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In all, there are a dozen barbarians waiting at the campsite. At any one time, four of them are sleeping, four are relaxing in various tents, and four are on guard duty, hidden in nearby trees or standing sentry at the campsite’s edge.

Into the tomb:

Thick
fog fills every corridor (but not the rooms), obscuring all
sight (including darkvision) beyond 5 feet. Webs fill all
stairs from top to bottom as per a web spell, and every
intersection creates a minor confusion effect that causes
explorers to constantly question their sense of direction.
Lastly, a silent image hides all of the doors, making them
appear as part of tomb walls (DC 20 Will save to disbelieve
if interacted with). The iron doors (hardness 10, hp 45,
Break DC 28) are all sealed with arcane locks (DC 30 Disable
Device to pick) that reactivate within 10 minutes of being
bypassed—but several rooms include tests and tricks that
can cause the doors to open.

D1.
Both of the Black Sisters are actually quite
young—they view their youth as a mark of shame, though,
and dress in hooded clothes with high collars to hide their
faces. They hope that as a reward for helping to achieve
vengeance against Brevoy by leading a horde of barbarians
north, Gyronna will care for them in their old age to come.
Both have abandoned their personal lives and even their
names in pursuit of this singular goal.

skeletons and rogues in the mix to fight off the PCs.

The captain by name of Ash takes you to her boss. She leads you to a gambling house. Sits you off to the side and goes talk to a fierce man with scars. His fiery red hair and beard dominates his visage. Then you notice he has a hook for one of his hands. She comes back and states, "When he gets done with this game he will come over."

Myriana Bluff check: 1d20 + 5 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 18 = 37

They believe you and escort you to town. Passing by the check point and taking you to a temple for them to heal you.

The group of guard bandits stick with you. Their boss telling you, "My boss will determine how we can 'help' you."

In truth, the downat-the-heels barrister was chosen to represent the Beast precisely because of his inability to defend anyone and for his stutter, which manifests itself when he is stressed.

Although Gustav has no doubt that the Beast is guilty,
he plans to defend the creature to the best of his ability,
but he is struggling to find any kind of evidence in
support of the Beast’s innocence. Gustav is happy to tell
the PCs the circumstances leading to the Beast’s capture
at the University (see page 17), and outline the legal process
involved in the trial (see page 37). He informs the PCs that
the prosecution is using three recent crimes attributed to
the Beast to convict the creature of murder: the murder of
10 citizens of the village of Morast a year ago; the slaying
of six children in the farming community of Hergstag
7 months ago; and the arson attack 4 months ago at the
Sanctuary on Karb Isle, which resulted in the deaths of
Doctor Brada and his patients and the blinding of the
doctor’s assistant, Karl.
Gustav has interviewed the main witnesses from each
of the three cases to be discussed at the trial and has
found that their stories are very plausible. He wishes to
see justice done, however, and he is certain that without
evidence in its favor, the Beast will be convicted.
To that end, he is willing to assist the PCs with
their investigations (unless he is at court). His
role in court is to present evidence, crossexamine witnesses, and clear the Beast of any
wrongdoing. Because of his stutter, however,
he suggests that if the PCs find any evidence
that can help the Beast, it might be better for
one of the PCs to present it.
Gustav is very concerned about time. He
informs the PCs that the trial has already
commenced, and preliminary evidence has been
presented to the three justices. The trial begins
in earnest tomorrow, however, as the
majority of the evidence for the three
crimes will be presented over the
next 3 days. The PCs must act fast
if they hope to find evidence in
support of the Beast’s innocence. Gustav
suggests that the PCs investigate the
events in Morast first, as that evidence will be presented
tomorrow. They can then investigate the other two crimes
over the following two nights.
If the PCs have no further questions for him, Gustav
recommends that they go meet the Beast for themselves.

Setting the guards at ease their lips tell many things going on here. Their former sergeant drank himself to death 3 weeks ago, and has yet to be replaced, leaving one of the guards, Acting Sergeant Dun, in charge.

The guards are enjoying their newfound fame as the jailers of the infamous Beast of Lepidstadt.

He holds the keys to all of the doors in the courthouse, and is reluctant to give them up without orders from higher up.

You go to the acadenmy and find the head mistress Cleonora. She is the magister for the kingdom and welcomes you to study under her!

She also states, "You were... are in the group that was with the Lord Commander and Journe? Why aren't you helping him?"

Your hexes and spells have fully returned to you now!

Stalker is very interested and gives you some assignments.

You gather the information we agreed upon. You would be able to easily take out a dozen if not more bandit guards.

A few hours after leaving the others you come upon a patrol and they take you into custody. The lieutenant is a stern looking woman with a patch over her left eye. "What do we have here?"

You quickly find out that Bearik is the diplomat and connecting with him would be keen.

Burn the Beast!

I hear the trial’s first day detailed a long list of crimes against the Beast, three of which are to be used as the basis of its execution—burned alive in the Punishing Man, a giant pyre that is even now being raised outside the courthouse!

Ha! That fool barrister Gustav Kaple is defending the creature—he can’t even get a whole sentence out without stuttering! The Beast is as good as dead! I’ve heard that the prosecution’s case is watertight—murdering those poor children in Hergstag, killing all those
swampers in Morast, and burning down good Doctor Brada’s hospice. Hurrah for Prosecutor Otto Heiger!

Yes, I’ve heard stories that the Beast has done some kind things too, but it’s plagued Lepidstadt for far too long. Even if it did do those things, that’s just proof that the creature is mad and deserves to be burned!

Creatures: Twelve guards ward the courthouse and
keep watch over the prisoners held inside, operating in
12-hour shifts of six guards each. Their former sergeant
drank himself to death 3 weeks ago, and has yet to be
replaced, leaving one of the guards, Acting Sergeant Dun,
in charge. Dun has the same statistics as the other guards.
He holds the keys to all of the doors in the courthouse,
and is reluctant to give them up without orders from
higher up. The guards are enjoying their newfound fame
as the jailers of the infamous Beast of Lepidstadt, and
delight in tormenting the Beast.

Judge Embreth Daramid
Judge Daramid lives in a fine townhouse surrounded by
art in the center of Lepidstadt. A DC 10 Diplomacy check
made to gather information about her relates that she is
well respected for her even temper and fairness. Embreth
Daramid (NG female old human aristocrat 3/expert 4) is one
of the justices of Vieland and a magistrate of Lepidstadt,
but she is also a member of the Esoteric Order of the
Palatine Eye, a secret society of elite thinkers and scholars
with a tradition of mysticism (more details on the Order of
the Palatine Eye can be found on pages 70–75).
Judge Daramid invites the PCs into her home when they
arrive. She is in her sixties, with gray hair pulled back
tightly into a bun and icy blue eyes. She is a stern, nononsense woman who appears to be all business, but a DC
15 Sense Motive check reveals that Lorrimor’s death has
affected her more than she lets show, hinting that perhaps
their relationship was, at one time at least, more than
professional. She asks the PCs if they have completed the
tasks in Lorrimor’s will, and graciously accepts the book
left to her. If the PCs question her about the purple book
bequeathed to her, she does not reveal anything other than
confirming its title, if the PCs have translated that. If the
PCs have already delivered the other tomes to Dr. Crowl at
the university, she hands over the agreed upon sum of 100
platinum pieces to each PC.
Once the business of Professor Lorrimor’s will is
concluded, Judge Daramid asks the PCs to stay for
moment, adding that she is in need of some assistance,
and if Petros trusted them, then she might be inclined to
trust them as well.
Judge Daramid explains that she believes there is a cancer
in Lepidstadt, a darkness lurking behind the shadow of a
scapegoat. For many years the people of Lepidstadt have
laid all their ills at the door of a creature known as the
Beast of Lepidstadt—murders, thefts, and terror have
all been attributed to the Beast, but Judge Daramid
knows that many stories are exaggerations or simply
12
Trial of the Beast
Judge Daramid
untrue. She also knows that some people have different
stories to tell about the creature—about its kindness and
humanity, of how it has rescued loved ones or helped those
in distress. Now that the time has arrived for such kindness
to be repaid, however, no one dares to step forward and
challenge the Beast’s reputation.
As a judge, Daramid has a keen sense of justice, and she
fears the Beast will not receive a fair trial. The people of
Lepidstadt have blamed the Beast for too much and for too
long, and they want it to pay for its crimes, whether those
crimes are real or imagined. In addition, the judge has
some concerns about the crime for which the Beast was
finally apprehended—the break-in and theft at Lepidstadt
University. She is also convinced that the Beast’s capture at
the university was not all it appeared to be, for why would a
creature that is intelligent knowingly enter the university,
where it was certain to be trapped? However, to publicly
announce her suspicions could put her at great risk, both
professionally and politically. As one of the three justices
presiding over the Beast’s trial, she is unable to openly
intervene, other than insisting that the Beast be properly
defended in court.
What Judge Daramid really needs is a group of people
without local bias to uncover the real truth about the
Beast and its alleged crimes. The Beast’s legally appointed
advocate, a barrister named Gustav Kaple, is hopelessly
over his head and needs help—ideally someone to gather
evidence about the Beast’s alleged crimes and stand up in
court to be questioned by the prosecution. Such speakers
must have bravery in spades and silver tongues to match, to
ensure that if there is more to the Beast’s story, justice will
be done. If the Beast is indeed guilty, then Daramid can rest
easier at night knowing that she gave it a fair trial.
Daramid bluntly offers to double the PCs’ bequest from
Lorrimor’s will (100 platinum pieces each) if they investigate
the Beast of Lepidstadt on her behalf while expressly keeping
her out of the equation, as any hint of collaboration in their
investigations would put her legal objectivity into question.
She tells the PCs that she will deny any involvement in the
matter if pressed, but that if they do get to the bottom of the
matter, she will be very grateful indeed.
If the PCs accept, Judge Daramid directs the PCs to the
Lepidstadt Courthouse (area A), instructing them to register
with the court clerks as volunteer defenders for the Beast
and then meet with Barrister Gustav Kaple, to offer their
assistance in gathering clues to help the Beast’s defense.

----

The only other person permanently in residence at the
moment is Barrister Gustav Kaple, who has been charged
with defending the Beast during the upcoming trial.

The Barrister
Barrister Gustav Kaple (NG male human aristocrat 3/
expert 2) meets the PCs in the Defense Chamber (area
A21). When wearing his huge court wig, Gustav cuts an
impressive figure. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving—
Gustav has had several recent failures in the justice system
and seen his last six clients hanged. In truth, the downat-the-heels barrister was chosen to represent the Beast
precisely because of his inability to defend anyone and
for his stutter, which manifests itself when he is stressed.
Although Gustav has no doubt that the Beast is guilty,
he plans to defend the creature to the best of his ability,
but he is struggling to find any kind of evidence in
support of the Beast’s innocence. Gustav is happy to tell
the PCs the circumstances leading to the Beast’s capture
at the University (see page 17), and outline the legal process
involved in the trial (see page 37). He informs the PCs that
the prosecution is using three recent crimes attributed to
the Beast to convict the creature of murder: the murder of
10 citizens of the village of Morast a year ago; the slaying
of six children in the farming community of Hergstag
7 months ago; and the arson attack 4 months ago at the
Sanctuary on Karb Isle, which resulted in the deaths of
Doctor Brada and his patients and the blinding of the
doctor’s assistant, Karl.
Gustav has interviewed the main witnesses from each
of the three cases to be discussed at the trial and has
found that their stories are very plausible. He wishes to
see justice done, however, and he is certain that without
evidence in its favor, the Beast will be convicted.
To that end, he is willing to assist the PCs with
their investigations (unless he is at court). His
role in court is to present evidence, crossexamine witnesses, and clear the Beast of any
wrongdoing. Because of his stutter, however,
he suggests that if the PCs find any evidence
that can help the Beast, it might be better for
one of the PCs to present it.
Gustav is very concerned about time. He
informs the PCs that the trial has already
commenced, and preliminary evidence has been
presented to the three justices. The trial begins
in earnest tomorrow, however, as the
majority of the evidence for the three
crimes will be presented over the
next 3 days. The PCs must act fast
if they hope to find evidence in
support of the Beast’s innocence. Gustav
suggests that the PCs investigate the
events in Morast first, as that evidence will be presented
tomorrow. They can then investigate the other two crimes
over the following two nights.
If the PCs have no further questions for him, Gustav
recommends that they go meet the Beast for themselves.

Meeting the Beast
Gustav Kaple escorts the PCs into the courthouse’s cellar
jail to meet the Beast of Lepidstadt, currently held in area
A14. Read the following when the PCs get their first look
at the legendary Beast.
A towering abomination sits in an iron chair, bound with no
less than a dozen sets of manacles. Stitching holds together
this grotesque patchwork of flesh and bone, beast and man,
though the wires are so taut they look as though they may fly
apart at any moment. Its mouth is twisted in a permanent
sneer, and a shock of lank, dark hair clings to its scalp. The
creature slumps in its chair, a despondent expression upon its
monstrous face.
The Beast of Lepidstadt is ugly, kind, angry, and gentle.
It is also noble, terrible, incredible, and frightful. But the
Beast has been given its name erroneously. While the
creature looks like a monster, it is an intelligent creature,
and beneath the surface it is a pitiable thing with a soul.
Although it has killed before, the Beast possesses a
childlike innocence, and in each case the killings were
brought on by the victims themselves, who taunted or
attacked the Beast, causing it to f ly into a berserk rage.
Over the years, the Beast has learned to control its rage
somewhat, though the stress of battle inevitably causes it
to lose control and go berserk. After it kills, the Beast is
filled with sorrow and tries to understand why people hate
it. The Beast realizes it’s not human, and seeks to
better understand humans, even memorizing
the verses in an old book of Taldan poetry
it came across in an attempt to find some
meaning. Although it no longer makes the
mistake of trying to join human society,
the Beast desperately wants to be accepted,
and has returned children lost in the forest
unharmed to their homes in the hope of
gaining some measure of tolerance.
Even the Beast’s creator—the deposed count
Alpon Caromarc—now views his creation as a
mistake; the Beast could never be the son he
and his dead wife had sought. The Beast
is aware that it has disappointed its
creator, but does not know why. It
has forgiven the count, although at
times it forgets what it has forgiven.
When the PCs first meet the creature—
chained and beaten by the cruel guards—
it truly is a beast. It is dirty and miserable, covered in f lies,
and more likely to roar and strain at its bonds than to speak
at first. If the PCs can somehow calm the Beast down and
befriend it, they find communication with the creature
difficult at best. The Beast doesn’t fully comprehend its
predicament, and struggles to understand why the humans
have imprisoned and tortured it. If questioned about its
alleged crimes, the Beast only repeats, “I didn’t do it,” over
and over again. The only incident it has any knowledge
of are the events which transpired in Hergstag, the only
location where it was actually present. More details of the
Beast’s memories of that place are detailed in The Children
of Hergstag on page 22. Under no circumstances does the
Beast reveal the name of its creator until after the trial. If
pressed, it remains silent on the issue.
Play the Beast as a child in a monster’s body—it can be
amazingly gentle, insatiably curious, and a true friend,
but it can also be incredibly dangerous, uncontrollably
wild, and impossible. If treated with any degree of
kindness, the Beast soon develops a childlike, innocent
love for its “friends,” but if treated cruelly, it becomes a
raging beast worthy of its name. Do your best to portray
the Beast in a way that leads the PCs to feel sympathy
for the creature, eventually understanding that while it
looks like a monster, it most certainly is not.
The Beast of Lepidstadt CR 13
XP 25,600
hp 118 (see page 62)

I thought you were waiting until they were near to do recon? Please explain when you left the group, how many days of recon you did, etc.

You can easily take out most mid level bandits/guards and low level grunts. Their highest level would be 3...

Factions:
1. The Craterlords
Leader: Vrek Talshorn, an ex-military captain turned mercenary warlord.
Type: Bandits elevated to rule.

M.O.: Violence, taxes, extortion. Vrek keeps a tight leash on lower-ranked thugs.

Notable Trait: Vrek wears a half-molten obsidian helm fused to his face.

2. The Ashspire Compact
Type: Cabal of merchants and lesser nobility.

Leader: Lady Jorynne Vass, a cold-hearted economic manipulator.

Goal: Profiting off resource extraction and slave labor, selling Cinder’s wealth to foreign powers.

The People
Slaves/Laborers: Former citizens now forced into mining obsidian, harvesting alchemical materials, or crafting weapons.

"Freemen": Shopkeepers, artisans, and clerics too valuable to enslave—but tightly watched.

You find the broom closet.

1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22 Reina
1d20 ⇒ 20 Dog
1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32 Flouncy
1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 Rouquar

20 Olivira
25 inactive cultists
22 Sable
21 active cultists
19 Rouquar
17 skeletons
17 dog
14 ogres
8 Reina
5 Flouncy Magoo
1 huge ogre

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 Sable
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Flouncy Magoo
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 Rouqar
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 Reina
1d20 ⇒ 17 dog

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 active cultists
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25 inactive cultists
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 skeletons
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14 ogres
1d20 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1 huge ogre

1d20 ⇒ 20 Olivira

You track down Tristan either in Tazylford or wait until he returns to act as the Warden on the council.

In your time you are able to impress Stalker by tracking him down or requesting a meeting with him.

You can determine that the subject's behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect.

You do see they are influenced by a spell or more.

You slither off now, or still waiting until they get to town?

They are not undead or vampires. But knowing your knowledge on vampires you know they are likely dominated victims that serve as a food source for them. You would need to do a heal or perception check to look for bite marks to be sure.

You activate the ring Jellena gave you and ask, Anyone there?

You get a response from Alia, the sublime elf and wife to Matthew. "Hey dear, what can we do for you? Yeah Matthew is in a dungeon again. I am hanging out while he scouts it. So when he gets out we will swing by and pick you up. Meet us at North Gate."

Later at North Gate Alia and Matthew are drinking and waiting. Matthew greets you and asks, "You ready?" Once confirmed he activates his town portal ability and the three of you emerge in Owl Port.

We start to walk to the estates, the area thick with fog like normal. Matthew offers up, "I don't even think I have been to either estates, we can stop and get a guide."

He goes into the in to find Shatash finding her with a baby bump. "Hey Shatash has Zaidel been through?"

She rages out and comes out at Matthew who stands his ground but takes her lashing. "I am going to take that as a no. Will you please point us to a guide or should I talk with the mayor?"

Shatash grumbles, "So Zaidel should be here soon? I will take you to his estate. I want to see him."