Halls of the Mountain King was the second 4th Edition Open Design project from Kobold Press. I ran the adventure in 2010 as part of the same Parsantium campaign as Wrath of the River King.
Begin here with Session 1 – Alarm in the Dead of Night.
23rd Quintilis (contd.)
Krivinn and Bolval smash down the south wall of the tomb, freeing the ghost trapped in the room beyond. It flies forward through the hole they’ve made and dissipates in the middle of the chamber. Searching the room, they’ve just discovered the characters find a hole leading down into dark, damp caves below.
Krivinn lowers himself down on a rope, followed by the others. The caverns below are winding and uneven and the party need to proceed slowly and cautiously downward. Nevertheless, the characters slip and trip a few times on the treacherous natural steps, before reaching a huge cavern resembling the inside of a massive geode. Bolval warns the others that the phosphorescent glow inside could indicate the presence of dangerous cavelight moss and he’s right.
As the characters move forward to confront a trio of quaggoths, Krivinn is grabbed and weakened by a large clump of moss and fails to smite it (righteously). Saethus and Bolval unleash deadly spells –fireball, storm cloud and flame strike – on the monsters as Khuma sends his spirit companion to attack the quaggoth chanter. Then, a darkmantle drops down on to Saethus but the wizard dodges out the way. The adventurers finish off the quaggoths and the two mosses; the darkmantle teleports away to safety.
The quaggoth chanter was carrying a pouch containing dried mushrooms – Bolval figures out these can be made into a tea that will allow Saethus to get rid of his cursed stone. The dwarf brews up and removes the curse, although not without poisoning the eladrin.
From the geode, the characters walk through another cave filled with stalactites, stalagmites and pools. An opening in the floor leads down into a vast cavern – the home of the Shank. Saethus levitates down and fixes a rope for the others to use to climb down safely. The rest of the party climb down onto the dodgy-looking wooden catwalks, only for a quake to rock the cavern. The catwalks and scaffolding collapse, sending Bolval tumbling to the floor, as the entire structure starts to gather, fold in on itself and transform into a scaffolding colossus!
Krivinn teleports on to the back of the construct as Saethus and Bolval attack with magic. Khuma, meanwhile, decides the best way to get down to the ground is to fall off the catwalk, taking 39 hp damage in the process! As the paladin climbs up to the colossus’ shoulder to attack from a more stable position and Bolval’s spiritual weapon hammers away, Saethus is battling scaffolding minions flung at him by the monster and Khuma charges forward, not even trying to avoid being flattened. Finally, Krivinn, who has managed to cling on despite the construct’s numerous attempts to shake him off, delivers the killing blow and the colossus collapses to the cavern floor.
After a short rest, the characters set to work on repairing the Shank and getting the water wheel turning again. Four hours later, they’ve managed it and the Shank starts to turn slowly in its base, restoring fresh air to the upper halls.
When the party arrive back in the halls above, they are hailed as returning heroes by most of the survivors. However, one group is gathered around a previously hidden secret door that has been revealed by the earthquake….
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Richard Green | Game Designer 