The world has never been a safe place. Bastions of civilization populate a dark, menacing world—islands of order and reason exist in a land otherwise overrun by dark cults, vile monsters, creatures from the dark edges of the imagination, and worse. As deadly as the world is on a normal day, something has begun to stir on the fringes of the civilized Elsir Vale. Formerly the site of an attack by an army known as the Red Hand, the Vale has known several years of peace since brave adventurers stormed into the teeth of the approaching Hand and sent them scurrying back into the darkness.

 

Character level: 1-3

 

Synopsis

• Hobgoblin warband seeking to gain fame and fortune is urged by mysterious "Emissary" to attack town of Brindol.
• Hobgoblin band attacks, stealing relics and kidnappings townsfolk.
• Plan on sacrificing townsfolk to cement undead's aid at homebase of Castle Rivenroar.

 

Locations

1. Elsir Vale - former site of Red Hand army attack (qv Red Hand of Doom - Wikipedia).
   1. Brindol - Town, center of former Red Hand army conflict.
   2. Hall of Valor - structure in Brindol, raided, contains relics of Red Hand army battle.
   3. Castle Rivenroar - structure unearthed by Sinruth's Hand, guarded by undead.

 

NPCs

1. Enemies
   1. Sinruth - hobgoblin leader of Sinruth's Hand, wants to renew Red Hand army.
   2. Morrik - captured hobgoblin, reveals location of Castle Rivenoar.
   3. Emissary - sends note to Sinruth with instructions to attack Brindol, sacrifice captives.
2. Kidnap Victims
   1. Jalissa - female acolyte of Ioun, very scared by kidnapping.
   2. Sertanian - old castellan of Hall of Valor, former soldier, hates hobgoblins.
   3. Thurann - young son of captain of Guard, fearful father is dead.
   4. Mirtala - female cook, contracted filth fever after capture.
   5. Zerriksa - old crone, rumored to be a witch.
   6. Adronsius - dwarven alchemist, badly beaten by hobgoblins.
   7. Kartenix - captain of Guard, father to Thurann, sacrificed.
3. Brindol Councilmen
   1. Eoffram Troyas - half-elf councilman, known for outlandish ideas, wants to use adventurers to help Brindol

 

Thoughts

Thoughts on this module were that the presence of several monsters simply weren't well enough explained. The townsfolk were kidnapped supposedly to be sacrificed to the undead, yet the only one killed was given to ettercaps?  And why are gnomes and wererats involved at all?  Better to up the undead/goblinoid presence and removed the gnome/wererats.  Also, perhaps better to start SoW off with a call to arms out west in Overlook with the PCs heading that way. Stopping at Brindol, they'll get wrapped up in RoR before continuing on. Should help things flow better.

 

One possible way to "juice up" the Rivenroar adventure (in conjunction with the attached players guide) is this: Turn the deathlock wight at the bottom into an evil lord who was partially responsible for the fall of Rhest. Instead of sending his men to help Rhest, he withheld them and allied with the goblinoids. When his "allies" turned on him, he had a priest of Vecna turn him into an undead. The reason that he wants the captured residents of Brindol is that he has learned a ritual that will turn him into a far more powerful undead creature - which also explains why the undead didn't simply eat the captured townsfolk upon arrival. The deathlock wight encounter becomes much more exciting, and if you move the young boy to that room and have him inside a pentagram being drained, it adds a sense of immediate urgency to the fight. You can introduce this information into the plot by having one of the ghosts in the blue slime portal room be the priest of Vecna who performed the original ritual, and who has had a few hundred years of tormented undeath to consider where his life went wrong.

 

Notes

1. Have the first encounter involve the goblins attempting to tear down the old Red Hand Banner to better tie with the adventure.  This explains the presence of the goblins in this tavern.
2. Include mention of the Freeriders not being available to help out due to orcs in the East.
3. Include mention of Alys (see Den of the Destroyer) to produce a better reaction at her introduction later on.  Try to make her the messenger sent after the PCs after the Ogre Bombardier encounter.
4. Replace Gnome Skulks with Goblin Blackblades (Level 2).
5. Replace Ettercap Fanguards with Chillborn Zombies (Level 4).
6. Replace Ettercap Webspinner with Deathlock Wight.
7. Replace Wererats with Skulk Zombie.
8. Replace Evistro with Offalian.
9. Replace Gnome Arcanist with Bairwin, Cult Leader.
10. Include rumors of war to the West, interrupted by Rescue at Rivenroar.
11. Consider having the blue slime portal be another portal to the Shadowfell, perhaps with a view of Umbraforge in the distance.
12. Alternate for blue slime portal (room 4) -- remove portal altogether and simply call it a tapestry.  Instead place 2 or 3 Phantom Warriors (MM 116) in the room who arise at intruders.  These are ghosts that were originally part of the army that came to defeat the evil here, failed in their task, and have grown crazed over the years.  After the PCs defeat the phantom warriors, one of the ghosts calms down and tells the heroes that they cannot rest until a magic item of great good (one of the level 5 magic items that the PCs have in their wishlist, it's worthwhile to make up a name for it) is rescued from the clutches of the undead in the upper level.
13. Alternate to the alternate - see the section in thoughts about how to "juice up" this module.

 

Continuity Notes

1. Foreshadow a caravan problem in Brindol. The Elsir Consortium caravan from Overlook is late. When the party track the orc raiding party, have them come across a sacked caravan, occupants dead with or without orcs. Include an Elsir Consortium strongbox. Your party may then return the strongbox to the Elsir Consortium office in Overlook and report on the fate of the caravan, giving them a chance to meet and befriend Bran Ironfell.
2. You can foreshadow Sarshan's weapons running operation by having a PC notice that the goblin and hobgoblin weapons bear a trademark engraved in the steel -- a black arrow (as Sarshan achieved renown as head of the Black Arrow mercenary company).
3. Ceremonial platinum sword could become a +2 magic sword (especially if handled by a paladin or cleric of Bahamut).  However, the sword still does not talk until the portal to the Elemental Chaos is opened in Den of the Destroyer (or, if you prefer, it could start talking immediately, but be unable to determine how to transform itself until then).  This helps to make the sword more important, and raises it as a mystery to eventually be resolved.  Have Sertanian note that the sword has never detected as magical until handled by the PCs (again, especially if there's a worshipper of Bahamut in the party), and have him promise to research the sword in the party's absence.  This research reaches fruition in Den of the Destroyer.

 

Side Quest Notes

• After finishing this adventure, move on to 1-5) The Far Stride, if you plan on doing that side quest.

 

 

Maps

 

Rivenroar Level 1

Map 1

Map 2

Map 3

Map 4

Map 5

 

Rivenroar Level 2

Map 1

Map 2

Map 3

Map 4

Map 5

Map 6

Map 7

Map 8

Map 9