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  IRONFIRE 
  PART 2 
  A 6TH LEVEL ADVENTURE IN 
  FOUR 2-HOUR SESSIONS 
  By ASH LAW 
  
   
  2 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Author: ASH LAW 
  Editors & Developers: Rob Heinsoo & Jeremy ‘JV’ Virden 
  Cartography: ASH LAW 
  Layout: ASH LAW 
  Cover: Patricia Smith 
  Illustration: ASH LAW 
  ©2016 Fire Opal Media, Inc. Produced by arrangement Pelgrane Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Product Identity: The following 
  items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open 
  Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, icons, place names, new deities, etc.), dialogue, banter 
  and comments from Jonathan and Rob or ASH, plots, story elements, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that 
  have previously been designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.) Open Content: Except for material 
  designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Fire Opal Media game product are Open Game Content, as 
  defined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open 
  Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission. 13th Age is published by Pelgrane Press Ltd. under the 
  Open Game License version 1.0a Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 13th Age is a trademark of Fire Opal Media, Inc. ©2016 
  Fire Opal Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 
   
  IRONFIRE 
  PART 2 
  
   
  3 
   
  Contents 
  Ice & Rock .............................................................. 4 
  INTRODUCTION ............................................ 4 
  JOURNEY TO FROSTFIRE ............................ 4 
  A WARM WELCOME IN FROSTFIRE ....... 4 
  THE COUNCIL OF FROSTFIRE .................. 5 
  THE ICE-MINERS CAMP .............................. 8 
  THE GANG STRIKES ...................................... 8 
  TRACKING THE BANDITS ......................... 11 
  THE BANDIT CAMP ..................................... 11 
  THE TRUTH, UNMASKED .......................... 14 
  Feast & Fester .................................................... 15 
  INTRODUCTION .......................................... 15 
  A FEAST FOR HEROES ................................ 15 
  A TOAST FROM THE COUNCIL .............. 16 
  ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ..................... 16 
  INVESTIGATION .......................................... 17 
  THE BROKEN TOOTH INN ....................... 18 
  PERFIDITY AT THE BROKEN TOOTH .. 22 
  INVESTIGATING THE BROKEN TOOTH
   ............................................................................. 24 
  GUARDS ARRIVE, & BACK TO THE 
  COUNCIL ......................................................... 24 
  Darker & Deeper ............................................... 25 
  INTRODUCTION .......................................... 25 
  VICTORY GOES TO THE PREPARED ..... 25 
  PERILS AND PITFALLS ............................... 25 
  DARK TUNNEL ATTACK ............................. 25 
  LOST IN THE DARK ..................................... 28 
  THE CHAMBER OF THE STAR MASKS . 28 
  INTO THE LIGHT ......................................... 29 
  Truth & Consequences .................................... 31 
  INTRODUCTION .......................................... 31 
  UP THE WINDING SPIRAL ....................... 31 
  BEFORE THE COUNCIL ............................. 31 
  Who is the Conspirator? .......................... 32 
  As a Skill Check ........................................... 32 
  As a Pure Role-Playing Encounter ........ 32 
  AND NOW MY PLAN COMES TO 
  FRUITION… .................................................... 32 
  MINIONS, ATTACK! .................................... 33 
  RISE OF THE FROSTFIRE BRAIN ............ 36 
  THE DUST CLEARS ....................................... 39 
  If No Phoenix Weapons Were Used in the 
  Fight ............................................................... 39 
  If Phoenix Weapons Were Used in the 
  Fight ............................................................... 39 
  If The Killing Blow Was from a Phoenix 
  Weapon .......................................................... 39 
  EPILOG ............................................................. 39 
  6th level Dwarf Cleric .................................. 41 
   
  Note – At the end of every session characters 
  should receive an incremental advance. 
  
   
  4 
   
  Ice & Rock 
  INTRODUCTION 
  The dwarves have promised to trade a meteorite to the 
  adventurers, but only if the adventurers first do a 
  favor for the Dwarf King. 
  The dwarven city of Frostfire has a problem—
  recent raids by the Orc Lord have caused the 
  Dwarf King to withdraw his troops from the area, 
  and criminal gangs and cults are taking the 
  opportunity to upend the rule of law. 
  The Dwarf King has agreed to trade the 
  meteorite that holds the key to stopping the 
  pernicious 
  star-mask 
  menace, 
  but 
  the 
  adventurers were to provide an intact phoenix 
  egg in exchange and have only a broken shell.  
  The Dwarf King’s emissary has agreed to the 
  trade only if the adventurers help restore the rule 
  of law in Frostfire. 
  JOURNEY TO FROSTFIRE 
  The adventurers are currently in the fortified 
  town of Ironfort, having just saved it from a small 
  army of star-mask possessed orcs. Frostfire is a 
  fair distance south of Ironfort and to get there, the 
  adventurers must cross territory controlled by 
  the Orc Lord.  
  This is a montage. Turn to a player and ask 
  them to describe a problem that the party faced 
  on its way from Ironfort to Frostfire, but not how 
  the problem was solved. Maybe the party was 
  attacked by a band of orc marauders, maybe the party 
  finds its way blocked by a koru behemoth, or maybe the 
  party encounters a monster lair. Turn to the next 
  player and ask them how their character solved 
  the problem. Go around the group until 
  everybody has had a chance to describe a 
  problem, and everybody has had a chance to 
  describe how their character solved the issue. 
  There is no need to roll dice during a montage, it 
  is purely a narrative device to get the players 
  warmed up and give everybody a chance to 
  introduce their character. 
  A WARM WELCOME IN 
  FROSTFIRE 
  When the adventurers arrive in the city of 
  Frostfire, they are expected, and members of the 
  depleted city guard form an honor guard for 
  them as they are led to the city council’s 
  chambers. The adventurers’ deeds in saving 
  Ironfort are well known, and the party are 
  regarded as heroes by the dwarves of the city 
  guard. 
  Frostfire itself is built into a mountain peak, 
  carved out of the stoneface of the mountain and 
  lining the caverns beneath the peak. Spiral roads 
  lead up and down from each cavern, linking the 
  various districts of the city together. At the heart 
  of the city is the ingeniously named Central 
  District, where the council chambers reside. 
  The adventurers are given a chance to rest and 
  clean up at the Axedale Tavern before heading on 
  to the council chambers. The major NPCs present 
  at the tavern are: 
  Bariv Wormbane— The overweight owner of the 
  tavern, which has been in the Wormbane family 
  for generations, Bariv will proudly explain to the 
  adventurers that the Wormbane family name is 
  from an ancestor who killed a white dragon—
  and will show off the dragon skull mounted 
  above the fireplace. 
  Russit Rubymaker— The red haired Russit is 
  one of the guards assigned to the adventurers, 
  and she is very concerned that the adventurers 
  are well dressed before going to see the city 
  council of Frostfire and that they behave properly 
  while in the city. She doesn’t insist that the 
  adventurers leave their weapons behind—
  instead she insists that the adventurers’ armor is 
  clean and their weapons are in good working 
  order before standing before the council (after all 
  the council will want to see exactly what help the 
  Dwarf King has sent to them). 
   
   
  
   
  5 
   
  Tssur Coalbelly— The rake-thin Tssur Coalbelly 
  is a merchant who deals in the ice and salt which 
  the dwarves use to preserve their food. Tssur’s 
  suppliers have had problems with gangs 
  extorting money from them which has raised the 
  prices of the ice and salt that he purchases. 
  Morg 
  Strongthane— 
  The 
  elderly 
  Morg 
  Strongthane is a former miner, his face covered in 
  scars from the accident that blinded him in one 
  eye. Morg lives on a pension from the Miner’s 
  Guild and is concerned that the city council will 
  raise taxes to pay for extra guards (or pay the 
  adventurers) to deal with the gang problem. 
  Morg doesn’t even consider the city to have a 
  gang problem, as far as he’s concerned the city 
  council is just trying to create the perception of a 
  problem so they can squeeze honest hard-
  working dwarves for more tax money. 
  Hendrake Grimhood— The cook of the Axedale 
  Tavern likes to hang around the tavern’s 
  common room smoking his pipe when he’s off-
  duty. He’s widely travelled, having been 
  something of an adventurer in his youth, and is 
  keen to swap stories with members of the party. 
  Hendrake also knows how to get hold of items 
  that aren’t strictly legal, so if any adventurer has 
  any unusual needs, he can fulfil them for a 
  nominal price. 
  Bella Cogsworth, a gnome— Bella married a 
  dwarf and settled down in Frostfire, and now 
  owns a shop that makes and repairs clockwork 
  items (mostly clocks, actually). Bella has heard of 
  other stores recently receiving visits from 
  dwarven toughs who attempt to intimidate the 
  owners into paying protection money. So far, few 
  shop owners have paid up, and everybody is 
  waiting to see if the gangs will carry out their 
  threats. 
  Ovri Cogsworth— The wife of Bella, she works 
  in the clockwork repair shop. Ovri is keen for the 
  adventurers to visit the shop so that if the gangs 
  do come to visit they will be scared away. Ovri 
  offers to cook a meal for the adventurers, and if 
  they accept, she will ply the adventurers with 
  drink and invite them to sleep above the shop 
  that night. Ovri tries not to show it, but she is very 
  worried about the gangs now plaguing the city. 
  THE COUNCIL OF FROSTFIRE 
  After the adventurers are rested, the guards form 
  up around them and, with great fanfare, lead the 
  party to the council chambers. The pillars of rock 
  that line the streets and hold up the cavern roof 
  are carved with figures holding glowing stones, 
  the pillars shedding lights into the streets where 
  light from higher caverns doesn’t filter down. As 
  the adventurers get closer to the council 
  chambers, the carvings get more and more 
  elaborate, and the lights brighter. 
  A GM trick 
  One or more members of the 
  council are traitors working 
  with star-masks. You don’t 
  have 
  to 
  decide 
  who 
  the 
  conspirators are right now, but 
  bear it in mind. This is a heads-
  up for you as the GM to let you know before 
  the council scene exactly what is on the 
  horizon in a couple of session’s time. If you 
  want to make on council member particularly 
  odious (or if the players find one to be 
  objectionable), keep this in mind. 
  The adventurers are received with pomp and 
  circumstance in the grand council chamber, and 
  the city council of Frostfire explains the situation 
  (see the section after the next sidebar for the councilors 
  and what they say/want). 
  At the conclusion of the meeting, the council 
  gives the adventurers their first task. The ice-
  miners (who cut ice from the glacier that covers 
  one side of the mountain that Frostfire is built 
  into), have told the council that their camps are 
  being attacked unless they pay protection to a 
  gang. The council wants the ice-miners protected 
  and the gang members arrested. 
  The council can’t give the adventurers any 
  help from the city guard—they are patrolling the 
  streets trying to keep gang activity (and citizen 
  vigilante mobs) under control, but they do issue 
  the adventurers with writs saying that they are 
  legally allowed to arrest people and bring them 
  before the council for judgement. The council also 
  supplies any mundane equipment that the 
  adventurers require (armor, weapons, clothing, 
  
   
  6 
   
  adventuring gear, etc) and gives each adventurer 
  two champion-tier healing potions. 
  Role-playing the council 
  This section has a lot of read-
  aloud text. You could just read 
  it aloud to the players, but it is 
  more immersive to role-play 
  each council member and use 
  their statements as starting 
  points 
  for 
  a 
  back-and-forth 
  conversation. If you go the more immersive 
  route (and I suggest that you should) have 
  each councilmember end their statement with 
  a question directed at the adventurers. Here 
  are some starter ideas for questions that the 
  council can direct to the adventurers: 
   
  What do the adventurers plan to do about the 
  cults? How do the adventurers plan to identify 
  cult members? 
   
  What guarantees does the council have that the 
  adventurers won’t cause a riot or burn down 
  houses and businesses? 
   
  Have the adventurers any experience with 
  gang-busting? What about dealing with 
  organized crime? 
   
  Do the adventurers require any unusual 
  resources to do their job? 
  Doubtless after a couple of councilors have 
  asked questions the remaining councilors will 
  have follow-up questions based on the 
  adventurers’ answers. 
  Sturm Goldflayer— Councilmember  Goldflayer 
  has strong ties to the miner’s guild. “The rule of 
  law in Frostfire is vital to our economic growth. If we 
  let gangs of criminals run rampant how can we 
  operate our mines safely, or brew, or farm? The Dwarf 
  King withdrew his troops to deal with the orc menace, 
  so now we turn to you to restore order”. 
  Brog Strongaxe— Councilmember Strongaxe 
  strokes his beard as he gives a dissenting opinion 
  “We shouldn’t have to turn to outsiders—if my fellow 
  council members would agree to raise taxes we could 
  hire more guards. What’s a few gold pieces compared 
  to the rule of law?”. 
  Nuram 
  Hammerbelt— 
  Councilmember 
  Hammerbelt settles back in her cushioned 
  throne-like chair “I’ve heard of what these 
  adventurers did in Ironfort and am confident that they 
  will show the same bravery here—unless they want to 
  walk away from their deal with the Dwarf King”. 
  Thar Stonehide— Thar cracks his knuckles 
  nervously “Personally I don’t trust outsiders with 
  this sort of work—they are likely to cause more trouble 
  than the gangs. Still, our own guards have been bribed 
  or subverted, so what else are we to do?”. 
  Daret Kegpike— Daret rubs a holy symbol as he 
  speaks “It isn’t just gangs, it is cults too. Gods-
  fearing young dwarves turning to the worship of 
  abominations. Terrible. Something must be done—
  and quickly!”. 
  Reid Runefoot— Reid smiles sideways at the 
  other councilmembers ignoring the adventurers 
  “If we raise taxes, we are the bad guys. If we step down 
  hard on our citizens, we are the bad guys. These 
  outsiders—if they do the job, they are heroes and we 
  get the glory. If they make things worse, the blame is 
  all on them. I see no way we can lose my friends”. 
  Mournbyrn Bristlearm— Mournbyrn sighs as 
  she looks up from a pile of reports and adjusts her 
  spectacles “Cults. Organized gangs. This all 
  happened too suddenly to be anything other than a plot 
  against the city. I have the reports here—it is all too 
  organized, too systematic, too… prearranged”. 
  Toren Longbrew— Toren made his fortune 
  trading dwarven ale to humans “I feel like I’m 
  staring up at the first rumblings of an avalanche. The 
  gangs shake down one business that has to put up its 
  prices to compensate, then the next business that relies 
  on the first has to raise its prices, and so on. Unless the 
  first rolling rock is stopped, I sense disaster for our 
  city”. 
  Drumlyn 
  Kragmaid— 
  The 
  good-looking 
  Drumlyn had a furrowed brow when the 
  adventurers first entered, but now graces the 
  party with a smile “These heroes are here to conclude 
  a trade with the Dwarf King, but I sense in them great 
  bravery and goodness. I’m sure that they will not let 
  us down.”. 
   
   
  
   
  7 
   
   
   
  
   
  8 
   
  Arrest, not kill 
  When NPCs drop to 0 hp, it usually means 
  they’ve been slain, unless the characters’ intent 
  is to keep the target alive and the attack seems 
  like a potentially humane blow that could 
  knock the NPC unconscious instead. Some 
  attacks, 
  particularly 
  when 
  gruesomely 
  narrated, don’t feel like attacks that can leave 
  the target unconscious, but we leave that 
  mostly 
  up 
  to 
  you 
  and 
  your 
  group’s 
  sensibilities. 
  THE ICE-MINERS CAMP 
  The adventurers are taken by a guide overland to 
  the encampment of the ice-miners on the Frostfire 
  glacier. The miners are glad to see the 
  adventurers, as it means that perhaps they can 
  stop paying protection money to the gang of 
  thugs that has been extorting them. Though there 
  are many ice-miners, some notable NPCs that the 
  adventurers might want to talk to are: 
  Dami Icebiter— The dour dwarf warms to the 
  adventurers and offers them steaming hot mugs 
  of soup. “It’s dangerous enough out here on the ice 
  without worrying about thugs jumping us on our way 
  back to the city”. 
  Raan Snowbrows— The stoic dwarf is concerned 
  with the shaggy pit ponies that haul the ice sleds, 
  but she has time to spare to speak to the 
  adventurers “We risk our lives up here on the ice, and 
  the council recognizes that. We don’t pay tax, and if 
  we get too injured to work we get a pension. The 
  council has always taken care of us, so I trust them 
  when they tell us that you’ll keep us safe”. 
  Durik Pickstrue— The ice-miner brushes ice out 
  of his bristly mustache and mumbles: “If the 
  council had been more concerned with us in the past, 
  maybe young dwarves wouldn’t feel like they had to 
  join a gang to get ahead in life. I’m not saying I 
  approve of those hooligans, but I do understand.”. 
  Life is tough up on the glacier. The air is thin 
  and burns the lungs, sudden winds can send the 
  unwary tumbling over cliffs, and the cold can 
  freeze even a hardy and well prepared dwarf to 
  death if they are caught without shelter. Each 
  adventurer must face one of the following 
  environmental hazards while out on the ice: 
  LONG DROP, 
  SUDDEN STOP 
  BITTER COLD 
  ALTITUDE 
  EXHAUSTION 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Fall 
  +5 
  vs 
  PD—3d8 
  damage 
  Miss: Half 
  damage 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Frostbite +10 
  vs 
  PD—3d6 
  cold damage 
  and lose a toe 
   
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 20 
  Collapse +10 
  vs PD—1d8 
  damage 
  AND 
  face 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  hazards! 
  THE GANG STRIKES 
  The ice miners conclude their business and start 
  back to the city of Frostfire when they are 
  waylaid by the gang of toughs that has been 
  extorting money from them. The gang has chosen 
  a part of the mountain far enough away from the 
  city of Frostfire that no guards can come to the 
  rescue of the ice-miners.  
  The ice-miners aid the adventurers as best 
  they can, but their main concern is protecting the 
  shaggy-haired pit ponies that haul the sleds and 
  are the reason that they can mine the ice at all. If 
  an adventurer drops to 0 hp an ice-miner will 
  dash forward to feed them any potions that the 
  adventurer is carrying—but that is the extent of 
  the help that the ice-miners can give. 
   
   
  
   
  9 
   
   
  Fight! 
  If the adventurers have thought ahead and 
  prepared (disguising themselves as dwarven 
  ice-miners, hiding under blankets on the sleds, 
  using magic to stay away of threats, etc.) then 
  start the escalation die at 1. If the adventurers 
  have prepared really well (probably involving 
  some successful DC 20 skill checks) start the 
  escalation die at 2. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Dwarf Ruffian 
  Dwarf Axe Biter 
  3 
  7 
  2 
  4 
  7 
  3 
  5 
  7 
  4 
  6 
  7 
  5 
  Dwarf Ruffian 
  7th level mook [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Ancestral hammer +12 vs. AC—18 damage 
  Natural even hit: The next dwarf to make an 
  attack this round against the target gains a +1 
  attack bonus to that attack. 
   
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 28 (mook) 
  MD 17 
  Mook: Kill one dwarf ruffian mook for every 28 
  damage you deal to the mob. 
  Dwarf Axe Biter 
  7th level wrecker [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Berserk axe +12 vs. AC (+14 vs AC if it used 
  unhinged combatant the round before)—20 
  damage, and 6 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit: As a free action, the axe biter 
  can make a second berserk axe attack against a 
  different enemy with a –2 attack penalty. If it 
  gets another natural even hit, it can make a 
  third (and final) berserk axe attack against a 
  different enemy with a –4 attack penalty as a 
  free action. 
   
  Unhinged combatant: When the axe biter makes a 
  melee attack and rolls a natural even miss, it 
  pops free. 
   
  R: Axe and chain +12 vs. AC (one nearby 
  enemy)—22 damage 
  Miss: 8 damage. 
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
  Spiked shield: Enemies that intercept a moving 
  dwarf axe biter take 7 damage. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 100 
  MD 17 
   
   
  
   
  10 
   
   
   
  
   
  11 
   
  TRACKING THE BANDITS 
  After the fight, the 
  ice-miners help the 
  adventurers tie up any surviving bandits, and 
  offer to take the captured bandits (and any 
  corpses) back to the council of Frostfire while the 
  adventurers track down the bandit camp. The 
  snow is fresh and the bandit’s footprints are 
  deep—it shouldn’t be too hard to track them 
  down and go through their possessions for clues. 
  The bandits are all either unconscious or have 
  been injured too badly to talk (broken jaws, etc). 
  Adventurers who really persist in questioning 
  the gang members will be able to discover that 
  there are further bandits back at the gang’s camp 
  and the area around the camp is trapped, if they 
  succeed at DC 20 skill check. If the adventurers 
  discover this information then lower the 
  difficulty of avoiding the traps by 5. 
  Each adventurer faces a trap, and depending 
  on the marching order of the party, several 
  adventurers might stumble into the same trap. 
  PIT TRAP 
  FOOT SNARE 
  DEAD FALL 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Spiked pit +5 
  vs 
  PD—3d6 
  damage 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Glass-
  studded 
  snare +10 vs 
  PD—3d6 
  damage  
   
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 20 
  Collapse +10 
  vs AC—2d12 
  damage  
  THE BANDIT CAMP 
  The bandits have set up the camp in an old shelter 
  hut on a ridge, built and maintained to aid ice 
  miners caught out in blizzards. 
  Sneaking up on the dwarves is a DC 20 skill 
  check. If the adventurers fail the skill check the 
  dwarves get a chance to roll rocks down upon the 
  party, making the following attack: 
  Rolling rock +12 vs AC (1d3 enemies in 
  a group)—15 damage.
   
  Fight! 
  Yes, one of the gang members is a dwarf 
  possessed by a star-mask. There is obviously 
  more going on here than petty crime. Keep the 
  star-mask’s identity a secret at first as it wears 
  a hood and a scarf covering most of its face so 
  that it looks like any other dwarven gang 
  member, but as soon as an adventurer attacks 
  the star-mask creature reveal it for what it is. 
  Unlike the dwarf gangsters, the star-mask 
  dwarf cultist cannot be taken alive. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Dwarf 
  Ruffian 
  Dwarf 
  Stonebreaker 
  Dwarf 
  Star-mask 
  Cultist 
  3 
  7 
  0 
  2 
  4 
  7 
  1 
  2 
  5 
  7 
  2 
  2 
  6 
  7 
  3 
  2 
  Dwarf Ruffian 
  7th level mook [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Ancestral hammer +12 vs. AC—18 damage 
  Natural even hit: The next dwarf to make an 
  attack this round against the target gains a +1 
  attack bonus to that attack. 
   
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 28 (mook) 
  MD 17 
  Mook: Kill one dwarf ruffian mook for every 28 
  damage you deal to the mob. 
  
   
  12 
   
  Dwarf Stonebreaker 
  7th level wrecker [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +14 
   
  Stone gauntlets +12 vs. AC (2 attacks)—10 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The dwarf stonebreaker can 
  make a single stone gauntlets attack against 
  the same or a different enemy as a free action. 
  Miss: 5 ongoing damage. 
   
  Stone boots +12 vs. PD (one staggered or 
  unconscious enemy)—40 damage 
  Miss: 10 damage. 
   
  Stone helm head-butt: Once per battle when an 
  enemy rolls a natural 1-2 on a melee attack roll 
  against the dwarf stonebreakers and misses, 
  that enemy becomes stunned until the end of 
  its next turn. 
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 100 
  MD 17 
  Dwarf Star-mask Cultist 
  7th level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Long axe +12 vs. AC—28 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic chains +12 vs. MD—
  22 damage and 8 ongoing damage  
  Natural even hit: When the target saves against 
  the ongoing damage it becomes confused 
  until it hits an ally.  
   
  Group ability: For every two dwarf star-mask 
  cultists in the battle (round up), one of them can 
  use psychic chains once during the battle as a 
  quick action.  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
  Wall-crawler: The star-mask cultist can use oily 
  tentacles to climb on ceilings and walls as easily 
  as it moves on the ground. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
   HP 100 
  MD 17 
  
   
  13 
   
   
   
  
   
  14 
   
  THE TRUTH, UNMASKED 
  The gang leader is a dwarven thug who has 
  bonded with a star-mask. The other dwarves, 
  when questioned (if the adventurers fought in a 
  way intended to capture rather than kill the 
  gang), reveal that a lot of dwarves have been 
  using the new ‘magic masks’. The masks confer 
  strange new abilities, and are much-coveted 
  ‘magic items’ in the dwarven underworld! 
  All that remains is for the adventurers to 
  report back to the council. The council will want 
  the adventurers to recount every detail, so this is 
  a good place for the adventurers to make 
  themselves look like the heroes that they are. 
  After a thorough grilling, the council will 
  deliberate and then announce that they are 
  throwing a feast in honor of the adventurers. 
  Treasure? Not really. 
  Adventurers can put on one of the masks from 
  this adventure. The masks are mutated, so act 
  a bit differently from regular star-masks when 
  worn. In fact, most of the star-masks in 
  Frostfire are ‘docile’ maybe even ‘tame’, 
  unmoving and flaccid until worn. The criminal 
  element of Frostfire love the masks and their 
  mystical benefits, so why shouldn’t the 
  adventurers benefit too? 
  Adventurers who put on a mask get a +2 
  bonus to their MD and gain 20 temporary hp 
  at the start of each battle. The adventurer 
  doesn’t even need to attune to the mask (and 
  that should be a warning sign right there). 
  Of course these ‘docile’ and ‘tame’ masks 
  just work more insidiously than normal star-
  masks. In battle, whenever the adventurer 
  rolls a natural 1 they become confused until 
  the end of the fight or until an ally rips the 
  mask off them (a standard action).  
  Adventurers who become confused in this 
  way three times become an evil star-mask 
  worshiping NPC under the GM’s control. After 
  the first time the adventurer becomes confused 
  due to the influence of the mask let them know 
  what is on the way so they can make the 
  choice: keep the mask and risk losing their 
  character, or burn the horrid thing in a fire. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Don’t forget – At the end of every session 
  characters 
  should 
  receive 
  an 
  incremental 
  advance. 
  
   
  15 
   
  Feast & Fester 
  INTRODUCTION 
  The adventurers wish to trade with the dwarves but 
  before they can do so must aid the governor of a 
  dwarven city. 
  The Dwarf King has an intact meteorite that he is 
  willing to trade with the adventurers in exchange 
  for the phoenix egg shell that they have 
  previously obtained (plus other things offered by 
  the icon that the adventurers are working for). 
  The meteorite is a rare intact example of the kind 
  that have been raining down on the Dragon 
  Empire and unleashing the horrid star-mask 
  monsters. 
  Unfortunately, the original deal was for an 
  intact and whole phoenix egg, 
  and the 
  adventurers only have a phoenix egg shell. 
  Before the Dwarf King will hand over the 
  meteorite the adventurers must do him a favor. 
  The dwarven city of Frostfire is on the edge of 
  anarchy, with its governor barely able to keep 
  order. If the adventurers help to restore law and 
  order to Frostfire, the Dwarf King promises to 
  complete the trade and give the adventurers the 
  meteorite. 
  A FEAST FOR HEROES 
  The adventurers have started restoring law and 
  order to the city of Frostfire by defeating a gang 
  of bandits demanding protection money from 
  ice-miners. The ruling council of Frostfire has 
  thrown a party for the heroes, a celebratory feast. 
  Before the feast, the adventurers are given 
  chits by the city council. The adventurers can 
  exchange these chits with stores in Frostfire to 
  obtain fancy clothing for the party, or make other 
  preparations. However, the gang activity in 
  Frostfire means that some store owners are loathe 
  to be seen with the adventurers for fear of 
  retribution by the gangs. 
  This is a montage. Turn to a player and ask 
  them to tell you a preparation that they are 
  making 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  feast, 
  preferably 
  a 
  preparation that involves spending a chit. Turn 
  to the next player and ask them to describe a 
  problem that first player’s character faced in their 
  preparations, preferably a problem caused 
  directly or indirectly by the gangs plaguing the 
  city. Then go back to the first player and ask them 
  how they solved the problem. Go around the 
  group until everybody has had a chance to 
  prepare, describe a problem, and solved a 
  problem. There is no need to roll dice during a 
  montage, it is purely a narrative device to get the 
  players warmed up and give everybody a chance 
  to introduce their character. 
  The chits are worth about 100 gold pieces, but 
  are only redeemable before the feast and can’t be 
  swapped for cash. The adventurers can use them 
  to get fancy party clothes and other similar 
  things, but that is about it. Of course, some clever 
  players might want to arrange a trade that would 
  end up with them getting gold—in which case a 
  quick skill challenge emphasizing failing forward 
  (“You failed the roll, so… yes, you can swap the 
  clothing for a cow, but the cow merchant wants 
  chickens, and the chicken seller wants pumpkin wine. 
  The wine merchant however wants you to take his son 
  to the feast as your date, roll again to convince the 
  wine-sellers son to go on a date with you. Oh you failed 
  again? OK, the wine merchant’s son will only go on a 
  date with you if you obtain for him a wolf-skin 
  cloak.”). Don’t draw out the skill check too long, 
  just pile on the complications until the player 
  passes the skill check and/or they end up going 
  to the feast on a date with two different dwarves 
  whom they must keep unaware of each other, 
  while wearing a tabard that advertises a local 
  restaurant, while wearing a false beard. 
   
   
  
   
  16 
   
  A TOAST FROM THE 
  COUNCIL 
  The city council of Frostfire wants to celebrate the 
  adventurers’ recent success and, of course, claim 
  some of the glory for themselves. 
  Role-playing the council 
  This section has a lot of read-
  aloud text. You needn’t read it 
  all aloud at once, but instead 
  use pieces you like when there 
  is a break in the flow of role-
  playing from the players use the 
  council’s speeches to get the role-playing 
  restarted or moving in a different direction. 
  Brog Strongaxe— Councilmember Strongaxe is 
  hedging his bets “We should all celebrate victories 
  against lawlessness and chaos, so I lift my tankard not 
  only to those present but to all our brave guards who 
  work tirelessly to keep us all safe”. 
  Daret Kegpike— The pious Daret stands on his 
  chair and speaks to the crowd “The light of 
  righteousness shines upon our fair streets once more, 
  thanks to these brave outsiders. They set an example 
  for us all. Praise be the light.”. 
  Drumlyn 
  Kragmaid— 
  The 
  good-looking 
  Drumlyn is too busy dancing in a throng of 
  dwarves to make a speech, and signals the 
  adventurers to join in the dance. 
  Mournbyrn Bristlearm— Mournbyrn reads her 
  speech from a series of small cards “Erm… these 
  adventurers are… erm… adventurous in seeking out 
  injustice… and… thanks to their bravery saved 
  many… flagon of mead”. She looks helplessly at her 
  cards, and looks to the adventurers for help. 
  Nuram 
  Hammerbelt— 
  Councilmember 
  Hammerbelt belches loudly “The Dwarf King sent 
  these adventurers to us as part of a trade, and it seems 
  that so far the trade is good. Now, everybody eat up!”. 
  Reid Runefoot— Reid smiles but doesn’t make a 
  speech, claiming that there is too much hot air in 
  the council chamber already—which gets a laugh 
  from the crowd. 
  Sturm Goldflayer— Councilmember  Goldflayer 
  has strong ties to the miner’s guild. “Here’s to the 
  brave ice miners who risk their all to make sure that 
  we can have cold beer tonight, and to the brave 
  adventurers who are drinking their fair share”. 
  Thar Stonehide— Thar thumps a cane for 
  attention “The outsiders have done well, now if you 
  don’t mind I’ll cut this speech short so I can have some 
  well-done hog”. 
  Toren Longbrew— Toren winks at the dwarves 
  serving the ale from kegs that bear his mark 
  “Tonight we can rest a little easier knowing that our 
  streets are that little bit safer. Of course, when the ale 
  gets flowing dwarves don’t do much resting—am I 
  right?”. 
  ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT 
  The adventurers, by this point should have their 
  guard down, so it is a perfect opportunity for an 
  assassin from one of the gangs to strike. 
  POISONED FOOD AND DRINK 
  Difficulty to avoid: DC 20 
  Iocane powder +10 vs PD—4d6 ongoing 
  poison damage 
  Miss: 2d6 poison damage. 
  Only adventurers whose one unique thing or 
  backgrounds suggest that they would be aware 
  of poisoning attempts get to roll to avoid being 
  poisoned. 
  The poison damage is ongoing damage, 
  which means making regular saves (normal save, 
  11+) to stop taking the damage. Potentially an 
  adventurer could be killed by the poison, though 
  it is unlikely. Any healing magic, or even one of 
  the healing potions that the party was given last 
  week, will stop the poison. 
  
   
  17 
   
   
  Help, I’m dead! 
  If an adventurer is ‘killed’ by the 
  poison, they are in fact put into 
  a death-like coma from which 
  they will revive at the start of 
  the following session. The 
  ‘dead’ adventurer is taken to 
  the Temple of Light where they 
  are laid in state (and where they will revive the 
  following session). 
  Players whose characters are poisoned can 
  play a dwarf cleric for the rest of the session. 
  The character sheet for the dwarf cleric is at the 
  back of this adventure. The character is not a 
  ‘full’ character in that it is missing some of the 
  things that it would have if it were created as a 
  standard player character—the 
  cleric is 
  designed instead to be quick to pick up should 
  a stand-in player character be needed. Of 
  course, if multiple adventurers end up laid low 
  by poison then the local Temple of light sends 
  multiple dwarven clerics to investigate. 
   
  INVESTIGATION 
  The adventurers still standing will obviously 
  want to find out who poisoned their food and 
  drink. In the commotion immediately after the 
  poisoning attempt, lots of plates of food where 
  knocked onto the floor, tables were knocked 
  over, and the party-goers milled about in a panic 
  before being ordered to leave by the council. 
  Investigating the attempted murder of the 
  adventurers is not going to be an easy task. 
  This is a free-form skill challenge. The 
  adventurers need to accrue three DC 25 skill 
  check successes. Failing a skill check doesn’t 
  mean that the adventurers don’t find a clue, but 
  rather that the clue that they find leads them 
  elsewhere in their investigation and they end up 
  having to investigate something else before they 
  can move onwards, further complicating matters. 
  Failing the skill check by 10 or more leads to a 
  tangible complication: either 2d6 damage or 
  raising the DC of the next skill check by 5. If 
  anybody crits their skill roll (usually a natural 20) 
  then they get to lower the next skill check DC by 
  5 or gain some other tangible benefit. 
  Let the players take the lead in deciding how 
  to 
  investigate. 
  If 
  the 
  adventurers 
  start 
  questioning the council members, then the skill 
  checks will involve Charisma or Wisdom. If the 
  adventurers start looking for physical clues then 
  the skill checks will involve Intelligence or 
  Wisdom. Chasing suspects through the streets 
  will involve Dexterity (for speed) or Intelligence 
  (taking shortcuts). Strength and Constitution 
  based skill checks could involve breaking down 
  doors, or tasting the poison in minute amounts to 
  work out its origin. 
  Eventually, the players will accrue three 
  successes in tracking down the assassins, and so 
  the party collectively find itself outside a 
  shuttered and apparently abandoned tavern in 
  one of the seedier taverns in one of the lower 
  caverns—apparently the hideout of a gang. 
  
   
  18 
   
  THE BROKEN TOOTH INN 
  The inn doesn’t look entirely deserted; there is a 
  light on inside one of the upstairs rooms, and the 
  shadows move as though there are people inside. 
  In a heap of refuse near the boarded-up front 
  door is a big bottle of poison. The smell from the 
  broken 
  poison 
  bottle 
  is 
  overpowering—
  something that is almost undetectable as just a 
  drop becomes very pungent when concentrated. 
  The adventurers can easily sneak in through a 
  lose board in a side window and explore. Inside 
  they find several nervous dwarven gang 
  members, who naturally are armed and attack 
  the adventurers. 
  Fight! 
  If the adventurers were trying to be super 
  sneaky and succeeded on a DC 20 skill check 
  start the escalation die at 1. 
  Note that both the enemy types in this fight 
  are wreckers. Normally we’d avoid a fight 
  with just one type of enemy, but dwarves have 
  a reputation for being tough and dwarves with 
  their backs against the wall would be doubly 
  so. Don’t worry though, this fight is a little bit 
  (but just a little bit) easier than normal to 
  compensate for that. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Dwarf Axebiter 
  Dwarf 
  Stonebreaker 
  3 
  2 
  1 
  4 
  2 
  2 
  5 
  3 
  2 
  6 
  3 
  3 
  Dwarf Axe Biter 
  7th level wrecker [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Berserk axe +12 vs. AC (+14 vs AC if it used 
  unhinged combatant the round before)—20 
  damage, and 6 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit: As a free action, the axe biter 
  can make a second berserk axe attack against a 
  different enemy with a –2 attack penalty. If it 
  gets another natural even hit, it can make a 
  third (and final) berserk axe attack against a 
  different enemy with a –4 attack penalty as a 
  free action. 
   
  Unhinged combatant: When the axe biter makes a 
  melee attack and rolls a natural even miss, it 
  pops free. 
   
  R: Axe and chain +12 vs. AC (one nearby 
  enemy)—22 damage 
  Miss: 8 damage. 
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
  Spiked shield: Enemies that intercept a moving 
  dwarf axe biter take 7 damage. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 100 
  MD 17 
  
   
  19 
   
  Dwarf Stonebreaker 
  7th level wrecker [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +14 
   
  Stone gauntlets +12 vs. AC (2 attacks)—10 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The dwarf stonebreaker can 
  make a single stone gauntlets attack against 
  the same or a different enemy as a free action. 
  Miss: 5 ongoing damage. 
   
  Stone boots +12 vs. PD (one staggered or 
  unconscious enemy)—40 damage 
  Miss: 10 damage. 
   
  Stone helm head-butt: Once per battle when an 
  enemy rolls a natural 1-2 on a melee attack roll 
  against the dwarf stonebreakers and misses, 
  that enemy becomes stunned until the end of 
  its next turn. 
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
  HP 100 
  MD 17
   
  Rotted abandoned tavern terrain 
  At the start of each round, roll 1d8 to discover 
  what happens in or to the tavern that round. 
  1. Rotted floorboards give way under the 
  melee. This round the dwarves are stuck 
  (save ends) but gain +2 to AC against 
  ranged attacks while stuck due to being 
  half-embedded in the floor. Adventurers 
  are stuck (save ends) with +2 to AC against 
  ranged attacks for dwarven, halfling, 
  gnome etc. adventurers while stuck. 
  2. This round the dwarves can make the 
  following attack as a quick action on their 
  turn: 
  R: Thrown bottles +12 vs AC—20 damage. 
  3. One of the dwarves grabs a heavy iron 
  lantern and wields it as a club. The dwarf 
  now gains the following melee attack that 
  they can use until the end of the battle: 
  Iron lantern +12 vs AC—22 damage 
  Attack roll would also hit PD: 12 ongoing 
  fire damage. 
  4. Anybody on the upper level of the tavern 
  who rolls a natural 1-5 attack roll or save 
  drops through rotted floorboards into the 
  level below, taking 1d6 damage in the fall. 
  5. The fight has caused dust to rain down 
  from the ceiling. Everybody (friend and 
  foe alike) gains +2 to their defenses against 
  ranged attacks as their attackers choke on 
  dust and have their vision obscured. 
  6. Large verminous rats run through the 
  tavern, disturbed by the fight. Anybody 
  who moves this round must succeed at an 
  easy save (6+) or fall flat as they step on a 
  rat. 
  7. A dwarf axe biter goes really berserk, and 
  now rolls 2d20 for attack and takes the best 
  result. If you roll this result (7) again the 
  dwarf axe biter drops out of their enraged 
  state. 
  8. Either nothing unexpected happens this 
  round OR roll 2d6 on this chart and 
  combine the results (GMs choice).  
   
   
  
   
  20 
   
  
   
  21 
   
   
   
  
   
  22 
   
  PERFIDITY AT THE BROKEN 
  TOOTH 
  Just as the fight is winding down and the 
  adventurers are starting to catch their breath, a 
  band of masked and cloaked figures burst in to 
  attack the adventurers. 
  Fight! 
  Yes this is two fights back-to-back, with no 
  chance to rest or to roll to recharge powers. We 
  don’t often do that in our adventures—the 
  adventurers weren’t expecting it and it is 
  unlikely the players were either. This ‘second’ 
  fight starts with the escalation die reset to 0, 
  and effectively turns the conflict in the Broken 
  Tooth inn into a single double-tough fight. 
  Don’t worry-after this fight the adventurers 
  get a chance to rest and fully heal up. 
  Fleeing from this fight has the campaign 
  loss that each character must drop their pack 
  as they run away, losing any equipment and 
  potions that they were not wearing or holding 
  in their hands. 
  If you want to use the terrain effects from 
  last battle just roll d6s instead of d8s on the 
  chart, or you can skip the terrain saying that 
  the previous fight did all the damage that it 
  could to the tavern and there are no more 
  rotted floorboards that will break or rats to 
  scare out of hiding. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Dwarf Star-mask 
  Cultist 
  Mutant  
  Star-mask Egg 
  3 
  2 
  10 
  4 
  3 
  10 
  5 
  4 
  20 
  6 
  5 
  20 
  Dwarf Star-mask Cultist 
  7th level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Long axe +12 vs. AC—28 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic chains +12 vs. MD—
  22 damage and 8 ongoing damage  
  Natural even hit: When the target saves against the 
  ongoing damage it becomes confused until it 
  hits an ally.  
   
  Group ability: For every two dwarf star-mask 
  cultists in the battle (round down), one of them 
  can use psychic chains once during the battle as 
  a quick action.  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
  Wall-crawler: The star-mask cultist can use oily 
  tentacles to climb on ceilings and walls as easily 
  as it moves on the ground. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
   HP 100 
  MD 17 
  
   
  23 
   
  Mutant Star-mask Egg 
  This featureless white mass is carried along on 
  thrashing black tentacles, seeking a host.  
  7th level mook [ABERRATION]  
  Initiative: +10  
   
  Smothering tentacles +12 vs. PD—6 damage and 
  6 ongoing damage (hard save ends), ongoing 
  damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask  
   
  [Group ability] Sickly sweet feelings +12 vs. 
  MD—Until the end of the battle, if the target 
  drops to 0 hp; the target gets back up with 
  temporary hp equal to its normal maximum 
  hp, and regains rejoins the fight on the star-
  masks side. It is a standard action to pull a 
  mutant star-mask off a host. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use sickly 
  sweet feelings once during the battle.  
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the 
  star-mask mutant can leap into engagement 
  with a nearby enemy as a quick action.  
   
  Nastier specials 
  Host and shell: If a humanoid dies while under the 
  influence of sickly sweet feelings the egg burrows 
  inside the corpse and hatches into a star-mask 
  abomination in 1d3-1 rounds (if the 1d3-1 result 
  is 0 the dead creature’s transformation is 
  instant).  
   
  AC 22  
  PD 17  
  HP 30 (mook)  
  MD 21  
  Mook: Kill one mutant star-mask mook for every 
  30 damage you do to the mob.  
  Star-mask Abomination 
  This terrible creature is a white mask with a 
  supporting humanoid-shaped mass of black shiny 
  tentacles.  
  7th level spoiler [ABERRATION]  
  Initiative: +10  
   
  C: Probing tentacles +12 vs. PD (one nearby 
  enemy)—The enemy becomes stuck and takes 
  14 ongoing poison damage, save ends both.  
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the 
  star-mask mutant can leap into engagement 
  with a nearby enemy as a quick action. 
   
  Sultry exudation: The star-mask abomination can 
  climb up walls and across ceilings as easily as 
  it runs on the ground. If the star-mask is 
  intercepted, it can make an immediate free 
  probing tentacles attack against the creature that 
  intercepted it.  
   
  Nastier specials 
  Abominable infection: If a humanoid dies while 
  under stuck in the grip of probing tentacles it 
  becomes a star-mask abomination in 1d3-1 
  rounds (if the 1d3-1 result is 0 the dead 
  creature’s transformation is instant).  
   
  AC 23  
  PD 17  
  HP 118 
  MD 21 
  
   
  24 
   
  INVESTIGATING THE 
  BROKEN TOOTH 
  The dilapidated inn is in a sorry state, sorrier now 
  that there are body parts and blood everywhere. 
  The star-mask cultists were obviously expecting 
  the adventurers, or were at least anticipating that 
  the adventurers would eventually find their way 
  to the tavern. 
  The tavern was chosen by the cultists because 
  it is not their usual meeting place, so it contains 
  no clues. However, one of the dwarves from the 
  first ‘half’ of the fight actually survived. The 
  adventurers thought that they had killed the 
  gang member, but they had merely stunned the 
  unfortunate fool into unconsciousness. 
  The dwarven gang member (‘Bale Lightrock’) 
  is shocked by the gratuitous violence and is 
  willing to tell the adventurers whatever they 
  wish to know.  
  Bale is a dwarf from a poor family, with no 
  prospects; he’s always lived a little on the wrong 
  side of the law but wasn’t a serious criminal. A 
  while ago, a renegade orc general attacked 
  dwarven lands and the Dwarf King pressed a lot 
  of young people from Frostfire into military 
  service. When they returned from the war with 
  the orcs, the city council didn’t treat them well, 
  and the military pay that they were promised by 
  the Dwarf King never really materialized. This 
  made a lot of young dwarves who had had a taste 
  of battle very angry.  
  When the Dwarf King pulled his troops away 
  from Frostfire, the city council decided to send 
  most of the guard to patrol the mountain’s lower 
  slopes and ward off opportunistic orc attacks. 
  With the city guard depleted, Frostfire’s existing 
  criminal element started recruiting dissatisfied 
  dwarves with the promise that they could get 
  what was owed to them by taking it from the 
  wealthy. 
  A month or so ago, some of the higher-
  ranking criminals in Frostfire started wearing 
  magical masks, which they then provided to their 
  most trusted enforcers. It was around this time 
  that the gangs started to coalesce into a single 
  criminal organization and consolidate their 
  activities. 
  Bale doesn’t know any more than that, except 
  that there is something important in the lower 
  caverns that the criminal syndicate wants to keep 
  hidden. 
  Torture? Intimidation? 
  Let the players know that Bale 
  is terrified of the adventurers 
  (they are covered in the blood 
  of his friends after all) and has 
  told them everything that he 
  knows. The adventurers don’t 
  need to intimidate, torture, or question him in 
  any way—he’s spilling his guts to them. 
  GUARDS ARRIVE, & BACK TO 
  THE COUNCIL 
  As Bake finishes his testimony, the city guards 
  arrive. They heard the sounds of fighting and 
  came running (though not fast enough that 
  they’d get involved in the fight, just fast enough 
  to arrest the survivors—these are professional 
  guards after all). The party has less than a minute 
  to decide what to do with Bale Lightrock—turn 
  him over to the guards, kill him, tell him to hide 
  and warn him to get out of town, or whatever else 
  they want to do before the guards arrive. 
  The guards escort the adventurers back to the 
  city council, who are keen to hear the report of 
  the adventurers. When they hear that the gangs 
  are part of a single syndicate, likely led by a 
  group of dwarves controlled by abominations 
  from beyond the stars, the council will assign a 
  group of guards to aid the adventurers and send 
  them off into the lower caverns to find and end 
  the source of Frostfire’s troubles. 
   
  Don’t forget – At the end of every session 
  characters 
  should 
  receive 
  an 
  incremental 
  advance. 
   
   
  
   
  25 
   
  Darker & Deeper 
  INTRODUCTION 
  The adventurers are helping to restore law and order 
  in the dwarven city of Frostfire, and have discovered 
  that a star-mask cult is behind the city’s troubles. 
  The adventurers have been trying to obtain a 
  meteorite from the Dwarf King. The meteorite is 
  possibly the key to unravelling the mystery of the 
  star-masks, an abominable race of aberrations 
  that can take over the minds and bodies of the 
  living and revive the dead. 
  As part of their deal with the Dwarf King, the 
  adventurers have agreed to aid the city council of 
  Frostfire with restoring order after a wave of 
  lawlessness swept the city. The adventurers have 
  discovered that the star-masks are somehow 
  behind the erosion of the council’s rule in the city, 
  and have been tasked with eradicating the 
  menace. 
  VICTORY GOES TO THE 
  PREPARED 
  The adventurers are to descend into the dark of 
  the lower caverns of Frostfire in search of 
  whatever the star-mask cult is keeping down 
  there. Before the adventurers set out, they have a 
  chance to prepare.  They will be travelling with 
  guides and guards but still should take care of 
  their own provisions. 
  This is a montage. Turn to a player and ask 
  them to describe a way on which their character 
  prepares for the journey into the dark. Then turn 
  to the next player and ask them to provide a 
  problem that the adventurer faced in trying to 
  make their preparations, but not how the 
  problem was solved. Then turn to a third player 
  and ask them how they solved the problem. Go 
  around the group until everybody has had a 
  chance to narrate their preparation, describe a 
  problem, and everybody has had a chance to 
  describe how their character solved an issue that 
  another character had. There is no need to roll 
  dice during a montage, it is purely a narrative 
  device to get the players warmed up and give 
  everybody a chance to introduce their character. 
  PERILS AND PITFALLS 
  A journey into the underworld is never without 
  some hazards, and the deeper one goes the 
  stranger and more dangerous it gets. 
  As the adventurers descend, each adventurer 
  must face one of the following hazards. 
  Adventurers who journeyed deep into the 
  sunless world in the adventure Into the 
  Underworld gain a +5 skill bonus to avoiding the 
  hazards. 
  PARASITIC 
  SNAILS 
  HALLUCINO-
  GENIC 
  FUNGUS 
  DROP-CRABS 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Snail 
  slime 
  +5 vs PD—
  4d6 
  poison 
  damage 
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 15 
  Spores +10 vs 
  PD—3d6 
  poison 
  damage  
  Difficulty to 
  avoid: DC 25 
  Piercing 
  shells +15 vs 
  AC—4d8 
  damage  
  DARK TUNNEL ATTACK 
  As the adventurers and their guards and guides 
  reach a partially submerged chamber, they hear a 
  distant 
  screeching 
  noise. 
  The 
  noise 
  gets 
  progressively louder and is accompanied by a 
  sound like flapping wings. In the dim glow of 
  luminescent moss, the adventurers can see 
  something coming down a side-tunnel towards 
  them.  
  The dwarven guards and guides panic, 
  fleeing back the way that they came. A pair of 
  bat-sharks are on the hunt, with thunder-bat 
  scavengers following close behind.
  
   
  26 
   
   
  Fight! 
  If the adventurers have fought shark-bats 
  before and come up with a cunning plan that 
  they can execute quickly, have them make a 
  DC 25 skill check, on a success start the 
  escalation die at 1. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Elder Bat-Shark 
  Thunder Bat 
  3 
  2 
  1 
  4 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  2 
  5 
  6 
  2 
  7 
  Elder Bat-Shark 
  There is no upper limit to how large a shark-bat could 
  grow; the only regulating factor is access to food. 
  Huge 5th level wrecker [BEAST] 
  Initiative: +11 
  Vulnerable: thunder 
   
  Bite and sever +10 vs. AC—55 damage 
  Crit: The target is either stuck and must move 
  with the shark-bat and takes 15 ongoing 
  damage (hard save ends all) OR loses a limb 
  (target’s choice). 
   
  Scent of blood: The crit range for shark-bats 
  expands by 1 for every staggered enemy or 
  every staggered ally, whichever is higher. 
   
  Fly+Swim: Shark-bats can fly and swim with 
  equal grace and speed, but are clumsy when 
  forced to land. 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 19 
  HP 222 
  MD 15 
  Thunder Bat 
  It likes its meat tender. Luckily it carries a sonic 
  tenderizer in its throat. 
  5th level archer [beast] 
  Initiative: +13 
   
  Fangs +10 vs. AC—15 damage 
  Natural even hit against a dazed enemy: The target 
  takes 20 ongoing thunder damage. 
   
  C: Thunder screech +10 vs. PD (1d3 nearby 
  creatures in a group)—12 thunder damage 
  Natural even hit: The target is dazed (save ends). 
   
  Resist ranged damage 16+: When a ranged attack 
  targets this creature while it’s flying, the 
  attacker must roll a natural 16+ on the attack 
  roll or it only deals half damage. (Shifty 
  spinning bats are hard to hit unless they’re 
  grounded or stuck.) 
   
  Resist thunder 18+: When a thunder attack targets 
  this creature, the attacker must roll a natural 
  16+ on the attack roll or it only deals half 
  damage. Unlike most bats, this one dispenses 
  thunder rather than fearing it. 
   
  Unwieldy flyer: When the thunder bat is 
  staggered, it must roll an immediate save. On a 
  failure, it loses its ability to fly until the end of 
  its next turn. If flying near the ground, it lands 
  immediately. If flying far away from the 
  ground, it lands badly and takes 25 damage. 
   
  AC 22 
  PD 18 
  HP 70 
  MD 15 
   
   
  
   
  27 
   
   
   
  
   
  28 
   
  LOST IN THE DARK 
  The shark-bat attack has left the adventurers 
  without guides, and much of their equipment has 
  been scattered throughout the caves by the 
  fleeing dwarves.  
  But my Dwarves are tough! 
  If you don’t like the idea of the 
  dwarven guards and guides 
  fleeing you can instead say 
  that they withdraw to another 
  chamber but were ambushed 
  by shark-bats and eaten. They 
  were brave, stalwart, and tasted good. 
  The adventurers are now faced with the task 
  of finding their way in the dark, through dangers 
  untold and hardships unnumbered. 
  This is a freeform skill challenge. The 
  adventurers must accrue three DC 25 successes to 
  find the chamber of the star-masks. Every time 
  the adventurers fail a skill check they wander 
  into danger or end up even more lost (their 
  choice). Getting even more lost raises the DC of 
  the next skill check that they make in this skill 
  challenge by 5. Stumbling into danger means that 
  the one who failed the skill roll and one other 
  character that their player nominates takes 2d8 
  damage from falling down shafts, stumbling into 
  rocks in the dark, or being attacked by the flora 
  and fauna of the underworld.  
  Once the party accrues three successes they 
  locate the chamber of the star-masks. 
  THE CHAMBER OF THE STAR 
  MASKS 
  Deep in the dark, the adventurers stumble into a 
  huge chamber, with translucent fluid-filled orbs 
  hanging from the ceiling. Each orb has in it a tiny 
  star-mask, though most are half-formed and 
  unmoving. This is some form of hatchery! 
  The few star-masks that are here are sluggish, 
  and sickly looking, with the normally porcelain-
  smooth whiteness of their ‘faces’ cracked and 
  oozing puss. Something is wrong with the star-
  mask ‘hive’ down here. It is sick, or infected. 
  The star-masks are having to use guile to 
  slowly take over Frostfire, instead of just taking 
  over with puppeteered humanoids and walking 
  corpses as they usually do. 
  Out of the darkness come horrid things, 
  silently climbing the walls like spiders. The star-
  masks attack, their oily black tentacles seeking to 
  make the adventurers into new hosts for star-
  masks. 
  Fight! 
  Remember that if the adventurers are using 
  phoenix weapons to use the rules for those 
  magic items as they relate to star-masks. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Mutant  
  Star-mask Egg 
  Star-mask 
  Abomination 
  3 
  7 
  2 
  4 
  12 
  2 
  5 
  17 
  2 
  6 
  22 
  2 
  
   
  29 
   
  Mutant Star-mask Egg 
  This featureless white mass is carried along on 
  thrashing black tentacles, seeking a host.  
  7th level mook [ABERRATION]  
  Initiative: +10  
   
  Smothering tentacles +12 vs. PD—6 damage and 
  6 ongoing damage (hard save ends), ongoing 
  damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask  
   
  [Group ability] Sickly sweet feelings +12 vs. 
  MD—Until the end of the battle, if the target 
  drops to 0 hp; the target gets back up with 
  temporary hp equal to its normal maximum 
  hp, and regains rejoins the fight on the star-
  masks side. It is a standard action to pull a 
  mutant star-mask off a host. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use sickly 
  sweet feelings once during the battle.  
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the 
  star-mask mutant can leap into engagement 
  with a nearby enemy as a quick action.  
   
  Nastier specials 
  Host and shell: If a humanoid dies while under the 
  influence of sickly sweet feelings the egg burrows 
  inside the corpse and hatches into a star-mask 
  abomination in 1d3-1 rounds (if the 1d3-1 result 
  is 0 the dead creature’s transformation is 
  instant).  
   
  AC 22  
  PD 17  
  HP 30 (mook)  
  MD 21  
  Mook: Kill one mutant star-mask mook for every 
  30 damage you do to the mob.  
  Star-mask Abomination 
  This terrible creature is a white mask with a 
  supporting humanoid-shaped mass of black shiny 
  tentacles.  
  7th level spoiler [ABERRATION]  
  Initiative: +10  
   
  C: Probing tentacles +12 vs. PD (one nearby 
  enemy)—The enemy becomes stuck and takes 
  14 ongoing poison damage, save ends both.  
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the 
  star-mask mutant can leap into engagement 
  with a nearby enemy as a quick action. 
   
  Sultry exudation: The star-mask abomination can 
  climb up walls and across ceilings as easily as 
  it runs on the ground. If the star-mask is 
  intercepted, it can make an immediate free 
  probing tentacles attack against the creature that 
  intercepted it.  
   
  Nastier specials 
  Abominable infection: If a humanoid dies while 
  under stuck in the grip of probing tentacles it 
  becomes a star-mask abomination in 1d3-1 
  rounds (if the 1d3-1 result is 0 the dead 
  creature’s transformation is instant).  
   
  AC 23  
  PD 17  
  HP 118 
  MD 21 
  INTO THE LIGHT 
  After the fight, the adventurers have a chance to 
  destroy the star-mask hatchery, burning it with 
  lamp oil or just tearing down the fluid-filled orbs 
  and crushing the sickly half-formed creatures 
  underfoot. 
  However, 
  the 
  adventurers 
  notice 
  that 
  something big has recently been hauled (or 
  hauled itself) up a side-tunnel, leaving a trail of 
  puss and blood. The tunnel looks smooth, the 
  rock warped as if by great heat or acid; it winds 
  its way in a spiral upwards towards Frostfire.
  
   
  30 
   
   
   
  
   
  31 
   
  Truth & Consequences 
  INTRODUCTION 
  The adventurers have become aware of a conspiracy in 
  the dwarven city of Frostfire involving the pernicious 
  star-masks. 
  The adventurers made a deal with the Dwarf 
  King to obtain a meteorite that possibly holds the 
  secret to defeating the pernicious star-masks that 
  have been attacking the Dragon Empire. As part 
  of the deal, the adventurers were tasked with 
  restoring law and order to the dwarven city of 
  Frostfire. 
  During their time in Frostfire, an assassination 
  attempt on the party has led them to uncovering 
  a conspiracy involving the star-masks. Tasked by 
  the council of Frostfire with wiping out the 
  menace, the adventurers descended into the 
  underworld to seek out the source of the star-
  masks. This has led them to an unnaturally 
  smooth tunnel that leads upwards from the 
  underworld to Frostfire. 
  UP THE WINDING SPIRAL 
  The adventurers are travelling upwards toward 
  the city, negotiating an unnaturally smooth 
  tunnel. The tunnel has strange effects upon the 
  mind. Perhaps it is the reflections in the rippling 
  smooth wall, maybe it is the lingering effects of 
  whatever magic made the tunnel in the first 
  place, but the tunnel causes hallucinations. 
  This is a montage. Turn to a player and ask 
  them to describe a problem that the party faced 
  on its way up the tunnel, a problem that their 
  character’s hallucination caused. Turn to the next 
  player and ask them how their character solved 
  the problem caused by the first adventurer’s 
  hallucination. Go around the group until 
  everybody has had a chance to describe a 
  problem 
  caused 
  by 
  a 
  hallucination, 
  and 
  everybody has had a chance to describe how their 
  character solved the issue. There is no need to roll 
  dice during a montage, it is purely a narrative 
  device to get the players warmed up and give 
  everybody a chance to introduce their character. 
  BEFORE THE COUNCIL 
  The adventurers arrive at the top of the tunnel 
  and find themselves in a back room of the 
  Frostfire city council chambers. The room looks 
  like a strong room, with heavy locks on the door. 
  Thankfully, the locks were designed to keep 
  intruders out of the room, not to keep them in, so 
  exiting the room is relatively easy. 
  The city council is in session, hearing a minor 
  matter of tax evasion. The council members are 
  surprised to see the adventurers emerge from the 
  strong room at the back of the council chamber. 
  Here is a reminder of the council members… 
  Brog Strongaxe— Councilmember Strongaxe is 
  has never fully welcomed the adventurers into 
  the city. 
  Daret Kegpike— Daret is pious, but perhaps it is 
  all a smokescreen to deflect attention from his 
  newfound allegiance. 
  Drumlyn Kragmaid— Drumlin’s good looks and 
  easy smile perhaps hides the dwarf’s true 
  intentions. 
  Mournbyrn 
  Bristlearm— 
  The 
  bookish 
  Mournbyrn could have perhaps arranged a 
  massive conspiracy.  
  Nuram 
  Hammerbelt— 
  Councilmember 
  Hammerbelt has never openly thanked the 
  adventurers for their part in cleaning up the city. 
  Reid Runefoot— The constantly smirking Reid 
  may well know more than the dwarf is letting on. 
  Sturm Goldflayer— Councilmember Goldflayer 
  has strong ties to the miner’s guild, a perfect 
  cover for activities in the far underworld beneath 
  Frostfire. 
  Thar Stonehide— Thar has always called the 
  adventurers ‘outsiders’, maybe trying to plant 
  the seed of distrust. 
  Toren Longbrew— Toren made his money in the 
  ale trade—was he behind the poisoning attempt 
  on the adventurer’s lives? 
  
   
  32 
   
  Who is the Conspirator? 
  Each councilmember starts talking at once, 
  demanding to know what is going on and 
  accusing each other. So who is behind the 
  conspiracy? Is it all of them, or just one? In this 
  adventure we’re not saying. It is up to you as the 
  GM to decide who is the secret conspirator, and 
  who is innocent.  
  A GM trick 
  If you haven’t already selected 
  the traitor, I’d suggest picking 
  whichever council member or 
  members the party already 
  suspect as the conspirator or 
  have a reason to dislike. The 
  players will get a warm glow from knowing 
  that they were right all along. 
  As a Skill Check 
  The adventurers might prefer to take an 
  investigative 
  approach, 
  questioning 
  each 
  councilmember, watching who flinches. 
  It is a DC 25 skill check to eliminate each 
  dwarf from consideration, failing the skill check 
  means that suspicion is cast on a previously 
  cleared dwarf. If the adventurers directly 
  question the guilty dwarf and pass the skill check 
  they’ll instantly know the dwarf to blame. 
  As a Pure Role-Playing Encounter 
  You don’t need to involve dice if you don’t want 
  to. You could just handle the discovery of the 
  secret conspirator or conspirators purely through 
  role-playing. However, if you take this route it is 
  important to let the players know when the 
  adventurers have successfully uncovered the 
  truth—the council member in question has a star-
  mask attached to their body—just in a place 
  where it was not obvious. 
  AND NOW MY PLAN COMES 
  TO FRUITION… 
  The adventurers have uncovered the mastermind 
  (or masterminds) and the plot is explained. 
  The Dwarf King sent the intact star-mask 
  meteorite secretly to the council of Frostfire, to be 
  given to the adventurers once they’d handed 
  over the phoenix egg fragments to the Dwarf 
  King and fulfilled their promise to clean up 
  Frostfire. 
  However, the meteorite wasn’t as dormant as 
  the Dwarf King believed, and one (or more) of the 
  city council members ended up influenced and 
  eventually controlled by the weakened star-
  masks. 
  The star-mask meteorite was kept in a locked 
  strong room, but it warped the rock to escape into 
  the underworld. Weakened, the star-mask was 
  unable to create a proper hive—but with the help 
  of the conspirator it is taking over Frostfire. 
  Exposition dump? 
  You 
  could 
  paraphrase 
  the 
  information in this section as 
  the villain explaining the plot 
  in a “Before I kill you, Mr 
  Bond…” style, or use it as 
  dialog between the council 
  members as they realize what has 
  been happening under their noses for the past 
  month or so. You could also reveal it piece by 
  piece in the previous before the council section 
  as part of the skill check. 
  
   
  33 
   
  MINIONS, ATTACK! 
  The conspirator ducks away as he or she (or they) 
  call upon their minions to attack. Around the 
  council chambers, guards and citizens alike 
  spring into action, rushing the adventurers. It 
  turns out that the conspirator(s) is not the only 
  one with hidden star-mask parasites hidden 
  under their clothing. 
  Fight! 
  Remember that if the adventurers are using 
  phoenix weapons to use the rules for those 
  magic items as they relate to star-masks. 
  These star-mask controlled citizens and 
  guards can be knocked out or otherwise 
  debilitated instead of slaughtered, if the 
  adventurers so choose. When NPCs drop to 0 
  hp, it usually means they’ve been slain, unless 
  the characters’ intent is to keep the target alive 
  and the attack seems like a potentially humane 
  blow that could knock the NPC unconscious 
  instead. Some attacks, particularly when 
  gruesomely narrated, don’t feel like attacks 
  that can leave the target unconscious, but we 
  leave that mostly up to you and your group’s 
  sensibilities. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Dwarf Star-mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-mask 
  Puppet 
  3 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  2 
  5 
  5 
  2 
  7 
  6 
  2 
  9 
  Dwarf Star-mask Cultist 
  7th level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Long axe +12 vs. AC—28 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic chains +12 vs. MD—
  22 damage and 8 ongoing damage  
  Natural even hit: When the target saves against the 
  ongoing damage it becomes confused until it 
  hits an ally.  
   
  Group ability: For every two dwarf star-mask 
  cultists in the battle (round up), one of them can 
  use psychic chains once during the battle as a 
  quick action.  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (group ability): Dwarves are 
  known for their resilience. Once per battle only, 
  a staggered dwarf heals to full hp as a free 
  action. No matter how many dwarves there are 
  only one can use this ability. 
  Wall-crawler: The star-mask cultist can use oily 
  tentacles to climb on ceilings and walls as easily 
  as it moves on the ground. 
   
  AC 23 
  PD 21 
   HP 100 
  MD 17 
  
   
  34 
   
  Star-mask Puppet 
  This unfortunate probably doesn’t even know they are 
  host to a star-mask, so complete is the parasite’s grip 
  on their mind and body. 
  5th level blocker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Tentacles and fists +10 vs. AC—18 damage 
   
  C: Tentacle whip +12 vs. PD—8 damage and the 
  target pops free and is pulled into engagement 
  with the star-mask puppet. 
   
  Psychic coordination: For every star-mask puppet 
  engaged with an enemy, other star-masks not 
  engaged with that enemy that target that 
  enemy gain +1 to attack (maximum +4).  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (for dwarf puppets only) (group 
  ability): 
  Dwarves 
  are 
  known 
  for 
  their 
  resilience. Once per battle only, a staggered 
  dwarf heals to full hp as a free action. No 
  matter how many dwarves there are only one 
  can use this ability. 
  Wall-crawler: The star-mask puppet can use oily 
  tentacles to climb on ceilings and walls as easily 
  as it moves on the ground. 
  Psychic chaff: Those with fewer than 24 hit points 
  cannot 
  remember 
  seeing 
  the 
  star-mask 
  parasite—as soon as they look away they 
  forget. They’ll remember the host, but not the 
  white mask and black tentacles embedded in its 
  flesh. 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 16 
   HP 65 
  MD 22
  THE COUNCIL CRUMBLES 
  The conspirator(s) have disappeared during the 
  fracas—but right now, there is no time to search 
  for them. The stone of the council chamber is 
  cracking, revealing pulsing, corded flesh and 
  tendrils of brain-like tissue throughout the 
  council chambers. 
  The adventurers can choose to leave the 
  building, can try to rescue the star-mask 
  controlled citizens and guards still in the council 
  chambers in the hopes that the star-masks can be 
  removed, or can try to rescue the council 
  members. 
  Running out of the building requires no skill 
  check, but anybody left inside will surely perish 
  as the building shakes itself apart. 
  It is a DC 15 skill check to haul out 
  unconscious or debilitated star-mask controlled 
  citizens from the collapsing building. On a 
  success the number rolled on the d20 determines 
  how many citizens and guards the adventurer 
  can rescue. 
  It is a DC 25 skill check to rescue council 
  members, as the star-mask thing infesting the 
  building’s structure seems to be concentrating its 
  fury upon them. Failing the roll means that the 
  adventurer takes 2d8 damage and the council 
  member in question is trapped beneath rubble. If 
  three unsuccessful attempts are made to rescue a 
  council member that council member has been 
  killed by falling masonry. 
  There is time for a quick rest immediately after the 
  council chambers crumbling, immediately before the 
  next section. 
  A cure? 
  A star-mask that is controlling a star-mask 
  puppet is able to influence the mind of its 
  host—the host genuinely believes that their 
  choices are their own; their perceptions, 
  thoughts, emotions, and memories can be 
  altered by the star-mask to maintain the 
  illusion. Removing the parasite requires hours 
  of careful work, and it is a DC 15 skill check to 
  remove it completely. Star-masks that are not 
  entirely 
  removed 
  from 
  their 
  puppets 
  eventually grow back. 
   
  
   
  35 
   
   
   
  
   
  36 
   
  RISE OF THE FROSTFIRE 
  BRAIN 
  With a groaning, rumbling noise the council 
  chambers collapse in a cloud of dust. Rising out 
  of the dust cloud is a huge creature that 
  resembles a brain that walks on multiple 
  tentacles. Absorbed into the brain is the form of 
  the traitorous councilmember(s).  
  Fight! 
  Remember that if the adventurers are using 
  phoenix weapons to use the rules for those 
  magic items as they relate to star-masks. 
  The star-mask intellect is smart—if the 
  adventurers flee this fight the intellect will take 
  the opportunity to grab as many injured 
  citizens as it can (to use as incubators or as 
  hoists to star-masks) and slither into the 
  underworld. The star-mask intellect will 
  perhaps reemerge later to plague Frostfire, 
  seek out another city to infect, or will find a 
  living dungeon and supplant its heart. 
  Number 
  of PCs 
  Star-mask 
  Puppet 
  Star-mask 
  Intellect 
  3 
  2 
  1 
  4 
  4 
  1 
  5 
  6 
  1 
  6 
  8 
  1 
  After the fight, the adventurers will be able to 
  recover the meteorite from the rubble (or if it is 
  more dramatic, from inside the giant brain itself). 
   
  Star-mask Puppet 
  This unfortunate probably doesn’t even know they are 
  host to a star-mask, so complete is the parasite’s grip 
  on their mind and body. 
  5th level blocker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +10 
   
  Tentacles and fists +10 vs. AC—18 damage 
   
  C: Tentacle whip +12 vs. PD—8 damage and the 
  target pops free and is pulled into engagement 
  with the star-mask puppet. 
   
  Psychic coordination: For every star-mask puppet 
  engaged with an enemy, other star-masks not 
  engaged with that enemy that target that 
  enemy gain +1 to attack (maximum +4).  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Stronger than stone (for dwarf puppets only) (group 
  ability): 
  Dwarves 
  are 
  known 
  for 
  their 
  resilience. Once per battle only, a staggered 
  dwarf heals to full hp as a free action. No 
  matter how many dwarves there are only one 
  can use this ability. 
  Wall-crawler: The star-mask puppet can use oily 
  tentacles to climb on ceilings and walls as easily 
  as it moves on the ground. 
  Psychic chaff: Those with fewer than 24 hit points 
  cannot 
  remember 
  seeing 
  the 
  star-mask 
  parasite—as soon as they look away they 
  forget. You’ll remember the host, but not the 
  white mask and black tentacles embedded in its 
  flesh. 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 16 
   HP 65 
  MD 22 
  
   
  37 
   
  Star-mask Intellect 
  It’s a huge brain!  
  Huge 7th level spoiler [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +12 
   
  C: Caressing tentacles +12 vs. AC (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—10 acid damage and 10 ongoing 
  psychic damage 
  Target a fails save against the ongoing psychic 
  damage: The target must use its next action to 
  move into engagement with the star-mask 
  intellect. 
   
  [quick action, once per turn] C: Psychic 
  supremacy +12 vs. MD (one nearby enemy)—
  The target becomes confused until the end of its 
  next turn. 
  Natural 1-5 hit or miss: The target is immune to 
  psychic supremacy until the end of the battle. 
   
  Psychic contamination: Targets engaged with that 
  star-mask intellect that have fewer than 36 hp 
  cannot target the star-mask intellect. 
   
  Perceptual warp: Enemies who make ranged 
  attacks against the star-mask intellect that roll 
  a natural 1-5 reroll their attack against a 
  creature engaged with the star-mask intellect.  
   
  Nastier Specials 
  Absorb: Enemies who are engaged with the star-
  mask intellect who roll a natural 1-5 on a 
  disengage check are absorbed into the flesh of 
  the star-mask intellect. Absorbed characters are 
  stuck, weakened (-4 to attacks and defenses), 
  and move with the star-mask intellect (hard 
  save, 16+, ends all). Natural 2-19 attack rolls 
  against the star-mask intellect do half damage 
  to the star-mask intellect and half damage split 
  evenly between the absorbed creatures. It is a 
  standard action skill check (DC 15) to free an 
  absorbed character, with a natural 1-5 failure 
  meaning the character trying to free their friend 
  becomes stuck! 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 14 
   HP 350 
  MD 24 
   
   
  
   
  38 
   
   
   
  
   
  39 
   
  THE DUST CLEARS 
  The star-mask brain collapses in on itself, rivulets 
  of ooze running from its body as it deflates. 
  If No Phoenix Weapons Were Used in the 
  Fight 
  Across the city riots, start as star-mask infested 
  gang members go wild. Though the star-mask 
  menace has been ended, many dwarves will die 
  this night before the whole sorry affair comes to 
  a close. 
  The surviving citizens of Frostfire thank the 
  adventurers for their aid, but have little time to 
  celebrate as the city must be repaired and the 
  dead disposed of. 
  If Phoenix Weapons Were Used in the Fight 
  The star-mask menace is ended. The various 
  citizens who had star-masks attached fall into 
  comas, as the star-masks on them wither and die. 
  With time the infested citizens will be themselves 
  once again, but will have to answer to the Dwarf 
  King for what they did in Frostfire. 
  The citizens of Frostfire are grateful to the 
  adventurers, but wish them gone from the city—
  there is much work to be done, and many deaths 
  to mourn. They gift each adventurer a champion-
  tier magic item as a token of thanks. 
  If the Killing Blow Was from a Phoenix 
  Weapon 
  The star-mask menace is ended. Across the city 
  star-mask parasites die, falling away from the 
  bodies of those they were infesting. Almost one 
  in ten citizens were secret hosts to star-masks, 
  most of them unknowingly. 
  The adventurers are hailed as heroes, and the 
  dwarves of Frostfire wish to honor them. The 
  Miner’s Guild set about carving the faces of the 
  heroes into the side of Frostfire so that future 
  generations will remember what happened here. 
  Among the many gifts and tokens of thanks 
  that the adventurers receive, each is given a 
  champion tier magic item by the dwarves. 
  EPILOG 
  The Dwarf King, when he learns of what 
  happened at Frostfire, gives the adventurers the 
  remains of the meteorite without them having to 
  give him the remains of the phoenix shell or fulfil 
  any of their previous promises. 
  The adventurers are welcomed back by their 
  patron and receive a personal audience. The 
  nature of the audience will vary based on which 
  icon the party was working for, and how you and 
  your players envision the icon—here are some 
  suggestions: 
  ARCHMAGE 
  The Archmage greets the adventurers in 
  Horizon, inviting them into his library to 
  discuss their adventure. As the adventurers 
  relay their experiences to him, it seems to 
  them that their parts are pre-scripted, as 
  though this meeting and everything that led 
  up to it was preordained. 
  CRUSADER 
  The Crusader sends for the adventurers and 
  they are bought with an honor guard to First 
  Triumph. There, at the headquarters of the 
  Crusader’s army, the icon and his generals 
  listen gravely to the adventurers’ tale, 
  discussing how they will incorporate the 
  lessons learned into their future battle plans. 
  DIABOLIST 
  The Diabolist is pleased to meet the 
  adventurers in a palace deep beneath the 
  world, the steps that lead down to the gate 
  are, of course, paved with stones that are 
  inscribed with things like “I meant it for the 
  best” and “What could possibly go wrong”. The 
  road to hell really is paved with good 
  intentions. The Diabolist laughs delightedly 
  as she hears of the trials and travails that her 
  servants endured, and as the adventurers 
  depart her presence whispers something into 
  the ear of an attendant demon. 
  DWARF KING 
  The Dwarf King meets the adventurers in his 
  throne 
  room, 
  pleased 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  successfully ‘won’ from him the meteorite so 
  that he did not have to turn it over to another 
  icon. A great feast is held in the adventurers’ 
  honor, and the Dwarf King and his court 
  listens to an epic poem that his skalds have 
  composed to honor the party. 
  
   
  40 
   
  ELF QUEEN 
  The Elf Queen calls for the adventurers to 
  attend her at the Court of Stars. Their time in 
  the Elf Queen’s presence seemed to pass in a 
  few minutes, when in reality they spent 
  several days there. Afterwards, nobody can 
  quite remember the words that they spoke to 
  her, and the whole experience seems like a 
  fading yet beautiful dream. 
  EMPEROR 
  With great pomp and circumstance, the 
  adventurers are welcomed to Axis, with 
  flights of dragons soaring overhead to herald 
  their arrival. The adventurers stand before the 
  whole imperial court to recount their tale, and 
  the Emperor bestows upon them the title of 
  ‘Phoenix Knights’. 
  GREAT GOLD WYRM 
  The Great Gold Wyrm comes to the 
  adventurers in the form of a shared dream, 
  and carries them aloft on his back over the 
  Dragon Empire. When the adventurers 
  awake, they are in a different place than they 
  were before, as though the dream were 
  somehow also real. 
  HIGH DRUID 
  The animals of the Wild Wood form a silent 
  and 
  majestic 
  procession 
  around 
  the 
  adventurers as they travel into the High 
  Druid’s domain. At a circle of standing stones 
  carved by a people long forgotten, the High 
  Druid greets the party in the moonlight. The 
  adventurers recount their tale; the High Druid 
  listens intently until they have run out of 
  words, then disappears in the form of leaves 
  blowing in the night wind. The animals of the 
  forest leave the stone circle one by one in 
  silence. 
  LICH KING 
  In his palace of bones, the Lich King greets the 
  adventurers in all his ancient finery. As the 
  adventurers recount their tale, the nobles of 
  the Undying Peerage silently lurk in the 
  shadows, paying silent homage to the 
  adventurers and their feats. The Lich King 
  gives each adventurer a gift—an hour glass 
  with their name inscribed upon it. 
  ORC LORD 
  The Orc Lord meets the adventurers in a ruin 
  from a past age, his horde encamped around 
  it. The Orc Lord’s power is palpable, radiating 
  from him as he listens to the adventurers’ tale. 
  The orcs of the horde are too scared of those 
  honored by their dread master to attack or 
  harass the adventurers on their way out of the 
  encampment. 
  PRIESTESS 
  The Priestess meets the adventurers in a room 
  high in the Cathedral that overlooks the 
  Midland Sea. She doesn’t speak to them of 
  their adventure, but instead talks about the 
  boats on the ocean. The adventurers get the 
  impression that more was being said than 
  passed her lips, and that she somehow 
  already knew of their deeds. 
  PRINCE OF SHADOWS 
  In Shadow Port, the adventurers take their 
  rest in the famous Crown and Gown inn, 
  where they are waited upon hand and foot by 
  servants. A blind bard approaches the party 
  and wants to hear of their exploits. The 
  following morning, the adventurers hear that 
  the Prince of Shadows enjoyed meeting them 
  the night before. Was he disguised as the 
  blind bard, one of the dancing girls, a lowly 
  servant, the elderly stable hand? Who can tell! 
  THE THREE 
  In 
  Drakkenhall, 
  the 
  adventurers 
  are 
  summoned before the presence of the Three in 
  all their terrible and awesome glory. At first, 
  the adventurers assumed that they were 
  meeting in a great hall with a go-between, 
  until one of the three massive statues at the 
  end of the hall blinked. 
   
   
   
  
   
  41 
   
  6th level Dwarf Cleric  
  STR CON DEX INT WIS CHA 
  16 
  16 
  9 
  11 
  18 
  11 
  +3 
  +3 
  -1 
  0 
  +4 
  0 
  +9 
  +9 
  +5 
  +6 
  +10 
  +6 
   
   
  INIT 
   
   
   
   
  AC 
  24 
   
   
  PD 
  20 
   
   
  MD 
  17 
   
   
  now 
  max 
  Hit Points 
   
  100 
   
   
   
  Recoveries 
   
  8 
   
   
   
  Recovery 
  Roll 
  6d8+6 
   
  At-Will Attacks & Powers 
  Hammer +9 vs AC—6d6+6 damage 
  Miss: 6 damage 
  Combat Boon: When you hit with your hammer you or 
  one conscious nearby ally can roll a save against a 
  save ends effect with a +1 bonus. 
  [daily, quick action] Hammer of Faith. Until the end of 
  the battle your hammer glows, uses d12s for damage, 
  and deals half damage (6d12+6 / 2) on a miss. 
   
  R: Javelin of Faith +10 vs PD (one nearby enemy, or one 
  far away enemy but +8 to attack)—6d6+8 holy damage, 
  or 8d6+8 holy damage against an undamaged target. 
  Miss: 5 holy damage 
   
  Limited Use Attacks & Powers 
  [3x per battle, quick action] Heal: close-quarters spell. 
  You or one nearby ally can heal using a recovery and heal 
  an extra 10 hp on top of the target’s regular recovery 
  value. If the target has no recoveries, you or a nearby ally 
  can expend a recovery instead. 
   
  [daily, quick action] Divine invocation: close-quarters 
  spell. This battle critical hits against you and your nearby 
  allies deal normal damage instead of critical damage. 
   
  [daily, full-turn action] Spirits of Radiance: close-quarters 
  spell. You or one nearby ally can heal using a free 
  recovery, and the person regaining hp heals an extra 10 
  hp on top of their regular recovery value. Then make 
  this attack: 
  C: Holy Sphere +10 vs MD (up to two nearby 
  enemies)—7d8+8 holy damage, and both you and 
  your nearby ally with the fewest hit points gain a +4 
  bonus to AC until the end of your next turn. 
  Miss: Half damage (7d8+8 / 2), and both you and your 
  nearby ally with the fewest hit points gain a +2 bonus 
  to AC until the end of your next turn. 
   
  Not a ‘full’ character 
  This character is intended to act as a one-session 
  character for those whose regular characters become 
  temporarily unplayable due to poisoning during the 
  ‘FEAST & FESTER’ session of this adventure; it is 
  missing some class features, powers, spells, etc. that 
  would be found in a player character created for 
  long-term play, and other features have been 
  simplified or merged together (Spirits of the 
  Righteous with Sphere of Radiance). 
  If you intend to switch to playing one of the 
  clerics from Frostfire as your regular character it 
  would be best to recreate this character using the 
  character creation rules from the core 13TH AGE rule 
  book. However, for a quick fun character ready to 
  pick up and play without any fuss this character will 
  do for a single session. 
   
  Backgrounds 
  Guardian of the Temple of Light: +4 
  Citizen of Frostfire: +4 
   
  Is that your best shot? 
  Dwarven racial power 
  Once per battle as a free action after you have 
  been hit by an enemy attack but you are still 
  conscious you heal using a rolled recovery. If 
  the escalation die is 0 or 1 you only get half 
  healing from the recovery, but if the 
  escalation die is 2+ you get full healing and 
  the recovery is free! 
   
  Equipment 
  Blessed hammer. Shield. Dwarven plate 
  mail. Holy symbol. Woolen cloak. Ever-
  glowing lantern. Dagger (roll d4s for 
  damage). 50 gp. 
  
   
  42 
   
  OPEN GAME 
  LICENSE 
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  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on 
  material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  13th Age. Copyright 2013, Fire Opal Media, Inc.; Authors: Rob 
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  Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. 
  13th Age Bestiary. Copyright 2014, Fire Opal Media, Inc. and Pelgrane 
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  Authors: ASH LAW. 
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