SECTION SEVEN: In Armageddon's Shadow
The city of Celwynvian hides a terrible sin. For countless centuries the elves of the Mierani Forest have barred outsiders from the fabled City of Emerald Rains, in a desperate attempt to contain an ancient shame. The Drow.
In the battle to retake the ancient city, the heroes join in the final assault on the Drow Headquarters...
New level HP generation convention:
Roll vs average+1, whatever is higher.
_____PLACES_____
CRYING LEAF:
Crying Leaf
Village conventional (ruling noble); AL CG
GP Limit 200 gp*; Assets 7,800 gp
Demographics
Population 780
Type isolated (elf 98%, half-elf 2%)
Authority Figures
Eviana Nirgassan, CG female elf sorcerer 7 (leader of Crying
Leaf ); Kaerishiel Neirenar, LN male elf ranger 8 (leader of
local chapter of the Shin’Rakorath)
*Although the GP Limit of Crying Leaf is only 200 gp, supply
merchants from Kyonin teleport in on a monthly basis, at
which point special requests for additional
purchases can be made against a GP limit
of 100,000 gp; objects purchased are
delivered the next day via a second
teleporting merchant.
In the depths of the Mierani Forest, the vital green
trees, thick with leaves and hung with cascading
vines, give way to cracked and spindly trunks bowed
under the weight of withered greenery. Farther in still,
the trees die out completely, leaving behind gnarled shells
stretching blighted branches to the sky. In the depths lies
a vast, ominous crater filled with pools of sickly water,
a foul memorial to an ancient calamity. Beyond stand
the remains of the elven city of Celwynvian, the City of
Emerald Rains, ruined, defiant, and shrouded by a haze
of green where the sheltering Mierani Forest still seeks to
heal an ancient wound.
Untold centuries have passed since Celwynvian thrived
as an elven center for culture, trade, and research. After its
abandonment almost 10,000 years ago, Celwynvian stood
empty while the forest encroached upon it and wild animals
made it their home. After the elves’ return to Golarion,
they came to Celwynvian only to find the wild animals
were the least of their worries. The city’s enchantments
had faded and become unstable; dragons, monsters, and
undead inhabited the streets. Worst of all, a secret shame
had claimed the city for its own foul devices: dark elves,
having breached the world of light by perverting an
ancient elf gate within the Academy of the Arts. Desperate
to keep the perversion from the eyes of other races, the
elves declared Celwynvian off-limits to visitors and set up
a guard around the city. It would become a blockade that
would last for centuries and hide the fate of the ancient city
from all beyond the Mierani.
Even after the passage of ages, great treasures remain
in Celwynvian, along with knowledge and research the
elves have long feared irretrievable. To explorers of iron
courage, the vaults and secret storerooms laying hidden
beneath the rubble of the City of Emerald Rains offer great
rewards. But the challenges lurking within the city’s shell
are dangerous at best and insurmountable at worst, and
more than one treasure-hunter has breached Celwynvian’s
defenses, never to emerge again.
_____THINGS_____
DEEPORA'S JOURNAL:
The book is written in Undercommon and is the Journal of someone named Depora.
Some of the book seems to be a ledger of sorts that lists all of the money Saul had been funneling to her, along with several notes of what that money was spent on (mostly alchemical supplies, spell components, and exotic food to be shipped to "Devil’s Elbow"—these shipments were always made at night and by different sailors from whom Depora was careful to hide her true nature).
Most of the book seems to be a list of all of the strange and exotic weather effects and other unusual phenomena that have occurred in Riddleport over the past several months. All of these, including the Blot itself, are indicated in the journal as “strange and eldritch side effects from the charging of the glyphs on Devil’s Elbow,” and that “It would do to further refine the glyphs to minimize such blatant displays lest the enemy receive further warning of the impending apocalypse than we wish to reveal.”
The journal goes on to theorize that as soon as the “glyphs are activated and the star is plucked,” the strange side effects such as the shadow in the sky should vanish immediately. The last journal entry indicates that Depora suspects that this event could occur as soon as tonight.
SHINDIIRA'S JOURNAL:
A character who reads the journal learns first of Shindiira’s (the writer) excitement at being accepted into House Azrinae, and then eventually her frustration and finally hatred for Depora.
Nolveniss is mentioned by name several times as well; Shindiira is quite explicit in the ways in which she plans to use him as her consort once she returns to him in Celwynvian with a large amount of noqual and akatas to show him her power.
The last dozen entries display a dramatic shift in tone, becoming an almost scientific list of observations of the strange meteorological effects that preceded the falling star, the impact itself, and developments afterward.
It's strange; almost as if these black elves actually CAUSED the island to be hit by the falling star... You can use these entries to piece together much of what’s been going on over the past few days on the island.
More importantly, the journal mentions several times an ominously titled event or object called an “Armageddon Echo”...
What is Noqual Skymetal?:
Noqual The metals found in fallen stars and on alien worlds are known collectively to Golarion’s smiths and sages as “skymetal.”
The most common (yet still relatively rare in the grand scheme of ores) skymetal is adamantine, as this incredibly hard material survives the scouring touch of atmospheric entry with ease.
Other variants of skymetal exist as well, although they are so rare that their properties are rumors to most. Noqual is one such material, and it has arrived in relatively large amounts on the meteorite that struck Devil’s Elbow.
This strange metal looks almost like a pale green crystal to the untrained eye, but despite its appearance the stuff can be worked as iron.
Noqual is light, half as heavy as iron, yet as strong as the same. More importantly, noqual is strangely resistant to magic.
An object made of noqual gains a +4 bonus on any saving throw made against magical sources (the object, not the owner).
Creating a magic item that incorporates any amount of noqual into it increases the price of creation by 5,000 gp, as costly reagents and alchemical supplies must be used to treat the metal during the process.
Weapons made of noqual weigh half as much as normal, and inflict +1 point of damage against constructs and undead created by feats or spells (this is an enhancement bonus to damage). Armor made of noqual weighs half as much; noqual armor is one category lighter than normal for the purposes of movement and other limitations (light armor is still treated as light armor, though). The armor’s maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, and armor check penalties are lessened by 3.
The armor’s spell failure chance increases by 20% and applies to all magic cast while wearing the armor, regardless of the magic’s source or class abilities possessed by the wearer. The wearer of a suit of noqual armor gains a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.
Items without metal parts cannot be made from noqual.
Noqual has 30 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10.
Noqual ore is worth 50 gp per pound.
Type of Noqual Item -- Item Cost Modifier
Light armor ----------- +4,000 gp
Medium armor ---------- +8,000 gp
Heavy armor ----------- +12,000 gp
Shield ---------------- +2,000 gp
Weapon or other items - +500 gp
GM Only:
Recovering the notes and returning them to the base camp earns the PCs +1 BP.
Defeating the drow stationed at the Library of Dust earns +2 BP.
Neutralizing the chemical supply grants +2 BP
Creating the gargantuan horrible vapor cloud costs -2BP
Rescuing the elven scout party and Arivashniel +3BP
Total Battle Points earned: 6
