The Ruined Watch tower has been made home by a group
of swarms of ravens and the ground floor by a strange spirit. No one has died here in a long while. It is further from the village and so it is
not a major hazard, the youth have been using it to test their merit and the
folk prefer that one to the extreme danger of the keep, so they have cultivated
it as such. The bottom floor has a
permanent Phantasmal image and a Magic Mouth that spooks most intruders. The top floor has a roost for the swarm of
tamed ravens, they will attack the door when it opens expecting loaves of bread
to be thrown in first. The floor is
covered with about 1000gp of shiny treasure and a hooded signal lantern with
coloured lenses before a code book. The
code book and lantern are in a hidden nook.
DC15 to find in an investigation and DC20 Perception check. On the ground floor behind the stairs going
up, there is a trap door leading down.
Beneath is a series of rooms with a 5th level fighter and a 3rd
level Illusionist and five of the warlord’s men. The group is active at night and through the early
hours. They will not start at the firing
of the spells as they expect children to activate it. The code book has various commands built into
it. It is a relay station for the
Pirates and the Warlord to talk.
Commands can be sent to lure or ward off either group.
The bottom floor ends in a grotto connected to a large
rowboat for 6 people meant to rendezvous with the pirate ship. The pirates raid the village and they have
been accepting a bribe four times a year of 5000gp value. The warlord has been taking almost as
much. All together a crippling tax.
The Keep dominates the center of town. It is more truly haunted than the villagers
or warlords realise. There is a Vampire
Spawn situated here reporting back to its master, somewhere else in the
Valley. The Vampire has attracted two
swarms of bats and two swarms of rats.
The vermin act as the Vampire Spawn’s eyes and ears in the village and
the surrounding area, so they are aware of the actions of the PCs over the past
while. There is a basement where the
Vampire Spawn lives. There is a coffin
in one room in the way before that room there is a wraith with five spectres
holding the way. In a room off to one
side there is cell filled with two feral children that have been kept alive as
a blood bank for the Vampire. They have
been fed live rats or bats and it has left them insane.
The Reward is a chest with 5000gp and a keep that can be
repaired for 5000gp assuming that they can find a workforce of 250 to do the
work . . .. this will allow them to
accept another 5 troops from the Motherland rolled randomly.
Warlock’s Tower
If the PCs follow the trail that the Blacksmith’s daughter left,
they will follow it along the edge of the lake for several kilometers and they
will find five orcs looking at the grounds searching the area. If they declare a truce, they will learn that
the orcs are looking for someone too, but they will not share who. If they look together the PCs, with the help
of the Orcs, will find evidence of an attack and a trail through the
woods. If the PCs attack the Orcs, they
will need to make DC15 check on investigation or Survival. If they exceed 18 on the check, they will
find a place where the two spent more time and that it was frequented by both
an orc and a human woman.
If they follow the trail through the woods, they will need
to make a Tracking check DC12 and again when it passes the trail at DC15 and
again halfway to the Tower. After they
make their check, they will have confirmation they choose the correct path by
finding some scattered clothing. As soon
as the tower becomes visible to the players, they are attacked by three ghast
and nine ghouls hiding in the area. The
Ghast smell horrible and so the PCs are unlikely to be surprised as the wind
shifts and the smell becomes apparent. 7500xp
for the encounter
The tower appears to be abandoned and like the watch tower
in the town. if you were at the top of
the tower, you might be able to see the tower in the village. As you approach you see there is a cluster of
abandoned dwellings in the shadow of the tower, and it looks like that there
once was an even smaller village here too.
There are two paths in the Keep, one up to fight the Warlock
as he attempts to bring forth a child to house his Demon Patron Orcus and the
other to fight the undead to defeat the Warlock’s twin brother, priest of
Derslaver the goddess of Undead and his attempt to create a Spider like undead
construct/mount. Which ever path the PCs
choose will result in the other’s plans succeeding.
The keep is built into the side of the mountain and there is
a tunnel that leads into an excavated series of rooms. The rooms are filled with undead, and they
are designed to slow the passage of the PCs.
The last room is a grotto that is open to the sky and served as a temple
of sorts for the people here, years ago, but now it serves are a resurrection
chamber for the evil priest. He is
casting a spell when the PCs enter, the last to bind the undead creation to his
control. If the PCs break his concentration
his Juggernaut will go wild and consume the Priest and attack the PCs. The battle here will be dire, but the undead
juggernaut will be weakened and not as powerful:
Undead Spider Juggernaut, AC 16, (12) hp 200 (100), 8
attacks (4attacks) +10 to hit (+5 to hit) 2d8+5 damage avg 14 (d8+3 damage avg
7) necrotic breath weapon 60’cone 10d6 avg 35 half damage heals beast and rider
Con save DC15 (no breath weapon), gaze causes fear move 60’ climb like a spider
(mindless and attacks until dead). After
the defeat of the spider Juggernaut Eldritch light pierces the sky from the top
of the tower.
The way up the tower includes a smaller set of challenges,
shadow demons and Quasits the first level above the bottom, the door has been
warded with a explosive rune. Moving to
the next floor there are two vrocks that will battle the PCs.
When they break into the topmost level, they will see that
there are two naked humanoids on wooden tables tied down with manacles, the
blacksmith’s daughter with arcane writing on her distended belly. As the PCs enter, they see a swirling cloud
above become pierced with an eldritch light that stabs into the girl’s
womb. The Orc cries out with pain as his
life force and her own is drawn into the child the warlock chanting a ritual
spell, “Oh great Orcus take the vessel I have offered you . . .” Four Shadow Demons rise to attack they only
need to delay you long enough to complete the ritual. Freeing the Orc or killing him will increase
the chances the woman will die. Killing
the woman, the same but for the Orc.
Breaking the ritual will result in the Warlock’s life force from joining
the spell, only killing the Warlock will end the spell, and it must be done in
5 rounds.
If the Warlock completes the ritual or lives until it is
completed a baby Orcus will rip through the woman and kill her. It will be weak and will need a minute to
recover. If the PCs kill it will be
done. It has an AC of 10 and 200hp after a minute though it gains a measure of
its power and animate any dead as a wraith with a gesture and attempt to fly
off with the Warlock to parts unknown unless the warlock is dead of course.
Xp for the battle will vary, either scenario will result in
a reoccurring villain. If the PCs save
the Blacksmith’s daughter, they will get the Blacksmith’s thanks and improvement
of a unit. The Orc is the Son of the Orc
Commander, bringing him to his father will allow the PCs to negotiate with
them. The child will possibly be even more advantageous as it may be the start
of an alliance or a truce. Either could
result in the loss of two units worth of allies for the Warlord. Treasure will equal 10,000gp worth of gems,
and coin. Repair of both towers would
add 6 more troops to the area and the start of the old communication network of
the old valley kingdom. Repair of the temple
would cost another 4000gp
If the players defeat the Warlock at the top of the tower
they will defeat a possible major enemy.
They may even rescue the Blacksmith’s daughter and get improvements to
one unit. If they save the Orc they may
get the agreement to delay joining the battle that is to come, i.e. the warlord
loses the orcs for one battle. If they
save both of the children and the child they will get something special: the
Orcs will have Blood Ties to the village and they may switch sides if the
players are diplomatic enough. If the
players split the party and defeat both Warlocks they will get two rewards like
a possible golem unit to join the battle.
After the last adventure they can trigger a battle in two
ways, 1) battle the pirates, 2) save the innkeepers son and start the battle.
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