The Quest For The Sword

Quest 3 - Ogre Chieftain's Stronghold Level 3


You step onto the final level of the Stronghold.  The conditions here are even worse than on the levels above - you must wade through a thick layer of mud, bones, rusted armor, and dirt.  Yet you know that somewhere on this level Sonneklinge is hidden.


Wandering Monster - 1 Orc Champion and 1 Orc.


Special Note:

The debris on the floor causes each Hero to move two fewer squares than rolled in this quest.


Notes:

A.  This is the entrance to the quest.  


B.  The squares pointed to by the arrows and those between are trapped.  The trigger of the trap is in the square marked 'B'.  If a Hero steps on this square without first disarming the trap, spiked logs shoot out of the walls.  The spiked logs do three Body Points of damage to every Hero caught in the trap.  Each Hero does get to roll his normal defense dice, though.  The Hero can deduct one Body Point of damage from the three caused by the spiked logs for every shield rolled.  

If the Heroes trip the spiked log trap, the monsters in both rooms marked 'C' will fling open the doors and rush into the corridor, screaming at the top of their lungs, and attack the Heroes.


C.  The monsters in these two rooms will attack the Heroes if the spiked log trap is sprung (see location 'B' above).  If the trap is not sprung these monsters will be surprised.  


D.  This location contains half of Hogrod's bodyguard.  Their objective is to delay the Heroes until Hogrod himself can be warned of their presence.  A monster can do this by opening the door and entering room 'E' below.  The monsters will stay and fight until their number is down to three, then one of the Orcs will try to warn Hogrod if possible.

If Hogrod is alerted, he and his forces will storm from the room to attack the Heroes.  Don't forget to include the Orc that warned Hogrod in the attackers.  Hogrod's stats are found in location 'E' below.


E.  If the Orcs in room 'D' failed to warn Hogrod, then read this when the first Hero enters the room "While this room, like the others, is strewn with bones and dirt, some attempt has been made to clear the floor of the worst rubbish; this room is obviously more important than the rest.

When you see the great wooden throne pushed up against the opposite wall you know why:  sitting in it there is a large Ogre, dressed in thick chainmail and armed with a huge sword.  This is the Throne Room of the Ogre Chieftain himself."

Hogrod:  Movement 4,  Attack 7,  Defend 5,  Body 11,  Mind 2

Note:  I used the stats for Ogres found in the Elf Quest Pack and raised the Attack, Defend, and Body stats by one to come up with the Ogre Chieftain.  Below are some easier stats from the quest 'The Eyes Of Chaos' found in White Dwarf #145.

Ogre Chieftain:  Movement 4,  Attack 6,  Defend 6,  Body 3,  Mind 2


F.  This is the room that contains Sonneklinge.  Read this when the first Hero enters the room "Directly opposite you, lying flush against the wall, there is a low, stone altar.  Lying on its surface there is a long handled sword made of a strange-looking red metal.  In its pommel there is a milky-white gem glowing with a pale light that throws strange shadows around the walls.  You have found Sonneklinge."

Give the Hero that takes the sword the Sonneklinge card.  Sonneklinge can only be wielded by Humans, but it can be carried by an Hero.


G.  These spots are the triggers for rolling ball traps.  They can be found and disarmed.  If they are not, the ball will start from the square with the rolling ball in it on the map and roll in the direction of the arrow eight squares per turn.  The Hero who triggered the ball is 'paused' while the ball rolls eight squares.  Any Hero who is caught by the ball must roll five  combat dice.  The Hero looses a Body Point for every skull rolled.  When the ball hits the wall, it disintegrates into dust and rubble.  After the rolling ball has finished rolling eight squares, the 'paused' Hero can finish his turn.

A Rolling Ball tile came with the quest pack "Kellar's Keep".  If you have this tile you can use it here.  If not, you can use the one provided in the tiles.bmp file.


H.  When the first Hero enters this room, read "You are immediately struck by the stench of decay and disease that assails your nostrils.  The smell is awful; it is like the stink of a thousand corpses rotting away.

The floor is thick with slime and waste material, bubbling slowly as if it is boiling from within.  A pale green mist rolls around the room, easing out of the door and into the passageway.

A symbol roughly gouged into the wall opposite you reveals that you have stumbled across a temple to Nurgle, the Chaos Power of Decay."

The monsters in this room are all diseased.


I.  When a  Hero tries to enter the door into this room, read "The door to this room seems reluctant to open; only when you put all of your weight behind it does it respond.  As you ease it back a thin curtain of slime spreads between the door and the frame."

When the first Hero enters the room, read "Looking into the room your eyes are immediately drawn to the far wall.  A huge stone altar, covered in mucus and moss, juts out of the wall.  Lying on the top there is a pile of treasure, the glint of the coins barely visible beneath the dirt and excrement."

The monsters in this room are diseased.

The first Hero to search this room finds 1000 gold coins on the altar.
