Publisher blurb:
Cataclysm at the Acaeum is a megadungeon boxed set that is compatible with the First Edition game (as well as the OSRIC system). This boxed set will include four 36-page adventure books (each containing 4-6 scenarios), three 32-page adventure books (large scale adventure), 24+ cardstock maps and a poster map of the acaeum complex. There will also be a separate book detailing all significant NPCs, New Monsters and New Magic Items. When complete, this will be the largest boxed set produced for the First Edition game!
This is a sand box style megadungeon and it can be dropped into virtually any campaign setting including those originally published for the First Edition game or used with the upcoming Pacesetter Games & Simulations Dark Land campaign setting. Unlike many other megadungeons, Cataclysm at the Acaeum can be played as a massive campaign-style adventure or it can broken into pieces and used independenlty to fit your game. If used as a stand-alone campaign, you can start with first level characters. If not, there are adventures for various levels including 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9. In general, the adventures are designed for well-balanced parties of four to seven characters.
Adventure Background: The Acaeum is a citadel that is home to a secretive group that is devoted to the study of history, magic and the dieties of the world. Its members are generally magic-users, clerics, sages, collectors and scholars. Most are independent and concentrate on their own individual fields of study. But all share a thirst for knowledge of their world (your campaign world) and what mysteries it holds. The Acaeum citadel rests near the summit of a low mountian near the coast of a great ocean. While the citadel is the major feature of the mountain, many of the Acaeum members have their own chateaus on the mountain. Most also have private laboratories, libraries and vaults within the mountain itself. All have access to the Acaeum citadel which has its own massive complex beneath the mountain. The complex is so large, and old, few, if any, can claim knowledge of the endless series of halls, chambers and secret vaults.
For centuries the Acaeum membership have operated in seclusion, though only a very few actually reside at the Acaeum complex. Then came the cataclysm. An evil high priest managed to retrieve the Black Stone from some unnamed layer of the abyss. The Black Stone, now on the prime material plane, raised the dead and created armies of undead under control of the high priest. However, before the priest could march forth he was confronted and destroyed by an intrepid band of adventurers. Unfortunately, the hordes of undead, now free of control, immediately spread across the lands. The largest horde fell upon the Acaeum and devestation followed. Large sections of the moutain complex fell to the undead but total collapse was avoided. The core Acaeum complex remained free from incursion, though some sections were sealed off in a desperate attempt at defense.
News of the calamity spread quickly and, with the Acaeum defenses weakened, bands of humanoids and giants descended from the surrounding lands and laid seige to the citadel and those structures that had withstood the onslaught of the undead. The Acaeum is near complete collapse and only the bravest adventurers can prevent Cataclysm at the Acaeum!
User summary:
The PDF version is distributed as multiple PDF files, including:
CA0.1 The black stone (24 pages)
CA0.5 The Village of Lord (12 pages)
CA0.6 Crimson Sisters of Malice (32 pages)
CA1.0 Cataclysm at the Acaeum Sourcebook (44 pages)
CA1.1 Men, Magic&Monsters (28 pages)
CA3.0 Upper Reaches (40 pages)
CA4.0 Lower Reaches (36 pages)
CA5.0 Raid on the Acaeum (16 pages)
CA6.0 Deep Places and Vaults (20 pages)
CA7.0 Collaborators of the Cataclysm (52 pages)