This is session Zero. Explain to the PC's:
 Kahar is one of three desert fortresses that protects the King's Road in the midst of the Hamakhaave Desert.  Kahar is ruled by the Marquis of the Realm of Goldenshield and Goldenshield is ruled by the Paladin King.  The Paladin King demands diversity and the Marquis of the Realm takes this command quite seriously, so that Kahar (and Kazan and Kabur, the sister fortresses of Kahar) are bedrocks of inclusitivity.  Races of all sorts populate both the desert Fortress and the surrounding areas.  Some races are more rare than others  Inside the fortress are 9 Hamlets whose populations reflect this diversity and inclusitivity.  Even so, racism and bigotry still exist even inside the fortress, albeit hidden from authority very well, especially when it comes to magic.  Magic fills every corner of the world and takes one of two forms: secular or religious.  The religious magic users are governed by the divine, so that churches, cults, and sects become powerful, and only the magic users loyal to the monarchy help the rulers stay in power.  Secular magic users are, generally speaking, unbound by doctrine or theology, so that wizards, sorcerers, and necromancers rise to power in the many kingdoms, but a consequence of so many magic users unbound by law is the birth of the lich and the mummy lords.  Magic permeated normal life so much that even non magic users become preoccupied with the events that arise and evolve as a result of so many magic users.  In Kahar, a hierarchy or magic users is established under the authority of the Marquis and misbehaving magic users are dealt with quickly and efficeintly.
 Kahar has nine towers with a surronding wall enclosing an oasis at the grand size of 18 3/4 square miles.  Corresponding to each Tower are the nine hamlets.  Each hamlet supplies food, water, supplies, and the soldiers to their corresponding Tower.  On character creation, it is in the hamlets that will be the home base for the players fighter, paladin, wizard, sorcerer, bard, or cleric.  If players want to roll up a ranger, a druid, a barbarian, or a unique species of a character, then they are best off creating thier character in one of the many available places designed for such an occasion.  There are two villages belonging to Kahar, north of the fortress, hidden in the desert mountains, deep inside Bitter Water Canyon.  These villages are established after the drilling accident produces the lake and the river, and, after a few generations, they grow fields of wheat, oats, barley, rye, and, deeper into the desert mountain, rice fields.  However, amoung the many farmers, there are, indeed, rangers, barbarians, and even a few druids known to frequent these areas. 
  Now is the time for players to roll up characters, select backgrounds, and be ready to receive equipment, weapons, and supplies.  It is at this time that PCs learn cantrips and level one spells.  PCs will have all day to ready themselves, but the enemy is already outside the walls and no place outside the walls will be safe.  Bright Light will illuminate everything, while the day lasts, even most indoor places.  But at 5pm, the desert sun sinks below the western mountains and the enemy breaks camp.  As it continues to get darker, the attack on the Front Gate and the Rear Gate begins.
 This guide will create 4 PCs to use in describing each adventure as examples:
  1. Kite, a female tabaxi sorcerer, with the sage background as astronomer who currently works as a cartogropher in Mbili Hamlet
  2. Bavel Nargig, a human male assasin, with a criminal background and a current job as an enforcer for a loan shark in Saba Hamlet
  3. Vaylen Sherda, a female elf cleric with the acolyte background who lives in Nne and whose current job is as a nurse for Tower 3
 and finally
  4. Urthon Thribak,a male half orc barbarian, adopted son of the Chief of the Wanderers of Harker's Point, a desert tribe 24 miles northwest of    Kahar
 A goal for the DM could be to modify the settings for the PCs.  First thing might be setting items tailored to the specific classes of the PCs.  Perhaps the Staff of Healing (DMG 202) for the cleric, the Ring of Protection (DMG 191) for the Sorcerer, the Cape of the Mountebank (DMG 157) for the assassin, and Winged Boots (DMG 214) for the Barbarian.  Plus, with the diversity of an oasis on a desert setting, it is possible to conjour up many scenarios that will test the skills of each particular class , letting each DM fashion the campaign to suit their own specific PCs.
 Since none of the backgrounds displayed here are soldiers or military, this guide will proceed on the premise that these PCs chose to stay in the fortress when the military gave them the choice to volunteer to aid the military or evacuate.  This guide will assume that these PCs agree that the goal of those inside the fortress is to win the war, and, therefore, be amenable to orders and commands.  This guide will not name the PCs but will retain a generic type of mystery instead.


 If PC's are not level one, this is a good time to secretly send them over the wall to assasinate as many hobgoblin commanders as possible.


 Here are soldiers marching through the Front Gate to fortify the main entrance.  This didn't happen at the battle at Kahar, but it was fun to set up and photograph. :)

Longest Day Encounters

 The enemy is still trapped outside the gates but if the PCs are running around inside the fortress or even performing their assigned duties they are likely to encounter others wandering inside the fortress.  For every half hour the PCs travel, use the following table to see who the PCs meet:

d4	Encounter
1	2 commoners with a horse and cart
2	1 guard patrolling his assigned area
3	1 Sergeant or Corporal leading a Fire Team
4	1 Noble accompanied by 8 guards

 The latest news they will tell is that the enemy is flinging debris into the fortress and that everyone should be careful.

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Thamiar's First Intervention

 For the very first adventure hook: The party must save the 14 man garrison at Moja hamlet from a river a lava that will blanket over half the hamlet.  There is a time limit of 22 minutes.  You can be as liberal or as unforgiving as you want to be, but after 22 minutes, Moja hamlet burns.  A high level NPC accosts the PCs from afar.  Heavily armed but with only two servants (knights), the NPC orders the PCs to accompany him behind the nearest buildings with the goal of getting out of sight.  There the PCs meet Thamiar the Guardian Naga.  Thamiar explains who he is and why his existence must remain a secret.  Thamiar further explains that he has cast Clairvoyance and spied upon the enemy.  He has learned that this master of raising undead will cause a terrible zombie creature to terrorize the fortress unless the PCs can intervene.  The name of these terrible creatures will be "fire zombies".  The PCs are given a letter by the high level NPC as Thamiar explains that the Lady of Kahar has written to Sir Sewale Galante, leader of the hamlet, explaining everything.  PCs notice the letter has a wax seal stamped by the ever familiar symbol of the Desert Snake.  PCs must reach Moja hamlet, present their letter with an unbroken seal to Sewale Galante, the knight that is in charge at Moja hamlet, and evacuate the 14 men there before the lava reaches the hamlet and burns most of it to the ground.

Setting:

 Tower 9, the Front Gate, and Tower 1, are assaulted by 3 siege towers but beat back all three attacks.  However, sappers manage to dig out a good size cave under Tower 9 and the company dispatched to clear out the cave and defeat the sappers betrays Goldenshield kingdom and does nothing instead.  The magmin that come with the fire giant get into the cave under Tower 9 and begin to super heat it.  Even so, the adobe brick structure of the Tower might have held up even under the heat of the magmin if Khalista had not been there.  Braving the dangers of war, she watches from almost 120 feet away, and when the time is right, she sends a firebolt right into the little cave and superheats the magmin.  The magmin, immune as they are to fire damage, love the extra heat and revel in the explosiveness of the firebolt and their flame blazes even hotter.  Tower 9 is consumed in flame and collapses in on itself so that only thing that remains is a ring of stones.  The goblinoids keep feeding broken wood, bricks and stones, and other material into the ring of fire until molten lava spills out.    A river of lava from the remnants of Tower 9 runs north at 1 foot per second. Moja village is 1320 feet away.  The PCs are given a wax sealed letter, they must reach Moja hamlet, present their letter to Sewale Galante, the knight that is in charge, and evacuate the 14 men before the lava reaches the hamlet and burns most of it to the ground.  If the PCs are successful, Sir Galante gathers his 14 men and retreats east to join with the gathering resistance just as a river of lava arrives.  If the PCs fail, Sir Galante and his men are caught up in the fire and burn alive.  Khalista, the author of evil and pain, raises them as undead, creating the terrible fire zombies that haunt the fortress thereafter.

The Fall of the Front Gate Encounters

 The enemy is inside the fortress.  Some goblins escape thier hobgoblin overlords and flee from the battle.  Inside the fortress, these goblins will either continuouly flee from one location to another, or they will hunker down in a single location and ambush anyone or anything that approaches them.  Raiding Bands, a hobgoblin leading 4 goblins, are dispatched to round up all these goblin deserters, and when PCs encounter them they might have goblin deserters in custody.  Worse yet, Khalista has has been active out in the battlefield and has been raising undead servants and giving them commands to kill all humanoids.  Because of the brutality of the battle, she has only been raising body parts as of now, so the PCs are very likely to encounter the hands, hand and arm, legs, or even the heads of zombie goblins and/or zombie hobgoblins anywhere inside the fortress.
 As the PCs move from location to location inside the fortress, they are more likely to encounter others wandering inside the fortress.  If PCs use cover and stealth to avoid encounters, have each PC attempt a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check.  For every 2 individual checks that fail the PCs have one encounter on the way to their destination.  Roll a d8, on a 5 above, roll a d6 on the Enemy Encounter table, but on a 4 or less roll a d4 on the Friendly Enounter Table.  If the PCs don't use cover and stealth (e.g. - they are using a horse and carriage), roll a d8 for every 100 feet they travel, if the roll is 4 or less, they don't attract any attention, but if the roll is 5 or above, reroll the d8, on a 5 above, roll a d6 on the Enemy Encounter table, but on a 4 or less roll a d4 on the Friendly Enounter Table to see who the PCs meet:

Friendly Encounter
d4	Encounter
1	2 commoners with a horse and cart
2	1 guard patrolling his assigned area
3	1 Sergeant or Corporal leading a Fire Team
4	1 Noble accompanied by 8 guards

Enemy Encounter
d6	Encounter
1	1d4 zombie goblins hands, head, or legs
2	1d4 zombie hobgoblin hands, head, or legs
3	1 Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief leading a Raiding Band
4	1 wounded Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief
5	1d4 goblins fleeing
6	1d4 goblins ambushing

Fall of the Front Gate

Synopsis

1.   The Dark Crusades begin, Tower 1, the Front Gate House, and Tower 9 are assaulted by multiple enemy siege engines.
2.   The First Betrayal occurs and the west wall, Tower 2, Tower 3, and Tower 4 are defeated and torn down.
3.   Sappers dig under Tower 9 and the Priest's Brigade is sent over the wall to counter them.
4.   The Second Betrayal occurs and the Priest's Brigade turns traitor and goes to the enemies side.
5.   Tower 9 falls in on itself in fiery ruin causing a river of lava to spill out and run north to Surgebuilt Lake.
6.   The Front Gate house is destroyed and Tower 1 is infiltrated and most of the soldiers are killed in the battle.
7.   Tower 1 is abandoned for a time.
8.   The Defense of the Keep.
9.   The Ruining of Apperton's Arch.
10. The Death of the Giants.
11. The Dark Crusades end.
12. After the Mummy Lord battle a few miles to the north, refugees hide the violin and the sword in Tower 1.
13. Tower 1 becomes a bastion for the undead with daily patrols within three miles of the tower during the day and absolute terror at night.

 As the material world gives way to a breach that allows the world of elemental fire to pour through and into the material world, a river of lava pours out of what is left of Tower 9 and runs north.

 The Fire Giant takes his gang north and assaults the Keep.  Aperton Adderson, Marquis of the Realm, meets him with his best knights and soldiers and halts the Fire Giant's advance.  The battle would have ended in utter defeat for the goblinoids and the giants but the Marquis' meticuously laid out plan is ruined by the third treachery: The Warlord of Braek's Munitions Dump does not attack the Giants.  Both the Warlord and his Paladin undergo a terrible transformation and become Black Guard.  The Warlord and his Black Guard go and hide in Barracks B.  The Fire Giant realizes fear for the first time.  Unable to advance against the defense and realizing the strategic disadvantage his force could be put into, disengages his army from the battle and pushes further north towards Aperton's Arch.  Rhael's goal is to reunite his dwindling forces with the northern force of goblinoids that attacked the Rear Gate.



Hard fighting and heavy losses on both sides marred the victory at the Keep.




 If the PCs heed their previous order and go to Moja hamlet and give the letter to Lord Galente, then all 14 of the men of Moja hamlet rush to Tower 7 and join their forces to the soldiers in the Tower.  If the PCs do not heed the order and do not go to Moja Village, then by the time the Fire Giant dies, there will be Fire Zombies troubling the area in and around Moja hamlet.
 Khalista has been busy outside the fortress raising dead goblin after dead goblin until hordes of tiny zombies rush into the dark of night and attack any living creature.  This is the party's second encounter, 3 goblin zombies a piece.  Even though the goblin zombies are ponderous, slow, and lack intelligent attacks, the overwhelming numbers makes this encounter Hard to Deadly, and the PCs had better be careful when dealing with their first zombie horde.

Simultaneously occurs the Breaking of the Walls

  The first great treachery occurs at the same time the Fire Giant assaults Tower 9, Tower 1, and the Front Gate.  The Wizard's Brigade, once loyal subjects of the Kingdom of Goldenshield, betray their government and begin to destroy the west walls with magic.  The Lieutenant of Tower 2 dies in his attempt to avenge the treachery.  As soon as the dust settles, goblinioids and other attackers force their way over the debris and into the fortress.  Among them is Zhohlei, a yuanti pure blood, a mercenary hired by the Fire Giant to join his attack.  Her unique talent is that she can control desert snakes.  As the PCs return to Braek's Munitions Dump, they find the whole place under attack.  A friendly NPC guides the PCs to safety, but Zhohlei finds the PCs and has her snakes attack.

The Defense of the Keep Encounters

 The enemy is loose inside the fortress.  Goblins and hobgoblins, undead or alive, roam about pillaging as they go many of them mounted on giant scorpians or giant lizards.  The west most hamlets have been overrun and if the PCs have made an effort to deliver the evacuation letters to the hamlets, then the hamlet leaders have begun to evacuate their 14 men to the east in slow orderly retreat.  If not, then Khalista will raise terrible zombies from their corpses.  On a positive note, the Dwarf Lord and the Elf Lady of Kahar have gathered their knights and are patrolling the fortress.
 As the PCs move from location to location inside the fortress, they are very likely to encounter others wandering inside the fortress.  If PCs use cover and stealth to avoid encounters, have each PC attempt a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check.  For every 2 individual checks that fail the PCs have one encounter on the way to their destination.  Roll a d8, on a 5 above, roll a d6 on the Enemy Encounter table, but on a 4 or less roll a d4 on the Friendly Enounter Table.  If the PCs don't use cover and stealth (e.g. - they are using a horse and carriage), roll a d8 for every 100 feet they travel, if the roll is 4 or less, they don't attract any attention, but if the roll is 5 or above, reroll the d8, on a 5 above, roll a d6 on the Enemy Encounter table, but on a 4 or less roll a d4 on the Friendly Enounter Table to see who the PCs meet:

Friendly Encounter
d6	Encounter
1	2 commoners with a horse and cart
2	1d4 guard patrolling their assigned area
3	1 Sergeant or Corporal leading a Fire Team
4	1 Noble accompanied by 8 guards
5	1 Hamlet Leader fleeing with his cabinet to the east
6	Lord Fahred Ahmandi or Lady Nalasteron Nazeri

Enemy Encounter
d8	Encounter
1	1d4 zombie goblins
2	1d4 zombie hobgoblin
3	1 Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief leading a Raiding Band
4	1 wounded Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief
5	1d4 goblins fleeing
6	1d4 goblins ambushing
7	1d4 goblinsriding giant lizards
8	1d4 hobgoblins riding giant scorpions

  The Fire Giant leads his forces north, leaving behind many wounded and dead goblinoids, all of who will add to Khalista's growing army of undead.  Angry that he was defeated at the Keep, the Fire Giant has his forces gather equipment and arms.  He assembles his dwindling forces and marches north in an attempt to unite with his other forces, the goblinoids that attacked the Rear Gate.  But when he sends his advanced troops through the Arch in the wall, which is the only way through, none of his forces return and more are drawn into a battle.  A small force under Captain Naviiam holds up the Fire Giants army for some time, inflicting great losses on the gobliniods.  Angry again, the Fire Giant himself enters the fray and disperses the meager defense.  The 2 hill giants then take great pleasure in dismantling the great Arch in the wall that seperates the south side of the fortress with the Keep from the north side of the fortress with the oasis.  It was a seemingly small event, but the toll the Captain took on both the Fire Giant and the Fire Giant's army would be instrumental in his demise.  The goblinoids have been demoralized and slaughtered in front of Apperton's Arch, but the small defense of King's men gives way as Rhael the Fire Giant pushes his way up to the front.  As a reward, Rhael commands the Hill Giants to destroy the Arch.


 In a strategic manuever, a small contingent under Captain Naviiam holds up the Fire Giants army in the bottle neck that is Aperton's Arch.

 Captain Naviiam and the King's soldiers give way as the Fire Giant Rhael approaches.

 The surviving goblinoid gang follows the Fire Giant north, where they find themselves in The Lush, a vast area littered with 65 foot tall palm trees crowded close together as far as the eye can see.  Below the palm trees, fruit trees grow bountifully in the shade, and below the fruit trees, vegetation of many types (tomatos, peppers, egg plants, cucumber, melons, beans, just to name a few) litters the landscape.  It is here, on this dark desert night, made even darker under that deep vegetation, that the remaining goblinoids are assaulted on all sides by Goldenshield soldiers and the goblinoid army finally breaks apart and scatters.  But, most importantly, the assault was merely a cover for a top secret manuever to seperate the Giants from each other and from the 100 Bug Bears that guard the Hill Giants.  The 1/2 pack of Bug Bear Body Guards protecting the Hill Giants is assaulted by only 2 plattoons, the assault is successful at seperating the Bug Bears and the Hill Giants but not one of the attacking soldiers of Goldensheild survive.  Simultaneously, an assault on the Fire Giant, led by the Marquis himself, is also an event both bitter and sweet: the Fire Giant is slain but the Marquis of the Realm of Goldenshield and many of his close bodyguards do not survive.


 Back at Braek's Munition's Dump, the battle to ward off the attacking goblinoids goes against the defenders.  All the attackers are dead but at a high price.  Among the defenders, Sergeant Dusak and his five men lay wounded on the ground.  PCs will face a choice: they can rescue the wounded Sergeant Dusak and his fire team, in which case they will face a pack of evil hyenas that have come to scavenge the dead, or they can leave and save themselves the trouble.  If they stay and are successful in rescuing the five wounded soldiers, they will not only earn inspiration, but also they should have enough xp to move up to level 2.

The Ruining of Apperton's Arch Encounters

 The enemy has penetrated beyond the Keep and broken through Apperton's Arch.  New's will soon spread that the Marquis has fallen and the Wall has been torn down.  The last dispatch from command is to evacuate to the east towers.  There the defenders of Kahar will regroup and make plans to hold out against the invasion.  As a result, friendly encounters will be rare (11 or 12 on a d12) but enemy encounters, without using stealth, are a given (if PCs move with stealth they will make a Dexterity (Stealth) check contested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of the enemy).  The roads are wide open and most enemies can see in the dark so that PCs might be seen as in dim light or lightly obscured, but much of the desert landscape is covered in scrub brush in many dry ravines and gullies that provide 1/4, 1/2, and full cover.  Wise PCs travel through the rough terrain between the hamlets to increase the odds of sneaking by the enemy.

Friendly Encounter
d6	Encounter
1	2 commoners fleeing to the east
2	1d4 guards heading east
3	1 Sergeant or Corporal leading a Fire Team
4	1 mule wandering alone
5	1 horse wandering alone
6	Lord Fahred Ahmandi or Lady Nalasteron Nazeri

Enemy Encounter
2d8	Encounter
1	1d4 zombie goblins
2	1d4 zombie hobgoblin
3	1 Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief leading a Raiding Band
4	1 wounded Hobgoblin or Goblin Chief
5	1d4 goblins fleeing
6	1d4 goblins ambushing
7	1d4 goblinsriding giant lizards
8	1d4 hobgoblins riding giant scorpions
9	2d12 hyenas scavenging among the dead
11	1d4 kobolds leading a scouting party
12	1d4 dust mephits attracted by all the commotion
13	1d4 giant vultures scavenging among the dead
14	1d4 giant scorpians ambushing wanderers
15	2d4 cultists scouting for the Eclesiastic Brigade
16	2d4 wizards scouting for the Wizard's Brigade

Goldenshield soldiers launch a counter offensive and devestate the attacking forces.
The Breaking of the Walls
 Because this event takes place simultaneously with The Fall of the Front Gate, the PCs can be either here near Tower 2 or there near Tower 9, but not both.  However, because the PCs will be at such a low level, challenging the Wizards Brigade near Tower 2 is not recommended.  As a DM, try to guide the PCs to deliver supplies to Tower 9 and get back to Braek's Munitions Dumb, or deliver the first letter to Moja hamlet, or evacuate to the east towers.  The best place for PCs is to be working for Jaken Voth at Braek's Munitions Dump.  This is the best place for them to interact with both good and evil NPCs.  Here they will be able to role play for information, stock up on food, water, weapons, and ammo or interact in combat with any number of enemies, either defending or attacking enemies that are better matched against them.  But once again, don't railroad them anywhere, because you can always use the Royals, the commanders, or Jaken Voth to rescue them or heal them as the case may need.  In case they get caught up where the Wizard' Brigade are and there is a TPK, you can always use one of the high level NPCs to resurrect them and let them wake up in Tower 8.  The actual reason for the death of the Marquis comes from one of the first runs of this campaign where a low level party was too close to the Fire Giant so the Marquis sacrifices himself to save the PCs, and I've kept it as an integral part of the story ever since.
 Just before the sun sets, Khalista arranges a meeting with most of the Wizard's Brigade where she spends a great part of her necromantic magic successfully achieving the mental domination of the Leader of the Wizard's Brigade, and the charming of many of his subordinates.  Almost all of them, consider Khalista friendly and are unwilling to attack her, the few who resist flee off into the deadly night.
 Simultaneously, as the Fire Giant commands his siege towers to assault the fortress from both the north and south, Lord Lallenlos Kisharite, leader of the Wizard's Brigade, is under the geas spell from Khalista, and most of his subordinates are charmed by her.  Khalista commands Lord Kisharite and his underlings to destroy the walls and towers of Kahar.  The Lord, unable to refuse such powerful magic, leads his brigade west to the base of Tower 2 and commits the first treachery by commanding his brigade to destroy Tower 2 and the walls with desert bombs and spell scrolls.  Escaping the destruction of Tower 2, Lieutenant Hubbard nearly stops the treachery with only a handful of men but they all tragically die instead.  Tower 2 is destroyed when Lord Kisharite uses an earthquake spell, and then, the Wizard's Brigade begins using desert bomb after desert bomb, and spell scroll after spell scroll, to destroy the walls of Kahar.  It takes the Wizard's Brigade an hour and a quarter to reach Tower 3 and, after some resistance, it too, is destroyed.
 Nearly four and a half hours after sunset, the Wizard's Brigade have destroyed both Tower 2 and Tower 3 and before another half hour is passed they will reach Tower 4.  They actually have some trouble along the way, and it is closer to 11 pm when they are in striking distance of Tower 4.  Though Tower 4 does fall to the spell scroll and desert bombs of the Wizard's Bridgade, their assault is finally halted when one of the Royals of Kahar arrives.  Lady Nalasteron Nazeri brings her 24 Green Knights of Mbili Hamlet and challenges the Wizard's Brigade to open combat.  Upon finding the Lady and her knights highly resistant to all of their magic, the Wizard's Brigade breaks and flees in multiple directions into the darkness of the night.

---

 As for our adventurers, after rescuing (or not) Sergeant Dusak and his men, the PCs will be forced to head east.  On the west side of the fortress, the goblinoids have found the wall has been destroyed and they enter the fortress with excitement.  Although the goblinoids are surprised, overthrown, and scattered by Captain Naviiam and the Kahar cavalry, they still heavily outnumber the defenders.  South, west, and north will be cut off by heavy goblinoid manuevering.  Melee fighting and long range attacks prevail in the darkness causing many chaotic events.
 If the PCs flee east down the road or head north east off the road and across the open desert, they will not be pursued, but, within a half mile they will come across a hamlet (Mbili to the south, Tatu to the north) under attack by a hobgoblin patrol.

Thamiar's Second Intervention

 From the dark wilderness, a giant snake appears, but hardly a menace any longer, but rather a form of friendly familarity.  It is Thamiar the Guardian Naga again, and his brief but quick message urges you to save the 14 men trapped by hobgoblins inside the hamlet.  PCs have the option of by passing the attack, but if they do, all 14 men in the hamlet garrison will fall, and when Khalista arrives they will be raised as the terrible Earth Zombies.  PCs will have an opportunity to surprise the attacking hobgoblin patrol but must be careful not to reveal themselves too soon.  They will be set against a hobgoblin patrol attacking wounded men in the hamlet, 1 hobgoblin per PC, with all the usual hobgoblin cunning and expertise in warfare.  If the PCs are particularly resourceful, the hobgoblin patrol could be mounted on wargs or accompanied by a few wolves, however, we avoid the TPK at all times so that we all have fun.  Adding wargs takes the encounter from medium to deadly, but adding wolves only takes the encounter to hard.  Once again, if the TPK does happen, PCs can wake up in Tower 8 after having been recovered by one of the more powerful Lords wandering the fortress with their servants. 

 Here, then, is the end of the Fire Giant and his two Hill giants.  There is no dishonor to their end for they were overmatched from the beginning.  The Fire Giants name is Rhael.  Rhael won the honor of attacking the north kingdoms because of his martial prowess.  Rhael is an irascible tyrant who bullies and forces his will on everyone and everything around him, but he is sharp enough to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.  Rhael's opponent, the Marquis, a CR 10 cleric, is not only capable of defeating the Fire Giant alone but he is also served by magic users far more powerful than himself and over 500 soldiers, from guards to knights, organized in well trained phalanxes quite capable of turning back the goblin hordes.  Spell casters and healers fill the NCO slots bolstering their ranks with courage and leadership.  Rhael, the Fire Giant and his two Hill Giants would have been slain on the outside of the walls if not for the three treacheries.  The first treachery is the Wizard's Brigade destroying Tower 2, Tower 3, Tower 4, and most of the west wall.  The second treachery is accomplished through inaction: the team responsible for stopping the sappers under Tower 9 does not stop the sappers but instead goes before Khalista and bows their knees.  Meanwhile, the Fire giant solves problems with direct action, Rhael climbs on top of the blazing Front Gate House and pulls the burning pieces apart and feeds the debris into the inferno that was Tower 9.  In a few of the original runs, it was Rhael and his servant Deformia Bellcrossia, a chain devil, who dismantle the gate house and stand guard as the fire burns down low enough for the gobliniods to pass, so never feel like you are limited in your assortment of bad guys.
 Rhael's goblinoid forces, and then his two hill giants Rulos and Eclith, pass through the broken Front Gate House and gather their forces to assault the keep.  Such is the plans that the Marquis makes to hold his Keep against the Fire Giant and the gobliniod forces: his contingent engages the Fire Giant and the goblinoid forces while the Warlord of Braek's Munitions Dump, with his 8 paladin, fall upon the rear of the goblinoids and they crush them like iron between an anvil and hammer.  But the Warlord had, in the last 14 years, been corrupted and controlled by Khalista, and he betrays the Marquis and does nothing.  And so great is the mental anguish and torment that troubles him and his knights that his alignment changes to lawful evil and his knigts become blackguards.
 But Rhael recognizes his danger and that with these forces he cannot beat the Marquis holding the Keep.  He abandons the campaign and pushes north to reunite with his forces attacking the Rear Gate.  As Rhael's forces near Aperton's Arch, they meet a small group of men under the command of Captain Naviiam.  This small force does great damage to the goblinoid forces until Rhael himself challenges them and forces an opening through the Arch.  On the other side of the arch, Rhael attempts to gather his forces but is unable.  Under the enormous palm trees, vegatation grows thick and the goblinoids are assaulted on three sides, a wedge of Goldenshield soldiers forces the giants apart, and two phalanxes assail the bugbear body guard.  Although there will be no survivors, the charge of Lieutenant Belinda Moran with the soldiers of Tower 3 and 4 against the bugbear bodyguard will be made into a song and an anthem.  Nor will they be the only heroic deaths in this Dark Crusade, for both Rulos and Eclith escape to the east and fight fearlessly until, at last, they are surrounded and overcome by the knights and veterans in the fortress.  Rhael himself witnesses the destruction of his army as the Marquis brings his force from the south and catches the leftover goblins and scatters them to the wind.  Rhael stands alone, but not undone, he fights against the Marquis and his bodyguard until he falls, a noble and glorious death in battle.  Nor does he die alone, innocents get caught up in the action, and many of the Marquis' bodyguard and the Marquis himself put themselves in harms way to protect the innocents.  The result is that they fall by Rhael's great sword even as life leaves his damaged body.




 When we left our PCs, they were in either Mbili or Tatu Hamlet, and should have been successful at ambushing a hobgoblin patrol that was pinning down a bunch of wounded guards.  From the huge amount of noise and fire coming from the west, it is clear that the PCs must evacuate soon.  If any of the soldiers from the hamlet garrison die, they will be raised as Earth Zombies when Khalista arrives in a few hours.  The rescued men evacuate to the east Towers in groups of 5, thanking and rewarding the PCs on their way out.  Here is when we, as the DM, get to pile it on to the poor PCs by sending them to as many hamlets as they will go to by any means that we can get them there.  My favorite method is to have a dying messenger hand off a sachel of letters from the Lady of Kahar to each remaining hamlet asking each leader to evacuate to the east Towers.  In each hamlet is a garrison of 14 men and if the men are sent to the east Towers they will add their number to the resistance fighters, but if they are not accosted by the PCs in any way, then they are overcome in the war, die, and are raised by Khalista as Water Zombies (Nne, Tano, and Sita), Air Zombies (Nane and Saba), Earth Zombies (mBili and Tatu), or Fire Zombies (Moja).  The PCs will have to make their way through the zombie infested dark desert night, confront the surviving hobgoblins and goblins, give a wide berth to the fire newts and salamanders infesting the south side of the oasis, carefully avoid the terrible plant like blights infesting the west side of the oasis, keep away from the spirits, spectors, wights, wraiths, and mummys that infest the hamlet temples, evade the dust memphits and other elementals summoned by evil, and arrive at each hamlet in reasonable time before the hamlet garrison is overrun.

 Khalista disguises herself with magic and poses as a hobgoblin commander.  She has goblins gather body parts and dead goblins and pile them into a mangonel.  She then animates the dead bodies as the catapult flings them into the fortess.  The zombie and zombie parts hunt for humanoids to kill inside the fortress.

Level One BattleMaps

 Khalista, eager to cause as much destruction as possible, sends a fireball into the sapper cave beneath Tower 9 where magmin dance and play in the flames.  The magmin relish the extra heat and blaze extra hot fire from themselves until Tower 9 collapses in on itself in a great firey ruin.  Khalista targets the magmin with her necromantic spell finger of death, but her first attempt to create a fire zombie is not successful.  Instead, a merging of the elemental plane of fire and the material plane where the ring of stones that is all that is left of Tower 9 occurs and lava runs north, skirting the Lush Hills to the west and splashing into Surgebuilt Lake with a huge plume of steam.

 Khalista wisely withdraws to recover her strength.  She will inhabit Tower 1 for over 2 hours.

 Having lost a battle against a stronger tribe, Packnet Toterouch leads his tribe of Firenewts east down The King's Road.  Once he arrives at Kahar, his tribe is in dire need of water and he capitulates at once to Khalista's servants but finds he is well rewarded.  The Queen of the Desert gives him The Lush Valley for his tribe to dwell, provided he protects the area and patrols The King's Road during the hot desert day, allowing only merchants access to Kahar, and attacking all military patrols.  His tribe, protected from the deadly Kruthik in the east by the river of lava, revel in the steamy delta where the river of lava meets Surgebuilt Lake.

 2/5ths of the gobliniod gang is sent north by Rhael the Fire Giant to assault the Rear Gate.  They take 3 siege towers and march in from the west after going around the great fortress inbetween Flaming Grotto Canyon and Tower 4.  When the goblinoids charge the Rear Gate in a series of 3 attacks, the defenders defeat the 3 siege towers, kill 24 goblins and 8 hobgoblins, and wound 62 goblins and 14 hobgoblins.  The defenders stop the goblinoid attack.  News runs through the goblinoid ranks that the West Wall has been torn down, which is, indeed, the truth, as the Wizard's Brigade turns traitor and destroys 3 Towers and a lot of the Wall.  The goblinoids disengage with the defenders of the Rear Gate and march back to the west to enter the fortress from that direction.
 Just as the defenders of the Rear Gate think that they can relax, 2 seperate groups of kobold warriors assault the Rear Gate.  Over the course of a few hours, the defenders endure multiple attacks on both buildings and the Tower.  Although their accomplishments are commendable, they are unable to defend both sides of the wall against the continual reinforcements of their small enemies.  The kobolds establish a position on the west side of the wall.  The defenders establish a front on the Wall and hold on to the buildings and Tower but can only watch as more and more kobold reinforcements enter the battle.  Without reinforcements, it is only a matter of time before the kobolds overwhelm the defenders.

 Zmaj punches a whole into the west building of the Rear Gate.  Once inside he destroys every floor but leaves the shell of the building intact.

Setting the PCs on a course

 The survivors of Kahar, loyal to Goldenshield Kingdom, have gathered under the leadership of Thamiar the Guardian Naga who calls all resistance fighters to the east Towers.  Tower 6, Tower 7, and Tower 8, along with the wall that connects them are all held secure.  Thamiar the naga communicates with those he wishes by casting Sending.  In this way, he is able to instruct the leadership of the resistance (namely The Lady of Kahar) on how to best defend the three Towers.  Thamiar may not know about the PCs.
 But the PCs meet an important NPC who will report to them that the Wizard's Brigade, the Priest's Brigade, and the Warlord of Braek's Munitions Dump have gone traitor, are responsible for the breaking of the walls and have caused the death of 100s of Goldensheild soldiers.  These rogue leaders still have a sizable following and are a real threat to the Kingdom of Goldenshield.  The Wizard's Brigade have siezed Barracks A, the Warlord and his BlackGuard have set up in Barracks B, and the Priest's Brigade have taken Barracks C.  A band of druids have brought Jared's Pillars, four stone pylons filled with the power to ward off any enemies.  The druids set one pillar at each Barracks and the forth pillar they set across from Barracks B and next to the oasis.  Three of the pillars are complete and now a shimmering protects the Barracks.  Inside the shimmering a PC sees as if in dim light and the ground is treated as difficult terrain plus all perception checks are made with disadvantage.  The druids, an ancient sect of magic users, are setting up the forth and final pillar.  If the druids succeed in erecting the last pillar, the pillars will link and create The Labrynth, an impenetrable maze of 30' high 10' thick walls that encircle all four pillars.  Destroying the pillars is the only way to get rid of the Labrynth.
  The PCs are instructed by this important NPC to stop the druids from completing the ceremony which activates the last pillar.  If the PCs fail to stop the druids the Labrynth comes into being, but if the PCs are successful in stopping the druids only the shimmering protects the Barracks.  Immediately following the encounter with the druids, the important NPC returns and the PCs are given new orders: capture or terminate the traitors.  Unknown to anyone is that the order actually comes from Khalista.  She cast Major Image and attempts to mimic the NPC without the PCs catching on to the fact that they are being fooled. 

 After expending her power on forging a fire from another plane, Khalista leads her minions to the abandoned Tower 1.

Battle of Annihilation

 Khalista's jackalweres sieze the damaged keep and the Library and kill or enslave everyone within.

News from the North

 A great commotion causes Khalista to sieze her tampering and cast her scry spell.  She soon spies an army attacking from the north and she knows the Rear Gate has been taken.

The Teleportation Circle

 Khalista teleports back to her temple, hurries down to the dungeon level where she dares to awaken the Mummy Lord.  She gathers the canopic jars and returns to Kahar.

Flight to the south

 After their defeat at the hands of Lady Nazeri and her guards, the Wizard's Brigade attempts to enter Barracks A.  There they are confronted by Thamiar the guardian naga who gives them this last chance to repent.  The Wizard's Brigade are overcome with guilt and reject Thamiar's offer and rise up against him and kill him.  News spreads quickly through the land that the guardian naga is dead.

Jaken's Pillars

 The Desert Druids make themselves known and begin to raise the pillars that will create the Labyrinth.

Rescue

 When the PCs are in dire need, at the end of the round a small green scorpion will appear, approach to within 15' of the PCs and dig itself into the ground (1 round).  On the end of the next round, Thamiar the guardian naga burst out of the ground to help the PCs.

Last Chance

 Before the druids are complete, the PCs could have one last chance to stop them.

The Dwarf and the Fairies

 PCs are confronted by a playful pixie and, depending on how that encounter goes, they might either be shown the entrance to the Labyrinth by either the pixie or a dwarf hunting and killing sprites.

The Battle Begins

 Amensara, with an undead army with him, attacks the brand new dragon lair

Traps

 A multitudee of traps slows down the undead armies advance.

Lightning Eye Beam

 Four 12' high pillars with swiveling 4' diameter spheres on top, shoot Lightning Eye Beams out of small gems.  These beams decimate the undead until Amensara puts forth his power to stop them.

The Mirror

 Set on top of a large pole is a dish like mirror that reflects the sunlight into the tunnel hole.

The Reflection on the Walls

 Waiting for the undead army is the cimic, it devastates the low level monsters but flees when the Mummy Lord arrives.

The Dark Corridor

 Hiding and waiting for the undead are a couple of umber hulks.

The Two Mirrors

 High on top of 2 20' poles are 20' diameter dishes that reflect sun light into the lair.

Ambush

 A lightninig elemental and a group of grells attack the undead intruders.

Brute Force

 Amensara forces his way into the dragon's lair by sheer brute force, losing many of his undead minions along the way.

Hidden

 The Passage way that leads to Zmaj's chamber defeats the Mummy Lord and all the enemy hosts go by the hidden opening.

Zmaj Flees

 Amensara inflicts Zmaj with fear which causes the dragon to flee the battle and hide in his hidden chamber.

Amensara in Pieces

 Amensara almost wins the battle, until the servant of the dragon uses sword, violin, and the second ligthning elemental to destroy the Mummy Lord and hack him in pieces.

The Death of Ghiliba Mbaya

 Even with victory nearly in his grasp, courage fails the servant of the dragon and he flees the lair only to run into the wraith with the 12 wight soldiers under his command.  He is overcome and dies in a last effort to return to the lair.  His sword and his violin are taken south.

Zmaj returns

 With the Mummy Lord defeated, the dragon recovers and burst forth upon the remaining undead chasing them all out of the lair.

The Siege of the Dragon Lair

 The wraith places undead surrounding the dragon lair and begins the long siege.

The Timid Healer

 Kyrakis Braek is targeted by the minions of Khalista.

The Swap Meet

 Kyrakis Braek is turned away from the magicians audience and his plans to make War Healers as a rank of corporal in Goldenshield Military comes to nothing.  Fustrated and despondant, he follows his wife outside the fortress to a new swap meet.

The Stoned Carved Sculptures

 Appreciating the rarity, Kyrakis Braek purchases two decorated stones and a gargoyle statue.

Water Spells

 Kyrakis Braek brings his acolytes and priests to the Tower where they have been well trained to extinguish flames and fires by using Create Water spells.

The

 Kyrakis Braek is

The

 Kyrakis Braek is

The

 Kyrakis Braek is

The Ill-humored Magician

 Lallenlos is .

Dark Thoughts

 Lallenlos Kisharite is.

Bernard Hubbard

 Suspecting something is off from the begining, Lieutenant.

Belinda Moran

 Hours before her desperate stand against 100 charging bugbears, Lieutenant Belinda Moran is key to the evacuation of Tower 3.

The Desert Druid

 The Lady of the Sands begins.

Flight to the Barracks

 After their defeat at the hands of Lady Nazeri, the Wizard's Brigade flees to Barrack A.

The Faithful

 Nicholas Quinn is an example of Lawful Good.

The Oath

 Nicholas Quinn is .

The Change

 Nicholas Quinn and his paladin change .

The Expulsion

 Nicholas Quinn is .

The Stone Golem

 Nicholas Quinn is .

The Tortured

 Reft with guilt and shame the black guard take refuge inside Barracks C.

The Faithful

 Nicholas Quinn is an example of Lawful Good.

The Prison

 The servants of Khalista free Searc O'Conner from the Hags of .

The

  .

The

 Nine .

The cost

 sacrifices.

Maze or Labyrinth

 The difference between a maze and a labyrinth is that a maze has multiple paths that may or may not lead through the maze, while a labyrinth is typically one continous path.  While technically a maze, the appearence is that of a single path and it is, thus, a labyrinth.

Above the Cliff

 above the cliff.

Below the Cliff

 Below the cliff.

Meeting the Traitor

 Kyrakis Braek is.

The Acolyte

 Jaken Voth rebels against the traitor magicians returning and wishing to control the Munitions Dump

Tower 6

 With Saba Hamlet less than a 1/4 mile away, Tower 6 is able to secure a post on top of The Barren Knoll.

Tower 7

 Using Nane Hamlet as a staging base, Goldenshield resistance fighters are able to gain back a great part of the ground they lost, starting with the Dry Creek Bed.

Tower 8

 Starting with The Fountains of Palm Tree Lane, the soldiers that gather at Tower 8 regain the lost ground from Tower 8 and the wall to the river of lava.

Mbili Hamlet

 Long before the people of Goldenshield built the fortress and established Mbili Hamlet, the Secret Gardens of Lady Nazerati Nazeri flourished.  After the Dark Crusades, most of the Hamlet is lost to the enemy but the Secret Gardens remain a secure haven for those loyal to Goldenshield Kingdom.

The Fortress of Lord Ahmandi

 Though enduring constant battles between goblins and the undead versus kobolds and the dragon, Tatu Hamlet is never entirely overrun for very long.  A strange reverence settles on all creatures, freinds and foes alike, and combatants leave the area of the many temples alone.