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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickbeam" data-source="post: 684941" data-attributes="member: 635">Seasong vs. QuickbeamIron DM FinalsSmuggler's BluesThis adventure is suitable for characters levels 7-10.  The city of Trumbull can be replaced by any large city with access to a waterway used for transport.Ingredients:Single CombatCycle of LifeBrass RingFrenzied, Elven MonkHidden AgendaLernaean HydraBACKGROUND:Lucien Nightbreeze is an elven monk who trained for years with the Order of the Golden Phoenix in the renowned monastery at Othah.  He was banished from the monastery for straying from the monk’s path by studying the arcane arts.  An ambitious elf, Lucien resolved to start his own academy, one that he could shape to match his image of the perfect being.  Having studied legendary tales and ancient myths while in Othah, Lucien was fascinated with the Lernaean Hydra.  This creature was said to have had nine heads, the centermost being immortal.  Each of the heads is believed to have possessed the ability to breathe venom, and could regenerate if severed from the whole.So it came to pass that Lucien established the Hydra Clan, recruiting promising humans to he personally trained in the ways of the monk.  Lucien limited his clan to eight students.  He instructed each pupil in a different style of combat, and taught them specialized arcane spells to augment their individual powers.  These combat styles (and the students themselves) were named after different venomous snakes to reflect the eight distinct mortal serpent heads of the Lernaean Hydra; whereas, Lucien symbolized the immortal central entity (as an elf, Lucien would outlive countless generations of his pupils).  Whenever one of the clan members died, Lucien would select and train another pupil to take his place, thereby regenerating the severed head.  The elf intended to use his clan to covertly infiltrate all walks of life within the city of Trumbull and from these positions manipulate commerce and politics to their will. SET UP:It is now nearly a century after the founding of the Hydra Clan.  Lucien and his pupils are firmly ensconced in Trumbull.  The townspeople have no idea that the Clan exists, yet the monks quietly wield great influence over the city through their various positions of authority* (see subsequent post for NPC’s).  In recent months, the Hydra Clan has begun to dabble in several new lucrative ventures including the smuggling and distribution of opium.  Trumbull’s Wharf Boss is a man named Cyrn Po – a grizzled individual who happens to be one of the Clan members.  Two weeks ago, Cyrn and some dockworkers were caught unloading the contraband one evening by the Sheriff (Brann Durmak), and convinced him to take weekly payoffs in exchange for his silence and inaction.  While Brann now knows that Cyrn is part of a larger smuggling ring, he has no idea of the Clan’s existence.The Hydra Clan meets only once a month at Lucien’s manor, in order to protect their secrecy.  During the most recent meeting (three days ago), several of the clan members were enraged at Cyrn’s carelessness in being discovered and in forming an ongoing agreement with the Sheriff.  Some even suggested that Master Lucien would be within his rights to banish Cyrn, and find a replacement.  Lucien told his pupils that there did not appear to be a serious risk of the Clan’s discovery, and insisted that they maintain their composure and return to their normal activities, hiding his own serious concerns.  He told his students that he would consider a way to deal with the meddling Sheriff. Last night, Cyrn went into the woods about a half mile outside of the city in order to meet with Sheriff Durmak, to give him his second scheduled payoff.   Durmak left a formal banquet in order to meet Cyrn at the designated clearing.  He was wearing his ceremonial brass chain shirt at the time.  The Sheriff had a hidden agenda in meeting with the monk.  Durmak had a halfling rogue named Zandi, an informer who owed the Sheriff some favors, hide up in the branches of a tree near the clearing.  The Sheriff had decided to double-cross Cyrn by killing him (and taking the money, of course), in order to personally take control of the incoming contraband by confiscating it in order to sell the opium himself.When the signal was given, Zandi fired a crossbow bolt into the monk’s back, at which point Durmak administered a killing blow with his mace.  Cyrn grasped at the Sheriff as he fell, tearing at the ceremonial armor.  As the Sheriff looked down at his victim, he heard the snapping of a branch behind him.  Both Durmak and Zandi scoured the woods for the unseen intruder, before attributing the noise to a passing animal.  In actuality, a small boy named Jasper had been playing nearby and was drawn to the sound of voices.  Jasper recognized Sheriff Durmak from his ceremonial chain shirt, and fled in horror at the sight of the monk’s murder.  Not knowing where else to go for safety and solace, Jasper ran to the church of St. Cuthbert (or suitable deity of retribution) where his family were parishioners.  Nearly in shock, Jasper relayed his tale to Brother Horace.  The cleric knew that Jasper was no liar, but also understood that such a story told by a small boy, would not hold up to public scrutiny against the word of Sheriff Brann Durmak.After giving up their chase for the unseen watcher in the woods, Durmak sends Zandi back to Trumbull to listen for any reports pertaining to the murder.  For his part, the Sheriff goes back to find Cyrn’s body with the intention of hiding the corpse.  To his dismay, Brann hears the feral sounds of something feeding as he approaches the clearing, and is startled to see a twisted humanoid figure hunched over Cyrn’s body.  In the light of the full moon, Durmak can see the dark skin of the creature glistening with Cyrn’s blood, and the being rips into the dead monk’s flesh with its greedy maw.  His eyes fixed on the face of the feeding beast, Durmak unsheathes and throws a dagger at the creature, striking it in the shoulder.   As the creature turns to flee, a cloud passes overhead, and the Sheriff loses sight of the beast.  He does not see that the creature is winged.The beast is a Berbalang (Fiend Folio), which feeds upon dead humans during the three nights surrounding the full moon every month.  The creature’s cycle of life is tied directly to the lunar cycle, and its body lies dormant except for these short feeding periods.  The Sheriff has disturbed the Berbalang’s cycle of life by interrupting its feeding, and the creature will seek to feed again after it has healed from the attack.Durmak, seeing the damage done to the corpse, realizes that he now has a cover story for the wharf boss’s untimely demise.  He brings the body back to town and sounds a general alarm.  He tells those who gather that some monster is on the loose, and is responsible for the death of Cyrn Po.  He offers a reward on behalf of the city for anyone who can locate and slay the beast.PC HOOKS:1)  The party is in Trumbull during the general alarm, and is drawn to the city center, where they hear Sheriff Durmak’s tale.  The party may wish to seek out the creature in the hopes of collecting the reward, or increasing their reputations as heroic adventurers.2)  If the party is not drawn into the adventure on their own, Brother Horace approaches the party after the general alarm or the next morning.  He explains that the church does not have the resources to investigate Jasper’s story, and believes that nobody else in the city would consider questioning the Sheriff’s motives.  As a priest of St. Cuthbert, he believes that no crime should go unpunished, and the Sheriff has already made his intentions to conceal the murder plain with his lies.3)  Upon learning of Cyrn Po’s death, Lucien panics.  The frenzied, elven monk does not believe that Po fell victim to some mystery creature in the woods, knowing his pupil to be too powerful.  He suspects that either the Sheriff or even one of the other members of the Hydra Clan has murdered Po: the Sheriff because of the illicit arrangement, and another clan member because of the harsh remarks and high tempers at the last meeting.  He will approach the party and offer to hire them at a hefty price to investigate Po’s death.  His story to the PC’s will be that he fears someone is trying to hurt his business interests.  Killing the wharf boss will put things on the waterfront in disarray, while blaming a monster in the countryside may hurt caravan trade.RUNNING THE ADVENTURE:** If the PC’s choose to pursue the monster alleged to have killed Cyrn Po, it is likely that they will want to speak with Sheriff Durmak for more details.  He will tell the party that he saw some creature feeding on the body by moonlight, and wounded the beast with a thrown dagger.  He says that the monster then fled towards the east moving with eerie silence (it flew), but he can say no more since the moon ducked behind some clouds.  Durmak will also describe the location of the clearing where he saw this “attack.”  Sense Motive and Bluff checks will reveal nothing useful, since none of these statements are false.  If the PC’s move to investigate the clearing, a Search check (DC 15) will allow party members to see several brass rings lying partially buried in the dirt.  These are actually loose pieces of the Sheriff’s chain shirt, which tore free when Po fell on Durmak during the encounter.  Clever PC’s may comprehend the significance of these rings based on their description, or the DM may allow an Intelligence check to make the connection.  A Wilderness Lore check (DC 20) will also reveal two small sets of footprints at the scene (one belonging to Zandi, the other Jasper), and several broken branches in a nearby tree indicating that others were present.  If the characters choose to confront Sheriff Durmak with the brass rings, he will become quite flustered before regaining his composure and explaining that they must have come loose while he was picking up the body.Should the party continue looking for the Berbalang, PC’s with tracking skills will conclude that the beast left no trace of its departure, and may well have flown off.  Following the Sheriff’s directions, the party will come upon a series of small caves, and in one of these rests the Berbalang’s physical form.  If the PC’s engage the creature in combat, they will almost certainly strike it dead with one blow…perhaps another signal that the grizzled Wharf Boss was not slain by this beast.** If the PC’s follow the Hook provided by Brother Horace, they are likely to head straight for the clearing using Jasper’s directions.  The same Search, Wilderness Lore, and Tracking checks noted above apply here.  Armed with the brass mail rings and Jasper’s story, the PC’s will likely seek to confront Sheriff Durmak.  Once again, he will attempt to explain the rings away – quite poorly in the face of the PC’s strong suspicions.  However, without conclusive evidence of his crime the Sheriff isn’t about to confess, and further questions will be of no use.  If the characters choose to collect information on Po in an attempt to learn who would want him dead, they will likely encounter several members of the Hydra Clan – albeit unknowingly.  With a Gather Information check (DC 20) the PC’s may learn any/all of the following:> Cyrn Po had previous meetings with the Sheriff.> The Wharf Boss was considered to be extremely tough and hearty, and those along the docks do not believe some boogeyman monster killed him in the woods.> He was seen leaving the manor of Lucien Nightbreeze on several occasions.> Po was involved in illegal activites.The other Hydra Clan members* (see subsequent post) are certain to be present in some of the areas where the party is attempting to gather information.  Fearing that the party will inevitably discover their group and/or expose their lucrative opium trade, the Clan members will seek to eliminate the PC’s.  The Innkeeper may lure one character into a backroom with pressing private information; the Guard may approach the party leader and claim that he has vital knowledge about Sheriff Durmak; the Merchant may catch the attention of one PC and offer to share a secret with them; etc.  The point is, they will attempt to divide and conquer the party, engaging only in single combat encounters.  The DM may choose when and how to employ these single combat ambushes, but under no circumstance will the Hydra Clan members attack the party en masse.If any of the Hydra Clan monks are defeated and thoroughly searched, the party will notice a peculiar tattoo just below the neckline of each monk.  This tattoo is the elvish character for “hydra” and should indicate that the assailant was not some random thug.  Unfortunately, almost no one in Trumbull knows anything about the Hydra Clan, and only a Bardic Knowledge check (DC 25) will help explain the significance of this symbol.** If hired by Lucien, the party will either want to begin by exploring the clearing (which they will have to find by either asking the Sheriff, or dumb luck) or by heading to the wharf for information of Cyrn Po.  Exploring the clearing will be handled as previously noted.  If the PC’s choose to head for the waterfront use the Gather Information checks listed above, and begin the single combat encounters thereafter as the Hydra Clan moves to protect their existence and drug smuggling.At some point – and especially after enduring several surprise individual battles – the party should want to physically see Cyrn’s body with their own eyes.  They may wish to examine the “monster” bite marks; they may be looking for signs of foul play; they may be looking for clues pertaining to the strange elven tattoos.  In any event, a close examination of Po’s corpse will reveal:> a severely damaged skull from the Sheriff’s mace> a small penetration wound in the back from Zandi’s crossbow> the elven hydra tattoo> and two brass rings from Durmak’s chain shirt still clutched in one hand.Additional Encounters and Conclusions:All of the subversive elements and scheming within Trumbull begin to unravel as the party explores the different aspects of Po’s life and death.  With the various clues, rumors, attacks, and obvious lies, two final destinations of the mind will be reached.  First the party will conclude that Sheriff Durmak was responsible for Po’s death – the brass rings clutched in the dead man’s hand should seal the deal!  Instead of facing the gallows, Durmak and Zandi will fight the PC’s to the death.  Second, the party should conclude that some secret group or society has taken root in Trumbull.  The various rumors learned by the party (in particular the one which brings Lucien into play) or information obtained from defeated Clan members, will lead to a final confrontation at Lucien’s manor.  Lucien and any surviving Hydra Clan members will battle the group viscously…but the DM may choose to have one Lucien escape to re-establish the Hydra Clan elsewhere.  Regardless of the initial Hook, the party will be amply rewarded by the Trumbull City Council, and may even receive titles and lands depending on your campaign.Final note: If the party’s investigation takes more than four days without significant progress, or if the Berbalang is not discovered in its lair, the creature returns to Trumbull seeking revenge on the Sheriff…and of course food.  This will throw a huge curveball at the party, by providing some small measure of credence to the Sheriff’s story.The subsequent post contains NPC information not crucial to the judging process, but nice for actually running the campaign as it was devised. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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