For use in the Shudder Mountains campaign setting, this fourth-level adventure module pits PCs against a demonic force threatening to take over the oblivious villagers of Steller.
Deep in the Shudder Mountains near the village of Steller lies a lost mine. Well, as it turns out, several lost mines. The coal mine has been sealed for decades, but something lurks even deeper...for centuries, perhaps eons.
Several years ago, a mad warlock named Keyumbula came to the village of Steller spouting off prophecies and the need to free an ancient inhabitant trapped in these here hills. The warlock quickly vanished after making a pact with Nengal, The Wild One.
Now the folk of Steller have seen their fair share of anguish in recent times, but a force is on the verge of awakening underneath their very mountain homes… a force from the beginning of time itself is growing like a weed… and what is put in the ground must come out…
The Three Gems
“Ruby is for the Heart, Emerald is for the Forest, and Topaz is for the Sky”
~ancient and unknown
The Lost Mines of Steller can be played as a stand-alone or as a follow-up to The Secret of Kythe Hollow published by Death Guaranteed Games!
This new adventure was inspired by Descent of the Gateway Guardians: Once Every Thousand Years, Judge Ike’s first-place winning submission in the 2025 Goodman Games Road Crew Writing Contest!
This is no one-shot adventure. This features a multi-level mine system with 30-keyed locations for exploration and has great potential to spin off in many directions once complete.
Like many Gen Xers, I started playing role playing games in the early 80’s. In fact, it was 1982 when I got the Moldvay (Magenta Box). A neighbor had the Expert box and we spent hours playing with these introductory kits. He eventually got all the AD&D 1st Edition core rule books. Alas, I didn’t need the books, I just needed a friend who had the books! About a year later, my older brother moved back home and he had “everything” from his time in the Navy...original white box, all the Dragon magazines, minis, books, modules, you name it! When I say “everything”, I mean “EVERYTHING!”. This was a great time to be a teenager!
I continued playing Moldvay Basic through AD&D 2nd Edition up until graduation from college in 1999. I DM’d my regular group for several years until graduating high school and I then joined the Air Force, where I have remained for over 30 years! Two years after graduating college, I was commissioned in the Air Force after nearly 9 years enlisted time. When September 11th occurred my life and career took a very different turn. As it turns out, I had put RPGs on the shelf for approximately 25 years before my spouse, Zie, re-sparked the interest in role playing games inside me.
After watching Stranger Things (yep! common story!) she turned to me and said, “I’d like to play D&D sometime”. I said, “Well I still have a box of stuff upstairs!”. We cobbled together our first game with the Basic Rules, playing Keep on the Borderland with graph paper and an online dice roller! The funny thing about this story is that, after 6 moves and 6 different states together, she didn’t even know that this particular box of RPGs even existed! After several years of playing 5e, I realized I was more interested in that “old school feel” that I remembered and soon discovered Dungeon Crawl Classics. I haven’t looked back!
I am passionate about the Shudder Mountains Setting because it is based on Appalachian folklore. I grew up in the Pennsylvania portion of the Appalachian Mountains. I like to think I understand the people and the culture. I grew up when the coal mines were booming and then watched them go bust. While I moved away like many young people at the time and haven’t lived in Appalachia for nearly a quarter of a century it still has a strong hold on my heart and we will return some day. After nearly 35 years in the Air Force and 25 years away from the hobby, I have received so much encouragement from many people close to me to finally “go for it” and write my adventure…and so that is exactly what I did. ~Judge Ike Meese
The focus of Death Guaranteed Games is actually on the freedom one gains from embracing the inevitability of death. Often, game play is more fun that way. Emergent Backstory is one of our favorite parts of Dungeon Crawl Classics and the funnel session. Starting off playing multiple characters not knowing which, if any, will survive gives the game a bit of the old flavor from when tabletop roleplaying games were new. We didn't survive every campaign then and rolling up new characters and carrying on was just how it went. We embraced the chaos!
We are a trio of lifelong RPG enthusiasts who all love DCC and the tabletop experience. We play in person at our FLGS (friendly local gaming store) and at local conventions. We do use online games to fill in the gaps, but our preference is for the shouts of excitement when the whole table sees the result of a risky roll. For triumphant victory or epic death, we cheer just as loudly.
As third-party publishers, we each bring unique skills to the table. Although one works in brain surgery, one as a professor, and one as a data analyst, we converge in the creative process. Not one of our projects is a solo effort. We all invent, write, playtest, edit, commission art, and edit some more. In fact, our most ambitious project, The Six Swords of Calisdoom (part one is The Discovery of the Doomweaver and already out there in the world) has TWO MORE adventures in the series being playtested and edited even as this campaign goes live. We have big plans to bring exciting new experiences to the DCC community.
We will work quickly once the campaign ends, while we await the funds to be sent (minus Backerkit's fees). Writing is 100% done, Editing and Layout are 95% done. We will be printing, packing, shipping all ourselves. We are committed that order fulfillment meet or exceed expectations. We will send updates as we progress so you will know what to expect.
Once the campaign closes, we enter the pledge manager phase. The PDFs will go out as soon as the funds are transferred. Then we collect and confirm addresses for orders of physical copies so shipping can be calculated*. We offer a last chance for add-ons. And then we close, send our print order, and prepare to ship.
Please reach out at [email protected] or through the Backerkit messaging with any questions or concerns! ~Judge CRO
*Shipping fees will be collected post-campaign in the Pledge Manager
(check out a pic from our last packing party with Zie and Ike Meese!)
Keyumbula, the Mad Warlock by Art Budden
Art Budden is an English fantasy Illustrator. His work leans toward the eerie and atmospheric enjoying pen, ink, scraper board as well as full colour painting. When he is not drawing he can be found running DCC RPG games online, at conventions, or sharing ideas with fellow gamers and artists. He lives in the market town of Warwick with his family and dachshund. Art Budden on Facebook! Art Budden portfolio
CHECK OUT OUR YouTube channel on LAUNCH day (June 20) when we will be hosting the author, Ike Meese! We will ask him about his gaming history and how he became interested in writing adventures as well as his particular interest in the Shudder Mountains setting.
