Interactions: Selling Treasure Trading Delerium

Interactions Exotic equipment, vehicles, mounts, or other mundane items
that cost over 500 gp are especially rare and must be brought
Emberwood Village is home to only about two hundred perma- in from outside Drakkenheim. It takes 21 (6d6) days to deliver
nent residents, almost all are commoners who endured years of such items, which cost five times the typical price.
hardship after Drakkenheim was destroyed. However, the recent The folk of Emberwood Village have grown accustomed to
flow of coin from explorers scouring the ruins allows many to live adventurers trying to haggle and swindle them. They don’t
modest or comfortable lifestyles. The common folk tend to keep give discounts or make deals, and tell adventurers who push
their dealings with adventurers friendly but professional. They for better prices to pay up or go elsewhere (there isn’t any-
give rough-looking warriors a wide berth, but enjoy hearing news, where else to go).
gossip, and stories about daring exploits in the ruins. As long as
interactions stay peaceful, the villagers will deal with anyone
regardless of their faction allegiances. The villagers live in strange
Selling Treasure
times, and are used to seeing odd-looking folk and weird magic. Most merchants in Emberwood Village will trade or purchase
They can recognize delerium, severe contamination, and muta- found treasure, salvaged equipment, gems, or art objects at half
tions, and encourage such individuals to seek magical aid. their listed value.
Arrival by Caravan Trading Delerium

If the characters arrived in Emberwood Village in the company Only a few intrepid and wealthy purveyors can afford to trade
of Eren Marlowe (see “The Road to Drakkenheim”), they are in delerium. These include Aldor the Immense, Orson Fair-
paid the agreed rate of 25 gp per character. While Marlowe weather, and River of the Amethyst Academy. Typically, most
doesn’t sell goods commonly needed by adventurers, they can delerium is bought and sold for about half its listed value in
offer some friendly advice about town: Appendix D. However, some traders may offer more prefera-
ble rates for proven associates. Due to their rarity, crystals and
h They invite characters to meet them again at the market
geodes typically command their full market value.
square in the village. Marlowe will introduce characters
looking for adventuring equipment to Armin Gainsbury.
h Marlowe suggests characters visit the Bark and Buzzard
if they’re looking for a place to relax and get a good meal.
Lodgings
Though there are many taverns and public houses in Ember-
Characters can ask the owner, Karin Alsberg, about setting
wood Village, the only actual inn is the Red Lion Hotel (see
them up in one of the empty cottages around town should
description below). However, the Alsbergs of the Bark and
they need accommodations.
Buzzard tavern can make arrangements for characters to bunk
in one of the abandoned homes and cottages in town.
A Curious Crowe
Emma Crowe, a ten-year-old red-headed and freckle-faced
human commoner keeps lookout from a dead tree on the way
Magic Items and Spellcasters
A few NPCs in Emberwood Village sell a limited selection of
into town. She skips up to adventurous looking newcomers
magic items, mostly potions and scrolls:
and introduces herself as the daughter of the local blacksmith,
Tobias Crowe. She offers them a tour around Emberwood Vil- h Aldor the Immense sells a small selection of uncommon and
lage for a gold piece. At each location, the precocious young- rare magical items, and will offer to purchase found magic
ster tells a story about an adventurer who once frequented the items as well.
business, then gives a lighthearted account of the grisly fates h Flamekeeper Hanna or Old Zoya offer spellcasting services of
they met in Drakkenheim. The tour ends at the Crowe and spells up to 3rd level.
Sons Smithy. These characters also sell expensive spell components for
spells of 3rd level and lower, and occasionally have one or two
Adventuring Equipment components for spells of 4th or 5th level.
Characters seeking more powerful magic items, higher level
Most weapons, armour, and adventuring equipment described spell components, or the services of higher-level spellcasters
in the Core Rules are available in Emberwood Village. The must seek assistance from the factions.
various merchants and their wares are described in the Area
Details below.
Emberwood Village relies entirely on trade for goods and
supplies, since all other settlements for miles around are now “A lot of fires happen in this town. Oh wait, none
abandoned and local food production has become impossible. As have happened since I left? That’s strange.”
a result, weapons, armour, and adventuring equipment are sold
for double the normal price found in the Core Rules. Food costs — Sebastian Crowe
five times as much, and water isn’t given freely. Instead, it is
priced like alcohol.
Chapter 4: Emberwood Village 57

Emberwood
Village
Scale 1sq = 20ft.
Law and Order and Petra Lang are human urban rangers of the
h Ansom
Hooded Lanterns. They are frequently relaying messages
Although the Hooded Lanterns claim otherwise, there is no es- and leading scout teams to the Old Watchtower, and can be
tablished law and order in Emberwood Village. Most businesses encountered there most days.
h Blackjack Mel is a human scoundrel working for the
provide their own protection and security, and the villagers look
out for each other. Word travels fast, though. Services, supplies, Queen’s Men. He can always be found at the back tables
or shelter aren’t available to adventurers with a violent and of the Skull & Sword with a bodyguard of 2d6 thugs. He’s
antagonistic reputation — for any price. happy to talk shop with mercenaries.
h Nathaniel Flint is a human chaplain of the Followers of
Belligerent curs who disturb the peace are beaten. Those who
commit robbery, fraud, and property damage are driven out of the Falling Fire. He is regularly seen at the Hendrix Farm
town and never welcomed back. Murderers and arsonists are preparing the latest group of pilgrims for the last leg of the
executed. Crimes of any sort involving magic are punished by journey towards Drakkenheim. He uses the old barn as a
hanging. On the flipside, there’s little the villagers can do when meeting place for important matters.
perpetrators aren’t caught red-handed. There’s no authority h Ophelia Reed is a human chaplain of the Silver Order.
willing to investigate crimes or search for missing people, so She is visiting the Chapel of Saint Ardenna where
the villagers must petition adventurers or the factions for help. Flamekeeper Hanna has granted her permission to hold
There are no trials; the mob becomes judge and jury. meetings and discussions.
In this respect, characters who make themselves villains h River is a tiefling mage of the Amethyst Academy. She
may be targeted by the Hooded Lanterns, the Silver Order, or can be met at the Red Lion Hotel. She rents a private suite
even the Queen of Thieves should they directly threaten the and is often reading in the parlour, where she might chat
immediate safety of Emberwood Village. Alternatively, a rival with adventurers.
adventuring party might even take up the bounty or intervene Roleplaying traits for each of these characters are described
in a crisis. However, if any of the villagers are killed, no one in detail in chapter 3 but all act mostly neutral during their first
comes to replace them. encounter with the player characters. Instead, they try to size up
their potential. Each explains some information about their fac-
Making Contact with the Factions tion, such as their ideals and general mission (see the faction dossi-
ers in chapter 3 for more information). These NPCs might share a
During their first visit to Emberwood Village, characters may drink or meal with the characters, ask them if they’ve been to the
encounter several faction agents. Each is a key contact be- ruins yet, or inquire about why they’ve come to Drakkenheim.
tween the characters and the factions during their adventures However, they won’t offer missions or quests until the characters
in Drakkenheim: have survived at least one expedition of their own to the ruins.
58 Dungeons OF Drakkenheim
Area Details Open Mike Night
“Mike” was the master of ceremonies who went missing shortly
Bark and Buzzard after the meteor fell. One of Mike’s final wishes was to open
the stage to any performer for magic shows, musical numbers,
Nestled amongst the residential cottages of Emberwood Village, poetry readings, performances, or storytelling. The Gilded Lily
this small one-level public house is a popular spot for locals and is willing to host any performer who wishes to take the stage
adventurers seeking a peaceful and laid back place to unwind. and though they do not pay their acts, they do put a hat out so
The sign hanging above the door depicts a cartoonish vulture patrons can toss a coin to their performer if they like the show.
feasting on the entrails of a bloodhound, both smiling pleasantly. h Any sort of act is allowed in the Gilded Lily. Performers may
The public house has a cozy and familial character: there’s no tell a story, recite a poem, sing, or play an instrument. Spell-
proper bar, nor any walls separating the kitchen from the dining casters might put on a magic show, and even demonstrations
room. Instead, a few benches are arranged beside the main cask, of acrobatic or athletic skill are welcome. Player characters are
and about a dozen round tables surround an inviting hearth. The invited to be as creative as they want to earn some extra coins.
Alsberg family has owned and maintained the establishment for a h Player characters who take to the stage may make a skill check
generation. Karin Alsberg and her husband, Holger (both human related to their performance: acrobatics, arcana, athletics, history,
commoners) make fine home-brewed beer known as Ember and performance are all suitable ways to represent their act.
Ale, and serve hearty braised lamb stew with fresh-baked bread. h Characters are paid in tips: they receive an amount of gold
h A mug of fine ale costs 2 sp. A meal costs 1 gp. based on their skill check result:
h The Alsbergs keep half a dozen one-room cottages in the village
9 or The character is booed off the stage, and receives no gold
that they will rent to travellers. The price is 2 gold per night. less for their performance. If this happens three or more times,
they are banned from ever performing again.
Old Rattlecan 10 to 14 Characters collect 2d6 gp in coins from tips.
15 to 19 Characters earn 5d6 gp from the impressed audience
Sitting behind the Bark and Buzzard like a scarecrow, Old
20 or The wonderful performance earns 10d6 gold pieces, and
Rattlecan is an intelligent suit of animated armour which higher characters are invited to perform an encore performance.
was found in the ruins of Drakkenheim. A mysterious magical However, characters must exceed their previous check result
enchantment causes it to rebuild itself when destroyed: to win further encores.
h Rival adventurers drinking in the Bark and Buzzard may
invite player characters to “come kick the can out back”.
They challenge them to see which character can defeat Old
Skull & Sword Taphouse
Rattlecan the fastest, or who can survive the longest before This dingy saloon was converted from an old farmstead. A jawless
being knocked out. Adding handicaps or bizarre “house skull impaled upon a rusty sword is embedded beside the main
rules’’ are popular ways to spice up the contest, such as being doors: no one knows who it was or who did them in, but it’s tradi-
blindfolded, using no weapons, or taking drinks between hits. tion to make a macabre greeting to the skull on your way into the
h Rattlecan rejuvenates after one minute when reduced to 0 hit bar. Inside the establishment is a rowdy environment - brawls and
points unless it is disintegrated or dispel magic is cast on its fist fights happen daily, and several ruffians are thrown out nightly.
remains. Everyone in town is terribly upset if this happens. The Skull & Sword is a popular place for scoundrels and
h A creature reduced to 0 hit points by Old Rattlecan is uncon- misfits to gather thanks to the cheap mead and liquor served
scious but stable and wakes up one minute later with 1 hit point. here. It may very well be the best place in Emberwood Village
h Old Rattlecan can occasionally be heard making remarks to to pick up rumours from the city, but you may want to keep a
those it fights. It yells things like “Have at thee cur!”, “‘Tis a low profile hanging out around there, or be ready to draw swords
flesh wound!” or “Was that the best you can do?” as it seems for looking at someone the wrong way.
to revel in battling any challenger. The establishment is run by a half-orc gladiator named
Frida Longhorn, who keeps most people in check. Despite the
Gilded Lily rough reputation of the establishment, Frida is pretty good
at keeping the peace and making sure there are no killings or
This lavish two-storey building is surrounded by a veranda broken windows in her bar. Her business partner, a halfling
decorated with a swirling lily motif and painted purple. It has spy named Cuff Goldburg, is usually sitting at one of the back
ornate golden glowing lanterns hanging between the veranda tables with Blackjack Mel. Cuff typically excuses himself when
arches and within its curtained windows. Inside, four large golden Blackjack Mel deals with mercenaries and adventurers.
lamps light a small stage set before rows of candlelit tables. Floral The Queen of Thieves bankrolls the bar, ensuring the flow of
arrangements line the walls. The well-stocked bar displays wines cheap booze (which is almost all stolen). While commonfolk in
and spirits from across the world. The Gilded Lily is owned by Emberwood Village believe the Skull & Sword is a hub for unlawful
a human noble named Mr. Killian Vandire, but the exquisite activity, most of what goes on here is above board aside from a few
hostess Madam Rochelle (a human spy) runs the business and sketchy meetings. The real dirty deals and smuggling happen in
organizes the nightly performance acts. The tavern is a popular Buckledown Row where the other factions can’t easily interfere.
place to share company, gossip, and have a few drinks, and many h A mug of cheap mead is 5 copper pieces. Brandy, rum, vodka,
adventurers make their last stop here for some good memories and gin are 1 silver.
before trudging into the dismal ruins. h Blackjack Mel is here every night, where he has a favourite spot
h Drinks cost 5 silver: wine, spirits, and coffee only, no beer or amongst the back tables with 7 (2d6) thugs. He’s eager to meet
food is served here. potential recruits in a private booth in the back corner.

Red Lion Hotel though he lacks the spellcasting abilities to work with delerium,
he dreams of one day creating a masterpiece out of the meteoric
Upon a small hill overlooking the village is the impressive Red iron found in Drakkenheim.
Lion Hotel. Before the meteor struck it was known as Stavros h Tobias Crowe sells weapons and armour at twice the price
Manor, home to a human noble named Kosta Stavros who found in the Core Rules.
served as Reeve of Emberwood Village. After narrowly avoiding h Plate armour must be made-to-order. Payment is triple the list
destitution when Drakkenheim was destroyed, Stavros price, paid up front, and is available in four weeks.
converted his home into a hotel that serves wealthy explorers, h He accepts payment in coins, gems, or precious metals.
merchants, and nobles conducting business near Drakkenheim. h He pays half-price for salvaged equipment if he thinks he can
He is an older man with a sallow face, thinning hair, and repurpose or melt it down.
monocle, always garbed in a rich blue vest and doublet.
The three-storey manor is made of red brick. It features
lion-shaped gargoyles, large glass-paned windows, and Chapel of Saint Ardenna
embossed wooden doors painted green. The estate includes a Located at the heart of Emberwood Village is a small chapel of
dozen well-appointed bedrooms, each with their own private the Sacred Flame. The circular fieldstone building has a copper
bath and common room. A full service staff provides patrons’ domed rooftop, thin windows set with stained glass, and simple
every need. Meals are taken in a sumptuous dining room wooden double doors. Outside is a small crematory garden and
outfitted with an impressive crystal chandelier, and drinks scattering plot for the ashes of the dead. Within the chapel is a
are served in a vast parlour furnished with fine antiques and bronze brazier of the Sacred Flame, alight with golden fire that
decorated with various sculptures, paintings, and bookshelves. burns all night and day. It serves as a peaceful place of quiet
Each room features a great hearth and lovely views which worship in the harsh wasteland surrounding Drakkenheim.
overlook the village or the surrounding countryside. The chapel is maintained by Flamekeeper Hanna (a human
The Reeve has abandoned his civic duties, and is now little priest) and 2 (1d4) human acolytes. Hanna is a young woman
more than another business owner in the town. However, he who wears a simple white and yellow frock and keeps her black
still lords his imagined authority and privilege over others in the hair tied in a braid. Hanna was merely an acolyte when the last
village, and prefers to share wine and gossip with travellers and Flamekeeper died several years ago, but opted to take up the
merchants than deal with common folk. He regards the idea of position herself rather than abandon the folk of Emberwood
adventuring in Drakkenheim as a sort of sport. He often makes Village. She believes the Faith of the Sacred Flame is needed
wagers on who will die first amongst any adventuring groups here now more than ever, and offers hospitality, kindness, and
who visit the Red Lion Hotel. prayer to any who visit the chapel.
h Kosta Stavros loves the fine arts, especially sculpture, paintings, High Flamekeeper Ophelia Reed of the Silver Order
and literature. He’s assembled a vast collection of art objects regularly visits the Chapel of Saint Ardenna, protected by Ser
recovered by adventurers from the ruins, and exchanges coin or Virgil Underwood and Ser Cassandra Wyatt, two Silver Order
credit towards accommodation for works in good condition. cavaliers. Ophelia Reed has been trying to convince Flame-
h River of the Amethyst Academy stays at the Red Lion Hotel. keeper Hanna to join the Silver Order, but thus far Hanna has
She’s happy to chat, but prefers to conduct business privately. kept her neutral allegiance to the folk of Emberwood Village.
She asks any potential new associates of the Amethyst Acade- Still, Flamekeeper Hanna enjoys conversation with Ophelia
my to meet with her later at Eckerman Mill (see chapter 6). Reed, and allows the Silver Order emissary to take shelter in the
h The Ironhelm Dwarves (see Smithy on the Scar in chapter chapel and conduct meetings with adventurers here.
6) keep rooms here, along with many merchants who
operate in Caravan Court and one or two groups of wealthy
rival adventurers.
Spellcasting Services
Flamekeeper Hanna can cast cleric spells of 3rd level and lower,
h Rooms are 25 gp per night and include meals.
and knows the purge contamination spell and always keeps it
h Wine and liquors are sold at 100 gold per bottle.
prepared. She charges 25 gp for a 1st-level spell, 50 gp for a 2nd-
level spell, or 150 gp for a 3rd-level spell, plus the cost of any
Crowe and Sons Smithy expensive material components.
She takes payment in coins, gems, or relics. She uses the
This smithy is little more than a one-level log cabin with an money to help fund the caravans that supply Emberwood
overhanging thatched roof covering a workbench, stone forge, Village with basics for the townsfolk. Flamekeeper Hanna
anvil, and grinding wheel. Various tools hang along the walls will occasionally waive these fees to help innocent folk in dire
beside several finished weapons. situations, but not adventurers who went looking for treasure
Master smith Tobias Crowe (a human veteran) owns and and trouble in Drakkenheim.
operates the smithy with his son and apprentice, Peter (a
commoner). Crowe is a quiet family man who stands six feet
tall with fiery red hair and beard. He’s often drenched in sweat Spell Scrolls
and soot, and wears a greasy pair of old goggles. Crowe proudly Paid in advance, once per day Flamekeeper Hanna can create
demonstrates the high quality of his work to customers, and spell scrolls of any cleric spell she can cast. She charges 75 gp
openly criticizes the shoddy workmanship of their existing for a 1st level spell scroll, 150 gp for a 2nd-level spell scroll, and
equipment. He spends most of his days repairing broken gear, 450 gp for a 3rd-level spell scroll, plus the cost of any expensive
and his evenings at the Bark and Buzzard, before returning material components. There’s a single exception: a scroll of
home to his wife Moira and daughters Emma and Sybil. Al- revivify costs 1,000 gp.
Watchtower Shrine of the Old Gods
This fortified stone watchtower is the tallest structure in Seven standing stones comprise this ancient shrine that rests
Emberwood Village, and lies upon the road on the north edge within a small grove of dying trees on the outskirts of town.
of town. A two-storey wooden house abuts the base. Inside is Inscribed on each stone are the legends of primordial gods, and
a small kitchen, a mess hall, and about two dozen bunk beds. between them rests a stone pedestal adorned with various animal
The tower has three main levels, one serving as a meeting room, bones, plants, and candles that are lit every night. A crude old
another as armoury, and the final as a private chamber for the hut lies down a dirt path near the shrine, smoke billowing from
watchmaster. Outside the tower the Hooded Lanterns keep a hole in the thatched roof chimney, and an odd scent of herbs
a small training yard and a modest stable large enough for six wafting from within.
horses. Nearby, a covered wooden bridge crosses the narrow The hut is home to Old Zoya, an elderly human druid who
Timberwash stream and leads out of Emberwood Village tends the shrine. Many in town wrongfully refer to her as a
towards Drakkenheim. witch, but hold a deep respect for the ornery mystic. She
This location once served as the initial outpost for the Hooded claims the shrine protects Emberwood Village through these
Lanterns until they successfully established a base of operations dark times. Zoya holds no love for the Sacred Flame, and keeps
within the city proper, and the remnants of a much larger faith for the old, true gods.
military camp are scattered about the nearby field. Now, only a
small detachment keeps watch in Emberwood Village.
h A small force of a dozen Hooded Lantern scouts are posted here,
Spellcasting Services
Old Zoya can cast druid spells of 3rd-level and lower, and knows
with one or two other squads out on patrol in the countryside.
h Raine Highlash, an urban ranger with a predatory look
the purge contamination spell and always keeps it prepared.
She charges 25 gp for a 1st-level spell, 50 gp for a 2nd-level
about her, serves as watch captain.
h Ansom or Petra Lang report in here regularly at the behest
spell, or 150 gp a 3rd-level spell, plus the cost of any expensive
material components.
of the Lord Commander, and use the outpost to meet with
She takes payment in coins, gems, or relics. She refuses to
mercenaries and adventurers.
speak of what she does with the money, and grows impatient
with anyone who gets too nosy.
“Warm fires, great company, home cooked meals! What more

could you ask for in a city like Drakkenheim? Did I mention
Potions of Healing
Each week, Zoya brews up 1d6 potions of healing which she sells
the home-cooked meals?!” for 50 gold each. If paid in advance, once per day she can create
a potion of greater healing for 150 gp.
— Veo Sjena

Hendrix Farm Marlowe’s Provisions
The Hendrix Farm is one of the only occupied farmsteads “Everyone’s gotta eat! Don’t want to go trouncing through
remaining in Emberwood Village. It was once run by an old dangerous ruins on an empty stomach! Oh, and please drink some
human commoner named Elijah Hendrix, until his crops water, you look parched.”
became contaminated, his livestock perished, and his wife grew
— Eren Marlowe
ill and passed away after the meteor fell. He gave up on farming,
and nearly gave up on life as well. However, several years ago,
Eren Marlowe, a human commoner, sets up a small makeshift
Lucretia Mathias stayed at his farmhouse during her first pil-
stall with a few wooden tables displaying jars of dried fruits,
grimage to Drakkenheim. Her words inspired him with renewed
packages of cured meats, jugs of water, mead, and bags of
purpose, and he now offers shelter to any future pilgrims of the
assorted nuts. Adventurers often come here for provisions that
Falling Fire who are making the trek into Drakkenheim.
won’t rot or spoil during their treks into the contaminated ruins.
The fallow fields are devoid of crops and no longer used for
h Any food, water, and rations can be purchased here for five
agricultural production. Instead, they are littered with small
campfires and tents for the passing pilgrims. The large wooden times the market price
barn and nearby farmhouse are kept in good repair, though all the
farm equipment and ploughs were long ago dismantled for parts.
Nathaniel Flint and many members of the Falling Fire
Gainsbury Expeditionary Supply Company
gather here as their last stop before heading further into “I guarantee you won’t survive long in Drakkenheim without a good
the ruins. At any given time there may be as many as fifty rope and a full lantern! Best buy them while supplies last!”
commoners congregating here with their wagons. Though
– Armin Gainsbury
he has been invited to come take the Sacrament himself many
times, Farmer Hendrix believes it is his destiny to wait here
This caravan is loaded high with boxes and barrels of goods.
until the very last pilgrim comes.
Laid out on a small table are samples of climbing gear,
cartographer’s instruments, goggles, heavy leather gloves,
Eventide Manor mining picks, torches, tongs, and assorted tools for navigation
and survival in the ruins.
This manor house on the south end of town burned down many
years ago. It was once owned by a mysterious elven woman h Armin Gainsbury, a bespectacled and beanpole-shaped
who had a child with a local craftsman, but was abandoned human commoner, carries all manner of adventuring gear
after she passed away and the boy was taken by the Amethyst which they sell for twice the market value.
Academy. Since it caught fire, none have come to claim or repair h Gainsbury is especially well stocked on mining and prospecting
it. Children now tell tales of the strange noises coming from the equipment, and sells a pamphlet detailing the correct methods
cellar of the house, and how the charred doors and windows for safely handling and extracting delerium crystals. A copy
open and close on their own. costs 1 gp. The information inside is filled with hyperbolic (but
h U nbeknownst to the folk of Emberwood Village, this correct) warnings. The instructions are overly detailed and
house was owned by a former Archmage of the Amethyst rather long-winded, but reasonably accurate.
Academy. Behind an illusory wall in the cellar protected
by a glyph of warding is a teleportation circle used today by
members of the Amethyst Academy to come and go from
Fairweather Trades and Exports
their distant strongholds. Academy members only enter “When you’ve been around the world as many times as me, you see
or exit the manor under the effects of an invisibility spell, all manner of treasure. In all my years, I ain’t never seen anything like
hence the children’s rumours. these rocks. I’m happy to make a barrel or two of gold delivering it to
whomever wants to empty their pockets for ‘em.”
Caravan Court - Orson Fairweather
A marketplace has sprung up surrounding the boarded-up An iron-bound stagecoach is parked here flanked by two
water well in the village square. This colourful collection of massive flat-bedded wagons with stacks of leaden and steel-
caravans, wagons, canvas tents, and makeshift stalls is the studded chests, overseen by a dozen armoured men.
hub of commerce for adventurers, scavengers, and prospectors
h Orson Fairweather (a human gladiator) is among the most
looking to make their fortune in Drakkenheim. Dozens of canny
merchants have set up shop here to cater to the needs of the prolific exporters of delerium operating in Emberwood
factions and explorers. Village. The stout man has a heavily scarred and aged face, a
Traders and new goods arrive here daily, and the market is leather eyepatch, and a mouth of gold teeth. He speaks little
constantly abuzz with explorers looking to sell relics and treasures of his own history or exploits, but entertains rumours about
unearthed in Drakkenheim, or buy equipment needed for a his past life as a pirate and adventurer.
h Fairweather has a security force of a dozen veterans, and has
dangerous voyage into the city ruins. Amongst the bustle, heavily
armed and armoured thugs load ponderous wagons with locked paid the Amethyst Academy to create arcane locks and glyphs
and leaden chests filled with delerium shards for trade in distant of warding to protect his wares from thieves.
cities. Activity carries on through the afternoon, but most pack up Fairweather is among the few merchants in town willing and
shortly after sunset to head to the taverns and bars for drinks. able to purchase delerium in vast quantities. He offers half
the list price in Appendix D and doesn’t make deals. He
furiously rebukes anyone who questions his motives or asks Magic Items for Sale
prying inquiries about his buyers. Countless folk in distant Aldor has an enigmatic and ever-shifting stock of magical items
lands purchase delerium for unknown reasons, and in the grand that replenishes each week.
scheme of things, Fairweather is just a middle man. h 2d6 potions of healing (100 gp each) and 1d6 potions of greater
healing (300 gp each)
h Spell scrolls from the wizard spell list: 1d10 1st level spell
Aldor the Immense scrolls (75 gp each), 1d8 2nd level spell scrolls (150 gp each),
and 1d6 3rd-level spell scrolls (450 gp each). Add twice the
cost of any expensive components to the price of the scroll.
“Anyone who says money can’t buy happiness doesn’t know where to shop.” h 1d4 randomly determined uncommon magic items sold for
- Aldor the Immense 3d6 x 100 gp each.
h Material components for spells of 5th level and lower.
This massive and heaving covered carriage is decorated with h Use your discretion when generating these magic items. If
gold filigree and glimmering lanterns. Hitched beside it are you wish, occasionally Aldor the Immense might carry a
two great steel-skinned oxen that exhale green fumes from single rare magic item, which he sells for 10,000 gp.
their snouts. Three lanky attendants garbed in light armour and
carrying crossbows patrol the grounds.
Seated before the carriage on a buckling wooden chair is a
massive human man who must be nearly seven feet tall and
almost as wide. He is garbed in masterfully tailored jet-black
silk that flatters his obese frame: a frilled doublet, padded
breeches, and riding gloves, all worn under a great fur-lined
cloak, topped with a feathered cap. Each piece is delicately
embroidered with elegant silver trim. The smell of fine tobacco
mixed with perfume hangs in the air around him. He smokes
a fine black pipe and drinks from a bottle of vintage wine, a
rakish grin on his flabby face. He greets characters warmly
then rubs his hands together with anticipation. “Let’s get
down to business, shall we?”
h Aldor the Immense is a djinni who delights in mortal
pleasures and freely travels the world as a dealer of exotic
wares. He possesses a sharp wit, a sophisticated sense Concluding the Chapter
of humor, puissant skill with money, and a gluttonous
appreciation for material indulgences. Allow player characters ample time getting familiar with
h His elemental nature is completely indiscernible, and he Emberwood Village. Ensure characters gather a few rumours,
appears in all respects to be a grotesquely large human man. He make contact with at least two or three of the major faction
wears an amulet of proof against detection and location. agents, and encounter one or two groups of rival adventurers.
h Aldor the Immense deals in magic items and delerium. He is In addition, player characters can take this opportunity to get
accustomed to small-time heroes attempting to browbeat him, to know one another more, and perhaps snoop around town for
would-be seducers looking to cut a deal, and two-bit thieves any information related to their personal quests.
trying to rip him off. He is always one step ahead in the Eventually, several townsfolk may begin asking characters
mental bargaining game. if they’ve been to the ruins yet or tried their hand at collecting
h His attendants and bodyguards are three human assassins delerium shards. Boastful rival adventurers could even set
named Brill, Meyers, and Vandeerbeek. His oxen are up a wager. If characters are looking for advice, NPCs might
both gorgons. recommend characters seek out Gainsbury Expeditionary
h Aldor the Immense has commissioned the Amethyst Supply Company for equipment and information on
Academy to create arcane locks and glyphs of warding to harvesting delerium, or chat with Fairweather Trades and
protect his wares. In addition, he has a tiny chest in which he Exports about selling whatever they manage to dig up. The
keeps his own private treasures. next chapter, Exploring Drakkenheim, details how characters
can explore the ruins, and includes a “Delerium Hunt’’ to help
run their first foray!
“A fascinating place. Thriving in the shadow of a Character Advancement

dangerous backdrop it has become a place to let your If your player characters began at 1st level and accompanied
guard down and relax even if just a short while...” Eren Marlowe’s caravan, after they’ve interacted with folk in
Emberwood Village and met a few faction members, award
— Pluto Jackson them sufficient experience to advance them to 2nd level before
they embark on their first foray into Drakkenheim.

Chapter 5:
Exploring Drakkenheim
F
ollowing an overview of the city itself, this chapter intro- small villages and hamlets a few days travel from the city. Only
duces the core mechanics for running urban exploration a few hundred people survived the cataclysm that devastated
in Drakkenheim: navigating the city streets and sewers, the city, and the folk who lived in the surrounding countryside
generating random encounters, and the properties of the myste- have abandoned the area for safer regions.
rious Haze. You’ll want to refer to these mechanics throughout The recorded history of Drakkenheim stretches back about
the campaign, alongside the appendix sections of this book six hundred years, but a settlement and fortification have stood
that detail the rules for Contamination, Delerium, the Random here since antiquity. The city was named after its founders, the
Encounter Tables, and of course, the City Map. now-extinct House von Drakken. Four distinct dynasties have
Finally, this chapter closes with an introductory exploration ruled the city since, with House von Kessel claiming the throne
adventure: a Delerium Hunt! one hundred fifty years ago.
Drakkenheim is divided into three main regions:
City Overview h The Outer City, estates, suburbs, and slums surrounding
the city walls.
h The Inner City, protected by the City Walls and accessible
Drakkenheim was a grandiose capital city famous for its many
architectural wonders. The even-handed rule of House von Kes- through five Gates.
h Castle Drakken, a palace and military fortification that lies
sel fostered a vibrant and industrious spirit that welcomed folk
throughout the realm and beyond, and the city was an inter- atop a high crag.
national hub for trade and culture. Nearly a hundred thousand The city itself is further divided by the Drann River. Common
people called Drakkenheim home, and thousands more lived in parlance calls the two halves the North Ward and the South Ward.
64
Streets The Haze
Five major highways lead to Drakkenheim. The roads transition The Haze is magical radiation emitted by the vast concentra-
into the city’s main streets: King’s Road, Temple Road, Shepherd’s tion of delerium in Drakkenheim. It permeates the ruins and
Way, Champion’s Way, and College Street. Each passes through extends about two miles outside the walls.
a correspondingly-named gate, and ranges from twenty to forty
feet wide with broad sidewalks along either side. Wrought-iron
lamp posts and sewer drains are placed throughout. They converge Effects on Characters
at Market Square. Elsewhere in the city, the common cobble- Creatures do not gain any benefits from finishing a long rest
stone-paved roads are twelve to eighteen feet wide. Most have a within the Haze.
narrow two-foot wide brick sidewalk. Sidestreets are often no more Creatures may remain in the Haze for up to twenty-four hours
than ten feet wide, and in other areas only a narrow alley separates before they must finish a long rest to recuperate from exposure
the buildings. In the outer city slums, many roads are merely grav- to its eldritch energies. For each additional hour spent within the
el-covered or raw dirt, though there are some stone-paved streets. Haze beyond twenty four hours, a creature must succeed on a DC
15 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of contamination.
Buildings Most monsters encountered in Drakkenheim possess the fully
contaminated trait (see Appendix A) and ignore these effects.
Drakkenheim is a city of stone buildings and slate spires. Many
in the Inner City may be three or four storeys tall, sometimes
taller. Most are tightly packed townhouses built on stone Environmental Effects
ground levels, although the upper levels are often made from At dawn, the Haze magically manifests mist throughout the
wood, and boast fine glass windows and sturdy chimneys. ruins. Characters can see normally through the mist up to 150
Wealthier homes even feature indoor plumbing directly connect- feet. Vision beyond is lightly obscured, but vision past 300 feet
ed to the city’s water system. Dozens of smaller chapel domes is totally obscured. Any mists dispersed during the day reform
and spires mark distinct boroughs in the city. In contrast, the ten minutes later.
outer city is mostly a ramshackle slum consisting of crumbling The mists dampen sunlight. Creatures with sunlight
tenements, wattle and daub cottages, and fieldstone shacks. sensitivity or similar traits do not suffer these penalties during
However, the northern estates and the sections along major the day while within the Haze.
roads boast fine construction similar to that of the inner city. The mist disperses shortly after sunset, but the Haze appears
as a shifting corona of octarine light shimmering over the city
Drann River during the night. Floating motes and hazy particles hang over
the city streets providing illumination akin to moonlight, and
The Drann River is roughly four hundred feet wide and flows delerium crystals emit a bright glow to a range of five feet.
southwest. The water is deep, slow-moving, and thoroughly The corpses of beasts and humanoid creatures do not rot
contaminated. Four stone causeways span the water. Stone within the Haze. However, most unattended corpses left in the
quays and piers surround the river within the Inner City. streets are devoured within a day by ravenous ratlings. Other
Contaminated Water. All water in Drakkenheim is food and drink spoils after 2d6 days within the Haze.
contaminated, including the Drann River. Characters who end
their turn in contaminated water must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or gain one level of contamination. Effects on Spells
The erratic magic of the Haze disrupts many spells cast within
City Walls it. Any teleportation spell cast by a creature outside the Haze
targeting a creature or location within the Haze automatically
Stone masonry walls forty feet high and five to ten feet thick fails and the spell slot is wasted. Creatures inside the Haze may
separate the Inner City and the Outer City, with entrance via teleport normally within, but any attempt to leave the Haze via
five gates. These fortifications present a major obstacle when teleportation fails. Telepathic communications or effects such as
exploring the city: the five city gates are occupied by faction the sending spell transmitted from outside the Haze fail to contact
forces or monsters, and hostile gargoyles attack any who scale a character within it, and vice-versa. Sensors created by divination
the walls. Refer to the “Walls of Drakkenheim” in Chapter 7: spells can’t appear inside the Haze, and those created outside the
Inside the Walls of Drakkenheim for details. Haze can’t enter it. Finally, other divination spells fail to reveal
useful information about delerium, the Haze, the origins of the
Castle Drakken meteor, or any events that occurred within the Haze.
When a character attempts any of the above using a spell or other
Atop a high cliff on the north side of town perches Castle effect, they must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On
Drakken. The fortification and palace is described in chapter 9. a failure, they take 6d6 psychic damage and become incapacitated
with madness until they finish a long rest. During this time they
speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell ends this effect.
Rope trick, Tiny hut and similar spells or abilities do not
provide shelter or protection from the Haze. However,
characters may rest within a magnificent mansion spell cast
within the Haze.
Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 65

Deep Haze It’s not necessary to precisely track which streets the characters
take; a rough route is sufficient. Correspondingly, navigation
Certain areas are so suffused by the Haze that mere exposure is checks are not required. Characters can locate key adventure
extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. Known as the Deep sites without much difficulty, as long as they have approximate
Haze, these areas have the following additional traits: directions and a general description of their destination. Instead,
the random encounter tables include several situations in which
h Deep Haze is instantly recognized by a thick prismatic fog. Char-
the characters might make a wrong turn or become lost.
acters can see normally through this fog up to 60 feet. Vision be-
yond is lightly obscured, but vision past 120 feet is totally obscured.
If dispersed during the day, the fog reforms one minute later. Moving through the Streets
h Characters entering the Deep Haze must succeed on a DC 15 Ruined buildings and maze-like streets are exceptionally
Constitution saving throw, and again for each full hour spent difficult terrain. How fast characters can move on foot
within. On a failed saving throw, they suffer 10 (3d6) necrotic depends on their priority:
damage and gain one level of contamination. h Fast. At this pace, characters advance one mile per hour.
The Haze map at the back of this book indicates which areas of They take the most direct route to their destination and move
the city are covered by the Deep Haze. Other locations suffused openly on major streets. Characters cannot use stealth, and
by the Deep Haze are noted in location descriptions. make Perception checks with disadvantage. When checking
for random encounters (see “Random Encounters” later in this
chapter), each character rolls twice and takes the lower result.
Delerium Sludge h Normal. At this pace, characters advance one-half mile per
Gargantuan delerium geodes perspire an opalescent sludge. hour. They proceed carefully through the ruins staying vigilant
Characters submerged in delerium sludge make a DC 18 for threats and landmarks. Characters cannot use stealth, but
Constitution saving throw at the start of their turn. They take may make Investigation and Perception checks with advantage.
h Slow. At this pace, characters advance one-quarter mile per
42 (12d6) necrotic damage on a failed saving throw, and half as
much on a successful one. In addition, characters who fail the hour to evade hostile threats. They sneak down back alleys
saving throw gain one level of contamination. and avoid major streets. Characters may use stealth, and
make Perception checks normally.
Searching the Ruins

Use these guidelines whenever the characters deliberately search
Navigating the Ruins for something in the ruins, such as scavenged supplies, lost
treasures, unknown locations, a hidden foe, or a safe place to rest.
Drakkenheim behaves more like a dangerous wilderness than an Conducting a good search takes at least one hour; during which
urban location. Characters risk perilous random encounters with the characters may survey an area with up to a ¼ mile diameter.
hostile monsters and mysterious magical phenomena as they After one hour of searching, each character makes an Investiga-
traverse the ruins, but may also stumble upon delerium, lost tion or Wisdom (Survival) check (DC 10 for the Outer City, DC
treasures, and faction agents. 15 for the Inner City). Exceeding the DC by 5 or more grants an
additional success. Whether or not the characters find anything is
determined by the total number of successes:
Getting to the City h 3 or more successes. The party finds what they are
Aside from Emberwood Village, all towns and villages within looking for if it can be found within the search area, otherwise,
one week’s travel of Drakkenheim have been wholly aban- they conclusively rule out any possibility that what they were
doned. The nearest large cities are a three-week journey away. seeking was in the area of their search.
h 2 or more failed checks. The characters stumble into a
Travel times from safe havens are indicated below. When travelling
to the city, characters may arrive anywhere on the city outskirts. Random Encounter, but if they still had enough successes,
they also find whatever they sought.
Origin Point Distance Travel Time on Foot If your party is larger or smaller than four characters, increase
Eckerman Mill 1 mile 20 minutes or decrease the number of required successes proportionately.
Camp Dawn 2 miles 1 hour Alternatively, characters might use special skills when searching
Emberwood Village 5 miles 2 hours for something specific:
h Arcana. Delerium deposits or magical phenomena.
Urban Exploration h Cartographer’s Tools. Searching an area the characters

have visited at least once before themselves, or for which
As the player characters traverse the ruined city, you can handle they have a map.
urban exploration in an abstract manner as follows: h H istory. Specific and notable monuments, buildings,
h Using the city map, identify approximately where the or residences.
characters are currently located. h N ature. Exploring natural environments such as
h Let the players determine what direction they want to go Queen’s Park.
and choose their travel pace (see “Moving Through the h Survival. Tracking monsters or people.
Streets” below). h Stealth and Perception checks do not contribute to successes,
h Check for random encounters each hour (see below, but may be used to evade or detect hostile threats while the
consult Chapter 5 for tables). characters search the ruins.
Drakkenheim City Streets
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Drakkenheim
Sewers
Scale 1sq = 5ft.

Finding Delerium Deposits Searching the Sewers. Just as characters may search the
streets, they might search the sewers for hidden entrances to
When characters seek out delerium by Searching the Ruins some adventure sites. Other secret locations may be found in
(described above), success requires a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana this manner. A DC 20 check result is needed for success when
or Investigation) or Wisdom (Survival) check, with any result of searching the sewer passages.
23 or higher granting an additional success. What the characters
find is based on their number of successes:
Other Exploration Activities
Taking a Rest. Before taking a short rest in the ruins, characters
Outer City Delerium Deposits (DC 15) may spend one hour locating a safe spot or hiding their campsite.
If they do, don’t check for random encounters during their rest.
2 success or fewer Nothing
Note that the Haze (described above) prevents characters from
3 successes 10 (3d6) delerium chips worth 10 gp each benefiting from a long rest in the city. Characters who attempt to
4 success 3 (1d6) delerium fragments worth 100 gold each do so anyways check for random encounters each hour.
5 or more successes 1 delerium shard worth 500 gp Flying. Flying characters may soar across the city rapidly.
At your discretion, they may risk hostile attention from the
gargoyles defending the walls or the harpies inhabiting the
Inner City Delerium Deposits (DC 20) Inner City.
Vehicles. Land vehicles are largely impractical in the ruins,
1 success or fewer Nothing although characters could use a boat to travel via the river
2 successes 10 (3d6) delerium chips worth 10 gp each normally (though at your discretion characters may risk attack
3 successes 7 (2d6) delerium fragments worth 100 gold each from aquatic or sewer-dwelling monsters!) Characters moving
with a land vehicle or portaging a water vehicle travel ¼ mile
4 successes 3 (1d6) delerium shards worth 500 gp
per hour. Land and water vehicles can’t be hidden without
5 or more successes 1 delerium crystal worth 1,000 gp magic, but individual characters might be able to use stealth.
Finding Sustenance. Finding suitable sustenance within
Results are cumulative, so a group that makes four successes Drakkenheim is difficult since most food and water within the
finds 3d6 delerium chips and 1d6 fragments. As normal, city is either spoiled or contaminated. Instead, characters should
generate a random encounter if characters have two or more bring their own supply of food and water from outside the city.
failed check results while searching for delerium. Nevertheless, a character who eats or drinks anything found in
Characters searching within a quarter mile of the Crater’s Drakkenheim that has not been magically purified makes a DC
Edge receive one automatic additional success due to the 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they gain one
rich quantities of delerium found in this exceptionally level of contamination.
dangerous region.
Drakkenheim Sewers A Combined Approach

The Drakkenheim sewers were a sophisticated engineering Drakkenheim is dangerous and unpredictable. There is no
marvel. The system combined underground gravity-based such thing as a foolproof plan for safely exploring the ruins.
aqueducts and drainage canals with carefully placed locks and Nevertheless, characters using special resources, spells, magic
floodgates to deliver clean and fresh water to the city population items, or with a very inventive plan might greatly improve their
and draw away the massive quantities of sewage and wastewa- navigation. For example, characters could use spells such as
ter. Major canals run under the city streets, and can be accessed invisibility and pass without trace together to travel quickly while
from the surface by numerous maintenance hatches. remaining unseen, or perhaps water walk helps characters move
After over a decade of disuse, most tunnels are flooded with over the river. If they aren’t expending resources, you should call
contaminated water and many other passages have collapsed. for a few difficult skill checks. On a failure, they stumble into a
Other sections are now monster lairs. As a result, travelling in difficult random encounter with extra complications.
the sewers is extraordinarily hazardous and ill-advised. Howev-
er, characters might consider taking the sewers to locate a route
under the city walls, or to gain access to hidden underground
Escaping the Ruins
Characters must use their resources carefully while exploring
dungeons such as the cistern (see chapter 7) or the Court of Drakkenheim, as there is always a chance they’ll face a random
Thieves (see chapter 8). encounter or two when leaving the ruins as well. At some point
Sewer Navigation. Handle sewer navigation abstractly during their adventures, characters might be heavily wounded
using the same mechanics for navigating the streets above, and out of resources deep in the city ruins. As they stagger back
except characters move at half their normal pace through to Emberwood Village, they roll up a difficult random encoun-
the twisting tunnels. Sewer passages and access points could ter. This could be the one that ends it for them! Be lenient the
be almost anywhere in the city, so use the surface map as an first time this happens, but merciless the second.
approximate guide to track the character’s progress. In addition,
after each hour spent in the sewers characters must succeed
on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of
contamination from contact with sewer water.
Random Encounters Cleaning Cube. A gelatinous cube awaits down a narrow
corridor in the sewers. It stays completely still until a creature
Dangerous monsters lurk everywhere in Drakkenheim. enters its space.
While characters navigate the ruins, ask each player to roll 1d20... Crimson Countess. The Crimson Countess hunts above
with a retinue of 5 (2d4) harpies.
h For each hour spent exploring the city (as directed above)
h Any time you feel the players are being indecisive or idle in a Dozing Hulk. A single haze hulk lays sleeping across the
dangerous environment narrow road. Squeezing past without waking it may prove
h Whenever the players are having an easy time and you need difficult, but it clutches a delerium shard in its hand.
to shake things up Deep Ones. 10 (3d6) aquatic delerium dregs and 1 chuul
h When directed by specific circumstances described within an occupy a sewer junction or are emerging from a sewer exit.
adventure site Double Trouble. Roll twice, ignoring this result on subsequent
There is an encounter if any player rolls a natural one. Consult rolls. If two groups of monsters or NPCs are encountered,
the random encounter tables below to determine what the they’re fighting each other.
characters encounter based on their location in the city. Some Drowned Dead. A one-hundred-foot long corridor in the
locations have their own unique random encounter tables. sewers is completely flooded. The tunnel has 10 (3d6) haze
You may wish to invent additional complications to the husks floating in it that appear lifeless unless attacked or until
encounter for each additional one rolled, such as an ambush, characters are halfway down the tunnel. The undead attempt to
additional monsters, unfavourable terrain, or erratic magical effects. hold characters in place until they drown.
Conversely, rolling a natural 20 might add a bit of good Executioner’s Summons. The characters stumble into
fortune for the players, such as an opportunity to get the drop Slaughterstone Square.
on foes or avoid them, a delerium deposit, monsters carrying
Fallen Heroes. 5 (2d4) haze wights are all that remains
treasure or a magic item, nearby allies who can help, or other
of this former adventuring party. They believe any living
advantageous circumstances for the characters.
humanoids they encounter are mutated monsters.
If every player rolls a one. What’s the worst that can
happen? It happens! Garmyr Hunters. 10 (3d6) garmyr leading 1d4 worgs are
Finally, you can adjust the die size rolled when players check stalking the streets for fresh meat. They are on keen lookout
for random encounters, such as using a 1d10 or even 1d6. The and watch for any signs of movement. Double the number
odds of a random encounter happening increase with lower die encountered in the Inner City.
sizes, so this is ideal if you have a smaller group or want the Garmyr Ravagers. 7 (2d6) garmyr berserkers with 2 (1d4)
characters to face more random encounters. hell hounds are rampaging through the streets, howling loudly
and starting fires.
Random Encounter Descriptions Ghost Lights. 2 (1d4) will-o-wisps attempt to lure passing
characters towards a mirage of treasure or delerium in the Haze.
Academy Surveyor. An Amethyst Academy mage and 1d4 In the inner city, there are 2d6 wisps instead.
hedge wizard apprentices are conducting research in the ruins. Gibbering Flesh. The walls here are covered in thick fleshy
Angry Furniture. 2 (1d4) mimics are disguised as perfectly growths, parts of the walls, streets, and rubble have grown eyes and
normal pieces of furniture in a nearby house. mouths that break away and form 2 (1d4) gibbering mouthers.
Chimera Nest. A chimera is nesting in a tall spire. Aggressive In the Inner City, it has become a protean abomination.
and territorial, it swoops down to rip apart any who wander Gloaming Ray. A cloaker flies through the dark rooftops
around its turf. above looking for prey.

Going in Circles! The characters lose their position and get Phase Webs. Strange webs cover this section of the ruins and fill
lost. They no longer know where they are anymore or what nearby buildings - some even span the streets themselves. 2 (1d4)
direction they are facing. They must wander the city streets phase spiders resting in the dark corners come to investigate any
for the next 1d4 hours, after which they regain their original disturbance of their webs. The webs are especially thick in regions
position. Check for random encounters as normal each hour. of the Inner City, where there are 7 (2d6) spiders instead.
A random encounter could result in circumstances where the Pilgrims of the Falling Fire. A group of 10 (3d6) cultists
characters no longer become lost. led by a cult fanatic and a berserker are heading towards
Harpy Flock. A pack of 10 (3d6) harpies flies overhead sur- the crater.
veying the ground for anything worth hunting. They perch on Queen’s Men Looters. 7 (2d6) bandits led by a bandit
rooftops and watch the streets below, trying to lure wandering captain are hoping for easy pickings. The bandits try to hide
characters up to the roofs to push them off to their deaths from the players until they appear wounded or in need of a rest, so
Hateful Dead. A lone haze wight marches with 10 (3d6) canny characters might spot them before this happens.
haze husks. It commands its minions to attack any living Questing Knight. A Silver Order knight on a warhorse with
creature they find, and raises any nearby corpses as reinforce- a retinue of 7 (2d6) guards are searching for lost relics and holy
ments. Add 1d4 additional haze wights when encountered in sites in the ruins.
the Inner City.
Ratling Raiders. A ratling warlock of the rat god leads a
Haze Haunt. A warp witch moans and wails in the nearby great horde of 21 (6d6) ratlings.
building, scornfully mourning its miserable existence as it tries
Ratling Scavengers. 10 (3d6) ratlings hide down a nearby
to remember its past. Add an additional 1d4 warp witches
alley or passage awaiting unsuspecting prey.
when encountered in the Inner City.
Rival Adventurers. Characters encounter a group of rival
Hooded Lantern Patrol. 5 (2d4) scouts led by an urban
adventurers (see chapter 2).
ranger are on a recon mission. If the characters are in trouble
they step in to help them, but then demand the characters Run out of Town. Characters get turned around badly, and
turn over half of whatever plunder they’ve found in the ruins, arrive at the nearest edge of town.
citing their authority under the “law” of Westemär and that Sewer Monster. An otyugh feasting on offal lurks near a
“scavenging” in the ruins is technically prohibited without the sewer access point.
assent of the Lord Commander. Shadows of Drakkenheim. 5 (2d4) shadows slowly follow
Horribly Lost! The characters are badly turned around and the characters. They try to remain hidden and follow the
become hopelessly lost in the ruins. They no longer know where party until one of the player characters is more than ten feet
they are anymore or what direction they are facing. They wander away from the others, then the shadows strike in an attempt
the city streets indefinitely, checking for random encounters to overwhelm the straggler. An arcane wraith leads these
as normal each hour. They don’t regain their bearings unless shadows when encountered in the Inner City.
the circumstances of a random encounter lead them to clues or Shambling Husks. 7 (2d6) haze husks stumble and shuffle
friendly NPCs who can help them. around the streets. In this unsettling gait, they play out scenes
Living Ruins. Several inanimate parts of the ruins suddenly of their former everyday lives.
spring to life as 2 (1d4) delerium elementals. Choose Stalking Vermin. 14 (4d6) ratlings and 5 (2d4) ratling
whichever type is most appropriate for the area. guttersnipes have set up an ambush. These ratlings use bait
Lord of the Feast. The Lord of the Feast leads a warpack to lure prey towards a dead-end street or sewer passage where
of 10 (3d6) garmyr and 2 (2d4) hell hounds. the guttersnipes lurk on high ground to snipe their quarry with
Lost Ones. 10 (3d6) delerium dregs wander the streets ranged attacks.
ahead. They sorrowfully mutter nonsensical gibberish, but wail Troll Traveller. A troll is heading through the ruins to join
and screech when they encounter humanoids. Add 2 (1d4) haze the trolls at King’s Gate. He wears a large pack containing raw
hulks when encountered in the Inner City. contaminated meat, a tankard of rancid ale, 11 (2d10) gold, and
Lurking Wraiths. 2 (1d4) arcane wraiths flutter about a few sets of tools and trinkets. If encountered near a bridge in
seeking erratic magic, and fixate on whichever character is the Inner City, there are 3 trolls instead.
carrying the most delerium or magic items. Uninvited Guests. The characters arrive at the nearest city gate.
Menacing Manticore. A manticore circles overhead looking Wandered into the Garden. The characters arrive at the
for an easy meal. If it spots the characters, it swoops in to attack nearest edge of Queen’s Park Garden.
the most vulnerable member. It flies off towards the inner city if Watching Gargoyles. 2 (1d4) wall gargoyles roaming
reduced to less than half its hit points. Manticores in the Inner overhead swoop down to attack. If encountered in the Inner
City may hunt in packs of 5 (2d4). City, there are 7 (2d6) instead.
Old Alchemist’s Shop. A decrepit alchemist’s shop that reeks Wrong Turn. The characters find themselves back where they
of a chemical odor stands on a street corner. A pool of spilled started an hour ago. I guess you took a wrong turn somewhere?
chemicals has become an aggressive ochre jelly. In the Inner
City, 2 (1d4) black puddings are encountered instead.
Overgrown Ruin. Strange alien plants and oddly-shaped vines
creep up a crumbling ruin. A shambling mound and 2 (1d4) “Like trying to breathe on a scorching day, the air burns,
hypnotic eldritch blossoms grow in the tangled mass. eyes water. I constantly wish I was taking a bath, I feel
dirty just being in it.”
— Sebastian Crowe
Random Encounter Tables
Sewers (1d20) Common Locations (1d10)
Use these descriptions to set the scene for a random encounter.
1 Horribly Lost 11 Hateful Dead
2 Going in Circles 12 Lost Ones 1 Breakaway meteors demolished this area, leaving only broken
cobblestones and toppled ruins riddled with small craters.
3 Wrong Turn 13 Gibbering Flesh
2 A makeshift encampment. There’s a canvas tent, sleeping bags,
4 Gloaming Ray 14 Dozing Hulk and a few improvised barricades or defences. Embers still burn in
5 Living Ruins 15 Shadows of Drakkenheim the campfire.
3 A deserted alleyway filled with trash, access point to the sewers.
6 Troll Traveller 16 Fallen Heroes
4 A devastated street filled with broken wagons, abandoned
7 Sewer Monster 17 Cleaning Cube
vendor’s stalls, and bones.
8 Drowned Dead 18 Deep Ones 5 An open plaza or park around a small monument, fountain, or well.
9 Ratling Scavengers 19 Rival Adventurers 6 A courtyard leading up to a civic building, shrine, chapel, or estate.
10 Stalking Vermin 20 Double Trouble 7 A cluster of ramshackle taverns.
8 Seedy tenement buildings and rundown shacks.
Outer City (d100) 9
10
Several workshops surrounded by warehouses.
Rows of dilapidated and heavily damaged townhouses.
00-03 Run out of Town 52-55 Haze Haunt
04-07 Uninvited Guests
Warped Ruins (1d10)
56-59 Angry Furniture
08-11 Wrong Turn 60-63 Lost Ones
12-15 Troll Traveller Many buildings in Drakkenheim are not exactly normal anymore. Use
64-67 Shambling Husks
16-19 Menacing Manticore these and the Arcane Anomalies in Appendix D to inject weirdness and
68-71 Old Alchemist’s Shop horror as characters explore the city.
20-23 Shadows of Drakkenheim
72-75 Hooded Lanterns Scouts
24-27 Phase Webs 1 Stonework and timbers have transformed into solid glass.
76-79 Queen’s Men Looters 2 Cloaked in eldritch fire, but it’s not burning down.
28-31 Watching Gargoyles
80-83 Questing Knight 3 Blown apart, but frozen in time at the middle of the explosion.
32-35 Ratling Scavengers
84-87 Academy Surveyor 4 Flesh, limbs, eyes, mouths, and faces are merged into the walls.
36-39 Garmyr Hunters
They babble incoherently.
40-43 Hateful Dead 88-91 Pilgrims of the Falling Fire
5 The side facing the crater is melted like sticky wax.
44-47 Gibbering Flesh 92-95 Rival Adventurers 6 Disembodied screams and whispers resound from within.
48-51 Ghost Lights 96-99 Double Trouble 7 All colour within becomes black and white
8 An illusion of a childhood memory briefly appears in the front
Inner City (d100) 9

door, then vanishes.
Looking at the building causes déjà vu.
10 Scorch marks in the shape of human silhouettes are found on the
00-02 Horribly Lost 45-46 Haze Haunt
walls and floors.
03-04 Executioner’s Summons 47-49 Watching Gargoyles
05-06 Going in Circles 50-53 Garmyr Hunters
07-08 Lord of the Feast! 54-56 Garmyr Ravagers Lucky Finds (1d20)
09-10 Uninvited Guests 57-58 Overgrown Ruin After a random encounter, roll 1d20 to see if the characters pick up any
11-12 Crimson Countess 59-61 Living Ruin useful loot.
13-14 Wandered into the 62-63 Chimera Nest 1 - 7 Nothing but broken refuse and ruined scraps of weapons and armour.
Garden
64-67 Harpy Flock 8 1d4 sets of tools in an abandoned workshop.
15-16 Sewer Monster
68-69 Lurking Wraiths 9 5d6 gold pieces in a coin purse clutched by a severed hand.
17-19 Stalking Vermin 10 1d6 potions of healing in a hidden cache.
70-71 Fallen Heroes
20-22 Ratling Raiders 11 1d4 uncommon spell scrolls tucked in a scroll case by a
72-73 Gloaming Ray
23-25 Hateful Dead wizard’s corpse.
74-76 Deep Ones
26-29 Lost Ones 12 1d4 art objects worth 25 gp each are found in a modest townhouse.
77-80 Rival Adventurers
30-31 Troll Traveller 13 2d6 delerium chips haphazardly stored in a backpack.
81-83 Pilgrims of the Falling Fire
14 2d6 x 10 gp in a lockbox in an old merchant’s tradehouse.
32-33 Phase Webs
84-87 Hooded Lanterns 15 1 restorative ointment upon an otherwise empty shelf.
34-36 Gibbering Flesh Scouts
17 1d4 delerium fragments carefully placed in glass containers.
37-38 Old Alchemist’s Shop 88-91 Queen’s Men Looters
18 1d4 potions of greater healing in a forsaken shrine.
39-40 Menacing Manticore 92-93 Questing Knight
19 A crumbling estate has a piece of artwork worth 250 gp inside.
41-42 Shadows of Drakkenheim 94-95 Academy Surveyor
20 1 rare spell scroll in a pile of books and loose pages fluttering
43-44 Ghost Lights 96-99 Double Trouble down the street.

Delerium Hunt
Approaching Drakkenheim
“Prove to us you can survive in the ruins, and If this is the first time the characters are venturing into
then maybe we’ll see if we can work together.” Drakkenheim, read:
I
n this short introduction to exploring Drakkenheim, player Nestled within a pine-covered valley, Drakkenheim is a walled
characters search the ruins for delerium and other plunder metropolis that straddles the wide and sluggish Drann River. A high
rocky hill rises above the city, upon which perches Castle Drakken.
they can sell in Emberwood Village. Along the way, they’ll
Below the imposing fortress, cobblestone streets weave around densely-
face a few random encounters in the ruins against monsters,
packed stone buildings and slate-shingle spires. The city spills from the
rival adventurers, and faction patrols. outer walls into a ruined urban sprawl.
The great dome of Saint Vitruvio’s Cathedral stands prominently
Adventure Hook southwest of the castle. At the heart of the city lies the Cosmological
Clocktower of Market Square, and to the northwest is the
Prospecting and Plunder. This fundamental hook is simple: Inscrutable Tower of the Amethyst Academy. The soaring obsidian-
the characters head into the Outer City Ruins on their own glass building is broken in half at the middle, but the top still hovers
initiative to seek out whatever treasure and delerium they can above in defiance of gravity.
find. Allow characters to take the reigns and plan their route. If Four bridges reach across the Drann River like desperate limbs; one
for some reason characters don’t think to do this on their own, is covered in massive stone statues of the heroes of old, and another
a friendly NPC contact in Emberwood Village or even a faction lurches under the weight of the ramshackle homes and other buildings
lieutenant suggests the characters experience the ruins firsthand constructed upon its length.
and prove they can survive the dangers there. It’s risky, but Billowing clouds of midnight purple and dusky violet mask the sky
there’s a chance to make good money! overhead, casting the city in a dismal gloom. In the rare moments
where the clouds part, stray sunbeams scornfully shine upon the city.
Events There hasn’t been a clear day in Drakkenheim in fifteen years.
Use the guidelines throughout this chapter as characters explore

the ruins. Finding a delerium deposit in the Cratered Street
Entering the Ruins
requires characters successfully search the ruins once as The mist-shrouded countryside gives way to crumbling buildings and
described above. Check for random encounters normally, but twisting mud-filled streets. Entering the desolate city ruins, you pass the
use these events along the way: bloated corpse of a long-dead horse. The smell of ozone fills the cold air as
you walk through the tattered rubble of the Outer City. Once in a while
you hear a barking dog, then perhaps a scream carried on the wind.
h If
the player characters trigger a random encounter, instead of
rolling on the Outer City table, use the Ratling Scavengers or Escaping the Ruins
Lost Ones results. Once the characters have found their prize, don’t forget to check
for random encounters as they leave the city! Only then may
Cratered Street they pawn their finds in Emberwood Village.
This blasted street is filled with small craters.

Tiny crystals glow with prismatic light within each.
Character Advancement
Once your characters complete their first successful Delerium
h Characters find this location once they successfully search Hunt, award them sufficient experience to advance them to
the ruins and score two or more successful check results. 3rd level.
h There are 6 haze husks stumbling aimlessly around the craters.
h Characters can extract 10 (3d6) delerium chips worth 10 gp
each and 3 (1d6) delerium fragments worth 100 gp each. This
takes about five to ten minutes. Expeditions Onward
Disputed Claims Take note of which faction agents the player characters interacted
with during their early interactions into Emberwood Village.
A group of rival adventurers arrives on the site as the Who did they get along with? Who did they impress? Who did
characters extract the delerium fragments. they rub the wrong way? Whichever faction lieutenant(s) had a
h They are a noble, a scout, and a hedge mage. Tailor their good rapport with your player characters approach them shortly
identities and personalities to appropriately reflect your after the characters return from their first successful expedition
player characters. This opportunistic group tries to browbeat to the ruins. The faction lieutenant then offers the characters
characters into giving up the claim. a mission to one of the locations detailed in chapter 6 - we
h If characters take too long deciding what to do about the haze recommend River or Ansom send characters to the Rat’s Nest,
husks, or take more than four hours to find the deposit, you and Nathaniel, Ophelia, or Blackjack Mel can send characters to
may decide the rival adventurers have already claimed the first the Chapel of Saint Brenna.
deposit (there are no haze husks present in this case). When Beyond this point, the paths the characters might take are in
the characters arrive, the rivals are extracting the delerium and their hands. Use the rumours, Adventure Hooks provided for
gloat over the find. Characters who decide to move on to a each location, and the dossiers of the factions to navigate their
second deposit encounter the haze husks as normal. choices through the Outer City, advancing to the Inner City,
h The rival adventurers have had some minor success so far. and eventually to Castle Drakken.
They have a potion of healing, 35 (10d6) gold, 1d6 delerium
chips, and their equipment.

Chapter 6:
Outside the Walls
Overview
A
ll manner of treasure-seekers have made their fortunes
and met their fates in the Outer City. These crumbling
The locations in the Outer City make ideal early explorations
ruins surround the city walls like huddled masses des-
into Drakkenheim. However, characters who have not reached
perate for shelter. Describe the abandoned feeling of the ruined
at least 3rd level may find these locations quite challenging. The
Outer City as follows:
party need not visit every location detailed herein, but those who
Travelling down the decrepit thoroughfares of Drakkenheim, you do may reach up to 6th level exploring the Outer City. Characters
pass several buildings which have completely collapsed into rubble. may visit these locations in any order, but the “Rat’s Nest” and
Those which still stand are little more than condemned wretches the “Chapel of Saint Brenna” are ideal locations to begin.
teetering upon the brink of ruin. A rare few are undamaged, but Adventure Hooks. Each location in this section describes
still bear obvious signs of disuse and exposure: shattered windows, a variety of adventure hooks you can use to prompt characters
peeling paint, doors rotted off the hinges, and wet sagging rooftops. to explore the site: most involve one of the faction lieutenants
The cracked cobblestones are littered with abandoned refuse; broken approaching the party. See “Making Contact with the Factions”
wagons, litter, and an occasional bloodstain or scattered bones. Here in Chapter 4: Emberwood Village for a summary of the faction
and there, tiny motes of octarine glint within the light mist which lieutenants and where they can be found within the town.
hangs over the streets. For now, the streets are cold and deadly quiet. City Walls and Gates. The party should explore the
Outer City before taking on the Inner City. Nevertheless, if
characters are determined to make their way into the Inner
City, they can certainly try! Should the party approach any
of the city gates or attempt to scale the city walls, consult
“Magic is all fun and games until someone randomly turns Chapter 7 “Inside the Walls of Drakkenheim”.
into a potted plant...actually that is kind of fun too.” Once characters have gained experience exploring the ruins
and developed a relationship with one or more of the factions,
— Veo Sjena they’ll be ready to tackle the Walls of Drakkenheim and begin
exploring the Inner City locations (detailed in chapter 7).
74
Black Ivory Inn
“Listen, I know a guy, my cousin Mike used to run a smugglers tunnel Overview
underneath an old inn on the outskirts of town, leads ya right into the
In this adventure, the characters must escape the time-cursed
city. Now, I hear some people saying the old Black Ivory place is up
Black Ivory Inn with their lives and sanity intact. They may be
and running again? Maybe worth seeing if that smugglers tunnel is still
drawn in by the mysterious melody coming from the disturb-
operational for an easy way in and out of the city!”
ingly normal looking building, or they might seek out the Black
— Blackjack Mel Ivory Inn deliberately to find a missing contact or the smugglers
passage rumoured to run underneath the hotel.
T
he Black Ivory Inn stands utterly pristine; apparently
spared from the ravages of the meteor. Warm light,
sweet-smelling wine, mirthful laughter, and stunningly Adventure Hooks
beautiful piano melodies emanate from within and waft through A Haunting Melody. While travelling through Kingside,
the ruined streets nearby. However, the legendary music hall and the player characters may hear piano music in the air, and the
hotel is the site of a bizarre arcane anomaly that has warped the sounds of mirthful laughter. Following the music leads them
fabric of time and space. Until the malignant abomination anchor- to a pristine building, spared from the ravages of time and the
ing this twisted magic is destroyed, visitors to the Black Ivory Inn meteor itself. Alternately the characters may hear about the inn
are trapped within a time loop: doomed to forever play out the and its music from a rumour, and may choose to investigate it on
last four hours and thirty-three minutes before the meteor struck. their own accord.
The Smuggler’s Passage. In its heyday, the Black Ivory
Inn was a notable speakeasy known for having an excellent
“Magic is hard to control at the best of times. Sometimes smuggler’s passage to move illegal goods into Drakkenheim
you wish you could throw fire, and you end up setting under the walls. If this passage can be secured it may prove
yourself on fire. I know from experience. Look at this scar... useful for navigating the more dangerous areas of the city.
arcane anomaly.” Missing Prophet. A missing priest of the Falling Fire was
— Sebastian Crowe sent to aid and recruit the rumoured people staying at the Inn,
but has not returned. The party is asked to go investigate this
disappearance and, if possible, bring the priest back to his people.
Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 75

h After the death or incapacitation of the entire party (whether
at the end of the loop or by some other means) they awaken
“Magic itself is unpredictable, not wielded but conjured
again at 3:40 PM.
with surprise. It all looks as wild as a boar.” h The characters are restored to full hit points and receive the
— Pluto Jackson benefits of a long rest. Any bodily damage is restored, no

matter how severe. The characters retain whichever items
were in their possession the moment they entered the Black
Ivory Inn, but lose any items or equipment they picked up
since then. As such, items that characters brought with them
Interactions but used during the previous loop are restored!

h Characters who consumed any food or drink within the
The time loop is the result of a curious interaction between the Black Ivory Inn during the previous loop must succeed on a
Haze and a peculiarly worded wish. DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed saving throw, they
temporarily lose their awareness of being stuck in a time loop
until reminded by someone else what has happened to them.
Time Loop h Each time the time loop repeats or the characters
A renowned musician performed here named Miss Charlotte. are killed, each character must succeed on a DC 5
In her youth, Charlotte encountered an extraplanar entity that Intelligence saving throw or gain a random form of
granted her a single wish. Her wish was to be the greatest living indefinite of Drakkenheim Madness.
pianist of all time. However, Miss Charlotte was already an h Time continues to pass for those outside the loop. A creature
unparalleled musician. Instead of improving her talents, her wish trapped in the loop for over a year of real-world time loses
granted her immortality by binding her life and talents to her pi- their memories and becomes bound to the loop forever. They
ano, not unlike the relationship between a lich and its phylactery. die and crumble to dust if the loop ends, and then may only
As a result, she would perpetually remain the greatest living piano be restored via a wish spell.
player of all time, so long as her piano remained intact.
Miss Charlotte was impaled by a delerium crystal during
the destruction of Drakkenheim. She would have died if not Escaping the Loop
for her wish. Caught between life and death, Miss Charlotte’s A character may escape the loop via plane shift or wish, but tele-
wish has been twisted by the magic of the Haze, throwing portation spells directed outside the demiplane fail. Characters
the entire Black Ivory Inn into a temporal pocket that traps might also be able to convince Miss Charlotte to let them leave.
anyone who enters. Her body was transformed into a protean
abomination, which now lurks below the temporal reflection
of the Black Ivory Inn. Her mind projects a simulacrum of her
Breaking the Loop
original form that can continue playing her piano for all time. The time loop ends if the protean abomination and the
piano are both destroyed. When this happens the Black Ivory
Inn and its patrons slowly erode into black ash. All that are left
Becoming Trapped behind are the characters, and the five other visitors (or their
A character becomes trapped in the time loop the moment they corpses, if they did not survive the final loop). Little else remains
wholly step inside the Black Ivory Inn. There is no saving throw. of the Black Ivory Inn save rubble and ruin - it now appears as it
h Trapped creatures cannot perceive or interact with creatures should for a building struck by a meteor. There is a path through
and objects outside the Black Ivory Inn. This effect begins 10 the rubble to the Smuggler’s Warehouse below. The debris can
(3d6) minutes after the creature becomes trapped. During this be cleared away to re-open the underground tunnel.
period, victims can still perceive and interact with creatures
outside Black Ivory Inn, but such creatures and objects
appear hazy and faded before disappearing entirely. After this Key Events
point, when a trapped creature looks outside the Black Ivory “Miss Charlotte is the greatest pianist of all time.”
Inn, they see a time-lost version of Drakkenheim instead of
the present-day ruins. h The time loop begins at 3:40 PM
h Characters trapped within the time loop are visible to h Miss Charlotte plays all afternoon into the evening.
outsiders only while they remain inside the Black Ivory Inn; h At 7pm she takes a break from playing. She sits at the bar and
they can’t be perceived otherwise. chats with patrons, enjoying a glass of wine and a small meal
for thirty minutes.
Effects of the Time Loop h The meteor strikes at 8:13 PM, shortly after dusk. In this
moment, a meteor chunk impales Miss Charlotte, no matter
The loop itself behaves like a pocket dimension or demiplane.
where she is located at that time.
The anomaly constantly plays out the last four hours and thirty-
three minutes before the meteor struck in a time loop capturing h There
is a wash of dust and ash, and you open your eyes to
the events from 3:40 PM to 8:13 PM on September 16th. thunderous applause as Charlotte finishes her first set.
h Characters are instantly killed by the meteor at the end of Once inside the Black Ivory Inn, characters see Drakkenheim as it
each loop at 8:13 PM. was fifteen years ago, in the late afternoon of September 16, 1111.
Miss Charlotte Phifer Winters. A young human commoner serves drinks
and coffee with a warm smile and a friendly compliment.
Miss Charlotte is a willowy woman with slender limbs and Though she’s often too busy working to chat, she’ll excitedly
delicate fingers. She wears a simple green gown, and keeps her talk about her aspirations to one day sail the Diamond Sea and
hair tied in a bun behind her head. She gracefully plays the travel to distant lands.
piano in an enraptured trance. Reginald Grimes. This human commoner is approaching
his seventies, but still cooks in the kitchen of the Black Ivory
h Ideal. To play music is all I’ve ever wanted, it’s all I’ve ever
Inn. He takes great pride in his culinary work and is completely
had, it’s everything I’ll ever need, and the only thing I have unable to tolerate criticism of his cooking. He deems each meal
left. Please don’t take that from me. he makes a work of art.
h Bond. Artists ought to be free to share their gifts with the
world. I admire any artist who has the same passion and skill
for their craft as I do for mine. Smuggler’s Ring
h Flaw. I cannot bear what has happened, and the truth fills A group of smugglers.
me with rage and anger. Instead, I will surround myself with h 3 (1d6) bandit captains and 14 (4d6) bandits.
music and mirth until the end of time.
Captain Wicket is a bandit captain who has an old pirate hat
Miss Charlotte and the piano are immune to all damage as long and blue coat on. He is holding a meeting for his men about the
as the abomination has one hit point or more. In addition, as next job they are doing in the basement meeting room in the
long as the abomination has at least one hit point, when Miss Black Ivory Inn. He has three trusted commanders and a gang
Charlotte fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. of thieves who have come to meet him here. He has requested
When Miss Charlotte plays a chord on the piano (as an that no one disturb their meeting. Detailed below is his crew:
action), the abomination rejuvenates with all its hit points.
h Left Hand Lila: a bandit captain with a hook for a
“I remember you… you caused a bit of trouble last time you were here. right hand
Just try to relax and enjoy the music.” h Mr. Big: A gnome bandit captain with a devilish smirk and
a knack for dramatic plans
h Wind: an albino tiefling bandit captain with bright red eyes,
Tavern Patrons black hair and huge horns

h Ted Oats: a budding criminal with short black hair, eager for
Most patrons encountered within the Black Ivory Inn are hope- this job
h Fred Oats: the twin brother of Ted with long black hair,
lessly lost and cannot comprehend their current predicament.
They are dimly aware of what is going on, but have endured defensive of his brother
so much madness it has crushed their actual will. Tales about
meteors and time loops are met with laughter or bewilderment,
which quickly turns to outrage and disgust if the player charac-
Trapped Visitors
There are five people who have become trapped here recently
ters pursue it. Even proof such as delerium shards or uncanny
whom the characters’ actions may jolt back into awareness.
foreknowledge fails to rouse them from their stupor.
Though they have forgotten themselves, they can be roused
h There’s roughly 35 (10d6) human commoners or nobles
from their stupor by reminding them of present events.
enjoying music, coffee, food, and accommodations at the Osiris Chronolly. A long-bearded and purple-robed
Black Ivory Inn, with a staff of 7 (2d6) more commoners Amethyst Academy mage who came to the Black Ivory Inn
who work as cooks, porters, and housekeepers alongside the following a long-lost rumour that the legendary musician
notable figures below. had gained her talents by making a wish. He, however,
h These people are forever lost to the time loop, and die when begrudgingly refuses any idea that he is trapped in a time loop
it ends. They never leave the inn, nor have any recollection or unless some sort of irrefutable evidence can be placed before
understanding of the time loop. him. Once presented with proof, he speculates that breaking the
h The tavern patrons defend Miss Charlotte if she’s attacked. loop will set recent arrivals free, but suspects those who were
They can’t perceive the protean abomination. here when the time loop was created are lost forever.
“Open” Mike Connolly. The owner of the Black Ivory Inn Aaron Grint. This middle-aged urban ranger of the Hooded
is a rotund human scoundrel with blonde slicked back hair, Lanterns used to come to the Black Ivory Inn during his youth, and
a curly moustache and a set of round framed glasses, dressed was a big fan of Miss Charlotte. He sits in a corner with his hood
in a red velvet coat. He is often found sitting close to the stage up smoking a pipe. He blissfully believes he has returned to his lost
admiring the musicians. Though he knows about the illicit youth and has forgotten the horrors he witnessed in the Civil War.
activities happening beneath his bar, he doesn’t discuss the The return of his memories drives him into a rage.
smuggler’s tunnel openly with anyone he hasn’t met before, but Anika Patel. This human knight of the Silver Order
mentioning his young nephew Mel sparks his attention. Mike devours meal after meal while enjoying the music. She has
has the key to both the cellar doors and the smuggler’s tunnel, forgotten that she came to Drakkenheim to fight with the Silver
which he keeps on a key ring on his belt. Order, and now believes her oath is to protect Miss Charlotte.
Rogan Blum. The well-dressed bartender of the Black Anika is willing to help, but is bewildered by the idea of a time
Ivory Inn is a human spy. Rogan will listen to any tale of loop. It takes extreme convincing for her to accept the concept.
woe and regret from a paying customer, and his advice seems Regardless, she stands up to quell any violence that breaks out
staggeringly insightful two or three drinks in. in the tavern.

Black Ivory Inn
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Balthazar Adamos. This human priest of the Falling Fire

came to the Black Ivory Inn to investigate the haunting music. Area Details
He doesn’t drink, so he’s maintained his memories through
several loops already, and his inability to escape is driving him
mad. Balthazar has now claimed a room upstairs and locked Approach
himself inside. He becomes crazed if someone mentions the
time loop to him, but is terrified that ending the loop will From the outside, the Black Ivory Inn appears perfectly normal. The
sounds of beautiful music can be heard from a block away and the
mean his death. He came to Drakkenheim to participate in the
lights are all on. The sounds of revelry and clanging glasses are heard
Sacrament of the Falling Fire, and believes if he dies his soul
within, drawing those who wander by towards the inn. The inn itself is
will forever wander in darkness. a small square building two storeys tall with a porch that wraps fully
Fate Hope. A human scoundrel clad in the colours of the around it. It has a sign hanging above the door that reads “Black Ivory
Queen’s Men, Fate arrived at the Black Ivory Inn looking for Inn, Come for a drink, Stay for the company.”
the smugglers tunnel. After talking to a few of the patrons, she
sat at the bar to have a drink and lost her memories. She now
spends each loop knocking back a few pints at the bar.
Inn
The Piano Bar. Richly appointed with velvet curtains and
gleaming varnished tables, each set with a candle in a glass bowl.
Two well-dressed wait staff and the well-groomed bartender
smile warmly.
Stage. Upon a candlelit stage in the far corner of the room
stands a jet black piano with glistening white keys. Miss
Charlotte is found here playing most of the time.
h The piano has AC 15 and 30 hit points. It is immune to
non-magical damage.
Kitchens and Pantries. Most of the meals served at the
Black Ivory Inn were prepared foods purchased from local
bakers, farmers, and butchers.
Scullery. Washing rooms for laundry.
Inn Rooms. Several comfortable inn rooms each with two
beds, a chest of drawers, a small table, and an armchair. Several
also include a wardrobe or baths. A common privy on each floor
is kept clean and fresh.
Basement Time-Lost Streets
Storage Cellar. This mundane cellar is stocked with a few A trapped victim exiting the Black Ivory Inn enters into an
kegs of ale, and has a large wall filled with fine wines of various illusory version of Drakkenheim as it was fifteen years ago. Once
ages and assortments. Most of them are Crownland wines from victims travel out of line of sight of the Black Ivory Inn, they
the north vineyard of Drakkenheim. Many jars and crates of immediately appear back before the inn again as if the streets
preserved foods and dried fruits and berries can also be found, themselves looped back around. All the doors and windows of
along with sacks of grains and flour, and a few household tools all the buildings seem to open into a crudely rendered room, but
and appliances. At the back of the cellar is an old oak door with when entered, a character appears back in the taproom of the
a padlock on it. Black Ivory Inn.
Gambling Den. This room is clearly appointed for preparing The folk walking the streets are merely phantasms with dim
smuggling operations and as a place for secret communication, awareness. They repeat only a few short phrases such as
planning, or illegal gambling to take place. The room is sparse “Lovely day today, isn’t it.” “Strange thing in the sky, that.”
of decorations save for a few round tables and some of the older or “I’ll be on my way, then…” If attacked or damaged, they
stools from upstairs. The tables are laid out with decks of die, and the others scream and run.
cards, bottles of booze, and even a map pinned on the wall
that details the underground passages, smugglers’ tunnels and
sewer systems of Drakkenheim. Currently there is a private
meeting happening down here between Captain Wicket and his
squad. One of the bandit captains stands at the door to make Developments
sure they aren’t disturbed as they lay out plans for smuggling a Check out anytime you’d like. With the protean abomina-
rare painting into Drakkenheim to sell to a fence procuring rare tion destroyed, the inn returns to the state it was meant to be in.
art for a local exhibit. The crew are hostile towards unwanted The creature dissolves into nothing but a pile of goo and within
guests and tell any who come near that they are having a private it rests a chunk of meteoric iron with 2d4 fragments of delerium
meeting and they best go back upstairs before they start trouble. embedded in it. The ceiling of the inn has mostly collapsed from
Smuggler’s Warehouse. The Smuggler’s Warehouse is the impact and a clear hole in the floor leads directly into the
in disarray. There are smashed crates and a spray of gold basement where the abomination lay. The inn lies in shambles,
coins across the floor. A shelf along the wall has toppled over another nondescript ruin of Drakkenheim. But, the entrance to
and splintered along the ground. Along the far wall is an the smugglers tunnel is still very much intact, and Open Mike’s
inconspicuous set of thick wooden doors that are locked with corpse can be found amongst the bodies of the patrons. The key
a large padlock. In the corner of the room is the protean to the smuggler’s tunnel is safely fastened on his belt.
abomination. It is a massive mound of flesh occupying the
A Safe Passage. The smuggler’s tunnel now lays open to
upper corner of the room, with sticky fleshy tendrils clinging the players. The players can choose to use this tunnel that
to the various walls and surfaces around it. It looks like it’s leads them directly to the cistern below Slaughterstone Square
spreading outwards towards the door - it has grown and caked without provoking a random encounter. They come out from an
over the smuggler’s tunnel doors almost completely, and one inconspicuous grate in the floor of the cistern that the monsters
can make out bits of debris, wood, and gold that have been of Drakkenheim seem to have overlooked. Once there, the
enveloped by the spreading horror. sewers function as normal.
h Stuck in the side of the creature is the remnant of a grand
Thankful Pilgrim. If he survives, the priest is endlessly
piano, and on the front of the creature one can make out a thankful to be rid of the Black Ivory Inn and to still be alive
feminine face, twisted in horror, with glowing octarine eyes and offers the party a bag of holding or an alchemy jug. He asks
and a gaping mouth. The abomination has several other eyes if they would accompany him to Saint Selina’s Monastery. He
and mouths around it that all moan and cry as one approach- would most like to introduce them to Lucretia Mathias and
es. Its’ eyes become fixed on anyone who enters the room. speak highly of their courageous and heroic deeds. He latches
Underground Tunnel. The smuggler’s tunnel is a long on to the characters, believing them to be the prophesied
straight tunnel that goes on as far as one can see. It is lined with heroes that the book of Falling Fire spoke of.
occasional torches. Friendly Factions. The other survivors are all a little dazed
h A small satchel hanging on the wall has a scroll of dancing from their time spent in the inn, confused and in shock of the
lights and a scroll of knock. grim reality they have just been awoken into. They all thank
h The tunnel connects to the Old Town cistern beneath the characters and agree to speak highly of them to their leaders
Slaughterstone Square. and commanders. If the characters made enemies of any of the
survivors, or if they boldly helped them or rescued them, those
stories are brought back to the factions they represented.
“In the deepest parts of the city, the Haze is as thick as
pea soup...if only it tasted like it.”
— Veo Sjena

Buckledown Row
“Listen, if you wanna make it in this town, you gotta stick with me,
Overview
right? I know people. I can make connections, introductions! You got On the surface, Buckledown Row might appear to be the
some fight in you. You wanna meet the Queen of Thieves? I got your stronghold for the Queen’s Men in Drakkenheim. It’s certainly a
ticket right here!” gathering point for the gangs and a hub for illicit activity, and
— Blackjack Mel the characters just might be able to make contact with the Queen
of Thieves here. Alternatively, they might just want to crack
some skulls in the fighting ring!
This infamous row of dive bars and dingy taverns lies on the
southeastern outskirts of Drakkenheim. Decades ago, these
were the choice watering holes for lower-class labourers, sweat- Adventure Hooks
soaked craftspeople, and assorted scoundrels who inhabited Rules of Buckledown Row. Characters might hear rumours
Drakkenheim. Today, Buckledown Row is a hub for outlaws, about Buckledown Row, especially if they frequent the Skull
outcasts, scavengers, and worse. The taverns are mostly intact, & Sword Taphouse in Emberwood Village. If they have been
and close enough to the edge of town for a band of rough- working with Blackjack Mel, he’ll even suggest the characters
and-tumble ruffians to make the trek easy enough, but still test their might in the fighting pits. He offers to sponsor them as
far enough into the city to dissuade others from following. a fighting team and act as their manager (for an equal cut of the
Ever since the Queen of Thieves brought the gangs under winnings, of course!). If they’re interested, he encourages them
her influence, the street has been controlled by the Queen’s to travel there with him. He’ll be sure to set up a good matchup!
Men: bandits and brigands meet here on neutral ground, join Blackjack Mel explains that anyone who proves themselves in the
in revelry together, trade with fences and smugglers, and only Buckledown Row fighting pit wins the honor to face the Queen
occasionally slit each other’s throats. There’s few rules and of Thieves’ personal champion in her secret arena (located in the
even less order. Flowing ale and gold tend to calm the most Court of Thieves). It’s the only surefire way to meet the Queen of
violent disputes, but for anything else the hidden fighting pit Thieves, and she’s even proclaimed that she’ll grant one personal
is the perfect place to settle feuds, make some bets, and lose a favour to anyone who can defeat her champion. Of course, no
few teeth. one’s actually managed to beat them yet...
Interactions Area Details
The Queen of Thieves makes an appearance in Buckledown
Row, usually appearing for a few hours on a Friday or Saturday
evening to watch the best fights.
Buckledown Row
The bandits that fill the streets and taverns might not notice Roughshod fences and makeshift barricades block off this muddy
strangers, but also are not afraid to stab or steal from anyone street of ramshackle taverns. Crudely made bridges stretch between
who seems like they don’t belong. the rooftops, and crooked street lamps glow brightly in the mists.
Asking around the taverns and streets, it’s easy to gather that Laughter, cheering, and a general uproar echo down the alleys from a
the fighting pits below the taverns are the way people around here motley assortment of thugs, ruffians, cutthroats, and scoundrels who
get known. Many of the fighters in the pits are renowned legends drink, gamble, and traffic down the street. Keen-eyed sharpshooters
amongst the gangs. Anyone who can defeat the other fighters gets look down from the lookout posts, and a pair of muscled bruisers stand
to take a crack at the Queen’s champion in the royal fighting pits. watch outside the ramparts.
Beat the champion, and you get a private audience with the Queen.
The five taverns in Buckledown Row are all filled with h Atany time, 21 (6d6) bandits stroll the streets, and 5 (2d4)
various gangs of the Queen’s Men. Around every corner is scoundrels lurk upon the rooftops. A pair of bugbear
gambling, cards, dice, and occasionally people brawling openly veterans are posted at each entrance. They’ll drive off
in the streets. A body being thrown out a window, or the sound anyone who looks like a member of the Hooded Lanterns or
of shattering glass or splintering wood are so common that they the Silver Order, but they let anyone else through.
become almost part of the backdrop of the place. Everyone here If conflict with the factions is escalating, 1d4 Queen’s Men strike
is a little rough around the edges and if you stick out too much teams might be posted around Buckledown Row in case of trouble.
you’ll draw a lot of unwanted attention.
Consult the Outlaws and Scoundrels from the Queen’s Men
Dossier for some of the symbols and characters to fill out the Wishing Well
taverns. The gangs all mingle here but usually each gang has
a preferred tavern that their leader can be found in, and a few An ancient moss-covered fieldstone well rests on a terrace behind one
characteristics to help bring any NPCs to life. of the taverns. Upon a skeleton nailed to a gnarled tree nearby is a
If the party manages to fit in without drawing unwanted atten- crudely-painted sign that reads “Make a Wish”. Peering down the well
tion, the gangs pay them no mind above anyone else. The gangs reveals an impenetrable gloom.
are gaining so many members that if you are in Buckledown Row,
h Each week, representatives from each of the hundred gangs of
most assume you ought to be there. Discussing other factions, or
any plans or adventures that seem suspicious, might arouse the the Queen’s Men deposit their tribute to the Queen of Thieves
attention of people nearby. Also if the party is acting awkward here by dropping a marked satchel of gold or gems down the
or nervous, this may draw attention - it may also help their cause well. Each outfit pays a sum of 100 gold or more, depending
to dress in appropriate gang attire or to have symbols of a gang on their arrangements with the Queen.
h The gangs don’t know what happens afterwards, but the
on their gear. Again, the Outlaws and Scoundrels detailed in the
Queen’s Men Dossier can provide information the party might Queen always knows when someone misses a payment.
h The bottom of the well is concealed by a permanent major
gather to help them disguise themselves or hatch a plan to fit in.
If the party openly approaches a gang leader without invitation, image and a silent alarm spell, but their magic has been
they may gain some attention as well, but most of the leaders are hidden with the arcanist’s magic aura spell. Below is a portable
eager to hear out anyone bold enough to approach them and will hole that collects the tribute.
h In secret, the Queen of Thieves herself arrives invisibly through-
engage with the party in amused curiosity. Otherwise the gangs
accept the characters as more new recruits and try and encourage out the week to collect her tribute. She always leaves behind a
them with drinking, games, sometimes a fight, or a game of cards. sack of gold. This “float” is used by the Queen to track down
Or maybe trying to push them to join the fighting pits below. anyone who robs her: since she once possessed the gold, she will
scry upon the coins to locate any thief who rips her off.
Sweaty Bugbear
This small ramshackle taphouse is little more than a dank hole in
the wall. Almost literally. The door is missing and the wall where the
entrance was has been blasted away to leave just a gaping hole that
people come and go through. No signage seems to exist but in the large
window next to the blasted entrance is the cook of the place. There is
a smoking grill where a large bugbear named Brian is cooking some
charred-looking meat; he is wet with sweat caused by the heat of the
grill. Baskerville, the leader of the Howlin’ Dogs gang, sits at a table in
the corner with cushioned seats, a bottle of mead in hand and talking
with some scary-looking thieves. There is a game of knife throwing
happening in the back. There also seems to be a gnome in a top hat
strapped to the target they are throwing knives at.

Buckledown Row h The
Scale 1sq = 5ft. knife throwing thugs are willing to let anyone join. If
you hit the gnome, you lose. If you hit between his legs it’s
20 points. Between an arm and leg is 10, and between an arm
and his head is 30. They also explain that the gnome tried to
skim 400gp off a payment to Baskerville and so he’s on the
board tonight.
h Baskerville is amused by anyone coming to talk to him and
listens to whatever they have to say. However if it doesn’t
involve smashing, killing, or getting rich, he laughs at the
intrusion and waves them away. If anyone in the party looks
tough, he challenges them to arm wrestle for fun and wants to
bet 20 gold on it.
h If anyone wants to join the Howlin’ Dogs, as long as they
have renown with the Queen’s Men, Baskerville offers any
strong and tough looking characters a place if they can beat
his Fighting Pit champion, Bloodhound.
Sneaky McGee’s
A large neon-painted sign of a ram skull with swirling designs and
patterns inside it is posted on the front of this old building. It’s three
storeys high and has balconies all along the top two floors, with a
large wooden door that has a cobra motif on it. Inside the tavern
there are several small private booths with tables and seating for
four to six people. At the far end of the tavern is a small stage where
some rough looking scoundrels are playing instruments and riling the
place up. A long bar along one side has a row of red-velvet-topped
stools contrasting against the dark almost black wood of the bar. A
dwarf woman behind the bar named Reeda Blackstone is polishing
glasses. She is friendly, kind-hearted, and welcoming to any who come
through the door. Everyone who orders a drink from her tips her one
gold and says “Thank you Reeda.” Above the bar is a wall of swords
and daggers, all stuck in place in an array of metal and leather. The
The Fighting Pits entire wall is just thousands of blades. Sitting at the end of the bar is
Scale 1sq = 5ft. Veronica Venom and her gang.
(Page 84)
h People in the tavern will tell you that Reeda may seem nice,
but she’s a ruthless killer and used to be one of the most
notorious assassins in Westemär before she retired. Everyone
respects her, and she demands respect.
h If the characters order anything from Reeda without tipping
her a gold piece , or dont say “Thank you Reeda,” she grabs
them and asks “Are you new in town honey? You seem lost.”
before motioning for Veronica to come over. This usually
grabs everyone in the tavern’s attention. If the characters
don’t smooth-talk their way out, there could be blood.
h Veronica ignores anyone who approaches her that she didn’t
invite. If she notices anyone who looks stealthy and like they
have a killer instinct, she may ask one of her gang members
to go invite that character and that character alone over. She
offers the character a spot in her gang if they can defeat her
champion, Mamba Jones.
“Never turn up your nose to a good meal in Drakkenheim,

you never know what your next one will have to be...”
— Veo Sjena
Padlock Tavern Old Imperial Public House
The door to this tavern is covered top to bottom in keys of various shapes This long and large building still stands almost entirely intact and seems
and sizes. Gold, silver, bronze, copper, some rusted, some shining. All in pretty good condition. Its blue-painted wooden exterior still holds up to
manner of keys adorn the door. Upon entering the tavern one can see the only moderate chipping. The large sign outside reads “The Old Imperial”
walls are covered in padlocks of equally varying shapes and sizes. A bunch with a coat of arms on the door. Inside the tavern is fitted with beautiful
of round tables fill the centre of this building. And although two stories hand carved tables and chairs, and an ornately carved maple bar
tall, there is no upstairs save for a small balcony and a spiral staircase going stretches down the length of the house with a massive wall of wines and
up to it. A man sits up on the balcony in an animal fur coat with a large spirits behind it. There is a raised section to the bar up a few small steps
purple mohawk. The tavern is filled with leather clad bandits with spike where Rose Carver and her gang sit around a large table and drink. The
studded armour and chains hanging from all over their gear. There is a bar is tended by a large dragonborn named Israel. There are several
lot of hollering and it seems a fight is breaking out every couple minutes more heavily clad and armed folk by the bar chatting with Israel.
somewhere in the place. There is a small corner bar with a shelf of various
h Israeltakes in new recruits for the fighting pits downstairs.
bottles of alcohol spanning both storeys from floor to ceiling. A long rickety
ladder transcends the shelves on a wheeled system so it can slide back If you want to fight you have to register with him. You need
and forth across the many types of alcohol. Three goblins work the bar. a crew, a name, and a catch phrase. The audience pays more
One on the ladder, the other below catching and tossing bottles, and one when they have a catchy team to cheer for. So make it good.
making the drinks and sliding them down the bar to whoever catches them. Once you sign up, if you are new, you “gotta do the rounds.”
People don’t seem to ask questions, the goblins seem to make whatever Meaning fight all other champions.
mix of booze suits them and toss it down the bar to whoever catches it. h Rose Carver is looking for new recruits. She likes people
Occasionally a glass slides right off the bar and smashes on the wall to who are strong-willed and cunning in battle. Not brutes or
which everyone in the tavern hollers and cheers. overconfident muscle heads as she calls them, but tough folk
looking to make a difference, one way or another.
h Blackjack Mel can be found near the end of the bar with a h To join you just need to agree to give Rose Carver five
few of his trusted thieves. He has a private booth that he uses percent of any jobs you do under her guidance. If you agree,
to discuss business. you get the symbol and join her ranks.
h Leon the Swine doesnt leave his balcony, but if anyone wants to
talk to him they are welcome to come do so. He demands that
anyone who speaks to him calls him the Swine Prince. He refers Smee’s Palace
to the characters as his “Little Piggies.”
h To join the Pins & Clubs all you have to do is kill someone. The largest tap house in Buckledown Row, this large building used to be
Leon explains that they’re the biggest gang in Drakkenheim. a popular spot for local musical shows and plays. The large stage at the
Other gangs claim to be smarter, stronger, braver, more back of the tavern still stands, and often you can find a group of bards here
cunning. But no one has the numbers of the Pins & Clubs. So playing songs or occasionally a play being performed. The place is filled
to keep things proper, ya gotta go to one of the other taverns with elegant gold-accented wooden-carved features, and there is a large
and kill someone from a different gang. Come back with their chandelier with what seems like over one hundred candles. Each table is
illuminated by red wax candles in golden candelabras. The place feels the
right hand and Leon will let ya join. He gestures to a box in
fanciest of the local establishments. The server is a tall elven woman with
the corner of the balcony overflowing with right hands.
white hair and piercing hazel eyes named Tilda. She speaks elegantly and
softly to any who come to her. Even though she is soft spoken, one can hear
her clear as day through the noise of the ongoings of the tavern. Sitting at
the table closest to the stage is Christian Lament and his gang.
h There is a staircase behind the bar that leads down to the
fighting pits and people are constantly coming and going from
below. You can hear the sound of cheering amid the thuds and
clangs of combat.
h Christain Lament hates being interrupted if there is a show
on. He is a huge fan of music and theatre, and especially
musical theatre. Any interruption causes him to immediately
respond “Someone have this one killed please,” to which
usually no one does anything, but if the characters persist
Christan will sigh and turn to them.
h Christian is uninterested in any proposals from the characters
unless they cater to his massive ego and explain the need
for someone more cunning, smart, or handsome than any of
them. Pleading to Christan’s vanity is a sure way to change his
demeanor towards you.
h If one of the characters is charismatic and cunning with their
words he may ask them if they have what it takes to be a
Inn Wounded Heart. If they want to join his gang they need to
Keeper defeat Dorian Dare in the fighting pits, then Christain will
allow them to join the gang.

Fighting Pits Pit Fight Rules
h Fights can either be one-on-one, or a tag team.
Below the taverns of Buckledown Row, the basements and h Tag team matches pit equally-sized teams against each other.
sewers have been restructured into a makeshift fighting arena. h In a tag team, fighters “tag in” and “tag out” by visibly tapping
They are crowded with people either there to fight, or betting
each other. Whoever is tagging in must be wholly outside the
and cheering on the combatants.
ring, whoever is tagging out must be wholly within.
Infirmary. A human priest by the name of Patty Tomkins h You must stay in the ring. If you aren’t in the ring at the end
is working here with her gnome assistant Marv to heal up some
of your turn, you lose.
unfortunate fighters who didn’t win in the pits. The two of them h If you know magic, you can use it. You can use whatever gear
have some crude medical equipment and a few spells to try and
you’ve got.
patch up any who are worse for wear. h Your team loses if any member outside the ring is caught
h She is willing to cast cure wounds on the party if they need
casting spells or otherwise influencing anyone in the ring.
healing and asks for tips in exchange. She knows the Queen’s h Team members who are tagged out are allowed to cast spells
private fighting pits are down the sewers some ways but has on each other.
never been there. She’s very tired of how injured people get in h No poison! We mean it! If you get caught with it, we’ll make
the pits and wishes they were just better at fighting. you drink it all.
Meeting Room. A few small tables and chairs are set up in this h No potions! If anyone on your team drinks a potion or is
otherwise barren stone room. There is a bandit captain, 2 thugs, caught under the effects of one, your team loses, and we’re
and 5 bandits scheming up plans in here at any given time. taking all your potions. The only exception is using a potion
Prisoners Stocks. A few people are locked in some rickety to save the life of a knocked out teammate.
old cells here. They are watched over by a rough looking bugbear h No invisibility or darkness stuff! It’s no fun if the audience
gladiator named Ludwig. He says that the prisoners broke the can’t see you fighting!
trust of their gangs and so are forced to be the early rounds of the h If you get knocked unconscious, you’re out. The pit master
pit’s competitions. Basically, they buffer the champions with a few will take you off the field and stabilize you so you don’t die.
punching bags. Once the punching bag is spent, their gang leader h If someone gets taken out, you can send in another member
can decide if they are allowed back in, or if they will be killed. to replace them.
Fighting Pit. The cleared dirt-covered floor is caked in blood h If it’s your first night in the pits, you have to fight.
stains, mud, and other fluids that are best not asked about. A cen- h There’s no rule against killing your opponent, but generally
tral square is marked off by makeshift wooden barricades, around speaking this is frowned on.
which about forty bandits gather waiting for the next match. A
big human veteran named Bull is refereeing the fights. Next to
him, a halfling commoner with a moustache named Rocky is
taking bets and wagers on the next fight.
Fence. Tig is a young human spy who looks no older
than fifteen. He sits on one end of a table in this room and is
Developments
extremely excited and welcoming to anyone who enters. He
exclaims “Welcome to Tig’s Shop!” to all who enter. Tig is If the party is discovered as having ulterior motives or trying
accompanied by a half-orc gladiator named Tony who stands to cheat, they get chased out by the gangs and will be much
quietly nearby in case of any problems. Tig sells a few select more recognizable if they return. However, if the party was
stolen items (choose three common magic items every time the able to join the fighting pits and defeat the champions, they get
characters show up as well as 1d4 health potions and 1d4 aqua invited to speak to Lies and Deceit who offer to take them to
delerium). Tig is also willing to buy any stolen goods from the the Queen’s Royal Pits to face the final champion. If they win,
party if they have any. they gain an audience with the Queen. They might surmise and
uncover that the Queen’s chambers are through a secret sewer
passage. If they attempt to uncover this passage for themselves,
Pit Fighters or if Lies and Deceit are escorting them, this brings them to the
Court of Thieves.
When characters join the fighting pits they may fight
individually or as a team. If they fight one on one they only fight
the champion of that team, or a tag team with two champions at
a time - if they are doing tag teams, a thug joins Mamba Jones.
Work your way down the list until all champions are defeated.
h Glassjaw Jake, a human bandit who looks pretty beat up already
h Smiley Pete, a dwarf thug with no teeth
“A half-baked plan to make your way through the
h Dorian Dare, a human veteran with the Wounded Hearts
streets of Drakkenheim will lead even the strongest
symbol on his shoulder
adventurers to bite the big one.”
h Bloodhound, a Hobgoblin gladiator with the Howlin’ Dogs
symbol on her shoulder — Sebastian Crowe
h Mamba Jones, a halfling assassin with the Catacomb Cobras
symbol on her shoulder
Chapel of Saint Brenna
C
hapels devoted to the Sacred Flame form the heart of “correct” way to overcome them. However, if characters rouse
many neighbourhoods in Drakkenheim. These were the remains of the interred clerics and paladins in the process,
places of religious worship, weddings, community they’ll have an interesting problem on their hands as the undead
gatherings, and funerals, as each stands over a small crypt will rejuvenate when destroyed unless laid to rest again properly.
where common folk interred the cremated remains of the dead.
However, many are also the resting place for the mummified
bodies of clerics and paladins of the Sacred Flame, and some
even contain reliquaries for holy artefacts. The Chapel of Saint
Adventure Hooks
Brenna holds a particularly valuable relic whose location was The Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio. Recently, a group of rival
unknown until recently: the Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio. Now three adventurers found letters and missives in another ruin that
factions seek this relic: the Followers of the Falling Fire, the indicated the Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio was buried beneath
Knights of the Silver Order, and the Queen’s Men. the Chapel of Saint Brenna. Unfortunately, these adventurers
disagreed over how to use this information and went their
separate ways. They each brought the discovery to the
Overview attention of different factions. Now, the race is on to recover
the Sceptre first! While each faction could send their own
In this adventure, characters explore the dungeon crypts under strike team to the chapel, whichever faction has the closest
the Chapel of Saint Brenna to recover the Sceptre of Saint Vitru- relationship to your party seeks out the characters’ aid instead.
vio. Complicating matters, at least two other factions have dis- A messenger from one of the factions seeks the characters out
patched strike teams of their own to claim the Sceptre. If you wish in Emberwood Village, urgently requesting them to meet with
to really challenge the characters, you could add a third! When one of the following faction lieutenants:
the characters arrive, one faction team is already searching the up- h Flamekeeper Ophelia Reed at the Chapel of Saint Ardenna
per level of the chapel, and another rival faction will arrive on the h Nathaniel Flint at the Hendrix Farm
scene later to contest the claim. It’s up to the characters to decide h Blackjack Mel at the Skull & Sword Taphouse
how to deal with these faction agents: they could fight them, trick
them, sneak past them, or negotiate with them in some way. The lieutenant gets right down to business.
The puzzles in the crypt invite player characters to use their h The characters need to act now, as other factions are already
own creativity to develop out-of-the-box solutions, as there is no sending agents of their own.
h Ophelia Reed.
[1] Crematory Garden
“We cannot allow the Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio
to fall into the hands of thieves or cultists. Help us retrieve it, and
when you meet me back at Camp Dawn, we’ll see you are rewarded
faithfully for your efforts.” Behind the chapel is a small terrace with stone benches and a sundial,
and a short footpath connects the chapel to a walled garden to the
h Nathaniel Flint. “We see little value in worldly gold and silver, but if
east. Two soil plots within served as sites for funeral pyres.
you help us with this task, you would be champions of our faith. You A melancholic statue of a plate-armoured woman holds vigil over these
must bring the Sceptre to Lucretia Mathias herself, in the hallowed halls
crematory mounds, clasping a silver rod in both hands over her chest.
of Saint Selina’s Monastery. There she will grant you a great boon.”
h A metal hatch behind the statue is locked with a padlock. The
h Blackjack Mel. “The Sceptre is exceptionally valuable to the right
buyer… but if you ain’t got the right connections you’ll never move it key is long gone, but the lock can be picked or broken with a DC
on your own. You’ll get your cut, but if we get wind of you trying to 20 Strength or Dexterity check. If opened, it leads to a steep
double deal us by selling it yourself, it’s gonna be bad news for you.” staircase leading down to the Crematory Passage (Area 6).
h DC 10 Religion. This statue depicts Saint Tarna, the
founder of the faith of the Sacred Flame.
h DC 10 History or Religion. The Faith of the Sacred Flame
cremates the dead and keeps their ashes and bones within
chapel crypts.
Interactions h The statue holds a silver immovable rod. It is one inch in
diameter and fifteen inches long. The button on the rod is
Whichever factions the characters aren’t working with send their engaged. If released, the rod slides out of the statue’s hands.
own strike teams to the Chapel of Saint Brenna. The Silver The rod is perfectly smooth save for a wedge-shaped divot
Order strike team always arrives first, and the Followers of the on the bottom edge. The rod functions as a handle for the
Falling Fire arrive just as the characters are leaving the site winches in the undercroft (Area 4).
with the sceptre. The Queen’s Men can either arrive first (if the h If the Queen’s Men strike team arrives first, they are
characters are working for the Silver Order) or show up if the encountered here. They’ve mistaken the immovable rod in the
characters take a short rest (if the characters are working for the crematory garden for the true Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio. They
Followers of the Falling Fire). suspect (incorrectly) that some kind of trap will be triggered
Followers of the Falling Fire. Katja Braun, a human when the button is pressed. They’re trying to figure out how to
cult fanatic leads 8 human cultists. She is a thin middle-aged disarm it, and failing, since there isn’t actually any trap here.
woman who believes she is guided by righteous purpose.
Knights of the Silver Order. Ser Bryce Landry, a human
knight leads 4 human guards. This clumsy and lanky warrior [2] Chapel
insists on doing things “properly” and refuses to damage the
chapel or defile the crypts in any way. Each has a warhorse The double doors open with a loud creak to a short carpeted hallway
that they hitch to the trees outside the chapel. decorated with candelabras. The hallway leads directly into the chapel
Queen’s Men. Rorsh, a human bandit captain with sanctuary. Puddles of brackish rainwater pool in the basin created by
horrible burns all over his body leads 8 human bandits. They the collapsed tower roof.
were promised 1,000 gp for the job, but are always looking out At the heart of the chapel is a three-tiered stone altar set with a
for a better deal. large bronze brazier. Petrified wood and ashes rest within. A few
prayer benches and a small altar box lay nearby. Worshippers of the
Consult the Roleplaying Traits in the Faction Dossier for Sacred Flame once gathered here, encircling the brazier hand-in-
ideas on how to roleplay these faction strike teams, and the hand to worship.
Strike Teams section for details on their combat tactics.
Dirt, dust, and debris cover most of the floor, here and there bits of
cracked paint from the floor mosaic are visible beneath. Painted on the
walls between the windows are fading frescoes of the saints and martyrs
of the Sacred Flame. The three alcoves each hold a large statue marred
by time and weather. The northern alcove depicts the legendary Saint
Area Details Tarna holding steadfast against a massive two-headed demon with long
tentacles for arms. The eastern alcove features a stoic statue of Saint
Vitruvio, the Patron Saint of Drakkenheim. The western statue depicts
Chapel Grounds Saint Brenna, for whom the chapel is named. She is shown performing
the miracle of resurrection.
A deteriorating chapel lies atop a small hillock in the middle of a Scattered about the room are ruined texts, iron braziers, and bronze
desolate residential borough. Despite heavy damage, its domed lamps, some of which still hang from the timbers on the roof.
slate roof rises above the surrounding townhouses. Two cylin- The room reeks of bitumen.
der-shaped towers flank the arched double-door entrance. One
h Two flasks of alchemist’s fire can be scavenged from the
tower has completely collapsed into a mound of stone rubble
roughly fifteen feet high, leaving a great breach leading into the brazier basin.
h The books and texts here are common copies of the holy
chapel at ground level. The other tower remains standing up to
the second storey. Piles of debris and stone surround the tower’s books and hymns of the Sacred Flame, and contain no rare
base. Elegant arched windows filled with stained glass mosaics knowledge or information.
h The altar box contains a silver ewer worth 25 gp, spell scrolls of
decorate the chapel, but most are shattered and broken.

bless and faerie fire, two spell scrolls of continual flame, a silver
holy symbol of the Sacred Flame, three vials of anointed oils Ashley, Dusty, Smokey, and Cindy
(counts as holy water), and a block of incense.
h The back door has rotted off its hinges, and collapses with a “Stop there, meatbag! You’re trespassing!
loud clatter unless carefully opened. You better have brought us something nice, fleshie!”
h The puddles are slowly draining through a crack in the floor.
This chamber is now home to several mephits; two smoke me-
h The statue of Saint Tarna bears the inscription “Saint Tarna
phits, a dust mephit, and a magma mephit. These mephits
holds silver truth that opens the way to the healing light of the were originally dispatched by the Amethyst Academy to scout
Sacred Flame.” This refers to the immovable rod held by the the ruins fifteen years ago, but gave up on their mission and
statue outside in the Crematory Garden. made the undercroft their new home. They quite enjoy their
A stone spiral staircase leads down to the undercroft. surroundings that are filled with materials and elements similar
Halfway down the stairs is an iron portcullis gate that bars the way. to their own compositions. They will suffer no trespassers in
A lock is set into the gate. their “home” unless they are given a suitable gift: a gemstone of
some kind. They have little understanding of the wider world,
h The gate key is missing. Instead, the gate can be broken down but enjoy inflicting capricious cruelty upon human “fleshies”.
with a DC 20 Strength check or the lock picked with one min- However, they are terrified of anyone who wears the garb of the
ute of work and a DC 15 Dexterity (thieves tools) check. Amethyst Academy, and begin crying and ask for forgiveness
h A faint sound of crackling flame and swirling dust can be heard from the character.
if one quietly steps down the stairs, with the occasional yelp,
cackle, or grumbling in Primordial. These noises are caused by
the mephits dwelling in the undercroft. [4A and 4B] Winch Chambers
h If the Silver Order strike team arrives first, they’re
encountered here. They hitch their horses to a tree outside, At the centre of this small round chamber is a stout metal post three feet
watched over by a single guard. Ser Landry and the others high and about one foot thick. There is a one-inch diameter cylindrical
explore the site. They’ve set down their weapons by the door, notch about four inches deep cut just below the topmost edge.
and are looking for the key to open the gate to the undercroft. h The posts function as winches connected to the Tomb Doors in
Unfortunately, they don’t realize it’s totally gone, and they’ll the levels below. Winch A opens the Tomb Doors marked “A”.
waste hours searching because they refuse to “defile” the Turning Winch “B” opens the Tomb Doors marked “B”.
chapel by breaking down the doors. h Unfortunately, there are no handles attached to the
winches, which makes turning them to open the doors
[3] Undercroft exceptionally difficult.
h The immovable rod borne by the statue in the crematory
garden outside functions as a handle.
Beneath the chapel is a crypt. Urns, clay pots, and painted vases are h When a lever is set into the post, a character can use an action
kept in hundreds of alcoves cut into the walls. Smaller niches in the three
to turn the winch and open the doors. A counterweight
central pillars hold human skulls with half-melted candles resting atop
system unwinds the winches and closes the doors after one
them like crowns. The vaulted ceiling is ten feet above, with several
pillars supporting the chapel foundations. Iron chandeliers and bronze round, unless the winch is held in place (requiring an action)
candelabras are set throughout, many candles still burning with or the immovable rod is activated.
h A substitute could be fashioned if the original can’t be located.
flickering flames in purple, green, and octarine. A peculiar breeze
sweeps through this chamber in strange directions, stirring up small dust A wooden lever has a fifty percent chance of breaking each
devils and causing the candlelight to shudder erratically. Two alcoves round it is in use, but a metal lever works perfectly (but needs
contain sturdy oak doors bound with iron lattices, both leading east. to be held in place)
h A character working with the right tools could jury rig a
Dripping water leaks down from a crack in the ceiling
in the south end of the chamber. stopper or mechanism to hold the winches open with one hour
of work and a DC 15 Intelligence check.
h Ashes, h The winch can still be raised without the lever. A character
bone fragments, and sometimes skulls are placed
in urns, wrapped in linen, or contained in small chests, can use an action and make a successful DC 20 Strength
then interred in the niches in this undercroft. They bear check, which raises it enough for a person to crawl
inscriptions marking the names of the deceased. underneath. This check must be repeated each round
h The water is leaking into floor cracks in the earth. thereafter to hold the doors open.
h If the winch is released, the doors close with a crash, dealing
3d6 bludgeoning damage to anyone underneath them. It takes
an action to close the doors safely using the winch.
h The doors could be held open onced raised. Doing so requires
an action and a DC 23 Strength check each round.
h Characters could move a suitably durable object to brace
the doors open, but the doors are heavy and could break the
brace. Roll a die each round, choosing a larger die for a more
durable object (1d4 for a weak one, 1d12 for a strong one,
ect). On a one, the bracing object breaks or snaps and the
doors slam shut.
Chapel of Saint Brenna
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
As there is only one handle between the two winches, access to
the Reliquary Chamber (Area 10) normally requires opening
one set of doors with one winch, closing it, then moving the
handle to the other winch to open the other set of doors, then
repeating the process to allow an escape. This means either
splitting the party or creating an improvised solution to open all
doors simultaneously. 1
Your players might expect there to be a second immovable rod

missing somewhere, and will likely spend some time searching
for it. This is intentional, but if you are concerned your players 2
might become unreasonably fixated on finding a second rod, you

could place one in the clutches of the mummy in area 9.
[5] Purification Fountain

This round chamber holds a circular stone font of fresh holy water. An
inscription on the edge of the basin reads “May the Sacred Flame keep
vigil over the souls of our revered dead.”
The long curved wall of this chamber is separated into five large panels,
each painted with murals. Each section shows three Flamekeepers
performing the funeral rites for a slain paladin.
h The first shows the body being prepared: one priest washes
the body, another wraps it in linens, the last collects the
paladin’s weapon, shield, and helm. 4a
5
h The second mural shows two priests placing the body on a
tomb slab, while the third places a holy symbol in its hands 3 6
and a gemstone upon each eyelid.
h In the third mural, the priests anoint the body with holy water
or sacred oils.
h In the fourth mural, the priests place and light the candles
4b
around the body.
h The final mural shows one priest reading from a scroll while
the others join hands and recite a hymn while standing beside
the body. Chapel Crypt
The opposite short curved wall contains several worn shelves and Scale 1sq = 5ft.
alcoves filled with vials, tools, dusty scrolls, and thin linens.
h The shelves contain equipment and tools used to prepare Chapel
the body, six vials of sacred oils, and spell scrolls of lesser
restoration, dispel magic, and remove curse.
a
Lower
h Amongst the vials here are two potions of healing.
7 Crypts
h 2d6 vials of holy water can be filled from the font.
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
h DC 12 History or Religion. The Faith of the Sacred Flame
b
treats the remains of clerics and paladins as holy relics. They
believe these faithful souls might one day need their earthly
bodies again, so they are preserved or mummified rather than
cremated. These murals depict this process.
10
[6] Crematory Entrance a

8
b
Leaves, grass, dirt, and debris fill the floor in this stone chamber.
9
h The stairs lead to the crematory above. No one has used this
passage in ages.
h The oaken ironbound door is stuck, but can be pushed open
with an action.

[7] North Crypts [8] South Crypts
The stone door to this chamber has no apparent handles or hinges. It is The stone steps lead down to an ancient cobweb-filled
engraved with tracery and images of angels and saints laid to rest. An crypt that is little more than a roughly hewn stone passage.
inscription reads: “Compassion and temperance sustain the light; greed The irregular ceiling is ten feet high.
and hatred bring darkness.”
h Just as in the North Crypts (Area 7), there are five stone slabs in
h Thestone door to this chamber is raised using the winch in this chamber bearing the remains of clerics and paladins of the
Area 4b. Sacred Flame. See above for the description.
h Treasure. Each skeleton has gemstones placed in their eye
Beyond the door is a hoop-shaped chamber with vaulted ceilings. The sockets: two citrines worth 50 gp each. They also clutch a gold
chamber is illuminated by dozens of candles placed about six stone or silver holy symbol of the Sacred Flame worth 25 gp. Unlike
sarcophagus slabs set in semicircular alcoves along the walls. Atop each the north crypts there are no magical weapons left behind here.
lays the skeletal remains of clerics and paladins of the Sacred Flame.
Tattered cloth covers their bones, a silk sash lain over their eyes. Most At the end of the passage is the stone door to the Tomb of Saint
rest with arms crossed over their bodies holding a torch in one hand and Brenna (Area 9).
candle snuffer in the other, but one has a shield, another a helm, and a
greatsword etched with celestial runes and glowing with a soft blue light
is laid atop another. [9] Tomb of Saint Brenna
h Each corpse is a skeleton that lies in state. Last rites This heavy stone door is painted with the countenance of a
performed over them decades ago hold back the reanimating serene Flamekeeper in flowing robes. Beneath lies the inscription
magic of the Haze. They do not rise unless their remains or “Saint Brenna, be you surrounded in light eternal.
possessions are disturbed, in which case the nearby candles Rest as one with the Sacred Flame.”
snuff out, and they attack the grave robber. h Thestone door to this chamber is raised using the winch in
h The skeletons have the following additional trait:
Area 4b.
- R
ejuvenation. If the skeleton is destroyed, it regains all its
hit points in ten minutes, unless its remains are placed upon Within this cavernous chamber lies a single stone slab surrounded by
the stone slab, surrounded with lit candles, sprinkled with candles. Upon it rests the mummified body of Saint Brenna. However,
holy water, and a short prayer uttered over them, or a gentle leaking water from above has doused the light. Nevertheless, the
repose or remove curse is cast upon its remains. chamber is illuminated by several standing candelabras surrounded by
h Treasure. Each skeleton has gemstones placed in their eye clay pots and canopic jars.
sockets: two citrines worth 50 gp each. They also clutch a gold
h The preserved corpse of Saint Brenna lies atop a stone
or silver holy symbol of the Sacred Flame worth 25 gp. Finally,
the magical greatsword here is called Twilight. It is a +1 great- sarcophagus at the centre of the room. Leaking water from
sword that sheds dim illumination to fifteen feet at all times. A the damage above has put out the candles surrounding
creature wielding it can speak and understand Celestial. The Saint Brenna, awakening her mummy. Since her body is
other weapons or armour are wasting away and worthless. waterlogged, she isn’t vulnerable to fire damage like other
h DC 15 Arcana or Religion. The Haze often causes dead
mummies. She has the following additional trait:
bodies to reanimate spontaneously. Divine rites performed ejuvenation. If the mummy is destroyed, it regains all its
-R
over these remains may prevent this from occurring. hit points in ten minutes, unless its remains are placed upon
h If the door was opened recently and then closed, the
the stone slab, surrounded with lit candles, sprinkled with
characters can detect signs of newly disturbed dust and holy water, and a short prayer uttered over them, or a remove
grinding stone with a DC 15 Investigation check. The door curse is cast upon its remains.
h Saint Brenna rises if the door to her chamber is opened, and
must have been opened and closed again quite recently, as the
dust is still settling. begins wandering the crypts, droning softly while misquoting
scripture. She is gripped by madness and despair and attacks
To the south lies a stone door engraved with an any living creatures. If she passes near the other skeletons
image of a majestic dragon that reads: interred within, she spends an action to rouse them to follow
“No darkness is eternal while our faith fuels the Flame.” her. She doesn’t leave the undercroft.
This door opens to the Hidden Reliquary (Area 10). It’s raised To the north lies a stone door that bears the engraved countenance of
using the winch in Area 4a. Saint Vitruvio, and is inscribed with the words: “None are forever lost
to shadow, candlelight glows brightly in the deepest night.”
h The door leads to the Hidden Reliquary (Area 10). It’s opened
using the winch in Area 4a.
The Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio

Developments
Nathaniel
When the characters return with the Sceptre of Saint Vit-
Flint
ruvio, they are rewarded with a faction boon. An uncommon
magic item from the respective faction is appropriate, plus
either several consumable items or a payment of 250 gold per
player character.
h Characters working for the Silver Order are invited to Camp
Dawn to meet Theodore Marshal, and characters working
[10] Hidden Reliquary for the Falling Fire are invited to meet Lucretia Mathias at
Champion’s Gate. The faction leaders thank the characters
Two doors lead into the reliquary: one from the Tomb of Saint for retrieving a valuable relic, and implore them to pledge their
Brenna (Area 9 and opened from Area 4a) and one from the faith and service to their factions before turning the characters
North Crypts (Area 6 and opened from Area 4b). back over to a faction lieutenant for further instructions.
h If Theodore Marshal takes a liking to the characters, he
In the middle of this circular chamber is a large unlit pyre and several might arrange to set them up with mounts from the stables.
piles of ash and charred wood. A statue of Saint Vitruvio is here with h Characters who impress Lucretia Mathias and show genuine
two unlit candles set before him. He is an armoured warrior clad in interest in joining her faith might be invited to keep the Sceptre
plate wearing a decorated helm. At his right is sheathed a great blade, of Saint Vitruvio. She won’t yet invite them to take the Sacra-
and a large shield rests at his left side. He holds his hands forwards ment of the Falling Fire, but foresees a great destiny for them.
and upwards towards the heavens, bearing the Sceptre of Saint h Characters working with the Queen’s Men are invited to
Vitruvio upon them. Buckledown Row. Blackjack Mel would like to show
A character who touches the Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio hears an them the fighting pits, and he might even be able to make
ethereal voice in their mind that speaks the following: arrangements to meet the Queen of Thieves.
How the characters dealt with the other faction agents
Darkness leaves a heavy burden on the heart. encountered during this adventure could potentially influence
The light brings freedom from the weight of sin. future interactions with those factions. It’s possible the charac-
If you would take up my scepter,
ters use guile, negotiation, and stealth to navigate this scenario
it is not enough to merely bear the light.
without making enemies. If the characters slay all the members
You must illuminate yourself.
of a strike team, there might not be anyone who can actually
While within the crypt, the Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio report back to identify that the characters were the ones respon-
effectively weighs seven hundred fifty pounds. However, the sible. Nevertheless, if faction members survive and escape, or
Sceptre weighs only two pounds when held or carried by a evidence emerges implicating the characters, it could potentially
character who is shedding dim or bright light (either magical or sour future interactions. However, the factions still regard the
nonmagical), or a character who is attuned to it. characters as neutral mercenaries at this stage of the campaign.
h A character could use a class feature or spell to do so, such as
Faction agents clash with adventurers all the time in the ruins,
so becoming outright enemies of either faction should only
light, faerie fire, continual flame, or daylight. Spell scrolls of
occur if the characters incite serious altercations and violence by
each can be found elsewhere in the chapel. If such spells can
keeping the sceptre for themselves. If they simply retrieve and
normally only target an object, an object worn by a character
return the sceptre to whichever faction hired them, it arises ire
is suitable.
h A character could also set themselves on fire. If they do, they
from the other factions, but not retribution.
Characters who decide to keep the sceptre become a target
take 1d6 fire damage at the start of each of their turns.
h A held or carried light source, such as a torch, candle, or
for both the Followers of the Falling Fire and the Knights of the
Silver Order. Both factions entreat the characters to turn the
lantern doesn’t fulfill the requirements.
h A character can attempt to lift or drag the sceptre, or move
sceptre over to them, offering rewards in exchange. However,
if the characters don’t accept these offers, the factions dispatch
it using suitable magic (as long as the magic can lift objects
strike teams to attack them. The first strike team sent won’t
weighing over seven hundred fifty pounds)
h A character who lights the candles and the pyre in the room,
be ordered to slay the characters, but they will rough them up
badly and take the scepter. If this strike team is defeated or
then speaks a prayer of the Sacred Flame before the statue
killed, the characters might risk further escalation with one of
becomes illuminated, shedding bright light in a ten foot radius
the factions. Characters who incur the ire of the Silver Order or
for one hour.
h A bard, cleric, druid, or paladin can spend a short rest to
the Falling Fire then turn the sceptre over to one of the other
factions, have made an enemy of that faction.
attune to the sceptre. If the characters do so, this is the perfect
moment for a faction strike team to arrive!
Eckerman Mill
Eckerman Mill is a dilapidated windmill that rests atop a lonely Mill Graffiti
hill northwest of Drakkenheim. Its stone base is covered in moss
and ivy, and the rotting wooden walls are riddled with holes. The The mill is scrawled over with chalk graffiti and carvings, transforming
entire structure creaks in the wind. The windmill blades still spin the walls into an impromptu message board. There are several roughly
softly in the breeze, but the machinery within is damaged beyond engraved messages along the walls. Most list the names of dozens of
repair and the millstone no longer turns. Scattered about the mill would-be heroes who have ventured into the ruins, though many names
are the leftovers from countless expeditions. A well-used bonfire are crossed out to mark those who did not return. Curiously, a few
pit surrounded by a few well-worn logs for seating and several groups have not marked off a single casualty… perhaps they all made it
tattered tents are set up beside the mill. Abandoned here are out alive, or more likely, none survived. In addition to these memorials,
a few bedrolls, battered cookware, a rusty chopping axe, and a along the wall one can find many dire warnings, cryptic riddles, poignant
waterlogged stack of wood. questions, crude maps to alleged treasure, and amateur drawings of
horrible monsters encountered in the ruins.
h The Mill is often used as a meeting place for adventurers
h Invite your player characters to write their own messages or
venturing into Drakkenheim from the northwestern side
of the Drann River. Since Emberwood Village lies several names on the walls of Eckerman Mill, to follow the tradition
miles to the south on the opposite side of the river, many use of those who came before.
h You can distribute one rumour to characters who examine
Eckerman Mill as a makeshift campsite as it is much closer to
the city proper. the writings of Eckerman Mill to represent what they learn
h Occasionally, faction agents who wish to avoid the eyes and from reading the scrawled messages and riddles on the walls.
ears of Emberwood Village arrange clandestine meetings
here. In particular, the location is favoured by field
surveyors dispatched by the Amethyst Academy. “This mill used to be my favourite stomping ground, now
it’s full of names of those who died. I gotta say, the
novelty is wearing off quick.”
— Sebastian Crowe

Rat’s Nest Tavern
“My colleagues have an experiment in mind that requires a large delerium h River’s intel is based on rumours the tavern was destroyed by a
crystal. Smaller shards won’t suffice. Unfortunately, such specimens are breakaway piece of the original meteor. Since her intel is based
quite rare in the Outer City ruins. However, we’ve got a lead…” on speculation, she offers the characters a potion of healing each
as an advance in the event that the characters turn up nothing.
h River cannot disclose the nature of the experiment:
A
small chunk of the meteor broke off and crashed into
the Rat’s Nest Tavern in the Sprawl, utterly destroy- “Your continued discretion ensures continued employment.”
ing most of the building. However, an intact delerium
crystal was left behind. Unfortunately, a ratling colony has Missing in Action. (Hooded Lanterns) Ansom Lang
created a burrow under the taphouse basement and moved approaches the characters in Emberwood Village. His sister,
the meteorite into their warrens. The ratlings have grown Petra Lang, was captured when ratlings ambushed them
bold enough to launch raids throughout the ruins and take during a supply run last night. He needs the characters to rescue
several captives in the process. Petra before it’s too late. He offers 250 gold pieces as a reward
for her safe return.
h Against orders to retreat, Ansom tracked the ratlings to the
Overview Rat’s Nest. He was driven off when the ratlings wounded
him with a contaminated sling bullet. Ansom explains that
ratlings often keep prisoners to have a “fresh meal” later. He’s
In this adventure, the characters travel to the Rat’s Nest Tavern
positive Petra is still alive.
to obtain a delerium crystal or rescue a captive prisoner. How the
h Ansom warns the characters about the dangers of
characters accomplish either is up to them: they can fight, sneak
contamination. He can’t help the characters personally as he’s
past, or trick the ratlings, but the creatures will viciously defend
recovering from contamination himself. He advises them that
their lair by responding with ambushes and traps of their own.
if they get contaminated in the ruins, Flamekeeper Hanna in
Emberwood Village can help them with her magic.
Adventure Hooks h Finally, he promises to put in a good word with the Lord
Commander for the characters’ help. However, he emphasises
Good Prospects. (Amethyst Academy) River contacts this is a personal job - he’s already risking insubordination:
the characters for a clandestine meeting. She wants them to
retrieve a delerium crystal from the Rat’s Nest. A crystal of “Amongst the Hooded Lanterns, our survival doctrine says we don’t
this size is normally worth about 1,000 gp, but she offers to risk lives on ‘futile’ rescue attempts. We all knew the dangers when we
pay 1,250 gp for it. signed up, but she’s my sister.”
Interactions Area Details
For the most part, the ratlings in the burrow are hostile to
trespassers of any sort. They know who lives in the burrow and
who does not, and can recognize each other by scent. They
Scrag Lane
lure intruders into traps or ambushes where the ratlings can use The Rat’s Nest Tavern lies on the mud-slick and rubble-strewn Scrag
their numbers to their advantage. The ratlings are most active Lane south of Shepherd’s Way, nestled between ramshackle tenements
at night, when two-thirds leave the burrow on foraging raids. and crumbling flats. The original tavern has been almost entirely oblit-
During the daylight hours, most ratlings are sleeping in their erated, and the neighbouring buildings are heavily damaged. What
dens except for a few sentries. remains are stone foundations piled with debris. The first-floor walls
stand about chest high, a few supporting timbers splayed outward like
The Rat Prince

a burst ribcage. The rooftop and upper levels have entirely collapsed
into a mist-covered crater filled with rubble. The original tavern sign
juts out obliquely from a building on the opposite side of the street. It is
The ratlings in the burrow are led by a large and ferocious ratling
engraved with a smiling, obese rat laying on a plate of food.
who self-styles himself as the Rat Prince (see Appendix A). He
rules because he’s the biggest, strongest, and killed the last ratling h Characters
who search the streets for nearby sewer entrances
who called themselves the Rat Prince. He believes once his colo- may discover the hidden entrance to the ratling burrow
ny has enough food, they will be able to grow large and multiply. through the sewers.
Then all the other ratlings will bow down to him for sure!
h Personality Trait. The Rat Prince bullies the others like a
despot. When speaking, the Rat Prince repeats words two or Taproom Ruins
three times for emphasis. “Yes yes yes…”
h Ideal. The Rat Prince loves killing, eating, breeding, and
Inside what remains of the tavern walls, the wooden floorboards of the
ground level have almost entirely collapsed into a large gaping hole.
sleeping. Pretty much in that order.
Tumbled brick piles, ashen cinders, burned shingles, splintered wooden
h Bond. The Rat Prince wears a makeshift crown and claims
planks, support beams, fractured furniture, cracked mugs, broken glass,
he’s the ruler of all the ratlings in Drakkenheim. This is far random bits of bone and cutlery are scattered everywhere.
from true, but good luck convincing the Rat Prince otherwise.
h Flaw. Logic makes the Rat Prince confused and angry, unless h The hole opens to the basement ten feet below.
that logic involves food. h Investigation or Survival (DC 10). Animal-like scratch-
Caught alone, the Rat Prince flees or begs for his life, offering ings, gnaw marks, patches of coarse fur, muddy tracks, and rat
anything he can think of to convince characters to let him go free. droppings may be found by examining the area
Squeaks the Seer [1] Cratered Basement

This albino ratling warlock of the rat god is the spiritual The stone walls of the basement are scorched and blackened. Rubble
leader of the colony. and debris surround a muddy crater fifteen feet wide and five feet
h Personality Trait. She makes up fantastic stories about the deep. A faint glimmer of octarine light twinkles within.
Rat God’s wrath and cunning. h Examining the crater for the source of the glow turns up 1d6
h Ideal. The Rat God wants ratlings to eat everything they
delerium slivers (worth 10 gold each). There’s a distinct rocky
can. It gave her magic powers to help the ratlings get food and divot about a foot wide just off the centre of the crater, as if a
get the “shiny” (delerium). One day it will eat the world. The large hunk of rock was dug out and excavated. If there was a
other ratlings all think this sounds fantastic. meteorite here, it’s gone now.
h Bond. She thinks collecting the shiny (delerium) pleases the h The ratlings removed a chunk of rock fused with a delerium
Rat God, and leads cannibalistic rituals in its name. Ratlings crystal from the crater and dragged it into the Seer’s Den
love eating, so they love these rituals. [Area 8]. A Survival (DC 10) check reveals drag marks,
h Flaw. She thinks she can talk to the Rat God through the
muddy tracks, and clawed footprints of several beastly
delerium crystal. She keeps the stone in her lair (Area 8) and creatures indicating something heavy was removed from
becomes enraged if other ratlings touch it. the crater recently.
h Investigation (DC 10), or proficiency with mason’s tools/
Befriending the Ratlings stone working. The breached wall was not caused by the
meteor impact. The passage was dug relatively recently.
In the original Dungeons of Drakkenheim campaign, the Rat Prince
surrendered to my player characters. Using deception to convince
the Rat Prince they were ghosts dispatched by the Rat God, the Ratling Burrow
Rat Prince befriended the characters and became a recurring NPC. These details are common to most areas within the ratling burrows:
The player characters continued to protect and hide the ratlings, Passages. The tunnels are dug out from packed earth, clay,
but once the gnolls were driven out of the city, nothing was holding loose dirt, and bits of stone. The cramped passages are five to
back a growing ratling population. Left completely unchecked, ten feet wide, and rarely more than six feet high. Medium-sized
their numbers swelled to gargantuan proportions that threatened to creatures must stoop throughout. The tunnels weave and bend
overtake the entire city! left and right, but also up and down.

Chambers. The larger rooms are eight to ten feet in height.
They are mostly dry past the entrance, but unrecognizable filth, [5] Food Caches
bone fragments, scraps of fur and cloth, and bits of leaves and
grasses lay underfoot. Haphazardly splayed about this rancid-smelling den are all
Light. The ratlings rely on their darkvision for sight, so there manner of recently-scavenged dead animals, body parts, and other
are no light sources within. unsavoury stores.
Sounds and Smells. The air underground is humid. It h Living meat stays well-preserved, so occasionally prisoners are
reeks of rat urine and feces. The sounds of squeaking and tied up here for a fresh meal later.
chattering ratlings as they scrape and scurry about can be h Treasure. The north cache contains thieves’ tools, a
heard down the tunnels. poisoner’s kit, an herbalism kit, alchemist’s supplies, and two
potions of healing.
[2] Trapped Entrance Passage h The south cache holds a still-living captive prisoner - Petra
Lang of the Hooded Lanterns (an urban ranger). She
This muddy passage is roughly eight feet wide. It tunnels steeply down is unarmed, wounded (with 20 hp remaining), and has
ten feet before veering sharply left. expended all her spell slots. However, she’s willing to help
fight her way out if provided a weapon. Characters can
h Perception (DC 10). The wet mud is slippery, and could recognize her as a Hooded Lantern lieutenant by her cloak
lead to a nasty fall. and garb. If she survives, she asks the characters to help her
Mudslide Trap. Characters without a climbing speed get back to Shepherd’s Gate. She can make the trip on her
travelling down the entrance passage must succeed on a DC 12 own, but wants the characters to meet her comrades.
Dexterity saving throw or slip on the muddy slide. Characters
using a rope gain advantage on the saving throw. Characters
who fail this save fall prone and immediately slide down the
passage, where they are deposited onto the pit trap in the
Lookout’s Burrow (Area 3).
[3] Lookout’s Burrow

5
The sound of soft rustling and chittering rats
4
fills this muddy earthen den.
h 2 ratling guttersnipes and 6 ratlings are on watch. Each
carries a crossbow and a few prepared flasks of alchemist’s fire.
Pit Trap. A spiked pit trap ten feet deep is dug in the ground
at the base of the Trapped Entrance Passage (Area 2). The
4
hole is covered by a large cloth anchored on the pit’s edge and
camouflaged with mud and debris. Perception (DC 10) spots
the pit. Anyone who moves onto the cloth falls into the pit onto
the sharpened wooden spikes at the bottom, and takes 5 (2d4)
piercing damage from the spikes, and 5 (1d10) damage from the Ratling 3
fall. The edges of the pit are slippery, making escape difficult. Burrow 2
Climbing out requires a DC 10 Athletics check. A creature who 1

fails by 5 or more falls back onto the spikes.
h A swarm of rats lives at the bottom of the pit, and begins
devouring anyone who falls within. The swarm attacks any
creature in the pit as food. 7
[4] Ratling Nests 5
This tiny dugout cavity contains a cup-shaped nest made from long
grasses, hay, mud, twigs, and leaves, and is lined with shredded
bits of discarded cloth, fur scraps, bits of leather, paper, and small 6
glimmering trinkets.
h 8 ratlings and 1 ratling guttersnipe are present in each
nest cluster, scattered across the individual nest cavities. 8 Sewer
h Ratlings hoard small trinkets as personal treasure, plus a Entrance
delerium sliver or a pouch of 10 (3d6) gold. One nest contains
a potion of healing.
[6] Idol of the Rat God
This chamber contains a bloated effigy of a horrifically obese demonic
Developments
rat made from rubble, mud, and rat feces, set with two pieces of
Characters who successfully explore the Rat’s Nest might trigger
delerium for eyes. Offerings are scattered about the statue’s feet
— skulls, bone, daggers, bits of rotting meat, and smaller delerium the following developments:
fragments. Before it lies a blood-soaked altar made from a simple
stone slab.
The Delerium Crystal
h 6 ratlings attend the shrine. They flee for help if intruders River upholds her end of the bargain faithfully. If the characters
arrive here. were swift and professional in their dealings with her, she gives
h Treasure. The eyes of the idol are delerium fragments them a single dose of aqua delerium as an additional reward. She
(worth 100 gold each). 1d6 delerium slivers are scattered encourages them to take a few days off to recuperate, promising
about the altar. Several scrolls are placed at the altar here — to contact them shortly (in 1d6 days) with another job. On the
bane, faerie fire, and inflict wounds. other hand, River is much less impressed if the characters fail
to recover the delerium crystal. She still offers to buy any found
[7] Gathering Den delerium from the characters, but decides to wait and reassess
the characters’ capabilities before offering them further work.
Bales of hay and animal skins surround a glowing bonfire Characters who aren’t already in contact with the Amethyst
in this large foetid chamber. Academy still have a valuable find on their hands, which could
put them in contact with any faction. The Hooded Lanterns
h The Rat Prince is often found here carousing with six know the delerium crystal is worth a small fortune, but they’re
other ratlings. happy to let the characters keep it as an extra reward for their ef-
h The ratlings meet here to discuss their nefarious and ill- forts. Ansom or Petra could suggest the characters sell the crys-
conceived plans. There are several sets of tools in this room — tal in Emberwood Village to Fairweather Trades and Exports.
including tinker’s tools and alchemist’s tools, which the ratlings Another NPC might suggest the characters ask around the
use to create makeshift weapons and improvised explosives. village for contacts with the Amethyst Academy or the Queen’s
h This burrow tunnel opens into the sewers. The ratlings flee Men to sell the crystal to them. Alternatively, the characters
here and scatter if they are wounded or cannot defend their lair. might encounter a knight of the Silver Order, who encourages
the characters to destroy the delerium. Finally, a pilgrim of the
[8] Seer’s Den Falling Fire may claim the crystal has a holy purpose, and try to
convince the characters to bring it to Lucretia Mathias at Saint
Selina’s Monastery as an offering.
In this spacious chamber is a large and sumptuous basket nest. Woven
over the nest is a canvas made from stitched together scraps of fine
cloth, twigs, and choice leaves. Before the nest is a rough stone plinth
upon which is placed a hunk of silvery rock about a foot wide. A
Rescuing Petra Lang
protruding delerium crystal is embedded in its surface. If Petra Lang survives, she invites the characters to return with
her to Shepherd’s Gate. Her comrades are thrilled at her safe
h Squeaks the Seer keeps her nest here. She has an imp return, and Lord Commander Elias Drexel takes note of the
familiar who remains in rat form. In its true form, it resembles characters. He won’t meet them personally just yet, but instead
a disgusting winged and hairless rat. makes arrangements for Ansom or Petra to contact them for
h The delerium crystal is here. It’s still stuck in a rocky chunk: a another mission within 7 (2d6) days.
combination of stone from the tavern basement, melted earth, Ansom reminds the characters that their arrangement was a per-
and meteoric rock. The Ratlings dislodged it and brought it sonal matter, and technically not official Hooded Lanterns business.
here because they couldn’t break the crystal from the rock As such, this mission alone won’t earn the characters free passage
themselves. The chunk of rock weighs about fifty pounds. through Shepherd’s Gate. However, should the characters come to
the gate in an emergency, the Hooded Lanterns will help them. In
such an event, they’ll overlook the tariffs “just this one time” and
let them through.
If the characters fail to rescue Petra, Ansom believes them to
“This place was a dive before the meteor. Infested with be utterly incompetent. He hesitates to involve them further in
rats, terrible ale. Honestly, maybe it’s been improved?” Hooded Lanterns affairs, and bitterly mistrusts their capabilities
in any future situations.
— Sebastian Crowe If Petra dies, but the characters weren’t yet working with the
Hooded Lanterns, it’s up to them whether or not they reveal her
“I knew it was a dive bar but I didn’t think I would fall fate. Regardless, her comrades are shaken by her disappearance
head first into an actual rats’ nest.” and death. In grief, the hard-hearted Lord Commander never
speaks of her again. Ansom presses on, but it feels like he’s
— Pluto Jackson missing a part of himself.

Reed Manor
“Oscar Yoren had irreconcilable differences with the Academy. I’m not
Adventure Hooks
privy to all the details, but the Directorate cut support for his research. Stolen Homework. River hires the characters to obtain Oscar
When Yoren absconded with several volumes on conjuration, transmuta- Yoren’s Research. She offers the characters a reward of 250 gold,
tion, and necromancy, we discovered he’d taken up unsavoury methods and one magic item crafted by the Amethyst Academy — a
for acquiring “raw materials’’ instead. He was declared malfeasant, and pearl of power made from a delerium shard.
sought refuge in Drakkenheim. He’s survived in the city ruins for about a h “We located Oscar Yoren by trailing a group of expelled students who
decade since. We don’t understand how he has managed to do so, but we sought him out. They may be working as his apprentices now.”
want to find out. He knows something about the Haze.”
h “We don’t care what you have to do to obtain this information,
— River
but you must bring back something tangible: a spellbook, his
journals, or samples of his work. In the worst case scenario… all
R
we require is his brain.”
eed Manor stands in a now-dilapidated upper-class res-
idential neighbourhood on the north side of Drakken-
heim, just off College Road. The fate of the original Potions Inspectors
occupants is unknown, but it is now occupied by the malfeas-
ant wizard Oscar Yoren and his apprentices. “For several years now, we’ve been buying potions from a man named
Oscar Yoren. He’s a bit of a strange recluse, but his work is reliable and
he doesn’t seem to be bothering anyone. His potions are much cheaper
Overview than what the Amethyst Academy charges. Normally, he sends one of
his apprentices to Shepherd’s Gate every Monday with a new shipment,
In this adventure, the characters encounter Oscar Yoren. but they didn’t arrive last week. The week before we got half the normal
Yoren has developed valuable research about the Haze and order. Worse, we’ve discovered that several of the potions we previously
delerium, but the mage is not necessarily willing to share his received simply didn’t work, and a few were even contaminated. Some-
discoveries freely. Most notably, Yoren has developed a for- thing’s going on, and we’d like you to investigate.”
mula for brewing aqua expurgo, a potion that offers protection — Petra Lang
from contamination (see Appendix D). Characters must de-
cide how they’ll deal with Oscar Yoren: they may bargain with Lieutenant Petra Lang (or Ansom Lang) contacts the characters
him to obtain his research, steal his work through stealth and in Emberwood Village. She offers the characters 250 gold pieces
trickery, or attack the mage and destroy his experiments. De- for the task. Furthermore, the Hooded Lanterns will offer
pending on the characters’ actions, Oscar Yoren could become characters a weapon from their stockpile: either a +1 longsword
a recurring character in the campaign. or a +1 longbow.
h “Our past dealings with Yoren have generally been positive, but it’s under his neck. His sunken bloodshot eyes glare with a purple-
possible that he cleans up his operation whenever we come around green light. He has yellow teeth and fingernails.
to check on him.” h Personality Trait. I talk down to anyone who isn’t as
h “We’re worried about these faulty and contaminated potions, and we intelligent as I am - which is everyone. I demand attention
need you to make sure Oscar Yoren isn’t cutting corners. “ when I’m speaking, and make thinly-veiled threats when I
h “However, if something happened to him, we need to know. We still don’t get my way.
h Ideal. The Amethyst Academy doesn’t understand my
need Oscar Yoren’s potions. We don’t have access to a lot of our
own magic, and we’re stretched pretty thin right now, especially with methods, but I cannot unlock the secrets of delerium if I am
several sick Lanterns.” hindered by petty morality and useless ethics. If I had proper
facilities and resources, unimaginable power would be mine.
h “He lives in an old house on the north end of town, I guess he uses h Bond. My apprentices are useful as long as they are loyal and
some kind of magic to keep himself healthy. We think he might have don’t question me, but disposable the moment they aren’t.
been kicked out of the Amethyst Academy, but that’s their business,
Only my own survival matters.
not ours.” h Flaw. I hold vindictive grudges against everyone who ever
If the player characters don’t take this mission, Petra dispatches wronged me. I’ll have my revenge someday, but I fear acting
a group of scouts instead. They show up while the characters against those with more power or resources than me. I must
are exploring the manor. hide for now, as I’m terrified the Academy will send assassins
to kill me and steal my brilliant research.
The Buyout Oscar Yoren uses the game statistics of a human mage. He has
darkvision 60 ft, 72 hit points, and resistance to necrotic and
“The greencloaks have a supplier who’s been making potions for ‘em at poison damage. He has the following spells prepared:
a pretty steep discount. He’s some sort of cast-off from the Academy. A Cantrips (at will) - chill touch, mage hand, ray of frost
guy like that can be a valuable asset… my employer would like to acquire 1st level (4 slots) - false life, mage armour, magic missile, shield
this asset. That’s where you come in. Make him an offer he can’t refuse.” 2nd level (3 slots) - invisibility, misty step, web
— Blackjack Mel 3rd level (3 slots) - animate dead, counterspell, lightning bolt
4th level (3 slots) - blight, polymorph
Blackjack Mel invites the characters to meet him at the Skull & 5th level (1 slot) - cloudkill
Sword Taphouse in Emberwood Village. He wants the charac-
Oscar Yoren’s spellbook contains all the spells he has prepared,
ters to convince Oscar Yoren to break ties with the Hooded Lan-
plus alarm, find familiar, glyph of warding, contact other plane,
terns and start providing potions for the Queen’s Men instead.
dispel magic, dimension door, magic circle, and planar binding.
He offers the characters 250 gold as payment, plus some “fancy
Thanks to long-term gradual exposure to contamination over
new shoes” — boots of striding and springing.
the past decade, Oscar Yoren and his apprentices have gained a
h “Rough him up, but don’t kill him. He’s gotta be able to work.” limited resistance to the Haze. They aren’t immune to contamina-
h “We want the same price he’s giving the greencloaks, but he has to tion, but they may rest in Drakkenheim normally. Oscar Yoren is
cut them off. As long as he delivers the goods, the Queen of Thieves working on how to reproduce these results, but his current method
can provide all the protection he needs. If he refuses, we’ll break his requires several years of risky and intense self-exposure to delerium.
legs and steal his work.” Oscar Yoren and his apprentices are secretive, but not out-
wardly hostile if characters approach them peacefully. Instead,
the apprentices offer to sell the characters potions. They admit
characters into the dining room to talk, but not further into the
manor. The apprentices do business in a curt yet cordial manner
(see “Potion Brewery” below).
Interactions When he meets with the characters personally, Oscar Yoren
bluntly demands to know who sent them. He staunchly
refuses to work with anyone who admits to working with the
Oscar Yoren Amethyst Academy or the Silver Order, and asks them firmly
to leave. Otherwise, he sees an opportunity. He plans to use
This malfeasant wizard fled the Amethyst Academy ten years the characters to recover delerium, monster parts, and arcane
ago. Oscar Yoren has since taken up residence on the north side reagents for him so he can advance his research, and then
of Drakkenheim in Reed Manor, and survived on the outskirts conveniently dispose of them once they become troublesome.
of the city through his grim intellect, ruthless self-interest, Oscar Yoren uses his research as leverage, revealing some of
and willingness to practice unsavoury forms of alchemy and his discoveries about delerium as proof of his knowledge (see the
necromancy. Several other outcast mages have since joined him sidebar on “Oscar Yoren’s Research”). In exchange for ensuring
as apprentices. See Reed Manor for details on Oscar Yoren’s his freedom, sparing his life, and making fair payment in coin
discoveries with delerium. and delerium, he offers to create aqua expurgo for the characters.
Oscar Yoren is a short, wide man in his mid-fifties. He wears He overstates the efficacy of aqua expurgo, but does not reveal its
slovenly leather breeches and a filthy black overcoat. He has side effects. He scoffs at the idea that anyone else could create the
shoulder-length greasy black hair and a thick beard of wiry potion. Yoren does not willingly give up his writings or formulas
unshaven hair creeping down his flabby neck. His skin is under any circumstances. Instead, he lies, claiming the most
covered in sores and pasty blotches, with bulging blood veins important secrets are “in his head.”

If the characters agree to work with him, he explains that
eldritch lilies are needed to create the potion, and that the
plants may only be found in Queen’s Park (see chapter 7). If the 7
characters return with the flowers, he makes good on his end of 7
the deal as long as he is paid and unmolested.

Oscar Yoren is ambivalent about working for either the Queen
of Thieves or the Hooded Lanterns, but explains that he’s 7
devoting all his attention to his new research. He’s only interested 7
in continuing to work with either if they’re willing to cough up
extra money and muscle to help him make more aqua expurgo.
Potion Brewery. Oscar Yoren and his apprentices brew and
sell magical potions to fund their work. They sell uncommon and Reed Manor
rare potions for twenty five percent off the normal price. Most of Scale 1sq = 5ft.
their potions are cheaply made with contaminated ingredients.
When consumed, roll 1d20. On a one, the creature consuming
the potion gains one level of contamination. If provided the right
ingredients, they can also create aqua delerium and aqua expurgo
(see Appendix D).
Yoren’s Apprentices. Several expelled Academy students
have since joined him as apprentices: Marco, Gemma, Taryn,
and Bolter. Each is a hedge wizard and has a familiar: a bat, a
cat, an owl, and a rat, respectively.
Area Details 3
5
[1] Manor Grounds

Reed Manor is a run-down two-storey stone house surrounded by
a rusting wrought-iron fence and an overgrown yard filled with
shrubberies and brambles. The long, thin windows are boarded
over from the outside, but light flickers within the first floor. Several 1
chimneys rise up from the slate-shingle rooftop, a light trail of smoke
billowing from each. A collapsed small outbuilding, perhaps once a
stable or shed, borders the yard. Sweeping around the estate grounds,
there are two doors leading into the manor from the back. Both have
been nailed shut with rotting planks.
A short cobblestone pathway leads through the yard up to a small
set of steps leading to the central double doors. A large, round iron
knocker hangs on each. Before the doors is a fountain. The central Cellar
decorative statue has crumbled away into the basin, which is filled with Scale 1sq = 5ft.
brackish rainwater and algae. A singular obese toad basks beside the
water, croaking loudly. 8
h There is a secret entrance to the lower level hidden in the

bushes. Any physical inspection within five feet discovers it, Secret Lab 11
but it’s sealed with an arcane lock spell. Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Groundskeepers 9
Outside the manor are two hulking figures wearing heavy brown
12
overcoats, and both have hoods drawn up over their bandaged faces.
One stands listlessly at the front gate, while the other lumbers in a
patrol around the manor grounds.
h A pair of ogre zombies patrol the grounds. One stands at the
gate. If approached, they lurch around and growl “What…
you… want…” then wait for a reply.
10

h The zombies respond to any mention of “potions” by replying [6] Kitchen. The kitchen is well-stocked and kept in good order,
“follow… this… way…” and escort characters to the front suggesting frequent use. A disgusting stew simmers in a pot on the
door. They knock loudly three times, which signals Marco and hearth. Several bottles of rank alcohol are scattered about.
Gemma to answer the door and talk business.
h Otherwise, the zombies reply “You… not… welcome… [7] Bedrooms. Upstairs are several slovenly and filthy bedrooms,
here… go… away…” Each contains a stinking, unmade bed, wardrobes filled with torn and
h After issuing the warning, the zombies attack one round later mismatched clothing, a soot-stained fireplace, half-melted candles,
unless they are ordered to stand down by Oscar Yoren or one and a personal chest.
of his apprentices. They’re ordered to cry out loudly when
h The chests in each room hold the apprentices’ belongings —
they do, which automatically alerts the manor occupants that
their spellbooks and personal trinkets totalling 50 gp each,
something is amiss. The zombies only leave the manor grounds
and an uncommon potion or spell scroll.
to pursue a foe making ranged attacks against them.
h Oscar Yoren uses the larger master bedroom, which is
h The toad is Yoren’s quasit familiar, Drovik. If it detects
also in total disarray. He’s locked the room with an arcane
trouble, it swims down the fountain pipes to alert Oscar.
lock and routinely sets up an alarm spell when he sleeps
here. Most of his valuable items are kept in the lab below,
[2-8] Manor House but he maintains some personal treasure here: a potion of
invisibility and a scroll of dimension door under his pillow
[2] Entrance Foyer. This once well-appointed foyer is covered in leaves for emergencies.
and mud tracked in from the city streets. A decaying tapestry depicting [8] Cellar. This dry and well-stocked cellar contains several weeks of
the Reed Family Crest hangs along the walls. provisions, alcohol, and other supplies. Accessed via a floor hatch in
the kitchen, the cellar is wholly separated from the Secret Lab.
[3] Alchemical Workshop. What was once a sitting room is now a
makeshift alchemist’s workshop. Furniture draped in dust-covered cloth
has been pushed aside to make space for two crowded tables set with
alembics, burners, distillers, and other equipment for brewing potions.
A bubbling cauldron hangs in the fireplace. Strings of herbs dangle
[9-12] Secret Lab
from the ceiling, and jars of ingredients are scattered about the shelves The stone stairs lead down to a well-traveled stone hallway.
alongside racks of empty or half-filled vials. An acrid scent fills the room.
[9] Oscar Yoren’s Lab. Two horrifically mutilated and mutated corps-
h Marco, Bolter, Gemma, and Taryn work here during the day.
es are splayed out upon dissection tables in the middle of this night-
h Treasure. Enough tools to assemble an herbalist’s kit, a marish laboratory. Attached to the ceiling is a ramshackle mechanical
poisoner’s kit, and alchemical supplies can be scavenged construction consisting of a dozen metallic arms with adjustable joints
from the equipment here. The array of raw materials are and knobs: some end in clamps, blades, syringes, magnifying glasses,
suitable for spells or other concoctions worth 250 gold lenses, or lanterns. Shelves in this room are stocked with an assortment
total. The cauldron contains enough liquid to fill 1d6 of occult tomes, vials of alchemical reagents, sealed jars containing dis-
potions of healing. figured body parts suspended in vile preserving fluids, and glass bowls
holding glowing delerium shards.
[4] Study. This room smells of moldy books. A mahogany desk in one A large writing desk is littered with scrawled diagrams and stacks
corner is covered in crumpled paper and open books, with a torn velvet of notebooks, and other tables are overflowing with an assortment
armchair set before it. The two candelabras don’t look like they’ve been of alchemical equipment. The stone floor is covered with faded
lit in ages. Tall bookshelves are packed with tomes, statues of a variety of bloodstains and discolored splotches.
fantastic creatures, and the odd portrait or knick-knack. Sliding wooden
ladders mounted on rails allow easy access to higher shelves. h The main doors of the lab are protected via alarm and glyph
of warding spells that trigger when anyone other than Oscar
h Most of the books are ruined, but some remain in Yoren or his apprentices open the door.
decent condition. h The corpses of a haze husk and a delerium dreg lie on two
h DC 10 Investigation. There are signs of traffic in this
operating tables in this room. Their identities are unknown.
room despite the disuse. A clear pathway has been left in h The bookshelves contain tomes on anatomical lore, magical
the room, allowing access to the far bookshelf. phenomena, curses, diseases, and poisons. Many would be
h Any physical inspection of the bookshelf reveals that
quite valuable to the right buyer.
it slides open to the north, revealing a staircase to the h Treasure. In addition to his spellbook and personal
chambers below. possessions, Oscar Yoren keeps several potions and spell
[5] Dining Room. A warm fire burns in the large fireplace, the crack- scrolls in this room.
h Oscar Yoren works here during the day.
ling flames sending the soft smell of wood smoke throughout the room.
A black marble mantelpiece above the fireplace has a framed family [10] Well Cistern. This pool of water is open to the well above.
portrait mounted above it. Lining the wood-paneled walls are broken Oscar Yoren keeps the door locked, but there’s a hole in the bottom
wooden cabinets that contain cracked dishes, silverware, and empty of the door large enough for his familiar to sneak through.
candlesticks. Iron chandeliers hang from the dark mahogany ceiling [11] Meditation Chamber. In this chamber is a large stone statue
above a long dining table carved from redwood. Chairs surround the depicting the goat-headed Demon Lord of the Undead, set before
table, with a tall and elaborate chair at each end. The remains of
a pentagram-shaped magic circle on the floor. Several candles and
several meals lie scattered about the table.
candelabras illuminate the chamber with a sickly arcane glow.

h Oscar Yoren uses this chamber to cast contact other plane, [12] Materials Storage. Bits of bone and mummified
planar binding, and scrying spells. flesh are scattered about this grim and dusty cellar room.
h He hopes one day the Demon Lord of the Undead might Twelve zombies are kept in this chamber. The zombies
teach him the secrets to becoming a lich, and in the meantime are under the control of Oscar Yoren and obey his verbal
wishes to conjure up fiendish servants using delerium crystals. commands. Occasionally, Oscar locks living prisoners here,
h Treasure. A spell scroll of contact other plane and a pouch in which case he seals the door with an arcane lock. Currently,
containing 300 gp worth of delerium dust suitable for use as however, the chamber isn’t locked and the zombies can
a material component for a spell. In an iron brazier, Oscar respond to Oscar Yoren’s call.
Yoren has a delerium crystal he is planning to use as a material
component for the planar binding spell.
Developments The player characters themselves can study Oscar Yoren’s

research. Any character capable of casting 3rd level spells or
Characters might discover the following information or higher can learn to make aqua expurgo themselves (see the magic
trigger these events after exploring Reed Manor and items section for details). However, a key ingredient for the
interacting with Oscar Yoren. potion is an eldritch lily, which only blooms in Queen’s Park. If
characters want to create this potion, they’ll need to mount an
Oscar Yoren’s Research expedition to the Inner City to collect this key ingredient.
h If the Amethyst Academy obtains the formula, they’ll
The following information can be uncovered by interrogating begin producing the potion on a periodic basis. The main
Oscar Yoren or reading his writings: constraint is the supply of eldritch lilies. This prevents the
h Observations on delerium growth. “In truth, the crystal is unlike a Amethyst Academy from manufacturing vast quantities of
mineral or gemstone… I have seen the crystals grow like fungus on a aqua expurgo. They’ll ask characters to obtain samples, and
dead tree. The process takes some time; weeks, months, years even. if possible, seeds or full plants. This way they can attempt to
I only discovered this by closely observing wild samples near my new cultivate the flower themselves.
home. They do not grow outside the Haze. I wonder if this means h The Hooded Lanterns might suggest turning over the
there are new delerium deposits in the ruins… perhaps there is more
research to the Amethyst Academy as a possible inroad to an
now than when the meteor originally fell.”
alliance. They’re also willing to work with Oscar Yoren and
h Notes on using delerium crystals. “Just as one cannot make a mast continue providing him with protection and materials.
from a thousand saplings, a thousand small shards of delerium are h The Queen of Thieves wants to ensure that these secrets
nothing compared to a single large geode. Bigger crystals contain
remain known only to her for the time being. She may ask
exponentially more arcane power. Fracturing the rock is a wasteful
endeavor, as it causes valuable samples to lose their great magical po- characters to kidnap Oscar Yoren for her so she can force him
tential. Delerium crystals and geodes are ideally suited for great spells into making the potion for her own use.
and ambitious magical constructions. However, it has been difficult h The Silver Order is divided over the potion: it’s useful, but
to find these specimens in the outer ruins. Nevertheless, small twigs involves making use of contaminated flora and delerium.
are good for kindling, to set a fire, to keep one warm… and so the They defer to the characters on whether or not to use or
small shards make excellent alchemical reagents and arcane inks.” destroy it, but don’t produce it themselves.
h On the alchemical properties of Haze-grown flora. “The h The Followers of the Falling Fire possess their own means of
warping effects of delerium have caused new plants and animals guarding against contamination, so they have no interest in
to flourish in the city. A half-mad straggler returned from Queen’s the research.
Park bearing a wondrous flower - an eldritch lily. The pollen
If Oscar Yoren survives, but was attacked or mistreated by the
and petals soak in contamination to fuel its own germination.
Combined with other rare ingredients, I believe it may prove an characters (or later discovers they deceived him), he will plot
ideal remedy against contamination.” his revenge against them. He won’t act on these plans until he
obtains eldritch lilies, and tries to convince characters to bring him
h Aqua expurgo formula. Oscar Yoren has developed a more delerium and other resources, citing the needs for it to fur-
formula for aqua expurgo, a magical potion that protects against
ther his own work. In truth, he starts using these items to conjure
contamination (see Appendix D). However, it requires eldritch lilies
from Queen’s Park Garden. He needs more samples to refine the demons, create undead, and conspire against the characters.
formula before he can start producing doses of the potion. If Oscar Yoren dies, the Amethyst Academy approaches the
Oscar Yoren’s research is extremely valuable. Chief amongst characters about buying his brain and manuscripts (even if the
them is his formula for aqua expurgo. This potent defense characters were not working for the Academy originally).
against the Haze will permit characters to explore much more If Oscar Yoren is killed and his research is destroyed or aban-
dangerous areas in the city. The Hooded Lanterns, Queen’s doned, the formula for creating aqua expurgo is lost. However, a
Men, and Amethyst Academy would deeply desire this new player character or another group could also develop the formula
potion so they can advance their plans inside Drakkenheim. again later in the campaign by studying samples of eldritch lilies.

Shrine of Morrigan
North of Castle Drakken lies a forested ravine known as the Overlook.
Deep within these woods lies a copse of verdant trees caught in a Interactions
persistent autumnal state. Bone-chimes hang from the gnarled
branches of blood-red leaves, and even the tree bark is a vibrant
crimson-brown. A small clearing lies at the heart of the grove, where
Eoghan Ghostweaver
five ancient menhir stones decorated in spiralling patterns form This ancient elvish hermit tends the shrine. Eoghan Ghostweaver
a semicircle around an altar of stone stained with ancient blood. is a priest of Morrigan, and keeps the old faith of his goddess.
Opposite is a barrow mound carved from the rock. He has a sallow face with skin stretched thin over his
cheekbones, is garbed in black feathered robes, and wields
h This is the Shrine of Morrigan, a place dedicated to an ancient a staff of the woodlands. He uses the game statistics of an elf
and shadowy old god. Also known as the Phantom Queen, archmage with the following changes:
this elusive entity revels in war and trickery, and holds power
h He has an Intelligence score of 15 and a Wisdom score of 20.
over life and death.
h He is proficient in Medicine, Nature, Survival and Perception.
h He speaks Elven and Druidic
Overview
h Spellcasting. Eoghan is an 18th-level spellcaster. His
spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit
with spell attacks). He has the following druid spells prepared:
Few in Drakkenheim have the power to return the dead to life.
Characters who do not have the ability to revive the dead by Cantrips (at will): druidcraft, mending, poison spray, produce flame
their own ability must seek out alternative solutions. The Shrine 1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, entangle, faerie fire, speak with animals
of Morrigan is one such place. 2nd level (3 slots): animal messenger, beast sense, hold person
3rd level (3 slots): conjure animals, purge contamination*,
sleet storm
Adventure Hook 4th level (3 slots): ice storm, polymorph, wall of fire
5th level (3 slots): commune with nature, cone of cold,
Raise the Fallen. In the event a player character dies in
greater restoration
the ruins, Old Zoya, Elias Drexel, the Queen of Thieves, and
6th level (1 slot): conjure fey, heal
Eldrick Runeweaver could suggest characters seek out the
7th level (1 slot): resurrection
shrine. Their information is limited to rumours and legends:
8th level (1 slot): feeblemind
h Rumours tell of an old hermit who dwells in the wooded 9th level (1 slot): foresight
ravine north of Castle Drakken.
*spells found in Appendix D
h The elf is apparently a priest of some sort, and serves an old
h He gruffly rebuffs those who approach him, but then becomes
god of life and death.
h He can perform a ritual that brings back the dead, but it bears curious about why they have come.
h Three of the trees here are actually treants who defend
a terrible blood price.
Eoghan if he is attacked.
h The druid dwells in the barrow mound behind the shrine.
“There are many who have lost things in Drakkenheim...

Life Trade
friends and family, trinkets and truths...I just hope you If characters inquire about returning the dead to life, he explains
don’t end up among them in your quest to find yours.” that such a feat is possible for him, but the price is high indeed:
h Morrigan is a covetous deity. In order to cast resurrection, his
— Veo Sjena god demands a living sacrifice. However, not any life will do:
it must be a humanoid creature with a level or challenge rating
equal to or higher than the character who will be resurrected.
h In addition, a diamond is needed. Delerium could be used
as a substitute, but any creature revived using delerium as a
material component gains one randomly determined form of
Drakkenheim Madness (see Appendix C).
h Finally, the hermit demands an offering to satisfy himself.
Company, a great story, an act of service, a magic item,
fine wine - basically, give him a nice gift that would
please a grandfather.

Smithy on the Scar
“We can not allow these mining operations to continue. They are
funneling these dangerous rocks out of the city and sending them all over
Westemär and beyond. We need to stop the spread of this corruption
Adventure Hooks
before it’s too late.”
- Knight-Captain Theodore Marshal Altering the Deal
“Don’t harm one hair in their mangy beards. The miners are as valuable
S
outh of the city walls lies an industrial neighborhood as the delerium itself. Don’t break their legs - just break their toys. The
known as the Spokes. The region was heavily damaged dwarves want to know what their money buys them, so show them. You
during the meteor shower, and a large trench cuts through can let them know they owe us twenty percent from here on out.”
the district. Nicknamed the “Scar”, this rough ravine was created - The Queen of Thieves
by a massive boulder ejected from the initial meteor impact that
collided with the walls and ricocheted south. This rogue projectile When the Ironhelms arrived in Drakkenheim, they immediately
tore open the ground and levelled many buildings as it skid across clashed with the bandit gangs who had previously been picking
the city, only narrowly missing the Spokes Smithy. over the delerium in the Scar. After wresting control of the
This once-humble smithy has been transformed into a fortified claim, they cut a deal with the Queen of Thieves: the dwarves
mining camp by an intrepid and entrepreneurial family of dwarven could mine the Scar unmolested, so long as they paid fifteen
prospectors. The four Ironhelm siblings arrived in Drakkenheim percent of their profits to the Queen of Thieves each week for
a few months ago, and used their wondrous mechanical weaponry “protection”. However, the Ironhelms have since acquired
to lay claim to the rich deposits of delerium found within the new weaponry, and no longer feel they need to pay such a
Scar. While this has made them one of the most successful large cut for protection that has never actually materialised.
delerium extraction teams in Drakkenheim, they’ve made a loose The Queen of Thieves is furious, and charges the characters
agreement with the Queen of Thieves for protection, and now with stealing, sabotaging, or destroying the dwarves’
find themselves caught in the crosshairs of all five factions. gunpowder weapons to make sure they’ll have to depend on
her services. However, she doesn’t want the dwarves’ mining
operations otherwise disturbed. Cracking a few skulls and
Overview roughing them up is fine, but if multiple dwarves are killed,
the characters won’t be rewarded.
In this adventure, one or more of the factions dispatch the play-
er characters to deal with the Ironhelm dwarves. Each faction
has different goals here, so the party may be asked to drive off An Exclusive Contract
the dwarves or negotiate with them. Regardless, it’s up to the
player characters to decide how exactly to carry out these orders: “The Ironhelm dwarves extract more delerium than anyone.
they might offer their assistance to the dwarves, attack them, We just want to put it to good use.”
trick them, or bargain with them. - River

The Amethyst Academy wants to buy every last bit of delerium
the Ironhelms collect. River explains they are willing to pay the Interactions
market rate plus cover all the dwarves’ expenses in return. She The Ironhelm siblings have hired a company of dwarven
emphasises that the Ironhelms must cut ties with whoever else veterans and miners to help carry out their operation. In total,
they’re currently supplying (which would include their contract the four Ironhelm siblings lead an expedition of roughly thirty
with the Queen of Thieves). She asks the player characters individuals. The expedition consists of the four Ironhelm
to approach the Ironhelms about this deal, and find out if the siblings, 8 dwarven veterans, and 12 dwarven thugs. The
dwarves have any additional conditions or demands. If the char- Ironhelms and oversee the work, while the veterans protect the
acters can see to those demands as well, so much the better. campsite while the thugs work mining the scar.
The dwarves work in half-day shifts to avoid the effects of
contamination and the Haze. At any given time, two of the
The Hooded Lanterns Offer expedition leaders are present at the camp, along with half the
dwarves. The others are resting in Emberwood Village, where
“The dwarves have weaponry, defences, and tactics that we could use to they have rooms at the Red Lion Hotel. Characters could opt
better fortify our camp, and make stronger pushes into the Inner City.” to engage with the Ironhelms at either the Spokes Smithy or in
- Lord Commander Elias Drexel Emberwood Village. However, because the dwarves are split
up, all four need to meet personally to discuss any deal they’re
The Hooded Lanterns want to collaborate with the Ironhelms presented with first. If the characters want to negotiate with the
for mutual benefit. If the dwarves are willing to craft guns and dwarves, they’ll have to wait until a shift changes (when all the
weapons for the Hooded Lanterns, the faction is willing to send dwarves are in the city).
their soldiers to guard the Spokes Smithy, and let the Ironhelms
take up residence with them in Drakkenheim Garrison. Elias
Drexel sends the player characters as envoys to negotiate with The Ironhelm Siblings
the Ironhelms and show them the sincerity of their offer. He The Ironhelm Siblings have relocated from their ancestral
wants the characters to find out if the dwarves have anything home in the Glimmer Mountains to stake a new claim in
else they want or need to make the deal work. Drakkenheim. Their old gold mine has run dry, and so delerium
is their new commodity.
The siblings share the following roleplaying characteristics:
The Silver Order h Ideal. If you work hard and deal fairly, you’re sure to make
The Silver Order has resolved to shut down the Ironhelms something of yourself in this world.
entirely. Theodore Marshal impresses that he’d rather not see h Bond. We have to carry on the family business.
the dwarves killed, but the mining simply must not contin- h Flaw. Words are worth horse spit. We don’t trust what
ue. He charges the characters to convince the Ironhelms to anyone says, and judge them only by their actions.
abandon Drakkenheim. If they refuse, the characters must
do what is necessary to drive them out: perhaps by destroying
their supplies, the smithy fortifications and weapons, or even Reginald Ironhelm
somehow making the Scar too dangerous for the dwarves to This dwarf mage wears a trench coat inlaid with gold buttons
continue mining it. If the characters manage to do so without and has a satchel full of mechanical bits. He wears a bandolier full
slaying any of the dwarves, Theodore Marshal promises them of bullets, a monocle over his right eye, and has many tools and
an additional boon, but will accept whatever solution the trinkets hanging from his belt. His bulbous nose and beady eyes
characters invent. accent his huge moustache and mutton chops but, unlike many
dwarves, sports a clean shaven chin. His black hair is always
slicked back to keep it off his brow and face.
The Followers of the Falling Fire h Personality Trait. Reginald is all about the numbers - he
trusts facts, figures, and proven results. He is not the type to
“Our most humble and defenseless pilgrims could readily collect the
make a risky decision on a hunch. He prefers calculated and
holy stones found within the Scar. Not only are these dwarves defiling
educated results.
our sacred crystals with their shovels and mining picks, their greed has
caused them to murder many innocent faithful.”
- Lucretia Mathias Mordecai Ironhelm
A dwarf assassin garbed in black cloak and trenchcoat, he
The Followers of the Falling Fire are aghast at the dwarven has several daggers at the ready along his coat, and his belt
strip mine, and want the operation to stop entirely. The deleri- contains several vials of poison. He has long black hair, a scar
um in the Scar must instead be put to a sacred purpose. Worse, down the side of his face, and a black goatee that trails down
the dwarves have killed several Falling Fire pilgrims who came to his belt buckle.
to the Scar seeking delerium, as the devotees stubbornly refused h Personality Trait. Mordecai is always looking for a better
to back down when threatened by the Ironhelms. Unfortunate- deal or a way to sweeten the pot. He has a charisma to him,
ly, the dwarven guns are simply too much for their pilgrims to even if he is a little rough around the edges. He is blunt with
overcome on their own, and so the Followers of the Falling Fire his remarks, but very good at reading people. He knows when
need the player characters to be their instrument of wrath. to push, and when to put on the charm.

Negotiating with the Ironhelms
“Promises are worth as much as pig shite. Your actions have currency
Gertrude with us, though. Show your mettle and we can entertain your offer.
Ironhelm Protecting this place at night is the hardest part of the job. Prove you’ll
help us by doing a night shift. Then we’ll talk about your little offer.”
The dwarves currently have three active deals:
h They pay fifteen percent of their current earnings to the
Queen of Thieves as part of her protection racket.
h They spend half of their earnings on supplies,
equipment upkeep, wages, accommodations,
and other business expenses.
h They sell their delerium at a bulk rate to Fairweather Trades
and Exports in Emberwood Village, and so only get about
eighty percent of its market value.
The Ironhelms find the offers made by the Amethyst Academy
and the Hooded Lanterns intriguing. Nevertheless, the dwarves
drive a hard bargain on principle, and explain that if they break
their agreement with the Queen of Thieves, they’re concerned she
will act against them more aggressively. As such, the Ironhelms
won’t accept any agreement that doesn’t include proven assurance
of protection in the future. They need proof the faction can protect
their mining operation from monsters, as well as anyone sent by the
Queen of Thieves. They reason that since the faction dispatched
the player characters to negotiate with them, then the characters
should be the ones who provide this protection… assuming they
are up to the task. They ask the characters to protect the Smithy
during a night shift to demonstrate their capabilities.
Sabotaging the Ironhelms

“Take your demands and shove them up your arse. There’s money to
be made here and we’re not leaving. If you wish to contest our claim,
you’re free to do so before the barrel of a gun.”
Gertrude Ironhelm Convincing the Ironhelm siblings to simply abandon their
A dwarf gladiator who wields two golden axes, she has dark operation is nearly impossible. They have invested too much
brown hair laced into three separate braided ponytails. She has time and energy into fortifying the location and building a
long sideburns that she lets grow down, and a very stern look on functioning business by prospecting the Scar. They laugh in the
her face. faces of those who try to tell them to pack up and leave. Instead,
h Personality Trait. Gertrude has always trusted her instincts. characters will need to resort to other tactics to get the dwarves
She listens to her gut and it’s gotten her this far. She doesn’t to give up peacefully.
mind playing rough and aggressive if it helps her and her Characters working for the Queen of Thieves, the Silver
family accomplish their goals. She is highly protective of her Order, or the Falling Fire might be looking for ways to disrupt,
friends and family. drive off, or sabotage the Ironhelms without necessarily slaying
them. A few possibilities include one or more of the following:
Elouise Ironhelm h Luring additional monsters to attack the Spokes Smithy or

occupy the Scar
A dwarf priest who keeps the ancestral dwarven faith. She is h Stealing or breaking their gunpowder weapons
dressed in common grey robes, complemented by thick leather h Ruining the forge or the dwarves’ supplies
strappings and a breast plate. She has a mechanical trinket h Stealing or sabotaging the dwarves’ mining equipment or wagons
hanging around her neck and a belt full of various hammers and h Convincing the dwarven hirelings to desert the Ironhelms
tools. She has long brown hair flowing down to her knees, big h Getting the dwarves kicked out of the Red Lion Hotel, or getting
bright eyes, and a kind yet cunning look upon her face. them blacklisted by the merchants in Emberwood Village
h Personality Trait. Elouise respects tradition, and wants to h Destroying the defenses around the smithy or even the entire
preserve her family’s ancestral ways. She constantly reminds building itself
her siblings they need to stick together. She is the kindest of Finally, slaying the dwarves is always an option, though a rather
the siblings and will always try to find a means to peaceful murderous one. It’s possible that if one or more of the Ironhelm
resolution if possible. siblings dies, the others might be convinced to give up.

h The Day shift is taken by Reginald, Elouise, 6 dwarf thugs,
Spokes Smithy and 4 dwarf veterans.
Scale 1sq = 5ft. h The Night shift is taken by Gertrude, Mordecai, 6 dwarf
thugs, and 4 dwarf veterans
[1] Forge. An impressive furnace and anvil rests in a covered
workshop lined with hanging tools and equipment. The
Ironhelms use the forge currently to manufacture bullets for
1 their weapons and fix up their other armour and mining gear.
Mordecai can often be found in the forge during night shifts
6
making sure ammo is stocked and ready.
h Treasure: there is a set of smith’s tools and a large piece of
5 4 meteoric iron here that could be worked into a weapon or
3 piece of armour by a skilled smith.
6
[2] Smithy’s Office. This small office has a desk and a small
6 iron safe. There is an old bookshelf along one wall lined with
design plans, blueprints, and recipes for various forge-made
gear. A book on the desk details the numbers regarding the
2 prospecting and selling of delerium. Reginald can be found in
the office during the day crunching numbers.
h Treasure: The safe in the room is locked (DC 20). It
contains four gold bars each worth 1,000gp along with a box
containing two delerium crystals.
[3] Campsite. Between the smithy and the scar is a makeshift
camp that houses a small bonfire, a few large chunks of debris
repurposed into seating, a pair of tents for those needing a short
rest or privacy, and an old cooking pot that hangs over the
fire. During the day Elouise can often be found here cooking a
travelers stew and aiding anyone who has suffered injuries.
Area Details h Treasure: next to one of the tents is a small satchel containing
restorative ointment and a scroll of purge contamination.
The Spokes Smithy is a roofed outdoor blacksmith shop with a
[4] East Barricade. The larger of the two main barricades
small office. It’s been heavily fortified and overlooks the Scar.
covers the open side of the building and exposed campsite and
is composed of a small stone fence reinforced by wooden spikes
The Scar and barbed wire. A makeshift iron gate sits in the middle and
several burlap bags of sand and dirt are piled atop the wall
where a row of muskets can be perched. Behind the wall are two
The Scar is three hundred feet long, twenty to thirty feet wide, and ten boxes each containing eight sticks of dynamite that the dwarves
feet deep. The melted earth has turned to black glass and glittering occasionally use in the Scar, or to defend the camp. Gertrude
obsidian sand, and the trench is now among the richest delerium veins can be found here most of the time during the night shift.
outside the city centre.
[5] West Barricade. The West Barricade is much the same
h Most of the delerium found here are chips and fragments fused as the east but covers less ground and doesn’t have a gate. Its
into the earth, and it requires diligent work to extract. purpose is to block the open gap between the long end of the
smithy and the Scar.
[6] Gun Platforms. Around the smithy are small platforms
[1-6] Spokes Smithy recently constructed, with a ladder that goes down to the camp
below. The platform has a reinforced barricade wall built along
The Spokes Smithy is a relatively small blacksmith shop. It has its the side facing out towards the city and a mounted turret has
covered forge, a small office, a yard that now functions as a campsite, been bolted to the platform here. Upon each platform is a
and a series of barricades recently constructed by the Ironhelms to cannon. There is a stack of cannonballs and several barrels of
secure the location. They have setup three gun platforms around the gunpowder next to each.
perimeter, each a features a massive cannon of dwarven construction..
A thunderous staccato and a whirring mechanical sound echo across
the ravine. As the noise dies down, it’s replaced by a bellowing voice
calling out “All clear!” in dwarven and the sound of clinking hammers
and picks against stone. A field of monstrous corpses is splayed out all
around: dead ratlings, mutated dregs, and other slain horrors. “Stand
down.” Calls the bellowing voice “Any beastie gets a bullet, but if
you’re no monster, you may pass.”

Working the Night Shift Events
During the night, the characters have four events. Roll 1d8 Swarm of the Walking Dead. As night falls and the glow of
for each event to determine which hour of the night the attack the delerium clusters that pepper the Scar cast an octarine light
occurs: if you get a duplicate result, bad luck for the players! In across the lonely smithy, the sounds of shuffling and moans
such a case, the two attacks happen 10d6 minutes apart. begin to fill the air - distant at first, but getting closer, and
The dwarves are reluctant to let characters use the gun them- coming from all directions. 12 haze husks emerge on the first
selves, but can be convinced by a character who makes a good round, and 1d6 more haze husks appear each round afterwards
argument or who displays sophisticated engineering knowledge. for the next minute.
(DC 18). If the character insists on more illumination, they
Haze Hulks. A series of loud wails erupt through the streets
experience an additional encounter during the evening. If the
and the sounds of lumbering limbs cascade towards the smithy
players take the night shift, the normal night shift takes a break
- something big is coming. Three haze hulks emerge from the
and the characters are accompanied by one of the Ironhelm
haze and charge towards the smithy.
siblings as well as 4 dwarf thugs and 2 dwarf veterans.
The dwarves rely on their darkvision at night. They remind Chimera. A chimera swoops down to attack. “We’re out of
characters that at night, light sources will attract more monsters. ammo!” rings out from the gun platform. None of the firearms
The only light source the dwarves allow at night is their bonfire. nor the cannon are usable for any further encounters. It’s at
The mists of the Haze recede at night, and a billowing corona of this moment that a terrible screech is heard from above. 1d4
octarine light appears above the crater. This creates dim illumina- rounds in, 10 haze husks emerge from the haze as well.
tion in the area of the camp and the Scar, but creatures and objects Ratling Horde. Attracted by the sounds and chaos, a horde of
further than 120 feet away are totally obscured unless the characters 20 ratlings emerge in hopes of scavenging off the dead corpses
have features or traits that allow them to see further in darkness. littering the field.
Developments displeased and informs the characters that they are now expect-
ed to make up the difference in profits. She quotes an outra-
geous figure, saying the characters have cost her thousands of
Accepting the Offer gold. She expects them to adequately make up the difference in
a timely fashion, and uses this fact to blackmail them into doing
If the characters successfully defend the site during the night
her dirty work for as long as possible.
shift, the Ironhelms are happy to accept an offer made by
the Amethyst Academy or the Hooded Lanterns. As a result,
characters have won a new ally. However, Reginald and Elouise Driving out the Dwarves
tell the characters that it’s now their responsibility to help the
If the dwarven mining operations are extensively sabotaged,
dwarves out if they need defenders in the future. They’ll con-
the Ironhelm siblings are financially ruined. The cost of buy-
tact the characters via a sending spell if they ever need them.
ing new equipment, hiring new labourers, and building new
At a pivotal moment in the campaign, the Queen of Thieves
defenses is simply too much to bear. Combined with the threat
(or another rival faction) might time an attack against the
of further retribution from another faction, this is sufficient to
dwarves with another crucial event. If you want to up the stakes
convince them to leave.
during an otherwise straightforward mission, the Ironhelms
call for aid when the players are already stretched for time. However, if it seems like the dwarves could recuperate or repair
Alternatively, they might request aid immediately after an whatever damages the player characters caused, they might seek
intense battle when the characters are low on resources. out aid from another faction to protect them from future attacks.
The Amethyst Academy and the Hooded Lanterns reward The next time the characters arrive, a strike team from a rival
characters with a faction boon for their excellent work. At your faction is on site as additional muscle.
option, the Ironhelm dwarves might be willing to teach the char-
acters how to use gunpowder weapons, and give them each a gun
and ammunition. Later in the campaign, the dwarves could be
Wiping out the Dwarves
called up to provide weapons for a major offensive as well. Should the characters decide to simply slay the dwarves, they’re
in for a bloody battle. If the tide of battle turns against them,
The Queen’s New Deal Reginald and Elouise contact their siblings outside Drakken-
heim via a sending spell. Since the dwarves work in two shifts,
If the characters sabotage the dwarven weapons but don’t the characters will have to deal with both groups. If one group is
otherwise cause major disruptions to the dwarven mining op- slain, the other does not exact immediate vengeance - instead,
eration, they begrudgingly acquiesce to the Queen of Thieves the survivors seek out help from the Hooded Lanterns, the
demands. She rewards characters with a faction boon, and Amethyst Academy, or the Queen of Thieves. Each faction is
lets characters keep any guns or ammunition they might have more than willing to send a strike team of their own to help the
absconded with (or remarks on how foolish the characters Ironhelm dwarves.
were if they did not purloin the weapons for themselves). The next time a rival faction sends out a strike team against
However, in the event the sabotage went too far or any of the the party, add the remaining Ironhelm siblings and 1d4 dwarf
Ironhelm siblings were killed, the Queen of Thieves is greatly veterans to the strike team.

Stick’s Ferry
T
he major bridges spanning the Drann River are all Ferryman grunts, gestures to his boat, and holds out his hand.
located within the Inner City. Before Drakkenheim was He waits until each person who enters his rowboat gives him
destroyed, crossing the river via these bridges required anything resembling a gold piece. Once every passenger has paid
merchants and travellers to pay the gate tax to enter the city their fare, the Ferryman takes them across the water. He only
proper, or otherwise make a detour fifteen miles south or west to transports characters to the opposite side of the river, and cannot
other river crossings. During this time, an old boatman named be commanded to do anything else. He growls if someone else
Pixis Stick made his living illicitly ferrying folk across the Drann tries to take the oars from him, and only fights to defend himself
River on the southern side of town using his rowboat. Often or protect his boat.
simply called the “Ferryman”, he enjoyed meeting the urchins
and ne’er-do-wells who inhabited Drakkenheim, and swapping
stories and gossip with penny-pinching merchants. Ferryman’s Treasure
When the meteor fell, the Ferryman became a haze husk, When alone, the Ferryman mindlessly returns to his old stash
one of the tortured and mindless undead creatures that drift to hide his gold. He keeps a duck-shaped buoy in the middle of
aimlessly about the city. However, he retained a strange the river, which connects to several ropes attached to sacks of
semblance of his past memory, and is not hostile to passers- gold hidden below the water. All told, the Ferryman’s treasure
by. Instead, the Ferryman takes paying passengers back and consists of 2,374 gold pieces placed in about a dozen satchels.
forth across the Drann River just as he did in life. He now only
communicates in low moans and grunts, but the Ferryman still
seems to enjoy company, conversation, and of course, gold.
“Stick may not be much of a talker, but I’d take riding
Rejuvenation. If the Ferryman is destroyed, it regains all its hit
with the undead over risking a dip in that water any day!”
points in one hour unless a remove curse spell is cast on its remains.
— Veo Sjena
Taking the Ferry “So we shoot undead on sight... unless they drive boats?”
The Ferryman inexplicably rows up to the water’s edge whenev- — Sebastian Crowe
er characters arrive at either bank of the river on the southwest
outskirts of Drakkenheim. If the characters approach him, the

Chapter 7: Inside the
Walls of Drakkenheim
T
he impressive city walls encircle Drakkenheim both h Champion’s Gate is nominally controlled by the Followers of
north and south of the Drann River. Although a section the Falling Fire.
of city walls was destroyed by the meteor, the crater h College Gate is now the site of a terrible dimensional rift.
left behind is widely considered impassable due to the extreme h King’s Gate has been occupied by the Troll King.
contamination present. The walls are otherwise intact, impeding h Shepherd’s Gate is defended by the Hooded Lanterns.
access to the Inner City for adventurers and faction agents alike h Temple Gate has become a makeshift stronghold for a
except via five gatehouses. massive garmyr warband.
Many baroque architectural flairs decorate the walls. The It’s up to the player characters to clear out one of these locations,
battlements feature leering demonic faces, claw-like spikes, make a deal with their faction occupants, or invent another
draconic carvings, and dutiful winged gargoyles that hold solution. Rival adventurers are quick to point out that using the
up machicolations. Yet these grotesque statues are no mere sewers to sneak into the city isn’t a smart alternative, as far more
ornamentation. When Drakkenheim was a living city, these dangerous monsters lurk there.
magical guardians could spring to life under the monarch’s will.
Now, they serve the twisted whims of the Haze in mockery of
their final order to safeguard the city, and viciously attack any
Adventure Hooks
who dare trespass over the walls! Over the Top. The characters should learn about the hazards
of the city walls through rumours or their own experiences, and
search for solutions by their own initiative. The city walls can
Overview be introduced as a complication for any other adventure hook
for the Inner City locations, as faction lieutenants and leaders
Characters should reach at least 5th or 6th level before they note that any mission to the city centre will be much easier if the
attempt getting over the city walls. Even still, constantly bat- characters have a reliable way in and out.
tling animated guardians each time they travel into the Inner The Battle of Temple Gate. At a key moment in the
City will prove extremely draining on the character’s resources, campaign, the Knights of the Silver Order will mount a major
so they’ll want to secure passage through one of the five city offensive to seize Temple Gate from the garmyr occupying it.
gates to access the city centre long-term. However, the gates are They’ll invite collaboration from the player characters as well
occupied by faction agents and monsters alike: as other factions in this joint effort.
112
Encounters wide double portcullis gate. While the gatehouses themselves
have largely similar construction, their current occupants vary.
Characters who do try to pass the walls may trigger one of the Each gatehouse has four levels, each approximately fifteen
following encounters: feet high. Outer walls are four to five feet thick. The interior
floors are wooden, but the central spiral stair is stone. The arrow
slit windows are only a few inches wide, and they provide three-
Wall Gargoyles quarters cover from those outside and below (+5 AC). Regular
7 (2d6) Wall Gargoyles (see Monster Appendix A) animate oaken doors are bound with wrought-iron and feature heavy
and attack characters who dare attempt any of the following: locks and crossbars.
Gate Passage. The gate tunnel is approximately fifteen feet
h Climbing more than halfway up the walls or towers
wide, twenty five feet tall, and twenty five feet long. At each
h Flying within one hundred fifty feet of the city walls
end are a wrought-iron portcullis and massive wooden doors
horizontally, or over them at any height bound with steel. The doors can be held shut via a massive bar
h Lingering on the walls or towers for more than ten minutes
that slides into place like a lever.
The gargoyles attack directly, viciously, and without remorse. Tower Stairs. At the core of each tower is a stone spiral
If they reduce their quarry to 0 hit points, they spend their staircase. The staircase is five feet wide and has landings on
next turn tearing apart the creature’s body before moving on to each level.
another target. The gargoyles pursue their quarry into the city Ground Level. The gatehouse can be entered from a barred
to any distance until they or their quarry are destroyed, but give doorway at a landing atop a ten foot high sloping stairway on
up pursuing characters more than three hundred feet outside the one of the bastion towers. The base level of the left tower is not
city walls. However, Wall Gargoyles do not attack characters accessible from the outside. These chambers are typically used
attuned to a Seal of Drakkenheim (see Appendix D). as sleeping quarters or a gaol.
Winch Level. It takes a team of operators to raise or lower the
Tower Dragons gate, requiring four successful DC 12 Strength checks, but the
winch can be released to cause the gate to slam shut immediately.
Astute characters will note that there is no barrier spanning the Battlement Level. Accessed via doors. A creature taking a
section of the city where the walls meet the Drann River. This firing position behind the battlements has three-quarters cover
section of the city is not undefended, however. Instead of gar- from attackers below the walls (+5 AC).
goyles, two Tower Dragons (see Appendix A) perched upon Tower Battlements. Accessed via hatches. Ballista,
the bastion towers flanking the river attack anyone crossing into catapults, or cannons were often deployed here.
the city via the river. They employ similar tactics to the Wall
Gargoyles as described above.
Champion’s Gate
This gate was struck by raining debris from the meteor and has
mostly collapsed. One of the towers has toppled over into sev-
eral buildings below. The gate itself is splintered and shattered.
The entire passage is strewn with large rocks, chunks of worked
Area Details stone, splintered wood and other scraps, debris, and refuse.
There is a thin walkway cleared through the rubble and one of
Described first are the general features common to the walls, the towers has been cleared up to the entrance. Just inside the
towers, and gates, followed by specific details on the inhabitants gate are a few tents gathered around a small makeshift camp-
of each gate: site. The camp is huddled near the one available entrance into
the gate tower. Twenty or so pilgrims of the Falling Fire can
Walls be found here resting and recuperating before going further on
their journey. They occupy the small camp and some use the
Walls. The stone masonry walls are forty feet high and ten feet tower for discussions, meetings, or for the wounded who need
thick with a machicolated battlement facing outward. Murder support and healing. The gate is watched over by a Falling Fire
holes and overhanging artillery posts feature throughout, and chaplain named Berman Weber.
areas of the wall near gates have wooden hoardings or shingled h The gate is almost entirely collapsed after the meteor strike,
rooftops for additional defenses. and passing through is difficult terrain.
Towers. Sixty-foot-tall towers thirty feet in diameter are spaced h The area around this gate is heavily contaminated and covered
throughout the wall. Some are topped with battlements, others by the Deep Haze. Characters passing through the gate must
have spired rooftops. Each tower is decorated with a majestic succeed on a DC 15 constitution saving throw or suffer 10 (3d6)
bronze dragon. The largest of these towers are built where the necrotic damage and gain one level of Contamination.
walls meet the Drann River. h All the followers of the Falling Fire based here have taken the
sacrament and are immune to the Haze.
h When new followers pass through on their pilgrimage they are
Gatehouses offered quick support and healing and sent on their way to the
There are five barbican-style gatehouses that lead into the city craters edge.
h The first time that the characters pass through this gate, Lucretia
proper. Each is composed of two squat bastion towers sixty feet
tall and forty feet in diameter. The towers flank a fifteen-foot- Mathias is here. She foresaw their coming and talks to them
Chapter 7: Inside the Walls 113

about joining her. On any given occasion afterwards there is a take 2d12 psychic damage, are incapacitated, and suffer an
fifty percent chance that Lucretia herself is here to greet the new immediate Drakkenheim Madness. They remain incapacitated
followers who have come to take the sacrament and knowingly until someone snaps them out of it, or they take damage.
awaiting the characters to implore them to join the Falling Fire. h Touching the webs causes 7 (2d6) phase spiders to emerge,
h If the Falling Fire become enemies of the characters, Lucretia hungry to consume any creatures caught in their shifting
Mathias is no longer here. realities. They will attack characters who are going mad first.
h The gate is guarded by 5 cult fanatics and 2 zealots who h Burning away the webs removes them entirely, but they will
protect the flock. The rest of the Falling Fire members camp- reappear in 1d6 hours.
ing here are cultists. If the Falling Fire are enemies, there are
twice as many of the above troops, and Lucretia Mathias sum-
mons two devas who perch on either tower and guard the gate. King’s Gate
h Occasionally Nathaniel Flint can be found here escorting a This gate is occupied by a dozen trolls. Three trolls wait
group of 6d6 commoners. outside the gate to collect the toll. Two stay inside to work
the winch, and two stand atop each tower to use the ballista.
Interactions Three more wander the walls and surrounding area. The Troll
King and his loyal captain are inside the left tower on the
The Falling Fire are welcoming but wary of wanderers who enter second level where they hold court over this new kingdom the
their camp. The fanatics and zealots question anyone approaching Troll King has claimed.
about their business. If they seem to have good intentions, or
h The Troll King, Zaffod, a huge troll with two heads and three
are just passing through, they ask if any would like to speak to
Berman Weber, and offer them seats by the fire to rest for “the arms, sits in his makeshift throne room on the second level
long road ahead”. of the north tower. One of his heads goes by “Zaf ” the other
goes by “Fod,” and they are constantly arguing over who
h Around the campfire everyone shares stories of their call
gets to wear the crown. He has a hard time fitting through the
to the Falling Fire, they speak highly of Lucretia Mathias doors so he rarely leaves the room. He has a large belly that
and the coming age of heroes. Many seem excited for their hangs over his knees, and wears a necklace of human skulls.
pilgrimage and openly discuss and debate the Falling Fire Those who do not pay the toll, or are otherwise problematic
with the characters. for the trolls, are brought before the king where he decides
h Berman Weber is willing to speak to characters and implores
their fate. Their fate is almost always to be “boiled in a large
them to follow Lucretia Mathias. He discusses fate and the pot and fed to the troops.”
chance of their meeting, and uses that to push the player h Zaffod wears a circlet crown that is a headband of intellect.
characters to take the sacrament. He believes and is very open h The Trolls of the gate are somewhat intellectual and although
in expressing that the age of heroes is coming, and no doubt gruff, still present themselves as a jovial and agreeable group.
that the characters are indeed, destined to come with them. h The three trolls at the gate demand a Troll Toll from anyone
If the characters refuse Berman expresses that this is fine, and who hopes to enter Drakkenheim. It’s reasonable — it will
he will see them again when the time is right. only cost you an arm and a leg! The trolls first bargain that
h If any hostility breaks out, Berman and the guards attempt to
others may pass as long as they give up one of them to be
defend their flock. The cultists will defend themselves as well eaten. They beg for whoever is the biggest and meatiest of
but they flee if the battle seems to not be going in their favour. the group. They can be bargained with and are relatively
If the Falling Fire abandons the gate, they send more people to easily persuaded, however they are indignant if offered
secure it again 1d4 days later. livestock or animals, they respond “You are what you eat!
Do you think us animals? We are civilized folk and so only
College Gate dine on civilized folk!”
h If characters are reduced to 0 hit points they are knocked
College Gate lays wide open. The streets before it are littered unconscious by the trolls, brought before the king tied up and
with ruins mostly burned to ash. Nothing but the foundations of bound, and presented as a feast.
buildings can be found here. The gate itself is covered in strange h They have a makeshift prison on the lowest level of the
shimmering spiderwebs. They cover the entire gate, giving it gatehouse where they keep prisoners that are next up to be
the look of a broken pane of glass with webbed cracks weaving cooked and eaten. They take the characters one at a time to a
throughout it. Approaching the gate reveals a strange anomaly. massive cauldron they keep over a burning fire and prepare to
Through the webs one can catch glimpses of alternate timelines cook and eat them.
and realities - one might see people walking the streets beyond, h The trolls occupying the gate must squeeze to use the stairs and
or the bustle of a living city; others see horrible demonic things doors, so they rarely use the interior spaces except to sleep.
enslaving humans; still others see a lush overgrown Drakkenheim
covered in fungus and plant life, while other glimpses see a frozen
or burning wasteland. Through each of the frames of the shattered
glass one can see all conceivable futures and pasts for the city.
To look upon it is both mesmerizing and madness-inducing, as the “The easiest way into the city might be going over the
fractured realities begin to warp one’s mind. walls. What’s the worst that could happen?”
h Any creature who looks upon the gate from within sixty feet
of it must succeed on a DC15 Intelligence saving throw or
— Sebastian Crowe

Battlement
Exterior
Battlement
Interior
Winch Level
The Gate houses

Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Ground Level
Shepherd’s Gate Interactions

They have runners and several horses at the ready, as well as
The Hooded Lanterns control Shepherd’s Gate. A dozen
flare guns and signal horns.
veterans and thirty scouts are stationed here at all times.
h They offer to escort adventurers to the City Guard Barracks,
During the day, this force is commanded by Gate-Captain Jacob
Slovak, and by Gate-Captain Raine Highlash at night (both which is only a few hundred feet away in the Midden.
h There is a ten percent chance that Elias Drexel can be found
human urban rangers).
The entire force is rotated on twelve hour shifts so the here when the characters are passing through.
h The Hooded Lanterns double the amount of troops
defenders may rest outside the Haze. The guard force changes
over each day at 8 AM and 8 PM. They maintain a nearby encountered here if they’ve made enemies with the player
shed where they keep six fresh warhorses. This is a brutal characters or another faction.
assignment, so reserve forces are often called up to take a shift to
give the main guards extra time off to recover.
h Siege Defenses. The rangers have installed additional
Temple Gate
defenses all around the gatehouse. Wooden hoardings are built Occupied by garmyr who have built a shanty-town encampment
over the walls and tower battlements, and they’ve dug ditches around the gate. Nearly a hundred garmyr dwell here at any
lined with wooden stakes below the walls. Finally, a wooden given time, and the warbands are like a hornet’s nest.
barricade supported by sandbags has been erected on the h 70 (20d6) garmyr dwell here with 14 (4d6) worgs
road. Several ballistas are deployed atop each tower. h 10 (3d6) garmyr berserkers and 5 (2d4) hell hounds

Battle of Temple Gate Hooded Lanterns. The Hooded Lanterns have tried on
multiple occasions to push back the garmyr, but the Lord of
At a pivotal moment in the campaign, the Silver Order an- the Feast has proven a formidable foe. Lord Commander Elias
nounces their plans to take Temple Gate, forcing the garmyr Drexel is open to working with the Silver Order on a joint
back into the city and securing a position for their force to gain operation, and proposes a pincer strike with the Hooded
a foothold in the city. Regardless of the characters’ allegiances, Lanterns working inside the city, and the Silver Order
this battle proves to be a major event for all factions, and is the engaging in a frontal assault. However, the Lord Commander
first act in a series of events that lead to a confrontation at the is concerned about a foreign military force occupying ground in
Cathedral of Saint Vitruvio. Drakkenheim, and wants assurance from the Silver Order that
The Battle of Temple Gate might occur after the player they aren’t here for conquest.
characters have achieved the following: Queen’s Men. The garmyr are a problem for the Queen’s
Men, too, and have caused more than enough injuries and death
h Met the faction leaders and started forming alliances with one
amongst her gangs. While she has ulterior motives of her own, the
or more of them Queen of Thieves wants to see the Silver Order accomplish their
h Explored the Cosmological Clocktower and recovered one of
goals. She believes that holding Temple Gate will likely stretch
the Seal of Drakkenheim there, plus visited at least two other the Silver Order to their limit once they raise the ire of the Lord
locations in the Inner City of the Feast, and hopes that a victory in this battle will lead to the
Following these developments, Knight-Captain Theodore embarrassing defeat of the Silver Order from attrition.
Marshal reasons it’s time to make a push for Temple Gate. Amethyst Academy. Eldrick Runeweaver is curious but
Depending on who the characters are most closely allied with, this concerned about the Silver Order’s plans, and wants to ascertain
could result in many different outcomes. Whatever faction the their goals. He knows the Silver Order are keen to destroy
characters are closest with will inform them as described below. delerium, which is a problem for the Academy. However, he’s
Silver Order. If the player characters are allied with the doubtful destroying all the delerium in the city is even possible,
Silver Order, Theadore Marshal summons the characters to so he wants to know if the Silver Order has an ace-in-the-hole.
Camp Dawn to devise a battle plan together. He proposes the Taking Temple Gate and destroying the monsters there is in the
player characters spearhead an assault to open the gates for the best interest of everyone, but the Academy doesn’t want the
cavalry, while the Silver Order forces hold off any garmyr rein- Silver Order getting too comfortable with their place in the city.
forcements. The Silver Order aims to take the gate, but want to Followers of the Falling Fire. Lucretia Mathias is
avoid damaging or destroying it in the process so it can be used concerned about the Silver Order’s plan, and doesn’t want them
as a forward base. However, he’s worried about sabotage from to gain a footing so close to her flock. She foresees the Silver
the other factions, and asks the characters to act as envoys to Order will use this momentum to force a war on the Falling
either secure aid from the Hooded Lanterns, or check in on the Fire and attempt to drive them from the city as if they were no
other factions to ensure they won’t interfere. better than the garmyr. Lucretia wants to find a way to prevent

“Many adventurers think they can take the ‘easy’ way into Developments
the city by going over the walls...Funny enough I never see
them come back that way...or come back at all.” After the events at Temple Gate, there are several directions
the factions might push to go.
— Veo Sjena
If The Silver Order Succeeds
If the gate is taken, the Silver Order are able to hold it, but can
the Silver Order from taking the gate, and instead have the not push any further without the aid of the characters. They
characters lure the Lord of The Feast out of the cathedral and use the gate as a forward command post and their presence
into open war with the Silver Order. This may give them time to draws the eyes of the other factions towards their goals and
claim the cathedral for themselves while the two forces whittle objectives. The next move for the Silver Order is to try to
each other down. convince the characters to help them defeat the Lord of the
Feast and take the cathedral. Without the characters’ help this
task is impossible.
War At The Gate Lucretia Mathias needs to make it to the cathedral before
the Silver Order does, and pushes the matter on the characters
The characters can participate in the battle of Temple Gate in
if they are allies. Meanwhile the Queen of Thieves wants the
any way they choose, regardless of their alliances. The Silver
characters to take the cathedral and obtain many items that she
Order offers griffon riders, cavalry, and a band of knights to aid
would like for herself. Depending on the relationship between
in any way. The players can be creative with how they take on
the factions at this point, it is up to the characters to convince
Temple Gate. Regardless, it will be a difficult encounter.
the Hooded Lanterns or Amethyst Academy if continuing to
If the player characters have made enemies of the Silver
help the Silver Order is of any value to them.
Order at this point, there are also options to convince any of
the other factions to help ensure a failure at the battle. There
are many options for crafty players to swing the battle the way
they want it to go.
If The Silver Order Fails
Perhaps the events did not go well, or perhaps the player
The force at the gate consists of 100 garmyr and their characters found themselves opposed to the Silver Order’s goals.
chimera. They have sentries on the walls armed with crossbows, If the Silver Order fails to take the gate, the Lord of the Feast
and two ballistas atop each tower always manned by several claims the victory, putting many Silver Order knights on a
garmyr. They keep the portcullis on the gate closed and keep gruesome display hanging over the city gate. The Silver Order
all doors and rooms well-guarded. Even with the battle raging, maintain their position in Camp Dawn, but unless aided by the
characters will have to fight their way through the garmyr to characters, fail to gain a footing in the city. If no help is offered,
open the portcullis and ensure the Silver Order’s forces can the Silver Order call for reinforcements from Elyria to help them
take the gate. take the city by force and begin to plan another attack that will
h The Silver Order tasks the players with getting the gate open take months to come to fruition.
for them.
h If the characters have entered the Inner City to explore
h They offer to fly them in on griffons, or put them on
horses for the first charge to try and get them as close to it, the Silver Order will announce their plans to take
the gate as possible. Temple Gate.
h If the player characters do not intervene, whether or
h There are two winches inside the towers that need to be opened
for the gate to be usable. The players must open both. not the Silver Order takes Temple Gate is up to you -
h Once the gate is open, the Silver Order are able to drive out we recommend whatever option creates the greatest
the garmyr in 1d6 rounds as their troops flood the gatehouses complication for the Characters.
h Unless the player characters intervene, the Hooded Lanterns
and clear out any monsters who do not flee.
and the Silver Order join forces to take Temple Gate, however
lacking the collaboration of the characters, this alliance
disintegrates soon after, leaving the Silver Order unable to
push further although they maintain control of the gate.
h If the characters have not interacted much with either
the Hooded Lanterns or the Silver Order, but are already
exploring the Inner City, choose either the Hooded Lanterns
or the Silver Order and have them ask the characters if they
will help them form an alliance for the taking of the gate.
Whether or not this works is up for the characters to decide.

Cosmological Clocktower
T
he Cosmological Clocktower is built on the Market Once the characters begin developing a positive and collaborative
Square Plaza at the heart of Drakkenheim. Created at relationship with any faction leader, they’ll suggest the characters
the behest of an eccentric monarch, this mechanical claim it from the vicious harpies who dwell there.
wonder mysteriously stopped one hundred eleven years ago,
and its function as a public belltower was replaced by Saint
Vitruvio’s Cathedral. Many early expedition teams into the ruins
used the clocktower as a landmark and bivouac; remarkably the
tower attic lies just above the Haze. Yet the highest spires of
Drakkenheim are no safer than the streets below, especially
Interactions
since a bloodthirsty flock of harpies took to roost in the tower. It’s unknown if these harpies were the result of strange mu-
tations wrought upon birds or humans, perhaps both are true.
Nevertheless these capricious, cruel, and territorial monsters have
Overview little interest in bargaining or negotiations. Nearly 40 harpies live
in the tower, though at any given time, half are out hunting. They
In this adventure, the characters assault the Cosmological Clock- are led by the Crimson Countess, a red-plumed harpy matriarch:
tower to wrest control of the strategic outpost. Not only will they h Personality Trait. I screech blood-curdling war cries and
be rewarded for their efforts with their own base of operations in perform aerial stunts as intimidation.
the city, they may also find a Seal of Drakkenheim here. h Ideal. Any who walk the earth are prey for those who soar the sky.
h Bond. I collect trophies from my kills to remind my flock who
Adventure Hook is the mightiest.

h Flaw. I am aggressively territorial, envious of my rivals, and
Timely Rest. A long-standing rumour holds that the Cosmological covetous of my trinkets.
Clocktower is one of the few “safe” places to rest within
Drakkenheim. These rumours are indeed true: the tower attic
juts out just above the Haze, thus the area is a safe place for “Birds constantly circle this tower, but recently
characters to take a long rest. Every faction leader knows the the birds seem much, much bigger.”
value of the clocktower as a base of operations within the city.
— Sebastian Crowe

Area Details The entire mechanism is frozen, stuck on the 11th day of the
11th month, 111 years ago, at 11:11 AM, the phases of the planes
resting between the Elemental Chaos and Dreamland.
On the ground level, a set of stone stairs leads to the copper
Market Square Plaza double doors.
The market square is the largest open courtyard in the city.
The square consists of two plazas, separated by a cluster
of banks, vaults, guildhalls, and businesses. The ruins
Clocktower Interior
and remains of high town houses with storefronts surround The tower interior is a dramatic contrast to the elegant outer facade.
the square. Scattered across the plaza are the remains of The walls are exposed brick, and a rickety wooden staircase ascends the
Drakkenheim’s central open air market: rows of stalls, interior supported by a wrought-iron scaffold. The decorative exterior
canvas tents, pavilions, baskets, crates, wagons, barrels, windows allow some light to pass into the tower; many along the way are
wheelbarrows, carts, and bones creating a tattered display shattered and broken. The stone floor is covered in dust, bone, debris,
of the chaos of that day left behind. The distant sounds of a and avian feces. Gears connected by chains, stacks of heavy dangling
lullaby, chimes, and faraway bells fills the air. counterweights on pulleys, and pendulum mechanisms hang down the
Market Square Plaza bears the scars of many battles: northern wall. High above can be seen the bells.
makeshift barricades, scorch marks, broken weapons, armour
scraps, and a few scattered corpses. Many rats scurry about, Stairs. These creaking wooden stairs snake along the inner
crows pick over the remains, and a thin, silvery-purple mist walls of the tower for two hundred feet, connecting the ground
hangs in the air. Looking up, you can see the Cosmological floor to the belfry gantries above. Each individual flight rises
Clocktower piercing through the fog. sharply twenty feet to a small corner landing and sports a thin
metal railing.
h Lingering in the market square is dangerous. Characters who
h The harpies make their nests in the landings along the stair-
do not take steps to conceal their passage are noticed and
attacked by 10 (3d6) harpies who fly out from the tower. case. They enter and exit the tower through the broken win-
dows and never use the front doors. There may be as many as
Drakkenheim Guildhall. This building is not far from the 10 (3d6) harpies roosting throughout the stairs at any time.
clocktower. Formerly the administrative hub for trade and
industry in Drakkenheim, this larger open hall is a gathering Belfry. The staircase ends at a wooden gantry clinging to
place for the city guild leaders and merchants, and contains the outer walls of the tower. This narrow walkway overlooks
offices, vaults, and a large auditorium that served as council thirteen massive bronze bells hung in the middle of the tower
chambers for the guild. However, the once-great vaulted roof belfry. Each ranges from three to five feet wide and weighs
has entirely collapsed, leaving mostly only the outer shell of several tonnes. The bells are yoked to steel girders and do not
the great building behind. Perhaps several impressive vaults swing. Instead, the bells are struck by exterior hammers fitted
lay buried under heaps of wreckage and rubble, but it would to each and controlled by the machinery above. As each bell
take significant effort to excavate the damage. sounds in a distinct tone, this mechanical system could play
many unique bellsongs when the clock tower still functioned.
Clocktower Facade
h It’s a two-hundred-foot drop to the floor below. A spiral
staircase in the northwestern parapet ascents twenty feet to
At the centre of the square is the clocktower. The three-hundred- the Clockworks above.
h 1d4 manticores, consorts to the Crimson Countess,
foot tall square tower is about fifty feet wide at the base, with
rounded turret corners and walls supported by great buttresses. make nests in niches in the belfry.
The front facade is a mechanical wonder. Near the top of the
tower is a massive thirty-foot-wide clock face made from glass,
the numerals and hands filigreed with silver, brass, and gold.
Above are several crenellated balconies, and the roof is a steep
spire topped with a wrought-iron weathervane.
Bordering the central clock is an embossed metal and glass
dial that depicts the transit of the sun and the phases of the
moon through each month. From this dial, one can read not
only the time but the date, as it shows a stylized interpretation
of the seasons and constellations. Extending down the clock face
is a further system of circular glass plates, gears, and wheels that
illustrate in mechanical precision the grand cosmic dance of the
planets and stars as they hurtle through the astral void. Multi-
coloured glass lenses superimposed over the planet depict the
metaphysical orbit of the afterworlds and side-realms and their
relation to the mortal world. The rest of the tower is decorated
with elegant carved statues depicting angels, saints, demons,
devils, elementals, and the various creatures of the worlds
beyond. On some levels are rows of gothic windows with trefoil
arches filled with stained-glass mosaics.

Ground floor Stairs Bells Clockwork
Cosmological
Clocktower
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Rookery Attic Roof
Clockworks itself, and could vary its density and composition to act as
the perfect pendulum. However, it is missing an appropriate
A complex mechanism of gears, counterweights, and clockwork power source.
dominates this chamber. Several thin windows overlook the surrounding The harpies rarely come to this level. They don’t use the
cityscape. The floor features several steel grates and wooden hatches that stairs, and fly directly into the Rookery or through the broken
allow access to the machinery and bells below. A strange granite obelisk windows in the Bell Tower.
is set in place of the main clock pendulum; the core of the “ticking”
Rookery
mechanism that controls the clock. Three empty sockets lined with
delicate copper tracery are cut into the stone. A fine elven script inlaid
with thin lines of silver and gold are etched into the surrounding surface.
Several pennies are precisely balanced atop it. A system of pulleys, A disgusting amalgamation of bird nest and boudoir. Macabre
winches, and levers connects it to the rest of the clockwork. decorations of bone, skulls, and body parts are presented alongside
A set of shelves here contain several notched metal discs, each kept scavenged finery from the ruins: pillows, sheets, veils, and the like. All
in a paper folder bearing the title of a song. When the clock tower are filthy, torn, and ruined. Gibbet cages with skeletal remains of several
functioned, these discs could be loaded into the receptacle to determine prisoners hang from the balconies.
which song was played by the bells. h Thisis the lair of the Crimson Countess.
Several small and curious mechanical automatons wander listlessly h Treasure. The Crimson Countess has amassed many
around this chamber, examining and tinkering with the mechanical trinkets and trophies, most of them skulls and bones. She
components. They are shaped like platonic polyhedrons with wields a javelin of lightning, and her favourite charm is one of
spindly mechanical limbs, disturbingly realistic glass eyes, and a the Seals of Drakkenheim: the Steward’s Seal. It can be found
mechanical mouthpiece. in her nest alongside the following note:
h There are 1d6 automatons here. If their game statistics are My child — Take this treasure of mine and run. Hide it in a safe place
required, use those for animated armour, except their size outside the castle, then flee the city. No matter what happens, know
is small. If interacted with, they seem addled and confused. that I will always love you. — Papa
When they speak, they repeatedly utter “zero” and “one”
in long-winded combinations. The remains of a larger
automaton are splayed about the chamber, it appears like it
exploded from the inside.
Spire Attic
h The elven runes describe in precise and exacting detail several
The former clockmaster’s apartment has seen better days, but it seems
mathematical calculations involving the passage of time, the that at some point adventurers may have made camp here.
planets, the seasons, and the planes.
h The stone itself is quite lightweight; a character proficient in h 1d6 uncommon potions and a restorative ointment were left
Arcana or engineering-related fields could deduce that such behind here.
a stone would normally not be sufficient to accurately drive h This area is above the Haze, and characters may safely take a
such an intricate clock mechanism. long rest here.
h Examining the stone further with detect magic or identify spells h Searching through the bookshelves and documents uncovers a
determines it is a magic item. It is attuned to time and space letter to the clockmaster (see below)

Developments Letter to the Clockmaster
Not all the harpies who dwell in the clocktower may be present Ser Clockmaster,
during the characters’ invasion. Characters who clear out the Thank you for writing to me. I know you and your family have
clocktower and wish to use it as a base of operations may find toiled hard for generations to keep the clocktower, despite the main
themselves dealing with counter-attacks from the former mechanism failing a century ago. I must admit, I long believed the
occupants for several weeks afterwards, or even from the clocktower was a frivolous bit of architecture, based on a long-
Crimson Countess’ former rivals. debunked cosmological theory. Nevertheless, a recent discovery upon
Taking the clocktower is a major campaign milestone, and the the Isle of Skye has ignited my curiosity.
other factions are jealous of the accomplishment. A rival faction The original machinery dates beyond antiquity, and many key
might attempt to find the characters here or even attempt to components appear similar to devices found in several ancient
wrest control of the tower. While the characters can rely on the elvish sites in Skye, though I cannot speak to their original purpose.
tower as a defensible place to rest, once the factions learn the Examining the clocktower mechanism indicates several delicate parts
characters use this place as a respite, they might dispatch strike are heavily damaged and others are now missing, including the power
teams to occupy the tower while the characters are absent. The source. We are confident components recovered from Skye could be
characters would do well to make a good alliance to help them used to repair it.
keep this holding secure, as if left abandoned other monsters These components are due to arrive at the Inscrutable Toweron
and faction forces are quick to seize the opportunity to control September 13th. Please make arrangements for our mages and
this valuable strategic location. Nevertheless, once the charac- artificers to begin work on repairs the following week. Unfortunately,
ters have taken adequate steps to firmly defend their new hold- you will need to vacate the premises for the foreseeable future. We will
ing, it is a critical base of operations for their future explorations. draw up arrangements for the Amethyst Academy to lease the building.
Best Regards,
Archmage Adriana Modiera, Amethyst Academy
The Steward’s Seal h September 13th is three days before the meteor
If any of the factions learn the characters have found one of the
struck Drakkenheim.
Seals of Drakkenheim, it’s a major development. Locating this
h The missing power source was in fact a delerium crystal that
missing item ignites hope amongst the Hooded Lanterns of a
existed on earth long before the meteor fell. Such samples are
realm restored, and attracts the intense interest of the Queen of
extraordinarily rare, but they do exist. The parts can be found
Thieves. Any faction lieutenant can recognize the seal on sight,
in the Director’s Office of the Inscrutable Tower.
and if they see characters wearing it, they’ll make overtures to
h What happens if characters secure the parts and fix the clock
speak to their faction leader, who can explain the significance
tower is up to you. It could reveal a secret about the meteor,
and powers of the item.
or unlock an important clue to a personal quest.

The Crater
“No one has ever been there and returned. h Mages have tried to study the crater using scrying spells
We don’t really know what we’re up against, do we?” and divination magic, but were driven mad in the process.
— Lieutenant Petra Lang Those who tried teleporting within were never seen again.
h Eldritch lightning surrounds the air above the crater, and
creatures struck by it are disintegrated.
T
he meteor crashed upon the South Ward of Drakkenheim. h Lucretia Mathias made the journey herself, but she does not
Once the industrial hub of the city, little remains here speak of what she discovered there. She cryptically remarks
save blasted ruins and a massive mist-filled crater. The that it cannot be explained or understood, and must be seen.
edge of the crater is a long-sought destination for prospectors and
Pilgrimage of Falling Fire. (Falling Fire) Characters who
pilgrims alike for the vast deposits of delerium found there. Few
demonstrate their faith in the teachings of Lucretia Mathias are
have ventured deeper within, however. Shrouded deep within the
invited to take the pilgrimage to the Crater’s Edge. There, each
most dangerous and contaminated region in all of Drakkenheim, must find a delerium fragment in the shape of their soul, and
madness and ruin fester in the pulsing Delerium Heart. bring it to the Chapel of Saint Gresha, where the pilgrim may
partake in the Sacrament of Falling Fire.
Overview
Depending on their objectives, player characters planning an
expedition to the crater might only aim to reach the Crater’s
Edge, or they might push onwards through the Crater Basin to
the centre of the crater. Either way, they’ll need potent tools to
protect themselves against contamination. Interactions
“Set a fire in your belly, warm your heart,
Adventure Hooks and shield yourself in light for the road ahead.”
Survey the Impact Site. (Amethyst Academy, Silver Order, or Lucretia Mathias, Nathaniel Flint, and other Followers of the
Hooded Lanterns). If the characters discover an extraordinarily ef- Falling Fire often lead pilgrimages of cultists and commoners
fective defense against contamination, such as the neutralizing field to the Crater’s Edge, and can frequently be encountered in this
spell or hazewalker plate, a faction leader may suggest using these region. Any random encounters in this region may be replaced
means to launch a mission to the crater. The goal is simple: find out with a Falling Fire strike team, or a pilgrimage of 10 (3d6)
what’s in there. Faction leaders can offer the following warnings: cultists led by a chaplain.

Pilgrimage of Falling Fire Crater’s Edge
Only characters who are devout and sincere in their commit-
You stand upon the crater’s edge. Here, the blasted ruins of the city
ment to the Followers of the Falling Fire are invited to complete end upon a rocky precipice that descends into a mist-filled basin. A
a pilgrimage to the Crater’s Edge, where they will participate in plume of thick swirling fog rises from the centre of the crater. Crackling
a ritual known as the Sacrament of Falling Fire at the Chapel of eldritch lighting arcs through the air into the clouds above, and a bitterly
Saint Gresha. Characters can participate on their own or as part cold wind howls about. Jutting out from the rocky chasm are countless
of another group of Falling Fire pilgrims. While outsiders rarely sparkling delerium fragments.
witness the rite itself, the Followers of the Falling Fire will toler-
ate a respectful observer in the hopes that seeing the ritual might h The cliff edge descends one hundred fifty feet to the crater
assuage any remaining doubt in their heart. basin floor on a sharp slope.
h It’s impossible to see the crater basin floor due to the thick mists.
h DC 15 Arcana. A character who studies the fog and makes
A Fragment in the Shape of a Soul a check realizes the Haze here is significantly thicker and
When they arrive at the Crater’s Edge, pilgrims must likely far more contaminated than normal. You can reveal
individually search for a delerium fragment that reflects an inner to such characters that Constitution saving throws against
aspect of their own heart. Each attempt takes one hour, after contamination will likely be needed for every 10 minutes
which the character makes an ability check using their highest within the Haze inside the crater basin.
ability score. They find a suitable fragment on a check result h DC 15 Nature or Survival. Examining the swirling mist at
of 20 or higher, and should appropriately describe and roleplay the centre notes the powerful lighting arcing through the fog.
how this check guides them towards a delerium fragment. Most You can reveal to characters the details of the eldritch lightning
normal pilgrims must visit the crater several times before they in the Crater Basin (see below).
successfully find such a fragment.
Scaling the Cliff
Completing the Pilgrimage Three successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) checks are needed
to carefully scale up or down the edge. Characters may use
Once a pilgrim finds a fragment, they must bring it to the
Chapel of Saint Gresha (see below) where they take the equipment or spells to aid their climb - spells such as feather fall
Sacrament of the Falling Fire (see new spells in Appendix D). or spider climb allow automatic success.
h A character takes 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed
check as they tumble and slip down the sharp rock face.
h A character who fails three checks before reaching three
successes has a terrible fall. They take 17 (5d6) bludgeoning
Area Details
and 17 (5d6) piercing damage.
Alternatively, characters can Search the Ruins (see chapter 5) to
The entire South Ward is suffused in the Deep Haze (see locate gentler slopes or a pathway where easier descent is possible.
chapter 5). If you’d like to add extra tension to this moment, consider
having a lone grotesque gargant climb out of the crater and
South Ward Ruins attack while characters are looking out over the basin, scaling
the cliff, or searching for a way down!
Few structures are standing in the South Ward of Drakkenheim.
Little remains save demolished foundations, massive chunks of Chapel of Saint Gresha
blasted rock, and piles of rubble and debris. The thick fog of the
Deep Haze blankets the wasteland. The direction of the devastation Along the northwest side of the crater rests the Chapel of Saint Gresha.
is unmistakable, however. Stone, brick, and timbers on any walls or Nothing remains of the domed rooftop. Instead, the bricks composing
pillars facing the crater itself appear melted rather than burned, and the circular chapel float in the air, deconstructed in perfect geometric
in some cases, pieces of rock or wood have partially turned into glass. order. Perhaps if the magic holding them aloft were broken, they would
Occasionally, you see the unmistakable glimmer of delerium fused into collapse back into their proper place. Inside the chapel walls, a lighted
the ground or walls of a tumbledown building. The air here is cold, the stone brazier stands upon a tiered marble dais. The entropic flame burns
mists billow about in hypnotic swirling patterns. A peculiar smell fills in an unnatural purple-red hue, the coals within are delerium shards. The
the air, it’s acrid and pungent as if some strange material were burning mosaic on the floor is cracked and broken. Several platforms may have
nearby. Once in a while you hear the sound of crumbling rock or the once held statues, but little else remains save blasted rock.
creaking collapse of a distant building. h Lucretia Mathias can be encountered here at dawn each
h Checkfor random encounters as normal as characters travel day, when she performs the Sacrament of the Falling Fire for
through this region. up to 12 pilgrims. Nathaniel Flint is sometimes here leading
a pilgrimage as well.
h Saint Gresha (see below) performs the rite each day at dusk.
h 12 neutral good wights guard the chapel. Each wears ancient
“I’ve had some horrible nightmares in my day. This half-plate armour. These are the sacred remains of former pala-
place was unfathomably worse.” dins interred in the chapel, and are not haze wights.
— Sebastian Crowe
Saint Gresha Two or more failed check results triggers one of the random en-
Gresha is a neutral good arcane wraith. She was called back counters below. As characters are exposed to a powerful version of
in spirit by Lucretia Mathias to tend her namesake chapel. Her the Deep Haze here, they will need some means to gain immuni-
Spellcasting trait is replaced with the following: ty to contamination, otherwise they’ll have to make six Constitu-
At will: guidance, light, sacred flame, thaumaturgy tion saving throws each time they attempt searching the crater.
3/day each: bless, flame strike, guiding bolt, healing word,
prayer of healing, spirit guardians
1/day each: divine word, harm, heal, holy aura, Random Encounters
sacrament of falling fire*
*new spell described in Appendix D in the Crater Basin
If Saint Gresha is destroyed, Lucretia Mathias calls her spirit Check for random encounters as normal as characters explore
back again as soon as possible. the basin, using this table to generate encounters.
1 1 crater wurm
Crater Basin 2 1d4 grotesque gargants
3 4 (1d6) protean abominations and 10 (3d6) gibbering mouthers
The crater basin is a forlorn and desolate place. The raw earth is a deep
purple-brown colour. Black glass chips and rocky gravel crunch underfoot 4 35 (10d6) delerium dregs and 1d6 haze hulks
mixed with bits and pieces of unrecognizable masonry and flecks of 5 1d6 delerium elementals
delerium. Here and there you encounter peculiar vegetation: creeping
6 1d4 arcane wraiths and 1d6 warp witches
moss that resembles exposed sinew or swelling tissue, with leaves like fleshy
membranes and roots like spreading blood vessels. The strange plants cling
to clusters of delerium and around pools of sludge.
Deep Haze. Within the crater, the Deep Haze is exceptionally
Massive Delerium Clusters
thick and nearly impenetrable: vision beyond 30 feet is totally Unfathomably large delerium geode clusters protrude from the earth
obscured and blocks most of the light from the sky above, so throughout the crater basin. Most grow as tall as a human, some as
areas within are dimly lit and lightly obscured. At the end of big as ogres or even larger. Viscous opalescent liquid perspires from the
every ten minutes spent within, characters must succeed on a crystals, forming pools around it.
DC 20 Constitution saving throw or suffer 10 (3d6) necrotic
h There
are a living haze, animated delerium sludge,
damage and gain one level of contamination.
walking delerium cluster, and an entropic flame lurking
Eldritch Lightning. Sheets of flashing energy and crackling around the cluster and the pool.
eldritch lightning erupt through the mist around the crater, h The pools are two or three feet deep and anywhere from ten
which extends to the clouds above. Any airborne creature to forty feet in diameter.
flying higher than sixty feet above the Crater Basin rolls 1d6 h Characters can find 1 delerium geode, 1d6 delerium crystals,
at the end of its turn: on a one, it is struck by the lightning and 2d6 delerium shards that are easy enough to extract.
and must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or Harvesting the massive crystals in the field is impossible with
take 10d6 lightning damage and 10d6 force damage. If this portable equipment, however.
damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, it and everything h If damaged or struck these massive geodes release an
it is wearing or carrying are reduced to black ashes and arcane anomaly.
scattered into the wind. The creature can be restored to life
only by means of a true resurrection or a wish spell.
Twisted Space. A creature who teleports into or out of the Delerium Heart
Crater Basin is ripped apart by eldritch magic and takes damage
as if they were struck by eldritch lightning (see above) The air is humid and filled with the overpowering smell of ozone here.
Thrumming eldritch energy makes your hair stand on end, and a low
humming sound painfully rings in your ears. Suddenly, the mists clear
Finding the Delerium Heart somewhat, revealing an unfathomably colossal delerium shard seventy
Characters seeking the Delerium Heart must Search the Ru- feet high and thirty feet wide. Pieces of rock and meteoric iron cling
ins for one hour, as described in “Navigating Drakkenheim” in to the sides; it glows brightly with blinding octarine light and visibly
chapter 5. In addition to making Investigation checks, charac- perspires globs of prismatic delerium sludge that forms a pool around it.
ters may use Arcana, Insight, Religion, Nature, or Survival to The edges of the crystal intersect at incomprehensible angles, making its
geometry shift despite its apparent stillness. It gives you a headache to
help navigate the basin. Success requires a DC 20 check result,
look at it. Mounds of upturned earth, huge chunks of meteoric iron, and
with any check result of 25 or higher granting an additional
massive delerium geodes emerge like islands from the pond.
success. What the characters find each attempt is based on their
number of successes: h This is all that remains of the core of the meteor. The mere
sight of its impossible geometry is enough to drive a creature
2 successes or fewer Nothing
mad. The first time a humanoid creature witnesses the
3 successes Massive delerium cluster Delerium Heart, it must succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence
4 or more successes Delerium Heart saving throw. On a failed save, it is affected as if by a
feeblemind spell.

h The delerium sludge pool is four feet deep (see Appendix D).
h A creature who ends its turn within one hundred twenty feet
of the Delerium Heart must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution
saving throw or suffer 10 (3d6) necrotic damage and gain one
level of contamination. A creature who fails this saving throw
Developments
by five or more instead takes 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and
gains 1d4 levels of contamination. “This dire news only confirms what we already assumed to be true.
h Treasure. A pristine delerium geode is found here with 10 Drakkenheim is no more.”
(3d6) delerium crystals. This extremely rare crystal forma- Archwizard Eldrick Runeweaver
tion is perfectly symmetrical, notably unique, and readily
extracted by any character looking to collect delerium Characters who return expecting the factions to be united by
around the Heart. their report will be disappointed.
h Characters must find their way back from the Delerium Heart Hooded Lanterns. Elias Drexel is horrified by the
in the same manner they got here, by searching the ruins for characters’ report, which is a despair-inducing confirmation
the Crater’s Edge. that restoring Drakkenheim will never be a simple matter, and
h A creature who approaches within ten feet of the Delerium a realization that he will need the help of another faction to
Heart may examine it closely. It’s hollow: suspended within a accomplish it. The Lord Commander isn’t even sure he should
quicksilver fluid are embryonic fleshy masses connected with reveal the characters’ report to the rank-and-file soldiers at large.
thin veins to translucent, pulsing heart-like organs. A creature He’s right. Mutiny in the ranks erupts at the news as the soldiers
who touches the Delerium Heart has a sudden vision: argue about the merits of working with the Silver Order, the
Followers of the Falling Fire, or the Amethyst Academy. If the
The vision lasts only a moment, but feels like a thousand years. A characters have made an enemy of any of these factions, a few
falling star collides with an unfamiliar world. A prismatic mist slowly loudly and defiantly proclaim the characters have doomed them
creeps from the impact. Massive sharp-edged crystals burst from the
all. Unless the characters and Elias Drexel can deliver another
surface of the world, and the people there descend into chaos and
major victory soon, the unrest festers and the Hooded Lanterns
madness. The corrupt sphere violently ruptures apart, sending a hail of
comets through the cosmos until one looms over this world. disintegrate into fractious warbands.
Amethyst Academy. Eldrick Runeweaver is fascinated
by the news of the Delerium Heart, and openly remarks that
unfathomable arcane power could be harnessed from it (and
Destroying the Delerium Heart thereby prevent whatever calamity affected the alien world from
Characters can attempt to destroy the Delerium Heart: happening here). After several days, he returns to the characters
h It has AC 25 and 500 hit points. It regains 50 hit points each and asks them if they might be prepared to mount another
round on initiative count 20 as long as it has at least one hit expedition to set up a magical arcane relay he’s designed. If the
point remaining. characters didn’t bring back the pristine delerium geode, he also
h The Heart is immune to cold, lightning, necrotic, piercing, asks them to obtain it.
poison, psychic, and slashing damage, as well as bludgeoning Falling Fire. Once characters return from the crater’s
damage from non-magical attacks. It is resistant to fire heart, Lucretia Mathias can explain the meaning of any visions
damage. It is vulnerable to thunder damage. they beheld. She then reveals the purpose of the Sacrament:
h Once per round on initiative count 20, if the Delerium Heart by storing enough faithful souls in delerium, she believes the
took damage in the previous round, it unleashes an arcane substance itself will become an earthly vessel for the Sacred
anomaly. The resounding noise attracts nearby creatures Flame, transforming the scourge of the universe into its savior.
each round, attracting creatures using the random encounter The sanctified delerium will spread light through the cosmos.
table above. When asked about the fate of this world, Lucretia Mathias
When destroyed, the Delerium Heart explodes, dealing remarks that the Sacred Flame has always required mortals
10d6 necrotic damage, 10d6 radiant damage, 10d6 psychic make sacrifices for the cause of righteousness. Whether or not
damage, 10d6 piercing damage, and 10d6 thunder damage to her claims are true cannot be determined until the events are
all creatures within five hundred feet. This explosion causes allowed to occur.
the shard to fracture into thirteen massive geodes that are sent Silver Order. Theodore Marshal sees no further argument
hurtling throughout the city, which each grow into a Delerium at this point: Drakkenheim must be burned to the ground. The
Heart within a year if they aren’t destroyed. The embryonic fate of the world rests upon it. Doing so isn’t going to be simple,
mass within the Heart pours into the sludge, and quickly grows and now the mission is clear: the Silver Order must resurrect
into a horrific abomination: a Tarrasque. Argonath to use his dragonfire to destroy the Delerium Heart.
Queen’s Men. The Queen of Thieves can only react with
laughter to this knowledge. The fact that such a horrific threat lies
in the heart of the city is music to her ears. As long as it’s there, no
“Not as impressive as the Canyon of Caspia but one will ever truly be able to control Drakkenheim - except her.
many more monsters ripe for sport.” The Queen of Thieves aims to weaponize this knowledge to sow
doubt and discord in the other factions, especially the Hooded
— Pluto Jackson Lanterns. Whatever the characters saw in those visions isn’t going
to happen anytime soon, anyways.

Kleinberg Estate
D
eep in the noble district of Drakkenheim, just south of or samples. The Academy is willing to offer the Pale Man a deal
Castle Drakken, a walled off community known as the for his cooperation, but fully expect him to decline. They do not
Kleinberg Estate stands. Amongst the ruins and debris, care if the Pale Man lives, as long as his work is recovered.
several of the large mansions have survived the devastation of The Witch Hunt. The Silver Order might hire the players to
Drakkenheim. One such estate has become lively with activity find and kill the Pale Man - they want his work burned, and any
in recent years. Figures have been seen coming and going from delerium in his possession destroyed.
it, which has spurred whispers and rumours within the taverns of
Emberwood village. Conversations between forlorn adventurers
and sickly survivors speak of a mage working out of the estate
who has means to help those who are suffering with contamina-
tion. The validity of these claims is yet to be proven, and so those
seeking help best be wary, as more often than not, people who
have ventured deeper in search of a cure seldom return.
Interactions
The minions that work for the Pale Man are more social than
normal dregs, and should be portrayed as having quirky, weird,
Overview and insane personalities. They direct characters to Raven, who
handles all business deals. None of them know much about the
There may be many reasons the player characters choose to Pale Man’s research or experiments, and just express relief at the
uncover the Pale Man. aid he has offered them.
Adventure Hooks Friedrich von Lichten, the Pale Man

Search for a Cure. Characters seeking the means to reverse Friedrich Von Lichten ambitiously explored the mutagenic effects
a monstrous transformation might seek out the Pale Man, of delerium after Drakkenheim’s destruction, and was among the
as rumours abound of the secretive mage who can help with first to fully describe the effects of eldritch contamination upon the
mutations and contamination. human body. He was ejected from the Amethyst Academy when it
The Academy Deal. The Academy might hire the party to was discovered he was using apprentices as test subjects. So grave
find the Pale Man and uncover what secret spells and arcane was his trespass, that the Academy notified the Silver Order of his
concoctions he has created. River asks the players to retrieve his existence, putting a death bounty on his head. Both The Silver Or-
work and bring it back to them with any relevant information der and the Amethyst Academy have been searching for him since.

Trait. Witness my power, understand that
Area Details
h Personality
I am the future. Some may call me a god, and I would not
correct them.
h Ideal. We must embrace the Haze, and allow contamination
to change us, make us better.
h Bonds. The Amethyst Academy lacks vision. I will show
Estate Grounds
them the true power of delerium. A grand mansion stands atop a rolling hill in the middle of this
h Flaw. It is not enough that I merely outsmart my foes, they expansive walled estate. The steep terracotta roofs and grey stone
must be shown their weakness and failure. walls are wracked with decay now. The windows are shattered and
Friedrich von Lichten has fully embraced contamination boarded over, the white-paint trim chipping away. Downhill from the
and transformed into a monster, and is now the Pale Man main house is a large stable. Entering the grounds from the main
(see Appendix A for game statistics). He has maintained his gate, characters can see a stubby fieldstone tower with a small cottage
abutting it, but the upper levels of the tower have collapsed. A small
intellect, and drapes his hunched and withered figure in a black
guardpost sits beside the creaking wrought-iron gates hanging from
cloak. Beneath his paper-thin skin are wriggling and writhing
the fieldstone walls that surround the estate. Several dying trees dot
things. His lidless eyes are sunken, his teeth are prominent, the lawns, and a brackish pond rests west of the manor house. Several
yellowing and decaying. One can just make out a sickly green hooded figures wander the property. Some are watering flowers, others
tongue that darts out when he speaks. He talks in a stunted, lounging about the grounds, while one is throwing rocks in the pond.
almost exasperated tone.
He presents his estate as a safehouse for the lost and forgotten. h The property walls are ten feet tall and crested with spikes.
The Pale Man sows the rumours that he can help contami- h Almost all the windows are boarded up. Aside from a small
nated people so he can use them as test subjects for his experi- window on the stables, each is purposely blocked from
ments. When he meets a transformed or contaminated creature, prying eyes.
he presents himself as a helpful expert, offering to treat any h 10 (3d6) other delerium dregs are scattered around the
individual left in his care. He never actually cures contamina- courtyard tending to menial tasks or entertaining themselves.
tion, but sometimes helps other transformed monsters become h Guard House. A small stone guard house sits next to the front gate.
somewhat lucid so he can make better use of them as minions.
A small cloaked creature with a big toothy grin sits mumbling to
The Pale Man spends most of his time in the repurposed master himself and playing a game of cards alone.
bedroom of the estate he uses as his laboratory, and gives orders
h This delerium dreg greets any who approach, asking their
only to his most trusted thralls.
business. If characters seem peaceful, it will direct them to see
Raven at the stables.
Mutated Thralls
These three haze hulks are the most intelligent and loyal
of the Pale Man’s servants. They came to him willingly and
embraced his alterations. The Pale Man allowed them to keep
their lives and minds, and in exchange they serve him.
Raven a gutbuster haze hulk, is a portly woman with
blue skin, white glowing eyes, and thick stringy black hair
wearing a burlap cloak with a hood. She is extremely cautious
of visitors, but is often the first to greet and question people
coming to the estate.
Henry. Henry, a hunter haze hulk, is the most intelligent
of the three. He wears black scraps of leather and has a long
sallow face and large black eyes.
Grunt. Grunt, a juggernaut haze hulk, is the biggest of
the three, with beady eyes on his tiny bald head and a massive
hulking body. He is usually found in the estate house or the
stables working as the personal guard for the Pale Man.
Lisa. Lisa is the Pale Man’s favourite creation, transformed
by contamination into a grotesque gargant. He used
her as the conduit for many of his early attempts to siphon
contamination, transforming her into the monster she now is.
“There are monsters around every corner of this city, Henry

but the real monsters are in our minds. No, really, there
are monsters that can crawl inside your head, watch
out for those ones.”
— Veo Sjena

Tower House
Sickly moss and blighted ivy creep up from the ground and wrap
around this tower. There is a small red-roofed cabin off the base, but
the upper level of the tower has crumbled away.
Servant’s Quarters. There are several little creatures working here,

they all seem to be reading through notes and relaxing at a small table.
The rooms are filled with cots and bunk beds for the various dregs that
inhabit the grounds to sleep and rest. There are only a few rooms so
they are jammed with various sleeping surfaces. Everything from beds
crudely piled on top of one another, or drawers pulled out and stuffed
with hay and pillows. The dregs seemed pleased to sleep just about
anywhere and the rooms show a disorganized cluttered mess of their
living arrangements.
h 5 delerium dregs are lounging in this room
h Henry is keeping watch of the minions.
h Scrawled on the wall here are several bits of graffiti that
seem to be directed at the servants that used to live here.
Most notably are the words “Don’t forget your candle.”
Collapsed tower. The walls are mostly intact on this second level, but
the ceiling is long gone and the upper floor is covered in debris.
A few empty cages are placed here.
h Dregs use these cages as holding for misbehaving companions.
Kleinberg Estate
Scale 1sq = 5ft. Stables. Any sign that these stables were once used to house horses is
gone, the inside stripped away and made into a makeshift workstation.
The stables act as both a storage compartment for finished products
of delerium dust, but also housing for the many dregs who reside in
the estate. Several of the stalls are lined with hay, dirty blankets, and
buckets. The front of the stables by the entrance have been made into
a sort of shop where Raven sits at a small table with various potions
and alchemical ingredients lined for display.
T
T= Trapped
Door h 30 delerium dregs are found here either sleeping,
performing menial tasks, or polishing the black coach.
h Raven often oversees products, shipping and sales that all
happen out of the stable.
h Grunt sits telling stories to several of the delerium dregs
resting here.
h Secret Entrance. At the back of the stable is an old
hatch that opens to a ladder down to the old tunnels below
the manor.
Black Coach. Parked in the stable is a beautiful and well-kept black

coach with red curtained windows.
h On rare occasions when the Pale Man travels the streets,
he has his haze hulks pull him in this coach. He insists it be
polished and cleaned daily.
Mansion Ground Level

The mansion is a large two-storey property with east and west wings
on either side of an entrance foyer accessed by two decorated double
doors. Above the doors is a round stained glass window featuring a
patterned radial design.
h All
windows are boarded up except for one on the front right
that looks into one of the wretched drawing rooms.

Foyer. Entering the house by the front door you come into an open
room. A huge golden chandelier holds one hundred candles that flicker
light and shadows around the foyer. Straight ahead a large staircase
Mansion Upper Level
heads up to a second floor balcony overlooking the foyer. A huge Abandoned Bedchambers. These once sumptuous bedchambers are
circular stained glass window fills the room with coloured light. To the now disheveled and foetid dens. Clothing has been pulled out of the
left and right are doors that lead to either of the wings, while flanking wardrobes to make disgusting nests upon the shredded and broken beds.
the grand staircase are two statues of majestic horses carved out of
h 2 (1d4) delerium dregs inhabit each bedchamber. Some
marble. The walls are lined with brilliant artwork depicting sunsets on
fields, galloping wild horses, a snow covered valley with a small cottage dress up in the fine clothing that remains, or play with the
and other beautiful scenic pictures that almost always include horses. childrens toys abandoned within.
h Trapped Door. The east door on the upper level is a Lab. These adjacent rooms have been stripped of their previous furniture
heavy wooden door depicting a carving of winged beings and refashioned into laboratories. There are various forms of equipment
soaring up towards the top of the door, and grotesque here. A table in the back has a strange hammer crafted from delerium
emaciated-looking creatures below reaching up to try and and a crate of shards and crystals that are seemingly being smashed into
grab the fleeing angels. The door is arcane locked and only dust. There are alchemical supplies and filtering devices that are used to
the password “As Above, So Below” will allow one to refine the dust at another station. A third station has herbs and chemical
access the door. The Pale Man uses this door to access the formulas and measuring equipment for concocting arcane delerium dust as
well as various delerium infused potions. It looks as though another station
balcony over the foyer to give orders to his minions
is for procuring delerium ink for spell scrolls and other uses.
Wretched Drawing Rooms. These once well-appointed drawing h 10 (3d6) assorted delerium dregs work around the clock
rooms are now covered in cobwebs and broken furniture, dismantled in this chamber at the various tables. Some have goggles or
bookshelves, and dirty animal fur rugs. The rooms have been stripped other scraps of lab gear.
of any valuables or usable goods. h Explosion. If combat occurs, one of the dregs hurls a half
h There are 5 (2d4) delerium dregs in each of these rooms. finished delerium concoction at the players, which functions
as a bottled comet.
Decrepit Dining Room. Food and dirt cover the various walls and
surfaces. Paintings are hanging crooked, while some have been broken. Master Bedroom. Lined with shelves of books, scrolls, folders,
There is a long wooden feasting table with four chairs on either side documents, and scattered parchments, this room appears to function
and a grand throne-like seat at the far end. Faces are drawn over as a library as well. Several shelves house glass jars with floating objects
hanging portraits and crude words are scrawled across the wall in food inside - a jar of eyeballs, a severed hand, an entire human head with one
substances or possibly blood. side of it dissolved and melted, several fleshy tentacles, and many other
horrors. An old dust-covered bed in the corner appears unused. The desk
h There are 8 delerium dregs eating. They know very well is covered in various jars of octarine substances as well as an old book
that this section of the manor is off limits to guests. bound in red leather and a quill and inkwell of glowing octarine ink.
h The food looks relatively unappetizing, a grey sludge with
bits of what might be meat, but the creatures here seem h Secret entrance. The bookshelf on the back wall next to
keen to enjoy it. the bed has a large blue book titled “the Secret Stairs” - when
pulled, it opens to the staircase leading down to the lounge.
Kitchen. The kitchen is a mess with dirty pots and pans stacked h Amongst the shelves one can find 1d4 magical potions, half of
almost to the ceiling. There are knives stuck in the walls, food and slop which are healing potions, and 1d6 uncommon spell scrolls.
everywhere, and stains on nearly every surface. Two creatures in little h The spell book on the desk contains the Pale Man’s work on
makeshift chefs hats and aprons work diligently to make some sort the new spells he has created. It is also infused with a glyph
of bland soup for the residents of the house, occasionally throwing in of warding to cast dimension door when triggered. The Pale
scraps they find on the floor into a big boiling pot. Man will grab his book and flee to his nest if need be.
h 2 delerium dregs are here and will attack anyone who
Study. As you step inside you see a mess of paperwork, tables, and
interrupts them. several drawings stuck on the wall with red string connecting various
Lounge. A couple couches and armchairs are pushed around an old sketches to locations in Drakkenheim. A large red circle on a map of
fireplace. The fireplace is not lit, and has five candelabras set on its the city indicates a focus on the Inscrutable Tower.
mantle with four candles placed in all but one. The furniture has been h The Pale Man has put together a rough plan to seize the
placed for convenience and conversation and less a proper attempt at Inscrutable Tower for himself. The plans seem incomplete
outfitting a room. and so far most of his research involves how to get into the
h There are 5 (2d4) delerium dregs here. tower. He has two current ideas; the first note states the
h Secret Entrance. There is a hatch on the ground in the front door will only open for a living Academy member
corner that opens to an old stone staircase that goes down wearing academy rings, the second is research for creating
into the lower tunnels. flying minions to fly into the breach. Beyond this, he has
h Secret Door. If a candle is placed in the empty candelabra not developed the means to control the Nexus.
on the fireplace mantle it opens the back of the fireplace into
a small staircase that goes up to the second level.

Underground Lair
h If either of the two dregs feel threatened or feel the need to
aid in an attack, they will run to pull a lever on the wall that
opens the pen, allowing the “unfortunates” to wriggle out
Heading into the basement reveals a damp and dank cave. There is a and consume anything in their path
thick moisture in the air and an acrid smell mixed with the scent of hot h There are 10 gibbering mouthers that can be released
garbage. It’s hard to pinpoint where the smells are coming from but it’s from the pen.
unpleasant to say the least. There are a few torches along the cavern
edge that seem to light the path ahead. Trapped Room. A wrong turn due to the guards and wards spell, or a
misguided search of the corridors and hallways might land you in this
h The lair is accessed from either the stables or the manor lounge.
room. Once entered, a wooden gate slams over the entrance and the
Originally it was a passage to get to the stables and feed the room releases a cloudkill effect.
horses during heavy winters without having to go outside.
h Since the Pale Man has moved in, he has expanded the caves
Lisa’s Den. This small alcove is covered in various bones, skeletons,
below to suit his needs. bits of old meat and blood soaked scraps of clothing.
h The entire underground section is protected by the guards
and wards spell. The minions of the house are immune to its h Lisa resides here. Unless she hears commotion elsewhere
effects but any guests or intruders are not. in the tunnels or is retrieved by one of the dregs, she
h Once entered, the doors to this area vanish into the cave wall. stays here eating.
They are still there and it is merely an illusion caused by the
guards and wards spell. The Nest. A cave-in at the entrance makes this room very hard to
get to. However, this room is the most important room for the Pale
Collapsed Cavern. It seems that an early attempt to expand the Man. Covered floor to ceiling with dripping and oozing delerium sludge
tunnels failed. There is a dreg crushed under a pile of rubble here, and and caked with thousands of insectoid looking eggs, this room seems
there is no way past the rubble. to resemble a sort of nest. Hanging from the ceiling is a large fleshy
h The
cocoon-like sack, pulsing gently with a sort of heartbeat.
crushed dreg is clutching a candle and a vial of
aqua delerium. h If the Pale Man is reduced to 0 hit points he returns to this
nest to recuperate.
Holding Cells. This area contains a barred jail with a small locked
h Destroying the nest means the Pale Man is unable to
door. The walls and floor are caked with refuse and debris. The cell
is filled with wriggling piles of flesh. The flesh has various eyes and regenerate and can be killed easily.
h The cocoon has 100hp and an AC of 12. It is vulnerable to
mouths and occasional limbs or extremities protruding from them. As
you approach the cell, the fleshy mounds begin to quiver and a chorus fire, but immune to poison, necrotic, and psychic damage.
h The entire room is covered in delerium sludge
of sorrowful moans echo through the chamber.
h Two dregs wander the tunnels down here and their job
consists of feeding the “unfortunates” as they call them,
and occasionally taking one out of the pen to feed Lisa.
Developments h Contaminated Spells.The Pale Man knows the following

spells, which are also contained in his spellbooks: delerium
blast, forced evolution, conjure the deep haze, purge contamina-
If the Pale Man is destroyed, his minions become confused and tion, ray of contamination, and warp bolt.
terrified. They flee into the city, and slowly revert back into
The Pale Man’s research provides critical clues needed for
mindless monsters.
characters to cure a monstrous transformation. Not only does it
reveal that the wish spell can accomplish this task, it also suggests
Pale Man’s Research researching the siphon contamination spell (see Appendix D),
which can be accomplished by a character who knows the forced
The following information can be gathered by either speaking evolution and purge contamination spells.
with the Pale Man or studying his writing:
h Monstrous Transformations. Sufficient eldritch contamination
blossoms into a wondrous and self-sustaining mutagenic transfor-
Plight of the Pale Man
In the event that the Pale Man survives and retreats to his nest
mation, after which it cannot simply be purged away. Reversing
this is no simple matter. Of course, since the Great Spell may grant to regenerate, the characters may think they have defeated him.
any mortal wish, it could be used to restore the previous form of a The Pale man will plot his revenge and eventually attempt to
transformed creature. However, the Academy Directorate jealously take the Inscrutable Tower for himself.
guards knowledge of this spell, and I am sure the Archmages would The Academy is happy if the Pale Man is killed and his work
not cast this spell for anyone but themselves. Nevertheless, I believe retrieved. If the Pale Man survives, the Academy expresses the
it may be possible to draw the contaminants out of one body and urgency that control of the tower needs to be obtained as soon as
into that of another. possible. The Silver Order is satisfied if the Pale Man was killed
or brought in and his estate and research destroyed.

Old Town Cistern
B
eneath Slaughterstone Square is a large underground h “Our Duchess will show you great hospitality, I’m sure of it! If you
reservoir filled with the waterlogged corpses of the would bring her a gift or perform a service for her, she could reward
Executioner’s many victims. As a result, the macabre you greatly, I’m sure of it! What is it you desire? Knowledge! Magic!
chamber has become the favoured scavenging ground for Health! Our Duchess is as mighty as she is benevolent, I’m sure of it!”
a group of aquatic delerium dregs who serve an eldritch h “Shewould love a magic trinket, or perhaps a great crystal, of
creature known as the Duchess. This nightmarish entity lurks course! I’m sure of it!”
deep below Drakkenheim’s forsaken waterways, slowly amass-
h “The Duchess is ruler of the deep water, all that flows below is her
ing contaminated thralls while fostering dark dreams to usurp
domain! I’m sure of it! She shelters and protects us, and in turn we
control of the surface.
are her loyal retainers, I’m sure of it!
Overview
h “She dwells near a great pool that collects the sky-water. There is a
terrible machine upon the surface, but we know a hidden way there
by water! I’m sure of it!”
Your characters might simply stumble into the cistern while
exploring the sewers, or by taking the smuggler’s passage from If the characters refuse at this first meeting, or attack, it’s
the Black Ivory Inn. The cistern lies directly below Slaughter- possible they could encounter this group again (or similar ones)
stone Square, so characters may even seek refuge here from the during their future adventures in the city. Don’t force this
Executioner. You should review that location before reading this hook upon the player characters: this is something they should
section further. investigate on their own initiative!
Adventure Hooks Alternate Hooks

It’s easy to miss this adventure site, but since it contains an
An Invitation from the Duchess. While exploring the important Seal of Drakkenheim, you may need to troubleshoot.
river, sewers, or another aquatic location, the characters If your players don’t take the bait, consider the following:
encounter a curious group of 12 aquatic delerium dregs
h One of the faction leaders asks characters to investigate the fol-
and 2 chuuls who are not outwardly hostile. Two step
forward peacefully with trepidation, introducing themselves lowing rumour: “The bodies of many slain adventurers and fac-
as Blip-Bloop and Slurpy. They implore characters to help tion agents are said to rest in the cistern beneath Slaughtstone
them find a suitable gift to bring back to their mistress, who Square. Who knows how many magic items are lost there?”
h An encounter with aquatic dregs leaves behind a clue related to
they refer to as the “Duchess”. If questioned, they can convey
the following information: a character’s personal quest, indicating the aquatic dregs possess
a lost magic item or missing person (who is now transformed
into one of the aquatic dregs or even the Duchess’ attendants).

1c
1d
Interactions 1b 1a
The Duchess is an otherworldly abomination who holds many
mutated aquatic delerium dregs in thrall, using them to gather de- 1e
lerium and lure unsuspecting explorers to its lair to contaminate.
The Duchess
The Duchess is an aboleth of unfathomable origin. Whether it 2
was brought here by the unstable rifts of the Haze, or the result 3
of some mutated origin, none can say. It uses its knowledge,

telepathy, and mind-reading abilities to make deceptive offers
that appeal to characters’ deepest desires, manipulating them
into embracing contamination so they will become its thralls.
h Personality Trait. I rule my subjects like a benevolent
matron, and eagerly invite guests to my household so they can
serve my will forever. 4
h Ideal. The destiny of the Haze cannot be stopped, all will

become contaminated and corrupt, all will bask within the
eldritch embrace of distant stars.
h Bond. I have heard the clarion call of the Amalgamation in
Castle Drakken. Soon it will open a dimensional rift. I must
Old Town Cistern
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
seek servants and magic so I may seize it for myself.
h Flaw. I grow angry and impatient when mortals do not regard
me with fear and veneration.
The Duchess is deeply in tune with the magic of the Haze.
Though it does not know the origins of the meteor, the Duchess
is aware that the Haze will eventually overtake the world and Area Details
can sense the dimensional rift within Castle Drakken (see chap-
The water in these areas is contaminated. Characters who end
ter 9). It is amassing delerium, magic items, and contaminated
their turn swimming or submerged in contaminated water must
thralls with the hopes of one day seizing the rift and ruling the
succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain one level
surface. It dimly understands the Seals of Drakkenheim may be
of contamination. A character who drinks contaminated water
useful in this regard, and so wants to acquire those items as well.
gains one level of contamination.
Duchess’ Attendants [1] Underground Cistern

These three wretches are the favoured thralls of the Duchess.
This subterranean water reservoir is an eighty-foot-tall cylinder
Called the Cardinal, the Chamberlain, and the Chancellor, each is a
with a domed ceiling made from watertight concrete and
former human transformed by contamination. They use the game
flagstones. At the top is a five-foot-wide opening that leads to
statistics for a sea hag with their creature type changed to aberra-
the receptacle fountain in Slaughterstone Square. A narrow
tion. The attendants use their powers to appear as humans garbed
five-foot-wide stone walkway is built twenty feet above the
in flowing blue robes to lure and deceive visitors, but their muta-
cylinder’s base and rings a thirty-foot-diameter basin.
tions are more horrific than the aquatic delerium dregs, whom they
[1a]Basin. The reservoir below is almost full, the water
regard as their subservient kin. Their original memories and per-
line is only two feet below the edge of the walkway. The basin
sonalities have been nearly obliterated by madness, and they now
floor is filled with dozens of waterlogged corpses belonging
loyally serve the Duchess’ strange agenda. They tend the Monu-
to assorted members of the Hooded Lanterns, Queen’s Men,
ment of the Duchess in the Bathhouse Ruins. The Chancellor is
and rival adventurers who ran afoul of the Executioner; their
in truth the transformed Royal Chancellor of Drakkenheim, Balrin
bodies tossed down here by the berserk construct. While most
Barthes, and still wears the Chancellor’s Crest.
mundane equipment here is ruined, characters can collect
h Personality Trait. We are the attendants of the Duchess.
a satchel with 2d6 delerium fragments inside, and a sack
Come see our customs and partake of our strange ways, and containing coins, gems, and other valuables worth 500 gp. If
all will be revealed. The water holds great secrets; drink you wish, you may place 1d4 common magic items or a single
deeply of its knowledge. uncommon magic item here.
h Ideal. Our blessed offerings help the Duchess in her quest to
h Two chuuls and 12 aquatic delerium dregs pick over the
open the way and the gate.
h Bond. We escaped the castle but did not make it further. The treasures. If the characters found the cistern on their own,
Duchess has rescued us. these are the group described in the Adventure Hooks section.
h Flaw. We do not remember who we once were, but the [1b] Aqueduct Passage. Water is siphoned from the basin
Duchess tells us we must make preparations to one day rise into this underground aqueduct; the middle of the ten foot
from the waters to walk upon the surface once more. diameter opening is roughly in line with the walkway. A barred

grate can be removed with a DC 15 Strength check. Beyond is
a barrel-shaped passage flooded to the hip. After it travels two [4} Underground Lake
hundred feet, there is a break in the ceiling that opens to the
Bathhouse Ruins (below). This massive cavern is awash in ocatrine light, illuminated by hundreds
[1c] Sewer Canal. The slippery steps descend this wide of tiny delerium crystals embedded in the cavern walls. Water flows from
stairway to the sewer system at large. A battered and broken cracks between hanging stalactites, filling the large underground lake
gate once kept it closed. Where these canals lead is up to you. with dark water that shimmers and reflects the delerium’s sickly light.
[1d] Slaughterstone Stair. This narrow spiral staircase The air is heavy with moisture, and mucus-like slime washes up on the
bank, thick globs of scum cling to the stones. The smallest sound echoes
ascends sixty feet to the surface, and ends at a small landing with
through the chamber with an eerie reverb.
a short ladder leading to a heavy wrought-iron drainage cover
three feet wide. Opening the cover from below requires an action h The underground lake begins shallow but quickly reaches a
and a DC 15 Strength check. It opens to Slaughterstone Square. depth of thirty feet. The stalactite-covered cavern ceiling is
[1e] Smuggler’s Tunnel. This wide spiral staircase ascends only fifteen feet above the surface.
twenty feet then ends at a small landing leading to a roughly h This is the lair of the Duchess. The creature hides beneath
hewn arched tunnel four feet wide and eight feet tall. The the dark water. If it senses hostile intruders, it attempts to
passage snakes and twists for some distance before connecting lure them close to the banks so it can pull them into the
to the basement of the Black Ivory Inn (see Outer City Ruins). contaminated water easily.
h If attacked, the Duchess sends out a psychic call to its
[2] Bathhouse Ruins underlings, and 4 merrow and 12 aquatic delerium dregs
arrive five rounds later to help protect the Duchess.
h Delerium. The cavern walls contain countless small
This partially-buried rectangular chamber appears to be a bathhouse
of the sort built in ancient antiquity. A pillared aisle borders a central sparkling flakes of delerium, but with several hours of
pool set with a fine circular fountain decorated with statues of nymphs excavation characters can unearth 10 (3d6) delerium shards
basking around a long-forgotten god. Bas-relief carvings along the and 1d4 delerium crystals. Characters inspecting the cavern
walls depict primordial scenes of storms, shipwrecks, and vengeful walls can detect that the delerium crystals are embedded in
aquatic monsters. At one end of the pool is a semicircular alcove where the rock. There’s simply no way these shards came from the
a massive delerium crystal as tall as a human juts through the floor. It meteor, they’re too far underground.
is choked by a mass of thick pulsing veins and perspiring strange black h Below the water’s surface is a wide underground river that
nodules laced with prismatic colour. The glowing stone illuminates the connects to the Drann River.
room. Opposite the pool is a wide arched canal from which water flows h A mound of loose dirt and sand is not visible above the water’s
into the chamber. The air is cold and damp, and the sound of running surface, but obvious to any who dive underwater. Digging the
water echoes through the chamber. The vaulted ceiling overhead is mound out takes one minute of work, and contains the Duchess’s
cracked and buckling. personal treasure. It contains 1d4 delerium crystals, 1d6 water-
tight tubes each containing a rare spell scroll, 3d6 other gem-
h The statue depicts the old god Nodens, god of sea and storms. stones or treasures worth 250 gp each, and a rare magic item.
h Three sea hags - The Chancellor, the Chamberlain, and the
Cardinal - are here. They may also be encountered with 10
(3d6) aquatic delerium dregs and possibly a chuul.
h They are not initially hostile, and instead invite characters
to drink contaminated water they have mixed with delerium Developments
dust, touch the delerium geode, and then communicate with Regardless of whether or not the characters can learn anything
the Duchess telepathically. The process will undoubtedly from the Duchess, slaying this abomination puts an end to a
bring characters to the brink of a monstrous transformation. terrible scourge before it festers and worsens. Left unchecked,
h Delerium. This is a massive delerium geode cluster. It’s
the Duchess could become a potential interloper who interferes
exceptionally difficult to remove, but growing around it in future events. Alternatively, the Duchess may decide to
are 2d6 delerium shards that can be more easily harvested. pursue its interests elsewhere, leaving Drakkenheim via the
The Duchess’ attendants touch the geode when they contaminated Drann River. It travels downstream towards the
communicate telepathically with the Duchess, and refer to it ocean and spreads its corrupting influence into the wider world.
as “the Monument of the Duchess.”
h Treasure. The Chancellor has prominently pinned the
Chancellor’s Crest upon their robes. This valuable item is one
the Seals of Drakkenheim. Amongst the urns, bowls, and sacks
The Chancellor’s Crest
Characters who recover the Chancellor’s Crest have a major
kept here are 1d4 uncommon spell scrolls or potions.
find. As one of the missing Seals of Drakkenheim, it’s one of the
keys to the city. Should the Hooded Lanterns and the Queen’s
[3] Hydra’s Lair Men discover the characters possess it, they’ll make overtures
to meet them. Both Elias Drexel and the Queen of Thieves use
This chamber is the collapsed ruin of a once-magnificent circular bath. this as an opportunity to recruit the characters to their faction’s
cause. If the characters turn down the offer, these factions
h Ahydra dwells here in thrall to the Duchess to serve as a begin drawing up plans to take the Chancellor’s Crest by stealth,
personal guardian. It rarely leaves this chamber except to trickery, or even force if necessary.
devour worthless minions.

Queen’s Park
R Interactions
esting in the northern heart of the city between the
Inscrutable Tower and Castle Drakken, Queen’s Park
was built to honor the Queens of Drakkenheim who ruled While characters explore Queen’s Park, they can learn the tragic
as monarchs, but those who were royal consorts have also been fate of Queen Lenore von Kessel, and even locate the former
commemorated here. Over time, more monuments to other well- royal consort.
known women who defined the history of Drakkenheim were The day the meteor fell, chaos erupted in Castle Drakken as
constructed here as well. Commonfolk and nobles alike spoke the staff and royal family attempted to escape the Haze. At the
of fondly losing themselves in Queen’s Park as they wandered its behest of the royal steward, Queen Lenore’s retainers helped
elegant beauty on summer afternoons. Now covered by the Deep her escape Castle Drakken via a secret waterway that exits at
Haze, one might indeed become lost here forever. Queen’s Park. Hindered by Lenore’s baggage train, the royal
entourage became lost in the spreading mist, and were trans-
formed into monsters. They have remained here ever since,
Overview driven to madness with little remaining of their memories.
An expedition to Queen’s Park, originally seeking key ingre-

dients for aqua expurgo, may eventually lead characters to a Lost Lenore
shocking discovery regarding the fate of a royal family member.
This melancholic creature stands six feet tall with long, thin limbs.
Her chalky white skin is cracked and rigid like stone, and her hair is a
Adventure Hooks writhing mass of thick wet tendrils that end in toothy maws. She wears
an emerald necklace and a distressed black ball gown. She covers her
Gathering Eldritch Lilies. Characters who find the research hair with a shawl and her face with a cracked porcelain mask.
of Oscar Yoren or hear certain rumours may learn of the magical
flowers growing in Queen’s Park said to have resistive properties Lenore von Kessel, the Queen-Consort of Drakkenheim and
against contamination. Those who research further can learn the wife of Ulrich IV has become a monster that uses the game
following about them: statistics of a medusa. Replace the normal Petrifying Gaze trait
h An eldritch lily is a pink-purple flower that grows in pools of
and actions with the following:
contaminated water within natural areas covered by the Deep h Radiant Gaze. When a creature that can see Lenore’s
Haze. The plants have a strange odor, and emit a magical eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of her, Lenore can force
ringing sound audible within ten feet. They register a distinct it to make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw if she isn’t
magical aura when inspected with detect magic. A single incapacitated and can see the creature. The creature takes
eldritch lily is worth 100 gp. The petals are potent alchemical 22 (4d10) radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much on
reagents, and can be used as a component for restorative spells a successful one. In addition, creatures who fail this saving
and many potions. throw gain one level of contamination.

h Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the
saving throw at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it Area Details
can’t see Lenore until the start of its next turn, when it can
avert its eyes again. If the creature looks at Lenore in the
meantime, it must immediately make the save. Entering Queen’s Park
h If Lenore sees herself reflected on a polished surface within 30
feet of her and in an area of bright light, she becomes blinded The labyrinthian footpaths of Queen’s Park saunter by baroque-style
and incapacitated for 1d6 hours. flower beds in geometrical layouts, down winding paths through forested
h Tentacle Hair. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
groves, and over ornamented bridges that cross artificial streams and
ponds. The lawns and plazas are decorated with triumphal arches,
creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrot-
marble fountains, statuary gardens, and hedge mazes, but the park has
ic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution become overgrown, desolate, and blanketed by thick glimmering mists.
saving throw or gain one level of contamination. Hardy vines cling to the statues like leeches, and strange flowers in
Transformed by the Haze, Lenore is a mockery of her former unnatural hues bloom in the gardens. A potent pollen hangs in the air - a
self and abhorrently reacts to her own appearance. She dimly smell between musk and sweet perfume. It tingles the nostrils, and irritates
remembers seeking shelter in her grotto, but has no recollection the eyes slightly. The garden is quiet, the sounds of footsteps linger loudly.
of how she escaped the castle. There is no sign of a single animal, not even a bird or rodents, but the plant
h Personality Trait. I speak softly in a perpetual daydream,
life flourishes despite the lack of sun and influx of rain.
rhapsodically imagining myself to be in a tragic fairytale while h Queen’sPark Garden is entirely suffused by the Deep Haze
casting others in fictional roles. (see chapter 5)
h Ideal. The world is a mirror held up to my own
glorious reflection.
h Bond. I obsessively crave beauty, decadence, and relish in art Navigating the Garden
of all kinds, and especially love my garden and my lilies. They Queen’s Park Garden trades the streets, alleys, and ruined build-
are all I have left. ings of the city proper for footpaths, garden trails, flowerbeds,
h Flaw. I fly into an enraged fury at the sight of my own monuments, and forested groves. As such, characters move
likeness or the names of my lost family members. through the region just as they do the city streets.
Any character proficient in History can instantly recognize
Lenore despite her mutations. Before her transformation,
Lenore was extraordinarily vain and narcissistic, though was
Searching the Garden
Characters looking for an eldritch lily must attempt Searching the
uncharastically kind and gentle to her servants. She wore
Ruins for one hour, as described in “Navigating Drakkenheim”
outrageously ornamented gowns, hats, makeup, and jewelry,
in chapter 5. In addition to making Investigation checks,
including a famous golden necklace set with eleven emeralds.
characters may use Arcana, History, Nature, or Survival to help
She loved her children only as extensions of herself, and search the gardens. Success requires a DC 15 check result, with
absolutely despised her husband. any check result of 20 or higher granting an additional success.
What the characters find each attempt is based on their
Queen’s Retinue number of successes:
The transformed creatures that once were Lenore’s personal 1 success or fewer Nothing
attendants each use the game statistics for a dryad. Now called
2 successes Brackish Pool
the handmaidens, they resemble disheveled and misshapen
figures clad in moss-covered petticoats, their hair like slimy grass 3 successes Eldritch Lily Pond
and skin like knobbly bark. 4 or more successes Royal Grotto
h Just as they did in their former lives, these unfortunate
wretches attend, obey, and protect Lenore, but have only Two or more failed check results triggers one of the random
fragmented memories of their own. encounters below. Don’t forget that characters are exposed to
h They act avoidant, timid, and servile, but are resolute in the Deep Haze each hour they spend here!
their duties. They use their abilities to mislead and prevent
intruders from reaching the royal grotto while wandering the
garden searching for delerium and eldritch lilies to bring back
to please Lenore. “Do not, I repeat DO NOT mess with the flower gardens
h If interacted with, characters may be able to coax the hand- unless you want a lawn gnome’s boot to your face.”
maidens into leading them to the royal grotto by succeeding
on three DC 15 Charisma checks, perhaps portraying them- — Sebastian Crowe
selves as valiant knights here to help or conjuring some other
“I’ve never been into botany but I found those
fable. Otherwise, characters can follow or chase them back to
lilies enchanting.”
the royal grotto.
In addition, many of the haze wights wandering the garden — Pluto Jackson
are the undead remnants of the Queen’s personal guard, and still
bear the crests and livery of House von Kessel.

Royal Grotto
Tiered Garden
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
Random Encounters in Queen’s Park

h Behind the waterfall is a ten foot wide underground canal
that stretches off into darkness. There are no walkways, and
Check for random encounters as normal as characters explore one thousand feet down the canal, the water becomes thick
Queen’s Park, using this table to generate encounters. delerium sludge that is home to 1d4 animated delerium
sludges. The canal gently bends and snakes upward,
1 Turned Around 5 The Three Angels eventually ending in the cistern of the royal palace of Castle
2 Garden Gnomes 6 Ghost Lights Drakken (see chapter 9).
3 Weeping Willow 7 Monument Of The Queen’s Men Wight Knights. Six haze wights wander the garden, and
hungrily attack any living creatures they encounter. They wear
4 Wight Knights 8 Handmaiden’s Grove
the livery of House von Kessel.
h One of the wights has a letter on his person that bears the
Turned Around. The characters find themselves at the edge
seal of the royal steward (see the “Steward’s Letter” in the
of the garden near one of the many entrances into the grounds.
They can make out rows of buildings and streets just beyond Developments section).
h With the information from the note, the characters are granted
a high and moss covered rocky wall that surrounds the garden.
They must have gotten turned around somewhere back there. advantage on their next “Searching the Garden” roll.
Garden Gnomes. A thin path winds through a grassy clearing. The Three Angels. Three statues of weeping angels stand facing
The grass is lush and green, perhaps the most vibrant grass within the middle of this clearing. The central statue is significantly larger
ten miles of the city. On either side of the path is a beautiful deco- than the other two, and is choked in thick vines with pulsing spores.
rated floral garden. The gardens are lined with fluorescent purple Between them is an old stone podium entangled in overgrowth.
flowers accented with hints of orange, yellow, or green. They are h Removing the plants reveals a map of the gardens en-
not eldritch lilies, but to the untrained eye they may appear to be. graved upon the stone surface. Any interaction with the
A DC20 Nature check reveals them to be false lilies. Four small statues or the map causes the three statues to spring to life:
garden gnomes stand within the gardens, one on either end of the the smaller two become gargoyles, and the larger one uses
two floral beds. If the players step onto the grass or pick any of the stat block of a vrock.
the flowers they immediately hear a voice screech out to them: h Examining the map gives characters advantage on their
“KEEP. OFF. THE. GRASS!” next “Searching The Garden” roll.
h The garden gnomes are insane gnome berserkers, who spring Ghost Lights. 5 (2d4) will-o-wisps float within the trees of this
to life and attack any who interfere with their lush garden. thick wooded area. If followed, they attempt to lure characters into
Weeping Willow. A sad-looking willow tree hangs before a the woods towards a grove ringed by beautiful glowing fluorescent
vine-covered stone bridge built across a gentle babbling creek at flowers. A dead mage lays in the middle of the floral patch,
the base of a small waterfall. Purple and yellow vibrant flowers h Any who inspect the body cause a vengeful arcane wraith
bloom all across the bridge’s thick vines. The tree sways in an to emerge that is immediately hostile. The will-o-wisps
eerie breeze, while fastened to its trunk a small elegant rowboat attack along with the wraith.
bobs gently in the creek. h Upon the corpse is an uncommon magic item, as well as 1d4
h As players approach the tree, it awakens as a mad treant. rare potions or spell scrolls.
h Abandoned in the boat is a small hairpin with the crest of Monument of The Queen’s Men. A monument of the
the von Kessel family upon it, as well as a book titled “The original Queen’s Men rests here. It depicts the regiment of castle
Gardens of Skye’’ that details exotic lilies and other flora. guards dedicated to protecting the Queens of Drakkenheim.
Inside the cover of the book is an inscription that reads “To The monument has been defaced with graffiti and crude
my dear mother Lenore, From Katarina.” drawings left by outlaws of the current Queen’s Men. An old

1
2
3
Royal Grotto
Scale 1sq = 5ft.
burrow behind the monument used to be a campsite but is now

home to 2 hungry trolls. Area Details
h The trolls can be bargained with, offering directions to the Characters who search for eldritch lilies and achieve four
royal grotto, where they found lots of glowing flowers. In successes find the royal grotto.
exchange, they want to eat one of the characters’ limbs.
h If the trolls are bargained with, characters have advantage
on their next “Searching the Garden” roll. Tiered Garden
Handmaidens Grove. Nestled between hedgerows is a This regal garden is decorated with opulent stone staircases with
beautiful topiary garden with bushes trimmed into elegant pillared railings that ascend between the tiers. The main garden is
designs depicting mythological creatures. Tending the garden highlighted by two large shimmering pools, bordered with tiled stone,
are 7 (2d6) of Lenore’s handmaidens (described above). while multiple lilies float upon the glistening water, pulsing gently with
an eldritch glow. Several gnarled and beautiful cherry blossom trees
Brackish pool accent the tiers of the garden in an eternal state of bloom, while petals
of hot pink, electric blue, and neon violet fall softly, covering the entire
area in waves of colour.
This small pond is covered in a thin layer of algae that floats upon the
glimmering surface of the water. Amongst the aquatic plant life are The bubbling of fountains and rustling of wind through trees add a
three large yellow lilies. peaceful ambiance to the garden, which is decorated with many statues
of a tall woman with elegant limbs wearing outrageous dresses and
h Examining the water with a DC10 Investigation check costumes. The face of each statue has been chiseled off . Centred on the
determines that it is contaminated. upper tier is a statue of the same figure with a lily in her hand, and like
h The three flowers are hypnotic eldritch blossoms that
the others the face of the statue has been carved away. Light marble
walls separate the tiers and are etched with relief carvings of faces of
attempt to lure characters into the pond.
princesses, queens, maidens and many others who served the von Kessels.
h If the water is disturbed, an animated delerium sludge
Moss, ivy, and unnaturally bright flowers cling to many of the statues
emerges and attacks. and walls. Nestled between the staircases and pools is a set of large
beaten brass doors, colour shifted and oxidized by years of wear. The
Eldritch Lily Pond doors have a floral patterned border and two massive handles shaped
like lilies. These doors are the entrance to the grotto below.
This small artificial pond is surrounded by prismatic cherry blossom
trees. Reeds spring up around the muddy bank, and throngs of algae h Entering the tiered garden awakens 2 shambling mounds
grow beneath the water’s surface, which is blanketed with clusters of and 2d4 hypnotic eldritch blossoms that attempt to lure
lily pads. Blooming from the water are several large lily flowers with characters into the contaminated pools.
brightly scintillating pink-purple petals. They emit a sweet strange h A DC10 History Check by a player proficient in the skill can
smell and a melodic arcane hum. determine that these statues are all of Lenore von Kessel
h Characters find this location with three successful checks
when they Search the Garden (see above).
h Standing in the contaminated water are 5 (2d4) of the Queen’s “To take a stroll through Queen’s Park gardens is to walk
handmaidens (see Interactions above), gathering the lilies the paths of royals past...but even the quickest of trips
with care to bring back to Lenore in the royal grotto. can leave you one sandwich short of a picnic.”
h There are 5 (2d4) eldritch lilies blooming in the pond, but also
2 (1d4) hypnotic eldritch blossoms (the blossoms ignore — Veo Sjena
the Queen’s handmaidens).

[1] Grotto Entrance [2] Wellspring
Descending the stairs leads to a circular vaulted chamber decorated floor Two yawning stone pipes disgorge streams of sweet-smelling water
to ceiling with mosaics. The geometric patterns depict magical aquatic into a pool in this cavernous chamber. The water is luminescent with
humanoids such as merfolk, nymphs, and water weirds delightfully a pinkish-purple sheen. Thick roots from the trees above have broken
relaxing in fantastically extravagant yet everyday activities: playing sports, through the walls to sip the collected water. The pond empties gently
enjoying meals, taking baths, and cavorting with terrestrial lovers. The down a passage that bends southwest.
chamber is comfortably cool and filled with a pleasant moist odor; the
sound of gurgling water echoes down the hall. h Thepool is three feet deep, and the water within is
In the middle of the chamber is a circular fountain set with a nymph- contaminated. The pipe openings are about a foot wide.
like figure holding a trident and a vase. Water pours from the open-
ing to fill the fountain with crystal clear water. Around and within
the fountain are arranged painted ceramic vases, glass collectables,
[3] Statuary Chamber
and loose coins. The stepped caverns converge in a rectangular chamber. Part of the
The mosaics extend along short hallways leading to the east and chamber is finished stonework, the rest remains roughly hewn. Several
west, ending in smaller rooms of similar construction. Arches set with statues have been carved directly from the rock. The finished chamber
barred iron gates are cut into the walls in three places. Each leads to a contains twenty statues depicting Lenore von Kessel lining the long
roughly hewn and stepped cavernous passage that descends gently while walls. A large statue of the royal family sits at the end of this chamber,
twisting sharply south. depicting King Ulrich, Queen Lenore, and their two daughters. The faces
of any statue depicting Queen Lenore have been sheared off.
h A character proficient in mason’s tools or with stonecunning
can tell the cavernous passages are completely artificial, and h Aninscription on the family monument reads “...for my
not a naturally-formed cavern. lovely Lenore, on the anniversary of our royal union.” —
h 10 (3d6) handmaidens appear using their tree stride power in King Ulrich von Kessel IV
the roots within the following chambers and make a last ditch
attempt to drive away intruders.
[4] Underground Pond
An underground pond fills most of this large artificial cavern, filled by a
flowing stream to the west. The water glows softly with prismatic light, and
across the surface are dozens of purple-pink eldritch lilies. The great roots
from the trees above have broken through the ceiling in places to drink
deeply from the lambent water.
An exquisitely upholstered velvet chaise lounge with gold-painted armrests
and plush pillows is set atop several overlapping woven rugs. Scattered
around the furnishings lies the extensive baggage train of a fabulously
wealthy noblewoman. A mahogany chest of drawers is overflowing with
pompous gowns, fashionable dresses, multicoloured wigs, oversized hats,
and fantastically impractical shoes. An oaken coffer is brimming with
elaborate jewellery, and several smaller containers, suitcases, and baskets are
overstuffed with more clothing, artwork, gems, and coins.
Several portraits and paintings are arranged about the chamber. Many
paintings show a noblewoman wearing a golden necklace set with eleven
emeralds, but within each the face has been torn off. One painting shows
the woman posing with a noble family: a young teen man, two girls - one
perhaps eight, the other no more than five - and a portly and bearded
man wearing a crown.
Lenore h Lenore resides here. If anyone touches the eldritch lilies or
provokes her flaws, she tears away her veil and attacks while
prismatic light emanates from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
h Treasure. Queen Lenore’s emerald necklace is worth
10,000 gp. However, the necklace is famous. Anyone with
the coinage to buy it knows that it would be immediately
recognized as belonging to the royal family. Lenore wears
a diamond-set ring of protection bearing the royal seal. The
other costumes and accoutrements here are mostly ruined,
but 1d4 pieces worth 250 gp are salvageable. 1d6 delerium
crystals and 2d6 shards can be harvested here.
h Eldritch Lilies. Lenore’s handmaidens have collected 35
(10d6) eldritch lilies and gathered them in the pool here, but
they don’t normally grow in this location.

Developments sibly take up the throne as a Queen-Regent, this is an extremely
dubious claim. Lenore was wed into House von Kessel, and
so her political authority comes from her spouse and children.
Characters may have come to Queen’s Park seeking flowers, but Worse, while Lenore adores the trappings of power and wealth,
could leave with a royal problem. she loathes actual political responsibility. She wields her influ-
ence for personal gain only. Still, she could prove instrumental
Lenore in confirming the identity of her offspring, but she doesn’t know
where they are or what happened to them.
Lenore can be kept tranquil or pacified by characters who play
into her delusions, or temporarily blinded if she sees her own
face. It may be possible to capture her or bring her out of the
Garden, but as a contaminated creature she’ll die in a few days
Eldritch Lilies and Aqua Expurgo
if taken outside the Haze. Creating one dose of aqua expurgo requires alchemical tools
The former Queen is a powerful symbol of the old monarchy. and eight hours of work by a character who knows the formula
As such, should Elias Drexel and the Hooded Lanterns learn and can cast spells of 3rd level or higher. The recipe calls for
of her survival, they demand Lenore be placed under their one eldritch lily flower, 150 gp in alchemical reagents, and two
custody in the Drakkenheim Garrison. If the characters accept, ounces of blood taken from a contaminated monster.
the Hooded Lanterns reward the characters with an appropriate Oscar Yoren and his apprentices can produce the potion
boon for their deed. This act alone cements the support of the given the materials, as can the Amethyst Academy, the Hooded
Hooded Lanterns, and they’ll look favourably upon an alliance Lanterns, and the Followers of the Falling Fire if they are given
with another faction the characters might be working alongside. the formula.
However, should the characters refuse, the Hooded Lanterns Cultivating an Eldritch Lily Garden. Rather than con-
cast them as royal kidnappers. Elias Drexel expends every effort tinually revisiting the garden to acquire more flowers, inven-
to rescue Lenore and bring the party to justice. tive characters might propose creating a garden of their own.
If Lenore was killed and the characters inform Hooded Characters who carefully collect two dozen complete eldritch lily
Lanterns, the soldiers are devastated, but don’t seek retribution. plants - not just the flowers - can begin their own plot. They’ll
They understand the characters did what they had to do against need a location within the Haze with ample contaminated
a contaminated monster. Even still, this blunder means Elias water, as eldritch lily plants taken out of the Haze wilt and die
Drexel no longer believes the characters have the best interests within twenty four hours. The strongholds of the Followers
of Drakkenheim in mind. Unless they prove otherwise through of the Falling Fire and the Hooded Lanterns, as well as Reed
greater deeds, the Hooded Lanterns become ambivalent about Manor, are suitable sites for a safely accessible lily garden, but
working with the party in the future. the Amethyst Academy has the means to create one at their
Curing Lenore. Unfortunately, the Hooded Lanterns don’t remote strongholds as well.
possess the means to reverse Lenore’s transformation, and must This ensures a consistent supply of reagents for crafting
turn to the other factions for help: aqua expurgo, and working with a faction or Oscar Yoren allows
h The Silver Order makes an honest effort to use cleric spells to each character to receive one dose at the outset of any mission.
cure Lenore, but this fails. As such, they suggest a swift and Characters who wish to create additional doses must either do
merciful death is the most honorable course for a contaminated so themselves or provide extra gold and materials to ensure the
creature such as Lenore. They demand the Hooded Lanterns garden isn’t overfarmed.
euthanize her as a condition for any future alliance.
h The Amethyst Academy offers to help find a way to
reverse her transformation in return for help retaking the
The Steward’s Letter
Inscrutable Tower. They suggest the characters seek out the
Pale Man to acquire his research. If these works are turned Your Majesty,
over to the Academy, the mages will aid the characters in Please excuse the haste of this missive, and the messenger who bears
developing the siphon contamination spell. it. Our present circumstances are both dire and desperate.
h The Queen of Thieves suspects a wish from the Crown of I have charged this man with ensuring your safety during this
Westemär could be used to cure Lenore, but reveals this calamity. He is a valiant knight, and will escort you and your
information carefully. Naturally, if the Hooded Lanterns handmaids out of Drakkenheim. It is imperative you flee the castle
keep Lenore in the Drakkenheim Garrison, the Queen’s immediately via the garden passage.
Men stage a kidnapping attempt for ransom! Do not return to the royal apartments, nor take the main castle gate.
h The Followers of the Falling Fire don’t care much for the
I beg you, your Majesty, do not wait for anyone else, nor burden
old monarchy, but Lucretia Mathias offers to call upon her yourself with trinkets and treasures, nor tarry in the gardens! Escape
divine powers to restore Lenore to her human form. This the city with all speed.
requires a great show of faith: Lucrecia Mathias only agrees
to perform the miracle if Elias Drexel and the Hooded I promise, my queen, I shall not leave myself without the king and
your son. I pray that your daughters remain safe. We shall all meet
Lanterns leadership agree to join the Followers of the
again in health and mirth soon.
Falling Fire by taking the Sacrament. Yours in faithful service,
Queen-Regent. If her transformation is somehow reversed, Johann Eisner, Royal Steward
Lenore has the statistics of a human noble. While she could pos-

Rose Theatre
T
he Rose Theatre was the latest in a long line of
playhouses in Drakkenheim that typically remained Adventure Hooks
for a few decades before horribly burning down. The Dangerous Minds. Ryan Greymere has been in the sights of
three story circular theatre with a thrust stage and open-air the Amethyst Academy for some time. Although she was a
auditorium was once a hub for popular entertainment in the dear friend of Eldrick Runeweaver, she was also a fierce rival.
city. Throngs of common folk attended bawdy comedies, They want to know what she is up to in the ruins and what her
exaggerated and bloody histories, and dramatic tragedies research has uncovered about delerium.
written by highly competitive bards. Now it lays abandoned
Misguided Mage. Knights of the Silver Order would like to
within the Haze, devoid of any laughter, music, or applause.
see her brought to justice. As a practitioner of magic who has
abandoned the Edicts of Lumen, the Silver Order believes it is
Overview their duty to destroy her research and bring Ryan Greymere in
for imprisonment, but they are just as happy if the players take
In this adventure, characters explore the mysterious Rose her down.
Theatre, which is oddly sheltered from the city ruins by an in-
visible barrier, guarded by uncontaminated elemental creatures
and arcane constructs. Here, the characters encounter Ryan
Greymere, a talented archmage who abandoned the Amethyst
Academy. Though she has been branded a malfeasant wizard,
Interactions
Ryan Greymere doesn’t practice contaminated magic, unlike Ryan Greymere aggressively responds to intruders into the
Oscar Yoren and the Pale Man. Instead, she’s crafted a potent Rose Theatre, but intends to incapacitate trespassers so she
suit of magic armour that protects against contamination. can find out why they are there. Since she is hiding alone in
It’s up to the player characters how to deal with her. They the Inner City under magical defenses, she expects anyone
can slay her to claim her magic items and seize her spellbooks, who has penetrated the magical barrier is an Amethyst
but could gain much by negotiating with her. They might even Academy assassin sent to kill her. However, she’ll stay her
be able to broker an agreement to admit her back into the hand if intruders attempt parley, but she’ll try to flee before
Amethyst Academy. she can be captured.

Ryan Greymere Ryan Gremere is a human archmage who wears hazewalker
plate, boots of flying, and carries a wand of lightning bolts.
Once highly regarded within the Amethyst Academy, Ryan In addition to the spells she has prepared, her spellbook
Greymere’s trailblazing research led to many early discoveries contains purge contamination, ride the rifts, and octarine spray.
about delerium, and she designed many of the procedures Survival in the Haze. Ryan Greymere uses the magnificent
used by the Academy to make magic items using the crystals. mansion spell each day to conjure a sanctuary where she can
However, she shocked the Directorate by presenting a dramatic rest. She doesn’t keep living quarters in the theatre.
plan for the Amethyst Academy to overtly seize control of Bound Elementals. Ryan Greymere’s elementals were
Drakkenheim by force. Such action would grossly overstep conjured and bound to her service via planar binding and
the Edicts of Lumen, but Greymere flippantly replied that the unquestionably obey her.
realms and clergy were in no place to actually enforce the Edicts
anymore. As a result, she was branded malfeasant, disavowed
by the Academy, and most insultingly, the Directorate took
credit for her discoveries. She fled into Drakkenheim, and now
plans on gaining access to the Inscrutable Tower and continuing
her research in private.
Area Details
Ryan Greymere is a human woman in her mid-forties.
Armoured head to toe and wearing white robes, her spectral Approach
appearance has garnered her the moniker the “Iron Banshee”.
The Rose Theatre is a ring-shaped three-storey wooden playhouse with
h Personality Trait. Get to the point on a topic that excites
the central auditorium open to the sky.
me, or don’t waste my time.
h Ideal. Only wizards can unlock the mysteries of delerium and
protect the world from the Haze, but we cannot do that if we
are hindered by the Edicts of Lumen.
Force Barrier
h Bond. I greatly miss my friends and colleagues in the The whole theatre is protected by a hemispherical wall of force
Amethyst Academy, but I’m furious about the way I was generated by a massive delerium geode. The barrier encloses the
treated by the Directorate. entire building, its perimeter about twenty feet outside the walls
h Flaw. I’m not wasting my time with boot-licking fools and about fifty feet above the rooftops of the theatre.
looking to restore a worthless monarchy. Nothing can physically pass through the wall. It is immune to
all damage and can’t be dispelled by dispel magic. A disintegrate
spell destroys the wall instantly, however it reforms ten minutes
later. The wall also extends into the Ethereal Plane, blocking
ethereal travel through the wall. Teleportation magic can bypass
the wall, such as a dimension door or misty step spell.
Ryan
Greymere
Playhouse
The playhouse is a circular open air auditorium with a rectan-
gular stage. Most performances were held here during daylight
hours to use natural lighting.
The Stage. This large rectangular wooden platform is
built at the north end of the auditorium, connected to the
backstage house by exits leading into the wings. Two large
wooden pillars support an overhanging rooftop that extends
from the backstage house.
h Ryan Greymere has set up her arcane lab upon the stage.
Balcony Galleries. These wooden and pillared galleries

are set with several raked rows of wooden benches, separated
by evenly-spaced aisles. At the centre is a special box seat for
the wealthiest patrons, and many disintegrating cushions,
pamphlets, bits of old food and pitchers are left behind.
Auditorium. This gravel-filled courtyard has no seating:
commonfolk stood here to watch performances instead. It is
open to the air above.
h An air elemental and a water elemental patrol here.
Barrier Generator. This complex arcane apparatus set up

on the stage powers the force barrier. Anchored by a delerium
geode, it requires a constant supply of delerium to maintain.
It has AC 20 and 100 hit points. If destroyed, the force barrier
fails, triggering a random arcane anomaly.

Backstage Bottles of wine, flower bouquets, fluttering pages from play
scripts, and notebooks filled with poems, sonnets and bawdy
The backstage house is a rectangular construction built into drawings are scattered about.
the overall circular shape of the entire theatre that contains the Wardrobes. Contains an array of costumes. Many appear
storage and administrative offices of the theatre. fantastically decorated, but even casual inspection reveals the
The Wings. Mouldering red curtains are hung over the gemstones and gold trim are glass beads and painted fakery.
doorways leading into this narrow carpeted hallway. During Dressing Room. Actors donned their costumes and makeup
performances actors made their entrances and exits via this in these rooms. Several broken mirrors and drawers of powder,
corridor; it connects the stage to the green rooms backstage. wigs, and makeup are still here.
There are many shelves holding old props, several cracked Offices. The writers and managers used these rooms. Writing
mirrors, and old lamps back here. Actors have left behind notes, desks, old playbills, and records of the ticket sales can be found
love-letters, and graffiti. here. A lockbox holds the funds, totalling 1,000 gp.
Green Room. Actors waiting for their cue rested here during
a performance, and socialized here between performances.
Developments Ryan Greymere’s Wishes

As long as the player characters agree to help Ryan Greymere she Ryan Greymere wants to be allowed to continue her research
is willing to grant them access to her research. Characters who in Drakkenheim and is upfront with characters about her
either obtain her notes, or work with her can find the following. relationship with the Academy, and her disdain for the
monarchy. She scoffs at the idea of restoring the royal bloodline,
Ryan Greymere’s Research and feels the world is better off without kings and queens.
If player characters decide to help Ryan Greymere, she asks
Characters can learn the following from speaking with Ryan that they bring her a delerium geode for each character who
Greymere or studying her writing: wants Hazewalker Plate. She will construct the armour for the
h Formation of Delerium Crystals. “Magic attracts more characters but she requires access to the Inscrutable Tower.
magic. Under extraordinarily rare circumstances, magical Rejoining the Academy. Ryan Greymere holds no
energies crystallize into delerium. The stones slowly draw grudges against Eldrick Runeweaver or River, but is very open
more raw magic into the world from distant planes, possible with her opinions on the Academy Directorate. However, she
realities, and alternate dimensions. The rate is exponential. understands that a lot of their decisions are forced on them
Considerably more leakage occurs around vast quantities of by the Edicts of Lumen, and regards the Silver Order and the
delerium. These chaotic energies are inherently destabilizing. oppression of mageborn responsible for limiting her potential
Unfocused magic conjures up paradoxical improbabilities to help the world and solve the issues of Drakkenheim. It may
at random, leaving behind lingering eldritch contamination. be possible for characters to convince the Academy to set aside
Uncontained, these magical forces manifest as the Haze. their feud and have Ryan Greymere join once more. Ultimately,
More delerium forms within, and so the process accelerates.” she would most like to be elected Archmage of Drakkenheim,
h Emergence of Dimensional Rifts. “As it expands, the Haze but she might also collaborate with Eldrick Runeweaver.
both transforms the landscape, but it also conjures magical In either case, she proves to be a valuable asset, and her research
energy from the Space Between Worlds. I’m concerned that and inventions could greatly advance the Academy’s goals.
in areas where magic was already concentrated or where the Unfortunately, Ryan Greymere’s fierce political opinions may
borders between worlds are thin, it could result in catastrophic complicate attempts to have the Amethyst Academy collaborate
dimensional rifts.” with other factions.
h Possible containment. “Delerium presents an existential
danger, but also opportunity. The concentration of delerium
in Drakkenheim could provide an infinite supply of magical
energy if directly harnessed, rather than simply crafting items Crafting Hazewalker Plate
individually. I’ve found promising results so far at collecting Building a suit of Hazewalker Plate requires magically-
the energy given off by the stones - the problem is storage and enchanted smithing tools and a well-equipped arcane forge
containment. The abjurations required are just outside my (such facilities can only be found within the Inscrutable Tower
wheelhouse. If it could be accomplished at-scale, not only would or other distant Amethyst Academy strongholds). It takes
it be possible to fuel endless magical creations, it might actually thirty days of work by a character who knows the schematics
slow the growth of the Haze, even hold it at equilibrium.” and can cast spells of 7th level or higher. The recipe calls
h Hazewalker Plate and Bottled Comet Schematics. for one delerium geode, 10,000 gp in alchemical reagents,
Ryan Gremere’s research notes include the formula and and five ingots of refined meteoric iron in addition to enough
blueprints to create these items (See Appendix D). conventional steel and materials for making either half-plate
Ryan Greymere keeps her research within a secret chest. If she’s or plate. Ryan Greymere can craft a suit given facilities and
killed, the contents become forever lost on the Ethereal Plane. materials, as can the Amethyst Academy.

Saint Vitruvio’s Cathedral
S
aint Vitruvio was a mighty paladin of the Sacred Flame, the catacombs below the contemporary building. Following its
the patron saint of Drakkenheim. Along with the ancient completion, worshippers would travel for miles around to make
gold dragon Argonath, this righteous warrior saved prayers and offerings to the Sacred Flame here. After the meteor
Drakkenheim from a marauding army led by chromatic dragons fell, these hallowed halls became a charnel house - the lair of the
that descended upon Westemär from the eastern vale centuries monstrous Lord of the Feast.
ago. Argonath gave their life in that battle, and Saint Vitruvio
subsequently died slaying the half-dragon warlock behind the
terrible scourge. Their bones and equipment have been kept as
holy relics since, as Saint Vitruvio prophesied the gold dragon
Overview
could be resurrected should Drakkenheim ever fall to darkness. In this adventure, the player characters must spearhead an
This gargantuan Cathedral of the Sacred Flame was built to assault or infiltration into Saint Vitruvio’s Cathedral, where
house their remains. However, it is a relatively recent con- they will face off against a terrifying garmyr warband. Then
struction, only completed a little over a century ago to replace characters may explore the catacombs below to recover the relics
another large chapel that was torn down during the expansion within. The cathedral is one place that can bring all the factions
of the city walls. Long before, the site was home to several together, but in the aftermath their disagreements blossom into
crypts and crematory gardens, and the dead are still interred in open conflict.

Adventure Hooks
h The Inner City is filled with monsters, so moving material,
troops, or large traps into the city over time is difficult and lim-
Reclaim the Cathedral. Once characters have secured pas- ited to what individual people can carry and set up in the field.
h Once the cathedral is taken, the factions will post troops there
sage through a city gate, obtained at least one Seal of Drakken-
heim, claimed the clocktower, and otherwise proven their com- on rotating shifts to defend it, but this will leave their forces
petence and trustworthiness to either the Hooded Lanterns, the stretched quite thin as a result.
Silver Order, the Followers of the Falling Fire, or the Queen of
Thieves, they are approached by a faction leader about leading
an assault on the cathedral.
Planning the Attack
h For the Followers of the Falling Fire and the Silver Order, The player characters should be instrumental in planning the
the cathedral is an important spiritual landmark. Not only attack on the cathedral and devising a way to bring down the
are many important holy relics kept here, but also the Lord of the Feast with the faction leaders. A decisive blow
magical brazier of the Sacred Flame could be re-ignited. must be struck. The factions can’t fight a battle of attrition in
Its protective aura might even hold back the Haze, at least the streets or hold ground in the city because their troops will
around the cathedral. quickly become contaminated. The factions can provide a few
h Both the Queen of Thieves and the Hooded Lanterns wish doses of aqua expurgo or cast purge contamination to heal an
to access the House von Kessel vaults located beneath the individual strike team, but none of the factions can afford to do
cathedral. This important archive may include copies of the this en masse.
king’s will or other documents outlining the line of succession, h The best intelligence and scouting reports the factions have
and possibly other political secrets. indicates that the garmyr number in the hundreds, perhaps
h Finally, the High Flamekeeper’s Phylactery is believed to be even as many as two thousand. While slaying the Lord of the
lost here. As one of the six Seals of Drakkenheim, its recovery Feast won’t suddenly cause the garmyr to disappear, it should
is essential if there is to one day be a new monarch… or break any cohesion between the warbands.
someone wishes to use the power of the throne. Except for h If the characters are having trouble coming up with a plan,
the Amethyst Academy, every faction wants to recover it. one of the faction leaders might suggest trying to draw out the
h The Amethyst Academy doesn’t have a personal interest Lord of the Feast with bait of some kind. Then, faction strike
in recovering the cathedral. However, they may throw their teams can lure away the bulk of the garmyr with a diversion,
support behind one of the other factions to garner favour with while the player characters take down the Lord of the Feast
them later. (possibly with a faction leader). Embrace your player’s
creativity in coming up with what might be suitable bait and
what might be a good diversion!
Interactions Lord of the Feast

Game statistics for this monstrous creature can be found in
A direct attack by the player characters alone is likely folly, so Appendix A.
they should seek aid from the factions to defeat the Lord of
h Personality Trait. I live for the hunt, and enjoy nothing
the Feast.
more than fresh meat.
Faction Alliance
h Ideal. It is the right of the strong to consume the weak.
h Bond. Drakkenheim is the perfect hunting ground for an
Many factions can accomplish key objectives at the cathedral, alpha predator such as myself.
h Flaw. I am gripped with bloodlust that only subsides when I
which the characters can use to facilitate cooperation between
them. This is one of the few moments in the campaign where all rest in the cathedral.
the factions are willing to pool their resources and work together
with the player characters, so long as the following conditions
are met by the characters:
h Demonstrated their trustworthiness and full loyalty to the
faction’s ideals and goals.
h Acquired at least one Seal of Drakkenheim.
h Secured the clocktower and Temple Gate.
h Created an alliance with two other factions.
The factions must keep a reserve force and a garrison for their
current holdings, so each can only work with a few strike teams
for this operation. Plus, large numbers of people moving in the
city will attract more monsters, and quickly. They propose an
assault mission by the player characters supported by a handful
of faction strike teams.
h Elias Drexel and Theodore Marshal are both willing to
personally join the battle, and the other factions offer up
boons in advance to help the characters.

Area Details h During the day, the Lord of the Feast rests here with 14
(4d6) garmyr berserkers, and 10 (3d6) hell hounds. The
great beast hunts nightly from dusk till dawn when only 7
(2d6) berserkers, and 4 (1d6) hellhounds remain behind.
Cathedral Plaza h A mutated garmyr chaplain wearing the tattered robes of a
Flamekeeper conducts blasphemous rites before the altar of
Broad cobblestone streets wrap around an immense baroque cathedral in skulls. It carries the High Flamekeeper’s Phylactery.
this august square. The structure dominates the plaza, completely dwarfing
Catacomb Passages. Two arched doorways with oak
the nearby buildings with a two-hundred-fifty-foot-tall spired central
doors open to staircases that descend down into the cathedral
dome that looms large over the gently sloping terracotta rooftops of the
surrounding townhouses. The main dome is flanked by four stocky towers catacombs. Both doors are brightly illuminated by beams of
meticulously decorated with religious iconography and angelic sculptures. light created by the reflecting mirrors in the dome above.
Between each are semicircular apses lined with stained glass windows
fifty feet high, thus the building has a roughly square footprint. The outer
facade has rows of alcoves containing life-size statues of valiant paladins
Sidechambers
and devoted clerics. Broad steps lead up to the columned entrance portico Small groups of garmyr have claimed these rooms as their own,
where a massive rose window rests above three sets of golden double doors and each is now in a state of disarray and gore.
embossed with heavenly visages. Bell Towers. The central dome of Saint Vitruvio’s is
anchored by four great bell towers. The lower floors are great
Splayed out before the majestic building is a sprawling and ramshackle
galleries where statues and artworks are displayed, with the
camp of makeshift hovels, smoking pyres, and improvised barricades.
belfrys accessed by narrow staircases and ladders.
Tall wooden stakes are driven into the ground along the streets,
displaying macabre trophies of bones, ribcages, skulls, and body Chandlery. This western side room is a workshop for
parts. Guttural yelps and furious howls echo down the streets, and the making the many candles, holy oils, and flammable fluids used
overpowering scent of decaying offal, feces, and wet animal fur wafts in the holy ceremonies of the Sacred Flame.
about the haze-filled courtyard. Sacristy. These eastern rooms are where the Flamekeepers
donned their vestments, prepared for their sermons, conducted
h 70 (20d6) garmyr and 14 (4d6) worgs devour their latest personal meetings, and meditated privately. A small loft houses
kills in the encampment. a few cots used by the nightkeepers, but most of the clergy lived
at Saint Selina’s Monastery.
Vestibules. Since the cathedral could be packed with
Cathedral Interior thousands of worshippers on high holy days, these additional
entrances helped ensure the flood of people could easily enter
The Cathedral of Saint Vitruvio houses a vast interior space. A and exit.
monumental rotunda topped with a two-hundred-fifty-foot-high dome
forms the central sanctuary where the Brazier of the Sacred Flame is
set. The ribbed roof features an elaborate fresco depicting an angelic
host descending from on high, lifting the wretched and the lost towards
a divine light symbolized by a blazing sun. A row of stout yawning St Vitruvio’s Cathedral
windows rings the base of the dome, bordered by multifaceted mirrors Scale 1sq = 5ft.
that create angular beams of light leaving spotlights on the floor and
walls around the central altar.
Four halls extend in each cardinal direction like wheel spokes from the
rotunda. Colossal marble columns decorated with cherubs line the
aisles down each and support high vaulted ceilings one hundred twenty
feet overhead. Murals upon the ceilings of the naves and aisles depict
scenes of saints, angels, and martyrs performing righteous acts of mercy,
compassion, and sacrifice. Each hall ends in a semicircular apse set with
arched stained glass windows fifty feet high, except the southern hall that
serves as the main entrance, above which is a rose window.
Unnatural hues from outside flood this once holy place through
the many windows, and cast the chambers in an unsettling and
otherworldly pallor. The sanctuary has been defiled by the countless
carcasses of the garmyr’s many slaughters. Broken bones and severed
limbs are strewn about carpets of stretched skin and furry hide. Debris
and refuse are caked into the cracks and crevices, vibrant red blood
smears the floors and walls. Flensing blades, barbed chains, and meat
hooks dangle from the torch sconces. Unrecognizable forms of hanging
meat decorate the elaborate chandeliers above. At the heart of the
cathedral is a tiered platform upon which rests a five-foot-wide granite
brazier. Instead of a glorious golden flame, piled within is a mountain
of blood-soaked skulls.

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Arrival by Caravan Trading Delerium

Chapter 4: Emberwood Village 57

Chapter 4: Emberwood Village 59

“Warm fires, great company, home cooked meals! What more

Chapter 4: Emberwood Village 61

“A fascinating place. Thriving in the shadow of a Character Advancement

Chapter 4: Emberwood Village 63

Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 65

Searching the Ruins

Urban Exploration h Cartographer’s Tools. Searching an area the characters

Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 67

Drakkenheim Sewers A Combined Approach

Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 69

Inner City (d100) 9

Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 71

Events There hasn’t been a clear day in Drakkenheim in fifteen years.

Use the guidelines throughout this chapter as characters explore

This blasted street is filled with small craters.

Chapter 5: Exploring Drakkenheim 73

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 75

— Pluto Jackson benefits of a long rest. Any bodily damage is restored, no

Interactions but used during the previous loop are restored!

Tavern Patrons black hair and huge horns

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 77

Balthazar Adamos. This human priest of the Falling Fire

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 79

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 81

“Never turn up your nose to a good meal in Drakkenheim,

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 83

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 87

Your players might expect there to be a second immovable rod

might become unreasonably fixated on finding a second rod, you

[5] Purification Fountain

[6] Crematory Entrance a

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 89

The Sceptre of Saint Vitruvio

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 91

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 93

The Rat Prince

Squeaks the Seer [1] Cratered Basement

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 95

[3] Lookout’s Burrow

Climbing out requires a DC 10 Athletics check. A creature who 1

[4] Ratling Nests 5

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 97

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 99

the deal as long as he is paid and unmolested.

[1] Manor Grounds

h There is a secret entrance to the lower level hidden in the

100 Dungeons OF Drakkenheim

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 101

Developments The player characters themselves can study Oscar Yoren’s

102 Dungeons OF Drakkenheim

“There are many who have lost things in Drakkenheim...

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 105

106 Dungeons OF Drakkenheim

Chapter 6: Outside the Walls 107

Urban Exploration h Cartographer’s Tools. Searching an area the characters