The Sunless Citadel

The Sunless Citadel

 The Sunless Citadel, by Bruce R. Cordell, was originally published in 2000 as a beginning adventure for the third edition of the D&D game.  

This blog supports a roll20 5E games every other Friday night.

On Faerun, the Sunless Citadel was once a secret stronghold of the Cult of the Dragon, located in the foothill’s northwest of Thundertree. It plunged into the earth when Mount Hotenow erupted and threw Neverwinter into chaos.

Character creation

At level 1 you may choose either of these methods for character creation:

• Online with me (DM) roll 4d6 take the best 3.  You can choose to swap one roll for a 15.
• This array.  17,15,13, 12, 10, 8

HIT POINTS.  PCs receive full CON score + full class hit die at 1st level, eg a Barbarian-1 with CON 16 has 16+12 = 28 hit points at level 1. A Wizard-1 with CON 10 starts with 10+6 = 16 hit points.

HP beyond L1 you may either take the average or roll with me (DM).

The Player Characters:

Al, Ash, Barbarian 2

Kermit, Mo, Wizard 2

1491 Summer or solstice approaches.  The hills are lush with growth, though the heat sometimes grows oppressive.  A party of adventurers, locally based, delved into the Sunless Citadel a month past. They were never seen again. Two human members of that ill-fated party were brother and sister, Talgen Hucrele (a fighter) and Sharwyn Hucrele (a wizard). They were part of an important merchant family based in the nearby village of Oakhurst. Kerowyn Hucrele, the matriarch of the family, offers salvage rights to you and your team if you can find and return with the two lost members of her family- or at least return the gold signet rings worn by the missing brother and sister. She also offers a reward of 125 gp per signet ring, per character. If the characters bring back the Hucreles in good shape (of good mind and body), she offers to double the reward. 

THE CITADEL

See the old Dragon from his throne

Sink with enormous ruin down!

- Hymn

The overgrown Old Road winds through rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak, and past abandoned farms. It is 7 miles from Oakhurst to the Sunless Citadel.  The Old Road passes to the east of a narrow ravine. At the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most lean atop sloped earth. Others are broken, and several have apparently fallen into the dark depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.  A sturdy, knotted rope is tied to one of the leaning pillars on this side of the ravine.


1. Ash & Mo descend into the crumbling ruins of the Sunless Citadel in search of the missing adventurers. The ruined citadel is riddled with traps and secret chambers. Ash and Mo encounter a tribe of kobolds and make a deal with the kobold leader Yusdrayl to expand the search and rescue mission to include the kobolds missing wyrmling Calcryx.  In return for his aid in passing the magically sealed stone dragon portal.  Guided my the Meepo Ash and Mo delve deeper into the ruins. But the continual skirmishing with the giant rats and skeletons that infest the sunken fortress takes its toll. When a bloated, diseased rat eats Meepo, Ash and Mo decided to return to the Village of Oakenhurst.

The search and rescue mission unsuccessful, but Ash and Mo are alive.  R.I.P. Meepo

Meepo

2. After a nice long rest in Oakhurst Ash and Mo return to the Citadel.  But things have changed, as they descend into the ravine, they are greeted by a giant rats skull (could it be the bloated diseased rat that killed Meepo).  Is the sign a warning?  As Ash and Mo wonder they are ambushed by evil plants, blights.  Someone or something has posted guards since the adventurers were last here.  Retracing their steps through the citadel, Ash and Mo encounter Yusdrayl again before entering goblin territory and freeing the imprisoned gnome acolyte Erky Timbers.  In the squalor  of the goblin stockade the trio pause for a short rest.

Erky Timbers

 

3. Rested Ash and Mo press on further into the ancient crumbling subterranean fortress, running into the wrymling Calcryx.  The adventurers unwittingly release the wrymling from the room the goblins had trapped her in.  In the ensuing chaos Calcryx rampages through the goblin lair while the adventures use press their luck picking off several goblin guards until they come back full circle into the wrymling's presence.  Excitable but certainly not so hungry Calcryx, batters the door at the end of the room of pillars.      

Calcryx

4.  Calcryx & Mo-use.  The wrymling continues the slaughter in goblinville. Calcryx uses her icing breath on Ash (who survives) and Erky (who is frozen to death). R.I.P. Erky Timbers. Calcryx, savages the hobgoblin management but their martial advantage wins the day, Durnn and his bodyguard slay Calcryx. R.I.P. Calcryx.  Ash and Mo are approached by Yursdrayl again, he offers them a new deal this time to rid the citadel of the bullying hobgoblins now their goblin lackeys are weakened. The adventurers agree, vowing to return after some R&R in Oakhurst. Following a few days rest, Ash and Mo bid farewell to Garon at the Ol'Boar Inn.  They are never seen again. R.I.P. Ash & Mo.  

Durnn

Durnn, the hobgoblin sits back on a rotting wooden throne and covets his grisly new trophies, two recently shrunken heads.  Durnn throws back his scarred head and cackles wickedly.