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Don’t go in there!
The PCs have been on the run from the city guards ever since Bracht the Flesh Peddler managed to capture and “replace” the local magistrate with a planted spy (Vissivio, male, doggleganger, rogue 5th). After rigorous detective work, the PCs have tracked the kidnapped magistrate to 26 Paper Street, a condemned house serving as the Flesh Peddler’s current base of operations.
To stop the Flesh Peddler, the PCs must venture into 26 Paper Street and rescue the magistrate, who is the only individual that can clear the false accusations levied against them.
This module is designed for four 7th-level characters.
Dungeon Features: Rising through the Flesh Peddler’s lair is a colossal aberrant growth known as the Arm of Ohnishamotan. This giant tentacle-like tumor originates from somewhere deep in the sewers of Katapesh and has since punctured the basement of 26 Paper Street and grown upwards through several levels of the house. The Arm of Ohnishamotan has the following characteristics:
• Its surface is a twisted mass of unrecognizable flesh that radiates evil and alteration magic.
• If damaged, it rapidly regenerates. It cannot move (save for the situation described below) and it is essentially a solid wall of flesh.
• If Bracht is killed, the Arm of Ohnishamotan emits a rumbling wail and slowly falls into the sewers of Katapesh over the course of the next 12 rounds. During this time, the house shakes violently and anyone inside not flying or levitating must make a DC 15 Balance check each round to avoid being knocked prone by the vibrations. At the end of the 12 rounds, the house utterly collapses, triggering the effects of an earthquake spell throughout the entire structure. From the wreckage, the blood of Ohnishamotan bubbles and roils, pooling into a black pudding that begins to terrorize the neighborhood.
Black Pudding CR 7
115 hp (MM 201)
Unless otherwise stated, assume the rooms of 26 Paper Street are 15-feet tall and are dimly lit. Also, assume all doors are strong wooden doors (Hardness 5, 20hp, Break DC 23) and are locked with average locks (Open Locks DC 25). All windows have been boarded up with enough wood to give them the statistics of a strong wooden door.
Any PC listening at the door hears the sporadic creaking of floorboards within (as the ramshackle house settles around the intruding bulk of the Arm of Ohnishamotan).
Assuming the PCs enter via the front door, they cannot initially see the Arm of Ohnishamotan as their line of sight is blocked by the staircase. Instead, they can make out a few flickering candles in the library (area 2A).
Anyone who spends more than a minute reviewing the notes or texts learns that the pillar of flesh running through this house is in fact the Arm of Ohnishamotan, a cancerous growth from another plane of existence. The reader must then make a DC 15 Will save or become shaken for the next hour.
The candles are minor versions of everburning torches.
This is the Arm of Ohnishamotan where it protrudes from the basement below.
The ogre is long dead. If anyone investigates the jars on the shelves, a live lamprey specimen suddenly lashes out, causing its jar to fall and shatter across the floor. The lamprey dies on impact, but the DM should have the PCs roll for initiative anyway (to potentially trick them into wasting precious spells and abilities).
Several of the organs have gentle repose cast upon them and therefore radiate magic. The icebox is latched shut with an iron bolt and anyone approaching it hears muffled voices from within.
Creatures: The icebox contains a captured Gibbering Mouther.
Gibbering Mouther CR 5
hp 42 (MM 126)
This is where Bracht disposes of “inferior” graft donors. Anyone studying the blood streaks notices that they converge towards the rafters in the tower 30 feet above.
Creatures: Up in the rafters, Bracht has grafted several tentacles and the maw of a juvenile brass dragon onto the Arm of Ohnishamotan.
Grafted Tentacles (4) CR 7
30 hp each (MM 20) Each of these tentacles have the attributes of an assassin vine except with Type aberration, Reach 60 feet, and they lack the entangle supernatural ability.
Tactics: The tentacles lie curled in the rafters and can only be spotted from below with a DC 20 Perception check. Once the PCs venture onto the landing, the tentacles drop downward and attempt to initiate surprise grapple attacks. Each tentacle may lift a successfully-grappled opponent upwards at a speed of 15 feet per round.
Traps: The tentacles hoist grappled victims into a dragon maw trap which is grafted onto the Arm of Ohnishamotan amidst the rafters 30 feet above the floor. Anyone who realizes they are about to be dragged into a gaping maw receives a one-time free attempt to break a grapple (+4 bonus).
Dragon Maw Trap CR 4
Type mechanical; Search DC 20; Disable Device NA
===== Effects =====
Trigger proximity; Reset automatic;
Effects bite; single target; Atk +16 melee; 2d6+4
Something about the Flesh Peddler’s unique brand of madness compels him to meticulously maintain his personal space, even while everything else around him is in chaos.
Creatures: Bracht’s flesh golem valet stands at attention along the southern wall. The Flesh Peddler feels a strong personal connection with his creation which he has named “Evelyn.” Evelyn stands guard next to a secret panel (Perception check DC 15 to locate) beyond which can be found a spiral staircase leading down to the basement (area 6). Evelyn has been instructed to attack any intruders entering the room.
Evelyn (Flesh Golem) CR 7
hp 79 (MM 135)
Supernatural Ability: Evelyn has a breath weapon gland of brass dragon grafted to her shoulder, allowing her to cast a 30-foot cone of sleep once per day (DC 18 Will save or sleep for 1d6+5 rounds)
Tactics: Evelyn begins combat with a blast from her cone of sleep and then closes in to clobber anyone still standing.
The basement of 26 Paper Street is flooded with fetid water to a depth of 3 feet.
Creatures: Below the waterline, a mostly-intact aboleth has been grafted onto the Arm of Ohnishamotan. Even after the graft was complete, Bracht had a difficult time controlling the rebellious aboleth, so he eventually gave the monster a partial lobotomy (hence its reduced intelligence).
Grafted Aboleth (CR 7)
hp 76 (MM 8 except with Speed 0 and Int 3)
Tactics: The aboleth hides under the murky waters, which effectively renders it invisible until it attacks. It attempts to surprise any PCs that wander into its 15-foot reach (marked on the map) and it initiates combat by making a full attack with its tentacles. Next, it dominates the strongest-looking PC to use as a bodyguard.
The aboleth maintains an illusionary wall that hides the entrance to the workshop (area 6). If the grafted aboleth is destroyed, the illusion is dispelled. If Bracht overhears combat in this room, he begins preparing for battle (see below).
The victim on the table is the kidnapped magistrate the PCs seek. He is a blue-eyed sorcerer and therefore very valuable to Bracht’s “work.” Despite his appearance, the magistrate still lives, but he is heavily sedated and kept alive only by a ring of regeneration that Bracht has slipped onto the magistrate’s left hand. Through this setup, the Flesh Peddler has secured a continuously-regenerating supply of heart tissue. Anyone examining the magistrate notices that his heart still beats.
Since capturing the magistrate, Bracht has spent much of his time here, forgoing food and sleep to continue work on his opus, a maze of heart tissue that he believes will eventually be able to animate the Arm of Ohnishamotan.
Creatures: Unless the PCs have somehow lured Bracht away from his workshop, he can be found here, working with the help of his flesh golem assistant, a brute the Flesh Peddler has named “Bateman.”
Bracht the Flesh Peddler CR 9
hp 63
Bateman (Flesh Golem) CR 7
hp 79 (MM 135)
Supernatural Ability: Bateman has a breath weapon gland of brass dragon grafted to his shoulder, allowing him to cast a 60-foot line of fire once per day. Anyone in this line takes 4d6 fire damage (DC 18 Reflex save for half)
===== Tactics =====
Before Combat: If Bracht overhears the PCs fighting the aboleth in area 5, he commands Bateman to block the entrance to this room and then casts stoneskin on himself. If there is time, Bracht opens a secret compartment within his operating table and quaffs a potion of shield, and a potion of protection form good contained within. Finally Bateman casts message to command Evelyn to come to his aid from the bedroom. Assuming she has not been destroyed, she arrives three rounds later.
During Combat: During combat, Bratch tells Bateman to attack any PC spellcasters while Bratch himself attempts to neutralize strong warriors from a distance with deep sleep, summon monster IV and black tentacles.
Morale: If the battle is going badly for Bracht, he attempts to cast gaseous form and seep through the ceiling to retreat to an abandon alley behind 26 Paper Street.
If Bracht is killed before he can escape, the Arm of Ohnishamotan begins to fall into the sewer (as described in Dungeon Features above) bringing the house down around it. Long after the dust has settled, the shrieking wails of the Arm of Ohnishamotan reverberate below the streets of Katapesh as the colossal aberration retreats deeper and deeper into the sewer system.