The quest books sketch this story only briefly, so this page mixes official names from the books with fan elaboration, and labels which is which.
"Below the mountains there are halls that dwarves cut long before the King's grandfather was born. The stone remembers their hammers. Now it hears other footsteps: iron-shod orcs, the scuttle of goblins, and the slow, heavy tread of things that were never meant to walk under the earth..."
What the Quest Books Establish
- The King's army is trapped. The 2021 core Quest Book has the King ride with his army toward Darkfire Pass; the army ends up holed up in Kaba Karn, an ancient dwarven stronghold. Kellar's Keep carries on from there.
- The enemy is Zargon. Mentor's former apprentice, who pledged himself to the powers of Dread, commands the orcs, goblins and Abominations that fill this pack.
- The keep is dwarven. Fan sources say it is named for Kellar, a dwarf who found the passage. The books say little more about him, so this guide does not invent a life story.
- A bridge exists. Avalon Hill's free online quest "Forsaken Tunnels of Xor-Xel" was written to lead the heroes from the core campaign into this pack.
- Familiar faces. Mentor guides the heroes; Sir Ragnar, one of the King's most powerful knights, was rescued back in core Quest 2; Prince Magnus pays the rewards.
Classic edition (1989–1990): the original books tell the same broad story in older names. The heroes set out to rescue "the Emperor and his army", the villain is Morcar in the European books (Zargon in North America), and the Abominations are Fimir. Use those names only when you are reading from the classic books.
A Fan's Telling: The Halls Under the Mountain
Fan elaboration. Nothing in this section is from the quest books; use it as table colour if you like it.
The dwarves built for permanence. Their halls are square-cut and cold, their corridors narrow enough that one axe can hold them, and their doors heavy enough that once forced, they never swing shut again. That suited the dwarves well. It suits Zargon's orcs better now, because the same narrow ways that once kept invaders out now keep rescuers slow.
The greenskins did not take the halls by cleverness. They took them by numbers, room after room, until the warrens were more orc than dwarf. Goblins run the side passages and loot whatever the orcs leave behind. And in the deepest chambers the Abominations wait: slow, patient, hard to kill, set there by Zargon to guard the way to Kaba Karn.
Dwarven builders also hid things. A stretch of blank wall may be a door no orc has found; a quiet room may hold a chest the dwarves sealed long ago. Heroes who take the time to search, when the halls are quiet enough to allow it, may find the old builders still on their side.
Using This Story at the Table
As Zargon, read the quest book's own introduction aloud before each quest; it is short and it is the official story. Add colour from the fan telling above between quests, while the heroes shop and heal. Keep the King's army in the background as the reason the heroes cannot turn back: they are the only help on the way.
Where Next
- Kellar's Keep, for what is in the pack and how to play it.
- Return of the Witch Lord, the next quest pack.
- Lore: Kingdoms & Regions, for the wider world.