This is a low-level scenario, roughly for levels 1-3, set in the Lands of the Diamond Throne using Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. What follows is a sketch of a scenario, stats for a witchery site, NPC motivations and stats, and scenario use suggestions. Comments, questions, and concerns are all appreciated. I want to know if I'm leaving gaping plot holes, or inadvertant dead ends. I know I left it fairly vauge, I'd just like to see if there's anything that brings up a red flag.
And if you're in my AU: Butterfly Cage play-by-post game, scram! Don't read any further!
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Ok, and here we go.
Ok, I'm expanding on one of the [link=www.diamondthrone.com/displaycontent.cfm?iCatId=6&iConID=56 newwindow]16 Story Seeds[/link] by Rob Bowell on DiamondThrone.com.
AU – Butterfly Cage
“You never see a butterfly cage. Do you know why? No one’s ever wanted to cage a butterfly; no one ever thinks they’ve done anything wrong. No one ever considers the butterfly.”
What the players know: The players will all be starting in the large town of Hardak, a primarily human town with a hearty addition of faen (primarily quicklings, but some loresongs and sprytes as well), and with a tiny, separate cloister of verrik on the town's edge. There's also a small sprinkling of the other races. The town is in the middle of a gold rush. The mountainous area, originally settled for logging and trapping, has recently yielded several unexpectedly large gold deposits.
However, persistant rumors have circulated that one of the mines is in fact not a mine, but a corridor to an ancient temple dedicated to a witching site, or perhaps a number of particularly reveared giant ancestors, or even some kind of site of magical power created by a magister.
Many people are flocking to Hardak, some for the gold, some for the job surrounding the gold (crafting, guarding), and some for these wild rumors of untold power waiting below the earth.
What the DM knows: The town of Hardak is in the middle of a gold rush, with rumors of a magical site somewhere amidst the mines and test tunnels. However, when the PCs arrive, they find themselves in the middle of an odd battle. Several miners have found themselves the victims of strange attacks. Strange sounds in the mines have scared several away; others have seen odd sights with the same effect. Those that haven’t left the “haunted” mines have been the victims of minor cave-ins. At least one has suffered an attack by his own pick. In addition to these relatively minor set-backs, the resident loresong faen and verrik have been coming the peaks looking for this alleged magical source, and several skirmishes have developed between them. In addition the miners say these fights are blocking access to prime potential gold.
Bad blood is brewing the miners and the magic seekers, and amongst the magic seekers. However, these problems are connected on a deeper level. A verrik mind witch called Javdak and a mojh iron witch called Kithmeshen are at the heart of this conflict. Of all the rumors flying, only these two are closest to the truth. These two have found, through separate sources, that the rumor of magical might in this area is true. They’ve both been waiting for years for it to resurface. A chance avalanche that uncovered the gold revealed to both of them the path to a witching site of potentially enormous power.
It lies deep within the mountain, and both witches want to be the first to reach it. They originally let the miners do the work for them, then scared them off if they determined the path wasn’t getting close enough to the site. Both witches have been guiding the mining efforts from opposite sides of the mountain, and are slowly closing in on the site. However as they force the miners closer, they have been inadvertently forcing smaller magical items and more ancient ruins to the surface, which the verrik and loresong faen have been squabbling over.
It’s up to the PCs to calm the fighting between the townsfolk, and ferret out Javdak and Kithmenshen’s plot. If they take too long, eventually the miners will break through to the site. Both witches will be waiting to get inside, and any miner that gets caught in the crossfire will surely suffer.
The two witches are mostly academic rivals from a nearby area, but both are fairly ruthless when it comes to obtaining control over a site of this power. Kithmenshen uses its knowledge of architecture to set up the small cave ins and uses the animate weapon spell to deter the most persistent back to its chosen path. Javdak prefers to use illusions to scare off the miners, backing those up with uses of lesser telekinesis to tip over lamps or other harassments. Pretending to be a relative of one of the verrik from the cloister of Zahyob, he’s also ascertained (through conversation and judicious use of contact and detect throughts) which tunnels have occasionally yielded strange artifacts and chunks of worked stone. Javdak’s tunneling will most likely break through first. Kithmenshen’s heavier hand and more violent temperament haven’t yielded as many results, but it does keep tabs on Javdak’s progress. It works from an opposite angle, hoping to meet in the middle. But if it thinks Javdak is close to a breakthrough, it won’t hesitate to hide itself and wait. In a stand-up fight, Kithmenshen will have the upper hand.
Both are aware of the surfacing artifacts, but both know they are but small potatoes compared to the site below. The verrik and loresong faen know of the ancient ruins and have often plundered them, but rarely have they yielded so rich a trove. They are unaware of the witchery site below the earth.
The cloister of Zahyob is a small community of verrik who primarily study witchery. The majority of the verrik are either winter, wind, or wood witches, though they have two runthanes among their number. Despite their strangeness, they sometimes take care of wounded people in town, or help them cope with rabid animal or severe storms.
The butterfly in this scenario is Javdak. He will most likely try to talk with the PCs, particularly if they become involved in any kind of investigation. He may even try to help them, by pointing them towards what evidence he knows of Kithmenshen. However, if it becomes known that a verrik has been responsible for some of these hauntings, setbacks, and other obstructions, it would sour the attitude of the rest of the town toward the verrik in their midst. It could set neighbor against neighbor, when before no one would suspect the verrik of any wrongdoing.
The Witchery Site, NPC motivations and cohorts
The witchery site is known as Deepstorm, a focus of witch power, made long ago by three verrik Witch Lords, ancestors of the ones living here today. The knowledge of Deepstorm was kept from the community at large because of its unusual intensity of power. If it fell into uncaring hands, it could be used as a springboard for great and terrible acts of evil conquest.
Deepstorm is carved out of the center of a mountain. To hide its entrances, it had no visible ones on the surface of the mountain. However, within the natural tunnels were carefully carved corridors leading into the site. The walls were carved with the three motifs of the Witch Lords that made Deepstorm, billows of air, branching trees, and snowflakes. There were three corridors leading into Deepstorm, one from the north, and one each from the northeast and northwest. Time has taken its toll however, and most have collapsed, leaving chunks of their wonderful walls within the rubble of the mountain.
Each of the corridors lead to three identical doors, each showing a snow-covered pine being blasted by wind. These doors are unlocked, though each bears an inscription above the lintel, written in Common, "Deepstorm only aids the land."
Inside, Deepstorm is enough to make one wonder if they've strayed though a portal into another world. Deepstorm is a huge domed chamber, hundreds of feet wide and almost a hundred feet tall. Inside grows a grove of stately pine trees, and an eternal blizzard rages around them, sometimes half-burying them with snow, other times scouring them clean with wind. From above shines a weak light, like the sun on a cloudy winter's day. The temperature inside is always well below freezing.
If one can find their way to the center of the pine grove, the wind dies down, and the snow becomes a light layer on the ground. In the very center of Deepstorm is a short pedestal, on top of which is a basin filled with water. The basin is crossed with three swords, one seemingly made of ice, one seemingly made of wood, and one seemingly made of wind.
Though one may touch these things, they are unable to be moved. It is thought that they may only be moved by descendents of the original Witch Lord creators.
Within Deepstorm, all witches cast their spells at +1 caster level and may add +1 to the DCs of their spells during the days of a full moon in winter months. However, if the witch is a wood, wind, or winter witch, they true power of Deepstorm becomes apparent. Such a witch may enhance one of their powers as described under the Witchery Lord feature in the witch class (increase damage, duration, times per day, etc.) while within Deepstorm. If a witch already has that feature with one manifestation, she may use it with another one.
If the three Scions of Deepstorm are ever found (the three descendents of the creator Witch Lords) and they practice the appropriate kind of witchery, they may be able to unlock other powers of Deepstorm. Some old scrolls speak of the Witch Lords being able to call down blizzards, heal entire villages, or bring rain. The three swords left behind are powerful magic items, but are keyed to the blood of the Scions. They too may have unguessed-at powers.
~~~~~
As for minions or lieutenants for Javdak and Kithmenshen...
For Kithmenshen I was of two thoughts. One, it's actually bought around six human miners to do this "profitless" mining for it and has been using the other, ignorant miners to do other exploratory mining. When it's exhausted the possibilities for one area, it scares the regular miners off of those tunnels and subtlety guides them to another. Despite the fact that it has its own miners to do additional work, it has reluctantly come to the conclusion that Javdak must be striking the luckier tunnels due to the reports of finding many chunks of worked stone in them.
It has at least two human lieutenants (striving to become mojh) that are posing as miners in town. They "casually" drop comments about likely places for gold, or rather, likely places that Kithmenshen wants to dig. One of them is an akashic (a human male named Oram), and has been using his abilities to impersonate being a miner to the best of his abilities. The other (a human female named Sharla) is a mage blade and considers herself Kithmenshen's bodyguard. She worries because Kithmenshen is their key to finding a mojh enclave willing to do the transformation ceremony. She'd sacrifice a great deal to see it is safe and happy. She generally follows Oram's lead when pretending to be a miner.
The second scenario is the same, except instead of buying human miners to do the work, Kithmenshen is using dwarven miners. Dwarves (yes, regular D&D dwarves) still have their racial hatred of giants, and consider them usurpers scarcely better than the dramojh. Dwarves rarely venture onto the surface and confine themselves to their mines. They've been known to make attacks on giantish caravans going through their mountains, and will occasionally sabotage the mines of other races if they inadvertently intrude into dwarven territory. Few bear the dwarves any good feelings. Though their craftsmanship is still excellent, few would buy or even bear dwarven gear of any sort. They have a bad reputation all over the lands, and are considered to be a terribly bitter, violent, greedy, and argumentative race. However, they are still somewhat hidebound by laws of the clans, and if dealt with very carefully by a non-giant (and non-sibaccai, they consider them giant lackeys) in terms of laws, they will stick to them. It's very dangerous to try to back out of an agreement with a dwarf though.
Kithmenshen bought the dwarves with the promise of free run of the gold mines if they find him Deepstorm. They've been assisting it in creating the small cave-ins. However, more experienced miners will start to recognize this pattern of dwarven harassment. If it's discovered that Kithmenshen brought dwarves to Hardak along with its other crimes, things will go particularly bad for it. The dwarves will refuse to leave without their promised gold, producing their contract with Kithmenshen, which could cause further trouble. (Props to riklurt to coming up with the dwarf idea.)
Javdak has only a few people helping him, but he considers them to be more than a match for anyone Kithmenshen could bring to bear (he is unaware of its personal group of miners). He has a spryte unfettered (a female called Lornae Brightsong) with an unparalleled sense of mischief who's been helping him with the "haunting" of the tunnels. Also, he persuaded a male loresong faen akashic called Primat Nighthammer to lend his expertise in finding the most likely of tunnels. Primat's usual area of expertise is the acquisition of artifacts, not underground exploring, and his use of the collective memory has been stretched to the limit helping Javdak.
With Javdak is also his friend and research assistant Quex (male verrik verrik 1). A cloistered academic, this is Quex's first experience with actual sites instead of books and scrolls. He's thoroughly interested in witchery, and is quite willing to go to some extraordinary lengths to get them both to Deepstorm before Kithmenshen. He hopes to decide on what path of witchery to follow once actually feeling the power of a true witchery site. If things turn ugly, Lornae will gladly fight just for the chance to draw blood (she's a tad on the wild side). Primat has no stake in combat and would prefer to flee, and Quex will probably stay as long as Javdak holds firm. But if his mentor wavers or falls, Quex's courage might fail him... or harden his resolve. He has yet to be seriously tested.
~~~~~~~
The ruins on top of the general area of the mines are the former site of the verrik cloister in the area. However, no one knows that, not even the current resident verrik. It was used many hundreds of years ago, when the verrik shared their cloister with a few mojh. They made a great number of artifacts, mostly minor beneficial ones of healing, general health, good weather, and safe traveling. The old cloister was destroyed over four hundred years ago by a freakishly powerful blizzard that killed almost everyone inside. The remaining verrik relocated to the outskirts of town, and did not leave any record for their children that they had once lived on the mountain (no one is certain why, but an old tattered scroll from that time says that they "fled the awakening of Deepstorm.")
NPC stats
Javdak and company
Javdak: Male Verrik, racial level 1/ mind witch 2; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8 + 2d6; hp 16; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 1; Init –2 (-2 Dex); Speed 20’ (bad leg, cannot run); AC 8 (touch 8, flatfooted 8 ) ; Attacks +2 melee (1d6/x2 cane); SQ: 1/day - contact, sense thoughts, lesser telekinesis, compelling command, detect magic, disorient. 3/day - object loresight. Sensory Control. Spell access (complex psionic spells), Witchery - half duration on hostile psionic effects, Fire manifestation (Mindfire 3/day), bad leg*; Fort +0, Ref -2, Will +11; Str 10, Dex 7, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 14; Feats: The Voice, Bonded Item (cane), Iron Will; Skills: Bluff +5, Concentration +4, Diplomacy +4, Gather Information +4,Innuendo +3, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (magic) +7, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +8; Gear: Book of Witchery History (Book, Knowledge (history, witchery) +5), Book of Secrets of the Arcane (Book, Knowledge (magic) +5), Book of the Procedures of Mining (Book, Knowledge (mining) +5), Book of Faen History (Book, Knowledge (history, faen) +5), Book of Ceremonies of the Giants (Book, Knowledge (ceremonies) +5), Book of the Psion (Book, Knowledge (magic, psionic spell descriptions) +5), scholar’s outfit, cart, heavy horse, cane, witchbag, two journals, three blank books, three containers of black ink, inkpen, hooded lantern, five flasks of oil, illusion screen.
Spells Readied: (save DC +3): (slots 3/2) 0th - Ghost sound, minor illusion, lesser telekinesis, canny effort. 1st - Charm, compelling question.
Languages: Common, Verrik, Giant, Draconic.
Money: 52gp, 12sp, 8cp, various gems totaling 820gp, the largest being a diamond worth 200gp.
*Bad leg – Javdak’s first test of witchery came at a high price. During a duel to determine his fitness, the witch that was testing him (an iron witch), inflicted a grievous wound on his leg. He survived, but it was too badly damaged to heal correctly. In addition, he felt he should keep the wound in a reminder of his failure. Thusly, he uses a cane to move around, and cannot move as fast as a normal verrik. He also cannot run.
Height: 6’2”. Weight: 248 lbs. Skin: Deep red. Eyes: Dark. Hair: White. Age: 35.
Javdak is a scholarly verrik from the town of Lisharan. He is a resident scholar and professor of studies of magic and witchery at a school there. However, he harbors deep passions for the history of magic, and has recently become aware that an ancient witchery site may be resurfacing in the town of Hardak. A chance earthquake resurfaced some items that make it clear to Javdak that the site is somewhere underground.
His passion for the power of this witchery site has taken over much of his life. He is normally fairly mild-mannered, except when it comes to reaching the witchery site first. He is skilled at manipulating people and has put that to work in earnest in trying to find the best route to the site. If he thinks he is being balked, he won’t hesitant to use any means, including violence, to remove the obstacle (though he will try non-violent means first). If confronted with Kithmenshen, he’ll use Mindfire as often as possible, trying to take down Kithmenshen at a distance. He knows the iron witch uses its blade manifestation, and he knows he’s no match for it in a stand-up fight and cannot run.
He is currently residing in Hardak, at the Eloquent Minotaur inn. He has been subtlely guiding a few groups of miners to mine certain passages in order to penetrate to the witchery site. While having no real knowledge of mining himself, he has read up on the subject, and paid an akashic to help him determine the best possible tunnels in which to dig. His knowledge of witchery history has helped tremendously, as he has been able to recognize some of the bits of worked stone that keep surfacing in the rubble as indicators that they are on the right trail. If the miners begin tunneling away from the best tunnels for him (looking for gold instead of where he wants them to go) he uses ghost sound and lesser telekinesis to convince the miners that the tunnels are haunted. He’s assisted by Lornae Brightsong, a spryte unfettered that delights in causing mischief and chaos. He keeps himself concealed by using his illusion screen when working. It takes him several hours to ascend to the mineshafts in which he’s working, so he usually leaves before dawn so he draws as little notice as possible. So far he’s drawn none due to careful timing of the guards’ patrols, bribes, and use of the illusion screen.
Jevdak is a tall, very heavy verrik male, with dark eyes and short-cropped white hair. He wears a scholar’s outfit of soft, loose-fitting robes in non-descript shades of gray and tan, full of pockets, with a belt hung with various pouches, and a soft tan cap. Incongruitous with this outfit are sturdy boots more suited to outdoor life than puttering about indoors. He usually wears a brown cloak over his outfit, and wears gloves at all times unless he’s eating or writing. He walks with a limp, but covers this hitch in his stride mostly by walking slowly and deliberately, as if he is of great importance. He has to use a cane to get around. It’s a substantial one made of a dark brown wood with a silver orb on top. Because it is something he considers his last line of personal defense, Javdak has been bonded to the cane so that he might use it more effectively. Javdak gained most of his bulk after being crippled in the nigh-fatal witch duel. Thus he focuses all of his efforts on his witchery powers and considers them his true strength.
Most of Javdak’s possessions are kept at the Eloquent Minotaur. His books are kept in his room, neatly lined up on a table with two heavy carvings of castle towers acting as bookends. However, he keeps his money and the illusion screen with him at all times. Among his books are two journals, telling of his actions to date. If they could be gotten a hold of, they could be very illuminating as to why perfectly good tunnels have been found to be haunted. Javdak locks the room whenever he is not in it and carries the key wherever he goes.
Illusion screen: This one foot square silk screen allows one to create a 10 by 10 foot cube of a single static scene for as long as desired. The holder of the screen can, at will, see through it as if it were not there.
Faint Illusion; Caster level 1st; Craft Constant Item, lesser illusionary object; Price: 2,000 gp; Weight: -
Quex: Male Verrik, racial level 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8; hp 8; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +3 (Dex); Speed 40’; AC 13 (touch 13, flatfooted 10); Attacks +1 melee (1d6/x2 quarterstaff), +3 ranged (1d4+3 19-20/x2, dagger); SQ: 1/day – contact, sense thoughts, lesser telekinesis, compelling command, detect magic, disorient. 3/day – object loresight. Sensory Control. Spell access (psionic spells) n/a; Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +3; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 7; Feats: Fleet of Foot, Eidetic Memory; Skills: Concentration +2, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge (magic) +4, Spellcraft +3, Wilderness Survival +3; Gear: Traveler’s clothes, quarterstaff, two daggers, backpack, tent, bedroll, blanket, 50ft hemp rope, three torches, hooded lantern, five pints oil, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, Scroll of Witchery History (Book of Knowledge (history, witchery) +2).
Languages: Common, Verrik, Faen
Money: 13gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Height: 5’5”. Weight: 130 lbs. Skin: Deep red. Eyes: Dark. Hair: White. Age: 22.
Quex is Javdak’s research assistant and pupil. A serious young man with a thorough interest in witchery, this is Quex’s first time near a site of real power. Seeing the master and the pupil together is night and day. Where Javdak is tall and huge, Quex is short and slightly built. He wears his hair long, nearly to his knees. Also, unlike his instructor, Quex is in reasonable shape. He love to run and underwent a ceremony to assist that. He also has a keen eye for throwing things, and carries daggers in wrist sheathes for self-protection.
However, he was selected by Javdak because of his excellent memory and eagerness to learn. He has assisted Javdak in researching the witchery site near Hardak, as well as the many incidental things a research assistant and apprentice is subjected to. Quex hope to select a path of witchery to follow after feeling the power of the site, once they find it, that is.
Though Quex is a sheltered academic in terms of never having seen a real witchery site or a magical duel, he has some knowledge of how to take care of himself in the wild. In order to prevent people in town from getting too suspicious, Javdak has kept Quex out of town, as too many strange verrik in town would raise too many questions. Quex has been sleeping out in the bush for three months, investigating the mines during the day, and helping Javdak with the “hauntings.” During the night he quietly patrols near their chosen shafts, watching for thieves, saboteurs, or worse, Kithmenshen.
Quex is a quiet young man, often tongue-tied in most company. Unlike Javdak, who has great force of personality and an excellent way with people, Quex is either unable to say anything, or blurts out something painfully and embarrassingly true. He’s well aware of this, and keeps his mouth shut most of the time. While he holds great respect for Javdak; the man has been a father-figure to him for over five years, he’s a little unsettled by his driving passion to reach the witchery site first. If Javdak does something particularly extreme in front of Quex, it could shake the young man’s faith in him considerably.
Lornae Brightsong: Female Spryte, unfettered 3; Medium humanoid; HD 3d6; hp 21; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 1; Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Speed 10’, 30’ (fly, average); AC 18 (touch 18, flatfooted 18, 19 vs. one melee opponent); Attacks +1 melee (1d4-1/x3 MW punching dagger), +11 ranged (1d4, 19-20/x2, hand crossbow ); SQ: Low-light vision; Fort +1, Ref +7, Will -1; Str 8, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 7, Cha 14; Feats: Improved Initiative, Intuitive Sense, Light Sleeper; Skills: Balance +9, Bluff +7, Escape Artist +9, Sleight of Hand +9, Sneak +17, Tumble +9; Gear: Masterwork punching dagger, hand crossbow (with 20 bolts), adventurer’s clothes, four twilight rods, two potions of lesser battle healing, belt pouch, flask, rations (2 days worth), invisibility ring.
Languages: Common, Faen, Giant
Money: 13gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Height: 1’1”. Weight: 13 lbs. Skin: Pale. Eyes: Light gray. Hair: Silver blonde. Age: 67.
“A few bobbers short of a deuce,” is what some would call Lornae Brightsong. The young woman is, quite literally, crazy. Not wild, or with a mean streak, not high-spirited, but flat-out nuts. However, nobody knows it, not even her. Her break with reality happened when she became a spryte, but no one has figured it out yet, as she was fairly wild before. Thus, her actions only seem slightly odder than normal to her few friends.
She loves causing chaos and mischief, and considers things of this sort a kind of game. Javdak hired her through a hiring hall that handled “unusual” requests with the utmost confidentiality. When she found out he wanted to make some mines seem haunted, she thought that sounded like a great deal of fun, utterly ignoring the patent bizarreness of such acts. Javdak thinks he’s just lucky to have found someone willing to keep her mouth shut; the fact that she seems to love her work is only a bonus. Using her small size, excellent sneaking skills, and her invisibility ring, she’s helped the haunting rumors by moving tools, throwing random rocks, and laughing and saying nonsense words in deep shafts to frighten the miners.
Javdak has never used any of his mind-affecting powers on her, or he might have realized her affliction. She occasionally makes odd comments like, “The moon wouldn’t like what I’m doing,” or “I love the sun, the grass, and the blue-black sky! I eat them for breakfast, and they make me sing.” Javdak firmly ignores the comments, figuring they’re some kind of innuendo he just can’t get. Lornae is fairly twitchy, leaping into combat, out of danger, and from bed with hyperactive zeal.
Lornae has been kept mostly occupied by these “hauntings” but still greatly desires to fight. Javdak also hired her to be his bodyguard, something she would do with glee. She goes all out in combat, firing her hand crossbow until she can get in close, then darting in and hitting her foes with her punching dagger. She favors hit and run tactics. However, if she gets blood-crazy, she may forget to run if she becomes wounded. If that happens, she’ll fight to the death.
Lornae is a tiny spryte, with transparent wing that show sheens in blue and green. Her silvery-blonde hair is hacked short into uneven tufts, having been cut with her own dagger. She wears her clothes tight and form fitting, dyed a deep indigo blue. She keeps her hand crossbow on her belt and her punching dagger strapped in a quick-release sheath on her arm.
Lornae is currently staying in some of the natural caves that the mineshafts intersect. When sleeping she wraps herself up in a gray blanket and wedges herself into the most inaccessible cranny she can, usually a crack in the rock high above the floor. She hides her belongings in a similar way. She meets Javdak at Quex’s campsite at pre-arranged times.
Twilight rods: A cousin of the sunrod, the twilight rod gives off light approximately equal to starlight for six hours when the tip is sharply struck. It allows a character with normal vision to see clearly in a five-foot radius, or those with low-light vision to see in a ten-foot radius. It’s favored by those that require stealth in dark areas, as it gives off a soft, purple-blue glow entirely unlike candlelight.
Invisibility ring: This silver ring allows one to become invisible, as per the spell, for up to 50 minutes per day, three times per day. The user may voluntarily become visible before 50 minutes are up, but that uses up one use for the day. If the invisibility is broken by any normal means for the spell (direct attacking, etc), it ends that use for the day.
Faint Transmutation; Caster level 5th; Craft Constant Item, invisibi[/b]; Price: 36,000 gp; Weight: -
Primat Nighthammer: male loresong faen, akashic 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d6; hp 6; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Speed 20’; AC 11 (touch 11, flatfooted 10); Attacks -2 melee (1d4-1, 19-20/x2, dagger), +0 ranged (1d4, 19-20/x2, dagger ); SQ: Skill memory +2 1/day; Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +4; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12; Feats: Defensive (already factored in to attack rolls), Defensive Roll; Skills: Appraise +8, Bluff +5, Decipher Script +8, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +8, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +5, Forgery +8, Gather Information +5, Knowledge (nobility and courtesy) +8, Listen +4, Search +8, Sneak +5, Spot +6; Gear: 5 daggers, sap, adventurer’s clothes, thieves’ tools, disguise kit, belt pouch, three sunrods, four flash pellets, backpack, bedroll, money belt.
Height: 3’5”. Weight: 46 lbs. Skin: Pale. Eyes: Green. Hair: Brown. Age: 52
Languages: Common, Giant, Draconic, Faen, Verrik, and Sibeccai.
Money: 20gp, 21sp, 10cp. He also has over 200gp worth of jewelry on him.
Primat Nighthammer is, normally, a fence and a thief. However, he occasionally hires himself out to do more than the usual, using his akashic abilities to make himself useful to whoever hires him. Javdak hired him through his akashic’s guild, and Primat soon learned that Javdak had something rather unusual in mind. He wanted Primat’s help in determining the best tunnels in which to dig to find an ancient witchery site. He offered a great deal of gold, and Primat jumped at the job. The pay is sufficient to buy Primat’s silence as well as his cooperation.
However, Primat has no direct knowledge of mining and witchery, and has been delving heavily into the akashic record to help. Mostly he’s made several lucky guesses, bolstered by Javdak’s extensive library and his own akashic abilities. He knows he could make an error at any time, and has made arrangements to leave at a moment’s notice.
Primat is essentially a coward. He prefers to deal with things safely and cautiously, always out of sight of prying eyes and peering ears. He dislikes confrontation, can’t stand fighting, and throws up at the sight of blood. He only carries the daggers as a last line of defense. Put into a life or death situation, he’ll hurl daggers (he keeps one on each arm, one in each boot, and a small one at his belt), and then use the punching dagger only if he can’t run. The punching dagger is in a cunningly disguised pouch at the small of his back; it’s unlikely anyone would notice it on a casual or even a close inspection. The coin purse on his belt is actually filled with rocks, sand, and bits of lead, he uses it as a sap. His money he keeps in a secure money belt under his clothes. Most often if confronted, he’ll use a flash pellet to distract his enemies, and then either hide or run as he sees fit.
Primat is of medium height and somewhat slender. He wears practical clothes with lots of hidden pockets. He is currently staying at the Spryte’s Wing inn, one that caters exclusively to faen. He lets others think he’s acting as a consultant to one or more mining teams, which isn’t exactly lying. He only meets with Javdak at Quex’s campsite, as he doesn’t feel safe meeting him in town (too many rumors could start).
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Kithmenshen and company
(I didn't include the stats for the hired miners, but just use human experts 1 with most skills related to mining if you need them.)
Kithmenshen: mojh, iron witch 3; Medium humanoid; HD 3d6; hp 17; Dying/Dead 0- -1/-13; Hero Points: 1; Init +0; Speed 30’; AC 12 (16 with Eldritch Armor, possible 18 AC vs. iron swords) (touch 10, flatfooted 12, +1 vs. attacks with iron weapons, additional +1 dodge bonus vs. attacks with swords); Attacks +5 melee (2d6+5, 19-20/x2 +1 greatsword), +2 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2, light crossbow ); SQ: Darkvision 60ft, Witchery - +1 luck bonus to AC vs. iron weapons, Blade manifestation (Iron Blade, +1 greatsword); Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 8; Feats: Iron Flesh, Natural Swordsman, Exotic Spell (Eldritch Armor); Skills: Balance +2, Disable Device +2, Forgery +5, Knowledge (architecture) +6, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (magic) +6, Knowledge (runes) +5, Spellcraft +6; Gear: Sites of Witching Power (Book, Knowledge (witchery) +5), Exploration of the Bitter Peaks (Book, Knowledge (history, Bitter Peaks) +5), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent, three potions of lesser transfer wounds, one draught of the green (identical to cure light wounds), one potion of bash, and one potion of detect secret doors.
Spells Readied: (save DC +2): (slots 3/3) 0th – Bash, detect magic, saving grace, seeker. 1st – Acrobatics, animate weapon, eldritch armor.
Height: 6’4”. Weight: 116 lbs. Skin: Gray-green. Eyes: Clear gray. Hair: none. Age: 152
Languages: Common, Draconic, Faen
Money: 193gp, 20sp, 6cp.
Kithmenshen is also a professor and scholar of magical studies, but from a rival academy of magic in the town of Ulfest, west of Lisharan. Since both it and Javdak consider themselves to be the most knowledgeable about witchery and magical history in the region, an academic rivalry developed, which has become bitterer over the years. Both would consider finding the witchery site in Hardak a great coup over their rival, and both have spent over three months in Hardak seeking it. Kithmenshen has taken a more direct route than Javdak in searching the tunnels. Its hired six miners to mine the best possible passages, and has been using “accidents” to force other mining teams to explore other adjacent passages that hold the greatest promise. It has been using its knowledge of architecture and engineering to create small cave-ins to block passages that it feels have exhausted their usefulness. If the other miners do not heed these warnings, they are subjected to more direct harassment, up to and including using the animate weapon spell to attack them with their own picks to get them to leave the “wrong” tunnels.
Despite the fact that Kithmenshen has its own team of miners, and has been scaring at least two others to mine passages for further possibilities, its found much less evidence that Javdak. The fact that its not particularly careful about when its cave-ins occur, and the fact that its willing to attack the miners with their own tools has these groups mining very slow due to fear. It has a bit of a temper, and can be callous with those that do not show interest in furthering its goals. When it speaks, it speaks shortly and to the point. It rarely lies, as it is not much good at it.
Kithmenshen is somewhat unusual for a mojh in that it focuses much more on the physical than other mojh. It does not value the highest esoteric mysteries as much as other mojh, and considers the body to be as important as the mind. However, it is also a professor and scholar, so the distinction is mostly of concern only to other mojh. Its scales are much harder than other mojh, and have a gray sheen to them. Its eyes are also a clear steel gray. Kithmenshen is quite strong, and revels in physical combat as much as using magic. It delights in using its witchery manifestation. Most of its spells go towards aiding it in physical combat.
Despite the fact that Kithmenshen is not particularly personable, it has gathered two followers to it. Both Oram and Sharla were students at the academy in Ulfest. They showed intense interest in Kithmenshen’s classes, and soon revealed to it that they desired to become mojh. Kithmenshen agreed to take them to a mojh conclave for the ceremony, provided they help it find the witchery site. If they fail, Kithmenshen will probably refuse to take them to the conclave and sponsor them for the transformation, so both are fanatically loyal and protective.
Kithmenshen has been roughing it out in the wilderness of the peaks for the past three months, as being in town would give Javdak far too easy a time of tracking its movements. It’s staying on the opposite side of the peaks from Quex and isn’t even aware of the young verrik’s presence. Its also been careful to keep far away from questing magic-seekers.
Sharla: female human, mage blade 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8+2; hp 10; Dying/Dead 0- -2/-15; Hero Points: 0; Init +1; Speed 30’; AC 15 (touch 11, flatfooted 14, +1 dodge bonus vs. melee attacks); Attacks +3 melee (1d6+3, 18-20/x2 +1 anthame scimitar), +1 ranged (1d6, x3, shortbow ); SQ: Anthame (scimitar), fire resistance 5; Fort +2, Ref +1, Will -1; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12; Feats: Defensive Stance, Elemental Resistance (fire), Slippery Mind; Skills: Knowledge (ceremony) +4, Knowledge (magic) +4, Spellcraft +4; Gear: Scimitar, studded leather jack, banded wooden round shield, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent.
Spells Readied: (save DC +1): (slots 3/1) 0th – Bash, detect magic, lesser glowglobe. 1st – Lesser transfer wounds.
Height: 5’3”. Weight: 100 lbs. Skin: Tanned. Eyes: Brown. Hair: Brown. Age: 24
Languages: Common.
Money: 20gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Sharla is a short, slightly-build human woman, who moves with a tightly controlled strength. She has shoulder-length straight brown hair that she keeps tied back at all times. Her skin is sprinkled with freckles.
Sharla has been fascinated by magic since she was young, and the tales of the mojh she heard interested her greatly. Since she showed such an interest, her parents had her attend the academy in Ulfest. In order to enhance her own concentration on magic, she began to practice with other military-minded students and teachers in the arts of war as well. She’s be combining her knowledge of magic with her practice in fighting to become a mage blade.
Sharla had the majority of her classes with an unusually knowledgeable student called Oram. She quickly determined that mojh held as great a fascination for him as they did for her. Eventually the two approached Kithmenshen together to ask about the transformation ceremony. Sharla knows that this may be her only chance to become mojh, and would do practically anything to prevent harm to Kithmenshen. She would do almost anything to keep her worth high in its eyes.
Oram is posing as a miner to help nudge Kithmenshen’s “extra” mining groups into mining its desired passages, and Sharla is attempting to help. Mostly she just keeps quiet and nods at appropriate intervals, doing her best to imitate Oram’s mannerisms and speech. She is currently staying at the Mother Lode inn.
Oram: male human, akashic 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d6; hp 6; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Speed 30’; AC 12 (touch 10, flatfooted 12, leather jack); Attacks +1 melee (1d6+1, x4, heavy pick), +0 ranged (1d4, x2, light hammer ); SQ: Skill memory +2 1/day; Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +4; Str 13, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 12; Feats: Resistance to Magic, Skill Application (Diplomacy and Gather Information, already factored in), Skill Focus (Knowledge (history), already factored in); Skills: Alchemy +7, Appraise +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +5, Knowledge (ceremony) +7, Knowledge (dangerous beasts) +7, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowledge (magic) +7, Listen +6, Search +7, Spot +4, Wilderness Survival +4; Gear: Heavy pick, leather jack, two light hammers, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent, longsword, light crossbow, chainmail shirt, uniform of Hardak town guards, 2 pellets of flash powder, one tanglefoot bag, one smoke bomb, 3 thunderstones, one flask of alchemist’s frost.
Height: 5’6”. Weight: 168 lbs. Skin: Tanned. Eyes: Blue. Hair: Brown. Age: 25
Languages: Common, Giant, Draconic, Faen.
Money: 46gp, 22sp, 14cp.
Oram is utterly average in terms of height, weight, and general build. He has what might be called a “face-shaped face” as he is rather unremarkable. He finds that’s all to the good, as he doesn’t care to be recognized on his current mission.
He is a very well rounded young man, with skills that would make him useful to almost anyone. However, his real passion is one of learning. His fascination about the mojh started primarily because he learned how long they typically lived. A lifespan as long as a mojh’s would allow him perhaps enough time to learn as much as he wanted, or at least take the edge off. The desire for longer life, as well as the increased intelligence and freedom from other distracting urges is incredibly attractive to Oram, which is why he approached his teacher Kithmenshen along with a similarly-minded classmate.
To pay for the ceremony of transformation, Oram is posing as a miner to help steer various mining groups towards the tunnels that Kithmenshen wants to explore. He carries a heavy pick, as most of them do, but also purloined the weapons, armor, and uniform of a town guard in order to help Kithmenshen further. He uses the disguise to pass unmolested in certain areas of town, or to get information out of individuals that would not talk to a miner.
Oram has used his skill with alchemy to make several items to use for distracting or delaying people, with one flask of alchemist’s frost as insurance. If Kithmenshen is threatened, he will use them to buy time for Kithmenshen to escape, while Sharla guards their backs. It’s a tactic the two humans have discussed several times. Oram is staying with Sharla at the recently-renamed Mother Lode inn, which is obviously mostly miners.
Scenario tips
The PCs could join up searching for magic, and encounter one mining group or another suddently retreating from their tunnels due to them being "haunted" or because of a sudden cave-in. Investigation of the tunnels may lead them to believe that these are no natural cave-ins, and that the hauntings may have a more mundane explaination.
Javdak may actually attempt to hire the PCs to have them investigate the resurfacing magic items on the peaks. Though they're not what he's after, he thinks there may possibly be some clues amongst them to further his understanding of the site.
The PCs may be hired by groups of miners or magic-seekers wishing protection for themeselves. If so, they might end up protecting the mining team containing Oram and Sharla, a team that seems to suffer a high amount of accidents.
While combing the peaks, looking for clues or magic, it's possible they might spot Quex or Lornae moving about, or even Kithmenshen. The PCs might be curious about what these individuals are doing, as people always roam these peaks in groups.
If the PCs manage to find out what Javdak or Kithmenshen is up to, they may be present when one or the other breaks through to Deepstorm. Whoever breaks through, the other, with his/its team will be there to lay claim first. The PCs will have to try to mediate the two before violence can break out. Though this would be a brutally tough encounter for low-level PCs, Javdak and Kithmenshen focus all their attention on each other, ignoring the PCs unless one of them gets between the two. Sharla and Oram will try to prevent Kithmenshen from being attacked, and Quex and Lornae will protect Javdak. Primat will run away if at all possible, hide if it's not, surrender if the PCs look reasonable, and only fight if he is directly threatened. However, Lornae might just fight the PCs for the hell of it, particularly if they attack first. The others will wait, trying to prevent the PCs from reaching their respective masters.
If you want to increase or decrease the difficulty of encounters with either team, have them encounter them separately. Kithmenshen in particular is a particularly tough combatant, as is Lornae Brightsong. Have them encounter Lornae while exploring the "haunted" tunnels, or have them catch Kithmenshen red-handed setting up a cave-in.
Also, don't forget to include wilderness encounters, such as hungry mountain lions, or even a sphinx, or underground encounters from deadly oozes to natural cave-ins. Hardak is right up against essentially howling wilderness. The dangers of the environment can also provide a break from mystery-solving.
If the PCs are having a really hard time with random encouters, you can add some help by having one of the Zahyob verrik witches show up, as they occasionally do. A wood, winter, or wind witch 1 or 2 would be typical.
If you'd like to add some additional intrigue, if there are any verrik PCs that follow the wind, winter, or wood witch path (or are considering it for their next level), one of them could be one of the Scions of Deepstorm. Quex might actually be one as well, which could truly make Javdak angry or jealous, as Javdak can't make full use of the site (being a mind witch). One or more of the Zahyob verrik may also be a Scion or Scions as well, depending on how you wish to use it. Having the Zahyob verrik witches show up as Javdak and Kithmenshen battle over the possession of Deepstorm could make for a very dramatic encounter. Have the PCs try to mediate, as the Zahyob verrik will be inclined to just kill both Javdak and Kithmenshen for dishonoring the site. A compromise could be reached, but it will take delicate negotionations. The PCs, as the only neutral party, are the logical ones to do so.
And if you're in my AU: Butterfly Cage play-by-post game, scram! Don't read any further!
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Ok, and here we go.
Ok, I'm expanding on one of the [link=www.diamondthrone.com/displaycontent.cfm?iCatId=6&iConID=56 newwindow]16 Story Seeds[/link] by Rob Bowell on DiamondThrone.com.
AU – Butterfly Cage
“You never see a butterfly cage. Do you know why? No one’s ever wanted to cage a butterfly; no one ever thinks they’ve done anything wrong. No one ever considers the butterfly.”
What the players know: The players will all be starting in the large town of Hardak, a primarily human town with a hearty addition of faen (primarily quicklings, but some loresongs and sprytes as well), and with a tiny, separate cloister of verrik on the town's edge. There's also a small sprinkling of the other races. The town is in the middle of a gold rush. The mountainous area, originally settled for logging and trapping, has recently yielded several unexpectedly large gold deposits.
However, persistant rumors have circulated that one of the mines is in fact not a mine, but a corridor to an ancient temple dedicated to a witching site, or perhaps a number of particularly reveared giant ancestors, or even some kind of site of magical power created by a magister.
Many people are flocking to Hardak, some for the gold, some for the job surrounding the gold (crafting, guarding), and some for these wild rumors of untold power waiting below the earth.
What the DM knows: The town of Hardak is in the middle of a gold rush, with rumors of a magical site somewhere amidst the mines and test tunnels. However, when the PCs arrive, they find themselves in the middle of an odd battle. Several miners have found themselves the victims of strange attacks. Strange sounds in the mines have scared several away; others have seen odd sights with the same effect. Those that haven’t left the “haunted” mines have been the victims of minor cave-ins. At least one has suffered an attack by his own pick. In addition to these relatively minor set-backs, the resident loresong faen and verrik have been coming the peaks looking for this alleged magical source, and several skirmishes have developed between them. In addition the miners say these fights are blocking access to prime potential gold.
Bad blood is brewing the miners and the magic seekers, and amongst the magic seekers. However, these problems are connected on a deeper level. A verrik mind witch called Javdak and a mojh iron witch called Kithmeshen are at the heart of this conflict. Of all the rumors flying, only these two are closest to the truth. These two have found, through separate sources, that the rumor of magical might in this area is true. They’ve both been waiting for years for it to resurface. A chance avalanche that uncovered the gold revealed to both of them the path to a witching site of potentially enormous power.
It lies deep within the mountain, and both witches want to be the first to reach it. They originally let the miners do the work for them, then scared them off if they determined the path wasn’t getting close enough to the site. Both witches have been guiding the mining efforts from opposite sides of the mountain, and are slowly closing in on the site. However as they force the miners closer, they have been inadvertently forcing smaller magical items and more ancient ruins to the surface, which the verrik and loresong faen have been squabbling over.
It’s up to the PCs to calm the fighting between the townsfolk, and ferret out Javdak and Kithmenshen’s plot. If they take too long, eventually the miners will break through to the site. Both witches will be waiting to get inside, and any miner that gets caught in the crossfire will surely suffer.
The two witches are mostly academic rivals from a nearby area, but both are fairly ruthless when it comes to obtaining control over a site of this power. Kithmenshen uses its knowledge of architecture to set up the small cave ins and uses the animate weapon spell to deter the most persistent back to its chosen path. Javdak prefers to use illusions to scare off the miners, backing those up with uses of lesser telekinesis to tip over lamps or other harassments. Pretending to be a relative of one of the verrik from the cloister of Zahyob, he’s also ascertained (through conversation and judicious use of contact and detect throughts) which tunnels have occasionally yielded strange artifacts and chunks of worked stone. Javdak’s tunneling will most likely break through first. Kithmenshen’s heavier hand and more violent temperament haven’t yielded as many results, but it does keep tabs on Javdak’s progress. It works from an opposite angle, hoping to meet in the middle. But if it thinks Javdak is close to a breakthrough, it won’t hesitate to hide itself and wait. In a stand-up fight, Kithmenshen will have the upper hand.
Both are aware of the surfacing artifacts, but both know they are but small potatoes compared to the site below. The verrik and loresong faen know of the ancient ruins and have often plundered them, but rarely have they yielded so rich a trove. They are unaware of the witchery site below the earth.
The cloister of Zahyob is a small community of verrik who primarily study witchery. The majority of the verrik are either winter, wind, or wood witches, though they have two runthanes among their number. Despite their strangeness, they sometimes take care of wounded people in town, or help them cope with rabid animal or severe storms.
The butterfly in this scenario is Javdak. He will most likely try to talk with the PCs, particularly if they become involved in any kind of investigation. He may even try to help them, by pointing them towards what evidence he knows of Kithmenshen. However, if it becomes known that a verrik has been responsible for some of these hauntings, setbacks, and other obstructions, it would sour the attitude of the rest of the town toward the verrik in their midst. It could set neighbor against neighbor, when before no one would suspect the verrik of any wrongdoing.
The Witchery Site, NPC motivations and cohorts
The witchery site is known as Deepstorm, a focus of witch power, made long ago by three verrik Witch Lords, ancestors of the ones living here today. The knowledge of Deepstorm was kept from the community at large because of its unusual intensity of power. If it fell into uncaring hands, it could be used as a springboard for great and terrible acts of evil conquest.
Deepstorm is carved out of the center of a mountain. To hide its entrances, it had no visible ones on the surface of the mountain. However, within the natural tunnels were carefully carved corridors leading into the site. The walls were carved with the three motifs of the Witch Lords that made Deepstorm, billows of air, branching trees, and snowflakes. There were three corridors leading into Deepstorm, one from the north, and one each from the northeast and northwest. Time has taken its toll however, and most have collapsed, leaving chunks of their wonderful walls within the rubble of the mountain.
Each of the corridors lead to three identical doors, each showing a snow-covered pine being blasted by wind. These doors are unlocked, though each bears an inscription above the lintel, written in Common, "Deepstorm only aids the land."
Inside, Deepstorm is enough to make one wonder if they've strayed though a portal into another world. Deepstorm is a huge domed chamber, hundreds of feet wide and almost a hundred feet tall. Inside grows a grove of stately pine trees, and an eternal blizzard rages around them, sometimes half-burying them with snow, other times scouring them clean with wind. From above shines a weak light, like the sun on a cloudy winter's day. The temperature inside is always well below freezing.
If one can find their way to the center of the pine grove, the wind dies down, and the snow becomes a light layer on the ground. In the very center of Deepstorm is a short pedestal, on top of which is a basin filled with water. The basin is crossed with three swords, one seemingly made of ice, one seemingly made of wood, and one seemingly made of wind.
Though one may touch these things, they are unable to be moved. It is thought that they may only be moved by descendents of the original Witch Lord creators.
Within Deepstorm, all witches cast their spells at +1 caster level and may add +1 to the DCs of their spells during the days of a full moon in winter months. However, if the witch is a wood, wind, or winter witch, they true power of Deepstorm becomes apparent. Such a witch may enhance one of their powers as described under the Witchery Lord feature in the witch class (increase damage, duration, times per day, etc.) while within Deepstorm. If a witch already has that feature with one manifestation, she may use it with another one.
If the three Scions of Deepstorm are ever found (the three descendents of the creator Witch Lords) and they practice the appropriate kind of witchery, they may be able to unlock other powers of Deepstorm. Some old scrolls speak of the Witch Lords being able to call down blizzards, heal entire villages, or bring rain. The three swords left behind are powerful magic items, but are keyed to the blood of the Scions. They too may have unguessed-at powers.
~~~~~
As for minions or lieutenants for Javdak and Kithmenshen...
For Kithmenshen I was of two thoughts. One, it's actually bought around six human miners to do this "profitless" mining for it and has been using the other, ignorant miners to do other exploratory mining. When it's exhausted the possibilities for one area, it scares the regular miners off of those tunnels and subtlety guides them to another. Despite the fact that it has its own miners to do additional work, it has reluctantly come to the conclusion that Javdak must be striking the luckier tunnels due to the reports of finding many chunks of worked stone in them.
It has at least two human lieutenants (striving to become mojh) that are posing as miners in town. They "casually" drop comments about likely places for gold, or rather, likely places that Kithmenshen wants to dig. One of them is an akashic (a human male named Oram), and has been using his abilities to impersonate being a miner to the best of his abilities. The other (a human female named Sharla) is a mage blade and considers herself Kithmenshen's bodyguard. She worries because Kithmenshen is their key to finding a mojh enclave willing to do the transformation ceremony. She'd sacrifice a great deal to see it is safe and happy. She generally follows Oram's lead when pretending to be a miner.
The second scenario is the same, except instead of buying human miners to do the work, Kithmenshen is using dwarven miners. Dwarves (yes, regular D&D dwarves) still have their racial hatred of giants, and consider them usurpers scarcely better than the dramojh. Dwarves rarely venture onto the surface and confine themselves to their mines. They've been known to make attacks on giantish caravans going through their mountains, and will occasionally sabotage the mines of other races if they inadvertently intrude into dwarven territory. Few bear the dwarves any good feelings. Though their craftsmanship is still excellent, few would buy or even bear dwarven gear of any sort. They have a bad reputation all over the lands, and are considered to be a terribly bitter, violent, greedy, and argumentative race. However, they are still somewhat hidebound by laws of the clans, and if dealt with very carefully by a non-giant (and non-sibaccai, they consider them giant lackeys) in terms of laws, they will stick to them. It's very dangerous to try to back out of an agreement with a dwarf though.
Kithmenshen bought the dwarves with the promise of free run of the gold mines if they find him Deepstorm. They've been assisting it in creating the small cave-ins. However, more experienced miners will start to recognize this pattern of dwarven harassment. If it's discovered that Kithmenshen brought dwarves to Hardak along with its other crimes, things will go particularly bad for it. The dwarves will refuse to leave without their promised gold, producing their contract with Kithmenshen, which could cause further trouble. (Props to riklurt to coming up with the dwarf idea.)
Javdak has only a few people helping him, but he considers them to be more than a match for anyone Kithmenshen could bring to bear (he is unaware of its personal group of miners). He has a spryte unfettered (a female called Lornae Brightsong) with an unparalleled sense of mischief who's been helping him with the "haunting" of the tunnels. Also, he persuaded a male loresong faen akashic called Primat Nighthammer to lend his expertise in finding the most likely of tunnels. Primat's usual area of expertise is the acquisition of artifacts, not underground exploring, and his use of the collective memory has been stretched to the limit helping Javdak.
With Javdak is also his friend and research assistant Quex (male verrik verrik 1). A cloistered academic, this is Quex's first experience with actual sites instead of books and scrolls. He's thoroughly interested in witchery, and is quite willing to go to some extraordinary lengths to get them both to Deepstorm before Kithmenshen. He hopes to decide on what path of witchery to follow once actually feeling the power of a true witchery site. If things turn ugly, Lornae will gladly fight just for the chance to draw blood (she's a tad on the wild side). Primat has no stake in combat and would prefer to flee, and Quex will probably stay as long as Javdak holds firm. But if his mentor wavers or falls, Quex's courage might fail him... or harden his resolve. He has yet to be seriously tested.
~~~~~~~
The ruins on top of the general area of the mines are the former site of the verrik cloister in the area. However, no one knows that, not even the current resident verrik. It was used many hundreds of years ago, when the verrik shared their cloister with a few mojh. They made a great number of artifacts, mostly minor beneficial ones of healing, general health, good weather, and safe traveling. The old cloister was destroyed over four hundred years ago by a freakishly powerful blizzard that killed almost everyone inside. The remaining verrik relocated to the outskirts of town, and did not leave any record for their children that they had once lived on the mountain (no one is certain why, but an old tattered scroll from that time says that they "fled the awakening of Deepstorm.")
NPC stats
Javdak and company
Javdak: Male Verrik, racial level 1/ mind witch 2; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8 + 2d6; hp 16; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 1; Init –2 (-2 Dex); Speed 20’ (bad leg, cannot run); AC 8 (touch 8, flatfooted 8 ) ; Attacks +2 melee (1d6/x2 cane); SQ: 1/day - contact, sense thoughts, lesser telekinesis, compelling command, detect magic, disorient. 3/day - object loresight. Sensory Control. Spell access (complex psionic spells), Witchery - half duration on hostile psionic effects, Fire manifestation (Mindfire 3/day), bad leg*; Fort +0, Ref -2, Will +11; Str 10, Dex 7, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 14; Feats: The Voice, Bonded Item (cane), Iron Will; Skills: Bluff +5, Concentration +4, Diplomacy +4, Gather Information +4,Innuendo +3, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (magic) +7, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +8; Gear: Book of Witchery History (Book, Knowledge (history, witchery) +5), Book of Secrets of the Arcane (Book, Knowledge (magic) +5), Book of the Procedures of Mining (Book, Knowledge (mining) +5), Book of Faen History (Book, Knowledge (history, faen) +5), Book of Ceremonies of the Giants (Book, Knowledge (ceremonies) +5), Book of the Psion (Book, Knowledge (magic, psionic spell descriptions) +5), scholar’s outfit, cart, heavy horse, cane, witchbag, two journals, three blank books, three containers of black ink, inkpen, hooded lantern, five flasks of oil, illusion screen.
Spells Readied: (save DC +3): (slots 3/2) 0th - Ghost sound, minor illusion, lesser telekinesis, canny effort. 1st - Charm, compelling question.
Languages: Common, Verrik, Giant, Draconic.
Money: 52gp, 12sp, 8cp, various gems totaling 820gp, the largest being a diamond worth 200gp.
*Bad leg – Javdak’s first test of witchery came at a high price. During a duel to determine his fitness, the witch that was testing him (an iron witch), inflicted a grievous wound on his leg. He survived, but it was too badly damaged to heal correctly. In addition, he felt he should keep the wound in a reminder of his failure. Thusly, he uses a cane to move around, and cannot move as fast as a normal verrik. He also cannot run.
Height: 6’2”. Weight: 248 lbs. Skin: Deep red. Eyes: Dark. Hair: White. Age: 35.
Javdak is a scholarly verrik from the town of Lisharan. He is a resident scholar and professor of studies of magic and witchery at a school there. However, he harbors deep passions for the history of magic, and has recently become aware that an ancient witchery site may be resurfacing in the town of Hardak. A chance earthquake resurfaced some items that make it clear to Javdak that the site is somewhere underground.
His passion for the power of this witchery site has taken over much of his life. He is normally fairly mild-mannered, except when it comes to reaching the witchery site first. He is skilled at manipulating people and has put that to work in earnest in trying to find the best route to the site. If he thinks he is being balked, he won’t hesitant to use any means, including violence, to remove the obstacle (though he will try non-violent means first). If confronted with Kithmenshen, he’ll use Mindfire as often as possible, trying to take down Kithmenshen at a distance. He knows the iron witch uses its blade manifestation, and he knows he’s no match for it in a stand-up fight and cannot run.
He is currently residing in Hardak, at the Eloquent Minotaur inn. He has been subtlely guiding a few groups of miners to mine certain passages in order to penetrate to the witchery site. While having no real knowledge of mining himself, he has read up on the subject, and paid an akashic to help him determine the best possible tunnels in which to dig. His knowledge of witchery history has helped tremendously, as he has been able to recognize some of the bits of worked stone that keep surfacing in the rubble as indicators that they are on the right trail. If the miners begin tunneling away from the best tunnels for him (looking for gold instead of where he wants them to go) he uses ghost sound and lesser telekinesis to convince the miners that the tunnels are haunted. He’s assisted by Lornae Brightsong, a spryte unfettered that delights in causing mischief and chaos. He keeps himself concealed by using his illusion screen when working. It takes him several hours to ascend to the mineshafts in which he’s working, so he usually leaves before dawn so he draws as little notice as possible. So far he’s drawn none due to careful timing of the guards’ patrols, bribes, and use of the illusion screen.
Jevdak is a tall, very heavy verrik male, with dark eyes and short-cropped white hair. He wears a scholar’s outfit of soft, loose-fitting robes in non-descript shades of gray and tan, full of pockets, with a belt hung with various pouches, and a soft tan cap. Incongruitous with this outfit are sturdy boots more suited to outdoor life than puttering about indoors. He usually wears a brown cloak over his outfit, and wears gloves at all times unless he’s eating or writing. He walks with a limp, but covers this hitch in his stride mostly by walking slowly and deliberately, as if he is of great importance. He has to use a cane to get around. It’s a substantial one made of a dark brown wood with a silver orb on top. Because it is something he considers his last line of personal defense, Javdak has been bonded to the cane so that he might use it more effectively. Javdak gained most of his bulk after being crippled in the nigh-fatal witch duel. Thus he focuses all of his efforts on his witchery powers and considers them his true strength.
Most of Javdak’s possessions are kept at the Eloquent Minotaur. His books are kept in his room, neatly lined up on a table with two heavy carvings of castle towers acting as bookends. However, he keeps his money and the illusion screen with him at all times. Among his books are two journals, telling of his actions to date. If they could be gotten a hold of, they could be very illuminating as to why perfectly good tunnels have been found to be haunted. Javdak locks the room whenever he is not in it and carries the key wherever he goes.
Illusion screen: This one foot square silk screen allows one to create a 10 by 10 foot cube of a single static scene for as long as desired. The holder of the screen can, at will, see through it as if it were not there.
Faint Illusion; Caster level 1st; Craft Constant Item, lesser illusionary object; Price: 2,000 gp; Weight: -
Quex: Male Verrik, racial level 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8; hp 8; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +3 (Dex); Speed 40’; AC 13 (touch 13, flatfooted 10); Attacks +1 melee (1d6/x2 quarterstaff), +3 ranged (1d4+3 19-20/x2, dagger); SQ: 1/day – contact, sense thoughts, lesser telekinesis, compelling command, detect magic, disorient. 3/day – object loresight. Sensory Control. Spell access (psionic spells) n/a; Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +3; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 7; Feats: Fleet of Foot, Eidetic Memory; Skills: Concentration +2, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge (magic) +4, Spellcraft +3, Wilderness Survival +3; Gear: Traveler’s clothes, quarterstaff, two daggers, backpack, tent, bedroll, blanket, 50ft hemp rope, three torches, hooded lantern, five pints oil, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, Scroll of Witchery History (Book of Knowledge (history, witchery) +2).
Languages: Common, Verrik, Faen
Money: 13gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Height: 5’5”. Weight: 130 lbs. Skin: Deep red. Eyes: Dark. Hair: White. Age: 22.
Quex is Javdak’s research assistant and pupil. A serious young man with a thorough interest in witchery, this is Quex’s first time near a site of real power. Seeing the master and the pupil together is night and day. Where Javdak is tall and huge, Quex is short and slightly built. He wears his hair long, nearly to his knees. Also, unlike his instructor, Quex is in reasonable shape. He love to run and underwent a ceremony to assist that. He also has a keen eye for throwing things, and carries daggers in wrist sheathes for self-protection.
However, he was selected by Javdak because of his excellent memory and eagerness to learn. He has assisted Javdak in researching the witchery site near Hardak, as well as the many incidental things a research assistant and apprentice is subjected to. Quex hope to select a path of witchery to follow after feeling the power of the site, once they find it, that is.
Though Quex is a sheltered academic in terms of never having seen a real witchery site or a magical duel, he has some knowledge of how to take care of himself in the wild. In order to prevent people in town from getting too suspicious, Javdak has kept Quex out of town, as too many strange verrik in town would raise too many questions. Quex has been sleeping out in the bush for three months, investigating the mines during the day, and helping Javdak with the “hauntings.” During the night he quietly patrols near their chosen shafts, watching for thieves, saboteurs, or worse, Kithmenshen.
Quex is a quiet young man, often tongue-tied in most company. Unlike Javdak, who has great force of personality and an excellent way with people, Quex is either unable to say anything, or blurts out something painfully and embarrassingly true. He’s well aware of this, and keeps his mouth shut most of the time. While he holds great respect for Javdak; the man has been a father-figure to him for over five years, he’s a little unsettled by his driving passion to reach the witchery site first. If Javdak does something particularly extreme in front of Quex, it could shake the young man’s faith in him considerably.
Lornae Brightsong: Female Spryte, unfettered 3; Medium humanoid; HD 3d6; hp 21; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 1; Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Speed 10’, 30’ (fly, average); AC 18 (touch 18, flatfooted 18, 19 vs. one melee opponent); Attacks +1 melee (1d4-1/x3 MW punching dagger), +11 ranged (1d4, 19-20/x2, hand crossbow ); SQ: Low-light vision; Fort +1, Ref +7, Will -1; Str 8, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 7, Cha 14; Feats: Improved Initiative, Intuitive Sense, Light Sleeper; Skills: Balance +9, Bluff +7, Escape Artist +9, Sleight of Hand +9, Sneak +17, Tumble +9; Gear: Masterwork punching dagger, hand crossbow (with 20 bolts), adventurer’s clothes, four twilight rods, two potions of lesser battle healing, belt pouch, flask, rations (2 days worth), invisibility ring.
Languages: Common, Faen, Giant
Money: 13gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Height: 1’1”. Weight: 13 lbs. Skin: Pale. Eyes: Light gray. Hair: Silver blonde. Age: 67.
“A few bobbers short of a deuce,” is what some would call Lornae Brightsong. The young woman is, quite literally, crazy. Not wild, or with a mean streak, not high-spirited, but flat-out nuts. However, nobody knows it, not even her. Her break with reality happened when she became a spryte, but no one has figured it out yet, as she was fairly wild before. Thus, her actions only seem slightly odder than normal to her few friends.
She loves causing chaos and mischief, and considers things of this sort a kind of game. Javdak hired her through a hiring hall that handled “unusual” requests with the utmost confidentiality. When she found out he wanted to make some mines seem haunted, she thought that sounded like a great deal of fun, utterly ignoring the patent bizarreness of such acts. Javdak thinks he’s just lucky to have found someone willing to keep her mouth shut; the fact that she seems to love her work is only a bonus. Using her small size, excellent sneaking skills, and her invisibility ring, she’s helped the haunting rumors by moving tools, throwing random rocks, and laughing and saying nonsense words in deep shafts to frighten the miners.
Javdak has never used any of his mind-affecting powers on her, or he might have realized her affliction. She occasionally makes odd comments like, “The moon wouldn’t like what I’m doing,” or “I love the sun, the grass, and the blue-black sky! I eat them for breakfast, and they make me sing.” Javdak firmly ignores the comments, figuring they’re some kind of innuendo he just can’t get. Lornae is fairly twitchy, leaping into combat, out of danger, and from bed with hyperactive zeal.
Lornae has been kept mostly occupied by these “hauntings” but still greatly desires to fight. Javdak also hired her to be his bodyguard, something she would do with glee. She goes all out in combat, firing her hand crossbow until she can get in close, then darting in and hitting her foes with her punching dagger. She favors hit and run tactics. However, if she gets blood-crazy, she may forget to run if she becomes wounded. If that happens, she’ll fight to the death.
Lornae is a tiny spryte, with transparent wing that show sheens in blue and green. Her silvery-blonde hair is hacked short into uneven tufts, having been cut with her own dagger. She wears her clothes tight and form fitting, dyed a deep indigo blue. She keeps her hand crossbow on her belt and her punching dagger strapped in a quick-release sheath on her arm.
Lornae is currently staying in some of the natural caves that the mineshafts intersect. When sleeping she wraps herself up in a gray blanket and wedges herself into the most inaccessible cranny she can, usually a crack in the rock high above the floor. She hides her belongings in a similar way. She meets Javdak at Quex’s campsite at pre-arranged times.
Twilight rods: A cousin of the sunrod, the twilight rod gives off light approximately equal to starlight for six hours when the tip is sharply struck. It allows a character with normal vision to see clearly in a five-foot radius, or those with low-light vision to see in a ten-foot radius. It’s favored by those that require stealth in dark areas, as it gives off a soft, purple-blue glow entirely unlike candlelight.
Invisibility ring: This silver ring allows one to become invisible, as per the spell, for up to 50 minutes per day, three times per day. The user may voluntarily become visible before 50 minutes are up, but that uses up one use for the day. If the invisibility is broken by any normal means for the spell (direct attacking, etc), it ends that use for the day.
Faint Transmutation; Caster level 5th; Craft Constant Item, invisibi[/b]; Price: 36,000 gp; Weight: -
Primat Nighthammer: male loresong faen, akashic 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d6; hp 6; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Speed 20’; AC 11 (touch 11, flatfooted 10); Attacks -2 melee (1d4-1, 19-20/x2, dagger), +0 ranged (1d4, 19-20/x2, dagger ); SQ: Skill memory +2 1/day; Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +4; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12; Feats: Defensive (already factored in to attack rolls), Defensive Roll; Skills: Appraise +8, Bluff +5, Decipher Script +8, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +8, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +5, Forgery +8, Gather Information +5, Knowledge (nobility and courtesy) +8, Listen +4, Search +8, Sneak +5, Spot +6; Gear: 5 daggers, sap, adventurer’s clothes, thieves’ tools, disguise kit, belt pouch, three sunrods, four flash pellets, backpack, bedroll, money belt.
Height: 3’5”. Weight: 46 lbs. Skin: Pale. Eyes: Green. Hair: Brown. Age: 52
Languages: Common, Giant, Draconic, Faen, Verrik, and Sibeccai.
Money: 20gp, 21sp, 10cp. He also has over 200gp worth of jewelry on him.
Primat Nighthammer is, normally, a fence and a thief. However, he occasionally hires himself out to do more than the usual, using his akashic abilities to make himself useful to whoever hires him. Javdak hired him through his akashic’s guild, and Primat soon learned that Javdak had something rather unusual in mind. He wanted Primat’s help in determining the best tunnels in which to dig to find an ancient witchery site. He offered a great deal of gold, and Primat jumped at the job. The pay is sufficient to buy Primat’s silence as well as his cooperation.
However, Primat has no direct knowledge of mining and witchery, and has been delving heavily into the akashic record to help. Mostly he’s made several lucky guesses, bolstered by Javdak’s extensive library and his own akashic abilities. He knows he could make an error at any time, and has made arrangements to leave at a moment’s notice.
Primat is essentially a coward. He prefers to deal with things safely and cautiously, always out of sight of prying eyes and peering ears. He dislikes confrontation, can’t stand fighting, and throws up at the sight of blood. He only carries the daggers as a last line of defense. Put into a life or death situation, he’ll hurl daggers (he keeps one on each arm, one in each boot, and a small one at his belt), and then use the punching dagger only if he can’t run. The punching dagger is in a cunningly disguised pouch at the small of his back; it’s unlikely anyone would notice it on a casual or even a close inspection. The coin purse on his belt is actually filled with rocks, sand, and bits of lead, he uses it as a sap. His money he keeps in a secure money belt under his clothes. Most often if confronted, he’ll use a flash pellet to distract his enemies, and then either hide or run as he sees fit.
Primat is of medium height and somewhat slender. He wears practical clothes with lots of hidden pockets. He is currently staying at the Spryte’s Wing inn, one that caters exclusively to faen. He lets others think he’s acting as a consultant to one or more mining teams, which isn’t exactly lying. He only meets with Javdak at Quex’s campsite, as he doesn’t feel safe meeting him in town (too many rumors could start).
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Kithmenshen and company
(I didn't include the stats for the hired miners, but just use human experts 1 with most skills related to mining if you need them.)
Kithmenshen: mojh, iron witch 3; Medium humanoid; HD 3d6; hp 17; Dying/Dead 0- -1/-13; Hero Points: 1; Init +0; Speed 30’; AC 12 (16 with Eldritch Armor, possible 18 AC vs. iron swords) (touch 10, flatfooted 12, +1 vs. attacks with iron weapons, additional +1 dodge bonus vs. attacks with swords); Attacks +5 melee (2d6+5, 19-20/x2 +1 greatsword), +2 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2, light crossbow ); SQ: Darkvision 60ft, Witchery - +1 luck bonus to AC vs. iron weapons, Blade manifestation (Iron Blade, +1 greatsword); Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 8; Feats: Iron Flesh, Natural Swordsman, Exotic Spell (Eldritch Armor); Skills: Balance +2, Disable Device +2, Forgery +5, Knowledge (architecture) +6, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (magic) +6, Knowledge (runes) +5, Spellcraft +6; Gear: Sites of Witching Power (Book, Knowledge (witchery) +5), Exploration of the Bitter Peaks (Book, Knowledge (history, Bitter Peaks) +5), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent, three potions of lesser transfer wounds, one draught of the green (identical to cure light wounds), one potion of bash, and one potion of detect secret doors.
Spells Readied: (save DC +2): (slots 3/3) 0th – Bash, detect magic, saving grace, seeker. 1st – Acrobatics, animate weapon, eldritch armor.
Height: 6’4”. Weight: 116 lbs. Skin: Gray-green. Eyes: Clear gray. Hair: none. Age: 152
Languages: Common, Draconic, Faen
Money: 193gp, 20sp, 6cp.
Kithmenshen is also a professor and scholar of magical studies, but from a rival academy of magic in the town of Ulfest, west of Lisharan. Since both it and Javdak consider themselves to be the most knowledgeable about witchery and magical history in the region, an academic rivalry developed, which has become bitterer over the years. Both would consider finding the witchery site in Hardak a great coup over their rival, and both have spent over three months in Hardak seeking it. Kithmenshen has taken a more direct route than Javdak in searching the tunnels. Its hired six miners to mine the best possible passages, and has been using “accidents” to force other mining teams to explore other adjacent passages that hold the greatest promise. It has been using its knowledge of architecture and engineering to create small cave-ins to block passages that it feels have exhausted their usefulness. If the other miners do not heed these warnings, they are subjected to more direct harassment, up to and including using the animate weapon spell to attack them with their own picks to get them to leave the “wrong” tunnels.
Despite the fact that Kithmenshen has its own team of miners, and has been scaring at least two others to mine passages for further possibilities, its found much less evidence that Javdak. The fact that its not particularly careful about when its cave-ins occur, and the fact that its willing to attack the miners with their own tools has these groups mining very slow due to fear. It has a bit of a temper, and can be callous with those that do not show interest in furthering its goals. When it speaks, it speaks shortly and to the point. It rarely lies, as it is not much good at it.
Kithmenshen is somewhat unusual for a mojh in that it focuses much more on the physical than other mojh. It does not value the highest esoteric mysteries as much as other mojh, and considers the body to be as important as the mind. However, it is also a professor and scholar, so the distinction is mostly of concern only to other mojh. Its scales are much harder than other mojh, and have a gray sheen to them. Its eyes are also a clear steel gray. Kithmenshen is quite strong, and revels in physical combat as much as using magic. It delights in using its witchery manifestation. Most of its spells go towards aiding it in physical combat.
Despite the fact that Kithmenshen is not particularly personable, it has gathered two followers to it. Both Oram and Sharla were students at the academy in Ulfest. They showed intense interest in Kithmenshen’s classes, and soon revealed to it that they desired to become mojh. Kithmenshen agreed to take them to a mojh conclave for the ceremony, provided they help it find the witchery site. If they fail, Kithmenshen will probably refuse to take them to the conclave and sponsor them for the transformation, so both are fanatically loyal and protective.
Kithmenshen has been roughing it out in the wilderness of the peaks for the past three months, as being in town would give Javdak far too easy a time of tracking its movements. It’s staying on the opposite side of the peaks from Quex and isn’t even aware of the young verrik’s presence. Its also been careful to keep far away from questing magic-seekers.
Sharla: female human, mage blade 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8+2; hp 10; Dying/Dead 0- -2/-15; Hero Points: 0; Init +1; Speed 30’; AC 15 (touch 11, flatfooted 14, +1 dodge bonus vs. melee attacks); Attacks +3 melee (1d6+3, 18-20/x2 +1 anthame scimitar), +1 ranged (1d6, x3, shortbow ); SQ: Anthame (scimitar), fire resistance 5; Fort +2, Ref +1, Will -1; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12; Feats: Defensive Stance, Elemental Resistance (fire), Slippery Mind; Skills: Knowledge (ceremony) +4, Knowledge (magic) +4, Spellcraft +4; Gear: Scimitar, studded leather jack, banded wooden round shield, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent.
Spells Readied: (save DC +1): (slots 3/1) 0th – Bash, detect magic, lesser glowglobe. 1st – Lesser transfer wounds.
Height: 5’3”. Weight: 100 lbs. Skin: Tanned. Eyes: Brown. Hair: Brown. Age: 24
Languages: Common.
Money: 20gp, 4sp, 6cp.
Sharla is a short, slightly-build human woman, who moves with a tightly controlled strength. She has shoulder-length straight brown hair that she keeps tied back at all times. Her skin is sprinkled with freckles.
Sharla has been fascinated by magic since she was young, and the tales of the mojh she heard interested her greatly. Since she showed such an interest, her parents had her attend the academy in Ulfest. In order to enhance her own concentration on magic, she began to practice with other military-minded students and teachers in the arts of war as well. She’s be combining her knowledge of magic with her practice in fighting to become a mage blade.
Sharla had the majority of her classes with an unusually knowledgeable student called Oram. She quickly determined that mojh held as great a fascination for him as they did for her. Eventually the two approached Kithmenshen together to ask about the transformation ceremony. Sharla knows that this may be her only chance to become mojh, and would do practically anything to prevent harm to Kithmenshen. She would do almost anything to keep her worth high in its eyes.
Oram is posing as a miner to help nudge Kithmenshen’s “extra” mining groups into mining its desired passages, and Sharla is attempting to help. Mostly she just keeps quiet and nods at appropriate intervals, doing her best to imitate Oram’s mannerisms and speech. She is currently staying at the Mother Lode inn.
Oram: male human, akashic 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d6; hp 6; Dying/Dead 0/-10; Hero Points: 0; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Speed 30’; AC 12 (touch 10, flatfooted 12, leather jack); Attacks +1 melee (1d6+1, x4, heavy pick), +0 ranged (1d4, x2, light hammer ); SQ: Skill memory +2 1/day; Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +4; Str 13, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 12; Feats: Resistance to Magic, Skill Application (Diplomacy and Gather Information, already factored in), Skill Focus (Knowledge (history), already factored in); Skills: Alchemy +7, Appraise +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +5, Knowledge (ceremony) +7, Knowledge (dangerous beasts) +7, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowledge (magic) +7, Listen +6, Search +7, Spot +4, Wilderness Survival +4; Gear: Heavy pick, leather jack, two light hammers, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, waterskin, trail rations (two weeks’ worth), tent, longsword, light crossbow, chainmail shirt, uniform of Hardak town guards, 2 pellets of flash powder, one tanglefoot bag, one smoke bomb, 3 thunderstones, one flask of alchemist’s frost.
Height: 5’6”. Weight: 168 lbs. Skin: Tanned. Eyes: Blue. Hair: Brown. Age: 25
Languages: Common, Giant, Draconic, Faen.
Money: 46gp, 22sp, 14cp.
Oram is utterly average in terms of height, weight, and general build. He has what might be called a “face-shaped face” as he is rather unremarkable. He finds that’s all to the good, as he doesn’t care to be recognized on his current mission.
He is a very well rounded young man, with skills that would make him useful to almost anyone. However, his real passion is one of learning. His fascination about the mojh started primarily because he learned how long they typically lived. A lifespan as long as a mojh’s would allow him perhaps enough time to learn as much as he wanted, or at least take the edge off. The desire for longer life, as well as the increased intelligence and freedom from other distracting urges is incredibly attractive to Oram, which is why he approached his teacher Kithmenshen along with a similarly-minded classmate.
To pay for the ceremony of transformation, Oram is posing as a miner to help steer various mining groups towards the tunnels that Kithmenshen wants to explore. He carries a heavy pick, as most of them do, but also purloined the weapons, armor, and uniform of a town guard in order to help Kithmenshen further. He uses the disguise to pass unmolested in certain areas of town, or to get information out of individuals that would not talk to a miner.
Oram has used his skill with alchemy to make several items to use for distracting or delaying people, with one flask of alchemist’s frost as insurance. If Kithmenshen is threatened, he will use them to buy time for Kithmenshen to escape, while Sharla guards their backs. It’s a tactic the two humans have discussed several times. Oram is staying with Sharla at the recently-renamed Mother Lode inn, which is obviously mostly miners.
Scenario tips
The PCs could join up searching for magic, and encounter one mining group or another suddently retreating from their tunnels due to them being "haunted" or because of a sudden cave-in. Investigation of the tunnels may lead them to believe that these are no natural cave-ins, and that the hauntings may have a more mundane explaination.
Javdak may actually attempt to hire the PCs to have them investigate the resurfacing magic items on the peaks. Though they're not what he's after, he thinks there may possibly be some clues amongst them to further his understanding of the site.
The PCs may be hired by groups of miners or magic-seekers wishing protection for themeselves. If so, they might end up protecting the mining team containing Oram and Sharla, a team that seems to suffer a high amount of accidents.
While combing the peaks, looking for clues or magic, it's possible they might spot Quex or Lornae moving about, or even Kithmenshen. The PCs might be curious about what these individuals are doing, as people always roam these peaks in groups.
If the PCs manage to find out what Javdak or Kithmenshen is up to, they may be present when one or the other breaks through to Deepstorm. Whoever breaks through, the other, with his/its team will be there to lay claim first. The PCs will have to try to mediate the two before violence can break out. Though this would be a brutally tough encounter for low-level PCs, Javdak and Kithmenshen focus all their attention on each other, ignoring the PCs unless one of them gets between the two. Sharla and Oram will try to prevent Kithmenshen from being attacked, and Quex and Lornae will protect Javdak. Primat will run away if at all possible, hide if it's not, surrender if the PCs look reasonable, and only fight if he is directly threatened. However, Lornae might just fight the PCs for the hell of it, particularly if they attack first. The others will wait, trying to prevent the PCs from reaching their respective masters.
If you want to increase or decrease the difficulty of encounters with either team, have them encounter them separately. Kithmenshen in particular is a particularly tough combatant, as is Lornae Brightsong. Have them encounter Lornae while exploring the "haunted" tunnels, or have them catch Kithmenshen red-handed setting up a cave-in.
Also, don't forget to include wilderness encounters, such as hungry mountain lions, or even a sphinx, or underground encounters from deadly oozes to natural cave-ins. Hardak is right up against essentially howling wilderness. The dangers of the environment can also provide a break from mystery-solving.
If the PCs are having a really hard time with random encouters, you can add some help by having one of the Zahyob verrik witches show up, as they occasionally do. A wood, winter, or wind witch 1 or 2 would be typical.
If you'd like to add some additional intrigue, if there are any verrik PCs that follow the wind, winter, or wood witch path (or are considering it for their next level), one of them could be one of the Scions of Deepstorm. Quex might actually be one as well, which could truly make Javdak angry or jealous, as Javdak can't make full use of the site (being a mind witch). One or more of the Zahyob verrik may also be a Scion or Scions as well, depending on how you wish to use it. Having the Zahyob verrik witches show up as Javdak and Kithmenshen battle over the possession of Deepstorm could make for a very dramatic encounter. Have the PCs try to mediate, as the Zahyob verrik will be inclined to just kill both Javdak and Kithmenshen for dishonoring the site. A compromise could be reached, but it will take delicate negotionations. The PCs, as the only neutral party, are the logical ones to do so.
