The Return of the Netherese

Dec 25, 2019

Introduction

This is a short adventure (a 5-6 sessions) for a party of 4 level 10 characters which goal is to bring the players through an old Netherese ruins holding one of the most important artifact of Toril.

Note that I’m not a writer nor a DnD experienced GM, I’m just a guy who writes stuff and who hopes you’ll like it :)

Fights might not be scaled but I leave this work to one’s interpretation.

(if you are looking for infos about characters you can click the links on the charaters names)

Background

Netheril was an ancient, magocratic human empire of Faerûn, which lived in a strict hierarchy for hundreds of years, split into the nobles of High Netheril, living in flying enclaves miles above Toril, and the commoners of Low Netheril settled in demesnes on the coast of the Narrow Sea.

The empire was the pinnacle of human civilization during the first half of the Age of Humanity. Although they had humble roots as mere fishermen and farmers, the Netherese were introduced to the Art by the elves of Eaerlann, and came to harness this arcane power in ways that would shape Toril for generations. Over the next thousand years they discovered the long lost Nether Scrolls, developed the creation and use of mythallars (raw energy crystal ball) and created the first of their flying cities, Xinlenal. The arrogance of Netheril grew to the point where they attempted to attain the divinity of magic when Archwizard Karsus tried to destroy all the Phaerimms by becomming the new God of Magic, and wound up destroying the Weave. In the resulting maelstrom, the Faerûnian pantheon was altered and most of the flying cities of Netheril came crashing to the earth.

High Netheril was ruined in a matter of hours, while Low Netheril experienced a long, agonizing decline by the aberrant Phaerimm. The enclave of Thultanthar was transported to the Shadowfell, where it remained for 1,700 years. Upon their return to Toril in the late 14th century DR, the shadow-plagued Netherese people, known as the Shadovar, revived the Empire and enthralled the people of north Faerûn for over a hundred years. While they sought to fuse the Weave with the Shadowfell, the Shade Enclave was brought crashing down over the renewed realm of Myth Drannor (elven city). (about 5 years ago)

(source)

Chapter one: An journey in the desert

Party starts chained as they have been captured by Throg the Black Hammer an half-orc mercenary (level15 or more) which has been hired by the serpent mens from Najara to capture them for their crimes against them.

They are currently in a caravan in the middle of the Anauroch desert, vast and unsettling place which is generally not a first choice path. They are heading to the west were to the city of Evereska to them be brough to Ss’thar’tiss’ssun, capital city of the Serpents kingdom, to be probably executed or sacrificed to their god.

Along with them, an elven woman and her son…

Throg the Black Hammer

Throg has been a mercenary for all his life. He is now known and respected as he always fullfil his contracts and only takes one at a time. Once he was left dead, rotting in the woods attached to a century old tree by a local pillager.

But a week after he brought his head to the local Lord who ordered his death. No one knows how he survived but the fact that the tree wasn’t there anymore after the incident and Throg got something resembling to a black scar all acrross his left hand (which is now really hard and black).

Iris Miritar

Iris was a apprentice from the school of divination in Cormanthor. During the war against Netheril (back from the plane of Shadow) she got captured, raped and fled.

When she chose to keep the child her people casted her out from the remaning elven cities in Cormanthor. After months of wonders and worries wandering the woods she had to give birth. While agonizing from pain and fear she got a vision of her child growing into a powerful mage.

Zinn Miritar

Zinn is a chearful 6 and a (very important) half years old boy who’s spent most of his life in the woods with his mother. He is not a mage but knows about magic and tries to manipulate it everyday since he was born.

When Throg was travelling in the woods he found them and decided to capture them to sell them as slaves.

As they go trough the desert they will have time to discover one another and discuss what they were doing in their past lives and understand while talking with Throg why they are here. The goal here is mainly to have them start a bond with the elven woman and to start planning an escape.

As she has a “divination sense” she might be useful to find your way out the desert…

Chapter two: The escape

Lost in the desert

Throg is planning a 7 days trip though the desert so 6 nights. The first two night, the players are left free to try to escape and try to fight Throg.

If nothing is attempted on the third night, the boy’s powers are going to attract a few Phaerimms around and fight Throg. A great escape opportunity as some of the party members may know for sure that none of them are able to fight this kind of creatures, it’s run or die.

As they are fleeing away from the fight or Throg Iris proposes leads them to a safe place she had a vision about were mercenaries and Serpent mens won’t be looking for them.

After a few hours in the desert the party starts feeling the floor moving under their feets, and as they look around a few young phaerimms emerge from the sand of the desert. They are attracted by magic sources and the boy seems to be the center of their attention.

And while spellcasters starts fighting an adult phaerimm may appear, attracted by the essence of the Weave.

Investigating the boy they will find that he was magically warming himself during the trip which probably drew the phaerimms attention.

A fortuite shelter

A few hours of walk again and they arrive to a hidden cavern just before nightfall. The place looks like old ruins made of stone covered by a fair amount of sand.

As they go a bit further in the corridor they find a large room with a few racks with regular items and two chests with rations and a small fissure at the end of it.

The party should now be a bit exhausted by the trip (and a bit harmed) and thus may take a rest. They are blocked in the cavern anyway since the sandstorm is raging out there.

But during the rest they start hearing some small whispers, darkness starts to invade the room from the fissure. Once the shadow has surrounded them, black, humanoid forms start emerging from it, attacking them like enraged beasts. They are made of shadows and thus, are immuned to physical attacks.

In the middle of the fight, the scream of a shadow warriors gets clearer: “Intruders”.

As they should one-shot most of these warriors, the shadows fades away, like if it was going back to the fissure.

Chapter three: An unexpected encounter

After a good night of rest party may investigate the place and find out that this happens to be an ancient crypt which has been reconverted as an operational base for local beduins.

But as they start looking over the place they seem to hear a few steps behind them. As they turn, three figures appear and the one in the middle, tall and bulked starts yelling: “What are you doing here?”.

The Beduins

Alec (Protection Fighter)

Alec is has always been a fighter. Tall and squared guy, he always imposes a form of respect on the first impression. He carries an enchanted curved sword and a small shield.

Back when he was a kid his beduin tribe got attacked by the lizardfolks, since then he sworn an oath to himself to protect his friends, foes, and companions.

Barak (Lightning Mage)

Even if his appearance makes him quite repulsive, Barak is a kind-hearted lizardfolk who chose to leave his people in their dementia of blood and fury.

He is well-educated and it’s hard to believe that he is the of the same kind of the lizardfolks. Hooded and always carring a small leather bag he is hiding his true power behind his simple appearance.

Corban (Monk healer)

If it was not for the ears you would probably not know that Corban is an elf. She carries a small staff, a shortbow on her back and an amulet of a golden sun.

But if she’s there it’s to make sure that her two companions are fulfilling their missions and coming back alive, as she is binded to Lathender’s oath.

They have been hired by a wizard from Waterdeep to retrieve an item in this cave that he described as a magical scroll being the “map to all planes”. GM note: This is actually “the Planus Mechanicus”, the map to all planes.

This cave is actually their base of operation and they were out for some time to try and get magical weapons to fight the shadows which are lying under. Hopefully, they may have spare ones for the adventurers.

The party can either chose to fight them or befriend them, but they stole their equipements which would probably make them a bit itchy.

If they try to leave the beduins will try to stop them as they know too much about their secret. If the fight goes on Corban will, at some point, sceal the entrance by sending a lightning bolt to the ceiling.

Chapter four: A step in the shadows

The storm rages outside and the party can’t leave the cavern, as the choice is limited they might take a long rest here in the entrance or go deeper.

During their night the adventurers get attacked by another swarm of shadow warriors but this time, they try to capture the boy for some reason.

After finishing the night Iris gets a vision that, inside that cave, they should find a way out.

Chapter five: Going deeper

While they progress the shadow may emerge again and attack with various kind of enemies: horrors and assassines If they look at the walls around they may find out that the place was an ancient Netherese capital now under the sand. (theses people were magocratic human empire and flying cities who accessed a great power and got destroyed during the Great Cataclysm)

As they learn about the place looking at the walls and the carvings the aventurers get attacked by other waves of Shadows but bigger this time which should succeed in capturing the child.

Iris, shocked, will do anything to convince the adventurer to go deeper and find her boy.

After some hours getting their way in the ruins they finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Chapter six: The crypt’s riddles

The Portal Room

The room is a large circular room with four doors, with the party entering from one of them. If they go through any of the doors they’ll find that the doors just go to the opposite side of the room.

If they do a WIS DC15 check they’ll find a lip on the floor that belongs to a door that if they swing open will also swing open a ceiling door.

IF FAILED: they just see a inscription saying: You can swallow me but I can swallow you. Only when I drop down you shall raise up.

The ceiling/floor door does not act in a dual manner though, like the wall doors. What goes down the floor comes through ceiling, but what goes into the ceiling door goes into the exit alcove that leads down a 30’ hallway to the next room…

The wall

As they go out the hallway they find the child escorted by shadows which attack them as soon as they get to see the adventurers.

In the room a wall which seems decorated is in front of them, and the boy is looking at it, apparently the shadows wanted him to see it, nothing more. You can see an inscription on it saying:

Child of Netheril, bring me light, for yours only I shall shine.
Let me warm on it as you fade in the dark.
Then only you may see the line.

The solution is to have the child, and only him to light up the door. The door will absorbe the light which will slowly fade and leave the adventurers in the dark (about 30 sec of suspens). Once in the dark the wall lights up in a door shape that they should push.

Final Chapter: The Scroll

The room is empty and in ruin, it’s quite large and seems to be an old room. Stairs are going a bit upper, few foots and up is a table with 6 chairs. There is a skeleton (dressed like a wizard died of age) with a scroll on his hand, (perception) a blue rune on the same hand and half of an arm with a dagger in his chest (arm which seems nor human, nor elfic, nor dwarvish, but from a deamon)

Taking the scroll activates blue lights in the skeleton’s eyes which recognize the boy as his own kind. As soon as he wakes up he will invoke a young shadow dragon After 3 turns he will magically grab the boy, bring it to himself, touching his head say:

“You are our only hope, Netheril shall never die. Take the scroll, save us from time.”

Zinn’s eyes starts becoming blue, the same blue as the skeleton. He now uses his powers at his full potential, take the scroll and starts reading it.

GM note: (he is actually trying to get the whole Netheril empire to the present before it got destroyed during the times of trouble and was trapped in a pocket dimension where humans lost access to magic but still got the magical) The scroll is actually the Planus Mechanicus and the boy is saying:

“A hundred planes for a hundred bits,
All together shall never meet,
For the spell to be ended,
A Netheril shall be mended”

A small sacrifice

In this state Zinn will do anything in his power to complete the scroll, but Iris understands that he might die doing that and will try to stop him. This will, without a doubt, have to end with the boy’s death.

After 10 turns of fight he succeed the incantation

At this point they should know the deal about the scroll. They can do whatever they want with it. But everyone suggest they should destroy it.

You can ask the scroll how it should be destroyed but its only in primordial. The scroll will start floating and burning and provoke explosions before imploding in silence.

After the fight the temple collapses and they are free to leave or stay.

Depending on the outcome the adventurers either see:

A floating islands in the sky above their head and further away a gigantic portal from which another island is getting out
A hole formed by the collapsed ruins with a giant portal in the middle.