Pathfinder Map Pack: "Lairs"

I pulled out Lairs recently when a random encounter with a harpy showed up and I needed a good place for it to be feasting on some travelers.  In four groups of four (and one group of two), the tiles form the following lairs:  a cool mini-dungeon with an arcane theme and visible victims of previous traps; a nice-looking farmhouse (maybe for a surprise encounter?), a small cave extending a few dozen feet into a hillside (perfect for my harpy), a forest/jungle clearing with some huts (good for a tribal monster encounter), and a really evocative ancient stone temple(?) with steps, a pool at the center, and loads of bodies.  There's plenty to work with here, and I guess the key is to keep the tiles organised by group so you know what you have available and can quickly pull them out when the time is right.  They're all nicely detailed.  I can definitely see using them again in the future.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 76 [RPG]

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]
 
The Harrowed Heroes’ room-by-room exploration of the massive Castle Scarwall continues.  One chamber, perhaps once a formal waiting room, now contains only ratty, ruined couches interspersed by small tables and shelves containing broken bottles of wine and serving trays covered with sheets of mold.  A search of the room turns up nothing of interest, but as Anorak goes to leave, he suddenly exclaims in fear and sadness as tears run down his face! He embraces The Reckoner, saying it’s time for him (Anorak) to go—that Kazavon will never provide mercy, so the only recourse is to throw himself from the castle’s walls!  Although the strange impulse quickly fades and Anorak realises the emotions he was feeling weren’t real, the lingering terror of the Lord of Scarwall remains.

Yraelzin reminds the group that Goldcape and Rocky are still missing.  The others remind Yraelzin that he has a way to magically communicate with allies, leading the former priest of Razmir to cast the spell.  He reports that Goldcape sounds strange, saying only that she’s in the “big room off the hallway with the double-doors”.  The group backtrack, trying to see if they’ve walked past anyplace that fits that description.  At one point, Lorien looks back to see something startling—a ghostly figure seems to be hovering right behind Yraelzin!  Dressed in archaic, overly formal clothing, the spectral human is looking down at Yraelzin with clear disapproval on its face.  “Who are you?” Lorien calls out.  The figure speaks in response, but no words can be heard.  By reading lips, The Reckoner is able to annunciate a few of its words, though the language is strange to everyone—everyone but Yraelzin.  Shaken by the apparition suddenly dissolving into a pile of wet snow, Yraelzin says the words are Old Azlanti and refer to him being a “failure” and a “disappointment”.  And even more strangely, continues Yraelzin, the man’s clothing marked him as from the time of Azlant—a continent lost to a worldwide cataclysm almost ten millennia ago, well before Scarwall was built!

Although the mystery lingers, the search for Goldcape must go on.  Before long, the group find a set of double-doors in the same hallway where they fought the nightmarish horse.  When the door is opened, the group is at first pleased to see that Goldcape and Rocky are indeed there—but happiness turns to concern when they seem to be in a deep trance.  Around them is a massive hall, its ceiling supported by thick wooden columns.  Between the columns, in the center of the room exactly where Goldcape and Rocky are hovering, is a large fire pit, its ashes long gone cold.  At the far end of the hall, difficult to see with the darkness and distance, is a wide dais.  A terrifying sight floats above one of the two chairs on the dais: a ghostly torso bound by lengths of writhing chains connected to misty skulls on the ground at its feet.  With the subtlest of nods from the ghostly figure, Goldcape and Rocky streak forward to attack!  The Reckoner backflips away, but not before Rocky gouges him with talon and beak.  With a prayer to Cayden Cailean, however, Lorien is able to dispel the evil enchantment that had clouded Goldcape’s mind and turned friend into foe.
 
But the danger is far from over.  Several spectres—the same type of creatures that nearly killed The Reckoner earlier—drift through walls and into the chamber.  Yraelzin hastily utters a new spell he learned especially for Scarwall—a spell to keep lesser undead completely at bay.  But although the spectres are barred from doing any harm (and soon incinerated by Anorak’s magic), the chained spirit on the dais hurtles itself forward, its merest touch leaving disfiguring wounds and shattered morale.  Strangely, the chains connecting the spirit to the skulls constantly snap it backwards to the dais like a taut bowstring being snapped.  The Harrowed Heroes decide to close the distance to the dais, putting themselves in harm’s way as the chains around the spirit lash out with more disfiguring attacks.  But The Reckoner’s enchanted hammer is unstoppable, and soon the chained spirit is completely dispersed.

Or so it seems.  The ghostly skulls remain on the dais, and barely a minute passes before the chains go taut and they pull the screaming spirit back from the Great Beyond for more torturous moments in the mortal realm!  Lorien’s magic conjures a silver-haired warrior from Elysium to aid in the struggle at the same time that Goldcape unleashes magical arrows, Anorak uses electrical spells, and The Reckoner continues swinging away.  Again, the chained spirit is dispersed.

But for how long?  The Harrowed Heroes try everything they can think of to destroy the four ghostly skulls remaining on the dais, but nothing seems to work.  Worried that the group can’t survive a third fight against the chained spirit, The Reckoner hurries everyone out of the room seconds before it reforms with an ear-splitting wail. 

 

The group retreat to the campsite, where, fortunately, Lorien has exactly the right spells prepared to help Goldcape and The Reckoner recover from the spiritual harms they suffered.  Yraelzin says they should just avoid the castle’s throne room—there’s no need to defeat every foe in the castle.  The Reckoner speculates that defeating the chained spirit could be part of lifting the curse.  Speaking of curses, The Reckoner and Anorak speculate that one or both of them may have been cursed, so they shed everything they’re wearing for a thorough magical inspection—but both turn up clean.  Afterwards, The Reckoner and Anorak debate whether to push on with exploring or rest for another 24 hours to regain their strength.  This time, Anorak’s argument wins the day, but with the proviso that he take the lead.

 

Sprawling Castle Scarwall holds many mysteries that test the strength and courage of all who would dare enter it.  One such mystery now seems prominent: how to defeat a foe bound to eternal battle?

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GM's Commentary

The ghostly Azlanti figure following Yraelzin was my way of incorporating that he had the Vestige bloodline and had gained the Call Ancestor ability, which summons an ancestral spirit as a temporary ally.  Since Yraelzin was created, his bonded object was an otherwise non-magical ring with an inscription in Azlanti on it because I wanted to tie him into an adventure path I planned to play him in as an actual PC (Ruins of Azlant) before he quickly transitioned into being a GMPC here.  The idea of the spirit being disappointed relates to the fact that Yraelzin didn't fulfil his original destiny and connected to how (secretly) uncertain and self-doubting he was throughout much of the campaign.

This session is also notable for the first battle (of many!) against the chained spirit that rules Scarwall.  As the adventure provides, the spirit is attached to four "anchors"--other creatures--and cannot be permanently destroyed until those anchors are destroyed.  It's a fun concept and a good challenge for the players to figure out what's going on and what they need to do.  I also really liked the unique "yo-yo" movement style of the chained spirit (how it could charge forth a limited distance but at the end of its turn would automatically be yanked back to its starting point by the chains).

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 75 [RPG]

 [Wealday, 5 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

In a relatively secure chamber somewhere on the second floor of Castle Scarwall, Anorak spends several hours crafting a magical wand that will allow the group to stay up all night, thus hopefully providing some solace against the constant nightmares that plague their sleep.  As he finishes the work, Goldcape and Rocky show just how dangerous sleeping in the haunted castle can be—neither can be awakened!  The best Anorak can tell is that they’re under some sort of necromantic curse.  While the dwarf is examining the pair, Yraelzin and The Reckoner hurry over to a nearby staircase from whence the sounds of slow, heavy footsteps can be heard rising toward them.  The mystery of Lorien’s whereabouts is solved, as the warrior returns, but with blood on his hands and a glazed look in his eyes.  He comes out of the trance gradually, but reports no memory of what happened to him!  Anorak pronounces the trance has had no lingering effects, but while everyone’s backs are turned, Goldcape and Rocky disappear!  Deciding it’s too risky to go looking for them without resting overnight, the group use Anorak’s new wand to keep a constant vigil until morning.

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

 

In the morning, Lorien surprises the others by fortifying himself with a shot of whisky.  When their exploration of Scarwall resumes, they soon find themselves on a parapet looking out east over the crater lake below—the direction from which the group made their first, aborted attempt to approach Scarwall.  On the northeast corner of the parapet, a tall tower looms overhead.  The Reckoner pulls out a small case of rarely-used tools and (noisily) manages to unlock a well-preserved iron door leading to the tower.  The room on the other side contains multiple staircases and doors, but it’s clear the intruders’ approach has been detected.  From one doorway massive skeletal minotaurs like those encountered near the courtyard issue forth, greataxes at the ready.  But their attack is blocked by a more fearsome threat: a pair of massive hellhounds charging up from a staircase below!

Anorak is burned badly by the gouts of flame breathed by the hellhounds, and even Yraelzin, standing far to the rear, is scorched.  But flame is only one of their creatures’ weapons, as The Reckoner can attest when one of the creatures tears a chunk of flesh from his shoulder with a bite like a beartrap.  But The Reckoner recovers quickly from the blow and manages to dispatch the two creatures, opening the way for the assault from the skeletal minotaurs.  Lorien steps up to help fend off the attack and soon only piles of cracked bones are all that are left of the undead foes.

Deciding not to chance either the staircase up or the staircase down, the group instead explore the chambers on this level of the tower.  One chamber contains nearly a dozen paintings on the wall, all depicting historical battles, but all diverging, in a particular way: an arrogant, cruel human with black-hair is leading the victorious side.  Whether leading the vanguard of the dwarves in the Quest for the Sky, rallying troops in the Shining Crusade, or leading an army of warriors against a demonic host in a blighted land, the same figure appears in each of the paintings.  Lorien notices that all the paintings are signed “Zev Ravenka, Bishop of Scarwall.”  Outraged by the blasphemy of a human purportedly leading the dwarves in the sacred Quest for the Sky, Anorak destroys that painting and then all of the others.  Another chamber must have once been a finely-decorated meeting chamber before falling into disrepair—even a high-backed chair built from a tangle of bones has not stood the test of time.  Little appears to be of interest in the room apart from a pair of mithral candelabras, but as Anorak and Lorien are talking, they realise that The Reckoner is looking very odd indeed!  He spins around and points toward the chair, proclaiming that a misty shape is sitting on it, urging him to do wicked things!  Quickly, The Reckoner pulls out a magic wand to protect himself and his allies from evil, but no one else in the room sees or hears anything unusual—and even The Reckoner admits the chair is now empty.  The group hurry out of the tower and back onto the parapets.

 

Lorien calls upon his divine magic to examine the constant dread and spiritual darkness that pervades Castle Scarwall.  He reports that the curse on the castle is the most powerful he has ever seen, so powerful that no simple spell could remove it—there must be a special procedure or ritual involved, if lifting the curse is even possible to begin with.

 

Finding that the only other interesting thing on the parapet is a long-unused forge with a gleaming, surely magical warhammer, the group look for a way from this eastern section of the castle into the main portion—but can’t find one.  The Reckoner decides to make his own doorway with an adamantine maul, and soon the group find themselves in a winding hallway.  A miasma of smoke fills the air here, along with the stink of burning flesh.  The cause appears instantly: a nightmare!  Lorien bravely charges in to do battle but The Reckoner destroys the creature with a single swing of one of his many enchanted battle-mauls.

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GM Commentary

This session was more general exploration of Castle Scarwall without anything particularly memorable about it.  Lorien's player was back but Goldcape's player was absent, so that's why there were some shenanigans at the beginning.

I liked the image of The Reckoner just smashing holes in walls with this adamantine maul to create his own doorways!