Adventure Sites 3: Wraith’s Pass

​For ACKS II, Level ? (highish)
By Olle Skogren
Wrath’s Pass is a wind-carved, dust-filled, and bone-choked gap in the Dark Wall, a ridge of sheer basalt cliffs bounding the west side of the Zaharan Plateau. A wide trench anchored on each side by huge towers cuts across the pass. A narrow bridge spans the trench. The ever watchful sorcerer-wraith Atu-Gallu and his garrison of orcs, hill giants, and even fouler beings guard the pass against intrusion. Beyond the pass, terraced farms worked by the slaves of the sorcerer-wraith support the fortress.
   Olle Skogren, of the great Temple of Hypnos as well as other fine modules, made a fantastic entry for the Adventure Site Contest this time around, inspired by the “Isle of the Dead” paintings, built for exploration at a truly high level. Unfortunately, that site was four pages of text, not two. Fortunately, Olle is a publisher in his own right, so Isle of the Sorceress is now out on DriveThru, no muss, no fuss…and we get a second entry, this time at the right page count. Win/win.
   The story of the site is extremely ACKS. Evil isn’t just lurking in a bitty tomb in the middle of nowhere. This “sorcerer-wraith” is a commander in an Evil State, commanding an army of evil beastmen and giants and hellhounds. If the fortress is infiltrated by a high-level hit squad it can be overcome, but if a big army approaches then thousands of evil troops get summoned and it’s a brutal siege exercise. High-level as all get-out, with all the ACKS setup for a mass battle and domain scale action, but also a plausible reason for kings and high priests and crime lords that are the PCs to take action individually and dungeon-crawl. It’s smart design.

​    …looking at the map, maybe too smart by half. This is not an easily interpreted map for a gap fortification. 60-foot hexes make for an enormous scale, which is cool, but even with some side cutaways I’m a little confused on how the trench vs. the wall is supposed to interact. The usual problem with realistic fortresses (castles, towers, etc) is that they’re typically rather boring because they’re designed to be used by defenders in a practical way, this one only departs from “boring layout” when it goes for “confusing”. There’s nothing strictly wrong with the site, but it’s not a map that reaches out and grabs you. 

   So, who we gonna fight? Well, assuming it’s not a full army muster (and those are very nasty numbers, Do Not Do This), you’ve got a decent little pile of cleave or AoE, mostly orc and hellhound fodder. The hill giants (4) and gargoyles (6) aren’t quite as casually brushed aside, and there’s a squad of death chargers (15) that’ll hit pretty hard (death chargers are zombie riders sewn to zombie horses, four hit dice). I’m a little unclear on how these garrison troops are distributed between the two sides of the pass. I like the note that orc and giant troopers are undisciplined and prone to shoot first, ask questions later if infiltrators are spotted. The orc chief second-in-command is cringing and disloyal because he expects to get killed any day now by his boss, that’s usable. There’s also a secret tomb, walled-over, with seven mummies within who will challenge the sorcerer-wraith for control if released.
   Said sorcerer-wraith is very much the central figure here, and he’s been described in loving detail. I love that he’s incorporeal and just animating his wizard robes…his spell list is powerful, but he’s turned as just a wraith and is sensitive about that. He’s got a list of spells he uses intelligently and carefully, some for individual fights, some for the mass battle(s) or assaults. At high level like this, getting his full personality and plans is vital to running well, and he’s a rough fight if he gets the drop.
   Treasure in this setup is almost incidental to the site’s purpose, but you have to PAY YOUR PLAYERS, so the little lair of the sorcerer-wraith has the garrison pay-box and a magical workshop value, and of course he’s got some nice magic loot on his person (somehow being incorporeal), but the real treasure is the friends we made…wait a minute, no, the real treasure is the gigantic pile of grave goods in the secret chamber full of mummies. Of particular note in there are obsolete (?) property deeds for properties all over the region. That’s a fun little easter egg/quest challenge.
   In the end, Wraith’s Pass is an extremely solid hyper-dedicated chaotic fortress guarding the sole pass in a vast cliff wall, if you need one of those. Thanks to Tolkien’s Black Gate, that’s a use case that comes up a lot more than you’d think, but it’s still pretty dang bespoke.