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The PCs are given a map of Avernus while in Candlekeep (see Part 4C: At the Threshold of Hell). However, there are two key features missing from this map:

• The Dock of Fallen Cities
• Fort Knucklebones

This is a curious lack because these are, in fact, the first two locations that the PCs will need to navigate between when they leave Elturel.

The stated reason for these locations being missing from the map is so that the DM can place them “wherever they want.” But this doesn’t really make any sense. I suppose there is a kind of warped logic at work here, insofar as the only effect of all this will be to immediately convince the PCs that the map is worthless and navigation in Avernus is meaningless.

Insofar as we want navigation to be meaningful and the map to be useful, however, this is obviously an intolerable state of affairs.

Therefore, we have already placed the Dock of Fallen Cities and Fort Knucklebones in the Avernian hex key:

• Hex H3 – The Dock of Fallen Cities
• Hex I4 – Fort Knucklebones

The final step here is to modify the player’s map to also show these locations. To this end, you’ll find a graphical patch that can be applied to the map of Avernus below.

We’ve done this before to support our changes and additions to both Hellturel and Baldur’s Gate. As in those instances, the patch is a small section of the full map which can simply be overlaid the original image. (Reproducing the full map would not be fair use or ethical.)

You will find it easiest to apply the patch if you buy a digital copy of Jared Blando’s map from his online store. The patch has been presented at the same resolution as these high quality files, making it trivial to apply the patch using any photo editing software.

A FEW NOTES ON GEOGRAPHY

In order to place these locations in our hex key, I started by looking for a suitable location for Fort Knucklebones. There’s actually a group of unlabeled hills on the original map which seemed quite suitable.

I then decided to take the feature originally described as being the Stygian Dock, which lay appropriately near to Fort Knucklebones, and repurposed it as the Dock of Fallen Cities. (In the patch I have added several additional pillars and the images of sunken buildings.)

Having purloined the Stygian Dock’s original position on the map, I needed to find a new location for it. Locating it downriver from the Dock of Fallen Cities, I photoshopped in the appropriate features, using the illustration of the Stygian Dock located on p. 132 of Descent Into Avernus as a basic guide.

I hope you’ll be pleased with the results!

Go to the Avernus Remix

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The struggle for power in Avernus is eternal, and this struggle is not limited to the machinations of powerful dukes and archduchesses. In the Avernian wastelands, countless warlords squabble for territory, leading gangs riding infernal war machines.

In the area around the Dock of Fallen Cities, where Descent Into Avernus takes place, there are currently seven active, notable warlords. These warlords have been taken from the campaign book itself as well as the DMs Guild supplement Warlords of Avernus by Rodrigo Kuerten. The Warlord Reference, below, provides a comprehensive list and cross-references so that you can easily review and use the warlords.

There are several things that the PCs can gain from the warlords:

• Most importantly, information. Every warlord should be considered to know the location of at least one dream machine component. (Use Part 7I: Avernian Rumor Tables to determine what each warlord knows.) When asking other people about the components, the PCs should be frequently pointed towards either the warlords or their organizations (or both) as the “devils who know things” and might be able to help.
• Many of the warlords are mercenaries (or, at the very least, willing to fight if the price is right or the favor owed is great enough). They are potentially valuable allies whose force may be instrumental in the PCs carrying out various schemes.
• The warlords also have access to other resources. If the PCs decide that they need something, you can usually default to saying, “A warlord has it.” And then let them figure out how they’re going to get it.

Thematically, the warlords introduce the factional conflicts in Avernus into the campaign, mirroring the high-level faction politics of the plane which are likely to play a major role in how the campaign’s finale will play out and which will be detailed in Part 7F: Factions in Avernus. The Random Warlord Interaction Tables will help you portray their endless strife, and you should keep a few key ideas in mind:

• In order to get what they want from the warlords, the PCs will probably need to help them achieve their goals. (Many of these goals will be focused on jockeying for position with the other warlords.)
• The PCs cannot be friendly with every warlord. In fact, becoming friends with one will almost certainly mean making an enemy of at least one other (and more likely two or three). They can’t have their cake and it, too. They’ll need to make some hard choices about how they’re going to navigate the factional politics of the warlords (which will, in turn, help prepare them for the even more difficult choices they’ll make navigating the higher level politics of Avernus).

As the Avernian hexcrawl begins, make sure to establish the warlords early and often. The random encounter tables in Part 7H should help to make their presence pervasive, but make sure to have people mention them and talk about them, too.

Indicate early on that the warlords are a valuable source of information (for both the dream machine components and other aspects of the Avernian wastes). If the PCs are asking someone for information or about a particular resource and they don’t know anything, you’ll rarely go wrong having them suggest that a warlord might have what they need:

• A Nirvanan cogbox? Doesn’t ring a bell. But the Soul Collectors are always collecting junk like that.
• You want to blackmail Baron Tolmanen of the Purple City? Good luck with that! You know who might know something? Carol D’Vown. She knows all kinds of gossip.
• You need money? I heard Raggadragga is flush with soul coins and looking to hire some muscle. He’s been hanging around Fort Knucklebones of late.

You can just roll on the Random Warlord Table below and come up with a plausible suggestion. (It doesn;’t even necessarily need to be true.)

Finally, don’t just focus on the warlords. There’s a bias towards this in both Descent Into Avernus and Warlords of Avernus, but you’ll want to make a point of incorporating the members of their gangs into the campaign. Let the PCs bump into gang members throughout the wastes – whether at the Alvskraema caravanserai (Hex B2b), the Bloody Crescent (Hex D4), Fort Knucklebones (Hex I4), or just riding through the Ashlands. Being introduced to a gang through their common members will usually make the warlord seem more significant when the PCs get a chance to finally meet them.

Homework: Add a handful of specific gang members to each warlord’s gang. You probably don’t need more than 2-4, although you’re likely to end up adding more if the PCs begin interacting with a particular gang on a frequent basis.

WARLORD REFERENCE

ALGORAN: A tulgar who has founded a gladiatorial arena which hosts well-attended competitions.

• Gang: Soul Collectors
• Lair: Hex B6
• One of the three warlords (along with Kolasiah and Bitter Breath) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Recently acquired a modron slave who has a Nirvanan cogbox.
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 2

Hooks:

• Always interested in new slaves for the arena. The more exotic and dangerous, the better.
• Wants to issue a challenge to another warlord to bring their “champions” to a gladiatorial showdown and might want to send the PCs to bear the message. (There’s only a slight chance the message might send the other warlord into a rage.) This might be another warlord of the Ashlands (Kolasiah or Bitter Breath), or perhaps he’s looking for someone willing to make the longer journey to challenge Feonor or Princeps Kovik.

BITTER BREATH: Formerly a pit fiend named L’zeth, Bitter Breath was demoted to a horned devil by Zariel shortly after the Archduchess claimed the rulership of Avernus.

• Gang: Marauders
• Lair: Hex A6
• One of the three warlords (along with Kolasiah and Algoran) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Collaborated with Bel in an effort to overthrow Zariel in the first days of her rule.
• Attacked the group escorting the befuddled Lulu to Celestia (resulting in the amnesiac Lulu escaping and finding her way back to the Material Plane, see Part 6D).
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 90 & Bitter Rivals, p. 5

Hooks:

• Although Bel distanced himself from Bitter Breath after her fall, she may still be able to arrange introductions (either with Bel or those highly placed in his circle).
• Bitter Breath may remember her encounter with Lulu, and be willing to trade for that knowledge.
• Bitter Breath once sought Kostchtchie’s phylactery and knows that the Witch-Queen (Hex B3) has secret lore relating to it.

CAROL D’VOWN: An alchemist and technomancer. Her “gang” consists of infernal constructs she has made.

• Lair: Hex D2a
• In a relationship with Feonor, having met her at Mahadi’s Wandering Emporium years ago.
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 4

Hooks:

• Always searching for a suitable gift to show her affection to Feonor.
• Wants a sample of tissue from the Bloody Cyst (Hex F4) for her experiments.
• Needs a specially crafted crucible of Baatorian steel. (There’s a mine in Hex E2 and the crucible might be forged by Uldrak in Hex D5.)
• Has a heartstone, which she uses in her alchemical experiments.

FEONOR: A powerful human necromancer who gives the gift of undeath to many of her followers.

• Gang: Golden Doom
• Lair: Hex I2
• In a relationship with Carol D’Vown. Previously in a relationship with Mahadi (of the Wandering Emporium).
• Has a number of amphibious infernal machines.
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 91

Hooks:

• Lady Bladeharrow, Feonor’s undead devil forgemaster, needs barrels of dryad-wood. (The PCs might be able to find some for sale at Mahadi’s Emporium.)
• If anyone were to hurt Carol D’Vown, Feonor would be interested in identifying the guilty party (and then wreaking vengeance upon them).
• Feonor is always in the market for corpses, particularly unusual ones, to continue her studies.
• Lady Bladeharrow has a supply of Phlegethosian sand.

KOLASIAH, THE INFERNAL MEDUSA: A member of the Golgari Swarm, Kolasiah and her gang have come to Avernus from Ravnica seeking power.

• Gang: The Lost Golgari
• Lair: Hex A5
• One of the three warlords (along with Bitter Breath and Algoran) whose lairs lie in the mountains ringing the Ashlands. Recently allied with them to wipe out Smiler’s Defilers (DIA, p. 133).
• Primary Reference: Warlords of Avernus, p. 8

Hooks:

• Seeking a way of returning home.
• Would value any news of a powerful spellcaster not allied with Zariel.
• She believes (falsely?) that Feonor has access to an artifact capable of interplanar travel.
• Her lair’s forge contains a set of astral pistons.

PRINCEPS KOVIK: A princeps in the 8^th Infantry Legion. After the legion was devastated during the Blood War, the survivors went rogue under Kovik’s command.

• Gang: The Eighth Remnant
• Lair: Hex J5
• Hunted by Signifier Hraxioch’s cohort (Hex J6).
• Recently destroyed the lair of the Goreguts Gang (Hex J3).
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 91

Hooks:

• Seeking to raise funds by selling weapons produced in the Kovik Fetterworks at Mahadi’s Wandering Emporium. Might be interested in caravan guards moving the weapons; or might even seek to have the PCs actually establish and run the emporium stall.
• Assassinating Signifier Hraxioch would be a good way to get in Kovik’s favor.

RAGGADRAGGA: A wereboar leading a gang of lycanthropes and lycanthropic devils.

• Gang: Goreguts
• Lair: Hex J3 (destroyed)
• The Goreguts got into a war with the Eighth Remnant and decisively lost; their lair was recently destroyed, leaving only a ragged band of survivors.
• Primary Reference: Descent Into Avernus, p. 87

Hooks:

• He’s actively seeking anyone with resources or skills who might help him rebuild the lair.
• He’s also looking for alternative locations for a lair (including the possibility of seizing one).
• He also would like to return to the lair long enough to bury his dead.
• He’d like to stage a raid on the 8^th Remnant’s lair (Hex J5) to steal back the infernal war machines they took from him.

Homework: You may find it useful to create an authoritative reference collecting all of the information for each warlord in one place. I can’t do that here because it exceeds the limits of fair use, but it would be relatively easy to do and will likely make it a lot easier to juggle the warlords in active play.

OTHER WARLORD SITES

Alvskraema Tavern (Hex B2b): Although it serves a wider clientele, it’s not unusual to find a cluster of infernal war machines from a warlord’s gang parked in the courtyard of the Alvskraema. Haskari’s weapons forge and Meltrus’ expertise in repairing war machines also draw gang-related clientele.

Bloody Crescent (Hex D4): An enormous rock shaped like a semicircle, providing a sort of half-pipe. The Warlords of Avernus use it for stunt duels on their infernal war-machines.

Uldrak’s Grave (Hex D5): A tinker’s shop that serves as a pit stop for infernal machines that need cheap repairs.

Ruins of a Warlord’s Lair (Hex F6): Once belonged to Jevvka of Osternia, a local gang that was wiped out by Bel.

Fort Knucklebones (Hex I4): A sort of Port Royal for the Avernian warlords where they come for supplies, recreation, and repairs.

RANDOM WARLORD INTERACTION TABLES

The warlords are constantly contending with each other for position, territory, resources, souls, and power. Based on Factions in the Dungeon, these interaction tables can be used to procedurally generate conflicts between the warlords.

RANDOM WARLORD TABLE: This table can be used to randomly determine one of the warlords.

Note: Thalamra’s role as a warlord hunter is detailed in Part 7G: The Devils of Baldur’s Gate.

WARLORD CONFLICT CHECK: Each time the PCs either (a) interact with a warlord or their gang or (b) visit a “hub” (e.g. Fort Knucklebones, the Purple City, Alvskraema, etc.) there is a 1 in 4 chance that a conflict has occurred between the warlords. Roll twice on the Random Warlord Table to determine which two factions have come into conflict. (If you roll the same number twice, either re-roll twice to create a multi-factional conflict or assume some sort of civil strife.) Then roll on the Warlord Conflict Table below.

Stalemate/Skirmish: The gangs are largely unaffected by the conflict. They may be on high alert, you may wish to subtract one or two members from their ranks, and/or their members may have recent injuries or new scars. The conflict may leave them ripe for alliances against their recent foes.

Faction Damaged: A damaged gang has suffered losses equal to roughly 25% of their strength.

Faction Crippled: A crippled gang has suffered losses equal to roughly 50% of their strength.

Faction Destroyed: A destroyed gang has been eliminated. Their lair may lie empty, be occupied by the other faction involved in the conflict, or restocked randomly. Their population has been killed, driven off, or enslaved.

Factions Unite: The two gangs have allied with each other. (Possibilities include: One of the leaders may have been killed. The alliance may be for a short-term goal. They might be using both of their lairs or have collectively moved into just one.)

Design Note: The pacing mechanics here have not be been playtested. You may need to finetune the frequency of events based on how things are playing out in your campaign: On the one hand, you don’t want stuff happening so quickly that the warlords are just utter chaos and the PCs can’t profitably get involved with them. But you also don’t want it so slow that nothing happens before the campaign is over. If all else fails, just trigger a warlord event whenever it feels right and use the random tables as inspiration for what’s happening when you need them.

INTERPRET RESULTS: Like a random encounter table, the output here is designed to be flexibly interpreted. The tables will broadly describe the effect of what happened, but you’ll need to figure out what actually happened.

For example, if you roll a conflict between D’Vown and the Golden Doom, that might indicate that the romantic tryst between D’Vown and Feonor has come to an acrimonious end. But it might also mean that Lady Bladeharrow has suborned Feonor’s undead and seized control of the Golden Doom, forcing her to flee to D’Vown’s lair (and loving arms) for sanctuary.

Remember that these tables are generating conflicts between the gangs, which may or may not include the actual warlords. Even mortal gangs can be quite fractious, and the underlings of Avernian war machine gangs often squabble with each other. It’s not unusual for these squabbles to escalate, creating predicaments that the warlords want nothing more than to extricate themselves from. (“Two devil gangs, both alike in dignity…”)

INTERSECT RESULTS: The last thing you need to do is figure out how these events will intersect the PCs. Stuff that happens completely offscreen and that the players never learn about might as well have never happened at all, so you need to figure out how these events impact the PCs. Common techniques include:

• Rumors. NPCs have heard news about what happened and are passing the story along. The rumors may or may not be completely accurate. (e.g, “Did you hear that Lady Bladeharrow killed Feonor and took over the Golden Doom?”)
• Encounters. The PCs have a wandering encounter related to the evolving events. (e.g., the next time they see Golden Doom riders they notice they have a new signet brand; or they encounter Feonor fleeing across the Avernian wastes being pursued by members of her former gang)
• Scenario hooks. The change in the status quo might generate new opportunities for the PCs. The most straightforward approach is to have one of the warlords involved in the conflict approach the PCs or post a job offer related to the conflict or its outcome. It takes slightly more effort to make the PCs aware of an opportunity that they might proactively pursue. Remember that the warlords are not above (attempted) press-ganging. (e.g., Feonor wants someone to assassinate Lady Bladeharrow or Lady Bladeharrow is in the market for a new necromancer to maintain the Golden Doom)

You don’t need to have these events intersect the PCs at the exact instant that the check is made. You have the flexibility to place the intersection at the place which makes the most sense or which is most dramatically effective.

Similarly, the conflict doesn’t have to be completely resolved at the moment that it intersects the PCs. (Even though you’ve technically generated an outcome, that outcome only needs to “stick” if the PCs don’t get involved and change the course of events.) There are few things more compelling than stumbling into the middle of a fight and needing to figure out what’s going on and what you want to do about it.

Keep an eye out for opportunities to explain how the actions of the PCs have either directly or indirectly affected (or created) the conflict. It’s a great way for the players to feel like the actions of their PCs are having an impact on the world around them (because they are).

Finally, don’t limit yourself to only thinking about the primary parties involved in the conflict. If Raggadragga manages to get his revenge on Princeps Kovik and cripples the 8^th Remnant, what effect does that have on the balance of power? With Kovik dealt with, what does Signifier Hraxioch of the 9^th Cohort (Hex J6) turn his attention to?

Go to Part 7F: Factions in Avernus

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As discussed in Whither Exploration?, the basic structure of a hexcrawl will allow the PCs to navigate and explore a region, but this interaction will remain random and relatively shallow unless the PCs can gain access to information which will allow them to make meaningful choices and pursue specific goals. In other words, your Avernian hexcrawl will work best if it becomes a guided exploration; an exploration with purpose.

A rumor table is a default structure for injecting this information into your campaign, with each rumor informing the PCs about what can be found in the hexcrawl. When you need a dollop of such information, you can either roll on the table or select an appropriate rumor for the situation.

Rumor tables can be useful in a number of situations:

• During any broad social interaction (e.g., the players say “we spend the evening drinking at the tavern”) you might mention one or two interesting things they pick up in general conversation.
• During specific interactions with NPCs, the rumor table can be used to generate topics of conversation.
• NPCs might also be specifically questioned or interrogated about the area.
• The PCs might specifically canvass for information in a populated area (like Fort Knucklebones or the Purple City).

The point is to impart information to the players, so be proactive in finding opportunities to leverage your rumor table. On the other hand, it’s not necessary for the PCs to learn every rumor on the table, so you also don’t need to force things.

Playtest Tip: When you give a rumor to the PCs, cross it off the list. If you roll the same rumor again, you may want to roll again. However, being aware that you’ve given this specific rumor previously, you might simply make a point of finding a different spin or elaboration on the information the PCs already have. (For example, if they get Rumor #1 on the table below a second time, you might improvise a different fake “benefit” from drinking the demon goo.)

AVERNIAN RUMOR TABLE

1. The Pit of Shummrath is a huge canyon more than a mile deep filled with a lake of green slime that undulates as though breathing. It’s said that drinking the slime will give devils/mortals hallucinogenic visions which may have some power of foretelling the future. (True/False, you should not drink the demon goo.)
2. There’s a mine for green Baatorian steel (a rare metal which can only be found in Avernus and which can be easily crafted into swords of wounding) located Dis-ward of the Shummrath Dam. The mine is ringed with colossal, writhing tentacles. (Hex E2)
3. When you travel the Ashlands (located along the contra-Dis mountains), be careful: The ash can hide huge holes that you can fall down. I lost my Devil’s Ride in one and barely got out alive myself. (Hex B5, C5)
4. If you travel contra-Abyss along the Styx and head Dis-ward from the Pillar of Skulls, you will come to the Monument of Tiamat: The skull of a colossal dragon. A tunnel passes through this mouth into Tiamat’s Lair, where one can find the Gate Tower of Dis, leading to the second level of Hell. (Hex C1)
5. In the cliffs facing the Pit of Shummrath, there is a village of goblins. (Hex A3)
6. There is a mighty, elemental storm which perpetually surrounds a peak in the contra-Dis mountain range. There is rumored to be a great treasure at the eye of this storm. (Hex D6)
7. The legendary witch Tasha keeps a summer home in Avernus, located contra-Dis from the Alvskraema Caravanserai. (Hex B3)
8. The tinker Uldrak pretends to just be a humble mechanic, but he’s actually a celestial disguised as a devil to spy on Avernus! (Hex D5)
9. There is a colossal, insectile demon who lairs within the volcano at the tip of the contra-Dis mountain range. Cut off from the Abyss when the battle lines of the Blood War shifted across the River Styx, this demon remains within its volcanic demesne. You can sometimes see its antenna sticking up above the rim of the caldera. (Hex H6, False: The antenna actually belongs to a modron outpost.)
10. Sarcasia, Mad Maggie’s banker in the arcade at Fort Knucklebones, is skimming money. Anyone who could bring proof of her thievery to Mad Maggie would surely be rewarded. (Hex I4)
11. Bazelsteen, a devil working out of the Stygian Dock (H4), is looking for volunteers to test run an experimental bathysphere to dredge silted souls from the bottom of the River Styx. (Hex H4)
12. I once served on a flying fortress. They are vast and hungry constructs. They dock at the Stygian Docks to suck up souls from the Styx for fuel. (Hex H4)
13. The bone brambles contra-Dis and Abyss-ward of Fort Knucklebones are infested with abyssal chickens. (Hex J4, J5)
14. Warlords must be careful not to draw down the wrath of Hell’s elite. There was once a warlord named Jevvka who earned the ire of Bel and she and all her crew were wiped out. (Hex F6)
15. There’s a band of tulgar warriors marauding the wastes. They come from the endless vortex of the Elemental Chaos, and their leader, Algoran, is more savage than any demon. (Hex B6)
16. Contra-Abyss from the Purple City is a hellwasp nest. Such nests often contain vast treasures, left behind by the hellwasps’ countless victims. (Hex E3)
17. Avernus was once a glorious paradise envied throughout the Many Planes. Known now as Avernus That Was, there are supposedly still pockets of this paradise which remain embedded within the hellscape of modern Avernus. There are cult societies within the Blood Legions who supposedly still idolize Avernus That Was and seek to restore its lost glories.
18. There are often shipwrecks along the shores of the Styx; interplanar travelers seeking to use the river to travel between the Outer Planes who are not capable of passing through the dangers of Avernus. Such wrecks offer plentiful opportunities for treasure hunters, although one must be careful to avoid the river’s memory-stealing waters.
19. The imprisoned demon lord Kostchtchie is chained in a great pit Abyss-ward of Bel’s Forge (Hex H2). He cannot die, and the infernal elite would pay handsomely if his elusive phylactery could be found.
20. Rumors of Elturel: The PCs receive a rumor regarding the current state of affairs in Elturel or of its eminent approach to the Styx (possibly from a refugee who fled the city; or secondhand from one such). 75% chance that the rumor is accurate. Also use this as an opportunity to provide the devils’ perspective on Zariel’s city-stealing schemes.

DREAM MACHINE COMPONENT REFERENCE

In addition to the general rumor table, the Avernian hexcrawl has a very important second set of rumors: those indicating the locations of the four components of the dream machine.

Wherever the PCs go, they can ask people if they know about the components they’re looking for. Assume a 1 in 3 chance that they do, and then roll on the rumor table below to give an appropriate lead.

In addition to the rumor table, here is a reference to the locations in the Avernian hexcrawl where the dream machine components have been keyed.

Astral Pistons

• A2 – Obelisk of Ubbalux
• A5 – Warlord Lair: Lost Golgari
• D5 – Uldrak’s Grave
• H4 – Stygian Dock
• J1 – Siegeworks of Dis

Heartstone

• B4 – Red Ruth’s Lair
• D2 – Warlord Lair: Carol D’Vown
• E4 – Tower of Urm
• F2 – Purple City (The March)
• G5b – Plagueshield Point / rumor actually points to I6 – Shadowswimmer Tower

Nirvanan Cogbox

• B6 – Warlord Lair: Soul Collectors
• D3 – Demon Zapper
• E2 – Tentacular Mine
• H6 – Modron Outpost

Phlegethosian Sand

• E4 – Tower of Urm
• H3 – Bel’s Forge
• I2 – Warlord Lair: Feonor

DREAM MACHINE COMPONENT RUMORS

ASTRAL PISTONS

1. Archduke Bel imprisoned a demon named Ubbalux using a machine designed with astral pistons. If the prison is still there, you might be able to scavenge the pistons. The prison is said to lie between the River Styx and the Pit of Shummrath. (Hex A2)
2. Zariel’s vast legions still use a lot of older infernal machines and technomantic devices. It’s likely that a supply of astral pistons is kept at the Stygian Dock, located along the River Styx contra-Dis (south) of the Dock of Fallen Cities and north of Shadowswimmer Tower. (Hex G4)
3. Astral pistons? I haven’t heard of anyone using those in a long time. You’d need to scavenge them from some sort of old infernal machinery. I heard Zariel was funding some sort of major project during the Reckoning. There was some sort of technomantic complex located in an old mine Dis-ward of Kostchtchie’s Maw (Hex J2) in the mountains. (Hex J1)
4. [False] Zariel’s vast legions still use a lot of older infernal machines and technomantic devices. It’s likely that a supply of astral pistons is kept at Bel’s Forge. (Hex H2)

HEARTSTONE

5. There’s a night hag (named Red Ruth) who lives in the bone brambles Abyss-ward of the Ashlands. (Hex B4)
6. A heartstone? I’ve heard those are useful in alchemical experiments. There’s an alchemist who lives in a tower on the banks of the Styx near where a tributary from the Pit of Shummrath joins the river. (Hex D2a)
7. The legendary wizard Mordenkainen has a vast stock of magical components and trophies taken from the many enemies he has slain over the endless centuries of his existence. He might have a heartstone. He has a tower on an island in a boiling lake of blood here in Avernus. (Hex E4) [He also has Phlegethosian sand.]
8. The thieves’ guild of the Purple City is rumored to use heartstones in planning their heists. (Hex F2)
9. There’s an old tower full of alchemical junk in Plagueshield Point, which is a demonic prison located on the bottom of the Styx. There might be a heartstone in there. (Hex G5b) OR There’s a mage named Shadowswimmer who lives in a tower on the Styx contra-Dis (south) of Fort Knucklebones. He dabbles in alchemy and might have a heartstone. (Hex I6)
10. [False] Mad Maggie has a heartstone, she just doesn’t want to give it up. (Hex I4)

Design Note: Mad Maggie is, in fact, a night hag, and most night hags have heartstones. The framing here implies that Maggie has lost hers, but you could also conclude that this is NOT a false rumor and that Maggie, in fact, just hopes that the PCs will bring her an extra one. Or, alternatively, the dream machine will irrevocably damage or destroy the heartstone, and Maggie isn’t willing to sacrifice her own. (In which case she might nevertheless be convinced to use her own heartstone in the dream machine.)

NIRVANAN COGBOX

11. Nirvanan cogboxes are used by modrons. I heard that the warlord Algoran recently captured a modron. His lair is located at the far end of the Ashlands. (Hex B6)
12. There’s a technomantic apparatus designed to destroy demons located contra-Dis of the Pit of Shummrath and contra-Abyss of the blood lake. Modron technomancy was used in its construction, which makes it possible that a Nirvanan cogbox might have been used. (Hex D2)
13. There is a dream machine similar or perhaps identical to the one which Mad Maggie has. It’s located in a mine Dis-Abyssward from the Dam of Shummrath (Hex D2) where baatorian steel is taken from the Avernian soil. It’s likely to have the components that the PCs are looking for. (Hex E2)
14. Nirvanan cogboxes are used by modrons. There’s a modron outpost which occasionally engages in trade located within a volcano along the contra-Dis mountains near the River Styx. (Hex H6)
15. [False] The Archmagi of Thraxai, in the Purple City (Hex F2), are said to maintain portals to many other planes, including Mechanus, the home plane of the modrons who create Nirvanan cogboxes.
16. [False] Nirvanan cogboxes are a Modron technomancy. There’s a fortress of modrons located in the Dis-ward mountains, Abyss-ward of the Drogoloth Mines (Hex F1). (Hex G1, but this is actually a Court of Hell managed by the Rilmani.)

PHLEGETHOSIAN SAND

17. The legendary wizard Mordenkainen has a vast stock of magical components and trophies taken from the many enemies he has slain over the endless centuries of his existence. He might have Phlegethosian sand. He has a tower on an island in a boiling lake of blood here in Avernus. (Hex E4) [He also has a heartstone.]
18. Phlegethosian sand is used to quench certain types of infernal blades. It is therefore used in Bel’s Forge. (Hex H2)
19. Phlegethosian sand is used in necromantic experiments. One of the warlords (Feonor) is a necromancer. Her lair is located on the Styx Dis-ward of Bel’s forge and Abyss-ward of the Purple City. (Hex I2)
20. [False] Phlegethosian sand can be found in bone brambles.

Go to Part 8: The End

Published in 2013, Legacy of the Crystal Shard was created as part of the D&D Next playtest which bridged the 4^th Edition and 5^th Edition eras. It was designed by R.A. Salvatore with Jeffrey Ludwig, James Wyatt, and Matthew Sernett, and originally sold as a bundle including a 64-page setting book, 32-page adventure book, and four-panel DM screen, supplemented with downloadable PDFs which contained all the stat blocks necessary to run the adventure with 3^rd Edition, 4^th Edition, or the D&D Next Playtest rules (which are now “close enough” compatible with 5^th Edition). It’s now available as a print-on-demand title from the DMs Guild, combining all of these elements plus a micro-prequel adventure that was released during the D&D Encounters Launch Weekend.

I grabbed a copy of Legacy to see if the material could be adapted to flesh out the sandbox of Rime of the Frostmaiden, and this review will be embracing that and, at least in part, assessing Legacy’s value to a Rime DM.

The first thing to note is that large chunks of Rime of the Frostmaiden’s text was actually lifted directly from Legacy of the Crystal Shard. For example, here’s the first couple paragraphs of the “Life Off the Lakes” section of Rime of the Frostmaiden:

Most of the ten towns except Bryn Shander are built on the shores of three big lakes. The largest population of knucklehead trout is in Maer Dualdon, the deepest of the lakes. Redwaters, the shallowest lake, almost completely freezes in winter, making the fishing there difficult. Lac Dinneshere catches the worst of the winds blowing off the Raghed Glacier to the east and thus has the roughest waters. Small thermal vents at the bottom of these lakes keep them from freezing completely, even in the coldest winters.

Ten-Towns fishing boats are simple affairs. The smallest are rowboats and single-masted skiffs that require careful handling to avoid capsizing. Larger, twin-masted cogs and keelboats with single decks handle the wind and waves better. These ships fly the flags of their towns and provide fish for the whole community, not for any individual fisher.

And here’s the “Life Off the Lake” section from Legacy of the Crystal Shard:

Except for Bryn Shander, each of the ten towns is built on the shore of one of the three lakes where knucklehead trout swim, surrounding the mountain of Kelvin’s Cairn. The largest population is in Maer Dualdon, the deepest of the lakes.

Ten-Towns fishing boats are generally simple affairs. The smallest are one-masted skiffs, which are rowed as often as oared – not least because the harsh winds of the dale can capsize each small craft. Larger, two-masted cogs with single decks handle the wind better, and their crews exemplify the neighborly cooperation that makes Ten-Towns function. These ships fly the flags of their towns and provide fish for the whole community, not for any individual fisher.

Rime of a Frostmaiden (1489 DR) canonically takes place a few years after Legacy of the Crystal Shard (1485 DR), so there are a few minor changes. But for the most part, Rime of the Frostmaiden largely assumes that the events of Legacy of the Crystal Shard will have had no meaningful impact on the Dale, and thus large swaths of text are either directly copied or lightly rewritten like a fraternity bro trying to dodge a plagiarism detector.

However, the material in Rime of the Frostmaiden is notably incomplete in several regards. So there’s still value to be had in scooping up the Legacy campaign guide. In particular, Legacy has sizable entries given for the Reghed tribes, Kelvin’s Cairn, the Arcane Brotherhood, and, strangely (given Rime’s titular focus), the worshippers of Auril, the Frostmaiden that are absent from Rime of the Frostmaiden.

THE ADVENTURE

As noted above, the current version of Legacy of the Crystal Shard includes a Launch Day micro-adventure that takes place immediately before the primary adventure kicks off. It takes place while the PCs are traveling to Icewind Dale as part of a caravan, but despite being sixteen pages long, it consists almost entirely of a single, notably overwritten, combat encounter with a crag cat. Its usefulness, therefore, is almost nonexistent.

The primary adventure begins as the PCs’ caravan arrives in Bryn Shander and is ambushed by yetis. This encounter is quite cleverly framed, forcing the PCs to make interesting choices about what to defend and how to strategically split up their efforts.

In the immediate aftermath of the encounter, the PCs are presented with three adventure hooks, each one pointing to a different crisis which is developing in the Dale:

• A member of the Arcane Brotherhood named Vaelish Gant is attempting to establish a mafia in order to seize political power.
• An Ice Witch in the service of the Frostmaiden seeks to bring frozen devastation to the people of Ten-Towns and the Raghed tribes.
• The undead Akar Kessel has escaped from his icy prison and is corrupting the Dale with black ice created from the ruins of the legendary Crystal Shard.

If you’re a long-time reader of the Alexandrian, you might immediately identify that as the textbook introduction to a node-based scenario. Unfortunately, Legacy of the Crystal Shard doesn’t quite follow through on that promise. While the scenario is obviously striving to be open and dynamic, the book struggles to clearly present it as such using largely linear techniques.

You can see this uncertainty and confusion manifest in several ways, but perhaps the most notable is the overall structure of the campaign. In trying to grapple with the diverse and divergent continuities possible with three villainous agendas and PCs free to choose which to confront, Legacy frequently becomes mired in contingency planning, but it crucially attempts to rise about this by implementing two incompatible approaches.

First, there is a timeline of how events will play out unless the PCs get involved. This is a venerable technique, although the execution here is a little problematic: The pace at which things happen on this timeline, combined with the stated travel times in Icewind Dale, makes it exceedingly unlikely that any of the plotted adventure material in the book will be usable as written.

Second, there is an alternative structure in which (a) the PCs get to pursue two of the three threats facing Icewind Dale in Act I and then (b) whichever threat they didn’t deal with advances their schemes in an Interlude before Act II begins. This is another solid way of presenting material like this (particularly in a published adventure), but the specific execution here is once again a little sloppy, with the primary problem being that the continuity of the villains’ schemes in the Interlude don’t consistently carry through into Act II.

The discord between these two approaches combined with the awkward, reflexive use of plotted scenario techniques in an adventure desperately crying out for non-linear design results in a number of weird continuity glitches throughout the text, the most notable of which is almost certainly the rather forced “finale” in which two of the villains are revealed to have been secretly teamed up with each other the whole time in a way which makes absolutely no sense until you realize that they’d probably run out of page count and couldn’t squeeze in a proper conclusion for all three threads of the adventure.

CONCLUSION

Laying all these caveats aside, Legacy of the Crystal Shard is a really good mini-campaign. The three independent crises, mixed with the rich setting of Icewind Dale, creates a really compelling premise, which is then stocked with individual scenarios which are delightfully varied and chock full of vividly creative material: mafioso protection schemes, corrupted ice pirates, undead dragons, dwarven zombies — it’s all the stuff that gets you excited when you think about running it for your players.

If you’re getting ready to run Rime of the Frostmaiden, these scenarios can be almost seamlessly dropped into the campaign, adding some really dynamic elements that will enrich the Icewind Dale sandbox. (The only thing you’ll need to tweak, as far as I can tell, is the “Behind Bars” scenario hook on p. 104 of Rime of the Frostmaiden, which features one of the villains from Legacy of the Crystal Shard. There will almost certainly also be ways in which you’ll want to tie the villains of Legacy to the ongoing events of Rime.)

In short, I recommend Legacy of the Crystal Shard for any D&D fans. And I strongly recommend it for those DMing Rime.

Style: 4
Substance: 4

Author: R.A. Salvatore with Jeffrey Ludwig, James Wyatt, and Matthew Sernett
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Cost: $14.99 (PDF) or $19.99 (POD)
Page Count: 112

Go to Icewind Dale Index

This post contains material which will be added to Part 6C of the Avernus Remix.

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 warmachine. 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.

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.

Go to Remixing Avernus