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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LucasC" data-source="post: 6906644" data-attributes="member: 6762606">The Treasure of Char  - Opaque Window  - Dancing Jack-o-lanterns  - Rude Necromancer  - Dread Pestilence  - Dangerous Score  - Silver IdolBackground Char was once a place of pastoral beauty: rolling hills, idyllic pastures, and lush forests. To celebrate the birth of their first child, the King and Queen threw a great ball and to that ball came Jack, a necromancer of some renown. Horrified by his presence, the royal couple had him thrown out and, in retaliation, Jack unleashed a plague so devastating that it killed the entire realm, to the last soul. Now, Char is a quiet, dark place, full of death. It is said that, at the heart of Char, there is a tower, its windows black as night, hiding a massive treasure. Just what hides behind those windows is unknown, but since the fall of Char the tower has drawn treasure hunters from across the world. Certainly anyone that can steal this score will be rich beyond imagining, if they can survive the taking! The Hook: Recover the treasure of Char 1: The Drunk Necromancer Objective: Learn the necromancer’s secrets.  The game begins in a tavern where a crude necromancer, with a tongue like a whip, is getting drunk. He brags of the treasure of Char, swearing, around mouthfuls of food, that he knows how to past the Guardian of Char. The necromancer knows two useful secrets: (1) the Guardian sees through all falsehood, and (2) it will stand aside for anyone that offers it exactly 30 pieces of silver.   Running the ScenePCs will quickly learn that they cannot threaten this man. He has lived alongside death too long. They must put up with him, charming him despite his rude tongue, which he lashes out with incessantly. Play the man as arrogant, crude, abrasive, and offensive. The challenge the PCs face is getting him to talk, despite his unending litany of abuse directed their way, and learning both secrets. He is quick to give up the first secret, but the PCs must offer him something of true value before he spills the second. 2: The GuardianObjective: Get past the guardian. After a long journey, the PCs arrive at massive stone gates barring entry into Char. Before the gates stands a mighty silver statue. After killing them with his plague, Jack bound the souls of Char’s dead within the statue, and charged it with jealously guarding entry to Char. The Guardian can see through all illusion and knows truth when it hears it. Running the SceneIf the PCs know the secret of the Guardian, they can quickly bypass this behemoth. Failing that, combat is likely. The Guardian is a powerful juggernaut. 3: The Lands of CharObjective: Get to the tower. The lands of Char are dangerous, filled with more tormented souls of Jack’s victims. The PCs can fight their way through hordes of undead, use stealth, or some other means to reach the tower. 4: At the TowerObjective: Get past the jack-o’-lanterns.Before the black tower, more than two dozen jack-o’-lanterns dance eternally for the amusement of Jack. This is what befalls thieves killed by Jack, and is the fate of the PCs, if they fail. Jack beheads them, then animates their corpse, giving each a small glowing ember. The jack-o’-lanterns cannot see far, only within the light of their ember, but they can sense the presence of life, and they seek to destroy it. Running the SceneThe jack-o’-lanterns can be fooled by PCs that disguise themselves and mimic the creatures awkward, pained dance. If they fail to dupe them, the undead attack, hurling flame from their embers and clawing with their long fingernails. 5: Beyond the WindowsObjective: Retrieve the treasure. With the Guardian, the undead, and the jack-o’-lanterns overcome, the PCs can enter the tower where Jack waits, the only thing between them and the treasure of Char. Jack knows the secrets of life and death and is an opponent that only fools or the mighty fight. The “treasure” is the child born to the King and Queen of Char, held asleep, and unaging, all these years. If the PCs rescue the child, and defeat or drive off Jack, Char is freed of Jack’s curse and slowly returns to its prior state. Running the SceneJack fights if he must. He can call undead hordes to his side, and slay his enemies with a gaze. Diplomacy is the wiser course here. Jack was snubbed, and all this has all been about vengeance. If the PCs convince him Char has suffered enough, he will quit the lands without a fight.</blockquote>

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