Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Dark Continent Redux: The Forbidden City

Dark Continent Redux
A Fantasy Core Adventure
© Jerry Harris 2016
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)




The Forbidden City
The Opera House
          Part 1
          Part 2


[Let the Players see this map if they recovered the map at Kurtz’s Plantation.]

General Description
Cresting a rise at the end of their trek, the party will be able to get a good look at their final destination before reaching it.  A rough semi-circle of a walled city hugs the river shore.  The ancient city is a massive jungle-covered ruin.  A large tower dominates the center of the landscape.  There are also four large buildings that are still standing, all of which have a red glow to them.  There is a curious bridge from the city that goes out into the river, but it doesn’t seem to lead anywhere.  The Character’s map of the city clearly shows an island with a temple out in the river, but it’s not there.  The city walls have fallen down in several places and are unguarded.  Land entry will be unopposed.  Airborne entry will attract the attention of the Thunderbird, described later. 

A large, hungry-looking aquatic dinosaur-era creature patrols this river.  The group should be given a good look at it before trying any waterborne adventures on the river.  The creature should also attack anything lingering on shore or on the bridge too long.  2 XP for killing this thing, but the Players really should be smart enough to not waste their time, and likely their Characters’ lives, attacking it.

Elasmosaurus
HD 10+10, Hp 90, AC 13 (Natural)
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +4
Melee: Bite +13 to hit 2d8+5
Ram: (against ships) +10 to hit, 2d10+10 causes hull damage to ships larger than themselves, automatically capsizes smaller vessels.
Stealth (in water) +5 (DC 17 Detect)
Description: Large aquatic hunter, long-necked with flippers (“Loch Ness Monster”). 


Character Goals
This is the remaining Demon Host’s last stand.  They are distributed amongst the four ruined buildings, glowing red: the Museum, the Opera House, the Prison, and the Cathedral.  Here they will all fight to the death.  The Characters’ motivation for fighting these creatures on their home turf is to break the spell that keeps Kurtz’s island temple invisible.  The group needs to take out all of the sacrificial altars to make the island visible again so that they can enter it. 


Hemisphere
This is long lost proper name of the city, which Kurtz discovered in his studies.  I’m using Paris as a model, though with extensive changes.  (The civic geography isn’t even close, I know.)  Jungle has covered much of the city, with orchids growing everywhere.  Except for the largest and sturdiest of structures, the rest is in ruins.  Could there be a relationship between this city and long-lost Circumsphere in the Southland?  [Jdh417 shrugs his shoulders.]  That’s up to you.

 

The Grand Avenue
A single, broad street goes down the center of the city and is the only easily navigable path.  It is also extensively watched by the city’s biggest predator, the Thunderbird (described under the Tower entry).  Each of the main sites of the city exists along either side of the road.  (Obviously not like the real Champs Elysees in Paris.)  The street terminates in a massive fallen arch and a nearly collapsed bridge leading to the island (which is currently invisible).  Near the entrance to the city and at the beginning of the street is a massive crater which leads down into the city sewers.  


The Bridge
Award 3 XP to the group for making it to the island.  (This entry is a bit misplaced, since this should be last encounter in the city, but it may be likely that the Characters will investigate it before the other structures in the city.) 

There is a large, crumbling bridge that leads to the island in the river.  It is at the end of the Grand Avenue, just beyond the fallen arch monument.  Currently, the bridge just ends in the middle of the river, without any signs of apparent damage.  It leads right to where Kurtz’s map shows an island.  Up close, one can see a shimmering effect, which radiates strong magic.  Those with True Sight or something similar can see the island.  However, the island isn’t just invisible, it’s not in this reality.  If the party is able to go Astral, Ethereal, or Phase, they can go right on in without any preamble.  But if they’re using a spell with a time-limit or if the spell is disrupted, they get dumped in the middle of the river, with the river monster. 

The only way to bring the island to the Characters is for them to break the four sacrificial altars in the city.  If the Players are unduly confused, some taunting and clue-dropping by one of the Demon Host, or a hint dropped by Witch Doctor Sane would be probably be in order.  After the island is made visible, Hellion and Satha will both be aware of it.  The Dragon, no dummy, will be orbiting above, waiting on the Characters to soften things up before he enters the fray.  Satha is too much of a coward to directly enter the fight at this time.  However, at the Ref’s discretion, Satha may teleport a troop of fanatical native warriors in to assist the characters.

Reinforcements
I’d really recommend that the Characters receive some help before leaving the city.  They should be under the Players’ control as long as they’re not abusing them.  A troop of Natives, sent by Satha, should approach the group as they come to the Bridge.  There should be a Witch Doctor for healing support if Doctor Sane didn’t make it and up to 4 Warriors to replace any lost from when they entered the city.  They should be lead an Elder or even a King, if the group is down a member.  If the Characters befriended them in the sewers, 4 Lizardmen might also join them.


[Note: The adventure from here on out is pretty tightly (hate to use this word) scripted.  On the other hand, an entire “Forbidden City” would seem to imply more than a small (but really dangerous) handful of encounters.  This is left up to you.  Extra encounters might not fit into this adventure, but perhaps another group of Characters could discover and become intrigued with exploring this locale after this adventure.]

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