Now that the players have successfully rescued the thief, Kaelig, they have a guide to help them into the Desolation. The most important thing is that he told them about the nature of the disease in the Desolation and the fact that an antidote. This is important news. But before they can deal with the problem of obtaining the antidote, first they have to get through the Kalanos Marshes.
It is strongly recommended that the Game Master read up on the Kalanos Marshes.
The party now faces a long journey from the town of Calannon (in Aukaria) to the town of Hansuse (in Chaddamar). It's a very long journey, about 900 kilometers as the crow flies. However, it's more likely the party will be traveling on foot. There is a road that runs from Calannon, through the northern stretches of the Kalanos Marshes, winds through the border hills of the northern Gytara Mountains and then ends at the town of Hansuse. This winding road is over 1000 kilometers. On foot, this would take a month. On horseback, the journey takes about 20 days.
The party does not have a perfect copy of the map. They might try to travel around the Kalanos Marshes, but the marshes are enormous, much larger than they appear on the map. There really isn't any way around the Marshes unless they are willing to add several hundred kilometers to their journey.
If the party tries to use Windwalk or some other spell to fly over the swamp... Kaelig says “I do not think it wise to fly over the realm of the Sorcerer King. He does not take kindly to sorcery not of his own making. During his reign, others who showed talent in the Dark Arts were hunted down. They say he can smell magic in the wind. Going around the swamp is risky. Over the past years, it has been growing. Some say that Lothiramar is expanding his realm. None now can say how far north or south it lies.
The road from Calannon is a broad dirt road that parallels the river initially. It is about 100 kilometers to the edge of the swamp. Along the way, the party passes a large Chaddamarian caravan composed of 6 wagons, heavily guarded by many soldiers. (Caravans travel heavily armed to protect them from roving bands of humanoids in the Kalanos Marshes).
Kaelig will be able to tell the party all about the Kalanos Marshes and Lothiromar, the Sorcerer King. Lothiromar is a powerful entity, once a mortal wizard, now much more. Some call him a demi-god, others a spirit. In any case, he once seized control of the Aukaria, but was overthrown, Now, two centuries later, he has regained power and is amassing armies of humanoids in the Kalanos Marshes. The wetlands are his domain and all creatures and humanoid tribes within are under his control.
If the party has magic that allows them to fly over the marshes and they decide to use it...
They will pass over the village of Braga. They pass over some hunters from Braga in swamp boats.
Half way through the Marshes, dark storm clouds form rapidly. A whirlpool of mist and fog begins drawing them to the center of the swamp. Lightning charges come up once in a while and hit each member of the party, one at a time. Each charge does 1d10 points of damage. It hits a random person each time. (this is a special storm summoned by Lothiromar to bring them down). As long as their in the air, the storm can hit them. The only escape is to land immediately.
Or
A large leathern winged beast – looks like a lizard,vulture – a 4 meter wing span, slowly flaps up to the group. Either in cloudwalk form or while they are on the ground. Shortly after the pink lightning charge hits but before they land. It has an eye collar like the ground beast. It is a remote surveillance beast. Just keeps an eye on things. If Rothgar shoots it down, they can get a good close look at the eye collar.
The road goes about 150 kilometers along the river.
The river breaks up into hundreds of small creeks as you head upstream. The party can see a vast green swath ahead of them with fog hovering above it.
After another 50 kilometers, the trees become thick, ground gets wet and soggy, underbrush gets thick. A light mist hangs in the air.
Eventually, the party comes to the village of Braga – A small pig farming village at the edge of the swamp. About 200 people live here. The village of Braga is the last bit of civilization before one plunges into the swamp. If they party wants, they can trade with the farmers, buy food and water and basic supplies, rest up, etc. The villagers can give them various warnings – watch out for the towers, beward the golem, etc. Such warnings are vague and not very helpful.
Generally speaking, the Kalanos Marshes are a dangerous place, for many reasons.
First of all, this is the realm of the sorcerer king Lothiromar and his minions. There are several large humanoid tribes (pugnar and bogling are the most common) and they are all loyal to the sorcerer king. Many f these tribes communicate by drums and the party will likely hear drums at times in the swamp.
Second, the swamp is home to many wild animals. Many of the really large and dangerous predators are under the control of the sorcerer king. Some even wear special collars that allow him to see what they see.
Third, the swamp is home to the dreaded Gonjara mushroom trees. These tremendous tree sized mushrooms emit spores which are unhealthy to breathe and cause a variety of problems. Swamp creatures that live in the marshes are immune, as are the humanoid tribes that live there. However, the players, unaccustomed to the spores, will find themselves short of breath and coughing. They will find themselves tiring easily and their strength drain away. More importantly, they will NOT heal while suffering from the gonjara spores. Even magical healing will prove less effective. Food spoils more quickly when contaminated with the spores. The gonjara trees are common in the swamp and clusters of the great mushroom trees are scattered throughout the regions.
It will take many days to get through the swamp. It's about 240 kilometers through the swamp. On foot, that's about 8 days. On horseback, that's about 4 days if they push the horses hard.
Other things to consider:
Atmosphere - Heavy fog limits visibility. High humidity soaks through clothing making everything uncomfortable.
If they go off the road, the characters will have greatly reduced speed as they contend with thick mud, thick vegetation and deep standing water.
Swampboats must be carried over the road, but help off trail on the standing water.
Other Events:
One of the characters hits swampy quicksand - a mushy peat ground that is very like quicksand. The soft ground is hard to see and very common. In a flash, the character is up to their armpits and sinking fast.
A dangerous plant, engineered by Lothiramar, attacks the party. It uses long sticky vines to lash out and, with hollow thorns, sucks the blood out of prey.
A disease. A major disease from the area. First one victim, then it spreads quickly through the group. This will be good for their cleric to burn up a few Cure Disease spells.
After a day or two of travel, the party hears something large coming through the swamp, crashing through brush.
If they hide, it passes them.
If they don’t, it attacks.
What does it look like? It's a huge amphibious biped with a thick horny hide and
great spines. Like a 2 ton nightmarish frog that walks upright, standing 12 feet
tall.
It’s wearing some kind of collar. The collar has a large eye in it. Flesh bound in iron. The eye moves around and looks at the players as if it is alive. If the party casts any kind of spell to learn more about the beast, they can tell that it’s a summoned creature and the collar is some kind of control mechanism. Also, the eye is transmitting images back. Anything the eye in the collar sees, Lothiramar sees.
Before they get out of the swamp, you should throw one good ambush at them. The majority of it will be boglings with primitive darts and spears and such. They will do their best to take the party by surprise at the most opportune moment.
The road dips down and crosses a river at a ford. So, the waters will be knee deep (or chest deep, if you're really mean) in water when the boglings attack. Some boglings will attack underwater (they can breathe water and can get up close to the players unseen). Other boglings hiding in the trees on either side of the river will throw nets down and tangle the players and their weapons. Other boglins will throw spears and darts at the players.
The boglings will be aided by much larger creatures. There could be a swamp giant, a great scythe lizard or whatever. The sorcerer king has many minions and the group that attacks the players could be composed of anything you want.
To really spice things up, Lothiramar could have sent his most dangerous tool, that which is simply called "the Golem".
Seven feet tall, fashioned from gold and black stone. Runes and glyphs of gold are inlaid on the surface of the golem's chest, arms and legs. The face is featureless and its eyeless gaze is disconcerting. This automaton was fashioned by Lothiramar himself. It is sent out into the Marshes from time to time to strike fear into his enemies and minions alike. The golem is enchanted such that anything it touches is instantly teleported into specially prepared prison cells in Lothiramar's dungeons.
In combat, the golem is a feared adversary. Tales of the golem have come from those who have seen it in battle and fled. Weapons struck upon the golem will teleport away leaving the attacker weaponless. Arrows fired at the golem will teleport the instance they touch it causing no damage.
Spells fired directly at the golem are scattered and reflected, sometimes harming bystanders with fragments of the original spell which may have similar, but lessened, effects.
If the golem manages to touch any player, feel free to give them some sort of saving throw if you want. If they fail whatever resistance roll you give them, then the golems main ability takes effect - teleportation. The victim is instantly teleported into the dungeons of the sorcerer king. If the party has any NPCs tagging along that you want to get rid off, this is a good opportunity. If an actual player gets teleported away, then the party has a whole new mission - find Lothiramar's castle and rescue their comrade.
Eventually, the road emerges on the east side of the swamp and the terrain opens up into rolling hills and forests. The road winds up into the hills leaving the swamp far behind. The party has successfully made it into the Chaddamar Theocracy.
This website was last updated March 31, 2026. Copyright 1990-2026 David M. Roomes.