M.T. Black - Tower of The Mad Mage
M.T. Black - Tower of The Mad Mage
M.T. Black - Tower of The Mad Mage
Neverwinter
might call out, “Use your shield better!” If
someone misses with their attack, he might
Wood
call out, “Get closer – then strike!” The PCs
will likely find him quite annoying.
The Starmetal Hills are low and rolling with Toward the end of the day you leave the
the occasional steep, rocky gorge. The poor soil Starmetal Hills and enter the vast, forbidding
is decorated by scrubby grass, thorny brush expanse of the Neverwinter Wood. Skwelch
and the thickets of dry, scraggy trees. Skwelch once more guides you expertly along old paths
seems to know this area well and so you make and game trails.
steady progress south-west.
The sun is starting to set and you are looking
It is about noon; the sun is high and hot, your for a campsite when you come across a fallen
armor and gear are feeling heavy, and you are tree. To your astonishment, there is a naked
beginning to think about lunch. You hear a young man caught beneath the trunk. “Thank
sudden squealing and three large boars burst the gods!” he cries as he sees you. “Please,
out of a spikey bush no more than thirty feet help me!”
in front of you. They squeal again as they
charge. The man is trapped, but is otherwise
uninjured. Two or three PCs can easily lift off
These three boars are ordinary animals – they the trunk if they choose. Skwelch will advise
them to either leave him or eat him.
have nothing of value. If skinned and cooked,
they taste superb. The man’s name is Jai Copperstaff, and he is
an apprentice clockmaker from Neverwinter.
He has no idea where he is or how he got there
– his last memory was of going to bed in his
home at Neverwinter.
The ashes are from a funeral pyre erected for The Deathrot Tribe have not explored the
the remains of the 20 goblins who died whole tower, being more concerned about
assaulting the dragon. Astute PCs may note licking their wounds and fondling the dragon
that there is no evidence of the dragon’s gold.
remains.
Tower Features
The bottom floor is made of flagstones, while
the upper floors, stairs and doors were all built
from a magically strengthened hardwood. The
interior walls are made of brick, which has
also been magically reinforced. The ceilings are
12’ high.
On the first floor and above there are windows
in the north, south, east and west walls. The
Guest and Master Chamber windows are
secured by a force field. The other windows
are all glazed, but most have been broken or
are badly cracked. An exception is the
Chantry stained glass window on the first
0. Ground Floor Goblin Names
The names of major goblins in the Deathrot
0A. Foyer Tribe are given in the text. If you need some
other goblins names, try these - Gergle, Flem,
This room is in a sad state. The plaster on the Klot, Flort, Hoozer, Slopyolk, Snurt,
walls is dirty and has gaping holes, the ceiling Pusgriddle.
beams are exposed and the stone floor is
covered with all manner of refuse. Several old, 0B. Sitting Room
dust-covered chairs are scattered around the
The floor of this room is covered with rubble,
room. There is a closed door on the northern
plaster and old wood. The walls and ceiling are
wall.
torn and dirty, and the air is full of dust.
There are two goblins in this room. They are Several filthy old rugs have been bunched up
meant to be keeping watch but they are in one corner.
actually engrossed in a game of dice, and can
be easily surprised if the party is quiet. The goblins have turned this into a kennel for
the three wolves they keep as pets. The
Once the PCs enter the room, the wolves in wolves will be alert and howling as soon as the
location 0B will begin howling and pawing at PCs enter the tower. If they howl for a full
the door. Once the goblins realise they are minute (10 rounds) a goblin from the fourth
under attack, they will try and reach the door floor will sleepily come down to investigate.
on the northern wall to let the wolves in and
attack. Treasure. There is no treasure in this room.
He turned into a specter, and is full of an The pipes are actually being played by a minor
undying hatred for the living. Once the whole
air elemental, which has been magically
bound to the room and is invisible while it is give a long and mournful “Noooooo!” as it
playing. slowly turns into dust.
If the PCs begin to examine the writing
Bookshelf
bureau, the music will stop. The bureau is
The bookshelf contains about forty volumes,
locked, but can be may be opened with thieves’
many of which are decaying. The volumes
tools and a DC 10 Dexterity check. As soon
include such titles as –
as the PCs begin playing with the lock, the air
elemental will attack. It will become visible Glyphs, Sigils, and Seals
then as a swirling mess of dust and cobwebs. The Obscure Octavo
Treasure. Inside the bureau are dry ink pots, Deadly Glamours of the Unseelie Court
withered quills and some old blank sheets of The Perils of Drink
paper. There is also a small purse with 20gp The Prophecies of the Grand Egg
in it, and a pair of goggles of night.
Treasure. The bookshelf also contains a
volume entitled “The Book of Wondrous
2B. Study
Answers”. It is entirely full of blank pages.
Once per day, you can write a question in the
Light wooden paneling covers the walls, and
book in ordinary ink. After a few moments the
there is a thin crimson rug in the middle of the
ink will fade away, and then a helpful answer
wooden floor. There is a small bookshelf next
to a strange gray door on the east wall.
200gp
Longsword +1 (named Whitherbrand) 3B. Kitchen
Pouch of 15 goodberries
Wand of the War Mage +1 There is a dead goblin in a pool of blood near
Platinum backed hand mirror, set with the door, with a meat cleaver buried deep into
small rubies (worth 150gp) his skull. On the far wall you see a large
3 potions of healing hearth, with a spit and several cauldrons
suspended over it and an oven on one side.
3. Third Floor Several cleavers, pots, pans and spoons sit on
a large wooden bench in the middle of the
3A. Dining Room room. It is otherwise empty.
A statue of a goblin with a horrified expression The utensils here were enchanted to prepare
on his face stands just a few feet from the and serve the food without assistance. The
door. A long dining table made of dark wood charm has worn off most items, but a decayed
version persists in some.
runs through the center of the room, lined on
either side with plush chairs. At the far end of Three rounds after the PCs enter the kitchen,
the table are four candlestick holders, made of they will notice a number of cleavers and pots
silver. begin shaking violently. The next round, four
flying pots and two flying meat cleavers will
The PCs will hear a shuffling sound from rise off the ground and attack.
beneath the table at the far end of the room. A
Treasure. There is a set of silver cutlery in a Treasure. See “The Dragon Hoard” in the
sideboard (worth 50gp). The dead goblin has following chapter.
7gp concealed in her boot.
There are also eight goblins in the room – all There is a sound like a sudden rush of wind,
that remains of the Deathrot Tribe. Some of then the ceiling above you booms and
them are playing dice, a few are drinking from shudders as a large weight alights upon it.
a barrel of old beer, and the rest are talking or There are a few moments of silence and then
arguing. The chief of the Deathrot Tribe is an ear-splitting roar.
named Glubnose.
The goblins begin rush around madly. “The
There is a trapdoor in the ceiling leading up to
dragon!” they cry. “The dragon has returned!”
the attic (not mapped). The tribe moved the
treasure hoard from the attic down to the From above you can now hear a great
master chamber, then nailed the trapdoor pounding and the splintering of wood.
shut and destroyed the ladder.
The dragon is named Talantha, and she is a then will creep down through the levels of the
red dragon wyrmling. tower, looking for survivors to roast.
The party have several options, some of which
Talantha’s Tale are explored below.
Talantha was born and raised in The Crags.
About a year ago she left her mother to make Attack the Goblins
her own way in the world. She found the old The party may choose to destroy the rest of the
tower, made a den in the attic, and began Deathrot Tribe. They could do this effectively
building her hoard. by trapping them in the Master Chamber with
Talantha. She will have no problem dealing
All was going well until a week ago when the
with the remaining goblins on her own.
Deathrot Tribe provoked her into a battle in
the field before the tower. She raked the They would then need to decide whether to
goblins with fire and claw while they poured attack or negotiate with Talantha, or to flee the
volley after volley of arrows into her. tower.
Attack Talantha
The party may choose to attack Talantha. On
their own, it would be a very difficult fight to
win. With the aid of the Deathrot Tribe,
however, they would have a good chance.
In battle, Talantha will focus her attacks on
the goblins first. If she loses half of her hit
points, she will flee. She will remember the
PCs, however, and could well become a
recurring villain.
Flee
The party may decide to flee without facing the
dragon, which is a sensible option on the face
of it. If Talantha is in the attic or Master
Chamber, she will be listening for anyone If Glubnose dies then Skwelch will become the
leaving the tower, and will quickly take flight new goblin chief, and he will honor his deal
to hunt them down. She will likely get one full with the party.
attack on those fleeing before they reach the
Skwelch will also happily lead the party back
safety of the trees.
over the Starmetal Hills to Longsaddle. If
The party may come up with other options, of Skwelch died and the party remained on good
course. If so, improvise! terms with the rest of the Deathrot Tribe, one
of the other goblins will lead take them.
Talantha’s Personality Otherwise they will need to find their own way
back to Longsaddle, which should not be
Talantha is just 15 years old and has the
overly difficult.
personality of a petulant teenager. She
considers the PCs and goblins to be vermin. The folk of Longsaddle will listen to their tale
Her main goal in talking will be to draw the with interest and skepticism, and the story will
PCs out into a vulnerable position so she can earn them a round or two of ale. They
roast them. She lacks experience, however, so townsfolk will also cheerfully advise the party
some of her entreaties will sound quite naïve that the Constable is looking for them, and
(“Why don’t you come out of hiding? I just wants to have a little chat…
want to be friends!”).
3540cp
570sp
220gp
Jade bird cage (worth 50gp)
9 tiger eye gems (worth 10gp each)
A gold scarab worth (110gp)
A 200-year-old bottle of elven wine from
the Rosedale vineyard (worth 190gp)
2 potions of healing
Potion of strength
+2 shield, white with a green cross
Conclusion
If Glubnose survives, he will honor whatever
deal he made with the PCs. The only exception
would be if the party were severely weakened
during the battle (for example, if most of the
PCs died). In that case he would feel free to
change the terms to suit himself.
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Monster Stats Condition Immunities blinded, charmed,
deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified,
poisoned
Actions
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Bash. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed,
5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) bludgeoning
deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified,
damage.
poisoned
Languages -
Languages -
Actions
B
A
A B
B C
Stairs Down
A Stairs Up
Fourth Floor