This was my first module written for use with 13th Age, and I had to do a bit of clean-up to get it current with my growing understanding of the system (but errors may still float in the text). It's part I of an ongoing campaign, but the party has cut their way through this section so far.
Personally it wasn't structured in an ideal manner for my tastes; it doesn't require the PCs to do anything they don't want to, and if they take a tactic that assumes a "wait and see" position the GM will need to be ready to adjudicate a different sort of experience. The locations and events below serve only as a template of possibility....more than half of what I describe below didn't play out quite as described.
I: The Flasks of the Nephilim
Reward for the Death
of Alabask Phenar!
The cruel and
insidious ashtarth warlord Alabask Phenar has at last been driven
from the lands of righteous men! The vile cur has retreated from the
battlefield, his force of ne’er-do-wells scattered hither and yon.
Rangers of the fabled order of Kom’Huandyr have tracked the fiend
to the entrance of his subterranean demesne within the depths of the
Lower Dark, deep beneath the caverns of the Lost Mantle in the
eastern range of the Slithotendan Mountains. Lady Siddara of
Hyrmyskos has sent forth an armed delegation of ambassadors to speak
with the ashtarth of Dahik, where they were informed that the
“traitorous” Alabask Phenar had been exiled from their kingdom a
decade earlier, and that Eilith, the Infernal Queen of Darkness did
not recognize Alabask’s authority to speak on behalf of her people.
She specified an unstated reward to those who could claim the head of
the “craven fool.”
Emperor Usyllyses has
also proclaimed that the first hero to bring forth proof of Alabask’s
demise will be rewarded with a generous sum of money in the form of
1,000 gold crowns and the issuance of both knighthood and ten acres
of land along the lush shores of the Nyarlith Delta. Hundreds of
eager blades and clever free agents have already stated that they
will see to the death of this most hated foe of the Empire…”
--Excerpted from
Gazette of the Royal Sun, Hyrkan’ien, Ca. 1,952 aw
Twenty years ago an
entrepreneurial warrior of the dark elf kingdom of Dahik rose to
power, joined the movement against the Infernal Queen, and like his
brethren failed to cast her down. Many of those who survived the
failed coup attempt were captured or killed in Dahik’s dark arenas,
but Alabask Phenar was not among them. He had paid carefully to
receive the best bodyguards ashtarth coin could buy, and was
protected by three dark fiends who served as allies and bodyguards,
all in exchange for a piece of his soul. When the time came to make
his escape, Alabask called upon his fiendish protectors and fled.
Each fiend sacrificed itself for him that he could escape, willingly.
Alabask made his escape,
and eventually took refuge in the troll city of Hoggoth, where he had
a torrid and brief affair with the troll queen Invidia herself. But
his time with the mistress of the Evil Eye was brief, and he was soon
forced out of the city when the Infernal Queen Eilith called upon
Invidia to honor her ages-old alliance with Dahik. Invidia did so,
though not before insuring Alabask had opportunity to make his
escape.
Alabask eventually
retreated to the deeps of a region known as the Lost Mantle, located
in the eastern end of the Mountains of Madness, deep below the Great
Pass used by the Empire’s trade routes for overland north-south
travel. Here he found a degenerate tribe of dark elves called the
Salabari, who had been cast out centuries ago due to their depraved
standards…..so depraved in fact that even the demon-worshipping
blood-sacrificing ashtarth had a problem with them.
The Salabari had long ago
given up their worship of the demon gods and now sought an even
deeper truth, listening to the maddening whispers and dreams of a
being buried hundreds of miles beneath the earth of the mountains,
the whispering mad god Slithotep. The degenerate elves revealed some
of the elaborate mysteries that unfolded from Slithotep’s psychic
dreams to Alabask as he stayed with them.
Alabask was impressed at
the madness and power evident within Slithotep’s dreams, and it
became clear that this being was a very old agent of chaos. He sought
to learn more, and delved deep to learn as many mysteries as he
could. While he did so he made more allies in the deeps of the Lower
Dark, and eventually he stumbled across a tribe of degenerate
troglodytes who claimed they knew of an ancient tomb that may belong
to the mysterious Slithotep, where his corporeal body had been slain
the the War of the Gods.
What Alabask found was
not a tomb to the mad god but instead a forgotten temple and tomb to
another unknown chaos god, who had fallen in the two-thousand year
old War of the Gods. This chaos lord was called Siny’Math
(sin-yee-math), and she was the lost goddess of corruption.
Transfixed by the eerie beauty of her statuary, Alabask decided that
he must restore her lost worship. He braved the temple with his
followers, and eventually after many casualties they restored it. He
then penetrated the tomb, seeking the reliquary of the goddess that
he might use it to contact her spirit which he felt sure must be
wandering in the planes of Limbo, lost and without followers for so
long.
Alabask, after many
losses, penetrated the depths of the tomb and uncovered Siny’Math’s
remains. Within her tomb he found two artifacts: the Reliquary of
Siny’Math which contained the vial of her cosmic blood, and the
Spear of Corruption, her unholy weapon which chose him as her avatar
champion the moment he seized it. From that moment on he became her
zealous follower.
Little is known of the
three years that followed this time, other than stories of how
salabari dark elves rode forth in the night across the wilderlands of
the Empire, seeking out allies to forge an army in the name of
Alabask and his dark goddess. Priests of the new cult spoke in
whispers of Alabask’s terrible fascination for the goddess, and how
her soul would descend the planar realms to possess her physical
remains for a time, and that he had terrible carnal visits with the
goddess. Other priests remarked that the terrible all-pervasive
presence of Slithotep only grew stronger with the manifestation of
Siny’Math, and that it was often difficult to distinguish between
Slithotep’s dark dreams and those prophetic revelations of the
undead goddess. One priest dared question if Siny’Math was even
real, and not just another feverish dream of the mad god, but Alabask
slew the priest after a prolonged torture session for daring to
suggest such; his remains were then fed the goddess, who grows
stronger with each sacrifice.
Recently, Alabask has
resurfaced, prompting renewed interest in his capture. He, along with
a force of Salabari warriors and khitteck attacked at the heart of
the Grand Temple in Hyrmyskos, during the visit of the High Sacrimori
herself. The attack appeared to be targeted at the high priestess,
but it was in fact an act of misdirection: the real intent was for a
small cadre of warriors to infiltrate Nistur’s Temple of Knowledge
to find an ancient tome on the Secrets of Corti’Zahn, dead city of
the gods.
Within that book Alabask
found what he sought: lore on the enigmatic Orb of Oblivion, said to
bethe secret to granting all knowledge in the world, at the price of
despair at the stark truths of existence. Alabask, convinced his
madness would protect him from such revelations and instead open up
new avenues to power, decided to pursue the Orb.
Secrets within
Secrets: Siny'Math may in fact be in league with the dreaded
Elder God of chaos that lies imprisioned beneath the Mountains of
Madness called A'kall...but discovering this bit of information is
very difficult.
The Journey
Alabask made his way into
the deserts, staying briefly with a sympathizer ogre before using the
map in the tome to find the fabled White Station, an ancient bastion
of divinity which the lost kings of the Fertile Empire used to travel
to the floating towers of Corti’Zahn to commune with their gods
directly.
Alabask found the White
Station, and he and his men evaded the purple worm guardian with
judicious use of slaves. They then encountered the mind flayer
Severes who served as its caretaker, with his abominable
guardians. Alabask had no trouble sacrificing his men in exchange for
use of one of the four airships at the land-dock. So impressed was
Severes with this drow that he converted to the worship of Siny’Math
on the spot. Once Alabask left this left three airships, one of which
had fallen into disrepair beyond even the capacity of Severus to fix.
The adventurers following
Alabask to the White Station will first have to overcome the purple
worm which lurks in the area as an eternal guard (deception works
best) and then convince Severes to also let them use one of the
skyships. This will be difficult….Severes has been tainted badly by
the visions of power Alabask showed him. If they can find a way to
coerce or convince him then he will allow access to one.
Alternatively, if they manage to slay him somehow, a brutal fight if
ever there would be one (treat as mind flayer but with escalation die
bonus and ability to shrug off stun effects as a quick action) then
he will relent and teleport away when he is staggered (although
killing him also works).
The airships are
harnessed ether-engines, powerful machines that could enter space if
so rigged. These models have been restrained from spaceflight, but if
someone were to find a ritual to enchant their atmospheric engines to
allow for artificial air, heat and protection from the harsh
conditions of space, and then freed the ether engines of the “gravity
harness” which keeps them from leaving orbit then the machine could
become space-worthy. The ship itself is directed in the atmosphere by
an electric sprite, a small blue woman who appears on a complex
stained glass round table in the navigation room. She is currently
programmed for a number of specific destinations:
- The Tower of Oblivion (last utilized destination; where Alabask went in Corti’Zahn)
- The Arc of the Seraphs (a great arc-monument in Corti’Zahn, now collapsed)
- The Tomb Lands (along the far western slopes of the Slithotendan Mountains)
- The Gates of Starthias (this may surprise some)
- The Palace of the Empire (the one she has programmed is not the current era palace; it will take the PCs to a vast ruin deep in the deserts to the south where the old Imperial Palace of Hyradakas rests)
The sprite is named
“Azima” after “azimuth.” A clever PC in talking with her will
learn the destinations are all programmed in, but there are many
more, as well as a freeform style of navigation, but only the ship
captain and navigator can be granted access. Inquiring about how to
prove ownership as such will reveal that the PCs would need to find
the proper deed of ownership, last held by the captain. Where is the
captain? According to the sprite, before her vessel was docked she
knew he was returning to the Capitol to be married…..(possible side
quest).
Arriving At Corti’Zahn
The airship took Alabask
to the tower of Aurumurvox first, one of the few towers who now
rested only feet above the desert sand. There he met the enigmatic
living god, and was told that the Orb of Oblivion would accept –or
reject—any who sought its ownership. Alabask indicated he needed
only ask it a question, a revelation…Aurumurvox assented, for the
god knew it was destined.
Alabask was right: his
mind was protected by Siny’math’s weave of spells that she had
crafted, even in death, to protect her greatest avatar and first true
worshipper in eons. Alabask’s madness helped as well; he had
already had dark truths of chaos revealed to him, knew in his heart
of the inevitable death of creation as the great worms of chaos were
destined to devour it.
The Orb revealed its
secrets to him: as he parsed through the vast flood of knowledge he
found his mind focused on one singular bit of information, though
unknown to him it was that single piece of lore which it was that
Siny’Math and Slithotep desired he find: The lost knowledge of the
Flasks of the Nephilim.
In the dawn of time, when
the gods were young, they crested a servitor race of beings called
the Prehunates. The prehunates were nearly immortal for in this early
era the gods saw fit that their creations would one day serve the
needs of the gods. In this early era, the god’s direct immortal
servants were the Seraphim. The seraphim were true angelic beings,
and each represented one ideology, ethos, vice or virtue of the
world. The seraphim were entranced by the first men, the prehunates,
and had relations with them. From these relations were born the first
giants, the nephilim.
The nephilim were the
original true giants. They saw themselves as greater than men,
greater than seraphim, and aspired to be gods by virtue of their
celestial blood. The first nephilim contented with the rule of the
early prehunates, but in time their lust for power grew, and they
sought to steal celestial power from their divine parents. This was a
time of great conflict, as the nephilim used elemental magics to
change themselves, and sought out powers of both order and chaos
without consideration of consequence. They built up the prehunates
and used them as great armies to steal the power of the seraphim.
The tales of this time
are largely undocumented, but it is known that in this primal era
that the nephilim were ultimately cast down, and survive today as the
remote giantkin of the world, still touched with elemental traits,
but forever barred from the immortality and divinity they once
sought; only the titans, who are a different breed of giant entirely
(though few realize this) are different.
The lore that Alabask
sought from this time was simple: power. In the tale of the Nephilim
the Orb revealed that one of the greater weapons of the Nephilim were
the legendary Flasks of the Nephilim, sacred elixirs used to imbue
the giantkin with elemental power and create horrible monsters;
alchemy most foul. The Flasks were potent artifacts of what may have
been the first war in the word’s ancient prehistory. They rested in
the high floating Towers of War, a monument to the gods of war,
including Hargameth, Hanahook, Vishannu, Morrigante, and the dead
lost gods Argolos and Sakragei. Each flask had been placed in one of
the monuments to each deity, and the pathways to each remained
treacherously guarded.
Alabask realized what he
needed: if he could secure three of the flasks, he would be able to
perform a ritual of resurrection that would grant the dark goddess
Sniy’Math a new body…
PCs who follow Alabask
will find that he traveled to the Tower of Oblivion first. There,
they will find an expectant living God with the Orb of
Oblivion…Aurumurvox will explain that a madman, touched by the
chaos of a god long dead, is on a mad quest. The adventurers must
stop him from getting the Flasks of the Nephilim, for they will allow
a great corruption to enter the world, one tainted by an ancient and
unholy magic that has not existed for an eon.
If anyone inquires as to
why Aurmurvox did nothing, he will explain that it is not his place
to act in the world of men; he can only serve as keeper of the Orb of
Oblivion, and caretaker of the ruined necropolis the gods once called
home. He can, however, inform the adventurers of their destiny,
should they choose to embrace it…
The Towers of War
The adventurers are close
behind Alabask, but may not pick the same paths he has. Each tower is
as follows:
Tower of
Hargameth: the god of primal war, blood & thunder and
great strength.
Tower of
Hanahook: god of strength and might in Amech.
Tower of
Vishannu: the lord of the art and cunning of war.
Tower of
Morrigante: the goddess of war, including spite, vengeance and
fury.
Tower of
Argolos: dead god once the dark and terrible spectre of doom
on the battlefield; god of loss.
Tower of
Sakragei: dead god, once the god of valor and honor, slain in
the War of the Gods.
The Tower Hub Docking
Station:
The towers are reached
via a common dock station, overrun with foliage and filled with the
relics of the War of the Gods; dried husks, bleached bones and rusted
arms and armament litter the station. There is no evidence of another
airship, suggesting that the drow following Alabask have left; in
fact they are circling, using clouds and other towers as cover, and
plan to return when the adventurers abandon their vessel so they can
seize it.
A solitary guardian remains
on the docking platform, the whispery seraph Occanulos, long
dead but still existing as a vestige. His angelic corpse remains
frozen in death near the center of the carnage, impaled by a great
spear that seethes with lightning. His vestige will warn the visitors
to turn away, but if they do not then he raises a small army of
skeletons to drive them out.
Encounter: 20
decrepit skeletons (3 levels), 4 warrior skeletons (4 levels) 1
blackamber skeletal legionnaire (2 levels); secondary possible:
Occanulos Wight (his damage attacks are electrical)
Adventurers who look
around will see some clues: evidence of blood spilt that was not
their own, and some barbed black ashtarth arrows from the Salabari,
Less evident is which paths they have taken so far, though a
scrutinizing ranger may be able to identify at least one path.
Occanulos can be freed of
his deathly state if someone can dislodge the lightning spear from
his corpse in the center of the platform. The corpse will rise and
attack any who come too close, as a wight with barrow-touch but the
damage is lightning instead of negative energy due to the spear.
If someone manages to grasp
the spear it deals 4D6 lightning damage (+5 vs. PD) but a strength
check (DC 15) can pull it free; once done the body turns to dust and
bones. The adventurer who holds the spear for three consecutive
rounds without being injured is now attuned to the spear and is its
master:
Morrigante’s Spear
of Lightning: This weapon grants the tier bonus (+1 at
adventurer, +2 heroic and +3 epic) plus once per battle (recharge
16+) it deals 1D6 lighting damage in addition to the base 1D8 spear
damage. This damage levels up with the base damage. Once per
encounter the wielder may instead charge the weapon as a free action
and release the lighting at a target that is nearby as a ranged
attack. Anytime the wielder misses and rolls a natural 1, the weapon
discharges it’s lightning against the wielder instead, dealing the
wielder’s level’s worth of lighting damage. Quirk: The
wielder of the weapon develops a fascination for lighting storms that
some might consider suicidal.
Anyone who tries to take
the weapon and tries to attune to it is subject to three consecutive
electrical discharge attacks at the attack bonus of the wielder vs.
PD, dealing the wielder’s level in D6 damage. If three consecutive
attacks miss or deal no damage then the wielder is safe and attuned
to the weapon; only missing in combat on a 1 causes risk of more
damage.
Paths 1 through 6 match the
towers in order, above.
1. The Tower
of Hargameth
The floating causeway is
riddle with holes where the eldritch spells have at last given out,
or been compromised by the war fought here so long ago. While
navigating the treacherous expanse adventurers will find that ghostly
images of the warriors who fought in the War of the Gods manifest all
about them, as if they fight on forever upon the great bridge.
Each minute that passes
on the bridge (and it will take five minutes to cross) increases the
odds of the wraith noticing the PCs. Touching a wraith will provoke
an accidental “attack by contact” and the wraiths are so thick as
they move along that each minute requires a check to see if the PCs
draw attention or an unwanted attack: DC 10 for round one, then DC
12, DC 14, DC 16 and lastly DC 18 vs. Dexterity (acrobatics or
similar skills will apply here).
If an adventurer fails a
check or deliberately seeks attention, roll to see what sort:
D10:
1-4 The wraith brushes up against the PC or moves to strike where it
thinks a phantom stands; PC subject to a single random wraith attack
(roll normally); if the PC does not engage with the wraith it will
move on.
5-7 A wraith focuses on the PC. Roll a D6: 1-3 the wraith is a
warrior of Hargameth and will react to the PC only if the PC looks
like a foe; 4-6 it is a demonic wraith and will likewise react if the
PC looks like a foe; the wraith will engage for one round before
breaking off distracted, unless the PC pursues. The wraith in this
instance is a weak vestige (mook wraith 9 HP).
8-9 As above, but the
wraith is a greater wraith of full normal strength.
10 The PC has attracted the attention of multiple wraiths! 1D6 mook
wraith and 1D2 full strength wraiths turn on him. Note that if a full
battle is engaged, the PCs will have to make a Dexterity check at the
current DC level per round to avoid drawing further wraith attention.
The DC goes up by two for any who are engaged during the battle.
After crossing the bridge
the PCs realize that they have arrived at an immense, monolithic
temple constructed in the likeness of the god of raw battle.
Hargameth’s energy seethes within this monument, and for each
minute the PCs are here they must make a DC 10 Wisdom check to avoid
succumbing to the bloodlust that permeates the temple. A PC who fails
a check will find themselves acting in violence against a nearby ally
for that round, and every round thereafter until an easy Save is made
(6+).
A careful search reveals
that there is a ladder along a far wall of the inner monument,
leading up into the hollow of the temple-colossus figure of
Hargameth. In the hollow of Hargameth’s “body” are multiple
platforms and ladders, and on the one roughly where the god’s heart
might be mounted rests a pedestal with the Burning Flask of the
Nephilim upon it. There is only one problem: there is a temple
guardian, a brutal blue dragon named Keravosk who has claimed
the temple for his lair. In addition, a laf-dozen ashtarth warriors
sent here by Alabask still live; a dozen more drow lie dead on
platforms throughout the inner complex having been hunted by
Keravosk.
Encounter: Keravosk,
Medium Blue Dragon (Raw Power: uses 2D20 and picks better for melee
attacks; also, an escalation level creature)(HP 76)
6 Salabari ashtarth dark
elves (leader: Crokais Sparthane)
One Ashtarth Officer:
Crokais Spoarthane (Drow elf)
Level 4 Rogue (humanoid
dark elf)
Initiative +9
Melee: scimitar
attack (+9 vs. AC; 14 damage)
Ranged: hand crossbow
(+10 vs. AC; 10 damage and +8 vs. PD or target is weakened and takes
5 ongoing damage per round (Save 11+ to end))
Exceptionally Cruel:
when the escalation die is even, any attack deals an additional 10
damage.
Shadow Walk
(recharge Escalation 3+); the dark elf can disengage and move to any
nearby point via shadows; arrives stealthed (DC 20 wisdom check to
spot).
AC: 20 HP: 54
PD: 18
MD: 14
Five Asharth
Elf Minions
Level 3 mook rogues
(humanoid dark elves)
Initiative +7
Melee: scimitar
attack (+8 vs. AC; 10 damage)
Ranged: hand crossbow
(+9 vs. AC; 8 damage and secondary attack +7 vs. PD or target
weakened (-4 attacks and defenses) plus 5 poison damage per round,
11+ save to end)
Exceptionally Cruel:
when the escalation die is even, any attack deals an additional 10
damage.
Shadow Walk
(recharge Escalation 3+); the dark elf can disengage and move to any
nearby point via shadows; arrives stealthed (DC 20 wisdom check to
spot).
AC: 19 HP: 10
PD: 17
MD: 13
Treasure:
Dark Elf
Treasure: The Drow have their crossbows and scimitars, which
are each +1 imbued weapons. They also have 2D6 platinum pieces (worth
10 GP per coin) in their pockets, and one vial with three
applications of their poison (+7 vs. PD or target weakened and 5
ongoing damage, save 11+)
The Flask of
Elemental Fire: The first of the flask of the nephilim,
merely drinking from this flask requires +10 vs. PD check or the
drinker takes 20 ongoing fire damage (save 11+ to end). Making the
save will imbue the drinker with immunity to fire for 24 hours.
Rituals can be constructed to make this effect permanent, but in the
process imbues the drinker with elemental properties, and unexpected
side effects of monstrous nature.
The Dragon’s
Hoard: 125 GP in coin and stolen relics the dragon has pulled
from the temple into its hoard per person (so assuming 8 PCs there
will be 1,000 GP in treasure heaped on the same platform as the
flask). The dragon greatly valued the flask but was afraid to use it,
having been badly injured during its first attempt. This left
Keravosk with his unusual fear of fire.
The dragon’s hoard also
contains some oddities, including stacks of musty old tomes it has
been trying to decipher, to find the rituals that let it use the
flask. If the PCs grab it all, a clever soul can spend 1D6 weeks
sorting through before finding a partial scroll called the
Incantations of the Nephilim Vol.
III On Fire with the proper Ritual of the
Nephilim of Fire upon it; the ritual will permanently turn one
giantkin into a fire giant, or one human into a fire elemental with
humanoid form, but it requires an ingot of Pure Fire from the
Elemental plane of Fire itself to complete the ritual.
2. The Tower
of Hanahook
Reaching this tower
requires navigating a series of stone steps suspended by thick vines
and leaves hanging suspended in the sky between the tower and the
station. Although the path looks treacherous it is in fact safe
enough. Large birds like condors swoop by and periodically land on
the vines, but make not threatening actions (and if the PCs attack
them they scatter).
The tower is immense,
designed out of a single piece of basalt such that the front entrance
looks like the great elephant god Hanahook reclining, immense
statuary of his harem at his feet; between his feet rests the
entrance to the inner tower-temple. Inside, PCs will notice that the
floor is earthen, and there is a vast open area with a great dome
that glitters with sacred glowing jewels marking the constellations
of Amech can be found. At the center of the dome is an impressive
abstract statue of Amechain design, in a style which predates that of
modern art styles in Belladas; the abstraction is reminiscent of
dozens of figures merging together, but with tusks and animal imagery
thrown in at random angles.
Striding around the
immense statue is a Hanadako, an elephant man of Amech. He introduces
himself briefly, “I am Gocha, guardian of the temple.” Gocha will
explain, is asked that the Statue of the Oracles, as he calls rthe
monument, can reveal the secret of the Flasks of Nephilim to those
who ask…..but to ask, Hanahook demands a proof of might. That proof
comes from defeating Gocha.
Gocha is a formidable
opponent, but when the challenge is accepted by whatever means he
stomps his feet twice and his pet, a bullette, bursts from the earth
to attack.
To win this fight the PCs
need only reduce one or both of their opponents to the staggered
condition, at which time Gocha will relent and allow passage.
If the statue is asked to
relinquish the Flask it will do so, but the voices of the oracles in
the statue will warn that the curse of the nephilim will haunt those
who use it. The oracles will also divulge a manuscript, an ancient
codex, on request containing the ritual of use for the flask.
Encounter: Gocha the
Hanadako Elephant Man (use minotaur stats) and one bullette
Treasure: a madman
seeking to extract the stones from the ceiling may climb up and do
so, but each timer the attempt is made a Dexterity check (with
thieving skills) at DC 22 is required to pull one free. Fail and it
explodes for 3D6 fire damage.
The Flask of
Earth: a giant who drinks this becomes an earth giant (hill or
stone depending on size). A humanoid who drink this gains the power
to move through the earth at will for 24 hours unless they fail
against a +8 vs. PD check in which case the drinker turns to stone.
One save at 11+ after 24 hours, modified by CON modifier; fail and it
is permanent. With the Codex of the Earth Nephilim the rituals inside
allow a bearer to turn themselves into an earth elemental or earth
giant (stone, hill or other) but they must secure a sacred
Arkenstone….a stone of the mountain heart, to complete the ritual.
These can only be found on the elemental planes.
3. The Tower
of Vishannu
The passage to this tower is
a treacherous series of stone blocks suspended in the air. Harpies
zig and zag back and forth, about a half dozen, but they seem
disinterested in attacking the PCs. It becomes apparent when the
temple is reached that Alabask has already been here; a dozen amazon
warriors lie dead near the tower entrance, but one amazon woman named
Venice Kong is not dead, merely delirious from poison and badly
injured. She can tell them what happened if they earn her trust; the
drow and his driders, ashtarth warriors and scorpion man allies
rushed the temple and cut their way through. They found the vault and
looted it; inside, on a platform can be found an ancient teleporter
which the amazons use to reach the temple, and she is not sure but
suspects they may have used it to escape.
Venice Kong will join the
PCs if they heal her, but not before she summons a sprite to get work
back to her people in Vyrindia about the attack on the tower.
Venice Kong
Level 6 amazon warrior
Initiative +10
Melee Katana (+11
attack 21 damage; On a natural 19-20 she does triple damage)
Ranged Long bow (+10
attach 21 damage)
Escalating: Venice
Kong may benefit from the Escalatoion die bonus
Whirlwind Attack:
Once per battle Venice can attack an engaged opponent, then move and
attack a nearby opponent, and continue to do so (getting a free
disengage) until she runs out of opponents or misses an attack. This
resets on Escalation die 4+
AC: 23 HP: 90
PD: 21
MD: 16
4. The Tower
of Morrigante
This stern black keep is
closest to the dock station, and the bridge to it is an actual stone
bridge stretching over space. The tower is decorated with jutting
spikes, and foul birds eclipse the sky around it. Closer to the
temple and a darkness overwhelms the area, for it appears the Plane
of Shadow covers the area around the tower.
While crossing the bridge
an old one-eyed man with a gnarled staff can be seen midway along
it’s length, scrutinizing the PCs as they move closer. His name is
Caedos, and he is an ancient, wizened priest of Morrigante, exiled
now for a century at her temple. His crime is unnamed, though he will
admit that he probably deserved this duty; from discussion it should
be apparent when he refers to “Gloomwrought” that he is not a
native to Lingusia, but instead the Shadowfell.
Caedos will suss the
party out, and if he finds them wanting he will inform them that he
can take them to the temple to study up on the nature of the Flasks
of the Nephilim, but that if indeed Morrigante keeps such an ancient
relic in her vault it is beyond his means to retrieve it. “The Lady
does not give of her vault lightly,” he explains.
Inside the keep the party
is surprised by a furious encounter: shadows battling dark elves and
driders who have stealthed their way past the old priest:
Encounter: Allies:
3 shadows, 1 greater shadow, and Caedos (see here for shadow stats)
Enemies: 12 rogue
drow (see earlier mook stats) led by one drow officer (Catalia
Svornen; use prior officer stats but she replaces Force Missile for
crossbow; auto hit but no poison) plus one drider sorceress named
Sadisty’ann.
Caedos will join the
fight to aid the PCs if they have earned his trust; if they haven’t
he summons four more shadows (one greater) to also attack them.
Caedos
Level 4 Cleric Human
Melee staff (+9 attack for
14 damage)
Ranged Javelin of faith (+9
attack for 14 damage, or 18 damage against an uninjured target)
Cure Wounds
(Daily; nearby ally can heal as free action spending a recovery; also
may remove one bad condition)
Heal: 2/battle quick
action; nearby target can spend a recovery to heal
Justice: grant attack
reroll blessing to self or ally when hit, once per turn
Summon Shadows:
once per battle Caedos can summon 3 shadows and 1 greater shadow as a
quick action.
AC: 18 HP: 54
PD: 14
MD: 20
After all the fighting is
done, Caedos will be remorseful to discover that the drow Alabask has
already made off with the Flask of Shadow…..PCs may see him on the
bridge, where he seemingly jumps to doom, buit instead lands on the
deck of his invisisble ship somewhere below.
The Flask of Shadow: this can create shadow giants, though no such creatures roam the modern world, so just how terrifying such a being would be remains unknown. Anyone who drinks the potion and makes a save (11+) gains the Shadow Walk ability (as per the dark elves), allowing them once per encounter to pop free of any engaged target and move to any other nearby location, making a stealth check on arrival. Failing the save however means the target begins to take 10 ongoing shadow damage (save ends) and if the target reaches zero hit points before the effect stops becomes a shadow (if level 1 to 6) or greater shadow (if level 7+) immediately.
5. The Tower
of Dead Argolos
The passage to this tower
is effectively absent, and it appears the tower’s magic failed
entirely; a close study of the ground below shows an impact crater
and strewn remnants of the tower. Astute PCs may remember that there
is a teleporter to the surface in Vishannu’s Tower. This is the
quickest way to get there unless one PC has managed to learn to use
the Control Sprite on the airship.
The tower ruins are a
devastated mess, and it is unclear as to whether anything, be it god
or artifact, could have survived such an impact. A cleen sweep
reveals nothing…at first. In a heap of debris inside the crater
there is a large intact stone wedged at an angle. There are a gang of
scorpion men working furiously to break in, supervised by one of
Alabask’s lieutenants, the cruel Hadasan Katai.
Astute adventurers will realize they have already hammered open the
stone vault and extracted its contents.
Encounter: 12
scoprion men laborers, 4 scorpion men warriors, and the ashtarth
sorcerer Hadasan Katai
Hadasan Katai,
Master Ashtarth Sorcerer
Level 5 infernal sorcerer
Initiative +10
Melee scimitar (+10
attack 18 damage)
Ranged Infernal
Bolts of the Evil Eye (+11 attack 20 damage; on an even roll
the target instead takes 10 damage but the sorcerer may become
invisible for one round and can also disengage if desired)
Escalation Foe: Hadasan
gains the attack benefit of the escalation die.
Fire Resistance:
16+
On the first round
Hadasan will drink from the Flask of Blackfire, gaining this power:
Black Firestorm:
On Escalation 1+ Hadasan may cast a firestorm that engulfs all nearby
targets. He may ignore allies but for each one he allows to be hurt
the spell gains +5 damage. +10 vs. PD; base damage is 10 to all
nearby targets hit, plus sacrifice bonus. Damage is both negative
energy and fire. Recharges in Escalation 6.
AC: 21 HP: 72
PD: 15
MD: 20
Hadasan will fight for three
rounds before a skyhook from the invisible drow airship drops to give
him a lift. If the PCs fail to stop him he escapes with the flask,
which he and his agents have already extracted from the tomb-stone.
Flask of
Blackfire: this is one lost to time, but is possible the power
behind rare death giants. A drink from this will convert a giant into
a death giant, and a humanoid will gain the Black Firestorm ability
for 24 hours. However, the drinker is first hit by a +10 vs. PD
attack; failure means the fire consumes the drinker who drops
immediately to 0 hit points and dies unless a Save 11+ is made; if
made, the drinker can spend a recovery to stop the death but still
hits zero HP.
Contents of
the Vault: 1,000 GP in rare miscellaneous valuables, as
well as an impressive scythe, an awkward weapon but it is magical:
Scythe of Argolos (base 1D6 damage, +1
adventurer bonus) and grants the bearer a resistance 16 + and grants
the user a 16+ save resistance to all negative energy damage. The
scythe also grants the user the ability to understand most undead and
in general undead will react neutrally or positively to the user
before attacking. Once per day the user may attempt a mental attack
at his normal mental attack value (IN+Level vs. MD) vs. one undead;
if the undead fails it is effectively dominated for 1 hour.
6. Tower of Sakragei
The path to this tower
has collapsed, though the distant floating tower has not.
Interspersed like crude stepping stones are a dozen floating rocks,
and each rock has etched on its top surface a pentagram. There is one
at the base entrance of the dock station as well. Stepping on the
pentagram and invoking Sakragei’s name (it is written in the
pentagram in the Old Tongue and in the Primordial tongue) will cause
the person to teleport to the next stone, and so forth, to the tower.
Problem is, there are
four drow archers waiting at the base of the tower, aiming to shoot
at those who are following! All adventurers are considered faraway
until they get to the seventh stepping stone.
Four Drow
Ashtarth Archers
Level 2 Archers
Initiative +6
Ranged scimitar (+7
attack, 7 damage)
Ranged Longbows (+8
attack, 8 damage)
Shadow Step
(once per battle, quick action, may disengage to teleport via shadows
to anywhere nearby, stealthed on arrival)
Cruel (once per
session may add 10 ongoing damage if they roll even on an attack)
AC: 18 HP: 36
PD: 16
MD: 12
The drow are buying their
boss time. Commander Vortan Sidhey Plagistron is the drow in charge,
and he is securing the Flask of Storms as they speak. They need to
keep the PCs occupied for four rounds, On the fifth round the drow
airship will swoop in and grab Vortan by skyhook and take off.
The tower itself is
derelict, a hollow shell that has mostly collapsed. In the midst of
thre carnage Vortan unearths an ancient case in which he finds a
variety of treasure, but all he cares for is the flask. There is no
book of note that he finds, though PCs digging deeper will find an
old codex to the flask.
Vortan Sidhey
Plagistron
Level 6 Drow Assassin-Mage
Initiative +12
Melee Daggers (2)
(+11 attack; 21 damage plus +12 vs. PD or take 10 ongoing poison save
11+)
Ranged Force Bolts
(+11 attack; 21 damage)
Storm of
Swords (manifests 7 swords nearby, each strikes for +7 vs. PD
dealing 8 force damage; one sword goes away each time the escalation
die goes up a notch)
Escalation Foe:
Vortan and his magic swords gain the escalation bonus.
AC: 23 HP: 108
PD: 17
MD: 17
Flask of Storms: If
the mage does not escape with this one, the PCs will have access to a
flask which turns other giantkin into storm giants, humanoids into
storm/air elementals with the right rituals, and drunk once now can
grant the PC the power to deal electrical damage twice per battle for
24 hours: Level+INT vs. PD or deal 1D8 per two levels (round up)
electrical damage to one nearby foe per level. Drinking it means a
+10 vs. PD check however, or taking the PCs level in D8 electrical
damage instead.
Possible
Success/Failure at this Stage:
When the PCs nave either acquired some or all of the flasks, they need to determine what to do next. This depends on how many they got:
One to Three
Flasks: Alabask has at least three flasks then, and that’s
what he needs to concoct a new body for his goddess. The PCs will
need to track him down. One way to gain this knowledge, assuming they
don’t have a live prisoner, is to go back to Aurumurvox and ask the
Orb. Pursuing will lead them to Part II: Siege of the Deep Fortress!
Four or more
Flasks: Alabask is short what he needs; he will have to
assault/hunt the PCs to secure the remaining flasks he needs. The PCs
can stand and fight (a nebulous prospect to fight an invisible ship
full of drow) or barter for escape. Part II becomes “Escape from
Death,” followed by the Siege…
PCs should get one “pick”
for advancement for every three fights, plus a bonus pick if they
secure 3 flasks, and two picks if they secure 4 or more. Give them an
entire level if they got all 6 flasks.
The Actual Play Aftermath: there's a lot more to the game I ran than what was represented in the prior text, and when I wrote this it was prior to all the other recent content I worked up for 13th Age. Some stuff had to be revised to work better with my understanding of the rules after a few sessions; other stuff remains as-is. Other parts were the adventurers deviating into unusual areas, and me simply going back to the campaign guide I run from to adjudicate (they visited other floating temples in Corti'Zahn, for example, and found a way to liberate the airship's sprite so she now has free will and serves them as an ally).
In actual play the game is still ongoing; they got three of six flasks, and are pursuing Alabask Phenar and his cronies to their subterranean lair in the Mountains of Madness, to stop his mad quest to resurrect Siny'Math....but that tale shall be presented at a future date....!
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