Telemechanics

by hughpierre

Level 2 - 5

Structure

Exposition

Burglary
^{Level 2}

The PCs are attempting to burgle the workplace of an infamous researcher and zombifier named Phthalo. The reasons and motives are determined by the GM or players:

Steal valuables

Plant evidence

Acquire Information

Exact revenge The players explore this 'house of horrors' to set the mood in their encounters; many of which can potentially overpower the players because the GM's aim is to TPK the party into unconsciousness.

Conflict

Surgery
^{Level 3}

The party awakens with noticeable headaches and are currently restrained on operating tables. The would-be victim of their crime walks in and explains that their bodies have been slightly modified to fulfill a task he has for them: The PCs have 7 days (2 days to arrive and 2 days to return) to retrieve the blood of a rare breed of tin crabs that have taken up residence close to the Water Margin.

These modifications include:

Impossible for the PCs to harm the professor in any way
If the PCs refuse or take too long, a suicide rune grafted behind their necks will kill them instantly
One of their eyes (player decides which) can now detect invisible opponents if those targets have 12 INT or less and fail a DC 20 WIS (Perception) check

Rising Action

Darkness
^{Level 4}

This portion primarily includes travel, and possibly camping in the wilderness for at least one night, and 1-2 widerness encounters.

If the GM believes that the party's journey to their destination was not exciting enough, they can include a preliminary or foreshadowing enounter with 1 reawakened fighter during a blizzard.

These fighters are members of a group of former zombie slaves who had been subjected to years mistreatment that they were perfectly conscious of. When they had reawakened; they managed to escape from their overseers, only to realize that (for one reason or another) they could never return to their old lives. Rather than despair, they banded together to achieve some manner of justice for themselves by killing the architect of their misery.

Invisible Tin Crabs ( d6min4 )

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
7 (-2)	15 (+2)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)	8 (-1)

Armour Class: 15
HP: 31 ( 7d6+7 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +6, Survival +2
Abilities:

Targets who start their turn within 10ft must succeed on a DC 11 WIS saving throw or be frightened until the start of it's next turn

Claw: Targets take 2d4+2 slashing damage and must succeed on a DC 11 CON saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns

(Recharge 5–6) d6 . In dim light or darkness, can teleport to an unoccupied space within 30 ft

Climax

Returning
^{Level 5}

As the party is returning from their successful harvest, they are attacked by mute and abnormally tall men. If the PCs lose, they are knocked unconscious; and if they win, the ground gives way under them and they fall unconscious either way. Afterwards, they wake up in a cage as capitives to a band of reawakened zombies who seek vengeance for their years of toil. The band's leader interrogates the PCs; demanding to know their identities and to explain their service to the professor. Should the PCs break free, they find that they also cannot attack the leader via the same effect that prevented them from attacking Phthalo.

Reawakened Fighter ( d3 )

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	10 (+0)	17 (+3)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	8 (-1)

Armour Class: 13
HP: 82 ( 11d8 )
Speed: 30ft
Saving Throws: INT +2, WIS +3
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Abilities:

As a bonus action, one target that can see him must succeed on a DC 14 CON saving throw or be blinded until the start of his next turn

The party can convince them to let them out of the cages and /or stop fighting if they succeed on a DC 14 CHA check and/or agree to join them in an assault on the compound. Eerie, being the most knowledgeable of Phthalo's methods, is able to remove the restrictions from the PCs.

Falling Action

Retaliation
^{Level 6}

Minus the ones destroyed by the PCs in the first scene, all the same monsters are there to oppose the party. Once they are all defeated, the party will find Phthalo somewhere in the castle. When they do, the GM can tailor the difficulty by choosing just one of the stats listed as Phthalo. The GM can also decide to utilize one and reassign the other to that of a medical assistant.

Relations

Competitors

Eerie's hard white body appears painstakingly repaired with grafts and clockwork prosthetics; the result of experimentation by Phthalo:

brass vertebrae glint at her throat
her left eye is a glowing cybernetic lens
a muffled generator whirs softly in her abdomen
her voice has a mechanical drone to it

Now; she and her gang seek to dismantle the system that allowed her creation - research cabals, ethics committees, complacent overseers - and to awaken other enslaved zombies. The first step in this involves capturing and sharply questioning Phthalo for usful information. She would insist that the PCs leave the castle before she begins, however, and will turn hostile if the party refuses.

Eerie the Band Leader

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	9 (-1)	18 (+4)	6 (-2)	10 (+0)	5 (-3)

Armour Class: 9
HP: 46 ( 11d8 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Abilities:

After taking fire damage, gets disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of the next turn

Advantage on saving throws against magical effects

Regains hp from lightning or Teotl damage

At 40hp or lower, and on a 6 d6 , can go berserk and require a DC 13 CHA (Persuasion) check to calm.

Adversaries

Phthalo (Stat 1)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)	11 (+0)

Armour Class: 12
HP: 66 ( 12d8+12 )
Speed: 30ft
Saving Throws: CON +3, WIS +5
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Medicine +5, Nature +6, Perception +7
Abilities:

Regains 5 hp at the start of their turn

(1/Day). For 1 minute, add WIS modifier to AC and has advantage on attack rolls against any target missing hp.

At the end of a 10-minute ritual, himself or a chosen ally, gains 10 temporary hp and can add d6 to their initiative rolls for 1 hour.

Phthalo (Stat 2)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
11 (+0)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	19 (+4)	13 (+1)

Armour Class: 14
HP: 105 ( 14d8+42 )
Speed: 30ft
Saving Throws: CON +6, INT +6, WIS +7, CHA +4
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Skills: Magic +6, Medicine +7, Nature +6, Survival +7
Abilities:

(1/Day). Can command one of their spare experiments to fight with them.

Backdrops

Locations

Magic Squares

Technology / Science | Jul 26, 2024

Fire Castle

The castle is but a small portion of the circular Fire Wall. It is an elongate building consisting of several individual structures: towers, turrets and gables. Its first and second floors are fill with failed and successful experiments - reprogrammed test subjects augmented with alchemical fluids and enhanced mechanics.

Threats

Blizzards

For 2d4 hours, PCs are:

limited to 100ft of hearing
disadvantage on ranged attack rolls
disadvantage on WIS (perception) checks that rely on hearing
have advantage when tracking through snow

Encounters

Little Brother

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	16 (+3)	17 (+3)	7 (-2)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Armour Class: 14
HP: 68 ( 8d10+24 )
Speed: 50ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:

Bite: d8+3 piercing damage

Claw: d6+3 slashing damage

Tail Range 200ft: d8+3 piercing damage

Brain-in-a-Jar & Obsidian Bat

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
1 (-5)	3 (-4)	15 (+2)	19 (+4)	10 (+0)	15 (+2)

Armour Class: 11
HP: 55 ( 10d6 )
Speed: 0ft
Saving Throws: INT +6, CHA +4
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills:
Abilities:

Advantage on saving throws against magic effects

(Recharge 5 - 6). Holder must succeed on a DC 14 INT saving throw or take 3d8+4 damage and be stunned for 1 minute. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)	14 (+2)	3 (-4)

Armour Class: 16
HP: 17 ( 5d4+5 )
Speed: fly 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:

Target takes d6+1 piercing damage and must succeed either on a:

DC 10 INT saving throw or they can't take a reaction until the end of their next turn. On their next turn, the target must choose whether it gets a move, an action, or a bonus action; they gets only one of the three.
DC 10 CON saving throw or be restrained. The target must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a fail, the target is petrified for 10 minutes.

Reanimated Spider

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)	7 (-2)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Armour Class: 13
HP: 44 ( 8d8+8 )
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +4, Survival +3
Abilities:

Bite: d8+2 piercing damage

Claw: 2d4+2 slashing damage

-2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws and ability checks

Hologram (1/PC)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
1 (-5)	14 (+2)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)	10 (+0)	11 (+0)

Armour Class: 12
HP: 22 ( 5d8 )
Speed: fly 50ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:

Can move through others and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The target must succeed on a DC 10 CON saving throw or their hp maximum is reduced by 3d6 . This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces their hp maximum to 0.

While in light, the hologram has disadvantage on attack rolls and WIS (Perception) checks that rely on sight

Brain-Controlled Mech

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	19 (+0)	14 (+0)	10 (+0)

Armour Class: 20
HP: 90 ( 12d8+36 )
Speed: 30ft
Saving Throws: INT +6, CHA +4
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Magic +8, Perception +5, Insight +5
Abilities:

Advantage on saving throws against magical effects

When in a disruption field, must succeed on a DC 16 + caster level CON saving throw or fall unconscious for 1 minute

Melee Touch: Target takes 3d6 cold damage and must succeed on a DC 16 CON saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns

(Recharge 5-6). Targets in a 60-ft cone must succeed on a DC 16 INT saving throw or take 4d8+4 mental damage and be stunned for 1 minute. A target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns.

Longsword: d8+4 slashing damage, or d10+4 slashing damage if used with two hands

Energy Pillar (2)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
1 (-5)	17 (+3)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	11 (+0)

Armour Class: 13
HP: 40 ( 9d4+18 )
Speed: 0ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Magic +5, Perception +2
Abilities:

Sheds either dim light in a 15-foot radius, or bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. It can switch between the options as an action.

Advantage on saving throws against magical effects

Range 30ft: 3d6 lightning damage

Amorality

People are turned into robots. In the dark reaches of clockwork halls; dissidents, vagrants and the frail are turned into tralls of the state. The process recycles death into an invasive type of mind control in order to get workers for infrastructure projects. In so doing, the body is subjected to enormous amounts of stress and trauma.

Zombification

Tradition / Ritual | Dec 3, 2024

It is not necessarily a permanent punishment, but a select few who reawaken testify to being aware of everything as they were happening. The establishment does not acknowledge that any conscious awareness remains within the victims' mind.

Plot type

Assaut Heist

Related Organizations

Clockwork Church

An alternate objective could be the party or the band wanting to rescue an NPC who may or may not be an active zombie:

Wenge

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	15 (+2)	10 (+0)	20 (+5)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)

Armour Class: 15
HP: 72 ( 8d8+36 )
Speed: 30ft
Saving Throws: INT +7, CHA +3
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Deception +3, History +7, Insight +7, Investigation +9, Perception +5, Persuasion +3, Sleight of Hand +4, Stealth +4
Abilities:

(1/Turn). Deals an extra 2d6 damage when hiting a target with a weapon and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5ft of an ally

Can take the Dash, Disengage or Hide action

(1/Turn). Choose d4 :

Range 30ft: 4d6 acid damage
Range 30ft: Target takes d8 fire damage at the start of each of their turns. A target can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 15 DEX check to extinguish the flames
Melee: An incapacitated target must make a DC 15 CON saving throw at the end of their next turn. On a fail, the target is paralyzed instead of incapacitated for the duration. On a success, the target is no longer incapacitated, but is slowed for 1 minute.
Targets within a 20ft cone must make a DC 15 CON saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute. The target, or adjacent ally, can use an action and water to remove the smoke from their eyes, ending the effect.

Telemechanics

Level 2 - 5

Structure

Exposition

BurglaryLevel 2

Conflict

SurgeryLevel 3

Rising Action

DarknessLevel 4

Invisible Tin Crabs ( d6min4 )

Climax

ReturningLevel 5

Reawakened Fighter ( d3 )

Falling Action

RetaliationLevel 6

Relations

Competitors

Eerie the Band Leader

Adversaries

Phthalo (Stat 1)

Phthalo (Stat 2)

Backdrops

Locations

Magic Squares

Fire Castle

Threats

Blizzards

Encounters

Amorality

Zombification

Wenge

Comments

Author's Notes

Adventure MAPril 2025

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Burglary
^{Level 2}

Surgery
^{Level 3}

Darkness
^{Level 4}

Returning
^{Level 5}

Retaliation
^{Level 6}