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. Here’s the write up from the 12th session.
Begin here with Session 1 – Alarm in the Dead of Night.
18th Quintilis
The adventurers spend some time trying to figure out the various clues they’ve gathered about the orichalcum, the Teardrop and the Eye. As they discuss the evidence, Rabscuttle approaches, clutching a few gears and cogs that he’s clearly removed from inside himself! Bolval and Saethus join forces to figure out what the inscriptions on these gearforged parts are saying.
The writings provide the party with vital information about how to find the Eye of Grajava – they need to find a secret door inside the Forge of the Fire Blessing. Other clues are more cryptic and the party are unsure what to do with the weirdly-shaped piece of metal Rabscuttle gives them.
Meeting up with Abelard the Fire Shepherd, the characters get the azer to take them down the Great Stair to the Forge of the Fire Blessing, an impressive temple to Korak dominated by huge stone wheels bringing water and molten lava up from below. The adventurers search the seven forges first, then enter the three rooms underneath the ledge. Each of these contains religious paraphanalia and is decorated with mosaics depicting the priests of Korak at prayer. That’s not all – the mosaics show a secret door on the opposite wall and seem to provide some hints on how to access the Sanctum of Assaying.
Back in the main temple, the characters search through a big heap of ore but find nothing. Krivinn also reaches into the waterfall to see if he can find anything behind it to no avail. Eventually, Bolval’s prayer and offering to Korak opens the secret door and the others follow suit.
Beyond lies the secret chapter house of the Illuminated Brotherhood. Here, the characters are greeted by Silent Brother Bradobaraxas who ushers the party into the presence of Most Silent Master Caradlather, Illuminated Sister Jorunn Flintknapper and the diviner, Paracelix Zhedan.
Caradlather explains that he would like the characters to recover the Eye of Grajava, a powerful magical artifact, from the Sanctum of Assaying so it can be used against the Cult of Mammon. During the conversation, they realise that the glowering Sister Jorunn is the sister of Ansgar, the saboteur of the Manticore. Bolval and Krivinn try and clear the air with some small success.
Caradlather stands aside so the characters can attempt to open the puzzle door. First, they insert the weird gear-key they got from Rabscuttle which fits perfectly. Next, Ella suggests “K-O-R-A-K” as the correct sequence of runes to push from the hammer design and eventually the others listen to her! Finally, they spell out “F-I-R-E” on the anvil carving and the door opens.
Beyond is the first room of the Sanctum of Assaying, the Test of Valour. Inside, the adventurers are faced with the fiery figure of the Flame of Korak, his minion “sparks” and magma mephit allies.
The Flame charges the party, pounding Krivinn and Bolval with his raging inferno attack. Meanwhile, the mephits swoop in and out, using the vents to move around, blinding the characters with their searing breath and, annoyingly, healing themselves by diving into the lava pools. Ella stays out of the way, firing arrows at the mephits, but the others are all bunched up near the doorway, allowing the little elementals to catch the whole party in one go. Saethus uses his fey step to teleport out of the area and then blasts a mephit with his wand of icy rays, immobilising it, while Krivinn continues to exchange blows with the Flame and Bolval supports with healing magic and spiritual weapon. Khuma and his healing spirit find themselves surrounded by sparks and mephits but the shifter manages to hold them at bay. After several rounds of fighting, the tide turns and the party are victorious. As they heal their wounds, they realise a magical sensor is watching them…
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Richard Green | Game Designer 