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The material on the page is the property of Jared Rascher and is used here at Candlekeep with permission. This article is to enable DMs to use the "Mud Sorcerer's Tomb" adventure from Dungeon Magazine #138 in the Forgotten Realms.
"Mud Sorcerer's Tomb"
(Conversions from Dungeon #138)
By Jared Rascher
Introductory Information
The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb is a classic dungeon crawl that first appeared in Dungeon Magazine 37, and was recently updated in Dungeon 138 for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 play. As it is a generally a classic dungeon crawl, there are relatively few hooks provided in the adventure, other than the drive of adventurers to explore unknown places.
The thrust of these conversion notes will actually concentrate on the hooks leading into the adventure in the first place, and a few minor alterations that might be made to certain characters within the dungeon.
What followers are two different tracts of hooks, one following up on information mentioned in Faiths and Pantheons, and the other following up on some information first mentioned in Lost Empires of Faerun.
Adventure Hooks
Hook One: The Cult of Borem
This first hook to lead to the adventure is based on information that was first mentioned in Faiths and Pantheons, specifically on page 169 of that book, in the section that details the Darkhouse of Saerloon, in Sembia.
Adventurers that are in Sembia might run across the starting point to this adventure in Saerloon itself. If they are on the docks, they might see a band of nefarious characters boarding a small boat that is setting out for Mezeketh's Isle. If the PCs make a DC 20 listen check, they can hear a whispered statement, "I can't beleive, artifacts, right out in the open like that, unguarded, and no one knows about them."
If the PCs take more than a few rounds to come up with transport to th e isle themselves, the ancient menhir that is described in this section (key number 8) has had the ground around it excavated. Upon decending to the now empty chamber that once housed the artifacts.
Upon making a search check (DC 15), the PCs may notice in the rubble of the excavated site what looks like a crude map of Faerun. An intelligence of DC 20, or a DC 10 geography check will reveal that the region depicted in the map shows this spot highlighted on the map, and another spot, south of where Westgate now lies.
If the PCs find out this much information from the excavation site, and they begin to leave, they will be attacked by a group of thugs.
On the sorcerer will be a notebook that the spellcaster has been keeping that mentions various ancient sites of power associated with the ancient god Borem and the sites of various tombs of the Mud Sorcerers, members of the cult of Borem that were imprisoned centuries ago by the bladelords of Jamdaath.
(If you do not want to lead the PCs to the Isle directly, you could have them bring the journal and the artifacts back to the docks, and have them attack the PCs out of paranoia as they return to the docks and find the PCs paying too much attention to them. If the PCs later decide to look at the chamber where the artifacts came from, you can still use the encounters in Faith and Pantheons to follow up on this information)
The notes show that most of the tombs have already been explored and plundered, except for one south of Westgate, marked on the map. He also has a transcribed note from his studies about the Mud Sorcerers that promises that any artifact of Borem brought to them will yeild great riches to those that reunite the Mud Sorcerers with their god.
Even if the PCs don't decide to deal with any members of the Mud Sorcerers, there is still the promise of great wealth and magic in the sealed tomb.
Hook Encounter: Artifact Thieves (EL 11)
Thugs (2) (Barsael and Vhondok)
Male Human Warrior 7
NE Medium Humanoid
Init 4 (+4 Improved Initiative); Senses Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17
hp 48 (7HD)
Fort +6 Ref +2 Will +4
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +1 battleaxe +8/+3 (1d8+1/x3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +7; Grp +7
Abilities Str 11, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Feats Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Track
Skills Concentration +2 (+1 ranks, +1 con), Handle Animal +2 (+2 ranks), Intimidate +7 (+7 ranks), Knowledge (Local) +2 (+2 ranks), Ride +5 (+5 ranks), Search +1 (+1 ranks), Use Magic Device +4 (+4 ranks).
Possessions +1 chain shirt, +1 light steel shield, +1 battleaxe, potion of magic circle against (law), 9 gp, 11 sp, 15 cp.
Alley Thug (Sorlun)
Male Human Rogue 6
NE Medium Humanoid
Init 4 (+4 Improved Initiative); Senses Listen +3, Spot +0
Languages Common, Chondathan
AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15
hp 20 (6HD)
Fort +2 Ref +5 Will +4
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +1 short sword +5 (1d6+1/19-20)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +4
Special Atk sneak attack +3d6
Abilities Str 10, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10
SQ trapfinding, evasion, trap sense +2 and uncanny dodge
Feats Improved Initiative, Investigator, Iron Will, Track
Skills Balance +8 (+9 ranks, -1 acp), Concentration +3 (+3 ranks), Decipher Script +7 (+6 ranks, +1 int), Disguise +9 (+9 ranks), Escape Artist +5 (+6 ranks, -1 acp), Gather Information +11 (+9 ranks, +2 investigator), Knowledge (Local) +2 (+1 ranks, +1 int), Listen +3 (+3 ranks), Open Lock +8 (+8 ranks), Search +11 (+8 ranks, +1 int, +2 investigator), Swim +5 (+7 ranks, -2 acp), Use Rope +4 (+4 ranks).
Possessions +1 chain shirt, +1 short sword, potion of delay poison, masterwork thieves' tools, 4 sp, 4 cp.
Sneak Attack (Ex): Any time Brldan's opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, or if a he flanks his opponent, he deals an extra 3d6 points of damage.
Trapfinding: Brldan can use the Search skill to find traps with Search DCs higher than 20.
Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, Brldan takes no damage with a successful saving throw.
Trap Sense (Ex): Brldan has a +2 bonus on Reflex saves to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC against attacks by traps.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Brldan retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.
Satheris
Male Human Sorcerer 8
NE Medium Humanoid
Init 0; Senses Listen +5, Spot +1
Languages Common, Chondathan
AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10 (15 with the Quagheart)
hp 19 (8HD)
Fort +2 (+7) Ref +2 (+7)Will +6 (+11) (+5 on all saves with the Quagheart)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +2 quarterstaff +5 (1d6+1)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +3
Sorcerer Spells learned (CL 8, +3 melee touch, +4 ranged touch)
3rd (5/day)--lightning bolt (DC 14/R), ray of exhaustion (DC 14/F)
2nd (6/day)--blindness/deafness (DC 13/F), ghoul touch (DC 13/F), scorching ray
1st (7/day)--mage armor, magic aura, magic missle, shield, true strike
0 (6/day)--dancing lights, daze (DC 11/W), detect poison, ghost sound (DC 11/W), light, mage hand, mending (DC 11/W), touch of fatigue (DC 11/F)
Abilities Str 9, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 13
SQ familiar
Feats Combat Casting, Maximize Spell, Silent Spell, Precise Shot
Skills Concentration +7 (+7 ranks), Listen +5 (+2 ranks, +3 familiar), Search +4 (+3 ranks, +1 int), Spellcraft +12 (+11 ranks, +1 int), Spot +1 (+1 ranks), Swim +3 (+4 ranks, -1 str), Use Rope +3 (+3 ranks).
Possessions +2 quarterstaff, 14 gp, 16 sp, 12 cp, journal
Grelibaen`s bat familiar: hp 10Tactics: When confronting the PCs, Satheris will walk out behind the two thugs and threaten the PCs, asking what they know and what they have found out. He will stall for time while Sorlun sneaks up behind the PCs for a surprise round sneak attack.
Once combat is joined, Sorlun will take up position flanking one of the warriors, and Satheris will fall back and fire scorching rays into the melee, utilizing his precise shot feat to aid in his targeting.
If the party falls to two members or fewer, the remaining members of the group will flee, and if Satheris is killed, the other three will be willing to cut and run after one more round if they aren't doing well.
Mud Sorcerer Lore (Page 58)
Under the DC 20 lore result, if you use the first hook for your characters, change the ancient language that the scrolls are written in to Jamdaathan. If you use the second hook, change the language to Imaskari.
Under the DC 30 lore result, if you use the first hood, most of the information is correct, but in the end the Mud Sorcerers sealed themselves in their tombs to avoid the assaults of the Bladeslords, and placed themselves in stasis so that their minds could not be found by the psions of that nation.
If you use the second hook, the Imaskari sealed them live in their tombs so that they could revive them in order to wrench their secrets from them.
The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb and Solon
Another hook that can be used is that the Mud Sorcerer's Tomb is actually a site that is near the ruins of Solon, on the edge of the Raurin Desert.
If this hook is used, the PCs can be hired by members of the Church of Thoth in Mulhorand that have found out that the calamity that befell Solon a decade ago may have been caused by some artifact found in the general vicinity of a tomb that is laid out on a map that they have come across.
They tell the PCs of an ancient cult that was active in the Old Empires that worshiped neither gods nor fiends, but rather powerful elemental forces known as the Princes of Elemental Evil. There are sealed tombs of many of these cult members in the Old Empires, many of which contain living cult members in stasis, as the Imaskari saught to find their secrets and instead of obliterating them, merely put them in stasis until such time as they could probe them for information.
The priests of Thoth are interested to find out if the tomb has any information relating to the secrets that Ambuchar Devayam found out, or if it has any ancient Imaskari magic within it, and are willing to pay the PCs to explore the place, as well as offering to buy any magic items or magical texts they find.
The information that is tied into this particular hook can be found on page 65 of Lost Empires of Faerun.