The Unusual Predicament of Sophie De Murtas

[chiisu81]

Added for R5 as well.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Meeting with Pasquale Poncet

Pasquale Poncet is a savant for hire; see the BFRPG core rules, page 40. His fee is substantial but the De Murtas family will pay it. Thanks to his studies he has the spellcasting powers of both a seventh level magic user and a sixth level cleric, but keeps no spells in memory. He is very weak in combat (treat as a 1st level magic user with AC11, hp 3). If for some reason the party decides to kill him then the authorities in Vallerin will take a very dim view of them, and will sentence them to death for murder ---- presumably in absentia, but they will send a competent leader backed up by overwhelming force (such as an NPC party of higher average level than the players) to carry out their sentence.

The savant will select a magic user to speak with; if there is no magic user then he will select a cleric. He will address all conversation to that person. If anyone else speaks to him, Poncet will nod and smile and wait politely for them to finish, then resume speaking with the most intelligent (or wisest) person present. His only remarks to fighters will be courtesies. If any member of the party appears to be a thief, then he will not speak to them at all; and if they have been accused of crimes in Vallerin, then he will be most distrustful and if he is not immediately reassured of their good faith, he will ask the magic user or cleric to vouch for them.

Assuming the party shows Poncet the Blade of Eight, then he will know what it is and will be able to give them the information about it from the previous section. He will know how to prevent the future murders by casting a forget spell on it (which will clear its "memory" of the murders it has yet to commit ---- Poncet can only do this after he has had the chance to learn the spell, of course). This is sufficient to save Sophie De Murtas, and once the "due date" of her murder is past, the grateful De Murtas family will hand the family a purse of 25,000 gold pieces in amethysts and peridots.

The end?

The scenario can end here, if the party asks no further questions. However, if the party is suitably intrepid, curious, and adventurous, they may be unsatisfied with this ending.

If the party seeks more information, the GM should award some additional experience:-

• 20,000xp divided between the party if they ask further questions about the Tomb of Eight, the Blade of Eight, or Nazgoreans; and
• If the party realises that Lafayette can't be the murderer (because he would have needed an accomplice in the Tomb of Eight which is three days' ride away from where he was known to be at the time of the murders), a further bonus of 5,000xp to the individual player who first voices this.

In this event Poncet will tell them that although he personally knows nothing more, he can direct them to person who taught him about Nazgoreans and the Blade of Eight. Her name is Renata Carideo.

Three hundred and eight years ago, Renata Carideo was an ordinary shop assistant in a pawnshop in Vallerin. She did not enjoy her work, and she would often wish that she was rich, powerful and clever so that she didn't have to do it. One morning she expressed this wish while buffing an old brass lamp someone had traded in, so now she's a gold dragon who lives in a library.

Poncet can provide directions to her lair, which is a long, stone-built hall full of books, situated a few days' ride away.

Poncet explains that Renata is usually safe to approach, but very acquisitive, and loves gold. The party is advised to bring plenty of it with them if they want to get any help from her.

[chiisu81]

r5 uploaded.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Thank you. Does it seem to make sense?

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Stuff to go at the end of the module:-

Breath of life
Magic user 2
Range: 100 ft
Duration: 5 turns

Like feather fall, this spell is extremely fast to cast. It empowers one or more creatures selected by the caster to hold their breath for five turns, thereby surviving gas, vacuum, or underwater situations. It can be cast even if the caster him- or herself is underwater, using the breath that remains in the caster's lungs.

Buoyancy
Magic user 1
Range: 20 ft/level
Duration: 1 turn/level

This spell is exactly like the second level magic user spell "Levitation", except that it only works underwater.

Swim
Magic user 2
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 turn/level

The caster intones hermetic syllables that grant the targets greatly enhanced powers of swimming, provided they are no more than normally encumbered. Creatures affected by this spell can swim at 180 ft per round, whether laterally, vertically or at any other angle, and will not be affected by pressure even if swimming at great depth, or pressure changes even if their depth changes rapidly (so the spell prevents the "bends"). Any target wearing heavy armour or otherwise encumbered retains the benefit of protection from pressure and/or pressure changes, but will still sink normally, and can only move by walking along the bed or bottom of the watercourse or ocean.

The combination of Swim and Buoyancy (the first level magic user spell, q.v.) is synergistic. A character under the influence of both spells moves at 240 ft per round irrespective of encumbrance, provided the encumbrance is less than 500 lbs.

Cheiropteran

Armour class: 16 or better
Hit dice: 4 or better
Attacks: 1
Damage: By weapon +2 owing to strength -- typically halberd for 1d10+2
Movement: 30 ft
No. appearing: 10d6 (lair) or 2d6 (wandering)
Save as: Fighter: 4 or better
Morale: 9
Treasure type: B, M (in lair only)
XP: Variable

Cheiropterans look like bugbears with the heads of great, misshapen bats. Their empty eyesockets are sewn shut. They are typically armoured with mailshirts and wear hard, heavy boots. They are the bat-people of the deep underdark. They are born with eyes, but their priests sacrifice their eyes to Camazotz shortly after birth, so almost all cheiropterans encountered will be blind. They can "see" through echolocation as a bat does.

For every 10 cheiropterans, one will be a corporal with AC16 and 5 hit dice. For every 30, one will be a sergeant with AC17 and 41-50 hit points, attacking as a 6 hit dice monster. If there are 50 or more, one will be a captain with AC18 and 51-60 hit points, attacking as a 7 hit dice monster. There is a 50% chance that a priest will accompany a party of cheiropterans. Priests are clerics with full spellcasting powers of level 4-7. If a priest is encountered there will also be 1-3 acolytes of level 1-3. Females are only encountered in their lair, and if they must fight they do so as gnolls; there will be females equal to 50% of the number of males. Where females are encountered there will be one whelp for every female. Whelps will typically flee but can fight as goblins if they must.

80% of a given force will be armed with halberds, 20% with longbows.

Cheiropterans are immune to any magic involving their vision, including most illusions. Magical silence affects them as darkness would affect a sighted creature.

Rumour has it that the two great cheiropteran cities, which lie deep underground, are each ruled by a council of High Priests called Hierarchs, whom Camazotz has blessed with vampirism. Other rumours speak of renegade cheiropterans with eyes.

Personal equipment: In addition to the treasure shown, individual cheiropterans will carry 1d100 triangular bone coins. These are religious tokens, of value only to cheiropterans. They will also carry a strip of chewed rawhide. This is an ancestor-strip, bearing the teeth-marks of the preceding generations, and may be ransomed back to the cheiropteran leaders for as much as 10gp. Priests will carry a silver holy symbol of Camazotz which is worth 25gp on the open market, or 100gp in ransom to the leaders.

Wandering Cheiropterans are sometimes (35%) found together with 3d6 chupacabras (q.v.), which they train as hounds. A Cheiropteran lair has a 90% chance of containing 5d6 Chupacabras.

Chupacabra

Armour class: 16
Hit dice: 2+3
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d8
Movement: 30 ft hopping
No. appearing: 1d2 (wild) or 3d6 (with Cheiropterans)
Save as: Fighter: 1 or better
Morale: 9
Treasure type: None
XP: 100

Reptiles with a row of spines running down their backs, chupacabras hop like kangaroos. Their eyes glow red and their screech is awful to hear. They are nocturnal carnivores.

Chupacabras are feared in farming communities because they kill so much livestock. A chupacabra will kill far more than it needs to eat. They particularly love the taste of goat.

Owing to the chubacabra's excellent sense of smell, Cheiropterans train them and use them as hounds.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

The Road to Renata's Lair

En route to Renata's lair the party encounters a group of Cheiropterans (q.v.) The group comprises:-

8 Cheiropteran warriors with halberds, AC16, HD4, hp 18 each, #AT1, dam 1d10+2, Mv 30ft, save F4, ML9, xpv 280 each

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2 Cheiropteran archers with longbows, AC16, HD4, hp 18 each, #AT1, dam 1d6, Mv 30ft, save F4, ML9, xpv 280 each

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1 Cheiropteran corporal with halberd, AC16, HD5, hp 42, #AT1, dam 1d10+2, Mv 30ft, save F5, ML9, xpv 405

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1 Cheiropteran priest (clerical level 6) with mace, AC16, HD5, hp 20, #AT1, dam 1d6+2, Mv 30ft, save C6, ML9, xpv 555

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Spells:-

• Level 1: Darkness, Protection from Good
• Level 2: Bless, Bane
• Level 3: Bestow Curse

12 chupacabras, AC16, HD2+3, hp 12 each, #AT1, dam 1d8, Mv 30ft, save F2, ML10, xpv 100 each

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[PapersAndPaychecks]

The Cheiropterans' mission is to ensure that nobody speaks to Renata. (She is unaware of them.) They have made a burrow a couple of miles from the trail that leads to her lair, where they pass the daylight hours. Trained chupacabras watch the road from places of concealment. If they see people using the road they slip away and fetch the Cheiropterans.

The Cheiropterans' approach is cautious as they realise that any group approaching a dragon is likely to be powerful and heavily armed. They will try to attack after dark. Their strategy is to divide into two groups:- first, all the warriors and archers, led by the priest; and second, all the chupacabras with the corporal. They make a pincer movement, both groups approaching to 200 ft (one west of the party, the other east). At this distance the party is within longbow range, but they hope that even characters with infravision will be unable to see the Cheiropterans.

If the party includes dogs or other canids, then this will fail, as the animals will detect the Cheiropterans' sonar and bark before the attack is ready. If the party includes horses, then each horse has a 1 in 6 chance of hearing it, and will become jittery or run off in a random direction if possible. Elves or gnomes each have a 1 in 12 chance of catching it ---- describe it as a shrill, eldritch cry above the range of human hearing, with no clear source.

When ready, or when detected, the two Cheiropteran archers will begin firing arrows at the party (concentrating their fire on horses first as they don't want the party to get away). The priest will cast Bless on the first round and Protection from Good on the second. The archers will continue to fire until the party attacks them, at which point the warriors will engage.

When the party attacks, the corporal will unleash the chupacabras from the rear, or flank if the fight has begun prematurely. These monsters will attack whoever is closest to them, but no more than four will attack any one target; the others will rush forward for the next-closest creature. Meanwhile the corporal himself will move forward at maximum speed. Ultimately he wants to charge at any obvious spellcasters and cut them down.

The priest would like to use his spells in the following order:- darkness; bestow curse, on the most dangerous-seeming melee character (using the -4 "to hit" and on saving throws option); and then bane.

In defeat

If the Cheiropterans are defeated in battle, then they will try to run. They do not surrender, because they believe that humans torture their captives to death; if prevented from running they will attempt suicide.

If somehow captured, the warrior and archer Cheiropterans know that there is a substantial group of Cheiropterans a few days' travel from here. They will describe this group as an "army" and say it contains too many warriors to count; it is led by priests and hierarchs and they intend to kill the dragon.

Over and above this, the corporal and priest Cheiropterans know passwords which will, if yelled in a deep, gruff voice, cause groups of Cheiropterans to stand down unless the general alarm has been raised. The passwords are due to be changed in three days' time and the corporal and priest do not know what the next password will be.

The party will also acquire 12d100 triangular bone coins, 12 strips of chewed rawhide and a holy symbol of Camazotz.

[chiisu81]

r6 uploaded

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Renata's Lair



Map from Dyson Logos here, labelled by me, will need copyright attribution (CC-BY 4.0).

[chiisu81]

Do you have a higher-res version you can post or PM me?