The Dreaming Heralds
Source: EN World
The temple has remained undiscovered in the woods since then, entangled in liana, until recently chanced upon by a teenager from one of the local farming communities. Despite many warnings from his parents, Devek Yarl would spend his free hours wandering in Merthington Woods, occasionally taking his younger sister Abella with him. One day, whilst alone, he came across the old temple. Unable to read the warnings on the front door, he triggered a trap when he tried to enter. A poison needle 3 stabbed his finger, covered in the same concoction the Heralds had drunk. Realizing he was injured, he somehow managed to stagger back to his parents’ farm, where he instantly collapsed into a coma.
This was 3 days ago, and since then his parents have been fretful over his condition. Unwilling to abandon his family for too long to seek help, Devek’s father Abel has camped out on the Baron’s Road, and hopes to flag down aid from a rare wanderer.
What do you know about the Woods?
"I don’t like them, they scare me. One time I saw a snake in there, as long as my arm. Jonquil told me he saw an owlbear once too..."
If the characters need further persuading to investigate, Abel Yarl can offer them some money. The family fortune is pitiful, amounts to 5 gp and 26 sp, but they are desperate enough to offer everything they have.
The Temple of Ra
The temple sits in an overgrown clearing in the woods. It is three stories high, and covered in vines. The building is squat and functional, and rises to a stone dome. The only markings revealing its religious dedication are on the doors to the outside.
There are walkways around the second and third floors. An Average (dd) Athletics check is required to climb up each floor. The walkway to the second floor is railed and characters would need to bend the bars (Hard (ddd) Brawn check) to gain access to it. A Small character could squeeze between the bars with a Easy (d) Coordination check. The third floor walkway is open to the elements.
Unless otherwise noted, the temple has the following physical characteristics:
Ceiling: The ceiling is 20 ft. high.
Walls: Walls are made of stone.
External doors: External doors are made of stone, and locked. They require a Daunting (dddd) Brawn check to break down, or a Hard (ddd) Skullduggery check to pick the lock.
Internal doors: Internal doors are made of wood. They can be broken down with a Easy (d) Brawn check Strength check. Some are locked where noted - to pick the lock requires a Hard (ddd) Skullduggery check.
Lighting: The temple is in darkness.
Windows: There are several mildewed windows to the temple on the second floor, which are trivial to break broken.
There are no random encounters in the temple.
Traps
The Heralds set many mechanical traps in their temple, as defence against intruders. Unless otherwise noted, characters attempting to find traps (e.g. by examining doors) can locate them with an Average (dd) Perception check. Attempts to disable traps can be made with a Hard (ddd) Skullduggery check. Checks to disable that fail with threat trigger the trap.
NPC Summary
Kaufra
Once a lowly Initiate in the hierarchy of the Heralds of Morning, Kaufra has spent the last century entombed in the temple as an undead shadow of his former self, pleading with the dark powers he worships for release. He appears as a male human with pale yellowing skin stretched tight across his frame, and is covered in many puncture wounds from the trap that killed him (see area 17). He wears the golden robes of the Hierophant, stolen from the body of his senior priest. The robes are covered in ragged holes from his death wounds.
Cursed to stay in the temple, Kaufra is tied to the necrotic energy of the shrine in area 18. He hates and fears all living creatures, and is terrified of sunlight. If the characters somehow manage to engage him in conversation, he spits bile and unholy curses at them, whilst whining and pleading for them to free him from his entrapment.
See Statistics section for game information.
The Heralds
The Heralds are the priests of Ra who built this temple as a place to sleep whilst awaiting their New Morning. All bar one were slain by Kaufra after drinking the sleeping draught. They have been raised an undead creatures over the course of the last century, some serving as guardians of the temple.
In undeath, they look much as they did in the life. The twisted magic of their animating force and the sleeping draught they drunk have combined to preserve their human appearance but has given them glowing white eyes. Closer observation reveals most have had their throats cut. They dress in flowing white robes, some stained with blood down the front.
See Statistics section for game information.
Lesser Hierophant Hemekef
The second in charge of the Heralds, Lesser Hierophant Hemekef is still alive, albeit in a magically induced sleep. He appears to be a human male of about 60 years old, bald and with heavy wrinkles. He wears the Lesser Hierophant’s robes, white with one band of gold around the hem. If left alone he will rise in 6 years, however if the antidote is manufactured and administered he can be awoken immediately.
GENESYS
When awakened he is confused, and continually asks about the New Morning, whether the forces of light have arrived yet, and so forth. If his situation can be explained to him he will be full of sorrow for his fellow Heralds, yet willing to help with any information he can offer. He knows the layout to the temple, the location of all traps and the history to the space. He is also a 5 th level neutral good cleric of Ra (Light domain), and can help with healing magic if given time to prepare his spells. He is a serious, devout man who fervently believes in the prophecy of his sect.
Award the character 5 XP for awakening Hemekef from his slumber.
Temple Map
GENESYS
First Floor
1. Temple Entrance
If the characters are following Devek’s tracks, they lead to the door, and back. Getting to the door involves getting past the pool.
The pool is filled with water to a depth of about 2 ft., and emits is a terrible stench of rotting meat. Any players who approach the pool will waken the snake that lairs here, basking just below the surface of the water. See Creature entry below.
The symbol on the door is a symbol of Ra. Below the symbol a strange warning is etched in Common: “Danger! Entry Forbidden! All Hail the New Morning!” If characters ask about the ‘New Morning’, allow them a Hard (ddd) Knowledge (Lore) check or a Hard (ddd) Divine check. A successful check reveals that the New Morning is an obscure prophecy foretelling the return of Ra’s forces of light to vanquish evil in the world. It is deemed heresy by the main church of Ra.
Close inspection of the door reveals a poison needle trap, triggered when someone lifts the iron ring that serves as the door’s handle – the trap has been triggered however. The needle itself can be found on the floor, smeared in a viscous gray-green substance. Due to exposure to the air the poison is no longer active, but a character succeeding at an Hard (ddd) Medicine check recognizes this as a herbal poison that induces sleep. The door is locked but the lock has rusted, and the door is trivial to push open.
Exploring the thick undergrowth to the right leads to the veranda (area 6), but it is not immediately visible from here.
Creature: 1 Giant Snake (Rival). The snake is only concerned with protecting its lair, but will attack any who come within 20 ft. of the pool. If the characters give the pool a wide berth, they can avoid engaging the beast in combat.
2. Entry Chamber
The ceiling here is 40 ft. high.
Ask all the characters to make an Average (dd) Vigilance check. Anyone who succeeds notices that there is a large circular area in the centre of the room, directly beneath the chandelier, that is not covered by dust. That is because this area of floor is illusionary, and covers a pit trap. See Hazard below. A character able to detect magic will notice a faint aura of illusion magic.
If the characters think to look up, it is possible to see to the top of the stairs here, where an undead Herald waits patiently. See area 15.
Hazard: An illusionary patch of floor covers a 10 ft. deep circular pit in the middle of the room. The illusion is purely visual and objects pass straight through it. Any character who steps on to the illusion must make an Average (dd) Coordination check or fall into the pit, taking 1d6 damage.
That is not the end of their trouble. The bottom of the pit contains a pressure plate that causes the chandelier to fall onto whoever is in the pit. A character falling into the pit or anyone who climbs down into the pit will trigger the plate. All characters in the put when the chandelier falls must make an Average (dd) Coordination check. If they fail they take 1d6 damage with a successful check reducing this by half.
Treasure: If the chandelier falls, the precious trinkets that adorn it can be removed. See area 15 for details.
3. Scriptorium
Both the entrances to this chamber are guarded with magical warding, which appears as a transparent sparkling barrier. Above each entrance way is a small symbol etched in the stone – an eagle-like bird (in fact a phoenix) surrounded by a sunburst halo.
GENESYS
Any living creature that touches the warding must succeed at an Average (dd) Presence check or take 1d3 damage and be knocked back 5 ft. A character can attempt this multiple times, but will take damage each time she fails her save. A character wearing one of the holy symbols worn by the Heralds is immune to this effect.
Treasure: Many of the scrolls crumble to desk when touched, or are blank, or contain worthless information regarding accounts or building plans. A character who spends time looking through the scrolls can uncover 4 scrolls covered with rare and beautiful calligraphy, praising Ra and the coming of the New Morning. They are worth 5gp each.
Allow any character searching the room an Average (dd) Perception check to notice that one of the shelves has a false back to it. This can be levered open to reveal a secret cubbyhole Alternately anyone who can detect magic reveals a faint aura of enchantment magic in the same area, from the 3 magical scrolls contained within. The scrolls are kept in individual ivory cases: 2 scrolls of bless, and 1 scroll of lesser restoration.
4. Kitchen and pantry
Magically preserved food can be found on shelves in the alcoves, mostly grain and root vegetables. There is nothing else of value here.
5. Dining Area
This feast was prepared before the sleeping ritual was conducted, and preserved magically for the Heralds to eat when they awoke. The food is warm, nourishing and very tasty indeed.
Treasure: There are two ornately wrought silver candlesticks on table, which would be worth 20 gp each to a collector.
6. Veranda
A character that opens the door to the veranda from the outside triggers an arrow trap set to fire at intruders. Any character standing directly in the door must succeed at an Average (dd) Coordination check to avoid the arrow, or take 1d6 damage. Approaching from the inside allows the characters to bypass the trap and disable it with no check required.
Closer inspection of the skeleton reveals it to be that of a small bear. A rusted scythe is embedded in its skeleton.
Hazards: Each of the statues is trapped. The most southerly one has already been triggered, but the others remain deadly. A wicked scythe lashes out from the statue base targeting anyone with 5’ of the statue. 1d6 damage is inflicted on any such creature that does not succeed at an Average (dd) Coordination check. Once triggered, the traps do not reset.
GENESYS
The Cellar
Within the cellar the ceiling is only 10 ft. high. There is a dank smell to these chambers.
7. Flooded Cistern
Creature: A swarm of 8 cave rats make this room their den. They attack anyone entering here, but will not pursue beyond the door to this room.
8. Trap Maker's Workshop
Close inspection of the tools reveals that they are specialized for creating traps. Half-finished arrows, scythes and trigger mechanisms cover the surfaces. By spending a turn studying the style of the mechanisms, a character receives advantage when attempting to disable any mechanical trap in the temple.
The door to the east is swollen shut with water. Upon opening it floodwaters pour into the room. Any standing character must make an Anverage (dd) Brawn check or be knocked prone.
Treasure: From the specialized tools here a character could assemble 2 sets of thieves’ tools. The weapons in the corner include 2 long swords, 1 short sword, 3 spears and 35 arrows. However, all the metal parts of the weapons have rusted slightly, such that the weapons are of poor quality, and have the Inferior quality. They are worth a quarter of their listed value if sold.
9. Storage Cellar
The Heralds used this area for storage. The boxes contain spare white robes, blankets, tools for stone working and some kegs of spoiled cider. Alas the preservation magic placed upstairs does cover this area, so none of the stored items have rotted or rusted, and are of no value.
Hazard: The winch next to the portcullis triggers a trap. If turned, a 10 ft. deep pit open up beneath any characters standing with 10 ft. of the door. They must make an Average (dd) Coordination check or fall into the pit taking 1d6 damage. The portcullis can be lifted with a Hard (ddd) Brawn check, or characters who thoroughly search the room will find a small lever in the northeast corner, hidden behind some of the boxes. Pulling the lever raises the portcullis safely.
GENESYS
Second Floor
10. Reflection Room
This room has dim light.
The Heralds used this area for meditation and gentle reflection on the glory of Ra. It is long abandoned and contains nothing of value. A short corridor leads around the staircase to a corridor, of which there are three small cells, previously used for individual prayer, but now empty.
11. Herbalist's Laboratory
The doors to this chamber are protected by a permanent alarm spell that makes a sound like a ringing hand bell. If the alarm is triggered, the Heralds in room 16 are awoken and come to investigate the source of the alarm, attacking any intruders they find.
This room was once the herbalist’s indoor laboratory, where he worked with the local plant specimens he gathered. Unwilling to let his precious plants die during his long sleep, he provided magical sunlight and irrigation to keep them alive.
Treasure: The liquid in the alembic is magical, and counts as 2 healing potions (i.e., painkillers, though the character will need a means of transporting the liquid.
Bundles of notes charting plant growth and herbal experiments can be found in a drawer in one of the tables here. Embedded in the notes is a short piece of text describing the manufacture of an antidote to the sleeping draught. It requires a combination of leaves from three plants (rosemary, blackvine and sundew), each of which can be found in this room. The leaves should be pounded in a spotless silver bowl with a drop of human or animal blood, and left to rest in sunlight for five minutes.
The glowing globes in the ceiling have a permanent light spell cast on them, that functions as sunlight for the purposes of plant photosynthesis.
12. Hierophant's Quarters
The skeleton is a human female, one of the raised Heralds, who was ordered by Kaufra to open this chamber, but triggered the spear trap that had been placed here. Characters who inspect the trap may make an Easy (d) Knowledge (Adventuring) check to determine how the trap works, and locate a small catch behind a loose brick in to the left. They may use this knowledge to automatically disable the identical spear trap in area 13. The chamber contains nothing of interest.
13. Lesser Hierophant's Quarters
The door to this chamber is trapped with a spear that stabs at any character that opens the door, requiring a successful Average (dd) Coordination check save to avoid 1d6 points of damage. It can be disabled as described in area 12.
This is the Lesser Hierophant Hemekef. He has the same deathly appearance as Devek Yarl, though is alive. More details can be found in the NPC Summary section.
Treasure: A pouch containing 40sp is tucked into a drawer in the desk.
GENESYS
14. Office and Treasury
The doors to this room are both locked
The chest is trapped to prevent petty pilferers with a simple poison needle trap. If a character attempts to open the chest without disabling the trap, he must make an Average (dd) Coordination check. If he fails, he is pricked by a needle and must make an additional Easy (d) Resilience check. Failure on this second check incurs 2d6 points of poison damage.
Treasure: The chest contains 2100 cp, 190 sp, and 110 gp, along with a small bronze key. This unlocks the door to the stairs leading to room 17
15. Top of the Stairs
Creature: The creature is a Herald (see NPC summary) who has been tasked with guarding the second floor. It will not move unless attacked or a character approaches within 20 ft., at which point it proceeds to move directly to area 16 to alert the Heralds there.
Treasure: If the chandelier can be removed, either by triggering the pressure plate in area 1 or otherwise, the trinkets can be removed easily enough. There are 7 golden suns and stars worth 5 gp each.
16. Dormitory
Some of the unfortunate Heralds came here for their long sleep but were slain by Kaufra whilst they slept.
Creatures: 4 Heralds lie here. It takes them 1 round to get up from their prone position and prepare to fight. If alerted either by intruders, the alarm in area 11 or the sentry at the top of the stairs, they rise and patrol the 2nd floor of the temple. They attack any intruders on sight, and pursue them to the exits from the temple.
GENESYS
Third Floor
17. Vestry
The door to the staircase leading up here is locked and can be opened with the key found in the office (area 14). A character attempting to pick the lock requires a Hard (ddd) Skullduggery check.
The spike trap that killed Kaufra protects the stairs leading up to this chamber. When a creature steps on the fifth stair, roughly halfway way up, it makes an ominous clicking noise. All characters standing on the stairs must make an Average (dd) Coordination check, with the triggering character adding b due to his position on the stairs. Any characters that fail the check are stabbed by one of the rusty spikes that emerge from the walls, for 1d8 damage. The trap resets after 3 rounds. As the characters reach the top of the stairs, read the following.
This is where the sleeping draught was imbibed. A character inspecting the vials notices a grey-green residue, similar to the poison on the needle found in area 1. It has long since lot its potency.
18. Desecrated Sanctum
This room has dim light from the candles on the shrine.
As the characters enter this chamber, necrotic energy flares from the shrine to each of lying forms, causing them to rise and defend the chamber.
Creatures: Kaufra and 7 Heralds attack all who enter here. The Heralds will engage the nearest intruder in melee, whilst Kaufra protects the shrine, casting spells if required. He will bodily prevent any character from reaching the shrine, however if 2 or more characters engage him in melee he is unable to block others. It takes a full round action to destroy the shrine, sweeping the skull candles from the top is enough. Once destroyed, all the Heralds in the temple collapse and rapidly turn to dust. Kaufra is then freed and will attempt to escape the shrine fleeing blindly into the Woods unless stopped.
Treasure: Kaufra has little need for worldly wealth, however there is a silver bowl carved with symbols of Ra that is worth 160 gp kept on top of the shrine for ritual purposes, which can also be used for the manufacture of the antidote to the sleeping draught, as described in area 11. The other treasure is Kaufra’s ebony-handled mace, the Eye of Ra. It is inscribed with Celestial runes that spell out holy prayers to Ra.
GENESYS
19. Walkway
This walkway was once to allow Heralds to glory in the sun of their god, but was closed as a security measure before the ritual. The scribbles on the bricked-over doors are the words “No entrance” in Celestial.
GENESYS
NPC Statistics
Herald (Minion)
Skills (Group Only):
- Brawl
- Vigilance
Talents: None
Abilities:
- Undead (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive underwater; immune to poisons and toxins)
- Undying (The GM may spend hhh from any check a PC makes to return one previously defeated Herald to an existing minion group, removing damage from the group accordingly; the GM may spend d to return two Heralds to a minion group.)
Equipment:
- Bite (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 1)
- Claws (Brawl; Damage 3; Critical 5; Range [Engaged])
Each Herald wears a holy symbol of Ra around its neck, showing a phoenix) surrounded by a halo. These are worth 5 gp each, and also allow characters to bypass the magical barriers to the scriptorium (area 3).
Note that the reanimation can be described by the GM as "a flare of necrotic energy reaching from the shrine to the Herald, through any intervening walls".
Wolf (Minion)
Source: Genesys Bestiary
Skills (Group Only):
- Athletics
- Brawl
- Perception
Talents: None
Abilities: Pack Tactics (when using the assist maneuver, wolves add bb instead of b)
Equipment: Bite (Brawl, Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 2)
Dire Wolf (Minion)
Skills (Group Only):
- Athletics
- Brawl
- Perception
- Vigilance
- Stealth
Talents: None
Abilities: Pack Tactics (when using the assist maneuver, dire wolves add bb instead of b)
Equipment: Bite (Brawl, Damage 7; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 2)
GENESYS
Brown Bear (Rival)
Source: Genesys Bestiary
Skills:
- Athletics 1
- Brawl 2
- Resilience 2
Talents: None
Abilities: Silhouette 2
Equipment:
- Claws (Brawl; Damage 7; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 1)
- Bite (Brawl, Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 1; Vicious 2)
- Thick Hide (+2 Soak)
Stirge (Minion)
Source: Genesys Bestiary
Skills (Group Only):
- Brawl
- Coordination
Talents: None
Abilities:
- Flyer (can fly, see page 100 of the GCRB)
- Silhouette 0
- Attach (After a successful attack, a group of stirges may spend aa to attach to their target. A character with stirges attached suffers 3 wounds at the start of their turn. As an action, they or an ally may make an Average (dd) Athletics check to remove the attached stirges)
Equipment:
- Proboscis (Brawl; Damage 1; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 3; may spend aa to inflict 2 additional wounds)
Giant Snake (Rival)
Skills:
- Athletics 1
- Brawl 2
- Vigilance 2
Talents: None
Abilities:
Equipment: Poisonous Bite (Brawl, Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 1; if the attack deals damage, the target must immediately make a Hard (ddd) Resilience check or suffer an extra 3 wounds. This counts as a poison)
GENESYS
Kaufra (Nemesis)
Skills:
- Divine 3
- Discipline 2
- Knowledge (Forbidden) 2
- Cool 2
- Vigilance 3
- Melee (Light) 2
Talents:
- Adversary 1 (Upgrade the difficulty of combat checks targetting this character once)
- Dark Insight (use Knowledge [Forbidden] to determine spell effects).
Abilities: Darkvision (When making skill checks, Kaufra removes up to bb imposed due to darkness).
Spells: Kaufra can choose any magic action allowed for the Divine skill, and may select additional spell effects, as normal. His favoured spells are:
- Inflict Wounds (Choose one target at short range and make an Average (dd) Divine check; if the check succeeds, this magic attach inflicts 3 damage +1 damage per uncancelled s, with a Critical rating of 2 and Vicious 2)
- Cause Fear (Choose one target at short range and make a Hard (ddd) Divine check; if the check succeeds, until the end of the character’s next turn, the target decreases the ability of any skill checks they make by one; the target’s strain and wound thresholds are reduced 2)
- Hold Person (Choose two targets within short range and make an Average (dd) Divine check; if the check succeeds, Kaufra can choose one additional target for each a and until the end of the character’s next turn, all target decreases the ability of any skill checks they make by one; if an affected character suffers strain for any reason, they suffer 1 additional strain).
Equipment:
- The Eye of Ra (Melee [Light]; Damage 7; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Gleaming [Add b to all attacks targetting the wielder])
- Forbidden Grimoire (A user with the Dark Insight talent can add the Additional Target and Enervate effects to curse spells with no increase in difficulty)
Ending the Adventure
If the antidote is given to Devek, he very quickly recovers. Award characters that successfully awaken Devek 100 XP. The Yarl family is extremely grateful and blesses the characters. They attempt to press the family treasure into the hands of the characters, (5 gp and 26 sp), and offer them board and lodging (albeit peasant fare and a night sleeping in the hayloft) any time the characters are passing in the future.
Continuing from Here
DMs wanting to build on some of the elements introduced here have several options. Firstly, characters that rescued Hemekef have a problem on their hands. The priest is hopelessly lost and confused in his new world, and would want to be reunited with his brethren in the church. Secondly, what of the Herald’s prophecy? Whilst most believe it to be bunk, perhaps there is an element of truth to it, and action must be taken to ensure that the way is cleared for the forces of light. Or maybe the priests were mistaken and the prophecy refers to some dark events that must be prevented. Finally, what other mysteries lurk within the green gloom of Merthington Woods?