Adventure Seed 1A: a Knife in the Dark

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This A deadly Adventure threat stalks Seed is for the streets of all game Belm. systems. An Adventure Seed for all levels of play.

Adventure Seed 1a:

A Knifeby Robert in J Defendithe Dark Credits Author: Robert J Defendi Line Editor: Josh Peltier Additional Contributions: Scott Llewelyn Cover Art: Kevin Wasden Interior Art: Brian Hailes Art Direction: Christopher Mitchell Pagemaking: Wallen Ashcroft Copy Editing: Christine Fortune Publisher: Robert J Defendi Editing, Development, & Production Staff: Robert J Defendi, Scott Llewelyn, Josh Peltier, Christine Fortune, Christopher Mitchell, Wallen Ashcroft Web Master: Robert J Defendi Play Testing: Amanda Peltier, Angela Daley, Bjorn Olsen, Brandon Leavitt, Brenda Llewelyn, Dan Willis, Gary Llewelyn, Jennie Mollerup, Josh Peltier, Kori Emerson, Mark Giffune, Mason Emerson, Mat Daley, Matthew Fitt, Robert J Defendi, Scott Llewelyn, Stephen Johnson. Special Support: Heike A. Kubasch, Bruce Neidlinger; Tim Dugger, and Steve Long. We’d also like to thank all the fans on the Iron Crown Forums who have shown so much support and enthusiasm, especially Allenrmaher, Buddha, Cormac Doyle, Grafton, Ictus, Ironmaul, Lichemaster, Lorenen, Maelstrom, Markc, Norin, Pendragon, Quasar, Smiling DM, Wolfram Riegler (our ﬁrst cus- tomer), and Yammahoper.

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Stock #0002 This product contains no rules. You probably know the rules you use at your table much better than we do. What is an AdventureIntroduction Seed? This product contains no firm idea of what system An Adventure Seed is a story idea. In The Echoes you are using. The Moving Shadow is statted for of Heaven, an Adventure Seed is a story idea that four different game systems, but there’s no reason we at Final Redoubt Press promise never to contra- you need to use this with The Moving Shadow or dict with future canon. It’s a chance to allow you even The Echoes of Heaven. to expand an idea or mystery in the setting without This product contains no firm rules on how expe- worrying about whether we’ll contradict you with rienced the characters are. It’s designed with inex- future products. perienced characters in mind, but since there are no But this Adventure Seed is a full product, and that stats, you can use it to challenge characters at any means it’s something more. This is a fully written point in their careers. adventure plot, meant to allow you to get your game moving almost immediately. This outlines all the major steps of a story, carrying you through an en- WHAT NEXT? tire narrative arc. With this product, the rule books You can begin play almost immediately. If you of your game (including maybe a monster book and want to get straight to the meat, skip to What Came whatever manual holds sample NPCs) you should Before if you’re playing in The Moving Shadow or be able to run an adventure with almost no prepa- Setup if you’re not. It probably takes an average ration at all, and just a touch of imaginative table reader 10-15 minutes to read this adventure once improvisation. through. If you are about to run the game and you grabbed this as an emergency measure, step out of WHAT THIS PRODUCT INCLUDES the room for a few minutes and you’ll be ready in no time. If your players seem likely to bug you, start This product includes a full adventure plot, with them arguing about a sixth month old GM call, their enough notes that you should be able to run with favorite sports teams, or reality shows. You’ll be no preparation at all. This product also includes a ready to start before they are. description of the Dramatic Purpose of each stage of If you have a little more time, we welcome you the story. This way, if your story moves off in a new to read the next sections. They should give you an direction, you know what you need to do to maintain idea about what The Echoes of Heaven and The the dramatic arc. Finally, this product includes Moving Shadow is all about. notes for how to fit this adventure in The Moving Shadow campaign, our epic series of adventures in The Echoes of Heaven that will take the world to WHAT IS THE ECHOES OF HEAVEN the brink of destruction. CAMPAIGN SETTING? The Echoes of Heaven is a game world of darkness WHAT THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT and danger, where a monolithic church has split into INCLUDE dozens of quarreling factions and holy war looms like a shadow. Here, strength and brutality win the This product includes no creatures’ stats. You have day and only those with the most faith, honor, and your monster books. courage can stand against the terrible tyranny of This adventure contains no NPC stats. Almost those who would enslave everyone of a different every game has premade NPCs for the GM to use, belief, a different philosophy, a different race. and many GMs are used to improvising NPCs on Worse, it is a world infected by the very fabric of the fly. Hell itself.

-3- It’s a world that once knew perfection, where In addition, The Moving Shadow has a series of Mortals and Angels labored side by side and all Teasers, which take place during the last days of the spent their days basking in the light of God. There War in Heaven. It is truly a campaign that spans ten was no Mortal Realm. Hell was nothing more than a thousand years. province of Heaven. All lived in Paradise, and they knew what it was like to wander in Grace. LINE ELEMENTS Then came the War. The Echoes of Heaven contains two main elements. The Fall of the first third of the Host of Angels They are sourcebooks and adventures. nearly destroyed Heaven. The Fall of the second third came as a death knell. Only the foresight and Sourcebooks planning of the Five Prophets saved everyone from Some of the existing sourcebooks are as follows: languishing under the rule of the Fallen . . . but it The Echoes of Heaven Campaign Setting—The came at a terrible price. Echoes of Heaven Campaign Setting details the Enter Meridrin, the Mortal Realm, a world sun- Mortal Realm and includes a bonus supplement dered from Paradise, a world both familiar and describing the Kingdom of Ludremon at no extra strangely different. A world where you can make a charge. difference. The Last Free City—This book depicts the city The Echoes of Heaven is designed for use in four of Felric’s Redoubt, known as the City-State different game systems. They are the d20 System to many. Sheltered in the lands of Ingrast but game (owned by Wizards of the Coast), Rolemaster beyond the woods of the Elves, this city has (owned by Iron Crown Enterprises), HARP (owned remarkable freedom . . . but with freedom comes by Iron Crown Enterprises), and HERO System danger. (owned by Hero Games). The Lost Kingdom of the Dwarves—Centuries ago This product can be used with any fantasy game. an Ulcer opened inside the Dwarven kingdom of Uzarâg. Now this land is more Hell than WHAT IS THE MOVING SHADOW? earth, and it fills to overflowing with a multitude The Moving Shadow is a ten-part adventure campaign of dark and evil creatures, most notably the that takes the world to the very brink of destruction. Cambionic Orcs and worse yet, the Great Fiend In it, characters must fight against the depredations known as the Warlord. of some of the greatest villains the world has ever known. In the end, only the smart, the brave, and Adventures the lucky have any hope at all. Each sourcebook comes packaged with an adventure. These adventures are statted with versions for Between these two works, your campaigns can four different games: the D20 System game, HARP, explore an ever-widening world of intrigue and HERO System, and Rolemaster. danger. The Moving Shadow gives characters the opportu- The Throne of God (Episode 1)—A story that spans nity take characters through an entire career of ad- 10,000 years, here the players learn the lay of the ventures. They start inexperienced but will end as land in the Mortal Realm and fight to find an an- some of the most powerful characters in the world. cient relic—a diamond splinter said to come from The range of experience depends on the game sys- the Throne of God Himself. tem: The Festering Earth (Episode 2)—The characters travel to Felric’s Redoubt, the City-State. There Game System Starting Ending they must solve a series of murders before the se- d20 System game 2nd lvl 20th lvl rial killer brings the entire city to its knees. HARP 3rd lvl 30th lvl On Corrupted Ground (Episode 3)—Still reeling HERO System 165 points 300 points from their adventures in Felric’s Redoubt, the Rolemaster 3rd lvl 30th lvl

-4- characters must now delve into the heart of Hell Mages in all four have similar spells and clerics in on earth—Uzarâg. Inside the fallen kingdom, it all four have similar divine powers. will take all their skill, faith, and mettle to sur- This means that we can weave a story without vive. worrying about whether a mage can cast a ﬁreball This Adventure Seed can ﬁt neatly after The in all four systems. We can provide a GM with ev- Throne of God. erything he needs to run his game, and he can do that with his own house rules and his own style of OUR PHILOSOPHY game play. As much as possible, we intend to stay At Final Redoubt Press, we wish to bring high- out of the way. quality products into the hands of the gamers who This isn’t saying that we don’t add optional abili- need them. Starting with characters ignorant of the ties or even change the way that some things work. world around them, players can discover the Mortal That’s necessary in all game worlds. It just means Realm even as the story unfolds. With each new that we won’t stumble all over ourselves because adventure, player and character alike will discover a a d20 System game Bard can do a bit more with il- world rich in excitement and adventure, a world as lusions than a Rolemaster Bard. Each game group intriguing as their GM can make it. should play the game the way they like to play it.

AN ONGOING CAMPAIGN We’re aware that different games progress at many Dramatic Purpose different rates. Some groups play almost every day Every stage in this adventure has a dramatic purpose. and some fight to meet once a month. Therefore, These are there so the GM can better decide what to we’ve tried to devise this world and this series for do if the party goes off book. If a group diverges any rate of play. wildly from the written adventure, let them. Take Each adventure is designed for characters of a the dramatic purposes of the skipped stages and certain level. A GM needs only to adjust the rate of invent new events that serve the same purpose. experience gain to meet the needs of his group. If a Maybe the party abandons the adventure entirely group can play an entire adventure in one weekend and refuses to go back. If so, who are any of us to and that leaves three more until the next product re- say they did wrong? Take the remaining dramatic leases, then the GM can match the experience gain events and create new ones for the party, following to move hand in hand with this pace. Meanwhile, their new path. It might not be this adventure, but he’ll find Adventure Seeds in every product that will it will be an adventure, and it will be a lot more fun allow the characters to explore the world around than arguing about whether the party is ruining the them until they’re ready for the next episode of the GM’s plans. series. As long as all the purposes are served, you will That is one of the possible uses of these Adven- have a workable story, probably even a good one. It ture Seeds. They fit neatly between the full adven- doesn’t matter if it isn’t the story you set out to tell. ture products, allowing you to flesh out your game Gaming is a collaborative effort, after all. while you’re waiting for the next release. Quad Statting The Echoes of Heaven contains stats for four Running the Campaign different games. We at Final Redoubt Press purposely This Adventure Seed fits neatly into the ten-part, chose these games for their compatibility. Each of ongoing campaign The Moving Shadow. This these games has the same general levels of power brings up some issues one wouldn’t have in a stand- and abilities for the major classes or professions. alone adventure.

-5- DOWN TIME events of The Throne of God and before the events of Adventure Seed 1b, To Burn a Witch. It’s likely It’s possible that someone will want to run these that characters came out of the last adventure at a adventures before the entire series has been released. certain approximate character level or point value. It’s likely that a game group may finish an adventure before the next one is available. Game System Character We’ve taken this into consideration. You can’t run d20 System game 3rd lvl a ten-part adventure and not expect to take some side HARP 4th lvl trips. Don’t worry if this is your intention. We’ve HERO System 170 points built downtime into the story between each adven- Rolemaster 4th lvl ture, and these Adventure Seeds are handy ways to fill that down time. Near the end, it might be nice to But since you choose the power of the adversaries run the adventures concurrently, but there’s no point in this adventure. They can be just as powerful as in this series where one adventure must be played you want them to be. This means you can use this directly after the one before. Adventure Seed in any setting or any point in your characters’ careers. EXPERIENCE AND TABLE PACING If you’re running the adventures in a series, then the issue of experience will come into play. Some Stats groups might want to do the adventures one right No opponents have stats in this adventure, but most after another. Others might have ten sessions every game has NPC stats in one of the primary between each adventure (especially if they meet books. Use them to flesh out the bad guys in this frequently while waiting for the next release). Adventure Seed, or, if it’s easier, just improvise The thing to remember about experience is that it’s them as you go. Many GMs can stat an NPC in all arbitrary. Many GMs ignore official experience their head without skipping a beat. guidelines. Some have home systems. Some just assign experience by story points, some by number of sessions, regardless of session content. The important thing to remember is that no expe- This AdventureDescriptions Seed has no “boxed text.” That rience system is set in stone. If you have multiple means the descriptions of rooms, people, and places adventures in this series and you wish to run them are all yours. Tailor them to your game and your back to back, then a party will need to gain three characters. This is most of the improvising you’ll levels in a single adventure. If you want to run eight need to do to run this Adventure Seed. adventures in between, than they need to average a third of a level each time experience is given. It doesn’t matter how fast a group advances as long as everyone understands what to expect and why to Mechanics expect it. If you tell a party you want to game every We’ve left mechanics as simple as possible in this single night but the next adventure isn’t out for two work. We’ve listed all bonuses as a percentage. 5% more weeks, they’ll understand they might need to = 5 in a percentile system or 1 in a system using a advance more slowly. twenty-sided die or 3d6. What Came Before IfCharacter you are plugging this Power adventure into Level The Moving If you’re running this Adventure Seed as part of Shadow, then it likely takes place right after the The Moving Shadow, it fits neatly after the events in

-6- The Throne of God. This gives the characters some Gleann. They enjoy a moment of respite, and if background. they played the Teaser in The Throne of God, they Shortly before this Adventure Seed begins, the are trying to understand the Mortal Realm, a place characters attacked an Ulcer (a place infected by strange to them. the fabric of Hell) in Stanor Monastery in Ludre- This begins just as the characters come to think mon, near the city of Belm. During this adventure, they could call this place home. they tried to end an Ulcer and instead caused it to grow and surge out of control. Only through heart TEASER and perseverance did they manage to defeat the De- One day the characters are out in the city. They can mon and close the Ulcer. be together, but it will be more interesting if they are The characters survived this, as well as the trick- separated, maybe shopping in pairs. They probably eries of their opponent, a Demon of Deceit that was don’t know the Order of Sinnius has marked them using the entire setup to trick the characters into as suspicious. If the characters played the Teaser in committing a Human sacrifice. It hoped this would The Throne of God, they have likely told someone, make the Ulcer permanent. As the Adventure Seed probably Cathon and Gleann, that they fought ten begins, the characters have recently limped home thousand years ago in the War in Heaven. If that’s from this ordeal. the case, then one of the Cardinal’s servants heard Gleann speak of it while listening at a door. A rumor has reached the Society of Sinnius. Either way, the characters likely took actions in The Throne of God WhatThe follows Adventure is the plot of the Adventure Plot Seed. that has marked them as troublemakers. This can This is only one course the adventure could take. If be as simple as the Society mistakenly thinking they the party diverges from this plot, let them. aided Weracy in stealing the cathedral’s Holy Relic. If the characters threw the Splinter into the Maw SETUP of Hell, then they could be marked for destroying By default, this Adventure Seed begins after the a Holy Relic. If they did nothing that could be end of The Throne of God, the first adventure in distorted, perhaps a jealous member of the clergy The Moving Shadow campaign. The Adventure invents a crime and has reported it to agents known Seed could exist anywhere or at any time, however. to contact the Society. All you need is a world where there are multiple The Society of Sinnius is a secret order of assas- religious orders or multiple Churches. This sins within the Church. They have only one real Adventure Seed assumes the characters play in The agent in Belm at the moment. He will begin by test- Echoes of Heaven Campaign Setting. Still, with ing the party, to see if they’re easy marks. If they’ve slight adjustments, it could take place anywhere. been throwing around money from Heaven (collec- The characters must have done something that tors’ items to be sure, and some coins have made it would cause a group of religious people to want into the present as Holy Relics to allow identifica- them dead. This could be anything from showing tion) then the agent of the Society will want to see up with strange money and rumors that they claim the coins. they are from Heaven, to destroying a religious The agent, his name is Bemandon, will start by relic, to accidentally desecrating a holy or unholy quietly hiring thugs and street urchins. He’ll make place. It could even be a misunderstanding or a case them think he’s starting a new crime guild in the city of mistaken identities. and he’s auditioning them for service. Then he’ll When the Adventure Seed begins, the characters set them on the party. In one afternoon, the charac- are in Belm, in Ludremon. If they did well in The ters in the separate groups will deal with everything Throne of God, they are likely guests of Cardinal from outright attacks, to muggings, to pickpocket- ing attempts. If the party met the street urchin Midd

-7- in The Throne of God (an optional encounter), then vise them, though he knows little about crime. He he could reappear here. can introduce them to the city watch and various Run all the encounters simultaneously, cutting nobles, however. back and forth between the separate party members The characters’ investigation will likely stall at for excitement. If possible, have Midd lead char- this point since they’re following false leads. How- acters on a merry chase before they catch him. A ever, they will have a visitation that night. precocious and witty attitude might make the party Note that you don’t want the characters to come to want to help the boy. This is especially true if you the conclusion that the cover story is fake. If they set him on the player with the softest heart for chil- run into all dead-ends, they’ll start to think more dren. deeply about what’s involved. If the characters hear As the encounter winds down, the characters rumors of this new force in Belm, but find the head should probably have a prisoner or two. None of of it elusive, they’ll probably keep looking. these people are loyal to their prospective employer. They’ll talk right away. If the party works quickly, Dramatic Purpose they can get the information before the watch ar- The dramatic purpose of the first act is to rives. introduce all the major characters, the plot, and the setting elements. Act One can be difficult to Dramatic Purpose handle because it often gets a bit ho hum if the The Dramatic Purpose of the Teaser is to hook GM isn’t careful. The act should end with the the players in, hopefully before even a single die characters entering a “new world,” meaning that is thrown. In a television show, the Teaser is the they are going out to take care of some problem part of the episode that comes before the credits, or to fulfill some new role. lasting anywhere from thirty seconds (for shows This is an adventure, though, not a movie. A like the defunct Enterprise) to more than ten GM should make sure that they don’t use this no- minutes (for shows like the also defunct Alias). tion of movie structure to railroad characters. The Teaser is (relatively) short, to the point, and usually set up to end in a cliff hanger to keep the viewer from changing channels. ACT TWO COMPLICATION A man appears at the room of the character who seems most like the party leader (or perhaps a player ACT ONE who’s been left out of the role-playing so far). He The characters can interrogate the various thugs, breaks in quietly if possible and the character may muggers, and children. At this point they should or may not catch him. If not, they won’t know learn Bemandon’s cover story and think something anything is wrong until someone sitting in the corner is brewing in Belm. They shouldn’t realize at this chair politely tells them it’s time to wake up. point that they were targeted maliciously. Bemandon The man is Tiremy, a member of the Thieves’ did “let slip” that he had picked the targets because Guild. The Belm Thieves’ Guild is powerful, and they’d entered the town stained in blood and with gaining in power every day. Recently they entered rent clothing. The thugs, muggers, and urchins think the protection racket, allowing people to buy their he randomly picked a group that had seemingly way onto a safe list that bans them from guild opera- won a fight and decided they would be a proper test. tions. Things are going well for the Thieves’ Guild, Whatever the case, at least one of these prisoners and they intend to keep it that way. will announce that there’s a rival power in the city The man will make offers to pay the party for any in front of a large group of onlookers. information they find on this new rival power. He At this point the characters will likely try to gather will make thinly veiled threats about the characters’ advice and help. Gleann is more than willing to ad- safety and the safety of their friends if they don’t

-8- comply. If the characters attack, the man tries to es- of Belm. He’ll find a high vantage point and watch cape (he might or might not succeed). If they don’t, as this new band tries to ambush the party. They’d the characters should feel like they just made a deal prefer to do so in an alley but they’re paid enough with the Devil. to attack in the open as well. If these are captured, If they kill him, several priests in the cathedral, they tell the same story as the first group. perhaps even Midd if he’s been taken under the par- At this point, the story can advance in a few dif- ty’s wing, will wake to find knives stuck to the in- ferent ways, depending on how long you’d like it side of their doors one morning later. The Thieves’ to run. The characters should now realize this isn’t Guild doesn’t fool around. about controlling the city at all. If you’re ready to move toward the climax now, the characters suspect Note: Most everything about Ludremon is an this is about killing them, then advance to the End of Adventure Seed, as outlined in The Echoes of Act Reveal, perhaps with one more scene applying Heaven Campaign Setting. This means that Fi- pressure from the Thieves’ Guild. If you’d like to nal Redoubt Press will leave these ideas alone. wallow in the bloodshed a little longer, then there’s These are all there for you to use in your game. plenty you can do now. This story could take place in a different city. Bemandon is interested in killing the party as It could involve a political element other than quickly as possible. Still, he has the patience of a the Thieves’ guild. The bottom line is, this is an serial killer (which is, in fact, what he is), and he’s idea, not official canon. If you’ve done some- content to pick them off one at a time. To that end, thing with the Belm Thieves’ Guild that makes he will set up a series of traps and ambushes on the them inappropriate here, feel free to replace party. This will continue until he’s sloppy enough them with a group from your game or to invent the characters are able to track him down (perhaps a new organization seeking power in Belm. through a meeting place or by paying urchins to look for him). He’ll release wagons on characters, try Dramatic Purpose to drop heavy things on their heads, perhaps even Act Two is the confrontation of the story. It’s also snipe at them if he can find buildings where there’s been called the “blue collar work” of storytelling. no chance of the party catching him before he exits. In Act Two we cover all the meat of the adventure, All of these attacks should make the characters feel everything that happens from the actual adventure harried. They might even hole up in their rooms beginning until the climax. Act Two should start in Gleann’s mansion. though the Thieves’ Guild’s with a complication, early on, to make matters knives on their doors might discourage that; worse than the characters initially thought. At the same time, the Thieves’ Guild applies pressure. Notes begin to arrive. Maybe there’s a break in and theft at the Mansion. Things start to escalate ACT TWO TWIST and the characters should feel there’s a clock over Bemandon might have eluded the characters entirely their head, that if they don’t resolve this soon, some- at this point, but that isn’t his actual goal. He came thing is going to break. to the conclusion that he needed to do something about the PCs days before the start of the adventure. Dramatic Purpose Now that he’s seen them in action and maybe gone This is the Act Two Twist. Here the story takes through their pockets, he’ll go straight into his its first move in a new direction and the characters plan. realize that all is not as it seems. He will start with a new group of ruffians, if those seemed to work well. He’ll use this tactic especially if he suspects one or more characters practice banned magic and might be loathe to display it on the streets

-9- END OF ACT REVEAL sound. Now he will try to turn the tables on them. With a prerigged rope, he’ll open all the shutters at Things will likely come to a head in one of three once, bathing the place in light. He will avoid the ways. light himself. He’s practiced at this; he can use the First the characters might come up with a clever shadows of the players to pinpoint them for attacks. enough tracking strategy to find Bemandon. If so, In this room, Bemandon gets a +25% bonus to hid- they track him to a deserted noble’s manse in the ing and stealth and attempts to locate others. The nice part of town. Locals say the lord is reclusive party gets corresponding penalties. and spends much of his time at his country estate, The room echoes terribly. If Bemandon couldn’t and while they haven’t seen him for days or even tell the locations of people by the tone of the squeak- weeks, that’s not unusual. ing boards, he wouldn’t stand a chance of finding They might smoke him out by forcing his hand. them. He uses this to his advantage. The entire time Holing up somewhere is enough to force him to take they’re here, he rants. He calls them sinners and risks to attack the characters. For instance if they heretics and explains how they must be expunged. don’t leave their rooms at Gleann’s, then he might He taunts them and puts on the Jack the Ripper act. be forced to shoot a PC with a crossbow from a less- During this, he takes potshots at the characters with than-perfect vantage. It could well be the charac- a crossbow. Once they catch on to his location, ters can get to him before he escapes, and he’ll lead move to Act Three. them on a merry chase. Finally, if the players become too frustrated, he Dramatic Purpose might make a mistake. Bemandon might be a “good This is the End of Act Reveal. Here, we learn member of the church” and a professional, but he something of the real truth behind this entire does what he does because he’s psychotic, not be- adventure. The End of Act Reveal should change cause he believes (it might be more accurate to say the nature of the story and rocket the characters he believes because he’s psychotic). He’ll make a into the final dramatic climax. mistake eventually. If catching him involves a chase, let him get a head start for dramatic purposes. Now this is a touchy subject. If he gets away because you wouldn’t let ACT THREE the characters catch him, then they’ll feel like you’re Act Three begins one of two ways. Either the party railroading them for story reasons. If the little ob- finds the villain in the hanging cloth maze, or they stacles and problems you throw in their way merely start to and he catches on. If they find him, conduct delay them in catching him, then that’s just a good the battle immediately. Be certain to use the hanging chase. Make it vivid. Put in barking dogs and fallen cloth to great effect. Make the environment as much children and the fantasy equivalents of a fruit cart a character and a foe as Bemandon. and two guys carrying a pane of glass. Chases are If he notices them catching him, he’ll flee upstairs. about the exciting details. Don’t let it degenerate to The party should be able to track him by his noise at dry rolling. this point due to their nearness. He will lead them If they chase and he does escape, he can hit an up two stories and onto the roof. It rains a lot in obstacle or two as well to allow the party to catch up Belm. The roofs are treacherous and peaked. One a little. Once the chase starts, it should inevitably can leap from one building to another (often you lead to the deserted manse. can just run). Bemandon will get there first. He has filled the If they make it this far, conduct the final battle here main hall with bands of hanging cloth, turning it in a great, aerial melee. Again, use the environment into a type of maze. Boards squeak throughout the to its fullest. Characters failing skill checks should room. From the sounds of these boards and his fa- slip and fall. They might end plunging to their miliarity with the place, he can track the party by deaths (or at least to their pain) or hanging from gut-

-10- ters. If things aren’t exciting enough and the light ommend assigning subjective experience based on wasn’t much of an issue downstairs (not enough to the accomplishments of the party. As a general rule, affect play), this might be a good time for a storm. you’re aiming for half the remaining experience Maybe even a lightning storm. (in fact, that might they’ll need to play The Festering Earth. Charac- be an interesting source of light downstairs). ters who performed well and role-played should get Eventually, they should kill Bemandon (or be more. Characters that performed poorly should get killed). At this point, the climax ends. fewer. For the target power level of characters in The Dramatic Purpose Festering Earth, use the following chart: Act Three starts the minute the characters’ plan collapses and they begin the ﬁnal battle, in Game System Character whatever form it might take. Act Three contains d20 System game 4th lvl the climax and any falling action necessary to HARP 6th lvl resolve the story. HERO System 180 points Rolemaster 6th lvl

DENOUEMENT WHAT COMES NEXT Bemandon has some treasure, mostly in monetary It’s up to you how to continue, but the implications of form. The noble of the manse is dead, and if the the Adventure Seed could be far ranging. Bemandon characters probe, they might find evidence of some might have sent word to the Society detailing the minor heresy to explain the fact. In searching “crimes” of the party. The Thieves’ Guild might or Bemandon’s body, they will find a black holy might not have reason to hate the characters. The symbol of the Church. Most people won’t place any heroes might well have befriended Midd. They significance in that, many people wear holy symbols. might even have decided to foster him. Gleann will think it’s odd, however. He’ll tell the If you’re playing in The Moving Shadow, then people about rumors of the Society of Sinnius, and you could move straight on to The Festering Earth. how some stories have them carrying holy symbols To do so, assign them twice the experience outlined made of ebony or obsidian. If the characters don’t above. If you feel like the plot should move for- already realize that he worked for a secret branch of ward more incrementally, then Adventure Seed 1b the Church, they should now. is called To Burn a Witch. It fits neatly between this Adventure Seed and The Festering Earth. Dramatic Purpose The dramatic purpose of the entire denouement is to give the characters a feeling of completion, to let the story wind down and wrap up naturally.

EXPERIENCE If you are playing this Adventure Seed on your own, and not a part of any campaign, assign experience normally. Your game comes with rules on Experience Awards. If you’re playing this Adventure Seed as part of The Moving Shadow, then you probably have placed this after The Throne of God. In that case, we rec-

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