Dimensions Lost
By Rick "Duicarthan" Miller
Designers Notes: This module was set up on the idea that not all encounters are combat based. Requisite abilities and skills in subterfuge and guile have been allotted for. In addition, this module includes a thorough study into Tharizdun's domains and affiliations with cold, darkness, entropy, illusion, and insanity. Who is there to fear more than the Dark God? (Files located below intoductary proposal). Completed module length 14,012 words on 48 double-spaced pages with 4 dungeon maps.
Module Introduction and Finale.
"Dimensions Lost" is a 3rd-edition Dungeons and Dragons adventure for 6th-level characters. Although set in the Greyhawk® campaign setting, the adventure can be transferred to the DM's own campaign.
The adventure takes place about thirty miles north of the Gnomish Vale in the Yatils, roughly sixty miles from the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun.
The DM can modify the adventure for characters of levels 3-10 by adjusting the encounters as described in the "Scaling the Adventure" sidebar.Adventure Summary
This adventure takes place in a recently unearthed temple of Tharizdun trying to garner some favor from their god by abducting the local gnomes. The cult has secreted itself below and continues its raid on the gnomes, but now heroes have been dispatched to rescue the enslaved denizens of the Gnomish Vale, and escort them home from the bastion of evil. The adventure begins when the PC's enter the Gnomish Vale. At which time they will be summoned to a private meeting with Laird Gwaylar.Adventure Background
Fifteen years have passed since the exploration of the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun in the Yatils. Now in 591 CY, after being buried for centuries, a new temple has been located some ninety miles away from the original. Rumors have spread that a group of archeological explorers disappeared while inspecting this temple. The surrounding villages report that a cult of dark clerics has been abducting many villagers from the Gnomish Vale. This cult is whispered to have re-inhabited the recently discovered temple. Their belief is that by the turn of the millennium the dark god will choose a new avatar. In response, the cult is attempting to garner favor from the long lost dark god by abducting area inhabitants in hopes of becoming the one chosen to become the dark god's new avatar.
This cult is rumored to have traveled from various points in the Flanaess. Some hailing from the recently destroyed Rauxes, the Vesve Forest, and scattered the remnants of the Horned Society prior to the Blood Moon Festival of Molag.
The quiet, seclusive village of the gnomes has long been an attraction for adventurers in the Yatils. Fifteen years ago it served as a base for adventurers on their way to the temple of Tharizdun. Through the years the gnomes have developed many valuable services to entice adventurers to part with their hard-earned gold. Now only few of these services remain open past dusk since the appearance of the dark clerics. Many of the folk of the vale have either fled or secluded themselves from humanity. In response to this threat, Laird Gwaylar ordered tunnels to be constructed underground to ensure that travel after dark is safe for all, and that trade will continue.For the Players
While passing through the Yatils, you are summoned to a secret meeting with Laird Gwaylar of the Gnomish Vale. He asks that you investigate the rumors of the ancient temple and remove the source of the abductions which have plagued the vale for the last few weeks, while trying to rescue any of his people imprisoned there, should they still live. He explains that in the last two weeks twenty-five of his brethren have been abducted and more disappear every day. He then says, he has sent out patrols to locate the source and eliminate it, yet none of the patrols have returned. I offer you a regiment of gnomes to escort you safely to the temple as well as a reward of one-hundred gold pieces for each gnomish citizen you return with.
With that he hands you an ancient book with a rough-grey leather cover bearing a holy symbol (Tharizdun's holy symbol). He claims this book was brought to their village mere days before the disappearance of the explorers. Opening the book, you see that it has been inked in a strange mixture of blood and some shadowy substance that still radiates from the page. (The writing is completely illegible to any but a worshiper of Tharizdun.)
With this passage read, you must come to the conclusion whether or not this cult must be stopped before they incur the favor of Tharizdun. Standing patiently nearby, Laird Gwaylar awaits your decision. The Ancient Temple. After many days of travel, the destination lies ahead. Set into the cliff-face are the outlines of ancient pillars. The surrounding area is a huge excavation site surrounded on all sides by humongous piles of igneous rock. Dead bodies of stonemasons, laborers and engineers are lie rotting. Near to the entrance are abandoned carts of unworked metals, stone, and rough gems. The narrow path leading below is completely unlit.Finale.
Should the characters escape the temple they will have to journey back to the Gnomish Vale to claim their reward. Along the way any escaped villains may be encountered, the DM should feel fit to detail these in any way he or she feels fit. Laird Gwaylar will be overjoyed to see the return of the characters and any of their brethren. The folk of the Gnomish Vale will be incredibly shocked to learn of yet another dark temple within such dangerous proximity to their village. The gnomes may ask the PC's to stay and establish defenses in case of further attacks. If the PC's were particularly, successful Laird Gwaylar may grant them a small grant of land outside the village with the possibility of future mining prospects. Each of the PC's will receive their full reward in gems, equipment upgrades, or enchantments. If any perished in battle then the remainder of the party is fit to distribute these funds as they will.
Further adventure locales of interest in the area are the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun and the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Each of these adventures will have to be updated and converted to 3rd edition D&D rules by the DM. Villains from this adventure may be used to further build upon these two classics. Perhaps a link between the two temples has been found. Perhaps they are the original collection points to the lost Keys of the Artifact of All Evil, an artifact said to release the imprisoned Dark God, or maybe the Keys are combined through the placement in separate temples. That once combined through these three thaumaturgic-triangle placed temples will invoke the Dark God to again wreck havoc upon Oerth.Scaling the Adventure
Although this adventure is designed for 5th - 7th level PCs, the module can be modified other levels by increasing or decreasing the number of opponents and modifying the main villains. Here are a few general suggestions:
3rd to 5th level PCs: Run the adventure as written. Although 3rd - 5th level PCs will find the adventure more challenging than 6th-level PCs. Consider dropping the overall level of the NPC's and encounters between two thru five levels below the stated listing. Remove the bodak from area 38 and replace the nightshade in area 42 with a bodak. Replace all trolls and ogres to orcs or goblins.
7th to 8th level PCs: Run the adventure as written.
9th to 10th level PC's: Run the adventure as written. Although 9th-10th level PCs will find the adventure slightly less challenging than 6th level PCs. Consider adding more ogres as well as increasing the respective levels of the clerics and mercenaries to 3rd-level or above. It is also recommended to increase the level of the major NPC's at least a level each to insure that they are up to par with the PC's added abilities. In addition, the nightshade from area 42 should have full access to all its abilities after the first round and will chase the PC's as far as area 36.References: WGA4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, Artifact of Evil, World of Greyhawk box set, From the Ashes, and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.
