Mirth
Explorer
mirthcard vs. Wicht
Ingredients:
Secret Journey
Message In A Bottle
Ghost
Female Halfling Wizard
Doubtful Vampire
One Night Show
Da Plane, Da Plane, It's Da Plane
A desperate rescue for 4-6 characters of levels 6-9
This scenario works best if the party is of good alignment (or at least the majority).
[bThe Set-Up:[/b]
A rash of child abductions have occured over the last few weeks in an area where the party is staying / adventuring / passing through. The PCs, who have gained a reputation for their good deeds, are contacted by a representative of the local community council, who are willing to pay for help in solving the mystery of the abductions. When the party meets with the council, they are informed that the leaders sent a youthful-looking female halfling wizard named Mollia Willowwind to pose as a child and see if she could get abducted, hoping to thereby bring the culprits to justice. Their plan worked only too well, for Mollia has now also disappeared, leaving only a few clues behind, which they have not been able to make sense of. The council appeals to the party's good natures (and pocketbooks, if need be), in hopes of making headway in this disastrous case.
What's really going on:
The children are being abducted by a ghost and his vampire sidekick and ported through a gate to a demi-plane that they have access to. Mollia is now stuck on the demi-plane with the children and has no way of returning, unless the party can figure out how to rescue her and the kids.
The ghost, a (former) wizard's apprentice named Sheldrum, has been stealing the children and sending them to the demi-plane to try and appease his master, an evil Wizard / Planeshifter named Menegorn, who resides there in his tower. Or at least he did. What Sheldrum doesn't know is that Menegorn is dead, just like him. Well, not exactly like him, because Menegorn is just plain dead, not undead. Perhaps a bit of background would help.
Menegorn, when he was alive, had a taste for children. What he did with them should not be discussed, but suffice it to say that Eric's grandma definitely wouldn't want to know about it. When he tired of the selection on his home planet, Menegorn learned to roam the planes looking for innocents of all species and varieties. Through bloody sacrifices and other unmentionable means, Menegorn grew and grew in power, until he finally reached a level at which he could create his own demi-plane. There he built his tower on an open, grassy plain ringed with rolling hills and tall pines, lots of edible plants and a stream running down the middle (he loved the peacefulness and quiet of it), where he commenced his bloody reign of terror, undisturbed and unknown.
It was relatively recently that Menegorn captured Sheldrum, a easily dominated, dimwitted young man who barely had the wherewithall to follow the evil Planeshifter's instructions ... but he was pretty. Sheldrum never questioned Menegorn's instructions, never balked at any command, helped with every dirty deed that Menegorn needed done, and kept his mouth shut.
Menegorn soon felt that he could entrust Sheldrum with The Bottle, a nondescript, ordinary looking piece of glasswork that actually is the gate to Menegorn's demi-plane. Of course, Menegorn only let Sheldrum watch over The Bottle when Menegorn himself wanted to be inside it. Otherwise, Menegorn kept The Bottle on his person at all times. Sheldrum never went into The Bottle himself, unless he was invited, for no one could exit the demi-plane without Menegorn's password, which only Menegorn himself knew.
At one point within the last few months, Menegorn made a deal with a vampire to give him a child named Jaekkal that he had recently turned into a bloodsucker. Menegorn then assigned Jaekal to Sheldrum and they set off to hunt for more children. The vampire also gave them a map to an old goblin lair in this area that they could use as a base, which has secret tunnels leading to many spots right in the midsts of the local villages. And so the child abductions here began.
The last instruction that Menegorn gave Sheldrum and Jaekkal was to put all the children they could abduct through the gate in The Bottle until he told them to stop, at which point he went off to set up an experiment of great import. Unbeknownst to all three of the villains, the vampire that they had dealt with earlier, didn't care for Menegorn at all. He had given Menegorn an alchemical substance called ScreamCream to play around with, which he claimed would allow the evil Planeshifter to capture the terror of the children he abducted and turn it into a paste that he could cover himself in to increase his powers.
In actuality, the substance was highly poisonous and highly volatile (except to vampires). All three villains handled the substance and the poison in it has killed Sheldrum. Menegorn was not only poisoned, but incinerated himself and his tower during the experiment he was conducting with the ScreamCream on the demi-plane.
Sheldrum, as a ghost, still carries out his tasks now with Jaekkal, collecting the children and sending them through The Bottle. However, neither of them know that Menegorn is dead, although Jaekkal is beginning to suspect something. Even though he is a vampire, Jaekkal is still a young boy and he doesn't quite understand what has become of him or how he got into the position he's in now. He is quite a bit brighter than Sheldrum, however, and is starting to piece things together.
As for Mollia (you remember Mollia?), she found out that the town's children were being approached at night by a young boy named Jaekkal, who promised them all the toys and candy they could ever imagine, if they would attend a one night show that he and his friend were staging in their magic cave underground. Jaekkal said that if any of the boys and girls told their parents, he would know, so they would have to keep their little party a secret (it was only for one night, after all, that wouldn't be so hard, would it?). All the special children were to come to Jaekkal's special meeting place on the outskirts of town, so that they could go on their secret journey to the magic cave.
Mollia made quick notes of this in a small notebook that she had tucked under her dress and set off after the village children. When they got to the meeting place - an overgrown, dried up well just outside of town - the children were quickly put under by Sheldrum, who cast sleep on them all and told Jaekkal "to start putting them in The Bottle." Mollia resisted the spell and tried to protect the children, but the Jaekkal overcame her so fast that she was only had enough time to cast Magic Mouth on the side of the well and leave the message, "In a bottle,", purposefully dropping her notebook in the process. The ghost and the vampire then took The Bottle, with the victims inside, back through the hidden tunnel under the well, to their hideout.
The Main Event:
The council was able to find the notebook and trigger the Magic Mouth, but they can't make sense of the jotted notes or the gasped "bottle" message (and they weren't able to locate the tunnel under the well). This is where the PCs come in. They have their work cut out for them. The mystery could unravel in a number of ways:
---If the party includes a halfling, they could try the same ruse as Mollia again. It has a chance of working, but after the short fight with Mollia, Jaekkal is now aware that someone is looking for them and is desperately trying to convince Sheldrum of it. They will only hunt once more, tonight, in a neighboring village.
---There may be some children who know more than they want to reveal about locations and such. The party could try to persuade them to talk.
---Through other magical means of divination, the party may be able to garner more clues. These should be vague, but true. Essentially, the clues given should be pieces of the puzzle but not the whole picture.
The End?:
The key to solving the whole problem is Jaekkal. Once the party can find them, Jaekkal may be willing to work with them, but they will have to convince him. He is sorely tired of working with Sheldrum. He knows where Sheldrum's remains are, so that the party can bury him and end his ghostwalk. He knows where and what The Bottle is. He knows that the password to get out of The Bottle is "Sheldrum," he overheard the evil Planeshifter use it, but Sheldrum could never figure it out. If they can't convince him all the children will die.
Make no mistake, the child vampire is evil and will go on to kill and kill again, even if he is convinced to help the party. The party will be caught in a conundrum of allying themselves with him and they should be full of doubt about this vampire
If the party is successful, the children and Mollia will be freed, they will have their own demi-plane (for a home base maybe?), but what will they do about their ally Jaekkal?
computer died today, got it back and it is now 4:57 by my clock.... sorry
Ingredients:
Secret Journey
Message In A Bottle
Ghost
Female Halfling Wizard
Doubtful Vampire
One Night Show
Da Plane, Da Plane, It's Da Plane
A desperate rescue for 4-6 characters of levels 6-9
This scenario works best if the party is of good alignment (or at least the majority).
[bThe Set-Up:[/b]
A rash of child abductions have occured over the last few weeks in an area where the party is staying / adventuring / passing through. The PCs, who have gained a reputation for their good deeds, are contacted by a representative of the local community council, who are willing to pay for help in solving the mystery of the abductions. When the party meets with the council, they are informed that the leaders sent a youthful-looking female halfling wizard named Mollia Willowwind to pose as a child and see if she could get abducted, hoping to thereby bring the culprits to justice. Their plan worked only too well, for Mollia has now also disappeared, leaving only a few clues behind, which they have not been able to make sense of. The council appeals to the party's good natures (and pocketbooks, if need be), in hopes of making headway in this disastrous case.
What's really going on:
The children are being abducted by a ghost and his vampire sidekick and ported through a gate to a demi-plane that they have access to. Mollia is now stuck on the demi-plane with the children and has no way of returning, unless the party can figure out how to rescue her and the kids.
The ghost, a (former) wizard's apprentice named Sheldrum, has been stealing the children and sending them to the demi-plane to try and appease his master, an evil Wizard / Planeshifter named Menegorn, who resides there in his tower. Or at least he did. What Sheldrum doesn't know is that Menegorn is dead, just like him. Well, not exactly like him, because Menegorn is just plain dead, not undead. Perhaps a bit of background would help.
Menegorn, when he was alive, had a taste for children. What he did with them should not be discussed, but suffice it to say that Eric's grandma definitely wouldn't want to know about it. When he tired of the selection on his home planet, Menegorn learned to roam the planes looking for innocents of all species and varieties. Through bloody sacrifices and other unmentionable means, Menegorn grew and grew in power, until he finally reached a level at which he could create his own demi-plane. There he built his tower on an open, grassy plain ringed with rolling hills and tall pines, lots of edible plants and a stream running down the middle (he loved the peacefulness and quiet of it), where he commenced his bloody reign of terror, undisturbed and unknown.
It was relatively recently that Menegorn captured Sheldrum, a easily dominated, dimwitted young man who barely had the wherewithall to follow the evil Planeshifter's instructions ... but he was pretty. Sheldrum never questioned Menegorn's instructions, never balked at any command, helped with every dirty deed that Menegorn needed done, and kept his mouth shut.
Menegorn soon felt that he could entrust Sheldrum with The Bottle, a nondescript, ordinary looking piece of glasswork that actually is the gate to Menegorn's demi-plane. Of course, Menegorn only let Sheldrum watch over The Bottle when Menegorn himself wanted to be inside it. Otherwise, Menegorn kept The Bottle on his person at all times. Sheldrum never went into The Bottle himself, unless he was invited, for no one could exit the demi-plane without Menegorn's password, which only Menegorn himself knew.
At one point within the last few months, Menegorn made a deal with a vampire to give him a child named Jaekkal that he had recently turned into a bloodsucker. Menegorn then assigned Jaekal to Sheldrum and they set off to hunt for more children. The vampire also gave them a map to an old goblin lair in this area that they could use as a base, which has secret tunnels leading to many spots right in the midsts of the local villages. And so the child abductions here began.
The last instruction that Menegorn gave Sheldrum and Jaekkal was to put all the children they could abduct through the gate in The Bottle until he told them to stop, at which point he went off to set up an experiment of great import. Unbeknownst to all three of the villains, the vampire that they had dealt with earlier, didn't care for Menegorn at all. He had given Menegorn an alchemical substance called ScreamCream to play around with, which he claimed would allow the evil Planeshifter to capture the terror of the children he abducted and turn it into a paste that he could cover himself in to increase his powers.
In actuality, the substance was highly poisonous and highly volatile (except to vampires). All three villains handled the substance and the poison in it has killed Sheldrum. Menegorn was not only poisoned, but incinerated himself and his tower during the experiment he was conducting with the ScreamCream on the demi-plane.
Sheldrum, as a ghost, still carries out his tasks now with Jaekkal, collecting the children and sending them through The Bottle. However, neither of them know that Menegorn is dead, although Jaekkal is beginning to suspect something. Even though he is a vampire, Jaekkal is still a young boy and he doesn't quite understand what has become of him or how he got into the position he's in now. He is quite a bit brighter than Sheldrum, however, and is starting to piece things together.
As for Mollia (you remember Mollia?), she found out that the town's children were being approached at night by a young boy named Jaekkal, who promised them all the toys and candy they could ever imagine, if they would attend a one night show that he and his friend were staging in their magic cave underground. Jaekkal said that if any of the boys and girls told their parents, he would know, so they would have to keep their little party a secret (it was only for one night, after all, that wouldn't be so hard, would it?). All the special children were to come to Jaekkal's special meeting place on the outskirts of town, so that they could go on their secret journey to the magic cave.
Mollia made quick notes of this in a small notebook that she had tucked under her dress and set off after the village children. When they got to the meeting place - an overgrown, dried up well just outside of town - the children were quickly put under by Sheldrum, who cast sleep on them all and told Jaekkal "to start putting them in The Bottle." Mollia resisted the spell and tried to protect the children, but the Jaekkal overcame her so fast that she was only had enough time to cast Magic Mouth on the side of the well and leave the message, "In a bottle,", purposefully dropping her notebook in the process. The ghost and the vampire then took The Bottle, with the victims inside, back through the hidden tunnel under the well, to their hideout.
The Main Event:
The council was able to find the notebook and trigger the Magic Mouth, but they can't make sense of the jotted notes or the gasped "bottle" message (and they weren't able to locate the tunnel under the well). This is where the PCs come in. They have their work cut out for them. The mystery could unravel in a number of ways:
---If the party includes a halfling, they could try the same ruse as Mollia again. It has a chance of working, but after the short fight with Mollia, Jaekkal is now aware that someone is looking for them and is desperately trying to convince Sheldrum of it. They will only hunt once more, tonight, in a neighboring village.
---There may be some children who know more than they want to reveal about locations and such. The party could try to persuade them to talk.
---Through other magical means of divination, the party may be able to garner more clues. These should be vague, but true. Essentially, the clues given should be pieces of the puzzle but not the whole picture.
The End?:
The key to solving the whole problem is Jaekkal. Once the party can find them, Jaekkal may be willing to work with them, but they will have to convince him. He is sorely tired of working with Sheldrum. He knows where Sheldrum's remains are, so that the party can bury him and end his ghostwalk. He knows where and what The Bottle is. He knows that the password to get out of The Bottle is "Sheldrum," he overheard the evil Planeshifter use it, but Sheldrum could never figure it out. If they can't convince him all the children will die.
Make no mistake, the child vampire is evil and will go on to kill and kill again, even if he is convinced to help the party. The party will be caught in a conundrum of allying themselves with him and they should be full of doubt about this vampire
If the party is successful, the children and Mollia will be freed, they will have their own demi-plane (for a home base maybe?), but what will they do about their ally Jaekkal?
computer died today, got it back and it is now 4:57 by my clock.... sorry
My teeth are skint. Now that I can breathe again, I'm gonna go throw up 
