THE SUNKEN TEMPLE OF SET
A Dark Tower Fifth Edition
Fantasy Adventure by Chris Doyle
Based on the adventure Dark Tower, originally created by Jennell Jaquays
Cover Artist: Sanjulian • Editor: Benjamin Hayward
Interior Artists: Chris Arneson, Tom Galombos, Cliff Kuroski, Brad McDevitt, Jesse Mohn
Cartographer: Stefan Poag • Developer: Chris Doyle
Art Direction and Layout: Matt Hildebrand • Publisher: Joseph Goodman
FIFTH EDITION FANTASY THE SUNKEN TEMPLE OF SET 1
THE SUNKEN TEMPLE
By Chris Doyle
OF SET
T he Sunken Temple of Set is an adventure designed
for use with the fifth edition of the first fantasy
roleplaying game. It is intended for four to six char-
acters of 7th to 8th level. The adventure occurs in a bar-
ren, rocky, mountainous region bordering a sandy waste
and has a distinctive Egyptian theme. This adventure can
be used as a side adventure for a Dark Tower campaign
(available from Goodman Games). If used as such, the
adventure location is a box canyon in the Redmoon Pass
to the east of the Village of Mitra’s Fist. The adventure is
also easy to place in the GM’s own campaign. If the deity
Set does not occur in the GM’s campaign, he can substi-
tute a similar evil serpentine deity.
BACKGROUND
I
n a concerted effort to spread discord and evil among
the mortal races, the god Set sired many bastard off-
spring via its dalliances among them. The result was a
jumble of divine and mortal traits, but all of his children
were hideous snake, reptilian, and humanoid crossbreeds.
Each was a unique, twisted fiend, as Set steeped his crea-
tions in chaotic sorcery. These he called his sons, and they
were spread far and wide to disseminate their vile plots.
He had many sons, but only the four most powerful were
his Chosen Sons. The rest, and most numerous, are called
his Lesser Sons. All the Sons of Set share a spark of im-
mortality. A Lesser Son always fights to the death, hoping
to gain Set’s favor, for if it’s destroyed it reforms in one
to two years. The Chosen Sons are more practical and
often surround themselves with minions, preferring to
eschew direct conflict. A slain Chosen Son of Set returns
as a Lesser Son, and the most powerful and worthy Lesser
Son ascends to the title of Chosen Son. This often results
in the Lesser Sons taking matters into their own scaly
appendages. Should a Lesser Son slay a Chosen Son, Set
would have no choice but to elevate it to its rightful posi-
tion as a Chosen Son. But failure curses a Lesser Son to
100 years of service to its brother.
A year ago, an ambitious Lesser Son named Makura de- Makura never got the chance to challenge the Chosen
sired to challenge Manahath, a Chosen Son of Set ru- Son. Set himself placed this Chosen Son as guardian and
mored to reside in the nearby Dark Tower of Set. But ally to a powerful Lich. Makura’s undoing was a feigned
Download pregenerated characters and start playing right now! Visit goodman-games.com/pre-generated-characters/
2 FIFTH EDITION FANTASY THE SUNKEN TEMPLE OF SET
alliance with another Lesser Son named Konah the Dis- if they investigate a ruined temple in the wilderness to
senter. Konah betrayed his brother with an arcane on- the East of Mitra’s Fist. He claims it was abandoned,
slaught and sent him back to the Lower Planes to seethe but now it seems brigands or humanoids are using the
in his failure. haunted place as a base of operations. He hints the hal-
But Makura’s tale doesn’t end there, as Set himself was lowed halls might still contain riches and divine magic
intrigued by the brash powerplay. Following a year of from a bygone age.
banishment, when Makura was granted the right to walk • The characters learn that a lost Mitraic artifact, Mitra’s
again among the mortals, he awoke in a ruined temple Bulwark, is possibly hidden in a nearby ruined temple.
not too far from the Dark Tower. The temple was dedi- The characters are encouraged by their benefactor to
cated to Sobek, the lesser crocodile god of destiny. Maku- recover the relic for the purposes of reuniting it with
ra, with three crocodilian heads, took this as a favored other Mitraic artifacts in the fight against Set.
sign from Set, and set about to rededicate this temple to
his god, Set. Soon after, a werecrocodile high priest of
Sobek arrived at the temple at the behest of his deity, but new weapons
quickly pledged its service to the powerful Lesser Son. This adventure includes a few new weapons; the
This dedication is but a ruse, as the priest has his own khopesh and mace-axe were commonly used in an-
agenda, which includes reclaiming the ruined temple in cient Egyptian cultures while the macana has South
the name of his god. Rynchus bides his time and plots to and Central American origins.
overthrow Makura.
Khopesh. A khopesh is a sickle-shaped blade derived
ADVENTURE HOOKS from the battleaxe. Only the outer edge of the blade
is sharpened. The center of the sickle blade is used
T
he werecrocodile priest Rynchus is trying to lure to disarm an opponent’s weapon or shield. On a suc-
heroes to the sunken temple to confront his new cessful hit, the wielder can decide to not inflict dam-
“master”. How the characters learn about the sunk- age and instead force the target to drop its hand-held
en temple is up to the GM, but here are a few suggestions: weapon or shield. The target does not drop the weap-
• The characters begin as captives to a band of soben (see on if it can succeed on a Strength saving throw against
area 1). The party is told they are being taken to be fed a DC equal to 8 + wielder’s Strength modifier + wield-
er’s proficiency bonus if proficient in the khopesh.
to the temple’s master. The soben are hopeful for a re-
ward. Either the characters can escape in route (maybe Macana. A macana is a flat wooden sword-like pad-
they run amok of Soukhos in area 2 during the boat dle set with obsidian shards or serrated animal teeth.
ride), or they could arrive at the temple still prisoners. Shark or crocodile teeth are commonly used.
In either case, the GM can develop a way for them to Mace-axe. A mace-axe is a metal- or stone-headed
escape or allow them an audience with Rynchus to bar- club with an axe blade set into the head. It’s a two-
gain for their freedom. handed weapon that inflicts both slashing and bludg-
• Old Cornelius, a senile and befuddled priest of Mitra eoning damage, designed to bash through mundane
(see area V-1 in Dark Tower) has seen a clouded vision weapons and bronze armor.
from his god. The vision reveals a partially sunken tem- Name Cost Damage Weight Properties
ple in a lake at the bottom of a box canyon with steep
Khopesh 12 gp 1d8 3 lbs. Special
cliffs. The evil of Set holds sway over this ruined temple, slashing
and perhaps it as a clue to the mystery of the Village
Macana 10 gp 1d8 4 lbs. -
of Mitra’s Fist. He beckons the party to investigate the slashing
temple with all haste and grants a worthy character a
Mace-axe 25 gp 1d6 6 lbs. Heavy, two-
boon as encouragement. If the GM has Dark Tower, this slashing handed
is Mitra’s Favor. Otherwise, it’s a spell scroll of raise dead. and 1d6
bludg-
• Rynchus, through intermediary followers of the god So-
eoning
bek, contacts the characters and offers a reward of gems
FIFTH EDITION FANTASY THE SUNKEN TEMPLE OF SET 3
