Arriving at the iron docks of Krag-Ghar is a jarring sensory assault. The humid air smells of sulfur, stagnant lake water, and melting pig iron. Huge, soot-stained chains dangle from the cavern roof to steady the suspended stalactite city above, while the green glow of phosphorescent moss reflects slickly off the carapaces of the Chitin Regime guards. This blog post picks right up from Meditations on the classic In Search of the Unknown (Module B1, written by Mike Carr in 1978) module Adapted To OSR Rpg systems especially The Adventurer, Conqueror, King Second Edition -- Part Five Other adventure locations within the caverns of Quasqueton
When the party first guides their waterlogged skiff into the crowded slipways of this Underworld port, roll $1d6$ on the table below to determine their immediate reception.
Krag-Ghar Harbor Encounter Table ($1d6$)
| Roll | Encounter / Incident | ACKS II Faction Interaction & Mechanical Consequences |
| 1 | The Extortionist Customs Overseer | A massive, scarred Troglodyte captain named Karg-Voz steps onto the wooden pier, flanked by four guards with iron halberds. He demands an arbitrary "Surface Vessel Surcharge" of $10\text{ gp}$ per crew member or 1 Stone of high-quality surface metal (such as a steel sword looted upstairs). Mechanic: If the party complies, they gain safe entry and a temporary copper token. If they refuse, they are turned away. Attempting to bribe him with alcohol requires a Proficiency Check (Bribing or Diplomacy); success drops the tax completely, but failure causes him to seize one piece of non-magical gear as a "fine." |
| 2 | The Escaped Laborer | A terrified Orc slave, wearing a heavy iron collar stamped with the seal of the Chitin Regime’s foundries, leaps from a nearby cargo skiff and scrambles into the party’s boat, begging to be hidden beneath their gear. The Dilemma: Within seconds, three Troglodyte enforcers approach the slipway, whips drawn. Hiding the slave requires an immediate Thief Proficiency check (Hide Objects or Sleight of Hand). If caught harboring the runaway, the party's Reaction Roll with the Chitin Regime permanently drops by -2, and they are fined $100\text{ gp}$. If they turn him in, the enforcers offer a $10\text{ gp}$ bounty and a voucher for cheap docking fees. |
| 3 | Agent of the Gloom-Weavers | A slender figure wrapped in a silk cloak of shifting gray-black hues steps out from the shadows of an obsidian warehouse. This is Aeloria, a spy for the deep elves of Vael-Thalar. She has felt the residual arcane ripple of Zelligar's items (like the Arcanist's Lexicon) or simply recognizes surface surface-dwellers as useful chess pieces. Interaction: She offers to pay for the party's harbor entry fee and buys them a round of fermented mushroom ale at a local dive if they agree to a private meeting. She wants to hire them to sabotage a Chitin Regime iron shipment destined for a rival house in her city, offering $400\text{ gp}$ in uncut gems as payment. |
| 4 | The Press-Gang Ambush | The party docks in a poorly lit, derelict slipway away from the main harbor watch. A gang of 4x Feral Bugbears (AC 3, HD 3+1, Morale +1), employed by local gladiator pits to source fresh blood, ambushes the party as they tie off their lines. Tactics: They target lone or lightly armored characters first, using clubs to deal subdual damage rather than lethal wounds. If they successfully knock a character unconscious, they will attempt to drag them into a covered cargo barge. The harbor guards will intentionally look the other way unless the party screams or uses flashy magic (like a Light spell) to draw a crowd. |
| 5 | The Drunken Brawlers | A rowdy squad of off-duty Troglodyte iron-miners, completely blind-drunk on distilled cave-lichen spirit, comes tumbling out of a waterfront tavern. They mistake one of the player characters for a surface raider or an escaped gladiator. Mechanic: The leader attempts to shove the lead PC into the murky, leech-infested harbor water. The party must make a Reaction Roll with a -1 penalty due to the miners' intoxication. A result of Hostile triggers an immediate, chaotic fistfight. Using lethal steel weapons will bring the city guard down on the party within 2 turns; keeping it to unarmed brawling or subdual damage avoids legal trouble and earns the respect of the watching dockworkers. |
| 6 | The Scavenger's Market Open | The party arrives just as a commercial barge from the deep mantle unloads. The docks are temporarily transformed into a chaotic open-air bazaar. The Opportunity: For the next 2 hours, Krag-Ghar functions as a Market Class IV town instead of Class V, but only for buying weird subterranean gear. The PCs can buy specialized Underworld items at a 10% discount, including Water-Repellent Grease (protects torches from humidity for 4 hours), Cave-Crickets (trained to chirp when they sense gas pockets like Choke-Damp), or Underworld Rations (mushrooms and dried lizard meat that never spoil in damp air). |
Navigating Underworld Port Law
The Code of Iron
The Weapon Bond: Inside the gates of Krag-Ghar, surface humanoids are required by law to "peace-bond" any large steel weapons with heavy iron wire wraps provided at the gatehouse. Drawing a steel blade inside the city limits without authorization from an Iron Baron is a capital offense, punishable by immediate enslavement in the foundries.
Subdual vs. Slaughter: The Chitin Regime views violence as an acceptable method of commerce, provided no property is permanently destroyed. Brawls, muggings, and honor duels that end in subdual damage or unconsciousness are completely ignored by the guards. However, a murder that results in a permanent reduction of the city's labor force is treated with absolute, immediate execution.
The Blasted Crucible is a cavernous tavern built directly into the hollowed-out base of a massive stalactite overlooking the boiling mud sumps of Krag-Ghar. The air is thick with the scent of sulfur, roasting cave-locust, and the acrid musk of the Chitin Regime’s ruling caste.
A heavy iron grate serves as the floor, venting heat from the sumps below while casting an eerie, flickering orange glow across the stone tables.
The Blasted Crucible Tavern Menu
In Krag-Ghar, food is scarce and highly processed to eliminate Underworld toxins. Surface rations are a luxury commodity here.
| Item | Cost | ACKS II Game Effect & Mechanical Properties |
| Fermented Spore-Ale | 2 cp / mug | A thick, cloudy grey brew made from distilled shelf-fungi. Tastes like damp earth and copper. Effect: Bitter and highly intoxicating. Drinking more than two mugs forces a Save vs. Poison or imposes a -1 penalty to Initiative for $1d4$ hours. |
| Sump-Weed Wine | 1 sp / cup | A pungent, oily red vintage imported from the outskirts of Vael-Thalar. Effect: Highly prized by magic-users. A single cup provides a soothing effect that grants a +1 bonus to saving throws against fear or despair for 1 hour. |
| Roasted Cave-Locust Skewer | 3 cp / plate | Two whole giant cave-locusts, salted and charred over a sulfur brazier. Crunchy and high in protein. Effect: Standard meal. Fulfills a character's food requirement for one day. |
| Slab of Blind Albino Catfish | 1 sp / plate | A pale, gelatinous steak boiled in vinegar and cave-salt. Effect: Disgusting texture, but eating it completely removes the Humidity Penalty to natural healing for the night due to its moisture-retaining nutrients. |
| The "Surface Luxury" (Salted Pork & Hardtack) | 5 gp / plate | A rare delicacy smuggled down from the surface world by desperate raiders. Effect: Eating this allows a character to make an immediate morale check at +2 for any surface-born hirelings currently in their employ; it tastes like home. |
Underworld Hirelings ($1d4$)
These mercenaries use ACKS II companion metrics. Because they are adapted to the extreme conditions of the deep, they require upfront hazard pay and a guaranteed cut of any recovered surface treasure.
1. Xorvath the Blind Archer (Deep Elf Outcast)
Xorvath was exiled from Vael-Thalar for political subversion. His eyes are milky white, completely adapted to absolute darkness.
Stats & Gear: Level 1 Fighter (Elf). AC 3 (Chitin Leather), hp 6, Morale +0. Equipped with a Recurve Bow and a bone shortsword.
Underworld Adaptation: Echolocation. Xorvath suffers no penalties to hit when fighting in total, pitch-black darkness out to 60 feet, provided he can hear his targets. He cannot see light sources and is completely blind to written text.
Cost: 30 gp upfront + 1 half-share of treasure.
2. Grakka the Sledge (Beastman Thug)
A hulking, tusked humanoid with thick grey skin covered in scars from the Krag-Ghar fighting pits. He speaks very little Common but understands the language of gold.
Stats & Gear: Level 2 Thug. AC 4 (Piecemeal Iron Plates), hp 13, Morale +2. Armed with a massive Two-Handed Iron Sledge ($1d10$ damage).
Underworld Adaptation: Mantle Hardened. Grakka gains a +2 bonus to all Saves vs. Blast (such as collapsing cave ceilings or rockslides) and can carry an additional 2 Stone of equipment before suffering encumbrance slowdowns.
Cost: 45 gp upfront + 1 full share of treasure.
3. Sizz’lk (Chitin Regime Defector)
A renegade Troglodyte who was branded a criminal by the Warlords of Krag-Ghar for trading with human smugglers. He acts as a guide through the local fissures.
Stats & Gear: Level 1 Thief. AC 5 (Natural Scales), hp 4, Morale -1. Armed with two poisoned bone daggers ($1d4$ damage + Save vs. Poison for $1d4$ subdual damage).
Underworld Adaptation: Chameleonic Hide. Sizz’lk adds a +3 bonus to all Hide in Shadows checks when moving against bare, unworked stone cavern walls. He can track subterranean tracks with a 4-in-6 chance of success.
Cost: 25 gp upfront + 1 half-share of treasure. Note: His presence in the party will cause immediate hostility if the players encounter Chitin Regime patrol squads.
4. Malakor the Spore-Tender (Subterranean Apothecary)
A frail, elderly human mutant who has spent forty years studying the fungal forests of the deep water-ways. His fingers are permanently stained purple.
Stats & Gear: Level 1 Specialist (Apothecary/Healer). AC 1 (Robes), hp 3, Morale -2. Armed with a iron-tipped walking staff.
Underworld Adaptation: Fungal Immunity. Malakor is completely immune to the spores of Shriekers and Ochre Jellies. Once per day, he can spend 1 turn foraging in a natural cavern to create a poultice that neutralizes the paralyzing touch of a Carrion Crawler if applied within 3 rounds of a hit.
Cost: 50 gp upfront (requires a safe bunk on the party's skiff).
Because Krag-Ghar is built within a massive, hollowed-out stalactite suspended over a boiling mud sump, its geography is vertical and precarious. Space is a premium; every street is carved into the interior rock face or suspended by rusted iron chains over the churning orange sludge below.
In ACKS II, the city is stratified by power, wealth, and functional economy into three distinct tiers.
=================== [ THE SPARK-SPIRE ] ===================
(Top Tier: The Iron Baron's Fortress & Nobles)
| |
Rusted Chain Great Stone
Lift Shafts Staircases
v v
================== [ THE FOUNDRY ANCHOR ] ==================
(Middle Tier: Foundries, Smithies, Markets)
| |
+---------+---------+
|
v
=================== [ THE SUMP-RING ] ===================
(Bottom Tier: Gladiator Pits, Docks, Slums)
1. The Spark-Spire (The High Tier)
This district occupies the uppermost, widest section of the stalactite where it anchors into the cavern roof. It is the coolest, safest, and most heavily fortified district in the city.
The Architecture: Vaulted stone chambers carved directly into the ancient granite ceiling. The air here is artificially scrubbed of sulfur smoke by basic ventilating shafts. The pathways are wide, smooth, and lined with iron guard posts.
The Crucible Citadel (The Iron Baron's Fortress): The absolute seat of power, ruled by Baron Vraka the Unbroken, a massive, ancient Troglodyte warlord who wears plate armor forged from black underworld iron. The fortress is built like a bunker, featuring massive iron portcullises and a private garrison of 100 elite Chitin Guards.
ACKS II Mechanics: This is the administrative heart. The Baron controls the city’s treasury, levies the water-tolls on the Sunless Sea, and issues trade writs. Accessing this district requires a High-Tier Pass (costing 100 gp or earned via high-level service) or a direct audience with the Baron's stewards. Humanoids found wandering here without a pass are enslaved instantly.
2. The Foundry Anchor (The Middle Tier)
The widest structural ring of the stalactite, this district is an industrial hellscape wrapped in a perpetual cloud of black soot and orange sparks. It drives the entire economy of Krag-Ghar.
The Architecture: A maze of soot-stained workshops, blast furnaces, and cramped stone tenements built into the outer edges of the tier. The central plaza is an open-air market suspended by massive, house-thick iron chains that groan constantly under the shifting weight of cargo.
The Great Foundries: This is where the Chitin Regime smelts the iron ore harvested from the surrounding deep-veins. The heat is oppressive, fueled by natural gas vents tapped from the cavern walls.
ACKS II Market Center: This district functions as the Market Class V exchange point. It is lined with weapon-smiths, armorers, and scrap-dealers. Because of the sheer volume of metal production, standard non-magical iron weapons and armor can be commissioned or repaired at 80% of standard surface book costs, though the quality is brutal, dark, and unpolished.
3. The Sump-Ring (The Bottom Tier & Slums)
The narrowest, lowest tip of the stalactite, hanging a mere 60 feet above the bubbling, sulfurous mud sumps. The air here is thick, wet, and caustic, causing surface eyes to water and sting.
The Architecture: A chaotic network of rotted wooden boardwalks, hanging shanties, and bone-meal warehouses built precariously along the outer lip of the rock. The hanging docks (where the players tie their skiff) are located on the western edge of this ring.
The Maw (The Gladiator Slave Pits): Carved directly into the hollow center of the stalactite's tip is a massive, circular vertical shaft. The bottom of the shaft is sealed with a heavy iron grate looking directly down into the boiling mud. This is the arena.
The System Economy: The pits are managed by The Flesh-Factors, a powerful criminal guild of Beastmen. They buy captured orcs, beastmen, and surface humanoids, forcing them to fight wild cavern beasts (like Giant Cave Locusts or captured Carrion Crawlers) for the entertainment of the upper tiers.
Tactical Hazard: Slaves who fail to entertain the crowd are dropped through the bottom grate into the mud sump below.
ACKS II Camp Value: The Sump-Ring is a lawless frontier. The Chitin Regime guards rarely patrol here unless a full-scale riot breaks out. It is the perfect place to secure black-market goods, hire desperate mercenaries like Grakka the Sledge, or pick up unvetted rumors about Zelligar's old surface fortress without paying state taxes.
The Logistics of Verticality: The Chain Lifts
Movement between the Sump-Ring and the Foundry Anchor is restricted to two massive, iron-caged platform lifts driven by giant beastman-turned capstans. The Chitin Regime charges a 1 cp toll per passenger to use the lifts. Characters seeking to avoid the toll—or avoid the guards stationed at the lift gates—must climb the treacherous, vertical Sweat-Stairs carved into the wet exterior of the rock face, requiring an Acrobatics or Climbing proficiency check to navigate safely with heavy gear.
