The Starpearl Tower
When a changeling girl is taken by a coven of hags, a call goes out for her rescue. The coven matron locks her away in the Starpearl Tower and awaits the new moon. The hag intends to conduct a ritual to bring forth the corruption that has lain dormant in the girl’s soul since her birth. Can the adventurers brave the dangers of the Sodden Lands to save an innocent before she succumbs to the curse of her dark heritage?
The Starpearl Tower is a Pathfinder adventure designed for 5th-level characters; PCs should reach 8th-level by its conclusion.
Background
Fourteen years ago, the hag Velika seduced a paladin of Erastil named Heveril, corrupting him with her dark influence. His fall from grace was almost total and he committed much wickedness with his lover, but when she coaxed him in the end to take an innocent life he was overwhelmed with guilt and disgust both for himself and for Velika. He begged Erastil for forgiveness, swearing never to kill again. He wandered the mountains as a hermit for months until fate led him to the struggling village of Jula. He settled there, swearing to protect the villagers as penitence for his crimes.
Meanwhile, Velika gave birth to Heveril’s daughter and hatched a plan to use the child to bring him back under her influence. Velika and her two hag coven-sisters left the infant in Jula where Heveril had established a small church to Erastil, and come to be known by the locals as “Father.” The hag queen knew that the changeling babe would one day feel the calling to return to her. Though she mourned the loss of her beloved child, she focused on preparations for the return of both her daughter and her former lover, confident that they would all be reunited.
Heveril took the child in and named her Calla. He raised her alongside the other orphans in his humble church, but as she grew older he gradually became certain of her parentage. He kept the secret to himself and prayed every night to Erastil to help her overcome the destiny of her blood. Calla grew up to be kind and compassionate, though she longed to know her true heritage. Over time, however, her mood grew pensive and her temperament volatile. When finally she came of age the call was too strong and she was unable to resist its pull. She stole away in the night, drawn to her mother’s summons.
Getting Involved
PCs start out in the village of Jula in the Sodden Lands. There could be a variety of reasons for them to be there; they can be locals of the village, travelers passing through the area looking for work, or visiting friends in the area.
Corruption System
Throughout the adventure, PCs have the opportunity to influence Calla. Velika’s insight into danger alerts her to the PCs presence. She frequently attempts to scry on the PCs to prove to Calla how violently the outside world treats monsters like her. Several encounters have the potential to lower or raise Calla’s corruption level, dependent on the actions of the PCs. Each day that passes also increases Calla’s corruption to reflect Velika’s growing influence over her.
Chapter 1: The Caves of Salt and Blood
The adventure starts as Father Heveril emerges from the church of Erastil and raises an alarm. He announces that one of the orphans under his care is missing and he requires assistance in bringing her home. If PCs do not initially volunteer, Father Heveril approaches them directly offering them payment in return for their aid.
Father Heveril clarifies that Calla, the missing girl, is a changeling he found as an infant. He explains that hags transform their changeling offspring into beings like themselves through a dark ritual carried out under the new moon. The new moon is a mere week away.
Father Heveril does not reveal that he is Calla’s father, and instead tells the PCs of a sea hag by the name of Emelda who lairs in the coral caverns beneath Jula. He believes Emelda is involved in Calla’s disappearance.
The PCs depart for the sea hag’s lair, but are waylaid by bandits that also call these caves home. Further inside, they encounter a territorial dispute between vodyanoi and boggard factions which they have the chance to influence. After that is resolved, the PCs discover a fossegrim residing in the sea hag’s pool which they must deal with before entering the underwater caverns below. The PCs explore the beautiful, labyrinthine coral caves, which are home to giant sea life such as alpheid shrimp, sea anemones, and seahorses. They can make skill checks to use the seahorses as mounts for the remainder of the chapter.
Once the PCs reach Emelda’s lair, they find her ready for them thanks to Velika’s warning and hidden traps greet them at the entrance. Inside, they face the sea hag herself along with her ceratoidi guard and pet nycar.
Upon Emelda’s defeat, the PCs have a chance to interact with Calla through an enchanted mirror. This interaction affects Calla’s corruption score. After the connection abruptly ends, an enslaved nixie comes forward to tell the PCs about the three hag sisters. She believes Calla is Velika’s daughter and retrieves a starpearl from Emelda’s corpse. The nixie gives the gem to the PCs, explaining it is one of two keys they need to enter Velika’s lair – the Starpearl Tower. The nixie offers to heal them and invites them to stay for the night. In the morning she escorts them to the sea hag’s enchanted boat which takes them to the holder of the second key – a storm hag named Crescentia.
New Monster: Giant Alpheid Shrimp (CR 3)
This colorful aquatic creature is an oversized shrimp with a disproportionately large claw. It uses this claw both to defend itself and to fire stunning bolts at its prey. It is often found lurking among coral reefs and other submerged structures.
Unique Treasure: Starpearl
These black pearls are roughly the size of an average human adult’s fist and flecked with specks of silver, making the surface appear as a miniature reproduction of the night sky. They impart knowledge based on the current Cosmic Caravan constellations in the sky, granting bonuses on select skills and opening skill unlocks. It also acts as a luckstone when the constellation of the holder’s birth is in the sky and can cast guiding star once per day.
Chapter 2: Eye of the Storm
The boat steers the PCs out to the stormy sea. They must contend with a sea drake who attempts to capsize their boat before they arrive at their destination – a graveyard of ghost ships, clustered together within a cove. Though the graveyard is supernaturally protected from the brunt of the storm by Crescentia’s magic, the PCs have other dangers to overcome. At the entrance of the cove, PCs encounter a distraught merrow who they can either choose to help or fight before continuing to the ghost ships.
The ship graveyard is home to a crew of draugr, a shark-eating crab, and a number of reefclaws. After navigating through the mass of rotting ships, the PCs come face to face with the Crescentia, her incutilis-controlled servitors (including the young offspring of the merrow they previously encountered), a lacedon, and, if they aren’t careful, a swarm of jellyfish waiting just under the weakened floorboards. The defeat of the hag earns the PCs the second starpearl they need to access the gates to Velika’s lair. Another enchanted mirror gives PCs a second chance to interact with Calla and affect her corruption score before her image disappears.
Chapter 3: Confrontation with Destiny
With both starpearl keys in hand, the PCs sail through the storm to the rocky isle that houses the Starpearl Tower – an ancient astronomy tower from the fallen nation of Lirgen. This relic is now the domain of the star hag, Velika, and her wicked followers.
Two karkinoi guards await the PCs at the gate, ready to attack. Once they have been defeated, the PCs use the starpearl keys to open the enchanted portal gate and enter the tower. On the ground level, the PCs encounter a pair of enlightened contemplatives who guard the secrets of their deceased Lirgeni masters. They test the PCs with a series of puzzles so they may prove themselves worthy to move further into the tower. If they fail, they face a cephalophore guardian. If they pass, they receive temporary sanctuary to rest.
On the upper floors, they must contend with creatures from the void such as newly hatched lunarma and a fiendish mothman who hunts the PCs at the star hag’s command. At the top floor, PCs enter an observatory with a massive armillary sphere. Floating in the center of the quickly spinning bands, Velika reveals the truth of Father Heveril’s involvement along with his sinister past. She explains her desire to use Father Heveril’s affection for Calla to lure him back to the tower so they can be reunited as a family. Velika refuses to allow the PCs to take Calla, and will fight to the death with her witch underlings at her side.
New Monster: Star Hag (CR 9)
In their true form, these gaunt creatures appear as emaciated old women with solid black eyes and wild, pale hair, streaked with black. They have a connection to the void and use the stars for divination. Their cold and breath-stealing powers are made more dangerous by their uncanny ability to know when danger is near.
New Location: The Starpearl Tower
The Starpearl Tower was originally a remote observation tower for some of Lirgen’s greatest astronomers. Since the destruction of the great nation, it has since fallen into the hands of a hag coven whose leader uses it as her lair. The structure is composed of five floors and features an extensive library, living quarters, laboratories, and an impressive observatory. The main gate is a magically warded portal and can only be accessed by matching the constellations on the surface of two starpearls with the ones programed into the gate, making it difficult for unwanted guests to enter.
Conclusion
Once Velika is defeated, the PCs find Calla in the room beyond. She is conflicted about the events that have occurred. The PCs must convince her to turn away from her hag heritage if they want her to return to Jula. The results of their diplomacy checks are modified by Calla’s total corruption score. If they succeed, the locals declare the PCs to be heroes. Father Heveril apologizes for his deception and offers them humble payment from the church’s coffers. Calla thanks the PCs for rescuing her, regretful for her mother’s fate but happy to be spared from transforming into a monster. If not, or if the PCs do not reach Calla before the new moon, she could become a new threat to the area, replacing the slain hags and starting a new coven.
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