Introduction
Out of the Underworld is an adventure for 4-6 1st level characters. It is a full conversion of the D&D Module "Out of the Abyss." The adventure borrows from both Canon and Legends Star Wars timelines and is set in 17 BBY - two years after the end of the Clone Wars and the establishment of the Galactic Empire.
Chapter 1: Prisoners of the Empire
Deep beneath the surface of the the planet Coruscant lies the Underworld, a realm of endless labyrinthine passages and alleyways where the sun never shines. The Underworld is filled with species and creatures too numerous to count or list, and a new faction has recently begun crawling their way into the world below the surface - The Empire. Hated and feared even by their fellow dwellers in darkness, the Empire has begun raiding settlements in the Underworld, taking prisoners back with them. Rendered unconscious from Imperial stun beams, then collared and shackled, these prisoners are eventually taken away as work slaves on distant worlds, or personal servants for the cruelest Imperial officers.
The adventurers have all had the misfortune of falling to such a fate. Captured by the Empire, they are prisoners at one of the Imperial outposts, awaiting transportation to Arak Base, a massive Imperial Stronghold. Whether they came into the Underworld seeking knowledge or fortune, or were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were ripe prey for an Imperial raid.
The setup of Out of the Underworld is such that the characters need have no connections with events in the Underworld, or with each other, prior to the start of the adventure. They can meet and get to know each other as prisoners of the Empire. Players who would like their characters to have a stronger Underworld connection can choose from the background options in appendix A.
"Prisoners of the Empire" assumes the characters start at 1st level, and that they will achieve 2nd level (if not 3rd) by the end of this chapter of the adventure. Given the challenges of the adventure and the dangers of the Underworld, you can start the characters at a higher level (2nd or 3rd) to make things a bit easier for the players.
Escape!
The characters' goal in this chapter of the adventure is straightforward: escape from the Imperial outpost - Outpost V, with an eye toward escaping from the Underworld. However, this goal is complicated by the adventurers' lack of familiarity with their surroundings. Even if the prisoners can get away from the Empire, where will they go and how will they survive?
Restraints
All the Empire's prisoners, including the characters, wear durasteel collars along with stun cuffs connected to durasteel belts by a short length of crackling energy. This leaves the prisoners restrained, but doesn't affect their movement or speed.
In addition to being manacled, techcasters don’t have any techcasting components or focuses, initially limiting their techcasting ability. (Techcaster characters don’t need components to cast tech spells, but will be unable to change their prepared spells without them. As such, give tech-caster characters some leeway in determining which spells they had previously prepared before being captured.)
Moreover, forcecasting isn’t possible inside the prisoner pen because of its Force-resistant failsafes. (see area 11).
Slipping out of stun cuffs requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity check, while breaking them requires a successful DC 20 Strength check. A character can unlock the stun cuffs using thieves’ tools with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. The stun cuffs have 15 hit points. A character who fails a check to break a collar, break a set of stun cuffs, or escape from a set of stun cuffs can’t attempt checks of that kind again until he or she finishes a long rest. A character can still use the Help action to aid another character, however.
The Adventure Begins
The characters begin the adventure in the prisoner pens of Outpost V. Stripped of everything but their underclothing, they are at the mercy of the Imperials and in the company of other prisoners, many of who aren't what they seem.
Captured by the Empire! You wouldn't wish this fate upon anyone, yet here you are-locked in a dark cell, the cold, heavy weight of durasteel tight around your throat and wrists. You are not alone. Other prisoners are trapped in here with you, in an underworld outpost far from the light of the sun.
Your captors include a cruel Imperial Inquisitor who calls herself The Fourteenth Sister. Over the past several days, you've met her several times, robed in silken garments and flanked by two male troopers, one of whom has an intensive breathing apparatus and clearly synthetic leg.
The Fourteenth Sister likes to impress her will with scourge in hand and remind you that your life now belongs to her. "Accept your fate, learn to obey, and you may survive." Her words echo in your memory, even as you plot your escape.
Assume that each player character has been a prisoner in Outpost V for 1d10 days. (Roll separately for each character.) The characters spend most of this time locked in the prisoner pen, emerging occasionally under heavy guard to perform menial chores for their captors' amusement (see "Hard Labor").
Feel free to play out any interaction between the Empire, the player characters, and the other prisoners. This is an opportunity to reveal who the characters are and to flesh out their backgrounds and personalities through roleplaying, even as you introduce some of their fellow prisoners. The Fourteenth Sister's newest commanding officer, Sho-ur, wants to impress his superior, while Jorlan, her former second-in-command, sullenly does his duty but casts a curious eye over the prisoners. Any hostile move is met with stun blasts from the Empire, and possibly a strike from Fourteenth Sister's lightsaber or sap vitality force ability. The Arak droids attack and poison anyone who attacks the Empire. The Empire don't kill any of the prisoners (leaving them unconscious at 0 hit points) but have no compunction about beating them.
In the Prison Pen
Outpost V's prisoner pen is closed with a heavy durasteel gate bolted into the stone. See area 11 for more information about the prisoner pen, including options for opening or breaking through the gate.
The prisoners are provided with simple bowls full of barely edible food, and one of the duties of prisoners is to empty the remains of uneaten food into the pool during their shift. There are no other comforts in the prisoner pen. Prisoners must sit or lie on the floor, and are fed only once each day.
Scavenged Possessions
The player characters have not been idle during their captivity. Have each player roll a d20, and add the number of days (1d10) that player's character has been imprisoned in Outpost V. The result determines what, if anything, the character has in his or her possession when the adventure begins.
| 1d10+1d20 | Item |
|---|---|
| 2-9 | - |
| 10-12 | A single credit |
| 13-15 | A tiny creature of the Underworld (a mouse, roach, etc) |
| 16-18 | A 5-foot-long strand of fibercord |
| 19-21 | A flawed gemstone worth 10 credits |
| 22-24 | A rusted pipe or bar that can be used as a club |
| 25-27 | A shard of durasteel that can be used as a dagger |
| 28-30 | A blaster rifle |
Fellow Prisoners
The characters are held with ten other prisoners, captured during various raids and likewise awaiting transportation to Arak Base. Some can expect to be flown off-world as slaves, while others await death at the hands of the Empire as traitors. Regardless of what they might think of the adventurers - and each other - outside the prisoner pens, all the NPCs have good reason to cooperate in order to escape and survive.
| Fellow Prisoners | |
|---|---|
| Bui Pra'kith | Talkative and cunning Bothan |
| Derendil | Wookie who claims to be a Kashyyyk chieftan |
| Eldeth Fel | Mandalorian scout from Clan Grim |
| Jimjar | Chadra-fan with a gambling problem |
| Ront | Gammorean bully |
| Sarith Zekar | Imperial accused of murder |
| Shuushar | Mon Calamari hermit and mystic |
| Sootoo | Revwein sprout |
| Topi and Turi | Ugnaught twins infected with Rakghoul Plague |
A Motley Crew
The other prisoners who manage to escape with the player characters are likely to become their companions for a substantial part of the adventure, so it is good to lay the groundwork for those relationships early on. Some of the NPCs might not survive the initial escape attempt. Others might be lost to the dangers of the Underworld - or might reveal their true colors and betray the party. A few could become true companions. Keep in mind the other prisoners have their own personalities and goals, but are generally willing to cooperate for their own benefit. Their knowledge of the Underworld should encourage the player characters to keep them around at least initially.
Since managing such a large cast of NPCs can be quite involved, enlist the aid of the players if you wish, having each of them take on the role of managing one or more of the party's companions. The player generally decides what that NPC is doing, with the knowledge that you, as Dungeon Master, can overrule them as needed by the story. Not only does this make the secondary characters easier to manage, it helps the players get to know them and strengthens the bonds between the NPCs and the adventurers.
Bui Prakith
A male bothan, Bui is surprisingly gregarious and talkative, demonstrating a keen mind and a disarming manner. This pleasant facade conceals the soul of an insane killer. Bui secretly believes he is the living incarnation of the bothan prophet Golm Fervse'dra — the author of the ancient Bothan philosophy known as The Way. Bui believes as the new incarnation of this prophet, he is carrying out the Bothan principle of "Bothans above all others" in its most extreme form. He rationalizes any setbacks (including his capture and imprisonment) as part of his "divine plan." His killings are carefully ritualized, following an exacting process of cutting open the victims and arranging their organs.
Although mad, Bui is cunning and capable of hiding his true nature to serve his own ends. Because he believes he is a prophet, he is convinced that he can't be killed (or at least that the death of his mortal form means nothing to him), so he is completely fearless. He assumes everything is part of his divine plan, and enthusiastically participates in any plot to escape from the Empire so he can continue his holy work. Bui is happy to consider his fellow prisoners allies until such time as he no longer needs them, or becomes convinced that the omens point toward the need for one or more of them to be sacrificed to his greater glory.
Chief Derendil
This hulking wookie is the most menacing-looking prisoner in the prison pens, and the other prisoners give him a wide berth. If any of the characters speak to him, however, the wookie replies in proud Shyriiwook. He explains that he is in fact a chieftan on his home world of Kashyyyk, though if prodded he cannot give a single description of the planet. He claims to be Chief Derendil of the kingdom of Nyylvane in the High Forest. His clan title was usurped by his evil brother Terrestor, who banished him to the Underworld and exiled him from his people.
Although Derendil behaves like the highborn chieftan he believes himself to be, he responds to stress — and particularly threats — like a wookie: violently tearing foes limb from limb and rending their flesh with sharp claws and teeth. He comes back to himself only after battle, or when someone reinforces his "true identity" to snap him out of it. Derendil laments that he is slowly but surely losing himself to the savagery of his banished fate.
In fact, Derendil is simply mad, touched by the delusions of the Sithspawn leviathan Urab-Fr'luu. The kingdom of Nyylvane doesn't exist, and all of "Derendil's" recollections and personality are an illusion created by the leviathan's Dark Side influence of Deception. The wookie refuses to believe the truth, and any incontrovertible evidence as to his real nature sends him into a murderous rage.
Eldeth Fel
A female human mandalorian scout from Clan Grym, Eldeth is high spirited and proud of both her heritage and her people's achievement in reclaiming the ancient mandalorian stronghold; she suggests Stronghold Grym as a destination to escape from the Underworld. Eldeth is stubborn and hates the Empire and all other "corrupt surface dwellers" such as Senators and the Jedi.
Eldeth wants to get back home, but she is also defiant and self sacrificing — and therefore among the most likely prisoners to perish before getting the opportunity. If that happens, Eldeth asks a character she trusts to promise to carry word of her fate back to her family in Stronghold Grym, along with her shield and vibrohammer if they are recovered. This might win the characters the approval of Eldeth's kin when they later visit with Clan Grym.
Jimjar
A male chadra-fan spy, Jimjar is a feckless rogue with a devil-may-care attitude, a fondness for credits, and an obsession with betting on virtually anything and everything. Once he knows the characters, Jimjar regularly offers them bets on things from their own efforts ("I bet you ten credits you can't get past that sentry without being seen") to the outcomes of random events ("I bet you twenty credits this tunnel is the right way"). He sometimes uses betting to goad others into doing things, but characters can easily turn the tables knowing that Jimjar finds it difficult to refuse a wager. Others in the prison cell (including Topi and Turi) find Jimjar annoying at best, and unstable and potentially mad at worst.
Jimjar is always true to his word, and he manages to keep exact track of his debits and credits in his head, paying up on his bets (or demanding payment) as soon as possible. He's not above pocketing a little extra coin when no one is watching, and he has an amazing ability to secret significant wealth on his person.
Jimjar feels as though there's something odd about the twins Topi and Turi, but he keeps his opinion to himself unless asked. He does his best to get along with everyone, although some find his gregariousness and constant wagers grating.
Ront
A male gamorrean from the Reekshield tribe, Ront fled from the slaughter of a band of gamorreans at the hands of an Underworld gang, falling down a shaft and wandering in the deeper Underworld before being captured by the Empire. He's ashamed of his cowardly act and feel that the universe is punishing him for his cowardice. But he also doesn't want to die, or at least not in Imperial captivity. Ront is mean, stupid, and hateful, but he also knuckles under to authority and threats. He especially hates Eldeth, as his tribe is at war with her people.
Ront engages in threatening behavior and bullying toward the other prisoners unless someone stands up to him.
Sarith Zekar
A male human ex-Imperial, Sarith is sullen and keeps to himself, rebuffing attempts to talk to him. He is disgraced by his imprisonment but is resigned to his fate, since there doesn't appear to be anything he can do about it. Sarith is accused of murdering one of his fellow Imperial troopers in a fit of madness, but he has no memory of it. He varies between believing the whole thing is a setup to discredit and destroy him, and fearing that it is all true — which, in fact, it is. He is being held until he can be sent back to Arak Base as a test subject as to the effects of the Sithspawn influence.
Unknown even to the other imperials, Sarith is infected with tainted spores from underworld plants corrupted by Zmeroy, the ancient Sithspawn Leviathan of Fungi. The initial infestation of the sith spores caused Sarith's bout of madness, and his health and sanity continue to deteriorate as the spores grow within his brain.
Shuushar the Awakened
A mon calamari, Shuushar is likely to be one of the more unusual creatures any of the adventurers have met this deep in the Underworld. The aquatic hermit is a calm and peaceful presence. He is aware of his people's well-deserved reputation for war and honor, and claims to have spent a lifetime in contemplation and solitary meditation to surpass that legacy. He appears to have been successful, exuding an aura of enlightened balance. Shuushar is even calm and accepting of his current imprisonment, merely saying that it is what it is, and who can say what end it might eventually lead toward?
Although Shuushar is by far the most sane, stable, and honest of the adventurers' fellow prisoners, he is also the most useless to their immediate goals. The mon cala hermit is a complete pacifist. He doesn't fight or cause harm to any other creature, even refusing to defend himself or others. He gladly accompanies the party if permitted to do so, however, helping them in any way he can other than violating his most sacred vow.
Shuushar is familiar with Ma Salasho, the mon calamari district near the Dark Lake, and has navigated the twisting routes of the Dark Lake for many years. He hopes to share his enlightenment with his fellow mon calamari, although he isn't aware of recent events in Ma Salasho (see chapter 3 for details).
Sootoo
Sootoo is a revwein sprout captured by Sarith Zekar. Sootoo is lonely and frightened, wanting only to return to its home in the Neirlight Grove. If befriended by the characters, Sootoo gladly offers to guide them to its home, promising them sanctuary with its folk, although it isn't aware of the dangers posed by Zmeroy's influence on the plants and fungi (see chapter 5).
Sootoo uses rapport spores to establish telepathic communication with other creatures, and it does so to communicate with characters who are kind and friendly toward it. The revwein will also help establish communication with Underworld denizens with whom the characters don't share a language. Once it becomes attached to one or more of the adventurers, Sootoo behaves somewhat like an enthusiastic and curious younger sibling, sticking close to the characters and asking all kinds of questions.
Topi and Turi
Twin ugnaughts, Topi and her brother Turi are originally from the Bling District in the Underworld. They were captured by the Empire while out gathering mushrooms in the passages near their home. Like most other ugnaughts, Topi has a stringy mop of hair while Turi only has a few tufts of hair atop his otherwise bald head. Topi is by far the more social of the two. Turi constantly mumbles and mutters darkly, with Topi repeating or translating what her brother says.
Topi and Turi hide the fact that they are afflicted with Rakghoul disease. Infected with this deadly plague, neither ugnaught has entirely embraced it yet, and they struggle to control their rakghoul instincts and urges. They are fearful of what potential allies might do if they learn the truth, and are looking out for each other and their own survival. With their transformations controlled by their levels of stress, you can use the twins' impending change as a wild card in the adventure. They've been prisoners for less than a month, meaning their final transformation is coming.
What the Prisoners Know
Allow the characters to freely mingle and interact with their fellow prisoners or even the Imperial guards, although the guards rarely talk to the "Underworld scum." Of all the prisoners, only Eldeth and Jimjar speak fluent Basic. The others speak Huttese (or at least understand it). Ront understands some Basic, while Derendil speaks Wookie. Sootoo's rapport spores can establish telepathic communication to allow everyone to speak freely. The guards aren't observant enough to notice.
You might wish to consult the social interaction rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide, in which case the other prisoners are initially indifferent toward the characters. Handle the interactions using roleplaying, Charisma checks, or a balance of the two as best suits your group and the way the adventure unfolds.
The characters can learn the following things from talking with their fellow prisoners, some of who have been captives of the Empire for a tenday or two:
- There are nineteen Imperials at the outpost, including the Fourteenth Sister, Sho-ur, and Jorlan, as well as another Inquisitor named the Seventeenth Sister. There are also a dozen yuzzem and a number of Arak prison droids.
- Three Imperial guards watch the prisoner pen from the hanging guard tower across the retractable bridge, visible through the locked gate.
- The cell has some sort of force nullifying effect on it (see area 11 for details).
- Jorlan the imperial commander suffered disfiguring injuries recently. Before then, he seemed more in Fourteenth Sister's favor. Now Sho-ur seems to have displaced him.
- Jorlan used to have a gauntlet that shot globs of sticky material able to trap targets. Now Sho-ur carries it, as another sign of their change in status.
- It might be a matter of days or tendays before a contingent from Arak Base arrives to take prisoners back to the Imperial stronghold.
Additionally, the imperial Sarith Zekar knows the following:
- A trash-eating creature lives in the pool. It's harmless, feeding off waste unless disturbed.
- A supply patrol from Arak Base is a few days overdue, which is unusual.
Hard Labor
The Imperials divide their prisoners into three roughly equal-sized groups and put them to work for a third of the day, supervised by the yuzzem. Their menial tasks include filling and hauling water barrels, operating the lift, cleaning any or all parts of the outpost (whether they need it or not), cleaning refreshers, food preparation and service, washing dishes, and laundry. The prisoners are also given cruel or pointless tasks to occupy them, and for the Imperials' amusement. Such labors include moving or stacking crates, coiling ropes, and organizing supplies, with prisoners forced to redo work that doesn't meet the Imperial's arbitrary standards.
Characters might or might not work together, depending on how the Empire split them up. Prisoners known to be friendly to each other are usually kept apart, and no more than two or three prisoners are allowed to work at a single task at once.
The Empire and their hired yuzzem are cruel and capricious, but also somewhat bored and looking for amusement. The yuzzem are poor conversationalists, hateful and mistrustful toward the prisoners. The Imperials are more inclined to talk, if only to boast of their superiority. Characters might trick them into dropping useful bits of information, such as how long the journey to Arak Base is expected to take, or that the outpost is relatively close to the Dark Lake.
Bad Dreams
The characters' sleep in the prisoner pen is troubled and fitful, filled with strange dreams and disturbing images. Dark shadows seem to move and reach out toward them as the characters wander lost through endless mazes of tunnels. Oily tentacles slide to brush up against them, while a great buzzing and howling rises in the distance. Suppurating wounds burst open in clouds of spores or crawling masses of maggots or insects. At least one or more of the characters should wake in a cold sweat from these nightmares after every rest, feeling as though something is out there in the dark depths - something far worse than the Empire.
You need not explain the cause of these dreams and images at this time. Characters can chalk them up to the conditions in the pen, or to the aftereffects of stun beams, but they are omens of what is happening in the Underworld. Forcecasters, particularly Sentinels and Consulars, might be most prone to these dreams, but they can visit any or all of the characters.
Fight!
Most of the other prisoners aren't looking for trouble, and even killers such as Bui are careful to bide their time. Still, both Derendil and Ront have quick tempers, and Sarith the Imperial is prone to bouts of violence as the leviathan Zmeroy's sith spores take over his mind. It's possible the characters could provoke a fight. If they do, some of the prisoners (including the ugnaughts) egg on the fighters while others keep their distance or even try to break up the brawl. Any violent conflict draws the attention of the Imperial guards, who initially order any prisoners to stand down from a fight, threatening them with blaster rifles from outside the gate. If necessary, they shoot prisoners with stun blasts to incapacitate them. The guards let any fight play out for their own amusement as long as the prisoners don't seem likely to actually kill one another.
Feeding Time
If a prisoner becomes too much trouble, or if the Empire need to mete out a lesson on the price of disobedience, they make a gruesome spectacle of tossing a malcontent to the Arak droids in the electric wiring beneath Outpost V. Imperial guards or yuzzem hirelings throw the bound prisoner over the edge into the wires, where the droids quickly converge to jab the victim, injecting them with a paralytic toxin. Once the victim is paralyzed, the droids wrap up the prisoner in fibercord and leave them dangling over the precipice, or drop them fully down the pit.
This event is a convenient opportunity to get rid of one or more of the other prisoners before the escape attempt if you don't want them around. As well, you can drive home the cruelty and threat of the Empire by eliminating an NPC with whom the characters have formed a bond.
The Empire
The garrison at Outpost V consists of twelve stormtroopers, five purge troopers, an Inquisitor Knight known as the Seventeenth Sister (formerly known as Asha), and the outpost's commander, an Inquisitor Master known as the Fourteenth Sister. The Empire have purchased the assistance of a pack of twelve yuzzem and six Arak Prison Droids.
| Prominent Imperials | |
|---|---|
| Fourteenth Sister | Inquisitor Master and commander of the outpost |
| Seventeenth Sister | Newly christened Inquisitor Knight |
| Sho-ur | Imperial Purge Trooper. 14th Sister's second-in-command. |
| Jorlan Duskren | Maimed Purge Trooper. 14th Sister's former second-in-command. |
The Fourteenth Sister
The commander of Outpost V is an ambitious Imperial Inquisitor looking to rise in the esteem of the Emperor and the Imperial Inquisitorius. She considers command of a mere outpost a stepping stone in her ascension. The posting is beneath her, and she treats both it and her prisoners with contempt. But she also knows the posting is temporary, and she intends to wring every advantage from it in the meantime.
A member of the Zygerrian species, her people have a long history as slavers. The Fourteenth Sister is a cruel mistress who enjoys taunting and tormenting enemies and underlings alike. In addition to a lightsaber, she wields a specialized three-pronged saberwhip. Although she has taken Sho-ur as her right hand on this mission, the Fourteenth Sister cares no more about him than she did about Jorlan Duskren, the officer she discarded due to his crippling injuries.
The Seventeenth Sister (Asha Vandree)
A newly christened Inquisitor under the Fourteenth Sister's guidance, Asha initially considered the Fourteenth Sister an example to emulate. That changed after she saw how the Sister treated Jorlan Duskren, a seasoned Purge Trooper officer who was the commander's right-hand-man up until he was badly wounded. The Fourteenth Sister discarded Jorlan without a second thought, showing Asha the foolishness of expecting any reward for loyalty.
Asha is ambitious enough to know she could assume command of the outpost if anything was to happen to the Fourteenth Sister, but not courageous enough to challenge her superior openly. She also knows that she would have to impress her superiors in the Inquisitorius for any such field promotion to become permanent. As such, Asha moves cautiously, fanning the fires of Jorlan's hatred while keeping her own hands clean of any plotting.
Artist Credit: DiePest-1912 - https://diepest-1912.deviantart.com/art/
Sho-ur
This Imperial Purge Trooper has assumed the role of the Fourteenth Sister's lieutenant after the injuries suffered by his predecessor, Jorlan Duskren. Sho-ur is relatively young and quite arrogant for a trained Purge Trooper, proud of his abilities and accomplishments. He is still flush with his success in winning the favor of the Fourteenth Sister and advancing his position within the outpost, which shows in his swagger and the way he lords it over every other trooper in Outpost V, particularly Jorlan. Still insecure in his position, Sho-ur feels the need to demonstrate his skill and effectiveness to his superior and to find ways to please her.
As the Fourteenth Sister's lieutenant, Sho-ur carries a gauntlet of viscid globs (see appendix B), which once belonged to Jorlan and is used to capture and restrain prisoners.
Jorlan Duskren
Jorlan turned a talent for inflicting pain into skill as a warrior, and a certain roguish charm into a way to ingratiate himself with his superiors. He quickly made himself useful to the Fourteenth Sister as both the field commander of the Outpost V garrison and as her second-in-command, enjoying all the benefits that came with both roles.
Jorlan thought that the luck favored him, or at least that his power had deflected its malice, until he had the misfortune of a run-in with a large duracrete slug on an otherwise routine raid. The Fourteenth Sister's enhanced senses and combat training saved his life but couldn't undo the terrible damage wrought by the slug's acid. With his face melted and relying on a breathing apparatus, his weapon hand twisted and missing two fingers, and his leg fully replaced by a robotic replacement, Jorlan was no longer the warrior he once was.
The Fourteenth Sister relieved Jorlan of duty during his recuperation, replacing him with the young bravo Sho-ur. When she then took Sho-ur as her new second-in-command, Jorlan realized his recovery would never be sufficient to regain what he had lost. His heartbreak and loss has since become a virulent hatred for the Fourteenth Sister and Sho-ur that slowly eats at him. Jorlan finds the idea of suicide or reckless self-destruction beneath him, however — unless he can find a way to take the Fourteenth Sister and her new right-hand-man with him.
Jorlan knows full well that the sympathy the Seventeenth Sister shows him is an attempt to manipulate him. But he's willing to play along for the time being, hoping to draw the Inquisitor closer and potentially use her against the Fourteenth Sister when the time is right.
Because of his injuries, Jorlan has disadvantage on attack rolls, Dexterity checks, and Dexterity saving throws.
Stormtroopers
The remaining stormtroopers garrisoning Outpost V are named Balok, Bemeril, Guldor, Honemmeth, Imbros, Jaezred, Jevan, Kalannar, Malagar, Nadal, Nym, and Sorn.
Roleplaying the Stormtroopers
The stormtroopers of the Underworld are arrogant, cruel, and vicious, viewing their prisoners as little more than livestock and treating them with cold disregard. Even the most junior stormtrooper understands the inferiority of "underworlders", behaving toward the prisoners like sneering nobility. With their superiors, however, the stormtroopers are fawning sycophants with a passive-aggressive edge. The troopers defer to their superiors, the rank-and-file warriors defer to the Purge troopers, and everyone defers to the Fourteenth Sister.
Outpost V
The Imperial outpost is located in an elevated underhang of a deeper level of the Underworld, built 100 feet above a nearly abandoned city floor. The outpost consists of a series of small buildings suspended by the level's ceiling, and four hanging towers connected by walkways, stairs, and retractable bridges. The towers are concealed by the exposed electrical wiring stretched below them, so that only the lowermost parts of the towers are visible from the city floor.
With the small amount of dim light used in the outpost shielded from the city floor below, one might walk the entire length of this district without becoming aware of the outpost overhead, hidden in the darkness above the range of lamps or glowrods. The Arak droids also serve as guards, dropping down from the electrical wires to sieze creatures that find their way into the district below. Similarly, stormtroopers can drop to the city floor on ascension cables to ambush enemies.
Three buildings and two hanging towers surrounding a platform make up the main part of the outpost for the stormtroopers. The largest of the hanging towers is reserved for the Inquisitors and the shrine of the Dark Side, while the other is a guard tower opposite the base used to hold prisoners. North of the prisoner pen is the den of the outpost's yuzzem servants. Watch posts lie at either end of the outpost, near the northern and southern entrances to the abandoned district.
Outpost V: General Features
The following features apply throughout the outpost.
Light. The interior spaces of the outpost are dimly illuminated by luminous panels in the walls and ceilings, while the exterior is dark.
Sound. A small waterfall pouring into the district below creates a constant background noise, negating the empty level's tendency to amplify and carry sounds. Checks made to hear things in the city below are made normally.
Stairs. These 5-foot-wide stairs exist between several of the outpost's entrances.
Bridges. Bridges of thin durasteel connect the walkways to the guard tower and the entrance to the Inquisitor's tower. The narrow bridges are difficult terrain for non-Imperials.
Falling. A creature pushed off the stairs, a bridge, or the edge of a platform must attempt a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the creature falls, landing in the mass of cables stretched beneath the outpost. On a successful save, a creature grabs hold of the edge and hangs there until it can climb back up with a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check made as part of its movement. A failed Strength check means the creature is unable to move and must check again, while failure by 5 or more means a fall to the cables.
Cables. The dense webs of cables used to power the outpost conceal the outpost from below. A creature falling into the net of cables becomes restrained. As an action, a restrained creature can attempt a DC 12 Strength check to break free from the cables. The cables can also be attacked and destroyed (AC 10, 15 hp per 10-foot section, vulnerability to kinetic, and immunity to poison and psychic damage). Each foot of movement in the cabling costs 1 extra foot, and any creature other than an Arak prison droid that enters the cables or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 12 Strength or Dexterity check to avoid becoming restrained. Any movement in the cables attracts the attention of the prison droids, which attack and restrain trapped creatures.
A creature falling from the cabling to the city floor takes 10d6 kinetic damage.
Areas of Outpost V
1. Southern Watch Post
Near the southern passage from the south passageway is a turret station used as a watch post.
Two stormtroopers are stationed here at all times, keeping watch over the passage and noting the approach of any creatures. The duty is long and dull, so the watchers are sometimes distracted. A successful Dexterity (Stealth) check made against the guards' passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 10 allows characters to pass unnoticed. Any light from the passage or the city below automatically draws the guards' attention, however.
The stormtrooper guards are under orders to report intruders immediately, and to keep them under observation. They take no other action unless ordered or unless they see signs of a significant threat. In that case, they very obviously press their hand to their comms unit in their helmet to alert the whole outpost.
2. Barracks
Steps lead from the watch post to a 1-foot-thick platform of sturdy durasteel extending between two of the hanging towers and into three adjoining rooms.
The two southernmost rooms serve as barracks for the rank-and-file stormtroopers of the outpost. Six troopers dwell in each barracks, each set up with a pallet, a small plasteel chest for holding personal possessions and equipment, and a side table. Exposed internal wiring on the room walls are set with hooks for hanging lanterns and other items, but the barracks are rarely lit.
One stormtrooper is present in each of the barracks caves at any time, resting or eating a light meal. A sleeping trooper rises at any significant light or noise, ready to engage.
Treasure
The equipment of the resting trooper is stored under his pallet: a vibrodagger, a blaster rifle with a case of 20 energy cells, a pair of light battle armor, and a 100-foot coil of fibercord rope with a small grappling hook at the end.
Each of the six chests in each barracks contains a clip of specialized stun rounds used to fire more precise stunning shots (gains the shocking 12 property). One clip has enough cells to empower 20 shots. Each chest also contains two sets of clothing and 1d4 items from a SW5e Trinkets page.
3. Main Hall
This room serves as a gathering and eating place for the stormtroopers of the outpost. It has four circular plasteel tables, each surrounded by five chairs. Part of the hall is used as a food preparation and storage area, containing stocks of dried and fresh fungi, dried fruits, cheeses, preserved meat, and a few clay jars of seasonings. A heavy battery cooker provides heat for cooking along with dim light, but much of the food is served cold.
At any time, there is a 25 percent chance that 1d4 stormtroopers are in the main hall eating or entertaining themselves with dice or card games. If any troopers are present, 1d4 yuzzem are also on hand, serving and cleaning. If there are no troopers in the main hall, there is a 25 percent chance that a lone yuzzem is here performing its duties.
Treasure
There is nothing of value in the main hall apart from what the troopers have on them, but characters can loot the larder for the equivalent of up to 30 days of rations, limited by what they can carry. Each day of rations for one character weighs 2 pounds.
4. Elite Barracks
The two hanging towers flanking the platform are the quarters of the Purge Troopers of the outpost, except for the commander's lieutenant (currently Sho-ur) who has his own quarters in the Inquisitor's tower. Each hanging tower has two chambers, with a small retention lift running between the upper and lower chamber through a metal trapdoor. The purge troopers have finer furniture, including cosian wood chairs and small tables around which they sit.
One off-duty purge trooper rests in one of the chambers here at any given time. There is a 50 percent chance that one yuzzem is also present, carrying out chores such as cleaning up or delivering water. Either reacts hostilely to intruders, but they might choose to flee and warn the outpost rather than attack, depending on the odds.
Treasure
The equipment of the resting purge trooper is stowed beneath his pallet: an electrostaff, a blaster rifle with a case of 20 energy cells, a pair of battle armor, and a 100-foot coil of fibercord rope with a small grappling hook at the end.
Each of the chests in the four chambers contains a clip of specialized stun rounds used to fire more precise stunning shots (gains the shocking 12 property). One clip has enough cells to empower 20 shots. Each chest also contains two changes of clothing, 3d8 credits, and 1d4 items from a SW5e Trinkets page.
5. Lift
Attached to the edge of the barracks platform is a winch-and-basket device consisting of a large swinging arm that carries a thin cord of strong fibercord. The cord runs through a series of pulleys from a hand-cranked horizontal spool to a heavy woven basket suspended at the end. The basket is kept up on the platform except when it is in use.
Two yuzzem attendants remain by the lift to watch for a signal from below for the basket to be lowered. They are on guard in case anyone other than a trooper or one of their own kind approaches.
Using the Lift
Up to four Medium creatures can fit somewhat snugly in the basket, which is swung out over the edge of the platform and lowered to the city floor below by turning the spool using attached handles. This requires a successful DC 18 Strength check, normally provided by two yuzzem servants (one of which makes the check while the other assists with the Help action). Once on the city floor, the basket can be loaded with other passengers or up to 800 pounds of cargo, then lifted back up to the platform in the same way. It takes 4 rounds for the basket to move between the platform and the floor under normal operation.
Dark Side Meditation Chamber
A steep bridge leads from the walkway ledge to the uppermost level of the largest hanging tower, called the Inquisitor's tower. The floor of this circular chamber is covered by dark silken mats with a red jagged lightning pattern woven through them in crimson thread. In the middle of the chamber (at the centerpoint of the lightning) stands a broad pedestal carved from wood, with a 10-foot-high sculpted figure at its head. The carving is so lifelike that anyone initially entering the chamber and seeing it in dim light must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check to recognize it. On a failure, a character mistakes it for an unnerving cloaked figure staring right at them.
This place is a meditation chamber for the inquisitors, allowing them to focus their minds in the dark side of the Force, and also serves as quarters for the Seventeenth Sister, the Inquisitor Knight. She tends the chamber, overseeing routine rituals within and training the troopers in resistance training against the Force.
Roll a d6 when the characters enter the meditation chamber to determine who they might meet.
Shrine Activity
| d6 | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Seventeenth Sister is in the room alone, resting |
| 3-4 | Seventeenth Sister and 1d4 stormtroopers are engaged in Force training |
| 5-6 | The chamber is empty |
The back half of the chamber, behind the altar, is piled with a semicircle of pillows and cushions. Resting among these is an Arak prison droid reprogrammed and kept by the Inquisitors to help tidy. The cushions give the droid sufficient concealment to hide from anyone entering the tower from the front. A character must succeed on a Wisdom (Perception) check contested by the droid's Dexterity (Stealth) check to spot it before it moves.
Treasure
The altar is flanked by a pair of heavy silver waxsticks worth 25 credits each. They hold thick black candles, lit only when a ritual is being performed in the meditation chamber.
The two "eyes" of the Dark Side statue are two pieces of polished jet — worth 30 credits each. Any non-Inquisitor who possesses these gems are afflicted by the dark side objects they carry. All beasts and beast-like creatures attack the bearer of the stones on sight, and such creatures have advantage on checks to detect the possessor of the stones (If your game is using the Force Alignment Variant Rule, these items may also slowly afflict the bearer with Dark Side points). The curse lasts until all the stones are given into the safekeeping of a follower of the Dark Side or the gems are subject to a remove curse Force power.
7. Fourteenth Sister's Quarters
A small repulsor lift leads down from the meditation chamber into this chamber, which serves as private quarters to the Fourteenth Sister, Master Inquisitor and commander of Outpost V.
Inside, the walls are hung with white mesh resembling crackling lighting, extending from a central spot on the ceiling out to the walls, then draped down like curtains. Thick, woven mats cover the floor, while a low platform is covered with cushions and pillows to make a broad, divan-like bed. One side of the chamber contains a small table and two chairs, while the other holds a Dark Side talisman. A heavy chest of black-stained wood sits at the foot of the bed.
The Fourteenth Sister retreats to her quarters for privacy, rest, and meditation. Roll a d6. On 1–2, the inquisitor is here. On a roll of 1, Sho-ur is also here with her. the Fourteenth Sister is furious if anyone dares to enter her quarters unbidden. If the characters catch her here, she uses stun, improved dark side tendril, or choke to slow them while she flees and calls for help. If Sho-ur is with the Fourteenth Sister, he attacks to cover her escape.
Trap
The chest is locked, and the Fourteenth Sister keeps the key in a hidden pocket on the inside of her belt. The lock is trapped with an electric feedback system, which is activated if any attempt is made to open the lock without the proper key. The victim takes 1 lightning damage and must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be shocked for 1 hour. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the target is also unconscious while shocked in this way. A successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals the trap. A character using thieves' tools can make a successful DC 15 Dexterity check to disarm it. Picking the lock requires thieves' tools and another successful DC 15 Dexterity check.
Treasure
The side table holds a small silver-framed mirror worth 10 credits. The dark side talisman is carved of wood and bone, and inlaid with semiprecious stones. It is worth 50 credits if the characters can find a buyer for it.
The chest contains a variety of silken garments and personal items. There is a silver Zygerrian headdress set with small onyx stones, worth 50 credits, and a drawstring bag containing two medpacs. A small leather purse contains 27 credits, and a small moonstone worth 20 credits..
Additionally, the chest contains any valuables once held by the characters and NPCs, including any components, focuses, and enhanced items lost to the adventurers.
8. Sho-ur's Quarters
The lowermost and smallest chamber of the Inquisitor's tower belongs to the commander's lieutenant, the leader of the Purge troopers of the outpost. Sho-ur, the Fourteenth Sister's current favorite, is the present occupant. The area's former occupant, Jorlan Duskren, has been displaced to the elite barracks after his recent injuries.
The chamber contains cushions laid out across floor mats, a small carved table with two chairs, and a sturdy plasteel chest.
Sho-ur spends most of his off-duty time in the Fourteenth Sister's quarters, attending to his commander or awaiting her. Unless you wish him to be found here, his quarters are unoccupied.
Trap
The chest is locked, and Sho-ur keeps the key in his belt pouch. The lock is trapped with a poison needle trap identical to the one in the Fourteenth Sister's quarters.
Treasure
The table holds a pewter pitcher and a pair of matched goblets, worth a total of 1 credit.
The chest contains Sho-ur's personal items and clothing, as well as a small purse containing 20 credits, a black velvet cape (worth 25 credits), a set of chance cubes engraved with Huttese characters (worth 10 credits), a small black velvet bag containing an onyx brooch (worth 50 credits), and a flask of strong, syrupy blue liquor (worth 10 credits). The liquor leaves anyone who drinks it pleasantly poisoned for 1d4 hours.
9. Waterfall
Water vents through a crack in this level's ceiling near the eastern wall between the hanging buildings of the Inquisitor's tower and the guard tower, creating a small waterfall that pours down to the city floor and forms a natural pool (see area 14). Yuzzem gather small barrels of water from the head of the waterfall to serve the outpost's needs.
The water makes the urban wall within 10 feet of it difficult to scale. Any creature attempting to do so has disadvantage on checks made to climb. Any character who falls lands in the pool below, taking no damage.
10. Guard Tower
The fourth hanging tower, connected by bridges to the prisoner pen and the walkway alongside the Inquisitor's tower, serves as a guard tower for observing the city, the western passage, and the prisoner pen.
The lower chamber of the tower is occupied by two troopers and Purge trooper on guard duty. It contains a plasteel table and three chairs, a smaller side table, and fibercord net set with hooks for hanging equipment.
As at the watch posts, guard duty here is a dull affair, and the guards are usually distracted enough (talking or passing the time with dice games) that prisoners can move or act unnoticed with a successful Dexterity (Stealth) check contested by the guards' passive Wisdom (Perception) score.
The tower's upper chamber stores extra arms and armor for the outpost. Characters who gain entrance to the armory can easily loot it (see "Treasure").
Treasure
The contents of the armory include the following:
- 6 suits of light battle armor
- 6 suits of fiber armor
- 6 shields
- 6 blaster pistols
- 20 cases of improved stun clips, each slip containing 20 shots
- 6 techblades and 10 vibrodaggers
- 6 bags of caltrops (20 caltrops per bag)
- 4 100-foot-long coils of fibercord rope
- 2 building hammers (not usable as weapons)
- 2 bags of durasteel spikes (10 spikes per bag)
11. Prisoner Pen
This room is built to hold captives until they are sent to Arak Base to be processed and left to a horrible fate.
The gate to the prisoner pen is kept locked. A character using thieves' tools can pick the lock with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. A character using makeshift tools can attempt the same check but has disadvantage. A lock-picking attempt might draw the attention of the guards, requiring a Dexterity (Stealth) check contested by the guards' passive Wisdom (Perception) score to carry it off without notice. Each of the guards on duty in the other areas of the outpost has a keycard to the gate hanging from a belt ring. Breaking the gate's lock and forcing it open requires a successful DC 20 Strength check.
Force-Nullifying Wards
The Underworld is a common place for Jedi on the run to hide, therefore the Inquisitors have prepared powerful countermeasures on the prisoner pen to inhibit Force-Users and shield the area against premonition attempts.
The Prisoner Pen acts as an energy cage against Force-users. Force powers cast within the prisoner pen have no effect, and any force points or enhanced item ability expended to use such a power is consumed. The cage doesn't suppress or negate Force effects that originate outside the prisoner pen. For example, a creature under the effect of an Force Camouflage power remains invisible when it enters the prisoner pen.
Creatures inside the prisoner pen can't be targeted by any location abilities or perceived through enhanced sensors.
12. Yuzzem Den
Beyond the prisoner pen and down a set of steps, this room is used as a den by the dozen yuzzem that serve the Imperials of Outpost V. The interior is littered with nest-like mounds of debris and the scattered bones of the yuzzem' past meals.
These servants of the yuzzem use the den only to sleep and eat, with 1d4 yuzzem resting here at any given time. The yuzzem attack any creature that comes into their den that isn't a trooper, an Arak droid, or one of their kind. They don't initially attack unknown yuzzem or troopers on sight, but they know all those assigned to the outpost and will question strangers. Sarith's status as prisoners is known to them.
13. Northern Watch Post
This small alcove just past and below the yuzzem den has the same features as the watch post at area 1.
Two stormtroopers are stationed here on watch, typically hating that duty for its proximity to the yuzzem den, the prisoner pen, and the pool.
14. Pool
Water pouring down from the waterfall at area 9 forms a 20-foot-deep pool before flowing out into a lower level river that travels several miles before spilling into the Dark Lake. Since the Imperials take the water they need from the top of the waterfall, they use the pool to dump garbage. Although this fouls the surface of the pool, the constant flow keeps the water beneath the surface clear.
A Coruscant water mold lurks in the pool's shallows, blending perfectly with the dark, wet urban decay. It feeds on the waste dumped into the pool, along with the occasional creature that finds its way into the city or falls into the pool.
The inhabitants of Outpost V remain unaware that the recent awakening of Sithspawn Julbexi in the Underworld has made this mold particularly aggressive and malevolent. In addition to attacking any creature in the pool, the mold surges up to 10 feet out of the pool to attack creatures at its edge. When it does so, Force-sensitive creatures within 30 feet of the mold telepathically sense a voice cry out, "Flesh for the Faceless Lord!"
Means of Escape
Unless they want to spend the rest of their lives as prisoners of the Empire, the characters should quickly begin looking for ways they can escape. Though the task will not be easy, the characters can take advantage of certain opportunities if they use their heads.
Acquisitions
One or more of the characters might have useful items in their possession (see "Scavenged Possessions"), and working outside the prisoner pen creates new opportunities for the characters to acquire and hide small items, including makeshift weapons or tools, or even lift a keycard to the prison pen from a guard. What they can acquire depends on the work they do and where they go. Use the description of the different locations throughout the outpost as a guide to opportunities. Taking something without being noticed requires a successful Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by the Wisdom (Perception) checks of any active observers, or using an observer's passive Wisdom (Perception) score as the base DC. A prisoner that fails the check is commanded to relinquish the item, on pain of death.
What equipment and treasures the characters claim during their escape depend on how much of the outpost they are able to explore before fleeing. For some characters, it might be a fun challenge to escape into the Underworld with little more than the clothes on their backs. For others (including techcasters who need their tech focus), consider placing the party's captured equipment (normally in the Fourteenth Sister's quarters) in an alternate location if the characters are intent on escaping without exploring all of the outpost, such as the elite trooper barracks (area 4) or the armory (area 10).
Jorlan's Gambit
When the initial contact between the adventurers and the other prisoners has been played out, Jorlan Duskren arranges to bring the prisoners their food during his guard duty. (Sho-ur delights in giving Jorlan such menial work). Standing at the gate to the prison pen and passing in bowls, he mutters to the nearest character: "If I could give you a means to escape from here, would you take it?"
If the answer is affirmative, Jorlan quickly and quietly proposes to leave the gate to the prison pen unlocked, as well as to create a distraction during the changing of the guards on duty. He tells the characters about the armory, located in the chamber above the guard post in the hanging guard tower in front of the prison pen. The escapees can jump down into the cables below, then over the edge into the pool, making their escape from there.
Jorlan doesn't particularly care if the prisoners actually escape, which is why he doesn't offer any further help or warn them about the water mold in the pool. It suits him just as well if the prisoners are killed during their attempt to flee. He simply wants to create an embarrassing incident for Sho-ur and the Fourteenth Sister.
Jorlan furtively glances around as he speaks quickly to the characters. If they question him or ask for changes to the plan, he insists it is all he can do. If they accept, he is true to his word, leaving the gate unlocked close to the next guard shift change and delaying the replacement guards for a few minutes.
A Flight of Sithspawn
During a guard change, the prisoners hear a horrible droning buzz echoing through the cavern, followed by inhuman shrieking. Alarm horns sound out as four Chtoar sithspawn pursue a pair of Velroc sithspawn into the city from the northern passage. The sithspawn swoop and buzz around, initially ignoring other creatures as both groups savagely assault each other. The sithspawns' arrival catches all of the Imperials off guard.
The Empire rush to defend the outpost from a possible attack. The sithspawn initially buzz past the hanging towers, leaving the walkways and caverns out of range of the effects of their droning and screeching. However, Imperials and yuzzem in the towers are close enough to be affected. The aerial battle eventually circles around the platform and the towers of the Purge troopers as the sithspawn savagely tear into each other.
The Imperials move to engage the sithspawn and defend the outpost, leaving the characters with an opportunity to escape. You can combine this event with Jorlan's offer to leave the gate unlocked, making it easy for the characters to slip away. Alternatively (or if they refuse Jorlan's offer), the characters can use the distraction to engineer their own breakout, then decide how to get down to the cavern floor and where to go after that.
Describe the chaos of the sithspawn attack and the Empire's response as the escaped prisoners try to flee. The characters can follow Jorlan's suggestion to drop into the cables and then dive into the pool, possibly dealing with an Arak droid or two and the water mold along the way. Alternatively, they can look for another way down. Reaching the lift requires getting past the Imperials clustered on the platform and then attempting to operate it during the attack, which might prove difficult.
If you want to provide an additional challenge for the characters, a velroc tumbles almost in front of them as they reach the cavern floor or move toward their chosen exit. The sithspawn is badly wounded, but even with only 11 hit points remaining and having expended its spores and stunning screech abilities, it is still quite dangerous. It screeches at the characters, but if they do nothing to threaten it for 1 round, the sithspawn takes wing and launches itself back into the fight overhead.
If the adventurers take on the fallen welroc and defeat or escape from it, award them a quarter of its usual XP value, or 575 XP, given its weakened state.
If Jorlan is alive when the sithspawn attack, he might use the distraction to free the prisoners (as described in "Jorlan's Gambit"). Any character who asks Jorlan about the sithspawn gets a stern reply: "These creatures are not my doing. Fight them at your own risk."
Leaving Outpost V
The characters have three choices for leaving Outpost V: the north, west, and south passages.
North Passage
This leads toward Arak Base (see chapter 15) and, eventually, the Bling District (see chapter 6). Most of the characters' fellow prisoners discourage travel toward the Imperial stronghold, and the ugnaughts suggest the Bling District as a route out of the Underworld. The party can also follow a circuitous route westward toward the Dark Lake (see chapter 3).
West Passage
This leads most directly toward the Dark Lake (see chapter 3), although the party could eventually veer south toward Blade Town (see chapter 4).
South Passage
This leads toward the level known colloquially as "Blade Town" (see chapter 4), following a south-westerly route. Characters might need to pass under the battling sithspawn, but the city floor is well out of range of their droning and screeching. The sithspawn locked in combat ignore the escaping prisoners, with the possible exception of a fallen velroc (see "A Flight of Sithspawn").
Whichever route the characters take, chapter 2 covers their passage through the Underworld toward their eventual destination.
XP Awards
In addition to the XP awards earned for overcoming the creatures in this chapter, escaping from Outpost V earns the characters a special award of 150 XP (divided equally among all party members).