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Fall '03 Iron DM Tournament -- Wulf Ratbane is Iron DM!
- Thread starter Pielorinho
- Start date
Dave Turner
First Post
I fear that my entry has got the best of me. 
While the ideas for all the ingredients have all fallen into place, I'm unable to properly tie them together into a good cohesive whole. I've got lots of interesting pieces, but they're a bit jumbled together. I wish I could have offered a better challenge to nemmerle, but I don't think this will quite stack up. I'm out of time and haven't been able to blend the ideas together as I would have liked. Still, it would be unfair not to at least post the parts I do have and accept what criticism I can.
Iron DM is truly difficult and my hat is off to all those who made it past the first round. Without further ado, my work-in-progress:
The Ingredients:
<b>
Funeral
Insane Unicorn
Shadow Mastiff
Broken Teeth
Slow transformation
Betrayal
</b>
<i>A Brief Note of Introduction</i>
As a DM, I tend towards a strong improvisational style that emphasizes flexibility in the face of player choice and in the actual events of the adventure itself. As a result, I prefer to detail the important NPCs and their motivations, devise a general course of events which would occur if the PCs never became involved, and plan a few interesting encounters. I don't usually pre-establish when a given NPC will be met or even when a particular set-piece encounter will occur. In the interests of adapting my usual style to something that other DMs might use and enjoy, I've added a bit more structure while still showing some of my particular style. I hope you enjoy my ideas.
<b>Changing of the Guard</b>
A short adventure for 7th-9th level characters
<b>Overview</b>
In this adventure, the PCs are drawn into a desperate situation within the Whispering Deep, a primeval forest that gets its name from the near-constant rustling of the wind through the trees. The Heart of the Forest has been corrupted and is gradually spreading the taint to every living thing within its borders. Every creature and plant in the Whispering Deep is connected to the Heart and this unbreakable bond is the conduit for the taint (<b>slow transformation</b>). A powerful shade named Bereth has taken control of the Heart of the Forest and woven strands of shadow energy from the Plane of Shadow into the Heart. This has led to the gradual transformation of many of the creatures and plants of the Whispering Deep into shadowy, sinister versions of their natural selves. A small group of uncorrupted fey are desperately searching for a means to save themselves and their forest before it is completely transformed. The situation is made more difficult by the seeming loss of Whispering Deep's Protector, the unicorn named Nyrith.
Nyrith has protected the Whispering Deep against dozens of threats large and small over the past few centuries. The unicorn has never failed even in the face of overwhelming odds. But the few remaining pure fey have come to realize that their Protector will not save them this time. It will fall to the PCs to rescue the Whispering Deep and to repair the damage to the Heart of the Forest.
<b>Major NPCs</b>
<i>Nyrith</i>
Nyrith is the Protector of Whispering Deep. He is an extremely ancient unicorn who has lived much longer than virtually any others of his kind. The Heart of the Forest has always chosen a unicorn as Its Protector and Nyrith has served in that post longer than any other. Nyrith derives much of his power and longevity from his connection to the Heart. He commands near-total obedience from all creatures in the Deep and is a lone and tireless guardian who has devoted his life to the safety of the Deep and all its inhabitants.
Sadly, it is the long centuries of service that have inadvertently led to Nyrith's madness (<b>insane unicorn</b>). The Heart of the Forest only chooses unicorns as Protectors and as the years have gone by, a new unicorn has never come to the Deep to replace Nyrith. Slowly but surely, Nyrith has been driven mad by his isolation and extended service as Protector. The Heart has extended Nyrith's life far beyond the natural lifespan of a unicorn and Nyrith has spiralled into dangerous senility as a result.
Nyrith is blinded by his role as Protector and is nearly delerious with grief over the changes sweeping the Deep. His body is far past its prime and Nyrith is now a very poor and weak fighter. He no longer has the strength or speed to defeat the shadowy threats to the forest. He continues to delude himself into thinking that he is actually fighting brave and glorious battles against his foes, but these are hallucinations. In actuality, he is in hiding, as the tiny slice of rationality left to him urges him to simply stay alive. In his few lucid moments, he recognizes that he is betraying his identity and his duty, but is unable to rouse himself to seek help. He is the Protector and must fight on behalf of the creatures of Whispering Deep, facing the danger alone so that they might live. Nyrith is the key to restoring the Heart of the Forest and knows what must be done to save the Deep but cannot bring himself to do it. There is no other unicorn in the Deep to take up Nyrith's mantle and so he must endure, must protect, at all costs.
<i>Stratus</i>
Stratus is a satyr and the reluctant leader of the small band of remaining pure fey in Whispering Deep. Most of the fey have become corrupted by shadow through their link to the Heart of the Forest. Stratus and his fellow pure fey have managed to resist the shadow till now, but they know that it is only a matter of time before they are overwhelmed.
Stratus was well-known even before the arrival of the shade Bereth. A large tribe of ogres tried to move into Whispering Deep a few decades ago and Stratus fought a vigorous one-satyr guerilla war against them, slaughtering most and driving the survivors out of the Deep. While these actions earned him praise, he was equally despised in some circles over the jealous slaying of a dryad who had chanced to fall in love with a human trapper rather than him. Stratus is decisive, resilient, vain, and proud. He will recognize the opportunity that the PCs represent, but will show reluctance and doubt about their capabilities and intentions. The PCs will need to earn his trust, since the remaining pure fey will follow his lead.
<i>Bereth</i>
Bereth is a ranger/shade who has returned to the Whispering Deep to seize the power of the Heart of the Forest. In his youth, Bereth wandered the trails and streams of the Deep, gradually gaining the acceptance of the animals and fey of the forest. Bereth was mortally wounded while defending a sprite from the jaws of a harpy and was found by Nyrith as the unicorn arrived late to the site of the battle. Impressed with the human's sacrifice, Nyrith brought Bereth to the Heart of the Forest where he was saved from death. Some of the fey considered revealing the Heart's existence to Bereth to be a mistake despite his defense of the sprite. Their fears were tragically confirmed years later (<b>Betrayal</b>).
Bereth joined a company of adventurers and left the Deep for a time. In the depths of distant ruins, his company fought to prevent a gate to the Plane of Shadow from being opened. Unfortunately, they did not succeed and Bereth was infused with shadow, becoming a shade and turning to evil. Bereth became obsessed with finding a new site that could be used to open a more powerful conduit to the Plane of Shadow and his black mind immediately thought of the Heart.
Bereth has established a temporary lair in the mossy caves that contain the Heart of the Forest. He has expended much of his shadow essence in fueling the transformation of the Heart and is reluctant to leave the caves for fear of his safety. His animal companion was a wolf named Swift-Foot who has been transformed into a <b>shadow mastiff</b>. Swift-Foot has quickly gone among the wolves of Whispering Deep and facillitated their own transformations into shadow mastiffs. Roving packs of shadow mastiffs are now a primary threat of the Deep.
<i>Argen</i>
Argen is a young female centaur and the sole remaining pure centaur in the Deep. She barely escaped with her life when her entire family succumbed to shadow and tried to kill her. She wandered the forest for days, dodging the shadow fey and creatures that now fill the Deep. Stratus found her huddled inside the hollow trunk of an enormous fallen tree and managed to convince her that he was still pure.
Stratus believes that Argen is crucial to saving the Heart of the Forest and Whispering Deep. He has refused to share with her his thoughts and it makes Argen extremely nervous. Considering Stratus' reputation, she isn't sure whether or not she can trust Stratus. He has promised that he has a plan that can save her family, but she is quite terrified and is considering leaving the Deep altogether.
<b>The Hooks</b>
The PCs can become aware of the situation inside Whispering Deep a number of ways. What's important is that the PCs decide to enter the Deep and investigate the strange happenings within:
- There is a small hamlet on the edge of Whisperind Deep called Pinedown. The PCs are passing through Pinedown to some other destination and find a community gripped by terror. There have been nightly raids by all manner of shadow creatures (including <b>shadow mastiffs</b>) over the past few weeks and many people have died. The Pinedowners are on the verge of fleeing their homes and urge the PCs to venture into the Deep and put a stop to the attacks. They tell the PCs about the Deep Pool and how to find it, since they have visited the Deep Pool in the past to seek Nyrith's help when other threats emerged from the forest.
- The PCs are travelling through Whispering Deep and find a twisted, pain-wracked dryad on the path. She is in the process of being transformed into her shadow form and she pleads with the PCs to kill her. She urges them to find Nyrith so that the Deep can be saved. If asked about Nyrith or where to find him, she tells them to search for the Deep Pool, which is found at the lowest point in the forest. Due to her connection with the Heart of the Forest, this transformation cannot be halted by the PCs. If they do not kill her, she will complete the transformation in 10 minutes and flee to PCs (only to battle them at the end of the adventure).
<b>Key Events</b>
The general flow of the adventure is that the PCs must slay Nyrith so that the only remaining source of untainted Heart-power can be reintroduced to the Heart and reversing the effects of the shadow-taint. Usually, the Heart will only transfer the power of the Protector to a unicorn. Nyrith knows this and has therefore shied away from actually battling any shadow minions, for he believes that his death will doom the Deep. He knows that he isn't strong enough to personally fight his way to the Heart and has subsequently convinced himself that he must stay away from the Heart at all costs.
Stratus has another view, however. He knows that the power of the Protector will transfer to another unicorn if the current Protector is slain in the Heart Chamber. There is a short incantation and observance that must be uttered for the transfer to occur, which all fey instinctively know through their connection to the Heart. If Nyrith can be slain and the proper rituals performed (<b>funeral</b>), then a new Protector will be born. Without another unicorn, however, Stratus has struck upon a desperate plan: he will try to use Argen as the receiver of the Protector's power. Once Argen is the Protector, she can do what Nyrith's madness prevents him from doing, namely channeling the remaining pure Heart-power left back into the Heart and removing the shadow corruption.
The highlights of the adventure should be:
- Coming to grips with Nyrith's betrayal of the Deep and madness. He remains deluded till the very end and the PCs will have to come up with a way to trick him or capture him and bringing him to the Heart Chamber for his death and funeral.
- A test of the PCs mettle by Stratus and the pure fey. It would be a set piece encounter with a nest of nasty shadow monsters.
- An initial betrayal by Nyrith. Nyrith fears that the PCs will become corrupted by shadow and lures them into a fight they might not win by promising to back them up against a corrupted treant. During a critical moment in the fight, Nyrith teleports away in the hope that the PCs are wiped out.
- A battle into the caves containing the Heart of the Forest, which is actually a swirling and shining ball of luminous green and black sap in the center of a vast chamber draped in roots deep in some caves. Bereth and his strongest minions provide stiff resistance.
- Nyrith refusing to do what actually needs to be done right till the bitter end.
- Argen successfully becoming the new Protector and gaining a unicorn's horn on her forehead and a transformation into white from brown. She is able to reverse the damage to the Heart.
Once again, I'm sorry that I didn't put up a better entry. I was simply unable to weave what I had together.
While the ideas for all the ingredients have all fallen into place, I'm unable to properly tie them together into a good cohesive whole. I've got lots of interesting pieces, but they're a bit jumbled together. I wish I could have offered a better challenge to nemmerle, but I don't think this will quite stack up. I'm out of time and haven't been able to blend the ideas together as I would have liked. Still, it would be unfair not to at least post the parts I do have and accept what criticism I can.
Iron DM is truly difficult and my hat is off to all those who made it past the first round. Without further ado, my work-in-progress:
The Ingredients:
<b>
Funeral
Insane Unicorn
Shadow Mastiff
Broken Teeth
Slow transformation
Betrayal
</b>
<i>A Brief Note of Introduction</i>
As a DM, I tend towards a strong improvisational style that emphasizes flexibility in the face of player choice and in the actual events of the adventure itself. As a result, I prefer to detail the important NPCs and their motivations, devise a general course of events which would occur if the PCs never became involved, and plan a few interesting encounters. I don't usually pre-establish when a given NPC will be met or even when a particular set-piece encounter will occur. In the interests of adapting my usual style to something that other DMs might use and enjoy, I've added a bit more structure while still showing some of my particular style. I hope you enjoy my ideas.
<b>Changing of the Guard</b>
A short adventure for 7th-9th level characters
<b>Overview</b>
In this adventure, the PCs are drawn into a desperate situation within the Whispering Deep, a primeval forest that gets its name from the near-constant rustling of the wind through the trees. The Heart of the Forest has been corrupted and is gradually spreading the taint to every living thing within its borders. Every creature and plant in the Whispering Deep is connected to the Heart and this unbreakable bond is the conduit for the taint (<b>slow transformation</b>). A powerful shade named Bereth has taken control of the Heart of the Forest and woven strands of shadow energy from the Plane of Shadow into the Heart. This has led to the gradual transformation of many of the creatures and plants of the Whispering Deep into shadowy, sinister versions of their natural selves. A small group of uncorrupted fey are desperately searching for a means to save themselves and their forest before it is completely transformed. The situation is made more difficult by the seeming loss of Whispering Deep's Protector, the unicorn named Nyrith.
Nyrith has protected the Whispering Deep against dozens of threats large and small over the past few centuries. The unicorn has never failed even in the face of overwhelming odds. But the few remaining pure fey have come to realize that their Protector will not save them this time. It will fall to the PCs to rescue the Whispering Deep and to repair the damage to the Heart of the Forest.
<b>Major NPCs</b>
<i>Nyrith</i>
Nyrith is the Protector of Whispering Deep. He is an extremely ancient unicorn who has lived much longer than virtually any others of his kind. The Heart of the Forest has always chosen a unicorn as Its Protector and Nyrith has served in that post longer than any other. Nyrith derives much of his power and longevity from his connection to the Heart. He commands near-total obedience from all creatures in the Deep and is a lone and tireless guardian who has devoted his life to the safety of the Deep and all its inhabitants.
Sadly, it is the long centuries of service that have inadvertently led to Nyrith's madness (<b>insane unicorn</b>). The Heart of the Forest only chooses unicorns as Protectors and as the years have gone by, a new unicorn has never come to the Deep to replace Nyrith. Slowly but surely, Nyrith has been driven mad by his isolation and extended service as Protector. The Heart has extended Nyrith's life far beyond the natural lifespan of a unicorn and Nyrith has spiralled into dangerous senility as a result.
Nyrith is blinded by his role as Protector and is nearly delerious with grief over the changes sweeping the Deep. His body is far past its prime and Nyrith is now a very poor and weak fighter. He no longer has the strength or speed to defeat the shadowy threats to the forest. He continues to delude himself into thinking that he is actually fighting brave and glorious battles against his foes, but these are hallucinations. In actuality, he is in hiding, as the tiny slice of rationality left to him urges him to simply stay alive. In his few lucid moments, he recognizes that he is betraying his identity and his duty, but is unable to rouse himself to seek help. He is the Protector and must fight on behalf of the creatures of Whispering Deep, facing the danger alone so that they might live. Nyrith is the key to restoring the Heart of the Forest and knows what must be done to save the Deep but cannot bring himself to do it. There is no other unicorn in the Deep to take up Nyrith's mantle and so he must endure, must protect, at all costs.
<i>Stratus</i>
Stratus is a satyr and the reluctant leader of the small band of remaining pure fey in Whispering Deep. Most of the fey have become corrupted by shadow through their link to the Heart of the Forest. Stratus and his fellow pure fey have managed to resist the shadow till now, but they know that it is only a matter of time before they are overwhelmed.
Stratus was well-known even before the arrival of the shade Bereth. A large tribe of ogres tried to move into Whispering Deep a few decades ago and Stratus fought a vigorous one-satyr guerilla war against them, slaughtering most and driving the survivors out of the Deep. While these actions earned him praise, he was equally despised in some circles over the jealous slaying of a dryad who had chanced to fall in love with a human trapper rather than him. Stratus is decisive, resilient, vain, and proud. He will recognize the opportunity that the PCs represent, but will show reluctance and doubt about their capabilities and intentions. The PCs will need to earn his trust, since the remaining pure fey will follow his lead.
<i>Bereth</i>
Bereth is a ranger/shade who has returned to the Whispering Deep to seize the power of the Heart of the Forest. In his youth, Bereth wandered the trails and streams of the Deep, gradually gaining the acceptance of the animals and fey of the forest. Bereth was mortally wounded while defending a sprite from the jaws of a harpy and was found by Nyrith as the unicorn arrived late to the site of the battle. Impressed with the human's sacrifice, Nyrith brought Bereth to the Heart of the Forest where he was saved from death. Some of the fey considered revealing the Heart's existence to Bereth to be a mistake despite his defense of the sprite. Their fears were tragically confirmed years later (<b>Betrayal</b>).
Bereth joined a company of adventurers and left the Deep for a time. In the depths of distant ruins, his company fought to prevent a gate to the Plane of Shadow from being opened. Unfortunately, they did not succeed and Bereth was infused with shadow, becoming a shade and turning to evil. Bereth became obsessed with finding a new site that could be used to open a more powerful conduit to the Plane of Shadow and his black mind immediately thought of the Heart.
Bereth has established a temporary lair in the mossy caves that contain the Heart of the Forest. He has expended much of his shadow essence in fueling the transformation of the Heart and is reluctant to leave the caves for fear of his safety. His animal companion was a wolf named Swift-Foot who has been transformed into a <b>shadow mastiff</b>. Swift-Foot has quickly gone among the wolves of Whispering Deep and facillitated their own transformations into shadow mastiffs. Roving packs of shadow mastiffs are now a primary threat of the Deep.
<i>Argen</i>
Argen is a young female centaur and the sole remaining pure centaur in the Deep. She barely escaped with her life when her entire family succumbed to shadow and tried to kill her. She wandered the forest for days, dodging the shadow fey and creatures that now fill the Deep. Stratus found her huddled inside the hollow trunk of an enormous fallen tree and managed to convince her that he was still pure.
Stratus believes that Argen is crucial to saving the Heart of the Forest and Whispering Deep. He has refused to share with her his thoughts and it makes Argen extremely nervous. Considering Stratus' reputation, she isn't sure whether or not she can trust Stratus. He has promised that he has a plan that can save her family, but she is quite terrified and is considering leaving the Deep altogether.
<b>The Hooks</b>
The PCs can become aware of the situation inside Whispering Deep a number of ways. What's important is that the PCs decide to enter the Deep and investigate the strange happenings within:
- There is a small hamlet on the edge of Whisperind Deep called Pinedown. The PCs are passing through Pinedown to some other destination and find a community gripped by terror. There have been nightly raids by all manner of shadow creatures (including <b>shadow mastiffs</b>) over the past few weeks and many people have died. The Pinedowners are on the verge of fleeing their homes and urge the PCs to venture into the Deep and put a stop to the attacks. They tell the PCs about the Deep Pool and how to find it, since they have visited the Deep Pool in the past to seek Nyrith's help when other threats emerged from the forest.
- The PCs are travelling through Whispering Deep and find a twisted, pain-wracked dryad on the path. She is in the process of being transformed into her shadow form and she pleads with the PCs to kill her. She urges them to find Nyrith so that the Deep can be saved. If asked about Nyrith or where to find him, she tells them to search for the Deep Pool, which is found at the lowest point in the forest. Due to her connection with the Heart of the Forest, this transformation cannot be halted by the PCs. If they do not kill her, she will complete the transformation in 10 minutes and flee to PCs (only to battle them at the end of the adventure).
<b>Key Events</b>
The general flow of the adventure is that the PCs must slay Nyrith so that the only remaining source of untainted Heart-power can be reintroduced to the Heart and reversing the effects of the shadow-taint. Usually, the Heart will only transfer the power of the Protector to a unicorn. Nyrith knows this and has therefore shied away from actually battling any shadow minions, for he believes that his death will doom the Deep. He knows that he isn't strong enough to personally fight his way to the Heart and has subsequently convinced himself that he must stay away from the Heart at all costs.
Stratus has another view, however. He knows that the power of the Protector will transfer to another unicorn if the current Protector is slain in the Heart Chamber. There is a short incantation and observance that must be uttered for the transfer to occur, which all fey instinctively know through their connection to the Heart. If Nyrith can be slain and the proper rituals performed (<b>funeral</b>), then a new Protector will be born. Without another unicorn, however, Stratus has struck upon a desperate plan: he will try to use Argen as the receiver of the Protector's power. Once Argen is the Protector, she can do what Nyrith's madness prevents him from doing, namely channeling the remaining pure Heart-power left back into the Heart and removing the shadow corruption.
The highlights of the adventure should be:
- Coming to grips with Nyrith's betrayal of the Deep and madness. He remains deluded till the very end and the PCs will have to come up with a way to trick him or capture him and bringing him to the Heart Chamber for his death and funeral.
- A test of the PCs mettle by Stratus and the pure fey. It would be a set piece encounter with a nest of nasty shadow monsters.
- An initial betrayal by Nyrith. Nyrith fears that the PCs will become corrupted by shadow and lures them into a fight they might not win by promising to back them up against a corrupted treant. During a critical moment in the fight, Nyrith teleports away in the hope that the PCs are wiped out.
- A battle into the caves containing the Heart of the Forest, which is actually a swirling and shining ball of luminous green and black sap in the center of a vast chamber draped in roots deep in some caves. Bereth and his strongest minions provide stiff resistance.
- Nyrith refusing to do what actually needs to be done right till the bitter end.
- Argen successfully becoming the new Protector and gaining a unicorn's horn on her forehead and a transformation into white from brown. She is able to reverse the damage to the Heart.
Once again, I'm sorry that I didn't put up a better entry. I was simply unable to weave what I had together.
Dave Turner
First Post
I'm trying to post my entry in another window and it's hanging. Is there a word-limit or something that I'm bumping up against?
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
IRON DM – Round One – Nemmerle vs. The Other Guy
Ingredients (and how they were used)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Funeral (The funeral of a great and heroic druid/ranger is the climax impetus for the adventure’s events))
Insane Unicorn (An evil unicorn from an alternate Prime and its counterpart from this world switch places more than once, this giving the impression of being erratic)
Shadow Mastiff (These hounds serve as clues of the bleed between the primes and also are used to show how normal roles twisted in the “Dark Realm”)
Broken Teeth (The site of the funeral goes by this name)
Slow Transformation (One prime may be slowly transformed into another)
Betrayal (The Main villain betrays his former mistress due to his own hubris)
Backstory:
The great woodland guardian and warrior, Elhonna Ber-Raysel died recently (supposedly of natural causes and those that knew her knew she always said she would not prolong her life or fight any disease with magic that she had contracted by natural means). A great heroine of those honor and revere the woodland, her name is well known among those of power in that part of the world, and is known for having a great network of former followers and allies that have aided her on her various adventures and unsung victories over evil forces that would seek to destroy or pervert the world of nature.
Among her greatest (and least known of adventures) involved her stopping the invasion of this world by malevolent nature forces from an alternate Prime where the darker and crueler aspects of nature hold sway. This dark mirror Universe of that the party exists in has counterparts for beasts and people that can be found in this "balanced" universe. (It is important to note, however, that there are not evil goateed counterparts for every person and being in that other world - but rather there are people or beings that hold similar but opposed roles). This dark universe holds up the hunt and role of predator above all others, and even malevolent plant life has developed in great numbers of the kind that developed in rarer cases in this world (hangman trees, etc. . .)
The site of the final battle of this epic quest to save the natural balance of the primes was at a place of standing stones called The Broken Teeth - really the more than half-buried calcified skull of a huge and ancient dragon. As a nexus between the two worlds, it is a place of great but often unpredictable power. It is also where the funeral of Elhonna Ber-Raysel will take place.
Ostensibley, Knarr Ben-Hassa, the druid/ranger's closest follower and ally chose this place as a way to honor his late mistress, but the truth is that the funeral is the final step in a serious Betrayal long in the making.
Knarr, a mighty warrior and ranger in his own right, spent the last ten years in that alternate prime. But a young man who saw little action back when the epic quest happened, he always desired to test his mettle against the beasts, evil huntsmen and wild barbarians of that dark world. Claiming he was leaving his mistress to seek his own fortunes, he really sought away to enter that other world, and succeeding he found that he took to it very well - and soon its cruelty and ever-vigilance infected him - for he had little choice but to live as men did in that world if he hoped to survive. He might not have ever returned, but the process by which he had succeeded in entering the other world, required that he trade places with a counterpart in the dark world - and when that counterpart died he was forced back.
Now Knarr, a dark and twisted version of his former self, could not return to other prime in body, but he could bring aspects of it to this world -and attempt what his mistress had put a stop to decades before - enacting a slow transformation of this world into something more like that, but with one big step to start it off.
Hooks
There are several ways the PCs could become involved in this adventure:
- They could be sent in the place of a favored employer or mentor who cannot make it to the site of funeral which is in a lush valley between some distant mountains.
- They could have met Elhonna Ber-Raysel in the past having worked for her, or she could have aided them and now they want to pay their respects.
- Seeking to travel safely through that area of the continent they could hook up with the great number of pilgrims and adventurers heading there, only being at the funeral by coincidence (regardless, the GM should suggest they travel with the pilgrims, or meet the pilgrims along the way).
- The party could be seeking some other object or item that might now be available for purchase or trade now that Elhonna is dead for some mission of their own.
- Making contacts, many other adventurers, sages, priests and ambassadors of sylvan races will be going to this funeral - what better way to meet new people and gain new information and contacts for future adventures.
- One or more PCs could be on a quest of their own, having received a vision from a nature god or a good god of the hunt they worship and is making a pilgrimage to the "Broken Teeth" for their own reasons.
Knarr Ben-Hassa's Plan
Knarr took to worshipping the dark hunter god from the alternate prime, and thus now has levels of cleric, however, the distance between the realms makes it so that he can only prepare his spells by doing so at the broken teeth and making sacrifices of animals/people/being - the sacrifice of the animal at that place allows for a dark version of that animal/person/being to come into this world - thus making the dark hunter god more powerful in this realm as well. Since his return he has sacrificed a great number of animals, and allowed their replacements to go free - withholding his own desire to hunt them in order to let them spread havoc and prey on other animals and hopefully breed as well - for in that dark world any two animals can breed creating twisted versions of the animals (in fact owlbears are said to be creatures of that world). His greatest sacrifice will be Elhonna Ber-Raysell who is not dead at all, but rather in a deep form of catelepsy brought on by a poison her fed to her. In the mummy wraps she still breathes and when the pyre consumes her the destruction of the great enemy of the dark hunting realms and guardian of this world will trigger an exchange of great magnitude - allowing the summoning of the "Master of the Hunt" - a kind of anti-saint figure of the other realm that appears on certain nights with his hounds and servants to track down and ravage all that get in their ways. Unfortunately, the great exchange will mean that the other powerful adventurers who have come for the funeral will be sent into the dark realm - leaving them (and however many folks the DM wants to leave behind from among these people's entourages) behind to deal with this infernal menace. The idea being that the PCs are not well known enough of adventurers (or were not expect to come, depending on the hook used) for Knarr to have prepared for their transference.
Sacrifices: The animal sacrifices do not involve killing the animal, but actually draining some of its blood and replacing it with essence of black berries that grow in the shadow of the broken teeth, which have been slowly changed into a type of fruit found in the dark realm. These berries were also used to make the wine that Knarr Ben-Hassa uses to toast Elhonna and prepare those who have come to the funeral for their transference to the Dark Realm. When a Dark Realm creature is killed in this Prime, its body fades away and the creature from this realm is returned (though not necessarily in the same place), but not vice-versa since the plane of origin of the sacrifice determines that.
Creatures of the Dark Realm: The animals and other creatures from the alternate Dark Realm (henceforth being referred to as simple The Dark Realm (until I can think of a better name) tend to be larger and more intelligent than their equivalents from the PC’s world. In addition, the DM should apply the shadow template (from Manual of the Planes) to the creatures, however, the Plane Shift ability should not be available to them. They are as likely to hunt each other as they are to hunt creatures of this Prime – and will take great joy in the ease with which they can hunt men and other traditionally sentient creatures – and do not hunt simply to eat – but because killing and mutilating actually brings them joy.
As the party gets closer to the broken teeth, there will be a handful of encounters involving dark denizens of that other realm - which might clue them into what is going on. . .
The Insane Unicorn
As the PCs travel to the Broken Teeth, whether it be with a group of pilgrims or on their own (or perhaps on the road as they seek to meet up pilgrims) the DM should find a way for them to stop through the village of Jessen.
Possible Mini-Hooks for this Encounter include:
-- Needing to resupply for the journey, including gathering fresh water or food.
-- The village of Jessen could be where the party is supposed to wait for pilgrims to be shown the way.
-- One of the less capable pilgrims (perhaps a sage or ambassador) asks the party to leave the pilgrims temporarily to visit the village. They could want to visit a distant relative, visit a shrine or perhaps the village is on the edge of the lands claimed by “the king”
The PCs will find the town in a mixture of uproar and sorrow, for recently three young women have been killed, their hearts impaled, and their skulls crushed by hooves. The people tell the tale of an Insane Unicorn, who appears as the golden mythical creature that had helped protect their town and their young in the past, but who drew the young women deep into the woods and then brutally killed them.
Elhonna Ber-Raysel had among her allies and followers a unicorn called Arrowheart. This was one of the first creatures that Knarr Ben-Hassa sacrificed – and in his place came a golden and evil unicorn – dark and twisted as any creature from that other realm, it takes great delight in using its pleasing shape to draw children and young women to secluded places where it kills them and then feeds on the grasses doused in blood.
Of course, the PCs are likely to believe there is some kind of mistake or that the unicorn (which when finally spotted should be described to be the incarnation of any legendary description of Arrowheart) the PCs might have heard) has been ensorcelled somehow. They could not be more wrong. The unicorn should have maximum hit points and its powers should be against good not evil (of course). Instead of its ability to remove poison, it should be able to use Hypnotism at will. This is in addition to whatever shadow powers the unicorn has for having the shadow template added to it.
The DM should play out the hunt for the unicorn for all it is worth; with the creature using all the guile and trickery it can muster to lead the PCs to their death. However, since it is from another world, it has not yet figured out that other may think of it as a benevolent creature – used to using it powers to summon others for its evil glee in killing – so it cannot use this to its advantage. And yet, it does have one advantage over the PCs, it knows of another creature from its realm, a dire bear that is hunting it (and that would really threaten to destroy the whole village). The unicorn will try to lead the PCs to blunder into the bear, and then immediately teleport (if it can still do that this day) back to the village to use its hypnotism to draw another child out of one of the cottages.
This encounter should provide some clues that all is not well in this area. The PCs may believe (erroneously, but still perhaps fruitfully) that the insane unicorn is none other than the actual Arrowheart – leading them to think that something strange is going on with Elhonna Ber-Raysel’s death. In addition, the bear, like the other animals from the dark realm, is particularly vicious and intelligent – and like the other creatures of it’s world, immune to a ranger’s animal empathy skill and possessing shadowy qualities. Lastly, when these creatures are killed their bodies fade away – somewhere else their counterparts from this world reappear – perhaps still alive – or perhaps dead. A true Rat Bastard DM would have the still living true Arrowheart return – but the PCs may believe that the insane unicorn cannot be really killed or try to kill it again. Also, its change in demeanor will certainly make it appear even more insane than it did when it was simply a homicidal horned equine. [Also see “the Funeral”]
The Slaughtered Herd
As the PCs (again, either on their own or as part of a group of pilgrims) travel through the mountain pass nearing the Broken Teeth, they will hear the baying of hounds in the distance a few times, and any pack animals or horses will become skittish – perhaps one or more might take off over a precipice in fear – taking a bunch of supplies with them (thus perhaps precipitating the journey to Jessen – if the PCs passed up on it – or those with local lore might know that nomadic shepherd people can be found in the area – perhaps they can be sought for help).
If the PCs seek out the baying of the hounds, or the shepherds for help they will come across the mutilated remains of sheep and goats. Among the animals Knarr sacrificed were the dogs of sa local shepherd he lured to the Broken Teeth, summoning in their place a pack of 5 to 12 shadow mastiffs (the DM should choose based on the party’s level and capabilities) who will use pack tactics to try to separate party members and bring them down to be mauled. Again, the presence of these shadow beasts should clue the PCs into the fact that something is not right. Perhaps they may speculate that the death of Elhonna Ber-Raysel has had some here-to-for unknown effect, especially if they know about her quest to keep that world at bay all those years ago. If the DM really wants to confuse them, have the true Arrowheart arrive to help kill the mastiffs and then flee again (only if the PCs have previously dealt with the evil shadow unicorn)
The party may be able to track the wounded shepherd back to a small shack in the hills. The mauled bodies of his wife and children by the well and the front yard, he is near death and traumatized. If questioned, he will explain that the shadow dogs appeared nearly a week after Elhonna Ber-Raysel came by to collect his own dogs for the yearly training and check up she gave local animals for all the local shepherds. She liked to take them away in great packs and live among them in their form and learn about them that way. The shadow dogs appeared and then began decimating the flocks of the local shepherds and then began hunting the men and their families as well. If asked, he says that Elhonna Ber-Raysel did not appear ill, wounded or unlike herself in anyway, but did mention that one of her old followers had returned for a visit after over a decade of being away.
The Broken Teeth
Upon arriving at the Broken Teeth, the PCs will find Knarr Ben-Hassa preparing for the Funeral. The “mummified body of Elhonna Ber-Raysel will be upon a pyre of dark wood, and Knarr will be aided by dark cloaked druidic figures who light tall torches implanted in the ground about the pyre.
The party will find it difficult to approach Knarr and warn him about the shadow creatures as he is very busy and consistently surrounded by his own followers helping him in making arrangements for all the pilgrims to have places to camp, have fresh water etc… If they do get to warn him, he will grow very grave, and insist he will look into it once the funeral is over.
The Teeth themselves protrude from the stone-like jaw and skull of an ancient dragon, and thus come from both above and below, but great gaps in the skull make the top open to the sky, and it is tall enough for men to walk into the “mouth” with no problem (in fact an ogre could walk in with no problem). The skull is mostly buried (mouth open) in the middle of lovely glade of tall grass surrounded by old growth trees in a lush valley between two snow-peaked mountains.
As the more well-known figures arrive at the funeral site, Knarr does take the time to share a drink with them in Elhonna’s honor, as is custom. The drinking of this wine is part of the preparation for the ceremony, and those that drink it will be transferred to the dark realm when the Elhonna is destroyed and the grand transfer occurs. If the party makes too much of a nuisance of themselves, asking lots of questions or trying to see Elhonna’s body – Knarr will reward their vigilance by having a separate toast with them. (In this case, the DM may want to allow a Fortitude save to resist the wine’s effects, or a real Rat Bastard could have the party transferred to the dark realm and have to find their way back, if he feels they have the power and resources to accomplish such a task and is willing to derail his own campaign in such a major way if they are stuck in there a long time).
The Funeral
How the funeral plays out depends on how suspicious the PCs have become of what is going on. The DM is encouraged to flesh out as many of the NPC dignitaries, sages, adventurers and representatives of sylvan races (elves, satyrs, pixies, perhaps a treant).
After giving a suitable speech about the life of Elhonna Ber-Raysel and how she was a worthy warrior, huntress and guardian, Knarr Ben-Hassa will set his torch to the pyre and Elhonna will then burn to death.
However, if the party has killed the evil unicorn and Arrowheart is still alive, he will come bursting into the clearing and charge Knarr, as the latter is about to set the torch to the pyre. This should make the unicorn appear even more bizarre (i.e. insane) in its actions (esp. if it appeared to help with the shadow mastiffs in the Massacred Herd scene). However, it might also clue the PCs in that something is not right. Knarr will attempt to set the fire regardless as his eight assistants defend him from the unicorn. The cloaked assistants are actually druid/barbarians with the shadow template from the dark realm, that fight with scimitars and javelins (the DM should make them appropriate level).
The DM should make this burning process as long or as short as he likes for the sake of building drama. As the fire grows and the smoke rises into the air, dark clouds should gather and the baying of hounds should be heard in the distance. And then as lightning flashes and there is a clap of thunder, many of those in attendance disappear (any PCs that witness this who have seen one of the Dark Realm creatures die, should note that those that disappear seem to fade out the way those creatures did). An instant later, from all directions the baying of hounds grows louder – and those remaining (mostly lower level followers of the adventurers sent away and common folk) start to panic as packs of shadow mastiffs come rushing into the glade, knocking over and mauling everyone they can.
Knarr and his cloaked assistants (see above) will then enter the fight, wantonly slaughtering everyone they can. Of course, in true villainous manner, Knarr will call out, “Flee, flee if you can and prolong the hunt, for a promise every one here will live as a hunter or die as the hunted!”
When (and if) Knarr is finally slain the true evil and danger reveals itself. The Master of the Hunt, a minor avatar of the dark hunter god of the other Prime appears with another peal of thunder. Nearly eight feet tall, and wearing antlers that may be part of his black metal helm that covers his face, or may actual emerge from within – dressed in all black and wielding a silver magical spear (the spear should always return to his hand if thrown, can turn into a long spear (i.e. reach) as a free action and should be a shocking burst weapon). He also has a cudgel at his side. The Master of the Hunt never touches the ground (walking a few inches above it) as to never leave a trail, and he should be an epic level character with unique powers and able to summon beasts from his realm (summoning these creatures does not require the sacrifice of those of this Prime). How often and how powerful the creatures are dependent on the level the DM is going for in running this adventure – However, they do no obey the master of the hunt, however, all would be too frightened but flee from him.
The fight against him should be no contest; that is the PCs should have no chance of winning. Either they must flee (trying to save as many of the remaining folks possible) or they will be disabled, and commanded to “go and spread his word and fill the world with fear”. He will tell them in a deep voice that he will eventually come to hunt each one of them, and then with a blow of his horn, all the shadow hounds and the druid/barbarians will gather up and take off into the woods.
This encounter has now set up a long term goal for the party (destroy or banish the Master of the Hunt) and begin the slow transformation of the this Prime as at each full moon the Master of the Hunt will re-appear to hunt some great hero or leader and summon more of his beasts and followers from the other world, and gather more followers of this world at his side. Other great heroes and villains will also start to create their own warbands to seek out the Master of the Hunt and defeat him, thus coming into conflict with each other. And of course, at each full moon the PCs will begin to have to worry that now is the time that the Master will come after them.
Notes on Levels/NPCs
Obviously, the levels of the various NPCs and foes in this adventure will depend on the level of the party. I never like to limit my entries by level – as any adventure can be tweaked around to deal with level disparities. For example, if this adventure is run for characters of 17+ level the Master of the Hunt may be a defeatable foe at the end – though his druid/barbarians that come through with him should then be made around 12th level each and the shadow mastiffs that come to his aid should be dire hounds of some kind.
Knarr should be a level defeatable by the PCs, but with difficulty – though it is perfectly acceptable to assume that the party may have allies among those not transferred to Dark Realm. He should be at least 12th level, however, having levels of Barbarian, Ranger and Cleric.
Long-Term Effects & Hooks for Future Adventures
-- Even if the Master of the Hunt does not arrive (the burning is stopped, or Knarr is captured, not killed) who knows how many other of these dark intelligent creatures have slipped through with Knarr’s help and need to be hunted down?
-- If the PCs kill the real Arrowheart, they may suffer some Geas/Quest from sylvan beings to pay for their crime.
-- There could be any number of adventures involving stopping the growing cults to the dark hunter god, or playing intermediary between competing warbands, seeking to either go after or do the will of the Master of the Hunt.
-- The PCs could undertake a mission to enter that alternate Prime to rescue some or all of the adventurers and dignitaries and/or animals that were sent over there.
Ingredients (and how they were used)
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Funeral (The funeral of a great and heroic druid/ranger is the climax impetus for the adventure’s events))
Insane Unicorn (An evil unicorn from an alternate Prime and its counterpart from this world switch places more than once, this giving the impression of being erratic)
Shadow Mastiff (These hounds serve as clues of the bleed between the primes and also are used to show how normal roles twisted in the “Dark Realm”)
Broken Teeth (The site of the funeral goes by this name)
Slow Transformation (One prime may be slowly transformed into another)
Betrayal (The Main villain betrays his former mistress due to his own hubris)
Backstory:
The great woodland guardian and warrior, Elhonna Ber-Raysel died recently (supposedly of natural causes and those that knew her knew she always said she would not prolong her life or fight any disease with magic that she had contracted by natural means). A great heroine of those honor and revere the woodland, her name is well known among those of power in that part of the world, and is known for having a great network of former followers and allies that have aided her on her various adventures and unsung victories over evil forces that would seek to destroy or pervert the world of nature.
Among her greatest (and least known of adventures) involved her stopping the invasion of this world by malevolent nature forces from an alternate Prime where the darker and crueler aspects of nature hold sway. This dark mirror Universe of that the party exists in has counterparts for beasts and people that can be found in this "balanced" universe. (It is important to note, however, that there are not evil goateed counterparts for every person and being in that other world - but rather there are people or beings that hold similar but opposed roles). This dark universe holds up the hunt and role of predator above all others, and even malevolent plant life has developed in great numbers of the kind that developed in rarer cases in this world (hangman trees, etc. . .)
The site of the final battle of this epic quest to save the natural balance of the primes was at a place of standing stones called The Broken Teeth - really the more than half-buried calcified skull of a huge and ancient dragon. As a nexus between the two worlds, it is a place of great but often unpredictable power. It is also where the funeral of Elhonna Ber-Raysel will take place.
Ostensibley, Knarr Ben-Hassa, the druid/ranger's closest follower and ally chose this place as a way to honor his late mistress, but the truth is that the funeral is the final step in a serious Betrayal long in the making.
Knarr, a mighty warrior and ranger in his own right, spent the last ten years in that alternate prime. But a young man who saw little action back when the epic quest happened, he always desired to test his mettle against the beasts, evil huntsmen and wild barbarians of that dark world. Claiming he was leaving his mistress to seek his own fortunes, he really sought away to enter that other world, and succeeding he found that he took to it very well - and soon its cruelty and ever-vigilance infected him - for he had little choice but to live as men did in that world if he hoped to survive. He might not have ever returned, but the process by which he had succeeded in entering the other world, required that he trade places with a counterpart in the dark world - and when that counterpart died he was forced back.
Now Knarr, a dark and twisted version of his former self, could not return to other prime in body, but he could bring aspects of it to this world -and attempt what his mistress had put a stop to decades before - enacting a slow transformation of this world into something more like that, but with one big step to start it off.
Hooks
There are several ways the PCs could become involved in this adventure:
- They could be sent in the place of a favored employer or mentor who cannot make it to the site of funeral which is in a lush valley between some distant mountains.
- They could have met Elhonna Ber-Raysel in the past having worked for her, or she could have aided them and now they want to pay their respects.
- Seeking to travel safely through that area of the continent they could hook up with the great number of pilgrims and adventurers heading there, only being at the funeral by coincidence (regardless, the GM should suggest they travel with the pilgrims, or meet the pilgrims along the way).
- The party could be seeking some other object or item that might now be available for purchase or trade now that Elhonna is dead for some mission of their own.
- Making contacts, many other adventurers, sages, priests and ambassadors of sylvan races will be going to this funeral - what better way to meet new people and gain new information and contacts for future adventures.
- One or more PCs could be on a quest of their own, having received a vision from a nature god or a good god of the hunt they worship and is making a pilgrimage to the "Broken Teeth" for their own reasons.
Knarr Ben-Hassa's Plan
Knarr took to worshipping the dark hunter god from the alternate prime, and thus now has levels of cleric, however, the distance between the realms makes it so that he can only prepare his spells by doing so at the broken teeth and making sacrifices of animals/people/being - the sacrifice of the animal at that place allows for a dark version of that animal/person/being to come into this world - thus making the dark hunter god more powerful in this realm as well. Since his return he has sacrificed a great number of animals, and allowed their replacements to go free - withholding his own desire to hunt them in order to let them spread havoc and prey on other animals and hopefully breed as well - for in that dark world any two animals can breed creating twisted versions of the animals (in fact owlbears are said to be creatures of that world). His greatest sacrifice will be Elhonna Ber-Raysell who is not dead at all, but rather in a deep form of catelepsy brought on by a poison her fed to her. In the mummy wraps she still breathes and when the pyre consumes her the destruction of the great enemy of the dark hunting realms and guardian of this world will trigger an exchange of great magnitude - allowing the summoning of the "Master of the Hunt" - a kind of anti-saint figure of the other realm that appears on certain nights with his hounds and servants to track down and ravage all that get in their ways. Unfortunately, the great exchange will mean that the other powerful adventurers who have come for the funeral will be sent into the dark realm - leaving them (and however many folks the DM wants to leave behind from among these people's entourages) behind to deal with this infernal menace. The idea being that the PCs are not well known enough of adventurers (or were not expect to come, depending on the hook used) for Knarr to have prepared for their transference.
Sacrifices: The animal sacrifices do not involve killing the animal, but actually draining some of its blood and replacing it with essence of black berries that grow in the shadow of the broken teeth, which have been slowly changed into a type of fruit found in the dark realm. These berries were also used to make the wine that Knarr Ben-Hassa uses to toast Elhonna and prepare those who have come to the funeral for their transference to the Dark Realm. When a Dark Realm creature is killed in this Prime, its body fades away and the creature from this realm is returned (though not necessarily in the same place), but not vice-versa since the plane of origin of the sacrifice determines that.
Creatures of the Dark Realm: The animals and other creatures from the alternate Dark Realm (henceforth being referred to as simple The Dark Realm (until I can think of a better name) tend to be larger and more intelligent than their equivalents from the PC’s world. In addition, the DM should apply the shadow template (from Manual of the Planes) to the creatures, however, the Plane Shift ability should not be available to them. They are as likely to hunt each other as they are to hunt creatures of this Prime – and will take great joy in the ease with which they can hunt men and other traditionally sentient creatures – and do not hunt simply to eat – but because killing and mutilating actually brings them joy.
As the party gets closer to the broken teeth, there will be a handful of encounters involving dark denizens of that other realm - which might clue them into what is going on. . .
The Insane Unicorn
As the PCs travel to the Broken Teeth, whether it be with a group of pilgrims or on their own (or perhaps on the road as they seek to meet up pilgrims) the DM should find a way for them to stop through the village of Jessen.
Possible Mini-Hooks for this Encounter include:
-- Needing to resupply for the journey, including gathering fresh water or food.
-- The village of Jessen could be where the party is supposed to wait for pilgrims to be shown the way.
-- One of the less capable pilgrims (perhaps a sage or ambassador) asks the party to leave the pilgrims temporarily to visit the village. They could want to visit a distant relative, visit a shrine or perhaps the village is on the edge of the lands claimed by “the king”
The PCs will find the town in a mixture of uproar and sorrow, for recently three young women have been killed, their hearts impaled, and their skulls crushed by hooves. The people tell the tale of an Insane Unicorn, who appears as the golden mythical creature that had helped protect their town and their young in the past, but who drew the young women deep into the woods and then brutally killed them.
Elhonna Ber-Raysel had among her allies and followers a unicorn called Arrowheart. This was one of the first creatures that Knarr Ben-Hassa sacrificed – and in his place came a golden and evil unicorn – dark and twisted as any creature from that other realm, it takes great delight in using its pleasing shape to draw children and young women to secluded places where it kills them and then feeds on the grasses doused in blood.
Of course, the PCs are likely to believe there is some kind of mistake or that the unicorn (which when finally spotted should be described to be the incarnation of any legendary description of Arrowheart) the PCs might have heard) has been ensorcelled somehow. They could not be more wrong. The unicorn should have maximum hit points and its powers should be against good not evil (of course). Instead of its ability to remove poison, it should be able to use Hypnotism at will. This is in addition to whatever shadow powers the unicorn has for having the shadow template added to it.
The DM should play out the hunt for the unicorn for all it is worth; with the creature using all the guile and trickery it can muster to lead the PCs to their death. However, since it is from another world, it has not yet figured out that other may think of it as a benevolent creature – used to using it powers to summon others for its evil glee in killing – so it cannot use this to its advantage. And yet, it does have one advantage over the PCs, it knows of another creature from its realm, a dire bear that is hunting it (and that would really threaten to destroy the whole village). The unicorn will try to lead the PCs to blunder into the bear, and then immediately teleport (if it can still do that this day) back to the village to use its hypnotism to draw another child out of one of the cottages.
This encounter should provide some clues that all is not well in this area. The PCs may believe (erroneously, but still perhaps fruitfully) that the insane unicorn is none other than the actual Arrowheart – leading them to think that something strange is going on with Elhonna Ber-Raysel’s death. In addition, the bear, like the other animals from the dark realm, is particularly vicious and intelligent – and like the other creatures of it’s world, immune to a ranger’s animal empathy skill and possessing shadowy qualities. Lastly, when these creatures are killed their bodies fade away – somewhere else their counterparts from this world reappear – perhaps still alive – or perhaps dead. A true Rat Bastard DM would have the still living true Arrowheart return – but the PCs may believe that the insane unicorn cannot be really killed or try to kill it again. Also, its change in demeanor will certainly make it appear even more insane than it did when it was simply a homicidal horned equine. [Also see “the Funeral”]
The Slaughtered Herd
As the PCs (again, either on their own or as part of a group of pilgrims) travel through the mountain pass nearing the Broken Teeth, they will hear the baying of hounds in the distance a few times, and any pack animals or horses will become skittish – perhaps one or more might take off over a precipice in fear – taking a bunch of supplies with them (thus perhaps precipitating the journey to Jessen – if the PCs passed up on it – or those with local lore might know that nomadic shepherd people can be found in the area – perhaps they can be sought for help).
If the PCs seek out the baying of the hounds, or the shepherds for help they will come across the mutilated remains of sheep and goats. Among the animals Knarr sacrificed were the dogs of sa local shepherd he lured to the Broken Teeth, summoning in their place a pack of 5 to 12 shadow mastiffs (the DM should choose based on the party’s level and capabilities) who will use pack tactics to try to separate party members and bring them down to be mauled. Again, the presence of these shadow beasts should clue the PCs into the fact that something is not right. Perhaps they may speculate that the death of Elhonna Ber-Raysel has had some here-to-for unknown effect, especially if they know about her quest to keep that world at bay all those years ago. If the DM really wants to confuse them, have the true Arrowheart arrive to help kill the mastiffs and then flee again (only if the PCs have previously dealt with the evil shadow unicorn)
The party may be able to track the wounded shepherd back to a small shack in the hills. The mauled bodies of his wife and children by the well and the front yard, he is near death and traumatized. If questioned, he will explain that the shadow dogs appeared nearly a week after Elhonna Ber-Raysel came by to collect his own dogs for the yearly training and check up she gave local animals for all the local shepherds. She liked to take them away in great packs and live among them in their form and learn about them that way. The shadow dogs appeared and then began decimating the flocks of the local shepherds and then began hunting the men and their families as well. If asked, he says that Elhonna Ber-Raysel did not appear ill, wounded or unlike herself in anyway, but did mention that one of her old followers had returned for a visit after over a decade of being away.
The Broken Teeth
Upon arriving at the Broken Teeth, the PCs will find Knarr Ben-Hassa preparing for the Funeral. The “mummified body of Elhonna Ber-Raysel will be upon a pyre of dark wood, and Knarr will be aided by dark cloaked druidic figures who light tall torches implanted in the ground about the pyre.
The party will find it difficult to approach Knarr and warn him about the shadow creatures as he is very busy and consistently surrounded by his own followers helping him in making arrangements for all the pilgrims to have places to camp, have fresh water etc… If they do get to warn him, he will grow very grave, and insist he will look into it once the funeral is over.
The Teeth themselves protrude from the stone-like jaw and skull of an ancient dragon, and thus come from both above and below, but great gaps in the skull make the top open to the sky, and it is tall enough for men to walk into the “mouth” with no problem (in fact an ogre could walk in with no problem). The skull is mostly buried (mouth open) in the middle of lovely glade of tall grass surrounded by old growth trees in a lush valley between two snow-peaked mountains.
As the more well-known figures arrive at the funeral site, Knarr does take the time to share a drink with them in Elhonna’s honor, as is custom. The drinking of this wine is part of the preparation for the ceremony, and those that drink it will be transferred to the dark realm when the Elhonna is destroyed and the grand transfer occurs. If the party makes too much of a nuisance of themselves, asking lots of questions or trying to see Elhonna’s body – Knarr will reward their vigilance by having a separate toast with them. (In this case, the DM may want to allow a Fortitude save to resist the wine’s effects, or a real Rat Bastard could have the party transferred to the dark realm and have to find their way back, if he feels they have the power and resources to accomplish such a task and is willing to derail his own campaign in such a major way if they are stuck in there a long time).
The Funeral
How the funeral plays out depends on how suspicious the PCs have become of what is going on. The DM is encouraged to flesh out as many of the NPC dignitaries, sages, adventurers and representatives of sylvan races (elves, satyrs, pixies, perhaps a treant).
After giving a suitable speech about the life of Elhonna Ber-Raysel and how she was a worthy warrior, huntress and guardian, Knarr Ben-Hassa will set his torch to the pyre and Elhonna will then burn to death.
However, if the party has killed the evil unicorn and Arrowheart is still alive, he will come bursting into the clearing and charge Knarr, as the latter is about to set the torch to the pyre. This should make the unicorn appear even more bizarre (i.e. insane) in its actions (esp. if it appeared to help with the shadow mastiffs in the Massacred Herd scene). However, it might also clue the PCs in that something is not right. Knarr will attempt to set the fire regardless as his eight assistants defend him from the unicorn. The cloaked assistants are actually druid/barbarians with the shadow template from the dark realm, that fight with scimitars and javelins (the DM should make them appropriate level).
The DM should make this burning process as long or as short as he likes for the sake of building drama. As the fire grows and the smoke rises into the air, dark clouds should gather and the baying of hounds should be heard in the distance. And then as lightning flashes and there is a clap of thunder, many of those in attendance disappear (any PCs that witness this who have seen one of the Dark Realm creatures die, should note that those that disappear seem to fade out the way those creatures did). An instant later, from all directions the baying of hounds grows louder – and those remaining (mostly lower level followers of the adventurers sent away and common folk) start to panic as packs of shadow mastiffs come rushing into the glade, knocking over and mauling everyone they can.
Knarr and his cloaked assistants (see above) will then enter the fight, wantonly slaughtering everyone they can. Of course, in true villainous manner, Knarr will call out, “Flee, flee if you can and prolong the hunt, for a promise every one here will live as a hunter or die as the hunted!”
When (and if) Knarr is finally slain the true evil and danger reveals itself. The Master of the Hunt, a minor avatar of the dark hunter god of the other Prime appears with another peal of thunder. Nearly eight feet tall, and wearing antlers that may be part of his black metal helm that covers his face, or may actual emerge from within – dressed in all black and wielding a silver magical spear (the spear should always return to his hand if thrown, can turn into a long spear (i.e. reach) as a free action and should be a shocking burst weapon). He also has a cudgel at his side. The Master of the Hunt never touches the ground (walking a few inches above it) as to never leave a trail, and he should be an epic level character with unique powers and able to summon beasts from his realm (summoning these creatures does not require the sacrifice of those of this Prime). How often and how powerful the creatures are dependent on the level the DM is going for in running this adventure – However, they do no obey the master of the hunt, however, all would be too frightened but flee from him.
The fight against him should be no contest; that is the PCs should have no chance of winning. Either they must flee (trying to save as many of the remaining folks possible) or they will be disabled, and commanded to “go and spread his word and fill the world with fear”. He will tell them in a deep voice that he will eventually come to hunt each one of them, and then with a blow of his horn, all the shadow hounds and the druid/barbarians will gather up and take off into the woods.
This encounter has now set up a long term goal for the party (destroy or banish the Master of the Hunt) and begin the slow transformation of the this Prime as at each full moon the Master of the Hunt will re-appear to hunt some great hero or leader and summon more of his beasts and followers from the other world, and gather more followers of this world at his side. Other great heroes and villains will also start to create their own warbands to seek out the Master of the Hunt and defeat him, thus coming into conflict with each other. And of course, at each full moon the PCs will begin to have to worry that now is the time that the Master will come after them.
Notes on Levels/NPCs
Obviously, the levels of the various NPCs and foes in this adventure will depend on the level of the party. I never like to limit my entries by level – as any adventure can be tweaked around to deal with level disparities. For example, if this adventure is run for characters of 17+ level the Master of the Hunt may be a defeatable foe at the end – though his druid/barbarians that come through with him should then be made around 12th level each and the shadow mastiffs that come to his aid should be dire hounds of some kind.
Knarr should be a level defeatable by the PCs, but with difficulty – though it is perfectly acceptable to assume that the party may have allies among those not transferred to Dark Realm. He should be at least 12th level, however, having levels of Barbarian, Ranger and Cleric.
Long-Term Effects & Hooks for Future Adventures
-- Even if the Master of the Hunt does not arrive (the burning is stopped, or Knarr is captured, not killed) who knows how many other of these dark intelligent creatures have slipped through with Knarr’s help and need to be hunted down?
-- If the PCs kill the real Arrowheart, they may suffer some Geas/Quest from sylvan beings to pay for their crime.
-- There could be any number of adventures involving stopping the growing cults to the dark hunter god, or playing intermediary between competing warbands, seeking to either go after or do the will of the Master of the Hunt.
-- The PCs could undertake a mission to enter that alternate Prime to rescue some or all of the adventurers and dignitaries and/or animals that were sent over there.
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Wow, you guys aren’t starting me off easy, are you? I was hoping my first match would be an easy judgment, and instead, I get two entries that are not only both high-quality, but are also eerily similar to one another. Luckily for me, one of the entries made a very serious error, making my call much easier. Let’s begin.
First, I want to talk about some overall issues.
Both entries were well organized and reasonably easy to read. I liked Nemm’s touch of describing in the beginning how he’d use ingredients; I didn’t like Dave’s apology prefacing his adventure. If you need to apologize for an entry (hint: you don’t need to apologize for an entry), do it in a separate post. On the other hand, Nemm’s entry contained enough typos and missing words that it was in places difficult to read.
Each entry contained one strong spectacle; predictably (and wisely) both spectacles occur at the climax of the adventure. Nemm’s funeral scene, with the funeral pyre, gathering clouds, and sudden appearance of the master of the hunt, was very cinematic; Dave’s climactic scene, with the glowing greeny-black heart of the forest surrounded by shadowy minions, was also very cool. Because Nemm’s spectacle hinged on one of the ingredients, and because it seemed more dramatic, I consider it stronger.
Characters, on the other hand, were Dave’s strong suit in this entry. The satyr, the centaur, the unicorn, and the ranger-shadow were all distinct and interesting. Nemm’s adventure had few detailed NPCs, and only one of them was really relevant to the plot. Furthermore, while Nemm’s ranger-shadow had a more detailed background that Dave’s ranger-shadow (note that ranger-shadow wasn’t an ingredient), his motive was a little weak. I would have preferred Nem’s ranger to have had a better reason for going to the Dark Realms than wanting power. While Dave’s ranger-shadow was kind of flat, at least his motives (I’m an evil undead, duh!) were more plausible to me.
In terms of pathos, both of you play with different themes here. Dave’s adventure, hinging around asking an old senile unicorn to sacrifice his life for the greater good, was poignant. Nemm, however, played up the theme of betrayal quite well: once you get past the ranger-shadow’s initial flimsy motives, his betrayal of his master is uber-icky. And betrayal was one of the ingredients, after all. Points for Nem.
Okay, onto the specific ingredients.
Insane Unicorn: Nem had the clever idea of having the insane unicorn be a red herring: there really wasn’t an insane unicorn at all. That was a fine stretch of the ingredients. However, I was a little confused as to the mechanics: how come the shadow-mastiffs are all shadowy, but the shadow-unicorn is golden and indistinguishable from a real unicorn? The lack of an explanation for this weakened Nem’s use of this ingredient. Dave’s insane unicorn was much stronger, I thought – in fact, it was his strongest use of an ingredient, with a great moral dilemma.
Shadow Mastiffs: Nem’s kidnapped shepherd’s dogs turned shadow was a cool touch, and the shepherd was a great if minor character. I didn’t really buy the explanation about the druid taking them off for a weeklong checkup, however – first, why would the druid have taken them off, and second, how does the farmer get by without sheepdogs? Dave’s shadow mastiffs were tied into the story better, I thought, without plausibility issues, and were pretty strong.
Slow Transformation: Both of you had a pure forest inhabited by fey slowly transforming into an evil forest via energy from a shadowy plane. I’m not even going to try to judge this ingredient one way or the other – it’s kind of freaking me out how identically you guys used it.
Betrayal: Nem’s betrayal was at the heart of the adventure, and made me hate hate hate the betrayer. Dave’s betrayal, on the other hand, was kind of weak, inasmuch as the betrayal was a side-effect of becoming undead. I mean, you EXPECT undead to act evilly. I would’ve been more impressed if Dave’s unicorn had been betraying the forest by refusing to die, or something like that.
Funeral: Again, Nem put the funeral at the heart of the adventure, turning it into a climactic and frightening scene with various possible outcomes based on player activities. Dave’s funeral was clearly an afterthought, mentioned only in passing in the context of the funeral rites that needed to be performed over the dead unicorn, and was his weakest actual use of an ingredient.
Broken Teeth: I was kind of expecting someone to use broken teeth as a location, possibly as standing stones, and Nem didn’t disappoint – but he surpassed my expectations by turning them into actual broken teeth at the same time. I didn’t really understand why the ritual needed to take place there, and therefore this great image was weakened slightly by not being necessary to the story; still and all, it was pretty cool. Dave’s broken teeth, on the other hand, were
-- um
--Dave? Did you forget about the broken teeth? I’ve read through your entry twice and searched it, and the broken teeth don’t appear anywhere.
Skipping an ingredient is a cardinal sin in these tournaments. I think that Nem probably still would have won a narrow victory if you’d done a good job with the broken teeth – he used more ingredients better than you, even though you gave him a good run for his money. But with the missing ingredient, it becomes a very clear win for Nemmerle.
Dave, again, no need to apologize: other than the missing ingredient, you had a very strong entry, enough so that you challenged the defending champion and gave me a hard time deciding. I hope to see you in future tournaments.
Nem, congratulations; your entry was as strong as ever, with some great scenes, unusual backgrounds, open-ended plots, and plenty of possibilities for future adventures. I look forward to judging you next entry!
First, I want to talk about some overall issues.
Both entries were well organized and reasonably easy to read. I liked Nemm’s touch of describing in the beginning how he’d use ingredients; I didn’t like Dave’s apology prefacing his adventure. If you need to apologize for an entry (hint: you don’t need to apologize for an entry), do it in a separate post. On the other hand, Nemm’s entry contained enough typos and missing words that it was in places difficult to read.
Each entry contained one strong spectacle; predictably (and wisely) both spectacles occur at the climax of the adventure. Nemm’s funeral scene, with the funeral pyre, gathering clouds, and sudden appearance of the master of the hunt, was very cinematic; Dave’s climactic scene, with the glowing greeny-black heart of the forest surrounded by shadowy minions, was also very cool. Because Nemm’s spectacle hinged on one of the ingredients, and because it seemed more dramatic, I consider it stronger.
Characters, on the other hand, were Dave’s strong suit in this entry. The satyr, the centaur, the unicorn, and the ranger-shadow were all distinct and interesting. Nemm’s adventure had few detailed NPCs, and only one of them was really relevant to the plot. Furthermore, while Nemm’s ranger-shadow had a more detailed background that Dave’s ranger-shadow (note that ranger-shadow wasn’t an ingredient
), his motive was a little weak. I would have preferred Nem’s ranger to have had a better reason for going to the Dark Realms than wanting power. While Dave’s ranger-shadow was kind of flat, at least his motives (I’m an evil undead, duh!) were more plausible to me.In terms of pathos, both of you play with different themes here. Dave’s adventure, hinging around asking an old senile unicorn to sacrifice his life for the greater good, was poignant. Nemm, however, played up the theme of betrayal quite well: once you get past the ranger-shadow’s initial flimsy motives, his betrayal of his master is uber-icky. And betrayal was one of the ingredients, after all. Points for Nem.
Okay, onto the specific ingredients.
Insane Unicorn: Nem had the clever idea of having the insane unicorn be a red herring: there really wasn’t an insane unicorn at all. That was a fine stretch of the ingredients. However, I was a little confused as to the mechanics: how come the shadow-mastiffs are all shadowy, but the shadow-unicorn is golden and indistinguishable from a real unicorn? The lack of an explanation for this weakened Nem’s use of this ingredient. Dave’s insane unicorn was much stronger, I thought – in fact, it was his strongest use of an ingredient, with a great moral dilemma.
Shadow Mastiffs: Nem’s kidnapped shepherd’s dogs turned shadow was a cool touch, and the shepherd was a great if minor character. I didn’t really buy the explanation about the druid taking them off for a weeklong checkup, however – first, why would the druid have taken them off, and second, how does the farmer get by without sheepdogs? Dave’s shadow mastiffs were tied into the story better, I thought, without plausibility issues, and were pretty strong.
Slow Transformation: Both of you had a pure forest inhabited by fey slowly transforming into an evil forest via energy from a shadowy plane. I’m not even going to try to judge this ingredient one way or the other – it’s kind of freaking me out how identically you guys used it.
Betrayal: Nem’s betrayal was at the heart of the adventure, and made me hate hate hate the betrayer. Dave’s betrayal, on the other hand, was kind of weak, inasmuch as the betrayal was a side-effect of becoming undead. I mean, you EXPECT undead to act evilly. I would’ve been more impressed if Dave’s unicorn had been betraying the forest by refusing to die, or something like that.
Funeral: Again, Nem put the funeral at the heart of the adventure, turning it into a climactic and frightening scene with various possible outcomes based on player activities. Dave’s funeral was clearly an afterthought, mentioned only in passing in the context of the funeral rites that needed to be performed over the dead unicorn, and was his weakest actual use of an ingredient.
Broken Teeth: I was kind of expecting someone to use broken teeth as a location, possibly as standing stones, and Nem didn’t disappoint – but he surpassed my expectations by turning them into actual broken teeth at the same time. I didn’t really understand why the ritual needed to take place there, and therefore this great image was weakened slightly by not being necessary to the story; still and all, it was pretty cool. Dave’s broken teeth, on the other hand, were
-- um
--Dave? Did you forget about the broken teeth? I’ve read through your entry twice and searched it, and the broken teeth don’t appear anywhere.
Skipping an ingredient is a cardinal sin in these tournaments. I think that Nem probably still would have won a narrow victory if you’d done a good job with the broken teeth – he used more ingredients better than you, even though you gave him a good run for his money. But with the missing ingredient, it becomes a very clear win for Nemmerle.
Dave, again, no need to apologize: other than the missing ingredient, you had a very strong entry, enough so that you challenged the defending champion and gave me a hard time deciding. I hope to see you in future tournaments.
Nem, congratulations; your entry was as strong as ever, with some great scenes, unusual backgrounds, open-ended plots, and plenty of possibilities for future adventures. I look forward to judging you next entry!
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Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Okay. My last post just went through. Yay! Some notes:
* Even though Nem's post came in after the deadline, the boards were being uberfunky, and he emailed me his entry before the deadline. I'm going to accept it; if anyone has any problem with that, let me know.
* In the event that the boards crash again when you're trying to post your entry, please send it to me via email (siuloir at mindspring dot com), and post it on the boards as soon as you can. If your entire Internet connection crashes, however, then you're SOL; in that case, the only thing that might save you is if your opponent specifically requests that I give you leniency (some people would prefer not to gain a victory by default, and I want to allow them to do so if they want). For that reason, you may want to try to post a couple hours before the deadline, giving you some wiggle-room if computers are nasty.
Finally, I'm ready to start the second match. The next to contestants that post that they're ready and submit three numbers between one and twenty will be paired off against one another. (I have to run an errand, but should be back at the computer before 2 pm EDT).
Daniel
hoping this post registers
* Even though Nem's post came in after the deadline, the boards were being uberfunky, and he emailed me his entry before the deadline. I'm going to accept it; if anyone has any problem with that, let me know.
* In the event that the boards crash again when you're trying to post your entry, please send it to me via email (siuloir at mindspring dot com), and post it on the boards as soon as you can. If your entire Internet connection crashes, however, then you're SOL; in that case, the only thing that might save you is if your opponent specifically requests that I give you leniency (some people would prefer not to gain a victory by default, and I want to allow them to do so if they want). For that reason, you may want to try to post a couple hours before the deadline, giving you some wiggle-room if computers are nasty.
Finally, I'm ready to start the second match. The next to contestants that post that they're ready and submit three numbers between one and twenty will be paired off against one another. (I have to run an errand, but should be back at the computer before 2 pm EDT).
Daniel
hoping this post registers
Dave Turner
First Post
Great entry, nemmerle. I can see where your reputation comes from.
I also seized upon the idea of the <b>insane unicorn</b> being corrupted by "shadowstuff" or something like it, since the presence of shadow mastiffs almost required an element of the Shadow Plane in the adventure. In the end, however, I thought that casting the "insane" unicorn as an evil unicorn wasn't really a type of insanity, but was more like demonic corruption. So I discarded the idea that the unicorn was some how a "Negative Zone" unicorn and went for a kind of dangerously senile and insane regular unicorn.
Your handling of the Shadow Plane was inspired. The Dark Prime is a great idea and you left enough hints about it in the text to make it seem real.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the ideas you went with were similar to ones I also thought of (though ultimately discarded in some cases). I don't say this to somehow belittle the choices you made, since I think you did a masterful job with the ingredients. After I learned that you were to be my opponent, I went back and read a few of your entries and it's nice to see that I was "thinking like the master" at times.
In hindsight, I can see that I was trying to fit too much into the entry. I was busy trying to completely think through the entire scenario, but I ended up wasting too much time doing that. By the time I realized that I wasn't going to pull things together in time, it was too late to whip up someting entirely new as well. A note to future contestants: simple is best! Concentrate on three to four key encounters and let the DMs out there fill in the (sometimes considerable) gaps. Nemmerle seems to do this and I didn't learn this in time.
Again, nemmerle, my congratulations on a wonderful entry.
But wait until the next tournament...
I also seized upon the idea of the <b>insane unicorn</b> being corrupted by "shadowstuff" or something like it, since the presence of shadow mastiffs almost required an element of the Shadow Plane in the adventure. In the end, however, I thought that casting the "insane" unicorn as an evil unicorn wasn't really a type of insanity, but was more like demonic corruption. So I discarded the idea that the unicorn was some how a "Negative Zone" unicorn and went for a kind of dangerously senile and insane regular unicorn.
Your handling of the Shadow Plane was inspired. The Dark Prime is a great idea and you left enough hints about it in the text to make it seem real.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the ideas you went with were similar to ones I also thought of (though ultimately discarded in some cases). I don't say this to somehow belittle the choices you made, since I think you did a masterful job with the ingredients. After I learned that you were to be my opponent, I went back and read a few of your entries and it's nice to see that I was "thinking like the master" at times.
In hindsight, I can see that I was trying to fit too much into the entry. I was busy trying to completely think through the entire scenario, but I ended up wasting too much time doing that. By the time I realized that I wasn't going to pull things together in time, it was too late to whip up someting entirely new as well. A note to future contestants: simple is best! Concentrate on three to four key encounters and let the DMs out there fill in the (sometimes considerable) gaps. Nemmerle seems to do this and I didn't learn this in time.
Again, nemmerle, my congratulations on a wonderful entry.
But wait until the next tournament...
