I'm designing an encounter to take place in the remains of an opera house thirty years after it burnt down.
During their investigation the PCs learn that 240 years prior the city had been a bastion of a heretic faith, whose practices were deemed so foul that a crusade was launched against them by the Order of Immaculate Fury - a sect devoted to the worship of Iomedae. Those who repented were given a quick, merciful death. Those that did not were made to suffer unspeakably in a pit dug in the town square. The entire population of the city was killed except for a small noble family that had been traveling at the time. Centuries later the crusaders still maintain a fortress cathedral and the old town square had been built over many times, most recently with the Theatre Maurou.
Jean Marie Rieux was the last scion of that noble family, who had nursed their hatred for the crusader's descendants through the centuries. The Carnival of the Condemned was partly a retelling of the genocide of his people and partly his revenge. He plotted to seal the doors of the opera house and unleash the horrible things trapped in the pit, touching off an undead plague. The head of the Order of Immaculate Fury, learning of the plot too late to save those in the theatre, decided to burn down the theatre to save the city. The lieutenant in charge decided that any witnesses who identified the War Priests as such be thrown into the fire to share the fate of the damned theatre-goers. The last of these was Marcel Montastruc - the poster artist who is the source of the haunts.
The party will be 6th level at the start of the adventure. I'd like to have at least 3-4 combats and several haunts. Here are my thoughts so far:
- The "horrible things trapped in the pit" should be be a pair of Bodaks (a CR 10 battle but the party has several abilities that make them effective against undead).
- Marcel Montastruc is a ghost (human expert 7), trapped in eternal anguish and confusion over his fate. He can only be set to rest by exposing the crimes of the Order of Immaculate Fury. The Order (LN) knows this and works actively to thwart those seeking to investigate the exact nature of the fire.
- Some of the trapped theatre goers have become wraiths and the previous Prince-Bishop will be an advanced wraith (and identifiable as the Prince-Bishop to those who have seen his portrait).
- Others appear as weaker undead, maybe hordes and hordes of skeletons sheathed in spectral fire.
What do you think? Do the undead I've selected make sense in the context? Are their power levels appropriate? Any suggestions for haunts?
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Power level seems reasonable. You might want to mix it up a bit on creature-type though, throwing in a Daemon still sitting there getting fat on the anguish, or some aberrations or other creepy things that have moved in since the place burned down. Maybe have some operatives of the Order show up just as the PCs are there as well...
Power level seems reasonable. You might want to mix it up a bit on creature-type though, throwing in a Daemon still sitting there getting fat on the anguish, or some aberrations or other creepy things that have moved in since the place burned down. Maybe have some operatives of the Order show up just as the PCs are there as well...
That makes good sense.
Maybe the heretic religion bound a daemon to a subterranean altar beneath the theatre that the crusaders had never found. Instead of the two Bodaks perhaps Reiux was planning on unleashing a leukodaemon or similar.
I really like the idea of the Order showing up as a wild card. Even within the Order there would be political divisions, one favoring openness the other working hard to keep their shameful past a secret.
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Seems like you have plenty of beasties they can stand up and fight against.
No real need to add more.
I suggest adding a Haunt (as you had considered already, I just noticed). Something along the lines of Plummeting Inferno or Crematory Blast.
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This all looks good. One thing I couldn't resist putting in would be a toned down banshee. A keening wail from a ghostly opera singer would be quite creepy to me.