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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 5640394" data-attributes="member: 54707">Wreaking HavocWreaking Havoc - The third  installment of the set of adventures dealing with the Wreak.   If the party survives the adventure of the Folly  Men then they will have by this point gathered at least some information about  what is possibly going on surrounding the Wreak.   First of all they will know that there are likely  3 Wreaks, or at least 3 different parts or segments of the same  Wreak.   Secondly they will know that the Wreaks they have  seen, although appearing to be devices, also seem to be alive, or to at least  house a Living or Living entities.   Thirdly that the Wreak or Wreaks are somehow  connected to the Undead.   Fourth, that someone of something is affecting the  minds and behavior of others, including Dwarves, Giants, and Men. But whether  that power or force is of or is connected to the Wreak, the Undead, the Folly  Men, or some as yet unknown source is not yet known.   What the party members have yet to discover is the  fact that the Wreak is indeed both a device and a living Entity, that it was  accidentally split and scattered when it came to investigate the Barrow that the  Clerics had built to entrap the Greatest Undead of their Age, that the Folly Men  are the potential "rescuers" of the Undead Shades (the Umbrae), and they have  yet to meet Kelbrane.   Kelbrane is a being of unknown origin, who appears  humanoid but whose skin is covered in transparent platelets which seem to  resonate when he walks or moves. At times he seems to ring like softly chiming  bells, at other times he sounds like metal scraping against metal when in  motion. His eyes appear almost crystalline and are similarly transparent, but  when looking into his eyes rather than seeing reflected light one can see  various scenes of unknown places and beings.    Kelbrane does not speak but rather he when he  wishes to communicate his skin vibrates and shimmers softly which produces  various sounds, some of them like music. Although no known words or languages  are transmitted by these sounds anyone listening can "know" what he said.  Kelbrane can also influence the mind, mood, and behavior of others when he is  "speaking," causing them to see vivid and realistic visions.   Kelbrane has an agenda towards the Undead and  possibly towards the Wreak as well.   As the adventure of Wreaking Havoc continues the  players should come to understand these possibilities for Kelbrane's involvement  and behavior. Some of these ideas are planted in the minds of various party  members by Kelbrane himself, but different party members seem to get different  impressions of Kelbrane's true intentions and purposes.   1. Kelbrane intends to free all of the Barrow  Shades, housing all of these various shades in his own body, and thereby gain  all of the abilities of the Shades he houses   2. Kelbrane can control all of the Shades he  houses   3. Kelbrane cannot control all of the Shades he  houses and will become possessed by them   4. Kelbrane is an Undead Being himself and by  housing all of the Undead Shades in his own body intends to become the Greatest  Undead of his age   5. The Undead Shades eagerly await being freed by  Kelbrane and intend to assist him   6. The Undead Shades fear or despise (or  both) Kelbrane and intend to fight him   7. Kelbrane and the Wreak are somehow associated  and both intend to obliterate all Undead in the World forever, somehow using the  Shades as their means   Other rumors surrounding Kelbrane will be  discovered as the adventure proceeds.     Rumors surrounding the Folly Men are as  follows:   1. the Folly Men are enslaved servants of the  Undead Shades and are trying to rescue them from their prison   2. The Folly Men are Undead  themselves   3. The Folly Men are to be the new bodies for the  Undead Shades   4. The Folly Men are the Original Clerics who  entrapped the Shades and intend to destroy them once and for all     The Undead Shades have an agenda of their own, but  not all have the same agenda. A couple want to die forever. One intends to gain  his freedom and then seek some way to atone for his previous evil deeds. Most  want simply to escape. A few want to take possession of new bodies. And three  want to somehow regain use of their former bodies, though this now seems  impossible.   The Shades seem to have an uneasy relationship  with the Wreak (or at least that part of the Wreak they are familiar with) and  some are repelled by it and a few seem frightened of it. A couple seem  fascinated by it and a few suspect it may be a means of escape from the  Barrow.   All of these various agendas will play themselves  out if the Shades encounter the party members, take possession of some of the  party members, or manage to escape the Barrow (by whatever means possible). So  it will be impossible for the party members to develop a single, unified  strategy for dealing with the Undead Shades. Most every Shade will have to be  dealt with on a case-by-case basis.   The actual adventure of Wreaking  Havoc will begin as the party exits the mountain. At that point they  will discover signs of widespread destruction throughout the region. When they  return to the Village that hired them they will discover the entire Village  population has been brutally massacred, and not by weapons, but apparently by  having been literally torn apart. Corpses will be scattered everywhere, though  it does appear some people may have escaped. Homes and buildings will have been  burned and razed, and some looting will have apparently occurred. The scene is  horrific.    If the party stays the night in the area then at  night a grisly replay of the Village massacre will recur as a sort of visual and  auditory after-Image. The party will be able to dimly see re-enactments of the  massacre and hear screams and cries for help as the villagers are torn to  pieces. But there will be no images or sound impressions of the attackers,  instead in their place will be a sort of wavering image, like waves of heat  rising from an intensely hot fire. The attackers cannot be seen or heard, only  the victims. However the party will see that some of the attackers apparently  rise from the ground at certain points throughout the village and the area. (If  the party has decided to camp for the night anywhere in the area except within  the Barrow or the Mountain itself then they will see the same replay of the  Village massacre.) After midnight on the first night if the party has not either  buried or burned the corpses of the Villagers then the remains of their bodies  will animate and rise from the dead.   If they decide to investigate the areas where the  attackers seem to have arisen from the ground they will discover holes which  lead into caverns and rooms underground. At this point it becomes apparent that  the Village was built over the buried remains of a much older town or  settlement. Parts of this town or settlement are still in existence having been  preserved by being buried and covered over.    Within these ruins will be found the third part of  the Wreak, and a long dried underground waterway that may lead all the way back  to the Barrow and another arm of which seems to lead under the Mountain, those  responsible for the Village massacre, and the Folly Men (who have apparently  inhabited part of the Underground Ruins as a temporary base of  operations).   In addition, under the old ruins themselves, and  at the triune fork of the dried, underground waterway system is what appears to  be a passage leading downwards into an even older set of ruins, though what  these ruins or structures were used for is unknown.   In this last adventure the Wreak, The Undead  Shades, the Folly Men, the Barrow Demon, and the Warlock will all play their own  parts in the plot. (Assuming they have all survived.) In addition the Barrow  Wight, the Ghost, and Kelbrane will all figure prominently as well, and will all  affect how events proceed.   I've decided that all three of these adventures  (The Wreaking Crypt, The Dwarves, the  Giants, and the Folly Men - aka The Wreak under the Mountain, and  Wreaking Havoc), taken together and as a set, will be  called, The Last of the Dead-Men.</blockquote>

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