the entire party receives the
card known as The Uprising
instead. This specific card
can be played to grant
all of the PCs a +1 bonus
on attack and damage
rolls for the duration of
one battle. If the PCs
are outnumbered, the
card instead grants a
+2 bonus on attack and
damage rolls for one battle. The Uprising
can only be used once, and the entire party must agree
to use the card.
Burghers of Lepidstadt, rejoice! The Beast has been captured! Soon
the abomination will be tried for crimes against the good people
of Vieland. The Punishing Man now rises in the square outside the
courthouse! The logs have been stacked against his flanks and the oil
has seeped into his veins. The Punishing Man waits to take his passenger
to the depths of Hell! And soon, he shall have his feast...
—Lepidstadt Town Crier
Roughly a third of the way to Lepidstadt, having passed through moorland and dark, dismal foothills, you encounter the caravan of the Crooked Kin at the roadside as dusk begins to fall.
The Crooked Kin
The Crooked Kin are a troupe of performers and sideshow freaks who travel through Vieland and Lozeri entertaining the good burghers of Ustalav. The entire show travels in a caravan of nine covered Varisian wagons pulled by nags. The wagons are gaudily painted and depict the show’s performers beneath the legend, “The Crooked Kin—Ustalav’s Greatest Traveling Cabinet of Curiosities!” Each wagon has a front and back door opening onto cramped living accommodations inside.
Hearing rumors of the large number of people drawn
to Lepidstadt to witness the trial of the Beast, the Kin have
been making haste to reach the city to take advantage of
the crowds. The group stopped by the roadside to rest
earlier in the day, but one of their members, the pinhead
Aleece, heard some strange noises off the trail, went off
to investigate, and hasn’t returned. The Kin, worried
that she has now been gone for several hours in a strange
and dangerous place, are desperately trying to decide
what to do.
Meeting the Kin
The Crooked Kin consists of 13 performers, all people
with a variety of physical handicaps or deformities, plus a
handful of additional sideshow attractions. Though they
all have exotic (or in some cases, frightening) appearances,
the Kin are just honest performers trying to make a living,
and are concerned for the life of one of their friends.
The following people make up the Crooked Kin.
Hap Tarvin, the Flea Man (CN male human expert 1):
A short, hunched man with a distorted appearance, Hap
performs with his f lea circus, the Magnificent Carnival
of Miniature Wonders.
Kaleb Hesse, the Ringmaster (N male human expert 3):
An albino man with red eyes and long, white hair that
hangs below his knees, Kaleb wears a tall red top hat, a
long red coat with gold buckles, and striped trousers. He
is the de facto leader of the Crooked Kin.
Lidia Gerod, the Bearded Lady (NG female human
commoner 3): Standing nearly 7 feet tall and possessed
of a fine beard down to her waist, Lidia acts as a sort of
“mother hen” to the other members of the troupe.
The Pinheads: Aleece (CN female human commoner 1),
Lettie (NG female human commoner 2), and Poppy (N
female human commoner 1) are sisters, all of whom have
8
Trial of the Beast
microcephaly. Aleece recently wandered away from the
caravan and has gone missing.
Prince Zar, the Human Caterpillar (CN male human
expert 2): This Mwangi man has no arms or legs. Prince
Zar was once enslaved in a Chelish sideshow, but earned
enough money to buy his freedom. He joined the Crooked
Kin, where he is billed as an exiled prince of the “Lost
Cities of Darkest Garund.”
S’jeer, the Vudrani Princess (N female human aristocrat
2): Born with four arms, S’jeer dresses in exotic silks and
speaks with a thick accent, but she is actually from Galt
and the daughter of a fishmonger.
The Swarm of Clowns: These three men, Gerik, Josef,
and Tam (all N male human expert 2), each have an extra
limb (Josef has three legs, the others have three arms).
Besides their skill in clowning, they are also accomplished
acrobats and jugglers.
Trollblood, the Giant Man (N male human expert 2):
A shockingly ugly Ulfen man nearly 8 feet tall, Trollblood
entertains the crowds with fire-breathing and his feats
of strength.
The Wolf Child (N male child human commoner 1):
Supposedly raised by wolves in the Shudderwood, this
10-year-old boy is covered in hair. He is unfortunately
insane, but the three pinhead sisters treat him like a
younger brother.
In addition, the show also includes a pair of caged
goblin dogs, a morlock, and a giant frog.
When the PCs arrive, the various members of the
troupe are milling aimlessly around the stopped
caravan. Aleece’s sisters Lettie and Poppy are crying and
distraught, which in turn is causing the Wolf Child to
howl inconsolably. Lidia and S’jeer are trying to comfort
them while the others argue over the best course of
action to take. Trollblood and Prince Zar are in favor of
mounting a search party to find Aleece, but Hap and the
three clowns are reluctant to venture into the nearby fens
for fear that whatever happened to Aleece might happen
to them.
As soon as the Kin realize that strangers have arrived,
Kaleb emerges from his wagon to greet the PCs. Though
the Kin are naturally reluctant to trust strangers, Kaleb
does not want to risk the lives of his troupe in a foolhardy
search in the fens at night. Several travelers have already
passed the caravan by, repulsed by the freaks’ appearance,
and despite his somewhat sinister appearance, Kaleb
honestly needs help. In all his finery, he approaches the
PCs and explains the situation, assuring them that his
troupe are harmless performers who have lost one of their
own. He begs the PCs for aid, and promises to reward
them with a magical dagger if they can find the missing
Aleece. It should be immediately obvious to the PCs
that the Kin are ill-prepared to go venturing into the
fens, and that any rescue party they mount would likely
deteriorate into a disaster before the night is over.
Aleece’s Fate (CR 5)
Aleece’s tracks are fresh, and may be found with a DC 10
Survival check. The tracks run for about half a mile as
they head down into a boggy river valley, and then into
a densely vegetated, midge-infested marsh. The marsh
is a shallow bog (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 427), with
high reeds between 6 and 8 feet high that affect abilities
and movement in the same way as heavy undergrowth
in dense forest (Core Rulebook 426). Aleece’s tracks soon
all but vanish under water (DC 20 Survival check to
follow) as they continue for another hundred yards or so
Trial of the Beast
