Mark's Campaign
This website is a place where friends and strangers can browse the ancient and current RPG campaigns that I have created over the past 40 years. Rather than simply shredding my creations from past decades, I will hopefully engrave them in the dubious permanence of the internet. Enjoy the gallery!
If you are following this website, the most recent changes/additions have been highlighted in red text.
30. Throne room – this room is more for show than function. If the need arises where Hygan needs to receive guests or emissaries of Hell, he will assume the form of a large, handsome humanoid and be seated on this immense throne. At his left and right sit his current lieutenants; Foronath and Lyana. However, most likely, he will not be holding audience at the moment, so it will just be his two lieutenants who are in this room as well as a few loyal guards (6 Bearded Devils carrying long glaives).
If the alarm has been set off, the overconfident lieutenants will be seated on their respective seats (with protective spells in place, and readied action to DDoor to Hygan if attacked) and let the guards deal with/weaken the intruders. Unless the party attacks the two in the first round, they will assess the strength of the group and then teleport back to Hygan’s chamber to protect their master.
Bearded Devil (Barbazu) CR 5
31. The double doors here are locked with a particularly complex mechanism and an arcane lock spell (DC25+10). See below for doors to Hygan’s throne room.
32. The doors open to reveal a huge room dominated by a 15’ diameter sphere of translucent crystal perched upon a 5’ wide stone pedestal. Off to one side a pair of chairs are positioned to face the massive sphere.
This huge room is where Hygan performs his main scrying, magic-jarring and conducts the Oracle’s “interview”. His two lieutenants usually observe these sessions from the comfortable chairs provided. Although not inherently magic, the scrying sphere gives the user a +10 circumstance bonus due to its otherworldly quality. A DC20 Know Arcana or Spellcraft (+2 synergy) will reveal that this is a scrying focus. A DC20 Appraise will reveal that this item is worth about 5000gp (but weighs 792,739 lbs; about 400 tons). Other than the sphere and the chairs, the room is empty.
The area to the right of the chairs has a strange slimy film on the floor (DC20 Per to notice)
Although the group is very powerful in their own right, I wanted this last encounter to seem to be very dangerous with a small chance of success. The party was fairly well spelled-out by this point from all the battles they had been through and everyone was fairly damaged to boot. So when the arch-fiend appeared in all his glory, I worked the battle to a peak until the moment when he would teleport away to confront the other party who had just discovered his True Name in the vault in Westcrown. As they say, "timing is everything' (especially when you are the DM).
33. As the characters are fiddling with the doors, they will open of their own accord.
As you begin to work on the door’s complex locking mechanisms they suddenly swing away from you to reveal a large room, heaped with piles of various treasures. Among which you can see casks of ale and wine, open chests of coin and jewelry and several suits of fine armor and assorted weapons lying about. Standing to the left side of the room is an attractive human woman whom you recognize as the fallen druid, Lyana. On the right stands a tall angelic creature with wings of black feathers and impossibly handsome features. But a pair of black horns and the burning hellfire in his eyes betray his true heritage (some may have seen him in the lumber camp). In the rear of the room rises a heap of foul refuse flanked by two pairs of spiny leering creatures. However, the monstrosity behind all these perched upon the refuse pile demands most of your attention. Resting comfortably is a large slug-like creature with a leech’s sucker at one end and a knot of three human heads at the other. In an eerie trio of simultaneous, yet strangely pleasing voices, the heads call out to greet you.
“Ah, my brave petitioners have made it farther than any of the other fools who dared intrude upon my home. Perhaps you have come to strike a better bargain with me, or should I say, the ‘Oracle of the Tree’. Are you not enjoying your new magical powers?” The three heads chuckle evilly as he says this. “Bargain well my pets, for only in my service will you still retain a portion of your mortal lives!” Each of the three heads grins at a different person, giving you a chill of dread.
Hyganthyrphorum’s throne room has various piles of accumulated wealth and spoils. In the room are Hygan, Lyana and Foronath. If the party is relatively healthy, there may also be a couple of Hygan’s personal guard here too (4 Barbed Devils). Another possible outcome would be the appearance of the paladin, Sir Jonas Dovon with a couple of the more powerful prisoners such as Damaski and Isabella Whitehorn.
Hygan knows that the group is not going to join his evil plans, but he does give his guards and minions time to prepare their defenses. He begins to cast a Blasphemy spell when he abruptly stops mid-spell (DC 22 Spellcraft to identify) and screams out:
“Whaaaat?! Noooo, nooo! My secret vault! Those intruders will pay with their lives for this act! Agggh!” And Hygan will teleport away leaving behind only his lieutenants.
Tactics:
Foronath and Lyana will cast Mirror Image as soon as possible
Foronath – Fly to a position out of melee reach and will use his Flaming Bow
If he noticed that the magic wielders use a particular type of energy, he will cast Resist Energy (10)
He may cast Fear on a particularly troublesome opponent
If rediuced to less than ½ his HP he will teleport away with a “Sorry my dear, but it seems that saying about discretion and valor may have some merit”
Lyana – Invokes her Bramble Armor (free action)
She will cast a Slumber Hex (DC15 Will save) on those who are the most threat
If she needs to get into melee, she will wild shape into a Dire Brown Bear
Treasure in the room: Scattered throughout the room are various piles of accumulated wealth. Hidden under Hygan’s pile of filth is a Type III Bag of Holding containing items that belong to the powerful captives and will need to be returned. All in all, the party can find a total of 21525gp, 3630pp, gems worth 6100gp, a 2500gp platinum and sapphire ring, 3 rare silk coats from Geb worth 1300gp each, 3 Ironwood Scimitar of Speed, a stunning green and blue-feathered cloak (all are from Macaw-like parrot of Mwangi, but 4 of the feathers are from a Couatl and if worn by a LG person, can be used to cast Limited Wish up to 4 times – a feather is used up when they are cast) worth 2000gp if feather not discovered, a suit of dwarf-sized Plate Armor +2, a Mithril Shirt (non-magic), Mistmail +1 Chain Shirt, +1 Deathless Banded Armor (Mythic), +1 Holy Mace (heavy), Triton’s Trident, +3 Thundering Longbow, Belt of Incredible Dex +4, Headband of Mental Superiority +2, Rod of Splendor (fantastically bejeweled rod)
In bag of holding: (Damaski) scimitar, amulet, boots, bracers, cloak, vestments, 2 rings, staff, (Jalabala) bracers, 2 rings, cloak, brooch, boots, 4 wands, etc. (Vandlo)
Erinyi Devil/Sor 5 (Foronath Vrelek, Emissary of Cheliax)
XP 6000
LE Medium outsider (lawful, devil, evil, extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; see in darkness, true seeing, Perception +16
Defense
AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+6 Dex, +6 natural, +1 dodge)
Hp 135 (5d6+9d10+52)
Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +7
DR 5/good; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 19
Offense
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (good)
Melee +1 Dancing Longsword +15/+10 (1d8+8/19–20)
Ranged +1 flaming composite longbow +14/+14/+9 (1d8+6/×3 plus 1d6 fire) or rope +15 touch (entangle)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
Constant—true seeing
At will—fear (single target, DC 19), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), minor image (DC 17), unholy blight (DC 19)
1/day—summon (level 3, 2 bearded devils, 50%)
Sor Spells: 1st (6) 2nd (4) from [1] hold portal, shield, mage armor, comp langs, identify, true strike, sleep, magic missile [2] alter self, arcane lock, resist energy, web, detect thoughts, see invis, darkness, invisibility, mirror image, spider climb
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 21
Base Atk +8; CMB +13; CMD 25
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run
Skills Acrobatics +18, Bluff +17, Diplomacy +14, Escape Artist +12, Fly +19, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (planes) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +16, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +15
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
Treasure: (+3 Dancing Longsword, +1 flaming comp. longbow, 3 DD Scrolls, 2 teleport scrolls, 3 gems x 250gp, 5 gems x 500gp, 2320gp)
Special Abilities
Entangle (Su) Each erinyes carries a 50-foot-long rope that entangles opponents of any size as an animate rope spell (CL 16th, DC 20). An erinyes can hurl its rope 30 feet with no range penalty. An erinyes's rope functions only for the erinyes who made it and no other. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
These are a few of my notes I made as I designed this adventure to create pact rules and motivations of Hygan.
Infernal Pacts:
When a devil starts the process for an infernal pact, the victim most often will not know the nature of the agreement. Eventually, the agreement will end of being a ‘work in trade’ that sounds reasonable, but with the stipulations and consequences most foul.
Anyone who has even partially agreed to one of these deals will radiate a weak evil aura and any divine spellcaster of good alignment will have a chance of losing a spell as it is cast (15%/30%/60%) and may require an Atonement to remove the condition.
Hygan is using a very subversive method of creating his pacts:
a. The victim is offered an infernal power disguised as a spell-like ability with no apparent catch. The agreement is that the power must be returned if the victim does not wish to ‘learn more’ about the magical offerings. If the character does indeed decide it is not for him and does not relinquish the power, the pact will turn more severe and the victim may need to create a new bargain to ‘pay the penance’.
b. If a victim does decide that they want to know more, then they are allowed to keep their new power if the agree to spread the word of the Lodge and try to get new people to come and learn. They are given access to spell books, research, etc. which will apparently begin to allow them to ‘open their mind’ to new powers. Indeed, for each week of study, the victim will learn one more level of spell of their choosing. They can even opt to study/recruit for more consecutive weeks and gain more powerful spells. E.g. if they study and recruit for 6 weeks, they can gain a 6th level spell-like ability. The catch is that if they renege on their agreement to recruit, or if they bad-mouth the Lodge, they will be in violation and will be required to ‘make penance’ by further agreements of servitude. Most of the current works in residence are at this level of pact.
Lyana's full character sheet
can be viewed HERE
c. Finally, for those power-crazy types, a full pact may be offered which will fast-tract them to magical, political and personal power. The agreement is much more spelled out and usually involves their services for a 10 year period to do “odd jobs” which if reneged upon can come to harsh consequences.
Overview:
Harwyn sends help request
Party ports to evening glade
Party gets background on what’s happened
Party is transported to Isle near Wildwood Lodge
Party approaches Lodge and is greeted by keeper who requests they camp for night
Party can explore unusual visitors in nearby area
Party is attacked by elf assassins middle of night
Party is summoned the next day to Lodge
Party meets with charmed Damaski (by Lyana) and offers communion with the Oracle of the Tree
The Oracle offers each party member (individually) a boon and the offer to learn more the following day
The party can decide to come back or investigate on their own
Either way, the party will need to enter the sap pool
Option 1: they are greeted by more confederates
Option2: they get in undetected
Hygan has been luring potentials to the Lodge with the following possible fates:
1) Simple conversion – the person will agree to spread the word of the Lodge and accept a ‘gift’ of magic which is made permanent with a ceremony that creates the pact with the ‘Oracle’
2) If Hygan thinks that the person would never join him or if he suspects that they are there to do more harm than good, he will find a way to insult them and make the gift unpalatable, sending them on their way
3) A more powerful mind may need to be subjected to a Suggestion, Charm Monster or even a Geas.
4) Anyone powerful enough to throw off his mind control and cause a problem will be captured and their life essence jarred. (same a magic jar but with no control – Hygan has all the ‘jars’)
Epilogue:
Once Hygan flees the Material Plane, his hold on souls and his influence on Yggdrasil will wane and eventually go away. The party will lose their new abilities as soon as they enter the final chamber.
If the characters don’t think of it, one of the NPCs will suggest that the trap resets itself at sunrise each day and can be used to break the spells holding the captives. If no one thinks of this, the invisible Annabelle will begin to drag them in there (she is very strong) to await the next pulse.
Damaski and Whitehorn can explain the nature of the Tree and what Hygan has been doing. They are ashamed of their foolishness and tell the party that the Oracle has been communicating with them for the past 12 years! They were also convinced with powerful charms as well, so can’t be fully blamed.
Although the druids ask them to keep the existence of the Tree’s access a secret, they will help them use its power to transport them anywhere they wish.