AL1: Siege of Shadowdale

This document is split into two main parts - the Player Guide, and the Dungeon Master Guide. If you are intending to play this module in solo or multiplayer, then the Player Guide is all you need to read, as it gives some brief background information on the setting as well as a few broad hints that may make life a little easier to start off with.

If you are planning to DM this module, or have already completed it and want to know if there is anything you have missed, the Dungeon Master Guide contains detailed breakdowns of each area, complete with quests, items, and NPC stats. A detailed map of Shadowdale town itself is also included for easy reference.

Number of Players: 1 (solo) or 2-6 (multiplayer)

Level of Characters: 1-3 (solo) or 1 (multiplayer)

Class Requirements: Any

DM Required: No for solo play, recommended for multi-play.

Play Time: About 4-6 hours

Known Bugs/Issues: None

The Dales are broad forest vales with rolling farmlands, linked by narrow trade roads running through beautiful woods. Blessed with fertile soil and a temperate climate (aside from the extremely harsh weather conditions), the Dales are the breadbasket of the Heartlands. The Dales’ independent spirit and age-old alliance with the elves of Cormanthor have made them the historic birthplace or favoured home of many of Faerun’s greatest heroes.

Shadowdale is the best known of all the Dales because of its history of successful battles against drow, Zhents, and would-be conquerors such as Lashan of Scardale. Although small, Shadowdale makes up in quality what it lack in quantity of citizens. The dale is notorious as a home for adventurers who now prefer the quiet life but are capable of exerting extreme force when necessary.

After a brief period of relative peace, the Dalelands once again face a number of terrible threats. Always, the dark presence of the Zhentarim broods in the north. An unsuspected enemy has just arrived to create the

Empire of Shadows in the wastes of the great desert Anauroch, north-west of the Dalelands. And, in the great forest of Cormanthor itself, the retreat of the elves to Evermeet far to the west has left the door open to the return of another great foe, one long banished from the region in ages past….

Arriving in Shadowdale town one morning in early summer, the players are soon drawn into a nefarious plot by a villain hell-bent on bringing the entire region to its knees…

This section should provide all the necessary information needed to run this module for a group of players, providing detailed information on all aspects of the design and layout. Spoilers follow, so if you are a player, look away now!

Please note, although I have made considerable efforts to allow multiple players to participate in this adventure, it was designed originally as a purely solo-based adventure. Therefore, settings of variables amongst other things will always happen on the first player, that is the party leader. Most quests will allocate XP to the entire party, and are marked such, so it is recommended that the leader does the speaking for the entire party where possible. Being older and wiser, I am now familiar with global variables and other godsends, but to implement them into this module at this stage would be nothing short of a nightmare.

I have done the best I can in the circumstances, but if anything major does crop up please let me know via the e-mail address at the top of this document.

Anyhow, on with the adventure!

The local clergy is that of Chauntea, the Grain Goddess, under the careful eye of high priestess Glamerie Windbough. Here the players can purchase standard temple gear at a fair price, although if they are just in need of mundane healing Hoareb Nimblefingers will do it for free.

Ah, the local inn…here the PC’s can receive up to 2 quests, speak with the patrons, and sit down with a cold drink.

The local merchant, Jamble deals in general goods as well as magical items. He has a stock of arcane scrolls, too.

The town smith has a large selection of weapons and armour at very affordable prices.

The two quests available in Shadowdale town are:

Important NPCs:

- Jhaele Silvermane (NG human female 5^th-level fighter) will give the PC’s the quest if they inquire about work in the area.

- Hoareb Nimblefingers (1st-level commoner) will give the PC’s the key to Kella’s house if they ask about her.

- Narvel (NE human male 2^nd-level rogue) will admit to murdering Kella and attack the PC’s after they have discovered her diary. His initial sneak attack can be quite damaging, but he shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

Important NPCs:

- Durman Hilesta (NG human male 1^st-level fighter) will offer the quest if they can persuade him.

- Larn the Ogre (N ogre male) will accept the proposal if the players tell him about Durman’s offer. Note that Outer Cormanthor is a difficult place so this quest should be tackled a bit later on.

This is basically a ‘flavour’ area. Elminster isn’t home and his tower can’t be entered until the epilogue, but there is some amusement value in the signs leading up to the tower. The ancient wizard isn’t too fond of visitors, it seems.

There are no quests in this area.

The southern farms are being attacked by goblins when the players enter the area. After slaying the pesky humanoids, there are two farmsteads to explore and an old abandoned farm at the southern point of the farms. Kulnar Ohane and his friend Blaesgard are battling some goblin raiders in their own home, and he will be very grateful if the players help out. He has a quest available, as does his neighbour Sulcar Reedo in the opposite farm.

Important NPCs:

- Kulnar Ohane (NG human male 2^nd-level fighter) will give the players the quest and reward them when they return with Margblat’s head. Be aware that if Kulnar if somehow slain by the goblins in his home when the players first enter it, this quest will no longer be available. He gives the PC’s a ring to present to Rast after they accept the quest.

- Rast (LG human male 3^rd-level fighter) will open the gates in the Sinkhole when they present him with Kulnar’s ring, providing the PC speaker is at least level two. He will also help out if any errant monsters chase the players out the tunnels and into the bottom of the quarry, although he isn’t a great fighter.

- Margblat (NE goblin male 4^th-level rogue) can be a pain due to his tendency of sneak attacking the players when they are fighting his minions. He carries a short sword + 1, which can be looted upon his death. He also carries a journal which describes how the goblins were forced to move to these tunnels after the arrival of the drow in Cormanthor.

Important NPCs:

- Sulcar Reedo (1-level commoner) is the quest-giver. A rather bitter old man, he will happily part with his magical amulet in return for the ring.

These gloomy tunnels are home to Margblat’s clan. They are very narrow, with little room to manoeuvre. Groups of goblins are the main concern here, but there are three worgs as well. One in the northwest chamber, one by the large pool of water in the northeast, and one with Margblat. These are best tackled one at a time. Also, the goblin elite at the southern end of the pool of water can cause some big damage with his Power Attack feat. There is a marauding troll near the collapsed tunnels on the eastern side, and he will attack anything, goblin or PC, that moves into his line of sight. In the rubble near the collapsed western tunnel, there is a wand of sleep. Margblat’s hoard is mainly generic treasure, but there is the tidy sum of 90 gold in one chest.

This is where things start getting really interesting. The forest is home to a band of orcs and some wild animals, as well as the ogre Larn. In the middle of the forest, by the bridge crossing the stream, is the elf Halinor Avalael and his party. Scouts from the Elven Court deep in Cormanthor, they are on the look-out for drow rumoured to be in the area. He will go into detail on the various problems the drow factions are causing, and the players should offer to help. Halinor will begin to thank them, but he is interrupted by a group of drow led by the mage Zaertha. After a brief battle which the players will win comfortably, they can search Zaertha’s body and they will find a note. It details how these are part of a larger group planning to raid Mistledale, led by one Jezz the Lame. Halinor can use the Stone of Recall on the mage’s body to create a portal which can teleport him, his party, and the PC’s into their camp, where they can finally end the evil of Jezz the Lame once and for all.

Important NPCs:

- Zaertha (NE drow female 4^th-level mage) is Jezz’s second in command and attempts to ambush Halinor’s men. Unfortunately, she didn’t reckon on the PC’s being present. She is carrying a drow recall stone, fireball scroll, and a note from Jezz.

- Halinor Avalael (CG elf male 4^th-level ranger) is the capable leader of the elves. Brave and determined, his skill with blade and bow proves invaluable in the fight against the drow.

- Jezz the Lame (NE drow male 6^th-level rogue/6^th-level sorceror) is not actually that lame when you look at what his level is. Unfortunately, he is weak as a kitten and prefers to use trickery instead of force, despite his cruel nature. Jezz will still be a very tough opponent for arcane spell casters who have somehow lost all of their elven companions, because of his high spell resistance. Providing a few survive, they will pepper him with arrows and he will drop before getting a spell off. He is carrying silent moves leather armour + 2, a wand of arcana, a note to his Matron, and a map showing a path back to the area the players teleported out of.

After saying their goodbyes to Halinor, the players should head back to Shadowdale where they will no doubt be eager to identify their loot. As soon as they leave the forest, a bombshell is dropped. A maid working at the Twisted Tower, Milly, breathlessly runs up to the PC’s and tells them that the Twisted Tower is under siege; hordes of drow are attacking from the Underdark beneath the tower, and the tower guard are fighting for their lives and the safety of the Dale. She begs the players to help defend the tower, and also rescue her son Jaime who went missing before she was ushered out of the tower to get help. The battle is on!

Arriving at the tower courtyard, the guards are engaged in bloody combat with some drow who actually got through the main doors. The players turn the tide in the guard’s favour, and if they speak to any of the guards they will be asked to seek out Thurbal, Warden of Shadowdale, and see what help they can offer. They can of course refuse, but that wouldn’t make for a very exciting tale, would it?

Elsewhere, this level is crawling with groups of drow and giant spiders, with gruesome scenes of carnage around every turn. The players can ignore Thurbal if they like and simply wander up to the next level, or they can attempt to enter the dungeons and probably get massacred. I recommend they do the quests in the order that follows.

Important NPCs:

Important NPCs:

Jaime (1^st-level commoner) is the lost child at the centre of this quest.

Slightly smaller than the ground floor, a group of drow and giant spiders immediately attack the players upon entering this area. Players should make their way to Lord Mourngrym’s chambers. The guest bedrooms contain drow assassins who will attempt to sneak attack the players, but the rooms also hold a few treasures will can be looted by the players without consequence. The library is inhabited by a drow mage and her fire mephit familiar, and on the body of the mage is an interesting note.

‘Scotti’ is in truth a doppleganger, and will ambush the PC’s near the stairs to the ground floor. He will gloat that the real Scotti is in the hands of the drow beneath the Twisted Tower, and that he is about to be sacrificed to the dark goddess, Lolth. The quest is completed when the doppleganger is slain. Rewards: 1500 xp (party), a ring of protection + 2 and a bag of holding are on the doppleganger’s body.

Important NPCs:

- Lord Mourngrym Amcathra (NG human male 8^th-level fighter) is the ruler of Shadowdale. He can found with his Harper guests in his chambers on the second floor of the tower.

- Shaerl Rowanmantle Amcathra (N human female 8^th-level rogue) is Mourngrym’s wife and the Lady of Shadowdale. She will inform the players that Scotti has gone missing. Be ware the full conversation only unfolds when Mourngrym has followed the players onto the third floor where she is being guarded by Storm Silverhand.

- False Scotti (Doppleganger) is also on the third floor. He will disappear when the PC’s have found the note, and ambush them on their way back down to the ground floor. He is fairly weak in combat, and should be quickly disposed of.

- Storm Silverhand (CG human female 1^st-level rogue/4^th-level fighter/12^th-level sorceress/8^th-level bard/3^rd-level harper scout) is one of the most famous bards in the Forgotten Realms, and will ask the players how the guards are faring. Evil players might want to test themselves against her, which would be rather stupid considering how powerful she is. Storm will depart with Mourngrym and Shaerl to search the upper levels of the tower, which are inaccessible to the players.

After killing the doppleganger, players may wish to report their findings to Mounrgrym. However, he is searching the upper levels of the tower along with Shaerl and Storm. Instead, they should make their way back down to the ground floor, where they will be approached by a mortally wounded guard. With his dying breath, he says that the drow are bursting fourth from the Underdark and the guards can’t hold them back.

When they arrive at the entrance doors, Thurbal is stood alone fighting almost a dozen drow. He will die before the players can help him, but as he does the Knights of Myth Drannor will burst into the tower and engage the drow in battle. Famous adventurers that they are, they will win easily. The players can then talk to Florin Falconhand, leader of the Knights, and enlist their aid in helping rescue Scotti Amcathra.

If the players have taken the more sensible route, the Knights will carve a passage through the drow and head on into the Underdark. One or two Knights may possibly fall on the way; it doesn’t matter, as long as Florin survives (he should). However, the rest of the area the players must explore on their own. There is a storeroom off the main guard chamber containing a couple of potions of cure moderate wounds and a large shield + 1. A series of prison cells hold the remains of unfortunate occupants locked up when the drow arrived, and an amulet of acid resistance can be found on one of the corpses. The drow take no prisoners.

There are three main places of interest; a library, which is being used as a summoning chamber by a drow mage. She has a pair of bracers of armour + 2, but the players must also deal with a Shadow Mastiff guarding her. The barracks in the north-west of the area has a long sword + 1 and a battle-axe + 1, but is occupied by a drow captain, an 8^th-level dual-wielding fighter. Players will need to use all their resources to defeat him. On the plus side, he drops a pair of neat boots of striding + 1.

The final room is another summoning chamber south of the barracks, where a powerful 8^th-level drow mage by the name of Rethaun is attempting to summon elementals. He will attack on sight, but after taking some damage will stop fighting and plead with the players to talk. He has a lot of information about the nature and motives of the assault, and also talks about an odd being by the name of Malauntyr, who came to the drow and told them about Stone of Shadow. Regardless, when the PC’s have finished talking he will summon an elemental and go hostile on the players. Such is the treacherous nature of the drow.

There are no quest updates in this area, but the player characters can learn a lot about the back story behind the assault, and also learn about some of the main villains in the story.

This small area contains the resting places of those who ruled Shadowdale in years past. None of the sarcophagus’ are lootable, but when the PC’s enter the chamber at the end of the crypts the spirit of Sylune Silverhand, now a spectral Harper, will manifest. She is not hostile, and will talk to the players, offering them a quest.

Important NPCs:

- Sylune Silverhand (NG spectral harpist 20^th-level wizard/2^nd-level sorcerer/2^nd-level fighter) is the dead spirit of the Witch of Shadowdale. She has a sad story to tell about her death, and if she is threatened she will fade away and won’t return. If she is attacked, the players had better run, because she still possesses most of her vast spell casting powers even in death.

She will then attack, summoning a couple of spider minions. She is an 8^th-level priestess, but if the players have the Knights with them it will be an easy victory. If the players then speak to Florin, he will say that he is torn between going back to help the townsfolk and carrying on with the search for Scotti. Eventually, he will decide that his duty to the town itself outweighs that of a single person, and he and the Knights will depart for the surface. The players must rescue Scotti on their own.

The entrance itself is guarded by duergar mercenaries led by one Grimbold Tornhelm, a 7^th-level duergar fighter. He is the most powerful foe the players will have encountered so far, and wields a great axe + 1 with ease. When he is finally defeated, the players can make their down deeper into the Underdark, to the penultimate area.

The quest nears its end. Scotti is being held captive in the temporary drow barracks on this level, but the key is with the Matron Mother herself, Kinetha Draurin. Before the players can get to her, they must deal with several groups of drow, and a group of derro led by a savant (a powerful derro wizard.) The derro are quite tough, and use crossbows that fire strength-sapping poisoned bolts. The savant is a 7^th-level wizard, and will cast a large array of spells at the players. When he is dead, he will drop his staff of defence and wand of lightning, both of which are of great use to arcane spell casters.

On the outskirts of the drow base is the barracks. Drow militia will attack viciously, and when these are defeated the players must do battle with yet another powerful foe. Durntrag is an 8^th-level drow fighter dressed in snazzy black/red armour and wielding a very nasty spear. He is the strongest melee enemy the players will encounter, difficult to hit and causing some heavy damage every hit. When he finally drops, the players can loot his spear, kerishnar, which has a +1 enhancement, + 3 to damage bonus.

Important NPCs:

Important NPCs:

- The Knights of Myth Drannor are a powerful group of adventurers led by Florin Falconhand. They will join the players on their quest for a short time. Florin is the only talkative member of the group; DM’s should feel free to provide conversations for the other members if the players choose to interact with them.

- Scotti Amcathra (1^st-level commoner) is dirty, ragged, and terrified. He is very grateful when the players rescue him. Scotti must be rescued for the module to progress towards its finale.

Accompanied by Scotti Amcathra, the players will be intending to return to the surface and maybe help with the huge battle that is already taking place. As they are moving towards the exit, the true villain of the piece will appear. Malauntyr will gloat at the players, informing them that the drow were merely pawns, manipulated into attacking by the promise of an artifact that could help them re-establish themselves on the surface. In fact, Malauntyr is planning to take the Stone of Shadow for himself, for reasons that are unclear at the moment. He mentions something about ‘the Shadowmasters’ and then he departs through a portal he created. Players should follow through the portal. The exit to the level above has collapsed, so they have no choice.

This is the scene of the final battle, on a huge outcrop of rock known as the Old Skull. Malauntyr is waiting at his base at the very top of the hill, and the players must battle their way up through groups of drow heading down to attack the town. The battle is already underway, and as the players make their way up the hill they are kept informed as to the grim tiding of the battle. From their vantage point, they can see the whole thing unfold.

First, however, Scotti will approach the players and thank them for rescuing him. He will present them with a ring of spell-resistance, which will help protect them from Malauntyr’s magic. Scotti will then depart, heading back to the tower.

About halfway up the Old Skull is the exit to the Underdark the drow must have used. A few remaining drow are stationed here. There are some very useful supplies in the barrels here, including numerous potions, scrolls, and magical ammunition. The players are likely to need it all for the battle to come.

The final battle takes place at the summit of the Old Skull. Malauntyr will use his mysterious powers to summon two shadowy figures, which will attack the players with blinding speed, striking with staves of pure darkness. Malauntyr himself will teleport out of harm’s way, and start casting summoning spells followed by protective spells.

The best method of defeating Malauntyr is to take care of his minions first, and then focus on causing as much damage to Malauntyr as possible. He regenerates, so hit and run tactics are not a recommended form of attack. When Malauntyr’s hit points have been reduced to 50 or below, the battle is effectively over.

Important NPCs:

- Malauntyr (CE malaugrym 10^th-level mage) is the villain behind the Siege of Shadowdale. He can only be harmed by magic weapons, regenerates, and resists many spells. Fortunately, he does not need to be slain, only reduced to less than 50 hp. Once this is achieved, the final scene will occur.

Malauntyr will teleport away once again after enough damage has been inflicted, and when the players see him again they are in for a nasty shock; Malauntyr is now a huge black dragon! Confident that the player’s doom is at hand and inevitable, Malauntyr will happily let the players know the full details of his schemes before they die.

It transpires that Malauntyr is actually a malaugrym, more commonly known as a Shadowmaster. A race of extremely powerful and evil shape-shifting mages confined to the Demiplane of Shadow, the Shadowmasters can travel to the Forgotten Realms only very rarely, and with great difficulty. Malauntyr’s plan was to gain possession of the Stone of Shadow, a powerful artifact created by the father of the malaugrym, Malaug. With this, the Shadowmasters could travel freely to Faerun and cause havoc and destruction on a grand scale.

Malauntyr states that there is also another motive behind this assault; the hated enemy, Elminster. The Sage of Shadowdale had foiled the Shadowmasters evil schemes on many occasions, and Malauntyr wants revenge on the entire dale as a consequence. The more death and suffering that is caused, the better.

Just as Malauntyr is about to attack, in a hopeless fight the players could not possibly win, Elminster himself shows up. After a brief exchange of words, Elminster will shape change into a great gold dragon and the two will battle. After a flurry of spells, the great mage is victorious and Malauntyr is defeated once and for all. The battle is won!

The players arrive in Elminster’s Tower after the epic battle has finished. The Old Mage himself is waiting for them. Many lives have been lost, says Elminster, but in the end Shadowdale was victorious. The players can ask him about several points of interest. Once they are finished talking, Elminster will present the party with a netherese blast sceptre, a powerful and valuable item of lost Netheril. The players will receive a congratulatory final journal entry, and a portal will appear.

Once the players step into the portal, the module is finished and the characters are exported, the credits begin to roll.