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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Green Dice" data-source="post: 5208239" data-attributes="member: 85799">Island of the Lotus BlossomsA DnD 4e adventure for the high heroic or low paragon tierAdventure background:The vile Illithid, Ba’shara is with child and has come to the surface to prepare to give birth. What does a baby Illithid need? Fresh, intelligent brains to devour. Ba’shara climbed from the Underdark to a small subterranean cave just under a small island. The island was teeming with water gardens full of Lotus blossoms. Here she made a deal with the local inhabitants: If they were to bring people to the island in order for her to turn into thralls (read: food for her child) she would leave them alone. Not wanting to be turned into Illithid food, the natives agreed. Since then, the island natives have been spreading the word that bathing in the water of a thousand lotus blossoms would bring untold happiness. This brought people far and wide to the island and right into the clutches of Ba’shara. Friends and family of those caught in this web think that they don’t come home because they are happy there, but the truth is they are nothing more than cattle for the slaughter. ACT I: The Missing GirlThe PCs start this adventure by coming into the town of Greenriver. This town can be anything the DM decides. It can be a new location for the PCs, it could be a place that they’ve been before and are familiar with or it could be a home town of theirs. DMs are encouraged to tie PC backgrounds to NPCs and locations in the adventure. The local tavern is a buzz with talk of the stable owner, Harold. He’s spent many a night (and coin) in the tavern for the past few weeks. His 20 year old daughter, Gloria, had left Greenriver with a man who was staying in town for a few days. The taverngoers don’t know much about the man but they know that he and Gloria had been spending quite a bit of time together. Normally, the Bartender wouldn’t mind that Harold was spending all his coin in his establishment, but he knows Harold is distraught with the disappearance of his daughter.If the PCs ask about Harold:- He’s the local stable master- He and his daughter Gloria live alone. His wife died a while ago- Gloria is the only family he has left- Since Gloria’s disappearance, his stable has been neglected. Harold just doesn’t seem to care anymore. If the PCs ask about Gloria:- Nice girl who helps her father at home and at the stables- She’s been depressed recently, lacking her normal zeal and outgoing nature- Since the new traveler came to town, she’s clung to himIf the PCs ask about the newcomer:- He mostly kept to himself- He said his name was Jimmel- He’s a traveler and a purveyor of fine things- He took a liking to Gloria and they spent many a night in the corner of the tavern, whispering to each other. She seemed happy around him. - The two of them left in the night a few weeks ago.Should the PCs investigate (and I sure hope they do), they could either go to Harold’s house, his stable or wait for him in the tavern the next night. They can get the location of Harold’s house or his stable from the bartender. Next night at the tavern:Harold is sitting in the same spot he is every night, nursing drinks. He has a scowl on his face and you can tell he doesn’t want to be disturbed. If approached, he doesn’t want to talk to the PCs (or anyone for that matter). If the PCs keep pressing him, he leaves the tavern. The PCs can follow him if they wish. He is heading to his stable. Harold’s Home: His house is a simple one and no one seems to be home. If the PCs break in, it seems as if no one has been in the house for a while. A fine film of dust covers everything and cobwebs stick to the walls. There is nothing to be found here.The Stables: These stables are on the edge of town and have definitely seen better days. Harold stopped caring for this place right when Gloria left. Parts of the roof are coming down. Paint is chipped. The four horses tied up inside are in dire need of care. They look sick and are fly-ridden. Manure is piled up underneath the horses and the air is thick with both flies and stink.A keen eye (perception check) will find that some of the hay on the floor has been recently disturbed. Further investigation will reveal a hidden trap door. The door leads to a passageway that leads down underneath the stables to a small lantern lit room. Inside, Harold, covered in blood, is torturing a man (Jimmel) tied to a chair. Blood is being soaked up by hay on the floor. As the PCs enter, Harold is whispering in Jimmels’s ear: “Where is she?”Once discovered, Harold confesses to kidnapping Jimmel and torturing him to get information about where his daughter is. Harold saw Jimmel speaking with a fishmonger in Port Town a few miles to the east. Harold managed to get Jimmel back to Greenriver 2 days ago and has been grilling him about the whereabouts of his daughter. The PCs can either allow Harold to keep at it, or they can offer to try to get information out of Jimmel themselves. Questioning Jimmel: Jimmel is beaten up and severely cut. Harold has been doing some damage with the tools he had. He is securely tied to the chair and isn’t going anywhere.This is a skill challenge for the PCs. They can reason with Jimmel or they can continue to torture him. Failing the Skill Challenge:- Jimmel says that he saw that Gloria was depressed being in the small town of Greenriver and that she wanted to be happy.- Gloria was happy hearing about all of Jimmel’s travels all over the world.- Jimmel told Gloria of a place that could make her very happy: The Island of Lotus Blossoms- There is a fishmonger named Grinn in Port Town that can take the PCs to the Island if they wish to go. They just need to ask about the “Thousand Lotus Blossoms”- Jimmel is a native to the island who tries to get people to travel there. Succeeding in the Skill Challenge:- The PCs get all the information above plus:- A monster is controlling the minds of everyone who goes to the island. - They won’t be able to get Gloria, or any of the people who are trapped there without first killing the monsterACT II: Port Town and the FishPort Town is a much bigger place than Greenriver. It’s a town with a strong maritime culture with ships and boats of all sizes docked at the pier. If they ask around, many people know about the Island of Lotus Blossoms. - Supposedly, anyone can find happiness there- Everyone who has gone there, hasn’t returned since they love it there so much- A few people have returned and convinced others to go there. At the pier, aside from ships and boats, there are also many people selling fish. The PCs have no trouble finding Grinn. Grinn the Fishmonger:Grinn is a clean-cut (for a fish merchant), charismatic guy with a big smile and an even bigger personality. He flatters them with compliments and tries to sell the PCs all kinds of different kinds of fish and seafood – until they ask about the Island of Lotus Blossoms. He says that if they need a little happiness in their lives, that they’ve come to the right place. He asks the PCs to meet him at his ship, in a few hours so that they could ship off for the island. As the PCs walk away from Grinn, they are called over by another Fishmonger. This fishmonger lays down the same sales-pitch as every other merchant until he sees that Grinn isn’t watching the PCs anymore; the fishmonger then changes his tone. He says he saw them talking to Grinn and that that only means one thing – they are going to the Island of Lotus Blossoms. He says it’s a bad place and that the PCs look like they are the kind of people that can change that. Afterall, the other people who have gone over are the dim-witted or gullible types; not armed-to-the-teeth adventurers. The fishmonger then fills in the PCs on the truth of the island if they had not gotten that information from Jimmel. He then pulls out a large fish and slices it into chunks. He hands each of the PCs a chunk of slimy pink meat. The fishmonger tells the PCs that this fish will help them defend themselves from the monsters effects. He says the fish is on the house since he’s such a nice guy and all. ACT III: Island of the Lotus BlossomsGrinn’s ship sails for the Island of Lotus Blossoms without interruption. With a perception check, the PCs can see a small settlement on the coast which Grinn is trying to steer away from. If asked about it, Grinn just says it’s a small settlement of natives and that its nothing to be concerned with. Grinn drops them off on the beach and tells them to head up the hill and towards the center of the island. There they will see the hundreds of others who have found their happiness. The PCs can either go to the middle of the island or find the settlement on the coastSettlement: The natives will try to shoo the PCs away. They don't want the PCs near their village in fear of bringing the wrath of Ba'shara on them. Perceptive PCs may see many fish around town like the one the kindly fishmonger sold to them in Port Town. If the PCs have any questions about the monster or the island itself, they can find out information here.The Middle of the Island:Here in the middle of the island, there are huge water gardens coving much of the landscape. A thousand lotus blossoms fill these gardens. Tending to these lotuses are hundreds of people who seem to be in a trance. They are all wearing smiles on their faces and keep murmuring about how happy they are to be tending to the lotus gardens. Any PCs who have not eaten the fish that was given to them by the Fishmonger start to feel lightheaded. If this isn't a big enough hint to eat the fish, the PCs will have to start making Will saves against Ba'shara's magic. Any who fail, feel an uncontrollable urge to tend to the Lotus Blossoms and are genuinely happy. Those who do eat the fish, don't have any problems at all.  The PCs have no trouble finding Gloria after looking for some time. She, of course, does not want to leave. If the PCs try to force her to go, the other people there will try to stop them. Unless the PCs want to slaughter hundreds of innocents, forcing Gloria to leave may not be a viable option.Next to the water gardens is a small cave. Inside that cave are twisting and turning tunnels that leads to the lair of Ba'shara, the Illithid. Her lair is a large cavernous room, with a single flame hovering above a raised dais in the middle of the room. Ba'shara cackles as the PCs enter the room. The first thing the PC's notice is that she is pregnant. She explains to them that she has been tricking desperate people to her island in order to serve as food for her coming child. With the use of the magical flame at her disposal, she is able to keep everyone near the water gardens under her trance. She welcomes the PCs to be a main course for her child. Ba'shara is the lone adversary in the room, but every round, two people from the water gardens enter the chamber to attack the PCs. These people are minions, but they are also innocent victims being used by Ba'shara. The PCs can either focus all of their attacks on Ba'shara herself or, as a skill challenge, they can try to douse the magical flame on the dais using Arcana, Religion or any other skills the DM deems appropriate. If they put the flame out in the middle of the battle, the people stop coming down to harrass the PCs every round and those that are already in the room flee the battle. Any PCs who have eaten the fish from the Fishmonger have a +5 bonus against any of Ba'shara's mind attacks. After the PCs defeat Ba'shara, they can easily put the flame out and all the people in the water garden are free from her power. The PCs can return Gloria, and all the other prisoners back home. Continuing the AdventureThere are deeper caverns heading down into the Underdark from Ba'shara's liar. The PCs can come back to the island to explore these tunnels. Also, since Ba'shara was pregnant, the odds are that she had a mate are quite high. Discovering the death of Ba'shara, her mate could try to track down the PCs for revenge. Also, some people could be investigating the disappearance of Jimmal. Perhaps they find their way to Greenriver and start trouble with Harold and Gloria or the PCs themselves.IngredientsFertile Illithid: Ba'shara, the pregnant Illithid, is the main antagonist of the adventureDilapidated Stableyard: Harold's stables are where the PCs find him interrogating Jimmel about the whereabouts of his daughter.Kindly Fishmonger: Grinn the Fishmonger seems kindly enough, but it is the other Fishmonger, who tells the PCs about the true nature of the Island of the Lotus Blossoms and provide the PCs with the fish to help defend against Ba'shara's powerA Thousand Lotus Blossoms: The blossoms in the water gardens are the sham to trick the outside world into why people stay on the island. Interrogation Techniques: Harold (or the PCs) interrogate Jimmel for the location of GloriaA Solitary Flame at the Center of it All: The magical flame in Ba'shara's lair that allow her to keep all her prisoners under her control. </blockquote>

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