Campaign notes

[Doktor Howl]

PCs invited to Defresne's manor.  Dufresne apologizes for having a commoner at the table, his chief arms man. (If the PCs are gracious about his, they get a +2 on discovery checks and sway checks with Dufresne.  If the party in any way scorns the arms man, they instead get a -2 penalty)

Dufresne makes small talk.  Party has 2 chances to gain sway over him.

He then brings up the reason for inviting them.  6 months ago, his youngest son finished his time in the imperial army and decided to go adventuring with his friends (very much against Dufresne's wishes).  The group of 4 went to find one of the folds, one that had happened spontaneously around the headquarters of a famous adventuring group.

Group:  "Radnick's Raiders" Their most famous exploits being exploration in the jungles of the Southern continent, bringing back strange magic and artwork.  Shortly after returning from their last adventure, the group split up and left for their home cities.  3 days after they left, their headquarters got folded.  The Wizard's guild denied folding it, and assumed it was spontaneous.

Dufresne forbade his remaining two sons to look for his youngest, as he needs them both alive, so he needs professionals to go find them.  He knows where the fold is (The arms man does, 413 March Street), but not how to enter it.  His objective is to recover the body of his son.  A secondary objective is to recover the bodies of his son's friends.

He offers the following rewards
500 GP for his son's body, and 100 GP for each of his friends.
1 level of sway:  Additional reward - letter of introduction to House Horatio.
2 levels of sway: Additional reward - The party may keep his son's ancestral enchanted greatsword.

This concludes the dinner.


On the way to the address, a spectacularly ugly old lady holding an equally ugly lapdog in her arms calls the changeling character by name.  She explains "I once knew your mother, dearie," and says that they are headed into great danger, and that she can help them if they give her first pick of any artwork they find.  If they agree, she hands them the dog and tells them to keep it within 30 feet of them at all times.  If they refuse, she laughs and wishes them luck.  If they attack her, she reverts to her Annis Hag form and attacks, which will more or less result in a TPK.

The dog is a scapegoat.  It is a standard mutt (use small dog from Familiars book) Any time anyone in the party would be cursed, the curse is automatically shunted to the dog, who receives no saving throw, provided that person is within 30 feet of the dog.  Instead of the curse manifesting as intended, any curse with a duration of longer than 10 minutes causes the dog to gain a random Eidolon mutation (and the benefits thereof).  Any curse with a shorter duration just makes the dog do stupid terrier things (bark at nothing, run in circles at full speed, or sneeze).  The dog becomes attached to the changeling character the first time it absorbs a curse.  NOTE:  No mutation may raise the dog's INT above 2.  If such a mutation occurs, instead apply it to CON.

This scapegoat ability is permanent, which should make things interesting, but after the PCs leave the fold, the  protection offered only functions for the changeling.



The fold:  (Stolen from LOEG)  413 March Way. The addresses on the street go from 411 to 415.  413 is omitted.  A perception check DC15 or detect magic reveals a seam between the two townhouses 411 & 415. Anyone touching the seam is pulled through into the fold, arriving in the wreckage of the townhouse.  A set of stairs leads down into the ground.  The seam is clearly visible from inside, and touching it pops the party back onto the street.  Once inside, the party must make a Will save DC 12 or get the fumble curse.  If the save is successful, the person will never again be affected by that curse in this location.

The sword:  The enchanted blade is "Clangor" +1 greatsword which grants an untyped +2 bonus to the wielder's initiative, as long as it is on his person.  It also subtracts 2 from the DC of perception checks of nearby creatures that might hear a battle happening, as it makes exaggerated noises while swung or striking someone.

If it was not offered as a reward, it is expected to be returned to Dufresne.

The monsters:

4 ectoplasmic humans (the younger Dufresne and his unfortunate friends). 1 encounter has 2, the other two 1
2 giant spiders
1 rat swarm
1 Mongo Rat.
6 skeletons wearing ragged servants clothing
1 giant amoeba
"In One Ear"
3 traps
1 hazard

The artwork:
Giant witchdoctor mask: magic.  While wearing it (20 pounds), it grants the wearer death watch, plus the wearer may see ethereal (but not otherwise invisible) creatures and objects. 2000 GP
Small, intricate pot 150 GP
Funerary urn CURSE ("alone",permanent" WILL DC15) 200 GP
Obsidian-studded wooden sword  CURSE (Murderous Command affects the character 1/wk Will Save DC 13) 250 GP
Small obelisk carved with petroglyphs CURSE (accelerated mummy rot, Fort DC 14) 100 GP
Small jade figurine 500 GP

Curses: 
Alone - The creature affected cannot treat any creature as an ally for rules purposes, nor can any creature treat the affected creature as an ally.  Affected creature must save when affected by a buff or otherwise harmless spell.

Accelerated Mummy Rot - as per mummy rot, but onset is one round and frequency is 1 round.  Bye bye.

Murderous Command 1/week - Will save DC 13 or attack nearest living creature.  When it happens is up to the DM, but it must happen once per week.

Fumble - any missed attack roll is considered a natural 1.  Roll to confirm the fumble as normal.

[Doktor Howl]

Okay, mission accomplished, and the party now has the weirdest dog ever.

PCs are now 3rd level, 4 players so APL3.

Things they found out:  The Mad Emperor's Palace was folded at the end of his reign, with all the goodies still inside.  They are of course champing at the bit, but that is an APL 7-9 adventure, so they're not going to find where it is right away. 

They up-armored with the loot, plus spent the cash on a library for their townhouse (knowledge arcana), which will be available in two playing sessions.

The next adventure will be handed to them by House Horatio when they show up with the letter of introduction.  This will be The Blight #2, The Horror in the Sinks, which is a really gruesome insane asylum thing.  This should take 2 sessions to complete and leave them somewhere between level 4 & 5.

It is also a bit shy on loot, so I'll have to do something about that.  Probably just have House Horatio give them a big sack of gold when they complete the adventure, but they will also be reporting to their boss in the secret police, which means they earn favors from both.