Themes
Ecological Change
Each environment reflects the evolving stakes of the story, making the changing landscapes an integral - living - narrative device. The arid desert, with its vast emptiness and oppressive heat, represents the harsh beginnings of the journey. The transition into a jungle introduces a thriving, yet treacherous, environment filled with vibrant life and hidden dangers. The frigid cave at journey’s end strips away warmth and external distractions, plunging the party into isolation and stark silence.Structure
Conflict
Warm-Up Encounter
Level 9
Roll on the "Desert Encounters" Table for 2 - 3 encounters while in the desert.
Rising Action
Jungle
Level 10
The PCs come across a track of lush jungle complete with trees, ferns, grasses, shrubs and fruits. By the time the party enters the jungle, they should be running low on supplies and can easily replenish themselves with the plentiful bounty around them.
An initial skirmish with Hiena Vamlire's touched introduces the party to a persistent enemy. Through the canopy, several childlike creature would throw rocks for 2d6 piercing damage; requiring passive WIS 13 to notice and/or making a DC 12 DEX saving throw to avoid.
Climax
Ruins
Level 11
As they proceed, they eventually come across a series of tunnels that are mostly open to the sky; but are otherwise cramped and in dim light. - Home of hungry creatures
- Chilling atmosphere
- Patches of ice and snow
- Something attacks intruders
- Possibly surprised if the party sneaks in.
- The pillar vibrates to a hidden place when creatures pass by it.
- Acts as a monitoring device for Hiena’s forces.
- None directly, but the pillar silently communicates intruders’ positions to Hiena’s minions.
- Touched, depending on the party’s noise or intrusion.
- Likely to ambush a loud party.
- Chilled crypt with a foreboding aura.
- Walls etched with marks indicating buried treasure.
- 2 mud covered creatures sleeping in the room
- Movement or disturbance of remains triggers them
- Hidden Bag of old coins
- Massive plant with frost-covered skin.
- Cracked, frozen bones litter the floor.
- 1 moving plant matter attacks intruders mercilessly.
- Troll uses ice terrain for advantage.
- 2 herbs for healing
- 1 herb for +1 temporary bonus to attack rolls
| Description | Key Features | Creatures / Threats | Treasure / Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| A frost-covered cave with gnawed bones and the scent of death. | No significant treasure. | ||
| A narrow passage with an single stone stalagnate pillar at its center. | Breaking the pillar (AC 12, 15 HP) ends the spying effect but offers no material reward | ||
| A blood-spattered cavern filled with the touch eating their latest kill. | A scene of carnage with gnawed remains. | A few mundane weapons and scavenged metal scattered (DM discretion) | |
| A cold chamber containing old skeletal remains and shards of broken weapons. | |||
| A cavern housing a monstrous plant devouring prey. |
Falling Action
Delve
Level 12
Once the characters enter one last corridor, they can choose to make their way deeper into the cave system where it gets colder and colder.
If the characters have not slain Hiena, she makes her way out and across the Shadow Plain towards some settlement to make more of the touched.Relations
Allies
| d6 | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| 1 | Paranoid Withdrawal: Avoids direct interaction with others for the next hour, speaking only in short phrases or grunts. +1 to Initiative and Perception checks. |
| 2 | Unreasonable Distrust: Becomes suspicious of an ally’s motives, refusing to follow their suggestions or plans. Disadvantage on CHA (Persuasion) and (Deception) checks. Advantage on Insight checks. |
| 3 | Erratic Speech: Blurts out fragmented and unrelated thoughts; causing disadvantage on all social skill checks for 1 hour. |
| 4 | Emotional Outburst: Becomes overly emotional (anger, sadness, or laughter) for the next 10 minutes. Disadvantage on WIS saving throws against fear or madness. |
| 5 | Fight or Flight: Instinctively prepares for danger, drawing weapons or attempting to flee a harmless situation. When no allies are within 15ft, gain a +1 AC bonus and advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. |
| 6 | Hallucinations: Hears or sees phantom voices or images, making DC 10 Concentration checks for any focused task. |
Tzapoyo
A lost explorer driven mentally unstable due to years of isolation.When stressed, the character’s isolation might manifest in unpredictable ways. If a stressful or social encounter occurs then one of the following might occur.
HP: 22 ( 5d8 ) Speed: 30ft Saving Throws: INT +8, WIS +9, CHA +9 Proficiency Bonus: +2 Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +5 Abilities: |
Adversaries
Feral Children
A clutch of touched children roam this jungle and settle these dark tunnels in an apparently primitve hierarchy headed by a raggedy-haired girl. None of these children can talk, are possibly decades old, and are irresolvably hostile.10 Minions
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 8 (-1) | 8 (-1) | 8 (-1) |
HP: 39 ( 6d6+18 )
Speed: 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Saving Throws: DEX +6, WIS +1
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Perception +1, Stealth +6
Abilities:
Hiena Vamlire
HP: 93 ( 11d8+44 ) Speed: 30ft Saving Throws: DEX +7, CON +7 Proficiency Bonus: +3 Abilities: |
Backdrops
Encounters
4 Large Snakes
Armour Class: 15
HP: 58 ( 9d10+9 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:Bite: 2d6+3 piercing damage plus 3d6 poison damage
7 Mutant Little Brothers
Armour Class: 12
HP: 27 ( 5d8+5 )
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Athletics +6, Perception +3
Abilities:
Moving Plant Matter d4min3
Armour Class: 15
HP: 136 ( 16d10+48 )
Speed: 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Skills: Stealth +2
Abilities:Slam: 2d8+4 bludgeoning damage Engulf: One medium or smaller target at a time is grappled (escape DC 14) after 2 slam hits. The engulfed target is blinded, restrained and unable to breathe, and must succeed on a DC 14 CON saving throw at the start of each of it's turns or take 2d8+4 bludgeoning damage. If the mound moves, the engulfed target moves with it.
6 Mud Creatures
Armour Class: 8
HP: 39 ( 6d8+12 )
Speed: 10ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:Slam: d6+2 bludgeoning damage
2 Young Burrowing Things
Armour Class: 14
HP: 93 ( 11d10+33 )
Speed: 30 ft., burrow 30 ft
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Abilities:Bite: 3d10+4 piercing damage plus 2d6 fire damage Characters who touch or hit it with a melee attack while within 5ft takes 2d6 fire damage
Spitting Lizard
Armour Class: 14
HP: 85 ( 10d10+30 )
Speed: 20ft
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Skills: Stealth +7
Abilities:
4 Maddened Explorers
Armour Class: 15
HP: 45 ( 6d8+18 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Magic +3, Insight +4, Perception +2, Stealth +5
Abilities:Advantage on WIS (Perception) checks that rely on sight (Recharge 5-6). Each target within a 30ft cone area must succeed on a DC 12 INT saving throw or take 2d8+1 mental damage and be stunned until the end of their next turn. One target within 30ft must contest its CHA (Deception) check against the nothic's WIS (Insight) check. If the nothic wins, they learn one fact or secret about the target.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) |
HP: 58 ( 9d10+9 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 15 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 9 (-1) | 13 (+1) | 9 (-1) |
HP: 27 ( 5d8+5 )
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Athletics +6, Perception +3
Abilities:
- Bite: d4+2 piercing damage
- (Recharge 5-6). The target must succeed on a DC 11 CON saving throw or be stunned for 1 minute. The stunned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 8 (-1) | 16 (+3) | 5 (-3) | 10 (+0) | 5 (-3) |
HP: 136 ( 16d10+48 )
Speed: 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Skills: Stealth +2
Abilities:
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (+2) | 6 (-2) | 14 (+2) | 1 (-5) | 6 (-2) | 1 (-5) |
HP: 39 ( 6d8+12 )
Speed: 10ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Abilities:
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 13 (+1) | 17 (+3) | 3 (-4) | 10 (+0) | 4 (-3) |
HP: 93 ( 11d10+33 )
Speed: 30 ft., burrow 30 ft
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Abilities:
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (+5) | 12 (+1) | 17 (+3) | 9 (-1) | 15 (+2) | 10 (+0) |
HP: 85 ( 10d10+30 )
Speed: 20ft
Proficiency Bonus: +3
Skills: Stealth +7
Abilities:
- Advantage on attack rolls against any creature grappled by it
- Adheres to anything that touches it. A Huge or smaller creature it adheres to is also grappled (escape DC 16). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have disadvantage.
- Advantage on saving throws against magical effects.
- Bite: d10+5 piercing damage plus 2d6 acid damage
- (Recharge 5–6). Target within 30ft must make a DC 14 DEX saving throw or take 9d6+1 acid damage, or half as much on a success.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 13 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 8 (-1) |
HP: 45 ( 6d8+18 )
Speed: 30ft
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Skills: Magic +3, Insight +4, Perception +2, Stealth +5
Abilities:
Comments
Author's Notes
The longest journey - Chapter five