The Ruins of Soguer - Introduction

Welcome back to Tailslap!, Unicorn Rampant's 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons publication.

Today I'm releasing the first on many dungeon-a-day style posts for our latest adventure: The Ruins of Soguer. I'm super excited to be sharing this adventure with y'all in this great format! Every few days you'll see a new section of the adventure, be it a location in town, a interlude, and overview of an area or an encounter.

So without further fanfare, I present the introduction to The Ruins of Soguer!
Look for the details of Aguies town to follow shortly, followed by the start of the meat of the adventure: a trip by riverboat down the river Daren to the Ruins of Soguer!

Introductory Text: Called upon to retrieve the old king's sword and crown from the ruins of the god-destroyed capitol, the heroes must brave the crumbling remains of the once-great city to find the royal insignia. Destroyed, overgrown and daemon-haunted, the ruins of the city of Soguer are said to be cursed, and do not relinquish their secrets easily. It will take heroes of true mettle to return alive with their prize and crown their lord the new King of Soguer!

Background: A year ago, in the war-torn country once known as Soguer, a young man named Ludwig appeared claiming to be the heir to the throne of the shattered kingdom. Pursuing a daring campaign this young warrior captured Castle Devyn from the orcs of the Yellow Snake Clan. As peace spread around Devyn town Ludwig was pressed to become a vassal by the neighboring Count of Aguies. Ludwig, claiming himself the true heir to the kingdom, and that Aguies was thereby rightful vassal to him, refused and forged an alliance with other lords in the County. Ludwig and his allies fought a brief, victorious war against Count Aguies.

Now Count of Aguies, one of the five Counties that composed the kingdom of Soguer, Ludwig has asked the priests of the Church of the Three Brothers to coronate him as King of Soguer. Hesitant, the priests of Kord, Pelor and Herionious cloistered themselves to pray upon the matter.

Several days later Father Dirk, the priest of Kord in the Aguies Cathedral announced that he had received a vision from The Brawler. In Ludwig's hall he tells how a strong man appeared to him and told him that "only if the boy speaks with the tongue of the law can he be the heir of Soguer". All agree that this must refer to Ludwig's grandfather's sword, the Judge's Tongue, and that this is a sign from the gods that if this task can be mastered Ludwig should be coronated.

Thus does a call go out for heroes to retrieve the old king's sword and crown from the ruins of the god-destroyed capitol at the mouth of the river Daren. The heroes are asked to brave the crumbling remains of the once-great city to find the royal insignia. Promised great reward and Ludwig's eternal gratitude they are asked to return alive with their prize and crown Ludwig the new King of Soguer!

Adventure Hooks: This adventure was written as part of a larger campaign, called The Heir of Soguer, where the players are knight-vassals to Ludwig, and are assisting him to establish peace in the war-torn and fractured land that was his grandfather's prosperous kingdom. In this context Ludwig simply asks them as friends to try to find the Judge's Tongue.

If you are playing this adventure as a stand-alone adventure or as part of your own campaign, you may simply announce that a call has gone out for heroes to retrieve the royal sword and start play in that way.

Alternatively, you may wish to replace the sword with some other item or person that the players seek. It could be treasure they want or an important item in your story. Simply run the adventure as written and replace all references to the Judge's Tongue with the item they are questing after.