Traditionally, the Ruin card causes individuals who draw the card to lose their wealth. This chapter, intended for the DM, reinterprets this card as physical ruins to be explored: the ruins of Gardmore Abbey.
This adventure location was first described in Madness at Gardmore Abbey, a boxed adventure for D&D's fourth edition. In that adventure, Gardmore Abbey was located in the Nentir Vale, and the site had ties to the minotaur empire below Thunderspire Mountain. You, however, can situate the ruin and the fortified hill it sits atop anywhere in your campaign world. The layout of Gardmore Abbey was inspired by a real fortress atop the French island Mont-Saint-Michel, so you might place the ruins on a similar island accessible only by a narrow path that's underwater at high tide.
Regardless of where you place Gardmore Abbey, you can use the site to introduce a Deck of Many Things to your campaign. The deck lies in the hoard of Mekkalath, a powerful dragon, who nests in the ruins. Few heroes are brave enough to face Mekkalath in battle, though resourceful characters can obtain the deck in other ways. But once the deck is in their possession, their troubles have just begun.
History of Gardmore Abbey
A thousand years ago, minotaurs built a temple to Bahamut and other gods of good under a towering hill. But a cult dedicated to the demon lord Baphomet infiltrated the temple, and its members gradually took over the temple's leadership. When the cultists revealed their worship of Baphomet, the minotaurs dedicated to Bahamut rose up to reclaim the temple. After a bloody conflict, the survivors fled, leaving the temple abandoned.
Hundreds of years later, monastic knights chose the hill for their order's home and began building a defensive structure atop the site. A massive wall surrounded much of the hill, leaving only its impassible western face unguarded. The knights built an abbey, a barrack, a memorial hall, and more at the summit of the hill, and dug catacombs in which to bury the order's honored dead. While excavating these catacombs, the knights discovered the minotaur temple. The captain of the order sealed the minotaur ruins to keep them secret.
As decades passed, a village grew within the fortress's outer wall, and the knights became a local power. They warred against wicked foes, including followers of the serpent god Zehir and an infamous hobgoblin warlord, whose infernal stronghold they sacked, carrying away many trophies—including a Deck of Many Things. The legendary magic item was hidden in the vaults and warded with powerful spells to prevent its detection and theft.
But five hundred years ago, a vengeful army laid siege to the abbey. The outcome of the battle was still in doubt when the captain of the abbey, Havarr Nenlast, drew from the Deck of Many Things in an attempt to turn the tide. When he drew the Skull card, the terrifying Undead created by that card (see 18) detected the deck at last. Within minutes, more Undead arrived at the abbey and began slaughtering everyone in their path. Havarr and the other knights of the abbey were killed, along with most of the invaders, and the deck was scattered.
Centuries passed. Refugees from the besieging army settled in the ruined village on the hill's lower slopes, but in time they returned home. Mekkalath, a young red dragon, claimed the catacombs under the abbey as his lair. Adventurers reassembling the scattered deck killed a beholder trapped in the abbey's watchtower, but Mekkalath drove the adventurers off and seized the deck.
Eventually Mekkalath outgrew the vaults. Eager to show off his glory, he moved his hoard—which now included a Deck of Many Things—to the surface ruins. The hill was gradually transformed by his magical nature, birthing lava flows, plumes of flame, and clouds of smoke.
A short time ago, a comet streaked across the sky above the abbey, signifying fell portents. The comet's otherworldly energy brought the slain beholder back as a death tyrant and drew the attention of minotaur scholars hoping to uncover the ancient temple beneath the abbey. Individuals throughout the multiverse who seek a Deck of Many Things now look to the ruins of Gardmore Abbey.
Exploring the Ruins
Adventurers might come to the ruins of Gardmore Abbey for many reasons. They might be hired by minotaur archaeologists to serve as guards or troubleshooters. They might be hunting Mekkalath, whose depredations threaten everyone for hundreds of miles around his lair. They might be drawn by the foreboding comet that recently streaked over the site. Scholars remember the keep's connection to the Deck of Many Things; anyone seeking the deck could be drawn to the abbey, heedless of danger.
The site is a sandbox that encourages exploration, roleplaying with multiple factions, and potentially pitting them against each other. The minotaurs aren't aggressive, and their camp can serve as a home base for characters who approach them peacefully. A githyanki delegation based in a tower in the village might see the characters as a path to earning Mekkalath's goodwill. Heroes might confront the death tyrant trapped within the abbey's tower, draw it into a fight with Mekkalath, or ignore it completely. Stubborn angels, salamander servitors, and a trio of hags all create further complications.
The threats on the hill span a wide range of difficulty; low- and moderate-level characters will need to rely on diplomacy, stealth, and trickery to claim the deck, while high-level characters might stride boldly into Mekkalath's lair and challenge the dragon directly. Most monsters infesting the ruins of Gardmore Abbey won't pursue characters who retreat from the hill to tend their wounds. Characters have the opportunity to return another day, with a new plan to defeat Mekkalath and obtain the deck.
Random Encounters
Use the Ruin Encounters table for characters traveling the slopes of the hill or its surroundings.
| 1d12 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Animals—such as a brown bear, giant owl, or pack of 2d6 wolves—attack, made vicious by the effect of Baphomet's temple deep under the hill. |
| 2 | 2d4 minotaur archaeologists explore the hill, looking for artifacts and places to dig. |
| 3 | 1d6 minotaur infiltrators are performing a bloody rite to Baphomet; if there are six, one is their leader, Brusipha (both stat blocks appear in this chapter). If discovered, the minotaurs attack to conceal their activity from outsiders. |
| 4 | 1d3 displacer beasts, pets of the green hags, are on the prowl; alternatively, use yeth hounds from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. |
| 5 | A plaintive howl echoes over the hill. Characters who succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check identify the source as the collapsed bell tower in the Feygrove, where a young displacer beast is trapped. |
| 6 | A green hag from the coven hidden in the Feygrove is on a mysterious errand. If she detects the adventurers before they spot her, the hag uses Illusory Appearance to conceal herself as a dryad and invites the characters to the Feygrove, then returns to her coven and sets a trap for the characters. |
| 7 | Vegetation on the hillside has grown into a hedge maze due to the magical influence of Baphomet's temple. Navigating the maze requires 1 hour and a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Survival) check. |
| 8 | Mekkalath's presence prompts a fiery eruption. Creatures in a 5-foot-radius, 20-foot-high cylinder must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 17 (5d6) fire damage. |
| 9 | 1d3 fire elementals drawn from the Elemental Plane of Fire by Mekkalath's aura wander the hill. |
| 10 | Spiders from the Feygrove are on the prowl; they include 2d4 giant spiders plus either 1d3 phase spiders or 1 ruin spider (see 20). |
| 11 | A lone githyanki warrior hunts for tonight's meal. |
| 12 | A red slaad, dropped here by the comet that recently overflew the site, searches the hill for any way to lift the wards around the watchtower. |
Gardmore Abbey Locations
The ruined abbey is too expansive to be completely detailed here. Instead, an overview of each area summarizes the terrain and any threats to be found there. Create specific encounters based on the actions your characters take, using the monsters listed and adding additional ones as you think appropriate. Two maps are provided: 15, an overview of the entire ruined abbey, and 15, a more detailed map of Mekkalath's lair at the top of the hill.
Outer Wall, Abandoned Village, and Ruined Keep
The ancient remains of a 30-foot-high stone wall stand along three sides of the hill, ending at the impassibly steep and rugged western slope. The wall suffered damage from the siege centuries ago but is otherwise intact, if overgrown.
Within the wall, on the northeast side of the hill, are the ruins of an abandoned village that was destroyed during the siege. Signs of the siege remain: catapult stones lodged in buildings and heat-cracked stone walls blackened with soot. At one end of the village, near the shattered main gate, stand the ruins of a keep.
The village isn't empty, however. Two dozen minotaur archaeologists recently arrived and set up a camp among the ruins. These archaeologists seek to excavate the minotaur temple said to lie beneath the hill.
Accompanying the archaeologists are two domesticated gorgons used as beasts of burden and six minotaur infiltrators devoted to Baphomet who are posing as laborers. Their leader, Brusipha (her stat block appears in this chapter), intends to let the archaeologists find the temple; then she'll murder them and seize the site for her cult. The cultists meet in the ruined keep, which the archaeologists consider too unsafe to explore. None of the archaeologists suspect Brusipha or her followers.
The minotaur archaeologists aren't violent and have no weapons, but they're equipped with the tools necessary to dig to the temple. Their unofficial leader is Tauriano, a mild-mannered professor of archaeology at a far-off university. The archaeologists are unsure how to proceed with their mission; Mekkalath is only the most obvious of many dangers. They might hire the characters as scouts or guards. While they won't fight on the characters' behalf, they might loan the use of their gorgons or help characters who've earned their trust by tricking or distracting Mekkalath, perhaps by creating a trap into which the dragon could be lured.
Wizard's Tower
At the north end of the village stands a square tower once inhabited by the wizard Vandomar. He's long dead, and the tower's floors have collapsed; all that remains is a fifty-foot stone shell with a precarious staircase winding up its interior wall.
The tower recently became the base of a githyanki delegation: three githyanki warriors and their leader, Azima, a githyanki knight (alternatively, Azima might be a githyanki gish from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse). One githyanki is always on guard, with another armed, armored, and awake nearby. One githyanki is usually asleep, and one is usually out hunting for food, exploring the hill, or—in Azima's case—negotiating with Mekkalath.
The group came to Gardmore Abbey to forge an alliance with Mekkalath, whose power would tip the balance in a war on the Astral Plane. Mekkalath prefers sitting on his hoard and terrorizing the countryside, but he respects the ancient ties between red dragons and githyanki and has given the group permission to visit him and continue negotiating.
Azima and her warriors are indifferent to the characters at first, but she is desperate to earn Mekkalath's goodwill. If the characters attract the dragon's ire or display wealth and magic items that might impress him, Azima might ambush them. If the characters slay Mekkalath, Azima and her followers return to the Astral Plane after swearing vengeance on the characters.
Feygrove
The southeastern side of the hill once held flourishing gardens: an idyllic refuge in an otherwise martial environment. When the abbey was destroyed, three dryads settled in the abandoned gardens. Their presence concentrated magical energy from the Feywild that transformed the gardens into a mystical faerie grove. But a generation ago, a coven of three green hags snuck into the grove, slew the dryads, and took their place, using their Illusory Appearance ability to impersonate the dryads when necessary. The hags keep a pack of six displacer beasts as hunting animals and pets (alternatively, you can use yeth hounds from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse).
The hags use the Feygrove as their base while pursuing bloodthirsty schemes against enemies both real and imagined. They avoid Mekkalath when possible, but when forced to interact with the dragon, they placate him with obsequious flattery and treasure plucked from their victims' corpses. The hags lair in the Whispering Wood, a circular copse of trees around a natural spring, where the Feywild's magic is strongest.
In addition to the Whispering Wood, the Feygrove holds an ancient holy well called the Font of Ioun, once sacred to the knights who dwelled here. Those who drank directly from the font received visions of the past and future from this god of knowledge. Good characters who drink from the font might receive a vision; roll on the Visions of Ioun table below.
| 1d6 | Vision |
|---|---|
| 1 | Minotaurs dig beneath the hill and build a temple to Bahamut and other gods. |
| 2 | Minotaurs clad in the garb of a bestial cult summon demons and slay other minotaur priests in a horrific bloodbath. |
| 3 | Monks and knights travel to the hill and construct the abbey at its summit. |
| 4 | Knights defeat a hobgoblin warlord and bring back a Deck of Many Things and other trophies. |
| 5 | As an army besieges the abbey, a knight draws the Skull card from a Deck of Many Things. Skull-headed Undead appear and massacre everyone they see. |
| 6 | A huge red dragon emerges from the catacombs beneath the abbey to make his lair atop the hill. Among his treasures is a Deck of Many Things. |
Beyond the hags, the Feygrove is home to many other dangers. The overgrown trees are the den of countless giant spiders and several phase spiders. Among these are deadly ruin spiders (see 20 for this stat block), creatures altered by the magic of a Deck of Many Things.
A bell tower once stood high on the slope above the Feygrove, but the tower has collapsed. For centuries the massive iron bell has lain in the ruins, covered with grass and barely discernible. Recently, a young displacer beast (or displacer beast kitten from The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) exploring the bell accidentally tipped it over and got caught inside. The creature is now trapped and howling miserably, its cries echoing and amplified by the bell into an otherworldly groan. Other displacer beasts in the grove take delight in the creature's misfortune, while the howling has attracted the notice of hungry spiders. Characters willing to free the creature might befriend it or return it to the hags for a favor.
Watchtower
On the southern end of the hill stands a tall spire with a commanding view of the surrounding terrain. When Captain Nenlast drew from the Deck of Many Things, a wave of energy from the Far Realm uprooted the spire from regular space and time and transformed everyone inside into deadly Aberrations. But wards placed by the knights long before kept the Far Realm's magic confined within the tower, which became a pocket dimension with no escape. The Aberrations were trapped in the tower, unable to leave until the Far Realm energies dispersed and the tower stabilized in the present.
More than a century ago, adventurers investigating the abbey found a way inside the watchtower. They slew the Aberrations' beholder leader and dispelled the Far Realm magic that isolated the spire. Time once again began to affect the watchtower, though nothing remained alive within its walls.
Recently, a fell comet streaked through the sky above the abbey. As it did, lingering traces of the Far Realm energy woke again. The dead beholder was reanimated as a diabolical Undead known as a death tyrant. This creature, and other Far Realm Aberrations that fell from the comet, still hunt within the tower. But the knights' protective magic hasn't failed entirely; the creatures within the watchtower are trapped inside until someone or something frees them.
The watchtower is in better physical shape than the rest of the abbey. It was protected from time's ravages during the centuries it was trapped in a pocket dimension. The spire still has wooden floors and a ceiling. The circular stairs within are weakened and precarious but mostly intact. The chambers within the tower are home to four red slaadi (an equal number of star spawn manglers from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse might replace or supplement the slaadi). The top of the watchtower, however, is the domain of the death tyrant.
None of the Aberrations within the watchtower can leave it, thanks to the ancient knights' protective spells, but characters might agree to remove these wards as part of a deal with the death tyrant. A character who is aware of the wards and able to perceive them (for example, via the Detect Magic spell) can permanently remove them with the Dispel Magic spell (DC 16). Alternatively, anyone can attempt to remove the wards by performing a 1-hour ritual outside the watchtower and succeeding on a DC 21 Intelligence (Arcana) check. Removing these protective spells allows the Aberrations inside the tower to leave, something they're all eager to do. Physical damage to the watchtower—volcanic activity, for example, spreading from Mekkalath's lair—could also break the wards and release the creatures trapped within.
The death tyrant is desperate to escape the watchtower and promises anything to characters who reach the tower's summit. The tyrant keeps the strict letter of any promise it makes, but as it cares nothing for living creatures and respects only power, characters who try to direct it against Mekkalath might regret their decision. For example, the death tyrant might agree to attack the dragon, then start by slaying the peaceful minotaurs and turning them into its zombie minions. Mekkalath is aware of the death tyrant, and if it escapes, Mekkalath soon moves to destroy this potential rival and secure his dominance over the hill. Such a battle might last long enough for daring characters to infiltrate Dragon's Roost and abscond with treasures from Mekkalath's hoard.
A death tyrant versus a red dragon? Now that's a fight I'd like to see!
(I'm joking. Please don't actually start this fight. You might perish.)
Dragon's Roost
The summit of the hill was once crowded with buildings. All but a few were destroyed in the siege of the abbey centuries ago, and the remainder were badly damaged. Mekkalath's arrival caused additional destruction: the red dragon's magic triggered volcanic activity that left the area riddled with flaming pits, rocky outcroppings, and rivers of lava. His magic also opened portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire, bringing salamanders and fire elementals to the hilltop. The dragon's domain, shown in map 16.2, is the most dangerous part of the ruins by far.
A hidden stair—steep, long abandoned, and choked with rubble and undergrowth—leads up the western side of the hill. This secret staircase can be found with 1 hour of searching and a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check. Flying creatures can spot the staircase more easily, gaining advantage on the check. Climbing the steps requires no checks, but it takes 1 hour to clear a path and scramble over the largest chunks of rubble. Climbers risk encountering hostile creatures as they traverse the staircase, and if Mekkalath takes to the air, he's likely to spot them.
The stairs ascend to the Hall of Glory, formerly a lavish trophy room and memorial to fallen knights. The roof has fallen in, and the walls are mostly rubble; it is home to a troop of eight salamanders brought from the Elemental Plane of Fire by Mekkalath's magic. The salamanders serve Mekkalath, patrolling the hill and performing errands for him. A stairway in the back of the hall descends to the vaults but is filled with lava.
A ruined barrack lies on the south side of the area. Like most of the other buildings, the roof is gone and the walls are mostly rubble. The strongest fire elemental (or a fire elemental myrmidon from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse) dwells here, along with a few more fire elementals as minions. Rubble blocks another stairway descending to the vaults.
At the north end of the summit stands a gatehouse. The gatehouse's stone roof and walls are intact, though the massive double door has collapsed. The gatehouse is home to two devas, angels in service to Bahamut who've guarded the abbey since its founding. They couldn't stop the siege or the Undead lured by the Deck of Many Things, but they remained in the ruins until Mekkalath rose from the vaults below and drove them out. The angels refuse to abandon their posts and are content to wait as long as it takes for Mekkalath to depart.
The remains of the abbey's temple—surrounded by fires, smoke, and slow-moving lava streams—serve as Mekkalath's lair. This adult red dragon is an awesome sight, resting on a massive pile of coins, jewels, and precious objects. From this vantage, Mekkalath can see almost anywhere on the hilltop; only the gatehouse, with its stone roof, blocks his vision. Salamanders from the Hall of Glory visit frequently to serve Mekkalath's every desire. When he is hungry, the dragon hunts a vast region around the hill. He has yet to encounter anyone able to stop him. A staircase in the ruined temple descends to the catacombs but is choked with rubble.
Among Mekkalath's hoard is a Deck of Many Things. If the characters reach the hoard by defeating the dragon in battle or through stealth—perhaps while the dragon is distracted by food, the githyanki embassy, or an escaped death tyrant—the treasure should also include one rare or very rare magic item for each character, chosen to suit their needs and desires.
Catacombs and Vaults
Two underground levels within the hill are currently inaccessible, but characters or the minotaur archaeologists might eventually reopen them.
The uppermost level is a winding network of catacombs the knights used to bury their honored dead. The entrance is through a stairway descending from the temple (now Mekkalath's lair), but the stairs are choked with rubble. The catacombs include shrines to various gods, memorials to the knights' many exploits, and secret tombs for knights who betrayed the order and were hidden in shame. While Undead are the most likely type of creature found in the catacombs, a variety of Underdark creatures could have dug their way into these tunnels, such as drow, troglodytes, or an umber hulk.
Beneath the catacombs lie the vaults that hold the abandoned minotaur settlement, centered around a temple to Bahamut and other good gods that was corrupted to the worship of Baphomet. Stairways descend to this level from the old barrack and hall atop the hill, and a winding tunnel leads west from the vaults to the base of the hill. While the stairs are choked with lava and rubble, this tunnel would still be navigable if its entrance on the hill's slope were uncovered, a project that would take several individuals a day to complete. Worship of Baphomet has lured demons to these halls, but shrines to good deities might be protected by angels or Constructs such as iron golems, stone golems, a shield guardian, or helmed horrors. Additionally any of the subterranean creatures in the catacombs might have advanced farther into the vaults. If Baphomet cultists return to the vaults, they would soon summon further horrifying evils.