Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we turn our attention to the Adanto, the First Fort.
Adanto, the First Fort
Adanto is a formidable fortress, located on the edge of a desert. The walls bear the scars of huge claws, but still hold firm against the elements. The portcullis is well-maintained, but the planks of the drawbridge show the effects of aging, having been exposed to the unending heat and sun of decades. The closest village is 10 miles away, and the locals whisper that only the dead themselves inhabit the fortress and shun it during the night. Unbeknownst to them, the fortress is in fact host to the undead, but not the ones that the locals think.
Instead, that very fortress is what keeps them safe from the true dangers of the desert. For the past 300 years, the fort has been the home of a knightly order known as the Ladies of Dusk, an all-female knightly order dedicated to the protection of the common people from the things that go bump in the night, mainly a mature adult blue dragon necromancer that inhabits the deep desert, as well as its undead minions.
73 years ago, the dragon assaulted the fortress head on, bringing with it a huge horde of the undead, trying to lay waste to the order, and in their darkest hour, they performed a great ritual and called upon their god to give them the power to continue the fight. Their god responded, and did give them the ability to continue the fight, but the magic didn’t work as they had intended.
They were able to fight on, with supernatural strength and resilience, but when dawn came, they found that the sun burned their skin. They had become vampires, but through the grace of their god, they did not suffer from the bloodthirst of their vampiric kin, nor do animals shun their presence.
Now, every night, the drawbridge of the great keep lowers, and the Ladies of Dusk mount up, and ride out into the great desert, evermore combating the forces of the dragon necromancer, only to retreat once more when the sun comes up.
Lay of the Land:
Adanto is located on the edge of a great desert, approximately 10 miles away from the nearest village, that grew up around a local oasis. The fort itself is well situated, sitting next to an old road, just where it passes closest to the desert itself, to ward off any desert bandits. Now it holds a great dragon necromancer at bay. The fort itself lies silent during the day, with all the members of the order retreating to a centrally located vault that is magically protected. The well at the center of the fort still holds clear water, and food and hay are stacked in neat piles near the stables that hold some 30 horses. The halls are well-kept and clean, but an eerie silence hangs about the place.
At night, the knights take their posts, standing guards, with forays going out into the desert on regular occasions.
Dangers:
The fort itself holds no natural dangers, and neither does the desert for some 50 miles around. But the unwary might well run into one (or several) of the Ladies of Dusk, which could spell disaster for anyone who doesn’t know to look beyond the pale skin and the pointed teeth of the vampire.
Human Vampire CR 6
XP 2,400
LG Medium Humanoid (Undead)
Fighter level 5
Init +7; Senses ; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 30, Touch 13, flat-footed 27 (+2 Dex, +6 natural armor, +9 armor, +2 shield, +1 dodge)
hp 47 (0d8+5d10+5+5+5);Fast healing 5 points each round
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
Damage reduction 10/silver and magic, Resistance to cold 10, Resistance to electricity 10, Turn resistance +4
Weaknesses vampire weaknesses
OFFENSE
Speed 20
Melee
Single Attack Longsword +13 (1d8+9/19-20)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn, dominate, energy drain (never used)
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 17, Con 0, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Attack 5 CMB 11 ; CMD 25
Feats
Alertness, Animal Affinity, Armor Proficiency (heavy, light, medium), Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Martial Weapon Proficiencies (all). Mounted Combat, Ride-by-Attack, Shield Proficiency (all), Simple Weapon Proficiencies (all), Toughness, Trample, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword)
Skills Bluff +1, Climb +4, Handle Animal +11, Intimidate +6, Perception +5, Ride +13, Sense Motive +3, Stealth -4, Survival +5
Languages Common
ECOLOGY
Environment Any
Organization Company 10-20, Band 30-100, Squad 4-8
Treasure Standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blood Drain (Su)
A vampire can suck blood from a grappled opponent; if the vampire establishes or maintains a pin, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage. The vampire heals 5 hit points or gains 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour (up to a maximum number of temporary hit points equal to its full normal hit points) each round it drains blood.
Change Shape (Su)
A vampire can use change shape to assume the form of a dire bat or wolf, as beast shape II.
Children of the Night (Su)
Once per day, a vampire can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or 2d6 wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the vampire for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su)
A vampire can create spawn out of those it slays with blood drain or energy drain, provided that the slain creature is of the same creature type as the vampire’s base creature type. The victim rises from death as a vampire in 1d4 days. This vampire is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. A vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit become free-willed undead. A vampire may free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
Dominate (Su)
A vampire can crush a humanoid opponent’s will as a standard action. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the vampire’s influence, as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet. At the GM’s discretion, some vampires might be able to affect different creature types with this power.
Energy Drain (Su)
A creature hit by a vampire’s slam (or other natural weapon) gains two negative levels. This ability only triggers once per round, regardless of the number of attacks a vampire makes.
Gaseous Form (Su)
As a standard action, a vampire can assume gaseous form at will (caster level 5th), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Shadowless (Ex)
A vampire casts no shadows and shows no reflection in a mirror.
Spider Climb (Ex)
A vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though under the effects of a spider climb spell.
Kim Frandsen
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