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.

[Doktor Howl]

Monster ideas for the mad emperor's palace:

(DONE) Eaten Ones:  Corporeal undead caused by people being eaten by any acidic ooze.  Partial skeleton covered in acid that floats around.

(DONE) Tunnel Hag

(TWO DONE)5 magic warriors:  Emperor's bodyguard, each attuned to an element (air, earth, fire, water, void).  Level bosses (one per level, fire first).

(DONE) wizard shades:  Basically shadows with spellcasting ability.  Replace Str drain with Int drain.

(DONE) Evil pixies that attack and damage on Dex.  (weapon finesse, weapon focus, fencer's grace)

(DONE) Insane dwarves with one level of stalwart defender.

(DONE) ELECTRICAL DARK MANTLES!

(DONE) The rag mage.  Shaman (slums).  May or may not be hostile.

[Doktor Howl]

(DONE) Mummy with alternate curse (alone)

(DONE) ghost bard, uses inspire courage on both sides of any combat she witnesses.  Method of putting to rest (easy) proper burial.  Finding the body (hard).

(DONE) Id ooze ochre jelly (this is what caused the Eaten Ones).

(DONE) minotaur fighter 2 with trip weapon.

(DONE) cultist wizard with 2 fighters.

[Doktor Howl]

Traps

Wedge pit (put near dwarves)

ankle breaker (On any staircase, best near dark mantles)

Glue pit (put near minotaur)

[Doktor Howl]

The Mad Emperor
N Medium make human (augmented, mythic) Wiz(U)20/Archmage 10

Dryas III still considers himself the actual emperor.  After he arranged for the current emperor's grandfather to fold the palace Dryas lived in, he got down to the more serious concerns he had, leaving the day-to-day operation of the empire to what he considers underlings.  The various crisis the city has faced in the intervening 80 years have largely been beneath his notice, but he is pleased with the current emperor's habit of taking his job very seriously.

Dryas should be considered a dungeon feature, not a creature, not least because he could annihilate a party leveled 5-7 with no effort at all.  He is included to give the party information about the threat, and possibly give them permission to use his libraries and labs.

To gain his favor, the party must gain influence with him as if he were an organization, not a single individual.

Influence rank
0 - Dryas ignores the PCs, but at some point will give them a task.
1 - Dryas tells the party about the threat caused by folding.  Also informs party that their mutant dog is carrying a hag's eye in its stomach, put there by the changelings "familY" to spy on her.
2 - Dryas gives permission for the party to use his libraries (see library area, permission vs non-permission).
3 - Dryas gives permission for the party to use his laboratories (as library)
4 - Dryas describes the exact nature of the current folding threat and what is going on behind the scenes.  He also gives the party full permissions in the palace whenever they want to make use of the facilities.  This does not prevent monster attacks but does keep the magical warriors from attacking (they will simply ignore the party).

Dryas is unconcerned about the PCs having killed his magical warriors, as he just puts them back when he gets around to it.  Likewise with damage to the palace (which rebuilds itself the following night).  Lastly, he doesn't care if they loot the place, as he has no need of wealth, and he can just make more if he has reason to.  He in fact replaces wealth when a party is done exploring/gets killed, so there will be something for the next group.  He approves of adventurers as the are for the most part not "decadent layabouts and drones."

Tasks from Dryas:
1.  Convince the Marid Shezarade to get over her snit (see her room entry), as he misses her stories.
2.  Check up on something in the city that he has lost track of.
Add at least 8 more as I go.

[Doktor Howl]

B12  Library

This hexagonal room has several large tables with chairs scattered throughout.  There is a door on each wall.  Books removed from the library complex teleport back to their original location when left unattended for more than 1 hour.  Exception:  See area E.  This complex and the hallway leading to it are not subject to wandering monster checks for any reason.  All noises made in the main library room are reduced in volume by one level.  Jack cannot communicate to people in this area, even if a mirror is present.

a.  Magical repository.  This library of tomes on magical theory functions at -1 knowledge (arcana) and -1 spellcraft if permission to use it has not been granted by the mad emperor, as the library itself obstructs research (books move to incorrect areas, etc).  If the mad emperor has given permission to use his libraries, it instead grants a +5 to research, as the library actively assists in research.

b.  scriptoriums.  These rooms hold writing stands and were obviously intended for use in copying texts.  People copying spells or text do so in 1/3rd the normal time required.  This is a transmutation and morale effect.  This effect is not modified by permission.

C.  History repository.  -2 knowledge (history/nobility) without permission, +4 with permission, as above.

d.  Cultural repository.  -2 knowledge (local/geography/religion) without permission, +4 with permission, as above.

e.  Restricted room.  This room has a sign on the door, reading "Restricted Stacks.  Keep out."  The door is locked (DC30) and trapped with a persistent maze spell and an alarm spell (Search DC 30, Disable DC30, CR5) that alerts the mad emperor and the magical warrior for this level.  This room offers no bouses or penalties for any research, but has several books that have been proscribed as dangerous and/or heretical [ADD TITLES/DETAILS].  Each book is itself trapped [TRAP DESCRIPTIONS WITH EACH TITLE].  Unlike the rest of the library, books taken from this room teleport back to their original location, while also resetting its trap.  A dimensional anchor will delay this for the duration of the spell, and a mage's disjunction will end the effect.  This is a conjuration (teleport) effect.

Monsters:  None.

Traps:  See area E.

Treasure:  None.

[Doktor Howl]

B13 guard room

This large alcove has a couch, a table and 4 chairs, and tapestries on the wall.  It show signs of continual occupation.

Monsters:  Magical Warrior, 30% chance of being present.  If he is here, he will be unfriendly and demand that the PCs leave this restricted space.  If they do not immediately comply, he moves to hostile and attacks.  If made indifferent or better, he explains that the area beyond contains extremely dangerous prisoners, but asks them to go back the way they came when the conversation ends.  If they do not, he shrugs and attacks.

Traps:  None.

Treasure:  The tapestries (4 in all) are worth 2000 GP to the right buyer but weigh 60 pounds each.

Notes:  No wandering monsters will enter this area or B14.

[Doktor Howl]

B14 Cell Block

This long hall has 19 cells and room to dig out several more.  There are no bars, but instead a shimmering wall of force.  Inside 18 of the cells are various human male and females stuck in what appears to be statis.  They are obviously arcane spellcasters of one kind or another, complete with robes, staves, and obvious other magical items.  The last cell contains a female drow priestess.

Opening a cell requires a disintegrate spell or a dispel magic vs CL20. 

If a cell is opened, the stasis inside ends in 1d3 rounds, and all 5 magical warriors (minus any killed that day) show up in 2 rounds and immediately attack the PCs and the prisoner, with intent to kill.

The prisoners are all evil spellcasters with ideas of taking over the empire in one manner or another.  If freed, they will attempt to dominate or kill the PCs.  If dominated, the PCs will be used to fight off the magical warriors.  Should they survive, they will then be used as meat shields while the prisoner tries to get out of the palace.  At that point the mad emperor will intervene, and everyone should roll up new characters.

[Doktor Howl]

Wandering Monster Zones and overlaps

B1-B4, overlaps with level A zone and Level C Zone (enter location)
B7-B8, overlaps with level A zone
B7-B8, overlaps with level A zone
B15-B18 overlaps with level C Zone (enter location)

No wandering monsters in B5, B12, B13-14 under any circumstances.

[Doktor Howl]

The idea here is that there are very few keyed encounters.  Most monsters roam in various zones.  Most wandering monsters carry no loot (see description for exceptions), most loot is keyed.

The areas overlap as follows

D20
1-5 no result.
6 overlap.  Roll on the least dangerous adjacent area's table.  Treat overlaps on that table as no result.  If there are less than two overlapping zones, treat as no result.
7-18 add monsters appropriate to the zone the PCs are in.  If the population of that monster is eliminated, treat the roll as no result.
19 roll on the events table
20 overlap with most dangerous adjacent table.  Treat overlaps on that table as no result.  If there are no overlaps, treat as no result.

Checks are made when a zone is entered (even if they step out of the zone and right back in), and once per hour while in that zone, or when combat occurs (at a -5 on the die roll).

Other modifiers

PCs are using a light source (dim) +1
PCs are using a brighter light source +1, stacks with dim light.
PCs are loud +1 (does not include combat, see above.  If the PCs argue or the lowest passive stealth is less than 5, this modifier applies. Passive stealth for PF1e is 10 plus total skill/armor check value.
PCs are very loud +1, stacks with loud.  DM discretion.

[Doktor Howl]

Levels A-C complete.

I need 11 more new monsters for level D.  PCs should be level 6-7, depending on how hard they grind.

(DONE) Fetchling rogue/shadow dancer
(DONE) Vishkanya slayer
(DONE)The Major Domo
(DONE) Valens (magical warrior3)
(DONE) Marius (magical warrior 4)
(DONE) Marcus (magical warrior 5)
(DONE) Ifrit tanks
(DONE) Medusa monk
(DONE) Crimson Guard
(DONE) Cocaine Ape
(DONE) Gray (B5,129) psychic