Help me make an Underdark adventure

[Planesdragon]

Situation: My PCs are the following (well, approximately, but close enough):

* A 10th level Paladin/Assaimar and a 10th level Wizard/human, both with a +0 LA "angel" template and played by relative newbies.

*A 10th level mage^H^H^H^Hsorceror with a penchant for fire magic.

* A 10th level fighter whose sole magic item lets him polymorph into a large earth elemental.

* A 5th level halfling with a 14th level evil wizard (sans spellbook) riding around in his head.

* Possibly a 10th level durid/ranger with his dryad companion.


The PCs have entered the underdark, following a path set by the Angel's superiors to find and ascertain the status of an artifact used to control the fate of a now-dead kingdom. The BBEG, a 14th level orc cleric/wizard, is after the artifact first.

I already have one extended encounter where the PCs meet my world's drow (mostly neutral and rather druidic, actually) to heal from their last bludgeoning, and of course there's the encounter around the artifact, but what else should happen to them while underground?

 

[Taneel BrightBlade]

capture by mindflayers?

 

[Whisper72]

Phew.... alot could happen:

- they could stumble upon large caves filled with mushrooms and shroom-based monsters
- all manner of wandering monsters (shadow dragons?)
- a deep lake filled with aboleth
- derro / duergar communities (maybe allied to the orcs or bribed by them to waylay the PC's?)
- ancient ruins filled with undead
- an old dwarven citadel, now sunk lower due to earthquakes / other seismic activity
- deep chasms / rough terrain, ambushes by the orcs following the orc cleric/wizard
- if the PC's are angelic driven, the cleric/wizard may have demonic support, so ambush by demons would seem logical

 

[Hand of Evil]

The Underdark Sea
The Underdark Swamp
The Underdark Forest
The Caverns of Fire
The Cavern of Ice
The Bridge must be crossed
The Trade Route and the City of Darkness

I always see the underdark as wilderness, with narrow corridors of 'safety'. Also think of territory controlled, as upper underdark (closes to surface), middle level and lower underdark (deep levels). You have monsters and such in each level but only a few that will travel up and down. Build your encounters with sights and sounds, strange lights, yells, echos.

 

[Planesdragon]

Hmm... Capture by Mindflayers won't work on the way in (maybe on the way out...)

- they could stumble upon large caves filled with mushrooms and shroom-based monsters
- all manner of wandering monsters (shadow dragons?)
- a deep lake filled with aboleth
- derro / duergar communities (maybe allied to the orcs or bribed by them to waylay the PC's?)
- ancient ruins filled with undead
- an old dwarven citadel, now sunk lower due to earthquakes / other seismic activity
- deep chasms / rough terrain, ambushes by the orcs following the orc cleric/wizard
- if the PC's are angelic driven, the cleric/wizard may have demonic support, so ambush by demons would seem logical

Dragons and demons are a bit overmuch. A ruin filled with undead, an orc ambush, and an assault by dwarven allies sounds just about right.

The Underdark Sea
The Underdark Swamp
The Underdark Forest
The Caverns of Fire
The Cavern of Ice
The Bridge must be crossed
The Trade Route and the City of Darkness

I always see the underdark as wilderness, with narrow corridors of 'safety'. Also think of territory controlled, as upper underdark (closes to surface), middle level and lower underdark (deep levels). You have monsters and such in each level but only a few that will travel up and down. Build your encounters with sights and sounds, strange lights, yells, echos.

Oooh.... A bridge a'la Fellowship of the Ring, a cavern of ice near the final resting place, and a forest where they can meet the Order of the Black root...


Thanks a bunch!

 

[johnsemlak]

If you have access to the GDQ1-7 Supermodule, it has some useful ideas at the back for creating adventures in the underdark (similar to those listed above).