Prince of the Undead - a 4th Edition D&D Campaign
The Blood Lord sat on his throne of bones and blood-oozing skulls, engulfed in darkness and the putrid stench of death and misery. Cries of pain and anguish played in the background of Orcus’ residence of Undeath. Nothing of this reached the dark lord. His blood-hazed eyes were lost into the distance, his mind stretching out to listen to the calls and prayers of his dark clergy and followers. Like buzzing flies, their requests and calls for favors left no impression on the Demon Price of Undeath – his schemes of power were on a level incomprehensible for his mortal followers.

But suddenly his eye twitched, a prayer – no not a prayer – a whispered word that brought back memories of lost causes and unpaid depts. Orcus focused his divine attention towards the source, spanning his godlike awareness cross planes and dimensions.

'Master of Undeath, Tear in the shroud of Death, listen to the words of your humble servant, a maggot in your godlike corpse. I have found out where the followers of Bahamut have hidden the Rod of Ruin! The paladin of Bahamut I defiled and brought back in your name knows of its hiding place, great Master.'

The Rod of Ruin – Found!  The Blood Lord clenched his fist around the Wand of Orcus, blood dripping between his fingers. This opened up new possibilities, the chessboard had suddenly shifted, and things were tilting in his favor again. As Lord of the Undead, Orcus had the everlasting patience of the dead, a trait seldom seen among his demonic cohorts and enemies. But Orcus knew that if he waited long enough in the darkness, secrets held in life would resurface in the afterlife. It was just a matter of time, and that time was now. With the Rod of Ruin resurfacing he could send his pawns to collect it and complete the task once started but never finished – turning the living world into a realm of undeath and eternal darkness. His divine mind immediately identified the hundreds of actions needed for setting the plan in motion, but first – he poured a fraction of his essence into the world of the living. His aspect materialized in the crypt of his maggot, pulling darkness and the chill of the grave with it. The priest screamed in terror as his eyes started to bleed at the sight of his true Lord. There were still questions that needed answers and a debt of a soul to be paid...


Players in this game will adventure through classic modules (which will be heavily modified) starting with Keep of the Shadowfell (H1), Thunderspire Labyrinth (H2) and Pyramid of Shadows (H3). After that we will move on to King of the Trollhaunt Warrens (P1), Demon Queen's Enclave (P2) and Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress (P3). Set in the high-fantasy 'Points of Light' setting, the players will battle the forces of darkness threatening the Nentir Vale, and either save the world or be vanquished by evil.

SUMMARY OF EVENTS SO FAR

I Winterhaven
PCs fight kobolds terrorising Winterhaven, defeating their insane hobgoblin leader Irontooth and learning they are part of a darker problem based in a the Keep on the Shadowfell nearby. They also find an evil artefact the Mirror of Shadows.

II Keep on the Shadowfell
PCs explore the keep, meeting the ghost of the keep’s fallen commander, and discover the vile necromancer Kalarel is trying to open a rift to the shadowfell. He has a bodyguard of Bloodreaver slavers from Thunderspire Mountain, and PCs discover that most of the winterhaven slaves have been taken to Thunderspire to be sold.

III Kalarel and the Rift to the Shadowfell
PCs defeat Kalarel and stop his ritual in the nick of time, pushing him through the portal into the Shadowfell. Inevitably, they discover he has a nameless ‘Master’. They take his Rod of Ruin, which Kressara senses is important in some way, and related to the disturbing omens she is having regarding the Raven Queen. They travel to Fallcrest and speak with the Green Wizard who tells them how to get to the Seven Pillared Hall.

IV Thunderspire Labyrinth
PCs travel to the Seven-Pillared Hall under Thunderspire Labyrinth, near Fallcrest, to find the slavers and show the evil artifacts to the Mages of Saruun so they can be destroyed. They defeat the slavers but discover the slaves have been sold on to the Duergar in the Horned Hold. They also discover a further ominous-sounding individual called ‘The Bringer of Change’ is in league with the Bloodreaver and the Duergar and was interested in the Halls of Silence.

After an informative meeting with the Mages of Saruun, the PCs agreed to help the Mages (and slaves) by travelling to the Duergar Fort of the Horned Hold. Once there, they hatched a plan with a duergar lieutenant to defeat the duergar king Murkelmoor, and rescued the Winterhaven slaves, then killed all the duergar and took the fort.

Starring (in order of appearance)
Duncan 'twicekilled' Brandish, Knight of the lost order of the Vale      NPC Human Warlord, killed by Kalarel and returned to life by Raven Queen as revenant skald; framed by Garth in the Seven Pillared Hall.
Vardon         NPC, elf ranger, gone off adventuring with Etran.
Gabriel        NPC, human paladin killed by Kalarel.
Baragor        NPC, dwarf wizard, briefly opened shop in Winterhaven, gone off adventuring with Etran.
Jane           NPC, human thief, killed by Kalarel.
Garman ‘King of Monsters’, Warden of Nerath         PC, human brawler fighter.
Ellais         NPC, eladrin ardent, gone off adventuring with Etran.
Kressara Aylwin, Countess of the Barony of Therund and Priestess and Seer of the Raven Queen       PC, human cleric/invoker of the Raven Queen
Llewellen Swancott of Devinsvale, Chevalress of House Swan and Guardian of the Feudal Lands of the Vale of Devin     NPC, human wizard/psion, killed by Kalarel.
Leodis        NPC, eladrin warlock.
Garth          NPC, half-orc rogue and member of the River Rats gang in Fallcrest.
Meleri Nicolette          NPC, half-elf bard.
Karash          PC, half-orc barbarian.
Drae'jon Ulvrain of Phaervorul  PC , drow thief
Sammuell     PC Deva Bard

LINKS

Main Game Page (RPOL)

Current Chapter (RPOL)

Out of Character Chat (RPOL)

Combat Spreadsheet

Encounter Map

Commonly-available magic items