Part Two: Join me, Luke, and together we can rule the galaxy
By the time the PCs make the trek up the hill to the manor, they’ll find Tiadora waiting for them. She is happy to see that they made it out alive, and quickly summons a legion of magically enthralled house slaves to escort them inside. Their accommodations are luxurious, with fine beds and clothes, hot delicious food, and wine which serves as a healing potion if anybody’s hurt. Eventually they are summoned to meet the master of the manor, Cardinal Thorn.
Check out that badass picture:
Thorn gives a speech intended to win the PCs over to his side (adjusted by DM based upon backstory):
At last Tiadora leads you to a beautifully appointed office richly decorated with dark wood and sumptuous brocade tapestry. Sitting in a leather high-backed chair is a devilishly handsome fellow who smiles as you enter. “I believe you to be the first to ever escape from Branderscar Prison. Well done! Of course, you had help from the outside,” he says with a wicked smile.
“But enough with the pleasantries. You must be curious why I’ve helped you. Rest assured this is no random act of altruism. I have brought you here for a reason. My name is Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. I am the last high priest of Asmodeus left on the island of Talingarde. Once the Prince of Nessus was rightly revered alongside the other great powers. Now, the king of Talingarde has become a puppet to Mitran fanatics who wish to destroy any religion that does not bow to their insipid sun god.
“For their blasphemy, I will see the same people who imprisoned and condemned you suffer. I understand what you went through for I have faced it myself.” With that, he pulls down the sleeve of his robe and reveals his own runic ‘F’ brand. “I am going to burn Talingarde to the ground and from the ashes I will build a new nation that knows its rightful master. I cannot do this alone. I seek servants worthy of our Infernal Father’s majesty. Have I found them in you?”
He rises and his eyes flash with hellfire and divine purpose. “Join me! Serve me well in this holy endeavor and I will raise you up in the eyes of gods and men. I will make you princes of the new Talingarde. Today, swear fealty to me and to Asmodeus.
This is a very well-crafted speech. He’s obviously a bad guy, but his motives are understandable. Like the PCs, he’s lost everything to the faithful of Mitra, and offers them a chance at revenge along with material reward, if they join his cause. If any PC refuses his offer, he’ll mention that it’s a pity before ordering Tiadora to kill the offender. If they accept, he’ll draw up the Pact of Thorns, an infernal contract, to be signed in blood. The contract even has its own player handout, with a blank line at the bottom to be signed. Classy.
In short, the contract acknowledges four loyalties, in order of importance: loyalty to Asmodeus, loyalty to the Master (Cardinal Thorn), loyalty to the other PCs (the Companions), and loyalty to themselves (Asmodeus is a God of Ambition, after all). If a lesser loyalty clashes with a greater loyalty, the greater loyalty must be upheld.
There are several problem areas which can arise here. Although the character creation guidelines specifically stated that the idea is that the party will be working on behalf of Asmodeus, PCs are notoriously anti-authoritarian and may blanch at the idea of servitude. The infernal contract is a classic literary staple, but after centuries of storytelling it’s earned the well-deserved stigma as a bad bargain long-term. It might be a good idea to emphasize the positives of becoming Thorn’s new Knot over the course of the adventure; they’ll be rewarded for successful missions, they’ll have relative freedom to accomplish missions in the way they desire (so long as they’re successful), a single failure won’t be a death sentence, and Thorn is pre-occupied enough with myriad schemes to hover over the PCs like some kind of helicopter parent. Problem is that this is not made clear to the players at first. Unlike traditional Christian folklore, successful servants of Evil in D&D settings get rewarded with privileged status rather than an eternity of torment. The torment part comes if you’re incompetent or betray the Pact’s Loyalties.
I haven’t found any game mechanics for what happens if the PCs break their contract. No mind control or Mark of Justice or any of that. It’s implied that Thorn will enforce the contract by sending infernal minions to intimidate them, withdrawing support, and things of a similar nature.
Rachel, Pung, Wayland, and Emberscribe sign the contract. Wayland is reluctant at first, but after some prodding gets around to it once he realizes that the Mitraites will never let him and his daughter live in peace. Pung would ordinarily sign it with gusto, but he’s illiterate and has to use a big, smudgy fingerprint as an initial.
Once that’s all well and done, Thorn is absolutely pleased with himself and tells the PCs their training will begin in three days. During this time they live a life of luxury, can get free equipment and spend their money at a shop of sorts (using Tiadora as a middleman), and circlets which function as hats of disguise for infiltration purposes (and can help Pung avoid attention and kind of makes the ‘monstrous PCs will cause problems’ point moot if they’re humanoid enough). Tiadora will also present each PC the opportunity to choose one slave as a ‘companion,’ which can be another problematic element which might squick out the players; it’s only a single line and not delved into much, but it’s best to err on the side of caution and not use this if you’re running.
The PCs also meet another group of trainees preparing to become the Seventh Knot. They don’t really contribute much to the adventure other than role-playing interaction, potential rivalry and romance, and learning a little bit about Thorn’s terrorist-cell style tactics of independent agents.
Pung conjures up a quick friendship with Dostan the barbarian over a shared love of blades and beer; Emberscribe’s silver tongue and knowledge of Talirean poetry wins over Elise the witch, earning the enmity of Tallus the ranger; Rachel misinterprets the constant friendliness of Titus (Tallus’ brother) as flirting and nearly punches him out before Tiadora quickly puts a stop to things.
While wandering through the manor, Thorn’s new guests come upon a group relaxing in the dining hall. They are three men and one woman, all of whom have light hair and pale skin reflecting a northern heritage. Two of the males are identical twins, while the third’s pointed ears reflect some elven ancestry.
Their first meeting went surprisingly well for would-be rivals. Pung conjures up a quick friendship with Dostan the half-elf over a shared love of blades and beer. Emberscribe’s silver tongue and knowledge of Talirean war poetry wins over Elise the witch and leader of the group, earning scornful glances from Tallus the ranger. Rachel misinterprets the constant friendliness of Titus (Tallus’ brother) as flirting and nearly punches him out before Tiadora quickly puts a stop to things.
Cardinal Thorn’s first lesson is a real wake-up call in contrast with his magnanimous generosity by testing the PC’s competence is a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl! In the basement he’s set up a trap and monster-filled gauntlet of rooms, designed to test new recruits’ cunning, resourcefulness, and combat capabilities. They must find a draconic pendant within the complex within 24 hours. If they die during the trial, then they’d have been too weak to be his agents anyway. If they can’t find it, they get tortured by Tiadora well into the night, losing all but a few hit points. If the PCs succeed, they get quest-based experience and keep the valuable pendent for themselves as a reward. What, you thought that working for an evil organization was going to be all sunshine and peaches?
I’m not going to overview each room, but the dungeon is a fairly linear one, with stone inscriptions offering cryptic advice to overcome the next room’s trial. PCs who fail or go the wrong way find a sign admonishing them for failure. A sign at the bottom of a spiked filled pit reads “thou wert deceived. Pain is thy reward.”
There’s also a moment where if the PCs find a fake pendent and fail to recognize it as such, Thorn will look it over in false in false admiration before smashing it wish his bare hands and angrily ordering them back into the dungeon. Oh Thorn, your sense of humor is only matched by your trolling douchebaggery.
Sir Balin, the Paladin responsible for hunting down and capturing Wayland for witchcraft, holds the pendent in a prison cell, captured yet well-armed. All this time Cardinal Thorn is scrying upon the PCs and evaluating their progress. Their vengeance against him is Thorne’s ‘reward.’
Regardless of their success, Thorn mentions that it’s time for further training. After a 3-month montage of harsh and deadly training regimens, the PCs get new traits and bonuses based upon their expertise, coupled with a congratulatory quote from Cardinal Thorn himself. They range from skill bonuses, saving throws against certain kinds of magic, and even +1 caster level on your favorite spell! Once their training is complete, they’re initiated as Thorn’s official Ninth Knot in a diabolic ritual and are promptly sent out on their first mission to smuggle weapons to the monster tribes of the north.
Next Time: Act 3Progress so far: This is a very important stage of the adventure for many reasons. It is here that the PCs get their first impression of Cardinal Thorn. It’s very easy for an unsuccessful group to resent their new Master’s cruel punishments, and the players’ reaction to the signing of the contract can give you insight as to whether or not they’ll enjoy the rest of the adventure. It’s perfectly reasonable for players to wonder exactly how much freedom they’ll have with Thorn as their Master, and this is why it’s a good idea to give PCs some leeway in their early missions as long as they get the job done. Keep this in mind if you plan on running this adventure.
In addition to experience via combat, the adventure gives out experience for completing quests and bypassing enemies and traps using non-combat means, so PCs have an in-game incentive to complete missions and not go around punching out every guard. This makes for a surprisingly versatile adventure, where a party of stealth-based PCs can be just as viable as kick-in-the-door types.
Overall I’m pleasantly surprised with this adventure. Let’s hope that it continues to deliver!
