Escape from the Haunted Lands By Uri Kurlianchik Plot by Charles Rice Artwork: Jason Walton, Joseph Wigfield Edited by Paul King Layout by David Jarvis Playtested by Paula Rice, Edward Lennon, Corey Hodges escape from the haunted lands “To ignore tradition is foolhardy; to anger the dead guerrilla tactics. Another important weapon in Haru’s by not providing for them tempts fate; to be in a place arsenal was his wife, Etsu, who was blessed with where others have died subjects you to forces beyond an ability to speak with the kami, the spirits of the your control. Avoidance, care, ritual, respect, tradition. earth and heaven, making the very land aid him in his These are your bywords.” righteous war. -The Rule of the Dead This war raged for more than a decade but just when it seemed that Shunichi was about to leave Welcome to legendary Japan, a land of unhappy ghosts Haru alone, disaster struck. and mischievous spirits, of cannibal demons and merciful kami. A place where honor is more important One of Haru’s senior retainers, a man so than gold and where one’s skill with sword and etiquette despicably treacherous that even his allies is the only thing that stands between glorious victory won’t speak his name, referring to him and shameful defeat. as Faithless instead, opened his trusting master’s castle gates to Shunichi’s host and “The Escape from the Haunted Lands” is the first thus brought about his master’s ultimate defeat. chapter in the “Haunted Lands” Adventure Path, a 10- As the Shunichi warriors swarmed in, slaughtering installment campaign designed to lead the characters the unprepared defenders, Etsu called down a terrible on a wonderful journey through the fabled lands of curse upon her husband’s land, merging it with Yomi, ancient Japan and latter Koryo in a quest to avenge the shadowy land of the dead, and making it useless for their master’s death and restore his son and heir to his Shunichi. rightful place. Seeing that all was lost, Haru ordered his youngest and This adventure is intended to serve as a tutorial to most promising retainers to smuggle his son away Japanese adventuring in general and as such contains from his cursed domains in hopes that he would many iconic encounters taken straight from traditional be able to return one day and reclaim the lands Japanese folktales and kaidans (ghost stories). Also, the of his father from the dark forces and treachery “Seven Tales of Old Japan” at the end of this adventure that laid them to waste.After giving his son and is designed to give both the DM and the players a retainers (the PCs) his last orders, he charged glimpse into Japan’s rich and fascinating folklore by with what remained of the Komatsu army at the retelling some of Japan’s best-known and loved stories. confused Sasaki forces, creating a diversion that enabled his son to escape from the burning castle and Adventure dying an honorable warrior’s death in the process. Background become. During their escape they will encounter many Adventure supernatural beings from which they will learn that the Our story began in 13th century Japan where a greedy only way to leave the cursed land is with the aid of one and powerful daimyo named Sasaki Shunichi made Synopsis of the local kami, who can be contacted through a series war on his honorable neighbor daimyo Komatsu Haru, The adventure begins as the PCs flee from the of magical portals called torri. in order to take his blessed lands and enslave his hard- burning and bewitched castle of the Komatsu clan. working subjects. Many bloody battles where fought Unfortunately, even the greatest kami are capricious After breaking through the siege and fleeing to the between the rivals but all were indecisive – despite the creatures at best and their help comes at a price… countryside they must confront various threats both numerical superiority of Shunichi’s army, it was no natural and otherworldly while looking for some match to Haru’s brave samurai warriors and ingenious way to escape from the haunted land their home has 2 escape from the haunted lands hours spent in the Haunted Lands, every living creature Prologue: Chapter I: must make a DC 13 Will save or begin to decompose. Every additional failure deteriorates the character to the Betrayal! A Curse Islands in the next step of putrescence (see table below), while every Is Laid Upon the remove disease or remove curse cast on the character Land. Sea of Death improves his condition by one step. This chapter details the features of the land and the The Six Steps of Putrescence: The Daimyo’s Last curse and presents ten area-based encounters the PCs Step Effect1 Order: can experience while exploring their homeland, now a Unclean -2 to saving throws strange and terrifying place. Start the adventure by reading or paraphrasing the Rank -2 Cha following: Features of Putrid -2 Con After running madly from the flames and screams of Rotten -4 Con, -4 Cha your dying kinsmen for more than half a day, you can the Haunted Decayed -4 Str, -4 Dex finally stop for a moment to catch your breath. It was 2 not cowardice that caused you to leave your noble Land Decomposed Walking dead master’s side at his direst hour but his own orders that 1 – All effects are cumulative you save his young heir, the brave but rash samurai Before the curse, the Komatsu domain was a beautiful region of lush bamboo groves filled with game and 2 – Subject to any spell or ability that affects undead Komatsu Taro, and avenge his death at the hands of his and/or evil outsiders. ancestral enemies. crystal-clear rivers teeming with fish. Dozens of shrines dedicated to the kami of the land dotted this small Two names ring in your ears, replacing the fear and domain, reflecting the piety of its reverent and ancient For every day a characters spends in Rotten or worse humiliation with rage and hatred – Sasaki Shunichi, people. All this changed, however when Faithless he must make a DC 13+days spent in this, or worse, your master’s greedy neighbor whose foul plans and betrayed his noble master and brought disaster upon the stage or suffer 1d6 points of Wisdom damage due to dishonorable machinations caused much pain and land. the unspeakable horror of rotting while still alive. This misery to your clan and master, and Faithless, a vile Wisdom damage heals at the rate of one per day. traitor whom you once considered a friend but now Seeing that her beloved homeland was about to fall into won’t even honor by uttering his name. Ultimately, it her enemies’ hands, Etsu called upon the oni to take it… The Unclarity of was his greed and jealousy and not Sasaki’s might that and they did. Death brought down the Komatsu clan. Now the land is one with the dark underworld Yomi Yomi is a dark and shady land of grey tones and But the two got little from their victory for as the Sasaki where the dead rot forever and powerful oni roam the uncertainty. The Haunted Lands are perpetually dark hordes swarmed over Komatsu castle’s formidable eternal darkness in hunt of trespassers. This terrible and starless and covered in a thick hissing fog (like a wall, your master’s wife, Etsu called a terrible curse curse cannot be removed by any mundane method and fog cloud spell cast by a 20th level sorcerer). upon the land, making sure that no one will have manifests in the following ways: it, rather than to see it exploited by your ancestral The Mists of The Eater of enemies. Unfortunately, both cravens did not personally Dreams participate in the siege and escaped the curse Putrescence unscathed. Now, with your new master at your side, Humans in the Haunted Lands begin to rot just as if The massive outburst of magic caused by Etsu’s curse and your enemies’ hated visages before your eyes you they were already dead unless the purity of their souls awakened a beneficial spirit called Baku. Each night the are ready to start your journey towards vengeances and can shrug off this foul curse. Once per twenty-four Baku visits the sleeping PCs and feasts on their dreams restoration of your beloved homeland. or nightmares. 3 escape from the haunted lands PCs that gained 2 or more Honor points that day are Area 1 : The Hungry For more details on Kazumi and on how to put the two cleansed from their fears and doubts and awaken Gaki (EL 2) ghosts to rest see Area 2 – The Kind Ubume. blessed (like bless cast by a 16th level cleric) while Read or paraphrase the following: Kenta, ghost male outcast child Com 1: CR 2; Small those that lost 2 or more Honor points awaken full of undead [augmented humanoid (human), incorporeal]; doubt and fear (like bane cast by a 16th level cleric). If A small child with a bulging stomach and dark, deep-set HD 1d12; hp 6; Init +1; Spd. Fly 30 ft. (perfect); AC the PCs attack or offend the Baku, it flees tearfully into eyes approaches you, completely naked save for a white 12 (incorporeal), touch 12, flat-footed 11; Base Atk the night, never to be seen again. For more details on loincloth. The moment he lays his hungry eyes upon +0; Grp -7; Atk/ Full Atk incorporeal touch +3 melee the Baku see pg.