Lords of the Cruth Lowlands - Vaults of Pandius

The Ruins of Achelos
The Vampire Lord
The identity of the Vampire that has taken
residence in the Achelos River Fort is
unknown. It is certainly a member of the
Koriszegy bloodline, and a moderately
powerful Magic User. If the party played
the Dymrak Dread campaign 21 , and Boris
Popescu survived, then he is the Vampire
Lord. Otherwise, this vampire is a different
character, who escaped Koriszegy’s control
earlier on.
The Vampire Lord is a standard 8 HD
Vampire, able to cast spells as a MU7. He
has the following salient powers: he can
create Ghouls and Elder Ghouls, and
controls these undead as if they had ½
their HD; and he suffers from blood rage,
as a consequence of the Koriszegy curse.
Due to the blood rage, the Vampire must
pass a Wisdom check (Wis 9) when taking
more than 12 HP from a single wound,
otherwise he goes berserk, attacking in
melee instead of using spells. Moreover,
the raging vampire focuses on a single
opponent (whoever damaged him),
pursuing and killing him by preference.
Key to the Vampire Lair
1. Stone Causeway: The keep is
connected to the mainland via a
stone bridge. Three row of 5
Skeletons each guard the passage.
Behind them, an Elder Ghoul acts
as their commander.
2. Main hall: This large hall is rarely
used for its original purpose, since
the Vampire Lord does not
entertain guests that often. It is
generally empty, though a servant
may pass from this area
occasionally. There is a hole under
the wooden dais which allows the
Vampire to pass in gaseous form
from the crypt to the throne.
3. Kitchen: Since the servants’
quarters are not accessible, the
Vampire Lord keeps his mortal
21
My version of the Dymrak Dread, not the
servants -- all enslaved by his
charm power -- in this room. There
are two NM, both Traladaran
women, here.
4. Garderobe: This area is used by
the servants as a storage room for
their own clothing.
5. Servants’ Quarters: The ceiling
collapsed over the servants’
quarters, filling them with rubble.
Since then, more rubble cleaned up
from the upper story has be
dropped in this room, so it is
possible to climb to and from area
13.
6. Pantry: The pantry is stocked for
the use of the Vampire Lord’s
human servants.
7. Trapdoor to Crypt: The door
leading to this room is relatively
well hidden (treat as a concealed
door), and the same is true for the
trapdoor on the floor, which is also
blocked from the inside.
8. Courtyard: The courtyard is
completely abandoned, except for
the well, which is still in use.
9. Secret hallway: This hallway is
covered in dust. No one has used it
since the times of the invasion.
10. Tower study: The study is
abandoned, but mostly intact. The
desk holds the diary of one of the
Achelos officers, which sheds some
light on the actual events in the
war (worth 50 gp to a collector
such as Malika Alharbia).
11. Jailer’s room: The Vampire Lord
has raised the old jailer as an Elder
Ghoul. However, the Vampire finds
the ghoul’s appearance offensive,
and has chained the jailer to the
wall opposite the door, so it cannot
leave the room.
12. Upstairs hall: There is a large hall
in the western wall where once was
the access to the balcony.
Moreover, the ceiling collapsed,
though most of the rubble has been
later removed by tossing it into
room 5.
original adventure!
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