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I hinted at this adventure in a few other threads - presented for your amusement is the result. This is designed for a group of 5 PCs between Books 2 and 3 of Rise of the Runelords, and includes Shalelu involved in the process. Enjoy!
Jasper Korvaski has a problem. His partner, Cyrdak Drokkus, has sequestered himself in the Sandpoint Theater, and has not been seen in almost a week. He's to the point that he's considering doing something drastic – breaking down the door and finding out if his partner is well. But first, a bit of backstory.
When last we left these two, they were returning from Magnimar, and Cyrdak won a trunkful of plays in an estate sale. One of the Pathfinders they escorted back to Sandpoint was a Chelaxian faction member whose faction mission was to sneak a book into his find. The party was unsuccessful in stopping him, so he succeeded.
Outbidding Zarta proved to be a bad plan. She slipped him a copy of The King in Yellow.
When Cyrdak got back to Sandpoint, he inventoried everything, and found this additional book with a curious symbol on the front. He found the first act quite boring, but was instantly shocked and absorbed by the second act. The play has inspired him, and he's spent the last two weeks redecorating the Theater's interior to match the setting of the proscribed play. In the heavens above Golarion, Aldebaran begins to brighten in the sky, and the stars are right. Hastur stirs in dim Carcosa, and Carcosa begins to take form in Sandpoint.
When the PCs arrive in Sandpoint, they'll find that things are relatively quiet – but Ameiko is worried about Cyrdak for Jasper's sake. “The old poof and I have had a rivalry ever since I came back to town,” she'll explain. “But just because we've never gotten along doesn't mean I don't want something bad to happen to him. I'm sure Jasper's beside himself – never has the Theater been closed this long. Something's up, but his stoicism is going to get the better of him.”
Once they meet with him, they'll find that Jasper is indeed deeply concerned – the paladin's outer display of impassiveness drops after they inquire. “He's locked people out before – me, even. He says it gets in the way of his ability to create. I've never bothered him during these bouts, but...he was acting strange, even before this. He's been like a man possessed ever since we got back from Magnimar. When I asked him about it, he just said that he's had an astounding inspiration from our journey, and that we would see his masterwork soon enough. Well, it's been over a week now since he locked those doors, and I...I don't know what to do.”
Part of his problem lies in that he's unable to investigate. “He's done nothing wrong, and I can't unlawfully break into the Theater to check on him. It goes against Abadar's code. But I have to do something. Anything.”
Presumably, the PCs come up with a way for Jasper to accompany them into the Theater. However, it's wholly owned by Cyrdak, and while Sandpoint has nothing against same-sex marriages, Jasper and Cyrdak haven't entered into one, so there's nothing saying he has any claim on the property. Belor would be a sympathetic ear, and even suggests that someone in the party jimmy the lock, but Jasper refuses – there's no legal reason for him to be going in there, so he can't. The Mercantile League is in charge of leasing and subletting land, so in theory, Jasper could be persuaded to do a “spot inspection” on the Theater. Alternatively, as the Mercantile League bought the land from the native Varisians, they might speak with Madame Mvashti to get her permission to enter. Either of these options (or another) would be enough to assuage Jasper and get him to accompany them on the trek into the Theater. (If they convince him to follow, use the 3rd level paladin stats from the NPC Codex.)
Inside, the lobby has been decorated with dark colors. The playbills that once decorated its walls have begun to fray and tatter at the edges. The place is silent and forboding, and the doors leading into the theater itself have been barred on the inside. The doors to the box seats have not been barred, but Cyrdak has cast an arcane lock on all of these using several scrolls he's purchased. If Jasper is with the group, he leads them towards the manager's office, which doubles as Drokkus' private quarters. They're a mess – papers are scattered across the desk, many of them spilling onto the floor. A fine table holds the molding remains of a meal of smoked fish and soup, with scant evidence that they were ever consumed. The bedcovers are a tangled mess – while it doesn't seem to have been slept in recently, Cyrdak's dreams were clearly vibrant when it was. Jasper finds Cyrdak's journal, and in it his detailed descriptions into the clarity shown to him by the play.Once they hear the salient points, a Knowledge (local) or Knowledge (planes) will give the players the name, and the basic plot.
Once they return to the doors, they will have to break them down – Jasper is fully prepared to aid Cyrdak once he's been made aware of the peril. Beyond, the theater's rafters have been decorated with bolts of a pallid yellow satin that gently sways, even though the air in the theater is still. The proscenium has rough stage props to suggest the entrance to a city, while the backdrop is meticulously painted of that city – beautiful and decrepit and alien all at once. Beyond the city is a monstrously large lake, and beyond it a crumbling palace, its cyclopean spires reaching towards the starry skies above. A Knowledge (planes) confirms this to be a represenation of Carcosa, the doomed city by the Lake of Hali before the coming of Hastur. Perception checks – the highest will barely hear what sounds to be the distant lapping of waves upon a shore.
As the PCs approach the stage, the scrim will appear to be more and more lifelike, until they can no longer see the theater any longer – they are not quite in Carcosa, but neither are they wholly on Golarion any longer. The Theater now exists somewhere between the two, and if Cyrdak is not saved, then Sandpoint will disappear from the map as did Lost Carcosa.
The diary will give the PCs the clues they need – Cyrdak seemed enamored with the story, and desired an audience before The King in Yellow himself. This likely means his eventual destination is the palace. They will need to traverse through Carcosa's shifting streets, ford the misted Lake of Hali, and stop Cyrdak before he breaches the doors to the palace. This isn't as easy as it may seem – Carcosa is chaos made manifest, and its streets defy mapping. A highly rational mind cannot make sense of it. Fortunately – or perhaps, unfortunately – a highly irrational mind can. Reaching the first encounter requires a Survival check DC 25, while reaching the second requires a Survival DC 30. While this is high, every point of ability damage done to a mental stat (Int, Wis, or Cha) grant a +1 bonus to this check. Additionally, if Jasper is with the group, his desire to be reunited with Cyrdak grants an additional +2. Should one of the stats drop to 0, then upon awakening, a PC will have gained an insanity. Failure to meet a DC 25 requires a DC 20+(current number of failures) Will save from the party, as the twisting streets and alien architecture take their toll on the party. A failed Will save here means that character takes 1 point of ability damage from a random mental stat.
Encounter 1 – The Marketplace of Trivialities
Eventually, the party will come to a crumbling edifice with the words “Marketplace of Trivialities” enscribed on its massive face in Aklo. Cyrdak's trail leads this way, through its halls. Within are row after row of unattended booths, each offering tempting and intriguing delights. Bottles of some forgotten brew, pouches full of pesh and other insidious drugs, leaflets suggesting temptations of the flesh in secluded corners of the Marketplace, and other such ways to pass the time exist here. Cyrdak's route through the Marketplace is not immediately visible, so searching will need to occur.
Leaving the Marketplace turns out to be difficult, as its stalls form a massive and ever-changing labyrinth of paths, all looping back upon each other. Finding their way out will require a DC 35 Survival check with the usual penalties for failure. However, there is another option.
Anyone foolish enough to try any of the delights here will find that they experience a euphoria unknown to them before – as though the weight of the world were lifted from their shoulders. If they have ability damage in any of their mental stats, they heal 1 point from each. However, this feeling is fleeting, and they experience an ennui of catastrophic proportions. It's then that the Marketplace reveals a previously hidden section of its wares – the final road, towards all manner of ways to kill oneself. A selection of stout ropes, pre-tied into nooses; a guillotine, its blade high and sharp; a selection of poisons, each deadlier than the last; and, perhaps most disturbing, a large stone structure with a strong bronze door with the words “Lethal Chamber” written in the language of whoever gazes upon it. This PC will need to make a DC 20 Will save or choose the manner of his destruction. Naturally, the other PCs may try to snap him out of this – well-roleplayed scenes will allow another Will save, with an appropriate bonus. Regardless of whether the PC is saved or they knock him unconscious, they will find Cyrdak's exit shortly thereafter. (He was tempted, but his desire to see the King in his horrid flesh pulled him from the depths of despair.)
Encounter 2 – The Lake of Hali
As they close, they finally see the Lake of Hali. It's not made of water, but instead a roiling cloud of fog and mist which seems to whisper unintelligible secrets as its clammy tendrils whisp upon the shores. At the far end lies the palace, and a retreating speck on that distant horizon is Cyrdak upon his boat. Shouting will not raise his attention. Fortunately, there are boats on the shore.
Unfortunately, that means subjecting the party to the horrors of the Lake itself. Halfway across, they will need to make Perception checks to note that there is a wave in the mist coming towards them. If they succeed (DC 20), they will not be surprised when a pair of massive tentacles lash out – a giant squid is beneath them. The squid has total concealment from the party (and they have partial concealment for it), and will not breach the surface of the mist until it has killed the trespassers on the surface. Swimming works like normal, except they have no danger of drowning, and will not sink wearing heavy armor. (Use the Giant Squid stats from Bestiary 1, with the Terror Creature template.)
Encounter 3 – On the Steps of the Palace
At last, they have caught up with Cyrdak, and he is upon the steps of the palace. He is beginning the slow and torturous climb to the top, and he is a disheveled mess. His face is a mask of exhaustion, but his eyes bear a frightful clarity of madness. “You don't understand! Everything became so clear after I saw the Yellow Sign! I would show it to you – to everyone!” They will need to make a Diplomacy check in order to get him to come back with them. If Jasper is here, then he'll grant them a +4. However, this is a hard DC – he is hostile towards coming back, and the DC to convince him is 29. If they succeed, they will be able to head out and try to return to Sandpoint. If they fail, then they need to defeat Cyrdak. Jasper will be too emotionally torn to fight, and while he'll implore the PCs to attack to subdue, Cyrdak will have no such restriction. (Use the 6th level bard stats in the NPC Codex for Cyrdak.)
If Cyrdak lives, then proceed. If not, then Jasper remains behind in Lost Carcosa with his dead lover. What this means is for another day.
Encounter 4 – The Return Home
The return trip on the Lake is again interrupted by the mist rolling away and becoming oily and black water. If Cyrdak is conscious, he will gibber in the bottom of the boat (which has changed form when the PCs were dealing with Cyrdak). “The King stirs in his sleep!”, he whimpers. “His mask begins to slip from his face, and soon we shall all see what lies beneath. He is coming. He is coming. He is coming.”
Undoubtedly, the PCs will row harder.
As they race through the now unfamiliar streets, they find that they have no markers to find their way home. Another Survival test is required, this time DC 30. Normal benefits will apply. If they fail, then they find what appears to be the proscenium arch of the Theater, but blocking the way is a strange radiance that illuminates the area ahead without any apparent source of light. Wherever the light falls, shadowy wisps writhe with malignant intent. It slowly floats towards the group, its loathsome light growing ever closer. Knowledge (dungeoneering) will reveal it to be a colour out of space, no doubt drawn here by the spatial paradox as Sandpoint and Carcosa are coterminous. They will need to defeat it before they can escape. They don't need to kill it – reducing it to half hit points will cause the colour to move on and seek easier prey.
Once back on Golarion, the link between Cyrdak and Carcosa is broken – the magic wrought by the magnificent pigments wanes, and the painting on the skrim becomes a normal work of art. Both Cyrdak and Jasper are overwhelmed by their experiences, and they lie on the floor of the stage, weeping openly.
If everyone survives, then one thing that will occur when the party returns to Sandpoint is that Cyrdak and Jasper will have married. “If my time in that other realm taught me anything,” he says, “it's this: we all wear masks. Some of them need to be removed.”
Lamashan 14 – I've glanced through the list of plays I've bought in this lot, and nothing has moved me. I'm beginning to think I overpayed for this auction. Still, maybe I can find something in this that can earn a few gold – not to mention outdo the theater scene in Magnimar again.
Lamashan 17 – Interesting. One of the books doesn't seem to be on the list. Then again, it doesn't have a title, so maybe they just left it off. I'm not sure how you'd write the squiggle that's on the front, after all. I'll add it to the stack.
Lamashan 18 – I can scarcely contain my excitement! My mystery tome is a rare work, one that I had heard whispers of, but never dreamed I would encounter! The haunting words from Cassilda's Song in the second scene of the first act still echo in my mind. Honestly, though, I can hardly see why this play has its reputation. The first few pages I've read have been above average at best, and hardly worth the fuss.
Lamashan 19 – By the gods! Act II! If I had not caught a glimpse of those opening words, I should never have finished it! The rise of Carcosa! The tragedy of Cassilda and Camilla, and the inexorable truths of the Stranger! The doom that came to Yhtill! All of it, perfect in its own terrible way! My words upon this page hardly do it justice. Never have I read anything so enthralling, so impossible to turn away from, the same way that the eye is drawn to a scene of carnage, that same heady mixture of repulsion and attraction. The question: can I capture this upon the stage? How can I not attempt this?
Lamashan 21 – I've told Jasper I'm to be working on my project, and I don't wish to be disturbed. He understood. This time, though, this time, I think I have something truly grand. I want the play to come to life upon my stage. When Cassilda gives her cry to end Act I, it should feel like it echoes through the streets of Yhtill. My illusions won't be good enough, but I've got a second plan. I'd purchased several pots of a magic paint during my trips to Magnimar with Jasper, and I always said I'd use them when the muse struck. When if not now?
Lamashan 23- Little time to write, there is much work to be done and little time to do it. Everything is so clear, the visions I see of the Lake of Hali need to be incorporated from my dreams. The Palace, the winding city streets, the twin suns, the night sky dominated by Aldebaran – if I cannot make this exactly as I see it, then I have failed to birth this beautiful creation.
(new page)The work continues. A distant pounding upon the doors comes occasionally. I ignore it. Nothing matters but creating the backdrop, bringing forth the path I see laid before me. There is no time to eat, little time to sleep, not when The Pallid Mask calls to me. The whispers I hear quiet only when I paint, and give me frightful insight into what to paint when I do not.
(new page)I know not how long I have toiled at the painting. Days? Weeks? Months? Is there still a world besides Lost Carcosa? If there is, I know it no longer. All that remains is to perfect the path – through the Marketplace of Trivialities, across the Lake of Hali, and up the steps to the Palace. I shall come before The Pallid Mask, lift it from his brow, and gaze upon the truths he revealed to Cassilda, Camilla, and all of Yhtill. The mask shall be shed.
Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
-Cassilda's Song, Act I, Scene 2.
Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.
Stranger: I wear no mask.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!
-Act 1, Scene 2.
Cassilda: Not upon Us, o King! Not upon us!
-End of Act 1.
Contributor
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Very fascinating - might need to use this myself!
I don't know how easy it would be to find (I read a borrowed copy years ago), but if you can track it down, look into More Light by James Blish. It attempts to describe more of the content of the play itself. You may not find it to your liking, as it involves a later author attempting to improve(?) his predecessor's work. (If I recall correctly, it added a racial element to the play.) Still, it's something. The collection I read it in was titled The Hastur Cycle , if that helps.
Have you read the original stories? (The Lethal Chamber reference suggests so...)
That's impressive! I was considering writing an adventure for my episodic Korvosa campaign involving a troupe of bards performing The King in Yellow, causing an outbreak of infectious insanity, but I really like your idea!
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The only thing I've read cover to cover on the Hastur mythos is Chambers' The King in Yellow, and only about half of that is applicable to what Hastur eventually became. I used several different online sources to flesh out my adventure - Wikipedia for general info on Hastur, Carcosa, quotes from the play, etc; The Yellow Site for more detailed information on the play's specifics; and The Road to Hali was instrumental in helping shape the trek through Carcosa.
I've only run about half of it, but so far my players are both excited and creeped out to explore Carcosa as it looms upon Sandpoint. They did not bring Jasper along, but my party's inquisitor hit the DCs exactly on the nose each time. (I didn't have Shalelu roll, mostly because I wanted to see how off target I was with the numbers.) Selene, the group's elven fighter, indulged within the Marketplace - and probably in the worst way possible. I mentioned that they saw sandalprints in a dirt path within the Marketplace that spelled "Follow" in their mother tongue. They'd heard about prostitutes that would advertise in this manner, and she went off to go whoring. She ended up having sex with a male prostitute in Carcosa. This can't possibly end badly!
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Contributor
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Ohh... dear. Some thoughts, spoilered for body horror:
The encounter ends in some horrifying internal occupant. Pregnancy is one such example - the child could even seem perfectly normal, despite being an agent of Hastur cloaked in flesh. A parasitic entity is also very possible, as is the idea of whatever's "inside" taking over from within. There's even the possibility that the "male emission" itself is horribly sentient and aware, able to spread corruption as it is, or "hitching a ride" back to Golarion.
For less overtly sexual approaches, perhaps it was all a dream - and not in a good way. She might experience it over and over every night, or see her one-time lover everywhere in waking hours - in the crowds of Magnimar, on a raft in Turtleback Ferry, as a decapitated head in Fort Rannick, among the sacrificed at Jorgenfist, as a millenia-old corpse in the Runeforge, etc. The man in the Iron Cages of Lust is another opportunity... especially if one of the alu-demons bears a suspicious resemblance to Selene. You could even place his (or Selene's) features on one of the denizens of Leng in Xin-Shalast.
Also, have her specifically notice things being yellow.
As always, make sure whatever you do is appropriate for your players. In case it's not obvious, my players do this all the time. If you're interested in more suggestions, I'll be checking back (partly to see how the story ends).
On the literary side of things, I highly recommend Chambers's The Repairer of Reputations. Among other things, it could be a guide to how those touched by Carcosa behave...
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Oh, yes, I read that. The book I referenced was a collection of short stories, and The Repairer of Reputations was the first story.
The obvious solution to Selene's decision is pregnancy, but I feel like that's overplayed. Besides, I'm not sure I want to deal with Hastur or whatever hitching a ride back to Golarion. Then again, there us precedent of Lovecraftian horrors mating with women and bearing foul young -the Deep Ones come to mind. I thought about something more esoteric, like she'd been impregnated by Carcosa itself, and something horrible would happen if the pregnancy came to term.
I think a more terrifying thought is that she might be a sexual Typhoid Mary now -maybe Carcosa spares her any lasting horror, but anyone she sleeps with soon has visions of the Yellow Sign, and comes to Hastur's worship. I've got time to think about it.
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So, it's been over a year, and I thought I'd come back and update what happened in game.
I've been keeping a calendar of the party's movements, detailing how long it takes for them to get from Point A to Point B, and it's come in handy a few times tracking incubation times for diseases or how long they have to wait before they can have a negative level removed. All in all, it's a great tool. So, when the party left Sandpoint for Turtleback Ferry, they had no idea that Selene was a carrier for an occult malady. The trip took about a week, and by the time they got into town, she was feeling the effects of the curse. She was moody and distracted, and was suffering from a -1 penalty to all d20 rolls. This persisted until after Fort Rannick, when it increased to a -2. A party death ended up forcing a trip to Kaer Maga to sell off the ogre hooks and what-not, but she also realized what she was missing was a good lay. She visited a whorehouse that specialized in male prostitutes, and her penalty was removed entirely.
After they returned to Turtleback Ferry, they headed up to Skull's Crossing, and dealt with the baddies there. The town celebrated them as heroes after opening the flood gates, and she found a good looking farmhand to celebrate as well.
Fast forward to the Assault on Sandpoint. She gets her rocks off before the stone giants assault, and the party heads off to Jorgenfist shortly thereafter. The trip took roughly a week, and she was suffering from a -1 penalty for all of the fights on the upper level. Shortly after they killed all of those baddies, she ticked over to week 2, and she decided to go looking for nookie with the recently rescued prisoners, and successfully seduced Gaven Deverin, who had been captured during the battle.
Once beat Mokmurian, they teleported everyone back to Sandpoint, and another party ensued. Some character development happened while Selene met up with one of her previous conquests in her room in the Rusty Dragon. One party member ended up proposing to the girl his character had been courting, which led beautifully into my Big Reveal.
Cut back to Selene in her room, spooning with the man she had just finshed having sex with. He was lazily drawing formless designs into the space between her shoulder blades with his finger, and he says to her, "Selene...I have to ask you something." She immediately grimaces - not because of connecting the issues she's had for the past year of real time, but because Selene has no interest in a serious relationship. "I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile, but there really hasn't been a good time. Until now."
"Selene," he asked. "HAVE YOU SEEN THE YELLOW SIGN?"
He then gets really creepy and obsessed, and while he gets a bit grabby, she's an 11th level fighter, and he's, at best, a 2nd level commoner. She tosses him out, and Ameiko is immediately concerned that he tried something. She mentions the Yellow Sign, and that sets off alarm bells for her. She sets up a meeting between the party, herself, Cyrdak and Jasper, and they realize she has some sort of curse upon her, which another party member describes as "extra-dimensional venereal disease," or EDVD.
So, a bunch of remove curse spells are prepped, and they pull off a DC 25 caster level check to get Carcosa's influence off of her. It's at that point that I decide there needed to be a fight, and I quickly grabbed the incubus stats and had them fight the prostitute that started this whole mess in order to permanently remove Carcosa's hold on Selene.
In retrospect, I wish I'd stopped the story there, and added some class levels to the incubus. The party killed the baddy way too quickly, and while I don't intend the fight to be a party killer, it was more of a speed bump. If I had to do it over again, I'd either give him bard levels, or a Dark Tapestry mystery oracle.
As it stands, there's still cleanup from this story that the party should probably take care of. First off, they know that Selene has been spreading Carcosan influence with her dalliances, so they're going to make sure that the people she's slept with in Sandpoint are taken care of. Which is a shame - I'd already started working up a story where Gaven Deverin starts having dreams about his dead brother Wade, giving him secret brewing techniques that would enlighten the town populace. Ah well, another time. I was able to hint towards that storyline before the bomb dropped, at least.
I've already worked up a storyline for Turtleback Ferry. The person she slept with there will have a literal case of hero worship, praying to St. Selene and gaining the powers of an oracle with the battle mystery. People have gone missing on the roads, and a few bodies have been found drowned, bound with black cord. The oracle wanted St. Selene to visit again, and knew that making it look like a cult venerating Black Magga would bring her and the rest of the party back. Of course, the party has changed a bit since then, so he'll be furious with her, because "SHE'S DOING IT WRONG".
Kaer Maga hasn't clicked with me yet, but honestly, I'm not certain a cult of Hastur worshipers will even register on the weirdness meter in that town. Way too much background noise. The best idea I have so far is that the party has to team up with a traditionally evil cult in order to take down this group of crazies. I have an inquisitor of Abadar...maybe an inquisitor of Asmodeus as well?
Looks great.
There was a King in Yellow adventure in Dungeon issue 134 if you're interested - I have run it before and it was a lot of fun. As none of my current players were in that game I had considered trying to use it, but I felt it would be a bit too cataclysmic for the campaign...
I still have the custom mini I put together for a particular mutated dwarf.