Tannen
Town: AL CN; 15,000gp limit; Assets 9,000,000gp; Population 5,000; Mixed (90% human, 5% halfling, 2% dwarf, 3% other)
On the coast of the Jæruel, where the river meets the sea, lies Tannen (pronounced TAW-nen), a bustling seaport of a town built on sandy soil.
Architecture
The larger, more established buildings of Tannen are of sandstone and light wood from the forests harvested upriver near the village of Ches.
The buildings on the capitol grounds are of carved alabaster, taken from the mines east of Alabaster. The humbling, white edifice in the center of the city lies on a 5-acre plot surrounded by formal gardens decorated with flowers from the farthest reaches of the Jæruel. This is truly where the goods of the Jæruel comes together in an impressive display of what a successful merchant collective (some would say oppressive) can accomplish.
Layout
Along the banks of the river Ches runs a short wall of sandbags to keep the river in its banks in rainier months. Within five feet of these walls rise the older and more ornately-decorated buildings made of old hardwoods, including the town hall, the Jæruel central offices, the two inns that made Tannen famous (Inn of Golden Meadows and The Lark’s Nest), Smullivan’s Emporium, and, where the river meets the sea, the shipyard, where ninety percent of the seaworthy vessels in the Jæruel are built.
The town blocks off the river are devoted to residences, including the mayor’s house and on a low hill the wealthy neighborhood inhabited entirely by those in executive positions within the Jæruel, retired merchants who now manage their personal matters from their estates.
The rest of the town is a hodge-podge of market squares, shops on lower levels, and residences rising in the second and third storeys.
Key locations:
* Capitol Grounds – large, new construction that towers over town hall
* Town Hall – a converted keep that predates the town
* Jæruel Central Offices – new constructions across the river
* Twin Lighthouses – one in north-town and one in south-town
* Smullivan’s Emporium – market for many items
* Inn of Golden Meadows – standard inn named for the surrounding countryside
* The Lark’s Nest – exotic inn, featuring delicasies and fine things
* the shipyard – busy, working-class district where the river actually meets the sea
This town has served as the center of government for the Jæruel since the central offices of the merchant collective moved here two generations ago.
Map
(to follow in later post)
Personas
The Jæruel hierarchy represents the most notable personas in town. Galway Froid (mayor), Fennel Chatwid (head consulate), and Zann Diacon (finance minister) are the highest-ranking officials in Tannen.
The innkeeper owner of the Lark’s Nest is a boistrous legend. Of foreign descent and well-traveled, he tells stories the way most men tell lies, with the upmost of ease. Chariz Muqatad is known throughout the Jæruel, and there are those who visit Tannen just to meet him and hear his stories. In the process, he listens to their stories, which he uses to continue to embellish his own tales.
J.P. Smullivan is a trader who has recently joined the Jæruel, electing to pay his membership dues rather than risk losing his business to the town guard. Though less-than-friendly to new faces, largely due to this pressure to join the Jæruel, he is aware of much that transpires in Tannen and thus represents a great source of knowledge. The key is getting him to share it.
Plot Points
Each of the executives in the wealthy district finance treasure hunting expeditions and each have constant need for couriers and escorts. In addition, the Meldor House is known for financing voyages inland, past Westfort into the mountains and plains beyond. Zane Meldor is a known eccentric, known for his misadventures in the brothels in Tannen’s slums. He is ailing, and has been convinced that the fungal cure for his illness lies west of Westfort.
Smullivan is always after new supplies, especially those of an exotic nature. He knows of certain individuals who possess such items, and runs a secret business trading such items. Interestingly, it seems he has thieves steal from one Jæruel or Tannen city official which he then sells to another, and so on. He is likely to hire a party with an experienced enough thief to acquire such items from the homes of the wealthy.
Chariz Muqatad needs a message delivered to his extended family back in the dry lands to the far south, across the Old Bay. He is willing to pay handsomely for the message’s delivery. The message itself is so important that it has been stuffed inside a chicken, and must be delivered while the chicken still lives. This is an age-old custom for communicating among his people.
Galway Froid’s daughter, Ammrie has gone missing. Rumor has it she is being held for ransom, but there is no official word on this. If the party inquires too directly in official circles, they are likely to be taken to the dungeons beneath the town hall, a converted keep that predates the rest of the city, for probing and questioning. Others who have relevant information include Chariz Muqatad, who said he overheard some of the kids joking about staging an abduction, and Smullivan, who sold a load of face paint and robes to some of the local teens. The real story is that Ammrie had her allowance cut back and so she and her friends decided to stage a kidnapping to collect the ransom. It turns out, however, that when a local thug heard of this, he took her from her friends, and now holds her in a cliffside camp overlooking the sea to the north of Tannen, where he awaits delivery of the ransom sum.
Once the teens are found, they will admit their part in the staging, and provide a description of the thug, who happens to be Thaddius Brewster, former employee of Smullivan’s. He used to lift large crates by himself and earned various nicknames for his feats of strength. If asked, Smullivan will mention Brewster’s departure from his shop lines up with the time of the supposed kidnapping. Once returned, the mayor will pay the party handsomely, though less than the original ransom. He is a shrewd merchant, after all!
The dungeons beneath the keep lead in various directions throughout the city. They are well-explored in the vicinity of the town jail; however, the secret, windy passages are said to hold more in store for an adventurous enough lot.
Posted in Encounter and tagged farghoal, Jæruel, Location, town by Stephen Hilderbrand with 1 comment.
Piran Point
Town: AL CN; 2,000gp limit; Assets 900,000gp; Population 920; Mixed (70% human, 15% halfling, 5% dwarf, 5% gnome, 5% other)
On the coast of the Jæruel, south of Tannen, there is a rocky point that juts out into the sea. This was once the home of a great serpent that fed on the schools of fish that swam around the point, as well as the occasional human who made their way here off-course from their intended destinations. This lair serves as the undersea port down the cliff from the main town center.
Architecture
The larger, more established buildings of Piran Point are hewn from the surrounding stone, a mix of limestone on the coast and granite further inland. More recent single-story buildings are of wood construction from the nearby oak, maple and pine forests.
Layout
At the top of the cliff, the town is laid out in a series of semicircles that run along the peninsula, the outermost being the poorest, and the region closest to the fresh water and woods the wealthiest. As the area was traditionally prone to piracy and attack by marauders, the wealthy moved farther and farther from the edge of the cliff, leaving their buildings unoccupied as they built increasingly more opulent estates inland. Because of this, there are various historic buildings that have been occupied by the working and non-working classes.
Encounters in this region include:
* low-scale thieves and pickpockets
* defensive family men
* various brawls and other pre-existing conflicts
Key locations elsewhere:
* St. Grisdon Square – where four churches come together in each of the cardinal directions
* Darkhouse Inn – featuring tinted windows; “what happens withinn stays within”
* Shelt’s Pelts – center of the halfling market
* Fishing Market – varieties of fish from varieties of merchants
* Town Hall – center of the village
This town has long been at the crossroads of merchants and rogues, lying within seven miles of three known robber barons, though this town has largely escaped their direct advances, as they have found the passersthrough along the broad roads more vulnerable and thus worth their effort. This has led to more armed caravans, which has reduced the frequency of their arrivals and departures.
Out at sea, there has been pirate activity as well, making Piran Point a refuge for travellers both by land and sea. Sea trade has mostly ended, the merchant vessels converted to fishing ships. Those vessels which sail into Piran Point are escorted by larger galleons decked out with many arms.
Map
(to follow in later post)
Personas
Piran Point is home to several merchant families of the Jæruel. Elton Thistlewood runs the local chapter of the merchant house, aided by Jossathon Radvell and Saldon Thede. Each keeps control over their own region of the merchant quarter.
Reverend Marden and Brother Sandis run the Cathedral of St. Grisdon, by far the largest of the four churches in the center of the town. In it, sermons to the words of the dearly-departed Grisdon, worshipper of a merchant-sect of Pelor’s younger brother Geld, and creator of the ten virtues of trade.
Plot Points
Tristega Thistlewood has split from her family and opened up a profitable business dealing in black market goods. Her father seeks to bring her back into the fold, and is willing to pay anyone willing to help convince her of this. The Radvells and Thedes have since made a play for power, realizing this distraction leaves the Thistlewoods vulnerable to infiltration and unable to rightly control their holdings across the town.
With this infighting among the merchant class, the streets have seen a rise in crime, the unorganized type that leads to confusion in the masses. Many poor have taken to picking the pockets of others, especially wandering parties. Of course, this news has not yet reached the lips of anyone in this town; why would they, when they profit from the unspoken truth.
The St. Grisdon sect of Geld has grown in influence among the more lawful-minded citizens of Piran Point, and can be called upon to assist the party if they uphold the ten virtues of trade. Tristega Thistlewood anonymously attends the sermons in the cathedral, and is a devout follower of St. Grisdon’s teachings.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged farghoal, Jæruel, Location, town by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Griffon Roosts
These Griffon Roosts are set toward the east end of the Goduanil, though this location can be placed into your world wherever griffons roost. They are intended to range from EL 7-9, depending on which is needed for your adventure.
The Goduanil is a region filled with rocky hills, where along the valley floors flows purple ooze in streams that run all the way to the sea. This roost is set in a valley off one of the main streams of ooze. The difficult terrain adds a +1 to the CR of this encounter.
1 Approach through the valley
A steep 100′ deep gorge devoid of a river branches off from the main valley, leading off in a direction clearly away from the central valley that runs with purple ooze. Stands of leafless birch saplings cling to the cliffsides in this otherwise barren landscape.
The characters hear the occasional flapping of wings as the wind gusts. Occasional rocks will break loose and tumble from the cliffsides. The party is not in danger of these small rocks, but they are an indication of something being afoot. When the party returns to the main valley, they will need to find a creative way around or over the rivers of ooze.
2 Bend in the rocks
The valley makes a turn to the left here, cutting a rocky path through the mountains. The bend obscures the view of the valley. Boulders cling to the ledges of the hillsides.
The characters see a shadow make its way across the valley floor. By the time they look up, whatever it was that caused the shadows has passed them over and is out of sight.
3 Hoodoos
Three sandstone hoodoos rise like towers from the valley floor, the result of years of extreme erosion in this valley. The scattered skeletal remains of large quadrupeds dot the valley floor. A few large feathers are blown about by the gusts of wind across the landscape, drawing attention to the tufts of hair clumped in small, regular dips in the ground.
In actuality, it is more the doing of the ooze that has caused the erosion and thus the hoodoos, areas of hardness where the erosion has not run its course on the rock. The skeletons and tufts of hair are those of horses, picked up from the lands to the north and east of the Goduanil and flown in to feed the griffons and their offspring. If the characters collect reagents or materials for fine brushes, they will recognize the horsehair and can collect a few horses worth, though not before they encounter the following.
Four griffons protect this valley floor, while the others hunt. They attack the party upon their entering this area. Resolve this encounter immediately after reading the above text.
Creatures: Griffons (4): MM page 139.
If the characters search the edges of the floor, they will find a broken staff and a torn red and white flag. This provides evidence that one of the horses belonged to a local knight.
4 View of Nests
From this vantage, it is clear that atop the hoodoos, large sticks frame 20’x20′ bowls filled with oversized, brown and white eggs.
The mound of rocks that form the vantage point have been affected by many years of erosion and the ooze begin to slip out from under the party’s feet, revealing a few pockets of a purple ooze that seep up to ground level, its acidic discharge spewing plumes of steam into the air.
Creature: Purple Ooze (see tomorrow’s post on CCB!)
5 Nests
The sticks and straw are bound together to make a nest. The sticks have been chewed at the ends by sharp beaks. In the center of the nest is a pair of speckled eggs.
Two griffon eggs are in each nest. The eggs are nearing the time to hatch, and when the characters arrive in this location, there is a 50% chance per egg that it will be hatching.
Development: As the characters explore the first of the nests, the four remaining elder griffons (14 HD) swoop in and attack, with the tactic of lifting them off of the floor of the nests and dropping them from the sky onto the valley floor. They will attack relentlessly until one side is vanquished. After the battle, in one of the nests, the party finds a mace +1 and a helm of alacrity +2 among some shredded metal that once was a suit of plate mail.
Posted in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons / d20 fantasy / Pathfinder, Adventure, rules agnostic and tagged Goduanil, Location, Northbay by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Dream Plane
The Dream Plane is the space between the planes, the plane on which dreams take place, or, more precisely, the plane to which all dreamers are whisked upon sleep.
There are no native creatures on the Dream Plane, however, everyone spends time there at regular intervals. In a way, this is a way for beings to learn more about their true selves, allowing them to inhabit the projected form of another being for some time.
Everyone has another form on the Dream Plane. These tend to be projections that mirror the state of the being, either long-term or in the short term. For instance, paladins might be represented long-term as pegasi, but in the short term, as they are chased by a marauding horde of goblins and forced to flee, they may have a dream plane representation as a gazelle while pursued. The goblins might be represented as wolves or some other beast. If these beings were somehow transported to the dream plane, they would take on the characteristics of these forms. As a gazelle, the paladin would be able to run fast and leap over obstacles, the goblins as wolves would take on the hunting skills and trip attacks of wolves. If the paladin were to enter the dream plane as a pegasus, she would be able to fly, and so on.
Much like the Prime Material Plane, the Dream Plane is a battleground for the forces of good and evil. It is largely neutral, however certain areas tend toward good or evil.
The Dream Plane has the following traits.
* Subjective directional gravity.
* Subjective temporality. Age, hunger, thirst, poison, and natural healing function differently in the Dream Plane; certain dreams may play upon these human needs and have unexpected consequences.
* Strongly neutral-aligned, with pockets of mild good and evil where these forces have gained footholds.
Key Regions
Dreams – the core of the plane. This is where most visitors to the Dream Plane (and they are all visitors) spend their time.
Visions – where the future plays out in dream forms. Here characters may encounter future selves in altered forms or gain knowledge of upcoming events. The many islands of visions are set adrift upon the Seer Sea.
Memories – where the past plays out in dream forms. In this area, characters may relive certain events in their lives in altered forms. The fragmented islands of memories float upon the Forgotten Sea.
Deja Vu – A region where beings encounter events they feel have happened before.
Vuja De – A region where beings encounter events they know can never happen.
Everything else in the Dream Plane falls into the Region In-between, a void of an abyss of uncertainty. As the Dream Plane is a plane between the planes, there is not much to speak of in the Region In-between. Let all adventurers be warned – do not go there. This is the place of nightmares.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged dream, Location, plane by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
The Seat of the Seer
Presented here is the first encounter in the upcoming adventure “Anointing the Seer”. Here, a group of giants have taken up residence in a cursed cathedral. Dangerous magic briers guard the exterior, and within the brutes feast on the trapped townsfolk. Feel free to drop it into your games to use as you see fit.
Seat of the Seer
Dungeon Features
Secret Doors in this area are priest-doors, concealed to appear to be part of the ornately carved stone or wood they are set into, and are a DC 18 Search check to find.
The Cursed Seat of the Seer (EL 12)
This temple is much transformed after the attack on it. It is surrounded by magical briars, and inside giants feast on the townsfolk, who have been polymorphed into animals.
Exterior
Surrounded by small outlying buildings, this large and stately temple is completely overgrown with gargantuan brambles, to the point where is is nearly concealed. A large double door can be glimpsed through the thorn-covered trunks of the plants.
In order to enter the temple via the doors one must somehow pass through the patches of brier brambles that block the doorways. If the plants are not killed then they must be defeated in an opposed strength check (DC 19) in order to open the doors. Other methods of entry include teleportation or flying or climbing up and breaking through some of the stained glass windows on the east face of the temple. Either method requires navigating the brambles, which will attempt to grapple the intruders.
Interior
The smell of offal, greasy cooking fires and death permeate this area. The interior of the temple is also sparsely overgrown with patches of the thorny brambles which push up through the flagstones. Several dead peasants and acolytes are caught in their branches. The stone walls are adorned with tapestries of the Seer’s visions and the stories of the petitioners helped by them. Several carcases worth of bones lie upon the floor.
1/4 of the squares in the temple are grown over with brambles in approx 10′ patches in the first room of the temple. Some of the pillars also have brambles in the chapel.
Creatures: Nearly 100 domestic animals cower in the temple. They are the temple priests and townsfolk who had come to observe the coronation, polymorphed into sheep, pigs and dogs. Several giants and and an air elemental have been left behind by the vengeful family to ensure that the temple is not re-inhabited.
Ogre Barbarians (3): HP 79 each
Tactics: The brutes will likely be roused by anyone entering the temple and will have assembled to defend it. The giants may attempt to push intruders into the brambles as they fight, and will mercilessly bludgeon anyone caught in them. Similarly, the air elemental will attempt to scoop up the rear ranks of any intruders in its whirlwind form and drop them into the brambles. If the group is defeated, the air elemental will return to the warlock to inform him that someone has reclaimed the temple. The giants will fight to the death.
Traps: The exterior of the temple and portions of the first room are overgrown with the effects of the brier brambles spell. Anyone entering the area of the spells effect risks entanglement and the plants sleeping poison.
Treasure: Almost the only thing left in the temple’s treasury is a scroll of break enchantment that the temple priest (in his form as a ram) will bring to the party if they are otherwise unable to disenchant the villagers. The giants have little of value on them.
Development: Once the giants are slain and the elemental has fled, the party should be able to disenchant the remaining animals, who creep cautiously up to the PCs once the violence has ended.
Once freed they will relate what happened: the new priestess was in the process of being anointed when a holy trance came upon her. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she began speaking in a strange, strained, voice. “I see… doom! The drake… he is brought low by his son…” The peasants go on to inform their rescuers that a witch and two warlocks, one young and one of middle age, suddenly appeared in a burst of flame and interrupted the anointing of the new Seer and turned them all into animals. One of the older villagers, the abbot of the temple, will angrily go on to identify the witch as the evil old witch who used to live in the village, but was driven off years ago. Some say she inhabits a farm nearby in the wild woods, and the players will be given sketchy directions by one of the village’s hunters.
Attempts to scry upon the priestess will fail, as she is in the Dragon’s lair, which is warded against scrying.
Ad Hoc XP Adjustment: +15% for difficult terrain (the brambles)
Posted in Encounter and tagged Anointing the Seer, Location by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Chamber of the Old One
Now that The Horror of the Old Ones has been released, here is the final encounter in the adventure. To see more, check out the 56 page adventure at RPGnow.com here!
The short, slick slope leading from the last chamber ends here at the shore of a pool of briny water. The water surges with the pulse of the ocean, small waves lapping at your feet. To the left a large cavern stretches out.
This dark cavern swirls with strange mists, and high above the ceiling seems to fade and reappear in patches with the mist, revealing distant, bright, hard pinpoints of light in an inky blackness above.
At the far end of the chamber, in a crater shaped pool, stands an immense oval-shaped mass. It’s irregular surface is streaked with veins of purple, black and green minerals, and broken by a crack large enough for an ogre to pass through. Fragments of the strange oblong lie below the crack.
This 100 ft by 50 ft ovular cavern is the chamber of the Old One. Before the dawn of man, the old one’s cocoon traversed the spaces between the worlds. It crashed into the sea here, creating the Onuago bay and the mountain of rock called harpy point with it’s impact. DC 30 knowledge arcana or craft metalworking will reveal that the cocoon is made of iron, with veins of adamantium and magesilver throughout.
In the eaons since then, the sea’s ceaseless crashing and later the scrabbling of the Children of the Sea have excavated this place. Then, with his ritual, Ernaldus fully wakened the Old One, who burst out of it’s cocoon to sew madness and ruin in Onuago.
The pool of water leads to the sea at the west side deep below harpy point. The old one’s will has prevented the water from flooding in to fill this chamber up to this point.
The roof of this chamber is shiftingly transparent, and reveals the stars that wheel above regardless of the time of day or night.
Creature: the Old One dwells here, and is likely either in it’s vessel or out at the bottom of the bay. If in the bay, it should emerge from the briny pool and attack the party from behind as they examine the chamber and the cocoon.
Old One: HP: 175
Tactics: The Old One will likely begin it’s assault with a chain lightning and dominate person and then cast blink as it strides towards the party, allowing it’s wisdom draining gaze attack and it’s slow aura to do their work. As long as the party is not being particularly effective, it will use it’s melee attacks to slay them. If seriously threatened, it will retreat via dimension door, summon a chaos beast, and use lightning bolts to eliminate the most effective foe, be it spellcaster or warrior. The Old One will fight to the death.
Treasure: There are Adamantium and Magesilver deposits in veins in the interstellar asteroid. If somehow retrieved, they are worth approximately 50,000 gold.
Development: After the defeat of the old one, the sea rushes in to cleanse the chamber. The body of the old ones floats strangely and is washed out. As it passes, the players can make a DC 12 Strength check to grab it and hold on as they are carried out by the surging water. The body will quickly rise to the surface of the bay, and begin to drift towards Onuago on the now calm water.
Failing this, the party must swim (DC 13 swim checks, to travel 100 ft. to the surface of the Bay) or leave by magic.
The empty husk is deposited like a beached whale near the near the shore of Onuago.
Posted in Encounter and tagged Horror of the Old Ones, Location, Old One by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
The Elemental Subplane of Mist
The Elemental Subplane of Mist is a subplane where the Elemental Planes of Air and Water intersect. A Great Mist hangs suspended at the very center of the plane, its misty tendrils passing out in all directions all the way to the edge of the plane. It is said that great beings travel the misty tunnels of vapor. Outside the Great Mist, the plane has a calm breeze, which suspends creatures and objects, moving them in a clockwise manner around the exterior of the Great Mist.
The Elemental Subplane of Mist is home to mist elementals, the deep mist dragon, and the gods of obfuscation and warnings. At the edges of the plane are coastal waters which lead nowhere in particular, yet provide the moisture for the Great Mist.
This subplane has the following traits:
* Light winds which keep creatures and objects suspended above a non-extant ground (outside the Great Mist).
* Heavy, moist air (inside the Great Mist).
* Air-dominant, with room for water creatures to thrive.
* Enhanced magic (for the Air and Water domains).
* Impeded magic (for the Earth and Fire domains).
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged air domain, Location, plane, subplane, water domain by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Alabaster
Overview
Village: AL LN; 1,200gp limit; Assets 700,000gp; Population 520; Mixed (75% human, 15% half-orc, 5% dwarf, 5% other)
Alabaster rests along the western edge of a vast rocky plateau. Men and half-orcs have dug mines deep into the rock and have excavated alabaster from its core, hence the town’s name.
The rocks are moved south to Junction and north to Trover and the other regions of the Jæruel. The merchants of Alabaster are also known for their stained glass.
Architecture
Due to the abundance of alabaster in the area, the wooden homes are all adorned with small walls and cornerstones of alabaster. The town hall in the center of the village is built entirely of alabaster, with tall spires and large arches that the large slabs of carved stone allow.
Layout
The town is completely built around the idea of mining the stone along the eastern edge of the village, and all the main roads run along its edge. Smaller roads that lead to the homes of miners and the small amount of services run west along Broadsword St. from this eastern edge. The rest of the town sprawls over the vast expanse of the plains from there, mostly along Jæruel Loop. A cluster of servant quarters provides the buffer from the main town to the wealthier homes. Some of the wealthier stone homes on the west edge of the village are an acre or more apart.
Two guard towers manned by 5 level 3 guards watch over the western plains, and a garrison of 25 Jæruel militiamen led by a level 7 fighter stands on a small hill in the north part of the village.
The dwarves which have chosen to live in the town, as they are well-paid consultants to the miners, live nestled in the rock near the mines.
Map
Persona
Edmund Van Riggle: a level 8 noble, mayor of Alabaster and local Jæruel minister. Edmund lives in the westernmost wealthy residence with his brother.
Tarn Snagfoot: a lvl 6 half-orc mining foreman that rules over the half-orcs in town. Tarn lives in the largest house in the Half-orc camp on the northern edge of town. He has two 4th level bodyguards who are always at his side.
Finn Van Riggle: a level 8 mage from the Phyloctæte.
The miners of Alabaster are a tough, yet on the whole a lawful bunch. They enjoy the long hours honing their craft, and are well compensated, since the alabaster fetches a hefty sum in the neighboring towns. They are also a devout group, the humans worshipping Kord and the orcs Luthic in two large cathedrals in the center of town. Though there is a slight divide between the groups, they each know each other’s roles in their prosperity, so they limit their trash talking to their own social circles.
Plot Points
The intrigue in Alabaster stems from the displacement of the non-mining locals, as well as the distinct lack of women in the town. There are no families, and the only women are those who serve the men’s carnal desires. This leads to occasional outbursts of violence over them, as certain miner feel under-compensated in the flesh department.
In addition, there are multiple shafts which are off limits to many of the miners. There are rumors that something other than alabaster has been found there, and there are certain miners which have been picked to work the night shift to extract whatever this substance is.
There are also rumors of mages visiting the mines under cover of darkness. Certain perceptive and superstitious miners have put he two together and fear the worst. A mage by the name on Finn Van Riggle (brother of the mayor) has recently moved to the village and is staying in his brother’s large home on the west end of town. There are those who say he takes the form of a large black cat in order to explore the region at night.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Jæruel, Location, village by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Goduanil
Pronounced Go-do-ann-ill, this is a region of bleak hills where the sky is always overcast, which end in cliffs that overlook the Olde Bay in the center of its north shore. In the valleys run wide streams of black pudding and other oozes, fungi and molds are common.
Goduanil stretches for many miles along the rocky coast and runs almost to the Swift River Road which parallels the river up onto the Cyrűk Mountains.
Locations and encounters within Goduanil include:
* Pryad Wastes
* Black Pudding Streams
* Oozes, Fungi and Molds
* Griffon Roosts
* Waste Giants
Locations of interest to the party include:
* Arthens Lighthouse
* Various ancient ruins sites
* The mysterious tower ruins where rumor has it a wizard went to hide
Posted in Region and tagged Location, Northbay, waste by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Locked in a Place Where No One Goes
First of all, Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all have a safe and fun holiday, and many happy returns!
So, I ran this little adventure on Sunday for my players in the “Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil” game I’ve been running. For those who haven’t played that colossus of an adventure, near the end the players have a chance to draw from a Deck of Many Things. Almost immediately, two of the party members drew the Donjon and Void cards. I was afraid for a second that it was going to turn into a total party kill. Luckily the cleric and druid had some restraint drawing cards and only got the enmity of a powerful outsider and -1 to all their saves for the rest of their lives. All of it made me think the deck of many things is secretly the most effective trap ever created.
So, in an attempt to let the party re-unite and finish the adventure I whipped this side adventure up. It’s a one-session mini-adventure, written for 12th level characters, in which some party members are escaping from hell and some are coming to their rescue. The encounters are planned for a half-size party (2 characters in each encounter). See the footnote for hints on adapting the adventure for higher or lower level parties.
Setting: The adventure takes place in small fortified manor house on the first plane of hell. The manor is one of the domiciles of Vivarea, a powerful succubus, who has seduced, hired, and subjugated these devils to maintain her hidden villa. The surrounding region is a blasted shale landscape filled with pits of fire and twisted woods where condemned souls writhe in anguish.
Adventure Hooks: This adventure can easily be adapted to involve the rescue of an important NPC or a needed item from the dungeons beneath the manor. As a straightforward dungeon delve with a united party it would be an appropriate adventure for a full party of 8th – 10th level adventurers.
To begin the adventure, simply have the characters find a few magically trapped item that have Azeroth’s Snare, a spell similar to trap the soul, cast upon them. These items can be anything that the players would want, such as apparently enchanted magic items. The items in question will have been previously prepared by Azeroth, their trapped nature disguised (maybe via nistul’s magic aura), and perhaps had an attraction spell cast upon them to lure in the intended victims.
Trap: hell’s lure CR 10; magic device; visual trigger (true seeing); single use; triggers when touched; spell effect (Azeroth’s Snare, 17th-level wizard, teleported, without their equipment, to a magic trap at location of caster’s choosing, DC 30 Will save negates); Search DC 34; Disable Device DC 34.
Background: The outre story of how my players pissed off a succubus while raiding the Temple of All Consumption… will probably not make the pages of Claw / Claw / Bite ! Email me if you’re curious.
Running the Adventure: In order that the halves of the split-up party don’t get too bored, and also to increase the tension and build to the final encounter, the encounters should be run in this order:
1) The prisoners are captured.
2) The rescuers find out where they are being held, travel to hell, fight the hellcat encounter.
3) The prisoners slip out of their cell and escape the prison area.
4) The rescuers get to the manor and begin fighting the guards.
5) The prisoners fight their way over the bridge, past the hellhound.
6) The rescuers finish their fight against the guards.
7) The prisoners travel through the living areas up to the entrance to the main hall.
8) The rescuers start fighting the succubus; the prisoners join in after d2 rounds.
Encounters
1) Encounters for the Prisoners
A – The Devil Mocks Their Every Step (CR 23)
This encounter explains the character’s capture: the succubus has contracted with a powerful daemon, named Azeroth, to capture the characters for her, and here she gloats over her success.
Area Description:
This grand hall of dark stone soars up with gothically carved pillars and arches to a high ceiling. A grand iron double door stands shut and barred, and several smaller doors and archways lead to smaller antechambers. A wide stone staircase leads down into the darkness.
You stand in a glowing magic circle in the middle of this hall. Your names are written along the border of the circle, along with many runes you cannot understand. Standing at the ready around the circle are dozens of armed devils of various types, wrapped in hooked chains, bearded with cruel-looking axes, their melted bodies pouring out in globs from their chainmail.
There is an incredibly beautiful woman here, dressed in revealing silk robes and adorned with gem-dripping jewelery of all types. A large pair of leathery wings are folded at her back. She turns and thanks a tall, robed figure, who holds a crystal-topped staff, and who’s hood hides in shadow a skeletal dog’s head with glowing red eyes. She then addresses you, saying: “Your interference in my families affairs in the mortal world are at an end! Now I will pay you back for my daughter’s humiliation! Oh the tortures of the damned lie in wait for you, you wretched things.”
The robed figure’s fanged, skeletal mouth creaks open and issues forth a single magic word that knocks you to the ground, stunning you. A horde of horrid, melted looking humanoids in mail surge forward and clap you in irons, then drag you, in chains, to dungeons below.
Creatures: The house’s entire contingent of devils is here at this encounter, in case the characters get out of hand. In addition to Vivarea and Asteroth, there is a chain devil, a bearded devil, and a dozen lemurian footmen. Asteroth, a 17th level wizard, has been paid be Vivarea to capture the player’s characters, and will use whatever spells he must to subdue the party if the resist their parade to the cells below, such as or power word stun or dominate monster.
B- Escape! (EL 6)
In this encounter, the prisoners must trick or fight their way out of their cell and the underground prison / torture area where they are being held. They must overcome or evade their guards and the magical ward sealing them in.
Area Description:
This small cell’s walls and ceiling are made from large blocks of stone. Through an open archway, its stones covered in strange runes, lies a short hallway and more cells. A small window, filled with thick iron bars, looks out into a large cavern. There, in the dull red glow from distant flames, several racks, iron maidens, braziers with hot coals, and other torture implements are being used by a scaly, bearded devil and several horrible, melted-looking guards. The screams of their victims echo back to you.
A DC 10 search check will reveal that the other cells in the hallway have only a single rune carved on the outward facing side.
Creatures: One bearded devil and three lemurian footmen work here tormenting a few anguished damned souls. They keep an eye on the characters, but are busy at their work and take 10s on their spot and listen checks. The bearded devil leaves occasionally, providing an opportunity to try to somehow trick the footmen into releasing the prisoners.
Bearded Devil: HP: 45
Lemurian Footmen (see below): HP: 10, 7, 10
Tactics: If taunted or otherwise engaged these torturers may come to the cells and perhaps stab at the prisoners through the arches (which are warded one-way). When the prisoners escape the guards will rush them and attack with their weapons.
Trap: Lightning ward on cell entrance: This ward prevents anyone from exiting the cell. Anyone trying to pass under the arch will cause the infernal runes carved across its face to flash. The creature will suffer 2d6 points of electricity damage and be thrown back. To pass through this trap, it must be dispelled (8th level caster), disabled by covering the runes (DC 29 Disable Device check), or one can push through it with a Strength check (DC 25), which also causes 4d6 points of electricity damage. From the outside, the ward can be suspended by covering the single rune carved on that side of the arch.
CR 5; spell; spell trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (shocking grasp, 8th-level sorcerer, 2d6 electricity, no save); Search DC 29; Disable Device DC 29.
Treasure: 3 suits of chainmail, 3 spears, a glaive and a shortsword from bearded devil. Also, weapons can be improvised from torture implements.
C – The Dogs of Doom (EL 8 + 10% xp bonus)
Here, the escapees must bypass tricky spot with a hell hound guard on a narrow bridge over a pit of lava and fire.
Area Description:
Here, a narrow bridge of stone stretches across a deep chasm, filled with molten rock and towering tongues of flame. On the far side a smaller cavern is empty, save for stone stairs leading upwards.
Creatures: 1 nessian hell hound without barding lies in wait here.
Nessian Hell Hound: AC:18 HP: 111
Tactics: The hell hound, with a hide of +17, it will stalk across the bridge and try to attack anyone crossing with surprise. It will probably open up with it’s breath weapon if it’s opponents are clustered up, otherwise it will bite.
D – The Halls of the Damned
This level of the mansion consists of several underground hallways with small suites and rooms attached. These rooms include the quarters of the chain devil and the bearded devil, as well as the suite Viveria uses when she stays here. If searched, those rooms yield the treasures below, each secured with it’s own trap. The majority of the rooms, however, are empty.
Bearded Devil’s chambers
description etc
Trap:
Treasure: 57pp 70gp 19cp, and a small masterwork heavy crossbow.
Chain devil’s chambers
description etc
Trap:
Treasure: 3 platinum coins, an arcane scroll containing: knock (lvl 2, cast 3), ray of enfeeblement (lvl 1, cast 1), and cat’s grace (lvl 2, cast 3), an arcane scroll containing: shocking grasp (lvl 1, cast 1), magic circle against evil (lvl 3, cast 5), and an arcane scroll containing: command undead (lvl 2, cast 3).
Viveria’s chambers
description etc
Trap:
Treasure: 4,785gp 4sp 1cp, a gold dragon comb with red garnet eye worth 1.000 gold, a silver chalice with lapis lazuli gems worth 80 gold, a fire opal pendant on a fine gold chain worth 1,100 gold, a black velvet mask with numerous citrines worth 80 gold, and a divine scroll with speak with dead (lvl 3, cast 5).
2) Encounters for the Rescuers
E – Determine Location
The first step of the adventure for the rescuers is to determine where the prisoners are being kept. Options for the rescuers could include the following:
- scying or using divination such as commune or contact other plane
- examining the trapped items via analyse dweomer or identify, combined with a spellcraft check (DC 24) to determine where the trap teleported them to.
At that point, the players must travel to hell (or wherever you set the manor house) via plane shift, teleport, through planar portals, or however is appropriate for the situation.
F – The Damned
Here the players pass through a small woods, where damed souls, in the form of trees, suffer. These petitioners are helpless, harmless, and horrifying.
Area Description:
The players enter a thicket of uncanny trees. The tree barks have faces etched into them. Upon closer examination, the wood of the trees is squirming with maggots, ants and spiders burrowing in and feasting on their bodies. They stir, and a cacophony of laments soon fills the air as the trees mutter and scream and cry and rant against the crimes that damned them in their mortal lives.
G – Hellcats (EL 9)
Here, a few examples of hell’s native fauna attempt to predate the rescuers.
Area Description:
The dessicated landscape is eerily quiet here. Loose shale crunches underfoot. Everything is gray: the sky, the ground, the few skeletal trees that occupy the landscape–all sucked dry of color. A faint smell of rotten flesh permeates the air.
Creatures: 2 hellcats HP: 54, 69
Tactics: Listen checks against the hellcat’s move silently +20 may be the party’s only warning before they are attacked. Invisible, these hellcats will pounce upon the rescuers and fight until brought to less than 20 hit points, at which time they will flee.
H – Legions of Hellions (EL 10)
Here the rescuers must fight waves of guards to enter the manor.
Area Description:
Glistening walls of dark grey stone rise to protect the villa. Near the top, the crenelated walls slope inward slightly, perhaps to provide some cover from aerial attacks. Directly ahead of the players stands the black ironwood gates. Lemurian footmen stalk among the battlements. Though these Lemurians have a modicum of intellect, they still behave with nervous tics and gibber to themselves about their fiendish thoughts.
Creatures: There are several groups of footmen through the compound, and as the party fights their way in they should encounter several waves of the footmen, and then finally the chain devil, in the locations listed below. All the lemurian footmen have HP:9.
6 lemurian footmen guarding the gate
2 lemurian footmen reinforce right away from the gate towers
4 lemurian footmen from the circular tower as the players pass it
4 lemurian footmen are stationed in the courtyard
4 lemurian footmen reinforce from the kennels
4 lemurian footmen wait at the house entrance with the chain devil (HP: 55)
Tactics: The footmen are quite stupid, and will simply charge the players with their spears. If the end up surrounding a player or two, they may try to grapple them and bear them down under their numbers. If the footmen are slowing the rescuers, the chain devil may try to disarm them, otherwise he simply attacks. All fight to the death.
3) Encounter for the Party Reunited (EL 14)
In this encounter the characters all confront the Succubus Boss in the middle of the lair – in the main hall of the manor. The encounter should start with the rescuers coming into the hall, and the escapees should join the encounter after a round or two from the stairs below.
Area Description:
This grand hall of dark stone soars up with gothically carved pillars and arches to a high ceiling. A grand iron double door gives access to the courtyard beyond, and several smaller doors and archways lead to smaller antechambers. A wide stone staircase leads down into the darkness.
Creatures: Here Vivarea will make a final stand against the party. Every round or two a pair of lemurian footmen will join the fray, for a total of six.
Vivirith succubus sorcerer 8 (see below)
6 lemurian footmen: HP 9 each
Tactics: The succubus will begin by casting a hot fire shield, and then retreating from the party, using her greater teleport if necessary, and hurling fireballs and lightning bolts while the Lemurian Footmen harass the party. If she is somehow cornered, she will cast shield and vympyric touch. If seriously hurt she will attempt to teleport to safety, to plot against the party for another day.
Creatures
Lemurian footman (CR 1)
Lawful Evil Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Environment: A lawful evil-aligned plane
Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (3-5), swarm (6-15), or mob (10-40)
Initiative: +0
Armor Class: 19 (+5 armor, +4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 19
Hit Dice: 2d8 (9 hp)
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares)
Attack: Claw +2 (1d4) or spear +2 (1d8)
Full Attack: 2 claws +2 (1d4) or spear +2 (1d8)
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+2
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good or silver, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, mindless, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 5, Wis 11, Cha 5
Possessions: chain mail, spear
A lemure is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 100 pounds.
Lemures are typically mindless, but these souls have clawed their way up through the ranks of devils a half-rung, and have gained simple minds.
Combat
Lemurian footmen are simple combatants, lurching forward and attacking with their claws or whatever weapons they may have been given.
A lemure’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Vivarea, Succubus Sorcerer (CR 14)
Chaotic Evil Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil), Sorcerer 8
Initiative: +1
Armor Class: 24 * (+1 Dex, +9 natural, +4 armor), touch 11, flat-footed 19
Hit Dice: 6d8 + 8d4 + 14 (65 hp)
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +13
* includes Mage Armor
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 50 ft. (average)
Attack: Claw +11 melee (1d6+1)
Full Attack: 2 claws +11 melee (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+11
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Persuasive, Still Spell, Spell Focus (Enchantment)
Special Attacks: Energy drain, spell-like abilities, summon demon
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft., tongues
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 28
Skills: Bluff +28, Concentration +18, Craft (jewelery) +7, Craft (traps) +7, Diplomacy +13, Disguise +17* (+19 acting), Escape Artist +10, Hide +10, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (arcana) +12, (the planes) +11, Listen +19, Move Silently +10, Search +12, Spellcraft +11, Spot +19, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks), Use Rope +1 (+3 with bindings)
Spells Available: (DC 19 + spell level, +1 for enchantment)
1st (9): mage armor, shield, magic missile,
2nd (8): scorching ray, invisibility, mirror image,
3rd (7): fireball, lightning bolt, vampyric touch
4th (5): fire shield
Adapting the Adventure
To adapt this adventure for parties of higher or lower level, not much needs to be changed. Add or subtract levels of sorcerer from the succubus so that she is 2 CR higher then the average party level.
All area descriptions copyright 2007 Unicorn Rampant Publishing
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