Necropolis of Pergia

An Adventure for 5th-7th Level Characters

Thousands of years ago the area now known as the Wastes of Torenta was ruled by a powerful kingdom. Almost nothing is now left of that race, save for a few crumbling, blasted ruins. Even its memory is all but lost. Legend--and a few remaining artifacts--tell that the rulers of this kingdom were a race of minotaurs, though if that's true they were almost certainly a breed more intelligent and social than those that remain in this era.

It would seem that the wastes were not always the desolate and barren place they have become, for the ruins of the lost kingdom are scattered far and wide over leagues of desert and arid steppes. And though most of the lost kingdom's ruins contain little beyond a few crumbling walls and toppled columns, some also contain worn fragments of forgotten monuments and great statuary.

Among these desolate and generally ignored ruins, one stands out. It can be found at the edge of the Pergia highlands in a narrow gorge leading to a sinkhole--a wide pit descending deep into the barren stone. Some say that a mystic power can still be sensed at this site and, on occasion, it is still sought out by spellcasters looking for a site of power in which to perform complex or powerful rituals. The denizens of the lost kingdom apparently held the site in some reverence, for they chose it as a burial place for the greatest among them. The walls of the gorge are pitted with the tombs and crypts of these heroes from a forgotten age.

This necropolis has long been a magnet for adventurers and treasure-seekers, though over the centuries these visitors have picked the complex bare of its valuables. Indeed, it is now attractive mainly to those scholars seeking to glean bits of information about this ancient culture--or those following vain and foolish rumors--for all the great treasures of the site are as gone and forgotten as the ancient kings and priests of the lost kingdom.

Or are they?

There remain pervasive rumors of lost or hidden crypts, of tombs within tombs that have never been discovered. Could such chambers contain the true wealth of the once-mighty lost kingdom? The PCs come to the necropolis following one such rumor, but one that just happens to contain a grain of truth and may allow the group to stumble into more than they ever expect.

Ancient History

The true history of the Necropolis of Pergia begins thousands of years before even the lost kingdom. Beneath the necropolis, beneath the sinkhole, far down in the earth, lies a series of fissures in the veil that separates the natural world from the Realm of Echoes. Ripples in the fabric of reality around these fissures create faint eddies of supernatural power that lend a subtle mystic aura to the area--an aura that has made the site a place of importance for successive civilizations over the course of aeons. It would certainly continue to be so today if the growth of the Torenta Wastes hadn't made the location so inhospitable and far away from the hubs of modern civilization.

Before the lost kingdom of the minotaurs, another race built its mystic structures upon this site, developing a temple complex within the sinkhole. Realizing the source of the supernatural eddies lay further underground, these precursors dug shafts and mines down toward the fissures, ultimately reaching them--and then disappearing, perhaps having been destroyed by what they found.

These tunnels and passageways were forgotten in the era of the lost kingdom, laying unused beneath the feet--and the tombs--of the minotaurs. For the most part, the minotaurs centered their activity around the lip of the sinkhole, which became the site of a holy oracle. By the end of the minotaur kingdom, even rumors of the passageways had died out, and the world truly forgot them.

Modern Times

In recent years two forces have returned activity to the site.

First, a new oracle has returned to the sinkhole--an insane ogre hermit. This unusual creature now lives in the heart of the necropolis, where she communes with the voice of the sinkhole for reasons known only to her, if indeed even she truly understands them.

But that is not all. A group calling itself the Blind Cabal has been investigating the chambers deep below the sinkhole, drawing upon the power of the rift and the Realm of Echoes. The Blind Cabal has a plan and, should it come to fruition, it might unleash upon the world the same dark forces that brought an untimely end to the lost kingdom of the minotaurs, the precursors before them, and perhaps an untold number of other civilizations back through the course of antiquity.

Getting Started

What has drawn the PCs to the Necropolis of Pergia? One way or another, it should center around a document (see the handout) that tells them the following:

It is written of Garlenthatir, the greatest of the minotaur kings, that the key to his lost tomb lies in onyx and pearl. Bear such treasures to his crypt and they shall admit you to his great rewards, which have ever been sought but never found!

There are any number of ways that the PCs can gain this document. To make a smooth transition where, hopefully, the PCs decide on their own that they want to explore the necropolis, use one of the following options (or a method of your devising) to insert the document into an earlier adventure.

* The parchment is mixed in with a treasure hoard.
* The heroes win the parchment in a game of chance.
* The parchment is discovered hidden within the binding of a book in which the heroes are doing research.
* An employer attempts to pass the parchment to the heroes in lieu of a payment owed, claiming it is worth far more than their fee.
* The parchment is the McGuffin in an earlier adventure; a mysterious item that several parties are seeking. Its nature and content is only discovered when the heroes finally win it.

Researching the Necropolis: Characters may wish to learn a bit about the necropolis before deciding to act upon their clue. What they find out depends on the depth of their research and the resources at their disposal.

Basic information can be found through a number of means, including common rumors, the use of Diplomacy to gather information (if it is available), or a Knowledge (history) check (DC 20). Basic information includes the location of the necropolis, along with the following:

* There was once an ancient kingdom of minotaurs, but it was forgotten after being swallowed up by the Wastes of Torenta a thousand years ago.
* The necropolis is a deep gorge with tombs in the walls. The tombs used to be filled with fabulous wealth, but they've long ago been completely looted.
* There are always rumors of "hidden" tombs containing greater wealth, but nothing new has been found in centuries. Only a fool would believe such rumors.
* The area around the necropolis is some sort of mystical junction--arcanists sometime seek out the strange powers of the region.
* Like most wilderness areas, the necropolis is home to strange and dangerous creatures.

Greater detail can be found through more thorough research, including Knowledge (history) checks hitting DC 25:

* Garlenthatir was the greatest of the minotaur kings.
* The necropolis was built at the site of a sacred shrine and oracle, revered by the minotaurs.
* One would expect the key to entering Garlenthatir's tomb to be leaving tribute of value commensurate with his stature--an onyx or pearl worth several hundred gold pieces at least would be needed.

Advanced results might be determined via a legend lore spell or similar effect, or a DC 30 Knowledge (history) check:

* Garlenthatir believed he was descended from the original minotaur, the child of the goddess of day and the god of the night.
* The oracle site is in a deep sinkhole. It was a sacred site not just to the minotaurs, but to races and civilizations that preceded them as well.

There are 40 encounters in The Necropolis of Pergia.

There are no random encounters in The Necropolis of Pergia.

Click here for a map of the Necropolis.

Recent Articles

45. Kruushk the Bringer (EL varies): In defeating the Blind Cabal's plans, the PCs have earned the eternal wrath of a powerful wizard who is both cruel and insane.

44. Assault on Dell Farthing (EL varies): The Blind Cabal's assault of Dell Farthing is a deadly certainty. Do the PCs have what it takes to alter the course of the battle?

43. The Army of Horrors (EL varies): Kruushk prepares to carry out the Blind Cabal's next terrible assault. Do the PCs have what it takes to even slow him down?

42. Dell Farthing (EL varies): Seems like the Lord of Carisford Vale ought to be concerned about the goings-on in Carisford--but he has other things on his mind.

41. The Burned Church: The village of Carisford has long born the brunt of the Blind Cabal's wrongdoing. Recently things have taken a turn for the worse.

Slaves, Prisoners, and Gillcutter: With all these NPCs potentially offering information and even advice, there are many ways in which the PCs might enlist their aid. Here's a bit more information on what they various characters know.

40. The Haunted Watchtower (EL 6): The entrance to the Blind Cabal's asylum is hidden within an ancient ruin. But, secret as it is, surely they wouldn't leave it unguarded, would they?

39. The Heedren Pits (EL varies): In a vast chamber the Blind Cabal is growing an army of terrible heedrens.

38. Experimentation Chamber (EL 4): It is in this huge chamber that the Blind Cabal conducts its mysterious--not to mention gruesome--work.

37. The Prison (EL varies): A set of rusty iron cages dangles over a deep, water-filled pit. What do they contain--and what plans do the Blind Cabal have for their contents?

36. The Walkway (EL 6): At the entrance to the Blind Cabal's inner sanctum, the corridor narrows, with deep pits to either side. What's down there?

35. Garlenthatir's Legacy (EL 7): The treasure of the ancient minotaur king is finally in sight. But what is this horror that lies before it?

34. The Grand Hall (EL 8): The grand hall, once the hub of a thriving complex, now stands unused and apparently empty. But in the dark, unnatural eyes watch all who come and go.

33. The Slave Holds (EL 7): Here, in dank tunnels beneath the Blind Cabal's cthonian chambers, their slaves live in squalor--but they are not alone.

32. The Front Door (EL 4): A staircase leads to a curtain of mist. What's on the other side--and can the PCs survive long enough to find out?

The Blind Cabal: The Blind Cabal is a small confederation of clerics and magic-users driven by zealotry for their obscure cult and a lust for temporal power. Having spiraled into madness by contact with the Realm of Echoes, the cabal has discovered the ancient temple complex beneath the Necropolis of Pergia and that complex's access to the rifts far below it, and intends to exploit the rifts to unleash an army of monstrosities upon the world in a bid not just to seize power, but also, ultimately, to reshape reality within this corner of the Material Plane.

31. The Forge (EL 7): This fiery chamber guards the entrance to and from the Blind Cabal's underground lair.

30. The Heedren Barn (EL 7): From here the Blind Cabal keeps watch over its domain--and unleashes the brutal terror of its heedrens.

29. The Kitchen (EL 5): Something's cooking in the kitchen--and that isn't necessarily good news.

28. Garlenthatir's Mummy: A narrow tunnel is the lair of something small and mischievous--a something that holds the key to returning Garlenthatir's mummy to its tomb.

27. The Garbage Chute (EL 8): A large cavern is dominated by the foul, pestilent detritus of the Blind Cabal. The terrible compost writhes and seethes with giant maggots and worms--and perhaps something even more dangerous.

26. The Wet Gleam of a Hundred Red Eyes (EL 4): In this room, isolated and secure behind a wall of subterranean challenges, something has been spawning ... and spawning ... and spawning.

25. The Trophy Chamber (EL 7): An inky underwater pool is surrounded by polished skulls. The question is, who--or what--put them there?

24. The Dark Warren (EL 6): The PCs reach a warren of twisting passages from which echoes the soft, wet sounds of flesh being torn and consumed.

23. A Watery Passage (EL 5): A junction in the narrow, twisting passageways is filled with chest-deep water--still, silent, and black.

22. Ten Slimy Fingers of Death (EL 4): A large cavern contains another of the Blind Cabal's horrors--but is all as it seems?

21. The Shaft (EL 5): From a small chamber, a shaft descends into darkness. Is that a glint of light below, or the motion of water? Or maybe just motion?

20. The Prisoner: In a side chamber, an insane prisoner awaits his fate at the hands of the Blind Cabal.

19. The Feeding Chambers (EL 5): A series of chambers stores fodder for the ooze farm.

18. The Ooze Corral (EL varies): A breeding ground for unearthly creatures--and perhaps a crafty acolyte--create a deadly trap for the PCs.

Necropolis of Pergia Map - Abomination Pits: A map of the Abomination Pits in the Necropolis of Pergia.

Heedren (CR 3): This enormous creature, nearly as broad in the shoulders as it is tall, is characterized by a single huge eyeball where its head should be, one arm that is massively larger than the other, and the meat-red coloration of its huge muscles, which don't seem to be covered in skin.

17. The Storeroom (EL 7): A storeroom carved from a natural cavern is the scene of the PCs' first encounter with the Blind Cabal--and their horrid servants.

16. Altar of the Oracle (EL 4): The altar chamber of Garlenthatir's inner tomb has a lot in common with the oracle's sinkhole. Will the PCs notice and, if so, will they think to be on the lookout for similar horrors lurking in the darkness?

15. The Treasure Vault: This is what the PCs have come for--the centuries-old resting place of Garlenthatir's funereal wealth.

14. Garlenthatir (EL 5): A long-forgotten secret passageway leads the PCs to a simple tomb hidden behind the riches and ostentation of Garlenthatir's crypt.

13. The Golden Tomb (EL 7): The PCs enter a grand tomb holding the mummified remains of a powerful minotaur and the riches of an ancient kingdom's greatest leader--or does it?

12. The Fourteen Kings (EL 8): To enter Garlenthatir's tomb, the PCs must go down a passageway lined with detailed likenesses of fourteen rulers of the ancient minotaur kingdom.

Necropolis of Pergia Map - Inner Tomb: A map of the Garlenthatir's tomb in the Necropolis of Pergia.

11. The Antechamber (EL 6): The first chamber of Garlenthatir's inner tomb provides just a taste of the riches--and dangers--that lie deeper within.