The Forgotten Temple of Ianthin: A serialized Adventure

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This is the follow up to The Tomb of Yaegar. It assumes that your characters completed that adventure. However, if you want to use it by itself it would be easy enough for the players to find the Forgotten Temple. Unlike the previous adventure all stats will be done in the Labyrinth Lord rule set, but it is simple enough to convert it over to almost any other system. As with the previous adventure I will share this in several installments. It was written for my home brew world of Renascentia, but can easily be adapted to any setting. It is designed for 4-6 players of 1-3 levels, though if the players are level 1 you might want to adjust the number of monsters encountered and the final fight. In my game I use Reaper Bones Miniatures for all Player Characters and NPCs. I will note which minis were used. You are of course free to use this for your non-commercial use. If you do use it for anything though, please give me a nod. 

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If the players have completed The Tomb of Yaegar then it is assumed that they have Yaegar's skull, and his spectral spirit residing therein. There are several different ways the players can find their way to the Temple. The longer they possess Yaegar's skull the more often he will manifest himself to them, though these manifestations will always occur after sunset. He can give them various hints and bits of information that lead them to the location. The players can also consult a priest or necromancer who can perform divinations or auguries on the skull and provide the players with rough directions that will allow them to find the Temple. Bards or Sages might also be able to give the party some small insights into where they need to go, particularly if they possess the copy of The Fall of Eorlthasach from Yaegar's tomb, they can note some small similarity to a forgotten bit of rumor they heard. If they haven't completed the Tomb, or they chose to destroy his spectral spirit, they also might just stumble upon it or backtrack some monsters to it. 

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Installment 1: The Forgotten Temple of Ianthin

 

"O' Flower of the Twilight bless us with your wisdom and grace. We who serve bask in your glory and dance to you under the light of the evening star. May your favor shine down upon us. May you guide our hands always in your will." - Kalethias: The Last High Priestess of Ianthin 

 

 

ADVENTURE BACKGROUND

Ianthin is a now long forgotten Elven Goddess of twilight and the evening star. She also represents natural change, as the shift from day to night. Long ages ago her followers came under attack by a cult dedicated to a Demon Lord of darkness and nightfall. This war raged for several years. Finally the cultists' dark patron sent a force of demons lead by his most powerful dark knight to help the cultist destroy Ianthin's followers. The Demon Lord hoped that with no worshipers she would eventually fade and vanish. One by one Ianthin's temples and strongholds were destroyed. Finally only one temple remained. As the dark cultists and their demonic allies waged battle with her faithful through the halls of the temple Kalethias, the most powerful of her remaining clergy, performed a powerful ritual in the sanctuary of the temple. Kalethias called on her goddess and transformed herself into a giant oak tree within the sanctuary. In the process she pulled a large part of Ianthin's power into herself, storing it against a later time when she hoped she might be freed, and release the power back to her goddess. She also believed, correctly, that this would allow Ianthin to fade, but not vanish completely. The ritual created a powerful ward in the sanctuary against demons, and placed a seal on the door that the cultist were not able to break even after they slaughtered everyone else in the temple. So Kalethias has remained for all the following years waiting for someone to awaken her from her trance so that she might transform back into her mortal body, and bring about the reemergence of her goddess. As with many long lost or abandoned things the Forgotten Temple finally shifted from its original location, and appeared on Renascentia. Time has slowly drained and eroded Kalethias' power. While she remains slumbering in the form of her giant oak the ward against evil and the seal on the sanctuary decayed. Now a cursed thing has entered the temple, and it is gathering followers. 

 

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Installment 2: 

 

 

After Queen Ygrid's murder her half-sister Alsebeth quickly asserted her inheritance. She cemented her tenuous birthright by invoking a long abandoned custom and marrying her nephew. However, the people were not happy with her cruel leadership. The former King and Queen had not been loved, but they had been respected. It's widely accepted that this was the beginning of the troubles that lead to the downfall of the Realm of Eorlthasach. -  Excerpt from The Fall of Eorlthasach by Erstacles
 

 

ADVENTURE SUMMARY 

 

After Yaegar's wife Alsebeth killed Queen Ygrid her spirit did not rest quietly. The curse laid on Yaegar's blade combined with the injustice done to her and her overwhelming anger at the manipulation of her son eventually caused her spirit to reenter the ruined shell of her body. She rose in undeath in the form of a special type of wraith. Time passed, and Alsebeth died, along with their kingdom, and Ygrid's unrequited lust for vengeance drove her insane. Now there is only a thin shard of her personality left, the rest of her mind is filled with hatred. Unable to kill her half-sister she now rages against any living thing, particularly women who are similar in appearance to her treacherous kindred. After wandering for some time she, like Yaegar before her, found her way to Renascentia. She happened upon the lost temple, and found that the old magics within soothed her mind to some degree and let her regain some small measure of who she was before. The Ogre and his ratman companion who called the Temple their home began avoiding her, and she left him to his own devices. Over the course of time some goblinoids discovered her, and because of her appearance and obvious powers they assumed that the temple was dedicated to her, and that they had discovered a lost goddess. They began worshiping her, and the sacrifices they bring her allow her to keep the rage and hatred at bay. When the tribes moved in the Ogre retreated to a small room, and afraid of confronting him they have to date left him alone. There are currently two separate tribes who have an uneasy alliance and vie for the favor of their "goddess" The first tribe, a group of exiles from the Orcish tribe of the Red Hand, were the ones who first discovered the Temple and Ygrid. The second are a group of Bugbears who call themselves the Blood Hammers, and believe they are better than the orcs and the favored of the goddess. The two squabble and vie for the favor of Ygrid constantly, and because of this they have taken over separate areas of the ruined temple. 

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Installment 3: The  Map

 

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Installment 4: Entrance

 

Area 1

 

"As the days progressed the spirit began to appear to us more frequently, always after sunset. Each time he manifested he would talk about a "her" and the "Queen" and make cryptic remarks, and it seemed to make him more and more agitated. On the advice of Aethlas we tracked down a wizened old gnome who was rumored to be a sage of some knowledge. He also turned out to be a necromancer of some skill. After reading the tomes we gleaned from the Tomb and speaking with the spirit in two separate seances he sent us on a journey of many days. We traveled far to the East and South. After we crossed the River of Tears we had to trudge the length of the Plain of Wyrms, and luckily we were able to avoid the notice of the plain's inhabitants. We passed through the Troldefenne, and after paying the trolden a small ransom in bribes and "tolls" we have arrived in a small hollow. The stream flows down into it, and it is green and lush and very damp. Our Ranger has discovered a small cave behind a curtain of ivy on the far cliff wall. It goes back about 30 feet and then dead ends at a hole in the floor. We dropped a torch down, and it seems to be about a man's height down to a stairway that leads further in. A strange air comes from that opening. We are all on edge, and the skull fairly vibrates with power. Tomorrow we will enter the ruin."  -- From the Diary of Valtherak de Langlieth

 

A small cave leads to the ruined stairs that go down two short flights into the Temple's entrance. The entry hall opens into a room with 4 pillars. The southwestern most pillar is broken and laying among the rubble of its ruin. The walls are covered in intricate carvings, now much worn. A slight bluish light seems to emanate from the walls giving the same visibility as deep dusk. It is very damp and earthy smelling. Ferns and moss have taken advantage of the moisture and grow in abundance on any available surface. There is also a slightly acrid odor that seems to linger right at the edge of smell. There are a variety of tracks crisscrossing the damp and sandy floor. A skilled tracker can see that they appear to be booted feet. They might also be able to tell they belong to some types of larger goblinoids. Additionally there are also light tracks of some kind of very large rodent. If the party investigates they will also find that the remaining wall rings contain freshly burnt torches no more than a few days old. If the party spends 1d20 minutes searching they can uncover some very ancient bones. If they try to identify them they can on a successful roleplay determine that they are Elven. There is an incredibly ancient silver warhammer buried in the rubble of the ruined pillar. It is very tarnished, but still intact and functional. It can be restored and has a value of 100gp to a collector or the right Elf. Stout wooden doors open to the East and  West. You should make a random encounter check every time the players re-enter this area. 

 

If random creatures are encountered roll 1d10:

 

1-3 the party encounters 1d10 Orcs

4-6 the party encounters 1d3   Bugbears

7-8 the party encounters 1d4   Giant Spiders

9    the party encounters 1d4   Giant Frogs

10 the party encounters  1d6   "named" monsters or NPC these can be humanoids from the surrounding area who have come to scout out a potential lair or adventurers/brigants/bandits who are looking for loot. 

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Installment 5: 

 

Area 2

 

The foundation of this room has given way, mostly due to the underground stream that runs beneath where the ruined temple now sits and it is tilted downward toward the north at a very noticeable and fairly steep angle. The Northwest third of this room is submerged in very clear, very cold water. Accordingly this is probably the coldest dampest place in the dungeon, and the floor is very slippery and navigating the room can be tricky. The water is clean and potable, and the majority of the dungeon denizens get their drinking water here. The Ogre who lives in room 8 is afraid to venture out here now due to the Bugbears that have billeted in room 7. His only friend and companion the Ratman Skrit sneaks here when the rest of the dungeon is asleep and gets water. He also uses these forays to gather food and odds and ends he feels he can carry off without issue. It is possible that submerged in the very deepest corner of the room there is a underwater tunnel that might lead outside. However the flow of water is extremely strong and traversing it would be very difficult,  and it would take some form of magical breathing to navigate without drowning. 

 

Before it was a ruin this room was originally used for storage and an armory. Most of the shelves and racks that were here have since been carried off. The better pieces were used for building and reinforcing the makeshift furniture found elsewhere. The rest was used for firewood. There is an old much rotted and damaged foot locker submerged that contains treasure. It can be easily discovered if the players spend any effort searching. 

 

If any players try to move faster than 1/3 movement rate in this room have them roll a 2d6.

2      Normal movement

3-5   PC slips and loses balance

6-8   PC slips and falls

9-11 PC falls and slides into the water with a loud splash

12    In addition to falling and sliding into the water with a loud splash the PC drops any carried gear and torches are doused

 

You could have the players roll a Dex save against any of the detrimental outcomes or subtract their Dex bonus from the rolled number to potentially make the outcome less catastrophic.