Dymrak Dread revamped

Dymrak Dread revamped
by Havard
from the Mystara Message Board posted 17 April 2004.

Adventure Summary:

For those who do not own the module, Dymrak Dread is a fairly straight adventure. Although designed as a sequel to Eye of Traldar, the connection between the two adventures is virtually non-existent. The additional information that was supposed to be included on the Eye of Traldar is not there. The connection to DA1 is simply that Leirath from that module has a cousin named Lord Roderick, and suggests that the PCs venture there to get away from the Black Eagle and his Iron Ring allies.

As the adventure begins, the heroes are hired by Lord Roderick, Duke Stefan's Lord Forester (Note that this is a Karameikan title. Lord Roderick is not a forester as in the class from Dawn of the Emperors), to destroy a goblin chieftain who recently has harassed the countryside on the border of the Dymrak Forest. The Goblin Chieftain, also known as "The Dymrak Dread" turns out to be a fellow named Kosiwikh (3 HD). He is also mentioned to have a lieutenant (2 HD), although no name is given for this guy. Also, Kosiwikh has a goblin wokan (Adept in 3E -Vylgrykk 2 HD). The Goblins live in a dungeon within Dymrak with lots of other monster friends, and the adventure is basically your average dungeon crawl.

Adaptations

A much better scenario would of course be to have the characters be hired by the Seer to clear out the goblin lair, at least that would have made more sense based on the information from Eye of Traldar, but I guess the author (John Nephew) forgot to check what actually happened in the previous module.

Alternative Scenario:

The PCs having found the Eye of Traldar learn that it belongs to the Seer. Leirath, enemy of the Black Eagle and a local hero in Luln, suggests that they go to his cousin, Lord Roderick, who probably knows the Seer's whereabouts. It is a dangerous journey and the PCs may very well be attacked by the Iron Ring or other of the Black Eagle's servants on the way. If Alexei Schelepin from DA1 is still alive, he will accompany the PCs)

Once there though, Lord Roderick gives them the exact location of the Seer's Cottage (Near the lake of Lost Souls aka the Lake of Lost Dreams). He also warns them that the Goblins of Dymrak have been more restless lately, possibly because of a new Goblin Leader named Kosiwikh and his tribe known as the Dread Horde. On their way to the Seer, the PCs are indeed attacked by the Goblins. They should be able to dispose of the Goblins, but not under any circumstance learn the location of their lair. Once at the Seer's Cottage, the Seer thanks the heroes and asks them to do him a favour, by killing the goblins. The Seer cannot interfere himself because of his understanding with the true rulers of the forest, but the PCs have been attacked by the goblins and thus have a right to take revenge. The Seer will provide the PCs with healing potions and other equipment they may need for the task at the DMs discretion.

Background:

The true rulers of Dymrak are the Witches known as the Dymrak Dread. They are a circle of Hags with connections to the Unseelie Court of Fairie. Most of the goblin tribes of the forest serve the Hags, but none as loyally as the Dread Horde. Lately, the Goblins have been raiding caravans and villages on the border of the forest, because the goblin adept Vylgrykk has told the chieftain of the tribe that an artefact belonging to the Seer will pass through the region. Vygrykk has learned this through his limited Divination Magic and Kosiwikh hopes that by giving the Eye of Traldar to the Witches, he will earn their favour. In order to make the adventure more interesting, I propose powering up the NPCs quite a bit:

Kosiwikh: Goblin Ftr 10
Malkragg (Kosiwikh's Lieutenant, name is my proposal): Goblin, Ftr 8
Vylgrykk: Goblin, Adept(Diviner) 8
Lord Roderick: Human Ranger 9.
(Feel free to alter this stats to fit your campaign)

More info on the Seer
More info on the Witches of Dymrak
More on other Goblin Tribes in Dymrak

-Havard