A Demon in Silk
This adventure is aimed at 2-3 starting adventurers with good fighting and sneaking skills and willing to embrace the cause of chaos.
I wrote down this adventure to try out the Elric game I had bought some months earlier. It was conceived as a stand-alone adventure for one or two sessions only, but I left a few strings to let you start a campaign with it. I used it with two players who, like myself, seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. I suppose it is perfectly playable with Stormbringer.
Note: I am not familiar with Moorcock's writings or with other Stormbringer's supplements besides Elric's rulebook. Therefore it may contradict them (mainly in the case of the temple). If you prefer Moorcock's or Chaosium's version you may use them without much effort and the rest of the adventure will still be perfectly serviceable.
The adventure starts out in Menii, capital of the Isle of Purple Towns. The characters are roaming the renowned Menii market half dizzied by the millions of colours, smells and sounds that cover the place with a cloud of wonder.
Right at the centre of the market is the pyramid-shaped Temple to Goldar, a god of Law.
The characters are so astonished at what they see and hear that they are taken by surprised and violently pushed to the ground.
One armoured man shouts at the PC for standing in his way. If the PCs react with arrogance or assertiveness, he and his companions will draw their weapons and attack the PCs. If the PC is humble and apologizes, the man and his companion(s) will insult the PC until they can start a fight. Either way these ruffians are obviously looking for a good fight.
(Don't make it too obvious that these guys are looking for an excuse to attack them. Let the players think that it is just a minor inconsequential brawl and not the start of the adventure.)
The ruffians (one to each player) will fight until death or unconsciousness. Around the fight a huge crowd will form supporting one or other side, betting or just looking mildly interested. Someone will call the guards but they will only arrive a few rounds after the fight is over.
The PCs should be able to defeat their adversaries easily, but they should get away from the scene as soon as possible before the guards arrive. Let them know that fighting with arms on the street is illegal and they may be arrested and convicted for violence or even murder.
Later in the day, while the PCs are relaxing in their home or inn, a dwarf will come looking for them. His name is Elnio and he explains that his master, Azkenat, was impressed by the prowess they displayed in the market and wishes to hire them for a service that will be rewarded handsomely.
If the PCs are interested in the service, Elnio will take them to a luxurious inn called The Shining Fire.
The quarters where Azkenat is staying are rather luxurious indeed. He rented three different rooms, an antechamber, a living room and a bedroom. The PCs will be left waiting in the first room covered with rich carpets depicting all kinds of sea motifs.
Presently the PCs will be taken to another room, even more luxuriously decorated than the previous one, where a huge man is lying in a mattress. His face is pale and smooth, with the small dark eyes hiding under the soft flesh.
He will greet the PCs softly and offer them some sort of candy (Scent/Taste - it is made of honey and cinnamon and it is delicious) that he keeps on swallowing throughout the meeting.
After some polite small talk in which he explains that he is a merchant and needs someone hardy and daring to do him a little favour, he will start talking about his departed wife, Quanda, whom he loved dearly. Apparently she died in a shipwreck that took all their possessions. He was the only survivor of the shipwreck and has since mourned his lost wife. He would like to have some sort of personal item to remind him of her, but unfortunately all their possessions disappeared with the shipwreck, leaving him only with the clothes he was wearing at the time and some investments that allowed him to rebuild his fortune.
Then he will say thoughtfully that there is only one object in existence he knows of that belonged to his wife. A small silver bracelet that she offered to the temple of Goldar, in Menii, shortly before the shipwreck.
He explains that he has tried everything to convince the priests of Goldar to return him the bracelet but they refuse everything he offers in exchange, stating that according to the law of Goldar, what has been giving cannot be given back.
So, he explains, he needs someone to accept the dangerous mission of entering the pyramid and retrieve the bracelet for him. A job for which he will pay handsomely.
If the PCs refuse outright, he will give them 100 bronzes for their silence and dismiss them. They will not be further contacted and the adventure is over.
If they accept, he offers them 5000 bronzes each for the job, but is willing to go has higher as 10000 bronzes (it truly is a dangerous mission).
If the PCs ask how he knew about them, he will say that he saw them fight at the market and was impressed with their physical prowess.
He will describe the bracelet quite precisely and will give 1000 bronzes each in advance.
When the terms are set Azkenat will dismiss them politely and will focus all his attention on the sweets.
Entering the Pyramid (This is the temple I used in the adventure. If you have access to a different description in a supplement or novel by every means use it. The core of the adventure remains unchanged.)
It is no easy task entering the pyramid. It is well built, with good defenses and is always full of people by day and a few dozens of guards, priests and servants live there by night.
Here follows a complete description of the pyramid:
The pyramid isn't a exact pyramid. It resembles a Egyptian pyramid with a few differences.
First at the bottom the walls recede abruptly, creating some sort of shelter where the richer merchants make their stands. This recess makes the pyramid seem more like a geometrical mushroom then a proper pyramid. Likewise the top is larger then the rest of the pyramid, looking like a mushroom over another mushroom, allowing air and sunshine to enter inside the pyramid. Of course this opening is protected with iron bars.
Here is a rough sketch of the pyramid (seen from the side)
A
AAA
AAAAA
AAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAADAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAASSSAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAASSSSSAAAAAAAA
AAAAASSSSSAAAAAA
A - Pyramid walls
S - Stairs
D - Door
And here is a rough plan of the first floor of the pyramid:
________________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| R K | G | SG |
| _________|______ ________|____ ___|________ ___________________|
| | | |
| __________________________ __________________ | |
| | |o o| MH |
| | | | | |
|_____| | | |____________|
| G SF G |
| SR | | | L |
| | | | |____________|
| | |o_______________________ __________________o| | |
| | | US |
| |____________ _____________| |____________ _______|____________|
| | SD | | D |
|_____|___________________________| |__________________________________|
R- Refectory
K - Kitchen
G - Guards
MH - Meeting Hall
o - column
S - Servants Dormitory
SF - Sacred Fire
SG - Stored Goods
US - Upstairs
L - Latrines
D- Dormitory
SR - Study Room
Inside the temple is a perfect square. The center (which has a large entrance to the outside) is perfectly square, with several columns, and the sacred fire of Goldar (of green color) at the center. Over the main floor there are four platforms at each corner of the temple, leaving a large open space on the middle, right over the sacred flame. On one platform are the quarters of the Great Priest, The other has a small study room for the priest. In the third is the treasure room (protected by a Membrane of Law that admits everyone inside but only lets out the followers of Law). The fourth platform has the stairs to the lower floor (connecting to the inner quarters of the priests).
Another peculiar feature of the temple is that the priests quarters are located around the temple. A long and winding corridor surrounds the temple and gives access to the several parts of the temple. These quarters have no exit to the outside for added protection (everyone who whishes to enter the quarters has to cross the main temple, usually full of people) and because every thing offered or brought to the temple (including the food for the priests) must be presented and approved by the Great Priest and Goldar themselves.
In the temple live the Great Priest, 7 priests, 15 servants and 15 guards. During the day the priests are in the main temple or at the study room, or even outside the temple. At night they sleep at their dormitory. The servants are either at the kitchen or cleaning up several part of the temple. They sleep at their dormitory at night. The guards make 3 shifts, two during the day and one at night. There are always two guards on the main temple and one guard in front of each of the 3 doors between the temple and the quarters, inside the compartment marked G. The Guards also sleep at that same compartment.
The Great Priest Wilnaurt is almost always on the upper floor only descending to address specific matters or eat (no one is allowed above).
This is the normal daily schedule of the temple.
Before Sunrise - Food (meat, fish and vegetable) is brought by several merchants and carried inside to be prepared by the servants for the day meals.
Sunrise - Render of the guard. The temple opens it's doors. Merchants enter and celebrate a ritual, under Wilnaurt's supervision, to ask for a profitable day.
Morning - The temple remains open. Outside the temple the market goes on.
Midday - Another celebration is conducted where the merchants donate gifts to show their thankfulness for the day's profits.
Midday - The temple closes two hours for the temple to be cleaned and the priests have lunch and a little rest. Render of the guard.
Afternoon - The temple reopens all afternoon until dusk to receive devotees.
Dusk - The temple closes its doors. The priests have dinner and go to sleep. The guard is rendered.
It is much to the PCs' fiat how will they handle the subject. There are several possibilities. They can climb the pyramid at night to enter the small holes on the top, abduct one of the priests and take his place, seduce one of the serving girls to let them in, poison the food or the drinks. Let the players come up with a clever plan.
Once inside they have to run around very cautiously while looking everywhere for the bracelet. They have at the utmost until the next morning before being found by the priests/guards/visitors of the temple. Therefore they have to be swift, thorough and silent, evading guards/priests/servants or killing them quietly.
The bracelet is firmly attached to Wilnaurt's arm. In fact it is so well attached that the only way to remove it is chopping off the arm.
After the deed is done and the characters escape the temple unscathed they may go to the Inn where Azkenat is staying. At arrival they will notice that Azkenat seems to be departing, since all things are being removed from the rooms and a wagon is outside waiting. He will be most pleased and will want to reward the players with a special delicacy, lamb's eyes cooked with special herbs. He will insist they eat this delicacy and will be furious if someone refuses. He will notice if someone is just pretending to eat (unless the PCs succeeds at Acting) and insist they eat it. The eyes taste really good, fresh, sweet and spicy, making a plop when the PCs crunch it. Anyone who asks and succeeds a Scent/Taste roll will notice that some of the herbs are suspicious and perhaps magical. Also if anyone asks to examine carefully the eyes and succeeds in a Search roll will notice that one of the eyes is blue and somehow familiar.
If the PCs eat the lamb's eyes and don't complain. Azkenat will thank them and pay more than the agreed price, giving them an amicable farewell.
Obviously the eyes are cursed and wherever the PCs, who ate the eyes go, they will always be followed by the undead thugs they have fought at the market. The undead thugs will try everything to have the players killed, even fighting them if need be. These undead thugs are unkillable and even if "killed" or mutilated again they will always return to haunt and harass the players. They never lose track of the PCs because it is their eyes they have in their stomachs.
If the PCs refuse to eat the eyes or act aggressively toward Azkenat he will say "Very well, then be paid and be gone," and clap hands. Immediately the thugs the PCs fought at the market appear again. They are basically the same, except their eyes have been gouged out and they are a bit more skillful with the sword.
They attack the PCs and fight to the bitter end while Azkenat passes discreetly to the other room. If one of the players asks, he may roll a Search on the eyes left on the plate. If he succeeds he notices that the eyes roll over themselves always watching the character the thug is fighting with. Smashing these eyes renders the thugs blind.
If they pursue Azkenat to the next room they will watch him talking to a Melnibonéan standing on the window! As soon as the PCs enter the room the Melnibonéan jumps out of the window and Azkenat turns around to protect the escape of his sire.
Azkenat is a passing demon and that will become obvious when a tentacle spews forth from his stomach to attack the adventurers.
Azkenat will fight to the end, attacking twice per turn with the scimitar and the tentacle and will try to protect himself parrying and using Hell's Armor (he tries to replenish his magic points by draining the adventurers).
Aftermath: After this adventure the Characters will have several questions pending. Who was the Melnibonéan? Why did he want the bracelet for?
If they parted in good terms with Azkenat they will be followed by the undead thugs. This is a major harassment and if a adventurer succeeds in an Idea roll he might associate these blind undead with the eyes Azkenat served them. What is the purpose of this? What is the bracelet for?
Otherwise if the characters succeeded their mission, the Great Priest of Goldar is dead or injured and the adventurers better get out of the island immediately if they do not want to be caught, painfully tortured and executed.
Backstory: The Melnibónean is Mordric, a powerful wizard of Chaos. He was tricked by Wilnaurt of years ago, and he imagined this scheme to have is revenge on Wilnaurt. Using Azkenat and Elnio as mediators he hired the thugs to do the service. To test them he ordered them to attack some adventurers in the market and escape successfully. The thugs chose to attack the PCs. Impressed by the PCs prowess, Azkenat called the adventurers and retrieved the bodies of the thugs. The bracelet is just an excuse, but still a minor artifact of Law, and Wilnaurt will not be amused by losing it (not to mention having a arm chopped off).
Mordric wants to know if the adventurers will make good servants of chaos, so the undead thugs will be used as a test to the adventurers' resilience and cunning. If the characters somehow manage to get rid of the undead thugs (not an easy thing to do since the only way, apart of finding a wizard powerful enough to dispel the curse, is to cut the body of the thugs and eat it) he might contact them again later for more missions.
NPCs
Thugs at the market: Rake, Dexley, Naken
Dex 12
Broadsword - 50% (d8+1+d4)
Shield - 40% Hp 22 (d4+d4)
Armor - d8+1
HP - 15
Blind Thugs at the Inn
Dex 10
Broadsword - 75% (d8+1+d4)
Azkenat
Dex - 8
S - 10
Siz - 18
Con - 9
Pow - 18
App - 10
Int - 11
HP - 13
2 Scimitars - 110% - d8+1+d4 hp - 19
Demonic Powers:
Tentacle - 60% - d8
Hell's Armor
Drain Soul
Regenerate
Azkenat can make at least two attacks per round (one with the scimitar and
one with the tentacle)
Temple:
Servant
Chair - 45% - d6
Guards
Dex - 12
Sword 85% - d8+1+d4
Shield 50% - d4+d4 - HP 22
Insight 35%
Search 30%
Priests
Dagger - 40% - d4+2
HP - 11
Insight - 45%
Wilnaurt, Great Priest of Goldar
S- 7
Siz - 12
D - 10
C- 16
P - 17
I - 15
Spells - Field of Law
Membrane of Law
Invocation of Goldar - 51%
Mace - 90% - d6+2
Insight 150%
Fast Talk 110%
Bargain 95%
Scent/Taste 70%
Evaluate 90%
Dihercen