The Judas Sea

The sea off Krevborna's coast only got a cursory mention in the first edition of the setting book, so I'm aiming to change that with the forthcoming revised edition. Here's the starting point for what's going on with...

The Judas Sea

The Terrifying Ocean and Its Hidden Monstrosities

The waters of the Judas Sea are often rough and choppy, and the weather at sea is frequently temperamental. Vicious storms arise without warning and heavy fogs can obscure Krevborna’s coastline. The conditions conspire to make travel by sea to other lands perilous; few can boast of seeing foreign shores.

Hallmarks

The following elements and aesthetic notes define the Judas Sea:

    • The storms that fall on the Judas Sea are tempestuous and unrelenting. 

    • Reports of spectral ships and undead mariners abound.

    • The waters of the Judas Sea teem with monsters such as sea serpents, krakens, and horrible hybrids of man and crab.

    • Sailors mourn their compatriots who were lured into the depths by mermaids and sirens.

    • Legends speak of a city within the sea that is populated by once-human abominations.

The Snow Elves of Eisengraz

Illustration by Alexis Flower
from the comic I Roved Out

The populace of Eisengraz is mostly comprised of snow elves. Snow elves are immediately recognizable due to their alabaster skin and blizzard-white hair. Snow elves share the sharp features and ethereal presence of their kin, but they have the appearance of elves who have had all color leeched from their flesh.

Despite the way their culture endorses rugged survival, the snow elves are not necessarily rabid individualists. They celebrate the power of strong communal ties that enable the survival of the many rather than praising self-concerned individuals whose ascent endangers their fellows. 

To that end, the snow elves count a number of other peoples as members of their confederacy in Eisengraz. They employ urska servants as hunters, trackers, and as the honor guard of Lady Eriandel. In the mines beneath Eisengraz, allied clans of duergar excavate darkiron and craft the fearsome jagged blades prized by the snow elves as weapons of war.

Here are the stats for snow elves in my Savage Worlds game:

ALL THUMBS: Snow elves stick to the tried and true technology of a bygone age.  They have a −2 penalty when using mechanical devices. If they roll a Critical Failure while using such a device, it’s broken.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE: Snow elves receive a +4 bonus to resist cold. Damage from cold is also reduced by 4.

ENVIRONMENTAL WEAKNESS: Snow elves suffer a –4 penalty to resist heat. The penalty also acts as a bonus to damage.

LOW LIGHT VISION: Elven eyes amplify light. They ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.

TOUGH: Snow elves are toughened by the harsh clime in which they live. They start with a d6 in Vigor instead of a d4. This increases maximum Vigor to d12+1.

OUTSIDER: Snow elves are distrusted by most residents of Krevborna. They subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t their own kind and they have few or no legal rights outside of Eisengraz.

WARLIKE: Snow elves start with a d6 in either the Fighting or Shooting skills due to their culture's emphasis on martial training.

The Decrepitude of the Usher House

This was one of those sessions that was mostly investigation and role-playing. After this one the characters are armed with information that will definitely allow them to start planning their next moves against the dark forces moving in Krevborna.

Characters

Aria, a paladin struggling with her true nature

Heck, an affable revenant looking for answers

Panthalassa, a necromancer with a missing arm

Daytona, a dhampir gunslinger fresh from Hell

Garazi, up and coming witch with a bird familiar

Genevieve, a dhampir alchemist

Events

Before leaving Veil's Nightside, the party made plans with Viktoria and Serafina to meet up with them before they went into hiding at Nightsong's family's inn. For their jaunt to the Nightside, Serafina had called in some favors with the graverobbers and resurrectionists of Veil; using her clout as the "Angel of the Graves," Serafina was able to get their drugged-into-insensibility bodies buried in shallow graves--complete with breathing tubes and signals to ring when they awoke from the effects of smoking the mysterious drug known as midnight bell. 

Serafina and Viktoria had preparations to make for their departure, but before they left they arranged to meet with the party at the edge of Veil. Serafina had an emotional goodbye with Panthalassa--well, as emotional as she's capable of--and thanked Genevieve for saving Nightsong's life. Viktoria had analyzed the samples she took from Heck and Aria and had at least a little information for them both:

Heck was informed that he numbered among the undead; specifically, he was a revenant who had come back from the grave to seek vengeance on the man who slew him. When asked if revenants could survive the act of achieving revenge, Viktoria told him that sometimes that occurred, but she wasn't sure what mechanism enabled them to exist after their purpose was fulfilled. 

Aria was told that she wasn't human either. Her exact categorization eluded Viktoria, but when she listened to the sample of Aria's flesh instead of just looking at it, she heard "the discordant song" of Aria's being. This led her to conclude that Aria was an eldritch creation of an entity from the Outer Dark. Viktoria advised her to seek cultists who served such abominations to learn more.

Viktoria also gave Panthalassa a mechanical doll to try to get to Pendleton so they could communicate over the distance.

Nightsong said her goodbyes as well, and had presents for each member of the group:

• Heck was given a harmonica with instructions on how to play "Man of Constant Sorrow."
• Genevie was given a bottle of miscellaneous pills and the promise that Nightsong "owed her one" for bringing her back from death's door.
• Garazi was given Adrian Vergara's silver calling card case, which she had picked out of his pocket.
• Aria was given two lipsticks--Whore of Babylon and Scarlet Woman were the two shades.
• Daytona was tossed a sack of slot machine tokens for a future trip to Lakona.
• Willard was given a pile of cat comics and King Beebo was handed a dangerous-looking gun.
• Panthalassa was told that Nightsong had commissioned a nude drawing of Thomasina, but she was actually given a daguerreotype of Serafina and Nightsong side by side, their faces tilted toward each other. 

With all parting words exchanged, Nightsong, Serafina, and Viktoria rode off in the direction of the mountains. The group traveled south to Hemlock Hollow.

When they arrived, Garazi went to her family's house on the outskirts of town to prepare them for meeting her new friends the next day. In the meantime, the group decided this was a fine time to spend some of their loot. Unfortunately, Daytona had a run-in with a villain from his past in the form of Wagner Highcross--a gunslinging vampire responsible for more than one massacre. Of course, when Wagner made a crack about Catarina, Daytona lashed out and tried to punch his nemesis. Wagner sidestepped the blow and pushed Daytona to the ground. Daytona went for his gun and shot Wagner, but being a vampire he was not too bothered by that. Besides, that's probably just how he and Daytona say "hello."

The rest of the group came running out of the shop to Daytona's aid, but Wagner wasn't looking for a fight--he even tried to make the group's acquaintance, but obviously they weren't interested. Genevieve did turn on the charm; through her maneuverings, they were able to learn that the reason Wagner was in town was that he was scouting out who was pledging their efforts to which side of the Hellwar on behalf of Countess Alcesta von Karlok. Wagner eventually stalked off, but the group added him to the every-growing list of things to worry about.

The next day, the group descended on Garazi's family for an evening of feasting and the kind of domestic joys they hadn't had the opportunity to be part of for some time. Of course, in the morning, it was back to the business of adventuring.

The group's attempt to meet with Helena Graymalk was stymied, but they were spotted by Lorelei Graymalk, who brought them into a private sitting room for tea. Lorelei did her best to answer their questions in her mother's stead. In particular, they got the lowdown on Grigori Trask, who was using a Church-endorsed assassin named Maxim Lukash, aka "The Lash," to track down the group. Lorelei was also able to tell them that Hemlock Hollow was experiencing a spate of burglaries related to necromantic items of power. Among those she pointed out who might hold such artifacts were Ivy Valerio, a local spiritualist medium, and the Ushers...who Panthalassa already suspected were involved with the attack on her family.

The group was leery of approaching the Ushers, so they went to Ivy Valerio's House of Spirits first. Their questions made Ivy immediately suspicious, but she was happy to take their money and summon the spirits of various folks they had killed, such as Valancourt Carathis, Markos Delarosa, and Darvala Kohn. When the lights dimmed, Ivy was able to summon the specters of the departed within a cloud of hissing smoke and compel them to answer a few questions that were put to them. The group received a lot of intelligence in these seances, but it will be up to them to sift that information in the future.

With no other avenues left open to them, they decided it was time to pay a visit to the House of Usher. The house was dilapidated; some of the upper floors listed to the side, some portions of the foundation had sunken in, and a large crack ran down the face of the house. The man carrying a candelabra who answered their knock was also in danger of collapsing; he was seemingly ancient and, like Panthalassa, he was missing his left arm. He brought them inside and related that the Ushers had recently suffered an attack by hooded miscreants. He told them that the attackers had amputated his arm and made off with it. He also told them that the skull masks used by the Ushers in their necromantic rituals were taken as well. 

Given the timeline of events, it meant that the Ushers were not responsible for the attack on Panthalassa and the Sabbaths; rather, the folks who had stolen the masks from the Ushers were responsible for the attack Panthalassa had survived.

When asked about the nature of the ritual that the Ushers undertake, the man brought them down into the basement. In a sealed chamber they saw a glass coffin holding the body of a red-headed woman in repose. The man explained that the body before them was Madeline Usher and that their rites involving the skull masks kept her in a state of unnatural slumber. Asked why Madeline needed to be kept in torpor, he told them that Madeline Usher was the first to master the arts of magic--and that her mastery had both given her the destructive power of a god and driven her hopelessly insane. If she should awaken, the man believed she would destroy the entire world.

The group now had a reason to find the necromantic thieves and return the masks to the Ushers.

The Ushers had tried to follow the thieves through the cemetery behind their house, but they disappeared without a trace and were not seen emerging from the burial grounds. The group decided to take a look for themselves. In the cemetery, they noticed that many of the gravestones and crypts were marked with the symbol of a compass atop a skull. Genevieve recognized the symbol as the mark of a supposedly defunct secret society known as the Fraternite du Cadavre. When Daytona pulled the left arm of an angelic statue that had the Fraternite's symbol on its base, they heard a rumbling from a nearby crypt.

Peering inside, they saw that a secret passage leading down into the darkness had opened. Lighting a lantern, they descended...

We'll find out what they discover next time.

The Shadow on the Glass

Bad Books for Bad People, Episode 79: The Shadow on the Glass

Outside of your hosts’ beloved Warhammer 40k novels, can tie-in game fiction be good? Jack and Kate aim to find out by discussing The Shadow on the Glass, a 2024 novel that pairs podcast-favorite author Jonathan L. Howard with the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game.

Where are all of London’s fanciest spiritualists and psychics disappearing to? Can an A-team still be an A-team if the “a” stands for accountants and academics? Is there a bit of rugose cone inside all of us, really? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of the podcast.

The Myrastopol Gala

Last Friday's Savage Krevborna adventure tied up a major arc in the campaign: the characters had been looking for the missing Viktoria Frankenstein and Serafina, and they finally caught up with them.

Characters

Aria, a paladin struggling with her true nature

Heck, an affable revenant looking for answers

Panthalassa, a necromancer with a missing arm

Daytona, a dhampir gunslinger fresh from Hell

Garazi, up and coming witch with a bird familiar

Genevieve, an alchemist with a secret

Willard Corn and King Beebo, a farmer and his monkey

Events

With their invites in hand, the group was off to the Myrastopol Gala in all their mask'd finery with the purpose of tracking down Viktoria and Serafina. Once inside the seemingly endless house, their invitations were taken by a fop called Sebastian Lee, who checked them for authenticity. Sebastian Lee explained that the party beyond the "Limbo" foyer was taking place in eight rooms, each of which was themed after a different circle of Hell. Additionally, Lee gave each of them a key to a private room upstairs should they wish to pursue more clandestine pleasures. 

Nightsong linked the party's minds via telepathy and suggested that they split up to increase their chances of running into Serafina and Viktoria.

Garazi, Heck, and Nightsong went to the Fourth Circle because they had been told that there was a dancefloor in that room and Garazi was dead-set on dancing with a cute boy. This meant that Nightsong was now dead-set on helping Garazi dance with a cute boy. They were in luck; Nightsong spotted someone she knew, though he was surrounded by a knot of women who were clearly tripping over themselves to win his favor. That did not deter Nightsong, who hip-checked and elbowed her way into the circle with Garazi in tow. 

The man at the center of the women was Adrian Vergara, whom Garazi and company had released from a bestial curse. After a little small talk, Nightsong accused Adrian of poor manners because there he was, in front of a beautiful woman like Garazi, and he hadn't even asked her to dance. Embarrassed, Adrian was happy to escort Garazi to the dancefloor. They talked while they danced and Garazi learned that Adrian had spoken to Lady Adele Kincaid, a noblewoman of his acquaintance, but her personality seemed drastically different than what he remembered; where Lady Adele was vivacious and bubbly, she was now deadpan and monotone. Since Lady Adele's physical description matched the disguise they believed Serafina to be wearing, Garazi was sure that Serafina was somewhere in the gala. Garazi relayed this information to the rest of the group.

Over in the Fifth Circle, Willard found himself across a chessboard from Nathaniel "Bear" Farrowhawk, the captain of a mercenary band that the group had fought on the beach of Blyman's Cove. With a little help from King Beebo's advice, Willard was able to snatch a win away from Bear Farrowhawk. While they played, Bear mentioned that he had found some "weird machinery" in an unused kitchen pantry. Willard relayed this information as well, and the pantry was marked as a place to be explored later.

In the perpetual feast of the Third Circle, Genevieve encountered dowager Valtina Wosek, who was reclining in a chair with her swollen feet resting on a footstool. Valtina Wosek gestured for her to approach and requested that Genevieve refill her plate from the foods on offer. Genevieve returned with a plate full of decadent delights, which pleased Valtina enough for her to engage in further conversation. Valtina regaled Genevieve with a story about Adele Kincaid; she said that they had made plans to pray in the chapel, but Adele had not shown up. She also mentioned that Adele showed a strange interest in the crypts below the chapel, even going so far to ask Valtina if there was an available map of the crypts. This also sounded like a disguised Serafina, so the crypts were put on the list of places to check out.

In the Second Circle, Aria saw a number of people engaged in carnal acts or watching other people engaging in carnal acts. She made the acquaintance of Cassie Mabcrowe, a professor at the Malcovat, who reclined on a sofa and was attended by a number of shirtless men who were fanning her, feeding her grapes, and rubbing her feet. Cassie offered for Aria to join her on the sofa and happily shared her attendants' services. As they talked, Cassie revealed that she had recognized Viktoria Frankenstein, even though she was wearing an imp costume. This was also shared with the group and filed away.

Daytona and Panthalassa made their way to the Eighth Circle where they had an unfortunate run in with the hated Erasmus Feist and his currently less-hated sister Severina. After tense words were exchanged, Severina disclosed that she had a piece of information they might want, but there was a price: if they wanted her to spill, Panthalassa would have to dance with Erasmus. Daytona, a true friend and gentleman, turned on the charm and made a counteroffer: he proposed to dance with Severina instead. She agreed, and after their dance she told them that they she had found a laboratory in an empty attic room. The lab was added to the growing list of places to explore.

The group reconvened and then reconfigured who was with who so they could follow the leads they had picked up. Genevieve was able to determine that the laboratory had recently been used to concoct a novel sedative poison. The weird machinery seemed like it had been used to craft arcane communication devices that could be hidden in ragdolls. In the crypts, they found one of the steel caskets that Viktoria had stored her replicated bodies in, but this one was already open and empty.

Meanwhile, someone in a green outfit bumped into Panthalassa and pressed a note into her hand before disappearing into the crowd. The note told her to go to a specific room, alone, if she wanted to see Viktoria and Serafina alive. Panthalassa followed the instructions, but their was no answer to her knock on the door. She ventured inside and then felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her neck. Luckily, her ambusher recognized her--it was Viktoria Frankenstein, in the flesh. Serafina emerged from where she was hiding under the bed. What followed was a combination of tearful reunion, exchange of recriminations, and a whole lot of concern over Panthalassa's missing arm.

Viktoria also explained that the empty coffin was due to someone releasing her double prematurely. The double, she reported, was now insane and bent on her destruction. The group assembled in Viktoria and Serafina's rooms, so Panthalassa's new friends got to meet her old friends and Nightsong had her reunion with her partner. The group resolved to help Viktoria kill her double. Returning to the gala, they spotted the double and were spotted by her in turn--she ran outside and darted into an ice maze.

The double led them on a merry chase, but they caught up to her at the center of the maze. The False Viktoria promptly shot the Real Viktoria with a dart gun loaded with the novel sedative, rendering her unconscious. False Viktoria barraged the area with arcing electricity. Nightsong punched Viktoria in the jaw, but was knocked unconscious (and was heavily wounded) by the electrical field that surrounded her. Nightsong was brought back from death's door by Genevieve, who also put in a lot of work keeping the group unfazed by the constant electrical shocks arcing about.

The battle became even more complicated when Church assassins associated with Grigori Trask arrived. These agents were all women who belonged to "The Lash," and they were clad green dresses and armed with bladed fans. Heck was able crush False Viktoria's head between his hands, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Complicating things further, Patchwork Jack burst through one of the ice walls, but he was surprised that one of his mighty blows did nothing to Heck. Serafina threw Heck a syringe; Heck plunged it into Patchwork Jack--the drug inside caused Patchwork Jack to "awake" from the Nightside, taking him out of the fight. The rest of the Lash were then cleaned up. The group learned that Genevieve was a dhampir when she healed her wounds by drinking one of the Lash assassins dry. In recognition, Daytona also drained one of the Lash agents.

The fight over, Viktoria was caried back to their chambers to recover and Nightsong got to be nursed a bit by Serafina. When Viktoria was roused, she took samples of flesh from Heck and Aria to help determine a starting point to explain their strange existences; a sample was taken from Panthalassa so Viktoria could begin growing her a new arm. Garazi squeaked in a few more dances and the group began to plan their next move now that the initial task that had brought them together was now completed.

The Sting of Inevitable Betrayal

Another heist adventure this time, but as opposed to the last one in Lakona--which was a loud, busy location--this one required more planning and stealth. Which may or may not have worked out. Either way, I got to introduce this group to Pietra Sangino, the most hated npc across all Krevborna campaigns she has appeared in. Some of these fools even trusted her! Now they have a reason not to make that mistake again.

Characters

Aria, a paladin struggling with her true nature

Heck, an affable revenant looking for answers

Panthalassa, a necromancer with a missing arm

Daytona, a dhampir gunslinger fresh from Hell

Garazi, up and coming witch with a bird familiar

Events

When we last left off, the party members were emerging from the druggy haze of "toiling the midnight bell" only to find that they were being watched by a woman willing to trade their services for the two remaining invitations they needed to get into the Myrastopol Gala. That woman? The legendary artist Pietra Sangino. Her offer? She would give the party the gala tickets if they stole one of her paintings from the gang that currently had it in their possession.

She told them that the painting was in the clutches of the Butcher Boys, a thuggish gang of extortionist dwarves who act as muscle for hire in Veil. The painting was a portrait of Helena Graymalk, the leader of the powerful Graymalk clan of witches. Also, Pietra was clear that she didn't care if the painting came back in one piece or in scraps--as long as she could verify that the Butcher Boys didn't have it, she would be happy. The painting was being held in the Butcher Block, one of the Boys' hideouts. When asked by the group if the painting was magical, she replied "Of course not." She was, predictably, lying. 

Panthalassa also requested that Pietra paint a small paper ship black so that it would match the Dawnrazor. A potential gift for Thomasina Laurant at a later date? Meanwhile, the group also saw that she was currently working on a painting of a three-headed chimera. Folks, we call that foreshadowing in the business.

The Butcher Block was surrounded by a tall stone wall, but that couldn't stop Garazi's bird familiar from scouting the compound. She discovered that there were two buildings inside: a fortified house and a large stable. Txori was also able to spot two Butcher Boy guards posted in different locations with crossbows at the ready. From her familiar's overview, Garazi was able to determine that the area under the least surveillance was the easternmost wall by the stable.

The group also knew that the Butcher Boys were sending and receiving ravens bearing messages to and from the Butcher Block. Having Garazi's familiar follow the ravens netted them knowledge of the gang's correspondents: they were in contact with the local army under the leadership of Sonja Barbarez. Aria chatted up a guardsman at the cathedral Sonja had commandeered as her garrison; she learned that Sonja Barbarez was gathering an army to march on behalf of the demon lord known as Legion. The group had considered pitting the Butcher Boys against the Legion forces, but now it seemed that they were allied--so another tactic was needed.

Meanwhile, Daytona, Panthalassa, and Nightsong were studying the nearby streets to see if the Butcher Boys had patrols or reinforcements nearby. They didn't, but the group did notice that they were being trailed by someone who was keeping to the back alleys. They executed a pincer maneuver to sandwich whoever was shadowing them--and their "prey" turned out to be Patchwork Jack, the highly intelligent corpse golem who had caused Viktoria Frankenstein and Serafina to flee their chateau in Creedhall in the first place. 

Patchwork Jack tried to get Panthalassa and company on his side, hoping to get them to give up Viktoria so he could claim his "legacy" (he believed that the "Frankenstein organ" attached to Viktoria and Pendleton's brains was rightfully his as the true Frankenstein "heir") but he was having no luck. After realizing that his gambit was doomed to failure, he shouldered past Panthalassa and stalked off into the labyrinth of back alleys.

A plan for the art heist was hatched: Nightsong would link all their minds so they could communicate telepathically, then Heck and Aria would scale the wall, head into the stables to release the Butcher Boys' war ponies as a distraction. Things went according to plan until Aria and Heck realized that there were rooms to explore inside the stables--which got them into trouble. They managed to not alert the stableboy to their presence, but when Heck tried to sneak past a "man" "sleeping" on the stairs it turned out that the man was a doppelganger (he was the gang's spymaster) and that he was only playing possum. He stabbed Heck unexpectedly, incapacitating him. 

However, before the doppelganger could strip Heck of his clothes and steal his identity, Aria rushed in and conveyed the situation to the rest of the group via telepathy, so they all came over the wall and ran to Heck's aid. Nightsong punched the doppelganger in the jaw, bouncing his head off of the stairs in the barn. Daytona, now wielding a magical rapier instead of his usual pistol to avoid unnecessary noise, finished the spymaster off by skewering him through the heart. Heck's wounds were healed, but the group were shaken by this early brush with death. Still, they decided to push on.

Nightsong knocked out the stablehand so he couldn't raise the alarm and Panthalassa took out the crossbow-wielding guard. In another bedroom above the stables, they found Thorik Haval--a fence who helped dispose of the gang's stolen goods. Unwilling to take on a group of well-armed intruders, Thorik allowed himself to be bound and gagged. However, before they trussed him up, he told them a few choice bits of intel in hopes that it would stay their hands and keep his throat un-slit: he informed them that the painting was located in the garret room at the top of the tower attached to the house and that they should avoid the bedroom south of his because it was the domain of "Gowan," whom Thorik suspected of being a demon on loan from the Legion forces.

Finally, they were able to enact their plan of letting loose the ponies and causing some distracting chaos! And--it worked; Butcher Boys spilled out of the house to round up their wayward ponies, which gave the party clear entry into the safehouse. Making their way up to the garret entailed fighting another guard, whom they interrupted while reading Love's Fatal Alchemy, a spicy romance novel. 

He was dealt with, but as they ascended they woke Leopold Daskin, the dwarf-in-charge of this location's operation, and Darvala Kohn, a cambion sent by Legion's army to seduce Leopold and get him to give them the painting. (The Legion forces wanted to get ahold of the painting because it was magical and could potentially be used to control or influence Helena Graymalk, possibly even getting her to switch sides from Satan to the unholy triumvirate opposing him in the "Hell War.") During the fight, Garazi's conjured chains did a tremendous job of locking the pair down while the rest of the group proceeded to murder them.

At the topmost level of the tower, the group located the portrait of Helena Graymalk and cut it from its frame. They noticed that the woman appeared to move on the canvas; despite what Pietra had told them, the painting was indeed magical. Upon returning the painting to Pietra Sangino, the artist promptly turned on them because she knew that there was a price on their heads. She had finished the chimera she had been painting while they discussed terms days before--but now the beast emerged from the frame and attacked!

They slew the chimera--when it died it turned into a puddle of oil paints--and Panthalassa managed to wound Pietra with a necrotic bolt. Pietra ran and touched one of her landscape paintings, which transported her magically to that place. Daytona attempted to follow, but he didn't possess the knack for traveling through the painting. With Pietra gone, the group proceeded to trash her studio. However, she had left the coveted invitations she had promised them on a table--alongside a paper ship she had painted black at Panthalassa request.

Next time--the gala awaits.

Patchwork Jack

Creedhall’s most powerful villain is Patchwork Jack, a corpse golem gifted with a genius for invention.

Patchwork Jack

Patchwork Jack is a towering flesh golem built from corpses and other refuse of the charnel house. Patchwork Jack is both Viktoria Frankenstein’s greatest scientific triumph and her greatest failing. Through some quirk of his creation, Patchwork Jack was endowed with a particularly fine mind. He learned quickly, becoming Viktoria’s laboratory assistant and collaborator. 

However, it was soon clear that Patchwork Jack was only interested in using his scientific genius for evil ends; unable to cope with the prospect of her creation’s desire to use his inventions to acquire and wield tyrannical power, Viktoria Frankenstein cast him out of Chateau Frankenstein and bade him never to return. 

    • Appearance: His hulking, mismatched form and the stitches that cover his body evidence his origins from among the dead remains of a variety of human beings.

    • Personality: The machinery of life and the inner workings of the mind fascinate him.

    • Motive: He desires a laboratory of his own that would allow him to create an army of corpse golems, take Chateau Frankenstein by force, and kill his “mother.”

    • Flaw: Despite his formidable intelligence, a bestial rage boils just under the surface of his cadaverous flesh.

Lithka

The Grail Tombs’ most powerful villain is Lithka, the last ruler of the Vlaak Empire.

Lithka

Empress Lithka, last sovereign of the Vlaak Empire, continues to exist as an undead creature long after the fall of her people. She toils within the Imperial Crypt, working steadily among the piles of eldritch machinery, books of magical theorems, and alchemical apparatuses that clutter her inner sanctum. Despite devoting her every moment to occult research, her forays into unwholesome avenues of magical inquiry are always hindered by her persistent madness. Lithka’s brilliant mind was ruined by a disordering insanity born from the traumatizing ritual that transformed her from a living Vlaak royal into an undead lich. Lithka is usually lost in a fog of madness, delirium, and repressed memories, but her rational mind sometimes reasserts itself, granting her fleeting moments of clarity. During her brief lucid phases, Lithka schemes of returning to the world above and reclaiming her place as empress of all she surveys. If she were to regain her sanity, Lithka would be a grave threat.

    • Appearance: Her alien, corpse-like form is shrouded in the remains of a once-sumptuous gown.

    • Personality: She behaves as if she still presides over an empire at the height of its power.

    • Motive: She plots to remake the world in her own image to begin the second great age of Vlaak civilization.

    • Flaw: Her mind is not what it was—she scrounges through the pieces of her fragmented memories seeking coherence.

Looting Lakona

It was time to inject a new flavor into the campaign, so you know what that means: tiki!

Also, up to this point, the scenarios had been mostly site-based exploration so I changed things up by making this one more of an open-ended puzzle that could be solved through a variety of means. Although there was an objective they wanted to attain (steal invitations to a gala) there were a number of ways they could have gotten their hands on them. To be honest, I had no solution in mind as to how they could accomplish that goal; instead, I seeded the area with tools they could put together into whatever combination they thought would work and then we'd see what happened.

Characters

Aria, a paladin struggling with her true nature

Heck, an affable revenant looking for answers

Panthalassa, a necromancer with a missing arm

Daytona, a dhampir gunslinger fresh from Hell

Willard Corn and Beebo, a farmer and a monkey

Events

The characters traveled north aboard the Dawnrazor, where they would be set ashore so they could head toward Veil. Since Nightsong had paid to have Serafina's location scried by a seer, she was sure that Serafina and Viktoria were currently at the Myrastopol Gala--the "party that never ends." One problem remained in the matter of tracking them down: to attend the gala they would need invitations. 

One way of getting invitations would be to win them at the high-stakes poker tournament currently underway at Lakona, a restaurant and casino located in Veil's Nightside. The Nightside could only be reached by indulging in the drug known as midnight bell. In an age now past, Veil had been a glorious Vlaak city, but it had since fallen into squalor and decay. 

However, once the characters entered the safest-looking drug den they could find and "tolled the midnight bell," they fell into unconsciousness and awoke in the city's "Nightside"--a phantasmagorical version of Veil in which all the poverty and filth was replaced with glamour and opulence. Indeed, once in the Nightside the characters found that even their clothes had been transfigured into finery. 

Getting to Lakona involved boarding a gondola and being poled down into a cave where employees wearing grass skirts, wooden masks, and jade amulets helped them disembark. After receiving a customary lei of pink and red flowers, the party found themselves confronted by the entrance to Lakona, which was a big wooden face that looked like a tribal deity or pagan spirit. As they approached the door, the guards flanking the face crossed their spears and bid the group listen to the voice of KAUA-PE. The wooden face began to speak, outlining Lakona's rules and wishing them luck at the gambling tables. 

After crossing through the mouth, they observed that the interior of Lakona had an odd but consistent aesthetic. The space was lit by torches affixed to bamboo staves; old fishing nets and garlands of shrunken heads hung from the stalactites; the stone floor was carpeted by mats of dried grass and palm trees sprouted from the stone to stretch toward the ceiling; the sound of primitive drumming filled the air; a number of conspicuous wooden statues that resembled KAUA-PE sat in corners throughout the cavern. 

The cavern spacious depth featured a number of dice tables, a bandstand, rows of strange copper machines that people were feeding rubles into, a bar area, and a number of doors leading to other amenities. Some doors were marked with a perimeter of skulls; these doors were off limits to anyone save for Lakona's staff. 

Playing to win the invitations seemed out of the question, as none of them had any skill for gambling--which was evident after they to drag Daytona away from the slot machines. Instead, the group settled into a table in the bar area and ordered a king's ransom worth of fruity, rum-based cocktails from a menu of exotica. Aria and Nightsong were especially thrilled to have the chance to flirt with intoxication. Nevertheless, Nightsong was summoned away from her companions by a member of Lakona's staff because a patron had requested she play in the exclusive poker tournament. However, before she left the party, Nightsong cast a spell that would allow them all to stay in contact via telepathy. 

It was resolved that Willard, Daytona, and Heck would check out a door on the right side of the complex, while Panthalassa and Aria would enter a room on the left side to see what was going on inside. 

Willard, Daytona, and Heck found themselves in Lakona's spa area, where they were offered massages, time in the steam room, a dip in the hot springs, or a romp in the "pleasure dome." Heck and Willard balked at the experiences on offer, but Daytona stayed for a massage from a burly man who had been oiled to within an inch of his life. Once the massage was over, Daytona slipped into a staff-only room and discovered Lakona's laundry room. He was able to steal an outfit and mask that would enable him to blend in with the employees. 

On the other side of Lakona, Aria and Panthalassa found themselves in a theater where members of the Skarnesti Circus were performing. They took seats just in time to see Zoskia Skarnesti introduce Melusine, the circus's exotic snake dancer, to the stage. Once the performance was over and the punters had left, Panthalassa re-made the acquaintance of the circus performers, including Dogface, who she had bested at a feats-of-strength competition. Dogface was particularly moved by Panthalassa's missing arm; he offered to rough up whichever villain had disabled her. 

Because Panthalassa and Daytona had done a good turn for the circus in the past, they were easy to convince to aid the party now in Lakona. Besides, Zoskia explained, carnies would take any opportunity to get one over on the rubes. The circus folk proved to be very well-informed. They explained where Lakona's vault was and that the room directly before it was the security office where guards watched over the site via the KAUA-PE statues positioned throughout the caverns. 

At this point, Nightsong checked in to describe the facsimiles of the prized invitations she had spied within a totem pole-shaped display case. Via telepathy, the group agreed to converge in front of the security office to make their play. The plan was for Panthalassa to use her magic to meld into the earth with Heck so they could burrow their way to the vault unobserved. Instead of finding themselves in the vault, however, they emerged in a long hallway that led to the vault. The vault's door was a wooden monstrosity carved to look like KAUA-PE. 

When they got within ten feet of the doors, KAUA-PE opened his jaws and blasted a stream of fire down the hallway. Heck was able to duck and cover, but Panthalassa was severely burned by the flames. That plan was quickly abandoned. A new plan was hatched in its place: the group would attack the guard post from two sides to gain the jade amulets that would protect them from the fire trap on the vault's doors. The group, minus Panthalassa who was avoiding further injury but with the addition of Nightsong, burst in and subdued the guards.

Now armed with jade amulets, the group crossed the hallway to the vault easily. Panthalassa picked the lock and they all ventured inside, where rows of chests and a wardrobe held Lakona's loot. Unfortunately, the vault also held a large iron statue of a mariner--complete with diver's helmet and trident--which animated to protect Lakona's funds from thievery. The resulting battle for control of the vault was hard-fought: the mariner statue was difficult to damage, but it didn't seem to have any trouble damaging the adventurers. Ultimately, a combination of Aria's sword work (and the ice-curse of her elven blade), Nightsong's bolstering war chant (and her steadfast desire to punch things into submission with her gauntlet), and Daytona's sharpshooting (especially when backed by a little hellfire) won them the battle.

The group looted the vault of as many coins as they could carry, a magical rapier, a necklace, a deformed green statuette, and the coveted invitations.

Back out within Lakona, things were in chaos with guards descending to impose lockdown as the patrons panicked. Luckily, the Skarnesti Circus troupe was waiting to usher them out an unguarded back entrance. As they said their goodbyes and fled into the night, the midnight bell began to wear off and they found themselves safely back at the drug den with their loot.

However, someone was watching them from the shadows. 

Who is it and what do they want? We'll find out next time.