Mini-Dungeon #329: Ruins of Tolgorith Tower

9-Page Mini-Dungeon Adventure with 3 New Creatures for D&D 5E 2024 (Levels 2–4)
Underworld • Urban • Planar

During the Hour of Venom, Tolgorith Tower imploded.

Rifts to the Demiplane of Venom tore through the cavern, and stone, relics, and bodies crashed across the Underworld floor. As a result, sections of the tower now lie scattered in a massive rubble mound that rises above the surrounding ruins. Venom seepage spreads through fractured terrain, and unstable stone shifts beneath every step.

Scavengers search the debris. However, many do not return.

Adventure Description

In the aftermath of Rise of the Drow: After the Fall, the shattered remains of Tolgorith Tower dominate this venom-scarred region of the Underworld. Once tied to the ambitions of House Gullion—whose history and alliances are explored in Rise of the Drow: Collector’s Edition—the tower’s destruction reshaped both stone and creature alike.

Now a scarred half-drow scavenger named Neelal seeks adventurers willing to retrieve an obsidian spider brooch once belonging to House Gullion. Meanwhile, others may also be searching for the relic.

As the party advances, the expedition pushes them across shifting modular ruins, venom mist, unstable crossings, and undead drow trapped beneath rubble. In addition, planar corruption twists local predators into deadlier forms. Eventually, the climb leads to the summit of the rubble mound, where a creature once trained within Tolgorith Tower waits, transformed by venom into a lethal apex threat.

Why This Mini-Dungeon Is Different

Ruins of Tolgorith Tower is a focused adventure supported by three new D&D 2024 creature statblocks and original artwork, totaling 9 pages of playable content.

Because terrain and creatures interact directly, encounters evolve as characters climb higher into the ruins. Furthermore, vertical movement and unstable footing create constant pressure during exploration.

This Mini-Dungeon features:

• Hazard-driven exploration through unstable Underworld ruins

• Escalating vertical terrain culminating in a split-form ooze battle

• Direct narrative ties to House Gullion

• Environmental pressure reinforced by venom seepage and mist

• A new regional art map of the ruins by Liam Hammond

• Long-term consequences if the brooch is kept

As a result, the structure supports a complete session or a focused chapter within an ongoing campaign.

Underworld Campaign Integration

This adventure integrates seamlessly into:

• Rise of the Drow: After the Fall

• Rise of the Drow: Collector’s Edition

• Any Underdark or Underworld expedition between major locations

• A scavenger contract that becomes politically dangerous

• A venom-affected ruin along contested subterranean routes

Game Masters can position the ruins near Holoth or along major Underworld passages.

What’s Inside

This Mini-Dungeon includes:

• The scattered ruins of Tolgorith Tower

• Modular shifting structures and rubble hazards

• Venom mist and corrosive waterways

• Random encounter and search tables

• Treasure tied to House Gullion

• Three new D&D 2024 creature statblocks:

  • Venom Pudding — a black pudding trained to split at will and reshaped by venom

  • Venom Gibbering Mouther — a drow family fused into aberrant form by corruption

  • Swarms of Venom Rats — venom-tainted scavengers that weaken prey in numbers

Each creature integrates directly into the terrain and encounter flow of the adventure.

Expanded Underworld Resources Included

Purchasing this Mini-Dungeon grants access to over five free digital resources designed to enhance Underworld campaigns, including:

• Survivalist’s Guide to Spelunking (PDF Flipbook)

• d12 Hazards Approaching the Ruins of Tolgorith Tower

• d100 Items Found in the Ruins

• Wild Magic Surges

• Surviving the Venomous Ruins

These resources remain accessible online for subscribers and purchasers and are included in future Underworld-based Mini-Dungeon releases.

Using This Mini-Dungeon

Ruins of Tolgorith Tower works as:

• A standalone Underworld ruin expedition

• A direct side quest within Rise of the Drow: After the Fall

• A narrative bridge to House Gullion lore from Rise of the Drow: Collector’s Edition

• A relic-recovery mission with lasting consequences