Chathold

The Ruins of Chathold

The horrors of this place are as dire as any found in all of Medegia, with its deranged and maddened souls. Chathold suffered such a rain of fire, acid, and lightning as has not been seen since the Invoked Devastation itself. Mists, fogs, poisonous gases, and palls of smoke still loom in and over the burned-out ruins of the city, and soul-rending howls can be heard by day or night.

All manner of evils have been drawn to this nightmare place. Fiends and orcs prowl and roam, but they have almost passed beyond Szeffrin's reach or even that of Pazrael (in the case of fiends). Acolytes of Nerull have been drawn here, breathing in the redolent stench of death and massacre like a delicate perfume. Bony, black robed priests of Incabulos pick over the ruins, their grim master smiling on the putrescine undead they have animated from the thousands of corpses to be found here. These creatures prowl the city ruins, and they maraud as far south as the line held by the citadel at Goldbolt. The orcs, other humanoids, and wretched bandits of Aerdy who live in those southeastern lands seem afflicted by the evil emanating from Chathold itself. They appear almost deranged, driven on by some inner madness, reckless and careless of death.

Indeed, Chathold has taken on a magical aura all of its own. The sheer magnitude of the destruction and slaugh ter in this city has generated powerful magical effects. All malign (reversed) necromantic spells are saved against with a -4 penalty here. Undead are turned as if the priest was six levels lower than his normal experience level. Reversed healing spells always inflict maximum damage. For example, a cause light wounds spell thus causes 8 points of damage. There are also a number of special magical effects which apply to particular spells; e.g., speak with dead has a 50% chance (less 1% per point of Wisdom of the spellcaster) of sending the querying cleric immediately insane. The DM should modify other spell effects to reflect these general themes as appropriate. Chathold's ruins most certainly contain many lost treas ures. The aim of those who destroyed this city was simply to lay waste to everything they could find, not to loot anything. The overking's troops and mages had no thought of retrieving relics from the cathedrals of good aligned powers.

However, the horrors of this place have turned the hair of the few to have entered here white overnight. If an adventure is to be played here, this place must be presented as ghastly. For example, the ruins of this city assail the senses of any entering with a frightful intensity of impactful horror. More than 5,000 people perished in the Day of Dust, and their physical and spiritual remains haunt these ruins. Adventurers entering Chathold's ruins embark on the aftermath of an apocalypse.