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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 6711000" data-attributes="member: 40177">RedemptionsIngredients:1. Tear2.  Underground Passage3.  Hopeless Quest4.  Grave News5.  Travelling Entertainer6.  Charming DevilIn the town of Aebrilloch, appearances matter.  Talented folk go nowhere without looks.  Gauge, a minstrel with a scribe’s face, only wanted to bring happiness to the downtrodden through song.  But not in Aebrilloch.  Doomed to wander the streets while lesser bards enthralled, he despairingly sought release.  He found himself at the gate of Helmine, a local “priestess”.  Begging for guidance, he found himself enthralled, for she was the most bewitching woman he had ever met.  Within hours, he spoke of his dearest wish – to be the greatest entertainer of the land.  But Helmine was no angel.  Half Erinyes and half Tiefling, the cambion possessed infernal magics.  She granted wishes, but always at the price of a compulsion that suited her vengeful whims.  Many a wealthy nobleman began his career in Helmine’s Hall.  Gauge was no exception.  He received the gifts of a glorious bard, but Helmine’s price was steep:  to remain on the roads unless within cities, but to stay in no city (or town) for more than a week – no city could be revisited twice in any 666 day period.Gauge took the offer, and became a celebrated bard.  Then he fell in love, and all hell broke loose.Her name is Sera, and she travelled with Gauge for a while as a singer.  Before long, they married and she became pregnant.  She gave birth to twins in Aebrilloch, forced to raise her children alone while Gauge’s curse compelled him to the road.The Curse:Helmine is a devil in disguise with a retinue of charmed townsfolk in her employ.  They protect her from harm, and are found throughout Aebrilloch.  Helmine has inherited an Erinyes drive for conquest over others.  Those she cannot use magic to control, she controls with “other” charms.  Those under her compulsion (which are many) all bear the same mark – a single tear in an eye, never-ending.    She has been in Aberilloch for a long time… such that it is known as “the city of tears”.  Gauge’s Redemption:Gauge is known as “The Weeping Bard” throughout the land for his depressing hymns.  His goal, seemingly hopeless, is to be a good father, despite being only able to see his children one week every two years.  Often, the tears in his eyes have little to do with his curse.  Undertaking:Travelling after his most recent visit to Aebrilloch (the twins are now six and beginning to question their father’s constant absence), Gauge receives a terrible threat from Helmine:  the graves of Sera and children.  These graves have a death date a week hence – but the dates are in flux.  Helmine is taunting Gauge.  Unable to get near Aebrilloch, he can accompany PCs to a nearby town he’s deliberately left unvisited for emergencies.  Gauge begs PCs to be his proxies in town, and to kill Helmine to protect his family.  He knows this will not end his compulsion, but at least they will be safe.Before the PCs head into Aebrilloch, he teaches them a song that will protect them from Helmine’s charming power.  He also mentions the one way to undo his compulsion – to get Helmine to repent.  This goal, seemingly impossible, is one that Gauge dreams of every night, but he knows it is hopeless.  Though, isn’t that what heroes do?Graves:As the PCs travel and take actions, the dates of death on the graves change.  Used wisely, they can provide important news on the party’s progress.  Aebrilloch:Aebrilloch is filled with teary-eyed citizens.  Assaults on Helmine’s Hall are suicidal.  If the PCs find a way into secret underground passages that link the houses, they could find a way to the devil.  With entrances in the cemetery, these passages were constructed by ghouls to move about town in search of food.  The stench is horrid; eyes water constantly, which may cause suspicion amongst the paranoid!  Wrong turns in the passages can be detected through the graves (the dates will change), which can be used as a map to the Hall.  If PCs sing Gauge’s song, they keep dungeon denizens away.  Helmine’s Hall:Helmine’s Hall is exactly the type of home a devilish seducer would desire – red silks, garish statues, and ensorcelled servants with terrified eyes.  PCs will have to fight through compelled defenders to seek an audience with Helmine.  Naturally, she offers deals.  The PCs have one chance to get her to repent and so free Gauge; otherwise, they’ll have to settle for killing her and freeing Sera and the twins.</blockquote>

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