The City of Devil's Hook, Part I: The Place

The City of Devil's Hook

The City of Devil's Hook is the largest city of the Cinderlands, the vast volcanic plain created by Mount Avernus, the colossal volcano which overlooks the entire city. The city is named for the massive black basalt cliffs that lead down from the main part of the city, or Hightown, to the port facilities, or Lowtown, upon which are several large jutting rocks, some of which distinctly resemble hooks. These hooks have been the traditional resting place of traitors and other odious criminals, impaled on spikes upon these outcroppings. The hooks are also occasionally bathed in the blood of suicides who fall from Hightown, nearly eight hundred feet up, onto the flats of Lowtown. 

Being possessed of the finest harbour for hundreds of miles around, the city of Devil's Hook has grown enormously in the last few centuries, swollen by refugees from the fallen Septiman Empire and from the mysterious calamities overtaking the Northlands. While this has helped the city become one of the greatest in the world, it has also resulted in seething religious tension. The followers of the Exiled Father do not coexist easily with the Lords of the Nine, nor dwarves, elves and halfmen with the human majority. In a generation, the urban population of Devil's Hook has more than doubled, from about 80,000 to about 200,000. 

The King in Crimson, Lord of the Nine Hells. Most-worshipped deity in Devil's Hook. 

The All-Father. Odin the Exile. A close second. 

Devil's Hook is best thought of as a city in three parts- two primarily urban and one primarily rural. Hightown is where the wealthy elite of the city live, where most of the great temples are located and the most elite markets. Though Hightown is surpassingly luxurious, it is not spacious- only the Grand Prince and his family live in a sizeable villa, with the rest of the elite crowded in well-appointed but modest townhouses. The Palatine Fortress is indeed an impressive structure though. There is a massive cave system which can be accessed from Hightown, which is rumored to be a tunnel to the Burning Lands themselves.  

Hightown is connected by an ingenious series of lifts with the teeming, ever-growing urban mass of Lowtown, where more than four-fifths of the population live, cheek by jowl. Most people live in rickety tenements four or five floors high, with some of the newer buildings reaching heights of nine or ten stories. Criminality and vice is rampant throughout much of Lowtown. The Thieves' Guild of Devil's Hook is a major power in the city, controlling not only thieving rings, but smugglers and all manner of other vices. Most of the seedy inns and taverns where adventurers frequent are to be located in Lowtown, with the Dead Dog, the Saucy Wench and the Devil's Chain three of the most notorious taverns. Lowtown is also, however, the nexus of perhaps the most important port city in the West. 

One of the Shipyards of Lowtown

On the other side of the titanic cliff which separates Hightown from Lowtown is a sprawling series of small fortified villages around which are great fields of grain, wine and other agricultural goods. The volcanic ash which is regularly belched forth from Avernus is an inconvenience to the rich nobles in Hightown but a titanic boon to Devil's Hook overall, as it ensures a fertile land. These agricultural lands are protected by another series of high mountains, which are augmented by large castles astride the two primary passes. As on the other side of those mountains is a vast burning desert, this ensures both Devil's Hook's security and self-sufficiency in the case of siege.

The city is ruled by the House of Varrus, a powerful and ancient family line of Septiman descent which left the ailing Empire about a century ago and come to Devil's Hook at the head of a mercenary army, many of whom were absorbed into the Devil's Hook military proper. The current Grand Prince, Octavian Varrus, has accumulated virtually untold wealth through his ownership of mining concerns in the mountains around the city as well as a personal trading fleet larger than the navies of many other merchant cities. It is believed that he acquired much of his wealth and influence through a dynastic bargain of sorts with the King in Crimson. He is also notable for his ttwin daughters- Aurelia Varrus, known as the "Angel" but a brilliant political conniver, and Cornelia Varrus, the "Demon", known to be a powerful magic-user and unusually for a woman, a feared military tactician. He also has a son, Trajan, who is believed to be a bit of a fop and generally useless. 

They say that he managed to get a fair bargain out of Asmodeus himself. 

Don't be fooled, she's already been responsible for four assassinations. 

Any commentary on her reputed relationship with Proserpina, Lord of the First is scurrilous and should be immediately dismissed.



Well, he's handsome. You have to give him that.

The City of Devil's Hook is one that is full of potential adventure and danger. Adventure Seeds for the city, as well as some specific locations of relevance to an adventure, will be outlined in Part II. 

Metal Adventure Seeds VIII: Seasons In The Abyss

Seasons In The Abyss:
Setting: Horror/Survival Fantasy

When you found means of destroying the phlyactery of the great lich Menkare, you thought, perhaps, that you would find some peace for yourself. But as it turns out, all you have done is awaken the rage and hatred of Menkare's master, the Demon Lord Nergal, the Worm-King, Prince of the Undead. And now you awaken in his abyssal Necropolis, where every day is three years for the living. If the endless hordes of demons and undead do not kill you, simple mortality will. 

Assistance, however, comes from a very strange corner indeed- Yaldabaoth the Unmaker contests the mastery of undeath with Nergal and promises his assistance in getting you out of Nergal's vast Necropolis if you do him a simple favor and slay Nergal's consort, the Ghoul-Queen. Otherwise, though, you and your friends are on your own in an almost unimaginably hostile realm. 

GM Notes: This adventure depends on the GM being absolutely relentless in plotting time and willing to enforce the aging rules that stick to the campaign. For elves and other longer-lived demihumans, increase the three years to an appropriate number. The Ghoul-Queen should be treated as a ghoul with 21 hit dice and the abilities of a lich (wizard/MU). The DM should also secretly roll appropriate saving throws every day to see if the players contract a disease from the festering Necropolis. Also, roll a d100 twice per day at appropriate times. If 100 comes up, then Nergal himself, with all 28 hit dice and the biggest array of horrifying necromantic magics you can make for him shows up to finish the job he started.

Metal Adventure Seeds VII: Princess of the Dawn

Princess of the Dawn:
Setting: High Fantasy

Athiel, the Highlady of the West Wood, has been seized from her Emerald Spire  by a notorious red dragon, Khurzon the Crimson. Unknown to Khurzon, though, the Highlady has acquired the ability to fall into a magical sleep in which she remains inviolate- though no one else knows this. Any attempt to kill or harm the Highlady simply has no discernable effect. The Elves of the West Wood, however, lack the ability to take Khurzon's Keep and in a move inspired by foolish desperation, have hired the Iron Horse, a band of cruel mercenaries which have only managed to despoil the lands around Khurzon's Keep, angering the dragon further. 

In sheer desperation, the Elves have sought the only adventurers in the area. Though they have but little gold, the Elves are wise and knowledgeable in the ways of magic and will be happy to furnish spells for any magic-users in the group, as well as a powerful magical item for each member of the party should the Highlady be returned to them. 

GM Notes: The party will almost certainly have to deal with the ruthless Iron Horse, who have recently sworn fealty to Khurzon in an attempt to avoid incineration for the inconvenience they have posed the dragon. The leader of the Iron Horse is a 8-HD blackguard (as paladin, but powers inverted for evil) who rides a giant, infernal steed (maximum hit points, breath weapon does 3d6 fire damage in a 20-foot cone). Khurzon himself is a being of terrifying power, a mature red dragon, who will almost certainly slaughter any heroes in a straight contest. 

Metal Adventure Seeds VI: Forty Six & 2

Forty Six & 2
Setting: Steampunk/Science Fantasy

Doktor Liebmord is a man who has for most of his career been persuing the blasphemous theory of "progressive speciation" which among other things, claims that humanity is not the peak of the nature world and that the human form is not fixed eternally by the gods but is beginning to change again as we speak. Towards that end, he has kidnapped several homeless people and engaged in a variety of magical and alchemical experiments, hoping to bring apart a state of perfection that he refers to as "Forty Eight" after the number of tiny elements of information that supposedly exist in human beings. 

Several of these experimental subjects have escaped and the Doktor would see them returned to his care. He warns that the "Forty Eighters" he has created are extremely dangerous and must be either returned to his facility or killed. He has offered a considerable monetary sum as well as his services to anyone who can catch the "Forty Eighters". But should the Doktor be trusted?

GM Notes: The Forty Eighters should be treated as monks with a hit dice between 6-8, with the abilities of a magic-user of half that level and psionic powers. They possess an Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma of 18. There are six of them, three males and three females. They are bitter towards the humanity that tormented them into being and believe themselves to be the progenitor of a new and greater species. One of the females is pregnant and they will go to any lengths at all to prevent the young from falling into the hands of Liebmord.

Metal Adventure Seeds V: A Touch Of Evil

A Touch Of Evil: 
Setting: Urban/Noir Fantasy

The city of Devil's Hook is an infamous, wretched hive of scum and villainy. So in the beginning, a series of murders of prostitutes and petty criminals do not attract much attention. But then the attacks become more and more troubling as the murders seem to climb the social ladder, killing wealthier courtesans and petty nobles who frequented them. A group of courtesans and licensed brothels have raised a significant bounty for anyone who can bring the killers to justice. 

Oddly enough, the killer seems to use two different methods in their killings. Sometimes, they seem to favor some form of magic in draining their victims of life, other times, they favor brutal strangulation after a long period of torture.

GM Notes: There are actually two killers at work here, who have completely opposite motivations in beginning the killing spree. One is an incubus who is working on behalf of his lover, the Duke's son, who desires to cover up his involvement in the "rough trade". Crimson Lust possesses a bonus of +1 hit point per hit dice and uses twin poisoned daggers if pressed to combat. The other is a chain devil who has instigated an even more violent series of murders to draw attention to the "sin" of the Duke's son. The Duke will pay a hefty fee for the adventurer's continued silence if pressed, while Anghazan the chain devil will pledge an act of personal service to the adventurers if they assist him in revealing the Duke's "perversion". The diabolic motivation is to push Devil's Hook towards a coup, in which more directly infernal-aligned forces can take control of the city.

Metal Adventure Seeds IV: The Trooper

The Trooper: 
Setting: Traditional/Victorian/Steampunk Fantasy

Count Janos the Grey was, by all accounts, the bravest of the brave, and it was hoped that under his leadership, the Bannermen of the Ostmark would prevail in battle against the brutal hobgoblin warlord Krum. However, though the Men of the East put up a valiant struggle against the hobgoblin hordes, they were ultimately conquered by the cunning strategy of the warlord Krum, who has subsequently put much of the East to the torch. By an unknown agency, Janos has arisen as a revenant, bent on avenging the deaths of his men and the despoiling of his homelands, but thanks to Krum's shamans, he cannot approach Krum personally. He offers his remaining estates in the rest of the Empire (which are considerable) as well as full rights over any loot to any adventurers who will infiltrate Krum's citadel and slay the shamans protecting him from Janos' vengeance. 

GM Notes: If the heroes manage to slay all four of Krum's shamans, Janos the Grey will be able to appear in person to slay the warlord. Krum's shamans are 9 hit dice druids, but can turn undead as clerics and four of them in concert cast an aura which protects Krum's entire fortress from intrusions by any undead. Janos is singleminded in his determination to slay Krum personally and will attack any PCs that attempt to interfere with the task. He has the abilities of an 11 hit dice fighter and can only be slain with holy magic or weaponry (ironic as he is otherwise good-aligned). 

Metal Adventure Seeds III: The Mob Rules

The Mob Rules:
Setting: Traditional Fantasy, Horror Fantasy

The Lord Mayor of Shemhaz has put out a huge bounty, including a choice of a wide variety of powerful magical weapons (+2 enchantment plus 1-2 special properties) for any heroic adventurers who can eliminate the city of the vile threat of Aasith, the Demonic Queen of the Hunt. Her followers have been engaging in the Culling, a horrific event in which innocent citizens (all young men and women) are hunted and slain through the streets. Along with the usual depredations of the cultists (which strike once every sixteen years, to slay the children baptized in the blood of the last harvest's catch), it is believed that this year, they have summoned babau demons to join them. 

GM Notes: The Culling is a very real event, but the truth is that the real prey, the piece de resistance, is the adventurers themselves. The entire city are eager worshippers of Aasith and willingly participate in the slaughter of their numbers. Even children cannot be trusted, as while they lack the strength to openly slay armed adventurers, they are often used to lure adventurers into traps. The Culling goes on for five days. If the adventurers survive five days and four nights, on the fifth night, Aasith herself will come to hunt them. As a 22 hit-dice creature, the heroes will not be able to win a direct battle against her. If they manage to survive the final night, Aasith herself will grant each surviving party member a wish and a token that allows them to summon a babau to their service three times, as well as the enchanted weapons they were promised earlier. Accepting these boons is a chaotic evil act and will cause clerics and paladins to fall in the sight of non-evil deities, but refusal means the entire city will advance as a mob to try and tear them apart.