H4 The Throne of Bloodstone.pdf - Free

vide general advice on dealing with
demons, and the treachery and evil of
their opponents. See the next chapter
for details.
Set-Up #2:
Bloodstone Warriors
If you are continuing play from
previous modules in the H-series, use
Set-Up #2.
At the conclusion of H3, The
Bloodstone Wars, the player characters
should have conquered the
southern duchies of Arcata and Carmathan,
and the baronies of Ostel,
Morov, and Polten, thereby reuniting
southern Damara under the leadership
of the Barony of Bloodstone.
They should have developed the
economy of Bloodstone Pass,
absorbed large numbers of immigrants,
and fortified the approaches
to the valley. They may also have built
castles for themselves. In addition,
they should have completed the
adventure of the Assassin’s Run, and
broken the power of the Grandfather
of Assassins in southern Damara.
As the adventure opens, the main
army of Bloodstone is probably
encamped on the southern edge of
the Ford of Goliad, facing the main
army of Vaasa in a stalemate—
whichever army crosses the ford first is
likely to lose the battle. The characters
are faced with the problem of
how to break the stalemate and defeat
Vaasa once and for all.
Since this is a role-playing game,
there are other possibilities. The PCs
could have lost one or more of the
major engagements, or elected not to
go to war in the first place, preferring
to maintain the safety of Bloodstone
at all costs. Alternatively, the PCs
could have lost in a big way, and
Bloodstone has fallen into the hands
of the enemy. One or more of the PCs
could be dead. If any of these eventu-
alities should occur, the problem is
still the might of Vaasa, and the PCs
need to defeat the Witch-King anyway.
Once the power of the Witch-
King is broken, all the other
problems are solvable.
If the PCs were fully successful in
H3, then Baron Tranth and Quillan
the Sage suggested to the party that
they declare that a new kingdom has
been formed, and that they are monarchs.
They have a choice whether to
call their realm a united Kingdom of
Damara, or to declare a new Kingdom
of Bloodstone, or to name it
something else (or, of course, not to
do it at all). We have a personal preference
for calling the new realm the
Kingdom of Bloodstone, since the
PCs probably don’t have blood rights
to the throne of Damara. (Of course,
a pretender to the Damaran throne
could spring up later, if you liked.)
If the PCs declare the kingdom,
then they must either choose one of
their number as king, or select one of
the NPCs to be king (Baron Tranth is
a good choice), then set up the operations
of their new realm. (The Epilogue
to this adventure goes into
some detail on running the kingdom.)
It is probably unwise for the
characters to hold the proclamation
and coronation ceremonies until after
the Vaasans are finally defeated, especially
with the opposing armies setting
on the banks. But if they declare
the new kingdom to their army, then
the army gets a +1 morale bonus for
the remainder of the war with Vaasa.
Start the adventure in the tent of
the Commanding General of the
Bloodstone Army at the Ford of
Goliad, at a late-night strategy session
with the PCs, Baron Tranth, Lady
Christine, Quillan the Sage, and any
other NPCs who have been involved
in the war, such as the leaders of the
dwarf, centaur, halfling, and
svirfneblin communities.
10
The strategic problems are simple:
attacking Vaasa head-on is suicidal,
the source of Vaasa’s power is probably
demonic, and the Witch-King is
the focus of that power. Therefore, if
the Witch-King is neutralized, then
the power of the Vaasan army will
fade, and military victory is relatively
assured. To win the war, save the people
of Bloodstone Pass, reunite the
entire kingdom, and become great
rulers in the Forgotten Realms, the
PCs need only enter the Witch-King’s
castle, find the source of power,
destroy it, keep Orcus from ever bothering
the Realms again, and escape in
one piece.
Because of the role of Orcus in the
matter, Quillan the Sage offers advice
about the Astral plane and the Abyss,
“For we do not know what powers
Orcus will bring to bear, and it may
be necessary or unavoidable for you to
enter his realms.”
Both the DM and the players
should read Manual of the Planes,
pp. 60-83 and 101-103. If the players
are not already familiar with planar
travel, this should be considered to be
the briefing and advice they get from
Quillan the Sage. Once the PCs have
entered the Astral plane, do not allow
the players to refer to their copies of
Manual of the Planes during the
adventure. Anything the players
don’t remember, their characters
don’t remember either. If your players
have questions after reading the
sections of Manual of the Planes, you
may clarify any material given in the
book, but don’t give them any information
not in the book. For Manual
of the Planes is just the “known”
information about the planes—the
truth may be a little different....
The PCs should next travel to the
castle of the Witch-King, and into
their greatest adventure.