HomeCampaign recap
Sunday Night Cabal :: Finished Games :: Curse of the Crimson Throne :: Summaries/Recap/Treasure :: Book 5 - Skeletons of Scarwall
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Campaign recap
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:51 pm
Session recap7/17/2016; Part One: Secrets Revealed
When the Sun Shaman (N male human druid 16) is ready to speak with the PCs, several Burn Riders approach the PCs to inform them that the shaman requests their presence in his tent. The Sun Shaman waits here alone to speak with the PCs. When they arrive, he congratulates them again on shedding their outlander status to become Sklar-Quah before inviting them to be seated around his personal fire.
The Sun Shaman is one of the few Shoanti who retains knowledge of the secrets held before Cheliax invaded their homelands along the coast of Conqueror’s Bay. His predecessor passed the knowledge of these times down to him, just as he plans to do for the shaman who will follow him, and as he plans to now do for the PCs. The Sun Shaman’s tale is relatively short. He tells of how, hundreds of years ago, one of his own ancestors was called to join a righteous cause. A man named Mandraivus, a hero from a distant nation, was gathering a small group of warriors to aid in a fight against a despotic dragon named Kazavon, and the Sun Shaman’s ancestorjoined this crusade. He was gone for months, and when he finally returned he was not the same man—his hands shook, his eyes carried a haunted stare, and he cried out in fear at night. He spoke little of what he saw while serving Mandraivus, but did say that they were successful in defeating Kazavon, and that the fortress of Scarwall was now under Mandraivus’s control. He was convinced it would remain impotent as long as the hero managed to maintain a hold on it.
While Kazavon had been defeated, his will to live was so immense that even the remains of his body twitched. The cabal had attempted to destroy the remains, but many fragments of the dragon’s skeleton resisted even their most destructive spells. Mandraivus tasked seven of his surviving followers (which the Sun Shaman’s ancestor counted himself among) each with claiming one of the bony relics of Kazavon’s body and ordered them taken from Scarwall. None of the seven would communicate where they were going to the others or to Mandraivus, and they were to ensure that their chosen relics would remain hidden and guarded for all time in order to prevent the dragon from returning to life.
The Sun Shaman’s ancestor told this story to his fellow shamans, and revealed that his chosen relic was the dragon’s fangs. The Shoanti took to calling them the Midnight Fangs, and they chose the ancient pyramid on the shores of Conquerer’s Bay as their reliquary. After hiding the fangs in a secret room deep inside the pyramid, they took to the task of ensuring that the fangs remained safe. For generations, they maintained their task—until Cheliax invaded and
slaughtered the Shoanti. Those few who survived and knew the secret of the fangs were forced to flee with their kin into the Cinderlands. For the next three centuries the knowledge was passed from Sun Shaman to Sun Shaman, and they watched with fearful eyes as the city of Korvosa grew around their ancient reliquary.
That Queen Ileosa has discovered the Midnight Fangs and somehow tapped into their latent power troubles the Sun Shaman greatly, for he knows something of the Fangs’ power. During the time they were guarded, Shoanti shamans studied the fangs and communed with the spirit world about them. They discovered that a fragment of Kazavon’s soul remained lodged within the fangs. While this fragment alone wasn’t enough to work ill upon the world, it could certainly invade the dreams of those who touched them. The Sun Shamans were stubborn and willful, more than a match for the fangs’ temptations and promises, but a weaker mind—say, that of a petty young queen—would have no such defense.
The Sun Shaman goes on to explain that the fragments of Kazavon’s soul are like a plant—once they find suitable soil in which to grow, they can bloom into a mighty tree. This appears to be the case with Ileosa—her own cruelty and strength have been enhanced greatly by the fangs. Worse, she now possesses two souls—her own, and one grown from the fragment of Kazavon’s. Two souls in one body, the Sun Shaman muses, would grant her incredible power over her own mortality. If the PCs describe to him the events of the failed assassination during “Escape from Old Korvosa,” he merely nods grimly.
At this point, the Sun Shaman suggests the PCs take part in a ritual called the Blessing of the Ancestors. This is a rare ritual the Shoanti use only in times of great change—it calls upon a soul from the spirit world to seek guidance and advice on how to proceed. Typically, the Blessing of the Ancestors is used before making the decision to go to war on another tribe, or to abandon a long-held campsite in hopes of finding a better home, but this situation warrants the ritual as well. The PCs face a time of great potential here, but returning to Korvosa to confront an immortal enemy would only result in their deaths. Clearly, advice is needed. The Sun Shaman asks the PCs if there is a particular spirit or ancestor with whom they have a particularly strong link—the stronger the link, the more exacting the advice granted by the Blessing of the Ancestors becomes. While it may seem like the spirit of a dead parent, sibling, child, or lover would make a good choice, there is one in particular with whom the PCs have become quite closely tied—Zellara, the Varisian Harrower. If the PCs don’t quickly realize she is their greatest link to the spirit world, the character who carries Zellara’s Harrow Deck suddenly receives a nearly overwhelming empathic wave of emotion from her, and realizes that she is indeed their best choice.
The Blessing of the Ancestors is a ritual conducted by Sun Shamans of the Sklar-Quah to bring the recipients to the notice of a closely allied spirit in order to seek advice concerning a current quandary or event. The information isn’t imparted by the contacted spirit, but rather from the realm of spirits—the spirit contacted merely serves as a conduit for this information. While the general effects of a Blessing of the Ancestors normally duplicates the effects of a commune
or contact other plane spell, often they have specific and unique manifestations as well.
The ritual itself takes about two hours to prepare—to the outside observer, it looks like little more than a rhythmic droning chant by the acting Sun Shaman. Those who wish to partake in the blessing seat themselves in a circle around the Sun Shaman and his focus fire (a small campfire) so that they are each touching another, forming an unbroken ring of flesh and bone. The ritual must begin two hours before sunrise, so that it comes to its conclusion as dawn breaks. The Sun Shaman chooses the upper tier of Bolt Rock to perform the ritual, and unless the PCs request otherwise, the entire Flameford tribe accompanies them to watch, silently and respectfully, as the ritual progresses. The shaman begins by recounting the legends of the tribe and the heroics and wisdom of the ancestors in a sing-song voice, shifting after 10 minutes into wordless droning and rhythmic chanting.
When the Sun Shaman (N male human druid 16) is ready to speak with the PCs, several Burn Riders approach the PCs to inform them that the shaman requests their presence in his tent. The Sun Shaman waits here alone to speak with the PCs. When they arrive, he congratulates them again on shedding their outlander status to become Sklar-Quah before inviting them to be seated around his personal fire.
The Sun Shaman is one of the few Shoanti who retains knowledge of the secrets held before Cheliax invaded their homelands along the coast of Conqueror’s Bay. His predecessor passed the knowledge of these times down to him, just as he plans to do for the shaman who will follow him, and as he plans to now do for the PCs. The Sun Shaman’s tale is relatively short. He tells of how, hundreds of years ago, one of his own ancestors was called to join a righteous cause. A man named Mandraivus, a hero from a distant nation, was gathering a small group of warriors to aid in a fight against a despotic dragon named Kazavon, and the Sun Shaman’s ancestorjoined this crusade. He was gone for months, and when he finally returned he was not the same man—his hands shook, his eyes carried a haunted stare, and he cried out in fear at night. He spoke little of what he saw while serving Mandraivus, but did say that they were successful in defeating Kazavon, and that the fortress of Scarwall was now under Mandraivus’s control. He was convinced it would remain impotent as long as the hero managed to maintain a hold on it.
While Kazavon had been defeated, his will to live was so immense that even the remains of his body twitched. The cabal had attempted to destroy the remains, but many fragments of the dragon’s skeleton resisted even their most destructive spells. Mandraivus tasked seven of his surviving followers (which the Sun Shaman’s ancestor counted himself among) each with claiming one of the bony relics of Kazavon’s body and ordered them taken from Scarwall. None of the seven would communicate where they were going to the others or to Mandraivus, and they were to ensure that their chosen relics would remain hidden and guarded for all time in order to prevent the dragon from returning to life.
The Sun Shaman’s ancestor told this story to his fellow shamans, and revealed that his chosen relic was the dragon’s fangs. The Shoanti took to calling them the Midnight Fangs, and they chose the ancient pyramid on the shores of Conquerer’s Bay as their reliquary. After hiding the fangs in a secret room deep inside the pyramid, they took to the task of ensuring that the fangs remained safe. For generations, they maintained their task—until Cheliax invaded and
slaughtered the Shoanti. Those few who survived and knew the secret of the fangs were forced to flee with their kin into the Cinderlands. For the next three centuries the knowledge was passed from Sun Shaman to Sun Shaman, and they watched with fearful eyes as the city of Korvosa grew around their ancient reliquary.
That Queen Ileosa has discovered the Midnight Fangs and somehow tapped into their latent power troubles the Sun Shaman greatly, for he knows something of the Fangs’ power. During the time they were guarded, Shoanti shamans studied the fangs and communed with the spirit world about them. They discovered that a fragment of Kazavon’s soul remained lodged within the fangs. While this fragment alone wasn’t enough to work ill upon the world, it could certainly invade the dreams of those who touched them. The Sun Shamans were stubborn and willful, more than a match for the fangs’ temptations and promises, but a weaker mind—say, that of a petty young queen—would have no such defense.
The Sun Shaman goes on to explain that the fragments of Kazavon’s soul are like a plant—once they find suitable soil in which to grow, they can bloom into a mighty tree. This appears to be the case with Ileosa—her own cruelty and strength have been enhanced greatly by the fangs. Worse, she now possesses two souls—her own, and one grown from the fragment of Kazavon’s. Two souls in one body, the Sun Shaman muses, would grant her incredible power over her own mortality. If the PCs describe to him the events of the failed assassination during “Escape from Old Korvosa,” he merely nods grimly.
At this point, the Sun Shaman suggests the PCs take part in a ritual called the Blessing of the Ancestors. This is a rare ritual the Shoanti use only in times of great change—it calls upon a soul from the spirit world to seek guidance and advice on how to proceed. Typically, the Blessing of the Ancestors is used before making the decision to go to war on another tribe, or to abandon a long-held campsite in hopes of finding a better home, but this situation warrants the ritual as well. The PCs face a time of great potential here, but returning to Korvosa to confront an immortal enemy would only result in their deaths. Clearly, advice is needed. The Sun Shaman asks the PCs if there is a particular spirit or ancestor with whom they have a particularly strong link—the stronger the link, the more exacting the advice granted by the Blessing of the Ancestors becomes. While it may seem like the spirit of a dead parent, sibling, child, or lover would make a good choice, there is one in particular with whom the PCs have become quite closely tied—Zellara, the Varisian Harrower. If the PCs don’t quickly realize she is their greatest link to the spirit world, the character who carries Zellara’s Harrow Deck suddenly receives a nearly overwhelming empathic wave of emotion from her, and realizes that she is indeed their best choice.
The Blessing of the Ancestors is a ritual conducted by Sun Shamans of the Sklar-Quah to bring the recipients to the notice of a closely allied spirit in order to seek advice concerning a current quandary or event. The information isn’t imparted by the contacted spirit, but rather from the realm of spirits—the spirit contacted merely serves as a conduit for this information. While the general effects of a Blessing of the Ancestors normally duplicates the effects of a commune
or contact other plane spell, often they have specific and unique manifestations as well.
The ritual itself takes about two hours to prepare—to the outside observer, it looks like little more than a rhythmic droning chant by the acting Sun Shaman. Those who wish to partake in the blessing seat themselves in a circle around the Sun Shaman and his focus fire (a small campfire) so that they are each touching another, forming an unbroken ring of flesh and bone. The ritual must begin two hours before sunrise, so that it comes to its conclusion as dawn breaks. The Sun Shaman chooses the upper tier of Bolt Rock to perform the ritual, and unless the PCs request otherwise, the entire Flameford tribe accompanies them to watch, silently and respectfully, as the ritual progresses. The shaman begins by recounting the legends of the tribe and the heroics and wisdom of the ancestors in a sing-song voice, shifting after 10 minutes into wordless droning and rhythmic chanting.
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Campaign recap part 2
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:04 pm
The Party’s Home
The first attempt at correcting the blood veil because some of the citizens like Ruan Mirukova is immune to it. Ramoska Arkminos is the male nosferatu who was commanded by his leader to assist them with the creation process. Ramoska kidnapped and experimented on Ruan. He is a true expert with alchemy and diseases. The priests of Urgathoa, the female human clerics of Urgathoa and Lady Andaisin, where also using their skills and resources to make the blood veil more potent. Rolth escaped. The PC’s stopped them and recued Ruan.
Rolth returned to claim the last remaining Leukodaemon. He also retrieved his notes and other notes concerning the disease. He’s in an excellent position to bring a new plague to town.
Rolth has kidnapped, tortured and experimented on Grau’s sister-in-law’s family lives in a small community northeast of Korvosa disparagingly called Trail’s End. Trail’s End is poor and reputedly dangerous. Tayce Soldado lives here with her three children, Brienna, Charlo, and Rello. Tayce and her family are well-known and quietly respected in Trail’s End, and have nothing to fear from the local Sczarni toughs. While Tayce works as a washerwoman for those in the community and several families in North Point, her children also bring. The results were a successful infection rate, which led to Rolth’s using of his magic to turn the family into undead and golems. He’s using the new diseased body parts to create undead.
Rolth has kidnapped, tortured and experimented on Mamae children. The results were a successful infection rate, which led to Rolth’s using of his magic to turn the family into undead and golems. He’s using the new diseased body parts to create undead. In the deaths one turned into a ghost the remaining into Cannibal Child there are 6 cannibal children.
The new plague
Rolth returned to claim the last remaining Leukodaemon. He also retrieved his notes and other notes concerning the disease. He’s in an excellent position to bring a new plague to town. Ramoska Arkminos is also assisting with the creation of the new disease. Ramoska Arkminos has already returned home.
The affliction that the people of Korvosa will soon widely fear as “blood sickness” is no natural malady. Created by plague shaping priests of Urgathoa and funded by the Red Mantis,
Blood veil is a refined form of Vorel’s phage, an unnatural disease that first came into being deep under Foxglove Manor the Blood Veil first verse.
Symptoms: a rash and mask of blisters that covers the face. In its initial stages, the disease is characterized by headache, fatigue, coughing, and the aforementioned rash. As it progresses, the cough becomes more obtrusive, the rash spreads to the neck, face, and limbs develops into pox-like blisters, and the lymph glands swell into painful buboes. At its most advanced stage, the blisters grow to the size of grapes or larger, internal bleeding creates black patches on the skin, and blood is expectorated. Ultimately, a most unseemly, wheezing death occurs.
If left untreated, blood sickness kills the average human in approximately 4 days.
Bloody Sickness—contact or injury or air 10 feet out; Fortitude DC 20; incubation
8 hours; damage 1d6 Constitution and 1d6 Wisdom, and damage 1d6 Dexterity.
Session recap7/17/2016; Part One: Secrets Revealed
After the destruction of the house, the stairs are still in good conditions. The stairs are dark and not trapped and are leading to the room G5. There are 10 feet by 10 feet stone halls ways that connect the rooms.
Room G5: Mamae is a mummy golem in room G5. Cannibal Child there is 6 cannibal children. 15 feet ceilings. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm.
Cannibal Child there is 6 cannibal children. The cannibal child isn't really a cannibal or a child. It's an undead horror that relies on its ability to disguise itself as a lost child to lure prey into its deadly clutches. Scholars believe that in life cannibal children were people of exceptional greed or gluttony. They put their own selfish appetites ahead of everything and everyone, and so incurred a terrible curse after death.
Session recap7/24/2016; G6: The deaths one turned into a ghost. 15 feet ceilings.
The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. The deaths one turned into a ghost. See Mamae children sheet.
Session recap7/24/2016
G7: This room has the flesh and the carrion golem, mummy golem. 15 feet ceilings. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. This room has the flesh and the carrion golem, from the two columns of stone, a door large enough closes quickly after the golems are released.
Room G8: source of the plague destroying Korvosa. 15 feet ceilings. Already disabled and cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. This door is also Trap: Any creature of an alignment other than neutral evil that touches either of these doors triggers the trap, causing the skeletons painted on the wall surrounding the door to breathe forth poisonous gas and animating their scythe-wielding arms to strike from the painting as if they were real. Death’s Breath Doors. Type magical; Search DC 25; Disable Device DC 25 Effects Trigger touch; Reset automatic (after 1 minute); Bypass each door can be neutralized for one round with a successful turning attempt against a 6 HD target (a destruction result destroys the trap). Effect Atk +14 melee (scythe; 2d4+9/×4; all targets within 5 feet of any door) and poison gas (insanity mist; inhaled Fort DC 15; initial 1d4 Wis, secondary 2d6 Wis). The stinging scent of harsh chemicals chokes this high ceilinged chamber. Three huge metal vats bubble here, each more than six feet tall. There is a foul green-brown mist emanating from each gigantic vessel. This room holds the source of the plague destroying Korvosa. Within this chamber, Rolth and company use magic and alchemical process to produce the noxious liquid medium of raw bloody sickness. The vats here hold roughly 1,000 gallons of a viscous, phlegm-like fluid of concentrated bloody sickness. Any creature that comes into contact with the fluid must make a DC 30 Fortitude save or become infected with the disease. The doors to the west, south, and east lie on the area’s lower level. The door to area G11 can be accessed from the catwalks. It is locked, but can be opened with a Lock check and trapped see above. Are the new Bloody Sickness is created. Hill Giant Plague Zombie in room 8 they are helping with the Bloody Sickness.
Room: G9. Storage. 15 feet ceilings. Little more than barrels of water, kindling, and long stirring poles are contained in this room. chose not to enter this room due to weak walls.
G10. Storeroom. 15 feet ceilings. The room has a deeper darkness spell divine caster level 14th. This spell makes light level two steps lower, even creatures with dark-vision can’t see in this room. The southeastern corner of this otherwise empty room seems to be having three medium chests along the back wall. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm.
Chest #1: Chest #2: Chest #3: fake treasure.
Session recap 9/12/2016
Room G11: 15 feet ceilings. This room is for both of Jolistina Susperio and Rolth’s creating, torture and experimenting. Already disabled and cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. The Trap; Maximized Fireball trap. Type; magical. Perception; DC 31. Disable Device; DC 31. Trigger; alarm. Reset; none. Effect; (60 points fire damage, DC 20 Reflex save for half fire 20 feet radius. The Trap; Molten Brass Trap. Type; mechanical. Perception; DC 25. Disable Device; DC 29. Trigger; proximity. Reset; automatic. Effect; molten brass infused with negative energy rains from the ceiling (8d6 fire damage and 1negative level per round, DC 15 Fort negates after 24 hours); DC 20 Reflex save for half fire damage and negate negative level; multiple targets (all targets in room); Onset Delay 1 round.
An elegant operating table dominates the center of this grim laboratory. Along the walls stand several tables strewn with all manner of alchemical accoutrements, their contents appearing in the extreme, with iron tools, beakers of purpled glass, and deep pools of wax from countless melted candles. This room is a work shop for research performs all manner of foul, gratuitous, and torturous experiments on the living. This work room contains all masterwork tools.
Not cleared. Room G12: 15 feet ceilings. This room has both Jolistina Susperio room and Rolth. Jolistina Susperio; Female elf rogue /sorcerer, CE Medium humanoid. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. This is Jolistina Susperio sleeping room with Rolth. Several open trunks spill piles of books across this dusty room. Stacks of tomes, some apparently quite old, stand in orderly stacks and haphazard heaps, surrounding nearly every foot of floor space except for an elegant black-canopied bed. There are three chests in this room.
Rooms: 20 feet ceilings. G13 Hall of Pestilence. Cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26.
Leukodaemon. This room reeks of liquid plague through this morbid chamber. Workspaces strewn with tall beakers of foul-colored liquids, parchments covered in insidious symbols, and cages of whimpering rodents fill large alcoves in both the northern and southern walls. The room’s center stands four large, cylindrical glass vats, each filled with a bubbling emerald fluid that tints the chamber’s light a noxious green. Within each suspension floats the new plague and boxes with glass vials containers. Not summon it can use its summon ability.
Session recap 9/12/2016;
The battle started in room G12 where Rolth and Jolistina started with buffing and summoning spells. Room G11, held the summoned creatures, BEBILITH, (JIM BANISHED). Devil Erinyes and the Devil Bearded where killed by a combined group effort, Gard summoned two creatures a winged one and the snake one. Keith cast death ward on the Fayrin. Rolth cast greater dispel magic, used one to stop Gard cloud kill. Leon already cleared the room G8, room G11 and room G13 of traps off the doors.
Rolth then cast dimension door and brought himself and Jolistina into Room G8, they are still improved invisible. Jolistina sneaked attacked Gard which interrupted his spell from a wand. Jim and Gard where in room G8, when Rolth and Jolistina arrived. Ohni came into the room to get Gard out of the room. Jim healed Gard and Gard moved to the corner.
Room G8, Rolth cast waves of exhaustion, which got Fayrin who was immune, got Ohni but the next round Jim heal spelled him, got Leon and got Jim but missed Gard and his summoned creatures were out of sight. Jolistina cast at the monk enervation causing 2 temporary negative levels for 14 hours.
Jim cast a death ward on Gard. Jim also summoned a hound archon to help location the enemy. Gard cast glitter dust in the room and got both Rolth and Jolistina. Jolistina and Rolth tried a dismal spell on the summoned creatures and got one. The winged one was hit but the snake one was saved.
Rolth and Jolistina moved into the room G8 more, outside the dust but that did not matter. Rolth cast contagious flame; 30 feet, 4 rays but only three people were in rang, for 3 rounds, with no saving throw, damage 4d6 fire. Every round for 3 rounds a new ray from the persons who took damage get a new ray. The hound archon, Gard summoned creature and Ohni took damage. The second round of Contagious Flame and the third round of Contagious Flame hit the hound archon, Gard summoned creature and Ohni.
Room G8, Gard summoned creature, the snake one, was helping with a bard song and by casting other spells. Ohni moved to the room on the opposite side to position himself near Jolistina, the hound archon moved to help attack Jolistina. Fayrin moved into the room and used his bow to damage Rolth. Leon got Ohni light crossbow and attacked from the door. Jim put up the silence spell on the back half of the room. Jolistina moved and helped heal herself with a wand. Rolth moved cast a fireball on Jim, Leon and Fayrin.
Room G8, Rolth cast on Ohni a second enervation but his tattoo saved him. Jolistina, I think she healed herself or Rolth. Jim cast a second silence spell on the rest of the room. Gard summoned creature was helping with a bard song and casting other spells. Ohni followed Jolistina, the hound archon moved to help attack Jolistina. Fayrin moved and switched to a melee weapon. Leon used the light crossbow and attacked from the door. Rolth moved cast cone of cold on Jim, Leon and Fayrin.
Room G8, Jolistina moved to open the door to room G13, Rolth moved into room G13.
Room G13; This room reeks of liquid plague through this morbid chamber. Workspaces strewn with tall beakers of foul-colored liquids, parchments covered in insidious symbols, and cages of whimpering rodents fill large alcoves in both the northern and southern walls. The room’s center stands four large, cylindrical glass vats, each filled with a bubbling emerald fluid that tints the chamber’s light a noxious green. Within each suspension floats the new plague and boxes with glass vials containers. Not summon it can use its summon ability.
Rolth got his heal on. Rolth failed to bestow curse Fayrin. The Leukodaemon before death use his ability of flies in the Fayrin and to the door. Gard summoned a shadow demon, Ohni moved into the room and helped with monster. Jim dispelled Jolistina spell resistance spell, then Gard cast flesh to stone spell, taking her out of the combat. Leon moved into the room. Gard helped Fayrin to become enlarged and critically hit the monster. Ohni attack hurt but the next attack was a critical and killed the monster Leukodaemon.
Rolth will cast scorching ray; 3 rays, at Ohni for 2 rounds. Jim cast a final silence spell that was directed into the back of the room. This forced the Rolth to move up the top of the room where him was finished off by Ohni.
Reply
tasslon
Posts 197
Unread post 19 Jul 2016 13:45 #2
Session recap7/17/2016; Part One: Secrets Revealed
Once the PC’s come back to Korvosa, they’ll be accused of kidnapping Grau’s sister-in-law’s family. They live in a small community northeast of Korvosa disparagingly called Trail’s End. Trail’s End is poor and reputedly dangerous. Tayce Soldado lives here with her three children, Brienna, Charlo, and Rello. Tayce and her family are well-known and quietly respected in Trail’s End, and have nothing to fear from the local Sczarni toughs. While Tayce works as a washerwoman for those in the community and several families in North Point, her children also bring. They’re also accused of kidnapping Mamae’s children. There’re wanted posters on the walls. The new guards are looking for their location.
The Red Mantis, Queen Ileosa, the Gray Maidens and any other agents have burned and demolish much of the upper floors of the PC’s home. They’ve reworked the lower floors of the PC’s house. They also legally turned the Arkonas manor over to her agents and nobles.
Rolth was so pleased with Jolistina for completing her task and sparing the Varisian that he rewarded her with scrolls. She immediately used them to transform the abattoir into her own gruesome playhouse. You placed Jolistina Susperio with Ishani Dhatri the priest of Abdar. Rolth and his agents freed her and they’re nowhere to be found. In the fight to stop them, Grau was gravely wounded.
Rolth left a letter each week, to the church of Abdar. There’re now 8 letters. The hide is crafted from human skin and ink is crafted from human blood. Jolistina Susperio’s feminine hand writing is on each letter and each letter is a different poem about pain and death.
The 1st poem. “I’m sitting quietly weeping, thoughts are destroying my mind, death is taking what is his…He wants everything, nothing can stop him. He is sitting in the dark, red eyes are starting and shining with fear, fear not of himself, but of the illusion of being in his mind, fear only the wretched can see, for they see all sorts of evil. Each tiring moment seems like my last. I’m being trapped inside this past to the point of no return.” The website: www.loverofdarkness.net and ‘Horrors in the night’ by Brandon Crooms.
The first attempt at correcting the blood veil because some of the citizens like Ruan Mirukova is immune to it. Ramoska Arkminos is the male nosferatu who was commanded by his leader to assist them with the creation process. Ramoska kidnapped and experimented on Ruan. He is a true expert with alchemy and diseases. The priests of Urgathoa, the female human clerics of Urgathoa and Lady Andaisin, where also using their skills and resources to make the blood veil more potent. Rolth escaped. The PC’s stopped them and recued Ruan.
Rolth returned to claim the last remaining Leukodaemon. He also retrieved his notes and other notes concerning the disease. He’s in an excellent position to bring a new plague to town.
Rolth has kidnapped, tortured and experimented on Grau’s sister-in-law’s family lives in a small community northeast of Korvosa disparagingly called Trail’s End. Trail’s End is poor and reputedly dangerous. Tayce Soldado lives here with her three children, Brienna, Charlo, and Rello. Tayce and her family are well-known and quietly respected in Trail’s End, and have nothing to fear from the local Sczarni toughs. While Tayce works as a washerwoman for those in the community and several families in North Point, her children also bring. The results were a successful infection rate, which led to Rolth’s using of his magic to turn the family into undead and golems. He’s using the new diseased body parts to create undead.
Rolth has kidnapped, tortured and experimented on Mamae children. The results were a successful infection rate, which led to Rolth’s using of his magic to turn the family into undead and golems. He’s using the new diseased body parts to create undead. In the deaths one turned into a ghost the remaining into Cannibal Child there are 6 cannibal children.
The new plague
Rolth returned to claim the last remaining Leukodaemon. He also retrieved his notes and other notes concerning the disease. He’s in an excellent position to bring a new plague to town. Ramoska Arkminos is also assisting with the creation of the new disease. Ramoska Arkminos has already returned home.
The affliction that the people of Korvosa will soon widely fear as “blood sickness” is no natural malady. Created by plague shaping priests of Urgathoa and funded by the Red Mantis,
Blood veil is a refined form of Vorel’s phage, an unnatural disease that first came into being deep under Foxglove Manor the Blood Veil first verse.
Symptoms: a rash and mask of blisters that covers the face. In its initial stages, the disease is characterized by headache, fatigue, coughing, and the aforementioned rash. As it progresses, the cough becomes more obtrusive, the rash spreads to the neck, face, and limbs develops into pox-like blisters, and the lymph glands swell into painful buboes. At its most advanced stage, the blisters grow to the size of grapes or larger, internal bleeding creates black patches on the skin, and blood is expectorated. Ultimately, a most unseemly, wheezing death occurs.
If left untreated, blood sickness kills the average human in approximately 4 days.
Bloody Sickness—contact or injury or air 10 feet out; Fortitude DC 20; incubation
8 hours; damage 1d6 Constitution and 1d6 Wisdom, and damage 1d6 Dexterity.
Session recap7/17/2016; Part One: Secrets Revealed
After the destruction of the house, the stairs are still in good conditions. The stairs are dark and not trapped and are leading to the room G5. There are 10 feet by 10 feet stone halls ways that connect the rooms.
Room G5: Mamae is a mummy golem in room G5. Cannibal Child there is 6 cannibal children. 15 feet ceilings. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm.
Cannibal Child there is 6 cannibal children. The cannibal child isn't really a cannibal or a child. It's an undead horror that relies on its ability to disguise itself as a lost child to lure prey into its deadly clutches. Scholars believe that in life cannibal children were people of exceptional greed or gluttony. They put their own selfish appetites ahead of everything and everyone, and so incurred a terrible curse after death.
Session recap7/24/2016; G6: The deaths one turned into a ghost. 15 feet ceilings.
The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. The deaths one turned into a ghost. See Mamae children sheet.
Session recap7/24/2016
G7: This room has the flesh and the carrion golem, mummy golem. 15 feet ceilings. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good (protection verse good, +2 deflection to AC, +2 resistance bonus verse good, can’t be charm person, commanded, or dominated), the DC to resist negative channeled energy +4 the bonus is reduced by 4, the site includes a freedom of movement spell (to move and attack normally under any influence of magic such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web, can’t be grappled and or pinned, you can move and attack under water but you can’t breathe underwater), the unhallowed spell is from the evocation school, divine caster level 14th. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. This room has the flesh and the carrion golem, from the two columns of stone, a door large enough closes quickly after the golems are released.
Room G8: source of the plague destroying Korvosa. 15 feet ceilings. Already disabled and cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. This door is also Trap: Any creature of an alignment other than neutral evil that touches either of these doors triggers the trap, causing the skeletons painted on the wall surrounding the door to breathe forth poisonous gas and animating their scythe-wielding arms to strike from the painting as if they were real. Death’s Breath Doors. Type magical; Search DC 25; Disable Device DC 25 Effects Trigger touch; Reset automatic (after 1 minute); Bypass each door can be neutralized for one round with a successful turning attempt against a 6 HD target (a destruction result destroys the trap). Effect Atk +14 melee (scythe; 2d4+9/×4; all targets within 5 feet of any door) and poison gas (insanity mist; inhaled Fort DC 15; initial 1d4 Wis, secondary 2d6 Wis). The stinging scent of harsh chemicals chokes this high ceilinged chamber. Three huge metal vats bubble here, each more than six feet tall. There is a foul green-brown mist emanating from each gigantic vessel. This room holds the source of the plague destroying Korvosa. Within this chamber, Rolth and company use magic and alchemical process to produce the noxious liquid medium of raw bloody sickness. The vats here hold roughly 1,000 gallons of a viscous, phlegm-like fluid of concentrated bloody sickness. Any creature that comes into contact with the fluid must make a DC 30 Fortitude save or become infected with the disease. The doors to the west, south, and east lie on the area’s lower level. The door to area G11 can be accessed from the catwalks. It is locked, but can be opened with a Lock check and trapped see above. Are the new Bloody Sickness is created. Hill Giant Plague Zombie in room 8 they are helping with the Bloody Sickness.
Room: G9. Storage. 15 feet ceilings. Little more than barrels of water, kindling, and long stirring poles are contained in this room. chose not to enter this room due to weak walls.
G10. Storeroom. 15 feet ceilings. The room has a deeper darkness spell divine caster level 14th. This spell makes light level two steps lower, even creatures with dark-vision can’t see in this room. The southeastern corner of this otherwise empty room seems to be having three medium chests along the back wall. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm.
Chest #1: Chest #2: Chest #3: fake treasure.
Session recap 9/12/2016
Room G11: 15 feet ceilings. This room is for both of Jolistina Susperio and Rolth’s creating, torture and experimenting. Already disabled and cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26. EFFECTS 20 foots radius centered on a point; Reset reset; Effect a password protected “deadmans”, mental ward on an area placed in an area, tiny and large creatures are able to trip the alarm. The Trap; Maximized Fireball trap. Type; magical. Perception; DC 31. Disable Device; DC 31. Trigger; alarm. Reset; none. Effect; (60 points fire damage, DC 20 Reflex save for half fire 20 feet radius. The Trap; Molten Brass Trap. Type; mechanical. Perception; DC 25. Disable Device; DC 29. Trigger; proximity. Reset; automatic. Effect; molten brass infused with negative energy rains from the ceiling (8d6 fire damage and 1negative level per round, DC 15 Fort negates after 24 hours); DC 20 Reflex save for half fire damage and negate negative level; multiple targets (all targets in room); Onset Delay 1 round.
An elegant operating table dominates the center of this grim laboratory. Along the walls stand several tables strewn with all manner of alchemical accoutrements, their contents appearing in the extreme, with iron tools, beakers of purpled glass, and deep pools of wax from countless melted candles. This room is a work shop for research performs all manner of foul, gratuitous, and torturous experiments on the living. This work room contains all masterwork tools.
Not cleared. Room G12: 15 feet ceilings. This room has both Jolistina Susperio room and Rolth. Jolistina Susperio; Female elf rogue /sorcerer, CE Medium humanoid. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. This is Jolistina Susperio sleeping room with Rolth. Several open trunks spill piles of books across this dusty room. Stacks of tomes, some apparently quite old, stand in orderly stacks and haphazard heaps, surrounding nearly every foot of floor space except for an elegant black-canopied bed. There are three chests in this room.
Rooms: 20 feet ceilings. G13 Hall of Pestilence. Cleared. The door is an iron door (2 inches thick, hardness 10, hit points 60, break DC 28.) This door’s security includes a superior hidden lock, it takes a perception of DC 25 to find the lock, a superior lock is DC 40, it is also protected with an arcane lock spell DC 50, this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. This door also has a hold portal spell that adds a +5 to the forcing the force DC, which is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th. The room’s spell buffs are the unhallowed spell, which has these effects for 1 year, magic circle against good with a freedom of movement. The Trap; alarm spell Type this spell is from the abjuration, school arcane caster level 14th; Perception DC 26; Disable Device 26.
Leukodaemon. This room reeks of liquid plague through this morbid chamber. Workspaces strewn with tall beakers of foul-colored liquids, parchments covered in insidious symbols, and cages of whimpering rodents fill large alcoves in both the northern and southern walls. The room’s center stands four large, cylindrical glass vats, each filled with a bubbling emerald fluid that tints the chamber’s light a noxious green. Within each suspension floats the new plague and boxes with glass vials containers. Not summon it can use its summon ability.
Session recap 9/12/2016;
The battle started in room G12 where Rolth and Jolistina started with buffing and summoning spells. Room G11, held the summoned creatures, BEBILITH, (JIM BANISHED). Devil Erinyes and the Devil Bearded where killed by a combined group effort, Gard summoned two creatures a winged one and the snake one. Keith cast death ward on the Fayrin. Rolth cast greater dispel magic, used one to stop Gard cloud kill. Leon already cleared the room G8, room G11 and room G13 of traps off the doors.
Rolth then cast dimension door and brought himself and Jolistina into Room G8, they are still improved invisible. Jolistina sneaked attacked Gard which interrupted his spell from a wand. Jim and Gard where in room G8, when Rolth and Jolistina arrived. Ohni came into the room to get Gard out of the room. Jim healed Gard and Gard moved to the corner.
Room G8, Rolth cast waves of exhaustion, which got Fayrin who was immune, got Ohni but the next round Jim heal spelled him, got Leon and got Jim but missed Gard and his summoned creatures were out of sight. Jolistina cast at the monk enervation causing 2 temporary negative levels for 14 hours.
Jim cast a death ward on Gard. Jim also summoned a hound archon to help location the enemy. Gard cast glitter dust in the room and got both Rolth and Jolistina. Jolistina and Rolth tried a dismal spell on the summoned creatures and got one. The winged one was hit but the snake one was saved.
Rolth and Jolistina moved into the room G8 more, outside the dust but that did not matter. Rolth cast contagious flame; 30 feet, 4 rays but only three people were in rang, for 3 rounds, with no saving throw, damage 4d6 fire. Every round for 3 rounds a new ray from the persons who took damage get a new ray. The hound archon, Gard summoned creature and Ohni took damage. The second round of Contagious Flame and the third round of Contagious Flame hit the hound archon, Gard summoned creature and Ohni.
Room G8, Gard summoned creature, the snake one, was helping with a bard song and by casting other spells. Ohni moved to the room on the opposite side to position himself near Jolistina, the hound archon moved to help attack Jolistina. Fayrin moved into the room and used his bow to damage Rolth. Leon got Ohni light crossbow and attacked from the door. Jim put up the silence spell on the back half of the room. Jolistina moved and helped heal herself with a wand. Rolth moved cast a fireball on Jim, Leon and Fayrin.
Room G8, Rolth cast on Ohni a second enervation but his tattoo saved him. Jolistina, I think she healed herself or Rolth. Jim cast a second silence spell on the rest of the room. Gard summoned creature was helping with a bard song and casting other spells. Ohni followed Jolistina, the hound archon moved to help attack Jolistina. Fayrin moved and switched to a melee weapon. Leon used the light crossbow and attacked from the door. Rolth moved cast cone of cold on Jim, Leon and Fayrin.
Room G8, Jolistina moved to open the door to room G13, Rolth moved into room G13.
Room G13; This room reeks of liquid plague through this morbid chamber. Workspaces strewn with tall beakers of foul-colored liquids, parchments covered in insidious symbols, and cages of whimpering rodents fill large alcoves in both the northern and southern walls. The room’s center stands four large, cylindrical glass vats, each filled with a bubbling emerald fluid that tints the chamber’s light a noxious green. Within each suspension floats the new plague and boxes with glass vials containers. Not summon it can use its summon ability.
Rolth got his heal on. Rolth failed to bestow curse Fayrin. The Leukodaemon before death use his ability of flies in the Fayrin and to the door. Gard summoned a shadow demon, Ohni moved into the room and helped with monster. Jim dispelled Jolistina spell resistance spell, then Gard cast flesh to stone spell, taking her out of the combat. Leon moved into the room. Gard helped Fayrin to become enlarged and critically hit the monster. Ohni attack hurt but the next attack was a critical and killed the monster Leukodaemon.
Rolth will cast scorching ray; 3 rays, at Ohni for 2 rounds. Jim cast a final silence spell that was directed into the back of the room. This forced the Rolth to move up the top of the room where him was finished off by Ohni.
Reply
tasslon
Posts 197
Unread post 19 Jul 2016 13:45 #2
Session recap7/17/2016; Part One: Secrets Revealed
Once the PC’s come back to Korvosa, they’ll be accused of kidnapping Grau’s sister-in-law’s family. They live in a small community northeast of Korvosa disparagingly called Trail’s End. Trail’s End is poor and reputedly dangerous. Tayce Soldado lives here with her three children, Brienna, Charlo, and Rello. Tayce and her family are well-known and quietly respected in Trail’s End, and have nothing to fear from the local Sczarni toughs. While Tayce works as a washerwoman for those in the community and several families in North Point, her children also bring. They’re also accused of kidnapping Mamae’s children. There’re wanted posters on the walls. The new guards are looking for their location.
The Red Mantis, Queen Ileosa, the Gray Maidens and any other agents have burned and demolish much of the upper floors of the PC’s home. They’ve reworked the lower floors of the PC’s house. They also legally turned the Arkonas manor over to her agents and nobles.
Rolth was so pleased with Jolistina for completing her task and sparing the Varisian that he rewarded her with scrolls. She immediately used them to transform the abattoir into her own gruesome playhouse. You placed Jolistina Susperio with Ishani Dhatri the priest of Abdar. Rolth and his agents freed her and they’re nowhere to be found. In the fight to stop them, Grau was gravely wounded.
Rolth left a letter each week, to the church of Abdar. There’re now 8 letters. The hide is crafted from human skin and ink is crafted from human blood. Jolistina Susperio’s feminine hand writing is on each letter and each letter is a different poem about pain and death.
The 1st poem. “I’m sitting quietly weeping, thoughts are destroying my mind, death is taking what is his…He wants everything, nothing can stop him. He is sitting in the dark, red eyes are starting and shining with fear, fear not of himself, but of the illusion of being in his mind, fear only the wretched can see, for they see all sorts of evil. Each tiring moment seems like my last. I’m being trapped inside this past to the point of no return.” The website: www.loverofdarkness.net and ‘Horrors in the night’ by Brandon Crooms.
stygiandrake- Admin
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Campaign recap part 3
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:07 pm
Session recap10/16/2016
Jaunt Across the Cinderlands
Before he left the city, Jim visited the Temple of Abadar because it announces its support of Queen Ileosa, Archbanker Darb Tuttle officially recognizing her as Korvosa’s greatest opportunity for recovery. He gave a letter to them it hopes to get their support and to let them know that he is creating a church to Sarenrae. Ishani Dhatri (LG male human cleric ) accepted the letter and support from the non-leader roles. Jim then went to the city random locations to get hope that the Queen is not to be feared.
The current information; Queen Ileosa has reached the height of her power through the infusion of Kazavon’s essence via the Crown of Fangs, an artifact she fashioned with infernal aid from the Fangs of Kazavon. In addition to advancing her to an aristocrat bard, the Crown of Fangs grants her additional powers, the most potent of which may be the capability to survive mortal wounds. Commandant Marcus Thalassinus Endrin’s dramatic but failed assassination attempt marked the first public manifestation of this power, and it alone would have been enough to convince much of the city to bow before Ileosa. During this adventure, the balance of military power in Korvosa shifts rapidly. The Sable Company is officially disbanded, the Hellknights of the Order of the Nail abandons the city and begin a long (and ultimately fruitless) campaign to attempt to bring in reinforcements from Cheliax to oppose the queen, and the Korvosan Guard, already shattered by riots and plague, becomes little more than a mockery of its former glory. After some rough moments, the Temple of Abadar even announces its support of Queen Ileosa, Archbanker Darb Tuttle officially recognizing her as Korvosa’s greatest opportunity for recovery. That her methods are seated in cruelty and tyranny doesn’t matter to the church, in light of the obvious affects her rule is having in squelching civil unrest. Of course, this decision plants the seeds of a growing schism in the church, with many of its younger members seeking a way to oppose the queen legally while maintaining their good standing with the church. The Temple of Asmodeus has fewer qualms supporting the queen—only the Temple of Pharasma remains apart, but they have their own problems in helping to organize the city’s recovery from the plague and riots. True power in Korvosa now lies with the Gray Maidens, ruthless and brutal warrior women who patrol the streets in increasingly larger patrols.
At the same time, the Red Mantis supports the queen from the shadows—there is no official announcement of the Red Mantis’s support, but after several prominent nobles and even a few magistrates and arbiters a result, Korvosa is firmly in Queen Ileosa’s control by the time the PCs are wrapping up this adventure. If the PCs contact allies in Korvosa during this
adventure, they receive worried reports about the direction the queen is taking the city. Martial law is in full effect, limiting certain kinds of communication, and rumors of the queen’s supposed allegiances with devils, dragons, and worse are growing. Field Marshal Cressida Kroft keeps her head down during these troubling times, maintaining her role as commander of the Korvosan Guard and doing what she can on the side to protect the city’s citizens (including anyone the PCs were forced to leave behind when they fled the city), but it’s getting tough. Whispers of rebels and a burgeoning underground resistance against the queen increasingly tempt Cressida to take a more direct role meet with savage and public assassinations, no formal announcement is necessary.
The PCs can stay with their friends at Flameford as long as they wish, but eventually they should set out across the Cinderlands and into the Hold of Belkzen, where Castle Scarwall awaits. There are many methods by which they can reach Castle Scarwall. Spells like greater teleport, shadow walk, wind walk, and transport via plants can all serve to shorten travel time, but if the PCs decided to walk or ride the approximately 300 miles from Flameford to Scarwall, there’s plenty of time to do so.
The Devil You Know
At some point during the PCs’ journey toward Castle Scarwall, they encounter a familiar group: the Brotherhood of Bones. In previous adventures, the PCs have had chances to speak with and even adventure with the strangely joyful Laori Vaus and the condescending but helpful Shadowcount Sial (attended by his loyal chain devil bodyguard Asyra).
As “Skeletons of Scarwall” begins, the Brotherhood of Bones has officially decided that the PCs are more valuable as allies than enemies—after all, what the Brotherhood wants is to capture the Crown of Fangs so that they can control the relics of Kazavon. Stating only that Kazavon’s fangs belong to them and should be returned to the church. Certainly, getting the fangs away from Ileosa is a goal both the PCs and the Brotherhood can agree on. And by extension, the recovery of Serithtial (the only weapon capable of overcoming Kazavon’s influence) should be a goal they share.
The problem is that the undead of Scarwall no longer belong to Zon- Kuthon. Those that haunt Kazavon’s ancient seat of power are free-willed undead who have abandoned their old allegiances, be they to Kazavon or Mandraivus, and are equally dangerous to Brotherhood operatives and PCs alike. Furthermore, no true worshiper of Zon-Kuthon can safely wield or even transport Serithtial. Likewise, there are areas of Scarwall that, despite the fact that its denizens have abandoned Zon-Kuthon, remain open and accepting of worshipers of the Midnight Lord, yet actively oppose good-aligned folk. Clearly, the greatest chance of successfully exploring Scarwall and recovering Serithtial would arise from an alliance between the PCs and the Brotherhood of Bones.
When Sial and Laori greet the PCs, the two are eager to ally with them. They explain that they have been following the events in Korvosa and the rise of Kazavon’s spirit in the body of Queen Ileosa. They are aware that the PCs seek to overthrow Ileosa’s tyranny by taking from her the power the Crown of Fangs has granted her. Since the only way to do so is with Serithtial, a weapon that neither of the Brotherhood agents can wield, they need the PCs. And since many of Scarwall’s defenses can be bypassed by worshipers of Zon-Kuthon, they need the Brotherhood. The situation explained, Sial and Laori would like to propose a truce. Not long after they retreat, the two fall into a bitter argument and split up themselves, each seeking to infiltrate Scarwall separately. At this point, the PCs may encounter either of them inside the castle, as detailed later in the adventure.
Jim didn’t want to team up with this group. He attacked the entire group.
Jaunt Across the Cinderlands
Before he left the city, Jim visited the Temple of Abadar because it announces its support of Queen Ileosa, Archbanker Darb Tuttle officially recognizing her as Korvosa’s greatest opportunity for recovery. He gave a letter to them it hopes to get their support and to let them know that he is creating a church to Sarenrae. Ishani Dhatri (LG male human cleric ) accepted the letter and support from the non-leader roles. Jim then went to the city random locations to get hope that the Queen is not to be feared.
The current information; Queen Ileosa has reached the height of her power through the infusion of Kazavon’s essence via the Crown of Fangs, an artifact she fashioned with infernal aid from the Fangs of Kazavon. In addition to advancing her to an aristocrat bard, the Crown of Fangs grants her additional powers, the most potent of which may be the capability to survive mortal wounds. Commandant Marcus Thalassinus Endrin’s dramatic but failed assassination attempt marked the first public manifestation of this power, and it alone would have been enough to convince much of the city to bow before Ileosa. During this adventure, the balance of military power in Korvosa shifts rapidly. The Sable Company is officially disbanded, the Hellknights of the Order of the Nail abandons the city and begin a long (and ultimately fruitless) campaign to attempt to bring in reinforcements from Cheliax to oppose the queen, and the Korvosan Guard, already shattered by riots and plague, becomes little more than a mockery of its former glory. After some rough moments, the Temple of Abadar even announces its support of Queen Ileosa, Archbanker Darb Tuttle officially recognizing her as Korvosa’s greatest opportunity for recovery. That her methods are seated in cruelty and tyranny doesn’t matter to the church, in light of the obvious affects her rule is having in squelching civil unrest. Of course, this decision plants the seeds of a growing schism in the church, with many of its younger members seeking a way to oppose the queen legally while maintaining their good standing with the church. The Temple of Asmodeus has fewer qualms supporting the queen—only the Temple of Pharasma remains apart, but they have their own problems in helping to organize the city’s recovery from the plague and riots. True power in Korvosa now lies with the Gray Maidens, ruthless and brutal warrior women who patrol the streets in increasingly larger patrols.
At the same time, the Red Mantis supports the queen from the shadows—there is no official announcement of the Red Mantis’s support, but after several prominent nobles and even a few magistrates and arbiters a result, Korvosa is firmly in Queen Ileosa’s control by the time the PCs are wrapping up this adventure. If the PCs contact allies in Korvosa during this
adventure, they receive worried reports about the direction the queen is taking the city. Martial law is in full effect, limiting certain kinds of communication, and rumors of the queen’s supposed allegiances with devils, dragons, and worse are growing. Field Marshal Cressida Kroft keeps her head down during these troubling times, maintaining her role as commander of the Korvosan Guard and doing what she can on the side to protect the city’s citizens (including anyone the PCs were forced to leave behind when they fled the city), but it’s getting tough. Whispers of rebels and a burgeoning underground resistance against the queen increasingly tempt Cressida to take a more direct role meet with savage and public assassinations, no formal announcement is necessary.
The PCs can stay with their friends at Flameford as long as they wish, but eventually they should set out across the Cinderlands and into the Hold of Belkzen, where Castle Scarwall awaits. There are many methods by which they can reach Castle Scarwall. Spells like greater teleport, shadow walk, wind walk, and transport via plants can all serve to shorten travel time, but if the PCs decided to walk or ride the approximately 300 miles from Flameford to Scarwall, there’s plenty of time to do so.
The Devil You Know
At some point during the PCs’ journey toward Castle Scarwall, they encounter a familiar group: the Brotherhood of Bones. In previous adventures, the PCs have had chances to speak with and even adventure with the strangely joyful Laori Vaus and the condescending but helpful Shadowcount Sial (attended by his loyal chain devil bodyguard Asyra).
As “Skeletons of Scarwall” begins, the Brotherhood of Bones has officially decided that the PCs are more valuable as allies than enemies—after all, what the Brotherhood wants is to capture the Crown of Fangs so that they can control the relics of Kazavon. Stating only that Kazavon’s fangs belong to them and should be returned to the church. Certainly, getting the fangs away from Ileosa is a goal both the PCs and the Brotherhood can agree on. And by extension, the recovery of Serithtial (the only weapon capable of overcoming Kazavon’s influence) should be a goal they share.
The problem is that the undead of Scarwall no longer belong to Zon- Kuthon. Those that haunt Kazavon’s ancient seat of power are free-willed undead who have abandoned their old allegiances, be they to Kazavon or Mandraivus, and are equally dangerous to Brotherhood operatives and PCs alike. Furthermore, no true worshiper of Zon-Kuthon can safely wield or even transport Serithtial. Likewise, there are areas of Scarwall that, despite the fact that its denizens have abandoned Zon-Kuthon, remain open and accepting of worshipers of the Midnight Lord, yet actively oppose good-aligned folk. Clearly, the greatest chance of successfully exploring Scarwall and recovering Serithtial would arise from an alliance between the PCs and the Brotherhood of Bones.
When Sial and Laori greet the PCs, the two are eager to ally with them. They explain that they have been following the events in Korvosa and the rise of Kazavon’s spirit in the body of Queen Ileosa. They are aware that the PCs seek to overthrow Ileosa’s tyranny by taking from her the power the Crown of Fangs has granted her. Since the only way to do so is with Serithtial, a weapon that neither of the Brotherhood agents can wield, they need the PCs. And since many of Scarwall’s defenses can be bypassed by worshipers of Zon-Kuthon, they need the Brotherhood. The situation explained, Sial and Laori would like to propose a truce. Not long after they retreat, the two fall into a bitter argument and split up themselves, each seeking to infiltrate Scarwall separately. At this point, the PCs may encounter either of them inside the castle, as detailed later in the adventure.
Jim didn’t want to team up with this group. He attacked the entire group.
stygiandrake- Admin
- Posts : 39
Join date : 2017-11-05
Age : 47 -
Campaign recap part 4
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:13 pm
Session recap10/23/2016
Part Three: Castle Scarwall
Jim used holy burst to kill all 16 skeletons. The Gargoyle Brutes 4 two are dead. The Sergeant Lashton CR 10, Male human dread skeleton fighter 9. Skeletal Nightmare are still left. Ohni and Jim finished the Sergeant Lashton, after Gard dismissed the Nightmare. Fayrin and Leon and the golem finished the Gargoyle Brutes.
Session recap10/23/2016; Part Two: Approaching Scarwall.
Creatures: There are seven orcs inhabiting the barbican—six orc fighters and their leader, Ury Sevenskulls, son of a renowned war chief of the Rotten Tongue tribe and a chief in his own right among these clanless orcs. The Deadwatcher orcs paint their faces with white pigment to honor the legend of their ancestor’s flight from Scarwall—a flight said to have turned his flesh white from the shock. There are always two orcs on watch—one at area 11 and one at area 2. They constantly take 10 on their Spot and Listen checks but watch mainly to the south (consider them to take 0 on checks for those who approach from the north or from below). If they spot anyone approaching, they quietly slip into the tower to warn their fellows and prepare to defend the approach.
Deadwatcher Orcs (10) CR 8, Orc fighter 8, CE Medium humanoid, Ury Sevenskulls CR 10, Male orc barbarian 11, CE Medium humanoid.
Gard and Jim used nice aoe spells to could kill, blind and kill the Deadwatcher Orcs (10) Fayrin battled the leader then, Ohin and Leon joined Ury Sevenskulls CR 10, Male orc barbarian 11, CE Medium humanoid.
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. Leon and the party discovered this area.
15. Hidden Mooring; A faint, narrow trail follows the rocky ridgeline of the castle’s island, yet this trail hasn’t been used in centuries. A DC 35 Survival check is enough to locate the faint remnants of a once-properly cleared trail, but most of it has eroded away, making it undetectable unless PCs are on the ground and looking for it. This was the route that Mandraivus and his cabal used to invade Scarwall, approaching invisibly via water walk from the west. Mandraivus and his cabal were tipped off to this entrance by a man named Kleestad, Kazavon’s chamberlain. Kleestad paid well for his treachery, as detailed in area 47. At the western edge of the island where the trail ends, a few short stone columns sit just underwater in the shallows of the tarn, all that remains of a small quay that once stood here. The ruined quay is visible from above water with a DC 20 Spot check. Though Kazavon never seemed particularly
worried about an escape route from Scarwall (something Kazavon enjoyed tormenting his guests as much as his prisoners, and the hooded statue is just such a torment for overly curious guests. he paid for in the end), his chamberlain Kleestad was less confident and had this mooring and the secret door in area 14 constructed in case the castle should ever be seriously threatened by Kazavon’s many enemies.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed two danse macabre. Leon danced.
14. Rosette Observatory (EL 14)
This vast, grand ballroom is constructed in a floral shape with a high, vaulted roof of intricately wrought glass panes bearing a slight rose tint but nevertheless providing a breathtaking view of the sky above. Clover-shaped pillars support key portions of the roof above the polished floor of stained cherry, and a wide dais provides room for an orchestra to play or stage performance to occur. A few broken chairs have been pushed into the corners, but otherwise this room is empty.
Here in the rosette observatory, Kazavon hosted his grand cotillions. These affairs were always of utmost sophistication but varied from elegant dances and dramatic performances for his honored guests to absolute debauchery and orgies culminating in cannibal feasts visited upon his less fortunate visitors. Typically, the participants didn’t even know which sort of engagement it was going to be until it was too late. Thanks to the spirits of the castle, the room remains in perfect repair, but the wooden floor—actually composed of oak—has been indelibly stained a rich cherry color by the bloodshed here. The secret door in the southwestern wall is rather well hidden, but can be located with a DC 35 Search check. A character who locates the faint trail from area 15 to this spot on the outside gains a +10 circumstance bonus to Search checks to find this secret door.
Creature: More blood was spilled in this ballroom than anywhere else in the castle. As a result, the restless dead concentrated here have “fused” their spirits, becoming an undead horror of incredible menace. The very representation of death incarnate, this creature is known as a danse macabre. It lurks incorporeally near the ceiling of the room, and the rose color of the glass provides a camouflaging effect. The PCs must make Spot checks opposed to its Hide
check in order to notice that it floats above them until it attacks or they detect it by some other means. Once all of the PCs appear to have entered the room, it begins its dance of death to join them with its eternal existence.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The trap trap got Leon and Guard .
13. Malice Aforethought
This area appears to have been a parlor of some sort, set at the intersection of a hall and an entryway marked by a pair of elaborate mahogany double doors. A pair of sagging, velvet covered divans sit against the walls beneath a thick layer of dust. Standing against the northern wall is a marble statue of a man clad in elegant nobles’ robes, though his head is hidden beneath a rough leather sack.
Over the years, the leather sack has grown brittle, and it crumbles to fragments if anyone jostles it or otherwise attempts to remove it. Removing the sack reveals the stern, scowling face of a handsome human man with the flinty eyes of a warrior and a sneer of disdain over perfect, if somewhat overlarge, teeth. A DC 25 Knowledge (history) check identifies this as an image of none other than Kazavon himself (in his human form). However, the statue bears a curse that affects anyone who looks upon its face. Such an individual must make a DC 22 Will save or be overcome by an irresistible to urge to climb the ladder into area 22 above. This curse is a mind affecting compulsion—a victim can only be prevented from following its dictates by being physically restrained or by breaking the curse via magic (the curse itself functions at CL 20th). The compulsion also ends one minute after the victim is no longer looking at the statue’s face, but should he look again, he must save again. Destroying the statue renders the curse ineffective. Kazavon enjoyed seeing his guests fall victim to this curse, creating a sort of round-robin chain of prisoners in area 22 as they stayed in his castle or attended one of the galas he hosted. Inevitably, someone would throw a cloak or blanket over the statue to end the game until the next time an event was held. Mandraivus’s group placed the leather bag over the statue’s head after divining its purpose. Statue of Kazavon hp 80; Hardness 8; Break DC 30.
12. Guest Wing Entrance
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed 6 Human Skeletons and 2 Wraith.
A few torn tapestry fragments hang from the walls in this otherwise empty room.
The western wing of Scarwall was known colloquially as the “guest wing,” though there were relatively few actual guest rooms located in the castle—most of the chambers in this wing were small, personal torture chambers. Even the honest guest rooms had doors that could only be locked from outside and mountings on their walls where manacles could be hung. Frequently, actual guests of Kazavon’s were allowed to participate in the many horrors perpetrated on the castle’s prisoners as part of their entertainment. As such, the guest wing is steeped in as much or more blood than any other portion of the castle. This wing has no commanding spirit as is the case in most of the other sections of the fortress, but it does house one of Scarwall’s most powerful spiritual presences—one avoided by all of the castle’s other inhabitants, and the only one that cannot be controlled by the chained spirit Mithrodar. This is a powerful form of undead that arises from a collective malice and spiritual energy from dozens of deaths—a danse macabre.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed 6 Scarwall Guards.
9. Courtyard
This wide courtyard stands at the heart of Castle Scarwall, giving an inside view of the castle’s looming walls and towers. A chill breeze whips through the courtyard, carrying a few dry leaves from scraggly scrub bushes that grow fitfully at the yard’s edges. A wide, stone-rimmed well stands at the western end, though the stone lip is crumbling and has collapsed in places. To the north, stairs rise to a platform fifteen feet above the courtyard. Atop it, a black double door provides entry into the castle donjon. Double doors to the east stand open, creaking on their hinges, as if left open by someone leaving in a hurry. Bent, rusted, and in some cases partially broken spikes protrude from the walls of the courtyard, and here and there, holes in the hard-packed soil hint at long-missing structures or poles that once stood within.
The central courtyard connects all of the wings of the castle, yet is part of none of them. Public executions were often held here under the watchful eye of the priests of Zon- Kuthon on their balcony above. Sometimes, prisoners were impaled or crucified on frames that once protruded fromthe holes in the ground. Others were hung from or impaled on the numerous wall spikes, some were hurled from the top of Scarwall’s tallest towers into the courtyard below,
and some were merely beheaded or publicly tortured to death by Kazavon himself. The well to the south is actually another execution device; a fifteen-foot-deep oubliette that Kazavon sometimes used to simply let prisoners starve to death in a public place where passersby could drop in whatever filth, venomous vermin, or other torments they wished. The oubliette has filled with rainwater over the years—nothing of value remains within.
Development: Note that exploration of the courtyard is likely to attract unwanted attention, possibly from Belshallam the umbral dragon (area 10), the gargoyles who roost on the roofs above, or the minotaur guards in area 6. If any group notices intruders, they immediately
emerge to challenge the PCs, as detailed in their encounter description.
Part Three: Castle Scarwall
Jim used holy burst to kill all 16 skeletons. The Gargoyle Brutes 4 two are dead. The Sergeant Lashton CR 10, Male human dread skeleton fighter 9. Skeletal Nightmare are still left. Ohni and Jim finished the Sergeant Lashton, after Gard dismissed the Nightmare. Fayrin and Leon and the golem finished the Gargoyle Brutes.
Session recap10/23/2016; Part Two: Approaching Scarwall.
Creatures: There are seven orcs inhabiting the barbican—six orc fighters and their leader, Ury Sevenskulls, son of a renowned war chief of the Rotten Tongue tribe and a chief in his own right among these clanless orcs. The Deadwatcher orcs paint their faces with white pigment to honor the legend of their ancestor’s flight from Scarwall—a flight said to have turned his flesh white from the shock. There are always two orcs on watch—one at area 11 and one at area 2. They constantly take 10 on their Spot and Listen checks but watch mainly to the south (consider them to take 0 on checks for those who approach from the north or from below). If they spot anyone approaching, they quietly slip into the tower to warn their fellows and prepare to defend the approach.
Deadwatcher Orcs (10) CR 8, Orc fighter 8, CE Medium humanoid, Ury Sevenskulls CR 10, Male orc barbarian 11, CE Medium humanoid.
Gard and Jim used nice aoe spells to could kill, blind and kill the Deadwatcher Orcs (10) Fayrin battled the leader then, Ohin and Leon joined Ury Sevenskulls CR 10, Male orc barbarian 11, CE Medium humanoid.
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. Leon and the party discovered this area.
15. Hidden Mooring; A faint, narrow trail follows the rocky ridgeline of the castle’s island, yet this trail hasn’t been used in centuries. A DC 35 Survival check is enough to locate the faint remnants of a once-properly cleared trail, but most of it has eroded away, making it undetectable unless PCs are on the ground and looking for it. This was the route that Mandraivus and his cabal used to invade Scarwall, approaching invisibly via water walk from the west. Mandraivus and his cabal were tipped off to this entrance by a man named Kleestad, Kazavon’s chamberlain. Kleestad paid well for his treachery, as detailed in area 47. At the western edge of the island where the trail ends, a few short stone columns sit just underwater in the shallows of the tarn, all that remains of a small quay that once stood here. The ruined quay is visible from above water with a DC 20 Spot check. Though Kazavon never seemed particularly
worried about an escape route from Scarwall (something Kazavon enjoyed tormenting his guests as much as his prisoners, and the hooded statue is just such a torment for overly curious guests. he paid for in the end), his chamberlain Kleestad was less confident and had this mooring and the secret door in area 14 constructed in case the castle should ever be seriously threatened by Kazavon’s many enemies.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed two danse macabre. Leon danced.
14. Rosette Observatory (EL 14)
This vast, grand ballroom is constructed in a floral shape with a high, vaulted roof of intricately wrought glass panes bearing a slight rose tint but nevertheless providing a breathtaking view of the sky above. Clover-shaped pillars support key portions of the roof above the polished floor of stained cherry, and a wide dais provides room for an orchestra to play or stage performance to occur. A few broken chairs have been pushed into the corners, but otherwise this room is empty.
Here in the rosette observatory, Kazavon hosted his grand cotillions. These affairs were always of utmost sophistication but varied from elegant dances and dramatic performances for his honored guests to absolute debauchery and orgies culminating in cannibal feasts visited upon his less fortunate visitors. Typically, the participants didn’t even know which sort of engagement it was going to be until it was too late. Thanks to the spirits of the castle, the room remains in perfect repair, but the wooden floor—actually composed of oak—has been indelibly stained a rich cherry color by the bloodshed here. The secret door in the southwestern wall is rather well hidden, but can be located with a DC 35 Search check. A character who locates the faint trail from area 15 to this spot on the outside gains a +10 circumstance bonus to Search checks to find this secret door.
Creature: More blood was spilled in this ballroom than anywhere else in the castle. As a result, the restless dead concentrated here have “fused” their spirits, becoming an undead horror of incredible menace. The very representation of death incarnate, this creature is known as a danse macabre. It lurks incorporeally near the ceiling of the room, and the rose color of the glass provides a camouflaging effect. The PCs must make Spot checks opposed to its Hide
check in order to notice that it floats above them until it attacks or they detect it by some other means. Once all of the PCs appear to have entered the room, it begins its dance of death to join them with its eternal existence.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The trap trap got Leon and Guard .
13. Malice Aforethought
This area appears to have been a parlor of some sort, set at the intersection of a hall and an entryway marked by a pair of elaborate mahogany double doors. A pair of sagging, velvet covered divans sit against the walls beneath a thick layer of dust. Standing against the northern wall is a marble statue of a man clad in elegant nobles’ robes, though his head is hidden beneath a rough leather sack.
Over the years, the leather sack has grown brittle, and it crumbles to fragments if anyone jostles it or otherwise attempts to remove it. Removing the sack reveals the stern, scowling face of a handsome human man with the flinty eyes of a warrior and a sneer of disdain over perfect, if somewhat overlarge, teeth. A DC 25 Knowledge (history) check identifies this as an image of none other than Kazavon himself (in his human form). However, the statue bears a curse that affects anyone who looks upon its face. Such an individual must make a DC 22 Will save or be overcome by an irresistible to urge to climb the ladder into area 22 above. This curse is a mind affecting compulsion—a victim can only be prevented from following its dictates by being physically restrained or by breaking the curse via magic (the curse itself functions at CL 20th). The compulsion also ends one minute after the victim is no longer looking at the statue’s face, but should he look again, he must save again. Destroying the statue renders the curse ineffective. Kazavon enjoyed seeing his guests fall victim to this curse, creating a sort of round-robin chain of prisoners in area 22 as they stayed in his castle or attended one of the galas he hosted. Inevitably, someone would throw a cloak or blanket over the statue to end the game until the next time an event was held. Mandraivus’s group placed the leather bag over the statue’s head after divining its purpose. Statue of Kazavon hp 80; Hardness 8; Break DC 30.
12. Guest Wing Entrance
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed 6 Human Skeletons and 2 Wraith.
A few torn tapestry fragments hang from the walls in this otherwise empty room.
The western wing of Scarwall was known colloquially as the “guest wing,” though there were relatively few actual guest rooms located in the castle—most of the chambers in this wing were small, personal torture chambers. Even the honest guest rooms had doors that could only be locked from outside and mountings on their walls where manacles could be hung. Frequently, actual guests of Kazavon’s were allowed to participate in the many horrors perpetrated on the castle’s prisoners as part of their entertainment. As such, the guest wing is steeped in as much or more blood than any other portion of the castle. This wing has no commanding spirit as is the case in most of the other sections of the fortress, but it does house one of Scarwall’s most powerful spiritual presences—one avoided by all of the castle’s other inhabitants, and the only one that cannot be controlled by the chained spirit Mithrodar. This is a powerful form of undead that arises from a collective malice and spiritual energy from dozens of deaths—a danse macabre.
Session Notes; 11/27/2016. The party killed 6 Scarwall Guards.
9. Courtyard
This wide courtyard stands at the heart of Castle Scarwall, giving an inside view of the castle’s looming walls and towers. A chill breeze whips through the courtyard, carrying a few dry leaves from scraggly scrub bushes that grow fitfully at the yard’s edges. A wide, stone-rimmed well stands at the western end, though the stone lip is crumbling and has collapsed in places. To the north, stairs rise to a platform fifteen feet above the courtyard. Atop it, a black double door provides entry into the castle donjon. Double doors to the east stand open, creaking on their hinges, as if left open by someone leaving in a hurry. Bent, rusted, and in some cases partially broken spikes protrude from the walls of the courtyard, and here and there, holes in the hard-packed soil hint at long-missing structures or poles that once stood within.
The central courtyard connects all of the wings of the castle, yet is part of none of them. Public executions were often held here under the watchful eye of the priests of Zon- Kuthon on their balcony above. Sometimes, prisoners were impaled or crucified on frames that once protruded fromthe holes in the ground. Others were hung from or impaled on the numerous wall spikes, some were hurled from the top of Scarwall’s tallest towers into the courtyard below,
and some were merely beheaded or publicly tortured to death by Kazavon himself. The well to the south is actually another execution device; a fifteen-foot-deep oubliette that Kazavon sometimes used to simply let prisoners starve to death in a public place where passersby could drop in whatever filth, venomous vermin, or other torments they wished. The oubliette has filled with rainwater over the years—nothing of value remains within.
Development: Note that exploration of the courtyard is likely to attract unwanted attention, possibly from Belshallam the umbral dragon (area 10), the gargoyles who roost on the roofs above, or the minotaur guards in area 6. If any group notices intruders, they immediately
emerge to challenge the PCs, as detailed in their encounter description.
stygiandrake- Admin
- Posts : 39
Join date : 2017-11-05
Age : 47 -
Campaign recap part 5
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:17 pm
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party killed 5 Cinder Ghoul.
8. Castle Kitchens (EL 11)
Rickety tables, butcher’s blocks, and collapsed shelves clutter this room which appears to have once served as the castle kitchen. The walls and ceiling are covered in soot, particularly to the west where three huge ovens loom. Each is completely covered in a layer of char and soot, inside and out, with bits of charred bone and charcoal caked on the iron grills and in the ash pits beneath. Worse, however, are the two outlines burned into the brick of the oven walls—humanoid images splayed in positions of agony and death. Despite the ancient look of the layers of grime, the ovens radiate slight warmth and the faint odor of burning meat, as if they have been used recently.
As is evidenced by the shadows on the wall, these kitchens were used for far more than just food preparation. One of Kazavon’s favorite means of execution was to lock a victim in one of the huge ovens during his evening meal and slowly fire it while the bound victim struggled. Sometime he ate the victim as well. When Mandraivus arrived, all of the degenerate, villainous cooks were thrown into the ovens for a bit of just rewards.
Haunt: While Mandraivus managed to cleanse the kitchen of its wicked staff, the method of execution he and his cabal chose had the unfortunate side effect of givingScarwall the raw soul energy needed to create a dangerous haunt and set of undead guardians. The haunt itself triggers as soon as anyone walks within twenty feet of the front of the three huge ovens.
Crematory Blast CR 9 Notice Spot DC 20 (to notice tendrils of smoke rising from each of the huge ovens); Effective HD 18 Effects Trigger proximity; Reset automatic (1 hour) Effect A sudden blast of fire wells up inside of each of the three ovens, then plumes out into a sheet of flame that fills the room. As the fires burn, shrieking spirits made of flame tear through the room, swimming through the bodies of living creatures and appearing to tear away bits of flesh as they do. Every character exposed to the fires must make a DC 20 Will save to avoid being convinced the flames are real. Success indicates that the haunt deals no damage, but failure results in a PC taking 10d6 points of fire damage. At the end of the round, the fire vanishes (leaving behind the creatures—see below), but only those creatures who took fire damage appear burned. Other creatures (and the contents of the room) are unscathed.
Creatures: The round immediately after the haunt resolves, the scorched outlines on the wall suddenly peel away and ignite into horrifying undead monsters—cinder ghouls. These are the spirits of the kitchen’s two most cruel and sadistic cooks, transformed after the castle’s evil took hold into swirling, humanoid clouds of burning ash, bone, and charred body parts that glow fiery red from within and reek of scorched flesh. They roar like a wind stoked fire as they move to attack.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party learned of her see form and kill the hag.
7. Malatrothe’s Quarters (EL 9)
On the walls of this dismal room are hung innumerable bags of netting holding bottles, clay jars, dried plants, desiccated bits of animals, and similar things. Tattered, gauzy curtains have been strung throughout, creating a diaphanous kind of maze. The whole is choked with a dank smelling smoke that seems to be issuing forth from a pitted iron brazier in the center of the chamber.
This chamber once served as the abode of Kazavon’s apothecary and alchemist. Its latest inhabitant has strung it with accoutrements and decoration to remind her of her own home on the outer plane of Abbadon. The netting bags hold many kinds of herbs and animal organs. The brazier burns seaweed-charcoal made on the shores of the river Styx, and its fumes are foul-smelling (but have no game impact) to most living creatures.
Creatures: Malatrothe currently resides in this room. She is a recent arrival to Scarwall and is here to trade souls with Mithrodar, who has granted her protection from the castle’s other inhabitants. She has already negotiated several good deals and is currently trying to figure out how to claim one of the castellan’s anchoring spirits to take back to Abbadon’s soul markets. If Malatrothe hears the sound of battle nearby, she quickly comes to the conclusion that adventurers have decided to invade Scarwall—who else would be so foolish to attempt such a stunt, after all? She assumes the form of a battered halfling woman dressed in rags and clambers into one of the nets hanging from the walls and waits for a few hours, hoping to trick any adventurers who enter this room into thinking she’s a prisoner here.
She claims to be an herbalist named Alimae who was snatched from the woods near her home by a horrific dragon and then carried halfway across the world to this nightmare castle, whereupon the dragon handed her over to a towering evil witch. The witch works in this room, Alimae continues, but says that she’s been gone for several hours. Acting nervous and frightened, Alimae says that, if the PCs hurry, she can lead them upstairs to the witch’s home, where if they’re quick, they can break her crystal ball and weaken her so that when she returns, she’ll be easy to defeat. Of course, all of this is a blatant lie. “Alimae” wants to lead the PCs up to area 18, where she proudly offers them all as new spirits for Mithrodar to claim in return for the spirits of one of his anchors. If the PCs see through her trickery, Malatrothe assumes her true form with a cackle, but still doesn’t attack. She compliments the PCs on their perception and caution, then asks them if they’d like to help her with a little project. She assumes they’re here to defeat one, some, or all of the commanders in Scarwall.
All she wants is to be there when they defeat one of the spirit anchors so she can capture the soul and flee to Abbadon with it. She’s worried that Mithrodar has no interest in relinquishing one of his anchors, and if she can’t use the PCs as a bribe, she hopes to use them as tools to steal the spirit herself. Malatrothe knows a little about Scarwall from her meetings with Mithrodar; she knows that the chained spirit’s power is tied to four spirit anchors, and that as long as those anchors exist, he cannot be destroyed.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party killed 6 Scarwall Guards.
6. Porters’ Hall (EL 11
Numerous arrow slits along the northern wall look out over the castle courtyard, and a pair of doors look as if they open onto it. The burnt stubs of torches hang in iron brackets between the arrow slits, and small puddles of rain have formed beneath them, staining the stone. Opposite these, metal rings have been driven into the stone wall; some have short lengths of chain attached to them.
This corridor once served as housing for the castle’s slave-porters. It was in ready shouting distance from the main keep, barracks, chapel, or guest wing—wherever they were needed. Their threadbare bedrolls have long since disintegrated due to exposure to the elements. The metal rings are where the porters were chained when not on duty. Creatures: The slave-porters were released by Mandraivus’s cabal when they took the castle centuries ago. The minotaur guards who watched over them were slain and left behind. Now, these five dread skeleton minotaurs patrol this hall under Mithrodar’s orders, watching for intruders attempting to infiltrate the castle via its courtyard. They immediately open fire with their crossbows if they see any targets therein. Scarwall Guards (5) CR 6 Dread skeleton elite minotaur (see page 22) hp 39 each.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party killed a Greater Shadow and Mandraivus’s.
5. Mandraivus’s Fall (EL 12)
The double door between this hall and area 4 is barred from the eastern side with a heavy iron crossbar (Break DC 30).
Tattered bits of ruined tapestries line the walls of this hallway wispy filaments of rotting cloth that hang limp and forgotten. Ancient bones from scattered skeletons lie on the floor amid bits of broken weaponry and armor. Only one skeleton seems to remain whole, slumped against the northeastern corner, clad in dust-caked full plate armor.
When the orcs invaded Scarwall, Mandraivus and his soldiers held them off for some time in area 4 before falling back to this room. One by one, Mandraivus’s final guards fell to the invaders until it was only Mandraivus who remained alive. The orcs finally overwhelmed him here. But as the orcs delivered the final blow and Mandraivus’s presence in the castle ended, the latent spirits within Scarwall rose up in triumph. It didn’t take the malevolent, wrathful dead long to slaughter the orcs and drive them out of the castle and claim the building as their own. Bold Mandraivus, victor of a hundred battles, hero of Ustalav, and slayer of Kazavon lies here still, his skeleton slumped ignobly among those of his foes and servants, an anonymous tomb for a great hero.
Haunt: Two rounds after a living creature enters this room, the silence of the ancient, dead castle suddenly shatters. The hall is filled with a cacophony of clashing weapons and battle cries intermingled with the screams of the dead and dying. Individual words are impossible to discern, but as the sounds reach a crescendo of violence, smoky black shapes boil up out of the bones and swirl into a vortex of angry shrieking spirits. The wailing of these spirits may be enough to drive those caught inside the room to madness.
Allip Vortex CR 9 Notice Listen DC 25 (to hear the faint sounds of battle); Effective HD 18 Effects Trigger proximity (2 round onset delay); Reset automatic
(10 minutes) Effect As the storm of allip-like spirits churn into an overwhelming vortex, all creatures in this room must make a DC 25 Will save to avoid suffering 2d6 points of Wisdom damage.
Creature: The allip vortex is merely the first danger that faces PCs in this room. The round after the vortex collapses, a towering smoky form rises from the plate-mail-clad bones— this cursed and wrathful spirit is none other than Mandraivus, driven to madness by his centuries of imprisonment in Scarwall. He appears as a shadowy humanoid clad in plate armor made of dark mist. Two red eyes glow deep inside his helm. Mandraivus’s stricken soul now exists as a dread wraith. Almost all shreds of his actual personality have long since faded, with his hatred all that remains. Mandraivus the Lost CR 11 Dread Wraith hp 104 (MM 258).
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
4. Death Chamber (EL 13)
Session Notes; 2/26/2017. The party killed Pegg and Loute.
Pegg and Loute: These two ghosts were court jesters during Kazavon’s reign. Loute is no taller than a short halfling, while Pegg towers at just over seven feet in height. Both wear identical outfits of formfitting black leather with tight, black leather masks covering their heads. Each mask has a stitched seam running from forehead to jaw line to seal it in place. Pegg’s left leg is
missing, replaced by what appears to have been a chair or table leg. Loute has abnormally long
arms that, when they hang at his side, reach to mid calf. Despite their unusual appearances, both were once human. Kazavon found their respective physical abnormalities and their putrescent attempts at poetry, literature, and displays of fanciful fighting techniques quite amusing, and rather than see them tortured to death, kept them on for several years as his pet entertainers. Most of Kazavon’s soldiers found the pair to be unbearably irritating, and only the threat of Kazavon’s wrath protected them from both receiving a shiv in the back. Eventually,
even Kazavon tired of their pedantic drivel and had them both executed in a fit of pique by having masks created to compliment their normal grotesque attire and then ordering them sewn closed over their heads, condemning each to a slow, agonizing suffocation as they hung from
hooks driven through their collar bones, where they hung for hours above the entrance to the castle.
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
10. Belshallam’s Lair (EL 14)
Session Recap; 3/5/17.
In an epic battle, the Belshallam. Fayrin is the MVP in stopping the dragon’s retreat. Ohni is second in shear damage. Gard disabled buffs. Jim healed and summoned. Leon was blinded by the breath
This large chamber, perhaps once a stable or kennel, has been gutted. Wooden partitions that may have been stalls lie shattered and burnt, leaving only divots in the walls, floor, ceiling, and a few stone support pillars. The floor is a tangle of broken beams, dung heaps crawling with vermin, and the occasional gleam of polished bone. The whole chamber is shadowy and dim, the
darkness seeming almost palpable.
This chamber did indeed once serve as a kennel for several of Kazavon’s pets and favored mounts, but the remains of these creatures have long since crumbled to dust. Yet the chamber does not remain unoccupied.
Creature: Umbral dragons are beasts of shadow and darkness. While not directly tied to the faith of Zon- Kuthon, they do share many of the Midnight Lord’s interests and goals—in the nation of Nidal, a few umbral dragons serve the church of Zon-Kuthon as advisors, guardians, mounts, and assassins. While most of these dangerous dragons remain unaffiliated with the religion,most are aware of Zon-Kuthon’s works and the actions of his most powerful agents.
When the umbral dragon Belshallam first heard the stories of Kazavon, a powerful dragon warlord who served Zon-Kuthon and embraced the shadows, he swiftly grew obsessed with the legend. What manner of treasure and shadowy loot might such a champion of the
Midnight Lord have owned? Certainly, much of it would have doubtless been claimed by now, but Belshallam clung to the hope that a hidden treasury may have remained undiscovered. He arrived in Scarwall many years ago. While he explored the ruins, slaying undead here and there that dared rise against him, Belshallam unwittingly fell into a trap. The chained spirit
Mithrodar felt Belshallam’s soul, and approved of his powerful links to the realm of shadow and the implied links to Zon-Kuthon. When Belshallam destroyed one of Mithrodar’s spirit anchors (a powerful undead warrior named Gorstav, whom the castle’s curse later reanimated as a much less powerful juju zombie), the chain spirit snared Belshallam as a replacement anchor.
8. Castle Kitchens (EL 11)
Rickety tables, butcher’s blocks, and collapsed shelves clutter this room which appears to have once served as the castle kitchen. The walls and ceiling are covered in soot, particularly to the west where three huge ovens loom. Each is completely covered in a layer of char and soot, inside and out, with bits of charred bone and charcoal caked on the iron grills and in the ash pits beneath. Worse, however, are the two outlines burned into the brick of the oven walls—humanoid images splayed in positions of agony and death. Despite the ancient look of the layers of grime, the ovens radiate slight warmth and the faint odor of burning meat, as if they have been used recently.
As is evidenced by the shadows on the wall, these kitchens were used for far more than just food preparation. One of Kazavon’s favorite means of execution was to lock a victim in one of the huge ovens during his evening meal and slowly fire it while the bound victim struggled. Sometime he ate the victim as well. When Mandraivus arrived, all of the degenerate, villainous cooks were thrown into the ovens for a bit of just rewards.
Haunt: While Mandraivus managed to cleanse the kitchen of its wicked staff, the method of execution he and his cabal chose had the unfortunate side effect of givingScarwall the raw soul energy needed to create a dangerous haunt and set of undead guardians. The haunt itself triggers as soon as anyone walks within twenty feet of the front of the three huge ovens.
Crematory Blast CR 9 Notice Spot DC 20 (to notice tendrils of smoke rising from each of the huge ovens); Effective HD 18 Effects Trigger proximity; Reset automatic (1 hour) Effect A sudden blast of fire wells up inside of each of the three ovens, then plumes out into a sheet of flame that fills the room. As the fires burn, shrieking spirits made of flame tear through the room, swimming through the bodies of living creatures and appearing to tear away bits of flesh as they do. Every character exposed to the fires must make a DC 20 Will save to avoid being convinced the flames are real. Success indicates that the haunt deals no damage, but failure results in a PC taking 10d6 points of fire damage. At the end of the round, the fire vanishes (leaving behind the creatures—see below), but only those creatures who took fire damage appear burned. Other creatures (and the contents of the room) are unscathed.
Creatures: The round immediately after the haunt resolves, the scorched outlines on the wall suddenly peel away and ignite into horrifying undead monsters—cinder ghouls. These are the spirits of the kitchen’s two most cruel and sadistic cooks, transformed after the castle’s evil took hold into swirling, humanoid clouds of burning ash, bone, and charred body parts that glow fiery red from within and reek of scorched flesh. They roar like a wind stoked fire as they move to attack.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party learned of her see form and kill the hag.
7. Malatrothe’s Quarters (EL 9)
On the walls of this dismal room are hung innumerable bags of netting holding bottles, clay jars, dried plants, desiccated bits of animals, and similar things. Tattered, gauzy curtains have been strung throughout, creating a diaphanous kind of maze. The whole is choked with a dank smelling smoke that seems to be issuing forth from a pitted iron brazier in the center of the chamber.
This chamber once served as the abode of Kazavon’s apothecary and alchemist. Its latest inhabitant has strung it with accoutrements and decoration to remind her of her own home on the outer plane of Abbadon. The netting bags hold many kinds of herbs and animal organs. The brazier burns seaweed-charcoal made on the shores of the river Styx, and its fumes are foul-smelling (but have no game impact) to most living creatures.
Creatures: Malatrothe currently resides in this room. She is a recent arrival to Scarwall and is here to trade souls with Mithrodar, who has granted her protection from the castle’s other inhabitants. She has already negotiated several good deals and is currently trying to figure out how to claim one of the castellan’s anchoring spirits to take back to Abbadon’s soul markets. If Malatrothe hears the sound of battle nearby, she quickly comes to the conclusion that adventurers have decided to invade Scarwall—who else would be so foolish to attempt such a stunt, after all? She assumes the form of a battered halfling woman dressed in rags and clambers into one of the nets hanging from the walls and waits for a few hours, hoping to trick any adventurers who enter this room into thinking she’s a prisoner here.
She claims to be an herbalist named Alimae who was snatched from the woods near her home by a horrific dragon and then carried halfway across the world to this nightmare castle, whereupon the dragon handed her over to a towering evil witch. The witch works in this room, Alimae continues, but says that she’s been gone for several hours. Acting nervous and frightened, Alimae says that, if the PCs hurry, she can lead them upstairs to the witch’s home, where if they’re quick, they can break her crystal ball and weaken her so that when she returns, she’ll be easy to defeat. Of course, all of this is a blatant lie. “Alimae” wants to lead the PCs up to area 18, where she proudly offers them all as new spirits for Mithrodar to claim in return for the spirits of one of his anchors. If the PCs see through her trickery, Malatrothe assumes her true form with a cackle, but still doesn’t attack. She compliments the PCs on their perception and caution, then asks them if they’d like to help her with a little project. She assumes they’re here to defeat one, some, or all of the commanders in Scarwall.
All she wants is to be there when they defeat one of the spirit anchors so she can capture the soul and flee to Abbadon with it. She’s worried that Mithrodar has no interest in relinquishing one of his anchors, and if she can’t use the PCs as a bribe, she hopes to use them as tools to steal the spirit herself. Malatrothe knows a little about Scarwall from her meetings with Mithrodar; she knows that the chained spirit’s power is tied to four spirit anchors, and that as long as those anchors exist, he cannot be destroyed.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party killed 6 Scarwall Guards.
6. Porters’ Hall (EL 11
Numerous arrow slits along the northern wall look out over the castle courtyard, and a pair of doors look as if they open onto it. The burnt stubs of torches hang in iron brackets between the arrow slits, and small puddles of rain have formed beneath them, staining the stone. Opposite these, metal rings have been driven into the stone wall; some have short lengths of chain attached to them.
This corridor once served as housing for the castle’s slave-porters. It was in ready shouting distance from the main keep, barracks, chapel, or guest wing—wherever they were needed. Their threadbare bedrolls have long since disintegrated due to exposure to the elements. The metal rings are where the porters were chained when not on duty. Creatures: The slave-porters were released by Mandraivus’s cabal when they took the castle centuries ago. The minotaur guards who watched over them were slain and left behind. Now, these five dread skeleton minotaurs patrol this hall under Mithrodar’s orders, watching for intruders attempting to infiltrate the castle via its courtyard. They immediately open fire with their crossbows if they see any targets therein. Scarwall Guards (5) CR 6 Dread skeleton elite minotaur (see page 22) hp 39 each.
Session Notes; 12/4/2016. The party killed a Greater Shadow and Mandraivus’s.
5. Mandraivus’s Fall (EL 12)
The double door between this hall and area 4 is barred from the eastern side with a heavy iron crossbar (Break DC 30).
Tattered bits of ruined tapestries line the walls of this hallway wispy filaments of rotting cloth that hang limp and forgotten. Ancient bones from scattered skeletons lie on the floor amid bits of broken weaponry and armor. Only one skeleton seems to remain whole, slumped against the northeastern corner, clad in dust-caked full plate armor.
When the orcs invaded Scarwall, Mandraivus and his soldiers held them off for some time in area 4 before falling back to this room. One by one, Mandraivus’s final guards fell to the invaders until it was only Mandraivus who remained alive. The orcs finally overwhelmed him here. But as the orcs delivered the final blow and Mandraivus’s presence in the castle ended, the latent spirits within Scarwall rose up in triumph. It didn’t take the malevolent, wrathful dead long to slaughter the orcs and drive them out of the castle and claim the building as their own. Bold Mandraivus, victor of a hundred battles, hero of Ustalav, and slayer of Kazavon lies here still, his skeleton slumped ignobly among those of his foes and servants, an anonymous tomb for a great hero.
Haunt: Two rounds after a living creature enters this room, the silence of the ancient, dead castle suddenly shatters. The hall is filled with a cacophony of clashing weapons and battle cries intermingled with the screams of the dead and dying. Individual words are impossible to discern, but as the sounds reach a crescendo of violence, smoky black shapes boil up out of the bones and swirl into a vortex of angry shrieking spirits. The wailing of these spirits may be enough to drive those caught inside the room to madness.
Allip Vortex CR 9 Notice Listen DC 25 (to hear the faint sounds of battle); Effective HD 18 Effects Trigger proximity (2 round onset delay); Reset automatic
(10 minutes) Effect As the storm of allip-like spirits churn into an overwhelming vortex, all creatures in this room must make a DC 25 Will save to avoid suffering 2d6 points of Wisdom damage.
Creature: The allip vortex is merely the first danger that faces PCs in this room. The round after the vortex collapses, a towering smoky form rises from the plate-mail-clad bones— this cursed and wrathful spirit is none other than Mandraivus, driven to madness by his centuries of imprisonment in Scarwall. He appears as a shadowy humanoid clad in plate armor made of dark mist. Two red eyes glow deep inside his helm. Mandraivus’s stricken soul now exists as a dread wraith. Almost all shreds of his actual personality have long since faded, with his hatred all that remains. Mandraivus the Lost CR 11 Dread Wraith hp 104 (MM 258).
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
4. Death Chamber (EL 13)
Session Notes; 2/26/2017. The party killed Pegg and Loute.
Pegg and Loute: These two ghosts were court jesters during Kazavon’s reign. Loute is no taller than a short halfling, while Pegg towers at just over seven feet in height. Both wear identical outfits of formfitting black leather with tight, black leather masks covering their heads. Each mask has a stitched seam running from forehead to jaw line to seal it in place. Pegg’s left leg is
missing, replaced by what appears to have been a chair or table leg. Loute has abnormally long
arms that, when they hang at his side, reach to mid calf. Despite their unusual appearances, both were once human. Kazavon found their respective physical abnormalities and their putrescent attempts at poetry, literature, and displays of fanciful fighting techniques quite amusing, and rather than see them tortured to death, kept them on for several years as his pet entertainers. Most of Kazavon’s soldiers found the pair to be unbearably irritating, and only the threat of Kazavon’s wrath protected them from both receiving a shiv in the back. Eventually,
even Kazavon tired of their pedantic drivel and had them both executed in a fit of pique by having masks created to compliment their normal grotesque attire and then ordering them sewn closed over their heads, condemning each to a slow, agonizing suffocation as they hung from
hooks driven through their collar bones, where they hung for hours above the entrance to the castle.
Curse of the Crimson Throne Skeletons of Scarwall
10. Belshallam’s Lair (EL 14)
Session Recap; 3/5/17.
In an epic battle, the Belshallam. Fayrin is the MVP in stopping the dragon’s retreat. Ohni is second in shear damage. Gard disabled buffs. Jim healed and summoned. Leon was blinded by the breath
This large chamber, perhaps once a stable or kennel, has been gutted. Wooden partitions that may have been stalls lie shattered and burnt, leaving only divots in the walls, floor, ceiling, and a few stone support pillars. The floor is a tangle of broken beams, dung heaps crawling with vermin, and the occasional gleam of polished bone. The whole chamber is shadowy and dim, the
darkness seeming almost palpable.
This chamber did indeed once serve as a kennel for several of Kazavon’s pets and favored mounts, but the remains of these creatures have long since crumbled to dust. Yet the chamber does not remain unoccupied.
Creature: Umbral dragons are beasts of shadow and darkness. While not directly tied to the faith of Zon- Kuthon, they do share many of the Midnight Lord’s interests and goals—in the nation of Nidal, a few umbral dragons serve the church of Zon-Kuthon as advisors, guardians, mounts, and assassins. While most of these dangerous dragons remain unaffiliated with the religion,most are aware of Zon-Kuthon’s works and the actions of his most powerful agents.
When the umbral dragon Belshallam first heard the stories of Kazavon, a powerful dragon warlord who served Zon-Kuthon and embraced the shadows, he swiftly grew obsessed with the legend. What manner of treasure and shadowy loot might such a champion of the
Midnight Lord have owned? Certainly, much of it would have doubtless been claimed by now, but Belshallam clung to the hope that a hidden treasury may have remained undiscovered. He arrived in Scarwall many years ago. While he explored the ruins, slaying undead here and there that dared rise against him, Belshallam unwittingly fell into a trap. The chained spirit
Mithrodar felt Belshallam’s soul, and approved of his powerful links to the realm of shadow and the implied links to Zon-Kuthon. When Belshallam destroyed one of Mithrodar’s spirit anchors (a powerful undead warrior named Gorstav, whom the castle’s curse later reanimated as a much less powerful juju zombie), the chain spirit snared Belshallam as a replacement anchor.
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Campaign recap part 6
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:26 pm
With the death of Captain Castothrane, Mithrodar used his power to replace that spirit anchor. There are three anchors. But understand I can't create bonds daily.
Session Recap; 3/5/17.
Jim communed to his god. He was rewarded with this information.
Defeating Spirit Anchors
You encountered him in room 18. The haunted aura of Scarwall persists largely due to the presence of the chained spirit Mithrodar. He has anchored his existence in Scarwall to four powerful commanders. As long as all four of these commanders survive, Mithrodar cannot be truly defeated. As long as Mithrodar exists, Scarwall is destined to remain a cursed and haunted place, and only when this curse is lifted can the PCs finish their mission to retrieve Serithtial. As the PCs defeat the spirit anchors, the overwhelming evil in the castle begins to falter. This manifests as detailed below.
One Spirit Anchor Defeated: The dread suffusing Scarwall fades; creatures can now sleep in the castle without fear of supernatural nightmares. Scarwall issues a silent scream that alerts all other undead in the tower that their realm is in danger. From this point on, until all four spirit anchors are defeated, undead in Scarwall gain +4 turn resistance in addition to effects of unhallow. (Undead that already have turn resistance have their bonus increased by +4).
Two Spirit Anchors Defeated: The aura of menace in Scarwall vanishes; detect evil and detect undead now function normally.
Three Spirit Anchors Defeated: Spirits contained in the castle walls can no longer escape to roam the halls— greater shadows, dread wraiths, and wraiths can no longer be encountered as wandering monsters.
All Spirit Anchors Defeated: The unhallow effect vanishes, along with the dimensional lock effect that affected all noninhabitants of the castle. Mithrodar can now be defeated permanently.
Replacing Anchors: Mithrodar can try to replace a defeated spirit anchor with a number of evil creatures in Scarwall.
Onward
Room 17a, 17b and all second level barracks. The party killed 10 Scarwall Guards.
The second floor of Scarwall consists of areas 16–22. Random encounters function normally here, and all encounter locations are on the map of the second floor on page 34.
16. Gate Winch (EL 10)
This oddly shaped chamber occupies most of the gatehouse’s second floor. A large set of winches in the room seem to govern the gates and portcullises in the gateway below. Troughs run along the sides of the winches, just above a set of murder holes in the floor to the east and west of the winches. Arrow slits pierce the outer walls in several places, completing the room’s defensive posts.
This room was the focal point of the main gate’s defenses. Troops could be shuttled through here to reinforce different areas of the gatehouse, and the actual gates could be controlled as well, by means of the portcullises. The troughs were normally kept filled with oil that could be brought to a boil and dumped into the room below in times of invasion. The haunting of Scarwall has infused the oil kept here, making it instead supernaturally cold. Ten minutes after the troughs are emptied, the freezing oil magically refills in these troughs.
19. War Tower (EL 12)
The party killed 3 Nessian Warhound. Soot stains the walls and floor of this ancient guardpost, and the smell of sulphur hangs heavy in the air. Open doors to the north and east lead into other chambers, while two flights of stairs (one leading up, the other leading down) stand to the northeast.
Creatures: Once used by Kazavon as an armory and a place to plan his campaigns and atrocities, the chambers of the War Tower are patrolled by three Nessian warhounds. One is always present in this room, with the other two wandering among the rooms on this floor or the one below on the first floor. Upon sighting the PCs, their baying is loud enough to bring the others running in 1d4 rounds, and is sufficient to alert Gorstav in area 34 above. The warhounds pursue foes throughout the War Tower, but do not chase prey into other parts of Scarwall. Nessian Warhounds (3) CR 9 hp 114 each (MM 152)
23. Gatehouse Loft (EL 13)
The party killed Captain Castothrane, a spirit anchor. They also killed 2 dread wraiths. With his death Mithrodar created a new spirit anchor. There are now 3 anchors. This long chamber has inward-slanting walls, like an attic. Many old barrels and boxes, broken and empty, are stacked at the base of the walls. Stairs descend to the north, near two small alcoves with conical roofs.
The gatehouse loft was once used to store supplies and armaments, and to provide access out onto the roof turrets for defense. When Scarwall fell to Mandraivus, one of its staunchest defenders was slain in personal combat with the hero of old.
Creatures: Captain Castothrane is one of the few undead who was undead before Kazavon fell to Mandraivus. Although Castothrane was defeated by the cabal, when
the spirits of Scarwall reclaimed the castle, they restored.
Session Notes; 4/09/2017.
24. Guardroom (EL 13)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. This sparsely furnished chamber appears to be a guardroom with a single table, two chairs, and a tarnished brazier. Hanging above the table is a bronze gong and striker.
The keep’s third floor is the domain of a dangerous devil, the ashmede Nihil. A gift to Kazavon from Zon- Kuthon, Nihil and her outsiders were gone from Scarwall when Mandraivus and his cabal struck, but have since returned only to become trapped by Scarwall’s curse. Creature: The bulk of Nihil’s command were devils. At the height of Kazavon’s rule, she commanded dozens of them, but now her reserves are down to only a few. Her two
remaining barbed devils stand guard in this chamber. After hundreds of years of boredom, they’re itching for a fight. The barbed devils keep Nihil apprised of the battle via telepathy, and as soon as one of them falls, the other is ordered to retreat to area 31 to protect their mistress.
Barbed Devils (2) CR 11 hp 126 (MM 51)
Scarwall’s Devils; Several devils dwell in the upper floors of Scarwall’s central keep. Commanded by an ashmede devil named Nihil, there are in all five imps, two bone devils, and two barbed devils. The devils have achieved a sort of alliance with the 12 gargoyle brutes that lurk in the heights as well, and both groups work together to defend the upper floors and towers. A confrontation in Scarwall’s heights, unlike the first and second floors below (where the denizens are generally isolated and aren’t interested in cooperation), can quickly explode into a mass battle between the PCs and the gargoyles and devils. Make sure to be familiar with the locations of the various denizens of these areas so you’ll be ready when a battle breaks out. Remember also that as long as the dimensional anchor effect is in place, the devils cannot use teleport and must run or fly to join battles (they can still summon infernal aid, however).
25. Ledges (EL 7)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 12 Gargoyle Brute the rest left the castle. These balconies overlook the castle and surrounding area—unlike the lower parapets, they have no railings to prevent falls, but serve as excellent landing platforms for flying steeds. Each of these ledges is watched by at least one gargoyle brute on a nearby perch (indicated on the map as area Q)—if they see any intruders on one of these ledges, they shriek an alarm and swoop down to attack. Gargoyle Brute CR 7 hp 84 (see page 17).
26. Seraglio
The PC cleared this area. This chamber holds only a few rough cots and wardrobes containing all manner of female garb ranging from elegant evening gowns to revealing nightwear, much of which seems to be yellowed and crumbling with age. Kazavon kept the occasional female prisoner locked away here, intending to sire a half-dragon heir someday. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for his brides-tobe, his more sadistic and gluttonous hungers saw them murdered before he ever saw this plan through.
27. Main Balcony
The PC cleared this area. An ornate iron railing set with decorative spikes and flanges honed to the sharpness of a blade hems in this large balcony. The balcony itself overlooks the gatehouse and approach to the castle. The sharpened edges of the railing are particularly deadly, and deal 1d6 points of damage per round to anyone climbing on them. If bull rushed into them, a creature takes 1d6 points of damage plus the bull-rushing creature’s Strength bonus. This balcony is watched by two gargoyle brutes on nearby perches (indicated on the map as area Q)—if they see any intruders on one of these ledges, they shriek an alarm and swoop down to attack.
28. Secret Storage
The PC cleared this area. The secret door to this room can be found with a DC 32 Search check. The door itself is arcane locked (CL 18th), and the aura of that spell is masked by a magic aura to make it appear nonmagical.
29. Library
The PC cleared this area. A few shelves line the walls of this room, holding a modest collection of books and scrolls. A table with a comfortable, velvet-lined chair stands between the chamber’s arrow slits. The melted stumps of two thick candles rest upon it.Though not overly interested in literature, Kazavon did keep a small collection of writings. The books here have been maintained by the castle’s haunted aura, but still feel old and brittle to the touch. Most are historical and geographical works relevant seven centuries ago, from which the PCs could learn much about the history of Belkzen, Ustalav, and even the reign of the Whispering Tyrant, though this information plays no role in this adventure.
30. Private Balcony (EL 7)
This small balcony is surrounded by a stone rail identical to that at area 27. Creatures: Perched upon it are five invisible imps that serve Nihil as messengers and spies. If they notice the PCs, four of them begin following them invisibly while the fifth flutters up to warn Nihil. If the PCs enter combat, the imps hang back and use suggestion to disrupt tactics by ordering PCs to drop their weapons, run away, or otherwise make foolish tactical errors.
31. Lord’s Tower (EL 13)
The door into this tower is locked with a superior lock (Open Lock DC 40)—the door itself is heavily reinforced to keep people out (hardness 5, hp 90, Break DC 35). The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. The interior of this tall, hollow tower is silent and menacing. High overhead, an opening at the tower’s peak lets in light, as do the arrow slits set into the walls, yet nothing seems capable of dispelling the gloom of ancient evil that looms here. A shallow pool of stagnant water from past rains has formed in the center of a floor that is largely empty of furnishings. Near the far wall slumps a wide bed, swathed in rotten and moldy bedclothes. The bed itself hangs a few feet off the floor, supported at its corners by chains hanging from a series of iron support beams above. To the side a large gilt throne stands upon a short dais before a series of manacles inset into the floor. A nearby fire grate, long cold, holds a collection of branding irons and other torturer’s tools. A series of alcoves climbs the walls of this tower in an ascending spiral. Within each stands a statuette, art object, or polished skull. This vast hollow tower served the warlord Kazavon, the despot of Tamrivena and conqueror of Belkzen, as home. Only his most trusted subjects knew that he was actually a blue dragon, as he preferred his human form over his draconic one. As a result, his lair is outfitted to accommodate a humanoid form as well as provide the space necessary to stretch out a bit away from prying eyes. A DC 23 Search check turns up a 6 large scales of deep indigo color pushed into out-of-the-way corners, remnants of the chamber’s former occupant and identifiable with a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check as having once belonged to a great wyrm blue dragon. Despite Kazavon’s long absence the room still fairly reeks with the evil presence of the former lord of the castle. Most of the room’s furnishings have been ruined by long exposure to the elements Kazavon insisted on having a skylight accessing the tower top from which he could fly in dragon form—but some of his treasures have survived as described below.
31. Lord’s Tower (EL 13)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. Creature: The ashmede devils of Hell’s deeper circles function as judges and executioners. When they are encountered on the Material Plane, they are typically on missions of murder, sent by higher powers to assassinate heretics, traitors, and failures. The ashmede known as Nihil the Ashbringer was gifted to Kazavon by Zon-Kuthon himself to serve as enforcer and personal assassin. She filled this role admirably, creating a network of spies from among the many gargoyles and devilkin that occupied Scarwall during Kazavon’s reign in order to keep tabs on all that went on in his realm. As the end drew near, Nihil’s spies uncovered a plot involving one of Kazavon’s field generals, who apparently was treating with a small group of heroes who were planning an assault on Scarwall. Eager to mete out punishment, she and her devils and gargoyles took flight. It took them several days to reach the fortress at which the supposed traitor was posted, and when the devils arrived, they took their time torturing and killing everyone there. It wasn’t until Nihil felt the sudden stabbing pain of Kazavon’s death at the height of the assault that she realized she’d been duped. Driven into a mindless frenzy, Nihil slaughtered everyone at the outlying fortress before teleporting back to Scarwall with her devils, only to find the place now under the control of Mandraivus and his cabal. She attacked several times, but was unable to reclaim Scarwall or avenge her master’s death. Since each assault further eroded her army’s numbers, the devil eventually went into hiding in the surrounding hills as she waited for her gargoyles to return from the long flight. A day after they did, the orcs came to Scarwall. Nihil saw her opportunity, and rather than immediately attack Mandraivus, she came here, to Kazavon’s tower, to see what she could gather of his remains or his treasures. She was still here when Mandraivus was slain and Scarwall’s undead curse awoke. Mithrodar seized the ashmede’s soul immediately, affixing her to the castle by making her one of his four chained spirits, and Nihil has remained here ever since.
As with most ashmedes, Nihil appears as a twisted, contorted humanoid with as much iron as flesh to her body. A huge pair of batlike wings unfurl from her back, and she wields a brutal magic scythe in combat. As the PCs begin exploring Scarwall’s heights, Nihil pays close
attention to various reports from invisible imps and gargoyles, but doesn’t immediately enter conflict with the PCs. Telepathy allows her the luxury of real-time reports if the PCs confront her bone devils or barbed devils, but as long as she remains a spirit anchor, she cannot leave this
tower. As soon as one of her bone or barbed devils perishes, she orders them all to retreat here to protect her.
32. Cupola (EL 9)
The PC cleared this area. The gargoyle brutes fled the castle. This cupola perched atop the main keep has wide windows overlooking its surroundings and two railed balconies extending from either side, yet there does not seem to be any actual access to the keep below via stairs, ladder, or otherwise. This remote rooftop cupola serves as an additional lair for the gargoyle brutes—there are generally two of the creatures resting in here at any one time unless the
Scarwall heights are under alert. Gargoyle Brutes
33. Lord’s Overlook (EL 11)
The PC cleared this area. This balcony provides access to the upper entrance of Kazavon’s lair. The open doorway leads to a sheer drop of 30 feet to the floor below. Creatures: Nihil’s last remaining bone devils are stationed here, with orders to stand guard invisibly. The devils also maintain fly spells at all times. If PCs draw near, they immediately fly up to confront them. If a PC enters area 31 via the opening here, one of the bone devils attempts to seal that opening with a wall of ice, hopefully trapping that PC inside with Nihil. In any event, the devils keep Nihil appraised of the battle via telepathy, and as soon as one of them falls, the other is ordered to retreat to area 31 to protect its mistress. Bone Devils (2) CR 9
34. War Room (EL 14)
The party killed General Gorstav, a spirit anchor. They also killed 1 dread wraith and 2 greater shadows. This large room’s walls are festooned with ancient, crumbling maps of the surrounding regions marked with fortifications and troop placement. Pushed to one side of the room is a wide table, its top fashioned into a large sandbox bearing a number of small wooden tokens apparently representing troop types and concentrations. The many military campaigns waged by Kazavon were planned in this room—once the nerve center of the War Tower, and the room for which the tower gained its name. Creature: For many centuries, Gorstav served as a spirit anchor for Mandraivus, but after he was destroyed by the umbral dragon, the castle’s curse brought him back as a much diminished undead guardian—since then, General Gorstav has had little reason to leave this room. General Gorstav, now a mere juju zombie, resembles a regular zombie but with a grayish cast to his flesh and eyes burning with hate.
Session Recap; 3/5/17.
Jim communed to his god. He was rewarded with this information.
Defeating Spirit Anchors
You encountered him in room 18. The haunted aura of Scarwall persists largely due to the presence of the chained spirit Mithrodar. He has anchored his existence in Scarwall to four powerful commanders. As long as all four of these commanders survive, Mithrodar cannot be truly defeated. As long as Mithrodar exists, Scarwall is destined to remain a cursed and haunted place, and only when this curse is lifted can the PCs finish their mission to retrieve Serithtial. As the PCs defeat the spirit anchors, the overwhelming evil in the castle begins to falter. This manifests as detailed below.
One Spirit Anchor Defeated: The dread suffusing Scarwall fades; creatures can now sleep in the castle without fear of supernatural nightmares. Scarwall issues a silent scream that alerts all other undead in the tower that their realm is in danger. From this point on, until all four spirit anchors are defeated, undead in Scarwall gain +4 turn resistance in addition to effects of unhallow. (Undead that already have turn resistance have their bonus increased by +4).
Two Spirit Anchors Defeated: The aura of menace in Scarwall vanishes; detect evil and detect undead now function normally.
Three Spirit Anchors Defeated: Spirits contained in the castle walls can no longer escape to roam the halls— greater shadows, dread wraiths, and wraiths can no longer be encountered as wandering monsters.
All Spirit Anchors Defeated: The unhallow effect vanishes, along with the dimensional lock effect that affected all noninhabitants of the castle. Mithrodar can now be defeated permanently.
Replacing Anchors: Mithrodar can try to replace a defeated spirit anchor with a number of evil creatures in Scarwall.
Onward
Room 17a, 17b and all second level barracks. The party killed 10 Scarwall Guards.
The second floor of Scarwall consists of areas 16–22. Random encounters function normally here, and all encounter locations are on the map of the second floor on page 34.
16. Gate Winch (EL 10)
This oddly shaped chamber occupies most of the gatehouse’s second floor. A large set of winches in the room seem to govern the gates and portcullises in the gateway below. Troughs run along the sides of the winches, just above a set of murder holes in the floor to the east and west of the winches. Arrow slits pierce the outer walls in several places, completing the room’s defensive posts.
This room was the focal point of the main gate’s defenses. Troops could be shuttled through here to reinforce different areas of the gatehouse, and the actual gates could be controlled as well, by means of the portcullises. The troughs were normally kept filled with oil that could be brought to a boil and dumped into the room below in times of invasion. The haunting of Scarwall has infused the oil kept here, making it instead supernaturally cold. Ten minutes after the troughs are emptied, the freezing oil magically refills in these troughs.
19. War Tower (EL 12)
The party killed 3 Nessian Warhound. Soot stains the walls and floor of this ancient guardpost, and the smell of sulphur hangs heavy in the air. Open doors to the north and east lead into other chambers, while two flights of stairs (one leading up, the other leading down) stand to the northeast.
Creatures: Once used by Kazavon as an armory and a place to plan his campaigns and atrocities, the chambers of the War Tower are patrolled by three Nessian warhounds. One is always present in this room, with the other two wandering among the rooms on this floor or the one below on the first floor. Upon sighting the PCs, their baying is loud enough to bring the others running in 1d4 rounds, and is sufficient to alert Gorstav in area 34 above. The warhounds pursue foes throughout the War Tower, but do not chase prey into other parts of Scarwall. Nessian Warhounds (3) CR 9 hp 114 each (MM 152)
23. Gatehouse Loft (EL 13)
The party killed Captain Castothrane, a spirit anchor. They also killed 2 dread wraiths. With his death Mithrodar created a new spirit anchor. There are now 3 anchors. This long chamber has inward-slanting walls, like an attic. Many old barrels and boxes, broken and empty, are stacked at the base of the walls. Stairs descend to the north, near two small alcoves with conical roofs.
The gatehouse loft was once used to store supplies and armaments, and to provide access out onto the roof turrets for defense. When Scarwall fell to Mandraivus, one of its staunchest defenders was slain in personal combat with the hero of old.
Creatures: Captain Castothrane is one of the few undead who was undead before Kazavon fell to Mandraivus. Although Castothrane was defeated by the cabal, when
the spirits of Scarwall reclaimed the castle, they restored.
Session Notes; 4/09/2017.
24. Guardroom (EL 13)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. This sparsely furnished chamber appears to be a guardroom with a single table, two chairs, and a tarnished brazier. Hanging above the table is a bronze gong and striker.
The keep’s third floor is the domain of a dangerous devil, the ashmede Nihil. A gift to Kazavon from Zon- Kuthon, Nihil and her outsiders were gone from Scarwall when Mandraivus and his cabal struck, but have since returned only to become trapped by Scarwall’s curse. Creature: The bulk of Nihil’s command were devils. At the height of Kazavon’s rule, she commanded dozens of them, but now her reserves are down to only a few. Her two
remaining barbed devils stand guard in this chamber. After hundreds of years of boredom, they’re itching for a fight. The barbed devils keep Nihil apprised of the battle via telepathy, and as soon as one of them falls, the other is ordered to retreat to area 31 to protect their mistress.
Barbed Devils (2) CR 11 hp 126 (MM 51)
Scarwall’s Devils; Several devils dwell in the upper floors of Scarwall’s central keep. Commanded by an ashmede devil named Nihil, there are in all five imps, two bone devils, and two barbed devils. The devils have achieved a sort of alliance with the 12 gargoyle brutes that lurk in the heights as well, and both groups work together to defend the upper floors and towers. A confrontation in Scarwall’s heights, unlike the first and second floors below (where the denizens are generally isolated and aren’t interested in cooperation), can quickly explode into a mass battle between the PCs and the gargoyles and devils. Make sure to be familiar with the locations of the various denizens of these areas so you’ll be ready when a battle breaks out. Remember also that as long as the dimensional anchor effect is in place, the devils cannot use teleport and must run or fly to join battles (they can still summon infernal aid, however).
25. Ledges (EL 7)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 12 Gargoyle Brute the rest left the castle. These balconies overlook the castle and surrounding area—unlike the lower parapets, they have no railings to prevent falls, but serve as excellent landing platforms for flying steeds. Each of these ledges is watched by at least one gargoyle brute on a nearby perch (indicated on the map as area Q)—if they see any intruders on one of these ledges, they shriek an alarm and swoop down to attack. Gargoyle Brute CR 7 hp 84 (see page 17).
26. Seraglio
The PC cleared this area. This chamber holds only a few rough cots and wardrobes containing all manner of female garb ranging from elegant evening gowns to revealing nightwear, much of which seems to be yellowed and crumbling with age. Kazavon kept the occasional female prisoner locked away here, intending to sire a half-dragon heir someday. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for his brides-tobe, his more sadistic and gluttonous hungers saw them murdered before he ever saw this plan through.
27. Main Balcony
The PC cleared this area. An ornate iron railing set with decorative spikes and flanges honed to the sharpness of a blade hems in this large balcony. The balcony itself overlooks the gatehouse and approach to the castle. The sharpened edges of the railing are particularly deadly, and deal 1d6 points of damage per round to anyone climbing on them. If bull rushed into them, a creature takes 1d6 points of damage plus the bull-rushing creature’s Strength bonus. This balcony is watched by two gargoyle brutes on nearby perches (indicated on the map as area Q)—if they see any intruders on one of these ledges, they shriek an alarm and swoop down to attack.
28. Secret Storage
The PC cleared this area. The secret door to this room can be found with a DC 32 Search check. The door itself is arcane locked (CL 18th), and the aura of that spell is masked by a magic aura to make it appear nonmagical.
29. Library
The PC cleared this area. A few shelves line the walls of this room, holding a modest collection of books and scrolls. A table with a comfortable, velvet-lined chair stands between the chamber’s arrow slits. The melted stumps of two thick candles rest upon it.Though not overly interested in literature, Kazavon did keep a small collection of writings. The books here have been maintained by the castle’s haunted aura, but still feel old and brittle to the touch. Most are historical and geographical works relevant seven centuries ago, from which the PCs could learn much about the history of Belkzen, Ustalav, and even the reign of the Whispering Tyrant, though this information plays no role in this adventure.
30. Private Balcony (EL 7)
This small balcony is surrounded by a stone rail identical to that at area 27. Creatures: Perched upon it are five invisible imps that serve Nihil as messengers and spies. If they notice the PCs, four of them begin following them invisibly while the fifth flutters up to warn Nihil. If the PCs enter combat, the imps hang back and use suggestion to disrupt tactics by ordering PCs to drop their weapons, run away, or otherwise make foolish tactical errors.
31. Lord’s Tower (EL 13)
The door into this tower is locked with a superior lock (Open Lock DC 40)—the door itself is heavily reinforced to keep people out (hardness 5, hp 90, Break DC 35). The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. The interior of this tall, hollow tower is silent and menacing. High overhead, an opening at the tower’s peak lets in light, as do the arrow slits set into the walls, yet nothing seems capable of dispelling the gloom of ancient evil that looms here. A shallow pool of stagnant water from past rains has formed in the center of a floor that is largely empty of furnishings. Near the far wall slumps a wide bed, swathed in rotten and moldy bedclothes. The bed itself hangs a few feet off the floor, supported at its corners by chains hanging from a series of iron support beams above. To the side a large gilt throne stands upon a short dais before a series of manacles inset into the floor. A nearby fire grate, long cold, holds a collection of branding irons and other torturer’s tools. A series of alcoves climbs the walls of this tower in an ascending spiral. Within each stands a statuette, art object, or polished skull. This vast hollow tower served the warlord Kazavon, the despot of Tamrivena and conqueror of Belkzen, as home. Only his most trusted subjects knew that he was actually a blue dragon, as he preferred his human form over his draconic one. As a result, his lair is outfitted to accommodate a humanoid form as well as provide the space necessary to stretch out a bit away from prying eyes. A DC 23 Search check turns up a 6 large scales of deep indigo color pushed into out-of-the-way corners, remnants of the chamber’s former occupant and identifiable with a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check as having once belonged to a great wyrm blue dragon. Despite Kazavon’s long absence the room still fairly reeks with the evil presence of the former lord of the castle. Most of the room’s furnishings have been ruined by long exposure to the elements Kazavon insisted on having a skylight accessing the tower top from which he could fly in dragon form—but some of his treasures have survived as described below.
31. Lord’s Tower (EL 13)
The PC cleared this area. They killed 2 Bone Devil, 2 Barbed Devil, 5 Imps fled, Nihil Judgement Devil (Ashmede), summoned kyton. Creature: The ashmede devils of Hell’s deeper circles function as judges and executioners. When they are encountered on the Material Plane, they are typically on missions of murder, sent by higher powers to assassinate heretics, traitors, and failures. The ashmede known as Nihil the Ashbringer was gifted to Kazavon by Zon-Kuthon himself to serve as enforcer and personal assassin. She filled this role admirably, creating a network of spies from among the many gargoyles and devilkin that occupied Scarwall during Kazavon’s reign in order to keep tabs on all that went on in his realm. As the end drew near, Nihil’s spies uncovered a plot involving one of Kazavon’s field generals, who apparently was treating with a small group of heroes who were planning an assault on Scarwall. Eager to mete out punishment, she and her devils and gargoyles took flight. It took them several days to reach the fortress at which the supposed traitor was posted, and when the devils arrived, they took their time torturing and killing everyone there. It wasn’t until Nihil felt the sudden stabbing pain of Kazavon’s death at the height of the assault that she realized she’d been duped. Driven into a mindless frenzy, Nihil slaughtered everyone at the outlying fortress before teleporting back to Scarwall with her devils, only to find the place now under the control of Mandraivus and his cabal. She attacked several times, but was unable to reclaim Scarwall or avenge her master’s death. Since each assault further eroded her army’s numbers, the devil eventually went into hiding in the surrounding hills as she waited for her gargoyles to return from the long flight. A day after they did, the orcs came to Scarwall. Nihil saw her opportunity, and rather than immediately attack Mandraivus, she came here, to Kazavon’s tower, to see what she could gather of his remains or his treasures. She was still here when Mandraivus was slain and Scarwall’s undead curse awoke. Mithrodar seized the ashmede’s soul immediately, affixing her to the castle by making her one of his four chained spirits, and Nihil has remained here ever since.
As with most ashmedes, Nihil appears as a twisted, contorted humanoid with as much iron as flesh to her body. A huge pair of batlike wings unfurl from her back, and she wields a brutal magic scythe in combat. As the PCs begin exploring Scarwall’s heights, Nihil pays close
attention to various reports from invisible imps and gargoyles, but doesn’t immediately enter conflict with the PCs. Telepathy allows her the luxury of real-time reports if the PCs confront her bone devils or barbed devils, but as long as she remains a spirit anchor, she cannot leave this
tower. As soon as one of her bone or barbed devils perishes, she orders them all to retreat here to protect her.
32. Cupola (EL 9)
The PC cleared this area. The gargoyle brutes fled the castle. This cupola perched atop the main keep has wide windows overlooking its surroundings and two railed balconies extending from either side, yet there does not seem to be any actual access to the keep below via stairs, ladder, or otherwise. This remote rooftop cupola serves as an additional lair for the gargoyle brutes—there are generally two of the creatures resting in here at any one time unless the
Scarwall heights are under alert. Gargoyle Brutes
33. Lord’s Overlook (EL 11)
The PC cleared this area. This balcony provides access to the upper entrance of Kazavon’s lair. The open doorway leads to a sheer drop of 30 feet to the floor below. Creatures: Nihil’s last remaining bone devils are stationed here, with orders to stand guard invisibly. The devils also maintain fly spells at all times. If PCs draw near, they immediately fly up to confront them. If a PC enters area 31 via the opening here, one of the bone devils attempts to seal that opening with a wall of ice, hopefully trapping that PC inside with Nihil. In any event, the devils keep Nihil appraised of the battle via telepathy, and as soon as one of them falls, the other is ordered to retreat to area 31 to protect its mistress. Bone Devils (2) CR 9
34. War Room (EL 14)
The party killed General Gorstav, a spirit anchor. They also killed 1 dread wraith and 2 greater shadows. This large room’s walls are festooned with ancient, crumbling maps of the surrounding regions marked with fortifications and troop placement. Pushed to one side of the room is a wide table, its top fashioned into a large sandbox bearing a number of small wooden tokens apparently representing troop types and concentrations. The many military campaigns waged by Kazavon were planned in this room—once the nerve center of the War Tower, and the room for which the tower gained its name. Creature: For many centuries, Gorstav served as a spirit anchor for Mandraivus, but after he was destroyed by the umbral dragon, the castle’s curse brought him back as a much diminished undead guardian—since then, General Gorstav has had little reason to leave this room. General Gorstav, now a mere juju zombie, resembles a regular zombie but with a grayish cast to his flesh and eyes burning with hate.
stygiandrake- Admin
- Posts : 39
Join date : 2017-11-05
Age : 47 -
Campaign recap part 7
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:32 pm
39. Dark Shrine of Midnight (EL 14)
The party cleared this area. You killed demilich Bishop Zev Ravenka and 5 when Scarwall’s curse awoke, the five acolytes here were immediately slain and their spirits transformed into spectres. This vast chamber is floored in gray slate and supported by thick pillars of obsidian. Torches mounted on the pillars burn, yet their flames are strangely dim, barely lighting the cathedrallike space. The pillars themselves are decorated with skulls and bones—tiny white pinpoints of light seem to dance in the eye sockets of each skull. To the northwest, a tall statue of a skull-headed man dressed in dark robes stands behind a black marble altar, on which lie heaped mounds of ashes, bits of bone, and a single skull, its teeth and eye sockets set with glittering gemstones. Jagged, barbed chains dangle from the statue’s eye sockets. Thick black curtains hang from the walls of the chamber. This chamber housed the main temple of Zon-Kuthon at Scarwall. The torches on the pillars are similar to everburning torches except they exude a dark light that provides shadowy illumination in a 20-foot radius that overwhelms any other light sources brought into their area of effect (4th-level or higher spells with the light descriptor can cancel out the shadows for the spell’s duration). Beyond the south curtain is a smaller statue of Zon-Kuthon used in certain ceremonies but otherwise mundane. The lights in the skulls’ eyesockets are unnerving, but are little more than a harmless physical manifestation of the evil in this chamber.
Creature: The night of Mandraivus’s raid, Bishop Zev Ravenka received a dark premonition of the invasion from the Midnight Lord. When Mandraivus infiltrated Scarwall, Bishop Zev Ravenka enacted his plan to protect himself and his chapel, and called upon Zon-Kuthon to ward the entrances and exits with a potent forbiddance spell that kept the cabal from entering the donjon. Ravenka assumed that Kazavon would defeat the cabal. When he didn’t, the lich’s plan backfired as Mandraivus and his spellcasting allies wove forbiddance magic of their own to keep the lich and his followers trapped inside. Eventually, Ravenka would have escaped, except that when Mandraivus was slain, the donjon became the focus of the resulting explosion of undeath and necromantic power. Each of his minions succumbed, their spirits joining those in the walls or transforming into undead guardians. Zev Ravenka, himself already undead,underwent an even more vile transformation. His body was blasted apart to dust, and the curse of Scarwall transformed the Bishop into a deadly undead creature known as a demilich. Bishop Ravenka’s mortal remains are the ashes, bone fragments, and gem-studded skull that sit atop the altar. As long as these remains are not disturbed, the dangerous undead guardian remains quiet, unaware that his chapel has been invaded.
47. The Inhabitant of the Lake (EL 15)
The party cleared this area. You killed Kleestad . Originally formed as a magma chamber long ago before the volcano went extinct, the chamber has slowly filled over the ages with sediment-thick water. The lake’s walls are a nearly 200-hundred-foot vertical drop to a longer waterway that winds through the ground for miles. The point of light out in the lake is, in fact, the blade Serithtial, embedded point-first into a stony rock outcropping in the lake’s northwest area.
Creature: As detailed in the Adventure Background, Zon-Kuthon cursed Kleestad for betraying Kazavon, transforming him into a horrific wormlike monstrosity and casting him down into this lightless pit to guard Serethtial. Of course, now that the holy sword is required to “free” Kazavon from Queen Ileosa, Zon-Kuthon no longer cares if Kleestad continues to guard the sword. In a way, the PCs are his executioners, arriving on the scene to carry out their duty (unknowingly or otherwise) to end the life of this traitor. If the PCs venture out on the water, step foot on the stony rock that holds the sword in its grip, or otherwise attempt to retrieve the sword, Serethtial senses them and her glow grows brighter. If there are any worshipers of Iomedae in the party, they hear a faint singing in their ears and a sudden feeling of urgency from the weapon. Unfortunately, after his long association with the weapon, Kleestad senses these changes as well, and quickly slithers up to the lake’s surface to investigate. Kleestad is a disgusting creature that is part immense worm and part humanoid. He is just over 80 feet in length, with sickly pale flesh infested with rot and pustules. Dozens of spiky legs twitch along the length of his body, while his upper torso, bloated and pallid, is still vaguely human.
37. Prelate’s Chapel (EL 15)
The party cleared this area. You killed the five acolytes here were immediately slain and their spirits transformed into Spectres and Prelate Aruth CR 11, Male mummy lord cleric. This chamber is shrouded in writhing shadows. A ten-foot-tall humanoid figure stands motionless deeper in the room. This chamber served as a private chapel for small ceremonies attended to by the prelate that the other priests were only occasionally invited to. Magical darkness fills the chamber, preventing light within from rising above shadowy levels. A daylight spell (or any 4th-level or higher spell with the light descriptor) nullifies this effect for that spell’s duration, but does not dispel the darkness. The tall figure is a 10-foot statue of Zon-Kuthon represented as a cloaked figure with a skull for a head and a spiked chain dangling from its eye sockets. Behind the statue is a secret door that gives access to the Star Tower. It is cunningly constructed (DC 40 Search check to locate) and locked (DC 40 Open Lock to unlock).
Creature: As with the chapel’s acolytes, the chapel’s prelate died when Scarwall’s curse awoke. Yet unlike the lesser acolytes, Prelate Aruth retained power over his body and maintained his faith and link to the Midnight Lord. He exists now as a mummy lord, but this existence is little more than that of a glorified guardian. He stands silently behind the statue, stepping out to attack with his spells as soon as the PCs enter. The prelate wears elaborate robes woven of the darkest silks, and his teeth have been filed to points.Prelate Aruth CR 11, Male mummy lord cleric (Zon-Kuthon).
The Star Tower
The party cleared this area. A single stone building with no obvious entrance sits atop this towering star-shaped foundation. The marble of both the building and the surrounding tower show no seams and are polished to a sheen, almost as if the entire structure were carved from a single immense shaft of stone. Only on the southeastern wall of the small stone building atop this tower is the smooth polish marred—here, a carving of a ten-foot-wide skull with spiked chains dangling from its eyesockets looks out over the castle below. The large symbol of Zon-Kuthon on the southeastern wall is a permanent phase door that can only be triggered to allow access to the room inside at the touch of a cleric of Zon-Kuthon of no less than 9th level. A DC 35 Use Magic Device can also trigger the door’s activation. As long as Scarwall remains haunted, the building remains under a dimensional anchor effect—the phase door cannot be openedat all as long as the castle remains haunted. The chamber inside is empty, save for a 5-foot-wide flight of stairs that leads down to the second floor.
41. Curate’s Chamber
The party cleared this area. This chamber was obviously once somebody’s quarters. It is sparsely furnished with a small table holding a wooden bowl and cup and a pile of bedding lying in the center of the floor where someone appears to have been brutally murdered, judging from old bloodstains that cover a good portion of it. A strange hermit known only as the “Curate” made this chamber his home during Kazavon’s time. A prophet of Zon-Kuthon, he relied on his divine spellcasting abilities to provide food and water for himself as he kept watch on the Star Tower. Kazavon had little patience for the strange man, and soon after construction of Scarwall was completed, he murdered him. Unfortunately, it was the Curate’s presence that prevented Rovagug’s power from welling up from the Darklands. This ageless half-fiend devotee of Zon-Kuthon had pledged his cenobitic life to watching over the Star Tower, and with that life quenched, this particular Star Tower’s long tale of dwindling power came to an end.
The Star Tower
42. Chamber of the Well (EL 14)
The party cleared this area. You killed Ildervok Nightwing. The walls and floor of this chamber have a strange organic texture, appearing almost like black decaying flesh streaked with glistening swaths of blood. Four pillars carved to look like coils of entwined arteries and spinal cords support the ceiling—nails and surgical tools are embedded in these pillars at key and painful-looking positions. At the base of the stairs is a ten-foot-diameter open shaft filled with thick bluish mist. This level of the Star Tower was constructed to “capture” the devotional energy of the worshipers of Zon-Kuthon in the chapel to the southeast and then infuse the stony length of the tower, but without a Curate in place, these energies simply build in the room and then dissipate. The chamber is also where Mandraivus and his cabal finally confronted Kazavon, who had been forced into this corner of his lair in hopes that, here at the heart of his power, he could resist Mandraivus and his holy sword. That hope died with Kazavon, and it was here that his body was dismantled and carried away to the far corners of the world. The shaft is filled with cold blue fog, and while it is only 50 feet deep, any creature that falls into it experiences a plummet of unexpected and vertiginous length, as if they were falling for miles and miles. Each round the fall continues, the falling character must make a DC 20 Will save. If he succeeds, the character suddenly finds himself landing in area 43, suffering 5d6 points of falling damage (maximum 20d6) for each failed Will save. A character that can fly makes the same Will save each round he continues to fly down into the pit, but on a success, finds himself in flight in area 43 and takes no falling damage. No matter how long a flying character has been flying down, he always finds that the rim of the shaft above is no more than 30 feet up.
Creature: Several weeks after Kazavon’s diedh and Scarwall’s curse awakened, Zon-Kuthon sent one of his minions, a nightwing named Ildervok, to this chamber to await the arrival of a replacement Curate to induct into service. And for hundreds of years, the immense shadowy undead has waited, patiently, for a new candidate to arrive. When the PCs enter this chamber, the nightwing greets them, speaking to them telepathically while invisible, and welcoming them to the Star Tower. It then idly asks which of them wish to take on the honor and glory of becoming the Star Tower’s new Curate. The nightwing would certainly much prefer someonevolunteer for it, and hopes to find someone who’s already a worshiper of Zon-Kuthon (either Shadowcount Sial or Laori Vaus would make perfect candidates. Ildervok Nightwing
43. Deep Chamber
The party cleared this area. The air in this empty chamber is cold and still. The jagged
walls of the tower are broken to the northeast by a single stone door, and the floor is polished to a reflective sheen. Thirty feet above, the ceiling is completely obscured by a roiling bank of
glowing blue mist. A character who climbs or flies up into the mist above suddenly finds himself emerging from the edge of the pool in area 42, despite the fact that this chamber is nearly 1,500 feet underground. This is the Star Tower’s foundation, and the door once provided access to an ancient temple of Zon- Kuthon. This temple was not built of the same ageless material
as that of the Star Tower, and volcanic activity and the passage of ages have erased most remnants of this complex but for a few twisting caverns and a large underground lake. This door
is heavy, but can be opened with a DC 16 Strength check.
44. Caverns
The party cleared this area. You killed Gugs (10). The walls of this cave look moist, yet are strangely dry to the touch, covered with a sheen of glittering mineral deposits. The ceiling averages fifteen feet in height. This short network of caverns is unlit and slopes downward slightly as one travels toward area 46. Although once part of a temple to Zon-Kuthon, the remaining tunnels are now settled by a small group of violent and horrific creatures known as gugs. There are four gugs dwelling in the caverns, and while most of them spend the majority of their time in area 46, periodically one will wander into these caves—there’s a 20% chance of encountering a lone gug in this tunnel as a result.
45. Entrance to Sekamina
The party cleared this area. This corridor ends at a fifteen-foot-wide shaft that plummets into the darkness. A faint warm breeze flows up from the pit,carrying with it strange mineral scents. What appear to be a series of three-foot-wide handholds run down along the closest side of the shaft—a crude, primative ladder, perhaps, but judging by the length between holds, one sized for a creature almost three times the size of a man. The vast network of caverns that wind through Golarion’s crust are known collectively as the Darklands. They consist of three distinct realms. The uppermost one is known as Nar-Voth, while the deepest and most mysterious is called Orv. This shaft drops into the most extensive realm—the middle realm known as Sekamina. The shaft is just over 500 feet deep, and opens into a warren of caverns inhabited by additional gugs. Clambering down the side of the shaft is a DC 10 Climb check if the gug-ladder is used, DC 20 otherwise. The gug warren below is too far away for the gugs here to rely upon for reinforcements, but if the PCs fail to retrieve Serithtial on their first try, any gugs they have slain are replaced wihtin a few hours of their death by more from below.
46. Sacred Lake (EL 14)
The party cleared this area. You killed Gugs (10). The rank odor of decay, filth, and wet fur clings to this cool chamber with a palpable tenacity. The chamber itself is an immense, twenty-foot-high cavern that fades into the dark to the north. A wide rocky shelf sits in the southern portion of the cavern, and upon this shelf are four crude, domed hovels, each nearly twenty feet tall and built from crude stone blocks mortared together with a nasty mix of mud, hair, and other assorted debris. Each stone igloo has a large arched opening into its darkened interior. To the north, a silent lake of black waters stretches into the distance. Very few ripples disturb its surface, giving it the appearance at times of a massive sheet of polished obsidian. Far out in the water to the northwest, a single point of light glows just above the surface, a bright
star whose radiance illuminates a few stony islands about seventy feet out in the lake, though the source of the glow is not discernible from shore.
Creatures: For many years, this chamber has served as a site of religious significance for the warren of gugs that dwell deeper in Sekamina (see area 45 above). Lurking in the lake is an immense and monstrous creature (see area 47 below) that the gugs have come to view as one of the many god-children of Rovagug. Periodically, a gug might toss a sacrifice into these waters so they can gather and watch the inhabitant of the lake feed, but for the most part these four gugs see themselves as the lake’s guardians, dwelling here to ensure that their god’s slumber in the lake is not disturbed. The gug hovels are dirty and hold little more than their few collected treasures, disgusting clumps of shed fur, and the bony remains of many past meals. There are a
total of four gugs dwelling here currently, and while infighting and bickering is common among their kind, they set all differences aside as soon as intruders are detected, immediately attacking in an all-out rush to establish feeding rights over the slain. They fight to the death to protect their sacred lake and its denizen.
The party cleared this area. You killed demilich Bishop Zev Ravenka and 5 when Scarwall’s curse awoke, the five acolytes here were immediately slain and their spirits transformed into spectres. This vast chamber is floored in gray slate and supported by thick pillars of obsidian. Torches mounted on the pillars burn, yet their flames are strangely dim, barely lighting the cathedrallike space. The pillars themselves are decorated with skulls and bones—tiny white pinpoints of light seem to dance in the eye sockets of each skull. To the northwest, a tall statue of a skull-headed man dressed in dark robes stands behind a black marble altar, on which lie heaped mounds of ashes, bits of bone, and a single skull, its teeth and eye sockets set with glittering gemstones. Jagged, barbed chains dangle from the statue’s eye sockets. Thick black curtains hang from the walls of the chamber. This chamber housed the main temple of Zon-Kuthon at Scarwall. The torches on the pillars are similar to everburning torches except they exude a dark light that provides shadowy illumination in a 20-foot radius that overwhelms any other light sources brought into their area of effect (4th-level or higher spells with the light descriptor can cancel out the shadows for the spell’s duration). Beyond the south curtain is a smaller statue of Zon-Kuthon used in certain ceremonies but otherwise mundane. The lights in the skulls’ eyesockets are unnerving, but are little more than a harmless physical manifestation of the evil in this chamber.
Creature: The night of Mandraivus’s raid, Bishop Zev Ravenka received a dark premonition of the invasion from the Midnight Lord. When Mandraivus infiltrated Scarwall, Bishop Zev Ravenka enacted his plan to protect himself and his chapel, and called upon Zon-Kuthon to ward the entrances and exits with a potent forbiddance spell that kept the cabal from entering the donjon. Ravenka assumed that Kazavon would defeat the cabal. When he didn’t, the lich’s plan backfired as Mandraivus and his spellcasting allies wove forbiddance magic of their own to keep the lich and his followers trapped inside. Eventually, Ravenka would have escaped, except that when Mandraivus was slain, the donjon became the focus of the resulting explosion of undeath and necromantic power. Each of his minions succumbed, their spirits joining those in the walls or transforming into undead guardians. Zev Ravenka, himself already undead,underwent an even more vile transformation. His body was blasted apart to dust, and the curse of Scarwall transformed the Bishop into a deadly undead creature known as a demilich. Bishop Ravenka’s mortal remains are the ashes, bone fragments, and gem-studded skull that sit atop the altar. As long as these remains are not disturbed, the dangerous undead guardian remains quiet, unaware that his chapel has been invaded.
47. The Inhabitant of the Lake (EL 15)
The party cleared this area. You killed Kleestad . Originally formed as a magma chamber long ago before the volcano went extinct, the chamber has slowly filled over the ages with sediment-thick water. The lake’s walls are a nearly 200-hundred-foot vertical drop to a longer waterway that winds through the ground for miles. The point of light out in the lake is, in fact, the blade Serithtial, embedded point-first into a stony rock outcropping in the lake’s northwest area.
Creature: As detailed in the Adventure Background, Zon-Kuthon cursed Kleestad for betraying Kazavon, transforming him into a horrific wormlike monstrosity and casting him down into this lightless pit to guard Serethtial. Of course, now that the holy sword is required to “free” Kazavon from Queen Ileosa, Zon-Kuthon no longer cares if Kleestad continues to guard the sword. In a way, the PCs are his executioners, arriving on the scene to carry out their duty (unknowingly or otherwise) to end the life of this traitor. If the PCs venture out on the water, step foot on the stony rock that holds the sword in its grip, or otherwise attempt to retrieve the sword, Serethtial senses them and her glow grows brighter. If there are any worshipers of Iomedae in the party, they hear a faint singing in their ears and a sudden feeling of urgency from the weapon. Unfortunately, after his long association with the weapon, Kleestad senses these changes as well, and quickly slithers up to the lake’s surface to investigate. Kleestad is a disgusting creature that is part immense worm and part humanoid. He is just over 80 feet in length, with sickly pale flesh infested with rot and pustules. Dozens of spiky legs twitch along the length of his body, while his upper torso, bloated and pallid, is still vaguely human.
37. Prelate’s Chapel (EL 15)
The party cleared this area. You killed the five acolytes here were immediately slain and their spirits transformed into Spectres and Prelate Aruth CR 11, Male mummy lord cleric. This chamber is shrouded in writhing shadows. A ten-foot-tall humanoid figure stands motionless deeper in the room. This chamber served as a private chapel for small ceremonies attended to by the prelate that the other priests were only occasionally invited to. Magical darkness fills the chamber, preventing light within from rising above shadowy levels. A daylight spell (or any 4th-level or higher spell with the light descriptor) nullifies this effect for that spell’s duration, but does not dispel the darkness. The tall figure is a 10-foot statue of Zon-Kuthon represented as a cloaked figure with a skull for a head and a spiked chain dangling from its eye sockets. Behind the statue is a secret door that gives access to the Star Tower. It is cunningly constructed (DC 40 Search check to locate) and locked (DC 40 Open Lock to unlock).
Creature: As with the chapel’s acolytes, the chapel’s prelate died when Scarwall’s curse awoke. Yet unlike the lesser acolytes, Prelate Aruth retained power over his body and maintained his faith and link to the Midnight Lord. He exists now as a mummy lord, but this existence is little more than that of a glorified guardian. He stands silently behind the statue, stepping out to attack with his spells as soon as the PCs enter. The prelate wears elaborate robes woven of the darkest silks, and his teeth have been filed to points.Prelate Aruth CR 11, Male mummy lord cleric (Zon-Kuthon).
The Star Tower
The party cleared this area. A single stone building with no obvious entrance sits atop this towering star-shaped foundation. The marble of both the building and the surrounding tower show no seams and are polished to a sheen, almost as if the entire structure were carved from a single immense shaft of stone. Only on the southeastern wall of the small stone building atop this tower is the smooth polish marred—here, a carving of a ten-foot-wide skull with spiked chains dangling from its eyesockets looks out over the castle below. The large symbol of Zon-Kuthon on the southeastern wall is a permanent phase door that can only be triggered to allow access to the room inside at the touch of a cleric of Zon-Kuthon of no less than 9th level. A DC 35 Use Magic Device can also trigger the door’s activation. As long as Scarwall remains haunted, the building remains under a dimensional anchor effect—the phase door cannot be openedat all as long as the castle remains haunted. The chamber inside is empty, save for a 5-foot-wide flight of stairs that leads down to the second floor.
41. Curate’s Chamber
The party cleared this area. This chamber was obviously once somebody’s quarters. It is sparsely furnished with a small table holding a wooden bowl and cup and a pile of bedding lying in the center of the floor where someone appears to have been brutally murdered, judging from old bloodstains that cover a good portion of it. A strange hermit known only as the “Curate” made this chamber his home during Kazavon’s time. A prophet of Zon-Kuthon, he relied on his divine spellcasting abilities to provide food and water for himself as he kept watch on the Star Tower. Kazavon had little patience for the strange man, and soon after construction of Scarwall was completed, he murdered him. Unfortunately, it was the Curate’s presence that prevented Rovagug’s power from welling up from the Darklands. This ageless half-fiend devotee of Zon-Kuthon had pledged his cenobitic life to watching over the Star Tower, and with that life quenched, this particular Star Tower’s long tale of dwindling power came to an end.
The Star Tower
42. Chamber of the Well (EL 14)
The party cleared this area. You killed Ildervok Nightwing. The walls and floor of this chamber have a strange organic texture, appearing almost like black decaying flesh streaked with glistening swaths of blood. Four pillars carved to look like coils of entwined arteries and spinal cords support the ceiling—nails and surgical tools are embedded in these pillars at key and painful-looking positions. At the base of the stairs is a ten-foot-diameter open shaft filled with thick bluish mist. This level of the Star Tower was constructed to “capture” the devotional energy of the worshipers of Zon-Kuthon in the chapel to the southeast and then infuse the stony length of the tower, but without a Curate in place, these energies simply build in the room and then dissipate. The chamber is also where Mandraivus and his cabal finally confronted Kazavon, who had been forced into this corner of his lair in hopes that, here at the heart of his power, he could resist Mandraivus and his holy sword. That hope died with Kazavon, and it was here that his body was dismantled and carried away to the far corners of the world. The shaft is filled with cold blue fog, and while it is only 50 feet deep, any creature that falls into it experiences a plummet of unexpected and vertiginous length, as if they were falling for miles and miles. Each round the fall continues, the falling character must make a DC 20 Will save. If he succeeds, the character suddenly finds himself landing in area 43, suffering 5d6 points of falling damage (maximum 20d6) for each failed Will save. A character that can fly makes the same Will save each round he continues to fly down into the pit, but on a success, finds himself in flight in area 43 and takes no falling damage. No matter how long a flying character has been flying down, he always finds that the rim of the shaft above is no more than 30 feet up.
Creature: Several weeks after Kazavon’s diedh and Scarwall’s curse awakened, Zon-Kuthon sent one of his minions, a nightwing named Ildervok, to this chamber to await the arrival of a replacement Curate to induct into service. And for hundreds of years, the immense shadowy undead has waited, patiently, for a new candidate to arrive. When the PCs enter this chamber, the nightwing greets them, speaking to them telepathically while invisible, and welcoming them to the Star Tower. It then idly asks which of them wish to take on the honor and glory of becoming the Star Tower’s new Curate. The nightwing would certainly much prefer someonevolunteer for it, and hopes to find someone who’s already a worshiper of Zon-Kuthon (either Shadowcount Sial or Laori Vaus would make perfect candidates. Ildervok Nightwing
43. Deep Chamber
The party cleared this area. The air in this empty chamber is cold and still. The jagged
walls of the tower are broken to the northeast by a single stone door, and the floor is polished to a reflective sheen. Thirty feet above, the ceiling is completely obscured by a roiling bank of
glowing blue mist. A character who climbs or flies up into the mist above suddenly finds himself emerging from the edge of the pool in area 42, despite the fact that this chamber is nearly 1,500 feet underground. This is the Star Tower’s foundation, and the door once provided access to an ancient temple of Zon- Kuthon. This temple was not built of the same ageless material
as that of the Star Tower, and volcanic activity and the passage of ages have erased most remnants of this complex but for a few twisting caverns and a large underground lake. This door
is heavy, but can be opened with a DC 16 Strength check.
44. Caverns
The party cleared this area. You killed Gugs (10). The walls of this cave look moist, yet are strangely dry to the touch, covered with a sheen of glittering mineral deposits. The ceiling averages fifteen feet in height. This short network of caverns is unlit and slopes downward slightly as one travels toward area 46. Although once part of a temple to Zon-Kuthon, the remaining tunnels are now settled by a small group of violent and horrific creatures known as gugs. There are four gugs dwelling in the caverns, and while most of them spend the majority of their time in area 46, periodically one will wander into these caves—there’s a 20% chance of encountering a lone gug in this tunnel as a result.
45. Entrance to Sekamina
The party cleared this area. This corridor ends at a fifteen-foot-wide shaft that plummets into the darkness. A faint warm breeze flows up from the pit,carrying with it strange mineral scents. What appear to be a series of three-foot-wide handholds run down along the closest side of the shaft—a crude, primative ladder, perhaps, but judging by the length between holds, one sized for a creature almost three times the size of a man. The vast network of caverns that wind through Golarion’s crust are known collectively as the Darklands. They consist of three distinct realms. The uppermost one is known as Nar-Voth, while the deepest and most mysterious is called Orv. This shaft drops into the most extensive realm—the middle realm known as Sekamina. The shaft is just over 500 feet deep, and opens into a warren of caverns inhabited by additional gugs. Clambering down the side of the shaft is a DC 10 Climb check if the gug-ladder is used, DC 20 otherwise. The gug warren below is too far away for the gugs here to rely upon for reinforcements, but if the PCs fail to retrieve Serithtial on their first try, any gugs they have slain are replaced wihtin a few hours of their death by more from below.
46. Sacred Lake (EL 14)
The party cleared this area. You killed Gugs (10). The rank odor of decay, filth, and wet fur clings to this cool chamber with a palpable tenacity. The chamber itself is an immense, twenty-foot-high cavern that fades into the dark to the north. A wide rocky shelf sits in the southern portion of the cavern, and upon this shelf are four crude, domed hovels, each nearly twenty feet tall and built from crude stone blocks mortared together with a nasty mix of mud, hair, and other assorted debris. Each stone igloo has a large arched opening into its darkened interior. To the north, a silent lake of black waters stretches into the distance. Very few ripples disturb its surface, giving it the appearance at times of a massive sheet of polished obsidian. Far out in the water to the northwest, a single point of light glows just above the surface, a bright
star whose radiance illuminates a few stony islands about seventy feet out in the lake, though the source of the glow is not discernible from shore.
Creatures: For many years, this chamber has served as a site of religious significance for the warren of gugs that dwell deeper in Sekamina (see area 45 above). Lurking in the lake is an immense and monstrous creature (see area 47 below) that the gugs have come to view as one of the many god-children of Rovagug. Periodically, a gug might toss a sacrifice into these waters so they can gather and watch the inhabitant of the lake feed, but for the most part these four gugs see themselves as the lake’s guardians, dwelling here to ensure that their god’s slumber in the lake is not disturbed. The gug hovels are dirty and hold little more than their few collected treasures, disgusting clumps of shed fur, and the bony remains of many past meals. There are a
total of four gugs dwelling here currently, and while infighting and bickering is common among their kind, they set all differences aside as soon as intruders are detected, immediately attacking in an all-out rush to establish feeding rights over the slain. They fight to the death to protect their sacred lake and its denizen.
stygiandrake- Admin
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Campaign recap part 8
by stygiandrake Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:32 pm
Fayrin, Jim Stern "Grumpy ol' Jim", Beauregard "Gard" Von Stryfe, Leon Pro.
Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka, from Korvosa, and where approached in a dream by the Vencarlo Orisini Male medium-age human rogue /fighter /duelist. His home and school are located in the Old Korvosa the Red Mantis burnt during attack. His home is next to the school. He is currently traveling to Harse, is a noted swordmaster and owner of the Orisini Academy in the Korvosan neighborhood of Old. Vencarlo is well-known and respected instructor in the art of fencing and swordplay, which he teaches from his Academy in Old Korvosa. He and Neolandus Kalepopolis male human aristocrat /ranger is the former Senrschal and they have been hiding in the dwarven city of Janderhoff.
In the dream he tasked Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka, to find his friends and heroes of the city, Fayrin, Jim Stern "Grumpy ol' Jim", Beauregard "Gard" Von Stryfe, Leon Pro. He gave them the location and of the Scarwall Castle. As they, approached they encountered by the Brotherhood of Bones, Shadowcount Sial and chain devil Asyra proposes a longer-term alliance. the church of Zon-Kuthon. They try to get the help when refused tried force them to find Serithtial is a +4 holy Zon-Kuthon bane sword crafted, it is said, by Iomedae herself as a gift to Mandraivus’s great-grandfather, a man who led several crusades from Cheliax against Nidal. The sword was handed down through the generations, finally coming to the hands of a well-respected hero of Lastwall
Mandraivus. Forged to aid his ancestor against the shadowcounts of Nidal, Serithtial was the perfect weapon for his assault on Scarwall, and some scholars of history now believe that Iomedae had foreseen its need and forged it early to ensure that Mandraivus would not only inherit it, but would respect its traditions all the more.
Although made of steel, Serithtial is treated as being made of both cold iron and silver for the purposes of penetrating damage reduction. Serithtial glows with the equivalent of a continual flame, but her wielder can extinguish or ignite this glow as a move equivalent action. In addition, she gains a further +2 enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against foes who serve or worship Zon-Kuthon. Although Serithtial was forged as a bastard sword, and it is to this shape she reverts when no one wields her, the sword can detect what sort of blade its current owner favors, and when held in the hand, immediately transforms into the type of blade its owner is most proficient in (choosing from dagger, short sword, longsword, scimitar, falchion, greatsword, rapier, or bastard sword). Although Serithtial is lawful good, as long as her wielder is dedicated to the defeat of Kazavon and those he has corrupted (such as Queen Ileosa), she does not attempt to seize control of her wielder. If her wielder does go against her wishes, she tries to force him to relinquish her to a more appropriate wielder.
By the time Fayrin, Jim Stern "Grumpy ol' Jim", Beauregard "Gard" Von Stryfe, Leon Pro had finished clearing out most of the castle and found the sword, Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka arrived.
Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka, from Korvosa, and where approached in a dream by the Vencarlo Orisini Male medium-age human rogue /fighter /duelist. His home and school are located in the Old Korvosa the Red Mantis burnt during attack. His home is next to the school. He is currently traveling to Harse, is a noted swordmaster and owner of the Orisini Academy in the Korvosan neighborhood of Old. Vencarlo is well-known and respected instructor in the art of fencing and swordplay, which he teaches from his Academy in Old Korvosa. He and Neolandus Kalepopolis male human aristocrat /ranger is the former Senrschal and they have been hiding in the dwarven city of Janderhoff.
In the dream he tasked Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka, to find his friends and heroes of the city, Fayrin, Jim Stern "Grumpy ol' Jim", Beauregard "Gard" Von Stryfe, Leon Pro. He gave them the location and of the Scarwall Castle. As they, approached they encountered by the Brotherhood of Bones, Shadowcount Sial and chain devil Asyra proposes a longer-term alliance. the church of Zon-Kuthon. They try to get the help when refused tried force them to find Serithtial is a +4 holy Zon-Kuthon bane sword crafted, it is said, by Iomedae herself as a gift to Mandraivus’s great-grandfather, a man who led several crusades from Cheliax against Nidal. The sword was handed down through the generations, finally coming to the hands of a well-respected hero of Lastwall
Mandraivus. Forged to aid his ancestor against the shadowcounts of Nidal, Serithtial was the perfect weapon for his assault on Scarwall, and some scholars of history now believe that Iomedae had foreseen its need and forged it early to ensure that Mandraivus would not only inherit it, but would respect its traditions all the more.
Although made of steel, Serithtial is treated as being made of both cold iron and silver for the purposes of penetrating damage reduction. Serithtial glows with the equivalent of a continual flame, but her wielder can extinguish or ignite this glow as a move equivalent action. In addition, she gains a further +2 enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against foes who serve or worship Zon-Kuthon. Although Serithtial was forged as a bastard sword, and it is to this shape she reverts when no one wields her, the sword can detect what sort of blade its current owner favors, and when held in the hand, immediately transforms into the type of blade its owner is most proficient in (choosing from dagger, short sword, longsword, scimitar, falchion, greatsword, rapier, or bastard sword). Although Serithtial is lawful good, as long as her wielder is dedicated to the defeat of Kazavon and those he has corrupted (such as Queen Ileosa), she does not attempt to seize control of her wielder. If her wielder does go against her wishes, she tries to force him to relinquish her to a more appropriate wielder.
By the time Fayrin, Jim Stern "Grumpy ol' Jim", Beauregard "Gard" Von Stryfe, Leon Pro had finished clearing out most of the castle and found the sword, Jul Lak'Tal, and Ryuka arrived.
stygiandrake- Admin
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Age : 47 -
Sunday Night Cabal :: Finished Games :: Curse of the Crimson Throne :: Summaries/Recap/Treasure :: Book 5 - Skeletons of Scarwall
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