The Black Vault and The Grim Fastness

[Mephisto of the FoS]

When I first read about the Black Vault I really liked the concept of it but when the Requiem boxed set came out it had a map of the Grim Fastness (where the Black Vault is located), but the Vault wasn't described, there was no secret door leading to it, in fact it wasn't even mentioned. It writes in Forged of Darkness that the Black Vault is located in the undead infested caverns beneath the Grim Fastness in Ill Aluk, now part of Necropolis. Would you place the entrance to the Black Vault in level 1 accessible through the Treadmill (area 1 in the Grim Fastness map), the Basement Garden (area 2) or maybe through some magical teleportation portal from any of the other rooms of the Requiem map? If you chose the last one which room would it be? Also what kind of action would be needed to trigger the secret door or portal that leads to the caverns below the Grim Fastness? Would it be accessible from someplace outside the Grim Fastness, which was the reason it wasn't mentioned in the Requiem, and if so, why would Azalin create an entrance not protected by the Kargat headquarters above? Could it be that the key to the Black Vault or a map of safely going there is the item the undead halflings of Aluk Septetrion (from Gazzetter II) so jealously protect? If not what is your take of what the halflings have hoarded and guard?

Yes I know too many questions...

[Mephisto of the FoS]

My version would probably be through a magical portal in one of the other rooms probably room 14 in the Grim Fastness map. Maybe by performing some kind of ritual, involving the blood of an innocent (not necessarily dead though, as Van Richten and his group should be able to perform it). Also blood on the floor next to a vampire's coffin doesn't draw attention as it is part of the "environment" making the passage to the Black Vault hidden in plain sight. By performing that ritual a set of stairs appears inside the coffin of the commander of the Grim Fastness, leading to the caverns below the Grim Fastness (in a way the top "living" quarters lead to the lowest part of the building).

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One of the reasons is that it can be stealthily accessed by anyone brave/foolish enough to climb the walls of the Grim Fastness to enter the building through one of the windows on level 7, then reaching the corridor on level 6 through one of the werebat holes on the belfry floor. This would mean that Van Richten and his group didn't have to fight everyone in the Grim Fastness to find the Black Vault, but maybe only one Kargat officer.

[alhoon]

In all honesty, I would not put the Black Vault anywhere and treat it as non-canonical fluff to make "Forged of Darkness" a more interesting read than a bland list of items.
If I had to put the Black Vault Somewhere, I would break it up to several stronghouses as the items there are very "Expensive" to make. In a world where the mists may draw in 15th lvl thieves to troll you, you don't stack those together.

I would put some in Grim Fastness, in the basement, and some in Avernus.
And I would consider many of those lost or stolen in the Requiem giving me the chance to spread them all around.

However, having bought Forged of Darkness long long ago, I can tell you... I was not very impressed with it. It is buried somewhere in the stack of books I had from Ravenloft.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

However, having bought Forged of Darkness long long ago, I can tell you... I was not very impressed with it. It is buried somewhere in the stack of books I had from Ravenloft.

I agree that I wouldn't use a lot of the items described in there, especially things from Klorr's Workshop and Guiseppe's Toys. But I like the Black Vault section as well as the descriptions of Bonespur's ring and the Wolfkiller. Also I had designed an adventure many years ago that involved the creation of a three fingered hand of power in Falkovnia. Also Falcon the Great makes his first appearance in Headman's Axe (and the Gentleman Caller his second in Pipes of Mordent reminiscent to Amadeus Mozart's Requiem legend).
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/moz ... ight-week/

Tome of Terror is a good way to create strange fairytale influenced horror adventures, maybe having PCs take the form of fairytale characters. I have said I don't like dark fantasy compared to gothic horror but this Tome of Horror concept seems interesting to me, for instance it can be used to play a horror version of Gary Gygax's 1st edition EX1 Dungeonland (1983) and EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror (1983). As well as others from the Uncaged series or even Feywild adventures in Ravenloft. I have somewhere a module full of fairytale inspired adventures that could be used for PCs trapped inside this cursed magical book, unfortunately I don't remember the name.

In a world where the mists may draw in 15th lvl thieves to troll you, you don't stack those together.

On the other hand all these magical items are cursed, so who actually trolls who in this case? Maybe Azalin uses this as a lure to punish powerful thieves, we all know his views on capital punishment...

I believe it matches his spider web way of thinking, planting (cursed) magical items in one of the most feared buildings of his domain, only to have his vault being seemingly unaccessible but actually accessible (through the means described in the spoiler above). So while the thieves believe they have at last acquired a massive treasure they have only managed to spell their doom.

Maybe the treasure map I suggested the halfings of Aluk Septetrion guard is one of many created by Azalin to lure and punish thieves who defy him.

[Baron Von Stanton]

It is buried somewhere in the stack of books I had from Ravenloft.

In your own Black Vault?

[alhoon]

It is buried somewhere in the stack of books I had from Ravenloft.

In your own Black Vault?

[brothersale]

IIRC Oscar Perez (one of the artists from CoTN:D) had some art on the Kargatane site that was set in the Black vault, under the title: Shadow of Evil

http://web.archive.org/web/200308230609 ... perez.html

[Joël of the FoS]

Wow, great memory!