D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Stench of Two Evils

# Dungeon# Intrigue# Wilderness

The subterranean air has grown thick and foul. Two factions struggle for survival in the poisoned darkness: the dwindling Troglodyte clans, whose very biology is twisted by the toxic fumes they breathe, and the desperate Goblin scavengers clogging the vital ventilation shafts with their refuse, believing it filters the worst of the miasma. Both sides will die without the shaft. Only one can control it. You are the wrench in a machine of mutual annihilation.

Chronicle Prelude

The Underholt Outpost, a grimly fortified surface settlement built around the primary entrance to the Troglodyte Tunnels. Merchants trade in air-filters and neutralizing salts, while grim-faced miners and mercenaries eye the dark maw of the tunnels. The constant, acrid smell is a physical presence.

Environmental Traits

A catastrophic blockage in the ancient Ventilation Shaft has caused toxic gases—once naturally vented—to pool and intensify within the tunnel network. This 'Foul Stench Gas' is slowly mutating the Troglodytes and poisoning the Goblins. Both factions are dying. The shaft must be cleared, but how, and for whom?

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Elder Sskath
An ancient Troglodyte whose body is a roadmap of mutation. Patches of crystalline growths jut from his leathery hide, and his eyes glow with a faint, phosphorescent light. He moves with a slow, deliberate grace, his breath coming in deep, rattling sighs that seem to draw in the miasma like a tonic.
Matriarch Griztik
A scarred, wiry Goblin female with sharp, intelligent eyes. Her leather armor is layered with patches of fungi and alchemical residue. She moves with a nervous energy, constantly checking the integrity of the crude walls around her.
Geomancer Krissk
A Troglodyte who appears more stone than flesh. Her skin is laced with mineral veins, and small crystals cluster around her temples. She gestures constantly, tracing patterns in the air that leave faint, lingering trails of dust.
Chief Scrapknot
A massive, powerfully built Goblin, easily twice the size of his kin. His arms are corded with muscle, and his hands are a mess of scars and calluses. He is perpetually covered in grime and carries a heavy wrench-like tool.
Nojni
A small, elderly deep gnome with enormous, multifaceted spectacles that magnify his eyes to an almost comical degree. He is dressed in practical, stained robes and carries numerous pouches and tools. He smells of ozone and old paper.
Foreman Garrick
A stocky, grizzled human man in a worn leather apron and a hardhat. His face is smudged with soot, and he moves with the weary authority of someone used to shouting over machinery. He holds a heavy, ring-shaped key.
Troglodyte Gas Ambusher
A Troglodyte hunter whose skin has taken on the same phosphorescent hue as the fungi in the galleries. It moves with unsettling silence, using the thick, swirling gas as both cover and weapon. Its eyes are wide and unblinking.
Goblin Trap-Master
A hunched, clever-looking Goblin covered in straps and pouches filled with tools, wires, and strange powders. It scuttles around the choke point, constantly checking and adjusting hidden mechanisms. Its fingers are stained with alchemical reagents.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Goblin Plight of Rivervale and the Cryptic Mine

The Lost Workshop: Heart of a Raging Core