H4 The Throne of Bloodstone.pdf - Free

CHAPTER 4: THE ABYSSIAN FORTRESS
The climax (but not the conclusion!)
of the PCs’ adventure will occur in the
castle of Orcus, deep in the Abyss.
Here they will be challenged by
adversaries far more mighty than the
mortal foes who faced them in their
own world. Stealth will be of prime
importance, and conservation of
magical power can make the difference
between success and failure.
Their goal here is to find and steal
the Wand of Orcus — the most treasured
possession of the Prince of the
Undead, Orcus himself. They can
accomplish this through stealth, if
they are skillful, careful, and lucky, or
they can try to accomplish it by force.
The latter case will probably prove
disastrous for all but the most capable
of parties—and even those will no
doubt suffer some losses in the process.
If the PCs chance to meet up with
the Prince of the Undead himself,
they will find—regardless of their
level—that they have a true fight for
survival on their hands. And even if
they manage, by force or by trickery,
to get hold of the Wand of Orcus,
their troubles will not be over. In fact,
as they become the targets of a chase
that spans many of the Outer Planes,
they might conclude that their troubles
are only beginning!
Magic Resistance
in the Fortress
The citadel in the Abyss represents
the focal point of Orcus’s power. As
such, there are many magical effects
that apply here and nowhere else in
the known planes. Most of these are
explained in text as they become necessary.
However, one effect of this concentration
of power is that the powers of
many of the demon prince’s demonic
subjects are enhanced. Most signifi-
cant of these is probably magic resistance.
Although the percentage chances
of magic resistance given for most
demons encountered here are not
increased from those listed in the
monster tomes, the magic resistance
acts differently in the fortress of Orcus
and in the cities around the periphery
of the fortress.
This is because the magic resistance
applies across the board — it is not
modified for the level of the PC spellcaster!
A demon with an MR of 75%
has a 75% chance to avoid a specific
magical effect. This remains constant,
whether the attacking PC is a
17th-level spellcaster, or a 95th-level
spellcaster. Of course, this means that
these demons are actually weaker
against low-level attackers who have
somehow made their way to the heart
of the Abyss, but Orcus is willing to
take that chance!
I. Approaching
the Fortress
The chaotic terrain of the Abyss
provides many glimpses of the looming
bulk of the castle. All of these distant
views will show the fortress in a
different light—sometimes jagged
and black, at other times rounded
and crimson, while still other vantage
points can cause it to look like a collection
of odd angles, cast in a dirty
white color.
As the party reaches the last rise
before the castle, however, the PCs
will get a good look at it. Here you
can show them the large map of the
fortress—or at least, a censored version
tailored for the players’ impressionable
eyes.
Remove pages 93-96 from the
module and place the pages over the
central part of the map, as indicated.
The pages line up with the area on the
57
large map, thus preventing the players
from seeing the part of the fortress
that is inside the walls.
The PCs can observe the castle from
the jagged and rocky ridge line of a
barren crest. There are many
upthrusting crags and sharp-cornered
boulders scattered along the ridge to
provide good cover.
The slope before them is steep.
Although it, too, is covered with broken
rock and crooked ravines, several
routes appear to offer relatively
smooth pathways to the bridge. This
bridge is about a mile away from the
top of the ridge, although—because
of the distortion in distance that
occurs around the castle—the bridge
sometimes appears to be as much as
10 miles away, and at other times
seems no more than 200 yards downhill.
Give the players some time to look
at the map. They can make notes
(assuming that the PCs have some
mapping or writing equipment, of
course), and ask for a few additional
details about the areas. Give them a
limited time, however, before having
them encounter Fyrillicus, the Abyssian
Dragon. (See the NPC capsule
on page 58)
If the average level of the PCs is
very high (75 or above), they should
get no more than a minute to look at
the map. Player Characters under
25th level can have as much as 8 or 10
minutes. Give your party an appropriate
amount of time, considering
the number of PCs, magical items
owned by the group, and so on. (The
amount of study you give them with
the map can be important toward
their success with the mission.)