Lords of the Cruth Lowlands - Vaults of Pandius

Adventuring in the Lowlands
of the city is under Karameikan control,
giving access to the Stoyanov Library, the
Graveyard, and Castle Ivanovich. However,
the last part of the regalia will be found
much further, in the ancient Nithian and
Hutaakan ruins marked by the Obelisk.
This will also raise some questions about
the relation between Chardastes and the
Hutaakans, which may have some major
implications on the cult of Chardastes itself
and its role within the Church of Traladara,
should the nature of the Traladaran healer
as the reincarnation of an ancient
Hutaakan priest-king be revealed.
The Undead Menace
This plotline is driven by the conflict
between a Vampire Lord and the Sons of
Night. The Vampire Lord, an escaped
descendant of Count Koriszegy, is trying to
establish a power base in the ruins of
Achelos, animating a large number of
corpses as Ghouls, Zombies and Skeletons.
The Sons of Night have sent one of their
Darkers to combat this threat.
The unusual undead activity will lead the
Karameikan leadership to send the party to
the Old Graveyard to investigate. The PCs
have the opportunity to help the Darker
and find out more about the undead
menace, and then confront the Vampire
Lord in his refuge in the River Keep.
This will open the way to the exploration of
the Tomb of the Achelos Kings in the Old
Graveyard (see the Regalia of Achelos plot
thread), as well as putting the party on the
trail of the Sons of Night and their base
under Kosti Kopec.
The Upper Achelos
This plotline starts after one of the key
(perceived) threats against Nova Achelos
has been removed. Ideally, this would be
the Sons of Night, but the plot can work
with the Achelos Outlaws or even Akhriin.
In any case, the Hill Giants will find it
easier to raid south of their steading,
leading to conflicts with the humans. After
a few prospectors or hunting parties have
been attacked, Lord Kaerin Penhaligon will
set a bounty on the Hill Giant chief.
If the party manages to defeat the Hill
Giants, they will gain information on the
lost dwarven mine of Kurest Hurgon. They
can then mount an expedition to save the
dwarves, and perhaps open a new trade
route.
The Turnwood
The last plot line does not depend on the
Colonization thread, so it can be
introduced at any point if the party is
losing focus.
The plot is initiated by the Loggers' Guild,
who are having problems in their eastern
Riverfork Woods operation – logger parties
are being attacked by woodland creatures,
some loggers have disappeared outright,
and a disproportionate number of
accidents are happening in the logging
camps.
The party is hired to investigate, and can
discover that the root of the loggers'
problems are the inhabitants of the Fey
Mound, who resent the loggers' intrusion in
their woods.
This can lead to a peaceful solution, or to
an escalation of the hostilities. In the
former case, the PCs are asked to broker a
compromise with the Loggers' Guild, as
well as to flush a bandit gang hiding in the
Dwarven Ruins. In the latter case, the
party will have to face not only the wee
folk, but also the werewolves of the
Riverfork Woods and the Lindenelm clan.
In any case, removing the Fey Mound as
an obstacle to the exploration of the
Riverfork Woods will lead the party to
discover the Turnwood, a high magic point
that is locked down by powerful wards and
contended by powerful magic-using
beings.
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