Greetings! I saw that you were discussing
Castle Whiterock, and I figured I could pop in and respond to a few comments.
I kind of got the feeling they wanted the town to the "base of operations."
I didn't really like the town at all, since it had limited usefulness. Sure, it helped throughout the course of the first few levels, but after that it has little to no impact on the adventure.
There are a few other connective threads in there. Lady Ilrein Talbusk, the Holy Knight-Protector in Cillamar's Sanctuary of Justicia (H-14) is the daughter of one of the paladins of the Sundered Scale and can help the party find the hidden level 7A. Remy the cartographer (C-4) wants a map found in the Bleak Theater (level 10). Old Dunevon (H-7) can tell the party about the Haunted General and his ghostly squire (level 10A). Mallac (H-2)
will hire parties to gather specimens of creatures unique to CW (like the fissure wasp or trollhound).
For the most part, though, you gents are correct...we really wanted the dungeon itself and the entire boxed set to be modular...take any piece of it and drop it wherever you, the GM, want it to go. That meant we had to cut down on some of the tie-ins we might otherwise have created between CW and Cillamar.
CW has been a big hit for my group. We alternate between Whiterock levels and other DCCs.
That's fantastic! If you've got time, post a story hour...the original poster and I (at least) would love to hear it!
I want to make sure I understand the slaving aspect of the plot and how it ties into what goes on in the towns in the area. I would think the towns would notice folks being kidnapped, for one thing. I also have not yet digested the dungeon enough to understand the flow of where the slaves are brought in, where they go, and thus which levels connect to which other levels by means of the slave trade.
Pinotage nails it. Slaves are captured by the Iron Manacle (level 1) and traded to the White Tusk orcs where they work the quartz mines (level 2). For many, their tale ends there, but some are selected by Ulrik the duergar book-keeper and sent down to level 7 through the lift.
In level 7, Nall'oth and his derro cronies escort the "merchandise" through the watery passages of level 7, bypassing the semi-hidden level 8, and through the Immense Cavern (level 9) to the "rear" entrance of the Bleak Theater (level 10).
Once there, the Impressario either auctions the slaves off or uses them in bloodsport. Those slain in the arena are dumped into Carapace Fissure. Those sold to Underdeep buyers are taken through the fortress of Narborg (level 11) and into the greater Underdeep through the Lightless Gate (level 11A), thence out of Castle Whiterock.
You're right...a town would probably notice missing persons...mostly. But don't forget the refugees from the Warlands. They (along with the usual street-dwellers) are the disenfranchised of Cillamar, and several could disappear before anyone in an official capacity noticed (or cared).
The lower levels of Castle Whiterock are by far the more interesting ones. For me, at least. I loved some of those locations, and the various sub-plots, as long as they're handled well where players are concerned.
Great to hear! I wrote most of the latter part of
CW...if you don't mind my asking, which levels or subplots jumped out at you?
