Stealing, By the Numbers (IV)

Map of Warcraft's Shadowfang Keep

At about this point, I ran into another quandary with my adaptation of Shadowfang Keep.  I’d eyeballed it at ten encounters, but, after four encounters in, I was running low on potential roleplaying encounters.  There would inevitably be some roleplay before the confrontation with the archvillain Arugal, but aside from that, my options were limited:  most of the remainder of the keep was filled with aggressive, borderline-feral worgen.

Ordinarily, I would simply have changed that fact, but I wanted to keep Shadowfang Keep relatively recognizable to the players who were familiar with it from Warcraft.  On the other hand, six straight combat encounters would be at least a full session, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a full session of nothing but combat — it was probably back in the days of the B series modules.  So I decided to proceed by trimming the number of encounters and trying to ensure that each one had an element to define it and set it apart.  I also did what I could to add a little more roleplay to the second session by expanding the role of the undead.

It was a possibility, of course, that the players would just choose to kill everything anyway.  But at least they’d have other options.

As the party left Commander Springvale’s room, they’d encounter a pair of Ghostly Soldiers — unless they’d already killed them, because these would be the two who came to assist Springvale in a fight.  If the PCs were allied with Baron Silverlaine, they could attempt to convince the soldiers to join them; the soldiers would share some information about a plan to attack the worgen in the next area, either way.  If the PCs were enemies of the undead, this pair would be hesitant and wary, knowing that the party would have had to deal with Springvale in order to get here.  They would not want to engage such a powerful force when they were so outnumbered, and would be easily intimidated or bluffed as a result.

Encounter Five (level 2 encounter, 700 XP): Two Ghostly Soldiers (Phantom Warrior Ghost, but scaled up to level 8, 350 XP) patrol this section of the rampart.  They are scarcely a threat to the PCs, and they recognize that fact; they will attempt to avoid a combat.  The party can gain the XP award by intimidating or bluffing their way past, or, if they are allied with the Baron, by convincing the soldiers to join them.  Gaining information about the worgen in the next area is worth half the award.

I removed the boss Odo the Blindwatcher and his bats; they didn’t seem to fit with the story I’d built for the Keep.  Instead, I continued the ramparts to the large room that, in the game, is filled with wolves and worgen.  This would be a major combat encounter.  Its twist is that the undead were attacking the room; depending on the party’s disposition, this could be a three-sided battle, or a large two-sided conflict.  The terrain of the room, with its many levels connected by staircases, was already interesting; I just scattered some extra furniture around.

Encounter Five (level 12 encounter, 3900 XP):  The force of worgen occupying this room includes two Shadowfang Darksouls (Razorclaw Stalker Shifter stats, but instead of Skirmish, it has an encounter power that causes 10 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends) and resist necrotic 10, 300 XP), two Shadowfang Rageteeth (Razorclaw Stalker Shifter stats, 300 XP), five Worgs (400 XP), and two Shadowfang Wolfguards (Werewolf Lycanthrope stats, 350 XP).  The attacking undead include three Ghostly Soldiers (350 XP).  There are a couple of worgen corpses scattered about the room, and presumably many of the undead have already perished.  The party may have up to three additional Ghostly Warriors with them, depending on how they handled the last two encounters.  Treasure: A treasure chest tucked beneath one of the stairways (automatically found if the party searches the room, Perception DC 20 to notice otherwise) is still intact.  It contains two potions of healing, a small gold statuette worth 1,500 gp, and a large chunk of amber with a preserved fly inside, worth 100 gp.

The listed XP award takes only the worgen forces into account.  If the players are not allied with the undead, the latter should still absorb enough attacks from the worgen that the difference should wash.  It’s likely that most, if not all, of the undead will die during this encounter.

Once cleared, this room offers a valuable resting point, because it has only one, easily-defended, entrance from deeper within the Keep.  It also contains another secret that explains why Arugal had his forces guard it:  there is a well-hidden secret trapdoor (Perception DC 25 to find) that reveals a ladder down to a passage that, via another elaborate secret door (DC 30 to spot from outside) opens onto the courtyard.  Through judicious use of this passage, Arugal is able to allow his worgen out into the surrounding countryside to hunt.  The mage himself has no need of this passage, given his teleportation abilities, but he doesn’t like to bother with such mundane matters as resupplying the Keep.

Once the party leaves the room, they’ll quickly find themselves at the base of Arugal’s tower, confronting his guardians.

Encounter Six (level 9 encounter, 2250 XP): Fenrus the Devourer, an enormous wolf (Worg stats, but make it elite, and add the Dire Wolf’s Combat Advantage ability, 800 XP), is here, accompanied by the Wolf Master, Nandos (Werewolf Lycanthrope stats, plus a recharging power that summons 2-5 Dire Wolf Minions, 400 XP because of extra power).  Three rounds into the fight, Arugal will teleport onto one of the upper platforms and taunt the characters.  He will summon three Voidwalkers (Barlgura stats, 350 XP) to assist his minions.  On the next round, he will teleport away.  It is possible for the party to damage Arugal here, but since he has use of healing surges, it is unlikely that he will still be hurt when they finally confront him.  Treasure: The bookshelves here contain several rare books on the theory of magic that can be recognized by anyone trained in the Arcana skill.  These books are worth a total of 4,000 gp.  The real treasure among them is the Book of Ur, which contains instructions for several rituals (choose roughly 1,000 gp worth) and which allows its user to call upon twisted creatures of the Far Realms, substituting his Arcana skill for his Religion skill when casting a ritual, at the cost of a healing surge.  The Book of Ur is worth 1,400 gp.

This room is an alchemist’s lab, which should make the fight a bit more interesting than the game’s large, open round room.  I’ve also combined two Warcraft bosses into a single encounter.

At the top of the stairs, the party will confront Arugal’s “children” — the Sons of Arugal.

Encounter Seven (level 9 encounter, 2400 XP): This room is home to six Sons of Arugal (Razorclaw Stalker Shifter stats, but scaled up to level 9, and once per encounter as a minor action it can enrage until the end of its next turn, causing double damage, 400 XP).  These are smarter than most worgen, and will fight as a unit, attempting to focus their attacks on a single target at a time.  They will prefer to attack those who wear cloth or leather armor first.  Once half their number are defeated, they will attempt to make a fighting withdrawal through the far door, into Arugal’s lair.  Treasure: One of the battered shields that still decorates the walls is in fact a guardian shield.

Arugal’s lair is behind the door, so if the worgen retreat, the party is left with a decision:  pursue them and immediately enter a larger fight, or try to rest and allow them time to regroup and prepare.  Arugal will be aware of the party in either case, but given the extra five minutes, he will apply some healing potions to the injured Sons and reorganize his defense to take advantage of his increased numbers.  If the Sons were relatively uninjured, he may even switch to the offensive, attacking the party in mid-rest.

Encounter Eight (level 11 encounter, 2950 XP): Arugal the Mad (custom stats including several wizard powers, healing surge access, and teleport 6 movement, level 12 elite, 1400 XP), former archwizard of Dalaran, makes his home in this broken room at the top of the tallest tower of Shadowfang Keep.  Three Sons of Arugal (400 XP) are with him at all times.  The room also contains a Flame Jet trap (350 XP).  The worgen are aware of the trap and will attempt to use it to their advantage.  Treasure: Arugal’s robe is a fireburst cloth armor +3.  He also carries a staff of necrotic might +3, which functions as a staff of fiery might but has the Necrotic keyword and damage type instead of Fire.  His worktable also contains a scattering of powdered gems and other reagents worth 400 gp.

Arugal will use his ability to teleport to its fullest extent, appearing at different points on the crumbling and broken upper platforms of the room to stay away from melee range of the players while his Sons harass them.  While he is mad, he’s also a very canny combatant, and will not be easily defeated.  He will use his Dominating Transformation power if he begins to feel pressed — typically when most or all of his Sons are defeated, and at every recharge thereafter.

In addition to the experience award for the combat, defeating Arugal is worth a major quest.

Following Arugal’s defeat, I’d conclude the adventure with a triumphant return through the Keep (perhaps including a short encounter with the undead, if the players were allied) and to the nearby village, where they’d receive a heroes’ welcome.  Fade to black following the feasting and accolades.

So in the end, I wound up with a two-session dungeon, fairly straightforward in nature, but including a lot of the basic components of fourth edition:  combat, roleplaying, a skill challenge, a couple of skill checks, traps and terrain, a quest.  The finished Keep is close enough to its Warcraft inspiration to be recognizable, but altered enough to give the players a different experience — mainly through the possibility of roleplay and interaction with the NPCs, but also through changed encounter setups.  The basic idea is still strongly present, but with enough alterations to offer a few surprises.

Total time for preparation was a little over an hour, plus 15 minutes or so spent on designing Arugal.

Next time, the wrap-up.

Related posts:

1. Stealing, By the Numbers (II)
2. Stealing, By the Numbers (III)
3. Stealing, By the Numbers
4. Wrapping Up Warcraft
5. Hanging in the Balance