Maybe you first heard the name in a tavern well after closing time, as two old adventurers, well past their prime, spoke of it in hushed tones. Maybe it was from your own mother, who swore she'd send you there when you misbehaved. Perhaps you read the name in an ancient tome of history and lore illuminated by flickering candlelight late at night as the wind howled outside. Wherever you first heard of the place, you have long heard tales of Dragon's Delve.
A vast underground dungeon of labyrinths and catacombs, built perhaps by dwarves or perhaps by wizards--or maybe even dragons--Dragon's Delve is infamous among treasure-hunters and monster-slayers. Filled with deadly danger and ancient treasures, the dungeon offers both risk and reward in equal amounts, each growing more intense the deeper one goes. How much peril is worth risking for how much return? It's all up to those brave enough to try.
The tales of Dragon's Delve teem with contradictions and unbelievable anecdotes of impossible encounters and bizarre monstrosities. And yet, some of it all must be true. Do demonic cultists really use Dragon's Delve as a secret base? Is there truly some kind of ambient magic seeping up through the place? Did wizards of old hoard away powerful artifacts in the dungeon's vaults? Do gateways to remote lands and even other planes of existence really lie somewhere in Dragon's Delve? Does the prince of all dragonkind really hold court in the deepest reaches of the subterranean stronghold? No one knows for certain, but those that could find the answers to even some of these questions, or learn even a few of the dungeon's other secrets, might earn for themselves notoriety and wealth beyond imagining.
If they survive.
Dragon's Delve lies in a remote corner of a long-forsaken wilderness that people once called the Duchy of Chordille. Yet a hundred years ago or so, the folk of the surrounding lands took up arms against Chordille. They razed the keep and slew the duke. It's hard now to find someone who knows the real reason why this happened. A few speak of evil intent on the part of the duke, who had plans for conquest. Others, however, say that the duke's actions were always benevolent, and that the conflict arose from misunderstanding, or perhaps deception on the part of some mysterious third party.
All that is known for certain is that folks call that remote realm the Fallen Duchy. It boasts no ruler and little population. Wilderness reclaimed Chordille, and it is now a land of dangers.
People in Brindenford, a small town just two miles to the north, claim that murderous humanoid creatures prowl those ruins. Goblins? Orcs? Worse? No one seems to know for sure, and eyewitness accounts are few, and always contradictory. They also claim that the place is both haunted and cursed.
So many questions. So many secrets.
If you dare to brave this ancient dungeon, go well equipped. Be ready for anything. Keep your eyes open, and search everywhere. Any passage or door you find could lead to wealth enough for you to retire. Or it could lead to certain doom.
But that's what being an adventurer is all about, right? This isn't an undertaking that you'll finish in one foray or even a dozen. This is the challenge of a lifetime. As someone thrilled at the prospect of exploring the unknown, incredible challenges, and the promise of gold and magic, Dragon's Delve is exactly where you've always wanted to go.
).
