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resources:adventure:debt_of_bones

A Debt of Bones

Initial Brief

Around the market posters appear advertising for those of a curious disposition to go on an archeological expedition payment upon results.

PCs

Summary

The party are briefed by the priest of Zosimos and set out following the feeling Rashida has about the location of her dark masters bones. After some adventures on the road they eventually come to the village of Bonehaven. Here they are told about a nearby Necropolis, the home of the Ivory prince.

They find the entrance to the ancient structure hidden in the side of the mountain and guarded by three somewhat broken down automata and a deadly riddle-door. After several severe incinerations the party manage to confuse their way passed the guardians and enter the grand tomb. Stumbling through the darkness within they are beset by the walking dead and eventually all of them bar Batts (who slithers away as an ooze) fall victim to the skeletal assailants and are dragged away into the dark.

When they awaken they find themselves seated in a great banquet hall and surrounded by curiously garbed people of exceptional vitality. It eventually becomes clear that they are within the memories of the citizens of ancient Junnes, celebrating the unification of their city via Dragongate with its twin on the far continent. Speaking with the assembled personages they learn that the so-called ivory prince is a great philanthropist who has dedicated to preserving the bodies and memories of the citizens of the Empire within a great necropolis standing above the hidden city of Chull. Eventually the party leave the banquet and the memories fade leaving them back in the silent dark of the tomb. Worse they find that all flesh is gone from their bodies, leaving them as nothing but animate bones.

Proceeding through a maze of deadly traps they stumble across the lost child from the village, also reduced to a skeleton and understandably distraught. They take him with them as they follow Rashida's compass further into the structure. A treasure room of gravegoods provokes some argument over whether they should be disturbed, but since things can't get much worse they get to looting and swiftly deal with the dead that attempt to stop them.

Eventually they arrive at the chamber of the Ivory Prince. Whilst most of the party beseech the Prince to restore them and listen to his demands for service, Rashida performs a ritual to summon her Dark Master's power into his bones. Just as it seems that negotiation with the ancient god may succeed, Silvio's frustration at their predicament leads to a burst of violence and soon the party is torn apart as some flee with Darrish' bones and others are trapped fighting the god; only Rowan's personal aura preventing the party from being wiped out due to the links of the Splintered Man. Eventually some fast talking gets the whole party back on its feet and they cheese it for the exit, the Ivory Prince lumbering slowly after them.

Escaping the necropolis Rowan's power is able to fully surge into his mortal remains, but even as it does so, a swarm of horrible flies spills out of Rashida's mouth and the Rampant's mocking voice echoes over the valley as he attempts to consume the young god. Fortunately the party are able to defeat the swarm and drive out his influence, though Batts unwisely eats some of the flies without protective measures in place and a fragment of the Rampant's power transforms his memories.

Rowan then leads the group in a ritual to restore their flesh by cutting away what remained of Batts'. After several hours of agonising torture/surgery the group is once again looking more or less healthy and human.

Debrief

After returning to the priest the party manage to bargain him up to 55 riel in return for all they have found out. On their way back to Acryn however they are disconcerted to find that when they sleep their skeletons leave their bodies and appear to do the Ivory Princes bidding, before returning as they awake.

Back in Acryn the party examine this effect with the priests of Zosimos before coming to various solutions. Batts goes and asks Damerung to help with the issue in return for the Ancient heart he found, Rashida does a wounding ritual to attempt to mitigate hers and Silvio builds himself a suit of armor to deal with the problem.

Peter, Simon and Simone meanwhile agree to return to the pit each evening until a more permanent solution is found.

Batts drinks the blood from the Ancient heart infusing it into the space between his bones attempting to absorb it's properties.

Consequences

All

  • Paid 55 Riel
  • Divine Favour of Rowan Darrish

Batts

  • After his body was hollowed out he consumed the ancient blood from the heart to fill the gap. This blood had now solidified within his carapace, save when it is weaponised by the Acidic Transformation spell. Your arcane control of the blood also allows you to extrude it in solid form and hurl it at your enemies for a SINGLE. (You can represent this with throwing daggers)
  • When he sleeps his body falls under the control of either Dammerung or the Ivory Prince who have graciously negotiated their differences and set up a time share for now, so flip a coin.
  • Has an implement stolen from the Ivory Prince if he is attuned to it once per adventure he can feed it a crystal mana to regain all of his per encounter protomana.
  • When you take another's memories the Rampant inserts himself into them, usually in an innocuous background role.

Rashida

  • Has gained the undead quirk (though thanks to the power of Rowan Darrish your flesh won't fall off. You can also fulfil the need for sustenance through pain rather than blood or flesh)
  • When she sleeps her body fights itself as her ritually empowered flesh attempts to stop the bones leaving. This tends to leave her tired upon waking as true rest is now difficult.
  • Has gained the High priest of a young god epic tree.

Simone

  • When she sleeps her bones leave her body and do the bidding of the Ivory Prince but always return before Dawn.
  • Has gained the undead quirk (though thanks to the power of Rowan Darrish your flesh won't fall off. You can also fulfil the need for sustenance through pain rather than blood or flesh)
  • Has a blood-drinking sword. When used the owner can take a triple through to strengthen themselves. The sword is easily sated however and will only drink once per encounter.

Simon

  • When he sleeps his bones leave his body and do the bidding of the Ivory Prince but always return before Dawn.
  • Has gained the undead quirk (though thanks to the power of Rowan Darrish your flesh won't fall off. You can also fulfil the need for sustenance through pain rather than blood or flesh)
  • Has the Shard of Destruction can be thrown for a Quint strikedown but any given person can only throw it once.

Peter

  • When he sleeps his bones leave his body and to the bidding of the Ivory Prince but always return before Dawn.
  • Has gained the undead quirk (though thanks to the power of Rowan Darrish your flesh won't fall off. You can also fulfil the need for sustenance through pain rather than blood or flesh)

Silvio

  • When he sleeps his bones leave his body and do the bidding of the Ivory Prince but always return before Dawn.
  • Has gained the undead quirk (though thanks to the power of Rowan Darrish your flesh won't fall off. You can also fulfil the need for sustenance through pain rather than blood or flesh)
resources/adventure/debt_of_bones.txt · Last modified: 2016/05/28 19:53 by joew