The City of Arches

by Michael E. Shea

A guidebook to a city of adventure for the fifth edition of the

world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.

Updated 22 August 2022

Copyright 2022 Michael E. Shea. Cover art and cartography by Chloe Bolland.
Internal artwork copyright 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission.
Table of Contents

About This Guide ................................................. 3

A City of Adventure ............................................. 3
Truths of the City of Arches.............................. 3
History..................................................................... 3
Politics..................................................................... 4
Economics .............................................................. 4
Keys to the Arches ............................................... 4
Notable NPCs ......................................................... 5
Notable Locations ................................................ 6
Side View Map ................................................... 7-8
Top-View Map .................................................... 13
Notable Factions ............................................... 14
Random Events.................................................. 15
Random City Encounters................................ 16
Villains of the City of Arches ......................... 17
Worlds Beyond the Arches ............................ 19
Arkus – World of Dead Temples .................. 21
Player's Guide .................................................... 22
Adventure Generator ...................................... 23
Hex Flower .......................................................... 25
The Key of Worlds ............................................ 26
Return of the Nameless King ........................ 30
The Obsidian Skull ........................................... 33
The Vile Pit.......................................................... 35
The Tomb of Rorathix ..................................... 37

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F
or more than a thousand years the city of arches
stood at the border of civilization and the
Truths of the City of Arches
unforgiving wilds beyond. Some travel to the Most residents of the City of Arches know the
city from afar seeking its welcoming hospitality, following information. Pass this information to the
bustling mercantile, or delving into its mysterious characters as they become acquainted with the city or
depths. Others find themselves here by accident offer them to players if their character is already
– denizens from other worlds who stepped out from familiar with the city.
one of the city’s mysterious archways with little
memory of where they came from and no way to • The City of Arches is more than two thousand years
return. Below, above, and beyond the city lie ancient old, yet no one knows of its true origin or creator.
mysteries of its origin and relics of its dark past. For • Dozens of arches of all different shapes, sizes, and
most who walk its streets, the city is simply home. ages can be found in, around, and under the city.
Some have lain dormant for centuries while others
About This Guide still radiate magic.
• None know how to control the arches. Occasionally,
The City of Arches is a small city setting for your creatures from other lands or other worlds step
fantasy RPG. It is a city of mystery, magic, and through the archways from the other side. They
adventure. The city can serve as a hub for a larger enter the city often disoriented and often with little
section of your world, a stopover location in a longer memory of where they came from.
journey, or as a campaign centerpiece for dozens of • Some believe the City of Arches was once a hub
adventures to follow. between worlds, each archway a gateway to another
This guide includes notable locations of the city plane of existence. This power may be lost but some
itself, prominent NPCs, locations for adventure, and believe keys still exist to open archways to faraway
many hooks to seed your own stories. Use the City of lands or worlds.
Arches as it best suits your campaign. • None can routinely predict when a new being steps
through the gates from another world but the
A City of Adventure Gatekeepers volunteer to help such lost beings and
defend against those that seek hostile intent.
The City of Arches is designed to fuel your imagination • A network of layered sewers, cisterns, and ruins lay
and give you a remarkable place to use in your fantasy beneath the city streets. Explorers often discover
RPGs. It’s built from the ground up to be both fantastic deeper vaults and chambers buried behind
and useful. Fantastic in that it’s a place you and your collapsed walls of worked stone. Often adventurers
players love to explore and discover together. Useful find great treasures and great dangers in these
in that it’s built for you, the GM, to support high newly uncovered vaults.
fantasy RPGs. Here are some of the design principles • The mountain overlooking the city contains
that went into the development of the City of Arches: hundreds of crypts used to inter the city’s dead for
All races are welcome. The ancient arches of the centuries. Some crypts have collapsed into deeper
city draw in creatures from across the multiverse. tunnels, monstrous lairs, and vast shafts leading
Such creatures show up roughly monthly, often further into the mountain.
disoriented, and are welcomed by the city’s • A waterfall from the glacial ice of the mountain
Gatekeepers. Whatever past these travelers once had above flows over the statues of three forgotten
before leaves them when they enter the City of Arches. goddesses and into the city’s large and open public
Only their behaviors determine their reputation in the baths. Some believe the baths to have restorative
City of Arches. As a GM, it’s easy for you to fit in any power.
races you choose as both characters and NPCs in the • It is said the border between worlds is thinner in the
city. skies above the City of Arches. An observatory in the
A Single City with Limitless Adventures. The City of mountains above the city has devices capable of
Arches is a single city you can drop into your world peering into the alien starscapes of other worlds.
wherever it happens to fit and yet is nearly limitless in
opportunities for adventure. Whether adventurers
crawl down into the depths of the Lost Cisterns, into
History
the catacombs of the Cliffs of the Dead, or into the Few residents know the history of the City of Arches.
planar portals of the arches themselves; you can fit It’s commonly known that the city goes back centuries,
this city of adventure anywhere and expand it
but few would guess that it goes back more than two
however you wish.
thousand years. The origin of the city is shrouded in
Throughout this guide you’ll find numerous hooks the curse of its creator, the Nameless King. This king, it
you can use to build your own adventures or side is said, once ruled over the entire region surrounding
quests. the City of Arches before building the city itself as his

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 Golden Knights, soldiers and guards who protect the
City of Arches from internal and external threats.
Hook. Queen Aventus’s elder sister, Atretha
Aventus, had been expelled from the royal family a
decade before the death of their mother. Rumor is
Atretha seeks the throne herself and has materials in
her possession that threaten Karsara’s reign. The
queen’s spymaster, Roselyn Zeshe, seeks trustworthy
adventurers to recover these materials and bring it to
her. Atretha resides in seclusion in a manor within the
villas of the Second Rise.
The Golden Council is made up of thirty-two
elected council members selected from within their
representative group and accepted by other council
members. The councilors, as they are known, may
stay in the position for life or may be rotated regularly
as determined by their representative group.
Corruption has wormed its way into the council,
through bribes, blackmail, and even violence. So far
such stains have not fully corrupted the council and
those who commit such crimes know to keep the
central hub to the worlds beyond. Using tremendously status quo lest they face Golden Knight inquisitors.
powerful magic, the king created the portals Hook. Councilwoman Irva Mentra, councilwoman
throughout the city, each leading to different lands and of the textile workers, found a crypt below the golden
different worlds. Yet the king’s vanity led to his council chambers. She belives ghosts from this crypt
eventual downfall and his curse – let none remember have taken over at least a half-dozen of the city’s
him or the empire he once ruled. Every scrap of his leaders, moving towards some agenda. Irva seeks
empire would be forgotten. And it has. adventurers to travel into the crypts and discover the
For two thousand years, different rulers; some plot of these ghosts.
benevolent councils and some bloodthirsty tyrants;
ruled over the city as the magic of the gates waned.
The ruins of nearly a dozen such civilizations sit
Economics
beneath the city whose buildings grow atop the The City of Arches stands as a bastion between
remains of the previous as the city sinks further into civilized agrarian towns and cities in one direction and
the ground.
untamed lands of ancient ruins occupied with warring
Hook. Gidea Moss, an explorer delving into the
raiders and bloodthirsty monsters in the other. The
ruins below the City of Arches, found an antechamber
eclectic origins of the people of the City of Arches
containing a book scribed during the reign of the provides a wealth of different foods, crafts, tools, and
Blood Emperor Ivex Kravak. On opening the book artwork found nowhere else in the world The people
pages began to immediately burn, scorching out an of the surrounding lands often seek these goods.
even older recorded history. Gidea quickly closed the Much of the city’s wealth comes from the artifacts,
book to preserve any pages yet to burn and now seeks scrolls, tomes, and treasures found in the ruins below
a way to learn their secrets. and caverns above the city sought by adventurers and
the sages, collectors, and fences who hire them.
Politics Four times a year neighboring villages, towns, and
cities come to the City of Arches for week-long trade
The City of Arches is a figurative monarchy whose day- festivals bringing goods and wealth from all around.
to-day rule comes from the Golden Council, a council
represented by elected members of industry or
particular populations in the city. For three centuries Keys to the Arches
this arrangement continues to stand strong. No one in the city knows how to control the
Queen Karsara Aventus IV, known as the mysterious arches of the city. Yet numerous keys able
Whispering Willow sits on the throne of the City of to activate the arches still exist, buried deep within the
Arches. Though only in her early teens, Queen Aventus ruins of previous civilizations. These keys, which can
has proven skilled as both leader and ambassador to take the shape of nearly any object, activate the arches
neighboring regions. Her advisors trust her and love
when they get close. Once activated, the arches turn
her, as does the Golden Council and the people of the
into gateways to other locations and even other
City of Arches. She is guarded and protected by the worlds. Such keys may only work once or twice while

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others may work periodically or even continually. A
single arch exposed to different keys may open
gateways to multiple locations.
As the GM, include these keys to suit your campaign.
These keys can give the characters access to any
location you desire for your current adventures or
campaign. Some may lead to small and isolated
dungeons of the previous empires. Others may lead to
the far reaches of the world or other planes of
existence. You can control the flow of your campaign
by deciding which keys to award and which new
locations to open up as they best suit your campaign.

Notable NPCs
During their journeys through the City of Arches, the
characters may meet one of the following NPCs.

Breva Windsong – City Herald In times of crisis, Lord Swifthand can call upon six
Once a famous bard traveling the lands, Breva veterans and two volunteer mages from Karthax to
Windson, a half-elf commoner, now serves the queen defend the city from the horrors that sometimes step
and council of the City of Arches, projecting her mid- through the arches and don’t take well to Garland
morning decrees, often with her own dry satirical Willowmane’s gift baskets.
humor thrown in to keep people interested. Though her stern exterior projects the strength of
Hook. Thieves stole Breva’s prized lyre, an the Golden Knights, those who know her appreciate
instrument she greatly adores. She believes it to be her sense of humor and love for the people of the city.
revenge from the baker’s guild but dares not confront Hook. Lord Swifthand’s assistant, Joslyn Halfcloak,
them herself lest she anger the baker’s councilman, calls on the heroes to help search for a lost patrol in
Irvan Machollo. Breva seeks discreet adventurers to the lower reaches of the city. The patrol was last
recover the lyre, learn who stole it, and discover why. investigating a collapsed wall leading into a series of
old chambers from which strange telepathic whispers
Garland Willowmane – High Gatekeeper called out to would-be explorers who disappear after
Leader of the Gatekeepers, the middle-aged human entering the chambers.
priest Garland Willowmane, has held the role for
more than thirty years. Garland tries to be the first one Queen Karsara Aventus IV – Whispering
seen by new beings coming through the arches, gift
basket in hand to help them start their new lives on
Willow
the right foot. Some whisper that Garland herself tries The young human noble queen, Karsara Aventus, is,
to escape a dark past. by all accounts, a wise and empathic queen. She
Hook. Garland received word that something is understands both her role and the importance of her
coming through a lesser-known arch in one of the leadership for the people of the City of Arches. A
lifetime of grooming has left the young queen with a
catacomb chambers in the mountainside of the city.
wanderlust she seeks to remedy. More than once the
The chamber is, unfortunately, full of undead. Garland
queen left her palace and her guards, posing as a child
seeks adventurers to clear the path to the arch and
serve as her bodyguards should she need protection adventurer and scout named Willow to see the city’s
from what comes through the other side. life with her own eyes.
Hook. The young queen, in her guise as Willow,
approaches the adventurers seeking to explore an
Lord Bianca Swifthand – Golden Knight uncovered catacomb in the mountain that caught her
Commander eye. Eager to understand the lives of adventurers, she
The broad and scarred commander of the Golden asks the characters to journey with her and recover
Knights, Lord Bianca Swifthand (a human knight with the Amber Heart, a gemstone said to be entombed
100 hit points) takes a personal hand in the security of within. She explains that her guards, advisors, and
Queen Karsara, the throne, and the City of Arches. spymasters don’t know of her journey. A fact that is
Lord Swifthand commands roughly one hundred completely false.
soldiers including twenty veterans and eighty guards.
Patrols including one or two veterans and a dozen Roselyn Zeshe – Queen’s Spymaster
guards often walk the streets in shining golden armor. Having served three generations of queens reigning
over the City of Arches, Roselyn sees her protection of
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the city and its matriarchal stability as her lifelong collapsed spilling out a small army of skeletons. The
duty. The portly middle-aged elven assassin wears a family fled, leaving the body of their patriarch to the
disarming smile and moves slowly yet many whisper claws of the skeletal horrors. Now members of the
of her deadliness in in defense of the queen. family hear the hungering whisper of their patriarch
Hook. After hunting down and killing three leaders calling them back to the tomb. The family seeks
of the centipede cult who attempted the adventurers to fight their way back into the tomb,
assassination of her queen, Roselyn believes members defeat the horrors within, recover the patriarch’s
of the cult remain. She seeks adventurers to hunt body, and lay him to rest.
down the cult’s new leader in an abandoned duergar
temple below the city and unroot the cult for good. The Endless Warrens
The mountain beyond the Cliffs of the Dead hosts
Notable Locations endless tunnels, chambers, chasms, and caverns.
Within lie the warrens of horrific monsters, many of
The City of Arches sits against the sheered cliffs of whom have never seen the light of day. Effigies of
mountains atop which glaciers feed into pools of brutal deities, cyclopean monoliths of vast age, and
glistening deep blue lakes. Waterfalls flow from these forgotten archways still thrumming with power serve
lakes down the mountainside and into the pools of the as the lairs of dangerous beasts.
eastern-most city. Shallow areas of the Endless Warrens are suitable
The following section describes major locations of for adventures supporting 3rd through 8th level
interest in the City of Arches. characters. Deeper caverns may support adventures as
high as 16th level.
Citadel of the Golden Knights Hook. One of the tombs of the Cliffs of the Dead has
Three connected circular towers form the collapsed into a deep shaft. The explorer who first
headquarters of the knights sworn to protect the discovered the shaft disappeared into its depths and
queen and the City of Arches. A thirty-foot tall statue now bloodthirsty spiders climb from the darkness,
of a golden-armored woman stands in front of the their minds calling out to their prey with psychic
citadel’s intimidating iron doors. The citadel houses whispers. The commoner Noel Whitehand seeks
the barracks, offices, watchtowers, and training adventurers willing to recover the body of his late
grounds of the knights. husband and end the threat of the psychic spiders who
Hook. The Golden Knights received information that took his life.
a young noble living in the villas of the Second Rise has
been robbing local shops using a network of Falls of the Three Goddesses
abandoned sewers beneath the storefronts. The Carved into the cliffside mountain wall, three statues
Knights wish not to cause a political scandal if they can of faceless goddesses stand two hundred feet high,
avoid it and seek adventurers to find these passages hands outstretched. Glacial waterfalls flow from the
and try to catch the noble and her troublesome friends mountain above following channels carved into the
in the act. rock until the water flows down their shoulders, into
their outstretched hands, and into the massive cisterns
Cliffs of the Dead of the eastern city.
The City of Arches sits in the shadow of tall cliffs
overlooking the city. Dozens of switchback paths and
walkways lead to the small stone entrances of
catacombs lacing through mountain. For thousands of
years the citizens of the City of Arches entombed their
dead in the catacombs of the mountain, building small
shrines to numerous deities to watch over their fallen
loved ones.
Many caves deemed dangerous are sealed over as
new ones are carved deeper into the mountain. From
time to time, walls collapse revealing tombs or
chambers long sealed and forgotten – some with
iconography of grim and bloodthirsty deities lost in
the unreliable pages of history. Further networks of
caves lead deeper into the Endless Warrens.
This area is suitable for adventures supporting 1st
through 4th level characters.
Hook. A noble family recently buried their patriarch
in their families’ tomb. During the ceremony, a wall

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 The origin of the three goddesses remains a mystery Hook. Savandra recently came into possession of a
yet many pray to the statues, imprinting their deities key able to open one of the tower’s archways in the
of choice to the towering faceless figures. Some believe lower laboratories of Kartan. Broyce Winterstouch,
the statues are no gods at all but forgotten queens, apprentice of Savandra, seeks adventurers willing to
their histories washed off the face of the rock as their use the key to enter the monstrous barrow on the
names disappeared in time. other side. Savandra suspects another key lies in the
Hook. Adventurers and explorers often share sarcophagus of an archmage within the barrow who
rumors that the statues are in fact hollow and filled ruled over a clan of fire giants now long dead.
with ancient lore and artifacts. The aged dwarven
veteran Gelered Whitewhiskers recently came by a Korvela’s Edge Apartments
map leading into the base of the central statue, known Below the Second Rise villas dozens of apartments
as Old Mother, and believes it may lead deeper into the have been carved out of the rock of the mountain.
statue itself. Gelered discreetly hires the characters to Owned by the half-elven commoner Korvela
test the key to these secret chambers and locate a bust Winterwind, the apartments serve both temporary
of one of the gods supposedly hidden in the statue that and long-term residents alike, providing modest
may explain the goddess’s true origin. comfort to many of the city’s people. Korvela also runs
a tavern and feasthall in the apartments’ lower levels,
Kartan, Tower of the Arcane serving food and drink to her tenants. Four sets of
A hollow spire of twisted stone, Kartan, the Tower of large iron-wrought cages bring tenants up and down
the Arcane, hosts all students of the arcane. Many seek the mountainside to their domiciles, made possible by
the tower for its vast libraries, comfortable studies, heavy iron gears and waterwheels fed from within the
and secluded laboratories. Thousands of years ago mountain itself.
dark wizards of the Nameless King spent their lives in Hook. One of the wrought-iron elevators ceased
this tower, researching heretical magic and twisted operation and Korvela seeks adventurers to travel into
rituals to serve his ends. Now the reclusive human the tunnels below the apartments, find the wheels that
archmage Savandra Thricecursed and her four operate it, and fix it. Rumors whisper that strange
mage apprentices administrate the tower, opening it hostile creatures lurk in the tunnels below.
up to sages, historians, wizards, sorcerers, and
warlocks who seek knowledge of the world, the The Lost Cisterns
multiverse, and themselves. An ironbound glyphed Large iron pipes lead from the public baths to
door on the first floor stands in front of a stairwell additional canals and cisterns flowing beneath the city.
leading deep into the ground below where numerous Iron grates block off many of these cisterns to keep
laboratories and vaults of the dark wizards remain citizens from being washed into the limitless depths
largely untouched. below. These cisterns bring fresh water in and sewage
These areas are suitable for adventures supporting out from many of the buildings and residences in and
5th to 10th level characters. around the city, yet they mostly remain a mystery to
the citizens of the City of Arches.
Some say these lost cisterns lead to ruins below the
city, even powering massive machines long forgotten
in the shadows below. Horrific shrines to dead gods,
torture chambers of the Nameless King, deadly
glyphed vaults, primeval effigies to sunless horrors,
strange half-sunken monoliths, a massive
underground lake, and forgotten subterranean citadels
can all be found in the depths of the Lost Cisterns.
This area is suitable for adventures supporting
characters of 3rd to 8th level.
Hook. Days ago a huge rumble shook the eastern-
blocks of the City of Arches. Now fetid water flows
where clean water once ran. People are beginning to
get sick. Ynerva Ovelatte, the city’s commoner
dwarven engineer, believes one of the massive
machines below the city has ceased working. She
seeks adventurers to escort her down into the Lost
Cisterns to see if they can find the machine and restart
it once again.

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The Lower Reaches
Many layers of ruins lie below the surface of the City of
Arches. The first layer remains as populated as the city
above, its central thoroughfare split by a wide canal
fed from the falls of the Three Goddesses. The Lower
Reaches contain some of the less favored residences,
inns, taverns, and shops of the city. Illicit goods,
pilfered treasures, and vices of all sorts can be found
here. The purveyors of these establishments know to
keep their vices under control lest they feel the
gauntleted grip of the Golden Knights or the piercing
blade of the Black Hand crime family. Many fences in
the Lower Reaches deal in artifacts found in the lost
chambers beneath the city or in the catacombs of the
eastern mountain. The trade of such artifacts isn’t
illegal but it isn’t looked upon favorably by the city’s
citizenry.
Hook. One of the characters discovers they have
been pickpocketed, but instead of losing an item, they
find a small grinning devil idol with shining ruby eyes
left instead. The cult of Ivires, a cult partaking in skin-
flaying self-mutilations, hunts for the idol. They Hook. Through his observations, Darven believes a
operate from a ruined tower crushed beneath the city portal will soon open at one of three archways in and
in the Lower Reach’s furthest end. Beneath the tower around the City of Arches. The Gatekeepers and the
the cult built a temple to their devil god, Ivires, and Golden Knights have agreed to watch two of the three
seek the idol’s return to their blood-soaked altar. arches but Darven seeks adventurers to watch the
third arch, one in a long-abandoned series of
The Market Square chambers beneath the Lost Cisterns. The connection,
A central square of shops and stalls surrounds one of he fears, opens these portals to the abyssal plane of
the city’s more notable arches, a square megalith Karchari, a swamp-like realm of malevolence and
formed of black obsidian marked with the grim human hostility, and he worries what might step through.
face. Several permanent shops and temporary carts
and stalls sell all manner of food, supplies, weapons, The Public Baths
armor, and other goods at reasonable prices. The falls from the hands of the three goddesses flow
The market square reveals the eclectic nature of the into a large cistern at the base of the city and the
people of the City of Arches with many different races mountain. Large stone steps form an inverted pyramid
selling food and wares styled from all over the filled with fresh water. Huge pipes lead out from the
multiverse. cistern into the Lower Reaches of the city, bringing the
Hook. After eating a particularly strange food pools’ overflow into underground sewers and cisterns.
prepared in a style unfamiliar to the characters, one of Some pipes supposedly send water down to large and
the characters has a vision of an alien tomb sealed off forgotten machines powered from the water’s
in Endless Warrens and knows how it might be continual flow below the city.
reached. If ignored, the voice persists, exhausting the Many of the city’s people rest and exercise in the
victim until they face the being within. massive pool, bathing, swimming, and meeting friends
and business partners away from the bustle of the rest
Observatory of Infinite Skies of the city. Most visitors bathe in the nude. Such nudity
Standing high atop the mountains east of the City of is considered non-sexual and ignored by other
Arches lies a centuries-old observatory, its bronze bathers. Public nudity outside of the baths, however, is
dome shining in the sunlight. At night, through the looked upon unfavorably.
dome’s door, a series of concentric rings feed into an Many believe the waters of the public baths have a
apparatus of scientific and arcane construction. minor healing or regenerative effect for both mind and
Through this apparatus the observatory’s chief body. The gatekeepers often recommend new arrivals
artificer, Darven Malathond, himself an arrival from bathe in the baths and many report finding their
an alien world through the strange portals of the City minds calmed and soothed from the experience.
of Arches, studies the sky through which can be seen Hook. A small child, Bevla Brane, managed to
layers of the planes of existence as they twist and turn squeeze through the iron grates of one of the large
within the multiverse. pipes leading out of the bath and was swept down into
a series of lower waterways. The frantic guardian of

10
the child, Irma Whitestone, begs the characters to This area is suitable for adventures supporting
travel down into these lower reaches and rescue the characters of 5th to 10th level.
child from the monster-infested sewers. Hook. Thelek Threepaws, a wererat assassin,
stole a powerful artifact known as the Gauntlet of the
The Queen’s Palace Second Sun from an aide to the archmage Savandra
Once throne to the Nameless King, empires spanning a Thricecursed of the tower of Kartan and absconded
thousand years rebuilt the Queen’s palace time and to the Sanctum of Severed Hands in the Sunken City
again. The palace now serves as both the court of of Rethrea, headquarters of the hobgoblin veterans
Queen Karsara Aventus and houses the city’s Golden and an ogre blackguard known as the Gray Butcher.
Senate. The two chambers of the palace stay separated Savandra seeks adventurers willing to delve into the
as a show of independence. It’s whispered that a Sunken City, slay the assassin and her guardians, and
younger Karsara once snuck into the senate floors return the Gauntlet to Kartan.
dressed as a page but found the whole thing terribly
boring and never returned. The palace, reconstructed Sunset Grove
over centuries, leaves many undiscovered chambers Winding paths lead into a lush grove upon a hill
and sub-cellars. Search as they might, the queen’s overlooking the city. Tall trees provide shade all
spymasters have yet to find every secret passage or throughout the day and winding paths give the grove a
hidden vault within the palace. much larger feel than its size would dictate. Some
Hook. Wishing to test the castle’s security, the believe the park extends beyond its mere size, with
queen’s spymaster, Roselyn Zeshe seeks discreet travelers getting joyfully lost for hours among the
adventurers to sneak into the castle through either the trees and foliage. An ancient stone archway sits in the
crumbling walls of the subterranean sewers or middle of the park, one many believe causes the
through the secret tunnels in the upper stories of the strange larger-on-the-inside nature of the grove.
castle to steal the queen’s hairbrush and leave a Graysen One-Eye, a wild-kempt half-elf druid
dagger in its place, proving to the stubborn queen the tends the grove, though he is quick to point out that no
dangers she faces. one truly controls the grove for the grove has a life of
its own. A small number of druids and rangers
Sevenge and Gam’s Public House regularly reside in the grove and welcome travelers
The most popular and well-reviewed eatery of the City who find their way into the city through the grove’s
of Arches, Sevenge and Gam’s Public House is owned arch.
and operated by its namesake, the ettin, Sevenge and Hook. Graysen recently found a source of corruption
Gam. The ettin, having stepped through the portal in the grove beneath an old dead tree known as
three decades past, is one of the city’s shining Father Blackroot. A hollow under the tree leads to a
examples of life anew. Once a bloodthirsty monster, network of natural tunnels within which lies a black
Sevenge and Gam found their true love in the culinary spire piercing through from another realm that draws
arts. Over the years they trained dozens of chefs to beings from the shadowy depths of the realm of the
serve some of the best food for hundreds of miles. The faerie. Graysen seeks adventurers to travel into the
queen’s own personal chef, Altus Witherthorp, was tunnels, fight back its unseelie invaders, and use a
once pupil to Sevenge and Gam. Though they could provided scroll to establish a circle of protection able
charge many times the price for their food, Sevenge to isolate the corrupted spire.
and Gam keep their prices reasonable so they might
serve the entire City of Arches with their newfound Temple of Three Sisters
gift. Above the Falls of the Three Goddesses lies an open
Hook. Stock of Sevenge and Gam’s favorite temple surrounded by beautifully carved pillars. The
mushroom shrinks but the mushroom only grows in a centuries-old temple serves numerous faiths
cave deep in the mountains in the Endless Warrens. throughout the days all through mutual agreement
Sevenge and Gam seek adventurers willing to enter among the religious leaders of the City of Arches.
the caves and return with their prized mushroom. Flanking waterfalls create a rainbow hue that moves
across the temple throughout the day. During the day,
Sunken City of Rethrea the temple’s caretaker, an elderly sylvan commoner
Below the city proper and the subterranean streets of named Grace Ebonlight, welcomes visitors to the
the Lower Reaches lie the ruins of the city of Rethrea. temple.
Crushed under the weight of the larger city above, the Hook. Rumors whisper that on a particular night
Sunken City of Rethrea houses those hiding from the every forty-six years, a strange cult worshipping an
civil folk of the city above. The city’s sundered towers, alien moon said to only enter the sky on the night of
shattered keeps, bone-filled hovels, and decaying the blood moon comes to the temple. There they
temples to dark gods date back to the age of the dance, chant, and engage in other strange rituals. Such
Nameless King in the collapsing ruins of this lost city. behavior would be tolerated by the people of the City

11
of Arches except for one thing – those same rumors
speak of sacrifices made to the alien moon and yet no
bodies are ever found. Theresa Windwhisper, an
agent of the Golden Knights, asks the characters to
learn more about this strange cult and, on the night of
the Blood Moon, ensure no such sacrifices are carried
out.

Theater of Whispers
An ancient amphitheater hosts weekly plays and
nightly concerts free for the residents of the City of
Arches. The dragonborn bard Kaylex Thren puts on a
variety of shows including plays depicting the stories
of the city’s faraway travelers, non-lethal bouts of
strength and combat prowess, shows of magical
wonder, and songs and dances to hearten the coldest
souls. A gilded archway within the amphitheater often
serves as an anchor to such stories and, more than
once, a being from another world arrived in the middle
of such a show. Resident gatekeepers stand ready to
help shepherd confused travelers lest they become statue of the knight standing outside the Citadel of
overwhelmed by the show going on around them. the Golden Knights). The center of the forge houses a
Heavy chains and gears raise the theater’s central massive furnace fed by a deep shaft traveling
platform from a large trap room below. Numerous hundreds of feet below the city. Like much of the city,
rooms, halls, and chambers branch off in these lower none know the true origin of the limitless heat firing
chambers, holding ancient props and statues from up from below. Rumors describe it being fueled by the
centuries previous. Many of the theater’s staff note the ever-burning body of the slain archfiend from which
whispering of thespians long gone echoing through the ziggurat gets its name, or an archway ripped
these lower halls, giving the theater its notable name. asunder leading to the archfiend’s hellish domain.
Some believe the theater once belonged to a husband The chambers below Vathrex’s Forge are suitable
and wife who entertained the elite serving the for adventures supporting characters of 5th to 10th
Nameless King. A play shown on the Night of the Dead level.
tells the tale of the two entertainers who drank the Hook. A deep crack split open one of the storerooms
blood of the Nameless King to serve him forever as of the forge. Erna sent two smiths’ assistants down to
vampires. Some believe the crypts of the LeStrange investigate the chambers beneath but neither have
vampires lie below the trap cellars of the theater. returned. Erna worries more cracks could cause the
This area is suitable for 7th to 9th level characters. forge to collapse and seeks adventurers to venture
Hook. Not all the ghosts and spirits residing in the into the crack, find its source, and ensure it doesn’t
theater’s lower chambers are benevolent. Recently cause any more damage.
Kaylex’s lead singer, the famed gnome Bryessa Star,
came screaming from the lower chambers claiming Vaults of the Nameless King
that a band of thespian specters took to their Below the depths of the Lost Cisterns, explorers
murderous roles too closely and chased her through describe vast chambers containing the remnants of the
the halls. Kaylex seeks adventurers willing to hunt dark empire of the Nameless King. The twisted
down and quell these murderous specters and prevent scrawlings of the few who have witnessed these
further disruptions. In truth, the specters might just chambers describe titanic chained abominations,
want a show of their own. altars housing brass canisters older than known
civilization flowing with malevolent liquids, festering
Vathrex’s Forge burial pits filled with ravenous undead, and a massive
Named for an archdevil long believed destroyed, this gateway of carved and glyphed obsidian. Of the
small ziggurat-shaped building sits on the western strange and twisted rumors surrounding the Vaults of
side of the city. Smoke continually pours from an open the Nameless King only one fact remains consistent;
vent at the top of the ziggurat. The sound of clanging therein lies death.
metal and water turning to steam emanates from the This area is suitable for adventures supporting
forge’s large stone doorway. Inside, the forgemaster, characters of 11th to 16th level.
Erna Ironhorn, a large minotaur woman, oversees
the dozen smiths who forge everything from the
common (nails, cups, hinges) to the exotic (the golden

12
1. Temple of the Three 10. Citadel of the
Sisters Golden Knights
2. Observatory of 11. The Lower Reaches
Infinite Skies 12. Queen’s Palace and
3. Cliffs of the Dead Golden Council
4. Villas of the Second 13. Vathrex’s Forge
Rise 14. Obsidian Arch of
5. Korvela’s Edge the Market Square
Apartments 15. Sevenge and Gam’s
6. Kartan, Tower of the Public House
Arcane 16. Theater of
7. Falls of the Three Whispers
Gods 17. Arch of Kings
8. The Public Baths 18. Central Gates to the
9. Sunset Grove City of Arches

13
Hook. A map found on the dead body of a cultist of the assassins from within and around the City of Arches.
Nameless King shows a network of passages leading Iofel keeps the Black Hand out of the sights of the
through the Lost Cisterns and into the chambers of the Golden Knights, turning in those who violate their
Obsidian Gate. Savandra Thricecursed of Kartan primary code – don’t get caught. Adel Rosethorn, the
seeks seasoned adventurers willing to investigate Black Hand spy and fence, regularly sells the most
these passages and test a new key the archmage useful artifacts and equipment in the city in her small
discovered to see if its capable of awakening the shop in the Lower Reaches and often offers jobs to
Obsidian Gate and discovering what’s on the other explorers willing to take a risk under the noses of the
side. Golden Knights.
Hook. Adel seeks adventurers willing to enter a
Villas of the Second Rise recently uncovered tomb in the Cliffs of the Dead to
Rows of two- and three-story villas line the outer cliffs recover a magical jeweled necklace said to be worn by
above the City of Arches. Owned by some of the city’s the entombed princess. Unfortunately, Golden Knight
most well-off citizens, the villas are served by their guards currently guard the tomb so those accepting
own shops and their own mercenary security force the job must either find a way past the knights or find
known as the Silver Talons. Large switchback roads another way into the tomb through the hollow tunnels
lead from the lower streets of the City of Arches to the above.
villas of the Second Rise.
Hook. The back walls of one of the villas collapsed Children of Ibraxus
into a series of chambers appearing to have once been Led by the mage Irthrain of Choul, the Children of
a temple to a dark bestial god. The family owning the Ibraxus seek the coming of their foul deity, the demon
villa has gone missing and the Silver Talons seek prince Ibraxus. A traveler from the arches himself,
discreet investigators to enter the temple and find any Irthrain believes he is a child of the demon prince sent
survivors from the collapse. from Choul to prepare the world for coming of the
demon prince. Irthrain has amassed a following of two
Notable Factions dozen cultists and has personally indoctrinated a half-
dozen cult fanatics to his cause. Though clearly full of
The following section describes prominent factions in foul intent, the Golden Knights have yet to catch the
the City of Arches. cult in any direct wrongdoing. Thus, the Knights
regularly keep eyes on the cult.
The Black Hand Hook. Rumors reached the Golden Knights that one
While the Seekers of the Sun seek to uncover history of Irthrain’s Chosen cult fanatics seeks to open a
and restore the artifacts of the past, the Black Hand gateway to the realm of Choul at a forgotten colossal
seeks to profit from the riches beneath the city or in undead cairn deep in the base of the Cliffs of the Dead.
the pockets of those who found it first. Led by the high Theresa Windwhisper of the Golden Knights asks the
elf assassin mage, Iofel the Star’s Edge, the Black characters to travel to the cairn and either stop the
Hand consists of bandits, scouts, thugs, and cult from opening the gate or close it should it already
be opened.

The Gatekeepers
The Gatekeepers watch the arches, welcome new
arrivals, and protect the city from violence that might
find its way through the ancient gates. Led by the High
Gatekeeper, Garland Willowmane, the Gatekeepers
bring lost beings into the city of Arches with the least
amount of disruption to the being or the city. The
Gatekeepers greet new arrivals with open arms and
gift baskets containing a potion of healing, a variety of
sample foods and drink from Sevenge and Gam’s (who
give the samples “free gratis” in remembrance of their
own time coming through the portals), scented soaps,
and bath powders for the public baths. While not
every creature who travels through the arches
appreciate such gifts, most at least appreciate the
calming gesture. Should a creature step through and
become hostile, the Gatekeepers, often mages and
veterans, are able to defend themselves. Otherwise,

14
they call upon the Golden Knights or wizards from such cases, the Seekers of the Sun attempt to disarm
Kartan for aid. the dangers that may one day become unearthed in
Hook. Garland and the other Gatekeepers find the world. The seekers pay particular attention to the
themselves indisposed and seek adventurers to bring lore of the Nameless King, worrying of the king’s
a gift basket to a potential new arrival at the Gate of devastating return.
White Sand just outside the city. The Children of Hook. The Seeker archivist mage Teran
Ibraxus too seek the being coming from the gate with a Whitewhiskers recently came into possession of a
gift basket of their own; one filled with heretical crystalline key supposedly able to open a vault in a
scrolls, poisons, and a sacrificial dagger. watchtower ruin in the depths of the Sunken City of
Rethrea which he believes leads to a sealed
The Golden Knights underground fortress where the defenders of the
Guardians and protectors of the queen and her lineage, tower, supposedly followers of the Nameless King,
the Golden Knights act as both internal and external made their last stand. Teran wishes to locate the
guards for the City of Arches. The Golden Knights are fortress and learn what secrets it holds before the
roughly one-hundred strong, mostly guards and Knights of the Nameless King get to it first.
knights who serve as footsoldiers but with several
investigators, scouts, spies, and mages in their Random Events
employ. Knight Investigator Llamys Telerond
serves as the Knights’ primary contact to adventurers. Throughout the year, numerous events take place in
Due to their limited size, the Golden Knights often hire the City of Arches. At any given time, the characters
adventurers, private investigators, or mercenaries for may witness the following city events. Roll 1d10 or
tasks they cannot accomplish themselves. choose one of the events below when desired.
Hook. Two nights past, a secret and unknown cult
rushed to one of the arches and scurried away with a 1. Celebration of the Found. A festival in which
being having just stepped through an archway from those who traveled through the gates are
the other side. The cult assaulted Laim Nevelle, a welcomed once again and asked to share tales of
Gatekeeper who got in the way, before rushing off to their arrival in the City of Arches and what they
the villas of the Second Rise. Llamys seeks adventurers remember of their homeworlds.
to investigate the situation, uncover the cult, and learn 2. The Wolf Races. Originally of goblin origin, the
more of the creature that stepped through the arch. racing of the wolves has become a steady
attraction. Riders ride upon the backs of large
Knights of the Nameless King wolves and direwolves, in a race traveling
The Knights of the Nameless King seek the texts and throughout the city streets.
artifacts to piece together the history of the Nameless 3. Blessing of Sun and Moon. Religious leaders
King who once ruled over the City of Arches and from many denominations celebrate their faiths
restore him to power. The Knights of the Nameless across the City of Arches. Parades, plays, and
King are considered an anarchistic and contrarian cult banquets fill the city streets and a spectacular
who mostly seeks the deposition of the queen from display flows down the waterfalls from the
her throne for even they don’t know the origin of the Temple of Three Sisters.
king they supposedly serve. Though often dismissed, 4. The Queen’s High Day. A celebration of the
recent discoveries by the Nameless Knights show that birthday of the queen. The queen herself gifts
their agenda may be moving faster than anticipated. food and desserts she herself prepared to the
Hook. Lord Swifthand of the Golden Knights seeks people of the city.
adventurers to trail a group of Nameless Knights to a 5. Night of the Dead. A celebration which brings
sunken citadel they use as headquarters in the Lost many of the people of the city to the Cliffs of the
Cisterns and learn whether the rumors are true that Dead to speak with departed loved ones and
the group has uncovered an artifact leading to the ancestors of old. Priests and priestesses aid
potential origin and lineage of the Nameless King. those seeking to commune with the dead. Many
in the city wear skull masks or facepaint to
Seekers of the Sun celebrate the day.
The Seekers are a guild of adventurers who hope to 6. Final Rest of the Nameless King. Rowdy
unearth the mysteries lying below the City of Arches. drunken celebrants parade an empty coffin
Unlike typical treasure-seekers, the Seekers of the Sun through the streets during this night of
try to bring as much respect as they can to the unparalleled revelry. Public drunkenness is less
cultures, societies, and people who came before, frowned-upon by the Golden Knights on this
restoring their histories and returning artifacts to night. In years past, mysterious tomb break-ins
their ancestors when possible. Some lost ruins, and even murders have been reported the
however, prove malevolent to those exploring them. In following day.

15
 7. Day of Sword and Fist. Many tournaments, ball of energy in front of the characters. A voice
displays of martial prowess, and less savory speaks in a strange and ancient tongue of a
brawls take place on this day while the leaders prophecy in which the characters must recover
of the Golden Knights seek new recruits to train an artifact from the depths below the city before
and join in service of the queen and the City of the forces of evil or all will be lost.
Arches. Many come to see the best swordfolk of 5. The Footloose Fangs. A band of rough-looking
the Knights, including Lord Bianca Swifthand orcs known as the Footloose Fangs approaches
herself, fence with those who challenge them. the characters and take insult at any
8. The Showers of Goddesses. On this day, provocation, intended or not. The orcs challenge
priests and mages color the pools of water the characters not to combat but a synchronized
above the mountaintop, turning the color of the dance-off at the Theater of Whispers.
waterfalls into rainbow hues that wash down 6. The Challenging Cultist. A dark-robed and
into the city’s aqueducts below. Many of the masked cult fanatic confronts the characters
city’s citizens wear flowers on this day and demanding they return an artifact they
festivals and parties take over many of the city’s recovered on a previous mission, threatening
establishments. their deaths should they not turn it over.
9. Demon’s Night. The anniversary of the night a 7. The Unchained Demon. A demon bursts free
powerful demon stepped through one of the from a nearby archway. A Gatekeeper lies
larger archways of the city and lay havoc to half unconscious nearby and two Golden Knights fail
the city. The people of the city mostly stay in- to contain it.
doors but it’s not uncommon for younger folk 8. The Royal Baker. The characters notice that a
and drunkards to wear monstrous masks and nearby seller of baked goods is none other than
prowl through the city streets demanding food, the young queen of the City of Arches, Karsara
coin, or drink lest they mark the doors of those Aventus IV in hiding. Her baked goods are,
who deny them with evil sigils or urine. unfortunately, not very good.
10. The Spring Bazaar. Each spring, after the 9. The Thieving Elf. One of the characters notices
snows melt and traveling roads re-open, many something of theirs missing. The most
neighboring villages and faraway cities send perceptive of the group sees an elf slipping
caravans filled with exotic goods to the City of down a nearby storm drain leading to the Lower
Arches. A large open-air bazaar forms outside Reaches. Down below, the characters are beset
the city gates, welcoming all to barter and enjoy upon by several Black Hand bandits. Should the
a week-long festival of many cultures. Though characters confront the leaders of the Black
four such events take place throughout the year, Hand, the leaders claim they knew nothing of
the Spring Bazaar is, by far, the biggest. the situation and offer the fingers of the bandits
in forgiveness.
Random City Encounters 10. Assassins of the Nameless King. Several spies
and thugs attack the characters claiming that
As the characters explore the City of Arches, they may they have seen prophecies in which the
witness one of the following encounters. Roll 1d10 or characters thwart the Nameless King’s
choose from the encounters below. ascendence. On their defeat, the characters find
ancient scrolls accurately describing the
1. The Shadowy Observer. One of the characters characters appearances.
notices a shadowy observer who, upon being
seen, attempts to disappear down an alleyway.
It may be a cult spy or a potential employer
hoping to meet the characters in a less
conspicuous location.
2. The Confused Stranger. A being of unique
ancestry wanders into the characters, confused
about their location and with no memories of
their past. They become more frightened and
potentially hostile should they not be calmed.
3. The Sinkhole. A piece of the ground collapses
into a chamber out of which crawl several
skeletons dressed in ancient armor and
wielding weapons from centuries past. Inside
the vault lies an obsidian sealed sarcophagus.
4. The Prophetic Star. A shooting star arcs down
from the sky, forming into a glowing swirling
16
Villains of the City of Arches Star – Widow of the Red Rose
Star once served as second in command to the Black
This section describes five villains that might operate Hand. Two years ago, the Hand’s leader, Iofel, betrayed
in, around, and below the City of Arches. The villains Star and left for dead in the Hanging Cages. Now the
are presented in the order of their power, from the dark-haired and ivory-skinned elven assassin plots
lower-level threat of Lady Kalya to the high-level her revenge against both the Black Hand and the
threat of the Nameless King and the demon prince leadership of the City of Arches itself. Trained since
Ibraxus. Each villain includes a main goal and the birth by the infamous elven assassins known as the
quests they take to accomplish their goals. These may Children of the Red Rose, Star is a master of disguise
happen whether the characters get involved or not. and illusions and uses these traits to lure in her prey
You can run these villains in parallel to one another, before striking with her poisoned blades.
or in series, as fits the campaign you wish to run. All As the previous second-in-command of the Black
five plots can intertwine as well, focusing on the Hand, Star had a loyal following and many whispered
coming of Ibraxus, the Demon Prince of Choul she would one day rule the guild herself – a position
she never desired until the day Iofel’s own assassins
Lady Kalya – Eye of Ibraxus left her for dead. Star now bides her time, slowly
Though she doesn’t lead the Cult of Ibraxus – a duty eating away at those loyal to Iofel and building her
held by the mage Irthrain of Choul – Lady Kalya, a own following in the Lower Reaches.
middle-aged raven-haired noble, may be the more Star’s skills in leadership are not nearly as well-
dangerous of the two due to her triple-role as noble, honed as her blades. Those who follow her do so out of
councilwoman, and cult leader. While Irthrain fear or hope to be propelled into riches and posterity
obsesses with opening archways to the world of Choul, along her tenacious drive for power. Most soon realize
Lady Kalya is more patient, working in the shadows to they’ll only come to find their own deaths on her path.
move the plot of Ibraxus forward. She is even willing Star makes a good villain for characters of 5th to 8th
to sacrifice Irthrain for the cause if need be. level.
It’s not clear whether Lady Kalya even cares about Star’s Goal: Take over the Black Hand and make it
the coming of Ibraxus. Some in her organization do not the most powerful ruling organization in the City of
see her as a true believer though those who question Arches.
her find themselves at the business end of the First Quest: Assassinate the four most powerful
longsword of Silent Theska, Lady Kalya’s loyal veteran members of the Black Hand: Urfin, the Master of the
bodyguard, messenger, and murderer. It’s often Purse; Brathe, liaison to the Golden Council; Goroth,
whispered that messages passed by Threska are well Master-at-Arms; and Wyrthon of Vul the Councilor.
considered lest the receiver find themselves in a Second Quest: Assassinate Iofel and take over the
gutter, their bellies opened and throats slit. Black Hand. Sever its truce with the Golden Knights.
As a noble, Lady Kalya has no combat prowess to Establish disorder in the streets of the City of Arches.
speak of, counting on Threska and her mercenary Third Quest: Kidnap and coerce Atretha Aventus,
knights, the Steel Hands, to protect her. While sister of the Queen, into servitude. Assassinate the
Threska would fight to the death for her mistress, the queen and plant Atretha onto the throne as Star’s
Steel Hands might be bought off. Lady Kalya’s superior unwitting servant. Bribe, blackmail, or murder
attitude and noble position fills her with a false sense members of the Golden Council who do not support
of invulnerability. the Black Hand under Star’s leadership.
Lady Kalya serves well as a villain for characters of
1st to 4th level. Skrathe – Lord of Below
Kalya’s Goal: Gain power through politics, Once serving as advisor to the Nameless King, the
subterfuge, and bloodshed in the City of Arches while efreeti Skrathe, only recently broke his bonds
moving forward the plot of Ibraxus’s arrival through trapping him in the ruins of Sunken Rethrea. Burnt
the archways of the city. into the efreeti’s soul is the desire to serve the king
First Quest: Hire shady explorers, adventurers, and and bring back his empire. Knowing the power of the
spies to find lost texts containing rituals to secure, curse surrounding the king, Skrathe will not use the
bind, and open the gates of the City of Arches to the Nameless King’s truename until he succeeds in
realm of Ibraxus. breaking the curse and awakening the Nameless King.
Second Quest: Bribe, blackmail, or murder Recently freed from his prison in Sunken Rethrea
naysayers on the council who thwart her power and known as the Teeth, Skrathe now uses his abilities to
replace them with her own loyal followers. pass for a mortal on the streets of the City of Arches
Third Quest: Secure and open a gateway to Ibraxus appearing as a large bronze-skinned and red-haired
in lost chambers in the Cliffs of the Dead. Call two human. Skrathe commands the current members of
vrocks and a hezrou loyal to Ibraxus through the gate the Cult of the Nameless King. The cult reveres the
to serve as ambassadors for the coming of their lord. efreeti for direct service to their patron but Skrathe

17
cares little for them, seeing them as weak-minded First Quest: Recover his lost artifacts: his robes of
sycophants. He sees the cultists as expendable tools to the archmagi, his staff of the magi, and his crystal ball
help him awaken his former master. of true seeing.
Skrathe’s most loyal servant and herald is a cult Second Quest: Find the Key of Worlds.
fanatic known as Zaeg – Voice of the Flame. Once a Third Quest: Open the gateway to Choul and draw
member of the Golden Council, Zaeg was kicked out for the demon prince Ibraxus to the world.
several scandals. Finding a voice among the cult of the
Nameless King, Zaeg quickly rose quickly in the group. Ibraxus – Demon Prince of Choul
Like the rest of the cult, Skrathe cares nothing at all for A bloated form floating atop a dais of skulls embedded
the failed politician. into obsidian, the demon prince Ibraxus always seeks
Skrathe’s burning desire to bring back the Nameless his return to the mortal world.
King tends to lead him towards impulsive choices and The upper half of his twisted and massive form sags
acts of blinding and ultimately self-defeating violence. into a floating glyphed vessel like an inverted pyramid.
Skrathe is a suitable villain for characters of 5th to In one hand he grasps the Scepter of Vyse, an artifact
10th level. of tremendous and terrible power. In the other sits his
Skrathe’s Goal: Remove the curse surrounding the spectral scourge, a weapon able to shred the minds of
Nameless King and awaken the lich-king once again. those struck with its horrific tails.
First Quest: Recover Duskfire, Skrathe’s necrotic- Ibraxus is never found without his two balor
fueled intelligent sword. bodyguards, Ivex the Red Waste and Ulvyn the
Second Quest: Find the chained book of Sett and the Disemboweler. His advisor, the marilith archmage
imprisoned deva who holds the key to unlock the Eventress, Whisperer of the Lower Depths likewise
curse of the Nameless King. slithers at the demon prince’s side.
Third Quest: Locate the Tomb of the Nameless King Ibraxus now rules from the Four Towers of Druun in
and use the Book of Set to free the Nameless King. the spined bone mountains of Choul where his armies
of demons scour the multiverse looking for the keys to
The Nameless King bring him back to the lands of mortals where he can
Once a powerful archmage, the Nameless King took feed eternally on their flesh and souls.
the title of “King of Kings” over a thousand years ago Once served by the lich now known only as the
and ruled over the City of Arches and the lands Nameless King, Ibraxus seeds his poison into the City
beyond. From the tower Kartan, a branch of his of Arches, leaking in through the cracks lying between
apprentices known as the Dread Seven learned the Choul and the city. There his poison pierces into the
secrets of lichdom and the Nameless King used their minds of the weak, twisting them into cultists of
very souls to fuel his undeath, becoming a lich. fanatic loyalty seeking his return. Ibraxus sees the
As his desire for power grew, the Nameless King return of the Nameless King as an opportunity to find
found mortal lives no longer served his goals. Thus, he the keys to open the archway and allow him to enter
sacrificed hundreds and formed a pact with the demon the ripe world surrounding the city once again.
prince Ibraxus, using the Ibraxus’s demonic brood as Ibraxus’s Goal: Permanently open the largest portal
his armies in place of mortal flesh. in the City of Arches to the world of Choul and float
Led by the angelic deva Sett, the paladins of the through with his masses of demonic followers.
Golden Order defeated the king’s demonic armies. First Quest: Send the Dread Walkers – five shadow
Unable to destroy the Nameless King, they bound the demon assassins to the City of Arches to recruit and
lich’s black soul to a cold-iron sarcophagus in a command his followers to seek the lore uncovering the
forgotten tomb deep beneath the city. There Sett laid Key of Choul – the key required to open the Archway
out a curse. No mention of the Nameless King’s true to Choul.
name, nor his conquests, shall be written or spoken Second Quest: Send Garuun the Sunderer, the
while the Nameless King remains bound. goristro general of Choul, to lead an army of
And for centuries, the curse held. Until now. Should barbarians, giants, and bloodthirsty humanoids
the Nameless King be freed, he will once again seek against the City of Arches.
the power he lost. His name will once again ring out Third Quest: Send Eventress the archmage
throughout the City of Arches. He will open the Marilith to lead the expeditions of demons and
gateway to Choul and restore his pact with the demon mortals to find the Key of Choul or conduct the
prince Ibraxus. He will rule once again and, this time, sacrifices required to open the Gate of Choul so
he will not be stopped. Ibraxus might once again float into the world and
The Nameless King is a good villain for characters of begin his feast.
11th to 16th level.
The Nameless King’s Goal: Restore his power, take
over the City of Arches, and open the gate to Choul.

18
Worlds Beyond the Arches 3. Terrache – The Jaws of Chaos
Miles-high stalactites, stalagmites, and natural
The following descriptions give you a glimpse into columns form the scintillating subterranean world of
potential worlds beyond the arches. These Terrache. Emerald green waterfalls flow down from
descriptions serve a variety of purposes. You can use the unknown realms above into the deep ocean below.
them as actual destinations for your characters and Spidery-thin walkways connect the carved stalactite
their adventures. You can use them as lore revealed in cities of Vesper and Kraketen where the separated
conversations with NPCs, hidden in ancient tomes or drow king and queen each rule over their half of the
scrolls, or found displayed on crumbling mosaics or warring empire.
frescoes in the chambers beneath the city. Use these On volcanic islands piercing out of the waters below,
descriptions to fuel your imaginations and to fuel your the five-spired towers of Vestellis serve the warlock
own adventures and campaigns. Choose a world or roll lords of the Violet Eye as they hunt for their lost
1d10 to randomly select a world when such lore goddess in the Seas of Madness.
serves your story. Floating among the limitless natural columns, the
Eye Tyrant Trovenar and their brood transform
1. Korax – Primeval Land of the Red Star natural stone columns into the Pillars of Sin,
The single burning red star of Vryss hangs in the twilit screaming twisted sculptures whose cacophony of
skies above Korax’s barren lands. Mutated mammoths wails shatters the minds of those unfortunate enough
and fiendish dinosaurs hunt through forests of dead to hear it.
trees and dried swamps burning under the alien sun.
Deep networks of caverns and tunnels lace through 4. Maphotar – The Infernal Machine
the petrified earth leading to the primeval city of Kor Deep in the lower planes lies the subdomain
where stone-aged humanoids fight for survival against Maphotar. Here the forgotten archdevil Kalmas built a
the horrors found in the Red Deeps. soul-fueled machine of war called the Grenneth.
The mountain temple of Zyx serves as the home to Standing like a mountain of twisted iron, the
the ancient blue dragon priest Cevyron who rules Grenneth’s red-hot stacks pour out the ectoplasmic
over a city of fanatic dwarves and half-dragons. The remains of souls devoured in the machine’s boilers.
dragon priest speaks the will of the only god in this In the mechanized wasteland of the Iron Reaches
world – Vryss the Red Star – through a red sphere otherworldy constructs lay twisted together. Rivers of
floating between the dragon’s ringed horns. black liquid flow into bottomless crevasses. Cowled
humanoid scavengers known as the Triset climb over
2. Vynan – The Forgotten Laboratory the remains of the war, taking what they can to their
Once serving as a massive city-sized laboratory for the subterranean warrens in the service of the fallen angel
lich Ivectus of Gral, the laboratory of Vynan has been Yventa siting silently on her throne of twisted metal.
left to its own devices for centuries. The circular Above the shattered wasteland of Maphotar floats
walled city floats in the depths of the astral plane the fortress Agulon, once the throne of Klamas.
where generations of humanoids fight for survival Though the archdevil is no more, its servants still
against arcane-generated horrors amid the city’s ruins. prowl within the fortress awaiting their lord’s return.
The central spire of Canus rises above the city
around it. A baleful blue light shines from its upper- 5. Drendaan – World of Air and Water
most windows where the lich Ivextus left his physical The endless seas and swirling skies stretch off in all
remains, seated petrified in a throne of glyphed cold directions in the world of Drendaan. No stars dot the
iron, as his projected presence explores the worlds sky, no sun hangs in the air. Miles-high strands of
beyond. In caverns beneath Canus, the lich’s alien bioluminescent vines reach up from the black waters
servants still manipulate the world above, capturing into the clouds above, bathing the world in blues and
the city’s survivors and replacing them with psionic greens.
doppelgangers. A floating mote of crystals forms the avian city of
Some of the city’s residents spent generations Ixrathas where the ancient gold dragon Veragon once
repairing a titanic crashed vessel known as the ruled over his draconic subjects. Now missing, the
Yondoth whose strange ghost-fueled engine whispers silver dragon sages search across worlds for their lost
to them in dreams. They soon hope to escape the city lord.
and travel through the stars, hunting for a homeworld Miles below the surface of the water lies the aquatic
they’ve never known. city of Barthen. Merfolk, sea elves, and sahuagin form a
From the citadel of Braatis on the city’s opposite tenuous alliance maintained by the three queens of
edge, the golem king Uzul commands an army of Barthen; the sea elf Varuel, the merfolk queen Nora,
constructs, seeking to slay those few humanoids left in and the Sahuagin witch queen Thrancex.
the city and use their bodies to bolster his golem army. A vast pillar of stone connects the roiling skies to the
sea below known as Gorvund’s Spindle. Impossibly

19
tall, the spindle once served as the limitless laboratory structure filled with Zarveran’s forgotten treasures
and museum of the genie archmage Gorvund. Slices of and the screaming dead buried with them.
entire worlds are said to reside in the layers of Mutated abominations shamble across the Red
Gorvund’s Spindle, each transported to the spindle Wastes of Threska where obsidian towers pierce out
from its actual world. of the cracked ground like the fingers of the dead.
Within these towers, an unholy circle of lichs obsess
6. Eruwynd – The Endless Forest over the experiments and research left to them by the
Rolling hills and ageless mountains pierce out of the head of their order.
canopies of lush trees forming the bed of the Endless Within Teveron the Shadowed Mountain, primordial
Forest. A land of shifting trails and the mightiest of horrors slumber, hosted by entire civilizations of
beasts, only the bravest of hunters dares to trek in the grimlocks, ogres, and giants who have never seen the
wilds and hope to come out alive. light above. The soothing chants of the oni priests and
Massive tree roots tear through the ruins of the priestesses ruling over these civilizations echo
elven city of Celevis said to hold the immortal’s blade – through the hall, ensuring the primordial
the vorpal sword Kalasar – in a vault protected by monstrosities never awake.
ageless sentinel elves who still guard the vault’s
impregnable door. 9. Drakeholm – Land of Dragons
The dead worldtree now known as Blackroot serves A world of extremes, mountains tower into the sky
as the citadel of the hobgoblin queen Tressa Ironcowl. and rivers slice through the land across Drakehom.
The hobgoblin archmage Iverix, her young red dragon Titanic statues dot the vast swamps and steel-walled
companion Vesser, and her fire giant bodyguards cities shine in the light of the blue sun overhead.
known as the Iron Six attend their queen in the Armies of humanoids and dragonborn wage war
citadel’s petrified audience chamber. Below, the between the cruelty of the chromatic queen and the
queen’s servants dig – seeking the bones of their titan- iron resolve of the metallic sire.
god Elduun the Colossus. The ancient adamantine dragon Kavella serves as
Above the forest roars the Redsteel Armada, seven steward of the platinum king, serving from the floating
airships piloted by seven dwarven sisters. The cathedral of Elleven. There she kneels in prayer,
Redsteel sisters hunt the mightiest beasts of the receiving word from the platinum king and sending
ancient forest, seeking trophies to decorate their this word down through the dragon priests,
castles and keeps an entire world away. commanders, and servants of the dragon lord.
Below, in the World’s Wound, the ancient red
7. Io – The Forge of Creation dragon sorcerer, Thallyx Five-flame serves as second
Housed inside the sphere of a dead star, the to the unseen chromatic queen. A host of drow matron
mechanized world of Io served once as the factory of mothers and archmages pass the dragon’s orders to
the god Iverundus before their fall eons ago. Molten the chromatic commanders, each an adult dragon
starstuff flows down impossible trenches feeding into ruling over armies of humanoids and half-dragons in
the Godforge in the center of the sphere where the their eternal wars.
half-construct Iverundians build great star-spanning
machines of travel and war. 10. Deathreach – The Endless Dungeon
On a floating disc along the outer surface of the Built from the twisted mind of a family of archmages,
sphere reside the Silent Watch, an army of colossal Deathreach is a world of twisting corridors, expanding
constructs once destined to wage war across a planet halls, and vast underground chambers – a living
now long dead. Sages serving bloodthirsty warlords dungeon. The crumbling halls of the deadfingers
hunt the planes for the crown and scepter said to narrow down to only three feet before expanding into
control the unstoppable army. the Shadowed Deeps, caverns big enough to hold
entire mountains in their depths.
8. Threska – Desert of Dead Gods Cities of obsessed dwarves and duergar work
Scorched red sands baked by the aura of three endlessly in the Ergeron Forgeworks where they dig
eclipsing suns bury the remains of petrified titans of new shafts and passageways until they discover long-
this forgotten land. Huge ziggurats built in worship to forgotten sections of the living dungeon.
the demigod Zarveran, who cared nothing for their In the deepest pits reside the Abhorrent Vats where
servants, tower above the swirling dunes. Ruined the maleovent consciousness of the living dungeon
cities occupied by the world’s few survivors dot the spawns monsters beyond nightmare out of vast lakes
landscape. of primordial fluid.
The High Temple of Zarveran towers above all
others in the dead lands of Threska, built in the image
of a throne to their skull-faced demigod, hundreds of
chambers, vaults, chasms, and halls lace through the

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 Arkus – World of Dead Temples

O
nce a thriving world of beauty and vigor, the itself to fuel their terrible magic – the results of which
world of Arkus now stands as a planetary eclipsed the very sun itself.
monument to the unhindered greed of the With the planet now dead, these spires lay hollow
Nameless King. Hot sands tear across the surface of and empty save for the animated remains of the
the world, carving mountains into claws grasping out warlocks sacrificed in the name of their dread lord.
of the dead earth. Oceans lie bare and desolate, filled Some of these spires still contain the live-drawing
with massive fossils and bottomless trenches. All that crystals used in these dark rituals. One possessing
remains of the civilizations once prevalent across the such a crystal could use its energy to bring life to a
world of Arkus are the ever-hungry undead and the small region of the dead world or use its power to fuel
massive pyramids built for a god who cared nothing tremendous magical spells.
for the people who worshipped him.
Tribes Living in a Dead World
Desolate Wastelands
Hidden in caves beneath the razor-sharp mountains or
Once a vibrant land of rivers, forests, jungles, swamps, in the shadowed depths of the ruins of Arkus, a few
and grasslands – the tiny specks of remaining life now tribes of living humanoids remain in Arkus. Constant
live under the sands. A massive red eclipsed sun hangs battling against the animated remains of horrendous
in the sky above staring down like a baleful eye of an beasts has hardened these tribes. Long since have
uncaring god. Most of Arkus is uninhabitable, scorched these people left their worship of the Nameless King
clean by the deadly rays of the sun without a drop of and followed other gods from afar – too far to answer
moisture. The undead remains of massive titans their desperate call.
lumber across the land, roaring in pain and hatred to Armed with formidable weapons, skills, and magic;
the dead sun above. these tribes hunt through Arkus’s ruins seeking a
Jagged mountains pierce out of the ground, doorway to leave the dead world behind.
sometimes leaving fissures leading deep below the
surface where acidic rivers flow and a few tribes of
living beings manage to scrape a meager existence
Averast – Throne of the God-King
waiting for their own inevitable extinction. Grandest of the temples of Arkus is Averast, a pyramid
standing two thousand feet high. A cyclopean statue of
Unfathomable Temples the Nameless King sits upon a carved throne
embedded in the front surface of the temple, his grim
Across the land stand huge pyramids, step-pyramids, visage looking out over the lone and level sands
and towers built to withstand the sandstorms ripping stretching far away.
across the land. Each temple is an architectural marvel An entire city lies within the chambers of the
serving in homage to the undead god-king now known pyramid – opulent chambers above sitting atop levels
as the Nameless. of dismal housing for thousands below. Tens of
Each of these once-grand temples tower into the thousands of screaming cursed undead claw from the
sky, their unique shapes taking the breath from the shadowed vaults within which they were entombed.
few living beings who ever see them. Built of spiraling Undead priests led by the mummy lord Thuvaro-Ket
towers, hollow floating earthmotes, and vast inverted rule the chambers above, continuing bloody sacrifices
steps leading into a bottomless void – these temples to their careless god in the pyramid’s vast chambers.
once housed tens of thousands and now hold only In the center of the pyramid lies the throne room of
their screaming souls and animated remains. the Nameless King – a massive chamber now serving
as lair to the undead blue dragon Kavoritus Dreadstar.
Planet-killing Spires A vast labyrinth lies below the surface of the
pyramid, stretching thousands of feet deep and miles
Across the lands of Arkus stand towering spires of an in all directions. Dwarf and duergar thralls, unaware
unknown glyphed metal. The visage of the grim their king no longer commands above, pilot armored
skeletal face of the Nameless King decorates these undead purple worms which burrow through the
spires, the eyes of which send tendrils of eldritch stone into city-sized chambers filled with eldritch
purple illumination into the clouds surrounding them. horrors drawn from the dying core of the planet.
Stretching hundreds of feet into the sky, the bottom of These thralls continue to build out the labyrinth below
the spires drive much deeper into the land below. as they have for fifty generations.
The warlocks of the Nameless King used these
massive spires to draw the life out of the very world

21
 City of Arches Player’s Guide

T owering gateways loom over the hustle and

bustle of the of the City of Arches. Sunlight
shines on the golden armor of the city’s
protectors as they walk the streets of this ancient city.
Waterfalls flow like everflowing cloaks over the three
Your Character in the City of
Arches
Characters of nearly any race fit well into the City of
titanic statues dominating the city’s northern Arches. You may be a new arrival, with only hazy
mountains. Canals flow through the city’s multiple levels memories from where you came or you may have
below the stacked buildings above. Above, below, within, spent much of your life in the city. You may be a
and outside the city lie limitless adventures to last the traveler from an antique land walking across lone and
ages. level sands boundless and bare.
The City of Arches is a city of adventure, with
Six Truths of the City of Arches intrigue among the city’s factions and mysteries
hidden below, beyond, above, and outside. There are
All inhabitants and travelers of the City of Arches many with whom to speak, many mysteries to
know the following truths of the city. uncover, and many horrors with which to cross blades.

• The city is more than a thousand years old. Patrons of the City of Arches
Numerous empires, benevolent and tyrannical,
ruled over the city’s vast history. Queen Karsara The city includes many patrons and factions to fuel
Aventus IV and her Golden Knights now lead the your character’s adventures. You and your
city along with the Golden Council elected by the companions may serve one or more of these patrons.
city’s citizenry.
• Mysterious archways give the city its name, each • Garland Willowmane – High Gatekeeper Garland,
once a planar portal, now mostly dormant. Travelers a middle-aged human priest, and her Gatekeepers
from distant lands or even worlds beyond attempt to bring new arrivals to the City of Arches
sometimes step out from one of these archways and as pleasantly as possible. They have found that, over
into the city itself. They come with little memory of the years, even a being of the most fiendish origin
where they came from and no way to return. Some may turn into one of the greatest of the city’s
believe the archways can open again and seek the citizens. Yet not always do new arrivals come
keys to do so. peacefully.
• The Gatekeepers greet new arrivals through the • Roselyn Zeshe – The Queen’s Spymaster Roselyn,
archways warmly, giving them baskets of food, a portly middle-aged elf, serves the queen in all
artisanal cheeses, and scented soaps and suggesting things and seeks her continued reign for many years
they bathe in the public baths beneath the Falls of to come. Roselyn seeks those able to root out plots
the Three Gods. Nearly all who do feel better. against the queen and hidden dangers threatening
• The boundaries between worlds are thin around the safety of the city.
and above the City of Arches. The Observatory of • Joslyn Halfcloak – Second of the Golden Knights
Infinite Skies peers up through the sky into Second in command of the Golden Knights, Joslyn, a
starscapes from worlds beyond this one. dwarf veteran, often hires local adventurers to
• The catacombs of the Cliffs of the Dead along the augment the Golden Knights, serving to protect the
northern mountains above the city have housed the city of threats without, within, and below.
city’s dead for centuries. Some crypts lay forgotten • Archivist Teran Whitewhiskers – Sunseeker The
and others were sealed off centuries ago. Many gnomish mage and archivist, Teran Whitewhiskers,
mysteries lay hidden in the catacomb’s depths deep serves the Seekers of the Sun, a guild of explorers
in the cliffs. who seek to recover knowledge from the hidden
• The City of Arches lays atop ruins of previous cities, depths of the city. Teran hires adventurers to travel
now sunken below. The Lower Reaches, ruled over into the city’s depths to recover lost lore buried in
by the Black Hand criminal organization, houses the city’s vast history.
many of the city’s seedier establishments and • Adel Rosethorn – Lower Reach Adventurer Adel,
clientele. The Lost Cisterns lead even further into a smiling halfling, runs a shop of relics and curios in
unknown tunnels, chambers, and caves filled with the city’s Lower Reaches. She hires adventurers to
dangers and wonders alike. hunt down mysterious artifacts of previous ages
buried in the city’s vast and hidden chambers.
Whispered rumors say Adel has a loose connection
to the Black Hand.

22
 City of Arches
Adventure Generator
T
hese tables help you generate adventures in the
City of Arches. These tables are slightly modified
Locations, Monuments, & Items
from the core adventure generators found in Locations might contain certain monuments or items
Uncovered Secrets Volume 1 and the Lazy DM’s tied to the quest.
Companion.
Locations Monuments Items
Patrons and NPCs 1. Tower Sarcophagus Key
2. Crypts Obelisk Coin
Use these tables to generate a patron for your 3. Keep Orb Ring
adventure, an NPC found in the City of Arches, or a 4. Cairn Pyre Figurine
creature stepping out from an archway, perhaps 5. Statue Machine Stone
adding elements from the descriptions list for even 6. Caves Megalith Knife
more variety. Apply an NPC stat block to these NPCs to 7. Sewers Pillars Earring
create a villains, henchmen, rivals, or heralds. 8. Temple Throne Urn
9. Mines Statues Goblet
Behavior Origin 10. Mansion Well Bracelet
1. Enthusiastic 1. Human 11. Academy Orrey Quill
2. Flighty 2. Elf 12. Dungeon Effigy Medallion
3. Shifty 3. Dwarf 13. Barrow Arcane circle Brooch
4. Optimistic 4. Halfling 14. Vault Spire Circlet
5. Paranoid 5. Orc 15. Tomb Altar Glove
6. Well spoken 6. Drow 16. Warren Pit Bowl
7. Superior 7. Tiefling 17. Laboratory Fountain Monocle
8. Good humored 8. Dragonborn 18. Chambers Archway Bottle
9. Slow-talking 9. Celestial 19. Ruins Cage Die
10. Suspicious 10. Fiendish 20. Lair Brazier Lantern
11. Worried 11. Lionfolk
12. Greedy 12. Elephantfolk Conditions, Descriptions and Origins
13. Brave 13. Turtlefolk
14. Stern 14. Birdfolk Locations, monuments, or items can be flavored by
15. Sly 15. Clockwork determining their condition, description, or origin.
16. Wise 16. Feyfolk
17. Reserved 17. Elemental Conditions Descriptions Origins
18. Cheery 18. Giantkin 1. Smoky Ruined Human
19. Opportunistic 19. Planetouched 2. Acidic Decrepit Elven
20. Soft spoken 20. Minotaur 3. Bloodied Obsidian Dwarven
4. Burning Haunted Halfling
Quests 5.
6.
Frozen
Poisonous
Unholy
Sunken
Gnomish
Tiefling
Any quests the characters are asked to fulfill might be 7. Necrotic Forgotten Dragonborn
distilled down to one of the following starting points. 8. Thunderous Macabre Orc
9. Ringing Ancient Goblin
1. Find an item 11. Open a gate 10. Lightning Festering Undead
2. Kill a villain 12. Activate a monument 11. Radiant Monstrous Celestial
3. Rescue an NPC 13. Disable an artifact 12. Shadowed Gilded Faerie
4. Uncover a secret 14. Recover an item 13. Oozing Spired Elemental
5. Clear out monsters 15. Convince an NPC 14. Ethereal Towering Giant
6. Protect an archway 16. Awaken a monster 15. Whispering Forsaken Fiendish
7. Protect an NPC 17. Put a monster to sleep 16. Windswept Gloomy Astral
8. Steal an item 18. Bury a secret 17. Drowned Horrific Aberrant
9. Return an item 19. Discover a monument 18. Diseased Colossal Shadow
10. Close a gate 20. Dig up an artifact 19. Crystalline Overgrown Ethereal
20. Silvered Shattered Abyssal

23
Dungeon Chambers Traps and Hazards
Use this table when you need to define the purpose of Add traps as they make sense for the adventure. At 1st
a chamber in a dungeon. Re-flavor to suit the theme of through 4th level, traps often have a DC of 13, and deal
the dungeon. 7 (2d6) damage for easy traps or 11 (2d10) damage
for hard traps.
1. Armory 11. Torture chamber
2. Prison 12. Bedchamber 1. Spiked pit trap 11. Bear traps
3. Throne room 13. Gallery 2. Lightning blasts 12. Ghostly haunting
4. Crypt 14. Dining hall 3. Poisoned darts 13. Poisoned gas
5. Treasury 15. Library 4. Swarms of insects 14. Magical instability
6. Barracks 16. Pantry 5. Explosive runes 15. Barbed spears
7. Monstrous lair 17. Laboratory 6. Psychic pillars 16. Dense fog
8. Storeroom 18. Cesspit 7. Flame-jet idols 17. Psychic feedback
9. Charnel Pit 19. Boneyard 8. Force beams 18. Greasy floor
10. Museum 20. Scrying chamber 9. Crippling caltrops 19. Thick webs
10. Acidic pools 20. Freezing jets

Dungeon Discoveries
Treasure
Add useful discoveries such as the following to your
adventure, to create upward beats in the characters’ This table lets you add treasure to the adventure as
story. appropriate. Roll a d10 to determine monetary
treasure, or a d20 for monetary and magical treasure.
1. Helpful NPC 11. Adventurer’s journal
2. Holy fountain 12. Escape tunnel 1. Gold coins 11. Potion of healing
3. Inspiring statue 13. Useful teleporter 2. Bag of gemstones 12. Other potion
4. Revealing mosaic 14. Enlightening mural 3. Platinum jewelry 13. Magical scroll
5. Radiant shrine 15. Healing spring 4. Runed gemstone 14. Bag of holding
6. Friendly spirit 16. Wounded enemy 5. Golden goblet 15. Wonderous magic item
7. Hidden campsite 17. Well-stocked armory 6. Ancient tome 16. Wand or rod
8. Edible mushrooms 18. Friendly creature 7. Treasure map 17. Light magical weapon
9. Explorer’s pack 19. Useful machinery 8. Ancient artifact 18. Heavy magical weapon
10. Spy hole 20. Historical library 9. Fantastic Art 19. Magical ranged weapon
10. Jeweled idol 20. Magical armor

Dungeon Monsters
Spells
You can add monsters and other foes to your
adventure by consulting the following table. Roll a d8 Some commonly discovered relics might have single
for easy monsters, roll a d12 to expand the range into use spell while less common magic items might be able
hard monsters, or roll a d20 to also include dangerous to cast a spell daily. Use the list of common spells
monsters. If you decide to use a monster as a boss below or choose specialized spells to create unique
monster, give it double hit points and let it take an magic item rewards.
extra action each turn.
1. Magic missile 11. Spiritual weapon
1. Bandits 11. Ghouls 2. Burning hands 12. Lesser restoration
2. Cultists 12. Specters 3. Shield 13. Daylight
3. Giant Rats 13. Cult fanatics 4. Cure wounds 14. Mass healing word
4. Guards 14. Gelatinous Cube 5. Guiding bolt 15. Revivify
5. Stirges 15. Ogres 6. Invisibility 16. Lightning bolt
6. Scouts 16. Wererats 7. Scorching ray 17. Fireball
7. Skeletons 17. Basilisks 8. Shatter 18. Dispel magic
8. Oozes 18. Green hag 9. Aid 19. Haste
9. Shadows 19. Hell Hound 10. Misty step 20. Fly
10. Spies 20. Mummy

24
 City of Arches Hex Flower
Enjoying a fine day at the public baths, you find yourself
washed through one of the city’s many stone pipes and
waterways. Recovering, you find yourself elsewhere.
This “hex flower” is a fun tool to help DMs wander
and explore the City of Arches, building connections
you may use in your own adventures. The hex flower
represents the unpredictable connections between
locations in the City of Arches. Often lost sewers,
tunnels, sinkholes, and shafts lead to nearby locations.
Rarely, a lost arch might provide a one-way gate to one
of the city’s lost chambers.
To use this hex flower, begin at the Public Baths in
the center. Roll 2d6 and consult the key to determine
which hex you move to next. To explore further, roll
2d6, consult the key, and move to the next hex.
Because you’re moving from one hex to another,
each roll has a “memory” of previous rolls. Thus,
you’re more likely to head downward in the flower but
a series of rare rolls could take you from the Public
Baths right down to the Obsidian Arch.
Fill out locations with maps, quests, denizens, and
treasure to build your own adventures in these
locations.
When you reach an edge of the flower, move to the
opposite side of the flower. Thus, if you are on the
sunken ship and roll an 11, you end up at Sunken
Rethrea. If you are at the Titan’s Skull and roll a 12,
you end up at the Abhuman Effigy and so on.

The 2d6 Hex Flower is designed by Goblin’s Henchmen at https://goblinshenchman.wordpress.com.

25
Campaign Arc: The Key of Worlds
For a thousand years a key lay hidden in the depths
below the City of Arches – a key able to open all the
Using This Campaign Arc
gates of the city to the worlds that lay beyond. Though This campaign arc is written to inspire your own
hidden by the Knights of the Black Flame, secured in the adventures. You may fill out each of the arc’s
Vault of Worlds, and bound by the three fires of the adventures with your own selection of maps,
Blackflame Braziers; word of the key’s existence reaches monsters, secrets, clues, NPCs, and treasures. You may
out from the depths like the grasping hands of the expand or abbreviate any part of the arc to fit the
restless dead. Will the key fall into the hands of the evil campaign you wish to tell. The pacing of this arc is
who forged it or of the heroes charged to protect it once intended to be relaxed, giving the characters
again? opportunities to engage in other adventures, put their
The Key of Worlds is a campaign arc suitable for 1st quest for the Key of Worlds on hold, and pick it back
through 12th level characters. This is a largely up when it interests them.
exploratory adventure set in the deepest reaches of You can use the rival adventuring party, Seekers of
the City of Arches in which the characters can choose the Gray Dawn, as your own dial of urgency, making it
which paths to take and engage in other adventures clear to the characters that if they don’t follow through
between each arc of this one. This campaign arc can be with arcs of the quest, the Seekers will do so. The
threaded through one or more other campaigns, tying Seekers are your urgency dial, letting you speed up or
together where necessary or acting as one large sub- slow down the urgency of the campaign by either
quest to a larger campaign. revealing the Seeker’s progress to the characters or
not.
Campaign Summary
Danvon of Duskwater, a mage and sage residing in
Notable NPCs
Kartan, Tower of the Arcane, hires the characters to The following are short descriptions of the key NPCs in
recover a scroll in one of the tombs of the Cliffs of the this campaign arc.
Dead. On its recovery, the characters uncover the Danvon of Duskwater. A mage and historian
legend of the Key of Worlds, a key said to open any of residing in Kartan, Tower of the Arcane, Danvon loves
the arches of the city. The key, the scroll describes, is discovering the secrets hidden beneath the City of
hidden and locked away deep beneath the city by long- Arches but has absolutely no desire to go down
dead knights known as the Order of the Black Flame. himself. Danvon hires many adventuring groups to
This quest takes characters from 1st to 2nd level. seek out the mysteries. Danvon may focus on one such
Under Danvon’s patronage, the characters seek out mystery intently and then suddenly lose interest as
further lore, locating the Vault of Worlds and the another bit of history grabs his attention. You can keep
locations of three Fires of Karatus – three braziers of Danvon as engaged in the quest as you desire,
black fire that must be lit to open the vault. The depending on the interest the characters take in the
characters also uncover one of two items capable of history of the Key of Worlds.
lighting the braziers: the Blackfire Sword of Irixthius Renault Bluewynd. Apprentice mage to Danvon,
or the Flaming Staff of Servlyn. These quests take the Renault is likely rarely seen by the characters. Renault
characters from 2nd to 5th level. is secretly stealing information from Danvon and
With one of the two items in hand, the characters feeding it to his own adventuring party, the Seekers of
undertake the quests to locate and light two of the the Gray Dawn. Renault seeks the Key of Worlds to
three braziers of Karatus. Unbeknownst to them, a become the most renowned archmage in the city, if not
rival group hired by the apprentice Danvon lights the the world.
third brazier. The characters confront this group at the Lizbeth and Rose, the Gray Dawn Sisters. These
doorway to the Vault of Worlds, now unlocked with former twin gladiators put together the Seekers of the
the three braziers burning. These quests take the Gray Dawn, an adventure and mercenary party
characters from 6th to 11th level. operating from the Lower Reaches and with
In the final arc of the campaign, the characters enter permission of the Black Hand criminal organization.
the vault and face the constructs created the protect The Gray Dawn sisters are happy to seek the Key of
the key as well as demons who pierced through the Worlds for Renault but are equally happy to sell the
vault through planar cracks and seek the key for key or use it themselves if the profit is right.
themselves. At the campaign’s conclusion, the
characters acquire the Key of Worlds and choose what
to do with this powerful artifact. The characters may
reach 13th level by the end of this campaign.

26
 open it. Then they must acquire one of the two items
History of the Key of Worlds able to light the braziers to unlock the vault.
The Key of Worlds is considered one of the most The characters can complete three of the following
powerful artifacts of the City of Arches. Constructed four quests in any order, gaining one level on each
over two thousand years ago by the Nameless King, completed quest up to 5th level. The characters need
this malevolent archmage-turned-lich used the key to choose only one of the two quests to recover the items
open the arches of the city to faraway lands and able to ignite the braziers of black fire. If they attempt
worlds beyond. Like much of the Nameless King’s to acquire both items, they find that another group has
legacy, the key became lost for centuries in the ruins already found the other item.
beneath the city until roughly one thousand years ago, Dungeon of the Hooded Inquisitor. Deep below the
when the key was discovered by an order of knights ruined city of Sunken Rethrea lies a dungeon of a
known as the Order of the Black Flame. terrible ogre torturer known as the Hooded Inquisitor.
Realizing the power of the key, the Order of the It is said the bloodlust of the inquisitor was so great
Black Flame sealed the key in the Vault of Worlds, a that even death would not stop him. The inquisitor
pocket demiplane hidden away in the far reaches of carries a book of the confessions he has heard over the
the multiverse. centuries, including the confessions of a former
The Order sealed the door and bound it to three member of the Order of the Black Flame who told him
braziers, spread across the city of the time, known as the location of the Vault of Worlds wherein lies the key
the Blacklight Braziers. Each brazier could only be lit able to open all the arches and the locations of the two
by one of two items heled by the two brothers who led artifacts able to unlock its secrets: the Staff of Servlyn
the Order of the Black Flame, the staff of fire held by and the Sword of Irixthisus.
the mage Servlyn and the flametongue sword of the Whispers of the Black Monoliths. Centuries ago,
knight Irixthius. Over the centuries, the braziers, the humanoids who traveled deep in the caverns under
staff, the sword, and the location of the vault, became the Cliffs of the Dead found ageless black monoliths
lost in the ruins beneath the city. Until now. that supposedly whispered to them. Down there in the
dark, something happened to these humanoids, taking
over their minds and linking them together into a
The Scroll of Legend telepathic network. The humanoids learned ancient
secrets from faraway worlds but had to give up their
In this introductory adventure, Danvon of Duskwater
own secrets in return. Some did so, including a sage
hires the characters to locate a scroll lost in the
once belonging to the Order of the Black Flame. Upon
recently discovered Tomb of Akrave in the Cliffs of the
the surface of one such monolith, the Black Flame sage
Dead, hidden behind the sundered wall of a more
Orathe etched the locations of the three Braziers of
recent tomb. Danvon had sent previous explorers, but
Black Fire, the braziers that, if lit, can open the Vault of
they had not returned. The scroll lies in the
Worlds. Lurking down in the dark, these ageless
sarcophagus of Akrave, a historian from roughly 500
psionic cult fanatics protect the secrets etched upon
years ago, guarded by the tombs unholy guardians.
the monoliths amid the gibbering mouthers,
The characters, however, are not the only ones sent to
ankhegs, and harpies who come to the monoliths’
find the scroll.
call.
A thug named Shella and her bandits, the Red Teeth,
The Staff of Servlyn. Past Sunken Rethrea lies the
were hired by a mysterious masked benefactor to
charred tower of Therex, a crushed ruin of the undead
recover the scroll themselves and do not take kindly to
mage (limited to 3rd level spells and below) Therex
other hired groups attempting the same. This
who wields the Staff of Servlyn, one of the two items
adventure should take characters from 1st to 2nd level.
capable of igniting the Braziers of Black Fire. Within
Danvon rewards the characters with 50 gp each and
the ruined tower, Therex is served by a double-axe
the characters find one uncommon magic item within
wielding flesh golem, a pair of loyal hell hounds, and
the tomb itself, perhaps a brooch of shielding, a wand of
a host of magmin. Vincent Grace, a common-speaking
magic missiles, or a cloak of protection.
neutral-aligned specter from the ancient days, may be
roaming one of the chambers, confused and angered
Light in the Darkness by Therex’s awakening.
The Sword of Irixthius. Above the cliffs of the dead
With the scroll of Akrave in hand, Danvon and the lay the hidden Tomb of the Seventh Emperor, resting
characters learn the secret of the Key of Worlds, a place of the former ruler of the City of Arches. In the
powerful artifact of the Nameless King recovered a mummy’s grasp rests the Sword of Irixithius, known
thousand years ago and hidden in a vault somewhere as the Blackfire Blade. Within the tomb, a lost raider
beneath the City of Arches. The location of the vault hides in a lost alcove from the gnolls and their
and the keys required to open it, however, remain a abyssal-touched troll leader who have taken over the
mystery. The characters must first learn the location of tomb as their lair before raiding the city below.
the vault and the locations of the three braziers able to

27
 Shimmer – two dragons sworn to guard and protect
The Blackfire Braziers Dragon’s Reach from those who dare enter.
At this point the characters have in hand the location Tomb of the Lost King. A deep shaft in the lair of
of the Vault of Worlds, the locations of the three Shine and Shimmer leads into the worked stone of the
Blackfire Braziers, and an item capable of igniting the forgotten tomb of the Lost King. Here the Nameless
braziers. The characters should be 5th level by this King’s body was laid to rest by profane priests before
point. In this next tier of their campaign, the his resurrection as a lich. These undead priests serve
characters seek out the three Blackfire Braziers and him still in the afterlife, though his cursed name sends
ignite them to open the Vault of Worlds. fire from their torn lips. Hulking undead bone devils,
To add urgency to this campaign, you may decide armored flesh golems, and Yvelle Darkwhisper, the
that the Seekers of the Gray Dawn acquired the second vampire priest of the Nameless King all protect the
weapon capable of igniting the Blackfire Braziers and Lost King’s Tomb and stand in the way of the cold
use it on a third once the characters have ignited the Darkfire Brazier held within.
second. The characters then face the Seekers at the
doorway of the Vault before going in. If you don’t Brazier of Grayon
chose this approach, reduce the locations for each path
to two instad of three. The Order of the Black Flame placed the second
Each trek to one of the Blackfire Vaults takes the Blackfire Brazier in the Keep of Grayon outside the city
characters through multiple adventure locations. Each of Rethrea. Centuries later the ground swallowed up
time a character crosses one of the adventure the city of Rethrea and buried the sundered keep of
locations, they earn a level. The characters should gain Grayon. Now, only natural waterways connect the
three levels for each brazier lit and reach 11th level by ruins of Sunken Rethrea to the Shattered Keep of
the time all three braziers are lit and the door to the Grayon through the natural caverns of the Abhumans
Vault of Worlds opens. The characters can choose the and the effigy of their terrible god.
three paths in any order they wish. To reach the Brazier of Grayon the characters must
You can decide to collapse each journey to one of the traverse the following areas. The characters gain one
braziers, reducing it to two or even one location level for each location successfully crossed.
crossed to reach each brazier. This significantly Sunken Rethrea. Hidden beneath the subcellars of
reduces the length of the campaign. the Lower Reaches, Sunken Rethrea is a den of
murderers, cutthroats, demon worshippers, and the
monsters who feed upon them. To reach the Shattered
Brazier of the Nameless King Keep, the characters must travel through Sunken
Hidden in the furthest reaches of the Cliffs of the Dead, Rethrea, facing the ruined city’s ghoul assassins,
the Order of the Black Flame placed the Brazier of the abyssal dire wolves, and demon-touched
Nameless King in the very tomb of their most hated berserkers. Along the way they may find bandit
enemy. Though his tomb was sundered long ago, traps members of The Lost, fallen soldiers escaping their
and the screaming dead guard it still. pasts in the Lower Reaches who hold the horrors of
To reach the Brazier of the Nameless King, the party Sunken Rethrea at bay or Skithers, the most secluded
must travel through the following areas. Characters and yet most valuable merchant in the City of Arches.
gain one level for each area successfully crossed. The Abhuman Effigy. The central cavern of dozens
The Endless Warrens. The worked stone walls of of natural chambers houses the towering effigy of a
the ancient crypts of the Cliffs of the Dead collapse into fallen god worshipped by hundreds of grimlocks,
a network of deep natural tunnels. A nest of wererats grimlock ogres, and grimlock hill giants. Their god,
known as the Longclaws serves their master, a fey a fallen legendary diva known as Irus, rules over
mage expelled from the world of the faerie known as them with little regard for their lives but may find the
Vestabelle. Vestabelle wars with a clan of deep orcs life energy of the characters irresistible. A cracked
and hill giants serving the fire giant warlord, Lord passageway in Irus’s temple leads to the Shattered
Krash. Any who cross the warrens must serve one lord Keep of Grayon.
or the other. The Shattered Keep of Grayon. The crushed keep of
Dragon’s Reach. Intelligent creatures of the Endless the warlord Grayon now lies trapped under a mile of
Warrens known to stay far away from Dragon’s Reach, stone above it. Necrotic-infused wights, death-
a series of large, interconnected chambers entombing breathing gorgons, and bound barbed devils hunt
many dead dragons. The Drakeskull kobolds and their the halls of the Shattered Keep ruled over by a trio of
half-dragon priest rulers whisper to the draconic night hags known as the Skullrot Coven. The coven
skeletons, lest they wake from their eternal slumber. feeds terrible nightmares into the wraith champion
These priests, in turn, serve the young silver dragon Grayon, transforming him into a young black dragon
twins, Salvenus the Shine and Verunathan the wraith should they be pressed in combat. In the center
of Grayon’s throneroom rests the cold Brazier of
Grayon.
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 may accompany them, attempting to acquire the Key
Brazier of the Betrothed of Worlds for himself. With this host defeated, or
The Brazier of the Betrothed rests in the lowest crypts should you choose not to include them, the characters
of two elven vampires, Gelethan and Evelenda. Though enter the Vault of Worlds to acquire the Key of Worlds
never formally wed, the two vampires have lived, and itself.
slept together for over a thousand years in the crypts The Vault of Worlds is a pocket demiplane outside of
deep beneath the Theater of Whispers. the world itself. Sounds, smells, and the pressure of
To reach the Brazier of the Betrothed, the characters the air all feel different than the world left behind.
must travel to the following locations. The characters The Vault of Worlds includes the following two
gain a level each time they successfully cross a sections. The characters gain a level for completing
location. each section.
The Undertheater. The characters must gain The Demon-cracked Vaults. Unfortunately for the
entrance to the Undertheater from the current characters, the borders of the demiplane of the vault
caretaker for the Theater of Whispers, gain entrance to have cracked, leaking in the abyssal layer of
the Undertheater from the theater’s current caretaker, Hoarverous. The ruined remains of numerous vaults of
the dragonborn bard Kaylex Thren. Kaylex may the Order of the Black Flame are mixed with walls
demand a performance by some or all of the weeping black ooze and stalactites dripping into acidic
characters or may send the characters to find a pools. Uruvarth, a balor escorted by hezrous, a
warhorn lost in the Tomb of the Joined where oozes glabrezu, and a marilith hunt through the ruins of the
and dead veterans have converged into a twisted vaults feeling the key’s power close by but unable to
machine of war. reach it. The spirits of two knights of the Order of the
In the Undertheater, the characters face spectral Black Flame, Sir Galea of Brightstar and Sir Minrova
bards, vampire spawn thespians, animated props Heaven’s Bastion are powerless to defeat the demons
come to life, and banshee opera singers, some of in their ghostly forms but offer guidance to those
whom may not even know that they’re dead, before willing to slay the intruders. Defeating the balor
finding the subcellar passages leading to the Infernal reveals a golden bridge seemingly over nothing
Machine. leading to the final vault holding the key.
The Infernal Machines. Devil-infused war machines Plinth of the Key. A series of platforms floating in
lay sundered in vaults below the Undertheater. Lost the nothingness of the demiplane hold the final
for centuries, the malevolent spirits of these war guardians protecting the key. Twisted by the abyssal
machines come to life, forming into fire giant incursion, the guardians begin without listening to
constructs, armies of elementally infused animated reason. Only when weakened or defeated do they
armor, and an infernally-commanded young bronze listen to the voices of those who would take the key.
dragon construct. A powerful voice commanding all These guardians include a pair of elemental-infused
of these terrible machines is none other than an imp iron golems, a number of bound efreeti, and the key’s
who found a crystal rod of command capable of final guardian, the spirit of Irixthius bound within the
commanding these armies. A smashed wall reveals the body of an adult gold dragon. When defeated or
Crypts of the Betrothed hidden beneath the theater. convinced of their benevolent purpose (after a good
Crypt of the Betrothed. The two elven vampire healthy fight), the spirit of Irixthius steps aside and the
lovers, Gelethan and Evelenda, rest in two sarcophagi characters are free to take the Key of Worlds into their
as they have for centuries, attended upon by a host of hands.
loyal minotaur veterans, priests, and mages of the
Bloodhorn tribe. A host of vampire spawn spies, The Fate of the Key of Worlds
assassins, and berserkers claim to be the children of
the Betrothed yet the true vampires care for them not With the key in hand the characters must make a
at all. The vampire couple must be convinced or choice. Do they use the key for benevolent purpose
dominated in battle to give up control of their themselves? Do they turn over the key to a more
Blackfire Brazier. powerful NPC within or outside the City of Arches? Do
they throw the key into the nothingness of the
demiplane and seal the door forever? Irixthius
The Vault of Worlds explains that they were never able to get themselves
With all three Blackfire Braziers lit, the characters to do so, the call of the key’s power was always enough
come to the doorway of the Vault of Worlds. If they to prevent the key’s destruction or loss, but such a
were not the ones to light the third brazier, they may draw may not stay the character hands. Whatever
come face to face with the Seekers of the Gray Dawn: choice they make, the fate of the worlds will be forever
the two gladiator sisters, along with their host of changed.
assassins and veterans. Renault Bluewind, an
archmage without the use of 8th or 9th level spells,

29
 Campaign Arc:
Return of the Nameless King

T
bandits, cultists of the Nameless King, and Aryves the
en centuries ago, a powerful wizard turned Doomspeaker, a cult fanatic, who, upon his demise,
lich ruled over the City of Arches and its reads the scroll and incinerates himself. Other lore
surrounding lands. Cursed by the deva, Sett, from the shrine reveal that the Nameless King was
and entombed by the first Golden Knights, the empire once, in fact, a ruler over the city many centuries ago
and the very name of king was forgotten, leaving the and is cursed so that his very name is wiped from the
City of Arches to rise and flourish in peace. annals of history. Documents on Aryves show the
Now servants of the Nameless King seek his return, scope of the cult’s reach, including to a councilmember
delving into the depths below, the catacombs in the of the Golden Council itself.
mountain above, and into the planes beyond to find Council of the King. Aryves’s information leads the
what they need to free their dark lord. characters to the fortified manor of Erebran Plynt,
This campaign arc follows the return of the senior noble councilman of the Golden Council now
Nameless King. During this campaign the characters secretly serving the cult of the Nameless King. In
attempt to thwart the plots of the Nameless King’s hidden chambers beneath his manor, Plynt and other
followers, dismantle the king’s risen army, face the cult fanatics begin a series of terrible rituals, opening
king’s inevitable return, and seek to end the threat of a gateway to the dead world of Arkus where temples
the king once and for all. to the Nameless King bake under a dying sun. The
This campaign arc supports characters of 1st to 20th characters also recover the archway’s key, an ancient
level. sacrificial dagger. The characters must choose what to
do with Plynt – put him to the sword or bring him back
A Black Sun Rises to the potentially compromised council while doom
lurks on the horizon.
The following scenario serves as a grim introduction Arkus – the Dead World. Using the key to the
to the rise of the Nameless King. It is suitable for 1st archway, the characters find themselves at the foot of
level characters and takes them to 2nd level at its a massive ziggurat upon which sits the titanic statue of
conclusion. the skeletal Nameless King. Bones of the ancient dead
The Black Sun. An otherworldly solar eclipse forms litter the area below the permanently eclipsing sun
in a planar rift in the sky above the City of Arches as a above burning like a baleful red eye. Arkus is a world
sinkhole collapses in the center of the city, releasing whose people once worshipped the Nameless King as
skeletons and diseased giant rats among the a god but found only death in the end – the death of an
screaming populous. A voice echoes from across entire planet. Undead basilisks, ankhegs, and
worlds in the minds of those within the city – “I ettercaps roam outside the temple. Deeper in the
return!” After the characters defeat the initial temple, cultists led by the half-serpent priest Thavus
skeletons and rats, the Golden Knights conscript them Bloodbile continue their dark ritual to release the
the characters to travel into the depths of the sinkhole. Nameless King – the same ritual that opened the rift
In a ruined shrine below, the characters face zombies above the City of Arches. While the characters prevent
and manes among several dead and burned cultists of the release of the Nameless King, the ritual draws the
the Nameless King. They also discover documents that Dread Necropolis, a fortress in the deadlands, outside
the cult seeks to speak the Name of the King and the City of Arches from which the Nameless King’s
awaken him from his cursed imprisonment. general, the death knight Kavaron the Red Blade
plans to invade the city.
Nameless Whispers
From 2nd to 4th level, the characters learn the origin of
the Nameless King and cross swords with the cult
seeking to bring the dark lord back to the world. The
characters reach 5th level once they complete these
adventures.
The Doomed Scroll. After the strange tidings of the
risen eclipsed sun, the tiefling sage and archaeologist,
Tomri Ashenborn, commissions the characters to
retrieve a scroll able to tell the Golden Council more
about the threat of this eclipse and the ominous voice.
The scroll lies in a recently excavated shrine in the
Cliffs of the Dead. Within the characters meet hired

30
 sepulcher and the other held in the very hand of
The Dread Necropolis Ibraxus, the demon prince of Choul himself.
From 5th to 10th level the characters face the threat of As Sett dies, his soul manifests into a weapon of
the Dread Necropolis, a citadel risen from the deserts power suited to one of the characters. On his death
outside of the City of Arches. The characters reach 11th every being in the City of Arches hears the voice of the
level once they complete these adventures. Nameless King:
Key of Rae. Conscripted by the queen of the City of
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Arches and its Golden Council to end the threat of the
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Dread Necropolis, the characters seek access through
the Arch of Skulls. To activate the arch, they require
the corrupted key held in the ruined Temple of Rae, Ozymandias
sister of Sett, lost below the Sunken City of Rethrea.
The characters discover Rae herself, an erinyes, From 11th to 16th level, the characters face the threat
corrupted by the key hosting planar cult fanatics, of Ozymandias himself, including his risen followers,
hezrous, and the whispering corruption of a cambion demonic guardians, and dark allies. The characters
mage advisor. reach 17th level when they slay the lich, destroy his
Armory of Sett. The final words of Rae whisper of first soul vessel, and choose whether to travel into
an ancient armory of the celestial Sett who originally Choul to face Ozymandias’s true master, the demon
trapped the Nameless King and a second key in prince Ibraxus.
possession of the fallen deva offers access. The The Fall of Kartan. Once the bastion of arcane
characters find the sealed vaults below Sunken knowledge in the City of Arches, the origin of the
Rethrea already being sought by agents of the cult of tower of Kartan is much more sinister. Here warlocks
the Nameless King including veterans, mages, and and wizards serving the Nameless King searched for
Xerverin the demon-touched war priest of Choul. forbidden knowledge and, through their hubris, tore
Beyond the door of the vault the character face Sett’s open the rift between the world and the abyssal plane
defenses including a stone golem shaped like the deva of Choul. Now a shield of eldritch energy surrounds
themselves. Within the vault the characters find the tower, disintegrating anyone who attempts to
weapons and armor blessed by the celestials to aid penetrate it, while warlocks and wizards who served
them in their battles against the king. the Nameless King in life now serve him in undeath.
Arch of Skulls. With Rae’s sentient and corrupted The characters must activate an archway to enter
key in hand, the characters delve further below the Kartan and defeat the Nameless King’s three sages: the
City of Arches to chambers where primeval trolls warlock lich Skrathe, the vampire archmage Tovent,
worship the fiendish young black dragon Neveron and the high priest wraith Uldrin before they tear
who absorbs the twisted darkness of the archway into open the rift between worlds once again.
its very scales.
The Dread Necropolis. Through the gateway, the
characters arrive in ancient chambers beneath the
citadel of the Nameless King’s general, the death
knight Karavon the Red Blade. The citadel, hosting
thousands of skeletons, armored ghouls, and a small
host of demons sent through temporary portals from
Choul. Within, the characters meet a small resistance
group of nomadic hunters trapped within the confines
of the citadel upon its rise who help the characters
find their way to Karavon’s throne room where they
face the death knight. On his fall, the characters
discover a key and archway leading to the Monastery
of Sett where serpentine assassins already intend to
slay the deva and unchain the Nameless King.
Monastery of Sett. Using the key and archway the
characters find themselves in the planar Monastery of
Sett, an earthmote hovering over an endless celestial
ocean below golden skies and massive floating
mountains. In the monastery the characters face a host
of serpentine priests and assassins led by a marilith
before finding the mortally wounded Sett who shares
with them the dark secret of the Nameless King’s two
soul vessels, one stored in the Nameless King’s

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 War of the Lich King. Arches of the city begin to Gateway to Choul. To enter the gateway to Choul
open, pouring out the long-awaiting denizens of the the characters must convince both the Golden Council
lich king’s army. The characters must work with the and the remaining sages of Kartan to give them the
Golden Knights and the city’s population to defend the key, hidden away in the vaults of the mysterious tower
city and help its refugees find safety in the Lower for centuries. Key in hand, the characters make their
Districts and darker chambers long-hidden below. way to the second of the two lowest arches in the City
Above, the characters face Ozymandias’s forces while of Arches, the Gateway to Choul. There they face
seeking a path to face the lich king in his floating armies of hezrous, huge abyssal ochre jellies, and the
citadel, Amberholme. gate’s guardian, the ancient black dragon Thaverax
Amberholme. The characters find an archway the Tainted. With the dragon defeated, the characters
leading into Ozymandias’s floating citadel of make their way through the gate and into the fetid
Amberholme. There they work with mercenaries of lands of Choul.
the Black Hand and the knights of the Golden Order to Fens of the Forgotten. Reaching the lands of the
distract the lich king’s guards so the characters might Fetid Prince Ibraxus means crossing swamps of
face the lich himself and shatter his presence. sunken ruins lost across space and time, where
Throughout the citadel the characters face the lich’s empires fallen into ruinous decay sink into the lowest
loyal erinyes and skeletal giants before facing the pits of the Abyss. Massive shambling mounds, cursed
lich Ozymandias himself along with his glabrezu stone giants, and abyssal-tainted young green
bodyguards Tharish and Morguun. On his defeat, the dragons serve the whims of the fallen celestial
lich proclaims his inevitable return as his spirit flees to empyrean Ivex the Sallow bound to guard the gates
his planar sepulcher. leading out of the Fens.
The Black Gate. With Ozymandias’s corporeal form The Abyssal Machine. The characters learn that
slain, the characters must reach his extraplanar Ibraxus’s sages build a massive war machine capable
sepulcher to defeat the lich once and for all. Doing so of opening all the arches in the City of Arches and
requires traveling into the lowest depths beneath the sending his armies of demons through. The characters
City of Arches to the Black Gate where the bonds of the face a host of demonic guardians, yugoloth
worst demons and devils imprisoned by Sett and the mercenaries, and twisted archmages before
Golden Order weaken over a thousand years. Smelling destroying the core of the machine itself and sealing
the defeat of the city above, the pit fiends Broviax and the gates to the City of Arches.
Kalgoran lead armies of horned devils, ice devils, and Temple of the Void. Only one carrying the seal of
bone devils surrounding the Black gate. Only the Ibraxus gains entrance to the mountain of the fetid
weapon bound with the soul of Sett can open the gate prince. The characters learn that the rakshasa high
leading to Ozymandias’s sepulcher. priest Severyn the Foul carries one such seal and
Sepulcher of Ozymandias. Liberating the archway resides at the Temple of the Void, a floating pyramid
leading to the sepulcher of Ozymandias, the characters over an acidic sea of bile within which a twisted
travel through the archway to the demiplane in which kraken writhes. Protected by hordes of the most
the celestial Sett and his followers entombed the faithful cultists, cult fanatics of Choul, and goristro
Nameless King a thousand years ago. The characters bodygoards, Severyn the Foul worships at the first
face stone golems, six-armed skeletal marilith tomb altar of Abraxus with his seal in hand – the crystalline
guardians, and the high priests and warlocks heart of the bound solar Truest Severyn forces to fight
serving Ozymandias before facing the lich himself one the characters.
final time in the semi-spherical chamber filled with Mountain of the Fetid Prince. With the crystal heart
pools of life-ending liquids and the screaming of Truest the solar in hand, the characters choose
specters of his worst enemies. With the lich slain, the whether to directly confront Ibraxus at the steps
characters destroy the first of his two soul vessels – a leading up to its millenia-old citadel or travel through
jeweled skull whose scream itself causes death. the tunnels worming their way beneath. Balors,
glabrezu, and mariliths guard the front steps while
Choul swarms of chasme, hulking nalfeshnee, and twisted
vrock priests inhabit the primeval tunnels and
Trapped once again in his planar sepulcher, the chambers beneath the citadel. Upon the throne floats
characters might choose to retire or instead might the demon prince Ibraxus with his twin marilith
choose to hunt down and destroy Ozymandias’s bodyguards, Levera and Ulsara, the most powerful
second soul vessel, the Rod of the Void carried by the foes the characters will ever face. Should the prince be
demon prince Ibraxus in the abyssal land of Choul. defeated, the shattering of his scepter leads to the full
From 17th to 20th level, the characters travel to the destruction of Ozymandias and ends his threat and
abyssal plane of Choul to end Ozymandias’s threat and that of Ibraxus to the City of Arches forever.
that posed by the demon prince Ibraxus.

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 The Obsidian Skull

T
he Children of Ibraxus, led by the cult fanatic 1. Crypt Entryway
Irvana Blackstar, uses an ancient artifact, an This former noble’s crypt sits atop much older
obsidian skull, to open a gateway to the chambers beyond the door to the south. Lit torches in
abyssal plane of Choul hidden in the catacombs of the iron sconces light up the crypt’s halls with dim light.
Cliffs of the Dead. With the gate open, Irvana hopes to The ceilings of the chambers are 15 feet high and the
summon creatures from the domain of the demon halls are 10 feet high. The crypt is a mixture of old
prince Ibraxus and unleash them on the City of Arches. worked stone and natural stone.
The queen’s spymaster, Roselyn Zeche, hires the Two cultists interrogate the halfling spy Quintus
characters to locate her halfling spy and cult Harrowtoes now tied to an altar in the center of the
infiltrator, Quintus Harrowtoes, before rooting out the room. Quintus has 5 hit points remaining and is in no
Children of Ibraxus from the catacombs and stop their condition to fight. When the characters enter, the
dark ritual. cultists turn and attack.
This is a two-hour adventure for two to five 1st level When the two cultists are defeated, Quintus relays
characters set in the City of Arches. The characters the following information:
reach 2nd level when completing this adventure.
• A group of Children of Ibraxus found an obsidian
Adventure Summary skull in a hidden chamber in the Lost Cisterns along
with some scrolls depicting a ritual to open one of
This adventure begins at a crypt in the Cliffs of the the arches.
Dead above the City of Arches in which the Children of • The leader of this branch of the Children, Irvana
Ibraxus conduct their terrible ritual. At this point, the Blackstar, has begun the ritual to open the gate in a
characters already received their quest and begin their chamber nearby.
task. In the first scene, the characters attempt to • The ritual must be disrupted before the gate
rescue the hafling spy Quintus Harrowtoes from the permanently opens.
two cultists who captured him. The characters then • The skull is a dangerous artifact but Roselyn Zeche
make their way through the older catacombs before would like it returned rather than destroyed.
confronting Irvana Blackstar in the chamber of the
gilded arch where she attempts to summon demons Treasure. 45 GP worth of gold, gems, and jewelry lie
from the portal to Choul. When Irvana is stopped, the on the altars of this chamber. A character who
ritual ends and the characters choose what to do with succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check
the obsidian skull. finds a hidden panel in one of the altars containing a
ring with three rubies. The wearer of this ring can
Beginning the Adventure spend an action to cast the spell burning hands (DC
12). Once used, the ring loses this property. Once
To begin the adventure, read or summarize the worn, the wearer becomes aware of this property.
following. Stone Door. A stone door leads to the collapsing
catacombs. Pushing open the stone door requires a
You find yourself at the doorway to one of the many
crypts lining the Cliffs of the Dead above the City of
Arches. The task given to you by your patron, the
spymaster Roselyn Zeche, sits firmly in your mind. Enter
the crypts, find her lost spymaster Quintus Harrowtoes,
and stop the dark ritual of the Children of Ibraxus before
they open a portal to a dark world and bring forth an
otherworldly army into the City of Arches.

A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check

reveals that the stone door leading into the crypts has
been recently opened and closed and is not currently
locked or trapped. A successful DC 12 Wisdom
(Perception) check reveals the sounds of two cultists
interrogating a prisoner. The door can be opened with
a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check. On a failure, the
door takes longer to open and alerts the cultists in
area 1.
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successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check. On a 3. Gilded Arch Chamber
failure, the door shatters and falls into the chamber, Irvana Blackstar, a cult fanatic, conducts a ritual using
causing enough noise to alert the cultists in area 3. the black skull to open a portal to the abyssal plane of
the Choul in the chamber’s gilded arch on the northern
2. Collapsing Catacombs wall of this worked stone chamber. She is
This section of the catacombs is much older than the accompanied by one cultist per character.
first chamber. Once worked-stone walls have Irvana is capable of continuing her ritual without
crumbled down into a more natural cavern. Pieces of using an action to do so.
the collapsed walls reveal painted murals of previous Each round on initiative 20, Irvana’s ritual creates
ages. Characters who study the walls and succeed in a the following effect:
DC 12 Intelligence (History) check may reveal one or Round 1. A dark chant begins to emanate from the
more of the following pieces of information: other side of the archway. During this round Irvana
and her cultists have advantage on attacks and saving
• Once the arches in the City of Arches opened up to throws.
numerous worlds, some heavenly and some Round 2. A huge yellow eye peers out of the
terrifying. darkness swirling within the arch. Each creature,
• Keys were required to open the arches. These might including the cultists, that begins within 60 feet of the
be a dagger, a necklace, a mask, or other empowered arch must succeed on a DC 12 Charisma saving throw
items. or take 4 (1d8) psychic damage. A creature can avert
• Some dark priests and wizards conducted horrible its eyes to avoid the saving throw at the start of its
sacrifices in front of arches, luring powerful demons turn. If the creature does so, it can't see until the start
into the world. of its next turn. If the creature opens its eyes in the
meantime, it must immediately make the save.
One of the murals shows a robed figure, ruling from Round 3. All remaining cultists die and Irvana takes
a floating palace above the City of Arches. The figure’s half of her maximum hit points in necrotic damage. A
face is covered in black soot. A creature who uncovers dretch then steps forth from the archway. Roll for
the soot causes a blast of fire to erupt in front of the initiative for the dretch. On its turn, the dretch
mural. The creature uncovering the soot must succeed randomly chooses who it attacks.
on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 4 (1d8) fire Conclusion. If Irvana is defeated, the ritual ends and
damage. No matter how hard one tries, one cannot the swirling mist in the archway fades away as the
uncover the face of the Nameless King. obsidian skull falls on the ground. At this point the
Crossbow Trap. The Children of Ibraxus set up a characters may choose what to do with the skull. Do
crossbow trap at the end of the hall connected to a they keep it? Do they return it to Roselyn Zeche? Do
tripwire halfway down the hall. A creature who they destroy it? Do they sell it to a shady fence? The
succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check choice is theirs.
notices the tripwire. The trap can be disarmed with a
DC 12 Dexterity (Slight of Hands) or using thieves’
tools. If seen, the trap can also be avoided by stepping
over the line. If triggered, two crossbows fire bolts
down the hall attacking two random targets in the
area of the hall. Each bolt is +5 to hit and inflicts 4
(1d8) piercing damage.
Should the trap be sprung, the cultists in area 3
become aware of the intruders and prepare for their
arrival.

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 The Vile Pit

B
elow the City of Arches lies the ruined city of several warlords line a valley and a cold-iron door
Sunken Rethrea. In this shattered necropolis, bars passage to a series of tombs.
beneath the sundered statue of the infernal • The door can only be opened with a key held by a
lord Kressek the Vile, lies a key able to unlock the long-dead priest named Skarval of Norvun.
tomb from which nightmares flow to a noble priestess • Skarval was last found in the city of Rethrea, now
serving the Temple of Three Sisters. Seeking the key known as Sunken Rethrea, where he worshipped at
within the pits of the Vile Prince the characters face a statue of an infernal lord named Kressek the Vile.
diseased skeletons, terrible hazards, and an ancient • Stillis knows the location of this statue but Sunken
terror. Rethrea is too dangerous for her to explore. She is
This adventure is suitable for two to five 2nd level willing to pay 10 GP and a potion of healing to each
characters. character willing to take on this quest.

Adventure Background With their agreement, Stillis gives the characters a

rough map of Sunken Rethrea and the location of the
For forty years the hobgoblin priestess Stillis the sundered statue of Kressek the Vile.
Suntouched served the people of the City of Arches at
the Temple of the Three Sisters. She found peace every Journey to the Vile Pit
day in her work but now finds herself haunted by
nightmares. Each night she hears the scream of her The characters can reach Sunken Rethrea through a
ancestor, the hobgoblin warlord Rorathix the Razor, series of old chambers in the Lower Depths. Asking
one of the last servants of the Nameless King. any shady NPC in the Lower Depths and offering a few
Studying Rorathix’s checkered history, she learned coin gives the characters directions to the sunken city,
of his tomb atop the mountains not far from the and perhaps a betraying knife in the back.
temple and yet found the tomb locked with a cursed There, in the dark, the characters make their way
door only the right key can open. through the shattered city until they find the sundered
Through divine guidance, Stillis learned that the key statue of the Vile Prince.
resides in Sunken Rethrea, in a chamber below a For a longer adventure add an encounter along their
shattered statue of an infernal lord known as Kressek journey using the dungeon monsters table in the
the Vile. adventure generator along with any other tables to
build a unique encounter.
Adventure Start
Statue of Kressek the Vile
The adventure begins with the characters meeting
Stillis the Suntouched, a lawful good hobgoblin The statue of Kressek the Vile once stood over one
priestess serving at the Temple of Three Sisters. hundred feet tall but now it has shattered down to a
The characters might learn of her need a few ways. pair of clawed hooves and twisted calves. The half-
They may have a background connection to Stillis in submerged face of the diseased fiend glowers nearby.
which case they receive a note from her asking for Within the statue’s ruins lies a shaft leading to a series
help. They might learn of Stillis’s plight from another of chambers below. Within these chambers lay the
friendly NPC who sends them to the priestess. They remains of Skarval of Norvun and the key to Rorathix’s
might visit the Temple of Three Sisters where Stillis or tomb.
one of the other priestesses asks them for their help. The characters can use ropes to make their way
During their conversation, the characters can see down to the pit below.
that Stillis is not well. Her eyes are dark and sunken,
her skin pallid. She has trouble concentrating. She Pit of the Vile Prince
explains to them the dreams she’s had and relays the
following information: The chambers of the pit are a mixture of natural and
worked stone. The centuries have not been kind to
• Though Stillis and her family served the people of these chambers as natural stone breaks through once
the City of Arches for generations, her older worked walls of the chamber. Unless otherwise noted,
ancestors were not so benevolent. One of her the location is unlit and the ceilings are fifteen feet
ancestors served as warlord to a powerful and evil high.
king who once ruled here.
• Her ancestor, Rorathix the Razor, has a tomb in the
mountains near the temple. There the statues of

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Skarval’s Key
Skarval’s key, the main objective for this adventure,
looks like a large black-iron key inscribed with a
screaming sharp-toothed skull.
You can increase or decrease the length of this
adventure by moving the key to a closer or further
chamber. For a longer adventure, move it to the
furthest chamber the characters explore. For a faster
adventure, move it to a closer chamber. The key is
most likely found in chambers 5 or 7.

1. The Drop
A 50-foot shaft leads up to the sundered statue of
Kressek the Vile in Sunken Rethrea. The floor here is
littered with bones of beasts and humanoids alike.
6. Altar to the Nameless King
2. Hall of the Dead An ancient, cracked stone altar sits on the south side of
Several diseased hobgoblin skeletons wearing scraps this chamber. A skeletal hand grips a dusty scroll. If
of ancient armor rise from the bones of the dead in touched, the hand animates into a crawling claw and
this hall. When slain, each creature within 5 feet of the attacks. The scroll contains a map to a hidden vault of
skeleton must make a DC 12 Constitution saving the Nameless King but any attempt to read it causes
throw. On a failure, the creature takes 2 points of the scroll to immediately burst into flame due to the
poison damage and their hit point maximum is Nameless King’s curse. Careful characters might find a
reduced by 2 until they finish a long rest. way to preserve the scroll without opening it or
reading it. The vault to which the scroll leads might
3. Fetid Pool contain more revelations of the Nameless King’s origin
and demise.
A pool of fetid poisonous water sits in the center of
this chamber littered with bones of the dead. An ogre
zombie lurks in the pool dressed in cracked leather 7. Treasury
armor (increasing its armor class to 10) and a horned Rotted chests here contain 1612 cp, 1484 sp, 82 gp,
helmet with a demonic face intended to look like the two blue quartz stones (10 gp), a malachite (10 gp), an
Vile Prince. Reduce the hit points of the ogre by 15 for obsidian stone (10 gp), and a rhodochrosite stone (10
each character fewer than four. For six characters, add gp).
two hobgoblin zombies who also come crawling out of The treasure also contains a set of goggles of night,
the pit. two potions of greater healing, and a potion of
growth.
4. Observation Platform Within the chests also lies Skarval’s key.
Statues of grim and hooded hobgoblins have been
carved into the natural columns of this chamber. They Adventure Conclusion
appear as if staring into the pool in area 3. A staircase
leads to area 5. With Skarval’s key in hand, the characters can return
to Stillis. The priestess thanks them, rewards them,
5. Throne of Norvun and asks if they will take the next step of the journey.
If they agree, she asks them to use the key to enter
On this platform sits the throne of Skarval of Norvun,
Rorathix’s Tomb and lay her ancestor to rest. This
the hobgoblin priest who turned to worship Kressek
leads to the next adventure in this series, the Tomb of
the Vile after the loss of his master, the Nameless King.
Rorathix.
Upon this throne Skarval watched subjects drowned in
the poisoned waters and come out as undead horrors.
For a longer session, the characters can face the
remains of Skarval of Norvun, a specter with 33 hit
points and the spellcasting abilities of a cult fanatic.
A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) or
Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals a secret
drawer under the throne containing a wand of web.

36
 The Tomb of Rorathix

S
even centuries ago, the last followers of the
Nameless King continued fighting in his name,
seeking to find the cure to his curse. Among
these was the hobgoblin warlord, Rorathix the Razor.
Once the most fanatic follower of the Nameless King,
Rorathix soon found a new path for his people – one
not steeped in violence but growth and honor. For this
treachery, the hobgoblin priest Skarval of Norvun,
condemned Rorathix to an eternity of torment, feeding
Rorathix vampiric blood, encasing him in a cold-iron
sarcophagus, and entombing him above the City of
Arches.
Now the hobgoblin priestess, Stillis the Suntouched,
hears the cries of her lost ancestor and, having
recovered the key to his tomb, asks the characters to
enter Rorathix’s tomb and lay the spirit to rest. When
the characters discover Rorathix’s current vampiric
form, they must choose: let him free or end him
forever.
This adventure is suitable for two to five 2nd level
characters.

Adventure Start
The adventure begins when the characters meet Stillis
the Suntouched, a lawful good hobgoblin priest. If the
characters recovered the key for Stillis in Pit of the Vile
Prince, she calls on them again to aid her. Otherwise,
the characters might meet Stillis at the temple of the
1. The Shattered Statues
Twelve statues of warlords sworn to the Nameless
Three Sisters, they might have a relationship with
King line the southern valley. Over the years six
Stillis, or they hear of her plight from an NPC they
already know. statues have collapsed, leaving no sign of who they
For seven decades the lawful good elderly hobgoblin once were.
served the people of the City of Arches at the Temple A thirteenth statue, the shattered statue of the
Nameless King, once stood at the northern end of the
of the Three Sisters. Lately the voice of Rorathix
valley. Only the massive trunks of his legs remain.
haunts her dreams. The voice led her to locate the key
Etched into the plinth under the statue’s feet are the
to Rorathix’s tomb in the mountains above the City of
Arches. carved words: “Look on my works ye Mighty, and
Too frail to engage in the matter herself, Stillis asks despair”. Any character stating the name of the
the characters to use the key to enter the tomb of Nameless King takes 28 (8d6) fire damage as they are
Rorathix and lay her ancestor to rest. divinely immolated from the Nameless King’s curse.
A manticore has taken over the valley as her
hunting ground and swoops down on victims within
The Valley of Kings the valley. The violent beast flees if reduced below half
its hit points.
Rorathix’s tomb lies north of a dry riverbed snaking
through the mountains above the City of Arches. The
characters can reach the valley from a 20-foot dry
2. Door to the Tomb
A cold-iron door lined with silver blocks the entrance
waterfall to the south.
to Rorathix’s tomb. A glyph of warding inflicting cold
The tomb itself is shaped from worked stone barred
damage and with a DC of 15 protects the door.
behind a heavily protected door. The ceilings of the
Skarval’s key unlocks the door and bypasses the glyph.
tomb are ten feet height and there is no light in the
Any other physical manipulation of the door triggers
halls.
the glyph. The glyph resets after one minute.

37
3. Antechamber of War 9. Hall of Traitors
Mosaics on the walls depict centuries-old battles in A pile of bones in the center of this chamber animates
which hobgoblin knights destroyed armies of elves, into two hobgoblin skeletons per character. They
dwarves, and humans. scream and wail, begging for forgiveness as they slash
A skeletal hobgoblin knight (a knight with a type of with their blades. These skeletons, once loyal to
undead) stands at attention in the center of the room Rorathix, were entombed with their master.
and attacks all who enter.
The door to area 9 is black iron shaped like the face 10. Rorathix’s Crypt
of a grim fanged hobgoblin. It is locked and requires Three cold iron sarcophagi lie in this chamber. A
the key from area 8 to open. character who succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom
Cowering in the corner of this chamber is the ghost (Perception) check hears a voice begging for release in
of a hobgoblin girl named Seva. Like her sister and the center-most sarcophagus. The two other
father, she was entombed in area 10. Seva can relay sarcophagi contain the bones, dust, and fanged skulls
the story of her father and begs the characters to of Rorathix’s two daughters, Seva and Styreen. While
release her father or end his suffering. all three were fed vampiric blood by Skarvel, only
Rorathix survived the transformation.
4. Screaming Skull When released, Rorathix is a ravenous and
A narrow staircase leads to an upper chamber emaciated vampire spawn. He may attack the first
containing a stone carving of a huge fanged skull. creature he sees, attempting to grab and bite them or
Cracks in the eyes and mouth lead out to the rock-face may beg to feed on one of the characters if you wish to
outside of the tomb. Rorathix can use these cracks to avoid combat. As he feeds, his body transforms into
escape the tomb if freed from area 10. that of his original hobgoblin self.
If reduced to half of his hit points, Rorathix stops
5. Upper Chamber Halls attacking and asks forgiveness. He was simply too
This hallway leads to the chambers of Skarvel, the hungry, he states. If the characters continue their
hobgoblin priest who transformed and entombed attack, you may choose for Rorathix to fight for the
Rorathix. A necrotic glyph in the center of this floor death or to burst into a swarm of flies and flee out of
releases one shadow per character when crossed. The the tomb in area 4 so he might live a longer life.
glyph can be discovered with a DC 14 Wisdom If asked, Rorathix shares his tale. He once served the
(Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check and Nameless King (a name he knows but cannot speak,
disabled with a DC 14 Intelligence (Religion) or lest he burst into flames). After the Kings’ fall, Rorathix
Intelligence (Arcana). sought another future for the hobgoblins who once
served the Nameless King, a way of nobility instead of
6. Skarvel’s Laboratory bloodshed. He brought these ideas to his fellow
Broken vials and rotted tomes lie on the wooden hobgoblin warlords. For his perceived disloyalty, they
shelves and tables in this laboratory. Searching the convinced Rorathix’s most loyal priest, Skarvel, to
chamber reveals two potions of poison, a potion of betray him and, for his treachery, fed him and his
clairvoyance, a potion of gaseous form, and a scroll daughters vampiric blood, sealing them in this
containing the spell blight. Diagrams on the walls forgotten tomb to serve an eternity of hunger and
depict the process of creating a vampire. torment.
Though a vampire spawn, Rorathix is not evil. He
7. Chamber of Awakening must feed but marvels at the peace that found the City
of Ashes. Rorathix asks to be released and promises
A large slab with iron manacles sits in the center of
only to feed on those the characters deem worthy of
this chamber. Black stains of old blood stain the floor.
his attention.
A vat in the corner containing a viscous acidic liquid
Rorathix eventually turns into a full vampire and
animates into a gray ooze if touched. It is here Skarval
can be either a valuable ally or long-term enemy of the
transformed Rorathix into a vampire.
characters depending on the choices they make and
how he reacts. Use him in your campaign how he best
8. Treasure Vault serves the story.
Old chests in this chamber contain 2940 cp, 1080 sp, With either his release or defeat, Stillis’s nightmares
52 gp, and four art objects worth 50 gp each including cease.
a bloodstone cup engraved with arrowheads, a brass
rod inlaid with a filigree of electrum, a cloth robe
trimmed with rabbit fur, and a golden frog
An obsidian-inlayed silver key found in this chamber
opens the vault door of area 9. For a faster adventure,
move this key to an area more easily discovered by the
characters.

38