Summary

This is a wide, sprawling bandit “lair” that was once a respected magical university. Unfortunately, after "The Incident," The Anherst University of Magic was forced to close. The wizards may have moved on, but the magic remains within the walls of the school. A group calling themselves “The Anherst Bandits,” led by Captain Gazima, have taken up residence in the abandoned school. They are undeterred by local superstitions about the place, and they have made themselves quite comfortable.

Plot Hooks

• The local Lord has hired your players to clear the Anherst Bandits out of his lands once-and-for-all.
• An aged, forgetful (former) professor of The University has asked your players to retrieve some vital, forgotten notes she left in her office during “the evacuation”.
• Your players have heard of a fantastical artifact that was left behind at The University; they aim to claim it before The Anherst Bandits discover the item’s true purpose.
• Your players stumble on these grounds during their journey. Locals tell them how the university is cursed to all, save The Anherst Bandits under Captain Gazima.
• Your players lost a fight to some low-level bandits. They have been hauled back to the main bandit’s hideout.
• Arcana, Goddess of Learning and Magic, has charged your players to bring her stray pupil back to the True Path of Learning.

Running this Adventure

Recommended level range for this adventure is level 5-12.

Most of the traps can be easily scaled to fit your party, but PCs below level 5 may find this adventure very difficult.

For maximum fun, don’t tell your players which tower they have entered/approached. Let them guess that on their own! The towers may be explored in any order, or they may be completely ignored as your players head straight for Captain Gazima and the bandits. The towers are listed here in a recommended order, but there's no requirement to proceeding as listed.

If at any point your players alert the bandits in the central tower, Gazima will make plans to attack when their guard is down to catch them unawares.

The bandits are superstitious, and somewhat afraid of the towers. This is quite justified, considering the formidable defenses on the Tower of Abjuration and the Tower of Evocation as well as the many horrifying contents of the Tower of Necromancy.

Should your players lose a combat at any point, they will be knocked out and brought to Gazima. Gazima will take any gold and magical items the party carries.

If your players are spell casters, rogues or fighters, he will offer them a place in his band. If they refuse to join his band, he will attempt to ransom them to anyone who might pay for their release.

If no one will pay their ransom, Gazima may eventually decide to feed them to Fred, or he may release them at the edge of his territory. Depending on how they have treated him, and if they have slain any of his men.

The Incident

Prior to the Blight Years, the Anherst University of Magic was the premier school for learning the Arcane Arts. The University considered themselves not only an academy of learning, but also an everlasting temple to Arcana: Goddess of Learning and Magic. One of the notable professors at Anherst was a golden dragon called Professor Tarish. He was a formidable expert in all eight schools of magic, and was rumored to be in the running fpr the next Deanship.

When His Excellency came to draft The Professor’s beloved students for what would be the first of three Draco-Elven wars, Tarish was incensed. For him, the use of magic in war was an apostasy to The Goddess who had granted The Art to mortals. Tarish felt that he must act; he threw himself into the development of a weapon that would sate The Emperor’s bloodlust, and halt all dreams of glorious conquest. Tarish poured his anger, his disgust and all 10,000 years of his collected knowledge into this weapon. At first, The Twelve Elven Kings refused to believe that this golden dragon; this teacher who had trained many of The Emperor’s most cunning war mages, would betray his own kind.

They didn’t trust this weapon, and hid it away for fear that it was some draconic trick. However, trapped inside of what is now called Fort Drakkenfall, the elven kings knew that they had nothing left to lose. They summoned forth the vial that Professor Tarish had left them. As he had suggested, they coated all their weapons in the viscous fluid. Bolstered by the rumour that this poison would save their people, the last stand of the Southern Kingdoms held firm.

Within days, the bulk of His Excellency’s army lay dying in the valley below. The Dracoblight did its work; causing vicious fevers, rotting sores and the eventual sloughing off of all the scales on an affected victim. The Empire’s army fled from the valley, to the great ruin of The Empire. Although few of the scholars there had the biology to even be affected by the ensuing plague, the name of Anherst was tainted by Professor Tarish’s actions. During the Blight Years, fewer and fewer mages came to Anherst to become initiates. Professors left one-by-one. By the time the dust settled from The Blight Years, Anherst stood totally abandoned.

Panther’s Note - “The Incident” can be whatever you like. For my games, “The Incident” is the outbreak of a horrific plague that was engineered by a misguided golden dragon/wizard. However, Dracoblight and the implications of it are pretty unique to my dragonborn-centric setting, so add whatever “incident” that you like.

For the Players:

"In the distance, you see nine towers peeking out over a tall, mortared wall. As you approach the the large wall, you see two gatehouses on either side of the road. The road here was once paved with fine, red bricks from the mason’s guild in the capital. Over the years, many stones have worked their way loose. Grass and small brambles have grown up between the cobblestones; this road is not frequently traveled. As you approach the gatehouses, you can see that crude iron bars have been thrown up across the once-open huts. The only way inside of the each of the “guardhouses” is through the heavy metal door in the back of each guardhouse… You can see a heavy portcullis made of steel and stone that is totally different from the rest of the architecture."

For the DM

If your players do not know what is in store for them as they approach The University, they can make checks to glean information about the buildings that they can see. The large, grey stone wall that surrounds the university was certainly not intended to withstand a siege; the stones are uneven, and provide many hand holds up the side, should someone wish to climb in. The gate houses that flank the road were originally intended as information huts, but the bandits have modified them. The space between the information counter and the ceiling/canopy of the hut has been barred, and the doors in the back have been reinforced. The bandits have these guard posts manned 24/7. If your players intend to bypass them, they will need to sneak around one side of the posts, or they will need to take out each guard at the same time. If the guards suspect anything, they are supposed to engage the locks on their doors, and begin blowing on the whistles they each keep around their necks.

The portcullis that blocks the way into the university can only be lifted from the inside. There are two great wheels on top of the wall, near the stairs, that may be turned to raise the portcullis up. The portcullis is weighted so that it will be closed, unless someone is actively holding one of the wheels in place to keep it up. The bottom part of the portcullis is sharpened to a wicked edge; it is sure to hack off the limbs of anyone who becomes trapped beneath it.

The walls around the university grounds are easily climbed; they are made of decorative, natural stones fitted together with mortar. The wall itself is not terribly thick, or designed to withstand a siege; it is almost purely decorative. A few of your more athletic or dextrous players should have no great difficulty in scaling the walls.

Note

The description you give here may vary, depending on the season and the time of day. Change this up as appropriate for your game.

For the Players

“A large courtyard of overgrown grasses, thorns and brambles greets your gaze as you reach the top of the wall. From your vantage point, you can see several paths that have been cut and trampled out of the overgrowth. Strage, colorful ivy creeps skyward along each of the nine towers. Though each of the eight “lesser” towers are covered in only a single color of plant, the central tower is overgrown in a rainbow of vines, leaves and flowers. You can also see a dizzying pair of ponds that seem to feed into each other; both of them seem to flow downstream into the other without an obvious source of water. At the southern end of the university grounds, you can see a wide, lopsided building that seems to have partially sunken into the ground. You can see smoke curling out from several windows in the central tower; evidence of where the bandits reside. Several unsaddled horses are grazing on the lawn northeast of the central tower.”

For the Players

“There is a comfortable babbling sound from the creek that simultaneously flows into this pond, and flows away to the western pond. Out in the center of the pond is a small, weather-worn shrine; the name and shape of the guardian deity has been worn away by the years. The water here is crystal clear; offering a view of the various treasures that students have tossed in; trinkets, coins and a few skeletons litter the bottom of the pond. There are several large stones around the pond with smooth depression in them; worn down by generations of students sitting upon them to contemplate the arcane mysteries of their professor’s grading rubrics. The stones are all slightly warm to the touch, and fill your minds with a sense of calm and ease.”

For the DM

The shrine out in the middle of the pond is a trap; something that older students would use to haze younger students. Ostensibly a shrine to Arcana: Goddess of Learning and Magic, the older students would prank younger students by telling them to offer some trinket to her and swim out to her shrine in search of a blessing. If a character dives under the water in this pond, they will be unable to surface while in the pond, unless someone pulls them out with a powerful feat of strength. Note that they CAN surface if they are in the creek part. Should anyone reach the shore of the small island, they should be able to plainly see that the statue is just a vaguely statue-shaped rock, and the “worn runes” on the “altar” say “NO SWIMMING!” Alternatively, someone could dispel magic at level 5 or higher to make the surface breachable for 30 seconds. There are never bandits lounging here (the skeletons at the bottom of the pond belong to bandits who foolishly tried swimming in this pond.)

For the Players

“The babbling of the impossible creeks cannot be heard over the clamour of frogs that inhabit this pond. A thick blanket of pink and white lotus provides shelter to the frogs that hop away to hide at your approach. In the center of the pond is a well-maintained shrine. A glittering statue of a small woman is shaded below an old, but short apple tree.”

For the DM

The western pond holds a true shrine to Arcana. Players that dare to cross the pond, find a crystal statue of a gnome woman looking through a telescope. A rat sits on the end of the telescope, and a frog sits upon her shoulder.

Arcana honors the sacrifices that both of these creatures have made to the cause of learning; they are her sacred beasts. If your players dishonor or desecrate the shrine in any way, the lotus blossoms will gather up and defend the shrine. Should this occur, the bandits will surely be alerted to your players’ presence. Captain Gazima, though he is lapsed in his observance, will not kindly suffer dishonor to his former patroness. On hot days, there may be bandits lounging by this pond, and swimming about.

For the Players

“The two creeks that connect the ponds are shallow and clear. Pebbles worn smooth by centuries of gentle flow pave the bottom of these creeks. Though you feel inclined to spend a great deal of time pondering these impossible bodies of water, you feel uneasy, because you begin to feel that you would never be able to say with certainty exactly which way the water is flowing.”

For the DM

The mobius creeks are the two bodies of water that flow into/out of the two ponds. They are fairly shallow and clear, with smooth pebbles on the bottom. The direction that they flow depends on the current perspective of the person viewing them. It cannot be said for certain which direction they are truly flowing. These are just here for fun and flavor. If your players try to float stuff down the creeks, it may flow one way or the other, depending on an even/odd die roll.

For the Players

“As you approach the large, wide building, you can feel the squish of soft earth beneath your feet. The western side of the building has sunk several feet into the earth, if the doorframe is anything to go by. Only a few feet of the top end of the door are visible above the soft ground here. At the eastern end of the building, the ground is somewhat firmer. A rotten wooden door hangs slightly open at an angle. A wave of mouldy, damp air assaults your senses as you approach and peer into the abandoned dormitory.”

For the Players

“You stand at the foot of an immense tower that reaches toward the sky. The grey stone of the building is hidden beneath a shining mat of golden ivy that clings to the stone with an uncanny tenacity. The leaves of the ivy are indistinguishable from the gold that you have seen exchanged at markets in the city. The roof of this tower seems to have crumbled away; you can see the open area of the room at the very top.”

For the DM

If any of your players pluck leaves from the tower, make a note of it, but do not say anything. The vine itself is thoroughly embedded in the stone, and extensive “cuttings” of this plant are difficult to make, without potentially threatening the structural integrity of the tower.

First Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

For the Players

“No traps or tricks guard the doorway to this final room at the top of the tower. You can hear the faint whistle of wind against the open face of the room beyond… Inside the room is a large bowl-like depression in the stones. Sprawled across the depression are the faintly glimmering bones of a moderately sized golden dragon. At the far end of this room is an open ‘launching pad’ where Professor Tarish could land/take off from; you realize that the roof did not crumble away; this was the intended design.”

For the DM

In my setting, Professor Tarish’s ghost does not linger here; he is serving out his punishment before Bahamut. However, it may be more interesting for your players to encounter his ghost, and gain some insight into what happened here. Professor Tarish is aware that he has died; he will be neutral-friendly to your players, unless they attempt to desecrate his bones.

Leaving the Tower

Any players that plucked leaves from the vine on the outside of the tower will find all gold on their person has been permanently transmuted into copper.

For the Players

“As you approach the tower covered in tangled, pink vines, you hear a dull buzzing in the back of your mind. The vines around the base of this tower grow in a thick, twisting mat. As you dig further through the vines, seeking the doorway hidden beneath the thick growth, you uncover a nest of brightly colored vipers!”

For the DM

Have a small encounter here where the players fight some illusory, pink vipers. Treat the vipers as though they are the products of phantasmal force. This should be a small precursor of the illusions that the players will find within the tower. Note that the Tower of Illusions is inhabited by bandits. SHould the players make too much of a ruckus fighting the vipers, the bandits within the tower will be alerted to the players’ presence.

For the Players

“After defeating the illusory vipers, you are now free to explore the outside of the tower. Unlike the other towers, the stones here are fitted tightly together, forming a smooth, even surface all around.”

For the DM

The door on this tower is hidden by heavy illusion magic. Detect magic will not be terribly useful here, as the entire tower will radiate a sense of illusion magic. A decently high perception or investigation check should allow a player to notice a section of the tower where the pink vines are not clinging so tightly to the tower; indicating that they are hanging down in front of a hidden doorway.

For the Players

“After scrambling your way up into the tower, you find yourself several feet up on the ‘first floor’. The air inside this tower is stale and musty; it is clear that nobody has been inside this room in a very long time. Several bats hang from a rafter, chirping to themselves, watching you and increasing the size of the large guano pile below them.”

For the DM

If your players alerted the bandits during their entrance into the tower, they will be assaulted here. The tower itself radiates a heavy illusion that this first room is abandoned, musty and full of bats. Unless one of your players happens to be using truesight or something with a similar magical effect, that is all they will be able to sense. The reality is that this tower is clean, airy and well maintained. There are several cots in this room, where the bandits retire at night. Each of the bandits that reside in this tower are equipped with a vial of true seeing ointment that allows them to bypass the tower’s defenses. Your players should have disadvantage to hit the bandits, unless they bypass the tower’s illusions. Depending on how generous you’re feeling, you may allow your players to loot small amounts of true seeing ointment from the bandits. There is a hidden ladder that leads up to the next floor, and a trap door (located directly underneath the “guano”) that leads to a basement.

For the Players

“You peer down into the darkness, and feel as though you are gazing into the night sky itself. Hundreds of small, twinkling lights shine back at you. As you climb down the ladder, your torchlight sends the twinkling stars scattering away into the darkness, towards a pair of reflective disks the size of dinner plates. With a sinking feeling, you realize that there are three more pairs of glowing dinner plates. You lean forward with your torch to gain a better comprehension of this strange object before you, and find yourself face-to-face with a spider the size of a horse!”

For the DM

Your players may be inclined to think that this spider is fake. It is not. Stat the spider, and the smaller spiderlings to be appropriate for your party.

For the Players

“With the giant arachnid dead, you begin burning away the thick next of webbing that covers almost every inch of this basement. A large, wide tunnel stretches off into the darkness. This room is fairly bare; you note that while there are the remains of a desk, and several bookshelves, there is no bed here.”

For the DM

The Illusionist Master was a drow woman named Istarra. As an elf, she had no need of a bed; she merely needed a comfortable space to trance (such as a plush floor rug, or an easy chair). Istarra was one of the last to leave The University; she has not been heard from since her departure. Presumably, she has returned to her homeland in The Underdark. Any books that the players find here are disguised with illusory script. The true text of the books should be highly inflammatory, or even heretical, texts that discuss The Seldarine favorably while highlighting the evil nature of Lolth. These books, which are highly illegal in most Drow societies, are rare works of anti-Lolth Drow philosophy that may be worth quite a lot to the right person. Should your players choose to follow the underground tunnel, it will eventually lead to a series of caves several miles away. Populate the tunnel with all manner of creepy crawlies, if your players are inclined to explore it.

For the Players

“You push open the trap door above you to find yourself on a sort of bare, open room where one of the walls seems to have crumbled away. The wind whips across the naked stones, creating a howling noise in your ears. The only items of note are a few broken chairs; the rest of the items in this ¾ ‘room’ probably blew away at some point… As you creep towards the edge, where the wall has crumbled away, you spy a ladder going up the side of the intact wall. Luckily the masonry has held firm here. However, the wall is just beyond your reach; you will have to make a DC-15 dexterity save to grasp the first rung of the ladder, and a DC-15 strength save to pull yourself up by your arms… Your sweaty palm grips the first rung, and for a moment, you make the fatal mistake of looking down. Your stomach churns with the thought of how far the grass is below you. You heave your weight up towards the next rung of the ladder, desperately trying to gain purchase under your feet. However, your arms are not quite strong enough; your grip slips, and you plummet to the ground below. Your last thoughts are of your friends above in the tower as the ground rushes towards you at an impossible rate.”

For the DM

This room is another heavy illusion. Your players are actually inside of the tower the entire time. Should one of your players fall, use something similar to the above narration, and have that character take a moderate-dangerous amount of psychic damage. They might scream on their way “down”; use your judgement or have that character make a wisdom save. A character that has “fallen to their death” should be considered unconscious until everyone else has ascended the ladder, or failed the attempt. Characters that have made the ascent should be able to see the illusion for what it is, and assist the other characters in doing the same. You may or may not choose to play this up as another layer of illusion, to sow paranoia among your party.

For the Players

“After making the nerve-wracking climb up the ladder, you reach the next floor and discover to your relief that you were never in any danger to begin with. You have just made a simple climb up a 12-foot ladder into the room above… Once the entire party has overcome the gripping fear of climbing up the ladder, you all find yourselves in a cozy room. There are several lounge couches, and a wide fireplace here. One of the walls is made entirely of black slate; presumably it was a chalkboard once upon a time.”

For the DM

This room has no active illusions covering it. The room is exactly what you see. Transmutation spells of preservation hover over the couches, to prevent moths and other insects from tearing into the fabric. This room was once used to practice illusory spells in relative security, comfort and safety. The slate wall was once used to chalk out the lecturer’s notes, or project illusory writings upon. Your players might investigate this room, and discover a few scrolls, such as invisibility, dream or illusory script.

For the Players

“The tower covered in oily, black leaves is the shortest of the eight towers. To be honest, it can barely be called a tower at all. There is no mistaking which school this building was dedicated to; heavy boarding and extensive wards prevent your ingress… As you work to unbind the charms that prevent the opening of this door, you begin to hear a faint ‘THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!’ on the sturdy wood.”

For the DM

There are heavy iron brackets holding this outward-swinging door shut. Additionally, a spell of forbiddance cast at level 7 prevents the door from being opened, and prevents anyone from traveling across the threshold via magical means. There are dozens of undead trapped in the maze of crypts beneath this tower; the sounds of your players tinkering with the door may agitate them and drive them to pound on the door with increasing vigor. Should your players leave the door alone, the zombies will eventually calm down. Your players may decide to unleash these zombies as part of an assault plan on the bandits. Should they find some way to actually get inside of the tower, and clear out the zombies, they will find the dessicated remains of Professor Morthran reclined in a bed on the second floor. The zombies will attempt to kill and dismember any living humanoid they come across, and deliver those remains to Professor Morthran. Should the zombies be successful, Professor Morthran will awaken and take command of his army.

For the Players

“The tower covered in dark blue ivy stands almost as tall as the big, central tower. As you approach, faint silvery speckles on the inky-blue leaves become apparent. The longer you look at the leaves, the more they seem to sparkle and shimmer, like the stars at night. Try as you might, you cannot seem to find a door to this tower.”

For the DM

The door to the divination tower is magically sealed, and it will only open at night time. Not even knock can compel the door to reveal itself and open. At night, the silvery speckles on the dark blue leaves will give off small amounts of light, as though faerie fire were cast upon them.

First Floor

For the Players

“As you approach the tower coated in thick, purple ivy, your vision seems to blur. You screw your eyes shut, and force them to focus upon opening. With some minor strain, you affix the sight of a singular tower before you. However, the longer you stare at the tower, the more it seems to shift and change. In one moment, you see an alabaster spire in a green glade, and in another moment, you see a decayed ruin and hear the call of some distant carrion bird.”

For the DM

The Conjuration tower’s glass door is sealed along three different ley lines. One cannot enter the tower unless they also unlock the door’s leyline copies in the Shadowfell and the Feywild. Alternatively, a teleportation spell should allow ingress into the tower. Depending upon the method used, they might encounter the Feywild version, the Material version or the Shadowfell version of the tower. For example, misty step would almost certainly lead to the Feywild tower, while an assassin rogue’s shadow teleportation ability would bring them in alignment with The Shadowfell tower. To unlock the other leyline copies of the tower without spells, a player character might need to meditate and focus upon one version of the tower or another. Adjust the difficulty of this feat depending upon the character performing the act, using your own judgement for that character’s alignment. Alternatively, a “fey-aligned” character (such as a Pact of Fey Warlock, or an Eladrin) might have an easier time understanding the Feywild version of the tower, while a character who is attuned to aspects of The Shadowfell (such as a Long Death Monk, or a Shadar-Kai) might only be able to comprehend the Shadowfell version of the tower. Some characters may only be able to interact with the material tower, depending upon your cosmology, their character’s personality and their character’s alignment towards other planes of existence.

Shadowfell Tower

Feywild Tower

Material Tower

For the Players

“A pale, iridescent ivy winds its way up the side of this stone tower. Upon close inspection, the leaves of the ivy appear to be each of the six primary colors at once, depending upon how they turn in the light. The door to this tower is plain to see; it shines bright red against the dull, grey stone.”

For the DM

This door is warded with magic similar to prismatic wall. Each layer of warding on the door must be dispelled or bypassed in order to proceed through into the tower. The prismatic ward will reset after 1 hour. If you are feeling generous, you may put a six-colored wand in the Divination tower’s chest that will completely dispel the prismatic wall, and imply that the Master Diviner left the wand there for your players.

Red - Upon touching the red door, the flesh of your hand is seared and burned. You must make a DC 16 dexterity save to withdraw your hand before serious damage occurs. You take a dangerous amount of fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. To dispel the red layer, you must deal at least 30 cold damage to it.

Orange - Upon touching the orange door, your flesh begins to bubble and melt away as though you just reached into a vat of strong acid. You must make a DC 16 dexterity save to withdraw your hand before serious damage occurs. You will take a dangerous amount of acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. To dispel the orange layer, you must subject it to a strong wind.

Yellow - A white-hot pain seizes your muscles as you make contact with the door. You must make a DC-16 constitution save to have the force of will to loose your grip. You will take a dangerous amount of electrical damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. To dispel the yellow layer, you must deal 60 force damage to it.

Green - A sickly miasma hangs about this door. Anyone who must breathe, and stands within within 10 feet of the door must make a DC-16 constitution saving throw. On a failed save you take a moderate amount of poison damage and suffer the poisoned condition. On a success, you take half damage. To dispel the green layer, you must use transmutation to change the door into some other material.

Blue - The searing cold of this door chills you to your bones. You must make a DC 16 dexterity save to withdraw your hand before serious damage occurs. You will take a dangerous amount of cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. To dispel the red layer, you must deal at least 30 fire damage to it.

Indigo - As soon as you touch the door, you feel queasy. Your feet suddenly ache, and feel incredibly heavy. Over the next minute, you must make 3 DC-16 constitution saves. On a success, nothing happens, on a failure, ⅓ of your body turns to stone. On 3 failures, you are turned to stone. Nat-1 counts as 2 failures, nat-20 counts as 2 successes. If you are partially turned to stone, you will be restored to flesh once the indigo door is dispelled. The indigo layer is dispelled by shining a bright light at it (such as daylight, or using mirrors to focus natural daylight at the door). If a player character is completely turned to stone, prayers offered at the shrine of Arcana in the western pond will restore the character.

First Floor

For the Players

“As you approach the door, your gaze is drawn to a well-worn entry mat. You can just make out the phrase ‘mind your manners’ on the welcome mat.”

For the DM

The door to the second story gymnasium is warded with conjuration magic. Anyone who attempts to open this door without asking permission (from the door) will find themselves teleported outside of the tower. A DC-13 perception check should reveal the phrase “Mind your manners” written in common on the welcome mat.

For the Players

“As you enter the second story gymnasium, your ears begin to pound with a deafening silence. You strain to catch any kind of noise, but all you hear are your own thoughts and the pulsing of blood through your ears. You have no time to contemplate this, as a small swarm of abominable creatures attacks you!”

For the DM

Populate this floor with whatever weak-ish creatures seem appropriate to challenge your players. The room is completely silenced; any spells that require verbal components cannot be cast while in this room. Additionally, because they cannot ask permission from the door, any character that crosses the door’s threshold (to go out in the hallway and cast spells) will be teleported outside. Once the creatures are dealt with, you may make your players aware of the stairway leading up to the top floor of the tower.

For the Players

“This room was clearly intended for a professor who was short of stature. Whoever was the previous resident of this room clearly left with the intention of returning. A trail of small nightclothes leads from the unkempt child-sized bed over to a diminutive dresser. Several richly embroidered robes hang haphazardly from the drawers. An array of delicate, tiny rings are laid out in a neat row across the top of the dresser… The air of this room absolutely shimmers with an aura of transmutation magic.”

For the DM

If your players decide to sleep in this room, they will be assaulted by the furniture. Treat the pillows, blankets, rug and dresser as small-sized mimics. The mimics will not attack anyone who is a gnome.

First Floor

Second Floor

Panther’s Note - A “daggerlock” is a dwarven-made mechanical booby trap that I like to put on many doors in my games. When the doorknob is turned, a dagger will spring out of the keyhole, and slice into the wrist/arm of whomever just tried to open the door. When the character releases their grip on the doorknob, the spring will contract, and pull the dagger back inside. If a lockpicker attempts to disengage this trap, and fails the lockpicking save by more than 5 points, then they will also feel the sting of Dag Daggerlock’s invention. Daggerlocks are meant to be more of a nuisance than an actual threat. It is important to note that a daggerlock is 100% mechanical in nature, and will not show up when detect magic is used. Also, daggerlocked door knobs are somewhat heavier and thicker than normal door knobs; they are apparent if a character is familiar with the trap, and they are specifically watching for it.

For the Players

“You try the doorknob, but find that the handle will not budge. The steel of the doorknob is still extremely cold to your touch… After melting the lingering shards of ice away, the door opens with an obnoxiously loud creaking. This room is a study, with many books on evocation, and a wide array of scrolls. A pair of comfortable chairs are arranged on either side of a raised sternhalma table, with a glass lid covering the marbles. Several of the marbles glow with a soft, orange light.”

For the DM

This is a study where the evocation professor would relax and meet with students. There are several easychairs, a wide fireplace, and many books. “Sternhalma” is better known as “Chinese Checkers”. The three glowing, orange marbles are delayed blast fireballs that will explode 6 seconds, 18 seconds and 30 seconds (respectively) after the glass lid is lifted off of the sternhalma table. If your players trigger the sternhalma table, the three delayed blast fireballs are likely to blow a wide hole in the side of the tower, and potentially kill a few of your players. If a player casts detect magic on the sternhalma table, they should be able to see the abjuration magic of the glass covering alongside the evocation magic of the marbles. There is a ladder between two of the bookshelves that leads up to the final floor.

For the Players

“This room is exceedingly bare and simple, for a wizard’s bedchamber. A plain wooden wardrobe sits against one wall, with a long, dust-covered mirror next to it. The bed is quite large, unsurprising when you note the occupant. Several thick blankets are piled high on top of the heavy skeleton of a dragonborn. The blankets and bedding are stained the foul brown color of old, dried blood… Inside of the wardrobe, you find an exquisite set of enchanted chainmail, and a shining necklace made of red beads.”

For the DM

The final floor of the evocation tower is a simplistic bedchamber where Professor Claudia lived. Unfortunately, the evocation professor was a red dragonborn, and succumbed fairly quickly to the effects of Dracoblight; her heavy skeleton is still lying in the bed where she died. A player trained in medicine and/or familiar with Dragonborn biology should be able to determine the gender of the skeleton, with a moderate skill check. The armor is +1 enchanted chainmail that never rusts or corrodes, and it bears the colors of the Holy Dragonborn Empire. Someone wearing this armor might be recognized as a captain of the Sixth Arcane Legion (a captain is an officer that commands a unit of 10 soldiers). The necklace is a complete necklace of fireball.

For the Players

“You feel a sense of familiarity as you approach the tower covered in a curtain of bright yellow-green leaves. Though the door is hidden behind a thick curtain of ivy stems, it is not difficult to find. As you reach for the doorknob, you notice a stain on your hand that you had not noticed before… You wipe the sweat from your brow, and walk back out into the sunlight. You breathe deeply of the fresh air, glad to have the thick scent of incense free from your nostrils.”

For the DM

The theme of this tower is memory loss/modification. There is an enchanted incense burner inside the room of the first floor that clouds the mind, and causes memory loss. Any creature that must breathe is affected by this incense, including Elves that would normally have advantage to save against charm effects. Chewing on the bitter leaves of the ivy on the outside of the tower is a prophylactic against this effect (which is why the door is only hidden by ‘ivy stems’ and not ‘ivy leaves’).

If your players go inside of the tower without chewing on any leaves, they will “immediately” walk back out of the tower, 2d6 hours later. Each time they emerge from the tower, change something about their appearance (Blue stain on someone’s hand. A fresh dent in somebody’s shield. A small amount of rust, or blood left on a sword; a minor loss of hitpoints and small wounds all around). A particularly perceptive or investigative player might notice on the approach to the tower that there are tracks leading out of the tower that belong to the party.

If your players get stuck, have a few low-level bandits stumble across them as they emerge from the tower a third or fourth time. The bandits will easily spill the beans, if they are captured alive. If your players rack up more than 18 hours inside the tower, they will run the risk of getting caught by Captain Gazima. If or when they eventually figure out the secret of the tower, allow them to proceed to the second floor, where they will find several freshly killed monsters (that they slew). Run the second floor combat encounter as though they are ascending the tower for the first time, and recalling their memories.

First Floor

Basement

For the Players

“The imposing central tower of The University is easily 3-4 times the size of the next tallest tower on the university grounds. It is covered by a single, tangled growth of ivy that shows all the colors of the ivy around the lesser towers. At the top of the tower is a series of rooms that appears to have completely glass walls. The grass around the tower is cut very short, no doubt an intentional safeguard to ensure that anyone is seen on approach.”

For the DM

The first floor of the tower is a wide, open room where students could congregate, study together and discuss their lessons. A very large, spiral staircase runs up the length of the tower, to the “glass story”. To reach the roof, one must either teleport or fly up; there is no stair access. The bottom 4 floors of the central tower were originally classrooms for the novices who had yet to declare for one school or another. The 5th floor was a dormitory. The 6th floor was a library with many common reference books (rare and important books were hoarded by the Master Wizards). The 7th and 8th floors were offices for non-master level teachers, advanced students and university administrators. Above the offices were several floors of spartan living spaces for non-master level teachers, advanced students and University administrators. The very top floors of the tower were restricted, enchanted vaults, where dangerous items and materials were kept away from the student population. Rather noticeably, there is no set cafeteria or eating space; it was expected that the conjuration students would provide meals for fellows as part of their training. The “glass story”, which is the very top, was a massive greenhouse where the wizards grew many of their rare alchemical ingredients.

Captain Gazima has completely gutted the central tower, and turned it over to his purposes. Anything of value has long since been sold off to fences, or used for the bandits’ work. Most of the central tower lies completely empty, as the Anherst Bandits do not have the numbers to fully inhabit the tower. The plants in the glass story have been left to rot; nothing of value grows there, as it has been many years since a skilled gardener set foot in the greenhouse.

No Markings