villages become more common-with the drowned ones
adding all their victims to their growing horde-and
unless they are som ehow checked, Syrgaul's forces
become the scourge of both land and sea in the en-
tire region.
Even if the c haracters turn back the drowned ones'
assault but fail to close the rift. the evil influence of the
pit strengthens and begins to extend outward. All those
who have drowned in the bay a re gradually harvested
by the remaining drowned ones and transformed into
undead, until Syrgaul has an army of drowned corpses
at his command. What terrible atrocities the undead
captain might vis it upon the nearby settle ments are
up to you.
Even with the rift closed off, the Pit of Hatred might
continue to be a lurking threat. With the seal restored,
the evil beyond is left to fester-frustrated and perhaps
seeking ways to break free, stronger and more deliber-
ate than before.
Above all, the question remains: what is the source of
the rift's evil? Perhaps the characters will return to the
pit as more accomplished adventurers, seeking some
way to descend the vent, find out what presence is down
there. and destroy it once and for all.
Extending the Adventure
Tammeraut's Fate gives the characters a chance to foil
an incursion by Orcus and his minions before it can take
root. The deep regions of the sea a re fertile ground for
those demons and cultists who can take advantage of
it. Far from the blinding light of the sun and overlooked
by many of the demons' traditional foes. a deep-sea
portal to the Abyss can s pawn many demons and warp
the world around it to an irreparable degree before it is
discovered.
Pirates and similar outlaws are fertile ground for wor-
shipers, and those captains who achieve success and
infamy might draw the eye of any number of Abyssal
patrons. As befits their c haotic nature, demon lords tend
to offer powe r and impart blessings as the opportunity
presents itself rather than c reate a compre he nsive,
long-term plan.
If you want to extend the concept presented in this
adventure to cast a longer shadow over your campaign,
the following notes provide some guidance and ideas for
what might come next.ORCUS AND T H E SEA
The capacity for undead creatures to s urvive deep
underwater makes Orcus and his c ult well suited for
plaguing the seas. Orcus offers undeath to his mortal
followers as a lure to bring them deeper into his power
while unleashing them as a terror of the waves.
The scheme s howcased in Tamme raut's Fate is a good
example of how Orcus and his minions take advantage
of the sea. They march along the seabed to strike at
coastal villages and recruit more living dead to their le-
gions. Although the characters might have slain Syrgaul
and destroyed the Pit of Hatred. Orcus and his followers
continue to plot and plan.FURT H E R ADVENTURES
The events of Tammeraut's Face can serve as the flash
point for a major event in your campaign. In the years
that Syrgaul's c rew s pent toiling at the ocean's floor,
they might ha ve been directed by Orcus or Syrgaul to
la unch other s inister plans. A search of the location of
the wrecked ship can turn up clues to further plots.
The following adventures seeds form a story arc that
you might use as individual episodes or as the outline of
a grand plot to overwhelm the region with undead and
call Orcus into the world.DEATH FLEET
All pirate captains know that greed and ambition among
their c rews pose a constant threat. Cultists of Orcus can
offer the unswerving loyal ty of undead crews in return
for allegiance to their foul lord.
In this continuat ion of the story, a powerful priest of
Orcus forms a network of allied pirate captains. The
s hip crews are augmented by zombies and skeletons,
a nd, unknown to the pirates, the priest can spy through
the undead. Captains who prove treacherous are quickly
s lain and replaced with more amenable allies.
As the pirates gain control of the seas, the priest is
free to establis h a domain of Orcus with a great portal to
the Abyss at its center. It's up to the characters to track
down and defeat the pirate fleet.THE DEVOURING GYRE
The Pit^ of Hatred is but one example of the planar sigils
that followers of Orcus can use to bolster their power.
Off the coast, near heavily trafficked sea lanes, c ultists
of Orcus create a gateway on the seabed that links to the
Abyss. The water above swirls and plunges downward,
c reating a whirlpool that devours ships a nd sea life.
Living c reatures pulled to the bottom of t he whirlpool
are slain, warped with Abyssal energy, and unleashed
into the sea as undead c reatures. Unless someone finds
the gate, slips through it into the Abyss, and destroys the
unhallowed s ite found on the other s ide, the whirlpool
will unleash a horde of undead sailors and sea c reatures
that can transform the region around it into a dead zone.ISLAND OF BONES
Far out to sea, a mass of bones culled from the seabed
rises and coalesces into a new island -a sinister place
cloaked in necrotic energy. This place, the Island of
Bones, serves as a port of call for pirates serving Orcus.
The island s warms with undead creatures that pe r-
form re pairs on ships, unload loot, and protect the place
from attack. More important, it serves as the center of
an unholy theocracy founded by priests of Orcus and
dedicated to calling their master to the Material Pl ane.
As the island grows, a massive palace fit for the Lord
of the Undead himself arises from the bones. Within its
depths, a portal to the Abyss slowly forms as more and
more mortal sacrifices are made to Orcus.
With a fleet of pirate captains at their call and the de-
vouring gyre cutting off sea travel, the priests of Orcus
threaten to overwhelm the region with their undead
hordes. Their efforts. of course. are resisted by the char-
acters and whatever forces the locales can muster.GH.-\PllR7 IAMMER\lJT'SP\11