Adventure: The Dragon of Krom Frykt – The Dragon’s Lair
Here is the third and final part of the Pathfinder-compatible adventure The Dragon of Krom Frykt. See the introduction here and the wilderness encounters here.
The Dragon’s Cave
Once the players reach the entrance read or paraphrase the following:
The rocky hillside, cracked and smoking from various vents, descends to the valley floor here where a wide, low cavern lies. A natural stone awning canopies an open space of small scattered rocks. WIthin, a dark passage emits heat and haze.
One goblin hides among the rocks in at the entrance (DC 20 perception to spot) and watches the approach (perception +0). If he sees the party approaching the cave he will alert the goblins in area 1 (see below).
An alternate entrance can be discovered through investigating the vents on the hillside above and succeeding on a DC 20 nature, survival or dungeoneering skill check. Success means they discover a fissure on the hillside above the cave, which leads to a corridor behind the entrance guards (area 2 on map).
Dragon’s Lair Areas
When the players enter the lair, run the following encounters as the players progress through the areas.
1) Guards and Wards – CR 4 – XP 1300
Within, more goblins with cover and bows and magical traps pass the time by playing at dice inside the entrance.
Trap – At the apex of the entrance, a mark has been made on the stone with grayish paint. Any who cross the threshold or touch the rune trigger this glyph of warding, which summons a poison frog swarm that will attack whoever triggered it.
Creatures – 5 goblins – one on watch among the rocks at the entrance, the rest wary. The goblins will attempt to use cover from the large rock in the center of the chamber and fire their shortbows at attackers.
2) Savage Riders – CR 5 – XP 2000
A natural stone passage splits in an area with several interconnecting chambers. Here, a couple of goblin worg-riders and their mounts stand guard.
Creatures – 2 x Goblin commandos (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/unique-monsters/cr-1/goblin-commando) and 2 worg. They will attack the players with shortbows, charges, and halberds on their mounts. The goblins will try to keep moving and flank single opponents.
3) A Fallen Champion – CR 3 – XP 800
Among the corpses of many goblins, the party finds the temple champion’s corpse, which has been partially eaten, and his ceremonial trappings -a helm, shield, and necklace.
Creatures – 2 zombies and 3 skeletons, animated corpses of the goblins that the champion killed, rise up and attack the party as they prepare to leave the area.
Treasure – The necklace is an amulet of health +2. If returned to the Temple further rewards will be bestowed upon them in the form of honors – they will be named Champions of Krom and a feast will be held.
4) The Chamber of Earthfire – CR 6 – 2400 XP
In the chamber of earthfire, a large cavern with lava pools and a natural stone bridge, the party must rescue the dragon’s eggs from the goblin wizard who ejected her. His intention is to hatch them himself and train them.
Hazard – the chamber is extremely hot and each round inhabitants who are not immune to extremes of heat must make a DC 10 Fortitude check or become Fatigued.
Hazard – the area around the nest is even hotter due to closer proximity to the lava, and creatures take 1d3 points of fire damage while past the stone bridge.
Hazard – anyone falling into the pool of molten rock in this chamber will take 5d6 points of damage per round.
Creatures – Goblin Wizard (see below) and 2 Bugbear Bodyguards, one of whom wields the Beastblade (see below) will confront the party. Both are wearing hide armor and are AC 19 (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/humanoids/bugbear). The goblin’s wizardry protests all three from the sweltering heat hazards of the chamber except the lava, and he will fight the battle flying around the chamber casting spells.
Treasure – The goblin wizard and the bugbears carry 10 platinum and 30 gold coins each. The dragon’s hoard consists of ore and globs of lead, copper, silver, iron, and gold that are melted together into a nest which weighs 500 pounds and is worth 1000 gold.
Within the lumpy metallic nest rest three egg-shaped stones, very hard, scaly, and hot to the touch. A DC 20 Knowledge Arcana skill check will reveal that these are the dragon’s eggs and require a constant temperature in order to hatch. A DC 25 Knowledge Arcana skill check combined with a DC 25 Knowledge Nature skill check will reveal that these three will hatch in 5d12 days if undisturbed. A DC 25 appraise check will reveal they could fetch up to 500 gold apiece.
Developments – If the eggs are harmed or removed the dragon will wreak her wrath upon the valley. The eggs will only hatch if their temperature is properly maintained.
Concluding the Adventure
Return to the temple and complete a skill challenge where the PCs must give an accounting of their deeds before the dragon is convinced that her treasure is safe and will leave. As she does she will sniff all of the PCs to check if they smell like her eggs, or, more direly, dragon blood. If she notices the Beastblade which the bugbear took from her hoard she will mention that a fool carried it last and that they may keep it as “the memory is sour”. If flattered she will tell the story of a group of thieves who came into her lair. She killed two and two more escaped, but the one carrying the Beastblade fought to the death with the smell of fear strong upon him.
Any harm to the eggs leads to dire repercussions the next day after the dragon finds out. She will hunt the players down if possible, likely destroying the village Sera and the temple regardless.
When the players rid the Temple of Krom Frykt of the dragon they are offered 100 gold coins each as a gesture of gratitude. Additionally, as the temple’s kennels have just had a litter, and they are offered up to two mountain hound pups.
Faoer Dornoe, The temple elder, expresses concern at the machinations of the goblin waste wizard, as the goblins have not troubled the valley since he was a boy. Their wolf and goat borne raiders had earned them a reprisal from the warriors of the temple and the men of the village. He mentions that a scouting expedition may need to be mounted and asks the players if they would consider undertaking such a task, which could lead to further adventures in the wastes to the north. Perhaps the players will meet the wizard’s two brothers.
Creatures
Deom-Adr, earth dragon, CR 10
Neutral large dragon (earth, fire)
Draconic, Common
Senses: darkvision, tremorsense
12 HD, 131 hp
AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +12 natural, –1 size)
F +12 R +10 W +9
Move: 40 feet
Bite +19, 2d6+10 +1d6 fire damage, 2 x claws +17, 1d8+7 damage
Breath Weapon – 60 foot line of fire – 6d8 fire damage, DC 20 reflex save for 1/2 damage
Choking Smoke – at will the dragon can exhale a cloud of choking poisonous gas and smoke. Each round of exhalation grows the cloud by 10′ diameter. The cloud gives concealment for all within it, which the dragon ignores due to tremorsense. Living creatures in the cloud must make a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw each round or begin to suffocate and take 1d6 points of subdual damage per round in the smoke.
Stats – S 24 D 14 C 18 I 12 W 13 Ch 12
Canny and suspicious, Deom-Adr seethes with anger at the goblins who are holding her eggs hostage. She has had dealings with the men of Sera in the past and is reluctant to inform them of the true nature of her treasures and will resort to threats if the players ply her for details. She will instead insist that the players secure all of her treasure and kill or drive off the goblins.
Ixame, Wizard of the Wastes – XP 1200
NE small humanoid (goblin) Witch 5
hp 20 AC 11 F +1 R +2 W +4
Spear +2, 1d6 damage
Spells – lightning bolt, hold person, summon swarm, sleep, ray of enfeeblement, cause fear
Hexes – Evil Eye, Flight, Healing
Gear – spear, scroll of cure light wounds, resist elements, ray of enfeeblement
Stats – S 10 D 12 C 10 I 16 W 14 Ch 10
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Creature, Encounter and tagged creature type: dragon, dragon by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Wooly Manticore
Wooly Manticore CR 3
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Creature and tagged magical beast by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Adventure: The Dragon of Krom Frykt – Wilderness Encounters
Welcome to the second in Claw Claw Bite’s series of weekly adventure posts! Today we present the overland travel portion of our serial adventure. Having taken up the quest to rescue the dragon’s treasure from the goblins who hold it hostage, the players must now travel north to the dragon’s lair in the Smoking Valley. For the adventure’s introduction, click here.
Encounters
Over Hill and Dale – The players will face minor hardships while traveling to the dragon’s lair.
Hazard – CR 1/2 – 50 XP per player – First they must make three DC 7 acrobatics checks as they traverse the rocky mountain slopes on their way to the dragon’s valley – failing a check results in a fall for 1d6 points of damage.
Creatures – CR 4 – 1200 XP – During the journey a pair of lynxes will stalk the party. If they can they will sneak up (Stealth +10) and attack stragglers or pounce during a moment of confusion such as after a party member falls.
Hazard – CR 1 – 100 XP per player – Two different geothermal vents present a hazard as the party approaches the lair’s entrance, and unless players make a successful DC 17 Dungeoneering or Survival skill check they will have to make DC 13 Reflex saves to avoid blasts of hot poison gasses that deal 1d8 points of damage.
The Dragon’s Cave – Once the players reach the entrance read or paraphrase the following:
The rocky hillside, cracked and smoking from various vents, descends to the valley floor here where a wide, low cavern lies. A natural stone awning canopies an open space of small scattered rocks. Within, a dark passage emits heat and haze.
One goblin hides among the rocks in at the entrance (DC 20 perception to spot) and watches the approach (perception +0). If he sees the party approaching the cave he will alert the goblins in area 1 (see below).
An alternate entrance can be discovered through investigating the vents on the hillside above and succeeding on a DC 20 nature, survival or dungeoneering skill check. Success means they discover a fissure on the hillside above the cave, which leads to a corridor behind the entrance guards (area 2 on map).
To continue into the dragon’s lair, go here.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure, Encounter and tagged Dragon of Krom Frykt by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Adventure – The Dragon of Krom Frykt – Introduction
This begins the first in a new weekly series of Pathfinder & 3rd Edition D&D adventures. Over the next four weeks, we will be posting this adventure one section at a time. So enjoy and look for the complete adventure in the next issue of Claw Claw Bite magazine!
The Dragon of Krom Frykt
An adventure for 2nd – 4th level characters, for use with Pathfinder or 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules
Introduction
The heroes, while returning from their latest adventure, get lost in the hilly wilderness during a long spring rainstorm. When the players find their way to the town of Seraford, they hear of a reward being offered to assist the valley’s temple to Krom.
This temple was dedicated to Krom long ago, at a time when he was known as Krom Frykt. In ancient times he came here, killed a bloody-handed monster known as Tyran, and claimed the land as his, saying he would kill any who did evil or who did not pay due respects at his temple, before moving on to further adventures as Krom is said to have done. Now, those who tend the temple uphold this promise in his fearsome name – every spring a feast is held where whoever wins in games of wrestling and feats of strength earns the title of Dread Champion, and who must uphold Krom’s promise when called upon, in exchange for the earthly privileges of the temple.
When the Player Characters arrive at the temple, they hear that it is occupied by a threatening cinder-mawed dragon. The terrified priests bring the heroes before the dragon who declares, “I am a drake of the earth. My most precious treasure is stolen by cowardly thieves and sneaks. I come to demand justice of Krom Frykt.” The dragon refuses to leave until its treasure is once again safe, explaining that a goblin sneaked in and snatched it, and threatened to destroy it unless the dragon left and stayed away. She demands assistance in the name of the god of the temple, and if rebuffed threatens to “turn this vale and all the lands I can see from this peak into scorched and barren dust, where I shall gnash the bones of the dead.” The dragon tells the Player Characters that “the temple champion has not returned,” and asks the players to sneak into its lair “in the valley that smokes” and secure what is in “the chamber of earthfire” from the goblins who tricked their way into her lair.
The priests confirm that the creature claims it has been wronged and has come to the temple to demand justice from their fearsome god, and the temple Champion, a warrior ordained to hand out justice in Krom’s name, went to the lair a week ago with some of the former champions and has not yet returned. The priests will offer the adventurers the eternal gratitude of the temple and 100 gold each if they help. The priests will ask, then beg for assistance, eventually offering up to 500 gold to each Player Character if they will undertake the task.
For the wilderness portion of the adventure, journey here.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure, rules agnostic and tagged Dragon of Krom Frykt by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Sword of Storms
This gleaming blue-steel blade is tied to the power of the storms, and in addition to it’s +2 enhancement bonus, deals an extra 1d6 points of lightning damage on a hit. Those who wield it resist 5 points of lightning damage from any source. Additionally, the weapon can strike with the power of a thunderclap – once per day, upon a successful blow, the wielder can force an opponent to succeed on a DC 15 Constitution, Fortitude, or Petrify/Polymorph saving throw, or be pushed back 10 feet and stunned for one round.
Posted in 1st edition D&D, 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Equipment, Magic Item and tagged sword by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Cover of Darkness Released
Claw/Claw/Bite is pleased to announce the release S.D. Hilderbrand’s Cover of Darkness, a Pathfinder/d20/3.5 Dungeons and Dragons fantasy module for 14th-16th level characters. Originally written in 2008, the module has undergone a number of refinements and improvements over the years. Cover of Darkness is part 2 of 3 in the Time Out of Mind trilogy, a series that takes the PCs in a journey through time and space as they chase down a party of false heroes who wield a powerful artifact.
The adventure also ships with five 15th-level false heroes to serve as the party’s nemeses.
From the Introduction:
This is a continuation of a story starring the False Heroes the nemesis and your players’ party of 15th-level adventurers as the heroes. In Stealing Moments, a unique artifact known as the Silver Orb of the Ages was unleashed from the bottom of a mountain cave, carried forth by the False Heroes.
These False Heroes have traveled the land, burning villages and causing trouble. In time, and as covered in the concluding module,Time Out of Mind, the party will chase the False Heroes to the Dream Plane, the only place where time is relative and thus out of reach of the power of the Orb.
But first, the party needs to learn more about the Orb. In this module, they will follow a trail of clues into the Plane of Knowledge and then track down a collection of tomes, through which they will become informed of the history of the Orb. However, the since the Plane of Knowledge is a sprawling library of endless passageways and sections devoted to obscure subject matter, it is full of peril in every section.
The False Heroes are comprised of a collection of characters of a similar makeup as the party. They have taken on the party’s persona and have made their way across the world, using the Silver Orb of the Ages to wreak havoc on the many peoples, and have brought shame to the party’s name. This has forced the party to travel in secret, following the many tales of the False Heroes’ exploits, keeping abreast of the local bardic lore, and have hunted them down throughout the multiverse.
Recently, they have heard a bard’s tale that the False Heroes have been sighted in the merchant quarter of the large port city of Chaurille. Upon visiting the quarter, they locate a bookstore, where they learn that a rare book collector as been inquiring about a book describing a silver orb.
This is where the action picks up!
Buy the PDF for $2.99 at rpgnow.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure and tagged Cover of Darkness by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Serious Injuries, Scars and Maimings
Axes grind and maces clash as wounded fighters fall to the ground
Severd limbs and fatal woundings, bloody corpses lay all around
Iron Maiden
“Invaders”
Want to up the ante in your game? Characters get knocked down just to get back up again? Try these optional rules for character scars and maimings.
Whether blasted in the heart with a ray of white-hot flame, shot in the liver with an arrow, or stabbed in the neck by a raving marauder, some wounds are going to leave a mark, if not result in serious and permanent disability, assuming that the victim survives at all. The maimed, the amputees, the crippled begging outside the temple of Heironious, Aries, or Hextor. All are the evidence of the price of the battlefield. Accordingly, these rules are intended to bring more life to the threats which wound the crusaders.
Optional Rule: Serious Injuries, Scars and Maimings
When a hero or important NPC takes enough damage to be reduced to negative hit points, check on the Serious Injury, Scars and Maimings chart to determine where the blow that laid the character low fell.
With the exception of destroyed organs and severed limbs, which require regeneration to regain, these effects should be reversible through the use of magic such as Restoration, Heal, or other magic or effects that heal permanent ability damage. There are also rumors of magicians and priests who have crafted magical arms and legs for those so hurt, as well.
Serious Injuries, Scars and Maimings (roll 1d20)
| Roll | Effect location | Full description of effects |
| 1-4 | Leg | -2 strength, -2 dexterity, and lose use of wounded limb: roll 1d20, on 1-11 limb is crippled and character moves at half speed, 12-20 limb is severed and character moves at 1/2 speed with a crutch but otherwise must crawl at 1/4 speed. |
| 5-6 | Guts | -4 constitution, sensitive stomach: must eat special diet or additional -1 constitution per day. |
| 5-6 | Groin | -2 strength, -2 constitution, cannot reproduce. |
| 9-12 | Chest | -2 constitution, -2 strength, after jogging or running, make a DC 10 saving throw or be dazed for 1 round. |
| 13-16 | Arm | -2 strength, -2 dexterity, and lose use of wounded limb: roll 1d20, on 1-11 limb is crippled, 12-20 severed. |
| 17-20 | Head | Roll once on Head Chart, below. |
Head Chart (roll 1d20)
| Roll | Effect location | Full description of effects |
| 1-4 | Eye | -2 on perception or spot checks, -2 on all ranged attacks. Second lost eye blinds character. |
| 5-8 | Ear | -2 on perception or listen checks. Second lost ear deafens character. |
| 9-12 | Face | -2 charisma due to serious scarring or deformation of face. |
| 13-16 | Mouth | -2 on all charisma based skills, due to difficulty understanding speech from character. |
| 17-20 | Throat | The character is unable to speak. |
As always, when introducing optional rules like this, especially rules that increase the danger for the player characters, talk it over with the group you’re playing with. Unless everyone consents to having more fun by making the game more dangerous, don’t use them. Nothing makes some players hate playing more than DMs springing new rules on them out of the blue.
These optional rules are compatible with 3.5 D&D, 4e D&D, d20 modern, and Pathfinder RPG systems.
Posted in 1st edition D&D, 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Variant Rules by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Bookworms
These worms are found in books throughout the Great Library. They infest the spines of books and consume paper, parchment, and leather, and flesh if it is unwittingly offered to them.
Bookworms manifest as a disease, with a series of increasingly-difficult saves – DC 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 – as a PC is repeatedly affected by bookworms in ancient tomes. The effects of a bookworm include acute skin rashes dealing 1d6 damage per day and flare-ups which deal 2d6 damage every hour.
Bookworms are also known for preventing the effectiveness of healing effects. They can only be removed with a long bath of purified water and a remove disease spell.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Disease by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
A Fast and Simple Critical Fumble Option
I like critical fumbles in my games for a number of reasons. First of all, as a storyteller I like it when disaster strikes. When I’m visualizing and describing a pitched battle I relish the possibility that one of the combatants might slip in the growing pool of blood on the flagstones or over-swing their battle-axe and accidentally strike one of their comrades. It makes the battles feel more real to me, and it also makes combat feel more dangerous.
In practical terms, it does make combat more dangerous for everyone involved. If big monsters might accidentally kill their minions when they’re trying to smash that knight, or if the players might lose their footing and fall prone, then there’s more damage being handed out every round. It makes the monsters go down a little more quickly, but it also exposes the players to more danger. As DM I consider this a win-win because I like my games to feel as dangerous as possible, and I like combat to go quickly.
But I don’t like to slow my games down with looking anything up. I’ve been playing and running games long enough that I know pretty much all the rules by heart, and for my fumble rules I wanted to come up with something that could easily be memorized and that wouldn’t slow down combat with referencing a table. Therefore, I came up with the following optional rule.
Critical Fumbles
Any time an attacker rolls a 1 on their attack roll die, they fumble. Roll another d20 to determine the severity of the fumble.
Die Roll Fumble Result
16-20 Character is off-balance and grants combat advantage until the end of the current character’s next turn.
11-15 Attacker looses their footing and falls prone.
6-10 Attacker drops their weapon or loses their next attack if weaponless.
1-5 Attacker targets an ally or themselves with the fumbled attack. Re-roll the attack to see if it hits the new target.
I like it because it’s nice and simple – there are four results with increasingly dire consequences, so it’s easy for me to remember “off balance, fall prone, drop weapon, or attack self or ally”.
Let us know what you think in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.
Posted in 1st edition D&D, 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons, Variant Rules and tagged critical fumble by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Stealing Moments Re-released
Inverspace Press is pleased to release S.D. Hilderbrand’s Stealing Moments, a Pathfinder/d20/3.5 Dungeons and Dragons fantasy module for 10th-12th level characters. Originally written in 2005, the module has undergone a number of refinements and improvements over the years. It is part 1 of 3 in the Time Out of Mind trilogy, a series that takes the PCs in a journey through time and space as they chase down a party of false heroes who wield a powerful artifact.
The adventure also ships with a party of five 10th-level false heroes, the PCs’ nemeses, with full illustrations to wow your players and keep them in character.
From the introduction:
FALSE HEROES
A group of rogues has moved into a cave up in the Silvermist Mountains a few miles uphill hike from the local town of Farreach. These false heroes were once noble and devout, but have become corrupted by loot, lust, and the desire for greater power. They are now working for (or more accurately controlled by) begotten of the old ones, who in turn are working for a stalking eye.
They have been performing experiments on the Silver Orb of the Ages, a magic artifact made of magesilver, a magic metal which amplifies arcane magical power. The Orb can help control the flow of time, making it a powerful item indeed. However, the stalking eye knows not how to wield the Orb’s power, and must rely upon the false heroes to learn its secrets.
Buy a copy from rpgnow; send us a note if you would review the product and we’ll send you a copy for half price!
As always, stay tuned to Claw/Claw/Bite for more adventures.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.