[IronDM] Iron DM Returns! Winner announced!

[Dremmen]

So it begins...(insert *very* dramatic music here)

 

[Stormborn]

Round 1, Match 3: Stormborn vs. WinnepegDragon

Ingredients

• Cold Iron Crossbow
• Sage
• Elven Child-Prince
• Owlbear
• Hill of Bones
• Blind Loyalty

Remember, contestants:

1. You have 24 hours from the timestamp on this post to submit your entries. If the boards are inaccessible when your entry is due, you can send a copy to garrettdm AT ameritech DOT net.
2. Do not read your opponent's entry until you have submitted yours.
3. Once your entry has been submitted, NO EDITING!
4. You have a suggested limit of 2500 words.
5. Please include a summary of ingredients at the end of your entry. See some of the recent competitions for examples.
6. Above all, have fun.

Blind Loyalty
By Stormborn
An adventure for 4th level characters.
Background
Mhelack the High King of the Elves was a magnanimous ruler, a puissant mage, and a cunning warrior without equal in the lands of the elf or man. His lineage had ruled the elves and goodly creatures of the Darkling Vale for time out of memory. In them flowed the blood of the fey, strong and terrible, and oft they would take for themselves mates of the Fiannoashide, the wild fey, to better enhance their gifts. None of their line had ever fallen in combat; none had ever succumbed to mortal woes. When their time came they merely walked away into the green, never to be seen again.

Mhelack was ages of man away from his last walk; he was yet strong and full of power and majesty. He was also full of pride, and in his pride he did ride out to make war on a band of goblins with only his closest companions at his side.

On an as-yet-nameless hill on the far borders of the Vale he fought them. There he fell and his companions, his cousin Bhenazra and several knights, buried him and built a monument to his memory. Nameless no more, it is now called the Hill of Bones, for they left the bodies of the dead goblins to rot on its sides as grim markers for their king.

Now his young son Khezedk, a half-fey elf, is to be king. If he is to succeed his father to the throne he must first go on a simple quest. He must retrieve his father’s blade from the tomb where the king lies.

In truth, however, Bhenazra took the king’s blade, Blind Loyalty and replaced it with a simple sword from one of the dead knights. Bhenazra knows that anyone who holds the blade can command the unquestioning loyalty of others. The subjects do not feel as if they are being compelled in any way, rather they simply feel like they can trust the person who holds the blade completely, even when what they say and do seems suspicious. Bhenazra has been using the blade to influence the Sage Vhabehr without revealing its existence. He has been playing on his own sterling reputation in the court to put the prince in harms way, so that he may later establish himself as the next king.

Hooks:
- If one of the PCs is an elf the character may be visiting family when Khezedk quest is announced, or may have come to pay last respects to the fallen king and his family.

- If there are no elves in the group, but they have made a reputation for themselves, the Sage Vhabehr might contact them and ask for assistance.

- If one or more of the PCs is connected to a lawful or good deity they might be sought out by the sage as a trustworthy, but unaffiliated, source of help.

- Alternately, the PCs might simply be traveling through the Vale on another errand. If so, skip to Scene 2 where the PCs find the young prince under attack, and most of his defenders dead or dying.

Scene 1: Enter the PCs
Once the PCs have arrived at the court of the elves in the Darkling Vale they are ushered into the library of the elven sage Vhabehr (male elf Wizard 15, N). He explains to the PCs that the elven Council of Elders had decreed that the first stage of mourning has ended and that it is time for the young prince to take his place on the throne. However, Mhelack bore his ancestral sword, Blind Loyalty, when he died. Elven custom forbids any but the king or the king’s heir from bearing the blade, and so his companions placed it in the tomb with him to be retrieved by his son when the time came. Khezedk (male half-fey elf Aristocrat 1,CN) is only a child by elven standards, and his fey blood makes him seem far younger. He cannot go alone, and the sage wants the PCs to accompany him to make sure he is safe. If they can bring him back safe and sound they will be rewarded for their efforts.

Development: It should strike the PCs as odd that outsiders would be asked to safeguard an elven prince when so many powerful warrior-mages are available. If need be the DM should include descriptions of the obvious martial prowess of the elves at the court. Should the PCs wonder they can find out more with an appropriate skill check.

The sage starts out as Friendly toward the PCs. A DC 20 Diplomacy check will make him Helpful. He will then explain his reasons for sending outsiders. Given the power of the late king, it seems unlikely that a simple band of goblins would have been able to harm, much less kill, him. Vhabehr believes that one or more members of the court may have been plotting against the king to take the throne, and now the young prince is the only obstacle to that. Anyone he might choose who has been at court for while might be allied to the traitor.

Given time the PCs might seek information in the court itself. Gather Information reveals the following:

DC 10 – The Sage has told everyone that the young prince needs to learn to deal with outsiders, and that this quest is the perfect opportunity to do so in the relatively safe confines of the Darkling Vale.

DC 15- Many in the court are unhappy with the Sage’s decision to seek outside help, but Bhenazra, the king’s cousin, has supported the plan. While the Sage’s motives might be questioned, Bhenazra is trusted and loved by all.

DC 20 – Several members of the court suspect that the Sage is up to something himself, but are unsure what. Bhenazra has, however, withdrawn himself from the discussion and gone into a period of secluded morning for his lost kin. While some might prefer to see him on the throne, this seems to have settled the matter.

DC 30 – While initially unwilling to voice it to strangers, many feel like the king’s death was not simply the chance of battle. People are whispering that he was assassinated. The two powers closest to the throne, the Sage and Bhenazra, seem intent not just on protecting the boy but protecting themselves. If they place no member of their factions close to the child no blame will be cast on them. Should the child die in the PCs care it will seem like a bad decision, but not a malicious one. Such would not be the case if the child died surrounded by various elven factions.

A DC 20 Bardic Knowledge check will reveal that the king’s sword is called Blind Loyalty because it has the power to make the person who holds it supremely trustworthy. The effect lasts even after someone has left its presence. The blade does not have to be seen to be used in this manner.

The King’s cousin, Bhenazra (Sorcerer 10/Fighter 4, NE), is a highly charismatic and well beloved warrior. He is also a very good liar. He is currently observing a ritual state of mourning in seclusion, but almost any one can tell the PCs where he resides. If the PCs can convince his servants that it is vital to the prince’s safety that they see him, he will give them a brief audience. If the do see him he will be wearing a ring of Undetectable Alignment. He will state his support for the Sage and his plan. He will also offer the PCs an additional reward if they bring the prince back safely. Overall, however, he will keep the discussion very brief. His home his warded against scrying and other forms of magical surveillance, and is heavily guarded to protect against any intrusion.

Scene 2: Waylaid in the Wood

The Sage will see to it that the party is sufficiently equipped with any mundane gear they might need, as well as a few healing potions for themselves and the prince. The elven craftsmen are also willing to give them a 10% discount on magical items if they identify themselves as the prince’s companions. They are given a map of the quickest path through the Vale to the Hill of Bones. It should take about 6 days round trip on foot. Unfortunately, the twisting paths and thick growth of the Vale make any mount large enough to carry a medium creature impractical.

A few members of the palace guard and various well-wishers accompany the party for the first day, at which point they begin to drift off in groups to return home. None of them are exceptional and all seem to wish the prince well on his journey, perhaps even going so far as to offer small gifts of food or useful items on the trail. This leaves only the prince and the party to continue on.

At the end of the second day, the party comes to a small lake indicated on the map as a good place to make camp. They should be able to reach the Hill of Bones by the end of the next day. If any of the PCs suggest continuing, or making an alternative camp, the prince will protest. The nature and severity of that protest depends on the way the DM wishes to portray the child. It can be made obvious to the PCs that the prince is young and tired and still grieving and needs his rest, or the prince can simply make life so difficult that stopping by the lake is the most palatable choice.

That night, however, they are ambushed by a gnoll hunting party.

2 1st level gnoll warriors and 1 2nd level gnoll ranger.

Tactics: The gnolls’ plan is simple. The two warriors will attempt to sneak up to the campsite and ambush whoever is on guard. Failing that they will charge in and attempt to scatter the group. Their goal is to get the prince away from his protectors and into the open. The gnoll ranger has approached the camp from the opposite direction. He is armed with a masterwork cold iron crossbow and 10 bolts, as well as a cold iron short sword. His goal is to kill the prince, no matter what.

Development: While the PCs can likely make quick work of the gnoll warriors without the ranger to back them up they need to remember their primary mission: protect the prince. The prince will run from the gnolls if he is not stopped by one of the PCs. This may put him exactly where the ambushers want him.

Follow-up: If the PCs defeat the gnolls but keep some of them alive they can learn more about what is really going on. The warriors know nothing other than their boss, the ranger, was hired by someone to kill the elf child. The ranger can confirm that he was paid to kill the prince by an elf, but he never got a good look at his patron, whose face seemed to be hidden by both natural shadow and some kind of magic. The elf provided the ranger with cold iron weapons that would be more effective against the fey-blooded elven prince.

Scene 3: Looking in Holes

The PCs can continue to the Hill of Bones the next day relatively unhindered. Once there they find it as they might have expected, a hill that was obviously once the site of a great battle now littered with bones. Animals have disrupted most of the bodies, and some plant life is growing around them.

The king’s tomb is little more than a small cave cut into the side of the hill, widened and shaped by elven magic. A large stone has been placed in front of it and mystically sealed. The prince has been given a magic word that will cause the wards to lower and allow the PCs to move the rock; the word said a second time will reseal the tomb.

The PCs aren’t going to have much of a chance to look in the tomb, as the sound of the rock moving has seemingly stirred up one of the local creatures.

1 Owlbear

Tactics: Owlbears fight to the death once roused. In this case the cave used as the king’s tomb was once a seasonal lair for the creature, and it is fighting to protect its home. As such it is especially vicious, but makes no special effort to attack the prince over a closer target.

Follow-up: Once the owlbear is dealt with the PCs can again look to the tomb. While the king is arrayed in all his battle gear, the PCs have been charged with removing only his sword, something that his son will be sure to remind anyone who looks greedy. A masterwork long sword is in the tomb, but the prince is quick to point out that the weapon in question is not his father’s. Detect Magic will reveal the item to be utterly mundane in nature, and not at all the powerful Blind Loyalty.

Scene 4: Going Home Empty Handed.

Disappointed, the young prince wants to return to the court with all haste to see who has committed this, as it seems to him, sacrilege. The PCs can escort him back as quickly as they like, but it is still likely to take about 3 days. However, as they are only a few hours away from court a herald approaches them. The herald seems to be an elven youth just entering adult hood. He is dressed in the attire of a page and in the colors of the late king. He tells the PCs that Bhenazra has been killed and the Sage wants the prince back immediately.

The “elven herald” is, in fact, a 1st level doppelganger rogue sent to kill the prince. He will use his detect thoughts ability to play on the PCs fears and desires, and strike at the prince if any of them begin to have doubts about his identity. If it looks like he cannot complete his mission he will attempt to escape. The doppelganger knows that he was hired by Bhenazra, a fact that he will trade for his life if need be.

Scene 5: The Villain Revealed

If the PCs return to the elven court they will soon discover that while Bhenazra has not been killed, but is missing.

Follow-up:
It should be obvious by now that the prince has been targeted for assassination, even if the PCs did not obtain any specific information about a mysterious elf that hired the gnolls.

If they talk to the Sage about what happened he will reveal that the plan had been Bhenazra’s, including the route that would be taken. The Sage, however, has no reason to suspect Bhenazra and will defend him without question and in the face of any evidence to the contrary.

While the PCs did not recover the sword, if they kept the prince safe they will receive their reward. If the PCs have been nice to the prince he will be favorably disposed toward them, providing a hook for future adventures as well as someone who could become a powerful ally or benefactor. Bhenazra is not gone. With the failure of his assassins he has decided to take a more subtle approach to ruling the elves of the Darkling Vale, and will continue to operate in shadows. If the PCs were not nice to the prince, or cast suspicions on the Sage, he may use that to turn the prince against them in the future.

· Cold Iron Crossbow: Found as evidence on the gnoll rogue that he was specifically hunting a creature with fey blood and that their attack was not simply random chance.
· Sage: Vhabehr the elf and primary contact for the PCs.
· Elven Child-Prince: Khezedk, here a half-fey, the PCs charge in the adventure.
· Owlbear: The beast appears in Scene 3: Looking in Holes, where it wants its home back.
· Hill of Bones: The resting place of the elven king and the site of his final battle.
· Blind Loyalty: The king’s sword, as well as what it inspires in those who come near it.

 

[reveal]

Round 1, Match 2: Wulf Ratbane vs. reveal

Ingredients

• Darkwood Dagger
• Foxglove
• Enlightened Monk
• Mohrg
• Impossibly High Wall
• Instability

Instability
An investigative adventure for four level 15-20 characters

Summary

The PCs investigate strange attacks by undead in a merchant town called Gorring. While there, they talk to a lot of interesting people, investigate the situation and find out who is causing the problems.

The adventure, as written, highlights a few of the more high-profile NPCs. It also takes you through the investigation to its end without too many side turns. It is highly recommended that you, the DM, invent your own NPCs and locations to use in this adventure to flesh it out more to use in future adventures or campaigns.

Background on Gorring

The “Temple in the Clouds” had been there longer than the town of Gorring itself. 30 years ago, a band of merchants decided that the land directly below the temple would make a good spot for trade for two reasons; one, because it was along the Gorring river, which made it an excellent location for river trade and, two, because the monks in the temple would also need supplies. In return for the trade between the two parties, the monks promised to protect the merchants from bandits that decided to cause trouble.

Recently, the peace that had existed in the area has been broken. At night, undead creatures have been terrorizing the town. The few clerics in Gorring have been unable to defeat the abominations and are helpless. The monks have also been useless as the undead creatures are too strong for them to handle. Heroes are needed and they are needed quickly.

Hooks
1) The PCs are traveling through the area, whether by land or by river, and stop in Gorring to rest, trade, eat, etc.

2) One of the PCs in the party is from Gorring and has received word from a relative that help is needed and the monks cannot protect them from the new threat.

3) If one of the PCs is a monk, he/she could belong to the same order as the monks in the “Temple in the Clouds” and has been asked to help them defeat this enemy.

NPCs

Richard Russels is the mayor of Gorring. He’s very sure of himself but is not overbearing. He has been mayor for the last decade and the townsfolk, especially the merchants, are very pleased with his service. Richard understands that the town is made for trade and does his best to make sure the town is ready for any and all outsiders. He makes sure the merchants are taken care of, since most everyone in the town works for them in some way. Recently, Richard has been very ill and it is worrying the people closest to him. It is also worrying some of the more successful merchants as the vice mayor, Ralph Francis, is not as “friendly” towards the merchants.

Ralph Francis is the type of person who holds a grudge and always does everything he can to settle it. Because of this attribute, he does not like the merchants very much. Years earlier, a merchant swindled him out of his hard earned money and refused to provide a refund. Since that time, Ralph has harbored a deep resentment, feeling all merchants were just as slimy. The mayor trusts Ralph, however, because Ralph is beloved by the non-merchant townsfolk. Because of his hatred for merchants, Ralph has turned completely on the side of the townsfolk, always whispering to the mayor how the merchants are liars and are keeping the money out of the pockets of the “hard working people who line the merchants larders with goods.”

Herbert Saunders is the head of the merchants guild. He is very good at his job. He makes sure that goods are always stocked, that logs are meticulously kept and that the merchants are, generally, well taken care of. Lately, however, Herbert has wanted more. He has always like the mayor but Herbert thinks that he could do better and could increase the amount of money brought in by the merchants.

Brother Sebastian Kine resides in the “Temple in the Clouds,” as the residents of Gorring call it. He is the head monk and presides over the day-to-day operations. The Temple has been in this location for the last 100 years. Brother Sebastian has resided there since it opened its doors. 50 years ago, after years of intense study and inward reflection, he achieved a state of Enlightenment. The very next year, he was put into place as the head monk. He has ruled fairly and wisely these many years. It was his idea to allow the merchants to reside in Gorring. It was he that recommended trade with the merchants as a way to gain supplies. It was he who has shown the most compassion for the people in the town and has shut down every single argument he has ever heard as to why the Temple should stay solitary. And it was he who poisoned the mayor of Gorring.

Background on Brother Sebastian (monk 20/necromancer 5)

They say that when a monk reaches spiritual Enlightenment, his body becomes so pure that poisons can no longer affect him. When Brother Sebastian reached Enlightenment, he decided to test this theory. Taking a small amount of foxglove, Brother Sebastian laced his tea with this deadly poison. He sipped the tea slowly and was surprised at how sweet it tasted. He did not know what to expect so he meditated, waiting to die if it was to be so. Hours later, he stood up and was pleased at the results of his experiment. Not because he proved he had reached Enlightenment, that would be foolish, but because he had discovered a very tasty additive for his tea.

So, over the years, Brother Sebastian drank his poisoned tea and never died. But, unexpectedly, the poison did start to work on his mind. After 50 years of drinking poison, his mind became darker. His judgment became clouded. He was still trusted and loved by all in the monastery, but his private life began to take a dark turn. He decided that the path to Enlightenment took too long. He wanted to “speed up” the process. He decided to start experiment with necromancy. His reasons were obvious: Why experiment on himself? Why not experiment with the undead to find out how to prolong life?

Night after night he locked himself in his room. The hidden cellar made a perfect laboratory. But day after day he had to deal with the problems of that “problem” town at the bottom of the wall. 5 years ago, he realized that if he could somehow get the people to leave, whether by choice or by death, he would have more time to devote to his experiments. First, he would poison the mayor. A week later, he would unleash his undead experiments onto the town. Once everyone was either dead or gone, he would be left in peace. His plan has started to unfold.

Enter the PCs

Once the PCs get to Gorring, the mayor has already been poisoned and political infighting has assumed. The mayor lies in a state of near death and Ralph Francis, the vice mayor, and Herbert Saunders, the merchant leader, are jockeying for succession. The PCs will have to work fairly quickly to assuage fears and solve the problems.

Gather Information in Gorring
DC 10 – The undead showed up to attack the town one week after the mayor fell ill. The monks from the Temple have tried to help but to no avail.

DC 15 – The mayor suddenly passed out three weeks ago while having dinner with Brother Sebastian from the Temple and has not waken since. His breathing is shallow and no one in the town, not even the apothecary, has been able to help him.

DC 15 – Though slow to admit it, the clerics in the town are not powerful enough to stop the undead.

DC 25 – Ralph Francis is hated by the merchants. He always sides with the townsfolk regardless of their actions towards the merchants.

DC 30 – Herbert Saunders is jockeying for position to become the next mayor. He sees the mayor’s recent illness as an opportunity to seize power.

DC 30 – Ralph Francis is jockeying for position to become the next mayor. He sees the mayor’s recent illness as an opportunity to seize power.

DC 30 – The local apothecary still has the food and drink the mayor was consuming when he fell ill. They are trying to figure out if he was poisoned. So far they have found a residue but have failed to analyze it.

Knowledge(nature) checks on the residue

DC 15 – This powder looks as if it were made from a yellowish plant.

DC 20 – The name of the plant is foxglove.

DC 25 – You know of a cure for it.

Temple in the Clouds

If the PCs decide to go to the Temple, they will need to take the lift to the top of the impossibly high wall. Once at the top, they will be greeted by monks from the Temple and offered food and drink.

When they ask for Brother Sebastian, they will be shown to his office. Brother Sebastian is anxious to get rid of these interlopers but doesn’t want to play his hand too soon. A successful Sense Motive check will tell the PC that Brother Sebastian is hiding something. Brother Sebastian claims to know nothing of the attacks. He has sent monks to help but they have all been rebuffed. He would help more if he could but he doesn’t think there is anything he can do to stop the onslaught.

During this time in the office, any PC making a Spot check (DC 20) will notice a black book tucked deeply into a bookshelf. Further inspection will show it to be a book on necromancy and that it has recently been used. If asked about the book, Brother Sebastian will become defensive and suddenly change the subject.

Brother Sebastian will grin wildly and offer an item “that may help.” He will open up a large cabinet, which seems to protest its being opened, and pull out a small, darkwood dagger. He will tell the PCs that this weapon was rumored to help fight off an invading undead army years ago by another one of the their Order. He doesn’t know what it will do and it has been sitting in the cabinet for so long, it has layers of dust on it, that he completely forgot about it. He will hand it to whichever PC wants it. After that, he says he can do no more and shows them out.

The darkwood dagger is actually a cursed item. The cabinet he opened stores many items that the monks are forbidden from using for one reason or another. Some are good; some are not. This dagger, for instance, belonged to an evil drow monk who liked to toy with his victims before killing them. After disarming them, he would offer them the “opportunity” of taking one last swing at him before they died. “Here, use this,” he would say and then throw them his dagger. The victim, fighting for its life at this point, was more than happy to be given this weapon. So they would thrust the dagger at the monk and, suddenly, become very, very still. The dagger, you see, had a sense of humor as well. Whosoever attacked with it would instantly become paralyzed. The monk would then take his time with his victim, cutting off a finger here, a toe there, until the creatures heart would finally give out. It made ones job so much easier that way.

Darkwood dagger, cursed: Every time a person makes an attack with the dagger, they must make a Fortitude save (DC 23). If they fail, they are paralyzed for 1d4 hours. Strong necromancy; CL 16th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor; bestow curse.

Gather Information in the Temple

DC 10 – Brother Sebastian has been the head of the monastery for 50 years.

DC 10 – Monks have been sent to help the townsfolk but could do nothing. The undead creatures were too strong.

DC 20 – Brother Sebastian has been acting strange lately. He’s seems a bit forgetful in his duties.

DC 25 – Brother Sebastian has been keeping all the monks indoors at night for the last couple of days so as to stay hidden from the monsters attacking the village.

DC 25 (if the dagger is shown to the other monks) – That is the cursed weapon Kuri-ki. How did you get it?

DC 30 – A few monks have heard low moaning and chanting coming from Brother Sebastian’s room late at night. They think he was meditating but they are not positive.

Encounters

The Mohrg are the undead creatures that attack the town at night. Each evening, 2d4+3 Mohrg’s enter town with the sole purpose killing townsfolk. They are intelligent creatures, so they understand their instructions to only kill one or two mainly to scare people into leaving rather than murdering everyone. Brother Sebastian thinks if everyone was massacred it would draw a lot more attention to the town than he desires.

Encounters can be as frequent as you like, but they only occur at night. A sample encounter is listed below.

Outskirts of Town
If the PCs set watch, at midnight they can spy a single Mohrg making its way towards the town from the woods to the west. PCs making successful Spot checks (DC 20) will notice other Mohrg’s waiting.

The Mohrg’s like to have a little fun with the townspeople. Since they know the only way out of town is to the west, since the river is to the east, one or two Mohrg’s will go into town and drive out a few terrified people. Of course, these people run directly into the trap and are torn limb from limb before realizing what’s going on.

If the PCs perform a Track check (DC 20), they will find all of the Mohrg’s tracks lead to the lift for the impossibly high wall.

Resolution

Whether from gathering information, tracking or pure suspicion, the PCs will eventually come to the conclusion that Brother Sebastian is the perpetrator. There are many ways this could be resolved.

1) If the PCs can convince the other monks to help, they will. Brother Sebastian will not fight them and will go with them peacefully. The monks will try to help him and find out why he is doing this. Brother Sebastian will tell them of his plan and of his tests with the tea. The monks will realize, as will any player making a successful Knowledge(nature) check (DC 25), that the poison is causing his instability. This can end very peacefully if the PCs wish.

2) If the PCs want violence, there will be violence. If the PCs have convinced the monks to help, they will be hesitant to attack, at first, but when they see how Brother Sebastian has changed, they will join the PCs in attacking. Brother Sebastian will be joined by 1d4+1 Mohrg’s.

3) If the PCs have not convinced the monks to help, they will either a) have to attack Brother Sebastian at night when the other monks are locked in their rooms or b) be prepared to take on the monks as well as Brother Sebastian.

If Brother Sebastian is close to being defeated, he will make a last ditch effort to run to the impossibly high wall and jump off. Using his slow fall ability, he will make it to the bottom long before any of the PCs get there in the lift. If he does escape, he will hold a deep resentment for the PCs.

Ingredient Review

Darkwood dagger – Cursed item given to the PCs by Brother Sebastian
Foxglove – Used in the tea drank by Brother Sebastian and to poison the mayor
Enlightened Monk – Brother Sebastian himself
Mohrg – Undead created by Brother Sebastian to attack the town
Impossibly High Wall – The Temple of the Clouds rests at the top of this wall
Instability – The name of the adventure as well as Brother Sebastian’s current mental condition

 

[el-remmen]

This is the problem with concurrent matches. . . it gets really hard to read and keep straight for viewers. . .

Oh, and I am done with my entry - I plan to re-read it once more when I get home from work and post it then. . .

 

[Dremmen]

Round 1, Match 4: Dremmen vs. Evilhalfling

Ingredients

• Silver Necklace
• Nightshade
• Queen of the Dryads
• Ettercap
• Sea of Souls
• Arrogance

The Hunt for the Dark Flower





Black the night

Black the sea

Black is the blood

And blacker is she

--excerpt from “The Nightshade of the Necklace” by Tomas the Goldharp, Bard of Silver Necklace



A 4th level adventure for 3 – 5 characters.



Background

The Black Mamba is a broad, lazy river that winds its way across the vast plains towards the sea. Not but a few scant miles from the rocky coast the Mamba forks and spills into the sea from the two sides of a small islet. This islet is a rough triangle, two sides of the triangle formed by the branches of the Mamba, the third made up of the sea. And as the sun sets these branches sparkle in the fading rays of the sun making for a silvery necklace around the islet, a contrast with the sea which drinks in the light into murky depths. Silver Necklace, the town named for this, straddles the islet precariously, its outer walls treacherously close to the edge of the rocky island. Silver Necklace is a rowdy town full of fishermen, and pirates, and fishermen that sometimes plunder as well as thugs who sometimes have to resort to fishing. Its streets are narrow and houses are crookedly built on top of houses as space ran short between the walls.

The town is presently the victim of a serial killer named the Nightshade. This flamboyant and arrogant killer is rumored to be a girl of exceeding beauty who kills the lovers that have scorned her always leaving her mark completely unconcerned about getting caught. That is one tale. Another tells that she was a whore disfigured by a drunken pirate and now kills all men to satisfy her anger. And yet another says that is not human at all but a lonely spirit of the dark depths of the sea that drags men’s souls back to keep her company. The only things the tales have in common is they all have the killer as a her, a fact that might be attributed to her call sign being a flower or maybe someone knows something. There have been 5 deaths so far, something that may have gone unnoticed in a rambunctious town like Silver Necklace if not for the quality of some of the victims and the signature of the Nightshade. The victims were as follows:

Brummen Stormeater – a legendary captain with the skill and daring to face the meanest of typhoons and live to tell about it. He was found hanging from the mast of his own ship by his ankles, his hands tied behind his back. A sheep bladder had been slipped over his head apparently after he was hung, and tied around his neck. The bladder had been full of water. The captain had drowned hanging over his own deck that night. A nightshade flower was found floating in the water in the bladder.

Scallion – a scraggly deckhand on Stormeater’s ship, he was thought to have run off after the incident. He was found tied to the rudder of the ship. Nightshade flowers were stuffed in his eye sockets.

Celion, High Priest of the Sea Queen – the highest of the priests at the temple of the Sea Queen, the favored deity of sailors. He was found in his chambers, soaked and laying in an inch of water. His belly had burst open from the inside and apparently this was the source of the water that flooded his chambers, no other source making itself apparent. A nightshade flower floated in the waters pooled at his mouth as he lay staring blankly at the ceiling.

Craiven – the Master of the Fishyard, Craiven was in charge of overseeing the movement of fish from ships to market or to warehouses to get cleaned and salted for selling and as such was highly influential in the town. Although he was the third kill, as was determined by when he had gone missing, he was not found until recent. He was floating face down in the pool chum that floats behind the warehouses where all the spoiled fish and unwanted catch from the nets were dumped. Among this dense floating swill it had been hard to spot him.

Roderick Talltowers – Master of the Guard, his death brought the legend of the Nightshade to new heights as Roderick was the main investigator in the deaths and had often spoken publicly to the gentry of the town as to how he was on the trail of the killer. A venerated soldier and experienced fighter, he was found in his bed, belly down and face in a basin of water. The water barely covered his face but yet there he lay, drowned, with little sign of struggle and a single nightshade floating in the basin.



Where the Players Come In

After the death of Roderick the merchants and nobles of the town, including the mayor, start to get squirrelly. It was good for tourism in the town, and brought a touch of legend to the Necklace, but when the Master of the Guard dies that means anyone could be next and rank and wealth mean nothing. So they start to advertise for mercenaries and sell swords to catch the Nightshade and in return great wealth and a ship would be the reward.

The merchants and nobles have pages at every courtyard and inn, and rewards for the Nightshade are posted. Of course soon after victims started pouring in, dragged by scallywags telling of how they caught the Nightshade. When this kept happening and no proof could be brought to prove one or another body was the Nightshade, and also after the whores of the town complained of their numbers being thinned, the nobles changed their tune to wanting the Nightshade alive, so that she might be questioned.

So, with that in mind, the players are encouraged to begin their investigation.



The Skinny

The Nightshade is a priestess of the Sea of Souls, a dark and evil power that demands souls drowned in its name in return for power. The Nightshade is presently posing as a cleaning wench at a brothel called the Enchanted Forest, a favorite in town. The Enchanted Forest is worked by women clad in ivy who call themselves the Dryads, and their matron calls herself the Queen of the Dryads. They all wear exotic blue paints over their bodies which contrast with the green leaves. They are all in the cult of the Sea of Souls, and in the name of their god and patron the Nightshade, have ritualistically drowned themselves to become intelligent undead for the Nightshade. The blue skin color is quite natural for them. The Nightshade in actually committed only one of these crimes herself, the rest being attributed to her undead minions. The Captain, the Master of the Fishyard and even the Priest and the Master of the Guard were killed by these so called Dryads. The Scallion, however, was tracked down and killed by the Nightshade herself, for he had seen his Captain getting killed. Some victims had souls the Sea wanted – the Captain for daring to live through the Sea’s wrath, the Priest for worshiping that kind hearted false idol that is the Sea Queen, the Fishmaster for spilling his filth into her waters. The Captain was getting too close, and the Scallion was a victim, and this is why they died. The Nightshade uses her flower to bring attention to the deaths, her arrogance too great to admit that she could get caught, her, priestess of the Sea of Souls.





Ways to Skin a Cat

There are several ways the characters could investigate and find the killer. If they investigate the Captain they will find that that night most of his men had been busy whoring. If they investigate further they may find out that it was the women of the Enchanted Forest. However, noone is suspect of them and a trip to see them will reveal nothing unless the players take some magical means of detection. If pressed some of the sailors admit that some of the girls were missing by morning. In fact, they had left by means of the Ettercap, the swift dark ship that Nightshade uses around the harbor. The DM should play this as no big deal. Also, Scallion had been the watch that night. He was an eunuch, and had nothing for whores.



If Scallion is investigated the players will find out from the taverns near the piers that he was a local boy the Captain had recently picked up. Apparently he had family in town. The other sailors know little of him for they avoided the eunuch. The players can find out who his family is. If they go find them they will find their quarters ransacked. If they track and use diplomacy well they may be able to track down his brother, who is still in town. Apparently Scallion had made it off the ship that night, scared to death when he saw his captain being dragged like a child by a couple of women and dragged up the mast. He made it to shore on a dingy and had gone to his brother. He had told his brother of the ship the Ettercap that had been pulled up besides their own ship, and how he and his brother had split up to pack and get out. But he waited and waited and his brother never returned.



If the High Priest is investigated the Priest second him will tell of wet footsteps leading away from the chambers, and of ivy leaves.



If Craiven is investigated the thugs at the warehouses will avoid the PCs and seem very defensive when it comes to questions about Craiven. Craiven was also a smuggler, and his men are mostly thugs. If pushed they will attack the PCs, closing the warehouse and ganging up on them.



If Roderick is investigated the PCs will quickly run into young Dedrick, the deputy. If the PCs do good in diplomacy, and don’t try to bribe Dedrick, he will agree to talk to them after hours since officially they are not Guards and should not delve into this. The do not approve of mercenaries and sell swords. After hours, if invited to some drinks Dedrick will have to many and start talking of prodded gently. He tells that they have no clue except for a ship called the Ettercap which seems to be a phantom vessel that appears on nights that there is murder. They cannot however find the ship. He looks around nervously when he says this because this, he thinks, is what got the Captain killed.



Showdown

If the PCs get enough clues to go to the Enchanted Forest they will be warmly welcomed into a back room and taken to someone that knows more. Down some stairs and to the cellars where all the individuals that talked to the PCs will be floating face down in a large pool that is the entrance to an underwater tunnel to the secret harbor where the Ettercap is. At this time they attack, having the stats of 2HD zombies that count as special undead for turning. After the combat they may use the tunnel if they can travel the 100 yds underwater to find the Ettercap. If not they will find in the Matron’s chambers the map that leads to the secret harbor at the base of the Necklace.

Or they can stalk the harbor, using a ship they rent or keeping a watch at night, maybe even paying for a small crew, to help them spot the Ettercap as it sails to its secret harbor. If this is the case Nightshade will be back at the Enchanted Forest and the players will be going there and fighting all the girls (12 in all) and the Matron (3HD instead of 2). Then the Nightshade escapes back into the ship and the encounter ensues as described below.



Once at this secret harbor the Nightshade will appear, an undead cleric of 5th level. She will attack the party and when things get ugly jump onboard the Ettercap. The Ettercap will take off on its own driven by magical currents. Even if the Nightshade is slain it will continue on until nightfall where it will lay still. Then the avatar of the Sea of Souls appears as a Drowned Soul (per MM3) that climbs the ship and speaks in a haunting voice that promises death. If the party can defeat it it promises revenge. They can keep the ship.





Ingredients

Silver Necklace – the town bordered by water

Nightshade – undead clerical assassin

Queen of the Dryads – Brothel Matron

Ettercap – the ship of the Nightshade

Sea of Souls – powerful dark deity

Arrogance – expressed by the Nightshade in leaving her calling card, and is finally her undoing

 

[reveal]

This is the problem with concurrent matches. . . it gets really hard to read and keep straight for viewers. . .

Oh, and I am done with my entry - I plan to re-read it once more when I get home from work and post it then. . .

I created my entry in Word and then copy and pasted it into here. Would it be easier just to upload the file?

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

The Curse of Boccob
An side-adventure for 4th-7th level PCs. (I have set this adventure in Greyhawk, but with the the tall towers and the investigative nature of the scenario, I think it might also work nicely in Eberron.)

For thousands of years, the monks of western Greyhawk have maintained the Great Library of Boccob. It is a repository of all knowledge, mundane and arcane, and its books are said to hold the answer to any question.

The monastic library rises where the high wooded hills give way to the mountains. A single path, protected on one side by the rising cliffs and on the other by an impossibly high wall, leads up to the towers of a keep that rise further into the sky.

The earth here is chalky and dry, and few things grow easily. Grasses and weeds (such as foxglove, which takes root easily in the aging mortar of the wall) are abundant. The slopes are most noted for the wiry, twisting trees from which the monks make darkwood.

The monks here are perhaps unique in that they use darkwood for paper pulp. Within their tall towers are shelf after shelf of countless tomes of darkwood paper, illuminated and illustrated in mithril leaf. While the black pages with their silver writing are exquisite, priceless works of art, they also serve to keep the bookshelves from collapsing under their own weight, allowing the bookshelves themselves to rise impossibly high within the tower walls.

When one of the monks seeks enlightenment, he will leave the keep by the back gate and continue up the mountain along the Path of 1000 Steps. Here, in the thin mountain air, in a shrine dedicated to Boccob, he will meditate and commune until he receives a vision of the answer.

For a monk to ascend into the Council of Elders, he must prove his purity by stepping over the wall and descending to the ground without harm, using his slow fall ability. Only the true masters will survive. Most simply wait at the top of the path for enlightenment and return the way they came, happy to have failed the test and content to continue their instruction for a few decades more.

In recent years the normal placid stability of the monastery has been thrown into turmoil. All who have ascended the Path have been struck dead, inexplicably. Enlightenment is impossible. Questions go unanswered. Books go unwritten. And the Council of Elders continue to die, as nature intends, with none to replace them. If someone does not rise to the Council of Elders before the last of them dies, the fate of the Library is uncertain.

The PCs can enter this situation by a number of means, the most obvious of which is in pursuit of some sage advice, in which case they are embroiled in media res, as the Council of Elders will beseech them to find some answer. They believe that they have been cursed by Boccob, though they do not know why. Unable to provide any answers for themselves, they turn in desperation to these young outsiders.

It will be clear to the PCs that the rigid hierarchy of the monastery is falling apart. They will have difficulty penetrating alternating layers of chaos and bureaucracy, and if their need is dire, they’ll have to help the monks here before they can pursue their own agenda.

Otherwise, they may be here to purchase a rare darkwood spellbook, or they may be bidden to come here by the monks themselves. Any cleric of magic or knowledge, and certainly any wizard, may receive word that the monastery is in need of heroes.

The Grim Details
The monks are the victim of one of their own brothers (of course…). Brother Gerard, a wise but lowly alchemist/herbalist, aspired to greatness with the order, but grew impatient, and set plans in motion to ensure his rise to the Council of Elders.

Foxglove is a deadly poison—or so the monks believed, including Gerard, until the day of his own enlightenment. In much smaller doses, the potent digitalis within the plant’s leaves has a medicinal effect, increasing blood pressure and regulating the heartbeat. Gerard simply added this footnote to his herbalist’s opus and soldiered on for many years.

But over those years, Gerard "grew" in his enlightenment. In its benign form, Gerard reasoned, foxglove could be administered to his fellows— even those among the more experienced whose bodies might otherwise be immune to poison. Gerard reasoned, rather insightfully, that this immunity did not extend to foxglove's benign medicinal effects— and he was, sadly, correct.

Combined with the high altitude at the top of the Path of 1000 Steps, however, the effect is no longer so benign: blood pressure rises until the victim drops dead from heart failure. Indeed, to make matters worse, the effect is preceded by hallucinations and delirium, so even those victims who might otherwise be inclined to turn back, were instead urged on by the promise of enlightenment!

Gerard’s simple plan was to ensure that he was the only monk able to ascend the Path.

The Investigation
The PCs investigation into the problem can take any number of avenues:

The Bodies: You should reveal these details slowly and allow the players time to chase down red herrings until they penetrate the truth.

It has been some time since the last death, but the monks have kept a fairly detailed record of each victim. Because of the burst blood vessels, the body is likely to appear bruised, as if it had fallen from a great height, but there are no broken bones or any exterior scratches to support the theory (except among those victims who died and pitched over the side of the wall, of course). The eyes, particularly, show the effects of burst vessels—bloodshot and staring as if the victim died in the midst of some horrific vision. The tongue, swollen, tends to protrude from the mouth.

(If the PCs come upon this scenario as it is unfolding, or especially if you have an investigative character among the group, they may be able to examine a fresh body.)

The Path: The PCs may want to climb to the top of the Path themselves. Apply—and describe—the effects of high altitude. This may be one of their most important clues. Obviously, the PCs will not die, but they will not find any other clues at the shrine to Boccob.

The Poison: Players being players, they are likely to seize on poison fairly early on. The monks will of course try to dissuade them of this avenue of investigation, as many of the victims were immune to poison. Pursued far enough, the PCs may be encouraged to seek out Brother Gerard, who is the resident expert.

Brother Gerard Covers His Tracks: Gerard will be helpful, but if the PCs seek his tome on herbal poisons, Gerard will have to delay them “for a day or two while I locate the book.” Finding the book, Gerard will quickly administer an alchemical solution that will dissolve his added footnote in his Foxglove entry. In his haste, however, he will leave a critical clue buried in the original text: the dagger (†) itself. It is not as literal as a dagger left protruding from the back of the victim, but it is critical evidence nevertheless. An astute reader will realize that a footnote was intended, added, or removed; a little further investigation will reveal that only Gerard has had access to this book.

Cornering Gerard: Again, players being players, they are likely to confront Gerard on the flimsiest of evidence—and this is fine. There are countless ways for this confrontation to unfold. Most likely, once it seems his secret is unraveling, Gerard will seek to flee (up the Path) and the PCs are likely to pursue (barring that, they may find clues that he has ascended the mountain).

Gerard should be able to outdistance the PCs, but as he enters the shrine to Boccob at the top of the Path, there will be a blinding flash of light. The Curse of Boccob has struck. Gerard will never ascend to become a being of pure and perfect energy. Instead, he will be cursed with an arcanaform that is anathema to all monks, a being of pure chaos: a chaos beast.

The PCs must fight and defeat chaos-Gerard, who will struggle to control his physical instability throughout the fight. Eventually, he will dissolve into a puddle of fleshy goo.

But the curse is not finished with him yet. There are other powers to be satisfied, and Gerard will rise again to satisfy the curse of all mass-murderers: he will become a mohrg. (In fact, he will become a chaos beast with a mohrg template (CR+1).)

It is up to the GM whether this final battle should take place immediately, atop the shrine, or whether Gerard should ooze back down the mountain to seek revenge on the PCs as they rest and recover in the monastery.

The PCs will be warmly welcomed back to the monastery keep and provided with such services as they need, free of charge, including healing and sage advice. The monks may offer darkwood weapons or shields, or offer to transcribe the wizard’s spellbook into darkwood paper with mithril ink (½ the weight and twice as cool).

· Foxglove: The poison that becomes a "medicine" that becomes a poison again.
· Darkwood Dagger: The footnote in the darkwood book that implicates Gerard.
· Enlightened Monk: Gerard, whose enlightenment regarding the medicinal effects of foxglove leads him to murder
· Mohrg: The undying fate of all cursed, unrepentant mass murderers
· Impossibly High Wall: The wall surrounding the monastery, where the foxglove grows and the crazy monks test their purity; it is the high altitude that makes the foxglove deadly again
· Instability: the chaos sown in the monastery by their inability to ascend the Path, and the literal instability of Gerard in the final battle

 

[el-remmen]

I created my entry in Word and then copy and pasted it into here. Would it be easier just to upload the file?

I just meant that folks from the second match and onward are already posting their entries before those of the first match have. . . . which can be confusing.

 

[Tinner]

Round 1, Match 1: el-remmen vs. Tinner

Ingredients

• Adamantine Key Ring
• Lavender
• Werewolf Mayor
• Otyugh
• Glass Mountain
• Temperance

The Mayor’s Potion aka “Wolfing Down Temperance”
An adventure for four characters. of levels 3-6

Summary: The adventurers explore a ruined alchemists laboratory searching for a cure for lycanthropy

Background: Claud Van Cleef, the mayor of the small merchant town Temperance is a man with a problem. Oh, it’s not his alcoholism. Everyone “knows” that the mayor has a problem with temperance. No, his real problem started one night on the moors, when he was bitten by a very large, aggressive wolf. Since then, Claude has kept his new condition of lycanthropy a secret. Claud had bargained with a local alchemist to have a potion made to cure him. This was all done very quietly, to protect the mayor’s good name. The potion was to have been delivered by the gnome alchemist Kresten Glassmountain two weeks ago, but the gnome never made the promised meeting. Unbeknownst to anyone, Kresten Glassmountain died in an alcohol related accident in his laboratory when in a drunken state; he mistook a bottle of silver polish for a bottle of whiskey. The mayor knows the potion is complete. He even has a good idea where to find it, but he is well aware that the old gnome alchemist had formidable defenses in his laboratory. To get his cure, the mayor will need the help of some brave souls. Time is running short. The full moon rises in just two days!

Hooks: Obviously, the standard hook is to simply have the mayor approach the party, and offer a substantial reward for the recovery of this potion. If the DM uses this option, he should be certain that barring some VERY good diplomacy rolls on the party’s part, the mayor will NOT reveal his condition, NOR the exact details of what this potion cures. Even rumors of his condition could ruin him politically. Van Cleef is a shrewd negotiator, (Aristocrat 6, Diplomacy and Bluff at max ranks) He will offer the pc’s a suitable amount of pay for this effort, with a bonus for returning in less than two days. The DM could also shoose to have him offer salvage rights to Kresten’s estate, upon learning of the alchemists’ death at the end of the adventure – your call.

Other hooks for this adventure might include the following.

A local thief could be talking about the easy pickings to be had out at the old alchemists’ lab on the outskirts of town. There’s bound to be some valuable loot to be had in a recently abandoned alchemical lab.

If you have a group that sticks to the wilderness, and has no reason to be in town, you could always have them come across the mayor, in werewolf form. Stage a running battle as they pursue the mayor to the abandoned alchemist’s lab, where he will promptly collapse into his human form and beg for their help. Bribery, threats, etc. might be good enticements.

If your PC’s are just that evil, you could tweak the mayor a bit, and have him bluff them. Offering to transform them into werewolves, and granting them great power. Clearly this adds a fairly evil spin on the adventure, but hey, it’s your game.

If you want to play the love card, perhaps the alchemist’s mistress is missing her lover, and offers the pc’s a reward in exchange for checking up on her absent paramour. Making the mistress a brothel owner could also allow you to add a little lust into that reward, for those pc’s that need a more base motivation. Or if you want to instead play up the romance angle, perhaps the mistress just has several single, siblings who all are endowed with huge tracts of land, and the mistress is willing to act as matchmaker.

Investigations:
Gather Information/Bardic Knowledge results for: Kresten Glassmountain – Gnome Alchemist

DC 10 - Glassmountain always carried an Adamantine Key Ring whenever he was seen about town.

DC 10 - Glassmountain was forced to keep his lab well away from the town walls, due to the many fires and explosions.

DC 15 - Kresten regularly took shipments of exotic reagents and beasts. Some things were so volatile they had to be stored in thick lead safes.

DC – 15 - No one has seen Kresten in town for almost two weeks.

DC 20 – “Glassmountain” took that name after his renowned “Mountain of Glass” potion display case. This titanic cabinet holds literally hundreds of alchemical mixtures, potions, and chemicals. The display is made even more impressive by the vivid colors and scents (like lavender) that Glassmountain uses to make his bottles stand out.

DC 25 - A bit of a paranoiac, Glassmountain was well known for using his alchemy to ensure the security of his establishment.

Gather Information/Bardic Knowledge results for Mayor Claude Van Cleef – Human/Werewolf Aristocrat

DC 10 - Mayor Van Cleef is a lousy drunk. He’s been found in his office at least once a month reeking of booze, and laying in a pool of his own sick.

DC 15 - The mayor wasn’t always a drunkard. His personality changed suddenly just a few months back. After his return from a trip.

DC 15 - The mayor was a close acquaintance of Kresten Glassmountain.

DC 20 - The mayor recently delivered a large sum of money to the alchemist for some future delivery.

Glass Mountain Alchemy Shop
Finding the Alchemists facility is a simple matter. Anyone in town can direct the PC’s to it. The building is a long, low structure made of stone. There are some scorch marks present around the roof timbers, but nothing extensive. Listen checks will find no odd noises. The building has just one entrance at the front, a sturdy wooden door locked with a Good (DC 30) lock. The lock has been painted red, and bears the mark of a large ant.

In the rear of the building is Glassmountain’s garden. His garden is abundant with such herbs, flowers and fruits as might be useful to an alchemist. In the center of the overgrown garden is a small 5’ x 5’ shed-like outhouse.

A note about doors and traps in this adventure: for ease of use, assume that all locks are Good DC 30 locks. All traps, unless otherwise noted, should be considered CR 4, mechanical, touch trigger, manual reset, Search/Disable DC 28/28, and all should do an average of 2d8 damage.

If the PC’s enter the Alchemists’ shop through the main door:
The lock on the door should pose little difficulty for your average Rogue, and in the worst case the party should be able to break down the door. However, the door is trapped. Triggering the trap will drop a sticky, sweet substance onto the heads of anyone within 5’ of the door. This alchemical mixture is literally abuzz with vicious biting ants. (Ref 15 to avoid.) Anyone hit by the ants will be bitten and injected with their venom, which has been alchemically modified to cause anger and aggression in the victim (Fort 15 to avoid). Anyone failing this save will suffer from Rage (as per the spell) and lash out at the closest target, shrieking threats, and insults the entire time. These “Temper-Ants” are merely the first line of Glassmountain’s defenses of his lab

Once through the Temper-Ants door, the party will be met with the sight of the ruins of Kresten’s famous Glass Mountain. (Picture the Fairy Godmother’s potion-room from Shreck 2, except the place has been trashed. Nearly every bottle has been pulled from the shelves, and the cabinet iself has suffered massive damage. The Mountain of Glass is now a mountain of broken glass. Broken bottles and sticky potion residue cover every square inch of what was once an impressive room. The odor is overpowering. (Fort 12 or be Nauseated for d3 rounds). PC’s must move in this room as if they were moving through caltrops due to the mountain of broken glass scattered around the room.

Propped against the far wall are the skeletal remains of a gnome. The bones are strangely pitted and etched, as if the mixture of chemicals had some strange effects A DC 15 Spot will allow a PC to notice the odd marks on the bones, clearly caused by the spilled potions. A DC 15 Knowledge: Arcana test will identify that the bones are under an effect similar to spellstitching. The bones radiate evil and magic.

The skeleton is visibly wearing an oversized adamantine key ring full of colorful keys on his hip. Anyone tampering with the key ring will cause the skeleton to attack. (Skeletal Gnome, 6HD Small Spellstitched Skeleton) The stitched spells are Chill Touch, and Shocking grasp, which it can use four times per day. It will use them on the first attacks it makes. Additionally, the bones are covered in a brutal layer of jagged, broken glass, counting as armor spikes. The skeleton has been “spellstitched” (“spellsoaked?”) by the bizarre mix of potions and mixtures that tumbled over the alchemist when he died, after failing to find an antidote bottle as he drunkenly ransacked his storeroom..

Defeating the skeleton yields the adamantine key ring to the PC’s. Searching the mountain of glass is dangerous; since there are still pockets of dangerous liquids, not mention all that broken glass to contend with. However, a Search 25 yields a handful of potions still intact (DM’s choice) None of these potions though is the lavender bottle Mayor Van Cleef seeks.

The Key Ring itself contains several keys, each key has an image stamped, and enameled in a certain color. The largest of these keys bears an image of a red ant, and is clearly the key to the front door. Logic dictates then that other doors must in some way match up with the keys. The DM is free to add any variety of other rooms to this building, and add keys as he feels necessary to To keep the feel of a paranoid alchemist, I recommend acid traps, black powder bombs, stinkbombs, alchemists fire, etc. These traps/hazards are an ideal method of tailoring the challenge level of this adventure. For a party of 6th level PC’s add more hazards, and raise the DC’s to overcome them. For a 3rd level party, stick to the bare minimum, as recommended above. Other rooms you might wish to include, and suggestions for key symbols and colors to match are: Sleeping quarters – Black Z; Dining Area – Green Fork; Closet – Pink Coathanger; You get the idea.

If the party first investigates the garden behind the laboratory:
The gardens behind Glassmountains are lush with growth, picture Martha Stewarts garden, full of exotic herbs, fragrant blossoms, and everything left to run rampant like a Victorian garden gone wild. Rhubarb, Aconite and sunflowers are all in seasons, but the largest, and most glorious plants are the lavender, which are in full bloom. Huge purple heads hang down richly surrounding a small 5x5 shed with a distinctive wolf howling at a crescent moon motif on the wooden door. Clearly this is the privy/outhouse, cunningly placed amidst the garden. This placement is ideal for allowing the rich “night soil” to fertilize the garden, as well as allowing the multitude of fragrant blooms to mask the otherwise rank odor.

Since curiosity is bound to lead the PC’s to investigate the privy, it’s only fair to “reward” such behavior. A brief examination (Search DC 15) reveals that the privy is unlocked, despite the presence of an obvious keyhole. Placing the appropriate key in the keyhole (a brown wolf & moon key, found on the adamantine key ring from the above encounter) causes a faint chiming sound from beneath the PC’s feet. (Listen DC 20). That chiming is the sound that tells the well trained Otyugh that lives beneath the privy not to devour anyone seated upon the “throne” Anyone foolish enough to sit and use the privy without first triggering the chime (with the key, or a DC 28 Disable Device) will be attacked by the Otyugh. The Otyugh will attempt to Move Silently for its initial attack in hopes of make a grapple vs. a Flatfooted opponent. Medium or smaller creatures can be roughly pulled through the privy-hole taking d6 damage for the rough treatment in addition to the grapple. The “honeypot” chamber is 30x30, and the revolting mess counts as difficult ground requiring a DC 18 balance check for anyone moving more than 5’ per turn.

Busybodies wondering how the Otyugh lives in such conditions should recall that firstly Glassmountain has only been dead a few weeks, prior to that he would drop his kitchen scraps, and the occasional failed experiment down the hole. Additionally since the privy is never locked, and is in the center of a fertile garden of fruits, herbs, berries, etc. There is abundant small game that the Otyugh can drag into the privy and devour.

Meanwhile, back in the lab:
After the PC’s have encountered whatever other traps and hazards the DM wishes to throw at them, they will finally come upon the laboratory, Entering the lab requires the PC’s to bypass yet another alchemical trap. Using the key marked with a blue Erlenmeyer Flask will allow you to sidestep sudden drenching in Sovereign Glue that splashes all within a 5’ radius who fail a REF 18 save.

The lab is in a shambles. The remains of an old fire have long ago guttered out in the braziers about the room. Broken bottles, ruined instruments and shattered crockery are littered about the lab. Several empty liquor bottles are also in evidence, a grim testament to Glassmountain’s final binge. A DC 20 Appraise test will let an astute observer realize that despite all the damage, careful salvagers could easily piece together their own basic alchemical lab from the wreckage herein. A Search 20 reveals that there is a large, walk-in sized vault, hidden behind the charred remains of a tapestry on the south wall. Yet again the PC’s must choose the appropriate key; this time, using a lavender key with the image of a lock on it. Turning the key requires a DC 18 STR check (The alchemist kept a potion of Bull’s Strength handy for such occasions.) The key triggers an elevator type mechanism that moves an antechamber containing a Gelatinous Cube in and out of the 10x10 antechamber between the vault door, and the vault chamber beyond. Failure to move this chamber means the PC’s will need to deal with a new hungry Gelatinous Cube.
Once the ooze is dealt with, the PC’s will find the vault contains a small assortment of potions (DM’s choice, but they should be fairly valuable), including a lavender tinted bottle labeled “Van Cleef – Lycanthropy.”

Wrapping it up:
In a simple world, the PC’s will take the mayor’s job, recover the potion, and return it to the mayor who drinks it in time to save the day. They get paid and we have a happily ever after ending.

If the PC’s didn’t come into this adventure looking to save the mayor, then you now have a town sitting on a time bomb. Sooner or later, the mayor will shift before he’s fully drunk, and there will be deaths and possibly more infections. Not that this is a bad thing, since it leaves more work for ambitious PC’s!

One further complication might be that the players read too much into the lavender bottle’s simple label, and believe Van Cleef intends to contract lycanthropy, rather than combat it. “Right-minded” do-gooders could very well deny the mayor the potion. I leave it to the DM to decide if the mayor would trust such PC’s enough to bargain for his cure, and admit his curse.

If the PC’s services were engaged by local thieves, or Glassmountain’s mistress, there will be accounts to settle there as well.


INGREDIENT SUMMARY
Adamantine Key Ring – An Indestructible set of keys. Why indestructible? Because these keys need to resist acid, fire, etc. This is the perfect set of keys for an alchemists/wizards laboratory. Each key will allow a sensible party the chance to bypass all or part of some of the threats contained within the alchemist’s laboratory. The paranoid alchemist coded each key to a specific door in his lab.

Lavender – A perfectly usable ingredient in many potions, etc. Additionally, the scent covers the odor of the privy. The trees themselves are planted around the central privy courtyard, and attract birds, etc. as prey for the otyugh. The potion to cure alcoholism is also conveniently lavender shaded.

Werewolf Mayor – The local mayor is well known as an alcoholic. And several times each year he has been found stinking in the early hours of the morning. What is not commonly known is that the mayor has also contracted lycanthropy. This is what has led him to his sporadic bouts of drinking. On the nights of the full moon, the mayor is always careful to lock himself in, and binge drink well before dark. In this manner he spends his savage nights safely incapacitated. Thus far he has managed to avoid accidentally harming anyone. He fears that this will change soon, and is seeking a cure for his condition. What most people perceive as his weakness is actually an ironic form of temperance, trading his sobriety for the town’s safety.

Otyugh – This monster lives in the lavender scented privy inside the courtyard. It has been trained to not attack anyone sitting on the privy as long as they properly use the adamantine key ring. Otherwise, it considers anything above its lair as fair game. It regularly preys on birds and other animals drawn to the sweet lavender blossoms that surround the privy.

Glass Mountain – The Glass Mountain is he name of the alchemist’s shop in town. It is also the name the owner chose for himself to promote his wares. In a wretched display of intemperance the old alchemist died in a drunken stupor and changed the giant potion cabinet named The Glass Mountain into a literal mountain of (broken) glass.

Temperance – As a theme, temperance appears several times throughout this adventure both as a positive and negative theme. The alchemist’s own intemperance was deadly. His abuse of alcohol leads directly to his death. The werewolf mayor seems at first to be intemperate, but is actually showing remarkable restraint and self-control by incapacitating himself with alcohol, rather than risk a shape changed rampage. Temperence is also the name of the small town the adventure is set in. Don’t forget the “Temper-Ants”, alchemically modified insects that induce blind rage in their victims

 

[el-remmen]

not my best, but. . .

Taking Out the Trash
An adventure for low to mid level adventurers, as usual it is up to the DM to set the appropriate CR when fleshing out the adventure

Set-Up:

Long ago the ancestors of the current people of Kilsgrove learned that they could keep the monster that lived beneath the Mountain of Black Glass at bay by bringing it an offering of all its refuse three times a year. The avaricious monster, once greatly feared, came to be seen as a blessing – as it allowed the town to get rid of its waste easily (and thus stave off disease and vermin) and the surrounding soil was enriched by the minerals of the volcano’s past eruptions was considered an added benefit of the offerings. Along with all the typical crops, great fields of lavender grew wild and were later tamed and cultivated.

The Mountain of Black glass is mound of volcanic obsidian sitting above a great chamber of black magma.

Three times a year, for centuries the hamlet of Kilsgrove has sent its refuse to the Sacred Chamber (on the full moon in spring, summer and fall) and enjoyed peace from the monster. The refuse is taken on ox-drawn carts and led by young people who are thrown a wild party and take part in a ritual bath in lavender oil. A year ago the townsfolk sent to deliver the refuse never returned, and soon after the monster emerged from the Mountain of Black Glass, devouring and laying waste to the outlying areas of the town. It burned crops and areas of old-growth forest and collapsed houses.

Aghast, the mayor, Herman Lont, decreed the waste was to be delivered monthly on the full moon instead of three times a year, and that the town needed to undertake a life of Temperance to best enjoy the clean and fruitful life the Mountain of Black Glass was providing – by living such a life the town would better avoid the disgusting ravenous monster. The wild party was replaced with grave prayers and chanting.

Unfortunately, the life free of excess and alcohol and the monthly dumping did not work. Those sent to deliver the refuse still did not return, and the monster continued to ravage the land once a month during the time of the full moon. And since one of the town’s primary exports is Lavender Wine, the town’s economy has begun to suffer, causing distress among the townsfolk.

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Possible Hooks:
· The party is hired to investigate why the last two shipments of Kilsgrove’s famous Lavender Wine did not arrive in some far off port town.
· A cleric or monk in the party is sent to Kilsgrove on a pilgrimage to meditate in the lavender fields and become embroiled in the goings-on.
· The party has heard of the ancient magics of the Mountain of Black Glass and have stopped here to re-supply before going to explore.

The Adventure:

When the party arrives the town of Kilsgrove is in an uproar. It should be the middle day of the three-night full moon cycle, and while the town’s refuse has already been sent off, a growing vocal minority in the town has their doubts about the mayor’s solution to the problem.

The leader of this group of townsfolk Mintos the (former) Wine-maker, will want to hire the party to follow after the townsfolk bringing the refuse, protecting them if possible, and destroying the monster. He will even imply that there are foul whispers in town that human sacrifice might be necessary to sate the beast.

The mayor and his loyal followers will be very unhappy about the party’s presence, feeling that outsiders would bring the wrath of the mountain, as they are not “pure” – and if the plan to go after the carts of refuse is uncovered the mayor may try to have the PCs arrested or run out of town.

IF THE PARTY ARRIVES BEFORE the full moon, they might be able to bluff, coerce or convince their way into being the ones to take the refuse up to the mountain. However, they will be forced to take part in the ritual cleansing baths in lavender.

The timing is really up to the DM and the actual timing of events within the context of the campaign and the party’s means of travel.

What is Going On:

In reality, the thrice-yearly offerings of rubbish were working and would have continued to work if not for the mayor. In his youth, he was one of the people sent to deliver the rubbish, but during the return journey he wandered away from the others seeking to explore the Mountain of Black Glass some more and came upon the “Chamber of Opposition” (see below). What emerged was a lycanthropic version of himself that killed him and returned to town. Soon after he left, only to return in adulthood. This “evil twin” returned with a great deal of control over his changes, and a priest to a god of chaos. He soon put his plan into action.

He has been hunting down and devouring the townsfolk bringing the rubbish offering to the mountain, and then dragging off the carts to an area near the Chamber of Opposition. Not being sated the monster has emerged from its home to assault the town and sow the chaos the werewolf mayor loves. He will play his role of the lawful-to-a-fault mayor to the hilt (the core belief of his faith being “Law breeds chaos. Chaos breeds chaos. Chaos rules over all.”) to try to avert suspicion from himself – but in reality he wants the PCs to go investigate. In fact, if the PCs interview him, he might even drop the implication that he would love the PCs to go investigate, but could never condone it because of the danger to his people and because it would against the established laws concerning the offerings. In reality, he does not care if the monster is destroyed – but knowing that such situations eventually attract nosey adventurers – wants to draw them to the Chamber of Opposition so that dark twisted versions of the PCs will emerge and sow even more chaos in the world.

Things the Party Might Do In Town

It seems most likely the party will want to interview the mayor, and the townsfolk who have brought the offering in the past, and who have gone out looking for the others when they have not returned.

Some things they may learn:

· Mintos the Wine-maker seems most upset by the fact that he is not allowed to make his wine even for export. He is less concerned about the town than his business (true).
· Despite being taken with each disappeared group of people brining the offering, the adamantine key ring is always found afterward.
· If anyone goes to see the mayor on the nights of full moon when the offerings are being taken, he is “sequestered in prayer” and cannot be disturbed until the morning.
· No one will approach the Mountain of Black Glass itself unless they are officially part of the group to take them and have taken part in the cleansing ritual.
· The monster is a great molten glob of black goo with psuedo-pods that has surfaces that bubbles with noxious disease-causing hot gases.
· The mayor only returned to town two years ago after being away since his youth. His father was the former mayor, and his knowledge of the outside world and loyalty to tradition got him his position.
· Many years ago when the mayor was a young man, a great wolf preyed on people in forests and the fields. It was found and killed, however (actually a normal wolf used by Herman to hide his trail)

The Mountain of Black Glass

The Mountain of Black Glass is about a day’s journey from Kilsgrove. The mountain itself should be very treacherous. The DM should come up with a few “natural” traps and deadfalls of black obsidian glass that give way into jagged holes that should be on the high-end of commensurate with an appropriate CR for the party.

If the party are the ones to bring the offering of rubbish for the town, the werewolf mayor will allow them to pass unmolested – hoping for them to track down and uncover the remains of the past carts of rubbish and stumble upon the Chamber of Opposition.

If the party merely follows another group bringing the rubbish, they might find signs of a struggle and a track of the carts being led towards a different part of the glass mountain (i.e. a fresher trail to the Chamber of Opposition).

The Adamantine Key Ring

Those who are sent to give the offering of rubbish and waste are given an adamantine ring of three adamantine keys, stained with age, but no weaker for it. One is marked with a red gem, one with a green gem and one with a black gem.

If the party is with those bringing the offering (or are those chosen to bring it) they will know that the green key is needed to unlock the adamantine lock on the Offering Chamber, and that the other two keys are “forbidden keys” to where no one knows (though obviously the mayor secretly knows).

The other two keys open the adamantine locks to the Chamber of Opposition and the Chamber of Life-Trapping (see below).

Mysteriously, though no sign of those who have left in recent months has ever been found, the keys always turn up. The mayor and those who believe what he has said, take this as a sign that the spirits of the mountain want the town to continue their offerings.

The Offering Chamber

The locks on the door to the Offering Chamber are opened by the green adamantine key, but are also set to magically unlock if one of the offering times passes without an offering being left – they then continue to open to allow the monster within freedom every month right after the full moon until an offering is brought. The adamantine key can also be used to lock the doors once they are opened – so in this way the monster beyond can be locked out, or be tricked back in and then trapped until the next full moon with no offering.

Beyond the doors a shallow and jagged obsidian ramp, partially molten in places leads down to a river of black magma that bubbles orange in places. An outcropping serves as a place for the garbage to be placed. The air within is noxious and should require intermittent FORT saves or take subdual damage. Those who have bathed in lavender oil gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the save.

The monster within is an advanced otyugh (huge-sized) with the fire creature template from the Manual of the Planes. However the DM might stat out this monster, he should be sure to make it a CR several ranks higher than the PCs. Simply killing the monster and moving on should not be an immediate option.

The Chamber of Opposition

Among the jagged obsidian chasms of the Mountain of Black Glass, behind stone doors locked with an adamantine lock, is a great honeycombed chamber covered in shiny black mirrors. This chamber acts as a kind of mirror of opposition. Those who enter the chamber are followed out soon after by a opposite version of themselves that is afflicted with some kind of curse. (The DM should choose some appropriate curse or template that works for the character/creature in question). It was from here that the werewolf mayor emerged and destroyed the original version. It is also near here that all the old carts and refuse have been dumped – so the PCs should be led here, which is what the werewolf mayor would like.

This should present a tough challenge for the PCs as the encounters here would consist of being as powerful as they are (sans magical items), but with templates applied to them. The one advantage in their favor being that this emergent beings will not work together to overcome the group. The behavior of these individuals will vary depending on who they are based on. Alignment change, however, only happens on the good/evil axis, with the law/chaos one remaining the same. Regardless of alignment, these new being will see the original versions as aberrations that need to be destroyed, and an opportunity for a life to take over.

Chamber of Life-Trapping

Unlocked by the red gem adamantine key, this is a mirrored-chamber similar to the one described above, but instead of creating opposites, it traps those who enter into one of its dozens of mirrored surfaces. The werewolf mayor never found the entrance to this place, but the PCs might in their wanderings around the treacherous glass mountain. The DM should have fun filling this place with all manner of creatures and people of different times. Within the chambers could be opposite versions of previous visitors to the Chamber of Opposition, other curious adventurers from a time in Kilsgrove’s past that stumbled upon it, and perhaps members of an ancient conclave of mirror-mages waiting for a time to come back into the world and assert their power (see “Expanding the Adventure” below)

Concluding the Adventure

There is no one straightforward way to conclude this adventure.

Even if the party manages to avoid being replaced by their evil opposites, trap or destroy the black magma otyugh, and/or drop off the proper offering in the Offering Chamber, they may never discover the mayor’s role in all of this. He will certainly not show his hand, and will wait several months before starting it all over again.

However, a clever party that figures someone in town must be in on the ruse (due to the returning key-ring clue) might try to pass themselves off as their mirror opposites when they come back to town to try to flush the person out. But no matter what, convincing about half the townfolk that the mayor was not only behind the whole thing, but a werewolf might prove very difficult (and won’t win them many friends). Yet, the evidence is there if the PCs can put it together and present it. (The mayor’s leaving town after his journey to the Offering Chamber as a youth), the testimony of someone who went along with him back then as to his short disappearance, the fact that he is never seen on the evenings when the offerings are being taken, etc…

Expanding the Adventure

There are many ways this adventure can be connected with on-going plots in a campaign.
· The Chamber of Life-Trapping could hold any number of creatures/people the PCs might want to hunt down or help get on with their lives.
· The Conclave of Mirror-Mages, if freed, could present a whole new set of foes in the world, and perhaps return a form of magic long-lost and forgotten.
· The PCs’ opposites might escape and need to be destroyed before they ruin the PCs’ names – or perhaps there are other opposites out in the world that need to be found.
· The PCs might think they have completed the adventure, only to hear similar rumors as to goings-on there months or even years later.
· There could be a great number of glass/mirror themed rooms with the Mountain of Black Glass – perhaps a room of Mental Prowess that was the center of the Conclave’s power.

Ingredient ReCap
Adamantine Key Ring – The keys to the various chambers in the Mountain of Black Glass. They Adamantine ring and keys designed to last eons.
Lavender – The great fields of lavender that grow around Kilsgrove because of the fertile ground. Lavender is used both for the town’s famous wine label and in a ritual cleansing bath before taking the offering (which helps stave off the toxic fumes).
Werewolf Mayor – Herman Lont, who long ago was replaced by a twisted lycanthropic counterpart in the Chamber of Opposition. He should have levels of cleric and rogue and the tracking feat.
Otyugh – The guardian beast in the Offering Chamber – with the fire creature template added to it represent a molten creature.
Glass Mountain – The obsidian volcanic mountain.
Temperance – The suggested behavior for the townsfolk to counteract the anger of the Glass Mountain Spirits.