The Underlight Kingdom is a vast set of connected chambers wherever the GM wants it to be. The main chamber, from which the Myconid “sovereign” rules is 1200 feet under the earth, nearby is the underground river of Whatzhima.
Timeline
There is an ecology under the earth here – a balance of power. The player characters are going into a completely foreign environment, one they will likely not be prepared for. The intent is to place the underground encounter amidst an ongoing adventure – the specific timeline independant upon what approach the GM takes to introducing the adventure into their campaign.
Getting There
One or more of the elements of each approach can be used.
Injected into an existing underground adventure. The Myconids send the party spores which carry their dreams – fear, terror, and a sense of predation. These unresolved feelings linger, and the PC’s feel compelled to help whatever may be suffering such a plight. If they ignore it, all the PCs of non evil alignment suffer Nightmares for 2 weeks! Dreams and visions lead the party to the location.
OR
The party is investigating the rumors of adventurers needed – “Folk who know their way around a blade and wand” is the actual “ad”. It turns out to be the apprentice Penelope of the mage Denebril. Her master is very sick – he is recovering from a terrible battle where a horrible creature and he fought and he drove the creature off. If it is allowed to heal, the balance of power will shift. The creature came to her master in the form of a one eyed man, and asked for help to recover from supernatural wounds (massive scar on his face, lost one eye, limped, etc.) and to overcome “foes”. Denebril divined its evil nature and refused. He was gravely wounded and drove off the creature in an angry exchange of powers. Penelope thought they had heard the last of it, but a wand of her master’s was stolen the next night, and one of the thieves was killed by a necromantic trap. She cannot hold out, and needs the help of outsiders – her master left her a scroll to open in just such an emergency. A bag of 2000 silvers and a magical ring (3 charges of shield) and a wand (5 charges of ice storm) – with instructions to use them and that the wizard promises greater returns if the nameless individuals will aid his apprentice. Penelope is worried that she cannot hold out against more repeated raids. Included in her master’s “emergency kit” was a powerful spirit bound to a scrying mirror – she can use it once to get the PC’s to a place where they may pick up the trail.
In town it is all the people talk about. Mages Duel they call it – but a lot of people swore they saw all manner of creatures – he was an orc, a man of flame, and skull of flame, etc.
Background:
The Eye Tyrant Oristalveant is a recent comer to the area, and tried to carve out a territory. It was wounded from a previous battle deep in the underdark with another of its kind. It feld, and hoped to find easier pickings – it was driven slightly mad from its wounds and a backlash of fell magics. Polymorphed into a man, It went to the mage seeking to exchange some knowledge of ritual spells for some healing. The mage divined his nature and sought to finish the job of its rival and attacked (contrary to what Penelope believes) – getting way more in return than he bargained for – the beholder was still a fearsome foe. Alive, it fled, but fled to the wrong place. It managed to charm a few thieves along the way, sending them back to the wizard’s tower to steal the trove of healing potions the magus said he had. While waiting in the sewers for the thieves to return, rumor got out of a rich and powerful man hiding out – he was forced to flee or have the entire underground be on the lookout. It found nearby wetlands, polymorphed back into its normal form, and found a place it believed it could hold up for days. Searching for a simple meal, it came across a vent, and dropped hundreds of feet into the under earth – right into the lair of Hook Horrors. There was a terrible fight, and the beholder was finally killed but its body birthed all manner of sporelings, flooding a small Myconoid territory with beholder spores and Hook Horror refugees. Now the kobolds, hook horrors, troglodytes, and other creatures are all ready for a war – each side blaming the other for the tensions and worsening situation with the toxins from the beholder spore are spreading. If this war is not stopped, it will spill over into the civilized lands above and innocents will die.
Continuing: Additional areas made up as GM needs