d20 Goodman Games Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor.pdf

THE THIEVES OF

FORTRESS BADABASKOR

Concept

Marc Summerlott

Contents

Introduction

History of Fortress Badabaskor

Original Design

Mike Petrowsky, Craig Fogel, Bob Bledsaw,

Marc Summerlott, Bill Owen,

and Tony Floren

Adventure Summary

Rumor Mill

Field Guide to Encounters

Fortress Badabaskor

Fortress Badabaskor, Level One

Developers

Joesph Goodman, Greg Geilman,

and Kara Geilman

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Two

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Three

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Four

3.5 Authors & Design

Robert Conley

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Five

Appendix 1– Field Guide to Badabaskor

Appendix 2 – Field Guide to NPCs

Producer & Publisher

Joesph Goodman

Appendix 3 – Field Guide to Monsters

License

MAPS

Layout

Chris Solis, Robert Conley

Cross Elevation

Wilderlands Overview

Cover Design

Chris Solis

Fortress Badabaskor, Ground

Fortress Badabaskor, Level One

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Two

Managing Editor

Greg Geilman

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Three

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Four

Proofreading

Kara Geilman, Michael Reagin

Fortress Badabaskor, Level Five

Fortress Badabaskor, Area

Maps

Robert Conley

Art

Interior: William McAusland

Cover Art: Stephan Poag

Judges Guild

Eostros Games

Playtest

Jacqueline O Beck, Nick Birmingham,

Jason Dreistatdt, Melanie Merrill, Barbara Park,

Joshua Park, and Rob Scott

Special Thanks to Scott Bennett, Josh Beck, Dwayne

Gillingham, and Tim Shorts

Dedicated to Stephen and all those who braved Fortress

Badabaskor. Developed by Eostros Games, Published

by Goodman Games.

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Introduction

By the mid-1970’s the original rules had been released and the game was growing in popularity. But the idea that

there could be supporting products other than more rules, items, and monsters had not caught on. That is until Bob

Bledsaw and the other members of Judges Guild decided to try.

Their first product was the original maps to the City-State of the Invincible Overlord, followed by other releases

designed to help a Judge get his campaign going. The Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor was one of the first complete

ready to run adventures Judges Guild released and among the first standalone adventures that could be bought.

The first dungeons created were little more than underground levels with a town or castle outside where the party

could retire and refit. Fortress Badabaskor is very much like those early dungeons with a bandit fortress just outside

with stores and taverns.

Over the years, even as writing and production of adventures advanced, Fortress Badabaskor remained a favorite of

many. Part of the reason was that the authors gave reasons for why the creatures and inhabitants were in Fortress

Badabaskor. There were also factions that a party could deal with. Creatures in Badabaskor had different relationships

with the factions. Finally after dealing with the upper levels, the shear toughness of the lower levels made for a memorable

experience. Then in the lowest level the names and histories given for the Dragon Kings naturally led for ideas for

further adventures.

This latest version doesn’t just update the original product but further expands on the themes originally presented.

Changes were made for consistency, and to bring the older rules inline with the latest D20 rules. I had a lot of fun over

the years with Fortress Badabaskor and hope this latest version is as much fun for you.

–Robert S Conley

The Overlord’s Comments

This is the seventh issue of our Judges Guildmember subscription. 1 Our fantasy game aids are designed as scenarios

for active fantasy campaigns, especially those in play a game designed by TSR . In providing alternate scenarios and

guidelines, we can help to bring a campaign to life, using characters, history, and legends. Our aids can save prospective

referees much time in drawing in the detail of a fantasy world.

However, we expect that each referee will alter, expand, and illuminate areas that they wish. Likewise, deleting,

shrinking, and modifying areas of your choice is desirable in personalizing this area for your campaign. It is important

for you to add or delete any treasures that are appropriate to your campaign flavor. Likewise the mix of monsters might

be modified to suit your world’s mythos.

To be sure, Fortress Badabaskor is a powerful dungeon with many different strong factions. Therefore, it is worthwhile

for the referee to note that the ‘ferocity’ is quite compressed in a dungeon as this with five levels. Higher level characters

will find it a challenge; whereas, low level characters may venture in, as part of a ‘quest’, and hopefully divinely reinforced

with a strong magic weapon or so, even if temporary!

Good Adventuring!

-Bill Owen & Bob Bledsaw

1 early Judges Guild adventures and supplements were mailed out as part of a subscription service

This product requires the use of the Dungeons and Dragons™ Player's Handbook, Edition 3.5

published by Wizards of the Coast™

Judges Guild or Goodman Games is expressly forbidden. Goodman Games and the Goodman Games logo are trademarks of

Goodman Games and Joesph Goodman. Judges Guild, and the Judges Guild logo are trademarks of Judges Guild and Robert

Bledsaw. Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor is a trademark of Judges Guild, Robert Bledsaw and its licensees and partners.

characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Goodman Games and Judges Guild. "D20 System"

and the D20 System logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used under the terms of the D20 Trademark

License contained in the Legal Appendix. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a

challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. Dungeons and Dragons® and Wizards of the Coast® are trademarks of

Wizards of the Coast, and are used in accordance with the Open Game and D20 Trademark Licenses contained in the Legal

Appendix.

This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are

fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised.

Check out Goodman Games online at http://www.goodmangames.com

Visit Judges Guild online at http://www.judgesguild.net

For additional downloads and product support come see Eostros Games at http://www.eostros.com

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History of Fortress Badabaskor

Brastagoth, Cyng of Kelnore, established Fortress

Badabaskor as one of the Frontier Forts of Kelnore. When

the fortress was expanded the lair of the dragon

Scratharessar was uncovered. The Knights of Cyng

Brastagoth defeated the dragon and sealed its lair, but at a

great cost. The other dragons of the land heard of

Scratharessar’s defeat and warred on Kelnore, ultimately

destroying Badabaskor.

After the fall of Kelnore it laid in ruins until the Orichalan

Dragon Lords occupied it with the permission of the

dragon, Scratharessar. In the waning days of the Dragon

Lords, the priests of the demi-god Angall seized the

fortress. When Angall was injured in his victory over the

god Zanaaphic, the King of All Spirits, his followers carried

his body here.

While Angall rested and healed, his priests made

Badabaskor his place of worship. After several centuries

he awoke. All remnants of civilization had been swept from

the surrounding lands. After trying to rekindle civilization

and establish an empire, Angall failed in his efforts and

then lost interest and concentrated his attention elsewhere.

His priests continued to worship him and extract tribute

from surrounding barbarian tribes.

Merchants and peasant farmers for hundreds of miles

around feared Fortress Badabaskor. And while no longer

ruled directly they often supplied slaves and foodstuffs

when demanded by the priests. Local legends conflicted

over whether Angall was a god, demon, or an evil lich.

Thousands of years passed and slowly the followers of

Angall slipped into decadence and permitted the defenses

of Fortress Badabaskor to fall into disrepair.

The current period began in the year 4412 BCCC. Tinstag

One Eye and his band of highwaymen slipped over the walls

at night, opened the main gate, and fell on the sleeping

inhabitants like savage berserkers. The bandits rapidly

cleared the outer fortress, including the first two levels of

chambers in the cliffside. All the followers of Angall they

found were put to the sword. The clearing stopped,

however, when the High Priest Lorstag killed Tinstag.

Cragen, Tinstag’s son, avenged his father’s death. The

clearing resumed but finally ceased once the dragon’s lair

was discovered on the third level.

Adventure Summary

Cragen has developed a profitable business from his rebuilt fortress for the past twenty years and has imprisoned the

remaining followers of Angall in the lower chambers with symbol spells. He has turned Badabaskor into a safe-haven

and a market for all manner of legal and illegal goods. Cragen is largely retired from active raiding, focusing on keeping

the peace between the gangs now living in the Fortress Badabaskor and taking a cut of their raids. In recent years he has

styled himself as the Duke of Badabaskor.

The Overlord and the Black Lotus are aware of Cragen’s activities but they are unable to find out where he is located.

They still believe Fortress Badabaskor is inhabited by a nasty evil cult that stays mostly secluded. For the last five years,

the Black Lotus believes that Cragen has moved on. They are not aware that he has retired from raiding and is sponsoring

other groups. Cragen has recently summoned sages and been seeking adventurers to find a way to clear the lower

chambers of the dragons and the followers of Angall. No one has succeeded so far.

How to Use this Adventure

This module is as much a setting as a dungeon crawl.

Many older dungeons created in the seventies had a town

attached and Fortress Badabaskor is no exception. What

sets Badabaskor apart are the different factions that can

be found and the toughness of the lower levels.

There are several ways of introducing Fortress

Badabaskor into your campaign. The players could be hired

by the Overlord or be working for his secret police, the

Black Lotus. Their mission will be to find and expose the

hidden lair of the Bandit Duke Cragen. It is known that

somewhere in the region is Cragen’s lair. The area is

mountainous; there are a lot of ruins and caves to explore.

Only a few of the bandit gangs in the area actually reside

in Fortress Badabaskor. The rest are dealt with through a

system of cutouts that acts as a secret caravan network;

funneling goods and treasure to and from the local towns

and Fortress Badabaskor. If this network were penetrated

then players would find Fortress Badabaskor as the

location of Cragen’s lair and be able to explore it to

determine its defenses.

The players could start out as members of a bandit gang

and eventually be invited to join the gangs located at

Fortress Badabaskor. They will have to prove themselves

trustworthy and be known for keeping their mouths shut.

The Overlord and the locals “know” that Fortress

Badabaskor is the home of an evil cult and the god Angall.

Since the bandits have kept up that pretense that belief is

still widely held. As a consequence, scholars, mages, and

adventurers are still tempted go to Fortress Badabaskor

and try to gain the treasure that lies there.

Less widely known is the fact that Fortress is far older

and that it still could hold treasure and lore from the days

of the Orichalan Dragon Kings and perhaps from the time

of ancient Kelnore.

There are two other adventure hooks that can be used to

draw players in. The first is that Sorceress Rathera, a leader

among the amazons, was searching for the Crown of the

Crystal Mind. She has been lost for 20 years and now her

daughter Shiloh is lost as well. The amazons hire the

players to find Shiloh and possibly Rathera if she is still

alive.

The second adventure hook is that the Elven Lord

Revasar is looking for his wayward daughter Relisha. The

players have been hired to find her and bring her home.

The Relisha’s trail leads to Badabaskor.

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Adventure Overview

This module is designed for a party of 4 to 6 10 th to 12 th

level characters. If Fortress Badabaskor is being used as

an evil town or a base of operations for the players then

characters from 5 th to 9 th level can be used. The dragons on

level 3 can challenge epic-level characters of 20th level or

greater. The module is designed to allow players to either

avoid or roleplay with the dragons. If the players

successfully role-play with the dragons they should be

awarded at least half experience for the encounter.

The NPCs in this module are introduced with one or two

lines of flavor text. In the spirit of Judges Guild, their

ultimate personalities and/or motivations are left to the

Judge. The outer fortress is presented as a setting with

each locale described along with associated NPCs. The

exact circumstances of the various NPCs are left to the

Judge to facilitate placing the module in their own

campaign world. The interior dungeon levels are presented

as frozen moments in time with a random chance of

encountering patrols.

Magic items are generally listed in the text. However

items that have an immediate effect that the Judge needs

to know about or items created for this adventure are

detailed in a gray description box at the end of the

encounter.

Duke Cragen and his bandit gangs occupy the outer

fortress and the upper two levels. Within the bandit gangs

there are several factions led by different leaders. Cragen

has his hands full trying to keep peace within the town.

Currently a triumvirate of Cragen, his seneschal Talgorkon,

and Captain Branger rule Fortress Badabaskor. Cragen

considers Branger his successor.

Cragen’s wife Laella is currently in league with Captain

Throngath to depose Branger if Cragen dies. Rasnak, the

newest captain, and Maktash, the leader of the gnomes,

are the wild cards in any struggle between Branger and

Throngath. In addition to the bandits, there are the orcs

led by Chief Garband and the wererats scouts, which form

their own groups.

Scratharessar and her brood dominate the third level.

She is quite content to breed her children as long as she is

not attacked. The Orichalan Dragon Kings asked her

permission to occupy Badabaskor, she agreed as long as

the Kings keep others from disturbing her brood. She

considers the priests of Angall and now the bandits as

successors to the Dragon Kings in this role.

The central cavern of the dragons is connected to the

outside by a large network of caverns several miles long.

Because of these caves, the dragons have independent

access to the outside world. Inside the mouth of this

network is a village of trolls. The trolls have traditionally

served Scratharessar and sometimes work with the other

inhabitants. The Dragons also have gargoyles as servants.

The priests of Angall who survived the sack of the outer

fortress occupy the fourth level. The High Priest Reyhtuyl

and the Druid Massophir are their leaders. They have been

trapped for 20 years in these caverns, using Create Food

and Water to survive. Several plots to oust the bandits and

pleas for the dragon to intervene have failed.

Lately there have been several deaths due the action of

Sha-Shoan, an intellect devourer, and its doppelganger

companions. These deaths have proven to be the final straw

for many of the priests. Tired of years of living

underground, they have allied under the leadership of

Arinloge and Cracolf to overthrow Reyhtuyl, the High

Priest. They are currently gathered in the fifth level

preparing to make their move

A band of amazons led by Rathera searching for the

Crown of the Crystal Mind was trapped below along with

the priests. She has forged a shaky alliance with the priests

in exchange for food and water. But the recent killings have

raised tensions between the two groups. Likely Rathera

and the amazons will remain neutral in any coup attempt.

Unbeknownst to Rathera, her daughter, Shiloh, is

searching for her. Shiloh has come to Fortress Badabaskor

and has just been captured by the Priests of Angall.

There are several adventurers searching for the Tombs

of the Orichalan Dragon Kings. The evil Kow Klaftarn has

ambushed the mage Nonchaic and the two wizards are

dueling on the fifth level. Nonchaic betrayed his partner

Lissiena to the young red dragon Regjherbal. Regjherbal

left his mother, Scratharessar, to establish his own lair on

the fifth level.

There is a group of were-rats from the upper levels who

have come down to the fifth level to explore. Currently they

are scattered on the fourth level after a run-in with the

intellect devourer and the doppelgangers. Two parties of

gnomes from the Fortress are also exploring. One group

on the fourth level has lost a party member. Arinloge’s

forces, on the fifth level, have captured the other group.

The Wilderlands of High Fantasy

This adventure is part of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy

by Judges Guild. Fortress Badabaskor is in Hex 2906 in

Map 8 (Barbarian Altanis) and is next to an outlying

mountain of where Ered Perack meets the Cloudwalls.

Appendix 1 – Field Guide to Badabaskor has a more

detailed history and a guide to how it fits in the Wilderlands

of High Fantasy.

Field Guide to Resources

This adventure utilizes sources from the Players Guide

to the Wilderlands of High Fantasy™ and Wilderlands of

High Fantasy Boxed Set™ by Judges Guild® and

Necromancer Games® and has been used under license.

The material used has been reprinted for your convenience.

This adventure requires the use of the Dungeons and

Dragons® Core Rules by Wizards of the Coast®.

Adapting the Adventure

Fortress Badabaskor ties into Judges Guild’s Wilderlands

of High Fantasy. Like all Judges Guild products, it’s meant

to be used in any world with most elements being easily

changed to suit the Judge’s campaign.

As presented, Fortress Bababaskor’s location is set in a

wilderness just beyond the frontier of settled lands. This

area is part of a long dead empire that is remembered as a

time of glory. A successor realm rose up in its place and

was ruled by the Lawful Evil Orichalan Dragon Kings who

used Fortress Badabaskor as a safe haven and for their

burial tombs.

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