Say that you want to randomly pick one of the PCs:

2 = coin flip, even/odds
3 = d6/2
4 = d4
5 = d10/2 or d6 + reroll 6’s
6 = d6
7 = (sure, I guess) d8 + reroll 8’s
8 = d8
9 = (seriously?) d10 + reroll 10’s
10 = d10
11 = stahp, u hav tu mny playrs

Obviously you can use this sort of technique for any random number you need to generate.

This is a sequel to Random GM Tip: Calling in the Big Guns. That article dealt with strategies for dealing with PCs who go to powerful patrons for help; NPCs that logically should want to help them with their current situation, but whose involvement would effectively sideline the PCs and possibly remove them from the scenario entirely.

This article deals with a similar problem: What happens when the PCs, when confronted with some horrible crime or circumstance, do the logical thing and report it to the proper authorities? For example, the police. Or the CIA. Or the army. The big, organized forces of Little Guys who enforce civilization.

Many of the techniques from the previous article will also work for this situation (and vice vera), but in practice they’re different enough to pose unique challenges. For example, while it’s relatively easy to explain why Elminster is busy and can’t help right now, it’s more difficult to explain why the entire police department would be so preoccupied that none of them can respond to a crisis.

(Realistically, of course, the difference between the Big Guns and the Little Guys is a spectrum with plenty of gray in the middle of it: The Chicago PD is definitely the “proper authorities.” A small town sheriff without backup looks a lot more like a solitary patron.)

In my experience, calling in the Little Guys also tends to be more disruptive than calling in a Big Gun. I think this is because most RPGs are structured around small bands of extraordinary heroes. Whereas Big Guns tend to work in the same paradigm, the inclusion of Big Brother seems to simply drown the PCs out. To mix my metaphors, the PCs end up being a fish out of water.

(This assumes that it’s the players who are deciding to reach out to the NPCs. Oddly, if the situation is reversed and it’s the GM who’s pushing the NPCs into the scenario I find that the exact opposite is true: Big Guns become far more disruptive and the Little Guys are manageable. I suspect this is for the exact same reason. The Big Gun operates in the same paradigm as the PCs, so when the GM tries to shove one of them down the players’ throats it feels as if the PCs are just being replaced by a newer, shinier model that they don’t get to play. Whereas when the Little Guys show up uninvited, they tend to be interpreted as simply another obstacle that our strong, independent heroes need to figure out a way to overcome. But I digress.)

So the PCs have picked up the phone and called the cops.

What happens next?

#1. THEY DON’T BELIEVE THEM

This solution can be basically a genre convention for any modern campaign featuring the paranormal. Think of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural: If you go to the cops babbling about werewolves, they aren’t going to believe you. They’ll probably just end up making the problem worse.

You can even use this paradigm in campaigns where the PCs are the authority. In fact, if you frame it correctly, it can let the PCs both simultaneously belong to a government agency AND be a small band of extraordinary heroes. Think The X-Files.

But this conceit doesn’t require the supernatural, either. Think about the beginning of Die Hard, where John McClane is continually trying to convince the LAPD that the terrorist threat is real, but they keep dismissing him as a kook or prank caller.

#2. LOST IN BUREAUCRACY

Alternatively, the PCs detect an oncoming crisis, warn the appropriate authorities, and… nothing. The authorities don’t do anything. Or they do something, but it’s misguided and doesn’t actually solve the problem. Or there’s a committee that’s going to figure out what the proper course of action is, but it’s clear by the time they’re done deliberating that the asteroid will have already obliterated Venice (or whatever).

Look no further than restraining orders that take three weeks to process when the guy bought a gun yesterday, the government response to the climate crisis, or the clusterfuck pandemic response in places like Brazil, England, and the United States. If anything, it becomes even easier to find malfeasance, mismanagement, and neglect at the local level.

You can send a strong signal early in a campaign that the Little Guys aren’t going to help the PCs by sending the bureaucracy looking for them first. Think about Walter Peck, the abusive EPA rep in the original Ghostbusters.

#3. THE BAD GUYS ARE CONNECTED

Coming back to Die Hard, do you remember that scene where McClane is celebrating because he can see the cop cars coming down the boulevard… but then the bad guys call it in as a false alarm and the cops flip off their sirens, turn around, and leave?

This scenario covers any number of possibilities for how the bad guys can counter the PCs notifying the authorities, like the horror and suspense movies where the heroes see something suspicious and call the cops, but by the time the cops show up, the bad guys have had a chance to make everything look normal.

It may be even more insidious than that, however, with the bad guys having already infiltrated the Little Guys: That might just be a few crooked cops so you don’t know who to trust, or it could be a conspiracy that secretly controls the entire local government. (Or an invasion of body-snatchers to the same effect.)

#4. THEY DEFER TO THE PCs

At the opposite end of the spectrum, let the Little Guys recognize that the PCs are the most qualified, the most skilled, and/or have the most insight into what’s happening. They’ll either partner up with the PCs or simply put resources (and manpower) at their disposal.

One variant of this that can work particularly well is for each PC to be put in command of a squad of NPCs. You can let the players run the whole squad or, if the squads split up to pursue multiple objectives simultaneously, you can use troupe-style play (in which all the other players take an NPC in the current PC’s squad).

But what really makes this technique work is to actually put the players in charge: Give them access to the resources, but let them figure out how they want to utilize them.

This can be a fine line to walk if you want to make sure that it doesn’t permanently transform the campaign, but it’s usually not too difficult to justify why this is a temporary circumstance that only applies to the immediate situation. (Although maybe permanently shifting the campaign is exactly the right way to go!)

Go to Table of Contents

“Dungeons should always be heavily xandered.” – Xandering the Dungeon

This article will probably make more sense if you read Xandering the Dungeon first, but the short version is that non-linear dungeons are more interesting than linear ones. The latter feature, at best, navigational pseudo-choices which lead the PCs through an inflexible sequence of prepackaged experiences. A xandered dungeon, on the other hand allows each group to…

…actively make the dungeon their own. They can retreat, circle around, rush ahead, go back over old ground, poke around, sneak through, interrogate the locals for secret routes… The possibilities are endless because the environment isn’t forcing them along a pre-designed path.

As demonstrated in Xandering the Dungeon, you can use Melan diagrams to look at the navigational structure of the dungeon (removing the “noise” of passages which twist around without every deviating from a single path). For example, this is what the Dungeon of the Dead Three looks like (minus the secret door that we removed):

Broken down like this, it’s immediately apparent, as we briefly discussed in Part 3F, that this is a fairly linear dungeon: There’s a couple of loops and a few side branches, but the furthest you’ll ever get off the straight path from entrance to Area D29 (where the preprogrammed conclusion of the adventure is located) are the three rooms leading to the dead end in Area D16.

(Even moreso than other installments, this one will probably benefit from directly cross-referencing the module. The map for the Dungeon of the Dead Three is located on p. 21 of Descent Into Avernus.)

To be clear, this a well-designed dungeon. The two early loops (D5 thru D9 and the D12-D13-D14-D17-D18 loop) joined by a chokepoint give some tactical flexibility. What we refer to as minor elevations shifts (where areas on the same conceptual level of the dungeon are nevertheless at different heights relative to each other) are used ambitiously and to good effect, particularly when emphasized with the flooding in the dungeon (and, in the Remix, the corpsedamp gas leaks).

But as I was reading Descent Into Avernus, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Dungeon of the Dead Three was calling out to be xandered.

THE LYNCHPIN

The lynchpin, for me, is Area D9. As we already discussed in Part 3F, this room has three doors decorated with bas reliefs — each associated with one of the Dead Three. As part of the Remix, we’ve already realigned these doors so that the images are associated with the cultists behind each door:

But although the Bhaal and Bane locations shown on the map above are the primary shrines of those gods, the Myrkullian cultists behind the third door are just hanging out in that room. Myrkul’s altar is way over here, on the far side of Bane’s altar:

The image I have in my mind is to even more strongly base the dungeon around the three doors in Area D9: to have those doors give a very strong indication to the players of the dungeon geography that lies ahead of them.

The first broad stroke, therefore, is to reconfigure things so that Myrkul’s temple lies behind the southern door in Area D9.

QUICK TEMPLE VERSION: If that’s all you want do, you could move D17 – Myrkul’s Altar so that it lies between D10 and D11. I’d recommend also taking D22 – The Torture Chamber and placing it where D17 currently is to keep that strong second loop. You could leave the current location of D22 an empty room or just have the corridor run through there.)

THE FULL XANDER

But if you wanted to fully xander the dungeon, you’ll need to do more than that. My first step would be to mentally break the dungeon down into distinct “chunks.” For example, you can think of the three separate “temple complexes” — the small clusters of rooms each associated with one of the Dead Three Gods.

My conceptual chunks for the dungeon are:

• The three temple complexes.
• A “crypt complex” that has been partially converted into living quarters (Areas D19 thru D26, sans the torture chamber in D22).
• The “inner sanctum” (Areas D27 thru D33, everything behind the secret door in the original dungeon)
• The “D15 complex” consists of D14, D15 (explosion #1), and D16.
• Area D18 (explosion #2) is a major feature by itself and not really part of another room complex.

Next, we’ll want to make sure we maintain the cool vertical variation in the dungeon, with the lower recesses flooded and gas leaks entering in the mid- or upper levels of the complex. If we just want to redo the layout (without re-keying any of the areas), we’ll want to make sure D15 and D18 are positioned in relation to the gas leaks in a way that makes sense.

With everything broken apart in conceptual chunks, we can play around with how we want to arrange them at a macro-level. My creative instincts immediately suggest:

• Connect all three temple complexes to the deeper recesses of the dungeon (in the same manner that the Bane temple is connected).
• Do at least some cross-connection between the temple complexes. I’m leaning towards the idea of a secret connection between two of them.
• There should be a kind of “plateau” or set of plateaus where the gas leaks (in our original key these are D13, D17, and D19) are designed to flow down into D15 and D18.

The next question is how to position the crypt complex and inner sanctum. Broadly speaking, I think there are three options:

• The temple complexes could all connect to Area D18, and then the crypt complex and inner sanctum could branch off from there.
• The temple complexes could all independently connect to the crypt complex (temples connected to shared living quarters makes sense), and then the inner sanctum lies beyond them (probably connected via D18?).
• The temples could connect to both the crypt complexes and Area D18, and then those could both lead to the inner sanctum. (You could also Venn diagram this, where two of the temples go to the crypt complexes and two go to Area D18. That would mean one of the temples would need to walk all the way through the inner sanctum or through a different temple to get to their quarters, though, which may not make sense.)

We also have the D15 complex, which could be used in a couple different ways:

• It probably just branches off at whatever location makes sense based on the gas leak and, just as in the published adventure, dead ends.
• Alternatively, it could do that (it needs to be positioned so that gas can leak down into D15) and ALSO be extended so that it serves as the connective tissue between two other sections described above. (For example, it could be the secret passage connecting two of the temple complexes. Or it might be the passage you have to follow from the crypt complex to the inner sanctum in the third option above, although that means you have to go through an explosive chamber no matter which route you take… maybe that’s good? Maybe that’s a little boring in terms of variable navigation?)

(This, it should be noted, is also how I usually design a dungeon from scratch: I list the big conceptual chunks that I want the dungeon to have and then I move them around until I have an interesting configuration. Stuff will still shift and change once I start mapping out the details, but it’s a lot easier to figure out the big picture first. This advice extends beyond dungeons, too: When I was working on “Seversen’s Mysterious Estate” with Jonathan Tweet for Over the Edge: Welcome to the Island, Jonathan brainstormed a bunch of cool stuff for the estate, I brainstormed some more, and then the pieces got juggled around until they had a compelling flow. But I digress.)

Looking at our brainstorming here, we can make some “final” decisions and sketch it out:

MAPPING THE DUNGEON

The next step would be to actually map out the revised dungeon. I’m going to leave that as a project for you to pursue if you’re so interested, but here are a few thoughts:

• The Bhaal Temple remains essentially identical to the map as it currently exists, except that there’s a secret passage behind the tapestry in Area D8 that leads to the crypt complex. (I think the passage is probably NOT secret coming the other direction.)
• Coming from the Myrkul Temple to the Bane Temple, you basically have D14 to D15 to D16, and then another stair up from D16 that goes into the Bane Temple.
• The “plateau” of rooms from which gas leaks down into D15 and D18 is in the junction between the Myrkul temple complex and the crypt complex: Areas D13 and D17 are, of course, part of the Myrkul temple and Area D19 must be kind of in the same “corner” as the stairs leading down to D15 and D18.
• I imagine the Banites getting to their quarters in the crypt complex by going through the D15 Complex and briefly passing through the corner of the Myrkul temple complex (but not the temple itself).
• The Inner Sanctum is also largely identical to the current map, with passages from the crypt complex and D18 coming together to enter Area D27 through a single door.

Make sure to include the minor elevation shifts and keep the flooded portions in the lower section of the dungeon! If you can actually arrange it so that the collapsed sections of D13, D17, and D19 are all clearly part of the same collapse, that would probably also give a good effect!

Go to Part 3H: Trafficking Amrik

Go to Table of Contents

ASSASSIN’S ORDERS

Vaaz—

My brother Thurstwell and I are agreed. Mortlock is not only a liability to us, but a liability to you, taking credit for all of the good work that you and your Fists are doing for us.

Rid us of our troublesome brother and send his right ring finger to me at the Low Lantern as proof and I will see to it that you are raised above Flennis and Yignath in this affair. You will be the liaison between the Shield of the Hidden Lord and your fellow cultists. It will be your face that Gargauth sees. He will know that YOU are the one responsible for carrying out his will! Bane himself will know your name when Gargauth sings your praises unto him!

Act swift, with the strength of the fist and the finality of the knife, my friend!

                                                                                Amrik of the House Vanthampur

MORTLOCK’S CORRESPONDENCE

My dearest Mortlock,

The temple is located beneath the Frolicking Nymph. In the north massage room, rotate the circular element in the stained glass window and the door will open. Vaaz, Flennis, and Yignath, along with their minions, should already be ensconced.

Flennis will be relatively easy to manage, but you may have some difficulty with the other two. Yignath is too ambitious. The trick will be keeping him reined in, otherwise he could easily compromise the bloodletting with some other foolhardy endeavor. Vaaz, on the other hand, is simply bull-headed. He’ll strain against the leash unless you pull it. So pull it hard.

You should not return to the manor until the work is done.

                                                                                                Mother

---

Mortlock,

I warned you to keep a leash on Yignath! What’s done is done, but I hope this will be the last bit of foolishness you’ll allow to happen.

The kidnapping of Satiir Thione-Hhune is particularly vexing, but perhaps we can turn it to our advantage as long as she’s not harmed. (Or, at least, not harmed until it’s useful for us to do so.) Take custody of her and transfer her to the manor as quickly as possible.

Thurstwell is also intrigued by the mask they found. Send it along with Satiir so that he can study it.

                                                                                                Thalamra

---

Mortlock,

That fool Portyr has emerged from his mansion. He’ll be giving a simpering speech in support of his misguided Confraternity of Refugee Relief at the Beloved Ranger. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. If we kill him now, it should disrupt his brat Liara’s attempts to steal the Flaming Fist from us.

I’m enclosing a packet of information for Vaaz, along with a very special weapon which has been prepared just for Portyr. Act quickly, my son!

                                                                                                Thalamra

---

DESIGN NOTE: If you can, add the date of the confraternity event (i.e., whatever today’s date is when the PCs raid the Dungeon of the Dead Three) to the second note.

MISSIVE OF THE HIDDEN LORD Ω

Flennis,

Know ye that these missives pass through holy hands directly from the Shield of the Hidden Lord, which speaks with the True Voice of Gargauth, Once Lord of Avernus and Treasurer of Hell, the Tenth Lord of the Nine, the Hidden Lord, the Lord Who Watches, and Legatus of the Dark Gods.

When the devils of Avernus brought down Elturel, the Grand Duke of Baldur’s Gate was claimed as a prize for Hell. So too shall you claim for Zariel the souls of those who once served Elturel. You can know this to be truth, for I hold here, at Vanthampur Manor, secure within its infernal puzzlebox, the pact with Zariel; the declaration of the powerful purpose to which we set our hands. Lay to rest your doubts.

                                                                                                                                -T.K.

MISSIVE OF THE HIDDEN LORD Ψ

Yignath,

Know ye that these missives are inscribed under the gaze of the Shield of the Hidden Lord, which speaks with the True Voice of Gargauth, the Tenth Lord of the Nine, the Lost Lord of the Pit, the Outcast, Daemon of Astaroth, and Legatus of the Dark Gods.

In completing this work, your reward shall be to rise to the rank of Black Gauntlet in the esteem of Bane. And when the Cult of Zariel claims the Flaming Fist, the Fist shall become the Left Hand and Bane’s Gauntlet shall become the Right Hand of the Council. The old temples shall be overthrown and their fanes given over to the black hand, the white skull, and the bloody tear.

                                                                                                                                -T.K.

MISSIVE OF THE HIDDEN LORD φ

Vaaz,

Know ye that these missives are inscribed by my hand at Vanthampur Manor, passing through holy hands directly from the Shield of the Hidden Lord, which speaks with the True Voice of Gargauth, Once Lord of Avernus and Treasurer of Hell, the Outcast, and Legatus of the Dark Gods.

Seek ye the blood of the holy orders of Elturgard. That is the commandment of this hour. Let the great work which was begun in the light of the Companion be completed here under the aegis of the Dark Gods.

Vanthampur shall remain within her manor for this time, for she has mighty work to do and must consult constantly with us in its pursuit. But just as she has given unto you the temple of your forefathers, so you shall obey the fruit of her loins. Her three sons speak with my voice and work to our common cause.

                                                                                                                                -T.K.

VAAZ’ CORRESPONDENCE

Vaaz,

Duke Portyr will be delivering a speech at the Beloved Ranger in the Wide during an event held by the Confraternity of Refugee Relief. Give the iron barb I have enclosed in this packet to your best assassin.

I know that you will serve me well in this.

                                                                                Duke Thalamra Vanthampur

---

DESIGN NOTE: If you can, add the date of the confraternity event (i.e., whatever today’s date is when the PCs raid the Dungeon of the Dead Three) to this note.

Go to Part 3G: Xandering the Dead Three

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ADVERSARY ROSTER

^* Key ring with seven keys (shackles in D12 & D22, chests in D30).
^** Carries spellbook (see DIA p. 23) and Missive of the Hidden Lord Ψ handout.
*** Carries Mortlock’s Correspondence handout.
**** Has Assassin’s Orders handout.

Stat blocks for Dead Three cultists can be found in Descent Into Avernus, p. 231-235.
Corpsedamp zombie stats can be found here.
See Art of the Key: Adversary Rosters for details on using an adversary roster.

QUESTIONING CULTISTS

CULTISTS

• The abductions/murders are actually being carried out by a team based out of the Poisoned Poseidon in the Brampton neighborhood.
• They have the support of one of the Council of Four! (Or, at the very least, someone very powerful.) Most of the low-ranking cultists don’t actually know who it actually is, and they might speculate: Ravengard, Stelmane, Portyr, Vanthampur. The ducal representative (Mortlock, although not all of them know his name) is here in the dungeon.
• The local cult leaders are Yignath (Iron Consul of Bane), Flennis (Myrkullian Master of Souls), and Vaaz (Death’s Head of Bhaal). They may be able to give some indication of their current location.

CULT LEADERS

Yignath, Flennis, and Vaaz are obviously more knowledgeable than the rank-and-file cultists.

• They have been receiving missives from the Shield of the Hidden Lord, which is currently in the possession of the Vanthampurs. (See “Lore of Gargauth” in Part 3B of the Remix.)
• Under Gargauth’s guidance, they have formed an alliance with Duke Vanthampur. They have also received this temple complex in exchange for their service (proving the divine purpose of their actions).
• They know that Duke Vanthampur is a Zarielite. They believe that Zariel is responsible for the fall of Elturel, with an army of devils responsible for sacking the city.
• Their primary liaison with the Vanthampurs is Mortlock Vanthampur. Mortlock provides them with the target list for their murders. (They don’t know where Mortlock gets the names.)
• Each leader also knows the contents of the Missives of the Hidden Lord addressed to them.
• Vaaz: Can also reveal the information in the Assassin’s Orders (that he was hired by Amrik and Thurstwell Vanthampur to kill their brother and was to send evidence to Amrik at the Low Lantern when the job was done). Within just the past hour, he has dispatched an assassination team to kill Duke Portyr at a charity event being held at the Beloved Ranger in the Wide.

MORTLOCK VANTHAMPUR

Mortlock is not inclined to betray his family, but if he realizes that the attempt on his life was coordinated by Amrik and Thurstwell he will feel betrayed himself and be more likely to help the PCs (if they agree to giving him an amnesty for his own role in all this).

• The Vanthampurs are Zarielites. Mortlock is not a true believer, but he’s loyal to the family.
• Duke Vanthampur is using the Dead Three cultists to murder specific targets. Mortlock’s brother, Amrik, is responsible for identifying these targets: He provides the names to Mortlock, who passes them along to the Dead Three cultists.
• Amrik has set himself up as a black market resource for smuggling refugees into the city. He holds court at the Low Lantern, fleecing refugees who want to bring their loved ones inside the city.
• Duke Vanthampur is working in coordination with a powerful cult leader that escaped from Elturel just before its fall. The Duke is protecting this cult leader in the basement of Vanthampur Manor. (Mortlock does not know the identity of this cult leader.)
• The cult leader brought two powerful artifacts with him from Elturel, one of which was a shield in the likeness of a demonic face. Mortlock’s other brother, Thurstwell, was fascinated by these artifacts.
• He also knows the history of the Dungeon of the Dead Three, and how it was given to the Dead Three cultists in exchange for their alliance.
• If questioned, he can provide background on the Tiamat treasure found in Area D30: Yignath had his followers steal it from a vault owned by the Hhune noble family. They kidnapped Satiir Thione-Hhune in the process. Satiir and one of the artifacts were taken to Vanthampur Manor at his mother’s request.
• Duke Vanthampur has ordered the assassination of Duke Portyr. A Dead Three assassination team has already been dispatched to a charity event at the Beloved Ranger where the Duke is planning to make a speech within the hour (see Part 3J: The Portyr Assassination).

Go to Part 3F-D: Dungeon of the Dead Three (Handouts)