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#1 zergplex Jun 08, 2008 17:06:08

Hey! Hope I'm posting this in the right section. This is my first campaign writeup for 4e, so please PEACH and let me know what you think. I was a bit worried I might be putting them up against a bit much, but my group has a lot of experience in the old editions so I'm not too worried about the difficulty in the campaign, they often think of off-the-wall ideas to take down their foes (and I fully expect their characters to be min maxed, they always are ^_^). I hope to hear some feedback! I want to give credit to Subedei and http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1038561 for inspiring the Witch-Knight's in my campaign. Though they aren't exactly like the original concept, I tried to keep my Witch-Knight's in the spirit of the originals. DM Goal My goal is to create an engaging and challenging campaign to introduce my players to 4th edition. They are very experienced in prior editions so I want to make sure they are challenged by the campaign. By the end of the campaign the players should feel a personal stake in the town, giving a solid base to build into adventures all throughout the heroic tier. Summery A group of dark knights chase the traitor Debona and her minions into the village of Aura’s Veil and they fall as she escapes into her lair. Will you succeed where they failed? Setting Aura’s Veil – Aura’s Veil is a small village on the outskirts of the King’s protection. The population of the village is roughly 70 adults and 30 children. It was built upon the remnants of the trade city Eidona which burned to the ground during a long-forgotten war. Throughout the nearby wilderness are ruins of the original settlement. They primarily survive on the fields of grain to the north and fishing the large river to the east. Nearby Wilderness – The forest around Aura’s Veil is temperate and thick with trees and bushes. The remains of overgrown stone walls and buildings dot the landscape. A trampled trail leads to the Fallen Church of Eidona from the main pathway. Fallen Church of Eidona – A fallen church of Pelor, burned to the ground along with the rest of Eidona. Only marble pillars remain of this once-great church leading to access to the remaining basement levels. The basement level has become a place devoted to dark rituals to Orcus and immoral experimentation with undead by Debona. She tries to imbue living beings with necrotic energy, making creatures similar to undead that can reproduce. Her crowning achievement was in creating a necrotic dragon, using the eggs of a White Dragon. He is hidden within a secret chamber behind the shattered Altar to Pelor. Cast The Raven Queen’s Wrath – A sect of the Raven Queen’s temple devoted to destroying the undead and purifying Orcus’s malignant influence. Debona was once a member who betrayed the order. The Witch-knights were sent to hunt down the traitor. Order of the Witch-Knights – Created by the Raven Queen’s Wrath, the Order of the Witch-Knights is the front line of the fight against Orcus. They combine arcane might, divine strength, and martial prowess in a way few can match. The Order consists primarily of Paladins of the Raven Queen multi-classed into Warlocks (or vice-versa) though other gish builds devoted to the Raven Queen are welcome. The Witch-knights – Sent by the Raven Queen’s Wrath to hunt down Debona and destroy her twisted experiments. Thomas is their leader, an older human Knight who has experience in dealing with tracking traitors; he uses the stars as a guide (the Raven Queen weaves the fates of all creatures into the stars). He tends towards the defender role. Anthony was a priest to the Raven Queen who recently joined the Order of the Witch Knights. Though inexperienced as a Witch-Knight he brings a great deal of religious and historical knowledge with him. He realizes Debona’s lair may be the Fallen Church of Eidona. He tends towards the leader role. Tristan is a squire who is on the verge of being granted his full knighthood. He is a PC and has a separate write up of his own. Townspeople of Aura’s Veil – They are a peaceful village with only a token militia force (15 Human Rabble) for use in emergencies. Notable locals include Liyan (pronounced Lee-anne) the barmaid who runs the local tavern (called The Expeditious Retreat), she explores the forest often and is fascinated by the ruins of Eidona; Theo who runs the small inn, she is a rumormonger and rarely does something happen in town she doesn’t know about; and Deckard, the town’s wise and elderly Eladrin mayor. Start of the Campaign The players arrive in the village in the late afternoon and are given time to explore the village, meet the locals, and pickup whatever they may need in the shops. The campaign truly begins at midnight as the Witch-knights chase Debona and her minions into the village square. The noise of the battle awakens the party (and the town) and they should be encouraged to explore (if someone is hesitant have Theo come and ask the party to investigate the noises). When they arrive Debona’s Shadar-kai servants lie dead as Thomas and Anthony run off after the escaping Debona. Tristan is left behind, clearly outnumbered by the minions. The players hopefully will aid Tristan and he should explain the basics of the situation after the battle. If the players choose not to aid Tristan then the militia will form to help fight the minions with Tristan. Afterwards Tristan will explain the situation to Deckard and he will offer a reward to the players for helping Tristan hunt down Debona (at the end of the successful adventure Deckard will offer this reward to the players in either situation). Middle They track Thomas and Anthony through the forest. The players reach a clearing where they find Thomas and Anthony’s bodies. As they approach the bodies rise as undead. They banter with the players for a bit, waiting for an opening to initiate the battle. The players could gain clues to Debona’s destination through this banter. After the battle the players have a few options. Anthony has a notebook on him with cryptic references to Eidona and Pelor’s Fallen Church. The players can decipher it themselves or bring it to Deckard (who can connect the dots for them, and direct them to where the ancient church used to be). If the players neglect to search the bodies then they could choose to track her as a skill challenge. Finally if the players don’t come up with anything on their own Debona will send a group of minions to attack Aura’s Veil at dawn (use the first encounter again). Deckard will help put the players on the right track after they wipe the floor with the minions. Tracking Debona! – Level 1 – Complexity 2 (6 successes before 3 failures) – Primary Skills: Nature, Perception – DC: 15 – Success: The players discover the Fallen Church of Eidona and gain 407 exp. – Failure: The characters get lost in the woods. When they arrive back in Aura’s Veil they find the town under attack by Debona’s minions (use the first encounter again). When they arrive at the Fallen Church of Eidona they will find several Skeletons and Zombies as guards outside the staircase into the basement. The players will notice the guards long before they are noticed and should be given the opportunity to trick/outthink them if they wish. The guards will investigate any noise that they hear before returning to their post. If the players explore the area behind the church they can find a secret entrance that leads to the Wight’s room. The stairway leads to a hallway. The hallway is long and ends in the ritual room (containing Debona). Along the hallway are doorways into storage rooms. About halfway down the hallway an Ochre Jelly will drop from the ceiling onto the leading party member if the party doesn’t notice it (DC 15 Perception check). The Wight will come from one of the storage rooms when it hears sounds of battle. Continuing down the hallway the party enters Debona’s ritual room. The room is a circle, opposite the door on the wall is a shattered symbol of Pelor (hidden behind it is the secret door to the Dragon’s room, DC20 Perception or Dungeoneering check to find it). In the center is Debona at her altar, surrounded by her undead minions. She wastes little time with words, immediately attacking with her minions. End If the players hit their search DC they may discover the Dragon’s den. The dragon is sleeping when they enter the room and they may choose to leave and rest before facing the dragon (or not face him at all). The dragon is treated as a normal Young White Dragon except its breath weapon deals necrotic damage instead of cold and has visibly black veins pumping dark energies through its body. It is intelligent and may barter for its freedom. It will keep its word once given. When they arrive back in town a messenger from the Witch-knight will have arrived, requesting Thomas, Anthony, and Tristan’s presence at the Temple of the Raven Queen’s Wrath in Oliander (the nearest large city, to the east of Aura’s Veil). Deckard insists the party spends the night before moving on, and throws a large party in the village square that night in their honor. During the party Deckard offers the party a rewards of 100gp. They should understand before this point that the town is very poor. If they refuse the money then Deckard will tell them that they are welcome to use the Inn and Tavern as often as they wish, free of charge. Listing of Encounters The format for encounters is: Encounter name (exp amount) Monster name – Level 1 Minion (pg number) Reward or treasure from encounter. In Aura’s Veil (407 exp) Debona (escapes, chased by the Witch-knights) xShadar-kai Gloombladex (killed by Thomas) xShadar-kai Warriorx (killed by Anthony) xShadar-kai Chainfighterx (killed by Tristan) Zombie Rotter – Level 3 Minion (pg 274) Zombie Rotter – Level 3 Minion (pg 274) Zombie Rotter – Level 3 Minion (pg 274) Zombie Rotter – Level 3 Minion (pg 274) (Undead) Human Rabble – Level 2 Minion (pg 162) (Undead) Human Rabble – Level 2 Minion (pg 162) (Undead) Human Rabble – Level 2 Minion (pg 162) (Undead) Human Rabble – Level 2 Minion (pg 162) (Undead) Human Rabble – Level 2 Minion (pg 162) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) In the Wilderness (400 exp) Undead Thomas – Level 1 Elite Soldier [L] (see notes) Undead Anthony – Level 1 Elite Soldier [L] (see notes) +1 Pact Blade Rapier (lvl 3) – Wielded by Thomas +1 Lifedrinker Warhammer (lvl 5) – Wielded by Anthony Two Potions of Healing and 90g 100sp – Split between each corpse. Outside the Temple (470 exp) Skeleton – Level 3 Soldier (pg 234) Skeleton – Level 3 Soldier (pg 234) Zombie – Level 2 Brute (pg 274) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Inside the Temple (475 exp) (Undead) Ochre Jelly – Level 3 Elite Brute (pg ) Deathlock Wight – Level 4 Controller (pg 262) Potion of Healing, 70gp – In the room the Wight occupies. Bracers of Mighty Striking – In the remains of the Ochre Jelly. Facing the Shadar-kai (550 exp) Debona (Shadar-kai Witch) – Level 7 Controller (pg 231) Zombie – Level 2 Brute (pg 274) Zombie – Level 2 Brute (pg 274) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) Decrepit Skeleton – Level 1 Minion (pg 234) 2x Amethyst (200gp) – Imbedded in Debona’s profane alter. 200sp, 80gp – In a small lockbox on a shelf. +1 Implement – Whichever the party’s Wizard favors. Secret Room: The Necrotic Dragon (750 exp) (Necrotic) Young White Dragon – Level 3 Solo Brute (pg 84) Bag of Holding Deckard’s Reward – 100gp Total EXP: 2702 W/ Secret Room: 3052 Total Treasure: Converted cost, 4380gp Future Adventure notes The mountains to the south have a large and fairly organized goblinoid settlement. They are unaligned and motivated by mercenary impulses. They are remarkably egalitarian; any race that abides by their charter is welcome within the city. Eidona was made a target during the war due to a powerful artifact being kept within its walls. The adventurer’s come across the item not realizing its significance. They become hunted by those who realize the artifact has reentered the world. Deckard left the feywild when he was younger to bring the Ars Arcanum to Eidona. He remained in the town and became a major player in building Aura’s Veil after the fire. When it is found he will recognize the Ars Arcanum. Ars Arcanum – The artifact hidden within Eidona, it contains the rituals to traverse the planes with ease and many other things, if the key to translating it could be found. It is an ornate dagger; the rituals are inscribed on the blade in tiny runes which only appear in special circumstances (when plunged into fire for the ritual to the deep flames of the elemental chaos, bathed in the blood of innocents for a portal to the Abyss). Anima Ex Machina – The magical production and defense system for Eidona, it was given sentient life and is the first (and only) of its kind. Eidona created it to produce Warforged (which they sold to both sides of the war) and to protect itself and the city in the avent of a major attack. It sleeps in a hibernation right now deep underneath Aura’s Veil. It is still protected by Warforged who consider Anima their ‘mother’. All Warforged originated from Anima.