Rappan Athuk
Despite its enormous size and complexity, the dungeon known as Rappan Athuk, or the Dungeon of Graves in some vernacular, is a relative newcomer to Akados. Not coincidentally, the massive complex sprang up in the same general locale where the demonic minions of Orcus and the Army of Light vanished more than 300 years ago — the Forest of Hope. The disciples of Orcus who survived the battle against the forces of good came upon an isolated hillside that concealed a vast network of subterranean tunnels and chambers. They secretly began construction in earnest and repopulated the dank underground complex with hordes of demons, undead, and other evil monstrosities. For almost two centuries, the demon prince’s servants covertly toiled in the darkness until 3400 I.R., when Thyr’s high priest Bofred and his companions came upon the hidden entrance to a gargantuan mausoleum while investigating a rash of disappearances in the area. What he and his fellow adventurers saw in the labyrinth terrified him. Rappan Athuk’s seemingly infinite layers of forbidden temples, crypts, tombs, and other horrors reminded him of the sinister Abyss where the fiendish Orcus and countless other demons revel in wanton bloodlust. Although some of Bofred’s companions survived their trek into Rappan Athuk, they never set eyes on the priest of Thyr again. He was presumably lost somewhere in the catacombs within the cursed mausoleum.
Over the next century, the brave adventurers who journeyed to Rappan Athuk realized Bofred had found just one of many entrances into the Dungeon of Graves. Since then, numerous other adventurers have delved into the labyrinth seeking glory and riches or in pursuit of a nobler goal to rid the world of this terrible blight forever. Many have tried their luck in this endeavor, yet most failed in their quest, adding their name to the dungeon’s innumerable list of victims. Those who survived the harrowing trek escaped with something perhaps more valuable than treasure: knowledge. Much to their dismay, they also discovered that the evil beacon lured numerous other sinister creatures into its disgusting embrace. The devotees of Tsathogga, the Frog God, slowly and steadily infiltrated the sprawling complex along with a host of other insidious beings from this plane of existence and from other worlds. To make matters worse, a handful of daring souls who ventured far into its depths also learned stranger, alien worlds existed in the bowels of the earth far beneath the desecrated cemetery.
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