Strange Aeons Module 4

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Module 4 is the weakest in the campaign in terms of story. The Part I states that “to pick up Lowls’ trail, the PCs must first find Mun’s laboratory”. This is not true, as the Mad Poet has already pointed them to the Mysterium in Katheer. Thus I introduced information about the Elder Signs in Module 3, which motivates the players to seek out Miacknian Mun’s laboratory and search it. These can be placed anywhere at the GM’s discretion, but I placed them in area A11.

I have compiled the various module 4 handouts into a PDF here.

Elder Sign: a small seven-edged ‘disc’, about 3 inches in diameter, made of an unknown grey stone. It provides a +4 saving throw bonus against seedborne consumption (Module 5) when carried. There are a number of them equal to the number of players plus one. Note that familiars do not need their own Elder Sign to get the bonus, but animal companions do.

Part II

B2: Make maximum use of the Hounds’ ability to turn invisible and move through angles. Paranoia should be maximised. Also, players may use ‘Warp Metal’ to damage the mirror; GMs should decide in advance whether to allow this (I recommend yes) and how much damage to the mirror the spells does (e.g. 2d10).

B11: Two proto-shoggoths is a TPK scenario here. I had one only, which was inhabiting the body of a former Mysterium guard. It stands in the corridor swaying unsteadily (the shoggoth has consumed all of the internal organs and needs a new host). When it becomes aware of the players, it comes lurching towards them and ‘bursts’ over the nearest one. Attempting to deal with this monster while it is wrapped around one of the players and trying to force its way into their nose and mouth created much panic (and almost killed a player).

B12: If your party does not have the Disintegrate spell available to them, change the Forcecage effect of the haunt into a DC20 Hold Person.

B14: Rather than simply just ‘appearing’, the Spawn of Yog-Sothoth is Blunder’s twin brother. It was used by Count Lowls, imprisoned in a glass globe (Magic Jar spell) and released when the Keeper appeared (area B26). The Keeper drove it off and it has wandered the corridors of the Mysterium since, lost, confused and hungry. It will attack and try to consume anyone except Blunder. Once killed, it will moan a barely intelligible “brother!”, reaching for Blunder before dying.

B15: As written, this is an encounter which just leads to combat. I reduced the number of guards to four and had one of them standing unresponsive in a corner of the study. The players may be able to get the guards to tell their story, and they learn that they were attacked by a formless thing of flesh, jelly and eyes (a proto-shoggoth) and their unresponsive comrade was hurt by it, but they got away by using Burning Hands. They believe their comrade is unresponsive due to being traumatised.

The players should figure out that this guard is infected and will soon rupture forth a new proto-shoggoth to consume the other three guards. Trying to convince the tired, traumatised guards of this has lots of opportunity for good role-playing.

B21-24: The encounters in these rooms are arbitrary combat fodder. Try making them actual encounters (rather than mere combat) by giving the creatures roles and personality.

· The Axiomites do not simply immediately attack anyone not wearing Mysterium robes. Given their INT 21 and True Seeing, they react more favourably towards Lawful players and are openly hostile towards Chaotic ones. They understand that what has happened to the Mysterium is an act of chaos and seek to reverse it.

· The Clockwork Mages work at sorting, filing, copying, etc. They whirr around the room, ignoring the players unless the players try to interfere with them or take any of the room contents.

· The Aerial Servants were summoned and bound within a Summoning Circle when the Mysterium wards were set off. When the players enter the room, the creatures are still, so the circle appears empty. If they do not notice the circle and break it, then combat ensues. If the players do become aware of the aerial servants within the circle, then they can attempt to dismiss them (e.g. Dismissal – no WILL save required as they want to leave). Bargaining with them is hard (INT 4), as these creatures just want to be returned to their own plane, but it is possible that they could be convinced to fight with the players in return for a promise of dismissal, though they will not trust the players.

B26: Depending on how weak the party is by the stage, consider having the Keeper not being completely insane, but just insane with guilt over its failure to prevent the theft of the Necronomicon. William, being an agent of the Veil of Heavens, should be able to get through to it when it first emerges in fiery wrath, shouting about “intruders” and “thieves”.

The players can also notice fragments of a shattered glass globe on the floor of the Soul (from the Spawn of Yog-Sothoth).

Once the Keeper has related his story, he beseeches the players to find the Necronomicon and return it to the Soul. If they agree, he becomes calm, states that he can no longer live with his guilt and falls upon his own sword. The suicide of an angel should have significant dramatic impact.

Note that the Keeper leaves behind his +3 flaming longsword, which burns anyone not LG, but is safe and resizes itself for anyone who is LG (see Epilogue).

Part III

The plot of Part III makes no sense and appears to be a bunch of unconnected encounters and weak motivations. As such, a major plot rewrite of part III was required. The slave Kaklatath is now central to this part of the story.

Princess Njano owned the slave Kaklatath (a mind-swapped Yithian). Count Lowls learned of her existence and nature from his connection with Xhamen-Dor and told Biting Lash to purchase her for her wealth of occult knowledge as an extra ‘bonus’ to their business dealings. Biting Lash did this, offering Njano significantly more money than an old woman slave should be worth. Njano realised that there must be more to the old woman than she was aware, but could not determine what it was. Eventually greed won over, and Kaklatath was sold for a very large sum on money. But the mystery of the old slave woman has not sat well with Princess Njano since then.

Meanwhile, Nikta the Pairaka also learned that a Yithian was stranded in a human body from the psychic distress calls that Kaklatath had been sending out. She travelled to the material plane and took on the role of Fazar to locate her prize. Learning that Njano possessed Kaklatath, she seduced and captured Dahab, sending a note to Njano that she desired an exchange of Njano’s favoured servant for a worthless slave. This posed a problem for Njano, as she had already sold Kaklatath (as well as adding to her burning curiosity as to the value of one old human slave woman).

Enter the players, who come seeking Kaklatath. They can bribe officials at the flesh fair to search records for Kaklatath and discover that Princess Njano purchased her as part of a ‘job lot’. Seeking a meeting with the Princess, Njano will try and get the players to tell her the secret of the old woman, but unfortunately they do not know it. Njano decides to use the players to solve her kidnapped servant problem in return for telling them where Kaklatath is.

There are two further complications:

· Blunder’s heritage by this stage makes him “Loathed by Animals”. This includes gnolls. All gnolls (and there are a lot in Okeno) will want to kill him on sight. Njano offers to dispatch him for free, as a “token of good will” to the other party members.

· Kisetz is replaced by Galdros, who was not killed by gnolls but taken as a slave. Years of brutality and bloodshed in the fighting pits have hardened him and made him cruel. He now serves as chief bodyguard to Princess Njano. He blames his years of suffering on his younger brother Pyesen, believing that if Pyesen had not fled, then together they would have fought off the gnolls and escaped. Thus Galdros is driven solely by the thought of one day getting his revenge on his cowardly younger brother.

When first encountered, Galdros is wearing a full-face helmet. When Njano calls him forward, he removes his helm. He recognises Pyesen immediately. Pyesen will recognise Galdros as soon as he removes his helm. The other players may make a DC30 Perception check to note the familial similarity. This is why Galdros wants to kill Pyesen and anyone (i.e. the players) who get in his way. His friend Hakoor is happy to tag along for the bloodshed.

How this affects Pyesen’s schizophrenia is up to the GM and player, but it will be fun! The real Galdros is more twisted and cruel than the one Pyesen has crafted from his memories.

Biting Lash has not decided how to make best use of Kaklatath yet, and is indeed doubtful whether such a scrawny old human female could have any real value.