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Jan 19th The Ruins of Soguer – The Western Ruins

Presented below is the overview of the Ruins of Soguer, a map of the ruins, and descriptions of the western gates and the palace – the two locations where players are likely to enter the city. Following posts will describe the remaining sections of the city.

Previous sections of the adventure can be found here:
The Ruins of Soguer – Introduction
The Ruins of Soguer – Start of the Adventure in Aguies Town & Castle
The Ruins of Soguer – River Journey to the Ruins

Running the Adventure: This section of the adventure details locations in the ruins of the city of Soguer. As the players explore these locations they will learn the events surrounding the fall of Soguer forty years prior. Notable locations they may explore are the mage’s guild tower, where they can meet and help the former guildmaster of the mage’s guild, a sea-side ruin where the Auroch priestess-princess Ijer’svern is held, and the skeletal remains of the old king’s dragon, which is itself a portal to the Shadowfell where the players may find the old king’s sword.

There are also several locations that are not central to the main plot, such as the old palace, the elven and dwarven districts, the cathedral, the lighthouse, the market square, and various gatehouses. These locations contain lurking monsters and hidden hazards, treasure, and interesting locations to explore that add to the city’s atmosphere. Finally, there are dangers that threaten those who stay in the Ruins of Soguer. Restless spirits and wandering monsters will haunt visitor’s dreams and stalk them when they rest, as detailed below.

Hazard – Dreams of Things That Should Not Be – The ruins are a haunted place. By night, horrible nightmares of inhuman things coming out of the sea beset those who sleep here. Sleeping results in an attack at +13 vs the Will defense of the sleeper. A hit prevents the recovery of 1d6 healing surges. Those who do not sleep see faint ghosts of townsfolk pawing at the sleepers. If the ghosts are confronted, likely waking the sleeper, they dissipate, returning when the sleeper is once again left unguarded.
Random Encounters – Taking an extended rest in or around the ruins brings a 25% chance of a random encounter. Feel free to roll randomly or pick an encounter from this list.

• level 7 – Dwarven scavengers. An expedition of 5 dwarven bolters and 4 dwarven hammerers, traveling stealthily (+9 stealth), searching the ruins for valuables and trying to avoid the Hezrou. They will be wary of or hostile towards anyone they encounter.
• level 8 – The Saurian Hunters detailed below are encountered searching the ruins for valuables. They will be unfriendly when encountered.
• level 9 – A pack of worgs or spectral panthers finds and attacks the players.
• level 10 -A bog hag from the swamps and her pets, a venom-eye basilisk, 2 shambling mounds, and 2 trolls are hunting in the ruins and gleefully attack the players.
• level 11 -A group of 2-3 Spirit Devourers (MM p. 68) attack the party.
• level 12 -The Fen Hydra from the palace is out hunting, and finds the players.
• level 13 – The Hezrou that stalks these ruins finds the players and attacks them.

Location Descriptions The player characters are likely to enter the city through the west gates – start this portion of the adventure there. The locations described are presented from west to east, which is the most likely order the party will come upon them as they explore the city.

1 – West Gates – The walls are falling in places, but the towers and tall gates still stand here. There are some gems and precious inlays still intact near the tops of the enormous doors. As they approach read or paraphrase the following:
Each open door of these enormous gates stands fifty feet across and one hundred feet tall. The gates are made of rusted iron, decorated with the remains of an enormous inlay depicting royal lords at the head of an army, standing before a walled city, with many ships in full sail on the sea nearby. In the sky above the city are reliefs of two flying dragons – one on each door.
Skill Challenge, Level 11, XP 600, to get the precious inlays. The skill checks must be done in the following order to succeed. In this skill challenge, the players only fail and cannot proceed if they fail the Perception check to begin the challenge. Once they spot the inlays they are free to continue to try to retrieve them, and risk falling, for as long as they like. Only award the XP for this skill challenge if they retrieve the inlays from the gates.

• DC 16 Perception check to spot the precious inlays remaining in the dragons at the top of the gates, or DC 21 History check to recall tales of the fabulous jeweled gates of Soguer. Failure at this stage ends the skill challenge.
• Two DC 16 Athletics checks to climb up the 80 ft. to reach them. Failure on the first check results in a fall for 3d10 damage, failure on the second results in a fall for 6d10 damage.
• DC 16 Acrobatics check to balance on footholds on the wall as they work on freeing the inlays. Failure at this stage results in 8d10 falling damage.
• DC 16 Thievery to get the inlays loose. Failure at this stage results in a fall for 8d10 damage.

Treasure, Level 11, Parcel #10: 1,000 gold worth of ebony, ivory, and semi-precious stones, weighing 50 pounds in total.

2 – Palace – A hydra lives in the hilltop pool that was once the palace. Submerged passages connect the palace and a nearby empty keep and lead to the royal armory. As they enter this area read or paraphrase the following:

The river borders a large walled area here. Near the river a wide, low hill stands, surmounted by several large columns surrounding a large square pool of water. Ruined remains of small buildings lie near a gate in the northwest corner of the walls, and the burned remains of a large stone keep stand by another gate to the east.

Encounter – Level 12, XP 3500 – a fen hydra lives in the pool on the hill, a structure that was once a lowered ballroom in the palace. Anyone approaching the pool will attract the hydra’s attention, and it will attack them, fighting to the death.
Trap – The 5′ of ground at the edge of the pool is slippery and unstable, which a character can notice with a DC 23 Nature or Dungeoneering check, or a DC 28 Perception check. The edge of the pool gives way under a character’s feet: upon entering one of the squares at the edge of the pool the trap attacks at a +14 vs. Reflex; on a hit the target falls into the water of the pool and must begin swimming or sink beneath the surface.
Trap – The palace grounds are peppered with sinkholes which will open up in this area and plunge characters into the pool or submerged halls under the palace. A character can notice these sinkholes with a DC 23 Nature or Dungeoneering check, or a DC 28 Perception check. The sinkholes give way under a character’s feet: upon entering one of the squares that is a sinkhole the trap attacks at a +14 vs. Reflex; on a hit the target plunges into a submerged passage below, and must swim 100 feet to escape to the hydra’s pool.

2 a – Palace Pool – Characters entering the pool of water on the hill that was once the palace will see the following:

This deep, murky pool is wider below than the stonework that borders the surface. The cold water descends to a flat, muddy floor thirty feet below. Pillars support the overhang and a balcony that runs around the circumference of this submerged hall, and passages lead off in all directions.

If characters swim down and explore the side passages, they will eventually find that all are caved in after a short distance except for one passage. This passage leads north for fifty feet and then turns east and continues for three hundred feet. The last section is lined with the remains of rusted suits of armor standing in display before ending at a bent and open iron door. This door leads to area 2c, the treasury. With DC 10 Athletics checks to swim explorers should be able to swim to the door and back with 4 rounds to spare before having to make Endurance checks to drown on the return trip (DMG p159).

2 b – Palace Keep – Approaching the keep reveals the following details to the PC’s:

The burned out remains of a keep stand against the wall separating the palace area from the rest of the town. The keystone of the arch above the door-less entrance is inscribed with the words “The Lord’s Word is Law.” Within, the keep is empty except for a large mound of rubble where the southwest tower has fallen and a staircase in the northwest corner leading down into a water-filled passage.

If the players descend into the passage with some type of waterproof light source they see the following:

The staircase descends into a water-filled passage. Three muck-filled store rooms open on the south wall of the corridor, which continues four hundred feet to an iron door.

This door is barred from the other side, is a DC 27 Strength check to break down, and leads to area 2c, the treasury. With DC 10 Athletics check to swim explorers should be able to swim to the door and back with 3 rounds to spare before having to make Endurance checks to drown on the return trip (DMG p159).

2 c – Treasury and Armory – If the players reach the submerged treasury, read or paraphrase the following:

This plain room’s ceiling is supported by pillars. The rotted remains of two empty chests are in this otherwise empty room. An iron door with a keyhole stands closed to the south, and another door, barred from this side, leads east.

Searching the muck on the floor and succeeding at a DC 16 Perception check will reveal 5 gold left behind by those who looted this chamber. A DC 16 Thievery check to pick the lock or a DC 27 Strength check to break down the iron door allows access to the Palace Armory. Here, weapon racks and armor stands hold once-fine examples of every type of armor and weapon, now ruined by the murky water that fills this chamber.

Treasure – Level 11 Treasure parcels 4 & 9 – Examining this gear and succeeding on A DC 10 Perception check reveals that two pieces of equipment have weathered the water without damage: an ornate quiver with 4 level 13 magic arrows in it and a level 12 suit of armor.

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