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 or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. Today we try to invade the Command Tower.
Command Tower
The Command Tower, also known as Durlag’s Tower, belongs to something as rare as a current archwizard, rather than one mired in the ancient past. Durlag furthermore is one of the rare dwarven wizards, and prefers solitude rather than spending time with his clan. Finally, he has been known to practice necromancy and has a fierce reputation for being both dour and ruthless.
Normally most of these could be ascribed to mere rumor, but in this particular case they actually understate what and who Durlag is. Durlag may present as a dwarf, but in reality he is a transformed glabrezu (5e / PF2) who has acquired the skills of a necromancer and wizard over many years. Originally he was imprisoned within the Command Tower, after having committed a crime so heinous that even the demons of the abyss had enough of his machinations and threw him in chains on the Prime Material Plane as a lesson in humility.
Unwary heroes broke his chains, and the self-styled Master of Magic is plotting his eventual return to the pit that spawned him.
Lay of the Land
The Command Tower was built by mortal hands, but the magic of Durlag has transformed it on the inside. On the outside, it appears like a relatively normal dwarven fortress, with typical defenses and strong, thick walls covering all approaches. But lightning strikes the top of the towers continually, in an unending barrage powering some of the arcane experiments that Durlag is performing within. Most of these lightning strikes are normal, but a few are clearly of a magical nature, as they come in red, green and stranger colors. Some even appear from portals created in the sky, as if drawn in from beyond the planar boundaries of the Prime Material Plane.
The lands around the tower have suffered from its presence too. The mountain range in which the tower rests is void of all life. The only creatures stirring here are the undead, and the occasional fiend summoned by Durlag. For the most part they stay within the mountain range, which is why few heroes come here. The risks are not worth the rewards for wiping out the undead. Anyone with a modicum of sense stays more than 100 miles away.
Inside, the tower is twisted, with the stone walls having come alive, heaving and moving in an obscene imitation of life. Occasionally the walls spit out undead creatures in a mockery of birth. The guest quarters are the least unsettling (even Durlag has visitors apparently), with the stone only moving slightly on occasion, though moans of pain are frequent, as if the cries are twisted from the very earth itself.
Dangers
The biggest danger here is Durlag. While he is a glabrezu (as reflected in the links above), he also has the powers and spells of a 16th level wizard specializing in necromancy and conjuration. Almost as dangerous though are the hordes of undead that he has created, the most common of which are wights (5e / PF2), hundreds of which wander the halls and guard the walls at any given time. His most dangerous servants though are the Tomb Giants (PF2) and the demonic wolves called the Sons of Fenris.
See you next time. 😊
Kim Frandsen
Latest posts by Kim Frandsen (see all)
- Finder’s Archive – Crypt of the Eternals - June 2, 2023
Great location!
Added to the Blog Database.
https://jonbupp.wordpress.com/blog-database/dungeon-master/adventure-environments/settlements/towers/