A strange conspiracy is sweeping the monstrosity-riddled country of Ustalav. Will a group of heroes manage a monster-killing tour of the country, or will they fall prey to what lurks in the dark?
1. The Beast of Lepidstadt was caught breaking into the Antiquities Department at the University of Lepidstadt. He apparently stole something called the Seasage Effigy, and demands to be set free before he will explain why.
2. The Whispering Way have returned to active duty, and are collecting the reagents for a powerful occult ritual. You must pursue and stop them before the ritual is completed.
1. Weapon and armor attunement from automatic bonus progression does not have to be given up in order to further enchant a weapon. For example, if you have +1 weapon attunement and you buy a flaming longsword, you now have a +1 flaming longsword.
2. When you attempt a combat maneuver, it does not provoke an AoO unless it fails. If you have the relevant Improved feat, it does not provoke an AoO at all.
3. If you die, you can instead take a trauma, a crippling injury. You can sustain a number of traumas equal to your CON mod, and if you take one you stabilize at your negative CON score + 1. If you are not in combat, you miraculously survive whatever situation you are in. Traumas can typically be healed with a regeneration spell.
4. When crafting magic items, one cannot ignore a prerequisite. All prerequisites must be met. Multiple creatures can contribute to a single item's creation, though.
5. The primalist (bloodrager), inspired blade (swashbuckler), sanctified slayer (inquisitor), the gunslinger, and all gun-related archetypes are banned. Rogue Genius Games' Witch Hunter and Death Mage are allowed. Kobold Press' White Necromancer is allowed. The psionics and Path of War material from Dreamscarred Press is allowed.
6. When you rest, you gain a bonus amount of Vigor healing equal to your Constitution modifier.
7. When you gain a level, you gain a bonus to your Wound Points equal to your Constitution modifier.
Perdita Gallowglass (human oracle (bone) // sorcerer (undead))
A young woman whose family seems to be under an ancient curse. Despite being blessed with divine necromancy, Perdita's entire family has died young, resulting in the rest of her line having died out. She has devoted her life to figuring out how to lift the curse.
Tassa Bokrugsku (human warder (ordained defender, fiendbound marauder) // malefex)
From a small rural Ustalavic village, Tassa's mother is a witch who sacrificed to Bokrug in order to "bless" her daughter with the strength to take revenge on the monsters that prey on her village. Tassa is corrupted with a sliver of Bokrug's power and hunger, and is able to manifest an arm of tentacles and teeth.
Urick (half-elf inquisitor //gunslinger (bolt ace))
A disgraced ex-inquisitor from Mendev, Urick fled the Crusades after he lost his divine connection to his goddess Iomedae. He became a freelance monster hunter in Ustalav in order to try and earn penance for his failures in Mendev.
Professor Henry Lainor (human alchemist (vivisectionist) // bard (archaeologist))
A professor and doctor who works at Lepidstadt university. He is an exploring scholar who likes to vivisect and study the corpses of monsters "in the field".
Khar the Hunter (skinwalker bloodrager (bloody-knuckled rowdy) // skalker (brutal slayer)/rogue (bandit))
A former gladiator and half-weretiger from Vudra, Khar seeks to fight and destroy the most dangerous and horrifying monsters that Ustalav has to offer in order to prove himself and gain enough strength to challenge his rakshasa mother.
Ila Indigo (human rogue (phantom thief) // spiritualist (phantom blade)
A young apothecary's apprentice from Korvosa, Ila's mother's spirit was stolen shortly after her death by the Whispering Way. Ila has pursued the cult halfway across the world trying to recover the spirit, and wields portions of her mother's ghost in blade form while in battle.
NPC Contacts:
Dean Acciani Viacarri - The Dean of Lepidstadt University. A serious intellectual who got his job after a lifetime of scholarship.
Judge Embreth Daramid - One of the justices on the Vieland Council, she is the only one who seems to take an active interest in the city's fate. A smart elderly lady.
Jeminda Anikee - A local bookkeeper that works for the Vieland Council. She helped to gather the PCs in order to hire them to look for her missing brother, Elias Kyle.
Father Cidaimoikis - A powerful elderly Pharasman head cleric. He presides over the chapel at Gravecharge. He has a very soft voice.
Professor Montagnie Crowl - The head of the Antiquities Department at the University of Lepidstadt. A bespectacled and loud-mouthed excitable man.
Lepidstadt City Statblock:
Lepidstadt
N small city
Corruption +1; Crime +1; Economy +3; Law –1; Lore +3, Society +4
Qualities academic, prosperous, rumormongering citizens,
tourist attraction
Danger 5
Demographics Government council
Population 9,780 (9,600 humans, 80 dwarves, 50 elves, 30
gnomes, 20 other)
Marketplace Base Value 6,000 gp; Purchase Limit 37,500; Spellcasting 7th
