The Jagged Tooth

The Jagged Tooth keep was a key setting of The Fox And Hare adventure that started my long fantasy role-play campaign of some years ago. Here I discuss that adventure and give a blow-by-blow description (complete with illustrations and floor plans) of the abandoned hill fort. This text can serve as a game module and I could even re-use it in future gaming. The adventure is for a party totalling a maximum of 20 experience levels (such as four characers each at fifth level). Beware! If you ever want to play it then consider skipping this entry.



Too Much Walking

As described here The Fox And Hare advenenture starts at the Welcome Inn. In The Lands that inn is located in the village of Overcrossing but I could always move the opening scenes closer to the action. My games have a tendency to go over-long and that is partly because I have characters walking from site to site. It is enriching to describe the experience of traversing rural landscapes but it can go to far. It takes a few days to go from Overcrossing to Roburg - capital of Rolania - and then another few days to the village of Muddy Gully in the Brethic Hills. Then the characters hike another day into the Dire Swamp to enter the Jagged Tooth. This could be too much walking.

I do feel that a well-rounded adventure includes the three classic settings of town and wilderness and dungeon. This adventure can still offer that with the following outline:

* The adventure starts at an inn located outside the city walls of Roburg. That evening (of whatever season seems apt) the adventurers (who could be strangers) gather and then meet the envoy that will entice the party into adventure. The famed bard Lura Flana could be visiting this inn from her own home inn and provide the necessary back-story of the Brethic Royal Dagger in an act of musical serendipity. However its implicit warnings are best glossed over. Short sense descriptions can be offered to help immerse players in the setting - this can include the diverting smells and tastes of a bustling tavern at night.

* The envoy is one Keelan the Halfling who acts as factotum for Ackerley The Sage. The next morning the slick-talking and street-wise Keelan can guide the party to the townhouse of his employer. That elderly scholar thinks he has pieced together a historic puzzle regarding the location of the long-lost Brethic Royal Dagger. He will pay them generously for retriving it and will provide them with the information they need to do just that.

* While they are talking something is watching them from outside the study window - It is a familiar (possibly an exciting one like a Homunculus or Mock Dragon) which flies away the moment anyone notices it. The intention of this encouter is to show that the lost artifact interests a number of actors and provide explanation of a later scene. Ackerley will say the spy serves his rival Roscoe (also a sage and mage) and it is vital they act quickly lest they become competitors in a race to find the Dagger.

* If they agree then the party can do some basic supply shopping (funded by Ackerley) and depart Roburg by lunchtime with the maps and advice they need. Keelan may accompany them to ensure they get to Muddy Gully. The journey is punctuated by camping under stars. Or sometimes there are wayfarer cabins (former woodcutter constructions that are now maintained by the state and which travellers keep stocked with donations of preserved foods). For an extra cost the journey can be shortened by taking a River Rolling beaver-drawn barge some of the way. As they travel the characters can share tales of past adventures.

* The party will pass a border toll house. Here they will be observed by a well-armed Paladin (who Keelan may recognize as the stern Madame Greer of Elmshire). As the meadows of Rolania cede to the rugged Brethic Hills they could discuss the differences between the Eriman and Brethic kin. If the players seem itching for action then in the hills they can be accosted by a small gang of bandits. They should best these with scant effort.

* By nightfall they will arrive in the vale and village of Muddy Gully. I originally located an inn here but the backwardness of the locale could be communicated by saying that the village elder Brewster has some room for visitors in his house. He enjoys cooking and will offer grilled mushrooms on toast, pond cress and pinenut salad, and roast parsnip with cottage cheese. The party know they must spend the next day in Muddy Gully so they can be at the local hilltop stone circle at sunset. That night they can have separate dreams relevant to the backstory or aspirations of each character but also united by a shared vision of a shadowy figure on a hillside staring at them.

* In the morning the adventurers and Keelan can pass the time wandering the small community and admiring its chalk hill carving of the Fox. This day could be an excuse to incorporate other games into this role-play game involving cards or dice or chess pieces. Villagers inform them that events are never held at the stone circle at dusk or dawn - a local practice at odds with usual Druidic custom. At dusk they visit the stone circle and witness the setting Sun silhouette the location of a stony formation on a distant hilltop beyond the chalk carvings on closer slopes. However they are also visited by the local Druid. The careworn and sombre Kendra warns them that they court doom if they decide to follow that path. Her distortion of standard religous practice (having practically abandoned her commitments to the villagers) can serve to negate such warning in the minds of the party.

The Dire Swamp

One could even start the adventure in Muddy Gully with the adventurers already having accepted their mission (a few flashback scenes could be informative and some players even enjoy reciting prepared dialogue). A progression of Muddy Gully then Dire Swamp then Jagged Tooth Keep could serve as a sampler of town - wilderness - dungeon and be inserted with small changes into any fantasy setting (the Dagger for instance could be a wholly distinct Celtic fantasy device rather than the fragment of an even more ancient Proto-Germanic one) using rules other than mine. But on with the quest as it plays out in The Lands:

* The party can set off the next morning. Keelan however will depart for work back in Roburg. They take a path from the vale of Muddy Gully to another narrow vale that is filled with wild foliage and strewn with boulders. Here they see the somewhat neglected chalk hill carving of the Hare. Following a few hours of hiking they abandon paths for a climb into the next and usually overlooked valley. As they do so they feel as if someone is watching them.

* The next valley is different from others - it is a circular basin filled with the marshes of the Dire Swamp. In its centre is a low yet steep hillock on which sits the Jagged Tooth keep. The wetlands are effectively a natural maze. Muddy pathways wind between stands of matted grasses and vines and are criss-crossed by tiny backwaters. Everything is damp and the atmosphere seems oppressive. Here they will finally meet monsters!

* The party will encounter a few wafting Will-O-Wisp. If they follow the misty glowing spheres they will be lead to a sunlit waterside clearing. The pool is mostly lined with reeds but under a willow tree the characters can easily access the water. At the far side is a pile of boulders and careful observation will suggest that the water flows towards it. Anyone getting too close to the water will be startled by a Freshwater Troll seeking to grasp and pull them underwater while the energy-scavenging wisps patiently await the moment of death. Whether the wisps partake in combat depends on how challenging one wishes the encounter to be.

* If the party slay the Troll they may then discover that a semi-waterlogged cave hides among the boulders. For extra challenge and revulsion they can encounter clusters of rubbery eggs that may hatch into ravenous trollish tadpoles. A natural stone shelf at the far end of the cave is above the normal water line and here the bones of past victims can be found along with their lost possessions. This could be a chance for the party to get some useful items (Holy Water will be a boon later on).

* It will take hours but finally the party will reach the hillock. On its sides grow pine trees and small ferns. They may momentarily be surprised by what looks like a squirrel with small horns. As they climb the hill the sense they are observed will return. Eventually they will meet Kendra but something is different about her. The maverick Druid demands they turn back or she will force them back. If combat occurs then she will throw off her robes to expose an artful infestation of parasitic Mistletoe has granted her extra limbs with which to fight. The Druid is also assisted by other Mistletoe that detach from the trees to try and graft themselves to the traspassers. Kendra is bound by an inherited oath to prevent anyone reaching the Jagged Tooth, is resistant to negotiation, and will fight to the death.



The Jagged Tooth

The top of the hillock is cloven by a narrow crevice. On the closer side is a gatehouse. On the further side is a walled yard and the keep itself. A draw bridge crossing the crevice collapsed long ago but this is a scant barrier to inventive adventurers. The whole thing is very apparently long-past its prime and yet in amazing condition if one considers it has been standing for almost two millenia. Its design is similar to far more recent structures and possibly even influenced them. Such musings may only cross the minds of historically-minded adventurers. Others will be far more interested simply in the lie of the land.



Characters can use the upper level of the gatehouse to camp in or store items. There is nothing of danger here but they may feel a sense of cold shivers from looking across to the keep. What they cannot yet see is what is on each level of this ancient complex. But we can.



My hastily drawn cross-section was arbitrarily numbered from top to bottom - ten levels from watch tower to caves in the hillside. In practice characters will most likely enter the keep at level six - the great hall - and then move up or down from there. However the objective they seek can best be accessed by travelling all the way up and then down. Here are the functions of each level:

1. Watch Tower - sits atop the furthest north-west corner turret of the keep. This turret houses a secret stairway that can only be accessed from the private floor (top) or the crypts (bottom).

2. Private Level - this level includes a solar, a study and a royal bedroom. The solar (a shared living area for solitary and relaxing past-times) is now partly exposed to the elements by collapsed walls in the north-east corner. This level is accessed from below by the south-east turret.

3. Guest Level - this level includes corridors accessing four guest rooms. The north-east corner is exposed to the elements. This level is accessed by south-west and south-east turrets.

4. Banquet Level - this level includes an l-shaped banquet hall and a kitchen. It is accessed by both north-east and south-west turrets.

5. Balcony Level - this is simply a balcony running around the walls of the twice-tall grand hall. There was a platform for minstels in the north-west corner. Part of the walkway is collapsed on the eastern wall and other parts may be at risk of future collapse. It is accessed by both south-west and north-east turrets. At this same elevation are also the tops of the yard wall turrets but they are of zero interest.



6. The Great Hall - This room occupies the entire floor area (25 yards square minus wall thickness). It is lined with columns supporting the balcony level. In the north-west corner is a somewhat raised platform on which a timber throne decays. This floor accesses other levels via the north-east and south-west turret spiral staircases. It is entered via broken double doors and external steps at the south-east. Narrow windows bring wan light into this shadowy space as they do on other floors above. At this same elevation is the few rooms of the upper level of the gatehouse with its drawbridge mechanisms turning to rust and sawdust.

7. The Basement - This floor is in fact level with the walled yard and gatehouse entry way. However it is the keep foundations and accessed from the grand hall above it. It includes cellers for storing food (long-since decayed) and what were once servant quarters. There is also a well in the south-west corner which draws on water from caverns below. It is accessed via north-east and south-east turrets. The walls are thicker at this level. In the yard are a few scattered bones and stonework and the southern wall is collapsing.

8. The Dungeon - This floor was once locked away but now anyone can push past its iron gates to discover guard room and cells for onetime prisoners. There is evidence of ancient punishment and death in its detritus. It is accessed via the south-east turret spiral stairs which are centred on its southern wall.

9. The Crypts - This hidden level can only be accessed in two ways. One is via the long spiral way of the private turret of the watch tower. The other is via a rambling fissure to the natural caverns also located in the hillock. There are three chambers here. The oldest is lined with irregularly fitted stones while the newest is lined with precicely hewn blocks. Thus the three generations of tombs show both degrees of age and technical advancement.

10. The Caverns - These natural caverns include a pond from which the well-water was once drawn. They can also be accessed from a fissure connecting to the crypts. Furthermore they connect to a tunnel opening onto the crevice far below the gatehouse and another opening onto the steep vegetation-shroud western hillside.



The Encounters And Puzzles of The Jagged Tooth

The levels were described from top to bottom as per those sketches. Here however the adventurous elements of the keep will be described in a likely narrative sequence. Of course players have a way of messing with such order but this is the most optimal path:

* In the Great Hall is a peculiar fungal growth - a Growler - and if one gets within a yard of it the slowly-moving life-form will emit a buzzing vibration. This will in turn attract the attention of a Troll which spends its time wandering between the cavern pool and the keep via the old well shaft (or if we are sick of those amphibious monsters then maybe Kendra enticed a small family of Goblins to occupy the lower floors).

* It is here that description should start to make it apparent that the north-west turret cannot be accessed level after level. Is there something important in this architectural peculiarity?

* The party suspect that the Dagger will be among grave items and so it makes sense to work downwards. They find nothing of much interest in the Basement but in a Dungeon cell something is scawled in the old Brethic mode. Those understanding it will read "you gotta get up to get down" and can ponder this message.

* On the Balcony above the Great Hall are some fading and fraying textile wall-hangings. How do these still exist at all? Some show hunting scenes or members of this ancient court. One shows an even older timber-framed keep that the party can suppose once occupied this site in the days of Lord Brennan.



* As the party climb the north-east turret to the Banquet Hall they will be startled to hear raucous conversation and astounded to find a banquet in full-swing! A score or more revellers are quaffing drinks and ripping into foodstuffs. It is as if the adventurers have stepped into the time in which this keep was inhabited. At the head of the table sits a haughty and regal woman who will ask the party to honour her by partaking in merriment. Here an ancient and permanent illusion (third level) combined with a joy enchantment (first level) entices visitors to consume imaginary food and drink while engaging in talk of daring deeds in the presence of Lady Fenella. Anyone can try their luck at resisting this Bardic magic and keep trying. Overcoming the spell is like focusing past the reflection in a window pane to the scene beyond it. Some never bother as is evidenced by skeletons occupying a few of the positions of seeming revellers.

* In the corridors accessing the Guest rooms wanders a Gelatinous Mass with assorted rodent and bird bones embedded inside it. A dagger within the jelly cell colony will momentarily excite the party but it is evidently nothing of any value or importance. However the creature will consider the party food and they will have to contend with it.

* In the Private solar a trap has been set (possibly by Kendra). A trip-wire extends from a loom to a statue of Lord Galvin. If triggered the loom will fire arrows at anyone walking towards the study. They may even be toxic.

* Beyond the study is the bedroom and in its fireplace a fire still flickers! This is yet another ancient illusion (keen observers will notice the firelight cast is more garish pink than warming amber) and if disbelieved the party can find that behind it is access to the Watch Tower. Its sprial stairs allow descent far below to what the party seek.

* The Crypts house three tomb chambers. The first holds only the crumbling bones of Brennan. The second holds the mummified corpse of his daughter Fenella. The third is home still to the Wraith of her son the despotic Galvin whose phantasmal eyes now glare with a jarring pale blue light. He wafts above his tomb and directs one or two Wight minions to attack the party. He taunts them that if they slay his followers they may then be worthy to replace them as his servitors in eternity. The Wraith may even enter the fray with its life-sucking kiss. If they vanquish these Undead they will find the Brethic Royal Dagger in his tomb among decaying armour and finery.

* Parts of the connecting Caverns are home to clusters of Cavern Conches making it difficult to pass safely.

An Ending Or Continuation?

Once they retrieve the Dagger they may experience odd whispered notions of how wonderful it would be to keep for themselves. Nonetheless they will wish to depart the Jagged Tooth Keep and Dire Swamp and can do so by back-tracking. If they look back from the hills overlooking the marshy basin they will see the ancient fortress crumbling as if it has suddenly been freed to experience the embrace of passing time.

Back in Muddy Gully they will find other visitors to the village. Keelan is there in the company of Madam Greer and her small retinue of troops. They have sturdy tents so Brewster can still offer room to the party. Keelan has a tale to tell of his own. One night Ackerley and his arch-rival Roscoe clashed on the rooftops of Roburg in a nasty but somewhat inept spell-slinging duel which drew the attention of the City Guard. It transpired that the mages had been fighting over information on the Dagger and soon the Protector of Rolania himself was interrogating them. The state has an historic and political interest in the artifact and has undertaken to pay the party everything they had been offered for its possession. Greer can remunerate them now and Keelan suggests it is an excellent offer.

It is for the party to decide what to do next. If they hand over the Dagger they will be well-rewarded and free to do whatever they wish. There the adventure will end. However they are yet to even say that they successfully took it from the Jagged Tooth. An alternative is for them to try and keep the fateful relic and become fugitives from Rolanian authority. What fate they choose only the players can decide (but either way they may now advance a level).