Character: Yevgeny Divoký the Fierce (CR 8)

Yevgeny Divoký the Fierce, an ethnic Wyndm-folk, took charge of one of the four factions created by the Baron von Stieglitz' power vacuum. His followers mostly include other Wyndm-folk. He intends to round up even more by visiting the refugee camps hidden deep in the marsh. His main motivation is the protection of his people.


Yevgeny Divoký CR 8
Neutral good Male Human (Wyndm) Ranger 8
medium humanoid
Init: +3 Senses: lowlight vision
Listen +10, Spot +9

Languages: common, wyndm, giant

AC: 23
HP: 68 (8d8+16 HD)

Fort: +8 Ref: +9 Will: +4

MV: 30ft.
Attack: +11/ +6 with + 1 longsword, +13/ +8 with +1 longbow
Full Attack: +11/+6/+11 with +1 longbow
Space / Reach: 5ft/5ft
Base Attack: +8/+3 Grapple: +10

Abilities: Str: 15 (+2) Dex: 16 (+3) Con: 14 (+2) Int: 12 (+1) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 10

Feats: dodge, mounted combat, mounted archery, weapon focus (longbow), rapid shot*, many shot*

Skills: climb +8, handle animal +6, heal +7, hide +11, jump +6, knowledge (local) +6, knowledge (nature) +7, listen +10, move silently +9, profession(mercenary) +7, ride +8, search +6, spot +9, survival +7, swim +7, use rope +5

Class Features: track, wild empathy +8, animal companion, endurance, combat style* (archery), improved combat style* (archery), woodland stride, swift tracker
Favored enemies: human/ giant

Spells Prepared or Available: 2/1: Summon Nature's Ally I, entangle, barkskin

Posessions: Leather Armor +4, long sword +1, long bow +1, 50 arrows, sack of dried meat, scroll case filled with various poems written in forest wyndm, 400gp.

*Detailed Special Ability or Attacks (type): Combat style archery grants him the rapid shot feat. Improved combat style archery grants him the many shot feat.

Minions: Yevgeny is sometimes seen with a Wyndm wolf named Zami, which means "wild one" in forest wyndm.

Zami (CR 4): wyndm wolf

Character: Petry Pokrm the Dish-eater (CR 8)

Petry Pokrm the Dish-eater is a man of unknown origin who fought himself out of the slums of Onuago when he was brought to the town to work as a slave as a young boy. His present-day followers are mostly of thug origin, and seek to disrupt the powers that be. It is said that he is part orc, which comes out in his violent language and actions when he drinks. His men have been seen harassing people in Onuago. His name comes from a time, after outslugging a man in a duel, as tribute he ate not only his opponent's meal, but the wooden dish it was served on. Then he took his money, and has been a thug ever since.

Fighter 3, Barbarian 5
Petry Pokrm (CR 8)
Chaotic Neutral Male Human/Quarter-Orc Barbarian 5, Fighter 3
medium humanoid
Init: Senses: normal
Listen Spot
Languages: common, orc, some Mountain Wyndm

AC: 16 (+4 armor, +2 dex)
HP: 5d12+20 + 3d10+12 (HD) 120 hp.
Fort: +7 Ref: +2 Will: +2

MV: 40'
Attack: +11 halberd 1d10+4 (x3) plus trip
or +11 falchion 2d4+4 (18-20, x2)
or +? whip disarm or trip
or +10 throwing axe 1d6+3
Full Attack: +11 / +6 halberd 1d10+4 (x3) plus trip
or +11 / +6 falchion 2d4+4 (18-20, x2)
or +3 / -2 whip disarm or trip and +2 throwing axe 1d6+3 (adjust for 2 weapon fighting)
or +11 / +6 throwing axe 1d6+3
Attack Options: Rage
Space / Reach: 5' / 5', 10' (halberd), 15' (whip)
Base Attack: +8 Grapple: +11

Abilities: Str: 17 Dex: 14 Con: 18 Int: 12 Wis: 11 Cha: 13
SQ: Fast Movement, Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +1, Improved Uncanny Dodge
SA: Rage 2/day
Feats: quick-draw, dodge, mobility, spring attack, power attack
Skills: +7 climb, +12 intimidate, +7 jump, +5 listen, +8 survival, +14 swim

Posessions: chain shirt, halberd, falchion, whip, 2 throwing axes.

Rage (ex): +4 str, +4 con (+16 HP), +2 will, -2 AC for up to 25 rounds.

Tactics: A wild fighter, Petry will run circles around his foes, charging in and out in a rage, droping one weapon to draw another and leaving the field of battle littered with his weapons and the limbs of his foes.

Location: Castle Stieglitz - Ground Floor

1 Driveway
a,b Brush Piles
2 Entry
3 Foyer
4 Dining Hall
5 Hallway
6 Storage
7 Kitchen
8 Pantry
9 Training Hall
10 Training Hall
11 Meeting Room
12 Trophy Room
13 Sitting Room
14 Mud Room
15 Back Patio
16 Stables
17 Shed
18 Mausoleum
19 Graveyard

Overview

Presented here is the first floor of the interior of Castle Stieglitz. Here characters will meet the Baron in the castle and learn his history, and what must be done to save him and restore glory to the castle which requires having him right his wrongs with the help of his disbanded men.

The castle has been looted by fleeing servents & factions, but the wine steward remains (who is aware of something creepy in the cellar!), as are two remaining servants, who spend their days foraging for food in and around the kitchen, and their evenings huddled for safety in the stables.

The mausoleum is full of ghosts who wander the graveyard wailing to the baron and who flee if attacked.

There are two routes for resolution:
1) diplomacy checks to convince the baron to hold the festival (atonement) and diplomacy checks or tasks to put the army back together
2) defeat the baron and the undead at the castle. Put Anna in as the new baroness (with the help of a local preist to make it official) and put down the other armies.

Additional Background: Several months ago the Baron Stieglitz witnessed the violent assault and murder of one of his servants by the drunken kennel master. Instead of stopping the crime he hid in the shadows and watched the whole scenario. When the vile kennel master tried to skulk away undetected the Baron stabbed him in the back. He then took the body of the servant girl to his room and locked himself in. Overcome with the guilt of experiencing pleasure at witnessing such a horrific event, he contemplated the monster he truly was. He shed tears over the girls bruised face and lay down beside her to join her in the afterlife. After several days with out food and water his vitality diminished and he closed his eyes for the sleep of eternity. But the Baron did not die. His body stirred again. His corrupted spirit lived beyond death and refused to give up it's mortal host. The Baron Stieglitz had become a wight.

1 Driveway

This brick-inlaid driveway framed by diseased trees leads from the road to Castle von Stieglitz. The path is slightly overgrown with weeds, and large piles of brush decorate both halves of the front lawn. The castle rises in the distance, a wide stone structure with a central tower made from the grey granite of the surrounding mountains.

Creatures: Thousands of ravens inhabit the grounds, mostly living in the trees. They will follow the party as they make their way about the grounds.

1a,b Brush Piles

Piles of brush have been left here to rot, including entire branches of the shorn trees. Ravens circle in the sky above the piles.

Creatures: Dire Rats(6), detected with a listen check DC 15. In addition, brush mites may infest the characters' equipment, making them itchy and generally uncomfortable during their stay in the castle.

Tactics: Unless detected earlier, the dire rats spring from the piles as the last character walks past attacking en masse!

2 Entry

The enormous Castle von Stieglitz offers an impressive counterpoint to the distant mountains surrounding this broad valley. Atop a slightly inclining hill, its stonework glows in the afternoon sun. Normally a festive occasion, the castle grounds are abnormally quiet for this St. Zyekni's Day. The trees within the complex are early in their barrenness, despite the planned celebration of autumn harvest season. There is no welcoming party, save a flock of ravens perched by the hundreds in the defoiled arbors. Other ravens pirouette about the main steps, rending pieces of cloth from one another's beaks.

Two heavy wooden doors adorned with the Stieglitz coat of arms - a ship above three coins in a chevron - are framed by an arch.

If the characters approach the ravens, they fly off, landing on the multi-stepped rooftops of the giant stone structure, calling out to their brethren. If the characters examine the cloth, they notice that it was once a tunic, but there is no sign of the disrobed. Once the characters approach the doors with the intent of opening them, a breeze picks up and the doors creak open slightly.

Creatures: Swarm of Ravens (hundreds), though they will not attack unless attacked themselves or the characters enter the castle.

Tactics: If attacked, the ravens swarm fiercely in groups of 30 or 40 per party member. When they enter the castle, the ravens swarm at them. Luckily they cannot open the castle doors. Unluckily, the wind may, if they are not properly fastened or barricaded.

3 Foyer

This open hall . The doors at the far end open and close in the breeze. Staircases rise on either hand before meeting in a landing on the south end of the hall. Orange light streams through a stained-glass window, illuminating the intricate marble floor now marred with scuffmarks from many heavy things being dragged across its surface. Archways open two to the east and two to the west.

4 Dining Hall

Light filters in through the dusty curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows in this once lavish dining room. Dust several layers thick covers the long wooden table that dominates this room. The tablecloth has been been partially removed and spills off one side of the table onto the floor. A couple of wilted floral arrangements that were once centerpieces have been knocked over and lie in disarray. There are cobwebs decorating the chandaliers, and chairs are conspicuously absent from the room. Clean patches of the floor and walls remain where once there were tapestries and rugs.

The door near the back wall is locked. If the PC's manage to unlock it, they will discover that the door across the hall to the pantry is locked and also has a large pile of broken furniture covering the doorway.

Creatures: Rats (30).

Tactics: The rats scurry away from the party.

5 Hallway

This narrow hallway is dark, dusty, and filled with cobwebs. There are 2 doors along one wall, one open one not. Through the open door you can see the dining room. There are 3 doors running down the other side of the hallway, 2 are open, the third has a pile of broken furniture stacked up against it.

Treasure: Among the broken furniture, the party finds a few religious relics from local shrines and chapels.

6 Storage

The smell of spoiled food lingers in the air in this dark storage room. Vermin scurry into hiding in the darkness. This room contains pieces of broken furniture and filthy clothes lie in disarray on the floor.

7 Kitchen

The smell of a recently cooked meal permeates the air. The hearth gives off a welcome warmth. A dusting of flour on the floor reveals foot prints. There are some dirty pots on the washstand along the southern wall.

Creatures: The party may encounter one of the 3 remaining servants cooking a meal at the hearth. The servant flees when the party arrives. A DC 10 survival check reveals 3 different persons footprints in the flour.

8 Pantry
A table lies on its back in the center of the room, a stack of gravestones on top of it. A corner of a wooden trapdoor is visible along its edge.

Development: If the party heads down into the trapdoor, and they haven't met the servants, the servants close the trapdoor and drag the table back atop it, trapping the party in the cellar. A DC 25 strength check is required to open the trapdoor. Cries for help will eventually bring the remaining servants to investigate. They will not open the trapdoor until they verify the party means them no harm, which may require the party disposing of the undead.

a. Cellar
b. Wine Cellar

9 Training Hall (there's a door from here to 11 that's not here yet)

Straw training dummies lie strewn about the room, the victims of some spontaneous pinata party. A large straw mat -- nearly the size of the room -- covers the center of the parquet floor. The room is otherwise completely spartan.

10 Training Hall

This room is completely empty, save random strands of straw that lead off in every direction along the parquet floor.

11 Meeting Room

A large table adorns the far corner of this room, over which is hung a map of the surrounding countryside. Pins mark regions close to the castle, including Onuago, the Swft River Crossing Inn and Talook. One region of the map -- close to the eastern edge of the Old Bay -- has been torn off.

The area that has been removed from the map is Harpy Point. Characters who make a Local Geography check DC15 will recognize this.

Treasure: The map may be worth something, especially since there are clues leading to a pirate treasure on the back side. Unfortunately, the missing area of the map contains one half of the riddles.

12 Trophy Room

The fireplace at the back end of this room signifies a space that once displayed hunting trophies. Wooden stands lie empty, pilfered of the furs and taxidermied animal corpses.

If the characters search the fireplace, they find the remains of burnt books with barely legible writing scribbled in the interior margins. One book appears to be a history of the once proud Stieglitz family, but there is not enough remaining text to tell any complete story. If the characters present these remains to the Stieglitz ghosts, they will tell more of their stories.

13 Sitting Room

This room is full of thrashed furniture with major pieces missing.

A few copper pieces are all that remain inside one of the cushions. All other treasures have been removed from the castle.

14 Mud Room

This tiny room serves as the space between the back west wing of the castle and the north side of the castle. A wooden door frame in search of a door provides a view of the back patio.

15 Back Patio

Rows of what were once poplars extend from the the back patio, extending along the border to the back of the estate. A plane of fitted stones once made for a cozy patio space, but they are now overgrown with lichen and moss has collected in the spaces in between. A brick-inlayed path leads north between the trees, making for a once formal garden. Gnarly bushes lines the walk, overgrown and under-foliated. The baying of wolves can be heard off in acres of forest behind the estate.

Creatures: If the characters wander too far into the woods, a pack of dire wolves are likely to descend upon them. Dire Wolves (8-10).

16 Stables

These stables no longer house horses or carts, both of which are long gone. The stables are relatively spartan, save a pair of hay bales set up as twin makeshift beds, covered with blankets and leather sacks.

Treasure: The sacks are filled with gold flakes and scraps of tapestries, linens and a few pieces of tarnished silverware.

17 Shed

A rickety old shed adorns the east end of the estate, its splintered wood a reminder of the eternal entropy at home in this place.

If the characters enter, they note various tools and a bale of hay in the center of the room. Rain water has made the hay soggy.

Creatures: A few rats have made their home in a bale of hay in the center of the shed. They scatter once the party opens the door to the shed.

18 Mausoleum

If the characters enter the mausoleum with a light source, read or paraphrase the following.

Behind the castle is an outbuilding that serves as a monument to the von Steiglitz family. Multiple generations are buried in the sacred chambers in the mausoleum and on sacred ground in the graveyard. Five sarcophagi line the outer walls of the mausoleum, one along the far wall, and two along each of the two side walls. The walls ooze with a murky jelly.

Unfortunately, the denizens of the graveyard are restless, and seek to haunt the Baron until he embraces the family law. These characters from the past will rise up to protect the Baron if the party attacks him. They should heed the warnings of the many generations of paintings on the walls of the castle.

19 Graveyard

An impressive stone edifice occupies a large part of the backyard. Rows of gravestones populate the grounds behind the mausoleum in three neat rows, framed by cherry trees. The carvings on the door of the stone mausoleum indicate a minor fortune spent to honor the dead. The door itself has been left slightly ajar.

The door is ajar because it's been used by the Baron's undead ancestors as they wander the castle grounds at night. They have been haunted by their faded family name, and have withered into wights like their corrupt descendant. If the party attacks the Baron, they will rise from their graves, along with the dead from the other graves and shamble to his defense.

Creatures: Wights (5). By night the wights from the mausoleum wander these grounds moaning remonstrations up at the barons window. "St. Zyekni! St. Zyekni!" they groan as clearly as their rotted tongues will allow.

Tactics: The wights are unfriendly to anyone entering and hiss from the shadows and from behind decayed trees, but will not attack unless themselves attacked. The undead family members will not be satisfied until the Baron returns the Castle von Steiglitz to honor. The celebration of St. Zyekni's Day has never before been missed on the castle grounds.

Encounter: The Scholar Falkonne's House (EL 7)

1) Outside The Scholar's Home

113 Torrance Street. The house sags to the right as you stand before the mildewy wooden door, which hangs slightly ajar. Through the space between the row houses on either side, you can see the muddy banks of the Lazy River, its waters sliding past the foundation stones.

General description – A DC 5 Wilderness Lore check allows the players to see the boot prints of a humanoid walking towards and away from the house. They are also found around the front yard leading up to the door. All the bootprints are from the same person: the old scholar. The most recent ones are about two days old.



2) The Scholar's Rooms

Upon entering the house, the players will smell the briny water of the Lazy River intermingled with a fouler stench coming from the basement—a combination of rotten eggs and decaying vegetables.

The first floor of the house is cluttered with stacks of papers, books, and various measuring instruments.

The kitchen is located in the back and a door leads out to what would have been a backyard in days past. Now it opens up to the muddy banks of the Lazy River. The kitchen sink still has dirty dishes in it. The coals from the stove are cold. There is a trap door to one side of the kitchen. It is open and stairs lead down into darkness. The smell of rotten vegetables and salt water is stronger here.

A DC 10 Search check will allow the players to find an old, but still serviceable spyglass in the closet/spare bedroom on the first floor. Most of the papers are written in the same handwriting (the scholar’s). Others are taken from various sources. The papers and books pertain to the history of this region, the Wyndm people and their culture (particularly their religious beliefs), and geographical surveys of the area.

The best source of information will be on the second floor loft, where the scholar’s opus magnum sits upon an unvarnished wooden desk with uneven legs. The book is entitled “On the Origin of the Children of the Sea” and is unfinished. The last sentence of the last page stops in mid-sentence (this is when the scholar went downstairs to investigate the noise from the basement). Cold coffee and half-eaten bread (covered with small cockroaches) are next to the book on the desk. The desk also has an inkpot, some pens. In one of the drawers, the party can find 10 silver and 35 copper pieces.

A bed with a sagging, stained mattress is directly opposite the desk. A wardrobe is next to the bed and contains a few articles of threadbare clothing.

Whenever the party spends a few minutes perusing the book, they discover the following things about the situation in Onuago and Elsemere:

3) Flooded Basement (EL 7)

This basement is severely flooded, half of it's floor eroded and filled with dark water. At the base of the steep steps leading down an unlit lantern lies on it's side, it's glass broken.

Creatures: A Chuul (CR 7) has taken up residence in the washed-out and flooded basement, into which it dug a canal several days ago. Yesterday it had become hungry and restless. When the scholar entered the basement to investigate the sounds he quickly became it's latest meal. It is now well-satiated, having eaten aproximately half of Falkonne's body, and is content to lay concealed in the water in the basement unless it's realm is entered or it's kill is distrubed.

Chuul: HP 98 (Monster Manual)

Tactics: If the chull hears the party entering the house it will conceal itself in the water in the basement (Hide +13, +6 circumstance for water and +2 for darkness = +21). If anyone comes downstairs it will attempt to grab them with suprise and drag them into the deeper water with it to drown, parylized by it's tentacles. Persistant attacks will cause it to resurface to grab the last attacker and submerge them.

Treasure: A thorough search of the basement (DC 20) reveals a small lock-box mostly buried in the mud. It contains the Falkonne family's savings: 20 gold coins, 315 silver coins, and a rodochosterite worth 10 gold.

Development: The dead scholar is restful in the afterlife and will not return if raise dead or similar magic is cast on him.
If enterprising characters cast speak with dead on the body it reveals the information listed in the scholar's journal.
Asking around (DC 10 gather information) revelas that the scholar has no next of kin, being befeft of his wife and recently his only child, who was apparently a disfigured shut-in.

Ad Hoc XP Adjustment: +10 % XP due to ambush situation.

Spell: Wall of Sound (Lvl 3/4)

Evocation [Sound]
Level: Bard 3, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Wall of sound up to one 10-ft. square/level, or hemisphere of sound with a radius of up to 3 ft. + 1 ft./level
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

Holding one arm perpendicular to the body and moving the other in a circular motion that begins quickly and then slows, the caster of this spell brings into being a stationary Wall of Sound that can knock creatures down and deafen them.

An invisible vertical curtain or sphere of sound appears. Sound is projected away from the caster, possibly damaging, deafening, and knocking down creatures on the other side of the wall.

Any creature coming within 10' of the wall must suceed at a fortitude save or be knocked back 5' and fall prone. Flying creatures who fail this save fall from the air and are knocked back a distance equal to their height above the ground. In addition, any creature within 20' of the wall takes 1d4 points of sonic damage and must succeed at a fortitude save or be deafened.

In addition, any creature attempting to pass through the wall is automatically deafened and takes 1d6 points of sonic damage + 1 point per caster level (max 15 points), and must succeed at a fortitude save or be knocked down, back and prevented from passing through the wall by the force of the sound.

Arcane Material Component

A 4 foot length of catgut or copper wire.