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The Adventure: Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
Chapter One: RESPECT ST. CEPSER
The monastary of St. Cepser is honored far throughout whatever the hell land you're in. Its monks, all of whom have taken a vow of silence, are legendary as the best bodyguards and disciples of the mind for many a league. Or mile. Or kilo. Or whatever the hell system of measurement you use.
Surprisingly, the monks of St. Cepser are not straight-classed monks. They are, to a one, monk/druids, able to multiclass freely between the two. While this means that few of them ever reach the physical mastery necessary to walk through walls or free ones body from its mortal shackles, it also means that they work really well in wooded areas -- and Greater Magic Fang on one's fists doesn't hurt either. Their legendary impartiality makes them popular but not exactly beloved with most governments, and their only real political viewpoint is that the sacred forest surrounding their monastary -- forming it, really -- is not to be messed with.
(game note: kama == sickle for purposes of being a druidic weapon and being usable for monk unarmed attack bonuses)
The first sign of trouble is going to be when the party smells smoke.
Either in their journeys or from a neighboring town, the party spots the smoke rising up from the monastary. After their first adventures, the party is seen as local heroes, and they are begged to go see what's going on -- for if the woods are burning, the Order of St. Cepser is bound to be less than thrilled. And that won't be good for anyone.
So the party heads off into the woods...
Chapter Two: PAST SAP
When the party gets near the monastary, they should have to deal with the fire -- it's intense, and getting worse. While it shouldn't do them much damage, someone should get to make a Wilderness Lore check (15) to find safe passage through it. If not, the party gets trapped and has to dash through a fiery patch -- 1d4 fire damage, plus 1d6 subdual from the heat and smoke.
Once they get close to the monastary, they see a shocking sight. Three of the monks of St. Cepser are fighting a Treant. The monks are Default Monks, Monk2/Druid2, and there are 4 of them -- each injured badly, down to 10 hit points. The Treant has been badly burned -- down to 18 hit points -- and each monk has a +1 flaming kama. The Treant will turn to the party and shout, "In the name of the forest, aid me! They are beyond reason!" The monks, of course, are silent.
OPTION ONE: AID TREANT "NAERTDIA"
If the party aids the Treant, he shouts for them to merely subdue the monks, not kill them -- if the party tries, they discover that the monks are "Past Sap" -- somehow, they are immune to subdual damage. The Treant realizes this as well, eventually, and does not blame the party for killing the monks. The treant introduces himself as Naertdia. He begs the party for help -- the forest has already suffered great harm, and some evil force is at work. The monks have always been silent with outsiders, Naertdia says, but they have always still spoken with the forest -- the Druidic and Sylvan languages. Now, they speak to no one, and did not even respond to the begging and pleading of the trees. A few of them went and burned the forest, while most "violated the trees" -- by which the party eventually understands that the monks took some sap from the sacred trees. The Treant must go and fight the fire as best it can -- it pleads with the party to find out what has gone wrong, and offers rewards if necessary. He also gives them the Scroll of PlotDevice, telling them that it may gain them benefit from creatures of wood.
If the party aids the Treant and loses, pixies and fire eventually drive the monks away, and they wake up with no better information.
Any fallen monk radiates evil -- but a closer look with "Detect Evil" will find it restricted to the monk's head -- in particular, just inside the ear. A Heal Check of 20 (taking 20 fine) will find the same -- each of them has a tiny earwig, or what looks like one... Only it radiates evil.
OPTION TWO: LIVE, EVIL
If the party aids the monks, the monks finish killing the treant and then begin cutting it open and taking the sap. They do not speak. If interrupted, they attack the party. If uninterrupted, they will leave without a word. Their eyes are blank. They radiate evil as mentioned above. They head back toward the edge of the monastary.
Chapter Three: Da monastic! (It's a nomad)
If the party doesn't head for the monastary, they meet the Dissenters -- these monks are burning the forest. If approached, they don't speak, but try to convey with sign language that the party should leave. They do not attack. If anyone speaks Sylvan or Druidic, or makes a REALLY GOOD diplomacy check (20), they say, "Thank St. Cepser of the Three Arms that you've arrived! We're trying to fight this fire, but we cannot stop our brothers from their evil task!"
Evil task, you say?
"Yes, for you see, most of our leadership, who could crush mighty warriors in their fists without a second thought, is off at a martial arts convention to the east. They've left us here, the lowest-level... er... "least trained" initiates, to tend to things. We've done it before. It's never that big a deal. But Brother Ehtorb was having some trouble with some playful pixies, and he decided to get some stuff from the Dark Tomb of St. Cepser."
Dude, that was a horrible idea.
"And yes, Brother Ehtorb, well, Ae, as we call him, a nickname, as you will, Ae, did a BAD idea. For he sought to impress the pixes by using the legendary Third Arm of St. Cepser."
The monk goes on to describe the magical item -- an arm that occupies the necklace/amulet slot, made of living wood, that enables an extra attack AND stacks with "Flurry of Blows". It also adds a +4 circumstance bonus to climb checks, grants a +2 enhancement bonus to the wearer's Strength, and, well, lets him have a hand free for stuff.
"In any event, it seemed that the living wood was living indeed, for nestled in the elbow was... a sac. An egg sac. Or so those who witnessed it said. And Brother Ehtorb didn't notice until he had it on, and the sac broke, and all these... things... came out."
Earwigs?
"Yes. You could call them that. Though they are truly the larvae of some dark and sinister creature that has laired in our tomb, using the holy energy to gain power and using the absence of our elders as its chance to attack -- I wouldn't be surprised if it had somehow convinced Brother Ehtorb to do this foolish deed! Please, you must stop them! And if you could avoid killing people, that would be just great. We have taken an oath to never attack our brothers, even strange though they are now. But you, you can save us. We shall just finish burning down the forest before our deluded brethren, enslaved though they are, can use the magical sap to empower the beast."
Um. Are you sure about burning down the forest?
"It's the only way! Unless you can stop them, we have no other choice!"
But the Treants...
"Yes, we know. They shall destroy us in vengeance. And probably your town as well. But the price for failure is the rising of something worse than we can imagine."
Dude, we're only 3rd level -- this is a bit out of our league.
"Most of the monks should be out gathering the magical sap. Only a few remain, and most of them are novices (levels 1-3, with no equipment). Please, you must go, and stop Brother Ehtorb -- or what resides in him -- from raising the Horror! And if you must fight Brother Ehtorb, take this... it may help you." (Hands them the Scroll of PlotDevice, if they don't already have it)
If the party follows the evil-monks instead, they miss all that exposition -- but don't worry, it'll come back. The monks head back to the monastary itself, a grove of trees shaped into a circle of buildings. There, at the edge of the clearing, are four strong novices carrying Brother Ehtorb (Druid3/Monk2) in a palanquin made from natural wood and giant eagle feathers for the draps. He is silent, staring out at them with blank eyes -- and from his chest, a wooden arm beckons menacingly.
At which point the palanquin shouts, "Hey, this guy's off his nut! Get out of here!" in an alarmed female voice.
The monks with the sap continue on into a small cave that leads underground. Brother Ehtorb, smiling evilly at the party, beckons again with his third arm. The novices (Monk1) set him down, and he steps out, ready to attack.
"My name is Anna! I'm a magical palanquin that these guys use for transport and diplomacy, since they can't talk! Please, you have to believe me, there's some kind of thing in their ears, that arm had eggs on it, and now it's using the sap from the trees..." The palanquin delivers any information that the party didn't get from the Dissenting brothers as Ehtorb comes out. "The thing, down in the crypts, it's called a Monastic Feeder -- uses the lawful energy of monks to draw evil power. It's nomadic, must have arrived just in time for the elders to go away. Hey, he's probably stronger than you are right now, you should run or something!"
Chapter Four: "M" RAY -- MY ARM?
Hopefully, the party will think to use the PlotDevice scoll, which shoots out a ray that burns the letter "M" into the wooden third arm -- at which point a ghostly visage appears and says, "RESPECT ST. CEPSER! By using this arm for evil, you have shown MUTINY, and MURDER, and (anything else that begins with M -- look, I was palindroming, gimme a break). You shall die from your hubris!" The arm then stops working for Ehtorb, and begins to attack him each round, using Ehtorb's BAB and doing normal damage.
If not, Ehtorb attacks, and has cast shillelagh on his arm, making it a +1 magical weapon doing 1d10 damage -- after four rounds, additional monks arrive, most likely younger acolytes (1/1) or novices (1, either class). In any event, the party should consider running.
If the party defeats Ehtorb, regardless of whether or not they used the arm, the other monks rush to kill the party -- and an earwig falls from Ehtorb's ear, and he shudders and says, "They made us... we didn't want to... it's in the crypts..." and then kills himself with a phaser. Er, I mean, (cough, cough) he dies.
Any party members who are separated and defeated are implanted with earwigs. They become fully-powered servants of the monster in the crypts. They can try to bluff if they like, finding out what the party knows, but more likely, they'll just attack.
Chapter Five: "Do nine men interpret?" "Nine men," I nod. (Was it a bat I saw?)
Anna Palanquin continues to shout out helpful advice, usually along the lines of, "Hey, you should duck there!" or "Hey, they're always a bit off-balance after those flashy kicks!" This should give the party a +1 morale bonus to attacks, AC, and damage rolls. However, the large number of monks -- assume a dozen level 1 of each class, ten 1/1, six acolytes (1/2 or 2/1, equal numbers of each) and the 4 ELITE, (2/2), who the party met earlier -- should make the party think that haste would be a good plan here. "The CRYPTS!" Anna keeps shouting helpfully. "Oh, and there's a password! It'll ask you if nine men interpret something or other, and you have to say, nine men, and nod!" (This takes about three rounds total to get out of her)
The crypts aren't really all that cryptlike -- more liek a cave. At the bottom of the steps, there's a small cavern with a door in the far wall, and a high ceiling. A stone statue with magic mouth asks, "Do nine men interpret?"
If the party says, "Nine Men," and nods, the crypt-door opens for them. If not, three dire bats swoop down from the ceiling and attack. The door is a strong door from the PHB -- hardness 5, 20 hp, Break DC23.
Inside the room is a simple room with wooden floors, and a small altar where St. Cepser was entombed. And as the party comes in, a voice in their mind says, "Live was I, ere I saw evil!"
The Grick is actually much, much worse -- it has the appearance of a grick, but actually has the stats of a mind flayer. The good news is the lack of damage reduction. The bad news would be the psionic blasting and such. It needs lawful energy to fertilize its eggs, and it lurks in the crypts of monasteries. This time, it saw a chance to use its larvae to take over the monastary, and with the magical sap, to enhance its own prowess. If the Grick has gotten the magical sap (if the party has delayed, rested, something dumb like that), it has full Mind Flayer abilities, and the party is, let's face it, screwed. If not, it cannot levitate, plane shift, or astral project, and saves against all its psionic attacks (including mind blast) get a +6 bonus. It also has no SR.
Monks WILL come to aid the Monastic Creeper, unless the party bars the door or something.
Epilogue: NOW I WON!
If the party wins, all the monks are immediately freed from their controls. They stop the burning of the forest, now that the threat is gone, and begin to rebuild, with the help of the Treant, Naertdia, who is angry but understands that the magical sap from the trees would have let the powerful creature destroy entire wildernesses with its horrible spawn. The monks owe the party a debt of gratitude, and would really appreciate it if they didn't let word get out about getting trounced by evil earwigs. Anna the Palanquin badgers the monks to give them something nice, and in addition to several potions of healing, the party should receive something either monk-like or druidic -- boots that allow the Pass Without Trace ability, or an amulet that casts Endure Elements once per day, or a monk's belt. Something like that.
If the party tries to take off with the Arm of St. Cepser, the monks will try to stop them. The arm is not intelligent, however (barring the spell that makes it attack the wielder), and will function just fine on any party member, though it gains no special monkly bonuses. It's just, ya know, another arm. Blackmailing the monks for the arm results in them getting the arm but making enemies of the monks... and there WILL be payback.
So that's it -- and I'm tired, and haven't had dinner, and I don't feel like doing stats, so really, just plug Monk2, Druid2 into the NPC generator that Buick guy has on d20 reviews, and you'll be fine. Maybe you wanna sculpt it to your party anyway.
Scaling: Let the Treant have more hit points, closer to full, and the elite druid/monks, too. Bumping up levels of bad guys gradually to meet the challenge of a higher level party should work fine. Note that "Cure Disease" will kill an earwig and free an enslaved person. Also give the Grick-MindFlayer more abilities of its true power, and possibly some kind of Haste Ability, enabling it to make tentacle attacks AND do psionics. If the party is of a level where one Mind Flayer wouldn't be a problem, you could add more, making it a coven, or add in extra psionic abilities.
And that's it -- a very very short effort, and a lot of bad palindromes -- this tournament has been LONG, man.
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MIDWIVES
An adventure for 4th-6th level PCs.
Note: Regarding earwigs -- sorry, I don't know what an earwig is, and it isn't in the Monster Manual . . .
TONE:
Mystery and wonder. In this short scenario, Player Characters are interacting with Forces Beyond Their Reckoning, and Bearing Witness to the birth of a God.
This adventure takes place in a costal community of hard-bitten fishermen and seafarers. Winter's Port lies along the Eastern Coast of a prosperous kingdom, but political shifts over the last several decades have shifted the trade routes inland, stranding the people of Winter's Port in an economic isolation that has produced a generation of self-reliant sea-folk, who in turn have revived the teachings of an ancient mystery cult.
HOOKS
Player characters have heard of Winter's Port through the discovery of an ancient map, clutched in the severed arm found amongst the remains of a ferocious monster's lair. The map is curious for three reasons-one, it shows political boundaries that currently do not exist in the campaign; two-it marks Winter's Port as the location of a Great Temple, and three-the PCs will be unable through any means short of a wish to pry it from the fingers of the severed arm. The arm is coming with them, through thick or thin.
THE SURF AND THE SEA
Winter's Port has one serviceable inn and meeting place, the Surf and the Sea. This run-down boarding house has not seen visitors in years. Built over the ruins of an ancient keep, the upper levels of The Surf And The Sea are the highest point in Winter's Port, and fires are continually kept here as a beacon for returning ships.
The cellars of the place are the truly interesting feature of The Surf And The Sea, as holes in the walls and floor lead in to narrow half-flooded crawlspaces that criss-cross the craggy cliffs.
THOSE WHO WATCH
Visitors to the town will immediately note a group of four massive statues, each standing 80 feet in height, depicting a robed holy man making a series of gestures. The man is identified as Ababa Jaj by the locals and their poses reflect his name, in this order:
A - the man's arms are raised in a gesture that invokes the sun
B - the man's head is bowed, and his arms are folded into his sleeves, a gesture indicating communion with the Underworld
A - as above
B - as above
A - as above
This series of postures identify the mystic bringing Life to the dead-a series of postures that the party's cleric or monk might recognize as the ritual of ressurection (Religion check DC 20).
The second group of statues is separated from the first by approximately 30 yards.
J - the monk bears a sea serpent wrapped about his left arm, and a conch shell in his right hand.
A - as above.
J - as above, save that his left arm is missing.
This series of postures can be identified as an invocation (creation) ritual by either a Religion check (DC 20) or a Knowledge (Arcana) check of DC 25.
EYES THAT DO NOT SEE
Upon their arrival in town, the PCs will find the locals to be a taciturn and unhelpful lot. In fact, the people of Winter's Port have begun the revival of the Deepening Eyes, a forbidden and long-forgotten cult dedicated to the acquisition and control of abominations. This cult is led by one Carlton Hey (male half-elf Ari 3, Mnk 4), the former mayor of the town, and the owner and proprietor of The Surf And The Sea.
Carlton leads the group in monthly rituals coinciding with the sea's high point, and they sing ancient songs into the caverns, hoping to lull forth abominations from the earth's depths.
The cult has recently discovered a nest of unusually intelligent and crafty Gricks that lair in the flooded catacombs in the cliffs, preying on sea creatures and trading with a group of Sahuaghins that occupy a nearby fissure under the water.
These Sahuagins have given amongst other things, a sort of religion to these Gricks, including the veneration of a great and terrible leviathan-a Paragon sea-serpent that has been spotted by the locals from time to time as they make their way on the ocean.
The gricks have found these queer humans to be to their liking, and are in the process of convincing Carlton Hey that the children of Winter's Port must be given into the depths to truly come into proper knowledge of the way.
The gricks are simply eating the children, of course.
ARRIVING IN TOWN
At some point, the PCs are going to need accomidations. The locals will tell them that strangers never come to Winter's Port, but when the trade routes were open, The Surf And The Sea was the town's only inn.
THE MAN WHO SINGS TO THE DEEPS
When Carlton Hey meets the PCs, he will refuse to speak to them entirely, staring at them with a flat, composed expression. This silence should be good for a rise from the PCs, at the least causing them to wonder what they've done to receive his hostility. When the DM feels the tension is thick enough, Carlton's six-year old son Madrig Hey will intervine, and show the characters to a room near the top of the inn.
Carlton does not speak because he has lost his voice due to a ritual completed at the feet of Ababa Jaj. Or rather, he has traded it, because even the smallest noise from him has the effect of a shout spell, as if cast by a 5th level sorcerer.
STRANGER AND STRANGER GO THE FOLK
Over the course of the next two days, PCs will notice a pair of strange things:
At night, they will hear melancholy singing that seems to reverberate up through the stone of the inn's walls. The first night the singing will be faint enough to require a Listen check (DC 20), and completely untraceable.
The arm they have brought with them will also grow slightly warmer. Not hot by any means, but it is definitely radiating heat.
The second day, while the PCs are doing whatever it is they wish to be up to (likely exploring the statues of Ababa Jaj), they will be followed by Madrig. Assume Madrig makes an untrained Hide check with +1 for size, +1 for Dex and a -2 competence penalty, for an average Hide of 10.
If he is not spotted sooner, Madrig will approach the PCs as soon as they are out of sight of the town.
He has been crying, that much is obvious, and through his tears, he will attempt to gain the help of the PCs. Remember that Madrig is only six, and does not fully understand what is happening to him. Compassionate PCs can wrest the following information from the melancholy lad:
Madrig is to be the next child given Unto the Depths, and is frightened beyond all measure. The ritual is to happen this very evening, and in fact Madrig cannot tarry long lest he be missed.
PCs may, at their discretion, have at the townfolk, confronting them. If they do so, they will be assured that there is nothing of the sort going on and Madrig will be painted as a lying child who craves attention. Carlton Hey will of course be completely silent.
INTO THE WARRENS OF THE GRICKS
The child is no liar, and that evening, the PCs will again hear the song reverberating through the stone. This time, the sound is more distinct, as the entire town has joined voices in the ritual condemning Madrig Hey to the clutches of the Gricks.
Following the sounds downward, the party can discover the entrances to the catacombs located in the Inn's cellars.
Navigating the maze should prove no trouble, assuming the PCs continue to follow the ever-increasing volume of eerie singing.
The catacombs lead into a series of chambers that lie directly beneath the statues of Ababa Jai. The cultists are there, and their singing has called forth the entire clan of gricks (14 total), who now lurk in small groups of 2-4 gricks apiece. The gricks will set upon the PCs using their Hide skill (+11 in natural surroundings) to try and surprise the party.
EASY-YOU JUST DON'T LEAD 'EM AS MUCH
Should the PCs defeat two of these bands of gricks, they will come upon a large torchlit catacomb, now populated by all sixty of the town's inhabitants. Young and old, everyone is here, and singing.
Carlton Hey leads the group, borne on a palanquin of seaweed and bone, carried by the town's children. The palanquin is craftily made, and woven human hair decorates the edges, giving the elder Hey the uncanny illusion of riding on sea-foam.
His child sits by his side, paralyzed with terror, as Carlton Hey plays a single sustained note on a conch-shell carved from a single massive piece of amber (fossilized tree sap). Anyone hearing the shell who has not been previously exposed to the sound must make a Will save (DC 12) or suffer the effects of a scare spell at 3rd level.
If your PCs enjoy mass melee with vastly mismatched foes, or even if they do not, the commoners will try to bum rush the group, attacking them in a fanatical rage with their bare hands and teeth. Assume that one or two of the fishermen might have obtained the lofty position of Com 2, but the rest are first-level fodder. This should be gory and horrific, as the PCs are forced to put the entire town of Winter's Port to the sword.
During the battle, whichever PC bears the severed arm may notice that it is growing steadily warmer.
Carlton Hey and his children bearers will not fight.
INTO THE MIND OF ABABA JAJ
As the PCs victory draws near, Carlton Hey will command his child-bearers to cart him away through a back stair case and up into the top of the westernmost statue-the one with the missing arm.
In their final battle, Carlton will use the conch against the PCs again, and this time he will invoke his shout ability combined with the shell's power to enforce a -2 morale penalty to the save (DC 14) as well as the normal effects of a shout spell. He will thereafter shout every second round.
This conch-driven shout has an unanticipated side effect. The (now very warm) severed arm will animate, and crawl toward Carlton Hey. As the battle rages on, with Hey using his monk abilities to his best advantage, the arm will move at 5 feet a round, steadily toward the wicked Hey. If it reaches him before the PCs can finish the bastard, it will start a grapple with a +8 melee touch attack (Str 20), and choke the life from Carlton Hey at 1d3+5 points per round.
A DEATH AND NEW BIRTH
When he dies, Carlton Hey will release a scream of titanic proportion, deafening everyone within the room permanently unless they make a Fort save of DC 10. Success means that the deafness is temporary, lasting only a few hours.
The statue will begin to crumble, and masonry will fall from the ceiling and walls, signaling to everyone inside that the place will soon collapse.
Good-aligned PCs will no doubt desire to ferry the children to safety, helping them through the flooded passageways and defending them (DMs discretion here) against any surviving gricks that the PCs did not encounter on the way in.
Once they reach the inn, they will be witness to a sea-storm of titanic fury. The storm will threaten to literally flatten the Inn, forcing the PCs to take some action to secure the safety of the town's children. The storm will rage for four hours, during which time the PCs efforts will be hindered by their own lack of hearing.
After the hour, the storm will suddenly cease, and the PCs will hear (or sense in their chests if they are deaf) a bizarre humming vibration coming from the sea.
The humming is caused by an entire nation of Sahuagin, who have surfaced in the thousands, surrounding Winter's Port, and are chanting a prayer to their Leviathan God. The Sahuagin are as thick in the sea as leaves on a summer tree, and this should be played up as a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Alert PCs may notice (Spot DC 1 that the armless statue of Ababa Jaj now has both of its arms, and its formerly missing limb is clutching a conch shell. The right arm is still empty, however.
Then, suddenly, the Sahuagins part as if of one mind, forming a channel fourty feet wide. A dark shape breaks the surface at the limits of the PCs vision, and slowly resolves itself as a Paragon sea serpent. The serpent will move steadily toward shore, and rise out of the water, easily cresting the cliff face, and wrap itself around the base of the newly-whole statue.
The serpent crawls its way onto the statue's right arm, completing the series, and acting as the last symbolic element heralding the ascension of Ababa Jaj to godhood.
THE NEW GOD
Ababa Jaj may or may not take notice of the PCs, depending on the whims of the DM. Ababa Jaj is a new TN demi-power of contemplation, cyclical process and the sea. (Domains Knowledge, Water and Protection). His first and most true worshippers are the Sahuagin community near Winter's Port, but in time, he will develop a human following, and PCs may eventually learn that the map that started this whole adventure is indeed accurate, although the world it depicts will not come to pass for several hundred years.
REWARDS
If the DM wishes, the most appropriate award is the granting of one level in cleric to every member of the party, as a side-effect of witnessing Ababa Jaj's rebirth into divinity.
While this may seem overly generous, it should be noted that with power comes responsibility, and the new priests would be the first and only human converts of this sea god. Other deities may dislike them as a result, and move to hinder their progress.
If this would side-track the campaign too greatly, each PC might be granted Knowledge skills as class skills, thanks to the blessing of Ababa Jaj. Existing Knowledge skills could gain a +1 divine bonus to the check, for an unspecified duration.
Carlton Hey's conch is the PCs to keep, and is valued at 3,000 gp, allowing the casting of Scare 3/day.
A few days after the events of this adventure, the PC who carried the arm might discover that it lies next to his bedroll one morning, it's map still clutched in its hand . . .
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