Node-Based Megadungeon: Wolf Den

Wolf Den

Scenario Role

Surprising oppressors, mortal threat to the unwary.

Theme

A large wolf pack bent on mayhem and domination of weaker creatures.

Threat

  • Lots of effective predators with teef ‘ike ‘is.
  • Hungry effective predators with teef ‘ike ‘is.
  • Dominating the inhabitants of the Goblin Warren.
  • Ravaging the countryside and those in it (and letting their ‘goblin riders’ take the blame).
  • The Leader of the Pack is an otherworldly, vicious beast who knows more, much more, than he should.

Reward

  • Can gain immense gratitude from the goblins by defeating or destroying the pack, especially the Leader of the Pack.
  • Most of the stuff that previously belonged to the goblins can be found here, including some things from the Abandoned Tower.
  • Clues to Baalshamoth (ritual chamber, with scuffed sigils and other marks relating to the Sharer of Knowledge).
  • Clues to Aristothanes (various notes from the mad wizard, and some ‘improved’ wolves).

Relationships

  • Dominating the Goblin Warren, enslaving and oppressing the goblins.
  • Regularly scout the Abandoned Tower, looking for items of interest (and using it as a high sentry point).
  • Leader of the Pack knows of the Fane of Baalshamoth.
  • Leader of the Pack has dealings with Aristothanes (mostly trading captured creatures — including goblins, and wolves that have displeased him — to the wizard for greater knowledge of Baalshamoth).  Some wolves are returned ‘better than before’, for some value of ‘better’.
  • The wolves know of, and don’t like visiting, the Fungoid Cavern, but do so to keep an eye on their ‘allies’.
  • They avoid the Dwarven Safehold as much as possible.

Description and Identification

Description

Mostly more or less regular wolf dens, though somewhat larger than usual to accommodate the increased size of the wolves.  The original den is larger yet with multiple chambers.

Signature

Unusually large wolf prints, remains of prey that was cruelly taken, raid victims that are savaged but deliberately left alive.

Location

Scattered around the Abandoned Tower.  The largest is to the west, not far from the Goblin Warren, and the others have expanded from there.  Many wolves are now ‘housed’ in the Goblin Warren itself.

Mechanics

No actual mechanics yet, but I’ll include notes for later.

I might advance the various wolves (and worgs, and the Barghest) as shown below, but this is not strictly needed.  It is probably sufficient to just play them unusually aggressively and give them a few more hit points than usual, or a flat +10 hit points and +2 attack and damage bonus.  It amounts to much the same thing.

  • wolf1, wolf2, wolf3: various smaller wolf dens (“holes in the ground wolves live in”).  Normal wolves, perhaps a little bigger and more aggressive than usual (3-4 smaller at 2HD,  2-3 advanced to 3HD, with the leader of each den advanced to 4HD).
  • worg1 and worg2: ‘families’ of worgs (3-5 with 4HD, 1-2 with 5HD, 1 with 7HD)
  • Leader’s Antechamber: several dire wolves live here.  All male; they take their mates from the other wolves as they will (the other wolves and worgs don’t like this, of course).
  • Leader of the Pack: Barghest.  Advance as needed, even to Greater Barghest (or via class levels — wizard, sorcerer, or cleric of Baalshamoth might be appropriate).
  • Ritual Chamber: The Leader of the Pack practices his dark arts (relating to Baalshamoth) here.  Scuffed sigils, tattered notes, bloodstains, and so on are everywhere.  Not much is truly salvageable, but lots of evidence of what’s been going on.

This may require a bit of explanation.

The goblins have disapproved of (it’s difficult to say ‘opposed’, since they couldn’t really do anything) of Baalshamoth.  The shaman’s former apprentice eventually rebelled and fled his master than shaman (and thus the Goblin Warren) and made his way through the megadungeon to Aristothanes.  His cunning and resourcefulness impressed the wizard, and rather than performing his usual research, Aristothanes decided to teach him more of Baalshamoth and see what happened.

The ‘enlightened goblin’ returned to the warren to show off his new power and was chased away (nearly killed) by the shaman.  He took refuge among the wolves and found a chamber where he could perform a ritual to “gain great power” so he could take revenge.  This worked, after a fashion, turning him into a Barghast, an unholy union of wolf, goblin, and fiend.  He continues to study Baalshamoth in the hope of gaining yet more power, and in the meantime builds up his lupine army, and oppresses and torments his former ‘companions’.

While I don’t have a name for this character now (because it’s not important for what I’m doing at the moment), I would probably prepare an entity definition specifically for him (as I would for Aristothanes and other major figures).  In fact, he’s nasty and vicious and I’d like to see him again sometime.  I’d probably escalate him out of scenario scope and give him influence, eventually, away from here.

Wolf Den

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6 Comments

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