Way long ago, I wrote a blog post about revamping an adventure that was older than most of the players on our server: Caves of Chaos, from Keep on the Borderlands. One thing that post was missing was a specific breakout of what exactly I shoved in the caves. I figured I could get to that later, since I didn’t feel like deciphering my notes at the time. Well, a scant four years later, I’m finally getting around to that.
Look, I’m consistent. I’m not fast.
Background
This isn’t a republishing of the Keep on the Borderlands. You’ll still need to acquire the original book (available on DriveThruRPG or the Internet Archive) to see how the various caves interact, since some of them can repopulate others, some have allied with others, and some are at war. Also, it’s an interesting dive into RPG history!
I didn’t include any adjustments for the Keep part of the Keep on the Borderlands. That’s the part I feel can most easily be replaced by something campaign-specific (maybe you already have a keep you know about!) or adjusted for the flavor of your table. Heck, maybe the players don’t even want a keep, and are fine with roughing it in the nearby woods.
Each cave has been given a level, and each room in the cave has been given an encounter level. Encounters were built assuming a standard 4-person party. Keep in mind, though, that while caves get harder as they go further in, nothing is stopping the players from rushing to the other end of the valley and taking on the hardest caves first. If this is how your players roll… make sure they have back-up characters at camp.
Because of the cave system layout, players should be encouraged to scout caves to figure out what might be in there. Presumably, there’s detritus outside of the cave mouths that give a clue as to what might be inside. I include these for each cave, but it’s basically a hard-level DC for a Recall Knowledge to identify the specific creatures, or an at-level DC for Survival to identify the family.
Caves
Cave A: Hidden Kobold Lair
Information:
- Level 1 cave
- Find: DC 15 Perception
- Scout: DC 15 Survival – Creatures from the Kobold family. Maybe a dozen?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 17 Society – A clutch of kobolds reside here, preying on caravans as they pass.
- In the hallway leading in, there’s a Hidden Pit trap.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 1 | Low | 3 Kobold Warriors | ||
| 2 | Trivial | 1 Rat Swarm | ||
| 3 | None | Door is locked with a poor lock. DC 15 to open | ||
| 4 | Moderate | 2 Kobold Scouts | ||
| 5 | Severe | 1 Kobold Mage 3 kobold Warriors | ||
| 6 | Moderate | 5 Kobold Warriors |
Cave B: Hidden Orc Lair
Information:
- Level 2 cave
- Find: DC 13 Perception
- Scout: DC 16 Survival – Medium sized creatures, probably of the Orc family. Maybe a half-dozen?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 18 Society – Orcs are near here. Not quite enough to be a warband, but still, a sizable number.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 7 | Trivial | 2 Orc Brutes | ||
| 8 | Moderate | 2 Orc Warriors | ||
| 9 | None | |||
| 10 | None | Yes | ||
| 11 | None | Yes | Locked (simple): DC 20 | |
| 12 | Severe | 1 Elite Orc Warchief 2 Orc Warriors | Yes | Secret door: DC 18 Perception |
Cave C: The Other Orc Lair
Information:
- Level 2 cave
- Scout: DC 16 Survival – Medium sized creatures, probably of the Orc family. Maybe a dozen?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 18 Society – Orcs are near here. The makings of a small warband.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 13 | None | Yes | Secret door: DC 18 Percep | |
| 14 | Moderate | 2 Orc Brutes 2 Orc Warriors | ||
| 15 | Low | 2 Orc Brutes | ||
| 16 | Severe | 1 Elite Orc Warchief 2 Orc Warriors 1 Orc Brute | Yes |
Cave D: Goblin Horde
Information:
- Level 1 cave
- Scout: DC 15 Survival – Creatures from the Goblin family. Maybe a dozen?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 17 Society – At least a dozen goblins have holed up here.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 17 | Trivial | 2 Goblin Warriors | Yes | |
| 18 | Trivial | 2 Goblin Warriors | Yes | A goblin can spend actions to get the Ogre in Room 22 to join them. This will turn the encounter from Trivial to Severe. Secret door: DC 15 to notice |
| 19 | Moderate | 1 Goblin Warrior 1 Goblin Commando 1 Goblin Pyro | Yes | |
| 20 | Severe | 1 Goblin War Chanter 1 Goblin Pyro 1 Goblin Commando | Yes | |
| 21 | Moderate | 4 Goblin Warriors | Secret door. DC 20 to notice (Level 1, very hard) Hobgoblins in room 29 may come in, but not during combat. |
Cave E: Ogre Cave
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: A large creature lives near here. Probably an ogre?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Society: An Ogre Warrior lives in this cave.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 22 | Trivial | 1 Ogre Warrior | Yes |
Cave F: Hobgoblin Tribe
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: Hobgoblins live near here. Maybe two dozen?
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Society: A large tribe of hobgoblins have set up here. There are signs that they have taken prisoners recently.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 23 | Moderate | 1 Hobgoblin Archer 2 Hobgoblin Soldiers | Yes | |
| 24 | Low | 3 Hobgoblin Soldiers | There is a reward back in town for rescuing the prisoners. | |
| 25 | Low | 2 Elite Hobgoblin Soliders | Yes | |
| 26 | Moderate | 2 Hobgoblin Archers | Yes | |
| 27 | Moderate | 2 Elite Hobgoblin Soliders | Yes | |
| 28 | Trivial | 1 Hobgoblin Solider | Yes | |
| 29 | Moderate | 1 Elite Hobgoblin Archer 2 Weak Hobgoblin Soliders | ||
| 30 | Severe | 1 Hobgoblin General 2 Weak Hobgoblin Soldiers | Yes | |
| 31 | Moderate | 6 Weak Hobgoblin Soliders | Yes |
Cave G: Clutch of owlbears
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: There’s signs of owlbear scat. The air is weirdly moist. It doesn’t look like a large number of them live here.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Nature: This cave hosts a clutch of owlbears.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 32 | Low | 1 Owlbear | Treasure | |
| 33 | Moderate | Grey Ooze 2 Ooze Mephits | Treasure | |
| 34 | Severe | 2 Owlbears |
Cave H: Bugbear Alley
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: A tribe of creatures from the bugbear family have set up here. Less than a dozen.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Society: A tribe of bugbears have set up here to prey on caravans.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 35 | Low | 2 Weak Bugbear Thugs | ||
| 36 | Severe | 1 Elite Bugbear Tormenter 1 Bugbear thug | Yes | |
| 37 | None | Yes | ||
| 38 | Moderate | 2 Weak Bugbear Thugs | ||
| 39 | Moderate | 2 Bugbear Thugs | ||
| 40 | None | |||
| 41 | None |
Cave I: The Maze
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: You see signs of creatures going in, but not coming out.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Nature: This cave is wild, and likely houses wildlife…
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Society: …and something that likes twisty passages.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 42 | Low | 6 Bloodseekers | ||
| 43 | Moderate | 2 Weak Stag Beetles | ||
| 44 | Low | 3 Hunting Spiders | ||
| 45 | Severe | 2 Minotaurs | Yes |
Cave J: Gnoll Cult
- Level 3 cave
- Scout: DC 18 Survival: A large number of bipedal creatures have set up here. Probably gnolls, around a dozen.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 20 Society: There are markings around this cave. Gnolls live here, likely cultists.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 46 | Low | 2 Gnoll Hunters | ||
| 47 | Moderate | 2 Gnoll Hunters 1 Gnoll Cultist | ||
| 48 | None | Yes | Locked with an Average Lock (DC 25) | |
| 49 | Moderate | 2 Gnoll Cultists 1 Weak Gnoll Hunter | ||
| 50 | Severe | 1 Gnoll Sergent 1 Gnoll Cultist 2 Weak Gnoll Hunters | Yes |
Cave K: Death Cult
- Level 4 cave
- Scout: DC 19 Survival: A number of humans reside here. So may no longer be alive… About two dozen.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 21 Society: Lots of humans come and go from this location. A dropped locket hints at recent captives being taken inside.
- Recall Knowledge: DC 21 Religion: The way some of these creatures move points towards there being undead in the cave.
| Room | Level | Creature(s) | Treasure? | Notes |
| 51 | None | |||
| 52 | Moderate | 2 Skeletal Champions | ||
| 53 | Moderate | 4 Zombie Brutes | ||
| 54 | Low | 2 Corrupted Priests | ||
| 55 | None | Gravehall trap, in the hallway leading out. Trigger upon messing with the shrine or removing items. | ||
| 56 | Moderate | 3 Grioth Cultists | ||
| 57 | Severe | 1 Zombie Lord 2 Shambler Troops 1 Dirge Piper | ||
| 58 | Low | Haunt: Entombed Spirit | ||
| 59 | Severe | 2 Weak Priests of Kabriri | ||
| 60 | None | |||
| 61 | Moderate | 1 Elite Necromancer | ||
| 62 | Moderate | 1 Wraith | ||
| 63 | Moderate | 2 Elite Gelatinous Cubes | ||
| 64 | Moderate | 1 Annis Hag | The hag is disguised as one of the prisoners. She’s 50/50 on killing the heroes who just rescued her, since she could be their next target. |
Final thoughts
Treasure. I don’t lay out specific treasure that can be found. The GM can sprinkle whatever the group needs most. If there’s a town nearby, they’ll want gold, but if they’re opting for more of a wilderness setting, then they’ll need gear. Also, it’s possible to strip the caves of treasure completely and have bounties set on each cleared cave.
Not everyone is ready to rumble. Keep an eye on the room descriptions. Guards, of course, are always ready to fight, but if they’re lounging around eating lunch and playing cards, NPCs need time to be alerted, grab their weapons, and get to the fight. This is very important when it comes to caves where the encounters are right on top of each other.
The Caves are fluid. I found most players cleared caves in one go, but if they fall back, keep in mind that the various groups have allied with each other. If you leave someone alive, they’ll combine with their allies, which changes the balance going forward.
I hope some of you try this out! It’s a really fun module to break out, especially since so much of the story comes from how the players react to the caves. It’s also an interesting piece of history that stands up surprisingly well to the test of time.
Katie Plays Games 