Note: the game
dynamic has changed as one player has left the game and another is
joining. Mell/ Poshmora is no longer a
player, and I will instead use the character as an NPC as the player is no
longer with the game. Another player,
Heather, will be joining with a new character, possibly a ranger. She can be easily slotted in as a friend of
Gerrett who has been helping in his investigations. She will be coming to the farm following the
Cacodaemons below, and will enter from the opposite side of the encounter.
From the last session, the party has likely made the
decision NOT to assist Syren, and thus, Krune, the Runelord of Sloth. A Paladin of Sarenrae and a member of
Sarenrae’s military wing, Juliet and Io, respectively, are not going to work
with an evil faction, even if they have common enemies. This creates a change in the direction of
sessions, although does not impact the campaign arc. Also, Mell now wants to separate herself from
Poshmora, her eidolon, now that she knows of Poshmora’s connection with Krune
and desire to be his servant. That
desire should play out well in future scenarios.
The characters are outside the farm of the family Juliet has
befriended from building the festival bonfire.
Also, this is the farm where the remaining orphans were sent by the
party. And the farmers are under attack
by 8 Cacodaemons, which were summoned from the ruins at the lake and have
migrated this way from the northwest. A
DC 18 Knowledge (Geography) check to realize the likely origination point of
the monsters. Survival will not assist
as the creatures are flying, not traveling by land. The lake is north of the town, so these
creatures likely bypassed the village completely. No farmer or orphan has been killed yet, as
the attack just began, but if 3 creatures end up next to one NPC or 3 rounds
transpire, one NPC will be lost. 1-3
farmer/ 4-6 orphan. The orphans who
remain after the battle will likely be emotional messes after the attack on the
church the night before, the death of the priest and the oldest girl, and now
this attack. The party should determine
what to do to settle the orphans down and calm them as best as possible.
Farm attack: 6
Cacodaemons - CR 2, NE Tiny Outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar), Init +4,
Senses: Darkvision 60', Constant detect
good, detect magic, Perc. +7; AC 16, T 12, FF 16 (+4 Natural, +2 size); HP
19 (3d10+3), fast healing 2; F +2, R +5, W +4; Defensive Capabilities: DR 5/ good or silver, Immune: acid, death effects, disease, poison, Resist
cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; Speed 5’, fly 50’ (perfect);
Bite +6 (1d4+1 plus disease); Special Attacks: Disease – save Fort DC 12 onset
1 day, frequency 1/day, effect 1d2 Wisdom damage, cure – 2 consecutive saves,
any infected creature can be telepathically contacted by the Cacodaemon over
any distance on the same plane; Soul Lock (Bestiary 2 p. 64); Spell-like
Abilities: At will – invisibility (self
only), 3/day – Lesser Confusion (DC 12), 1/week – Commune (CL 12th,
6 questions); Str 12, Dex 11, Con 13 , Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 12; Base Atk +3, CMB
+1, CMD 12; Feats: Improved Initiative,
Lightning Reflexes; Skills: Bluff +7,
Fly +18, Know (Planes) +5, Perc +7, Stealth +14; Special Qualities: change shape (lizard, venomous snake).
After the encounter, the party will likely be exhausted and
head to the Clearwater’s Gate. It is
late morning, as they entered the cistern right after dawn. When they get to town, the Inn is the likely
place for them to go. Let them have a
conversation with Cenn. Cenn is worried
as Gerrick, the Tanner, hasn’t come back yet from scouting the lake and
outlying farms, and after this amount of time, it is worrisome. Delix has, as expected, taken over the
investigation of the attacks. He is
currently at the church with the guards.
If the party rests or stays at the Inn, Delix does return in
the early afternoon. He definitely feels
he should be in charge, and also begins to question the party in a
none-too-friendly manner. Did the party
bring these creatures, whether on purpose or because they were being
followed? Where are they from? What did they discover in the cistern? What was said? By whom?
What other information? He has
absolutely no fear of the party or of ramifications if he angers the
party. He knows, as does the rest of the
village, that if anything happens to him, Korvosa will send investigators to
the village, which will not be good for the village. At best, they will likely lose several of the
stronger farmers and villagers to conscription in the military forces. Such is the price of services from the city. If the party begins to get physical or
threatening with Delix, Cenn will try to step in to calm matters down.
Delix does state that he will return to Korvosa directly
with the information, as he is the authority figure, knows who to talk with,
and will be listened to seriously.
Anyone else will likely be ignored as liars or dismissed out of
hand. For the city watch to take this
situation seriously, Delix needs to be present.
As arrogant and pig-headed as Delix is, he has genuine concern and
interest in the villages under his charge, and the villages know this. He may be dismissive and look down his nose
at this work beneath his abilities, but he takes his work seriously, and has
come through for the villages a number of times when they have needed an
advocate.
As someone will need to tell the next villages on his route
of his unexpected delay and detour, Delix charges the party with this effort,
if nothing else to prove themselves as wanting the best for the village and the
regions surrounding. Delix then tells
Cenn to get the tax payment together as he personally won’t be back but will
move on to the next village upon his return to the region. The militia will come here to assist with the
investigation. If the party suggests
that they accompany Delix to Korvosa, he snorts in derision and dismisses the
idea completely. Who are they to bring
information to the authorities in Korvosa?
Are they known there? Do they
hold any prestige with the city and its command structure? Do they know who to even talk to? The village needs Delix to get the
information to the proper authorities; this is his job, let him do it.
Delix dismisses any further discussion on the topic and
heads upstairs to his rooms. He asks
Cenn to meet him up in his rooms to discuss business matters and village
concerns. This is a good time for the
players to rest up and recover. That
evening, Cenn and his wife meet with the group and tell them what villages to
travel to and with whom to speak. They
are very appreciative of the help of the characters, even where Delix appears
not to be.
Suddenly, Gerrett bursts into the Inn. The surrounding farms are under attack by
foul monsters which someone is summoning, using the ruins by the lake. Gerrett is not acquainted with arcane magic
enough to understand the how and what of the summoning area, and he has no idea
who is doing the summoning or why. He
was able to see creatures come out of the ruins, though, and move off into the
surrounding forests and regions.
Gerrett is pretty beat up, but he insists that he is going
to continue to run to the surrounding farmsteads and assist in protection, as
he is able. The party at this point
realize he is a half-orc, which is very unusual in Varisia and known for not
being well liked, even hated by the Shaonti people. Gerrett begs the party to set out straight
away for the lake and ruins to see if they can discover who is summoning the
creatures and also to find a way to stop any more creatures from coming through
the portal. He then runs off into the
night.
The party likely will take off for the lake. They should notice (Perception DC 15 and
Survival DC 10 checks; must succeed at both) that the forest life is deathly
quiet on their way, as if the creatures of the forest are holding their breaths
in fear. Occasional screams of some foul
creature(s) can be heard at times in the distance on their way to the lake.
Lake encounter:
·
2 Scarlet Spider Swarms - CR 2, N Fine Vermin
(swarm), Init +2, Senses: Darkvision 60', Perc. +4; AC 20, T 12, FF 18 (+2 Dex,
+8 size); HP 13 (3d8); F +3, R +3, W +1; Defensive Capabilities: Immune:
mind-affecting effects, weapon damage, swarm traits, vermin traits;
Weakness: swarm traits (+50% damage from
area of affect effects, such as spells or splash damage); Speed 10’, climb 10’;
swarm (1d6 plus disease); Space 10’; Special Attacks: Disease – save Fort DC
13, onset 1-3 day, frequency 1/day, effect 1d6 Strength damage, cure – 2
consecutive saves; distraction Fort DC
11 or nauseated for 1 rd; Painful Bite – if creature bitten by swarm, -1
circumstance penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, ability checks, and
skill checks until cured, Neutralize Poison, Remove Disease, or DC 13 Heal
check removes penalty; Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2; Base Atk +2,
CMB -, CMD -; Skills: Climb +10, Perc
+4, Stealth +22.
·
8 Vapor Dire Rats - CR 1, N Small magical beast
(augmented animal, vapor), Init +3, Senses: Darkvision 60', low-light vision,
scent, Perc. +1; AC 15, T 14, FF 12 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size); HP 6 (1d10+1),
fast healing 2; F +3, R +5, W +1; Defensive Capabilities: Resist fire 5; Weaknesses – cold susceptibility (+50% damage from cold);
Speed 40’, climb 20’, swim 20’; Bite +5 (1d4 plus disease); Special Attacks:
Disease – save Fort DC 11, onset 1d3 days, frequency 1/day, effect 1d3 Con
damage and 1d3 Dex damage, cure – 2 consecutive saves; Death Throes – upon
death, Reflex DC 11 or automatic bite; Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 13,
Cha 10; Base Atk +1, CMB +0, CMD 13 (+17 vs. trip); Feats: Weapon Finesse; Skills: Climb +11, Stealth +11 (+19 in areas of
smoke, fog, mist or vapor); Special Qualities:
Vaporous form – can change into vapor at will.
Use the stats from the first session for examining the
ruins. For ambiance, mention the scene
as in half-moonlight and the shadow of the tower spire in the distance making a
darker shade against the starry sky.
Treasure:
if a DC 22 Perception is made on the stones of the ruins (elves and
half-elves get auto check and dwarves get stone-cunning bonus), an opening is
found which holds five 2,000gp rubies, which were used as part of the summoning
portal. During the examination, branches and rocks start whipping around the
party, but with no wind to stir.
Robinn’s eyes , when someone looks, are rolled up into his head and the
whites are beginning to glow. He has a
vision:
“It wants to continue what it started. A thousand pillars. It will be free. Must change one, kill one, to help loosen the
bonds that bind. A thousand
pillars. Preparations were made eons
ago. Time to harvest. The time is ripe to reap the harvest and let
loose the flood. A thousand pillars, and
death will fall upon the world.”
Robinn then wakes and sits on the ground hard, but is okay
and conscious, just shaken. If the party
scratches out the symbol on the ruins, the summoning stops. Allow them to take a “copy” of the symbol for
further research. They should then head
back to the village.
Forest encounter: 3
Lacridaemons - CR 3, NE Medium Outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar), Init +7,
Senses: Darkvision 60', Constant detect
good, detect magic, Perc. +8; Aura – weeping aura 100’, sonic
mind-affecting, -5 Survival vs. becoming lost if within aura, stacks up to -20
with others; AC 15, T 13, FF 12 (+3 Dex, +2 Natural); HP 30 (4d10+8); F +6, R +4,
W +5; Defensive Capabilities: DR 5/ good
or silver, Immune: acid, death effects,
disease, poison, Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10, SR 14; Speed 40’; Bite +6 (1d4+2
plus 1d4 acid and poison), 2 claws +7 (1d4+2 plus 1d4 acid); Special Attacks: Poisonous
tears – move action which provokes an AOO allows lacridaemon to coat both claws
with poison, effective for one round, save Fort DC 14, frequency 1/round for 6
rounds, effect 1 Wisdom plus staggered for 1 round, cure – 2 consecutive saves;
Spell-like Abilities: At will – pass
without trace, 3/day – overwhelming grief (DC 14, Ult Magic), teleport (self
plus 50lbs object only), 1/day – hold person (DC 14), invisibility, snare,
summon (level 4, 1 lacridaemon 50%); Str 14, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 13,
Cha 12; Base Atk +4, CMB +6, CMD 19; Feats:
Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claws); Skills: Acrobatics +10 (+14 jump), Bluff +8, Climb +9,
Perc +8, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +10; Languages: Abyssal, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 100’.
They should arrive at dawn to the village. Gerrett is not back yet, but Delix is in
front of the Inn with Cenn, getting ready to depart. The horses are being saddled and Gerrett is
having a final discussion with Cenn.
They will both ask what the party found at the lake. Delix, although still brusque, thanks the
party for its assistance with the village and seems genuinely appreciative, if
still arrogant. He says he realizes he
comes across harshly, but he has a job which he takes seriously, and they were
unknown agents just as bad things began to happen. He could take no chances on the safety of
those in his charge. He does his best by
the villages, even as he hopes to move on to work which is more meaningful and
of greater responsibility.
Gerrett suddenly breaks out from the trees on the other side
of the Village Green, yelling and waving his arms as he full out runs towards
the group at the Inn. Delix stumbles
into whatever character is closest to him, and has a puzzled look on his
face. Black tracings run up from his
neck into his face and eyes, and he collapses dead in the character’s arms, a
huge arrow jutting out from his back.
Gerrett is pointing past the group into the trees behind them, and when
the turn, they see a Leukodaemon (show photo) with a bow in hand as it steps
back into the forest and disappears.
End of Session
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