The Fortress of the Yaun-ti

Fortress of the Yaun-ti. A Dungeons and Dragons Adventure for 7^th Level Characters.

Written by Ari Marmell.

If you are a Dungeon Master, then there is no such thing as a spoiler. If you are a player, stop reading here.

Fortress of the Yaun-ti is the continuation of The Sinister Spire. While it is assumed you have played that scenario, this module can be used as a stand alone adventure easily.

The Fortress carries our heroes on their quest to recover the stolen remains of the Forgotten King, introduced in the Module Barrow of the ForgottenKing. Having defeated Fedhella in Pedestal, they learn she sent the King and his relics on through the network to their destination. The adventurers must hurry, or the evil serpent men will twist the Prophecy of the Forgotten King to evil ends!

The Adventure is laid out in twelve parts for ease of use by the Dungeon Master.

The first part, the Introduction is considerably more complex than most modules. Here you have the standard how to use this product information, The Adventure Background, which lays in history so the DM will know what is going on, including sections on what the players know, and what specifically they do not know. The Adventure Synopsis gives the DM an overview of how things are supposed to flow, which will work until first contact with real live players. It includes Adventure Hooks if you are not playing this as part of the Ongoing Storyline. It also has Action Points, things that will affect the success of the quest if they are done, giving the heroes extra point to use with dice rolls. It explains it all nicely in the text.

The second part starts the adventure. The Surrounding Fields describes what is outside the fortress in case that is they way the adventurers come in. If coming from Pedestal via portal, this may be the last thing the adventurers see.

The third part, Castle Serastis, gives the architectural description of the fortress and covers the random encounters.

The fourth part is The Central Keep. This shows the main body of the fortress from the entry hall to the dungeons, complete with hazards and inhabitants.

Parts Five through Seven are the Towers. Each tower performs a function revealed in its name. These describe the areas and the things within them. They are The Tower of the Way. This area contains the main portal hub for the Yaun-ti. Of particular note here is the Character Snapwing, a bronze dragon who has been turned to the dark side. If you play this right, and the characters "rescue" him, his betrayal at a critical juncture can be hilarious.

The Tower of the Word houses the Yaun-ti Wizards or Psions. It has labs and libraries, and other things that will bore the fighters, but will turn the Wizard into a gibbering pile of greed.

The Tower of Worship is where the Yaun-ti worship, and contains the complex's temple.

The ninth section is the final Tower, the extra dimensional Tower of the Worlds. This is where the big showdown takes place.

The tenth section concludes the adventure, discussing where the characters go next and possible complications. It also gives detailed information about the big treasures of the quest, two Legacy items; The Aegis Inviolable, a very nice shield that gets more magical the longer a character owns it, and Nanietharil a Legacy suit of Armour.

The eleventh section is the encounter sheets for all the encounters. These make running a combat a breeze. They detail all the combatants, their tactics, any conditions that might affect combat, strategies that the bad guys might use, treasure, and a neat little map to show all the bad guys positions when the combat starts. These are the best development in the game so far, and I have played it since its inception.

The twelfth section includes an Appendix detailing what lies through all the portals that exist in the Tower of the Way. This is a delightful way to expand the campaign if that is desirable. Perhaps Grusildrith the Green Hag of the Wretched Swamp has a troll tribe in her thrall, of Udmuella the Spirit Naga escapes and hires some lizard folk assassins to teach the heroes a lesson or two. The Appendix includes three sites with hazards and maps.

Lastly, I should mention the Maps on the inside cover. A triple fold out, it depicts the Castle Serastis. It is very well done, but can be a bit confusing, since some areas are linked by teleportation portals. It's a good idea to study this in detail.

The whole module can be modified as needed, but not as easily as some other modules. When I ran it for my group, they were a gang of four Drow Male Wizards, and they took over the Fortress, and the City of Pedestal it attaches to from the previous module. Now they are using it to link the Night Above, and the Underdark for their own amusement and enrichment. I did not see that one coming.

At $19.95 it is a little pricey, but the 64 pages are well written, well balanced, and challenging. My group seemed to think it was money well spent.

In fond Memory of Gary Gygax, Father of Dungeons and Dragons.

27 July, 1938 -4 March, 2008

You enriched my life.