The base of the spire is evidence of the years of self-imposed exile of the League of Fear, bones of various animals scattered all over the glenn floor. The glen is a grassy clearing about 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide.

A lake is toward the northern end of the valley which is fed by countless small springs. The water is icy and crystal clear. Fish are abundant in the lake, mostly due to the fact that only the bravest adventurer would venture into the vale. It is mentioned in hushed tones even in the enchanted city of Flynn.

The vale is littered with the bones and rusted armor of warriors that have fallen in the past wars that were fought some hundred years ago by the elves seeking to regain possesion of the vale. Old rusted chariots are overturned, the skeletal remains of the horses drawing it still harnessed in molding leather. The stillness of the vale is hard to describe. Even local birds will fly around the vale if possible.

The only thing that roam the forest surrounding the glenn are undead warriors which guard against intruders. There are also undead wardogs that roam the forest. Many of the undead are former soldiars sent originally to fight those that now serve as their masters.

Haron the Warlock is still at the citadel, guarding the portal. In battle in the anti-magic shield, he will try to create effects outside of the shield that can affect things inside of it. If he is unable to do this, his second goal will be to enter the portal so as to help Abbot Brock find his way back to the current time era.

The remaining cardinals, Grigg and Gorton, will fight fearlessly at the maximum of their levels. If killed, they still can be 'raised' by the priests of the citadel. At least some of the higher level priests will avoid conflict, to bring back the cardinals in case of one of their 'deaths.'

Many of the legion of fear are simple monks, and have little or no fighting skills, and will flee in terror if confronted directly. Several of the residents of the citadel will fight to the best of their abilities.

As his 'gift,' Blanker recieved 'Jello Bones,' allowing him to be very effective against skeletal forms, of which there are many guarding the citadel. Blanker was raised by elves in this area, and will fight mercilessly against the undead of the valley, getting a +2 on his 'to hit' scores when confronting one of the undead. His parents were killed by Cardinal Rufus, thus his personal interest in the campaign.

His home villiage, the small town of Grinee, lies 5 miles to the southwest of the Chillpool Glen. During his childhood, the town was raided often by the legion of fear. Livestock and other food provisions were stolen constantly from the town by night. The town has about 120 residents. If approached by night, all of the windows will be closed with heavy shutters and the doors bolted shut. The townsmen are very cheery by day, but as nightfall approaches, they will tend to be less and less helpful, wanting to get on with their boarding up for the night. Anyone that roams the town at night will be mistrusted, and often said to be in alliance with the legion of fear.

Blanker will suggest that the party go to Grinee before going to battle, suspecting that the likelihood of his not returning to be great. His parents will greet him open-armed and beg him not to venture into the Glenn. When he insists that he must, his mother gives him a good luck charm, a gold acorn and leaves on a chain to wear, reminding him of how good it served his grandfather in the troll wars. His father will give him his bow, a fine steel strength bow. When released, the string will make no sound. His father is elven and his mother is a small framed, beautiful human woman. His brother Jaren wishes him luck after trying one last time to convince him not to go. He gives him a couple of tubes containing dust of blinding, ground glass dust that when poofed in the eyes causes at least temporary blindness. The townsfolk of his youth bid him good luck, each giving away that they never expect to see him alive again.

From home he gets a box of Septi, a type of poisonous insect. Blanker has aquired an immunity to their poison, and thus will not be affected by bites. He has a metal tube that he uses as a blowgun to shoot them at living targets. One note on Blanker in combat, once he activates his invisibility ring, he is unseen as normal. Furthur, when invisible he is unseen by undead, which normally see through invisibility. When he has attacked, he only becomes visible for an instant, becoming invisible again. This is a very rare item, a very improved invisibility ring.

The party sets out for the North, the whole town offering supplies and food for Blanker, who is seen as a foolish man, though driven by a good cause. Blanker will also get his pet Blobber, which will serve well due to its especially good attacks against bone matter with its acid attacks and general calcium devouring. If the blobber attacks a skeleton, it will try to enter its rib cage, where it can do damage without risking being hit by the skeleton itself.

The blobber, which Blanker calls 'blobbie' will hop and roll along after him, often breaking into an often annoying humming/singing sound, which indicates that he is happy or bored. Blobbie is prone to fits of happiness, much as a small dog would, and often breaks out in editorial noises that let one know how it feels.

It is ferocious in an attack, often making a little screaming noise when engaging in the fray, a kind of muffled trumpet sound. When it must, it can remain silent for quite some time, but will often start humming softly. It speaks a language consisting of high pitched squeaks and shrill sounds, which Blanker can understand.

This was his childhood pet. He is aware that it may come in handy due to its calcium-based attacks. Blobbie will often chase after squirrels or mice when on the road, having little trouble catching up with the party in short order. Blanker will call him back from time to time, the urgency of the mission paramount in his mind, and in no mood for lightness. Blobbie often keeps him from getting too serious, telling him jokes in its language.

The Glenn is a short ride from town. About a half mile from the Glenn, Blanker suggests taking to the woods, so as not to be noticed by the sentinals that guard the entrance to the valley, a pair of undead Cyclops with morning star tails and packing battle axes.

In the forest, Blanker will use camouflage, attatching pieces of plants and smearing his cloak and hood with dirt. He has special padded shoe covers that allow him to sneak around with 20% less chance of being detected on his move silently ability.

On entering the valley, one will notice the foul stench in the air of rotting bodies. The entire valley is strewn with the bodies of those forces that have been sent from time to time to overthrow the legion of fear. Each time that any army has stood against the legion, they have fallen, failing miserably. The remains that could not be animated for use as servants and fighters in the cause were animated anyway so as not to allow the souls of the warriors passage to their reward above. They have broken limbs and are generally smashed up. Some even are no less than animated skulls. Even these beg one not to go near the citadel. They reach out with broken, rotting appendages, pleading that one not suffer their fate.

One small child alone is not afraid to enter this valley, little Sam Goodwin, a little dwarven child whose parents were slaughtered on the road by the undead, having taken a wrong turn. The boy was spared though. The undead are repelled by him, children being protected from their numbers by the forces of heaven. Even among undead, it is considered taboo to harm a child. The little boy has built a little shack on the western bank of Chillpool. He eats by fishing in the lake, which is full to capacity with trout. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the awful things around him, having grown up around them and regarding them as commonplace, as ordinary as the bushes or trees. He is 7 and cannot be harmed until he has reached the age of accountability, or 8. At this point, he is considered to be on his own, relying on his own strength as well as that which can be gained from above.

On the south side of the mountain is a path leading to a stone porch. It is supported by heavy, fluted columns. A heavy crystal door some 12" (30.5 cm) thick is sheltered by it. The door will open with the correct command word, a knock spell, or if the door itself is shattered, which would prove difficult considering its thickness and size. A shatter spell will do the trick, though. Since the party's weapons are temporarily imbued with the shatter spell, this should not prove a difficult obstacle. Smashing it with a large rock will do it with the same percentage as the persons bend bars/lift gates.

Inside, the adventurers will find a long hallway leading off into the darkness. The air is very stale, as if seldom opened to the outside. Ten or so feet down the hall and to the right is a locked room for storage. It has sacks of wheat, much of which has weavel in it, potatoes, which have sprouted long shoots, and a few bags of beans, which are in good shape. There are some clothes that have been left there, including several

(not sure what happened to the rest of the file. I will find it and complete this quest description)