Iron dm summer champion announced!
- Thread starter Rune
- Start date
cool hand luke
First Post
here
Rune
Once A Fool
Round 1, match 3: cool hand luke vs. Greybar
Ingredients (please list these at the top of your entry.)
Bungling adept
Secret cove
Unsavory stew
Ioun stone
Carpet shop
Ooze
You have exactly 24 hours from the time of this post to post your submissions. Remember. NO EDITING AFTER YOU POST!
Good luck.
Ingredients (please list these at the top of your entry.)
Bungling adept
Secret cove
Unsavory stew
Ioun stone
Carpet shop
Ooze
You have exactly 24 hours from the time of this post to post your submissions. Remember. NO EDITING AFTER YOU POST!
Good luck.
Last edited:
cool hand luke
First Post
as charlie brown would say "good grief"
I'm at a total loss here.
I'm at a total loss here.
Greybar
No Trouble at All
so, trying to remember here, were there rules (or traditions) that one would only be using elements from a given ruleset (or the SRD)?
Theoretically I'd like any ENWorld reader to be able to pick up these outlines of adventurers and run them on the next weekend with her players, but my mind was drifting away from the SRD just now...
John
Theoretically I'd like any ENWorld reader to be able to pick up these outlines of adventurers and run them on the next weekend with her players, but my mind was drifting away from the SRD just now...
John
WinnipegDragon
First Post
A Legacy Beneath
Here we go... This is longish...
Iron DM – Summer 2003
Round 1 – WinnipegDragon
Ingredients:
Sphinx
Maze
Bag of tricks
Waterlogged Totem
Paranoid City
Harpy
A Legacy Beneath – An Adventure for 6th-8th Level Characters
Synopsis:
A mystery beneath the waves beckons.
Wicenna, a Harpy, is a most unusual creature. Born of a race whose very purpose for being is the torment and domination of others, she excelled at these arts and exceeded the ability of those around her. Wicenna was crueler and more persuasive than the rest of her flock, and she soon left them behind to follow her own dreams and desires. These dreams would become the nightmares of the City of Wadith. Wicenna has developed her own innate magic, and is now an accomplished Sorceress with a lust for power and control.
Wadith is a smallish city in the northern part of the world, nestled at the southern tip of a Haloun Bay, a salty body of water that opens to the oceans even further north. The city is divided into ‘Quarters’, one for merchants, one for temples and stately homes, another for commoners, craftsmen and their shops, and the last is ‘Sprayside’ also known as the fishing quarter. The hardworking men and women of Sprayside make their living netting and hauling in valuable oilfish in the summer, and survive the winter by cracking through the vast sheets of ice and dropping lines and hooks to snare smaller fish. Now, though, the quarter is beset by misery and woe. The fisherman haul in empty nets whenever they dare to set sail, and those that set foot in the streets or try to leave the quarter are found mysteriously slain by wild beasts. The Mayor has sealed all entrances and exits to the quarter, and has declared it a cursed area. As a final tragedy, the towns famed diviner Paedraig can no longer summon his magical sight.
What the adventurers do not know is that Wicenna is behind all of these troubles, and that Wadith rests on the waters above an ancient site of primal magical power. In Wadith’s attempts to unlock this power, she has brought suffering to Wadith and its people, and she has trapped herself beneath the waves of Haloun Bay. The adventurers must find out what lies behind the troubles in Wadith.
Character Hooks
Any Druid or Ranger in the party is informed by those in their circles that the natural order is out of balance in a village called Wadith. It is requested that they gather their companions and set the natural order straight.
Any Clerics or Paladins in the party are asked to investigate the claims of divine sight by a northerner named Paedraig. Paedraig does seem capable of discovering hidden histories, items and truths, but he does so in the name of the character’s God. The church does not believe Paedraig’s claims, and wants him investigated.
While traveling, the party encounters a wounded woman on the road. She is barely clinging to life, and she appears to have been mauled by a large animal (a great cat, or possibly a bear). She tells the party that her city, Wadith, is under a horrible curse, and perishes if the party cannot immediately help her. Either way, they become aware of strange things happening in Wadith.
Scene One: Wadith
The party finally arrives at Wadith, a smallish city, of just over 1,000 people. The village is built on the rocky shores of Haloun Bay, and is surrounded by a solid palisade. The city is divided by two wooden walls, which intersect like a cross, and neatly sections it into quarters. At the centre of the cross is a large courtyard wherein is the Mayors home, in reality a small stone keep and tower built here by a minor Baron, Erdrick the Fourth of Haloun, hundreds of yours ago. Each quarter has a large gate leading to the two adjacent quarters as well as the opening at the centre of the city.
Approaching the city, the walls are all guarded and there appears to be few people coming or going. The great gates of the palisade are heavily guarded by a group of rag-tag militiamen, and an officer who seems more competent. If the party is escorting the wounded woman from the character hooks, she will be gathered up the guards and admonished for disobeying the Mayors orders and leaving Sprayside. Regardless of whether she is traveling with the party, the gate guards are very suspicious, and seem at the point of drawing their weapons at all times. The officer, a fellow by the name of Artanis, will question the party relentlessly, and ranting and raving about the curse that is closing in from all sides, even as they speak.
The party can gain entry through excellent diplomacy, a promise to investigate the curse, or even by climbing the walls under cover of night, if they so desire. Once inside, they can explore the quarters of the city.
The Market, as the merchant’s quarter is known, is almost a bustling city unto itself. Dozens of people move about with speed and purpose, in all manner of local and foreign dress. Something seems amiss though, as the marketplace is clearly built to accommodate many more people than are currently there. Stalls are empty, and the wide roads seem much too large to handle as little traffic as they do now. Questioning any foreigners reveals little, only that for those willing to face the curse that these people fear, prices have never been better. The locals tell a little more, that the curse is centered in Sprayside, and that the fishing industry is decimated by a tide that will not recede and currents that have gone all ‘wrong’.
The Temple Quarter is expectedly grand, although a city of this size has only two true temples, and a number of shrines. Some of the larger homes are thus relegated to this quarter, and help to increase the sense of grandness in general. Most of the valuable homes are simply stopovers for merchants who brave the dangerous roads to the far north, bringing back valuable minerals and furs to the lands to the south. The merchants here are not interested in chatting with wanderers unless they are interested in buying raw metals or furs, but the Priests of the temples are more enlightening. They are upset that Paedraig, the Seer, suddenly cannot see. They have come to rely on Paedraig to handle simple divinations so that they can be thoroughly devoted to caring for their patrons and parishioners. In any event, none of them have gained enough to divine favour (i.e. they are not a high enough level) to use magic as powerful as he had. As such, there is little that they can do about the curse.
The Commons, as the commoners quarter is called, is very much less impressive, mostly occupied by small homes, smiths and shops. Those that live in the Commons are generally physical labourers or simple craftsmen, but there are few individuals whose talents shine enough to warrant a shop in the Market. The smithies here do solid work, and can produce most any standard item the party might need. Most of the people here can provide similar information as those in the marketplace. Some will also speak about the current orders of the Mayor: Sprayside is to be sealed. None within are to leave their homes until the curse can be dealt with.
Sprayside itself is an incredible place. Most of the quarter consists of large wooden poles strapped together like rafts. Upon these rafts are built the homes and shops of the fisherman and their families. Long poles are driven into the water, and presumably the rock below, to anchor the rafts against strong waves and wind. Getting in to Sprayside is difficult without the permission of the Mayor or his wife. The guards here are stacked three deep and are genuinely terrified of whatever is within Sprayside, and possibly letting it out. It would take a very high Intimidation or Diplomacy check to gain entry, but they are somewhat easier to Bluff. Ideally, the party needs to sneak in, Bluff their way in, or forge or gain written permission from the Mayor. Once inside, the party finds a ghost town. Scared faces peek from behind tattered curtains, only to disappear if noticed. The suspended planks that serve as walkways are entirely empty of people. Knocking on doors provides no assistance as no one will answer. The party could break in to one of these homes but inside the people are so panicked that they would likely rather fight for their lives, or jump into the water and risk drowning. Anyone cornered can only really confirm what should already be known about the curse.
As they wander about Sprayside, eventually the party will hear singing. Investigating reveals a salty old fellow at the farthest reaches of the docks, sitting with his feet dangling in the water, mending a series of hook-lines and nets as he sings his sea shanties. He is glad to talk and introduces himself as Jebadan, or more simply Ol’ Jeb. Jeb can fill in a few more details about the curse, specifically the following things:
- The currents have changed. The water seems to be flowing in to shore, not out towards the ocean as usual.
- The tide is as high as anyone has ever seen it, and it hasn’t receded in almost a week.
- There are no fish in the bay suddenly; no one has caught one since the tides and currents shifted.
- The guards at the Mayor’s orders stop people who try to leave their homes. Many who try to sneak away at night are found killed in the morning. They seem to be mauled by animals, strangely enough.
- Something is walking the planks of Sprayside at night. People have heard it, but none dare leave their homes to see who or what it is.
Jeb can offer little more information, but he wishes that Paedraig could help. Jeb himself is not afraid of the curse, in his own words, “I reckon’ that a man can reach a point in his life where he has lived long enough. I don’ think, howe’er, that he can reach a point where he has fished enough!”
Scene Two: The Mayor
The adventurers may wish to approach the Mayor at this point. They are free to do so, and can proceed to the keep at the heart of the town if they so desire. The keep and tower are made of stone quarried to the south and moved north at great expense, and although the Barony of Haloun is long dissolved, it is still the seat of power for the city of Wadith.
A Knowledge (Local History) or research and divination spells will reveal the origin of the town and the keep. Erdrick, Fourth of Haloun was a minor Baron whose fiefdom encompassed most of the shore and land surrounding Haloun Bay. This location was chosen by Erdrick’s advisor, a wizard named Abathas, as the site for his keep. Historically, there is little of interest to know beyond this, expect for the fate of Abathas. It is said that one night, he set sail into the centre of the bay and attempted some incantation that he thought would increase his own powers tenfold or more. The lake is said to have roared at his words, and a pillar of water smashed his boat. Abathas disappeared and his body never washed upon the shores of Haloun Bay.
The Mayor, Valyn Sandshore, and his wife Coredia, are gracious hosts. They gladly speak to the adventurers about the curse although both are clearly unsettled by it. They can provide all of the information that can be gathered in the various quarters, but they will not address the rumours of something walking through Sprayside at night. They feel it is the by-product of minds already stressed by the deaths and lack of fish.
If the party requests it, Valyn will also provide the history detailed above, but leaves out the death of Abathas. If the party is aware of this, he will simply state that it was an oversight on his part or he will feign ignorance on the subject.
During any conversation, the party can notice via Spot checks or Sense Motive checks, that the Mayor is slightly defensive, as if he is offended by the questioning. He also seems to be very weary and withdrawn. Coredia, on the other hands seems wary, but mostly of her husband. She tries to make eye contact with any party member whom seems particularly trustworthy, a cleric or paladin preferably.
Getting the Mayor to give access to Sprayside is difficult. He resists any outside help, saying that this is an issue for Wadith alone to deal with. He says that he appreciates the party’s concern, but that if they enter Sprayside and leave, they may carry the taint of the curse with them, and poison the rest of the city.
The real reason for his refusal is that he is doing the bidding of Wicenna. He fell under the sway of her song while walking along the shore one day at the bidding of a charmed commoner who led him to Wicenna, and then his will was crushed by a charm enchantment cast on him by the Harpy. Her orders to him were to keep the people of Sprayside trapped and under control so that she could seek out a mysterious power beneath the bay. In order to help him keep the people under control, she gave him a Bag of Tricks (Tan) and instructed him in its use. The creatures summoned forth from the bag are used to kill anyone who might try to escape and seek help, thus revealing Wicenna’s presence.
At this point, the Adventurers have few leads. Wicenna, however, has ordered Valyn to send anyone who insists on helping to Paedraig. Additionally, if the party notices Coredia’s wariness towards her husband and approaches her separately, she will give them a pass to search in Sprayside, claiming that her husband is too over-stressed to see a helping hand when it is offered. She requires assurances that the Adventurers will not tell Valyn about this, as she finds him to be distant and unpredictable as of late.
Scene Three: Paedraig and Simunesha
Paedraig has a home in the Temple Quarter, and anyone can point out the location to the party. Paedraig’s home is large and very well appointed. A sign nailed to the front door simply reads, “Go Away”. Forceful knocking will rouse the Seer, but he will be very unpleasant, if not downright hostile, towards the party. If the party says that they have been sent by the Mayor, or otherwise refuses to leave until speaking with him, Paedraig will eventually relent and speak with the group.
Paedraig will not directly confirm or deny the veracity of his visionary gifts, but will agree that he has lost his ability for the time being, due to the curse. If the party seems interested in helping him via a Diplomacy check, or Intimidates him, he will agree to take the party to his secret grotto, where he divines answers. He will assure the group that he has lost his muse, regardless of what they might do.
Paedraig leads the group out of Wadith to the west, staying close to the shoreline. The shore eventually becomes more broken and jagged, and finally ends at the foot of some great hills that have been slashed away and eroded by billions and billions of waves. Hidden amongst the cracks and crevices of the stone, a dark cavern leads into the base of one particularly majestic hill about three miles west of the city. Inside, Paedraig lights a lantern that is hidden near the entrance, and leads the group further in, muttering about his ‘lost muse’.
The cavern opens into a natural chamber, around which stand four more lanterns backed by polished steel reflectors. The room is very bright but nothing can be seen within. At this point, Paedraig screams something about ‘death in the light’, drops his lantern and runs straight ahead, moving to hide behind one of the reflectors, just as the party is set upon by Myshyr, a Hellcat currently employed by Wicenna. The fight should be difficult, but not impossible to overcome if the party realizes that the light is allowing their foe to hide from them. If the party retreats to the entrance, Myshyr will follow and risk losing his invisibility to ensure that no survivors escape to tell their tale.
Once Myshyr is slain, Paedraig will begin to sob tears of relief. Assuming the Adventurers stop to listen to his story, he will reveal the truth. He led them to the trap under fear of death, but he is glad that the Hellcat could be defeated. A more important revelation is that he is not a diviner, but his lover is.
Hidden behind one of the reflectors is another passage. Following the passage along, Paedraig leads them to a chamber wherein resides Simunesha, a Gynosphinx and Paedraig’s unusual lover. Simunesha is badly hurt, having been defeated by Myshyr and Wicenna, and Myshyr has since kept her in a state of near death. Paedraig is thankful that she is alive, as he was under threat of death if he had revealed the truth.
Paedraig saw Valyn become ensnared by Wicenna as he was going to visit Simunesha. Simunesha agreed to use her spell like abilities to allow Paedraig to feign divine sight, and he promised to bring her books and tomes bought with the wealth he earned. No one knew of this secret, but with Myshyr in her employ, Wicenna tracked Paedraig and discovered Simunesha. The sphinx was quickly subdued and Paedraig threatened, lending more force to the story of the curse to be spread within Wadith.
With Paedraig ‘powerless’, and Valyn killing those who tried to leave Sprayside, Wicenna was free to pursue the power under Haloun Bay. As a thank you, the weakened Simunesha uses her locate object ability to find the party a stash of Potions of Water Breathing that the Mayor kept on hand to salvage wrecked ships but has since hidden on Wicenna’s orders.
Simunesha also tells the party about the fate of Abathas, Erdrick’s wizard, and the location where he attempted to cast his spell. The core of the spell she does not know, but she has heard of a riddle about the spell that intrigued her:
Ravaged by the driving torrent,
False sky above, the rock beneath,
A hundred turns about the centre,
The older powers here bequeath.
Abathas failed to find the centre,
Now lost forever in his tomb,
The path is there for those to find,
The water leads you through the gloom.
Scene Four: Finding the Harpy
The party can opt, at this point, to return to Wadith and reveal Valyn’s transgressions (coerced as they are), or they can opt to find Wicenna immediately. If they return to reveal the Mayor, it is a simple matter to convince his wife that she needs to search for the bag in question. She can find it easily enough, and showing the militia it’s use will convince them that the Adventurer’s are speaking the truth. Those in Sprayside will be free to leave their homes and go about their daily lives.
Once the potions are found, the party can descend into the depths of the bay. Assuming they head towards the middle of the bay and the location noted by Simunesha, they eventually enter a most astonishing location. If they are walking along the bottom, in the centre of the bay they suddenly find that they are no longer surrounded by water. In fact, if they are swimming, they start to feel as strong current and the loss of buoyancy and are swept away from the direct centre of the bay and towards the shoreline. Either way, they end up on the bottom of the bay about a thousand feet from the centre of the bay.
The ‘dry’ area is not truly dry. In fact the adventurers are pelted with droplets of water from above as if they were in a torrential rainstorm, and there is a good foot of water sitting above the sand and rock of the bay’s floor. As they walk forward, the true nature of this place is revealed. There is a vast ‘cavern’ in the water, and at the centre a spike of light shoots upward, highlighting a massive pillar of water is shooting up from the floor of the bay at phenomenal speed before arcing outward like a fountain. The characters are, for lack of a better description, ‘inside’ the fountain’s arc of water. Whether by magic or sheer speed and force of the water, the area within is pelted with water but not filled. Regardless the noise is deafening and disorienting and the constant spray of water makes vision difficult. Without the spike of light, even the enormous pillar of water would be invisible at this distance.
In a disheartening sight, the pillar seems to be at the centre of a massive maze of rock, smashed ships and coral with walls as high as twenty feet. The stones and coral are sharp, making climbing a deadly proposition, and the downpour makes natural flying impossible, as Wicenna discovered.
The foot of water at the character’s feet is packed with fish and flowing very swiftly. This explains the last two ‘curses’. The fish are trapped by the suction of the pillar in the centre of the maze and cannot free themselves. This suction is also keeping water in the bay, accounting for the unusual high tide encountered by those in Sprayside. This is the key to the maze. The pillar is literally sucking water from the floor of the bay and spewing it upwards. Following the currents of the water will lead them through the twists and turns of the maze, and to the heart of the maze without the need to actually map the entire area.
Abathas never figured out the key to the maze, and at one point the party will pass a set of bones that were once the court wizard of the Barony of Haloun. Unfortunately for Wicenna, she also did not solve the riddle of the maze, and she now wanders it seeking the power hidden at the centre.
At some point, the party will cross paths with Wicenna. She is in no mood to parlay, having been trapped within the maze for nearly a week already. As the party engages her, she will try a few times to dry her wings enough to fly, but she will be unable to. She will lean heavily on her song, and her enchantment magic while making ‘hit and run’ attacks. All spells with a verbal component will have a 25% chance of spell failure in the incredible din of rushing water.
With her inability to fly and the spell failure chance, she should not be too difficult a match for higher-level PCs. For lower level PCs or groups smaller than four characters, raise the spell failure rate to 35% or even 50%.
Conclusion
Once Wicenna is defeated, the party can travel to the centre of the maze unimpeded. A huge totem pole, carved to resemble a school of fish, dominates the centre of the maze. At the top, a single large carved fish sits; it’s mouth pointed upward and the jet of water and light streams forward from within it. At the base of the pole, all of the smaller carved fish seem to be sucking the water from the floor at an alarming rate.
Once approached, the totem pole begins to speak with a deep booming voice that resonates off of the distant wall of water. As each word is spoken, a different carved fish or group of fish animates and moves it’s mouth in time with the word.
The totem warns that the power contained within was not meant for mortals, and that it must rest until a new God can come and claim it’s magic. A wise party will accept this, and the totem will summon an Elder Water Elemental to return the party to the shoreline. Should they insist that the power be given to them, they are killed outright by the magnitude of the magic channeled in to them.
In either case, the totem has served it’s purpose, and slows the flow of the pillar of water until it ceases entirely, and returns to it’s rest. The tide is returned to it’s normal state, and the suction ceases to trap the fish below. The party is hailed as the saviours of the city, and all of the charms and enchantments laid by Wicenna cease upon her death.
Primary NPCs
Wicenna, Female Harpy/Sorcerer 6
Simunesha, Gynosphinx
Paedraig the Seer, Male Elf Com2
Myshyr, Male Devil (Hellcat)
Valyn Sandshore, Male Human Com3, Mayor of Wadith
Coredia Sandshore, Female Human Com2, Wife of Valyn
Here we go... This is longish...
Iron DM – Summer 2003
Round 1 – WinnipegDragon
Ingredients:
Sphinx
Maze
Bag of tricks
Waterlogged Totem
Paranoid City
Harpy
A Legacy Beneath – An Adventure for 6th-8th Level Characters
Synopsis:
A mystery beneath the waves beckons.
Wicenna, a Harpy, is a most unusual creature. Born of a race whose very purpose for being is the torment and domination of others, she excelled at these arts and exceeded the ability of those around her. Wicenna was crueler and more persuasive than the rest of her flock, and she soon left them behind to follow her own dreams and desires. These dreams would become the nightmares of the City of Wadith. Wicenna has developed her own innate magic, and is now an accomplished Sorceress with a lust for power and control.
Wadith is a smallish city in the northern part of the world, nestled at the southern tip of a Haloun Bay, a salty body of water that opens to the oceans even further north. The city is divided into ‘Quarters’, one for merchants, one for temples and stately homes, another for commoners, craftsmen and their shops, and the last is ‘Sprayside’ also known as the fishing quarter. The hardworking men and women of Sprayside make their living netting and hauling in valuable oilfish in the summer, and survive the winter by cracking through the vast sheets of ice and dropping lines and hooks to snare smaller fish. Now, though, the quarter is beset by misery and woe. The fisherman haul in empty nets whenever they dare to set sail, and those that set foot in the streets or try to leave the quarter are found mysteriously slain by wild beasts. The Mayor has sealed all entrances and exits to the quarter, and has declared it a cursed area. As a final tragedy, the towns famed diviner Paedraig can no longer summon his magical sight.
What the adventurers do not know is that Wicenna is behind all of these troubles, and that Wadith rests on the waters above an ancient site of primal magical power. In Wadith’s attempts to unlock this power, she has brought suffering to Wadith and its people, and she has trapped herself beneath the waves of Haloun Bay. The adventurers must find out what lies behind the troubles in Wadith.
Character Hooks
Any Druid or Ranger in the party is informed by those in their circles that the natural order is out of balance in a village called Wadith. It is requested that they gather their companions and set the natural order straight.
Any Clerics or Paladins in the party are asked to investigate the claims of divine sight by a northerner named Paedraig. Paedraig does seem capable of discovering hidden histories, items and truths, but he does so in the name of the character’s God. The church does not believe Paedraig’s claims, and wants him investigated.
While traveling, the party encounters a wounded woman on the road. She is barely clinging to life, and she appears to have been mauled by a large animal (a great cat, or possibly a bear). She tells the party that her city, Wadith, is under a horrible curse, and perishes if the party cannot immediately help her. Either way, they become aware of strange things happening in Wadith.
Scene One: Wadith
The party finally arrives at Wadith, a smallish city, of just over 1,000 people. The village is built on the rocky shores of Haloun Bay, and is surrounded by a solid palisade. The city is divided by two wooden walls, which intersect like a cross, and neatly sections it into quarters. At the centre of the cross is a large courtyard wherein is the Mayors home, in reality a small stone keep and tower built here by a minor Baron, Erdrick the Fourth of Haloun, hundreds of yours ago. Each quarter has a large gate leading to the two adjacent quarters as well as the opening at the centre of the city.
Approaching the city, the walls are all guarded and there appears to be few people coming or going. The great gates of the palisade are heavily guarded by a group of rag-tag militiamen, and an officer who seems more competent. If the party is escorting the wounded woman from the character hooks, she will be gathered up the guards and admonished for disobeying the Mayors orders and leaving Sprayside. Regardless of whether she is traveling with the party, the gate guards are very suspicious, and seem at the point of drawing their weapons at all times. The officer, a fellow by the name of Artanis, will question the party relentlessly, and ranting and raving about the curse that is closing in from all sides, even as they speak.
The party can gain entry through excellent diplomacy, a promise to investigate the curse, or even by climbing the walls under cover of night, if they so desire. Once inside, they can explore the quarters of the city.
The Market, as the merchant’s quarter is known, is almost a bustling city unto itself. Dozens of people move about with speed and purpose, in all manner of local and foreign dress. Something seems amiss though, as the marketplace is clearly built to accommodate many more people than are currently there. Stalls are empty, and the wide roads seem much too large to handle as little traffic as they do now. Questioning any foreigners reveals little, only that for those willing to face the curse that these people fear, prices have never been better. The locals tell a little more, that the curse is centered in Sprayside, and that the fishing industry is decimated by a tide that will not recede and currents that have gone all ‘wrong’.
The Temple Quarter is expectedly grand, although a city of this size has only two true temples, and a number of shrines. Some of the larger homes are thus relegated to this quarter, and help to increase the sense of grandness in general. Most of the valuable homes are simply stopovers for merchants who brave the dangerous roads to the far north, bringing back valuable minerals and furs to the lands to the south. The merchants here are not interested in chatting with wanderers unless they are interested in buying raw metals or furs, but the Priests of the temples are more enlightening. They are upset that Paedraig, the Seer, suddenly cannot see. They have come to rely on Paedraig to handle simple divinations so that they can be thoroughly devoted to caring for their patrons and parishioners. In any event, none of them have gained enough to divine favour (i.e. they are not a high enough level) to use magic as powerful as he had. As such, there is little that they can do about the curse.
The Commons, as the commoners quarter is called, is very much less impressive, mostly occupied by small homes, smiths and shops. Those that live in the Commons are generally physical labourers or simple craftsmen, but there are few individuals whose talents shine enough to warrant a shop in the Market. The smithies here do solid work, and can produce most any standard item the party might need. Most of the people here can provide similar information as those in the marketplace. Some will also speak about the current orders of the Mayor: Sprayside is to be sealed. None within are to leave their homes until the curse can be dealt with.
Sprayside itself is an incredible place. Most of the quarter consists of large wooden poles strapped together like rafts. Upon these rafts are built the homes and shops of the fisherman and their families. Long poles are driven into the water, and presumably the rock below, to anchor the rafts against strong waves and wind. Getting in to Sprayside is difficult without the permission of the Mayor or his wife. The guards here are stacked three deep and are genuinely terrified of whatever is within Sprayside, and possibly letting it out. It would take a very high Intimidation or Diplomacy check to gain entry, but they are somewhat easier to Bluff. Ideally, the party needs to sneak in, Bluff their way in, or forge or gain written permission from the Mayor. Once inside, the party finds a ghost town. Scared faces peek from behind tattered curtains, only to disappear if noticed. The suspended planks that serve as walkways are entirely empty of people. Knocking on doors provides no assistance as no one will answer. The party could break in to one of these homes but inside the people are so panicked that they would likely rather fight for their lives, or jump into the water and risk drowning. Anyone cornered can only really confirm what should already be known about the curse.
As they wander about Sprayside, eventually the party will hear singing. Investigating reveals a salty old fellow at the farthest reaches of the docks, sitting with his feet dangling in the water, mending a series of hook-lines and nets as he sings his sea shanties. He is glad to talk and introduces himself as Jebadan, or more simply Ol’ Jeb. Jeb can fill in a few more details about the curse, specifically the following things:
- The currents have changed. The water seems to be flowing in to shore, not out towards the ocean as usual.
- The tide is as high as anyone has ever seen it, and it hasn’t receded in almost a week.
- There are no fish in the bay suddenly; no one has caught one since the tides and currents shifted.
- The guards at the Mayor’s orders stop people who try to leave their homes. Many who try to sneak away at night are found killed in the morning. They seem to be mauled by animals, strangely enough.
- Something is walking the planks of Sprayside at night. People have heard it, but none dare leave their homes to see who or what it is.
Jeb can offer little more information, but he wishes that Paedraig could help. Jeb himself is not afraid of the curse, in his own words, “I reckon’ that a man can reach a point in his life where he has lived long enough. I don’ think, howe’er, that he can reach a point where he has fished enough!”
Scene Two: The Mayor
The adventurers may wish to approach the Mayor at this point. They are free to do so, and can proceed to the keep at the heart of the town if they so desire. The keep and tower are made of stone quarried to the south and moved north at great expense, and although the Barony of Haloun is long dissolved, it is still the seat of power for the city of Wadith.
A Knowledge (Local History) or research and divination spells will reveal the origin of the town and the keep. Erdrick, Fourth of Haloun was a minor Baron whose fiefdom encompassed most of the shore and land surrounding Haloun Bay. This location was chosen by Erdrick’s advisor, a wizard named Abathas, as the site for his keep. Historically, there is little of interest to know beyond this, expect for the fate of Abathas. It is said that one night, he set sail into the centre of the bay and attempted some incantation that he thought would increase his own powers tenfold or more. The lake is said to have roared at his words, and a pillar of water smashed his boat. Abathas disappeared and his body never washed upon the shores of Haloun Bay.
The Mayor, Valyn Sandshore, and his wife Coredia, are gracious hosts. They gladly speak to the adventurers about the curse although both are clearly unsettled by it. They can provide all of the information that can be gathered in the various quarters, but they will not address the rumours of something walking through Sprayside at night. They feel it is the by-product of minds already stressed by the deaths and lack of fish.
If the party requests it, Valyn will also provide the history detailed above, but leaves out the death of Abathas. If the party is aware of this, he will simply state that it was an oversight on his part or he will feign ignorance on the subject.
During any conversation, the party can notice via Spot checks or Sense Motive checks, that the Mayor is slightly defensive, as if he is offended by the questioning. He also seems to be very weary and withdrawn. Coredia, on the other hands seems wary, but mostly of her husband. She tries to make eye contact with any party member whom seems particularly trustworthy, a cleric or paladin preferably.
Getting the Mayor to give access to Sprayside is difficult. He resists any outside help, saying that this is an issue for Wadith alone to deal with. He says that he appreciates the party’s concern, but that if they enter Sprayside and leave, they may carry the taint of the curse with them, and poison the rest of the city.
The real reason for his refusal is that he is doing the bidding of Wicenna. He fell under the sway of her song while walking along the shore one day at the bidding of a charmed commoner who led him to Wicenna, and then his will was crushed by a charm enchantment cast on him by the Harpy. Her orders to him were to keep the people of Sprayside trapped and under control so that she could seek out a mysterious power beneath the bay. In order to help him keep the people under control, she gave him a Bag of Tricks (Tan) and instructed him in its use. The creatures summoned forth from the bag are used to kill anyone who might try to escape and seek help, thus revealing Wicenna’s presence.
At this point, the Adventurers have few leads. Wicenna, however, has ordered Valyn to send anyone who insists on helping to Paedraig. Additionally, if the party notices Coredia’s wariness towards her husband and approaches her separately, she will give them a pass to search in Sprayside, claiming that her husband is too over-stressed to see a helping hand when it is offered. She requires assurances that the Adventurers will not tell Valyn about this, as she finds him to be distant and unpredictable as of late.
Scene Three: Paedraig and Simunesha
Paedraig has a home in the Temple Quarter, and anyone can point out the location to the party. Paedraig’s home is large and very well appointed. A sign nailed to the front door simply reads, “Go Away”. Forceful knocking will rouse the Seer, but he will be very unpleasant, if not downright hostile, towards the party. If the party says that they have been sent by the Mayor, or otherwise refuses to leave until speaking with him, Paedraig will eventually relent and speak with the group.
Paedraig will not directly confirm or deny the veracity of his visionary gifts, but will agree that he has lost his ability for the time being, due to the curse. If the party seems interested in helping him via a Diplomacy check, or Intimidates him, he will agree to take the party to his secret grotto, where he divines answers. He will assure the group that he has lost his muse, regardless of what they might do.
Paedraig leads the group out of Wadith to the west, staying close to the shoreline. The shore eventually becomes more broken and jagged, and finally ends at the foot of some great hills that have been slashed away and eroded by billions and billions of waves. Hidden amongst the cracks and crevices of the stone, a dark cavern leads into the base of one particularly majestic hill about three miles west of the city. Inside, Paedraig lights a lantern that is hidden near the entrance, and leads the group further in, muttering about his ‘lost muse’.
The cavern opens into a natural chamber, around which stand four more lanterns backed by polished steel reflectors. The room is very bright but nothing can be seen within. At this point, Paedraig screams something about ‘death in the light’, drops his lantern and runs straight ahead, moving to hide behind one of the reflectors, just as the party is set upon by Myshyr, a Hellcat currently employed by Wicenna. The fight should be difficult, but not impossible to overcome if the party realizes that the light is allowing their foe to hide from them. If the party retreats to the entrance, Myshyr will follow and risk losing his invisibility to ensure that no survivors escape to tell their tale.
Once Myshyr is slain, Paedraig will begin to sob tears of relief. Assuming the Adventurers stop to listen to his story, he will reveal the truth. He led them to the trap under fear of death, but he is glad that the Hellcat could be defeated. A more important revelation is that he is not a diviner, but his lover is.
Hidden behind one of the reflectors is another passage. Following the passage along, Paedraig leads them to a chamber wherein resides Simunesha, a Gynosphinx and Paedraig’s unusual lover. Simunesha is badly hurt, having been defeated by Myshyr and Wicenna, and Myshyr has since kept her in a state of near death. Paedraig is thankful that she is alive, as he was under threat of death if he had revealed the truth.
Paedraig saw Valyn become ensnared by Wicenna as he was going to visit Simunesha. Simunesha agreed to use her spell like abilities to allow Paedraig to feign divine sight, and he promised to bring her books and tomes bought with the wealth he earned. No one knew of this secret, but with Myshyr in her employ, Wicenna tracked Paedraig and discovered Simunesha. The sphinx was quickly subdued and Paedraig threatened, lending more force to the story of the curse to be spread within Wadith.
With Paedraig ‘powerless’, and Valyn killing those who tried to leave Sprayside, Wicenna was free to pursue the power under Haloun Bay. As a thank you, the weakened Simunesha uses her locate object ability to find the party a stash of Potions of Water Breathing that the Mayor kept on hand to salvage wrecked ships but has since hidden on Wicenna’s orders.
Simunesha also tells the party about the fate of Abathas, Erdrick’s wizard, and the location where he attempted to cast his spell. The core of the spell she does not know, but she has heard of a riddle about the spell that intrigued her:
Ravaged by the driving torrent,
False sky above, the rock beneath,
A hundred turns about the centre,
The older powers here bequeath.
Abathas failed to find the centre,
Now lost forever in his tomb,
The path is there for those to find,
The water leads you through the gloom.
Scene Four: Finding the Harpy
The party can opt, at this point, to return to Wadith and reveal Valyn’s transgressions (coerced as they are), or they can opt to find Wicenna immediately. If they return to reveal the Mayor, it is a simple matter to convince his wife that she needs to search for the bag in question. She can find it easily enough, and showing the militia it’s use will convince them that the Adventurer’s are speaking the truth. Those in Sprayside will be free to leave their homes and go about their daily lives.
Once the potions are found, the party can descend into the depths of the bay. Assuming they head towards the middle of the bay and the location noted by Simunesha, they eventually enter a most astonishing location. If they are walking along the bottom, in the centre of the bay they suddenly find that they are no longer surrounded by water. In fact, if they are swimming, they start to feel as strong current and the loss of buoyancy and are swept away from the direct centre of the bay and towards the shoreline. Either way, they end up on the bottom of the bay about a thousand feet from the centre of the bay.
The ‘dry’ area is not truly dry. In fact the adventurers are pelted with droplets of water from above as if they were in a torrential rainstorm, and there is a good foot of water sitting above the sand and rock of the bay’s floor. As they walk forward, the true nature of this place is revealed. There is a vast ‘cavern’ in the water, and at the centre a spike of light shoots upward, highlighting a massive pillar of water is shooting up from the floor of the bay at phenomenal speed before arcing outward like a fountain. The characters are, for lack of a better description, ‘inside’ the fountain’s arc of water. Whether by magic or sheer speed and force of the water, the area within is pelted with water but not filled. Regardless the noise is deafening and disorienting and the constant spray of water makes vision difficult. Without the spike of light, even the enormous pillar of water would be invisible at this distance.
In a disheartening sight, the pillar seems to be at the centre of a massive maze of rock, smashed ships and coral with walls as high as twenty feet. The stones and coral are sharp, making climbing a deadly proposition, and the downpour makes natural flying impossible, as Wicenna discovered.
The foot of water at the character’s feet is packed with fish and flowing very swiftly. This explains the last two ‘curses’. The fish are trapped by the suction of the pillar in the centre of the maze and cannot free themselves. This suction is also keeping water in the bay, accounting for the unusual high tide encountered by those in Sprayside. This is the key to the maze. The pillar is literally sucking water from the floor of the bay and spewing it upwards. Following the currents of the water will lead them through the twists and turns of the maze, and to the heart of the maze without the need to actually map the entire area.
Abathas never figured out the key to the maze, and at one point the party will pass a set of bones that were once the court wizard of the Barony of Haloun. Unfortunately for Wicenna, she also did not solve the riddle of the maze, and she now wanders it seeking the power hidden at the centre.
At some point, the party will cross paths with Wicenna. She is in no mood to parlay, having been trapped within the maze for nearly a week already. As the party engages her, she will try a few times to dry her wings enough to fly, but she will be unable to. She will lean heavily on her song, and her enchantment magic while making ‘hit and run’ attacks. All spells with a verbal component will have a 25% chance of spell failure in the incredible din of rushing water.
With her inability to fly and the spell failure chance, she should not be too difficult a match for higher-level PCs. For lower level PCs or groups smaller than four characters, raise the spell failure rate to 35% or even 50%.
Conclusion
Once Wicenna is defeated, the party can travel to the centre of the maze unimpeded. A huge totem pole, carved to resemble a school of fish, dominates the centre of the maze. At the top, a single large carved fish sits; it’s mouth pointed upward and the jet of water and light streams forward from within it. At the base of the pole, all of the smaller carved fish seem to be sucking the water from the floor at an alarming rate.
Once approached, the totem pole begins to speak with a deep booming voice that resonates off of the distant wall of water. As each word is spoken, a different carved fish or group of fish animates and moves it’s mouth in time with the word.
The totem warns that the power contained within was not meant for mortals, and that it must rest until a new God can come and claim it’s magic. A wise party will accept this, and the totem will summon an Elder Water Elemental to return the party to the shoreline. Should they insist that the power be given to them, they are killed outright by the magnitude of the magic channeled in to them.
In either case, the totem has served it’s purpose, and slows the flow of the pillar of water until it ceases entirely, and returns to it’s rest. The tide is returned to it’s normal state, and the suction ceases to trap the fish below. The party is hailed as the saviours of the city, and all of the charms and enchantments laid by Wicenna cease upon her death.
Primary NPCs
Wicenna, Female Harpy/Sorcerer 6
Simunesha, Gynosphinx
Paedraig the Seer, Male Elf Com2
Myshyr, Male Devil (Hellcat)
Valyn Sandshore, Male Human Com3, Mayor of Wadith
Coredia Sandshore, Female Human Com2, Wife of Valyn
WinnipegDragon
First Post
I wanted to ask if I could post an RTF but I was afraid of seeing Seasong's post. Sorry for the hugeness.
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