Perilous Gateways
Bandit Lord Portals
By Robert Wiese
Deep in the forests there lies a lost and ruined civilization. Where it came from, or what caused its demise, is unknown because no one has studied it. Scattered references to the inhabitants may exist in the documents of other lands, but that is all. Could their fate be tied to powerful magic, as is so often the case in Faerûn? Could their fate be tied to orc hordes or rampaging demons?
The ruins of this civilization encompass a single large city, built on the site where the forest now grows. Ruins of buildings can be found throughout the central part of the forest, and a number of animals and monsters live in these ruins. Only one group, the Bandits of the Iron Wind, knows whether the ruins contain vast wealth or just monsters. The ruins did offer a treasure in portals that has greatly increased the bandits' raiding capability.
Note: While this series assumes that these portals are in the High Forest, you can easily place them in another location where there is a forest and a road traversed by merchants.
How to Incorporate the Bandit Lord Portals Into Your Campaign
This set of portals and the NPCs that use them were created to form a backdrop of foes for a short campaign for characters of middle levels. The NPCs can be adjusted to fit the level of your campaign, but the leader should be at least a 5th-level character. The tricks of these bandits can keep the PCs occupied for a number of adventures before they fight a climactic battle with the rogues in the ruins of the lost civilization. The portals, NPCs, and items could also be used separately with a modification of their history and connection.
Keep a close hand on your purse when exploring these portals:
- The Hideout Portal
- The Raiding Portal
- The Escape Portal
- The Treasurecave Portal
- The Shrinking Portal
About the Author
Robert Wiese began playing D&D with the blue boxed set (the one after the original three small pamphlets). He has campaigned through three and a half editions of his favorite roleplaying game, and he has tried Call of Cthulhu and some other games as well. Throughout it all he has learned that a great DM makes a great campaign. So he is happy to assist great DMs with little ideas such as these portals. He led the RPGA Network through the tough times and now works at UNR as a biochemical researcher. Life is very full between studies, work, pets (three dogs, three cats, a fish, a frog, a toad, and two rats) and gaming, but he always puts his wife and his faith first.