In this series of articles, I will guide you through the process of designing a sandbox hexcrawl, illustrating each step with Chardauka, one of the continents of my world. Throughout these articles, I will cover both adventure content creation to populate the hexes and the worldbuilding elements that bring the setting to life.
Today I'm going to talk about how I would adapt Dungeon Crawl Classics #19: The Volcano Caves to my own setting. I'm working with the D&D 3.5 version written by Luke Johnson and published by Goodman Games, which I can already say is a much more solid module than its "classic dungeon crawl" appearance might suggest. It has good ideas, a background with teeth, and a use of the volcanic environment that goes beyond simple "lava = danger." Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the adaptation, it's useful to briefly outline what the module is about.
The adventure takes place on Mount Rolnith, a volcano that had been dormant for centuries and has begun to show disturbing signs of activity. The explanation is not geological, but planar. A long time ago, a clan of duergar discovered the volcano's caves and turned them into an underground fortress, leaving behind a robust architecture that still defines the lower levels. Decades later, the sorceress Soranna and her lover, the warrior Bezentaine, appropriated the place. Soranna transformed the caves into a laboratory where she experimented with volcanic energy to open portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire.
These experiments ended up attracting the attention of Amir Immolius, a powerful efreet. Conflict was inevitable. Bezentaine managed to banish him, but died in the process. Unable to accept his loss, Soranna bound her lover's soul to a magical sword to protect her, sealed the caves with rituals, and abandoned the place, leaving behind both the sword and many of her failed experiments.
In the present, a tribe of kaklin (lobster-like humanoids, immune to fire) has settled in the upper caves. While exploring deeper levels, they broke the ancient seals and reopened a portal through which salamanders began to enter. Immolius, fleeing a rival in his home plane, took the opportunity to return to the Material Plane, subjugating kaklin and salamanders while rebuilding his power.
The consequence is a volcano awakening. Torches lean like fire compasses pointing to the cave, farmers disappear to be sacrificed to a pyrohydra worshipped as a deity, and the constant heat (a pleasant 35 degrees Celsius) makes every step an effort. The dungeon is organized into three distinct levels: natural caves dominated by the kaklin, a duergar level now occupied by salamanders and Bezentaine's tomb, and a deep level where Immolius has established his sanctuary. Key actors include Ziz Ka-Seer, a tiefling cleric and the efreeti's lieutenant, and Bezentaine's sword itself, an intelligent object that yearns for the definitive destruction of Immolius.
With this overview, the module fits perfectly for the Chardaukan hexcrawl. I need not one, but several volcanic adventures to cover the Sacred Volcanoes biome, and The Volcano Caves fits without forcing anything. If someone doesn't know what I'm talking about when I say "Chardaukan hexcrawl," it's best to check out the introductory post first, where I explain the general framework of the project.
That said, this biome is outside my priority development area. I'm not going to detail it with the same care as other regions. My approach here is more pragmatic: make sure the module is decent (it is), take notes on how to fit it into my world, and decide which elements are exportable to the rest of the sandbox.
The idea of the volcano as the location of a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire already exists in my setting. Furthermore, I had been thinking for a while about how to make the great planar crisis of the past (the one that brought demons and fiery creatures to the material plane) have visible consequences in the present. The solution fits perfectly: planar scars scattered throughout the volcanic and mountainous regions of Chardauka, portals that never completely closed and continue to ooze elemental influence.
In that context, Soranna works much better as a sul'tar pyromancer. Not so much a fervent devotee of Thal'kor, but someone obsessed with controlling and channeling the powers of Ignia. Moving to a planar scar to "scrape power" is coherent, especially if, like many other pyromancers, she hears the whispers and offers of Thal'kor without being willing to pay the price of eternal devotion. This approach connects directly with the fire god as I present him here.
Bezentaine is perhaps the most interesting element to develop if this ever reaches the table. A Blazing one who renounces his natural cycle (burn, return to ash, and be reborn) to become a sword poses a powerful theological conflict. Either he wasn't particularly orthodox regarding Dahanya, or Soranna trapped him against his will, denying him the return to ash he desired for having failed her. The gallery of petrified victims the module leaves behind, including a child, doesn't exactly paint Soranna as benevolent or scrupulous, so both readings are possible.
The kaklin, for their part, are undoubtedly worth exporting. In Chardauka, there are already precedents of amphibious peoples who culturally distanced themselves from their ancient aquatic masters, like the green-scaled lizardfolk of the Sulfurous Marsh. These lobster-like creatures fit very well as a similar offshoot, this time tied to the elemental power of the sacred volcanoes.
As for adventure hooks, the module is well-stocked and all are usable. The elemental pull, for example, can easily be reinterpreted as a call from Thal'kor that affects fire spellcasters or wielders of flaming weapons. The disappearances of villagers and livestock can be introduced through random encounters with kaklin, even allowing the PCs to rescue (or at least interrogate) someone destined for sacrifice to the pyrohydra. The volcano's awakening can attract the attention of a cleric of Vrathari investigating Thal'kor cults in the region. And the indicator flames, leaning towards the cave, work wonderfully as a regional phenomenon: in my case, I would limit it to a radius of two hexes around the dungeon.
In summary, The Volcano Caves is a nice module to adapt. It doesn't revolutionize anything, but it understands its theme well and offers enough interesting pieces to integrate it into a larger sandbox without it clashing. Sometimes, that's exactly what you need: a good adventure, in the right place, waiting for someone to bite.
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