[IronDM] Iron DM Returns! Winner announced!

[nonamazing]

Some commentary:

[SBLOCK]
Thanks for the kind comments, Patryn. I tried to take carpedavid's criticism to heart and craft a much less linear adventure this time around. I also spent a lot more time on my second entry than I did on my first, which probably helped.

I had originally planned to have eleven small encounters in part one (to match the number of hydra heads, of course) but I cut it down because I was running out of time. My main problem is that I type r e a l l y...s l o w l y--I've seriously got to work on that.

I also like the Eberron setting. I used it mainly as a challenge to myself after noticing that in earlier IronDM competitions, the entries all tended to be very non-setting specific. I decided to do the opposite, and see where that took me. I also decided to experiment with the idea of having my entries connected to one another as part of a series. So far it's all been a lot of fun. I plan to go back over these adventures and work them into a more finished product at some point.

I was wondering if anyone would notice that problem with the hydra... I should have expanded the powers of the hydra's ooze control amulet to allow the wearer to take ooze form once a day. I noticed after posting that I had forgotten to include that. But it's kind of funny, isn't it? I should just leave it that way.
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Non-A, you should put spoiler tags around your commentary, and I think in general competitors and viewers should take pains not to discuss an entry before the judgment is posted.

Just my opinion-- I ain't de judge, but it's good form.

 

[carpedavid]

Non-A, you should put spoiler tags around your commentary, and I think in general competitors and viewers should take pains not to discuss an entry before the judgment is posted.

Just my opinion-- I ain't de judge, but it's good form.

I, personally, don't mind, since it generates discussion while everyone is waiting for my judgment, and I'm pretty good at averting my eyes. However, other judges may have stronger feelings on the matter, and it is, as Wulf says, good form.

 

[carpedavid]

Round 2, Match 1: Evilhalfling vs. Tinner

Well, folks, it's round two, and that means that the gloves have come off. In the first round, I tried to give each contestant the benefit of the doubt. Here, the judging gets a bit harsher. We start out our first match of this round with a pair of entries from Evilhalfling and Tinner. If you haven't read them, go do so and come back.

Before we begin, let me say that, in reading these two adventures, it seems as though one DM has yet to figure out how to properly motivate a gaming group, while the other has a keen sense of what makes gaming groups (or at least ones similar to his) tick. I'm tempted to start with a discussion of the design and playability of the entries, but I think that might make the winner too obvious. Instead, let's begin with a comparison of ingredient use.

The first item in the list is the Abyssal Greater Basilisk. Tinner seizes on the "Abyssal" quality of the creature by tying it into a divinely-inspired vision. Additionally, its nefarious presence gradually taints the surrounding environs, which gives a sense of urgency to the proceedings. As presented, it's the boss creature of the adventure, and certainly presents an adequate challenge for a 10th level party.

On the other hand, he doesn't really pay any attention to the signature quality of the Basilisk - the petrifying gaze. He doesn't even mention it once in the description of the encounter with the creature. Come on - give me something to work with. Even a toss-away one-line description of small, furry, woodland statues would have sufficed. But no, we get nothing.

Evilhalfling, by contrast, gives us plenty of statuary to look at. He puts great emphasis on the petrifying gaze of the creature, which gives it a reason to be a Basilisk, and not, say, a gray render. However, the "Abyssal" quality of the creature is completely lost. As used, it could simply have been a regular Basilisk (though a powerful one).

What bothers me about this ingredient use, though, is its seemingly random placement. While the petrified creatures are ominous, to be sure, the basilisk's function here is really little more than to serve a placeholder between the two beholders. By comparison to the creatures around it, it's just not as frightening as it should be. Therefore, I think this ingredient use is wash.

Since I've just mentioned the beholders, let's look at the Eyes of Doom ingredient. Here, Evilhalfling gets creative, and I'm mostly impressed with the results. Even without the modification to the eyestalk, beholders certainly fit the concept of an eye of doom. I also like the idea of two intelligent monsters holing up in the middle of a palace and then sending a bunch of charmed creatures after one another. The complete lack of respect for the feelings of the humans who happen to inhabit the palace strikes me as very beholder-like.

However, there are some things that bother me. First, EH states that the two beholders charm the other creatures and send them against each other. But then, later in the entry, he claims that one of the beholders lacks the "charm monster" eyestalk. Which is it? Second, he seems to misunderstand the nature of the beholder's anti-magic. They emit a cone from their central eye that they can turn on and off at will. In fact, they have to turn it off if they want to use their eye-beams on anyone in the area of the cone. This does not prevent, as EH suggests, someone from being able to use divination spells on them. It does not function like spell resistance. Something that does not fall in that area of the cone simply isn't affected. Third, though the two Eyes of Doom are set up to be bitter enemies, which could be the setup to an adventure in and of itself, they end up simply being another creature to kill. In one case, the beholder will attack the party on sight, and in the other, it will attack if the party doesn't do exactly what it wants. It seems to me like potential wasted.

So does Tinner do any better? He uses the Eyes of Doom literally by giving the pixie leader a pair. Since the pixies aren't really intended to take on the PCs directly, this use could be nearly superfluous. Tinner redeems himself, though, by tying the glasses in thematically. Their doom-seeing nature becomes an obstacle for the party to overcome before they can enlist the pixies' help.

It's an interesting take on the ingredient, but one that, again, I have some trouble with. Pixies aren't stupid; while their leader might be deceived by the glasses, the rest would have no idea what he was ranting about. A simple Heal check is as easily performed by any of the fey tricksters as by a PC. So why wait for the PCs to come in and point out that their leader is seeing things? It's important to remember that people only turn to outsiders to solve their problems when they're incapable of or unwilling to do so by themselves. There's no indication that either is the case here, so I'm left to wonder what's going on.

I think I may know, actually. Tinner mentions initially that the arrival of the "fell beastie" is what has the pixies in a tizzy. So why then, in the ingredient summary, does he point to the glasses as the cause of the unrest? My guess - they got tacked on near the end.

Talking about the fairies brings me to the Far Shot ingredient. Tinner's pixies are natural masters of the bow, and with a feat that extends their range, they're a great ally to have against a monster that can turn you to stone by looking at you. Additionally, Tinner mentions their use of long-range tactics when he discusses the possibility of the PCs and the pixies fighting. It's a great use of the ingredient.

EH uses the Far Shot ingredient in the form of the One Mile Strikers. From their position in the towers and surrounding buildings, it does make more sense for them to have Far Shot than Point-Blank Shot, but that's the extent of the rational I can come up with. It's not a horrible use of the ingredient, just a lackluster one.

Next is Wind Walk, and here, he does give us a horrible use of an ingredient. Apparently, any attempt to use "travel magic" within the Sultan's palace results in the user ending up in the Courtyard of Wind Walk. Why? What does that have to do with wind? I suppose walking ties into "travel" thematically - sort of, if you tilt your head and squint. Honestly, this is on par with Dremmen's first round entry where he uses an ingredient as the name of a boat.

Lest you think I'm here only to pick on Evilhalfling, let me inform you that Tinner's use of the ingredient isn't all that compelling, either. In his entry, the druid, Ayiana, uses the spell to follow the PCs at a distance. He does point out that the cloudy form the druid takes on while under the effects of the spell could conceivably be confused for mist or fog in the natural setting of his adventure, so at least he's using consistent imagery. However, he gives no instruction on how to interact with the druid while she's in this form - or for that matter, how the PCs are supposed to react if they see a mysterious cloud following them around all day. Against a stronger use of the ingredient, Tinner would have lost this one, but here he manages to succeed.

This leaves us with two ingredients: Broken Mirror and Xenophobia, and the difference in use couldn't be more different. First we have the Broken Mirror. Here, Evilhalfling hides the ingredient in the backstory. Sure, the PCs might see the remnants of the mirror as they're killing beholders, but any interaction with it - heck, any action it's involved in during the entire story, happens before the PCs ever arrive on the scene. There's no ability to prevent the mirror from being broken to repair it later, and there's nothing to gain by discovering it.

Tinner, on the other hand, places his scenario in an environment known as the Broken Mirror. Not only are the broken "shards" of lake an extremely creative idea, they provide a way to scale and manage the adventure. Kudos to Tinner.

Last is Xenophobia, which the dictionary handily defines as the "fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign." Tinner makes his main NPC, the druid, xenophobic because she's never interacted with the outside world (Though I wonder, how is it that she had never met another humanoid other than her mentor? Is he also her father? Did he find her floating in a reed boat? A one line explanation would have cleared that mystery up.). It's an interesting twist, and one that likely going to cause the PCs some grief.

In Evilhalfling's adventure, Xenophobia is the force that causes the beholders to fight. Huh? I read the entry three times, and I didn't pick up on that until I finally read the ingredient summary at the end. If you missed it, too, here it is: one beholder has scales, and the other doesn't. That's the source of the xenophobia. I suppose that I would be astounded to see a human walking around with scales, so he's not so far off in his intent - but the execution leaves something to be desired. At the end of the ingredient comparison, I think it's obvious that Tinner is ahead. Can he hold onto the lead as we head into the next phase of the judgment? Let's find out.

Let's begin our examination of design and playability with Evilhalfling's Arabian-flavored adventure. He starts off his entry with a classic setup: an utter nobody finds a wish-granting djinni and asks to be Sultan. He elevates the setup by creating a djinni who gets very "creative" with his wish-granting methodology. At this point in reading through, I was set to be impressed. Then I got to the line where the djinni summons the party. One thing that seems to be apparent from both his first and second round entries is that EH has no objection to coercing the party into an adventure.

I suspect that EH's gaming group is either extremely laid back, and need this kind of hand-holding, or extremely obstinate, and will only adventure if forced to. I know that if I were part of an adventuring group that suddenly got whisked away in the middle of some other adventure, and then was expected to risk my life as a glorified exterminator, I'd be upset. On top of that, EH never gives the party the option to refuse, politely or no.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that the PCs do go along, and do happen to suffer a casualty. At that point, the suggestion from the djinni to use the wish as the means to bring that party member back is just insulting. Some might think that rat-bastardry, but it's not. It's just petty.

On top of the clearing out of the palace, there's some suggestion of aligning with one of the two Emirs who are trying to take hold of the city for themselves, but consider how the PCs have just arrived - by djinni magic. If they're not native to this particular part of the world, why would they care? By 10-13th level, they're likely to have far more pressing issues back home.

Tinner's adventure begins promisingly, too. He creates a vibrant environment in which to set his adventure, introduces the conflict, and then jumps right into the hooks. In both his first round entry and this one, Tinner exhibits an understanding of what motivates different types of adventuring groups. The hooks that he provides aren't spectacular in any way - in fact, they're pretty plain - but he manages to cover almost all of the bases, and none feel forced. He appeals to general curiosity, to overwhelming greed, to a sense of duty, and to a sense of destiny. When you're looking for hooks, appealing to at least one of the seven deadly sins seems to work more often than not.

After the hooks, Tinner jumps into the encounters, and right away I noticed a potential problem. His first encounter, which is really more of an extended hook, involves a druid who wants to communicate, but doesn't want to meet face to face. Depending on which hook the group is following, this could be a great role-playing opportunity, or an exercise in frustration. If the PCs know of the druid's existence, then they should be able to interact with her via the animal messengers, and possibly even try to help her overcome her fear.

If, instead, the PCs don't know of the druid's existence, then the group is unlikely to trust her until she shows herself. Animal messengers out of nowhere, especially ones that ask me to go deal with somebody else's problems, are going to seem incredibly fishy. I would have liked more guidance in this section for how to deal with a group that sees the big neon "plot point" sign, but wants to be realistically cautious.

If the PCs do manage to make it to the Basilisk, then Tinner makes a suggestion that I consider a huge mistake. He suggests that, if the PCs have been successful in gaining allies for the fight against the Basilisk, then the DM should up the difficulty of the encounter. I think that this only penalizes the PCs for being successful. If the PCs want to spend the time prepping for battle, then they should have an easier time succeeding. In fact, the mark of a good DM would be to make it clear how much more difficult a time they would have had if they hadn't gathered their allies.

Despite these potential problems, though, Tinner manages to create an adventure that feels like it would be fun to play. He creates a consistent and believable scenario, and then gives the PCs a reason to care. Evilhalfling, on the other hand, creates a forced scenario, where the PCs are thrust into a situation that they likely couldn't care less about. In Tinner's scenario, the focus in on the actions of the PCs, but in Evilhalfling's scenario, the focus is on the actions of the NPCs - the characters are just along for the ride. In the end, the winner is pretty clear: <spoiler: highlight to read>

Spoiler

Tinner

</spoiler> goes on to the finals.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Zounds.
that was some judgement.

After I read the two entries I had no doubt in picking the same winner.
It wasn't really the things I worried about that killed me it was my unquestioned assumptions. I could tell Tinners ingrediants were put to better use. My fav part of my entry was the ensuing war of succession, I just assumed the PCs would be intrested. Not all of my adventures are anywhere near this forced, but neither is this an isolated case. I look forward to learning from the rest of the tournament.

The last rounds should definatly be worth reading.

 

[Berandor]

I just want to say that by-the-book beholders are extremely intolerant and xenophobic with regards to their own species - any beholder not looking exactly like another is held as impure and fit for slaying.

 

[Tinner]

Wow. I am of course pleased. But I am equally surprised!
My PC crashed on me about an hour before the ingredients were posted, so I didn't even see the list until 10 am the next morning.
Then I had to cobble my adventure together on my lunch hour, and post it before I left for the day! So if bits felt tacked on at the last minute, it's because they were.
Hopefully my PC will be up and running before the finals next week.

Evilhalfling, thanks for a great match! Personally, I feel that we got the toughest set of ingredients this round.
I suspect you must have a much friendlier group of players you game with. The louts I run for would have taken one look at that setup and immediately begun planning how best to kill the new "sultan" and make off with his magic djinni ring!

 

[carpedavid]

Personally, I feel that we got the toughest set of ingredients this round.

Oh, just wait 'till the finals.

 

[Warden]

Deal With A Devil
A D&D Adventure for 3-5 Characters from Levels 12-14

Have you ever heard of a devil’s handshake? Likely not, because those who have shaken hands with a devil are no longer able to talk about it, seeing as no one can understand the wigglings of a larvae. You see, a larva is the soul of a tortured victim who willingly sells himself to a devil and is a prized trophy indeed for those outsiders. Nevertheless, if you could hear them and understand them as they writhed about in the pits of the Nine Hells, they would tell you about that firm grip which sealed their fate.

A devil’s handshake is the term for when you make a deal with a devil, simply put. Whenever someone wants something so bad, something that’s beyond their reach and scope, they may call upon a powerful devil to supply their demand, and I’m afraid that devils are their own stereotypical selves. They love to make a deal, tack out the words line-by-line, and then screw over the intended victim by twisting those words against him or working in a loophole. That’s the mind of a devil for you: they love to stab you in the back with your own dagger.

This is a cautionary tale I’m here to tell you, one that involves two devils in particular: a pit fiend named Tarris’zel and a gelugon called Hxijk (don’t try to pronounce either name, it will only summon them to your bedside and it won’t get pretty from there). Hxijk, as any aspiring devil should be, wants to evolve to a higher form of twisted evil, and has worked his way into the court of Tarris’zel, who has a penchant for accepting bets amongst his fellow devils and various underlings of the Lords of the Nine, thereby gaining his current level of power. Hxijk came to Tarris’zel with an offer: if he could gather the soul of a human female virgin, he would earn the command of the pit fiend’s lemure army. The offer would not come from the virgin herself but from someone who loved her deeply. The lover must want to give up the virgin’s soul, if not beg for it, or else Hxijk will suffer a horrible fate: he will be transformed into one of the very lemures he seeks to command. Understanding the consequences and working out the details of the wager, the pit fiend and the gelugon shook hands and set about with the story I am telling you now.

Through his sources in the layers of the Nine Hells, Hxijk learned of a necromancer calling out to the underworld for a favour. He had been approached by a young man, Darren, from a human village called Hatt, despondent over the loss of his true love, a woman named Bethany. Bethany was set to marry another man, but Darren could not allow that to happen. Unable to actually woo Bethany since childhood, Darren resorted to desperate measures and approached the necromancer for assistance, who, in turn, looked to the abilities of the devils to aid in the pursuit. Hxijk answered the call.

Here’s the deal as set out between Darren and Hxijk: the gelugon would kidnap Bethany on her wedding day and bring her to the necromancer’s tower, where he would “convince” her of her true affections for Darren. In exchange, Hxijk has claim to Darren’s soul when he dies, after living a long, fulfilling life with his new love. Darren agreed and signed the bottom line.

But what about Bethany’s soul, you say, for you know that she is the young virgin Hxijk truly wants, don’t you? All in good time, my friends, for the gelugon is a crafty devil indeed. Hxijk knows there is one weakness against a devil’s power of persuasion and that is love – it is almost impossible to convince a human to love another human through force, but so long as Darren doesn’t have a clue, so much the better. However, it is very possible to gain a soul because of love, such as when someone’s lover may die unless they are willing to give up their soul. Hxijk’s true goal is to place Darren in a situation in which he will sell Bethany’s soul for her love…and that is where the band of heroes enters.

Aaethil, a guardian naga
who was present for the adventure
you are about to read.​

Deal With A Devil is an adventure designed for a party of good-aligned characters, who may be somewhat blinded to the schemes and intellect of evil and sensitive to the plight of a damsel in distress. From all outward appearances, this adventure may appear to be circumstantial, pitting them against the plots of a powerful devil by being in the right place at the right time. There are backstage conceptions conspiring with and against the PCs, however, that would alter the perception of this adventure should the heroes learn of its reality. Nothing will happen during the course of this adventure that has not been schemed in advance by a devil.

The adventure begins with the PCs arriving in the town of Hatt as they travel the open road and witness the early stages of a wedding ceremony between Herman and Bethany. It is an open and joyous ceremony, which the PCs find themselves invited to attend and observe the miracles of love – a cleric, druid, or paladin in the party may even be invited to offer blessings of his faith on the upcoming marriage. Before the ceremony can begin, trouble brews as the groom is approached by a polymorphed guardian naga: his bride has been kidnapped by a devil and taken to a necromancer’s tower to the south. From there, the PCs may choose to journey to the tower and free the bride-to-be from the clutches of evil, learning of the plot to steal an innocent man’s soul in the name of pleasure and greed.

Throughout this adventure, certain sidebars marked “Devil’s Ploy” will detail behind-the-scenes accounts for the moments experienced by the PCs, allowing the DM to understand the nature of the gelugon’s plot and improvise should the PCs stray from the expected actions and reactions considered in the creation of this adventure.

Scene 1: A Beautiful Day for a Wedding…
The PCs arrive in Hatt under the full glow of a bright sun, without a cloud in the sky. They find everyone in the town has gathered around the local church of Pelor, including any of the merchants and innkeepers the PCs may wish to deal with – every shop within the town is closed for the day with a sign on their door proclaiming “Closed for the wedding.” When the PCs pass the church, they are actually greeted by the town’s cleric and invited inside (so long as they appear to be good-aligned characters that would be welcome within any common town).

Inside the church, everyone is gathered and smiling with tears in their eyes. The marriage of Herman and Bethany, as PCs will learn, is a true sweetheart romance for a “very nice young couple who deserve each other.” Herman is eagerly found next to the alter waiting the ceremony to begin. After a short while, anticipation turns to anxiety, as there is no trace of the bride to be found.

This is when the adventure begins: an elven woman wearing a golden circlet across her forehead storms into the church carrying a wrapped package under her arm. She approaches Herman and the cleric of Pelor, whispering to them, and telling them grave news. Excusing themselves, the groom and the cleric rush into a side chamber with the elf and the church erupts in a hushed murmur of gossip and dread.

If the PCs do not step in to investigate for themselves, they are soon approached by the cleric, whose face is pale and worried, pleading with them to speak with the elf. Should they refuse or appear cautious about becoming involved, the cleric will whisper to them: “Bethany has been kidnapped by a devil.” For good-aligned PCs, this should be enough to get their attention and involvement in the adventure, but the cleric will desperately offer any meagre resources of the church and the town should they require any more coaxing.

The elf, who calls herself Aaethil, greets the PCs as they arrive and shows them the unwrapped package already presented to Herman and the cleric: a torn wedding dress. Aaethil tells the PCs that a necromancer stumbled into her home and told her, before slipping into a coma from the horrible beating he had suffered, that his tower had been claimed by a gelugon he had summoned just days before. According to the necromancer, a man named Darren – who is recognized by Herman and the cleric – came to him seeking the ability to win Bethany’s heart, to which the necromancer summoned the devil. The gelugon has taken Bethany to the necromancer’s tower and holds her prisoner as he works to force her to love Darren instead of Herman. Herman and the cleric plead with the PCs to rescue her before it is too late. In fact, Herman will demand to go with them, even though he is only a 3rd-level commoner (but can be talked out of it with an appropriate Charisma-based skill check against a DC of 15 or if subdued by the PCs). Aaethil will show them the way.

Everyone in Hatt will offer anything they can to aid the PCs in their quest: their supplies of food and basic equipment, including any simple and martial weapons, will be provided at no charge. The cleric of Pelor will even offer them up to three potion of cure light wounds should they require it.

Sidebar: The Secret of Aaethil
Aaethil is not an elf, or anything close to a humanoid, for that matter. Her golden headband is actually a circlet of polymorphing, which has transformed her into a beautiful elven woman. She is actually a guardian naga, a lawful good creature that is sensitive to the plight of Bethany and willing to help out the PCs in any way possible. She is even willing to enter the necromancer’s tower with the PCs to help them in their quest, using her poison and spell-like abilities to fend off any defences the gelugon may have set inside the tower.

Sidebar: Devil’s Ploy
Aaethil is a pawn in Hxijk’s game. The necromancer has known of the naga’s lair for years, which made the good-aligned creature the perfect candidate to learn of the bride’s dilemma. Hxijk inflicted a severe beating on the necromancer and allowed him to escape with his life and the torn wedding dress of the bride in the process. Feeling betrayed and vengeful, the necromancer turned to the only creature that may have had the power or influence to remove the gelugon from his tower, dragging himself to the naga’s lair. This was planned all along, for Hxijk knew that guardian nagas have detect thought as a spell-like ability and needed to necromancer to be thoroughly convincing of his plea. Meanwhile, Aaethil is not powerful enough to take on a gelugon and his forces alone, so she journeyed to the town of Hatt to warn Herman and seek out aid from its people.

Scene 2: The Necromancer’s Tower
Within a mile of the tower, the PCs shall not arrive unnoticed: a summoned osyluth spies upon the PCs as they approach, using its invisibility to remain hidden and teleport to announce their arrival to Hxijk.

The tower itself rises 500 feet to the sky and is surrounded by an ice storm spell, which the PCs must penetrate safely before making their way through the tower. As this spell is a natural ability of the gelugon, it is performed continuously and never lets up, so there is no way for the PCs to simply wait for the duration of the spell to expire.

While it may be impossible for the PCs to observe from the ground, Bethany is perched on the top spire of the necromancer’s tower, holding on for dear life in nothing but her undergarments. From details provided by Darren, Hxijk has learned she has a dreadful fear of heights and placed her on a ledge of the tower’s peak, where she now screams for her life over five hundred feet above the ground. Standing next to her is Hxijk, who has placed the following offer before her while Darren waits inside. If she wishes to be free, she can simply choose to marry Darren instead of Herman, and the gelugon will bring her inside to begin her new life without delay. On the other hand, she can choose to remain with her true love, Herman, and climb down the side of the tower to the portable hole placed on a balcony over 300 feet down, where the ring she is destined to give her future husband waits inside, safely protected from the raging ice storm around them. Without the ring, Hxijk reminds her, she cannot be married to Herman as per the customs of her people. The climb down is horribly treacherous with the ice storm that surrounds the tower, and Bethany’s fear has prevented her from climbing down when the PCs arrive…but she has not chosen Darren either.

Once the PCs have entered the tower, they are met with various clumps of lemures throughout, placed to provide a distraction for the PCs while Hxijk launches into the most nefarious portion of his scheme. While the gelugon remains on the tower with Bethany, the osyluth is charged with holding the PCs at bay for as long as possible, summoning lemures and another osyluth to the scene as needed.

Sidebar: Devil’s Ploy
As soon as the PCs arrive to the tower, they become the focal point of Hxijk’s plan. He does not want them stopped, but detained for a short period of time – they are crucial to Darren surrendering Bethany’s soul. As soon as the PCs enter and make their way through the tower, proceed to Scene Three.

Hxijk has also created the ice storm to surround the tower, particularly the peak where Bethany hangs from. There is no point in pelting her with ice pellets and killing her before her use is complete.

Scene 3: Darren’s Choice
Heroes have now entered the tower and threaten to “topple” the gelugon’s plans. When they reach the necromancer’s laboratory, they are met with Darren, a meek and simple young man who stands before them to block the stairs leading to the upper levels. He is visibly upset at the PCs for attempting to foil his wishes to have Bethany as his own and shouts to leave them alone. He is unwilling to listen to reason and warns the PCs that should they make any efforts to free her, he will “make them pay.” Anyone with a successful Spot check (DC 20) will notice a silver amulet partially tucked under Darren’s shirt.

No sooner do the PCs take a single step forward, Darren activates the amulet of vengeance around his neck, a powerful magic item given to him by Hxijk. Transforming him into a cornugon, Darren leaps forward and uses his Improved Sunder feat to quickly disarm the PCs before launching into a full assault. He is not a full cornugon, however: Darren does not have access or knowledge of its spell-like abilities, fear aura, or summoning powers. Also, the silver amulet is visible on Darren’s polymorphed chest, but is embedded into his flesh. If the amulet is removed from Darren’s possession, he will revert back to his original human form and become helpless to stop the PCs any further. Removing the amulet can be done by cutting it out of Darren’s chest (-4 called shot penalty to attack rolls, with 25 points of damage required to carve it out) or pulled out (after a successful grapple check and three successive opposed Strength check against Darren’s improved ability score). Any damage inflicted on Darren’s polymorphed form will remain after he reverts to human form, and could kill him should he suffer more damage as a cornugon than his regular hit point total as a human. If he is still alive and conscious when the amulet is removed, he will resort to kicking and screaming at the PCs, doing anything he can to stop them from freeing Bethany before she can make her choice.

Sidebar: An Easier Challenge
Since the amulet can be removed from Darren’s body, thereby removing his cornugon form completely from the battle, and since he is unable to use the full power of a cornugon, the Challenge Rating of Darren while in cornugon form is decreased to 10.

Sidebar: Devil’s Ploy
Darren does not have the amulet of vengeance when the PCs arrive at the necromancer’s tower. While the heroes battle against lemures and osyluths to reach the laboratory, Hxijk teleports to Darren’s side and tells them of the PCs’ invasion, warning they threaten to penetrate their way through and spoil his plans for true love with Bethany. Darren begs to gelugon to intervene, and so Hxijk makes him an offer. He reveals the amulet to Darren and tells him that he can stop the PCs himself with it, but the use of the amulet will cost him…Bethany’s soul.

Darren is extremely reluctant at first, but also desperate. He agrees to this new arrangement and is assured that he will be allowed to live a full, loving life with Bethany at his side, until they die and have their souls delivered to Baator to become larvae trophies for the gelugon to flaunt. This is how Darren gains the amulet of vengeance.

NOTE: Once again, Darren has not been provided with all of the right information. According to the power of devils and the transference of souls, one mortal cannot surrender the soul of another unless they are of their blood. Since Darren is not yet married to Bethany, this bond is not possible until Bethany is made to agree to such a union. If this happens, Hxijk will own the rights to her soul.

Scene 4: Right of Choice
The adventure concludes on the tower’s highest peak: Bethany still hangs precariously, holding on for dear life as the ice storm rages around her and threatens to chill her fingers so they can grip the ledge no more. Hxijk stands above her, taunting her into her choice, ever more determined to have her choose to come inside and spend the rest of her life with Darren.

The PCs cannot enter the tower’s peak automatically through a door. The closest they can get is a window in the tower close to thirty feet beneath Bethany. They cannot hear Hxijk on the rooftop as he communicates telepathically with Bethany and stands perfectly still on the tower without projecting any footsteps or other sounds that would stand out against the surrounding ice storm. Unless they can fly, the PCs will have to climb up the side of the tower to reach Bethany and the gelugon. As the ice storm does not affect the tower itself, there are no additional penalties for Climb checks.

When the PCs intervene and attempt to free Bethany, Hxijk launches into an attack with a wall of ice erected around the circumference of the tower in which the PCs climb up. A wall of ice, however, cannot maintain a vertical hold on the tower and will immediately fall onto the PCs unless they make a Reflex save (DC 25) to avoid the falling ice or take 3d6 points of damage from the wall plus any additional falling damage when they strike the balcony almost 300 feet down. Even after the save throw, the PCs must make an additional Climb check to hold on.

Directly beneath Bethany and the PCs is the balcony where the portable hole lies flat on the stone. Inside the hole is Bethany’s ring, which she must obtain to win her freedom from Hxijk’s imprisonment. That is the secret to winning this battle without killing the gelugon outright: if the PCs can get Bethany down to the portable hole, she will grab the ring and Hxijk will be forced to let her go.

An option for Hxijk is to grab Bethany while flying and hold her upside down in the air, sending her into an absolute panic. From here, Bethany’s choices will truly become important. Roll percentile dice each round: there is a 20% chance plus an additional 1% chance per passing round that Bethany will agree to marry Darren and spare her life. If Darren is still alive, Hxijk wins the wager and teleports Bethany to safety before escaping back to the Nine Hells. If Darren is dead and the PCs announce this, Hxijk will fly into a rage and drop Bethany to her death. If the PCs have access to any spells which may persuade Bethany to remain focused or remove her fear temporarily, the percentile roll will no longer be required until the spell should wear off, at which point she starts back at 20%.

Fighting Hxijk directly will be tricky. He will use his fly ability to stay out of melee reach, but can attack within 10 feet himself since he is a Large creature, inflicting damage with his tail or spear to slow the PCs down. He cannot summon any other baatezu to his side since he has already used his summoning abilities for the day. If he should begin to lose the battle, Hxijk will use his ice storm and unleash it upon the tower itself, pelting the PCs (and Bethany) with the standard damage of the spell. If defeat is imminent, he will kill Bethany himself rather than allow her to win back the ring. If Darren is still alive and able to witness this action, he will cry out and leap down onto the gelugon (if possible) in an insane defence for his true love – this action will certainly result in his own death either by falling or from the gelugon’s spear.

After the gelugon is killed, disabled, or teleports away (since no mortal is worth his own death), Bethany will still want to get the ring from the hole – she cannot marry Herman without it. If Darren is still alive when Bethany is free, he will retreat into the tower and try to make his escape. Failing that, he will attempt to kill himself with a dagger. Should the PCs keep Darren alive and force him to confront Bethany, he will cower and be unable to look her in the face. She, in turn, will slap him and swear that she never wants to see him again. In times gone by, they were childhood friends, but she will now curse his name when she learns that Darren was responsible for this disaster.

Sidebar: Fighting With Aaethil
Should the guardian naga have joined in the fray, she will be quite limited in her abilities against the gelugon: she will have to make Climb checks as the PCs would and her poison will be useless against the devil. If the PCs plan to distract Hxijk in the battle, Aaethil can be used to reach Bethany and find a way to slide her down to the portable hole on the balcony below. She will use her healing spells and others such as mage armour to aid the PCs, as well as use lightning bolt and divine favour against the gelugon.

Ironically, her greatest asset to the battle will be her detect thought spell-like ability. With it, she will be able to learn from Bethany that she can be free if she can get hold of the ring inside the portable hole. Aaethil can then alert the rest of the party and allow them to take action from there.

In Conclusion…
If Bethany was successfully rescued from the tower, she can be returned to Hatt to be reunited with her family and Herman, eager to begin the wedding. Herman, in the purest form of appreciation he can imagine, asks the PCs to stand next to them as they are married and greets them as guests of honour in their home for the rest of their lives. The wedding goes off without a hitch and all is good.

If Bethany dies, the PCs can choose to return her body to Hatt and possibly fetch the ring from the portable hole to give to Herman. Their efforts will not be ignored, but the town of Hatt will become somber and the PCs are best to move on.

Hxijk will suffer enough without any further need of the PCs if he fails without dying. Tarris’zel promptly has him turned into a lemure and tossed in with the millions of others comprising his army, where the former gelugon will barely have the capacity to plot his revenge…for now.

Darren, on the other hand, has already sealed his fate. He has sold his soul to a devil and will become a suffering larva upon his death, regardless if it comes from old age or the weapons of the PCs during the adventure. He will squirm in the dankest, deepest level of Nine Hells for an eternity, forever tortured by the loss of his true love and the horrible choice he made to win her heart.

List of Ingredients:
Guardian naga – Aaethil, who is unknowingly lured by Hxijk into leading the PCs into the adventure.
Improved Sunder – A feat used by Darren when he is polymorphed into cornugon by the amulet of vengeance. As a side note, the cornugon was chosen because it is a baatezu with Improved Sunder as a pre-selected feat.
Ice storm – The spell-like ability of the gelugon, Hxijk, which is used to surround the tower and protect it against intruders, as well as increase the fear of Bethany as she hangs from the edge.
Acrophobia – The fear of heights suffered by Bethany, who is hung from the edge of a 500-foot tall tower to choose between marrying Darren and Herman.
Torn dress – The package given to Aaethil and delivered to the town of Hatt, used as a ploy by Hxijk to lure the PCs to rescue Bethany.
Portable hole – Used to store Bethany’s wedding ring, which she needs to reach by climbing down the side of the tower if she wishes to marry Herman.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Prophecies of Zakht
An adventure for 6th-8th level PCs.

Background
More than one thousand years have passed since Zakht, the Plague of Riventon, was finally put to rest. The remote town of Riventon lies at the base of a rocky crag that was once home to Zakht, a great red wyrm of inestimable power, greed, and evil. Zakht’s tyranny over the town was complete, and he raised up a cult of priests and warriors dedicated to enforcing his rule over the countryside and to the appeasement of his most capricious whim.

In time, of course, Zakht’s tyranny came to an end (as all such tyrannies do) at the hands of a band of noble adventurers. Zakht was defeated, his temples were torn down, and his followers were killed or scattered.

Though finally freed from Zakht’s rule, Riventon was never again as prosperous as it once was. The outskirts of the town still boast many ruins to draw the occasional adventuring company, but the hustle and bustle of evil cultists, slavers, mercenaries, and other unsavory folks that had once supported the town are long gone. Life is quieter now, and the town is little more than a village left to eke out a simple existence.

The PCs may be passing by, or they may have come to Riventon seeking adventure in the ruin temples of Zakht, which are rumored to still hold treasures and tribute never collected into his personal hoard.

A Mission of Secrecy and Urgency
When the PCs pass through or stop in Riventon, they will see billets posted, calling for adventurers willing to undertake “A Mission of Secrecy and Urgency! Rich rewards guaranteed!”

Even if the PCs do not follow up immediately on the posting, word of their arrival will spread and they will soon be contacted by the local priestess, Breda. Breda comes, billet in hand, to beg for their help.

Breda is young, lithe, beautiful. She wears a silver breastblate engraved with her holy symbol; her midriff is bare and her navel bejeweled; and her long legs are adorned by tall boots and wrapped in a silver dress that shimmers like starlight.

She is not only beautiful, she is desperate, and beseeches the good nature of the PCs to help her. If they ask after the reward, she will first suggest (of course) the rich reward of a good deed done, but will eventually relent and offer generous compensation in addition to whatever treasures they may find in the course of their mission.

If the PCs take the hook, Breda will lay out the task before them. She may also pay a few local urchins to spread rumors on her behalf. The PCs may find out a few of the following rumors as they are subtly approached by urchins, or through their own efforts by successful Gather Information checks of increasing difficulty:

Breda’s reputation in town is impeccable. She is helpful and kind. She is able (if not particularly willing) to cast spells as powerful as Raise Dead.
A great treasure still lies unclaimed at the top of the crag
The treasure is guarded by a powerful evil aberration
The aberration is the offspring of Zakht himself, half-human, half-dragon

Breda is fairly typical example of the standard ‘hook:’ a goodly priest in need of help.

Once Breda feels that she can trust the PCs, she will explain the nature of her needs.

The Skull of Zakht
In her studies of the local history, Breda has discovered that, in fact, Zakht was not entirely destroyed. High atop the mountain, his skull still survives, in a semi-lich-like state. If the Skull is appeased with a sacrifice of blood, it will stir to life to prophesize for the user. The depth of Zakht’s knowledge is impressive, not only on matters of ancient history, or of the magical arts, but, perhaps most disturbingly, on matters of warfare, strife, murder, and criminal enterprises.

That the Skull is secreted atop the crag is little consolation to Breda. The fact that it is inaccessible to ordinary folks simply means that, when the Skull is discovered, it is simply more likely to be discovered by some powerful forces eager and able to use it for greater evil.

As if this were not bad enough, it is possible the Skull knows the necessary rituals to bring Zakht back to life. Breda does not believe that the Skull can offer this information freely, but the Skull must answer true, so it may simply be a matter of time before someone asks the right (or, in this case, wrong) question.

Breda cannot accomplish the mission without the PCs help—she suffers from acrophobia. Each time she has tried to ascend the mountain, she has been gripped with a sudden fear just as she reached the summit and approached the cave, and has had to turn back.

But she is willing to give the PCs what help she can if they will agree to ascend to the top of the crag and destroy the Skull once and for all. She may even volunteer to accompany them as far as she is able.

If the PCs ask after the guardian, Breda will tell them what she has been able to ascertain so far through her own divinations. She does not believe that the guardian is, in fact, an offspring of Zakht, but rather a powerful dark naga or spirit naga.

All That Glitters
Breda is, in fact, one of the few remaining priestesses of Zakht. Parts of her story are true, and parts are designed to take advantage of adventurers’ gullibility. True enough, she has a stellar reputation in the town; she can and does help the townsfolk with such healing as she can provide. She is evil, but she is crafty, and she has laid very cunning plans that would be spoiled by any obvious, foolish, or unnecessary eviltry.

It is also true that the Skull of Zakht waits at the top of the mountain; it does in fact prophesize; and it may in fact tell Breda how to bring Zakht back to life. The Skull is guarded by a naga, true enough, but it is a guardian naga, not a dark or spirit naga. Breda hopes that, even if the PCs are clever enough to attempt a divination, her lack of specificity on this point will confound their efforts.

Breda’s domains are Strength and Trickery; her Bluff skill is maxxed out and she begins each day by casting Undetectable Alignment.

The Ascent
Assuming that the entire party can’t simply fly to the top of the mountain (and at the recommended levels, they shouldn’t…) the ascent is an adventure within itself. Breda will help to outfit the PCs for their climb, covering the PCs for their expenses in climbing gear. The mountain is a craggy, cracked, and splintery thing, prone to crumbling slopes and falling rocks at its feet, and covered in ice and blinding snow near the peak. The PCs will have to contend with an ice storm during their ascent, which will increase Climb and Balance check DCs by +5 (at least).

If Breda is not actually accompanying the PCs at this point, she will trail them, using invisibility and/or her Hide skill. If she is accompanying them, she will stop short of the summit, sending the PCs along with whatever spells may help them succeed.

The Guardian
Most of Zakht’s lair collapsed in the ensuing fight, but there is still a short complex of multiple caves. The heroes who destroyed Zakht were unable to completely destroy him, so they left the guardian here while they searched for a way to finish the job. For whatever reason, they never returned, but the guardian naga remains true to her duty.

The guardian naga will leave the Skull in the deeper caves and move to investigate anyone who enters the cave. She will almost always begin by casting deeper darkness to confuse and frighten her opponents. If she is pushed to use deadly force, she has phantasmal killer, and it is perhaps a feature of the high altitude her that the deadly spell seems to manifest as acute (and deadly) acrophobia when it takes effect.

The Cunning Plan
Breda’s plan is to use the PCs to distract the naga so that she can escape with the Skull. Her shimmering silver dress is, in fact, a portable hole, unrolled to its full six-foot diameter and then fashionably wrapped around her legs. While the PCs parlay (or fight) with the guardian, she will proceed to the back of the cave complex, cast enlarge on herself, unroll her portable hole, and shove the Skull inside. Then, she hopes, she can simply wrap the ‘dress’ back around her legs and escape with no one the wiser.

Breda has a battery of spells ready to enact this plan. She will use confusion, if necessary, to entice the guardian naga to attack the PCs (or vice versa), as well as non-detection on herself or the skull prior to trying to escape.

If the PCs or the naga recover enough to try to stop Breda, she will defend herself craftily, using Combat Reflexes and Improved Sunder to try to deflect any attack that may come at her. This might give the PCs a clue as to where the Skull is “hiding,” as, in fact, Breda lives in terror that her “dress” will be torn and the Skull will be lost forever. The PCs may deliberately try to attack her dress using the Attack an Object combat action, but this will provoke an attack of opportunity, which Breda will use to try to sunder any sharp weapon that comes at her. Of course, another PC with Improved Sunder can attack Breda or her dress without provoking this attack of opportunity. As Breda is likely to be enlarged, and probably with divine favor and/or bull’s strength going at the same time, she’s a tough nut to crack with sunder and she will plow through the PCs weapons as fast as she can. She’ll save her domain power to boost her Strength when she attempts to sunder the most impressive blade the PCs own.

It may take the PCs a while to figure it out, but tearing Breda’s dress is the most simple and effective way to destroy the Skull for good.

Denouement
Wrapping up the adventure may depend on how well the GM played Breda's deception. There is a good chance she will survive and escape with the Skull, in which case the door is open for many more adventures along this 'path.'

Otherwise, the GM may need to drop the necessary clues ("She seems very concerned about deflecting your blows away from her dress...") in order to help the PCs succeed. In this case the wrap-up is a fairly simple affair, except perhaps to find out if there were other cultists working with Breda who may now have an interest in the PCs.


Guardian Naga—guards the Skull of Zakht
Portable Hole—Breda’s dress; a subtle subterfuge for escaping with the Skull
Improved Sunder—the key to tearing the dress and destroying the portable hole (and the Skull with it)
Torn Dress—the weak link in Breda’s cunning plan
Ice Storm—an obstacle on the path to the craggy peak
Acrophobia—Breda's excuse for not going up the mountain herself, and the deadly effect of the guardian naga’s phantasmal killer