The Fane of the Lake the Lurker of the Lake Hooks

The Fane of the Lake Their memories are passed from generation to generation, and each one The Fane of the lake is arguably Strahd’s takes on their parents’ hatred of the gods. most powerful boon from the land. It is rare to meet an Aboleth that was While desecrated, Strahd has the following present during the war with the gods, and bonuses. very few still exist. Kermorschian, lurker of the lake, is among these ancient beings. As • Resistance to radiant damage an ancient Aboleth, he is a ruler among his • Advantage on all saving throws own people and beyond their power. • Resistance to magical weapons Strahd, in need of a powerful guardian, let If consecrated, the players are granted the Vistani leave his borders with knowledge of following boons: a dark and evil temple that holds the secrets • While in sunlight, the PC’s are of true power, knowing that something evil under the effect of Bless. This would come looking. Something he could effect ends upon leaving Barovia. use. • They gain 10 temporary hit points if It took time, but eventually the tale reached starting their turn in sunlight and Kermorschian, who sent his enslaved in 15 if starting on the Fanes island. search of this forbidden knowledge but (These do not stack) would promptly lose his connection to • They are unable to be lost, by non- them as they entered another plane. magical or magical means, while in Barovia He made his own way to Barovia, through the use of ancient flooded tunnels and dark Furthermore, the healing powers of the magic, and eventually wound up in the lake are restored. If sunlight is shone on the strange realm, where he was promptly water (by sun, spell or sunsword), it has the overpowered by the only true god of the following properties realm, Strahd Von Zarovich. • Drinking the water from the lake His ego bruised, Kermorschian is not done grants Greater Restoration, this plotting and is biding his time. Learning can be done once a week. from the adventurers and pilgrims who • Bottled water from the lake counts dare to drink from his lake, he has amassed as a Lesser Restoration but loses knowledge of the amber temple and slowly its potency after 3 days. he has been building an enslaved army and • If partially submerged in the lake plans to become the true god of the for an hour, they have the effect of a Demiplane of dread. Heal spell. Lost limbs also regenerate in 1d3 days. This effect Hooks can only occur once a month. Hearsay. The Luna Lake is still a cryptid • A body submerged entirely in the location and the source of various water for a day will be resurrected. pilgrimages in the past. Many Barovians This can only occur once a year. believe it to be a source of healing and The Lurker of the Lake power. Strahd, through the guise of Vasilli Von Holtz, has ensured to keep these The resident of the lake is an Aboleth Lord. rumours stirring from generation to SampleThe Aboleths were a race of primordial generation. The party arefile likely to hear: beings who existed before the gods but “I was once told, as a young boy, that there were overthrown upon their arrival. Now, was a lake in the corner of these lands. Its they spend their time plotting to get their water shimmer like the finest silver. They blood right back.

say one drop will cure you of any curse or the players intentions. Ask for a Wisdom ailment.” save, DC17. Those who fail feel no different, but their minds have been opened to Many outsider NPC’s like Van Richten and subconscious suggestions. Mordenkainen, as well as the Vistani, are likely to have heard these tales. Think of it Those who sail across the lake will not be like the Fountain of Youth, everyone has able to shake the feeling that they are being heard of it, one way or another. watched. This feeling makes their hairs stand on end and forms a pit in the depths The Fanes of Barovia. if capable of of their stomachs. communication, are likely to divulge the location of one of their sisters, especially if The Island the party has a character who is in tune with nature. The island is the remaining chunk of the meteorite, and the source of the Fane. The The Tome of Strahd includes details of Aboleth Lord is tasked with protecting this his desecrations, however he is incredibly Fane from consecration and lurks beneath vague about his activities at the Luna Lake. the island in a small cave beneath. During The Lake the 10-minute row to the island, the Aboleth will be plumbing the depths of During the day the day, the mist hangs their mind to learn their fears and desires. heavy on the surface of the lake, meaning It is powerful enough to do this without none can see the murky water. If they arrive alerting the party. during the day, read: As they arrive at the island, describe “The remarkably still water of the lake “As your feet touch the island, you can feel stretches out for miles. Dead, clawing trees how rough and rocky the surface is. Small surround the foggy waters, their gnarled tufts of grass crawl up through the rocks. roots grasping at the shore. A dismal and Dominating the centre of the island is a rotting rowboat rests against a tree. A circle of rocks and a large metal needle single oar propped against it.” protruding from the ground at an angle, The lake is impassable during the day, any atop a large circular stone dial. As you attempts to swim or row through the fog glance around the island, the mist seems to will be thwarted, and the traveller will find have rolled back in gently, obscuring the themselves back on the shore. land that surrounded the lake. A small sliver of silvery light descends from the However, during the night: clouds, shining upon the dial.” “The mist dissipates slowly, revealing a The needle and dials are a sundial, dull silvery light beneath. The water disguised as a strange druidic moondial. shimmers with incandescent light, but the The moondial gives off 5ft of dim light so lake is still. Not a sound, or a movement that a shadow can be cast upon the rune by punctuates the silence. As the mist parts, the moonbeam. The moonbeam, and its you notice a dismal island in the epicentre effect are illusionary, created and of the lake.” maintained by the Aboleth. If detect magic Those who are looking, or have a passive is cast, they will feel a strong sense of perception of 18 or higher, notice that the illusionary magic. Sampletrees are lightly coated with viscous, Those moving closer to thefile moondial will translucent slime. Not enough to glow like see: the lake, but present. “6 towering stones border a large needle Once they have arrived, the Aboleth Lord atop a circular dial. The needle seems to be will begin to read their thoughts and know

jutting from the dial at an angle. Engraved kind to the pages. However, the passages into the dial are 12 symbols, spaced are covered and marred in constant equally around the circumference of the scrawling, it reads “It Almost Was”. dial. The needle is engulfed in a beam of Those who take the time to flick through moonlight. One of the symbols is lit, the the book will see that the words “it almost trim glowing with bright silvery light. A skeleton rest against the eastern rock with was” are replaced over time with another language. something clasped in its bony grasp.” A DC15 Intelligence check or knowledge of Each of the symbols are carved in druidic into the stone dial and represent a number. Deep Speech language will reveal that the latter pages are scrawled with the same At the centre of each symbol is a single phrase “It almost was” however written in word written in druidic. Deep Speech. The last page, still in Deep 1- Life Speech, only says “Enough to make me go 2- Thunder mad”. 3- Moon 4- Sun One of the few pages of the journal is still legible and has translations of each druidic 5- Lightning rune centred around the dial. 6- Lake 7- Forest Those who open the book will note a scroll 8- Fire that slides out from the pages. A wizard, or 9- Swamp an Arcana DC13 check, will note that this 10- Cave is a complete moonbeam scroll. This scroll 11- Mountain was left behind by one of the Aboleth’s 12- Death enslaved and is part of his trap. A symbol corresponding with the current Casting speak with the dead on the remains hour is glowing, a silent image created by will reveal a mad spirit, however he is the Aboleth Lord. truthful if asked whether he created the The Aboleth Lord has a programmed spell scroll. He was unaware of the Aboleth’s true nature but knew that illusion placed to the south of the ring of stones, that activates when an incorrect something malevolent lurks in the lake. solution to the Sundial is given. Solving the Puzzle Incorrectly The Skeleton The Aboleth Lord has gone to great lengths to trick interlopers into drinking from the The skeleton resting against the rock is the Lake. Players will likely try to join the dots remains of a pilgrim who managed to resist between the moonbeam spell and using it the enslavement of the Aboleth, however it to activate certain runes, or all of them. was slowly driven insane and starved to death on the island after the Aboleth Whatever they try with the moonbeam, or stranded it there. any spell or combination that is not the right solution (See below) will trigger the “In the foetal position against a rock, rests a weathered skeleton. A morbid marker of Aboleths programmed illusion. death. Clasped in its hands is a leather- Keep in mind that the Aboleth can read bound tome.” their minds, and will use gentle suggestion, maybe even a soft voice of a maiden in their SampleThe tome is written in common, detailing a file ear, to try and steer them to an incorrect Valliki resident’s life before deciding to go answer that seems right. on a pilgrimage to the Luna Lake to find a cure for his wife’s affliction. Most of the diary is illegible now, the years not being

For instance, randomly ask a player who ‘You have freed me, oh great adventurers. failed the wisdom save earlier to make a Please, as a token of my gratitude, drink Religion check and set the DC incredibly from my shimmering lake, it will grant low (without telling them). On a success, you the strength you need to defeat the they will remember hearing about druidic dreaded devil who desecrated my land.” moondials and their significance. This is the Aboleth putting false information in Players who drink from the Lake, now believing it to be consecrated, must make a their head and disguising it as a spark of remembrance. DC18 constitution save with Players who use sunsword as a light source disadvantage or be Poisoned for 1 hour and take 25 (5d10) poison damage. The Aboleth (and failed the mind probing wisdom save) Lord will then strike as the illusion will be struck by the memory of moondials, sacred druidic constructs that react poorly dissipates with a snarling cackle. to sunlight. This is the Aboleth, steering them to the wrong answer.

If they trigger the illusion, read the following. “As you activate the final rune, a burst of silvery light erupts around you. A shimmering figure stands barefooted on the island. A beautiful woman adorned in silvery vines and cloth smiles at you. She

speaks-

Solving the Puzzle Correctly Knowing the truth of the lake’s past will help reveal the nature of the puzzle. If sunlight, through the spell, holy symbol or sunsword, is used to light the runes of the Mountain, Lake, Forest and Swamp, then the fane will be correctly consecrated, and a golden light will ripple forth. If all the runes are lit at once, they will blink, and go dark. The light needs to be diffused past the needle before it hits the rune. “A ball of golden light erupts forth from the needle before falling to the ground. A shimmering naeid, clad in glowing golden robes smiles warmly at you. She silently waves her hand and you feel a warmth radiate through your body. Suddenly, an enormous mass surges out of the water behind you.” While protected, they gain 15 temporary hit points each round while on the island and are constantly under the effect of Bless. As she disappears, on initiative count 20, she summons four phantom warriors, two with longbows, with the following changes. They defend the PC’s and will fight to the death. HP- 60 AC – 18 SampleLongsword damage - +7 to hit 14 (2d8 + 3) file Longbow damage - +7 to hit 14 (2d8 + 3) The Battle

Regardless of whether they solved the puzzle correctly or not, the Aboleth Lord will strike. Raising from the water, the enormous tentacled being will be surrounded in a shimmer purple field of warbling energy. The Aboleth must concentrate on this field, which grants it +5 AC and advantage on saving throws. The Aboleth Lord will then form a warding bond with it’s enslaved to empower them. Four rowing boats, each filled with the Aboleth’s enslaved will surface. From left to right, the boats will surface and then on initiative count 20, every 2 rounds, the boats head for the island. The rowboats have AC13, 30 hit points and resistance to fire damage because they are damp. If the rowboats are destroyed, the enslaved will swim to the island. The enslaved cannot remain on the island without touching water for over 10 minutes. Rowboat 1- 2 berserkers and 2 druids Rowboat 2- 1 gladiator, 2 dusk elf guards and 1 cult fanatic Rowboat 3- 1 knight, 1 veteran, 1 priest Rowboat 4- 2 dusk elf guards, 1 Vistana bandit captain

The Warding Bond The Aboleth’s warding bond provides the following bonuses to its chosen target

• The target is under the effect of Haste. (+2 AC, double speed, 1 extra action and advantage on dexterity saving throws.) • The target has resistance to all damage. • The Aboleth Lord takes equal amount of damage that his warded bond takes (After the reductions) • The Aboleth Lord cannot make physical attacks while maintaining this bond and cannot cast concentration spells. • The Aboleth cannot willing drop this bond to move it to another and must maintain it on a target unless concentration is dropped. • The Aboleth Lord cannot form the warding bond after it has dropped under half hit points, or all its enslaved have been killed. • If the Aboleth Lord loses concentration on the bond, it will recast it on its turn, but on a different target. • The Aboleth cannot use lair or legendary actions while maintaining focus on the Warding Bond.

The Second Phase Once the Aboleth has dropped below half health, or all the enslaved are killed, the Aboleth Lord drops the warbling barrier formed around himself. During this phase, the Aboleth Lord will attack with full force and unleash its rage upon them. Two Aboleth Tentacles (Appendix) burst from the water and attempt to grapple and drag adventurers beneath the depths. If the Aboleth Lord is weak, it will drag one party member under the water and drain Samplethem for health using its legendary action. file Endings- The Aboleth is Defeated

If the party reduce the Aboleth to 0hp, the Aboleth Lord is vanquished. With the lurker of the lake gone, the party will be able to look for the real solution to consecrate the lake, if they haven’t done so already. If a hero swims down to the bottom of the lake and searches, ask for a DC15 wisdom check for each hour they spend searching. Eventually they will find the small dugout on the lakebed that the Aboleth slept in, filled with the prizes of its kills. The treasure includes an animated shield, 20 platinum pieces, 670 gold pieces, 900 silver pieces and 1500 copper pieces and two superior potions of healing. Endings- The Aboleth is Victorious If the Aboleth Lord wasn’t reduced below half health before defeating the party, then it will drag them beneath the depths to transform and add them to his enslaved collection, so that they will be upon the next boat to attack interlopers. If the party managed to get the Aboleth Lord near to defeat before he was ultimately victorious, then it will stabilise the survivors. Impressed with their ability, he will forge a deal with them but place them under a powerful curse (need to drink water every 10 minutes) for insurance, this curse cannot be cured with anything less than a wish or the Aboleth’s removal. What the Aboleth Lord does with its new puppets is only for it to know!

Appendix

Sample file