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In my campaign, two of my PC's (level 2) have contracted lycanthropy. So I devised a small, puzzle-based mini-dungeon, placed beneath the Temple of the Elk (Area J, "The Stolen Land") and only accessible during the night of a new moon. They will have to do some research to learn of it. This mini-dungeon will allow brave and clever PC's to cleanse themselves of their bestial nature, or even master it entirely, although at great risk.
I thought I'd share it with you all, and see what everybody thought. I couldn't find anything on these forums that offer a way for PC's to deal with being an afflicted lycanthrope, so here's something to change that.
ROOM 1
Anyone touching the mirror immediately discovers that it is actually a perfectly vertical wall of water, although supernaturally cold to the touch. Anybody attempting to walk into the water is immediately repulsed and suffers 1d6 points of cold damage.
The first time somebody touches the water, six elven women appear in the mirror's reflection, walking up the stone steps into the cave (These women exist only in the reflection). These women are all in the image of Ashava, wearing dark gowns that sparkle with starlight, and wearing wreathes of moth in their braided hair. These women begin to dance and sing, and their sound reverberates throughout the cave. They sing the same words, first in Sylvan, then in Celestial, then in Druidic, repeating their song constantly until the next sunrise (barring PC interference, as seen below), at which point they disappear, one by one, as the light of dawn shines through the temple's entrance and falls upon them.
The words that they sing are translated as follows:
"We sit and we slumber, and wake with the breeze,
And join hands and dance away under the trees,
By day we are many, tonight we are none,
Our legs cannot carry, yet with horses we run.
What are we?"
The correct answer is "Shadows". If an incorrect answer is offered, one of the women sadly shakes her head, turns, and disappears down the stairs. Additionally, the wall shudders and contorts madly, soaking all in the room for 1d6 points of cold damage. When the last woman turns away, the wall collapses completely, dealing 2d6 points of cold damage to everyone in the room and rendering the puzzle impossible until the next new moon, at which point it resets. When the word "shadows" spoken, a circular aperture forms at the bottom of the wall - a door, of sorts - revealing a darkened set of stairs leading down.
ROOM 2
As soon as a PC reaches the bottom of the stairs, the hallway is illuminated with silvery dancing lights. This reveals a hallway, about 40 feet long, with the same mirror-like water for walls. At the far end is an ornate copper door, green with oxidation, which has no visible cracks, openings, or hinges. The footprints continue past this door.
Set into the door are three concentric rings, each inlaid with the eight cycles of the moon, depicted in white and black marble. The outermost ring has a full moon on top, The middle has a gibbous moon on top, and inside has a new moon on top. In the exact center of the rings is a circular indentation, about the side of a gold piece, carved in the center with the image of a starburst shining from behind a crescent moon. (A DC 28 Knowledge (religion) check is required to recognize this indentation was build to accommodate an archaic holy symbol of Ashava, an Azata Empyreal Lord. Above and below the rings are the symbols (written in both Celestial and Druidic) of Darkness and Shadows, respectively.
The three rings constitute a puzzle; the goal of the puzzle is to align the three wheels with each other.
Touching the inner wheel will cause it to rotate two moons counter-clockwise, and the outer wheel one moon clockwise.
Touching the middle wheel will cause it to rotate 1 moon clockwise, and the outer wheel to rotate 1 moon counter-clockwise.
Touching the outer wheel will cause it to rotate 3 moons counter-clockwise, and the inner wheel to rotate 1 moon clockwise.
Just as with the first room, the reflections are not empty. There are two more elven women dancing, one inside each of the hallway walls. Behind them are floating sixteen bronze medallions, eight on each side. These medallions are perfectly shaped to fit into the indentation in the middle of the door.
Whenever a PC touches one of the rings or otherwise causes it to move, one of the elven women touches a medallion, which promptly turns into water and splashes down to the floor.
If the PC's fail to align the moons in 16 turns, the last medallion turns into water, and the mirror walls immediately collapse into the hallway, revealing bare mortared walls behind and dealing 2d6 points of cold damage to everybody present, and the PC's will not be able to attempt this puzzle again until the next new moon.
If they do align the moons, the water immediately drops into the rock floor, leaving the hallway completely dry, and depositing all of the remaining bronze medallions onto the ground. Placing a medallion into the door indentation will cause the three rings to spin around at an incredible speed, before fading away entirely. The rest of the door then splits in half, disappearing into either wall and dropping the medallion on the ground.
If they align the wheels with the new moon on top (and, thus, the full moon at the bottom), the symbols above and below the rings begin to glow silver, and the medallions soon follow suit. By the time they hit the ground, the medallions have been transmuted from bronze to silver. In addition to being more valuable, these silver medallions will impart a special bonus to the final fight.
ROOM 3
Occupying the room is a dark-haired elven woman wearing a black gown, and a muscular and hairy half-orc wearing black breeches. They are standing over the fountain, and are lighting another lantern together.
The elf, Yallandra, is a cleric of Ashava, and the half-orc, Daverar, is a druid. They have a starting attitude of Indifferent towards the PC's. They are surprised to see the PC's, but they remain cautiously gracious unless the PC's make them Unfriendly, attack, or otherwise provoke them. (their statistics are listed below, should things ever come to blows.)
The first thing they do is welcome the PC's and inquire of the PC's why they have come. They are satisfied with most answers, although they become Unfriendly if one of them detects that a PC is lying about their motives, or if the PC's seem aggressive, violent, or claim to be looking for loot. Conversely, they become Friendly towards anybody who identifies as a druid or expresses an interest in paying homage to Ashava. They will also become Helpful towards any character who admits to being a lycanthrope and professes a desire to tame their bestial natures (see below), and to any non-lycanthrope PC's who are committed to helping their lycanthrope companions to do so.
Yallandra herself is a natural werewolf, and Daverar is an afflicted werebear, both with complete control over their bestial natures. Because of the stigma associated with lycanthropes, they are reluctant to divulge this to the PC's unless they suspect that one (or more) of the PC's are lycanthropes themselves. If asked, they identify themselves as tenders and guardians of the shrine, and of the pool, which has the same healing properties as the pool outside the temple of Erastil. But their main purpose is to assist any good-aligned lycanthropes who enter the shrine intending to use the pool's special powers to tame their bestial natures (although none besides them have ever done so during time as guardians). If the couple feel uncomfortable telling the PC's (and thus don't), a DC 20 Sense Motive check will reveal to the PC's that there is more to the shrine that they are telling.
If the PC's seem unsure where they are, or if asked about this location, Yallandra will inform the PC's that they are in a sacred shrine of Ashava, the True Spark, who is a powerful Azata, and the patron of the bereaved and the lonely spirits. Daverar is quick to remind Yallandra that the primal power of the Green Faith is at least as strong here, and twice as old, as the influence of any celestial.
Unless their attitudes are Unfriendly or lower, the couple will tell the PC's that the pool is holy water, and that anyone drinking from the pool will be given healing and strength. This is only mostly true; while most characters can benefit from the effects of the cure light wounds spell (CL 4) once per day by drinking the water, any lycanthrope (barring those who have completed the pool's trial to tame their bestial nature) who drinks the water immediately vomits it back out and becomes sickened for 1 round. The couple offer a communion cup of this water to the PC's as a part of the worship ceremony, but also as a means of determining whether any of the PC's are lycanthropes.
If none of the PC's are lycanthropes, the ceremony continues uneventfully until the sunrise, at which point the couple go their separate ways. But if one or the more PC's turns out to be a lycanthrope, the couple immediately stop the ceremony, identify themselves as lycanthropes, and (unless they are Unfriendly or Hostile)offer to help.
They explain that the pool is capable of allowing a lycanthrope to confront their own bestial nature, be they natural or afflicted, and attempt to "tame the beast which dwells inside", or alternately (for afflicted lycanthropes) to "purge the curse altogether". But the cleansing is extremely dangerous - there is a real possibility that the PC's will instead succumb to their bestial natures, in which case they will be "put down".
If the PC's express interest, they can elaborate. Undertaking the trial involves a lycanthropic character (or characters) immersing themselves completely into the pool. Their essence will then be projected into a pocket dimension, as for the astral projection spell (leaving the body underwater, in a state of suspended animation), and be split into two parts: the man and the beast. Whichever wins will return to the body as master of the other (if it allows the other to return at all). Anybody who submerses themselves with on Ashava's medallions goes with her special blessing.
Once a PC is in this pocket dimension, there are only two ways to escape intact: to render the PC's bestial self unconscious and force it to swallow the PC's medallion (which will ensure your mastery over her bestial urges, and is only possible if the PC wore a medallion into the pool) or else to kill it outright (which will purge the PC's lycanthropy altogether).
Like the act of getting here, this final test is one of mind over matter; as such, there are ways intelligent PC's can gain an edge over their foes, but the couple cannot say what - it's different each time.
It should be noted that this is only available to lycanthropic members of the party. If non-lycanthropes are determined to help, though, Yallandra offers a way - she licks a dagger and offers it to the PC. Willfully cutting themselves with this dagger will allow the PC to forgo the Fortitude save to contract lycanthropy, and allow them to partake in the trial as normal. However, the couple will not allow any PC to leave after they have cut themselves with Yallandra's dagger until they undertake the trial - any PC who tries to do so may have to fight them if she wants to escape.
ROOM 4
The moon overhead is truly giant - large enough to loom over the entire platform. Anybody who falls off the edge of the platform will simultaneously be seen falling from the edge of the moon above, and will land on the edge opposite of that which he fell off, potentially taking damage as though he fell 30 feet (3d6).
The moon is a waxing crescent when the PC's first arrive. Each round, the phase of the moon changes. By default, the moon will advance by 3 phases per round, although touching different standing stones will change this rate. Touching the northern- and easternmost stones will increase the rate of the moon's change by 1- and 3 phases per round, respectively, and touching the southern- and westernmost stones will decrease the rate of the moon's phase changing by 1 and 3 phases, even allowing the moon to phase backwards.
The PC's begin prone, on one edge of the disc. Their enemies, who are statistically identical to them, begin prone on the other side, in their hybrid forms. During this encounter, the PC's will not have access to hybrid or animal forms gained through lycanthropy. Conversely, these are the only forms their enemies will have access to.
This is essentially a battle of personalities; as such, while on this plane, the PC's may add their Charisma modifiers to all attack and damage rolls made against their own counterparts. Additionally, the PC's enemies suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls against any PC who is wearing one of Ashava's medallions. If a PC is wearing a silver medallion, any enemy adjacent to that PC becomes sickened instead.
The phase of the moon above also has an impact on the battle; while the moon is full, the PC's enemies gain DR 5/-, in addition to any other damage reduction they may possess. While the moon is completely dark, it is the PC's themselves who gain DR 5/- instead. In addition, when the moon is full, the entire battlefield is naturally under bright illumination, and is dark under the new moon. All other phases of the moon grant shadowy illumination.
The lycanthropes are not lacking for cunning; that being said, they generally prefer to attack their own counterparts, unless a better option presents itself.
If the PC's motivations are not at odds with that of any lycanthrope (such as a serial killer werewolf, or a lawful good werebear), that lycanthrope shows no interest in attacking that PC, unless the PC attacks first. If this results in a stalemate, the PC reawakens in the pool after spending 1 hour in the ring, in the exact condition as she was upon entering. Otherwise, nobody will leave the ring for as long as the fighting continues.
If both the PC and the lycanthrope die in the fight, the PC's body floats to the surface of Ashava's pool, dead. If the lycanthrope survives but the PC does not, the lycanthrope effectively takes over the PC's body, emerges from the pool and behaves under GM control. If the PC survives but the lycanthrope does not, the PC emerges from the pool in human form, immediately losing all powers, abilities, and subtypes relating to their lycanthropic nature - essentially become normal people once more.
If the PC renders their lycanthropic counterpart unconscious and places her medallion in its mouth, the lycanthrope's jaws immediately clamp down upon the medallion, causing the lycanthrope to briefly spasm and convulse. Assuming the PC survives the rest of the encounter, they awaken in the pool, in hybrid form, with their amulet clamped in between their jaws. From this point onward, the PC will never lose control due to lycanthropy, and may change shape with a DC 10 constitution check, regardless of whether the lycanthrope is natural or afflicted. This will quiet any lycanthrope's bestial side substantially, often calling for alignment changes. However, the trauma is also great - when an afflicted lycanthrope does this, she permanently gains one negative level (which will keep her power level consistent with the rest of the party's). In addition, the creature emerges from the pool with the Exhausted condition, and with the same number of hit points as the PC (or lycanthrope) had at the end of the encounter.
Yallandra
XP 400
Female elf cleric 2 of Ashava
CG Medium humanoid (elf, shapechanger)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 13 (2d8)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +6; +2 vs. enchantments
DR 10/silver
Immune sleep
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +2 (1d6+1 plus trip and curse of lycanthropy)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +4 (1d8)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 4/day (DC 12; 1d6)
Domain Spell-like Abilities (CL 2nd ; concentration +5)
6/day - Touch of Darkness
Touch of Good
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
1st—(DC 14) bless, divine favor, faerie fire (D), shield of faith
0th (at will)—(DC13) create water, detect magic, mending, virtue
D Domain spell; Domains Moon, Redemption
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 15 , Con 12, Int 13, Wis 17 , Cha 12
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Casting
Skills Diplomacy +5, Heal +7, Knowledge (nature) +2, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +6, Profession (healer) +7, Sense Motive +7, Survival +4
Languages Common, Elven, Celestial
SQ aura, change shape (human, hybrid, and wolf; polymorph), elven magic, lycanthropic empathy (wolves and dire wolves), weapon familiarity.
Other Gear metal holy symbol of Ashava, masterwork longbow, 20 silver arrows, 1 dose of alchemical silver, mwk silver dagger, spell component pouch.
Daverar
XP 600
Male half-orc druid 3
NG Medium humanoid (human, orc, shapechanger)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 feet, scent; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+2 natural)
hp 29 (3d8+12)
Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +7
DR 5/silver
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d6+5), 2 claws +4 (1d6+7 plus grab)
Ranged mwk silver throwing axe +3 (1d6+2)
Domain Spell-like Abilities (CL 3; concentration +7)
7/day - Acid Dart
Predator's Grace
Druid Spells Known (CL 3; concentration +7)
2nd — (DC 16) barkskin, bull's strength
1st--(DC 15) entangle, goodberry, magic fang (D), speak with animals
0th (at will)—(DC 14) detectmagic, know direction, light, resistance
D Domain spell; Domains earth, fur
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 15
Feats Power Attack, Toughness
Skills Climb +7, Handle Animal +4, Heal +8, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (geography) +4, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (religion)+1, Perception +8, Profession (lumberjack) +8, Spellcraft +4, Survival +10, Swim +7
Languages Common, Orc
SQ change shape (human, hybrid, and bear; polymorph), lycanthropic empathy (bears and dire bears), nature bond (2 domains, earth and fur), nature sense, orc blood, orc ferocity, trackless step, weapon familiarity, wild empathy +3, woodland stride
Other Gear 5 silver masterwork throwing axes, 3 doses of alchemical silver, metal holy symbol of Ashava, spell component pouch.
Tactics:
I'm sure there are a few typos and misspellings, a long with some disorganization; I haven't had a chance to edit yet. So please, take it with a grain of salt :).
Also, bear in mind that many of these numbers are designed with level 2-3 characters in mind (and to be a stiff challenge for them); these numbers could be easily adapted to suit a higher-level adventuring party.
Anyway, that's the dungeon I made; I hope you enjoy it!
Dotting for interest! :D
Here's a summary/tl;dr of the dungeon and the idea behind it.
I made it because I have two afflicted lycanthropes in my party; this dungeon offers afflicted lycanthropes the opportunity to reverse their lycanthropy, or even master it and make it a boon. In the adventure we're running ("The Stolen Land", Kingmaker 1), I have it under a temple to Erastil, only accessible under the new moon, although it could easily be uprooted and planted wherever the GM wishes.
Room 1 - entry-room; barred by an impassible wall of water. PC's must solve a riddle to advance.
Room 2 - hallway. PC's must solve the opening mechanism on the door (3-ring puzzle). Their performance here will have an impact on their options in the final fight.
Room 3 - Shrine with 2 non-hostile lycanthrope NPC's. Possible social challenge. Contains pool of healing. NPC's brief the PC's on the final fight; the PC's must fully submerse themselves in the pool to enter a pocket dimension where the fight will be, similar to the astral projection spell.
Room 4 - small pocket dimension - PC's fight lycanthrope versions of themselves, in hybrid form. Battlefield has a central strategic point (healing fountain). There is a puzzle built into this encounter involving managing the phase of the moon overhead; Clever PC's can use this to gain an upper hand against their bestial selves.
This dungeon is strongly tied to Ashava (an empyrial lord), and the Green Faith. Imagery pertaining to water, silver, dancing, and the moon are common.
I'd love to get some feedback, and see what the community thinks!
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This is pretty great!
IMC, I'm likely to put it in the Tors because they are very familiar with the Temple of the Elk and most of the Narlmarches. Additionally, nobody in the party is a lycanthrope, so it's not a pressing concern. I've been looking for more material for VV so this is totally something I could include there, just with enhanced hazards.
This is pretty great!
IMC, I'm likely to put it in the Tors because they are very familiar with the Temple of the Elk and most of the Narlmarches. Additionally, nobody in the party is a lycanthrope, so it's not a pressing concern. I've been looking for more material for VV so this is totally something I could include there, just with enhanced hazards.
I'm glad you saw some value in it! :) You're more than welcome (along with everybody else) to use however much of it you'd like, and in whatever capacity you'd like to use it. I'd still love to get more feedback by anybody who's had the chance to look it over, though!
Brilliant! Dotting!
Posted a Map for the Addon on at Link
fixed it.
Thanks for posting this. I could use some advise though. Story wise, I had decided to add this as part of a longer story arc where the cult of Gyronna in book 2 was actually a cult of Jezelda intent on spreading Lycanthropy throughout the stolen lands. It would give me something I could add in here and there to spice up the story a bit and show that other forces than Brevoy and Pitax have interest in the area.
Long story short, they went into the temple after doing research on clues I gave including reference to Ashava. The original mission was to help an NPC friend of the group who had been bitten by a werewolf and gotten sick. They agreed to help him, up to and including accepting the affliction themselves to assist in the ceremony. This was my first shock. Several of my players tend to roleplay as loners which firts their backstories but they often scoff at helping others without benefit due to their more "neutral" tendencies. Hoping for the best, I let the NPC's really hammer home the negatives of choosing to master the affliction. I added some fluff to make it really sound more awful than normal including personal stories from the NPC's about how negatively its affected them, how theyre shunned, etc...
Of course you see where this is going. The ENTIRE party (6 players) with the exception of a NG cleric of Gorum decided to master the affliction and come back with it. I had expected 1 or two to be tempted but as I had not given the players any explanation of what exactly they would be gaining by keeping it I thought it was a long shot. The NPC's were also surprised, especially when one of the players who had paid lip service to a deity previously, offered to embrace Ashava with fervor!
I have some ideas how to handle this including ramping up my ideas of them having additional conflicts with the cult of Jezelda, but are there any deities or factions out there in the world who especially despise lycanthropes? I couldnt think of one or find one in my initial research. Any suggestions would be appreciated. As an FYI, their plan for now is to keep this under wraps in terms of letting anyone know they have it. So far they've only used it in situations that they dont care if there are witnesses...because they dont plan on leaving any.
