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Tower of COM 2012 Dr. Davy JonesDUNGEONS & DRAGONS, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Compatibility Logo, D&D, PLAYER’S HANDBOOK, PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 2, DUNGEONMASTER’S GUIDE, MONSTER MANUAL, MONSTER MANUAL 2, and ADVENTURER’S VAULT are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USAand other countries and are used with permission. Certain materials, including 4E References in this publication, D&D core rules mechanics,and all D&D characters and their distinctive likenesses, are property of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with permission under the Dungeons& Dragons 4th Edition Game System License. All 4E References are listed in the 4E System Reference Document, available atwww.wizards.com/d20. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 4th Edition PLAYER’S HANDBOOK, written by Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt;DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE, written by James Wyatt; and MONSTER MANUAL, written by Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert and James Wyatt;PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 2, written by Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, and James Wyatt; MONSTER MANUAL 2, written by Rob Heinsoo, and ChrisSims; Adventurer’s Vault, D&D 4E Game System License 2008, 2009 Wizards of the Coast written by Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein, and ChrisSims. 2008, 2009 Wizards of the Coast. All rights reserved.
www.dungeonoracle.comtower of the ascendantsTower of the ascendantsThe TriumvirateA ten-part, fourthcore megadungeondesigned to take a party of 4-6 players fromlevel 1 to level 10.Once great crusaders seeking death andglory like the ascendants (the players)themselves, the Triumvirate are the threegod-tyrants who have ruled all realms sincedeposing the Ancients. The Triumvirate rulesin blood, death, and slavery. Their namesare spoken only in fearful whispers, lestnaming them aloud should arouse theirwrath. It is said that none who looks upontheir true manifestation can live. All theascendants know of the Triumvirate are theirnames and their spheres of influence. Allother information can only be discoveredthrough rumors and exploration of theTOWER itself.Dungeon Oracle 2012 Dr. Davy Jonesdungeonoracle.comCampaign BackgroundThe Voice of All spoke three times beforefalling into silence. The first time to giveshape to the Ancients. The second to givethem the world as their domain. The third tobuild the TOWER for the war that was tocome.And war did come. The Ancients, primordialwarriors charged with protecting the world,were subverted by three great crusaders,vindictive and powerful. The Ancients werestripped of immortality and cast from theheavens to serve and suffer with the rest ofhumanity. The crusaders claimed newbodies for themselves, and became theTriumvirate, god-tyrants of all realms.The long line of descendants of the Ancientsis dwindling, along with humanity’s lasthope. What few remain have gathered toenter the TOWER OF THE ASCENDANTS.Crumbling stone tablets of ages forgottensay that a mortal who ascends the TOWERthat pierces the heavens and slays the godswho dwell in its highest bower will reclaimlost immortality.Ka’aire, the breath of ruinSpheres of Influence: God of ruin, decay,disease, pestilence, and the inevitability ofdeath.Symbol: A crumbling, obsidian pyramid.Manifestation:Atowering,bipedal,petrified skeletal dragon.Servants: Tieflings, dragonborn, mages, thediseased, and members of ruined races.Conflict: Despises Golgothan, who restoresruined mortal bodies to a form of life andwho challenges dominion over destroyedbodies.2Golgothan, ravager of thecryptSpheres of Influence: God of undeath,fertility, lust, desire, and violation.Symbol: An obelisk of stitched, undeadflesh, standing in a pool of blood.Manifestation: A tall, muscular, nude man,drenched in blood, with black-featheredwings.Servants: Undead, especially vampires,revenants, and succubae.Conflict: Covetous of Myrris, who delights intwisting his desires.Myrris the inverseSpheres of Influence: Goddess of reflection,perversion, distortion, inversion, and mirrors.Symbol: A human body inscribed in acircle, inside-out and ifter, wielding 7 vorpal s, and shifters.Conflict: Infuriated by Ka’aire, who seeks todestroy rather than distort.Dungeon layoutlayoutThe ascendants know that the TOWER risesten levels up into the very presence of thefoul gods that they must destroy at thehighest bower. They know also that each ofthe gods has claimed personal dominionover three consecutive levels of the TOWER,though which god dwells in which levelsnone can know until the doors of the TOWERhave been opened.
www.dungeonoracle.comtower of the ascendantsRules of the towerTreasures and relicsTOWER OF THE ASCENDANTS has thefollowing special rules that differentiate itfrom other campaigns. Be sure to share allof these special rules with the players beforebeginning the campaign.In addition to gaining levels, the ascendantscan become more powerful by uncoveringthe many treasures and relics that lie withinthe TOWER. When the ascendants find atreasure cache, each player may draw arandom treasure card from the treasuredeck. Players may trade treasures with oneanother. Whenever an ascendant dies, allof his treasures as well as his mundane itemsare destroyed. All destroyed treasures areshuffled back into the treasure deck. Thelonger an ascendant survives in the TOWER,the more treasures he will acquire, and themore powerful he will become.Leveling upThe ascendants do not gain levels in thetypical fashion. Instead, levels can begained in two ways. First, ascendants gain alevel whenever they reach a new level ofthe TOWER. Levels gained in this way cannotbe lost through Death. (In other words, if theascendants are in the third level of theTOWER, they cannot be reduced belowlevel 3.) Ascendants can gain additionallevels by obtaining shards of true powerhidden and protected throughout theTOWER. Whenever the ascendants obtain ashard, they immediately gain 1 level, regainall lost HP, and regain 2 healing surges.deathWhenever an ascendant dies in the TOWER,a blaring of trumpets is heard, and a threeheaded, faceless angel of death arrives tobear the ascendant’s soul into the abyss,where there is great wailing and gnashing ofteeth. When an ascendant dies, she loses alltreasures and items she carries, though shedoes not lose any relics she carries (see“Treasures and Relics” below). The playermay spawn a new ascendant, reduced by1 level, who joins the party in 15 minutes ofreal time, or at the end of the currentcombat encounter.Relics are unique items that can be found atparticular locations in the TOWER. Somerelics are puzzle items, some are wondrousitems with unusual properties, and a smallfew are weapons of plane-shaking power.Keep relic cards separate from the treasuredeck, and distribute them only wheninstructed to do so. Relics are not destroyedupon the death of the ascendant carryingthem. Any relics carried by a deadascendant pass to the player to the left.ritualsThe ascendants may cast each ritual thatthey know once per day as a minor action.Components, reagents, and money are nottracked.Hell MODEIf the ascendants are especially arrogant intheir defiance of the Triumvirate, they may3make a pact to face the TOWER in hellmode. Hell mode features additional anddeadlier traps and monsters, extra abilitiesformonsters,andextradamagethroughout. Additionally, the campaignbegins with a total of only 80 ascendants.Should they all perish, the players lose theentire campaign. In the next campaign, theTriumvirate begins to invade the campaignworld.If, however, the ascendants reach the finallevel and slay the Triumvirate before the lastascendant dies, the ascendants consumethe slain bodies of the Triumvirate and gainomniscience. Each surviving player makes 1wish that will help shape the next campaignworld.RumorsThroughout the ages of tyranny, manyascendants have entered the TOWER. Andthough none have reached the highestlevel, a few have reemerged, forced toaccept defeat or driven mad by the horrorswithin. The stories change with eachretelling.At the beginning of the each level of theTOWER, each ascendant rolls a d8 andlearns the rumor of the rolled number. On aduplicate result, reroll. The ascendant alsolearns whether or not the rumor is reliable.Three of the four reliable rumors are true.One of the four unreliable rumors is true.Make the players aware of the odds of truthor falsity.
www.dungeonoracle.comtower of the ascendantsTOWER LEVEL 1:CATHEDRAL OF PLAGUESDungeon EnvironmentUnless otherwise noted, the Cathedral ofPlagues has the following features:Walls: Gothic cathedral arches, decoratedwith wrought iron sconces shaped aswithered arms (Athletics DC 12 to climb).Doors: Crumbling stone, carved withindistinct and weathered faces, unlocked.Floors: Rough-hewn triangular obsidianplates.Illumination: Dimly illuminated by torchesthat glow with a sickly light. Flesh thatapproaches the light appears diseased.RELIABLE RUMORS1: Golgothan, who rules the undead, hasbecome the sworn enemy of Ka’aire.5: In the shrine of the skull, one of thepetrified figures is false.6: The room of the slime-covered hornedskulls stands over a teleportation circle.8: If freed, the two-headed efreet will serveas a powerful ally when most needed.UNRELIABLE RUMORS2: The drink of the gods can be made bymixing gold dust, rose petals, and honey.3: The black ooze in the disintegratingpyramid is rendered inert by holy water.4: The gold door, opened with a corrodedkey, reveals the body of a dead god.7: One of the diamond medusa heads lies inthe stomach of the Thing in the pool of bile.4
www.dungeonoracle.comtower of the ascendantsThe ancient plague1. Triumvirate vestibuleEXPLORATIONAs the ascendants will soon learn, the firstthree levels of the TOWER are dominated byKa’aire, the Breath of Ruin. Many of thetraps and monsters in these first three levelsare infected with an ancient plague, whichleveled entire empires in the first days of theTriumvirate. The ancient plague works likeother diseases with the following exceptions.The ancient plague is fast-acting, meaningthat diseased ascendants must makeEndurance checks at the end of each restrather than just extended rests. Second, foreach point of infection that an ascendantreceives, she moves one stage further in thedisease’s progression.A representative of the Triumvirate cordiallywelcomes the ascendants to the TOWERthat will serve as their eternal tomb.Archways Each of the archways is identical to theothers. Those who draw close to the blank facesof the graven images of the angels canhear a faint whispering. Though thelanguage is a profane mixture of abyssaland supernal, those who listen canunderstand the words: “CHOOSE THE PATHTO THE GODS AND DEATH.” The halls of the entryways are bricked withthe cracked bones of humans. When theascendants walk through, a number of skullsfall from the wall, wailing warnings as theyfall. If touched, the bones dissolve into aswarm of locusts that fly out of the TOWER. Perception or Dungeoneering (DC 17) orclose inspection of the holes left by theskulls: In the recess left by one of the skulls isa crackling parchment scroll. It reads, “YOUARE WATCHED EVEN NOW. YOUR ACTIONSHAVE BEEN INSCRIBED IN HIGH PLACES.” Take note of which of the archways eachascendantentersthrough.Thiswilldetermine which door the ascendant maysafely open in Room 3. Ascendants may exitand reenter the TOWER to reset which doormay be safely opened in Room 3.Ancient PlagueDiseaseImprove Endurance DC 18 or betterWorsen Endurance DC 13 or lessFast ActingA creature affected by this disease mustmake an Endurance check at the end ofeach short and extended rest.StagesStage 0: REMISSION. The host is cured.Stage 1: INCUBATION. The host permanentlyloses 2 healing surges when first infected.Stage 2: FEVER. The host is weakened.Stage 3: TRANSMISION. Additionally, when thehost becomes bloodied or rolls a natural 1,adjacent allies must make a saving throw toavoid taking a point of infection.Stage 4: NECROSIS. Additionally, the host losesall resistances and cannot regain HP.Stage 5: DEATH. The host dies. All adjacentallies automatically take a point of infection.FEATURES OF THE ROOM Three open stone archways, flanked by thegraven images of faceless angels, lead intothe first level of the TOWER. The room is circumnavigated by a harsh,slanted script of an unknown language. Facing the center of the chamber, threegrotesque statues of priests hold iron boxes. A crumbling sword of brimstone thruststhrough the chest of one of the statues. Three closed doors lead out of thechamber.5Script of Unknown Language When an ascendant makes a check onthe script or attempts to read it, he takes apoint of infection. Religion or History (DC 17) or inspection byan ascendant who speaks draconic: Thescript is an ancient form of draconic.
www.dungeonoracle.com Religion or History (DC 19, must knowdraconic) or comprehend language ritual:The script reads: “OUT OF THE EAST RODE THEHORSEMEN OF PLAGUE, THE GLORIOUS RUINOF THE EMPIRES OF THE NORTH. GLORY WILLONCE AGAIN RIDE FROM THE EAST.”Priest Grotesques The grotesques depict three differentpriests, each holding a small iron box:1. A rakshasa priest, weeping tears ofwater. Painted on the box it holds is asymbol of a human body inscribed in acircle, inside-out and upside-down.2. A skeletal dragonborn priest, weepingtears of acid. Painted on the box it holdsis a symbol of a crumbling, obsidianpyramid.3. A succubus priestess, weeping tears ofblood. Painted on the box it holds is asymbol of an obelisk of stitched, undeadflesh, standing in a pool of blood. Asword of crumbling brimstone has beenthrust through this statue’s chest. Thesword, when touched, crumbles topieces. The iron boxes measure 10 inches per side.They have no lid, and cannot be opened. Arcana (DC 17): Indistinct magic radiatesfrom each of the boxes. An ascendant who inspects the undersideof the boxes discovers that they have nobottom
DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE, written by James Wyatt; and MONSTER MANUAL, written by Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert and James Wyatt; PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 2, written by Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, and James Wyatt; MONSTER MANUAL 2, written by Rob Heinsoo, and Chris Sims; Adventurer’s Vault, D&D 4E Game System License 2008, 2009 Wizards of the Coast written by
