There are several different ways that the PCs can complete the Avernian Quest, but the most immediate (and the one they’re most likely to be pursuing as they leave Elturel for the first time) is the Sword of Zariel. The vision they receive from Torm and the shredded remnants of Lulu’s memories point them towards a pair of kenku at Fort Knucklebones.
THE HISTORY OF FORT KNUCKLEBONES
The kenku Lulu is looking for are long dead. Lulu actually came to Fort Knucklebones hundreds of years ago, shortly after Zariel’s fall (see Part 6D).
See, there has always been a flock of kenku at Fort Knucklebones. For as long as anyone can remember. Longer, actually. The people in charge come and go, but the kenku are always there. The current boss is Mad Maggie, but before that there was:
- Lord Fauxen, a human warlock
- A flock of vrock, who secretly used the fort as a forward supply base in the Blood War
- Xartemug, a pit fiend
And so forth.
Although no one remembers Lulu here and no story of her original visit has been passed down, there is a vestige of her to be found among the local kenku: Kenku speak by mimicking words that they have heard. Flocks of kenku have small, unique collections of word “performances” that are collectively shared and passed down from one generation to the next. One such “word of the foreflock” in the Knucklebones flock is Lulu saying the word “love.” For generations, when these kenku have said that they love each other (or anyone else), they have spoken it with Lulu’s voice.
The kenku will recognize Lulu’s voice and become quite excited about this.
FORT KNUCKLEBONES
Fort Knucklebones is a trading post; a sort of Port Royal for the Avernian warlords where they come for supplies, recreation, and repairs. This also makes it a useful hub of operations for the PCs.
Mad Maggie is the current potentate of the fort. Although not a warlord herself, she is seen by them as an equal and the neutrality of the fort is (generally) respected.
The fort itself, based around an outcropping or red rock shaped like a clawed hand, is somewhat described in Descent Into Avernus, p. 80:
- There’s a rampart of rock, bones, and metal debris with a gatehouse.
- The outer court, roughly the area that lies between the rampart and the knuckle gates.
- There are four courtyards located between each of the knuckles. These courtyards are fronted by the knuckle gates, which can be shut for an additional line of defense, but are generally left open.
- There is a fastness within the outcropping, with access caves from most of the knuckle courtyards. The fastness includes various storehouses and also Maggie’s demesne.
Note: Fort Knucklebones is also likely to be the PCs’ first introduction to soul coins as a form of currency. Take the opportunity to push home the “you’re not in Kansas any more” moment. Check out Addendum: Soul Coins, for a more detailed look at how the coins can be used in Descent Into Avernus.
BETWEEN THE KNUCKLES: There are four courtyards located between the “knuckles” of the outcropping.
- The tinker’s shed, a service station for war machines run by the kenku. A large cave at the back of this courtyard serves as a garage. The kenku live in a number of smaller caves that line the fingers to either side of the courtyard. A number of these caves are quite high, and the kenku have to climb ladders carved into the rock. (According to the flock’s oral tradition, before their entire species was cursed, the kenku of Fort Knucklebones could simply fly up to these caves. That’s how long they’ve been living here.)
- The Well, a bar built up around a rare natural spring of clean water. This spring is the reason Fort Knucklebones has been so constantly occupied. The barkeep at the Well is named Natasha the Dark; she claims to be a “cloned daughter of Baba Yaga.” (This would imply that she’s the clone-sister of Iggwilv. She’s probably making it up. But who knows? Maybe she’s the real Tasha who invented Tasha’s hideous laughter and Iggwilv stole her)
- The arcade is filled with market tents. Maggie’s infernal bank, run by an imp named Sarcasia, can also be found here. (It houses her stockpile of soul coins, acts as a moneychanger, and offers loans of various sorts.)
- The hostel, located in the broad space between thumb and index finger, is more of a public campground. No fees are charged. Anyone can grab a slab of space and pitch a tent. (Maggie figures that if people are staying here, they’ll be spending money at the arcade and that’s where she gets her cut.) The imps love to play practical jokes on people staying here.
Note: “Tinker’s shed” is the generic term on Avernus for war machine repair shops or service stations. They take the name “shed” because they’re usually rather small. The kenku’s facility here at Fort Knucklebones is expansive, but still referred to as a shed.
INHABITANTS: For ease of reference, here’s a list of NPCs at Fort Knucklebones. Also arranged as a random table just in case:
d12 NPC
1 Mad Maggie (DIA, p. 83)
2 Mickey (DIA, p. 83)
3 Chukka the Kenku (DIA, p. 83)
4 Clonk the Kenku (DIA, p. 84)
5 Pins & Needles (DIA, p. 84)
6 Barnabas the Flameskull (DIA, p. 84)
7 Redcaps (DIA, p. 84)
8 Wazzik the Madcap (DIA, p. 84)
9 Sarcasia (see above)
10 Natasha the Dark (see above)
11 Elturian Escapee
12 Random Avernian Gang
If the PCs do end up making Fort Knucklebones a hub for their operations in Avernus, I’d recommend adding a few extra characters to this list and working it up with a Tavern Time™ structure. This is a good example of where smart prep means waiting to prep something until the players have started wading into it and you know you’ll need it.
KNUCKLEBONES ENCOUNTERS: Don’t use up all the encounters in the first fifteen minutes the PCs are at Fort Knucklebones. Or even their first visit. This stuff can build over time.
- Chukka & Clonk: Help repair war-machine (DIA, p. 83)
- Mickey: Limping from injury (DIA, p. 83)
- Imps: Play a practical joke (DIA, p. 84)
- Imps: Want PCs to kill Wazzik (DIA, p. 84)
- Barnabas: Find the flameskull’s missing tooth (DIA, p. 84)
- Redcaps: Offer PCs a severed finger as a friendship gift (DIA, p. 84)
If you rework Fort Knucklebones using the Tavern Time™ structure, you can pull these encounters into the NPC “topics of conversation.” (You’ll want 2-3 per NPC.)
Bonus Encounter: Natasha the Dark wants someone to cast hideous laughter on her. It reminds her of her sister.
THE 1-TO-10 SCALE: This is briefly described on DIA p. 80-81. It’s basically a mental shorthand for tracking what an NPC’s attitude is towards the PCs. You can actually track this sort of thing for all NPCs, on your campaign status document if it seems useful to you.
ARRIVING AT FORT KNUCKLEBONES
When the PCs come to Fort Knucklebones for the first time, we don’t want the kenku they’re looking for to be the first thing they see. Looking for the kenku will mean exploring the fort, pushing and pulling them into encounters with the various locations and characters here.
REDCAP WATCHPOST: There’s a watchpost in the fort’s ramparts manned by redcaps. Use the encounter described in DIA, p. 81.
OUTER COURT: As the PCs pass through the watchpost and into the outer court, describe three specific people (or groups of people) doing things around the courtyard. (One of these might be an encounter, but that’s probably not necessary right now.)
Note that you want to be specific. You don’t want to just describe a generic mélange of activity (e.g., “The courtyard is full of strange-looking creatures. There are horns and tails and a faint smell of sulfur.”). You want specific stuff they can choose to interact with.
None of these should be kenku. I recommend including a warlord gang (maybe hanging out around their war-machines outside the Well) as a way of foreshadowing or, if the PCs choose to interact with them, introducing this aspect of the campaign. (More on these gangs in Part 7E.)
FUTURE VISITS
On future visits to Fort Knucklebones I recommend having:
- 1d3 or 1d4-1 NPCs in the Outer Court and the Well.
- Having 1d2 or 1d3-1 NPCs in the other courtyards (plus whatever NPCs would logically be there, like the kenku in the garage).
If you expand the cast of characters here, you can probably bump those numbers up a notch.
Have one or two encounters on each visit. (If you haven’t gone for a full Tavern Time™ structure, in which case they’ll be keyed to the NPCs as you generate them.)
QUEST OF THE DREAM MACHINE
In the published book, Mad Maggie uses her dream machine to unlock Lulu’s memories and then Lulu’s memories guide the PCs as they journey across Avernus (through the twin railroads).
We are more or less going to invert this structure:
- The PCs come to Fort Knucklebones.
- The kenku explain that they can’t help, but maybe Mad Maggie can.
- Mad Maggie is intrigued (in large part due to her obsession with Zariel lore and Lulu’s presence in the rare tapestry she owns, see Part 6D). She has a machine that she thinks could be used to recover Lulu’s lost memories.
- Just one problem: The machine doesn’t work. It’s missing four key components. The PCs will need to find these components in order to make the machine work.
To find these components, the PCs will need to explore Avernus (as described in Part 7). Once they have the components, the dream machine can be repaired and Lulu’s memories recovered (as described in Part 6D-I).
Homework: How did Mad Maggie get the dream machine?
THE FOUR COMPONENTS:
- Nirvanan Cogbox. Used in a variety of infernal machines, these cogboxes come from Mechanus.
- Heartstone. Used by night hags to infiltrate the dreams of their victims. It’s used as a prism or beam-splitter in the dream machine.
- Phlegethosian sand. Obsidian sand pounded from the jagged, rocky plains of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of Hell.
- Astral pistons. Another component used in various pieces of infernal machinery. The pistons are actually extruded into the astral plane, maximizing their mechanical output. It’s an outdated technology and rarely used these days.
MAGGIE’S LEADS
In addition briefing the PCs on the parts she needs, Mad Maggie can provide them with some initial leads on where they may be able to find some of them. The alphanumeric hex references below are map coordinates from the hex map in Part 7B, which you can use to quickly identify where these leads can potentially take the PCs.
Astral Pistons: She’s heard that an oni named Malargan — the forgemaster of Kolasiah, a local warlord — has a set of astral pistons in his forge. (Hex A5)
Astral Pistons: Uldrak the Tinker, whose shop is based out of a titanic helmet located in the western end of the Plains of Fire, had a set of astral pistons in stock a few years back when one of Maggie’s riders (now dead) needed repairs for an antique war machine. It’s possible he might still have a supply. (Hex D5)
Heartstone: Mad Maggie and Red Ruth (Hex B4) were part of a coven along with a third night hag named Gaunt Gella. Mad Maggie believes that Red Ruth killed Gella and stole her heartstone. Maggie suspects that Red Ruth is still located somewhere in Avernus, but she doesn’t know where. However, she has heard rumors that Red Ruth has been seen at Mahadi’s Emporium from time to time, and the PCs might check there for a lead to Red Ruth’s current location.
Note: “Gella” means “the one with the golden hair.” Consider having a quiet, emotional moment for Mad Maggie where she remembers the beautiful hair of her fallen friend. It’s up to you whether or not Red Ruth was actually responsible for Gella’s death.
Alternatively, Gaunt Gella was bald, but collected the heads of blonde mortals. (Maggie can still fondly remember how beautiful the hair was.)
Nirvanan Cogbox: Nirvanan cogboxes are a modronic technomancy. Maggie has heard that a modron ship crashed on the shores of the Styx contra-Dis from Fort Knucklebones. (The ship is located in Hex H5, but it’s actually an elemental galleon from Eberron and does not have a cogbox.)
Design Note: At least three instances of each component have been seeded into the Avernian hexcrawl. (The Three Clue Rule waves hello.) In Part 7I: Avernian Rumor Tables, you will find additional rumors that can lead the PCs to these disparate sources.
Mad Maggie gives four leads, and she should give them all at once. She gives two different sources for one component, one possible source for a second component (although she doesn’t exactly know how to track that source down), and an incorrect location for the fourth component.
This spreads four experiences across these leads:
For one component, the PCs have two leads and can choose one. (Establishing the idea that they have multiple options for finding the components.)
For another, they’ll have to follow up their lead to figure out where they can actually find the component. (Establishing the idea that they’ll need to actively investigate to find these components.)
For the third component, they’ll discover a dead end and need to find a different way.
For the fourth component, they’ll have no lead at all. (Establishing the idea that this isn’t just a “do what Mad Maggie tells you” fetch quest; instead, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for figuring out how to obtain these components.)
With no additional explanation, simply receiving these four leads from Mad Maggie will teach the players a lot about the form, structure, and expectations of the Avernian hexcrawl.
Minor nitpick, but the Inhabitants table has a “d8” header above the 12 encounter choices.
Fixed! Thank you!
Is there a link to this Tavern Time™ structure? If not, where can I find it?
@Igor https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/40758/roleplaying-games/ptolus-running-the-campaign-tavern-time
“The people in charge come and go, but the kenku are always there.”
Was that inspired by the ravens of the Tower?
Out of curiosity how do you envision the characters getting down from Elturel to even head towards to here? According to the module, the Chains are each about 500ft long, with each chain link is 30 feet long and 20 feet wide, with chain links are covered in 1-foot-long iron barbs. But each barb the players stay in contact(or the chain entirely?) with for a minute, any creature in contact with the infernal iron must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take damage on a failed save. Then you must make a DC 10 Dex save to see if you fall or not.
So that means they have to climb at normal speed 30ft/6 seconds which ends up being about 150 ft per minute(cause climbing takes an extra foot). So they’re still 350 ft above the ground when they make the first save and risk taking damage falling or even just powering through the pain. Or if they say dash then they’re 200ft above the ground, but each turn they have to make a DC 10 Athletics to see if they fall or not as well.
So it seems like a very iffy way for the players to get down to the wasteland.
@Robert
Personally I like the solution the book gives – let the players figure something out and make sure it works, albeit possibly with ‘exciting’ side effects.
500 feet is also (likely intentionally) just not too high so that featherfall still works – so as long as they have a wizard or you drop a scroll or potions of featherfall and they have a way to get some horizontal displacement, they can just jump down.
I did keep trying to figure out where I could fit the tower of an arcanist who’d been experimenting with a hot air balloon in Elturel.
(I just realized I almost sent them down to Hell in a not-a-handbasket… Which makes me want to redouble my efforts for working in the balloon.)
Kenku memetic speech with Lulu’s voice? Mind blown! Congrats for that!
One of my players is an Gondite Artificer from Lantan, who flew his airship to Elturel a few months before it’s fall and turned it into a workshop. We are still early in the adventure, so she thinks the whole thing destroyed and her apprentices dead.
I can’t wait for her to realise that not only is her precious shop still alive, but that converting it back into an air ship could be a solution from getting out of Elturel.
I’ll probably have it be torn apart by Vrocks as they make their descent, just so they don’t entirely negate the Infernal Machines by flying everywhere.
On the other hand, having it crash land in Fort Knucklebone, to be fixed up by the kenku and turned *into* an infernal machine could be pretty cool too.
Will this be updated soon? 😀
@Sarainy, if I may:
I’d suggest to crash it, but don’t have it attacked, simply fail.
Say that mundane mechanisms simply don’t work right in Hell, and point out id they did devils would probably use them, since the fuel has to be easier to get.
The airship still gets them down semi-safely, of course, but it’s little more than a giant parachute. In order to fly around the place they need to retrofit it with an Infernal Engine (TM) and keep the soul coins coming.
@Bill: Soon!
Fyi, there is not a link to this page on the table of contents.
Fixed! Thanks!
Hey, on the Heartstone: As Mad Maggie is a Nighthag are we supposing that either she doesn’t have a Hearstone (and it takes 30 days for a Night Hag to make one) or that she isn’t willing to give it up because the dream machine consumes the heartstone after each use?
I’d go with the latter.
Also creates the opportunity for the PCs to betray and murder her, taking her heartstone and using the machine themselves.
Ain’t a campaign in Hell if you aren’t tempting them to evil.
Hi, what’s the current status on the Remix? just an unusually long break between updates, on hiatus until further notice, cancelled entirely?
Just a long break.
Well, not really a break. I’ve been working on it. It’s just been fighting back.
I’m assuming we should take Chukka and Clonk out of the inhabitants table, seeing as the narrative is that they’re long dead (which makes perfect sense, much like this entire re-write!)
@DM Rob, I think you can leave them in. The Kenku that Lulu saw were some others, Kenku have been in the area for a long time. Just make Chukka and Clonk new and RP them that way. They don’t know Lulu, but they could have heard about her from Mad Maggie or the lore, etc.
Just wonder, have we given up on this remix?
@Bill
I believe Justin is focused on Rime of the Frostmaiden now. From March to August, half of the blog posts were about Avernus. Now they are really sparse. But I do hope that we’ll see the rest of the series one day. Turn a linear plot into an Avernian hexcrawl must be really time consuming. Specially if Justin plans to fill every hex with content.
@Bill, it is over for me. My group enters Fort Knucklebones next session. I’m not seeing the reverse concept of getting items for Mad Maggie then doing the dream last. I’m working out the DMs Guild bundle sandbox. But I do plan on using the Fort as a hub.
The first part of this remix was very helpful.
@Bill – Part 6D: Lulu’s Memories has just been given to Patron’s
My team is just starting to collect stuff. Lacking more direction, I sent them to an Avernus Junkyard first, using Pogs Props map (from his very worthwhile Patreon) where they were searching for a cogbox (and also a Demolytic Converter so they could run a war machine off of ichor). Every junkyard needs a junkyard dog, or in this case, a pack of infernal manticores. More HP, AC, and I added extra fire damage to the claws and acid damage to the bite and spine attacks to bring them up to an appropriate challenge.
(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/830280881279608447/)
I’m going to replace the Astral Pistons with focusing lenses of Stygian Ice, because
bringing the dream image into focus feels better than pistons for a dream machine.
That I’m placing as the optics from a warforged in an abandoned warforged factory.
Czepeku has a nice map for this.
https://www.patreon.com/czepeku/posts
Barnabas may have a clue to this, or possibly Mordenkainen.
The sand is of course for causing dreams, (and the origin of the sandman myths across the cosmos). That goes to a vendor at the Wandering Emporium.
The heartstone was stolen by one of the other warlords in an attempt to weaken Maggie. Clues from Natasha/P&N/C&C will lead back to tracking down Bitter Breath’s gang and needing to attack/infiltrate their encampment.
That ought to keep them out of trouble for a while 🙂
I am so indebted to you Justin. That idea of previous owners of the Fort, and the Kenku flock passing down ” I Love You ” in Lulu’s voice… magical. It suddenly makes me happy with DiA. In fact, next time, please be in charge of revising the modules before they are published! ever thought of joining WotC team? I’ll write you a recommendation letter (along with everyone else here, I’ll bet).
Props also to Sarainy. You both are making DiA something I can actually run with my players (currently journeying to Baldur’s Gate, having met a traveling Mad Maggie and Red Caps along the way – hello foreshadowing!)
Luther.
Hi Justin,
Love your work, it has been amazing to accomplish with my campaign.
I am just wondering if there is any updates coming soon as my party are entering Fort Knucklebones this coming session and I’d love the leads table 🙂
Thank you
“Homework: How did Mad Maggie get the dream machine?”
I’ve decided to explain the dream machine by tying it to a quest line from Planescape: Torment, which is one of my favourite PC games of all time and was my introduction to the Planescape setting.
In the game, you’re an immortal amnesiac who has lost their memories multiple times, and one of the plot points is that in the past, a version of yourself commissioned a member of the Believers of the Source in Sigil to craft a dream machine, pretty much for the exact same reason the PCs need it here — to delve into your memories and reveal hidden secrets from your past. It took lifetimes of work to make, a family of craftsmen passing it down from generation to generation.
One or two of my players might recognise the reference, but honestly I just like that I’m making the tie in because of my fondness for the game.
A couple of fun facts about Tasha/Iggwilv I just discovered from perusing the Forgotten Realms wiki:
* You know who else was raised by Baba Yaga? The demon Kostchtchie, currently imprisoned in hex J2.
* You know who gave Kostchtchie’s his hammer, the hammer that is currently wielded by Zariel? Tasha.
Whether the woman running the Well is the real Tasha, her clone, or a charlatan, those are two potentially interesting pieces of information.
When will the TBD be published as it’s kinda important? It’s been almost a year.
@Sarainy With the artificer airship, if it flies using a hot air balloon rather than just by magic, you have a good reason that it won’t work well in Avernus… hot air balloons provide lift by containing air that is hotter than the air outside, so it’s less dense than the surrounding air and floats. Avernus is a plane of Hell, however, so you could justify saying that the air is so hot that the difference isn’t large enough, and the balloon can’t provide enough lift. It could slow their descent though, and perhaps there could be some long term plan they could pursue to super-heat the air and make the balloon able to hold it so it can fly again.
@Dylan McLoughlin The day after you asked, apparently 🙂
Hey again! I have question about the dream machine, is there a specific description you had in mind or is that up to my own interpretation. I have the image in my mind but having a hard time putting it into words.
>How did Mad Maggie get the dream machine?
Back when Fort Knucklebone was under the dominion of the warlock Lord Fauxen, Magic Maggie was employed at the Wandering Emporium to give guests simulating dream therapy that allowed them to live out the fantasies that the Emporium can’t provide, all the while Magic Maggie would extract information from their memories that Mahadi would then sell.
It is here that she would come to unravel the mind of a hellrider, and become obsessed with Zariel.
After weaselling out of her service to Mahadi, thus cutting off a very successful service and making her striking out on her own a bitter affair. During which, Mahadi, who had grown infatuated with her, disconnected and blew up her side of the caravan. By the time Maggie recovered its remaining her machine had been stripped of its most valuable elements. She keeps it around in Fort Knucklebone to remind her of the suffering she inflicted on him, which never ceases to draw a smile to her face.
How did you handle the quests for the dream machine? There is not much here for the emporium or how to handle getting the Heartstone really. I assume just using the emporium as written in the campaign book would work but thoughts on how to get them to find red ruth.
I keep coming back to this post because I find the Design Note at the end so very helpful in crafting other adventures in which the PCs must recover a number of items.