Steve Bokkes: The setup is accomplished through a newly arrived stranger in the Whistling Gallows Inn of Lonelywood. This stranger, a gnarled, old halfling by the name of Hobart Stubbletoes, spins a tale about a lost artifact hidden away somewhere within the haunted ruins of a distant castle. Once the diminutive fellow has captured the interest of the adventurers, he'll offer to show them the way to this castle, in exchange for a fair share of the loot, of course. And thus, the adventure begins.

The majority of the action takes place within the walls of the haunted castle itself. So, it's not surprising that we spent a lot of time and effort coming up with an original concept for the ruins. I wanted to steer clear of the classic haunted castle setting-you know, the stereotypically gothic castle, perched high upon the stormy cliffs of a dark and dreary landscape. So, instead, we opted to place our ruined fortress smack dab in the middle of the vast Anauroch Desert. As a result, all of the exterior locations, from the castle's abandoned-though certainly not unoccupied-courtyard, to the crumbling parapets of the outer walls, they all have this eerie bleakness to them.