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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 212963" data-attributes="member: 67">Ingredients:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Beggars</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Corrupt Fire Priest</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Penitent Undead</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Defiled Graves</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sacred Plants</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tainted Blood</li> </ul>The Dying FlameA short adventure for characters level 6-10Opportunities abound for combat in this adventure, but it is quite possible for the PCs to reach a reasonably satisfying conclusion with no such encounters.The HistoryIn the burning stretches of the Boundless Desert, lies the majestic and holy City in the Sands.  It is at this site that the gods first brought fire to the mortal world.  No oasis supports the city, but the city thrives, nevertheless.  Its fine artisanship is sought the world over, and the city trades the fine works that its inhabitants produce for water and precious materials.Furthermore, the city attracts thousands of pilgrims a year, each bringing hefty donations to the Priests who run the city.  These pilgrims are visiting the sacred Fire That Does Not Die—the continuing presence of the first mortal flame.  That Fire is kept by the Priests, the Keepers of the Holy Flame, the same Priests who rule the city.Every one hundred and one years, five of the Priests are required to sacrifice their eldest daughters (as virgins, of course).  The daughters’ blood is drained and mixed and poured over the graves of the Priest’s ancestors, upon which grows the Sacred Grove, a grove of palm trees maintained by the Priests and harvested as fuel for the Fire That Does Not Die.In this way, the blood of the Priests—and only the Priests, lives on in the Holy Flame.Recent EventsThe day has come, once again, for the sacrifice of the Priests’ daughters.  One of these Priests, Comfort of the Desert Breeze, has grown attached to his eldest daughter, Diamond in the Desert Sands, and has succumbed to his daughter’s suggestion that he allow her to escape.  She even provides him with a plan to do so.On the outskirts of town, a beggar family (one of many such families who crowd the streets of the City in the Sands) has a daughter who bears a strong likeness to Diamond in the Desert Sands.  Diamond has convinced her father to grant her a small fortune in funds and send her to a destination unknown to him.In her place, the daughter of the beggar family is to be sacrificed.Comfort, like many of the Keepers of the Holy Flame, is not a divine caster and does not truly have faith in the gods, or his role as a Priest.  Rather, he is a politician, a Priest because his ancestors were Priests and because he enjoys the political power that his position employs; not surprisingly, Comfort believes that the ceremony is nothing more than foolish tradition and has no hesitations about sparing his daughter’s life.His great misfortune is evident when the Grove that is sprinkled with the tainted blood of the sacrifices begins to slowly die.  Comfort’s fellow Priests discover his deception and slay the former Priest, leaving his body in the desert, unburied.Consequently, Comfort’s soul is restless and he returns to the mortal realm in the form of a ghost, determined to right his wrongs by hunting down his daughter, sacrificing her, and feeding her blood to the Sacred Grove on the graves of his ancestors.  By doing this, the ghost of Comfort hopes to accomplish two ends: returning life to the dying grove and purchasing a peaceful rest for himself.The SetupThe PCs may find themselves entering the City in the Sands any time that they are traveling through a desert or with a trade route.  The City in the Sands should be a major stop in the trade route, as it is an opulently rich city with trade goods of all kinds—from spices to flying carpets.  The PCs could also be a hired escort for pilgrims to the Holy Flame, or they could be pilgrims, themselves.Alternately, the location of the City could be changed, but doing so would certainly distort the flavor of the City.  Whatever the case, the PCs will find a world rich in political intrigue and class disparity within the City’s walls and should have plenty of opportunities for exploration and additional encounters.The City in the SandsWhen the PCs enter the City, they are accosted by mobs of beggars.  It is immediately evident that, despite the City’s rich appearance, many of its denizens are destitute.  One such group of beggars that the PCs may encounter will tell the PCs a tale of woe unlike most of the other beggars.  They will claim that the “soldiers of the Priests came to take their daughter away.”  This is mostly true—the soldiers were hired guards of Comfort of the Desert Breeze.  The beggars will also claim that they have seen their daughter (Joy of the Whispering Night) a few times in town, at a distance.  This, also, is truthfully spoken, although it is inaccurate.  Actually, the beggars have mistaken Diamond in the Desert Sands, who has not yet left the City—as she is seeking to hire adventurers for protection before she departs—for their daughter. Deeper in the City, where the merchants sprawl across the streets and year-long bazaars vie for the money of visiting traders, the PCs will hear worried rumors that the Sacred Grove is dying.  A successful Gather Information check at DC 15 will yield:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the knowledge that the Sacred Grove is the fuel for the Fire That Does Not Die,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the sacred nature of the Holy Fire, </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">and the illegal nature of such rumors—for the very well being of the City is determinant upon the existence of the Holy Flame.</li> </ul>If the PCs explore the City during the night (as is not uncommon for people unused to the desert sun), they will encounter the ghost of Comfort of the Desert Breeze, who is searching frantically for his daughter, in order to bring her back to the temple to be sacrificed.  The ghost is far too frantic to be malevolent toward the PCs and will attempt to enlist their aid, if they are willing to hear him out.  The ghost will tell his story if the PCs ask for it, and will answer any of their questions as accurately as it can without actually telling them that the Grove is dying, or that the Fire That Does Not Die is in danger of being extinguished as a result.  The ghost will not tell the PCs what it intends to do with its daughter once it has found her.The OptionsAt this point, the PCs have several options, of few of which follow:They may…a) help the ghost of Comfort of the Desert Breeze to locate his daughter.  She is currently in the City looking to hire some adventurers, so this should not be a difficult task.  If the PCs are cunning (or treacherous), they may even accept the job and receive a handsome payment of 1000 gold before betraying her to Comfort.  Ironically, the sacrifice will only be partially successful—Comfort will cease to exist as a ghost, but the blood of Diamond will not slow the death of the Sacred Grove.  The PCs may well encounter the “guards” of the Priests while searching for Diamond, who are thinking along lines similar to Comfort.  Comfort does not know the motives of the Priests and does know about the search for his daughter; he, therefore, concludes that they must not be allowed to capture Diamond and is likely to warn the PCs to keep the guards from getting to her.  The guards will be in packs of 3d6 and will be level 5 Warriors.  They have orders to subdue Diamond and to make sure that she is not killed.b) help Diamond in the Desert Sands to escape from the City.  She will pay the PCs a flat sum of 1000 gold in advance for their aid and another 2000 upon her safe delivery out of the Boundless Desert.  This may be more difficult than the PCs would suspect, because the Priests have sent their temple “guards” (or, more accurately, thugs) to find her; the Priests are thinking along the same lines as Comfort, although they do not know that he has returned as a ghost and they would not work with him if they did.  These guards would be in packs of 3d6 level 5 Warriors.  They have orders to subdue Diamond and to make sure that she is not killed.  Should the Priests succeed in capturing and sacrificing Diamond, they will learn that her blood will not rectify their situation.  It is also possible that the PCs would encounter Comfort of the Desert Breeze, who would certainly attack them in this situation, but would go to any lengths to make sure that Diamond is not killed prematurely.c) help heal the Sacred Grove through druidic spells, specifically, plant growth or 36 hp of cure spells cast directly on the graves.  The PCs may think to try a similar tactic with Comfort of the Desert Breeze by casting atonement, but the attempt will not work, because the spell is limited to living targets.  If the PCs heal the Sacred Grove, they will gain the friendship of the Priests (which may not be very palatable, particularly if the PCs have a paladin in the group) and will be rewarded 1500 gold per party member.d) leave the evil Priests and their precious City in the Sands to rot in the desert.  This should not be a particularly palatable choice, because the entire city will certainly suffer with the extinguishing of the Holy Flame.  The entire economic structure of the City is likely to collapse under the combined weight of the lack of monetary income from the thousands of pilgrims that visit the City every year and the power vacuum that will inevitably be created when the Priests are derived of their purpose and revealed to be powerless (in a divine sense, at any rate).e) attempt to fill the power vacuum that will inevitably left by the Priests when the Holy Flame is extinguished.  This will no doubt lead to a conflict between the Priests (and their guards) and the PCs.  There are a total of 101 Priests, most of whom are low level Aristocrats.  Few of them have any divine casting abilities and those with such abilities are Adepts.  Each of the Priests is able to call upon 101 guards (level 5 Warriors), and will certainly call upon all of them in the event of a large-scale battle.  If the PCs manage to succeed in taking over the City, they will still have to deal with the economic crisis at hand.  Ultimately, the potential reward of this course of action may not be worthwhile to the PCs.The CastComfort of the Desert Breeze was once Neutral Evil, unlike most of his former fellow-Priests, who are almost uniformly Lawful Evil.  Like most of the Priests, Comfort viewed his position as a political one—not particularly believing or caring in the divinity.  Like many non-believers, he generally assumes that all divine magic is arcane magic cast by a fraud.  Comfort is conniving and charismatic, qualities that once earned him a high position within the Priesthood.  Unfortunately, these same qualities conspired to award his daughter the honor of being one of the sacrifices to the graves of the ancestors—a sacrifice that Comfort was not willing to make in life.  As a ghost, Comfort is quite aware of the nature of divinity, and is restless in his shameful undeath.  He is truly penitent (now Lawful Evil) and wishes to right the wrongs that he has committed against his former colleagues and his City.  He is currently a level 3 Aristocrat Ghost.Diamond in the Desert Sands is Chaotic Evil—thoroughly selfish, cunning, and manipulative.  She is also (very reasonably) terrified of her impending mortality.  The thought of getting married to escape her predicament has crossed her mind (the sacrifices must be virgins, after all), but is not feasible, because no one would ever think of marrying the daughter of a Priest of the Holy Flame who is scheduled to be sacrificed for the good of the City (and, presumably, the gods).  Even so, she is getting desperate, as rumors suggest that her plan may not have worked as well as it should have, and she will attempt to manipulate the PCs to help her escape, should she encounter them, by any means at her disposal, even seduction.  Diamond is a level 1 Aristocrat.</blockquote>

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