Premade Campaign 18: The Book of Time (0/3)
The Book of Time is intended for Heroic level characters and is a prologue to The Broken Clocktower.
This Premade is actually a prologue to the next three Premades, and isn’t actually necessary to the story. The only benefit of running this is that it is an easy Heroic adventure that can be used as an introduction to 4th Edition, and it makes parts 1-3 more important if they know the history and characters of the world.
A wizard named Marcelino hires the party to lead him into the Jungles of Chult, where a Necromancer named Dashtio has taken his father. As their ship docks at the local port, a fireball is launched into their sails and a horde of zombies flood their ship, which is sinking from the explosion. The party must fight them off and make their way to land before being brought down to the bottom of the sea. As soon as they get to the dock they can see another few dozen zombies shambling in their direction, but are saved my white-robed men who lead them to a monestary. Once inside, the monks reveal themselves as the last remaining (living) citizens of the Chulowoo region after a strange creature appeared in their skies and rained down cursed ash onto the civilians.
Marcelino doesn’t know for sure the location where his father is being held, but after looking at a map of the area the party notes an ancient temple where the god Vecna once conducted sacrifices. Now, its ruins are the home to cultists and clerics who worship the necromantic god, praying for his return.
Once the area is clear of undead the adventurers move into the jungles to begin their week-long adventure to the temple. Along their way they will face off against zombies and undead animals, seemingly wandering aimlessly. Nightly ambushes keep the party on their toes, and a strange, childish laughter seems to follow them wherever they go. From time to time they find a dirty, angelic feather (religion check: 25) in the path, stained with blood and mud. And after a few nights they might catch a glimpse of what appears to be an angel flying high above them.
When they finally arrive at the temple it is surrounded by cultists wearing black robes, walking in circles around the building. They attack, and after the party is victorious they can hear the laughter again, this time closer. An angel walks out of the woods, a girl no older than twelve, wearing a dirty white dress. In her hands she holds a basket filled with ashes, and on her back are two large angel wings, bloody at the root and sown into her skin. She laughs, and jumps up again, throwing ash at the cultists bodies, rising them again. Once it touches them their skin turns gray and their eyes glow black, as the angel dissapears into the sky.
After dispatching the enemies they can work their way through the trap-infested dungeon to find a large library and the Necromancer sitting at a table, reading a book. He barely stirs when the party enters, immersed in whatever cursed tome he is deciphering. A passive insight of 17 or higher should be enough to notice a strong similarity in the faces of both the Necromancer and Marcelino, and the wizard reveals that the Necromancer is his father, Dashtio, and that the power of Vecna and The Book of Time has corrupted him.
At that, Dashtio waves his hand and the bookcases slide around the room, rearranging to open the floor completely and letting out several corrupted monks who have been taken over by the undead blight to battle the party. They fight, and the Necromancer climbs a ladder to a second story that was hidden by shelves. During the fight, Dashtio casts spells from a white wand that launches books at the party. When defeated, he tries to spout one last spell before dying and dropping the book he was holding. The Book of Time is indestructible, and the players can choose to either take it or leave it in the building (Marcelino will take it either way). The campaign ends with the party leaving the temple and seeing the angel flying high above them, laughing, and sprinkling ash down.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part One: The Broken Clocktower!
FemJesse says:
I thought Vecna was a girl?
July 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Premade Campaign 19: The Shipwreck : : says:
[...] After cleaning up Urbeth and assuring that no one’s loop is going to end in their own death, the party can move out of the city and explore the rest of the island. There are plenty of places to visit during the Paragon tier, and between the levels of 11-20 there isn’t much they shouldn’t be able to handle. The two remaining cities on the island are areas the party will likely explore, and the mysterious castle to the west is another area of interest. Either way they should make their way south at one point, maybe after someone unaffected by the time-loop tells them of a group of Barbarians moving around near the coast. When they make their way to the ocean they see dozens of footprints and a group of adventurers face-down in the sand, slowly being dragged back to sea (and their clock should be going backwards, slowly). the bits of broken boat around them are also being pulled back, and some of the splintered wood and ripped sales are being mended by mysterious means. If the party is able to pull them away from their location and revive them from unconsciousness they can find that the party on the shore is the group from “Premade Campaign 17: The Book of Time.” [...]
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Gnome Rodeo: Special Early and Late Edition - Gnome Stew, the Game Mastering Blog says:
[...] Pen and Paper Portal: Coop’s Premade Campaign series continues with The Book of Time, The Broken Clocktower and The [...]
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:45 am