After the party came close to defeating The Puppetmaster, he pulled up stakes and took his network of gates with him. While the party lost access to the gates, it was seen as a victory in that the network of evil that were using it also seems to have vanished.
Then, at the culmination of a long, (ostensibly) unrelated adventure, the party learned that two of the higher-ups pulling the strings are known as the “Queen in Red” and “The King in Yellow”. (cue E.T.I. by B.O.C.). The colors refer to the suits (Red = Cups, Yellow = Swords). Also, it was learned that the Queen in Red is a Drow, who operates out of the underdark.
Coincidentally, Geld (the Dwarven loremaster in Hammerfast) discovered an entrance to the missing gates in the city of Akersim - and that one of the portal destinations leads to an underdark entrance.
Once there, the party kill a few Frost Giants and a batch of Drow (stationed to prevent people like the party from getting in to the underdark). To spare her own life, the Drow Matron in charge of the now-dead sentries, offered to guide the party to their destination. (She even knew of “The Queen in Red” and seems eager to help defeat her).
Cave of the Giants is an adventure that was originally written for The Good Party (under AD&D rules) back in 1982 or 1983. It was intended at the time to be an entrance into the “Underworld” (as depicted by the classic Gygax module Descent into the Depths of the Earth). Sadly, I was never able to use it to its full effect back then – so hopefully V3 can take up the mantle and avoid the inevitable TPK that the Underdark promises.
| # | Challenge | Type | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Frost Giants | Artillery/15 | 1200 |
| 3 | Winter Wolves | Skirmisher/14 | 1000 |
| 12 | Troglodyte Warriors | Minion/12 | 175 |
| 6 | Drow Warriors | Lurker/11 | 600 |
| 1 | Drow Matron | Elite Controller/16 | 2800 |
| Total XP | 15,100 | ||
| (5 PCs) | 3,020 | ||