TEXT: i
   
  From the Pen of Thurston Hillman
   
  Additional Material by Ryan Nock
   
  Evocative Cover Illustration by ShenFei
   
  Stunning Cartographic Displays by James Hazelett
   
   Jonathan Roberts
   
  Masterful Interior Illustrations* by Claudio Pozas
   
   ShenFei
   
   Eleni Tsami
   with Layout and Graphic Design by Eric Life-Putnam
  Special Thanks to Jamie—Because if I’m going to 
  dedicate a book to you, it’s going to be the one with 
  a giant robot on the cover.
  Additional Thanks to Emily Douglas, Dan Houston, and Falkus, 
  Kickstarter™ backers who introduced Bartholomew Pryce, 
  Dester Rathnine, and Rosalyn Taylor.
  Ably Produced and Facilitated by Russell Morrissey
  “For Pathfinder® Role-Playing game”
  ZEITGEIST Adventure Number 5
  Cauldron-Born
  EN Publishing is 
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  A Fantasy
  Role-Playing
  Adventure by
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  ii
  Cauldron-Born
  Table of Contents
  IntroductIon .....................................................................1
  Plot threads ....................................................................................1
  timeline ............................................................................................1
  Adapting the Adventure. ....................................................................1
  Background ...................................................................................... 2
  Unresolved Issues. .............................................................................2
  A Lot Going On. ................................................................................3
  adventure overview ......................................................................... 3
  Adjusting for History. ........................................................................ 4
  Messenger Wind. .............................................................................. 4
  Plan B. .............................................................................................. 4
  adventure layout ............................................................................. 5
  NPC Roster. .............................................................................................5
  Character Themes in the Adventure. ................................................. 6
  Pacing and Leveling. ......................................................................... 6
  Rewards. ..................................................................................................7
  A Final Word Before We Start. ..................................................................7
  Prelude: to Meet a KIng ..................................................8
  Back on the JoB ................................................................................. 8
  Meanwhile in the News. .....................................................................8
  in medias res .................................................................................... 9
  meeting with the king .....................................................................11
  Standalone Intro. .............................................................................11
  Wayfarer's Lantern. ..........................................................................11
  Enter the B-Team. ............................................................................12
  a Bear in Bosum strand * .................................................................13
  Subtle Nudges. ................................................................................13
  enter varal .....................................................................................14
  BomBs away! * ..................................................................................15
  Terror Attack. ........................................................................................16
  For Later Investigation. ....................................................................17
  Pryce is Right. ..................................................................................17
  Snipers! .................................................................................................18
  Part one: SetuP .................................................................20
  a Bunch of Bolts ............................................................................. 20
  guardian of the hill ........................................................................21
  thread one: the downfall of kell ..................................................22
  Mini-Game Training. .......................................................................22
  The Kell Guild. ......................................................................................22
  What You Gonna Do When They Come for You?......................................23
  Dirty Rats. .......................................................................................23
  Kell's Operations by District. ...........................................................24
  The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Family. .................................................. 26
  Sunset Bench. * ......................................................................................27
  His Grace, the Duke of Slaughter. ...........................................................29
  Interrogation. ........................................................................................31
  thread two: one season slain .........................................................31
  Following Fey. ........................................................................................31
  A Powerful Ally. ...............................................................................31
  Casing the Cloudwood. ...........................................................................32
  Her Majesty, Princess Fairy Dust. ..........................................................33
  Torches and Pitchforks * .........................................................................34
  Timing. ............................................................................................34
  It Takes a Gremlin. ............................................................................... 36
  Gallo’s School for Boys. ...........................................................................37
  Ekossigan vs. the Obscurati. .............................................................37
  Spring Returns to Winter. ......................................................................41
  thread three: eschatological terrorists ......................................43
  Epistle from Heid. ..................................................................................43
  Investigating Zubov. ...............................................................................43
  Long-Term Plans. .............................................................................43
  Kvarti Talks. ..........................................................................................47
  Beasts of the End Time. ..........................................................................47
  The Cargo. ......................................................................................47
  Hostage Situation. .................................................................................49
  Demands. ........................................................................................49
  Subrail Assault. .....................................................................................50
  Mid-Route Attack. ...........................................................................51
  Part two: guStatory InterrogatIon ......................53
  invitation and welcoming ................................................................53
  The Guest List. ................................................................................53
  Danoran Bodyguards. ..................................................................... 54
  the Banquet ....................................................................................55
  Event 1: Seating and the Toast. ...............................................................55
  Event 2: Salad Fork, Soup Spoon. .......................................................... 56
  Event 3: Intermission. ........................................................................... 56
  Event 4: Let’s Talk Peace. ...................................................................... 56
  Event 5: Agitation. ................................................................................ 56
  Event 6: No Dessert. .............................................................................. 56
  final PreParation ............................................................................57
  Part three: exPedItIon to the BleaK gate ............58
  Pick your team ............................................................................... 58
  into the gate ................................................................................. 59
  toll Bridge .................................................................................... 59
  cauldron hill entrance ................................................................. 60
  Recruitment. ....................................................................................60
  Number of Defenders. ......................................................................61
  The Shadows of Cauldron Hill. ........................................................62
  welcome to my Parlor .....................................................................63
  uPPer facility ..................................................................................65
  villainous victory .......................................................................... 66
  Borne to Be wild ............................................................................. 67
  Part Four: to Battle a coloSSuS ................................69
  shadow of the colossus .................................................................. 69
  regrouP time .................................................................................. 69
  the Battle of Bosum strand ............................................................70
  the Battle Begins ............................................................................71
  Because Someone Is Going to Suggest It. ..........................................71
  conclusion .......................................................................................74
  aPPendIx a: BrIeFIng doSSIer ........................................75
  Peace summit of 501 aov .................................................................75
  Persons of note .............................................................................. 76
  attachment Pn6a: ethelyn’s ProPhecy ............................................ 76
  oBscurati intelligence ................................................................... 77
  attachment Pn16a: gidim .................................................................77
  aPPendIx B: allIeS and BacK-uP ....................................78
  High Level Equipment. ....................................................................80
  aPPendIx c: Kell-guIld StatS ....................................... 81
  guild leaders ..................................................................................81
  lesser thugs ...................................................................................83
  aPPendIx d: MagIc IteMS .................................................84
  aPPendIx e: gM QuIcK reFerence ..................................85
  taking down kell’s guild ................................................................85
  timeline ......................................................................................... 86
  nPc quick reference ...................................................................... 87
  Player handoutS .............................................................88
  a fancy invitation. .......................................................................... 88
  Bad Boys, Bad Boys. ........................................................................ 89
  ePistle from heid ............................................................................ 90
  oPen gaMe lIcenSe 1.0a .................................................... 91
  
  1
  Introduction 
  Wherein the 
  Second Bird Alights
  A 
  conspiracy has woven itself firmly into the dark  
   underbelly of the city of Flint. The Royal Home-
  land Constabulary (RHC) has learned of its existence 
  and knows it has a base beneath the haunted mountain 
  named Cauldron Hill. Now at the king’s command it is 
  time to rip this threat from its shadowy womb and thrust 
  it into the light of day.
  While the RHC pursues that mission, two other forces 
  are at work in Flint: a cult of dwarven assassins who want 
  to disrupt a peace summit, and a rogue lord of the Un-
  seen Court who seeks a war between man and fey. Either 
  plot will spell disaster for Flint. Can the RHC constables 
  spare the time to stop them before the doom beneath 
  Cauldron Hill is born?
  Plot Threads
  In Cauldron-Born, the PCs will find themselves racing against 
  the clock to manage numerous threats in and around Flint, a 
  situation which might remind some players of Adventure Two. 
  Before you run this adventure you’ll want to be familiar with the 
  Timeline, Synopsis, and the NPC Roster. Additionally, we’ve 
  provided a Dramatis Personae-style handout by way of the Mis-
  sion Briefing dossier (Appendix A), which you can give to the 
  players at the start of the adventure.
  The adventure consists of a mix of party-driven investigation 
  and time-based events the PCs must react to. In Part One, three 
  plot threads occur simultaneously, and the party has great flex-
  ibility to pursue them as they see fit and even fail one or more 
  while still reaching the climax. See the GM handouts Timeline 
  and Taking Down Kell’s Guild at the end of this book to help 
  keep the various plots straight.
  Timeline
  The adventure begins on the 8th of Spring, in the year 501 A.O.V. (After 
  Our Victory), approximately two months following the end of Adven-
  ture Four, Always on Time.
  Spring 8. A carriage chase assassination attempt by Kell’s thugs. The 
  party meets with King Aodhan and are tasked to find Lorcan Kell. The 
  B-Team picks up mediator Brakken. Asrabey, an emissary of the Unseen 
  Court embroils the party in the search for a rogue fey lord. Dwarven 
  radicals attack Pardwight University.
  Spring 9. The party and B-Team examine a broken golem for clues. 
  A letter arrives from Vlendam Heid, warning the party about the escha-
  tologists. The party takes command of the task force to capture Kell.
  Spring 10. Asrabey asks the party to take him to Gale. In the eve-
  ning, the B-Team escorts Brakken to the club Sunset Bench, one of Kell’s 
  fronts. Late at night the dwarven radicals bring a ship full of monsters 
  into the city.
  Spring 11. Brakken and the B-Team witness the effects of a fey curse 
  in the Cloudwood. An evening opera gives the party a chance to nab 
  Kell’s lawyer.
  Spring 12. The dwarven radicals attack a subrail station in the morn-
  ing. At sunset paranoia in the Cloudwood leads a mob to murder the 
  mayor. Ekossigan performs his ritual sacrifice in the evening.
  Spring 13. If the party hasn’t caught him yet, Kell leaves his hide-out 
  at 3 a.m., giving the party a chance to take him down. That evening Han 
  Jierre and his niece Lya arrive and dine with the party and the king.
  Spring 14. At midnight, the king will be able to send the party to the 
  Bleak Gate if they have not already found a way.
  Adapting the 
  Adventure.
  This adventure has to serve several purposes. First it’s the climax of the 
  first act of Zeitgeist: The Gears of Revolution, and with a few small tweaks it 
  can be the end of the campaign if needed. Second, we want the adventure 
  to work as its own story, plus have enough novel events and locations that 
  GMs might use it for inspiration for their own campaigns.
  To run this as a stand-alone, you can cut out a lot of the context of the 
  greater conspiracy, and put the focus on trying to protect the peace sum-
  mit from a “cult.” The dwarven radicals might be bundled in with Kell’s 
  guild as members of a doomsday cult trying to stop the peace talks, with 
  the fey Ekossigan as a third party complication. The cult’s complex might 
  just be well-hidden, or can be in any Plane of Shadow-style location, and 
  instead of crafting a colossus they might be summoning a doomsday de-
  mon, waking a dragon, launching a steampunk airship, or resurrecting a 
  villain from your campaign’s history.
  Finally, this adventure can serve as the starting point of an abridged 
  Zeitgeist campaign. Start with the party having no knowledge of the con-
  spiracy, so the focus is just on protecting the peace summit. When the 
  colossus bursts free at the end of the adventure, that kicks off the mis-
  sions in Adventures Six through Nine to get control of the golem before 
  the Obscurati can.
  
  2
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  Background
  Risur and Danor have fought several wars over the past two centuries. 
  King aodhan of Risur is supposed to be pledging to marry lya Jierre, 
  niece of the sovereign of Danor, to cement an end to hostilities between 
  the two nations. Lya, her uncle, and a small fleet of Danoran ships are 
  already on their way to a peace summit in Flint, the industrial capital of 
  Risur. They arrive in mere days.
  Risur’s spies, however, have discovered that Lya is somehow involved 
  in a conspiracy known as the Obscurati. The Ob have been experiment-
  ing with strange magic, and they have a stronghold and factory in Flint, 
  but hidden in the dark parallel world known as the Bleak Gate. What 
  they have been building is a mystery, but Lya knows Risur suspects her. 
  King Aodhan and his ministers can’t fathom why she’s still coming, nor 
  can they tell what the conspiracy’s true goals are.
  They lack two pieces of the puzzle.
  First, the Obscurati aren’t necessarily hostile to Risur. Their goals—
  thoroughly detailed in the Zeitgeist Campaign Guide—are far larger 
  than the affairs of two countries.
  Second, Aodhan assumes that the Ob are building some sort of weapon 
  to use against Flint, but their creation is actually a titanic golem, which is 
  necessary for their broader goal. The colossus was named Borne by its 
  creators, and nine months ago one of those creators betrayed the Obscu-
  rati and sabotaged the colossus, removing its mind. Now it is just a giant 
  thoughtless machine, one the Ob are wary of activating. Lya’s goal at the 
  peace summit is to divert attention away from the secret factory and buy 
  time for the colossus to be repaired.
  Peace Summit.
  King Aodhan still holds out hope for peace, though he prepares for ca-
  tastrophe. He will meet with his Danoran counterpart, Sovereign han 
  Jierre, and they have called upon a neutral mediator, Brakken of hef-
  fanita, a minotaur from the nation of Ber.
  Many of the key details of the peace talks have been kept from all but 
  the highest ranked officials in Flint. The King is wary of sabotage or 
  political embarrassment. The people of Flint are of mixed minds, some 
  supporting their king, others protesting against Danor.
  Turf War.
  A year ago, a foreign crime syndicate known as the Family began to horn 
  in on territory held by local strongman lorcan Kell. Though the Family, 
  led by the respectable and fashionable Morgan cippiano, is better at 
  subtlety and winning the favor of the citizenry, Kell’s guild of thieves are 
  backed by the Obscurati, for whom they work as muscle. Over the past 
  few months sporadic gang fights have broken out and people allied with 
  either group have been found murdered.
  Return of the Unseen Court.
  Just as the Bleak Gate is a shadowy reflection of reality, the fey land of 
  the Dreaming is its verdant reflection. What little order and hierarchy 
  exist in the Dreaming are controlled by the Unseen Court. These pow-
  erful fey do not take kindly to King Aodhan’s peace overtures to Danor, 
  for they find technology abhorrent, but the court cannot unite under a 
  single response.
  One member of the Unseen Court, ekossigan, has pushed for war 
  against Risur. Ekossigan performed divinations and sought visions to 
  find proof that would spur his peers to action. But he peered too closely 
  into the darkness of the Bleak Gate, and heard the screams of souls being 
  burned as fuel in the Obscurati’s forges.
  Driven mad by the ordeal, Ekossigan left a poem hinting at his inten-
  tions, then disappeared. He eventually made his way to Flint, where he 
  has busied himself gathering the local lesser fey—pixies, satyrs, grem-
  lins, and such—to his banner. He is convinced he must destroy the 
  Obscurati’s factories, but it’s nearly impossible for even a being of his 
  power to enter the Bleak Gate. To reach the Ob’s complex, Ekossigan 
  must perform a horrendous act: hanging thirty-one children from the 
  branches of a century-old tree.
  The Unseen Court has dispatched one of its emissaries, the high elf 
  dreadnought asrabey Varal, to follow Ekossigan to Flint and stop him 
  before he succeeds in provoking the war he wants.
  The Disciples of Heid Eschatol.
  Radical dwarven followers of the philosophy of Heid Eschatol believe 
  that the upcoming treaty is a step backwards from their prediction of 
  doomsday. Rather than form a tenuous peace that will last for only a few 
  decades, why should they not accept a war that will bring about finality 
  to their conflict?
  Led by the zealot grundun Zubov, these devout eschatologists have 
  quietly infiltrated Flint, seeding themselves throughout the city over the 
  past months. Unlike the true teachings of Heid Eschatol that speak of 
  “preparing for the end of things,” the followers of Zubov have begun a 
  calculated plan to “make things end.” Already dwarven assassins have 
  planted bombs in key areas and set up discreet sniper positions. Zubov, 
  convinced his own end is near, is prepared to die in the greatest terror 
  attack Risur has ever seen.
  As Zubov puts the final pieces of his destructive plot into place, his 
  most recently hired gun is having misgivings. Dwarven sniper Kvarti 
  gorbatiy (whom the PCs likely had the pleasure of meeting in Adven-
  ture Three, Digging for Lies), did not realize when Zubov hired him 
  how radical the mission was, and even the coldly professional sniper is 
  troubled by what Zubov is planning.
  Unresolved Issues.
  The main factors keeping Risur and Danor from establishing a long-lasting 
  peace are:
  Long-standing animosity in the leadership, who typically spent 
  •	
  their youths fighting in the last war and will overreact to any new 
  provocation.
  Ownership disputes of the lush Yerasol Archipelago. Each side will 
  •	
  have to forcibly evict some of its citizens who are dug in beyond 
  what are considered “viable borders.”
  Fears in Risur that Danor will use peacetime to grow its influence 
  •	
  over the other great nations. Negotiations will establish lines each 
  nation is forbidden to cross with regard to establishing factories 
  and footholds in Drakr, Ber, and Crisillyir.
  Fears in Danor that Risur is stealing Danoran technology and, by 
  •	
  combining it with magic, will eliminate what advantages Danor 
  has. The two leaders will have to agree to the broad terms of an 
  industrial patent treaty.
  Certain prisoners will need to traded. The most complicated factors 
  •	
  here will be Nathan Jierre and Duchess Ethelyn of Shale (see 
  Adventure One, Island at the Axis of the World). It depends on what 
  the party did earlier in the campaign, but generally Danor wants 
  Ethelyn as a prisoner, and wants Nathan returned to them if the 
  party tried to grant him asylum.
  
  3
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  Obscurati Affairs.
  Over the past several years the Obscurati have established a massive 
  construction facility underneath the mountain Cauldron Hill, or rather 
  in its shadowy analogue in the Bleak Gate. They had the aid of many 
  government officials, most of them were misled in the details and pur-
  pose of the operation. Some of these the party discovered and took down 
  in earlier adventures.
  Currently, the facility is overseen by leone Quital, known by his 
  moniker “the steelshaper” for his innate magical ability to reshape and 
  telekinetically manipulate almost any type of metal. He was one of three 
  architects of the colossus, but of the three he is the only one invested in 
  the Obscurati’s mission.
  The Ob in Flint made use of Locan Kell’s thieves guild to smuggle in 
  the materials it needed for the construction, and for the past six months 
  Kell’s men have been slowly slicing up loose ends. But Kell himself is a 
  loose end because his men have been using the Obscurati’s secret gates 
  to travel between the real world and the Bleak Gate. After years of disci-
  plined secrecy, the Ob are likely to be undone by the overconfidence of a 
  top-hatted, bloodthirsty crime lord.
  I, Grappa.
  Nine months ago, one of the colossus’s other two creators—alexander 
  grappa, known as “the mindmaker”—tried to escape the Bleak Gate 
  complex. (The third architect, “the gearbuilder” tinker oddcog, is the 
  main focus of Adventure Six.)
  The Ob had been trying for years to make a golem mind suitable for 
  their ultimate plan, but none of their attempts were successful. The 
  colossus would need to be intelligent enough to react to unpredictable 
  dangers in an environment too deadly for anyone to stand nearby and 
  give it orders. And it would need to be devoted enough to the con-
  spiracy’s beliefs that it would not give up, even though it would suffer 
  incredible damage and might even be destroyed. But any golem mind 
  smart enough showed too much independence, and the Ob feared they 
  would go rampant when placed into the colossus’s powerful body.
  Grappa, a Risuri veteran of the Third Yerasol War who turned to 
  golem-crafting in hopes of sparing other young men from the horrors of 
  war, attracted the Ob’s attention for his novel method of raising golems 
  like children. He implanted some artificial memories into a construct as 
  a baseline, then gave the “newborn” time to learn and mature. Learned 
  experience was embedded with context and emotion, making it more 
  real and effective than any crafted psyche could be.
  Five years ago, Grappa was personally recruited by Kasvarina Varal, 
  one of the heads of the Obscurati who traveled between the conspiracy’s 
  various cells. She helped him raise and train several golem “children,” 
  and then chose the one with the most promise, which Grappa had 
  named Borne. Grappa oversaw the careful transfer of Borne’s mind from 
  a man-sized golem into the colossus, and spent months making sure 
  Borne would be at ease in his new body.
  During this time, however, Grappa grew nervous about the Ob’s ulti-
  mate goals. After he snooped on something he shouldn’t have, Kasvarina 
  and Leone had him locked up. Grappa managed to escape, though, with 
  the aid of a slender bronze golem handservant. He mind-controlled 
  Kasvarina, interrogated her, then wiped her memories. He likewise 
  extracted the colossus’s mind, not wanting to see his “son” serve the 
  conspiracy’s goals. With Kasvarina as a hostage and his handservant at 
  his side, Grappa tried to make for Flint’s harbor. But Leone the steel-
  shaper caught up with him and killed him.
  Before dying, Grappa managed a desperate spell to transfer his mind 
  to his golem handservant, but Leone tore the handservant apart be-
  fore taking Kasvarina back to the Ob compound to try to restore her 
  memories.
  The RHC eventually discovered the scene, and agents took the shat-
  tered golem into their possession, intending to repair it. Grappa’s mind 
  endures within the bronze golem’s head, and shortly after this adventure 
  begins the RHC manages to repair the golem enough for it to move and 
  haltingly speak. Grappa’s limited by a geas so he cannot reveal all the 
  conspiracy’s secrets, but he still wants to bring them down.
  The Cauldron Hill Complex.
  The engineers and builders inside the compound are growing anxious 
  as Leone keeps them there even after the colossus has been completed. 
  A few unfortunate disappearances of dissenters have tanked morale, and 
  even the guards are starting to grumble.
  As another problem, no one from the Ob has been able to restore Kas-
  varina’s memories. For a variety of reasons (explored in Adventure Eight, 
  Diaspora), many people around the world are interested in finding Kas-
  varina, and without her magical talents she is vulnerable. The Cauldron 
  Hill complex is warded against many types of divination, so the Ob keep 
  her there, hoping to find a solution eventually.
  As the RHC has gotten closer to uncovering the conspiracy, the 
  Obscurati leadership has put great pressure on Leone to activate the 
  colossus. He lacks the carefully cultivated mind of Borne, though, so he 
  has brought in less skilled enchanters to try implanting the conscious-
  nesses of the other, less optimal golem “children.” Each has failed to 
  synchronize, and Leone had their minds extracted and killed to keep 
  the titan from going out of control. The Obscurati are now in possession 
  of a 300-foot tall paperweight.
  Adventure Overview
  On the way to meet with King Aodhan, the party is attacked by thugs 
  working for crime boss Lorcan Kell, at behest of the Obscurati. Escaping 
  the ambush, the party meets their king, who orders them to root out the 
  conspiracy before the peace summit begins, five days hence.
  The weak link in the Ob’s secrecy is Kell himself. If the party can 
  capture or kill him, they should be able to figure out how the Ob travel 
  between the two worlds. The party takes command of a task force of fifty 
  police officers and plans the take-down.
  Meanwhile, a second group of constables—“the B-Team” (whom the 
  players can take control of temporarily as secondary PCs)—meet the 
  summit’s mediator, the minotaur Brakken of Heffanita, when he arrives 
  at Flint’s docks. The B-Team serves as a second set of eyes, letting the 
  players witness events that their main characters wouldn’t be privy to.
  A Lot Going On.
  In writing this adventure we realized we had more plot threads we want-
  ed to resolve than we had originally planned at the start of designing the 
  adventure path. That’s why this adventure now spans two levels instead 
  of just the one that we’d said in the Campaign Guide. One of the later ad-
  ventures will be shortened slightly to balance out the level progression 
  throughout the campaign.
  
  4
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  Complications Arise.
  While planning ways to capture Kell, Asrabey Varal, an emissary of the 
  Unseen Court, arrives and warns that a fey lord named Ekossigan has 
  come to Flint to provoke a war. Asrabey invokes the right of Kelland’s 
  Tribute to ask for aid, because he is magically forbidden from causing any 
  harm to a member of the Court. The king leaves it to the party whether 
  to help him or pass the buck to the B-Team.
  The first Danoran dignitaries for the peace summit will arrive the next 
  day, Spring 9, and Aodhan wants results by the 13th, when Sovereign 
  Han Jierre and his niece Lya arrive, so he can know whether they are 
  hostile to Risur. If the party can’t manage that, then just after midnight 
  on the 14th, the king and his ministers will be able to send the party to 
  the Bleak Gate.
  After the party finishes with the king, the B-Team witnesses the first 
  attack by dwarven cultists. They derail a train with one bomb, collapse 
  a building with another, then begin shooting panicked people from 
  rooftops. Either the B-Team or the main party must stop them before 
  hundreds are killed.
  Three Threads.
  The next four days then are filled with chasing down three targets—the 
  dwarven radicals, the fey lord Ekossigan, and Lorcan Kell.
  The radicals try to sneak in a shipment of horrifying monsters to stalk 
  the streets, but the party has a chance to stop them at sea. While the 
  party might manage to strike the dwarves’ hide-out, their leader Grund-
  un Zubov has already prepared his final attack. He intends to crash the 
  opening of a new subrail station, take hostages, and then drive a train car 
  loaded with explosives underneath the hotel where all the peace summit 
  dignitaries are staying. If he’s not stopped, the detonation will inflame 
  Danor enough to provoke a new war.
  At the same time, Ekossigan is gathering local minor fey to his banner 
  in the rural city district called Cloudwood. The fey lord lays a curse on 
  the district, which the B-Team witnesses first hand. If the party can’t 
  stop him the people there violently turn on each other.
  When they find him, Ekossigan is prepared to sacrifice thirty-one 
  children in a treetop orphanage. Their deaths will open a portal to the 
  Bleak Gate so he can march his army of fey through. The party has a 
  chance to go with him if they let him perform his vile ritual. Otherwise 
  they must fight him as he invokes a destructive ice storm and tries to 
  bring down the whole tree orphanage around them.
  If defeated, he disintegrates, but not before revealing that he has had 
  a vision of Kasvarina Varal beneath Cauldron Hill. Though the party 
  might not recognize the name, Asrabey has history with her, and he of-
  fers to aid the party on their mission to the Bleak Gate.
  The primary goal, though, is capturing Lorcan Kell. With their task 
  force the party knocks over Kell-aligned businesses, disrupts illicit 
  transactions, targets the guild’s lieutenants, and eventually assaults his 
  stronghold, the Theater of Scoundrels. Along the way the B-Team can 
  help the party arrest Kell’s lawyer, and an opposing crime syndicate 
  called The Family offers to lead the party to Kell himself if the task 
  force’s efforts have failed.
  Kell always has an escape route planned, though, and if the party isn’t 
  careful he’ll trick them with a decoy and link up with the Obscurati, who 
  spirit him away to the Bleak Gate, but not before he brutally murders the 
  B-Team in retaliation.
  Adjusting for History.
  The party’s Prestige (see the Zeitgeist Player’s Guide) likely has reached 
  4 with Risur, and could be as high as 5. If the party’s Prestige with Risur 
  is only 3, the king is a bit more conservative on what resources he’ll call 
  upon, but he trusts Delft’s opinion of the party. If their Prestige with Risur 
  is 2 or less, the king might not even call upon the party, instead giving 
  them the bodyguard duty while having the “B-Team” handle the investiga-
  tion. Of course, when they get in over their heads and die horribly, the 
  party can swoop in to save the day.
  If Asrabey died in the first adventure, he’s either back from the dead if 
  you allow that in your game (if anyone has the resources for resurrection, 
  it’s the Unseen Court), or he’s been replaced by a similar powerful high-
  elf male warrior, perhaps one armed with a bone scimitar and a wand of 
  scorching ray. If somehow the party has already killed Lorcan Kell (and 
  according to the E.N. Publishing messageboards, it nearly happened in at 
  least two campaigns), you could simply slot in his lawyer Quentin Augst 
  as the target, or invent a lieutenant who replaced him.
  Messenger Wind.
  The party will be active all across Flint, and might want to split up. They 
  should have access to a messenger wind (provided by Gale in Adventure 
  Two, or by the RHC if you’re running this adventure as a stand-alone). 
  There are five golden feathers that are linked to a central orb. Anyone 
  with a feather can call upon the wind’s power as long as they are within 
  thirty miles of the orb.
  When called, the wind flies ten miles an hour until it reaches the sum-
  moner. He can give it a message, and it will fly to any other bearer of one of 
  these feathers to deliver that message. If multiple creatures activate this 
  power, it resolves its first command before starting the second.
  The party should likely have three of these, their boss Delft one, and 
  the B-Team the remaining one.
  Plan B.
  While we want to make sure the PCs are aware of the scope of the dangers, 
  we don’t want to take away their roleplaying agency by forcing them to 
  be in certain places at certain times. That’s what the B-Team is for: you 
  present brief vignettes so the players can have a broader perspective of 
  the events in the adventure. Additionally, the B-Team scenes should be a 
  fun break from the main plot, give the players an opportunity to try some-
  thing new, and potentially provide the main party with extra resources to 
  handle the numerous time-sensitive challenges.
  Finally, for an adventure with so much going on, we think it’s less 
  believable if none of the good guys die. The B-Team lets you as GM pull 
  out all the stops to demonstrate the threat the villains pose. They’re only 
  4th level, so if they lose horribly to a foe, the main party should stand a 
  chance, and the players might be well-motivated.
  It is likely (and to be honest, preferable) if the B-Team suffer casualties 
  or are otherwise defeated, ideally by Lorcan Kell as he escapes and joins 
  up with the Obscurati. Kell serves as the main combat threat in the climax, 
  and the more the party hates him, the better.
  Brakken is a telepath, so when he eventually shares his memories of 
  the B-Team, it helps gloss over any metagaming concerns of the players 
  having knowledge their main PCs wouldn’t.
  Scenes involving the B-Team are marked with an asterisk.
  
  5
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  Preparing for Cauldron Hill.
  Though not part of the three major threads, the party can get some 
  help for their ultimate mission of attacking Cauldron Hill. The RHC 
  manages to reassemble the handservant golem that houses Alexander 
  Grappa’s consciousness, and he offers to guide them into the Cauldron 
  Hill complex.
  Later, the party is invited to meet Lieutenant Dale, provisional guard-
  ian of haunted Cauldron Hill after its last protector turned out to be part 
  of the Obscurati. He gives the party as much as he knows about the Bleak 
  Gate version of the mountain, and invites them to practice a bit of medi-
  tation to protect them from the evil spirits in that dark world.
  Time to Get Dressed Up.
  Though the party probably managed to stop the dwarven radicals and 
  the fey lord Ekossigan, it’s unlikely the party managed to catch Lorcan 
  Kell and find a way to Cauldron Hill by the time Lya Jierre and her uncle 
  arrive on the 13th. When Lya personally requests their presence at the 
  first banquet of the peace summit, protocol demands they attend.
  Given the chance to mingle with key figures of both nations, the party 
  can try to wheedle information out of Lya, but must maintain proper 
  decorum or be tossed out. Just as dessert is about to be served, Asrabey 
  Varal bursts into the room and asks the king’s permission to travel to 
  the Bleak Gate. Though placed in an awkward position, Aodhan agrees, 
  and the banquet ends on a sour note. The Danorans, spooked, quickly 
  excuse themselves, but Brakken asks for a moment with the king and 
  the party.
  The minotaur reveals that he is a telepath, as well as a real bombshell: 
  one member of the Danoran entourage is rushing for a secret portal that 
  leads to the Bleak Gate, to warn the defenders. If the party acts fast, they 
  can catch him and maintain the element of surprise.
  Attacking the Compound.
  Aodhan wants the party to try to take out the Obscurati’s presence in 
  Flint. Asrabey simply wants them to cover his infiltration as he tries to 
  rescue Kasvarina. And Alexander Grappa in his golem body tags along 
  if the party will let him, or sneaks after them if necessary, having used 
  his magic to ensure he knows when the party attempts their assault. The 
  party might have some Risuri soldiers with them, and perhaps other 
  NPC allies.
  The party has to figure out how best to breach the compound and find 
  its heart, and stealth or trickery can make a far easier path than pure 
  firepower. Regardless of whether the party sweeps through with over-
  whelming might or manages to get themselves outmatched and captured, 
  they ultimately reach the massive central chamber where the colossus 
  stands inert. As a last fight breaks out, somehow the colossus activates 
  (perhaps the party damages it, or Leone tries to activate it as a last-ditch 
  defense, or Grappa awakens it).
  Filled with just wild instinct and a desire to break free, the colossus 
  smashes its way to the surface, and the whole complex begins to collapse 
  and shift into the real world. If the party has done well they can stamp 
  out the Ob’s forces in Flint, gather vital information and free dozens of 
  engineers who will gladly join Risur. If they screw up, they might barely 
  make it out alive.
  Time to Dream.
  The colossus begins to rampage, threatening to destroy half the city. 
  Seeing their secrecy utterly ruined, Lya and Han Jierre teleport away, 
  and it falls to the party to stop the titan.
  King Aodhan has some magical control over who enters and leaves his 
  realm. If the party can manage to drive or lure the mindless colossus to 
  Flint’s harbor, the king places them in charge of a small fleet. Depending 
  on how the party comported itself during the banquet, they even get help 
  from some of the Danoran ships, since most of Danor is not affiliated 
  with this conspiracy and wants to help in Flint’s time of need.
  The king stands on deck and gathers magical energy, calling upon 
  the loyalty of every citizen of the city. The party must keep the king 
  close while avoiding the colossus’s attacks and fending off monsters that 
  hitched a ride on it from the Bleak Gate. If they can protect the king long 
  enough, he banishes the colossus into The Dreaming, where it cannot 
  harm Flint, and where it is beyond the reach of the Obscurati, at least 
  for now.
  Adventure Layout
  Cauldon-Born’s plot has a precise beginning and climax, but the middle 
  of the adventure can take many different paths. We roughly divide events 
  as follows:
  Introduction—Meet the King:
  * 
   The PCs’ meeting with the king, 
  and the arrival of Brakken and Asrabey.
  Part one—three threads: 
  * 
  Tracking down Locan Kell. Help-
  ing Asrabey stop Ekossigan. The radical eschatologist attacks 
  throughout Flint.
  Part two—the etiquette of gustatory Interrogation: 
  * 
  The party 
  hobnobs with dignitaries. Varal requests to investigate Cauldron 
  Hill.
  Part three—expedition to the Bleak gate: 
  * 
  Breaking into the 
  facility. Confronting Lorcan Kell. Borne activates and goes crazy.
  Part Four—to Battle a colossus: 
  * 
  Attracting Borne out to the bay. 
  Naval battle against Borne. King Aodhan’s ritual.
  From a pacing standpoint, “Act One” would involve the party start-
  ing their investigation and finishing two of the three threads. In “Act 
  Two” try to keep a fast pace as the party finishes the third thread just 
  in time to attend the banquet (or runs out of time and fails). Then “Act 
  Three” is the Ob complex, with the surprise ending of having to thwart 
  the colossus.
  Of course, if the party does really well, don’t try to force them to take 
  longer just so the pacing remains the same. If they can get into the Bleak 
  Gate before the 13th, skip the banquet and go straight to act three.
  Scene Layout.
  Each scene is presented in a format of Title, keywords, and tag-line. Key-
  words include:
  Scene type: Action, Exploration, Exposition, Puzzle, Social, or 
  Hybrid.
  duration: Montage (a few hours or days), Real-time (a few minutes), 
  or Tactical (round-by-round).
  NPC Roster.
  Because of the large number of NPCs the party will meet, we’ve compiled 
  two handouts to help you keep track of their various statuses, manner-
  isms, and role in the adventure. A GM handout lists keywords and traits 
  to help you portray the NPCs, while a player handout details characters 
  whom the PCs would be familiar with at the start of the adventure. En-
  courage the players to add notes as they meet new people of interest.
  More detailed entries are included throughout the adventure close to 
  the characters’ first appearances.
  
  6
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  NPC Entry
  Page
  Alexander Grappa, the Mindmaker
  13
  Aodhan, king of Risur
  11
  Asrabey Varal, high elf dreadnought
  14
  Brakken of Heffanita, minotaur negotiator
  13
  Ekossigan, fey lord
  38
  Grundun Zubov, dwarven zealot
  48
  Han Jierre, sovereign of Danor
  54
  Hana “Gale” Soliogn, fey terrorist
  13
  Harkover Lee, Risuri principal minister
  12
  Kasvarina Varal, Obscurati leader
  67
  Kvarti Gorbatiy, dwarf mercenary
  44
  Leone Quital, the Steelshaper
  67
  Lorcan Kell, killer and guild leader
  31
  Lya Jierre, Danoran minister of outsiders
  54
  Morgan Cippiano, Family crime lord
  26
  Quentin Augst, lawyer to criminals
  22
  Roland Stanfield, Flint’s city governor
  50
  Stover Delft, RHC chief inspector
  9
  recurring characters. Many NPCs in this adventure will have roles 
  in future adventures in the series. Lya Jierre is the primary antagonist 
  in Adventure Six, while Alexander Grappa and Leone Quital are key to 
  Adventure Seven, and Asrabey and Kasvarina return in Adventure Eight. 
  King Aodhan and Roland Stanfield will be vital to the end of the second 
  arc of the adventure path, in Adventure Nine. Finally, Han Jierre rises to 
  prominence in the last third of the campaign. If anyone important dies, 
  though, you can replace them with someone thematically similar.
  Incidental nPcs. The following NPCs probably appear for only a 
  single scene, if at all, but if the PCs latch on to anyone, you can refer here 
  to remind yourself who is who.
  NPC
  Page
  Officials, Military, Locals
  Hadsworth Hudgins, carriage driver
  9
  Sergeant Deb Macon, task force liaison
  12
  Justin Rollins, royal technologist
  20
  Captain Dale, military defender of Cauldron Hill
  21
  Rock Rackus, local celebrity
  27
  Sergeant Langlois, Cloudwood cop
  32
  Doyle Idylls, Cloudwood mayor
  32
  Circe, Cloudwood kid delinquent
  35
  Relle, Cloudwood spinster
  35
  Kevin Wilson, subrail architect
  49
  Colonel Aden Tucker, overconfident commander
  50
  Greg Masterson, Ob recruiter at the Battalion
  60
  Kell’s Guild
  Rufus Hammerton, Kell-guild lieutenant
  9
  Kate Glenn, Kell bodyguard cleric
  22
  Nick Reder, Kell bodyguard grappler
  22
  Dester Rathnine, Family mole in Kell guild
  24
  Sylyx (a.k.a. Norm), Obscurati liaison to Kell guild
  27
  Fey and Vekeshi Contacts
  Rear Admiral Morris Dawkins, “the Old Stag”
  31
  The Alderman, gnome beadle
  31
  Valentina Yorke, subrail druid
  31
  Mugwort, pixie spy in RHC
  31
  The Trash Heap, city dump hag
  31
  Ellik, creepy fey
  33
  Radical Eschatologists
  Takbar Rhozenko, bombing leader
  16
  Captain Tamushin, radical eschatologist, of Cherno Bezna
  47
  Doug Clapper, teen look-out
  47
  Peace Summit Dignitaries
  Captain Rosalyn Taylor, Danoran naval representative
  27
  Eloise Duffet, Danoran minister of war
  53
  Geoff Massarde, tiefling engineer
  27
  Kian Doherty, Risuri minister of agriculture
  34
  Pierre Riquier, Danoran minister of magic
  34
  Steffan Eberhardt, peace summit observer
  14
  Pacing and Leveling.
  The adventure can take many routes, and we discourage precise XP track-
  ing. The party starts this adventure at 7nd level. We recommend that they 
  reach 8th level after dealing with two of the three threads in Part One, 
  then 9th level at the adventure’s end.
  Character Themes in 
  the Adventure.
  Each Zeitgeist adventure includes one or more scenes that bring the PCs’ 
  character themes (detailed in the Player’s Guide) to the forefront. In addi-
  tion to the moments below, most of the backgrounds elicit strong interest 
  by one of the attendees at the peace summit banquet.
  Dockers can work together with Thames Grimsley to rally the dock 
  workers of Flint to help crew the ragtag fleet that confronts Borne in the 
  climax.
  Eschatologists can be heavily involved in the terrorist actions of 
  Grundun Zubov, and may receive advanced warning from Vlendam Heid, 
  founder of their movement.
  Gunsmiths will be able to readily identify many of the weapons used 
  by the eschatologist radicals and the Obscurati, and may even receive 
  special modifications to their own weaponry from Kvarti Gorbarity.
  Martial Scientists can learn a new special ability from Major Dale that 
  will protect them during their journey into the Bleak Gate.
  Skyseers give receive a special vision during the encounter with the 
  fey Ekossigan.
  Spirit Mediums can aide investigations into the terrorist attacks and 
  have the option to question Lorcan Kell and other people of interest even 
  if they die. During the final encounter against Borne, Spirit Mediums will 
  be able to relay the exact status of King Aodhan, giving the PCs an edge in 
  managing the final battle.
  Technologists will have the best chance of disarming the bombs used 
  by the dwarven radicals. They’ll also be best equipped to sabotage and 
  sneak through the Obscurati complex.
  Vekeshi Mystics are likely the best chance the PCs will have of gaining 
  the trust and support of Asrabey Varal early in the adventure, and they’ll 
  have a chance to save Kasvarina in the Obscurati complex.
  Yerasol Veterans will be able to identify better with many members 
  of the peace talk banquet, giving the PCs an edge when dealing with high 
  ranking Danoran dignitaries.
  
  7
  Cauldron-Born
  Introduction
  NPC
  Page
  Off-Screen, Overseas, and General
  Giovanni Algardi, “The Carver”
  26
  Archmissionary Cornelius Eboracum, grand exorcist
  31
  Cruusk, Ber ship’s bosun
  13
  Feroz, Brakken’s bear
  13
  Gerax, one-legged Beran orc consular
  14
  Grandis Komanov, radical eschatologist figurehead
  43
  Rush and Merton, Lya’s bodyguards
  54
  Tinker Oddcog, the Gearbuilder, gnome madman
  65
  Bartholomew Pryce, journalist
  17
  Rewards.
  At the end of this adventure, the party’s Prestige with Flint and Risur 
  should increase by 1 step for their role in the peace talks and defense 
  against a rampaging Borne. If they manage to defeat Ekossigan without 
  the mayor of the Cloudwood being slain, their reputation with the Un-
  seen Court goes up by 1. If the PCs took Morgan Cippiano up on his 
  offer to assist with demolishing the Kell-Guild, their prestige with the 
  Family increases by 1 step. Finally, the PCs prestige with the Obscurati 
  increases by 1 step after they successfully infiltrate the Cauldron Hill 
  complex and Borne is unleashed.
  The PCs should have each about 23,500 gp in equipment by the start 
  of this adventure. After the introduction, Stover Delft delivers them a 
  stipend of 9,500 gp each to aid in the various threads that occur at the 
  beginning of the adventure. Just before the banquet, Delft approves a 
  further 13,000 gp stipend per PC.
  If the PCs are free agents working for Brakken, instead of members 
  of the RHC, you’ll need to make sure they receive appropriate treasure. 
  This is made easy by offering a one-time payment of 5,000 gp per player 
  for assisting Brakken in his mission. The difference is made up by the 
  various loot the party can take off its foes.
  A Final Word Before We Start.
  This is a detail-rich, multi-layered adventure. Your players will inevita-
  bly outwit you and find some way to short-circuit the expected path of 
  the investigation, but that’s fine. Just make sure that the key players don’t 
  reveal the existence of the colossus until the PCs see it firsthand, and 
  that no one explains the Obscurati’s ultimate goal. Anything else is fair 
  game. After all, the PCs are supposed to win. We’re just trying to make 
  the chase challenging enough to be fun.
  
  8
  I
  n this act, the party meets with their king to plan an 
   assault on the Obscurati, and the B-Team greets and 
  protects Brakken the mediator.
  Meanwhile 
  in the News.
  While the party prepares to crack the conspiracy, what’s going on in Flint 
  and the rest of the world?
  Doctor. Tales from Ber tell of miraculous healing in the hinterlands. Long 
  averse to the Clergy and their renowned curative magic, the upper class of 
  Ber seem quite abuzz at rumors of a foreign doctor treating the sick using 
  science and surgery, not sorcery. Though Flint has its own medical educa-
  tion programs that produce fine physicians, stories tell of this mystery man 
  repairing severed spines, reattaching lost limbs, and restoring sight to the 
  blind, feats currently beyond the scope of secular medicine.
  Hue. Clothiers across Lanjyr are concerned that the upcoming peace 
  summit might endanger the production of a popular dye, Tardisian Blue, 
  which changes color in the presence of magic. The flower that yields the 
  dye is native to a single island in the Yerasol Archipelago, and that island 
  allegedly lies in a “buffer zone” that has been proposed, where neither 
  side could have settlers. Druids in Risur cheer the announcement, saying it 
  will let the islands return to their original historic beauty.
  Baker. For months subrail travelers have wondered at the construction 
  outside their windows as they passed beneath the heart of downtown. 
  Wonder no longer. The Sharon M. Baker Station (red line, station 4) will be 
  having its ribbon-cutting ceremony on the 12th of Spring. The city subrail 
  authority apologizes that the Red Line will be shut down until noon that 
  day for track maintenance and platform alignment.
  Tennant. The Royal Docks of Upper Flint Bay have a new short-term 
  lodger. Freux Rouge, a second-rate frigate of the Danoran navy, arrives on 
  the 9th bearing dignitaries for this month’s peace summit. The Flint gar-
  rison promises that Risuri ships will be ready at a moment’s notice if the 
  Danorans cause trouble. Indeed, the R.N.S. Brawn—the ship whose berth 
  the Freux Rouge is taking—will be on regular patrol. Gawkers are expected, 
  because the Rouge is one of Danor’s few remaining sailing warships.
  Smith. In Drakr, this spring’s Forge Festival will see most every dwarf 
  over the age of 10 working to craft something out of metal over the course 
  of a single day. Trekhom’s grand shipyard expects to launch a vessel at 
  sunrise the next day, and has invited all non-dwarves in the city to come 
  and watch the unprecedented construction.
  Reunion. Centuries after it was destroyed in the Second Victory, the 
  Aquilopolis Bridge which once connected the human world with the elf 
  world has been reconstructed. Now the massive structure links Crisillyir 
  and Elfaivar at the Strait of Sjögren, and the Avery Coast Railroad is already 
  conveying passengers and freight between the two continents. However, 
  security is tight, and the bridge’s completion was delayed due to numer-
  ous attacks by jungle tigers.
  Back on the Job
  It’s been just over a week since the new year’s festival filled the skies 
  over Flint with fireworks, metaphorically driving away the meager cold 
  weather that passes for winter in Risur. Flowers are already blooming 
  across the city, and despite the perpetual cycle of worker protests and 
  police crack-downs, despite the gang violence, and despite the fringe 
  eschatologists on street corners claiming that this is the last spring the 
  world will ever know, the people of Flint are optimistic for the future.
  The city is abuzz with talk of the peace summit. This morning the 
  king arrived by ship from the capital city of Slate and took residence in 
  Hotel Aurum, the newly-finished tallest building in the city. The party’s 
  presence has been requested in the afternoon, once the king and his reti-
  nue have settled in.
  The Hotel Aurum.
  Construction began only a year ago on the extravagant Hotel Aurum. 
  Conceived by a genius halfling, the hotel is actually two separate build-
  ings connected skywalks at the third, seventh, and eleventh floors. The 
  distinction was meant to allow segregation of different classes, with one 
  building being made for the “everyman” while the other side would cater 
  to nobles.
  Early in the construction, the hotel was chosen as the site for the peace 
  talks, and the interiors were furnished to the exact specifications of the 
  Danoran and Risuri delegations, with each side taking ownership of a 
  separate side of the two-building hotel. The Risuri delegation resides 
  in the less opulent “west building,” while the Danorans have been given 
  occupancy of the “east building.” In order to better preserve the nature 
  of the peace talks, the Danoran east building has been designated as a 
  temporary consulate, and counts as Danoran sovereign soil for purposes 
  of the peace talks.
  Access and Protection.
  Police watch the streets in a one-block perimeter around the building. 
  The nearest subrail stop, Darvill Station (Orange Line, station 2, see 
  Player’s Handout: Subrail Opening), is just outside the perimeter, but 
  the station has a constant security presence as well.
  The entrances of both towers of the hotel are guarded by agents of 
  their respective nations, with Danoran musketeers and pikemen guard-
  ing the east, while Risuri soldiers stand watch with sword and wand at 
  the west. The Danorans won’t allow any non-Danorans admittance to 
  their building during the initial phases of the peace talks, and are sure to 
  report any such attempts to their superiors (particularly Lya Jierre).
  Guards on duty at the Risuri side of the hotel have been given pro-
  files on the PCs, Brakken, and other RHC constables, recognizing them 
  immediately.
  Mages preparing defenses for the peace summit noticed an oddity: 
  just as a ring of gold will block teleportation, the hotel’s very name seems 
  to have the same function. It is impossible to teleport into or out of the 
  building, or between the two towers, though teleportation within a 
  single building works normally.
  Prelude:
  To Meet a King
  
  9
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  In Medias Res
  Action. Tactical. Level 7.
  Kell’s thugs attack the party.
  chief Inspector Stover delft sent a carriage bearing the royal seal 
  to pick up the party and deliver them to Hotel Aurum so they may meet 
  with their king. During the journey, the carriage is set upon by Kell-
  Guild thugs. Normally they’re not much of a threat, but these men carry 
  advanced weapons.
  Though they intend to just murder the horses pulling the carriage 
  then gun down the party, these are the king’s horses, and they do not die 
  so easily. (The driver’s not so lucky.) What was meant as a brutal ambush 
  likely turns into a high-speed chase through the streets.
  Royal Carriage.
  Reserved for guests of the king, this extravagantly beautiful carriage 
  is big enough to hold six people. Latched shutters are normally closed 
  when the carriage travels, but can be opened for a view, or to speak with 
  the driver, a war vet named hadsworth hudgins. The walls, doors, and 
  shutters of the carriage are practically bullet-proof and can be deadbolt-
  ed from within. Two royal horses pull the carriage.
  The carriage picks up the party from the RHC headquarters and goes 
  south along a broad thoroughfare. As it nears a railroad crossing, Had-
  sworth taps the side of the carriage, leans over, and says, “I think I see 
  troub—.”
  Then he’s shot in the chest with a pair of muskets. His body slumps 
  and falls off the side of the carriage, and the horses bolt.
  High Speed Assassination Attempt.
  The ambush consists of two carriages of Kell-Guild attackers, one ap-
  proaching from the front, the other from the rear. Each carriage has two 
  musketeers on the front driver’s seat it, and inside the carriage are two 
  musketeers and one Kell-Guild technologist, with special gadgets pro-
  vided by the Obscurati. The rear carriage also has rufus hammerton, 
  one of Kell’s lieutenants, and athletic and arrogant warrior whom the 
  party might have met in Adventure Two.
  The front carriage pulls sideways to try to block the road, and then its 
  side door opens. The two musketeers in the driver’s seat shoot and kill 
  Hadsworth. Then two shooters in the carriage fire muskets at the horses, 
  but fail to kill them.
  Finally, the technologist hefts a bulky, musket like device with steam 
  piping all across it, and he shoots at the carriage. The PCs hear a thump, 
  and then the high-pitched whine of a drill as the drill-dart tranq gun 
  tries to burrow through the wall of the carriage and dose the party with 
  poison gas.
  Front Carriage Crew
  Kell-Guild technologist
  4 Kell-Guild veteran musketeers
  2 carriage horses
  Rear Carriage Crew
  Kell-Guild technologist
  4 Kell-Guild veteran musketeers
  Rufus Hammerton
  2 carriage horses
  Royal Carriage
  2 royal horses (33 hp left each)
  Kell-Guild Technologist 
  CR 3
  XP 400
  Male human rogue 4
  N Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +3, Senses Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
  hp 18 (4d8)
  Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +2
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+3 (1d6–1/19–20)
  Ranged musket +6 (1d12/×4)
  Ranged gadgets +6 (varies)
  SA sneak attack +2d6
  SQ evasion, uncanny dodge
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12
  Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 15
  Feats Point-Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Weapon Proficiency (musket)
  Skills Acrobatics +9, Disable Device +9, Disguise +8, Handle Animal +8, Knowledge 
  (arcane) +9, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Perception +8, Ride +10, Spellcraft +9, 
  Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +8
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear musket, 20 bullets, short sword, time bomb launcher with 2 bombs*, tranq 
  drill-dart gun with 2 drill-darts*.
  Special Abilities
  Time Bomb Launcher (Ex) This musket-like device shoots a fist-sized projectile with 
  four prongs that dig into a solid surface. When it attaches, it arms and begins ticking 
  loudly once per second. After one round it begins ticking twice as fast, and after 
  two rounds it ticks four times per second. At the end of the third round the bomb 
  explodes, dealing 10d6 damage (Reflex DC 16 half) in a 20-ft. radius.
   
  Before it explodes, the explosive can be detached with a Strength check (DC 20), 
  and the countdown can be stopped with a Disable Device check (DC 25).
   
  The maximum effective range it can be shot is 40 feet. If it hits flesh it bounces off 
  and does not arm. The timer can be manually set as a standard action, and can be 
  set to anywhere from 3 rounds to 10 rounds.
  Tranq Drill-Dart Gun (Ex) This musket-like device fires an arrow-like device that can 
  embed in a person or object. If it hits an object like a door, a spool inside the device 
  activates a drill that bores a narrow hole through surfaces up to three inches deep. 
  One round later, the device sprays gas through the hole.
  A Flinter in his early 40s, Delft gets 
  squinty and condescending when his 
  authority is questioned, but he can 
  recognize talent and good work. Delft 
  chews tobacco, and thinks he looks 
  charming if he grins while sucking on 
  tobacco juices. He walks with a cane 
  because a mimic tore a chunk out of 
  his leg fifteen years ago. He has a habit 
  of poking inanimate objects with the 
  cane before he gets too close to them, 
  and spitting on them when he wants 
  to be extra sure.
  Chief
  Inspector
  Stover Delft
  
  10
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
   
  The drill-dart releases enough gas to fill up to a 10-ft. cube with tranquilizing 
  gas. Each round a creature is in the gas it must make a Fortitude save (DC 16) or take 
  1d2 Charisma damage. The gas can be cleared out by opening a window, but that of 
  course is the goal of the gadget: to force targets to remove their cover.
   
  If the dart hits a person it deals 1d6 damage but it cannot get enough purchase to 
  drill.
  Kell-Guild Veteran Musketeer 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 2
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception –1
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 13 (2d10+2)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+4 (1d6+2/19–20)
  Ranged musket +5 (1d12/×4)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
  Feats Far Shot, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Reload, Weapon Focus (musket)
  Skills Acrobatics +3, Intimidate +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear musket, 20 bullets, studded leather armor, short sword
  Rufus Hammerton 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male human fighter 2/rogue 3
  CE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +7
  Defense
  AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 light shield, +3 Dex)
  hp 37 (2d10+3d8+5)
  Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +0
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+4 (1d6+2/19–20) and short-sword +4 (1d6+1/19–20)
  Ranged thrown alchemical +7 (varies)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6
  SQ expert leaper (Rufus is always considered to have a running start for jump checks. 
  When he deliberately falls, a DC 15 Acrobatics check allows him to ignore the first 
  20 feet fallen.)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +4; CMB +6 (+8 to grapple); CMD 19 (21 vs. grapple)
  Feats Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-
  Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (short sword)
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +6, Climb +9, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +9, Knowledge 
  (local) +8, Perception +7, Stealth +10
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear studded leather armor, 2 short swords, 2 vials alchemist fire, 2 tanglefoot 
  bags
  Carriage Horse 
  CR 1
  XP 4,200
  N Large animal
  Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
  Defense
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 9 (+2 Dexterity, –1 size)
  hp 15 (2d8+6)
  Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1
  Offense
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee 2 hooves –1/–1 (1d4+1 each)
  Statistics
  Str 20, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
  Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 17
  Feats Endurance, Run
  Skills Perception +6
  SQ Docile
  Royal Horse 
  CR 3
  XP 1,200
  N Large animal
  Init +4; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dexterity, –1 size, +3 natural)
  hp 43 (4d8+25)
  Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3
  Offense
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee 2 hooves +6/+6 (1d4+5 each)
  Statistics
  Str 20, Dex 18, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 17, Cha 11
  Base Atk +2; CMB +8; CMD 22
  Feats Endurance, Run, Diehard
  Skills Perception +8
  Tactics.
  Try to keep things moving in this encounter. The royal horses pull the 
  carriage past the ambushers trying to block the road, and the two other 
  carriages give chase. People in the streets scream and dive out of the way, 
  and the out-of-control carriage occasionally clips obstacles, slowing it 
  enough for the assassins to gradually close in.
  Have the party roll initiative, but make it clear that the carriage is not 
  stopping on its own, so normal melee combat is unlikely. Indeed, the 
  horses start sprinting, pulling the carriage at over twenty miles per hour, 
  making it dangerous to try to jump out. Any character who falls out of 
  the carriage at that speed takes damage as if he’d fallen 20 feet, and can 
  try to soften the damage with an Acrobatics check as normal.
  At the start of the encounter, the front pursuing carriage is 70 feet 
  behind the royal carriage, while the other is 100 feet back and slightly 
  off to the side so those on board can have clear shots. Every round 
  thereafter the Kell-Guild carriages get 30 feet closer. On each carriage, 
  one musketeer is always busy driving. One shoots from the driver’s 
  seat and two lean out the sides. The technologist doesn’t get involved 
  until the carriages are within 40 feet; before then he’s out of range of 
  his gadgets.
  Rufus Hammerton doesn’t have any ranged weapons, and he yells at 
  the driver of his carriage to pull in close so he can try to board the PCs’ 
  carriage. He’s trained for brutal close-in knife-fighting.
  
  11
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  At the end of the first round, the tranq drill-dart starts pumping out 
  poison gas, giving the PCs an incentive to open the doors and possibly 
  climb out to take control of the carriage. Moving from the carriage door 
  to the driver’s seat requires a Climb check (DC 15). Calming the injured 
  horses requires a Handle Animal check (DC 15). Characters who lean 
  out of the carriage to shoot weapons have cover against counterattacks if 
  two carriages are roughly side by side, or superior cover if they’re attack-
  ing down the length of the street.
  Aftermath.
  If the party rides out the danger for three minutes, traffic gets thicker and 
  the assassins give up. If the assassins are stopped (killing their horses, 
  destroying the carriages’ wheels, tricking them into a collision), the 
  party can interrogate them and learn they were sent by Kell. “The other 
  guys,” which is what the Kell guild calls the Ob, want the party dead, 
  and provided this time and place to ambush them.
  If things look bad, like if the front carriage is taken out and none of the 
  party are down, or if his own carriage crashes, Rufus Hammerton tries 
  to run, and he’s athletic enough to outrun his fellow thugs. If taken alive, 
  the party earns three Task Force Tokens (see page 24).
  Eventually, police will show up and provide escort for the rest of the 
  trip to Hotel Aurum. If the party is really hurting, you can hand-wave 
  some police druids who can provide one few cure light wounds per PC.
  Meeting with the King
  Exposition. Real-Time.
  The party plans with Aodhan.
  Chief Inspector Delft meets the party at the Risuri entrance to Hotel 
  Aurum, and he is shocked to hear they were attacked. Once he’s sure 
  they’ve recovered, he guides them to a lift (a novel invention in Risur, 
  but primitive by modern standards), which ascends to the eleventh floor, 
  complete with an operator in a dapper uniform. Along the way Delft 
  reminds them to be on their best behavior, then grins and says they’re 
  going to make a damned fine impression.
  King aodhan has established a temporary court, and dozens of advi-
  sors and minor nobles are busy setting up the eleventh floor’s various 
  offices and suites when the party arrives, likely bloodied and bruised 
  from battle. An aide meets them at the lift and leads them to a conference 
  room off the main court chamber, which has been furnished with a large 
  meeting table, several chairs, and a map of the city on an easel. Offici-
  ates attend to King Aodhan, but when he sees the party, he dismisses 
  everyone except the party, Delft, and Principal Minister harkover lee. 
  The king’s exact reactions to the PCs will vary based on their previous 
  encounters, and you should give the party a chance to receive a few com-
  pliments and exchange some formalities with the king before starting the 
  mission briefing.
  The king comes up and shakes each of your hands. “It’s good to see you again, 
  constables. I heard about your trouble on the way over, and what happened to Had-
  sworth, your driver.” He shakes his head. “I wish I could give this more time, but I’ve 
  got a hundred other things to do before tomorrow, so let us get on to business.
  “I’m not trying to make you feel important by saying this, but I’m about to give 
  you probably the most important mission I’ve had to send anyone on in my whole 
  reign. The woman I’m supposed to be marrying might be trying to destroy my 
  kingdom, and apparently there are people who want to make sure we don’t find 
  out what she’s up to. We have five days until she gets here. Harkover?”
  Minister Lee gestures at Inspector Delft, who hands the party a small 
  folder of documents. You can print out Appendix A: Briefing Dossier 
  as a prop for your players, or visit our website to get a template you can 
  modify to match your group’s experiences.
  Minister Lee says, “Despite a variety of encounters with the Obscurati, we only 
  have a sense of their actions, not their goal, nor the organization or extent of the 
  group. We don’t know who they are, but we do know where they are.
  “The Ob, for short, maintain some manner of industrial complex in the Bleak 
  Gate, in a location analogous to Cauldron Hill in this world. They can pass be-
  tween the two worlds with relative ease—we do not have the same ability.
  Standalone Intro.
  If you’re running this adventure as a stand-alone, the Obscurati are part 
  of the same cult as Grundun Zubov’s dwarves. The king admits that they 
  don’t know who attacked the party, but he assumes they want to stop the 
  peace summit. He was originally going to ask the party to provide security, 
  but now they have a greater mission: find the people behind the attack 
  and stop them.
  Keep the B-Team material the same and bring in Asrabey as normal. 
  Just simplify the plot so there’s only one group: the eschatological radi-
  cals, who are allied with Kell and are secretly building something deadly 
  at their Cauldron Hill base—plus the side complication of Ekossigan.
  Wayfarer's Lantern.
  In adventure four the party might have acquired the wayfarer’s lantern. If 
  they burn special oil infused with essence of a given plane, the lantern can 
  create effects tied to that plane, lasting for five minutes in a 50-ft. radius. If 
  given oil infused with essence of the Bleak Gate, the lantern could create 
  an area that is coterminous between the two planes. Such oil is expensive, 
  but if the party wants they could acquire enough for three uses.
  This could let them briefly interact with the Bleak Gate, but they 
  wouldn’t have time to complete the necessary mission. If when the oil ran 
  out they were inside the Cauldron Hill complex (which is underground), 
  they would be shunted through hundreds of feet of stone and likely slain 
  from the shock.
  If the party manages to get the amulets from Kell (page 31), they can use 
  those with the lantern to transition fully to the Bleak Gate. Any amulets the 
  party might have recovered from Macbannin’s manor in Adventure Two 
  have long since lost their enchantment.
  Now in his 70s, the king of Risur looks rather 
  unassuming. He prefers to resolve disputes 
  by being cool-headed and rationally per-
  suading those who will listen to his side. For 
  those who won’t, he’s shrewd enough to give 
  them a sliver of what they want and then dis-
  tract them with harmless endeavors while 
  those worth dealing with get the job done. 
  Despite all this, though, he trains regularly 
  to keep his stamina and swordplay robust, 
  and the rites of rulership grant him daunting 
  magical powers.
  King Aodhan
  
  12
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  “When you have time, review the material in these folders.” Minister Lee gri-
  maces at Inspector Delft. “Please ignore the Chief Inspector’s ‘wit’—the official 
  delegate titles he gave to the last two entries. Their inclusion will make sense in a 
  moment.” Delft smiles in response.
  Minister Lee spends the next few minutes debriefing the party. As 
  Lee, walk the players through the results of the investigation so far, and 
  remind them of the occasional minor detail they might have forgotten. 
  The highlights you’ll want to hit are:
  The Ob are operating secretly and have caused harm to Risur, so 
  * 
  we have to assume they’re hostile.
  Lorcan Kell’s guild worked with the Ob to attack the RHC 
  * 
  headquarters.
  The Ob have shown the ability to slip into the Bleak Gate via 
  * 
  rusted ring gates.
  At least one powerful individual working with the Ob is unac-
  * 
  counted for—the steelshaper who confronted the party outside of 
  the Nettles church (in Adventure Two, The Dying Skyseer).
  After a few minutes of discussion, or if the PCs ask what the mission is, 
  Lee defers to his king, who explains.
  “Certain aspects of my office can’t be discussed. But being king means that 
  you’re ‘connected’ to every man and woman in this country. Their approval 
  grants power. There are rules, old old rules, there to prevent folks like me from 
  abusing the power the people grant them.
  “Being king also means you’re ‘connected’ to the land. I feel when someone en-
  ters or leaves the country. If I focus, I can even forbid entry or cast someone out.
  “This conspiracy, they’re in the Bleak Gate. If they were in the Dreaming, this 
  would be easy. I could march an army with me at the head into the Dreaming at 
  the drop of a hat. It wouldn’t make the Unseen Court happy, but I could do it. But 
  the Bleak Gate is harder. I’ve never been in my entire life, and they say kings have 
  no power there, because no one rules the dead.
  “So here’s what I need of you. This group has a way into the Bleak Gate, and I 
  want you to find it, and use it, and drag those bastards into the light of day. And I 
  need you to do it before my fiancée gets here.”
  The Dragnet.
  Delft takes over and explains that they think their best lead is Lorcan 
  Kell. His thugs used a ring gate to attack the RHC headquarters, and as 
  the party just saw, they’re using odd, high-tech equipment and taking 
  orders from the Ob. The first step to get into the Bleak Gate, then, is to 
  capture and interrogate Lorcan Kell.
  Lya Jierre arrives on the 13th, which realistically gives the party just 
  four days for this mission. Kell has a huge organization, but the party has 
  help. It took a while to press through all the bureaucracy to get this ar-
  ranged, but Delft is proud to announce that they have formed a task force 
  to take down Kell’s guild. The party will have 50 police officers at their 
  disposal. Getting any more will require calling in favors (see Prestige in 
  the Zeitgeist Player’s Guide).
  Delft has one Sergeant deb Macon waiting in a nearby office. She’ll be 
  helping the party coordinate their forces and deploy them over the next 
  few days. The king is pretty busy, so Delft figures they’ll spend some time 
  kicking around a plan just down the hall, then come back to brief the king 
  once they’ve got the details figured out. The task force can start in the 
  morning. With luck, they’ll find Kell before he knows what hit him.
  Fallback Options.
  Harkover Lee briefly outlines some other contingencies before the party 
  goes off to brainstorm. Taking Kell alive is optimal. If the party kills 
  him, Harkover Lee can arrange for a powerful cleric from Crisillyir to be 
  teleported in to pull up the dead thug’s soul and question it.
  A less likely option is to contact hana “gale” Soliogn. The woman 
  is officially a terrorist, but she claimed to have been guided to the Bleak 
  Gate by a fey named ellik. She claimed the trip required unique circum-
  stances, but it’s possible Gale or Ellik could help out.
  Delft also recalls something about a wrecked automaton some agents 
  found that seemed suspicious. The king tells Harkover Lee to get some 
  expert technologists to help the RHC look into the machine. This small 
  tidbit lays the groundwork for bringing alexander grappa into the plot, 
  so make sure not to accidentally forget it.
  Finally, the king can open a brief portal to the Bleak Gate, but only at 
  midnight during a new moon. The next new moon is on the 14th, a few 
  hours after he’s set to start talking with the Jierres. But if the party can’t 
  find another way in, Aodhan still wants the party to go after the Ob, so 
  he’ll send them through.
  Switching Gears.
  Aodhan asks them to clear the room so he can deal with some more me-
  nial elements of the peace summit. Before they go, he reiterates that they 
  have his full backing on this mission. As the party meets Sergeant Macon 
  and starts to plan the task force missions, Delft excuses himself, saying 
  he has to check on another set of constables who should be meeting the 
  Ambassador from Ber, who will be the peace summit’s mediator.
  At this point, change the perspective to the B-Team.
  Enter the B-Team.
  When you switch to B-Team scenes, hand the players the pre-generated 
  character sheets from Appendix B: Back-up Constables. Please make it 
  clear that these aren’t full PCs. When they’re “off-screen,” as it were, you 
  as GM have fiat over what happens to them, like any other NPC. This lets 
  you drop the party into scenes and dictate the set-up of scenarios.
  The B-Team consists of:
  Carlao, human Yerasol veteran knight.
   •
  Serena, human technologist rogue.
   •
  Kaea, high elf skyseer evoker.
   •
  Dima, dwarf eschatologist cleric.
   •
  Josiah, human gunslinger ranger.
   •
  Gaethan, half-elf spirit medium ranger.
   •
  Principal
  Minister
  Harkover Lee
  Perhaps the most powerful mage 
  in Risur, Lee acts as King Aodhan’s 
  bodyguard and chief of staff. 
  Straight-backed 
  and 
  virile 
  de-
  spite being in his 60s, Lee speaks 
  crisply and passionately in a slight 
  Ber-tinged accent, and was said to 
  be quite the ladykiller in his youth. 
  He always dresses in reds and golds 
  and carries a solid gold orb tucked 
  into his robes. He never eats or 
  drinks in public.
  
  13
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  A Bear in Bosum Strand *
  Social/Action. Real-Time. Level 6.
  The other constables greet Brakken and ensure his safe arrival.
  The B-Team is waiting at the appointed dock when Fuego Duradero ar-
  rives from Ber at noon. The impressive galleon is crewed mostly by orcs 
  and half-orcs, with a handful of gnolls, lizardfolk, and other monstrous 
  humanoids. The ship’s bosun, a brute of a lizardman named cruusk, is 
  first off the boat and asks with a hiss who’s meeting the ambassador. He 
  demands identification, though he only gives a cursory glance (not really 
  knowing what an RHC badge should look like). Once the PCs have iden-
  tified themselves, the lizardman sends word back to Brakken, but tells 
  the constables that they will need to wait while the mediator finishes 
  preparing his cargo for offloading. Cruusk gets to work with the rest of 
  the crew. If the party tries to come aboard, the captain barks at them 
  (he’s a gnoll) to get off unless they have a search warrant.
  A few of the crew come down the gangplank to the docks, and the local 
  dockers warily prep a crane. A goblin and a docker get into a brief argu-
  ment—neither speaks the other’s language—and eventually the docker 
  throws up his hands and lets the goblin take the crane’s controls. The 
  ship’s crew hook it up and raise a huge crate from the galleon’s hold.
  I Feel Like I’m Being Watched.
  The constables are being watched by a pair of Kell-Guild thugs, lurking at 
  the door of a dockside bar a hundred feet away (Sense Motive DC 20 to get 
  a hunch someone’s watching; Perception DC 15 to actually spot the men). 
  If they’re noticed, the thugs head into the bar and slip out through back 
  doors, planning to get reinforcements. If the constables want to follow, 
  they don’t get far before a mishap with the crane distracts their attention.
  Snap!
  The crane is hoisting a massive steel cage off the Fuego, but the weight is 
  too much, and the cable snaps, dropping the cage on the stone worked 
  dock. It breaks on impact, and the contents of the case claws their way 
  out: a massive dire bear.
  The bear belongs to Brakken, and is his prized fighting animal. 
  Named Feroz, this beast is more startled than anything about his tumble. 
  The Risuri dockers nearby panic (the ship’s crew, who know the beast is 
  tame, watch with amusement). The sudden flurry of movement spooks 
  the bear, and it rears up defensively.
  As long as no one attacks it, the dire bear soon settles down and pon-
  derously approaches one of the constables (Carlao, most likely), then 
  stops to stare into his face. The crew of the Fuego look on in stunned 
  disbelief; Cruusk drops the crate he was holding. The goblin operating 
  the crane quickly exits and begins swimming away, fearful of the conse-
  quences. Booming footsteps signal the arrival of Brakken of heffanita, 
  the minotaur mediator walking down the gangplank towards the dock. 
  Subtle Nudges.
  Brakken’s abilities provide GMs a unique opportunity to “nudge the plot” 
  by having Brakken learn about secrets via his abilities that the PCs may 
  not have caught onto. He might share some info he “overheard” or that 
  one of his “contacts told him,” and suggest the B-Team constables pass it 
  along to the PC. Be sure to use this sparingly, as the PCs are the stars of the 
  adventure, not a psychic minotaur. But if absolutely necessary, Brakken 
  can be used to keep things moving.
  A high elf woman just over 100 years 
  old, Hana can fly at will, control 
  winds, and speak with birds, but 
  she has no directly offensive magic.  
  Bitter about her treatment by her 
  Danoran “foster family,” she uses 
  her powers to sabotage Danor-
  owned industry. Some accuse her 
  of more violent crimes, calling her 
  a “fey terrorist.” She seeks an audi-
  ence with the Unseen Court, but she 
  hasn’t yet been granted one.
  Hana “Gale” 
  Soliogn
  Alexander fought for Risur in the Third Yerasol War 
  four decades ago as a mere foot soldier. After losing 
  too many friends he devoted himself to learning 
  magic of golem-crafting. Originally he hoped that his 
  homeland could field an army of automata instead of 
  shedding the blood of its young men and women, but 
  his interest slowly drifted from golem construction 
  to the crafting of minds for these artificial warriors, 
  as well as enchantment magic and other ways to end 
  a conflict without anyone dying.
  When the Ob were ready to begin construction 
  on the colossus, Kasvarina Varal (page 67) person-
  ally recruited Grappa, promising him he could help 
  A minotaur from the nation of Ber, Brakken’s ambas-
  sadorship in Orithea helped end that nation’s civil 
  war and bring on unprecedented prosperity. Recent-
  ly Brakken became ambassador to Risur, and was 
  tapped by the rulers of Risur and Danor to mediate 
  their peace talks. He’s said to be very canny, and that 
  his mere presence tamps down on people’s preten-
  sions. He once even got a raging bear to back down 
  with a single disapproving glare.
  Brakken secretly is a telepath, and has had such 
  success in negotiations because he can hear the 
  surface thoughts and, if necessary, nudge people 
  toward compromise. He seldom pushes the actual 
  Alexander 
  Grappa
  Brakken of 
  Heffanita
  create peace. Nine months ago, though, he overheard the leaders of the conspiracy 
  discussing their full plans, and was imprisoned and geased so he could not tell 
  anyone. He managed to escape, but was killed, and only managed to preserve his 
  consciousness by transferring it to his bronze golem handservant.
  leaders of each side, but he finds it helps immensely if he can calm the emotions 
  of their advisors. He’s genuinely driven by a desire to help people live in harmony, 
  though raising his own prestige is certainly a bonus.
  He dresses in simple tribal clothing from Ber and refuses to travel without his most 
  trusted friend, a dire bear named Feroz.
  He’s amused by the sight, and calls out to Feroz. The large beast turns 
  and plods back to Brakken’s side.
  
  14
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  If the constables attack the dire bear, it immediately retreats back up 
  to the ship, where Brakken is able to calm it with his psychic abilities. 
  Brakken scolds the constables, and for the remainder of the adventure, 
  Feroz will growl and stare at the constables whenever they’re near.
  If the constables held their ground, Brakken congratulates them. He 
  introduces himself as “Brakken of Heffanita, Ambassador to Risur from 
  the Progressive Monarchy of Ber, and chosen mediator for the historic 
  peace talks between Danor and Risur.” He understands that there are 
  those who might wish him harm, so he appreciates the protection, but 
  he warns them that his job will require him moving around a lot. For 
  instance, he wants to make sure Feroz is stabled at the Beran consulate, 
  and then he’d like to get a late lunch before going to meet the king. He 
  already has a place picked out.
  Brakken puts a pack on his bear’s back, full of gifts meant for the dig-
  nitaries, and then he’s ready to head out.
  Escorting the Ambassador.
  The Beran consulate is located in the southern district of eastern Stray 
  River. The fastest way is to take a ferry, but Brakken asks to walk, which 
  takes a couple hours. He wants to gently scan the minds of those around 
  him to gain a sense of the city’s mood, and he enjoys the reactions of 
  “civilized people” to a giant bear ambling down the street.
  Brakken makes small talk, shares stories about his homeland, and 
  asks a few questions about Flint. As ambassador to Risur he’s spent his 
  time in Slate, not Flint, and this city is much more psychically complex 
  than any he’s been to before.
  The route passes a few landmarks, like Dawn Square (where Nevard’s 
  Rally took place; here Brakken looks troubled), the Royal Shipyard 
  (where the king’s ships are docked; Brakken smiles), and Hotel Aurum 
  (Brakken begins frowning a block before the party comes within site of 
  the blockaded street and the protesters gathered). Brakken isn’t set to 
  meet the king until later tonight, so he continues to Stray River, where 
  his mood perks up.
  The constables may simply shrug off Brakken’s odd moods as him re-
  acting to a new land, but they might notice (Sense Motive DC 22) that he 
  seems to adopt the mood of whatever neighborhood he’s about to enter.
  Mi Casa.
  The Beran consulate is far less impressive than the Danoran consul-
  ate that the party visited in Adventure Two, The Dying Skyseer, but it 
  spreads across more land. Rustic and relaxed, the consulate is rarely vis-
  ited and sees only a handful of official guests every month. The grounds 
  are patrolled by a half-dozen guards with fierce and loyal mastiffs.
  Two-stories tall and constructed of simple brickwork, the main con-
  sulate building is dwarfed by the stables. The stables are home to various 
  normally ferocious animals, including several wolves and the consular’s 
  pet worg, Blademaw. Once every three months, the consulate lets in 
  children from various schools on a tour, with the main sight-seeing at-
  traction being the animals in the stables.
  The consular, a one-legged orc named gerax, greets Brakken and the 
  constables like they’re old friends. In truth, Brakken has never met the 
  orc, but subtle use of his abilities makes the meeting an impressive scene. 
  Gerax greets the constables with great respect despite their relatively 
  low standing.
  For the remainder of the adventure, Brakken will spend his nights in 
  the Beran consulate. Feroz will remain within the stables. Gerax asks 
  everyone to join him for drinks, but Brakken declines, saying he has a 
  lunch date. He asks the constables to take him to Pardwight University, 
  where he’ll be meeting one Steffan eberhardt, Drakr’s representative to 
  the peace summit. The meal’s on him.
  Enter Varal
  Social. Real-Time.
  Cut back to the main party, a few minutes after they leave the king to con-
  tinue planning. The party hears a commotion outside as an unannounced 
  visitor shows up: asrabey Varal. The PCs likely encountered Varal dur-
  ing Adventure One, The Island at the Axis of the World, and depending on 
  their encounter with the high elf, he may react to their presence. If the PCs 
  were able to defeat him, then Varal grudgingly gives them a nod, but if he 
  was able to escape or subdue the party, Varal ignores them.
  Asrabey has his sword sheathed and his lion shield strapped across his 
  back. If they try to stop him, he explains he is on official business for the 
  Unseen Court, and will brook no delays. Yes, he will foolishly fight his way 
  through if the party is stubborn; Asrabey is also exceedingly stubborn.
  Before the King.
  The high elf presents himself with a quick kneel before King Aodhan.
  “Gracious King Aodhan, ruler of the mortal nation of Risur as recognized by 
  the true lords of this land, I come on an urgent mission for the Unseen Court. The 
  Court demands it be known that one of their ilk has taken an interest in this city 
  and is acting on his own. I am here to tell you that the Court does not approve.
  “His name is Ekossigan, herald of the four seasons, he who defends stags from 
  arrows, widdershins prophet, and liege of changelings. Upon leaving the Court 
  he penned this poem:
  “When spring returns to winter, / The cauldron births a spark.
  “The steel betrays the vintner, / The silver spurns the arc.
  “The fire-bride’s dissension: / Dismissed by green-adorned.
  “The wheel-woven dead man / Shall wake the cauldron-born.
  “I ask your leave to search this city for the rebel. Moreover, I invoke the Rite of 
  Kelland’s Tribute. We offer one war unfought in exchange for one season slain. 
  The fey shall not retaliate if you kill that which the Unseen Court’s greatest warrior 
  cannot harm.”
  Asrabey Varal
  A centuries-old high elf warrior, Asrabey 
  became one of the many husbands of 
  Kasvarina Varal, a powerful matriarch who 
  had survived the Great Malice. Kasvarina 
  encouraged Asrabey’s resentment of the 
  humans who had sentenced their people to 
  death. For years he trained, and undertook 
  many daring raids until he became famous 
  as one of the greatest high elf warriors in 
  the world.
  Eventually Asrabey left Elfaivar and 
  offered his services to the Unseen Court, 
  though he has kept a much lower profile for 
  the past two hundred years. Asrabey has not seen Kasvarina for fifty years, 
  and he has not the slightest inkling of her affiliation with the Obscurati. He 
  might respect a few humans from Risur, but he hopes that someday Kasvari-
  na will come to him and ask him to lead a final war of retribution against the 
  Clergy that ruined their race, and the nation of Danor, whose tiefling leaders 
  bear the mark of their crime.
  
  15
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  A Knowledge (history or nobility) check (DC 15) recalls that Asra-
  bey, as an agent of the Unseen Court, would be forbidden from harming 
  Ekossigan himself, so he is effectively requesting someone to help him 
  murder a rogue fey.
  The king looks to the party for a reply, prompting them if needed to 
  explain how they will contribute. He is required to fulfill the tribute, 
  but he will let the party decide whether they’ll help Asrabey personally 
  or assign the B-Team to handle it.
  Aodhan ultimately agrees to allow Asrabey to hunt Ekossigan, but 
  he demands that the high elf otherwise obey Risuri law while inside 
  the city. Asrabey agrees, then immediately turns to leave.
  If the PCs have agreed to help, Asrabey tells them to meet him at the 
  RHC office at dawn two days hence. He is not open to discussing his 
  whereabouts within Flint, and if pressed about his activities during the 
  intervening day, Asrabey will admit that the Unseen Court has sympa-
  thizers in Flint, and meeting them will be easier without the party present. 
  The dreadnought refuses to be followed, and between his stealth, climb-
  ing ability, and teleportation, he is very hard to keep tabs on.
  For more information on Varal’s quest to stop Ekossigan, see Thread 
  Two: One Season Slain (page 31).
  Bombs Away! *
  Action. Real-Time. Level 7.
  Grundun Zubov’s bombs start going off. Panic. Running. AHHHH! One 
  last scene before the adventure goes free-form.
  At 2:15 in the afternoon, the B-Team and Brakken reach Pardwight 
  District, where the city’s main university lies. Brakken asks around a bit 
  and eventually is pointed to a Yerasol restaurant that serves fruit, goat, 
  fish, and fried plantains located in the Onça Student Hall (Area 11 on 
  the map). There they are greeted by Steffan Eberhardt, and Brakken in-
  troduces him to the party as “Drakr’s eyes at the peace summit.”
  Steffan—an old thin dwarf with sickly white skin, who supports him-
  self on a skull-tipped ebony cane—shrugs in a “what are you gonna do” 
  way and says, “We Drakrans thought we knew how the world was go-
  ing to end—these two countries fighting until everyone is dead. Now we 
  have to change all our predictions.”
  Brakken leans in to the constables and whispers theatrically, “Drakr’s 
  just worried they’ll have fewer customers for their guns and warships.” 
  The two laugh and Brakken looks for a seat big enough to support him.
  
  16
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  Pardwight District.
  One of the few parts of Central District that has managed to keep itself 
  surrounded by a buffer of nature, Pardwight is host to the city’s univer-
  sity. Classes fill spare rooms in the buildings of the district, with only a 
  handful of facilities exclusive to the school.
  The orange line of the subrail is actually above ground in the Pardwight 
  District, and it has opened up the area to middle class socialites who are 
  charmed by the eclectic clothiers, restaurants, and other shops in the 
  area. Sailors and dock workers trying out the trains for the first time 
  often jump off here to explore. Students tend to stay in the dorms, but 
  the rail offers them easy access to the city’s culture.
  When the constables arrive, have each make a Wisdom check (DC 14) 
  to notice that the clock tower (area 13) is seven minutes slow.
  Unless otherwise noted, buildings are 30 feet high. Streets are 30 or 
  40 feet wide.
  Pemberton Industries office Building.
  1. 
   This squat complex 
  once served as a testing ground for the discredited Pemberton 
  Industries’ experiments with personal arcanoscientific devices. 
  Now it is locked and lightly guarded until Benedict Pemberton 
  or his debtors can clear out the labs. The university briefly had 
  a department of arcanoscience based here, but now the students 
  have been forced to find other accommodations, most of them 
  much less safe in the event of accidents.
  Flint tribune.
  2. 
   This five story building holds the offices of the 
  city’s foremost daily paper, as well as business printing presses. 
  It also services the Risuri Record and Pryce of Progress, papers 
  having more of a “tabloid” feel.
  Mixed use.
  3. 
   Various shops, often with classrooms or apartments 
  on different floors.
  Pardwight Medical library.
  4. 
   Five stories tall, the library houses 
  not just books but curative scrolls, galleries of famous healers, and 
  an entire floor of preserved specimens, human and monstrous.
  Mixed use.
  5. 
   Another set of shops, galleries, and such, surrounding 
  a pleasant garden.
  Strandholt teaching hospital.
  6. 
   The façade has three stories, 
  while the two wings—for critical patients and chronic patients, 
  have an extra floor. A basement extension houses the insane.
  Mixed use. 
  7. 
  If you’re going to have a mixed-use property, you 
  want it here, because this one is really the prettiest. Look at that 
  fountain.
  hodgeman hall.
  8. 
   The only part of the district that exclusively is 
  owned by the university, these two buildings have several lecture 
  halls and cozy classrooms for the teaching of classics, languages, 
  and non-mechanical sciences.
  Pardwight druidic temple. 
  9. 
  The university formally recognizes 
  all druidic sects, and tolerates clericists and other religions, but its 
  founders adhered to the way of the puma spirit, looking forward to 
  prey or progress, not skyward like the skyseers.
  Quillis upperclassman dorm.
  10. 
   Fronted by a fresh air market, 
  the dorm is actually run by a collection of former graduates who 
  demand their lodgers work at least 4 hours a week in the market.
  onça Student hall.
  11. 
   A major gathering place for students, Onça 
  Hall also houses most of the university’s administrative offices, 
  plus its commissary. The Yerasol restaurant Brakken wants to try 
  is on the ground floor of the building.
  Pardwight district court.
  12. 
   This somber building is known as the 
  Stone Dome by the law students who study here. A small police 
  lies across the ravine to the southeast.
  anderson clock tower.
  13. 
   The sixty-foot high clock tower predates 
  Flint’s industrial boom, and it has never stopped working for more 
  than five minutes.
  Foyle ravine.
  14. 
   Signs warn people not to enter the wooded ravine. 
  Because of an old teleportation prank gone awry, anyone who tries 
  to leave the gorge teleports back to the base unless they’re wearing 
  a gold ring. The local police keep gold rings on hand to rescue 
  stranded pedestrians. The phenomenon is why the subrail has to 
  go on the surface here.
  Pardwight Station (orange line, station 4).
  15. 
   This station has 
  some of the most stark and modern architecture of the whole 
  subrail system.
  cesanne Sword Studio.
  16. 
   This physical education facility was 
  originally founded to teach duelists. Today it mostly hosts 
  dodgeball.
  Terror Attack.
  While Brakken, Steffan, and the constables partake of spicy fried fish, 
  goat, and plantains, the agents of radical eschatologist Grundun Zubov 
  prepare the opening salvo in their message to Risur. Snipers set up atop 
  the medical library (Area 4) and the Anderson Clock Tower (Area 13), 
  and a bomb waits in the skywalk of Hodgeman Hall (Area 8).
  First Bomb.
  At 2:25, right as the constables are receiving their food and right as a 
  train is passing beneath the skywalk, the bomb detonates. The explo-
  sion tears apart the skywalk, shatters the windows in the restaurant the 
  constables are at, and is loud enough to be heard anywhere in the city. 
  The train derails, and a great black smoke cloud billows into the sky. 
  Twelve fatalities result from the explosion, along with twenty-six wound-
  ed among those onboard the rail and those nearby hit by shrapnel.
  It takes about two minutes for doctors to stream out of the hospi-
  tal (Area 6), and five minutes for the first police to mobilize from the 
  southeast. The constables have fifteen minutes until the second bomb 
  goes off.
  total casualties: 26 wounded, 12 dead.
  After the First Attack.
  Depending on how fast the constables react, they might learn some of 
  these facts after the whole incident plays out, or they might figure out 
  where the terrorists are and stop them before the second bomb.
  Brakken and Steffan will do whatever the constables suggest. Steffan 
  is a cleric, and will stabilize those who are pulled from the wreck. If the 
  constables insist, he might even accompany them, in which case he can 
  provide four cure light wounds and two cure moderate wounds.
  Bet He Wasn’t Prepared for That.
  An elderly dwarf—one takbar rhozenko—waited for the train reading 
  a newspaper. Just before the train arrives he closed the paper, checked 
  a pocket watch, and turned away. The bomb explodes, the train derails, 
  but the dwarf is unfazed. While everyone else on the street is running to 
  see what happened, he walks away casually, right past the now-shattered 
  windows of the restaurant the constables are eating at.
  The dwarf is distinctive, beardless with white hair and dark patches 
  around his nose and finger tips from frostbite. He has a newspaper 
  tucked in his armpit, and is fiddling with a pocket watch. If that’s not 
  enough to get the constable’s attention, this will.
  Recent earthquakes have jostled Flint, and when the explosion goes 
  
  17
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  off it causes just enough damage to knock loose a puma-faced gargoyle 
  from atop Onça Student Hall. The gargoyle plummets and strikes Tak-
  bar as he walks past the building, just feet away from the party.
  Takbar is left dying but conscious, and he growls in pain. If the gar-
  goyle is heaved away and he is magically healed, he can survive, but 
  otherwise he passes on after a minute. Any PC can make a Knowledge 
  (religion) check (DC 24) to realize that Takbar is a member of an ob-
  scure radical sect from Drakr. If no PC realizes this, Steffan points it 
  out, shocked that someone from such a rare group would happen to 
  be here.
  If the party tries to interrogate Takbar, he resists until he realizes his 
  meager lies aren’t convincing them. Then he clamps down on his suicide 
  pill, and mocks them: “Zubov will destroy the world you know! This is 
  my promise for you!” The poison transmutes the dwarf’s blood to ice, 
  and his skin rapidly turns blue. He dies within three rounds unless the 
  poison’s magic can be dispelled (caster level 5).
  The First Lead.
  Astute characters might search Takbar and find the newspaper and the 
  pocket watch.
  The paper is an issue of the Risuri Record, a tabloid with a small cir-
  culation owned by Risuri citizens who are sympathetic to Drakr and the 
  Heid Eschatol philosophy. The paper is renowned for dealing with trash 
  scandals—the cover story of this issue “discloses” (without anything 
  resembling a shred of proof) an affair between Danoran Minister of Out-
  siders Lya Jierre and her brother Luc Jierre.
  The paper releases an issue once a week, but Takbar’s copy is dated 
  tomorrow. Clever characters can figure out that the dwarf got it from the 
  printer today: the printer is just down the street, at the Flint Tribune.
  As for the pocket watch, it’s set for 2:40, fifteen minutes after the first 
  attack. It radiates minor transmutation magic. The gargoyle cracked it 
  and damaged its components beyond the scope of any immediate repair.
  If they search Takbar more thoroughly, they can find the forged work 
  order for repairs last night at the skybridge, which has the address of 
  Soknik Repairs, the contractor who apparently was providing the work-
  ers. Soknik Repairs is the hideout of Zubov’s cell.
  Second Bomb.
  The second attack takes place fifteen minutes after the first, giving the 
  constables a narrow window to avert it.
  Zubov’s men scouted the Flint Tribune building while visiting the Ri-
  suri Record, which has a small office on the second floor. Last night they 
  bribed the cleaning crew to go home, then hid explosives in the crawl-
  space between floors, near every support column. These explosives have 
  a magical trigger activated by Takbar Rhozenko’s pocket watch. He was 
  headed to the roof of the Pardwight Medical Library.
  After witnessing the bombing of the rail line, Takbar wound the watch 
  to a fifteen minute timer, then pressed a button to start the countdown. 
  This sent a message to linked devices in the Flint Tribune building, and 
  so even though the gargoyle broke the watch, at 2:40 those bombs will 
  go off unless the detonators (three each on two floors) are disabled (Dis-
  able Device DC 20 each).
  If the party somehow kept Takbar from being crushed, they can fig-
  ure out that the watch sent a magical signal by fiddling with the device 
  (Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft DC 20), and detect magic can let them 
  trace the signal to the bombs. Takbar’s watch cannot deactivate the 
  bombs, but the spotter in the sniper squad atop the medical library also 
  has a watch which can similarly be used to stop the countdown.
  For Later 
  Investigation.
  Zubov’s terrorist cell planted specially crafted firedust casks in the sky-
  walk supports, concealing them as additions to the normal stone pillars. 
  The dwarves worked overnight on the 8th, and the local police were 
  fooled by some simple disguises of them as workers and a moderately 
  well-forged work order.
  The trigger for the explosion was a wire on the tracks. When the train 
  crossed over it sent a jolt down the line that set off the firedust. The wire 
  was deactivated through most of the day, but a member of the cell passed 
  by five minutes before the detonation and casually attached two connec-
  tors while adjusting the cuff on his pants.
  Gunsmith PCs or those knowledgeable in the creation of firedust (Ap-
  praise or Craft [Alchemy] DC 22) can identify the material as a variety of 
  more explosive firedust typically only available to the military. An hour at 
  a lab can identify the firedust as originating in Drakr.
  Examination of the stone used to conceal the explosives determines 
  that it’s aggregate rubble concrete. A bit of work can track down a pro-
  ducer who sold an appropriately-sized quantity earlier this week. The 
  buyer was Zubov, but he picked up the material in his own wagon and 
  paid in coin, so tracing him that way is unlikely.
  The dwarves in the sniper nests, as well as Takbar, all had white pow-
  der on their shoes. A chemical examination reveals it as sodium borate, 
  along with several other compounds used as an insecticide.
  Pryce is Right.
  Some time later, while the party is at the RHC headquarters, Bartho-
  lomew Pryce meets with them. A firebrand sometimes critical of the 
  monarchy and the RHC, Pryce was the editor of Pryce of Progress, a news-
  paper with heavy Docker sympathies. He’s in his early thirties, reasonably 
  good-looking if you can overlook the filthy smoking habit, and hangs out 
  in different drinking or gambling dens in the Bosum Strand. 
  Pryce has the eye of a canny journalist, and can provide any infor-
  mation you think your party needs that they missed, since he saw the 
  dwarves working in the Flint Tribune building but was too busy trying to 
  meet a deadline to worry about them at the time.
  Perhaps more importantly, now that the offices of the Flint Tribune are 
  gone, he sees an opportunity to take its place. He’s already acquired seed 
  money for a new office and printing press, but he’d like to run his first 
  issue with information about the Terror in Flint. He’d like an interview 
  with the party, and if possible he wants to follow them and report on how 
  they’re helping protect the city. 
  Pryce plays no plot-relevant role in the adventure, but can give the 
  party a sense that they’re famous, and that people are watching to see 
  how they lead.
  If the bombs detonate, the first two floors of the Flint Tribune (Area 2) 
  burst in a cascade of explosions that annihilate structural support for the 
  half of the building facing the rail line. In a thunderous crash of stone 
  and steel, the building topples into the street. A gas line ruptures and 
  a geyser of flame shoots into the air above the rubble. The building just 
  barely misses the druidic temple, but a hundred people working at the 
  newspaper are crushed, and most of those will die within minutes unless 
  quick help is provided.
  
  18
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  What was initially shock and curiosity in the public turns to panic. 
  People in the district believe that their offices may also be potential 
  bombing sites, and many try to run.
  Any creature in the building when it collapses takes 5d6 damage 
  (Reflex DC 14 half). If a character survives that damage, assume it will 
  eventually be rescued when pulled from the rubble. If a character is 
  caught directly in the blast, he takes an additional 10d6 damage (Reflex 
  DC 16 half).
  total casualties: 26 wounded, 100 trapped and soon to die, 12 
  dead.
  Snipers!
  Three dwarves watch from atop the Pardwight Medical Library (Area 4), 
  and another three are perched on the Anderson Clock Tower (Area 13). 
  Each group has two snipers with scoped rifles, and one spotter with a 
  long spyglass to report targets to the snipers, plus a small ice elemental 
  that guards the entrance to the roof. (The ice elemental is a native of 
  northern Drakr, not extraplanar, and it resembles a crystalline serpent.)
  Having panicked the crowd with the second bomb, the snipers wait 
  for people to flee down the bridge to the southeast or the street to the 
  north. Then they start firing, killing 10 people in the first minute. Panic 
  turns to outright terror as people realize there’s no way out.
  The snipers continue to fire indiscriminately at the frightened crowd 
  and at people in windows in nearby buildings. They make a point of 
  killing anyone who tries to flee, or who tries to help those trapped in the 
  rubble, as well as anyone in a police uniform.
  Once the shooting starts, a character can search for the snipers by 
  spending a standard action, picking a building, and making a Perception 
  check (DC 24) to spot sunlight reflecting off the scopes or spyglass. For 
  the sake of fairness, don’t have the snipers target the constables unless 
  one of them intentionally makes himself a target.
  total casualties: 26 wounded, 100 trapped and soon to die, 22 dead, 
  plus another 5 wounded or dead per minute.
  Sniper Crossfire.
  If the constables don’t intervene, the local police manage to find the snip-
  ers and take them out, which takes half an hour. By that point a hundred 
  people are wounded from explosions and non-fatal shots from the snip-
  ers, and nearly two hundred are dead. Eight more police die attacking 
  the snipers, who kill themselves up rather than be taken alive.
  The constables might choose to help earlier than that. If they move 
  before the second bomb goes off they can at best round up four police 
  officers to come with them (see Allied Officer in Appendix B). After the 
  second bomb, the party can get a dozen officers, though that will make 
  them targets. Let the players control the officers, especially if the party 
  decides to split up to tackle the two sniper nests simultaneously.
  If the constables go up to one nest, they’ll take fire from the other, but 
  after one nest is cleared out you can safely assume the police are able to 
  stop those other snipers within a few minutes.
  Alternately, the constables might call for help from the main PCs, us-
  ing the messenger wind. From Hotel Aurum he party can probably reach 
  the bombing site in five minutes.
  
  19
  Cauldron-Born
  Prelude: To Meet a King
  Sniper Nests.
  From fifty feet up, the snipers are easily within close range for most of 
  their targets. The two nests are about 200 feet apart, so the snipers take 
  a –2 penalty to hit the constables if they’re attacking the other nest. Low 
  walls on the roof grant superior cover against attacks from below, and 
  cover from attacks made from the same elevation.
  The medical library roof is fifty feet across, accessible by a central 
  door. The team here is a silent crew, the only words being uttered are 
  those of the spotter, indicating targets of opportunity. These dwarves 
  are methodical in their attacks, and tend to aim at potential runners or 
  anyone who looks like they might be trying to rally the crowd together.
  The clock tower sniper nest is on one of the tower’s “shoulders,” and is 
  accessed from the middle section near the clock face. It’s much narrower, 
  just fifteen by twenty-five feet. This second group is far more blasé, and 
  the two snipers carry on a casual philosophical debate about the state of 
  the world while murdering people. This team fires at mostly random tar-
  gets, with the snipers justifying each of their shots aloud with comments 
  like, “Oh, that overweight man clearly should have known he would not 
  live long; he should have been prepared for an early death!”
  Team 1 (Medical Library)
  2 eschatologist snipers
  1 eschatologist radical
  1 Small ice elemental
  Team 2 (Clock Tower)
  2 eschatologist snipers
  1 eschatologist radical
  1 Small ice elemental
  Eschatologist Sniper 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male dwarf fighter 2
  CE Medium humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +6, darkvision
  Defense
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex)
  hp 15 (2d10+4)
  Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee warhammer+2 (1d8/×3)
  Ranged rifle +4 (1d10/×4, misfire 1)
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 13
  Feats Far Shot, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Reload, Weapon Focus (rifle)
  Skills Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +6
  Languages Common, Dwarven 
  Other Gear scoped rifle with 200 metal cartridge rounds, warhammer
  Eschatologist Radical 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male dwarf rogue 2
  CE Medium humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +6, darkvision
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +4 armor)
  hp 15 (2d10+4)
  Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee warhammer+1 (1d8/×3)
  Ranged shotgun +4 (1d8/×2 in a 30-ft. cone, misfire 1–2)
  Special Attack sneak attack +1d6
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 13
  Feats Point-Blank Shot
  Skills Bluff +3, Climb +3, Disable Device +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +5, 
  Perception +6, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +4
  Languages Common, Dwarven, Primordial
  Other Gear shotgun with 20 rounds, warhammer, chain shirt
  Small Ice Elemental 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  N Small outsider (air, cold, elemental, water)
  Init –1, Senses Perception +5, darkvision
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (–1 Dex, +1 size, +6 armor)
  hp 13 (2d10+2)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft.
  Melee slam+4 (1d4+1 plus 1d3 cold)
  SA numbing cold (Fort DC 12)
  Statistics
  Str 12, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 11 (can’t be tripped)
  Feats Power Attack
  Skills Knowledge (planes) +5, Perception +5, Stealth +8, Swim +9
  Special Abilities
  Numbing Cold (Ex) When an ice elemental deals cold damage to a creature, that 
  creature must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 12) or be staggered for 1 round.
  Aftermath.
  The dwarves realize that they will be stopped by law enforcement even-
  tually, so they carry special poison pills in their mouths (see Takbar 
  Rhozenko, page 17). If a dwarf thinks he’s about to be taken alive, he’ll 
  chomp down on the pill as a move action and die three rounds later.
  Any of the snipers who are taken alive are fanatical and hard to break, 
  but if the party applies the right pressure the dwarves can give up the 
  location of Soknik Repairs. In any case they will gladly boast that their 
  leader, Grundun Zubov, has already thought of a counter to anything 
  the police could do to stop them.
  
  20
  T
  his section contains two events that don’t fit cleanly 
   into the main plot threads, but which set up the 
  party’s eventual assault on the Obscurati base in the 
  Bleak Gate.
  A Bunch of Bolts
  Puzzle. Real-Time.
  The party and the B-Team meet and examine the partially reas-
  sembled bronze golem.
  The morning of the 9th of Spring, before the party meets with 
  their task force, a royal technologist comes to the RHC head-
  quarters to help repair the mangled bronze golem that the RHC 
  found a few months ago. The party is present to see what infor-
  mation it might yield. The B-Team is present because they found 
  the golem originally, and one of their number, Serena, has been 
  trying to repair it in her spare time.
  The royal technologist, Justin rollins, is a big light-hearted 
  black man who has a “pet contraption” the size of a small dog that 
  walks on four legs and carries his tools—plus a box of chocolates 
  that Justin idly munches as he works.
  Golem Condition.
  When the B-Team found it, the golem was in hundreds of pieces. 
  Serena has spent most of her efforts to bend bits back into shape 
  so she could assemble the body. Right now she has one and a half 
  arms assembled, one leg, and the bulk of the torso, minus a few 
  external casing pieces.
  The head’s back area is mostly intact, but the face and eyes are 
  obliterated, and Serena hasn’t tried attaching it to the body yet, 
  unsure what would happen. She explains that it radiates magic 
  still, and she thinks it could still control the body if reattached. 
  Her hunch is that it could be given orders, perhaps even some-
  thing like “take us back to your base.”
  Justin asks those assembled to securely restrain the body to a 
  table with straps. He intends to put the head on, and he doesn’t 
  want the machine flailing around. After a few minutes of work 
  with silver dust and wires engraved with arcane sigils, he magi-
  cally fuses a thick cable between the back of the skull and the 
  neck. The head still lies limply.
  It’s Alive.
  The body twitches a bit, and then the fingers on its functional right hand 
  begin tapping the table. Any character with the Yerasol Veteran trait rec-
  ognizes it as the equivalent of Morse code. (There’s definitely someone 
  in the building who can translate if the party can’t.)
  It translates to, “Would you kindly give me a pen?”
  Alexander Grappa has been conscious inside his golem’s severed head, 
  able to hear what’s going on but not communicate until now. A strong 
  will has kept him from going crazy, though his memory has some gaps, 
  and there are things he still cannot talk about because of a geas.
  Either with a pen (writing roughly and blindly) or with additional tap-
  ping, Alexander communicates the following message:
  I am Alexander Grappa, the mindmaker. A magical compulsion prevents me 
  from explaining everything, but I believe we have mutual enemies.
  Don’t bother repairing the mouth. I did not design this golem for vocal com-
  munication. I would very much appreciate functional eyes, however. And if I’m to 
  guide you to our mutual enemies I’ll need legs. I have a feeling that my neck isn’t 
  in excellent shape either.
  Back in summer I was in my own body, imprisoned after I learned a secret that 
  I unfortunately cannot share. Again, pardon certain vagaries that are necessary 
  due to my geas. I fled the Bleak Gate with a woman and this golem at my side. A 
  rival caught up and slew me, but I managed to transfer my consciousness into this 
  machine. My rival destroyed this golem body, but did not realize he had failed to 
  actually kill me.
  I would rather like to thwart his plans and help the aforementioned woman. If 
  sufficiently reassembled I can guide you through the…the most I can say is to call 
  it a facility. I cannot get to the Bleak Gate myself, but I know my way from there.
  In exchange for this, perhaps you could arrange me access to my old golem-
  crafting workshop. Ask around for Alexander Grappa, and I hope people will 
  have heard of me. It would be very nice to design a better body for myself.
  Justin explains it will take him about a day to get the golem functional. 
  Out of Grappa’s earshot, he suggests they keep the golem locked up—
  maybe toss him a few books to read or something—until they can be 
  sure they can trust him. By the afternoon of the 10th, the golem’s body 
  is intact enough to walk and climb, and Justin has enchanted a handheld 
  tap-to-voice device so it can speak about a word every 2 seconds.
  Further Questions.
  The party understandably might have a lot of questions for Grappa, but 
  all his geas allows him to say is that he was in a facility in the Bleak Gate, 
  which has hundreds of workers and dozens of guards. He can neither 
  name nor describe anyone he worked with, but he can say whether he 
  knows people if the party describes them. For instance, if they men-
  tion meeting a steelshaper, or if later on they mention Kasvarina’s name, 
  Grappa can acknowledge that they were his “rival” and “the woman.”
  He cannot say the name Obscurati, nor that the facility is building 
  something, let alone that it’s building a giant colossus. Grappa also 
  knows that the Obscurati plan to use the colossus to perform some sort 
  of ritual—he overheard Kasvarina talking about training the colossus 
  about the planes, in case it had to make a split decision during the 
  ritual—but he doesn’t know what the goal of that ritual is. In any case, 
  Part One:
  Setup
  
  21
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup
  he can’t tell the party about it. His best bet is to lead the party so they 
  can find out the details themselves.
  The party might try to have Principal Minister Harkover Lee remove 
  the geas, but when he tries remove curse, it fails. He’s surprised by this, 
  because it means whoever cast the spell is significantly more powerful 
  than he is—not to mention that the geas has lasted far longer than it 
  should. (In game terms, Kasvarina is a level 17 spellcaster, and Harkover 
  is only level 13.)
  Guardian of the Hill
  Social. Real-Time.
  The party is invited up to Cauldron Hill by Lieutenant Dale.
  After Mayor Reed Macbannin was revealed (in Adventure Two) to 
  be performing horrible experiments atop Cauldron Hill, a replacement 
  was assigned to keep track of the cursed mountain. Lieutenant Dale, an 
  erudite and cool-headed military officer, used to be on call to respond in 
  case of supernatural incursion.
  Now Captain dale maintains a garrison of eighty soldiers atop Caul-
  dron Hill, and at the king’s direction he sends an invite to the party 
  because he hopes to be working with them. The invite arrives just as the 
  party is finishing up with Alexander Grappa.
  Martial Scientist PCs might know Dale from the Battalion academy 
  and his infamous thesis on Meditation, Coffee, and Cherry Pie: Unortho-
  dox Salves Against the Supernatural.
  If the party goes up to Cauldron Hill, they find work crews at the man-
  sion still repairing seismic damage from previous tremors, and another 
  crew excavating the strange laboratory beneath Macbannin’s garden 
  shed. If the party can’t make it, Dale understands that the party is on 
  a tight schedule, and can meet the party down in the city, though he 
  recommends a bar called the Bookhouse, which he says serves the best 
  papaya pastries in the country.
  Dale can provide the PCs each with a specially attuned amulet. The 
  bleak amulet has no magical properties in the real world, but in the Bleak 
  Gate it offers impressive magical defenses.
  In addition, the captain offers to spend some time training with any 
  Martial Scientists in the group, teaching them specialized technique to 
  use against supernatural creatures. After a few hours, a Martial Scientist 
  can learn the Dale Assault special ability.
  Both the amulet and the maneuver are detailed in Appendix D: 
  Magic.
  Soldiers Ready.
  Depending on which method of entry the party uses to reach the Bleak 
  Gate, they might be traveling with most of Dale’s soldiers. The night of 
  the 13th, sixty soldiers will wait near Hotel Aurum, ready to go through 
  the portal the king will open, though only thirty-one people will be able 
  to pass through, so the party had better go first.
  
  22
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  Thread One: The Downfall of Kell
  In this thread, the party moves against Lorcan Kell’s crime gang.
  Resources and Training.
  Out of a city of eight hundred thousand, Kell’s guild has three hundred 
  official members and a couple thousand citizens who directly do busi-
  ness with them, most of them in Parity Lake or The Nettles. The official 
  guildsmen are trained in the theater in the best way to knife someone, or 
  to use a hostage as a human shield. Almost all carry pistols, and some of 
  Kell’s favorites have access to choicer weapons smuggled in from Drakr.
  By contrast, the entire Flint police force numbers just seventeen hun-
  dred, and they tend to carry night clubs and crossbows, and some carry 
  swords. The few firearms they do get are military surplus muskets. 
  The authorities aren’t looking to start a war in the streets.
  Kell usually travels with two personal bodyguards—Kate glenn, a 
  corrupt priestess who protects Kell from hostile magic, and nick reder, 
  a meaty bruiser who can hold back the largest foes.
  The Ob have recently equipped the guild with high-quality firearms 
  and alchemical weapons. A few prominent members of the guild have 
  gotten magic or arcanoscientific gear, and Kell himself now enjoys 
  riding around in a figurine of wondrous power that transforms into 
  an armored carriage, drawn by tramping mechanical legs instead of 
  actual horses.
  In Hiding.
  When he gets wind that the RHC are after him in force, Kell relocates 
  to the Theater of Scoundrels, his seat of power. From there he pre-
  pares to fight the RHC, but tries to get in touch with his contacts in the 
  Obscurati in case he has to run. Once things get too hot, Kell moves to 
  a safe house and hides inside a rope trick to evade divination (see Kell 
  Spooked, page 24).
  Even if they can find him, catching him isn’t easy. The Obscurati gave 
  him a one-use item—a gatecrasher charm—which tears a whole in reality 
  so he can slip into the Bleak Gate for a few minutes. It has nasty side 
  effects though, and the trip isn’t permanent unless there’s someone from 
  the Ob on the other side waiting to pull him all the way through. He can 
  use the charm in a pinch to get a few minutes’ head start on running.
  Quentin Augst
  Lorcan Kell’s lawyer, and the guy who handles the 
  guild’s affairs. Augst started off just representing 
  Kell’s toughs in court, but eventually grew frustrated 
  with the guild’s inefficiency and promised Kell he 
  could make both of them a lot richer if he could 
  handle logistics.
  Augst’s home in North Shore is maintained by his 
  half-elf handmaiden, who has looked after his chil-
  dren ever since Augst’s wife died several years ago in 
  a tragic fire—a fire Augst set when his wife realized 
  his criminal connections.
  A fan of opera, Augst usually sticks to Central 
  District, where his friends know him as a bookish 
  teetotaler who has to be dragged out to play polo occasionally. Though the guild mem-
  bers think he’s weak, he makes sure everyone gets paid well, which engenders more 
  respect than stabbing a back-talker ever could.
  Mini-Game Training.
  To ease the party into the rules for the Task Force, you might have a group 
  briefing on the morning of the 9th, where Sergeant Macon introduces the 
  party to the task force. Macon explains that she has taken the liberty of 
  sending out two groups of 6 officers on Case a District missions, one to 
  Bosum Strand, the other to North Shore, to see if they can start nibbling at 
  the guild around its edges.
  Mark that 12 officers have been deployed today. Then roll the Diploma-
  cy checks for those two missions (1d20+10 vs. DC 17), and the Bluff check 
  to avoid trouble (1d20+10 vs. DC 13). Determine the officers’ findings.
  Afterward, Sergeant Macon suggests sending some scouts to keep an 
  eye on any locations they found, and recommends each group should 
  consist of 3 officers. Mark those down and roll to determine their success 
  (or let the PCs roll on their behalf), and then let the players take the reins 
  from there. Don’t have any moles sabotage these initial missions (see 
  “Dirty Rats,” next page).
  The Kell Guild.
  The party has several options on how to proceed with finding Lorcan 
  Kell. First, for the GM’s sake, what is the party up against?
  Kell’s operations are based out of the Theater of Scoundrels, a de-
  bauched hang-out for thieves and thugs. Here Kell holds court and 
  watches his minions practice their skills. The “theater” aspect is a big 
  draw to new members, because Kell throws a good party, and the stage 
  often has raunchy, violent, and sometimes bloody shows. Guild mem-
  bers are encouraged to practice their lying by joining in plays.
  Hierarchy.
  Kell doesn’t manage the daily affairs of his guild. He’s just the figurehead 
  who’ll hunt you down and chop you up if you cause trouble. His lieu-
  tenants actually run the guild, foremost among them Quentin augst, a 
  lawyer based in Central district. Augst prefers opera to Kell’s brand of 
  low theater, so meetings of the guild leadership usually happen in one of 
  their business fronts, the Sunset Bench.
  If Rufus Hammerton escaped defeat at the start of the adventure, he’s 
  holed up in the Machete Hill stronghold (see below).
  Fronts.
  The guild operates the usual array of clubs, brothels, restaurants, and 
  shops, but also have an atypical holding interest in a variety of factories—
  when the Ob needed certain goods, some factory owners capitulated to 
  let the guild skim, others had their places burn down, but a few were 
  killed outright, and their wills—forged and rewritten by Augst—put 
  their whole businesses into guild hands.
  Safe Houses.
  Kell splits his time between several homes in Parity Lake and The 
  Nettles, most of them gated villas. He also keeps numerous safe houses, 
  usually multi-story buildings that are the tallest in the neighborhood. 
  Conscious of how many times he’s killed men who had no way out, Kell 
  always plans his escape routes, and he’s more than willing to leap be-
  tween rooftops to avoid a trap.
  
  23
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  What You Gonna Do When They Come for You?
  Targets.
  The task force has a variety of targets, most of which require some inves-
  tigation to find.
  Front.
  * 
   A business the guild uses to launder money, have meetings, 
  and keep an eye on an area. In Parity Lake, this might be a shoe 
  store, bookseller, seafood restaurant, bath house, bar, brothel, etc. 
  These are usually warehouses in Bosum Strand, money-lenders 
  in Central, and high-end boutiques in North Shore. The Nettles 
  doesn’t have enough commercial activity to host any fronts.
  den of thieves. 
  * 
  Hang-out spot for members of the guild. These 
  will usually be bars or clubs, but sometimes they’re just swanky 
  homes with a good view.
  Illicit transaction. 
  * 
  Meet-up where guild members commit some 
  major crime. Examples include smuggling magical poisons in the 
  linings of hats, selling stolen military muskets, kidnapped women 
  being charmed and magically altered to look like elves, planning 
  to assassinate an ombudsman, wizard brought in to torture a 
  captured cop for info, etc.
  Stronghold.
  * 
   One of three well-defended compounds that could 
  easily repulse most police assaults. A fancy tower called Grand 
  Suites and a mansion dubbed Casa de Kell are both in Parity Lake. 
  The Nettles hosts a gated compound called Machete Hill.
  theater of Scoundrels.
  * 
   The guild’s seat of power in eastern 
  Parity Lake.
  Missions.
  Each officer can be assigned one mission per day. Each mission has a 
  Minimum Officers and Optimal Officers entry, though sometimes the 
  party will need to scout to know these figures.
  case a district.
  * 
   Look for Kell-Guild activity.
  Scout. 
  * 
  Watch a Front, Den of Thieves, Stronghold, or the Theater 
  to see how many hostiles are present.
  Bust up a Joint. 
  * 
  Go into a Front or a Den of Thieves to look for 
  information. Success earns one Task Force Token at a front, or two 
  tokens at a den of thieves.
  Sting. 
  * 
  Swoop in during an Illicit Transaction. Success earns 1 
  Strike and a Task Force Token.
  assault. 
  * 
  Attack a stronghold to earn 1 Strike. Attack the Theater 
  of Scoundrels to earn 3 Strikes.
  Going after the Theater of Scoundrels right away is foolhardy, since 
  the task force is outnumbered and moles in the task force would spoil 
  the attack. Waiting gives the party time to find the moles and spoil the 
  guild’s morale so people desert.
  A smarter course is to chip away at the organization around the edges, 
  frightening the guild members and driving some into hiding, making for 
  an easier takedown. Still, the timeline is tight. With average skill rolls, 
  it’s actually likely that the task force won’t manage to reach 8 strikes.
  Party Involvement.
  The party might undertake a mission themselves, or lead a group of offi-
  cers. Each mission takes roughly 4 hours, once you factor in coordinating 
  all the officers, getting into position, the mission itself, then clean-up 
  and interpretation of any info found. This will cut into their time for the 
  other threats facing the city. Each 7th level PC counts as 8 extra officers 
  when determining whether you have the minimal or optimal amount.
  Dirty Rats.
  The moles send word to Kell’s guild as soon as the task force is convened. 
  Thereafter, each day choose one of the following effects for each mole:
  Misinformation 1. 
   •
  If the party has officers case an area, the mole 
  reports a juicy but false lead. If the party follows up on that lead, 
  their effort is wasted.
  Misinformation 2. 
   •
  If the party sends out a scouting mission, the 
  mole either under- or over-reports the danger by half, to lead the 
  task force into a trap or waste its resources.
  Tip Off 1. 
   •
  When the party sends out a Bust Up a Joint mission or 
  Sting mission, the mole warns those involved, and when the task 
  force shows up, no one is there.
  Tip Off 2. 
   •
  When the party sends out an Assault mission, the mole 
  warns the guild so they can prepare their defenses. Increase the 
  number of defenders by half.
  Cold-Blooded Murder. 
   •
  If none of the other options present them-
  selves, at night the mole kills a fellow cop and passes the murder off 
  as a Kell-Guild assassination.
  When a mole sabotages the party, each PC who went on the mission 
  can make a Sense Motive check (DC 20) to detect the mole. Also, if the 
  party gets suspicious, once per day each PC can make an Intelligence 
  check (DC 20), with a +1 bonus for each previous sabotaged mission, to 
  figure out who one of the moles is. The party might also use its own meth-
  ods to catch moles, and perhaps use the moles to feed false information 
  to the guild.
  Exploration. Montage. Level 7.
  The party kicks in doors and runs down criminals to find Kell.
  To capture Kell, first the PCs must find him.
  If your group has an idea of their own, run with it, but as a base sug-
  gestion we assume they’ll try to drive Kell into the open by dismantling 
  his guild. The party has several avenues, and each successful operation 
  contributes to the overall challenge of finding Kell. It’s up to the party to 
  lead the task force, and men’s lives are on the line if they screw up.
  Task Force Makeup.
  Most of the city’s police keep to their regular duties or prepare security 
  for the peace summit. But thanks to the wonders of overtime pay, the 
  party has 50 officers at their disposal. Delft tried to get men from dis-
  tricts where Kell was unlikely to have moles, but unbeknownst to the 
  party, three officers in the task force are actually on the take, and will rat 
  out the party’s plans to Kell’s guild, making things more difficult if the 
  party doesn’t clean house.
  Running the Task Force.
  The party can deploy their 50 officers as they see fit, but each officer can 
  only undertake one mission per day. Some missions gather intelligence. 
  Others, called strikes, damage the guild, and the task force needs 6 
  strikes for a partial victory, or 8 for a complete one.
  
  24
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  You can briefly narrate their involvement and have one PC roll the 
  appropriate check to determine the outcome, or you can play through 
  the scene normally, assembling a group of foes from Appendix C: Kell-
  Guild Stats. The enemy forces are pretty weak compared to the party, so 
  feel free to go back to the brief version if the players are bored with taking 
  out pushovers.
  Skill Checks.
  Each mission calls for a skill check. If no PCs accompany the officers on 
  a mission, roll 1d20+10 for their skill check. If a PC does come along, he 
  can roll a check with his modifier instead.
  The check takes a –5 penalty if the number of officers is below Opti-
  mal but at least Minimum. If it’s below Minimum, he takes a –10 penalty. 
  Using more officers than Optimal doesn’t make things any easier. Par-
  ticularly clever plans or usage of magic might add +2 or +5. The results 
  of a successful mission are detailed with each entry.
  Each mission calls for a second skill check to avoid a mishap. Mishaps 
  (as well as failures on some missions) lead to officers being incapacitated. 
  They might die, or just be injured enough that they can’t help on further 
  missions. If a PC is present on a mission, he can choose to take 3d6 dam-
  age instead of having an officer be incapacitated.
  Task Force Tokens.
  Certain missions can earn task Force tokens. A token can be spent to 
  gain a +2 bonus on a skill check for a mission. This represents things 
  like getting insider information, letting criminals off if they’ll rat on 
  their colleagues, or persuading their friends to leave town instead of 
  fighting. Tokens must be spent before making the roll, and they are 
  each single-use.
  The Zeitgeist Player’s Guide suggests that each PC should have con-
  tacts throughout the city. For each contact located in a given district, the 
  party starts with one token that can be spent in that district.
  Favors.
  The party might use their Risur Prestige to call in favors and get some 
  military additions, or to get some officers to work even longer.
  For example, it’s a Level 2 favor to get 1 extra officer for a few hours 
  (long enough to send them on another mission), Level 3 for 4 officers, 
  Level 4 for 12 officers, and Level 5 for 50 officers. For military, it’s a 
  Level 3 favor to get 1 soldier for a mission, Level 4 for 4 soldiers, and 
  Level 5 for 12 soldiers.
  For the purpose of this mission, soldiers count as normal officers for 
  the missions Case a District and Scout, but count as 4 officers each in 
  other missions.
  See the Zeitgeist Player’s Guide for more information on Prestige.
  Progress.
  The party realistically just has four days—from the 9th to the 12th—to 
  locate Kell, since the peace talks formally begin on the 13th. They want 
  to rack up 8 Strikes against Kell’s guild by then, which will give them an 
  opening to take him down (see Duke of Slaughter, page 29).
  On their way to 8, these events occur:
  Kell Spooked. Kell starts in his Theater of Scoundrels, which he 
  thinks is unassailable. Realistically, the party would be chewed up by 
  dozens of Kell’s thugs if they picked a fight here, and even the whole task 
  force would probably be driven back, at least at first.
  However, if the party manages to get three Strikes against the guild, 
  Kell gets nervous. He leaves orders and pretends that he’s going hunt-
  ing, but in truth he and his two toughest bodyguards make for a safe 
  house in northwestern Parity Lake. They travel while protected by 
  invisibility and nondetection (caster level 5), and they are only on the 
  road for fifteen minutes.
  They settle into the top floor of a four-story tenement, which has a 
  narrow but deep canal running past it (the better to leap into as part of 
  a getaway plan). One of the bodyguards uses a wand of rope trick so the 
  three can hide and fool divination. Meanwhile, three low-level toughs 
  watch the entrance to the building and to the rope trick; they can quickly 
  signal if anything suspicious happens.
  Two other men act as messengers, going out at morning and night to 
  pick up or leave messages at a dead drop a few blocks away. One of these 
  men is dester rathnine, who is actually on the Family’s payroll, and 
  whose information prompts Morgan Cippiano to offer to help the party 
  track Kell down (page 26).
  The Family Interested. Additionally, when the party gets to three 
  strikes, the Family sees a chance to actually take out Kell. This triggers 
  the Enemy of My Enemy Is My Family encounter (page 26).
  Betrayal in the Ranks. Once the task force has racked up 6 strikes, 
  Kell’s guild starts to get shaky. Enough people try to cut deals with the 
  party that they can easily figure out what safe house Kell is hiding in, 
  though actually getting him is a challenge.
  Break and Run. When the task force gets 8 strikes, Kell becomes 
  certain that the noose is closing around him. He sends out the carriage 
  created by his figurine of wondrous power as a decoy, then slips away and 
  runs to a spot the Ob told him to go in case of an emergency. If he can 
  evade the task force he gets a free trip to the Bleak Gate, but first he sends 
  a message to the RHC by targeting the B-Team.
  Other Options. 
  If the task force fails, the party might still be able to make a move on Kell 
  with the Family’s help (page 26).
  Kell's Operations 
  by District.
  The party starts off knowing the location of the Theater of Scoundrels and 
  the three strongholds—The Grand, Casa de Kell, and Machete Hill. The 
  Case a District mission gives the party the location of some of Kell’s fronts 
  and hang-outs, as well as the times of illicit transactions.
  Bosum Strand, Central District, or North Shore. Success uncovers 
  one operation. Roll on the table below to determine the type, and secretly 
  roll to determine how many hostiles will be present.
    1d6: 
  Result:
    1–3 
  Front. 1d4+1 hostiles are present.
    4–5 
  Den of Thieves. 1d8+1 hostiles are present.
       6 
  Illicit Transaction. 1d12+4 hostiles are present.
  Parity Lake. As above, but success uncovers 1d4+2 operations.
  The Nettles. As above, but success uncovers 1d4 operations. Reroll 
  any Fronts, since there’s not enough commercial activity in this district 
  to support them.
  
  25
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  Mission Details.
  You can find a player-appropriate version of these rules in Appendix A.
  Case a District. The officers hit up contacts and try to figure out 
  where Kell’s guild has operations in a district. Each attempt targets one 
  city district, but the districts where Kell’s guild has a larger presence—
  Parity Lake and The Nettles—are more dangerous. After this mission, it 
  is useful to Scout before sending in officers.
  Minimum officers: 2. optimal officers: 6.
  check: Diplomacy or Knowledge (local) (DC 17).
  Success: The task force uncovers some operations in that district, as 
  detailed in the sidebar on the previous page.
  Failure: The task force learns nothing of value.
  Mishap: Make a Bluff check to avoid drawing unwanted attention 
  (DC 17 in Parity Lake or The Nettles; DC 13 in Bosum Strand, Cen-
  tral District, or North Shore). On a failure, ambush! One officer is 
  incapacitated.
  Scout. Choose one location and send officers to figure out how danger-
  ous it is. Scouting itself can be dangerous, especially for a stronghold. 
  You cannot scout an illicit transaction.
  Minimum officers: 1. optimal officers: 3.
  check: Perception (DC 20).
  Success: The task force learns how many enemies are at a location, 
  and thus how many officers are required.
  Failure: The task force learns nothing of value.
  Mishap: Make a Stealth check (DC 15 normally, DC 17 at a Strong-
  hold, DC 20 at the Theater). On a failure, ambush! One officer is 
  incapacitated.
  Bust Up a Joint. Officers target a Front or a Den of Thieves, looking 
  for clues. Fronts are typically less well-guarded, but Dens of Thieves 
  yield better information. Since the task force is likely to hit up multiples 
  of these, be sure to narrate enough details about the locations so they 
  feel distinctive.
  Minimum officers: Equal to the number of hostiles. optimal of-
  ficers: Three times the number of hostiles.
  check: Intimidate (DC 20) to get hostiles to surrender.
  Success: The task force arrests or kills all the hostiles, and suffers no 
  casualties.
  Failure: The task force suffers casualties equal to half the number of 
  hostiles, and takes out a number of hostiles equal to the number of of-
  ficers sent in.
  Mishap: Spice things up by requiring a check (DC 15) to avoid some 
  complication—Diplomacy to get bystanders out of the way to avoid 
  innocent deaths, Disable Device to keep a trap from killing officers, 
  Knowledge (engineering) to avoid piling too many people into an un-
  steady building in the Nettles, etc. A failure results in 1d8 good guys 
  incapacitated.
  consequence: Regardless of the result of the skill check, if the task 
  force takes out all the hostiles and has at least one survivor, it earns a Task 
  Force Token. At a Den of Thieves, victory yields two tokens instead.
  If all the officers sent are incapacitated without taking out the hostiles, 
  the hostiles execute the officers.
  Sting. Officers target an Illicit Transaction, with the goal of disrupting 
  Kell’s business and taking out his men. You cannot scout for a Sting, so 
  there’s greater danger of committing the wrong number of officers.
  Mechanically, a sting works like “Bust Up a Joint.” If the task force 
  takes out all the hostiles and has at least one survivor, it earns a Task 
  Force Token and earns one Strike toward locating Kell.
  After the task force has successfully stung three Illicit Transactions, 
  the guild gets skittish and cancels all other big meet-ups for the near fu-
  ture. Thus, Stings can only earn the task force a total of 3 Strikes.
  Assault a Kell Stronghold. Officers storm one of the strong-
  holds—the Grand Suites, Casa de Kell, or Machete Hill. Success takes 
  out part of the guild’s leadership and seizes a huge chunk of its assets. 
  Mechanically, an assault works like a Sting, but with many more hostiles. 
  Each stronghold that is taken out earns the task force a Strike.
  grand Suites. 30 hostiles. Intimidate (DC 22) to force surrender. 
  Gunmen watch from the upper windows of this fancy six-story tower. 
  Underground tunnels let the hostiles flee to the sewers. If a first attack is 
  rebuffed, the 1d6 replacement hostiles arrive per day through the tunnels.
  Scouting discovers the tunnels. If the task force either blocks the 
  escape or attacks through the tunnels, they gain a +5 bonus to their In-
  timidate check. Blocking also prevents reinforcements.
  casa de Kell. 22 hostiles. Intimidate (DC 22). This old mansion is 
  surrounded by machinery factories, and traps fill the hallways. Scouting 
  reveals this. During an attack, make a Disable Device check (DC 17) to 
  avoid an extra 1d8 deaths.
  Machete hill. Counts as 21 hostiles. If the party didn’t manage to 
  take down Rufus Hammerton, he’s here too, raising the effective total to 
  25 hostiles. Intimidate (DC 22).
  This gated compound has several squat buildings with quaint shut-
  tered windows, laid out at angles so attackers entering the gate have to 
  pass through a crossfire of cannons. Yes, cannons, and they’re loaded with 
  small shards of metal as grapeshot, since they’re being used at close range.
  Scouting discovers the cannons, which can be neutralized with a 
  careful advance behind tower shields, or by attacking through the gates. 
  Otherwise, the task force suffers 2d6 deaths at the start of the mission, 
  before they make the Intimidate check.
  Assault the Theater of Scoundrels. The task force takes on the 
  seat of Kell’s guild, a tattered theater that has been renovated into a kill-
  ing gallery, guarded by 100 hostiles in the theater and nearby buildings. 
  Intimidate (DC 25) to force a surrender, except no one will surrender as 
  long as Kell is present. As noted above, he flees from here and hides after 
  the task force accumulates 3 Strikes.
  Once Kell leaves, for every other stronghold the task force has taken 
  out, 20 of the hostiles desert because of low morale. At best, the party 
  only has to deal with 40 hostiles.
  A success here counts as 3 Strikes against Kell’s guild, though the party 
  would be wise to acquire Task Force Tokens first. Smart, callous players 
  will just burn this place down with all the criminals inside. Maybe pull 
  the arson brothers Eberardo and Valando out of prison for the job. Do-
  ing so still requires getting close enough, though, and the hostiles aren’t 
  just in the theater, but in all the surrounding buildings.
  Capture Quentin Augst. This is a bit more involved than a simple 
  task force mission. See Attorney of Scoundrels, below. But if successful 
  it counts as 2 Strikes against Kell’s guild.
  
  26
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  The Enemy of My Enemy 
  Is My Family.
  Social. Real-Time.
  The Family can help get Kell.
  A few hours after the task force reaches three strikes against Kell, a 
  letter is dropped off at the RHC headquarters, or might be delivered to 
  the party by a courier if the PCs are too busy to stop by base.
  I have men in your organization that tell me Lorcan Kell is priority one. I have 
  men in Kell’s organization who can deliver him to you. Meet me at the Brave Hall 
  fashion show, corner of Yearling and Healers in Central this afternoon, and we 
  can make a deal. 
  (signed) Morgan Cippiano
  The fashion show is going on all week, every evening. Alternately, the 
  party might think to approach the Family themselves, in which case the 
  crime lord Morgan cippiano will personally meet them wherever they 
  suggest, so confident he is that they won’t betray him.
  Dressed to Kill.
  Brave Hall is a stodgy gentleman’s club intended for men from aristo-
  cratic families, though they have started allowing men and women 
  with newly acquired fortunes in on a provisional basis. Everyone is in 
  coats and top hats, drinking brandy and smoking cigars as they watch 
  handsome young men and waifish women parade about in unorthodox 
  fashion like seersucker suits, denim pants, and a huge variety of sashes 
  which, Morgan is confident, will just be a passing trend.
  Morgan has no great reason for meeting here, other than that he’d al-
  ready scheduled it and figured it might motivate the party to dress nicer. 
  He asks them out to a balcony for fresh air, and talks business while look-
  ing at the sunset across Flint Bay.
  You Actually Can Refuse This Offer.
  Morgan’s offer is simple: his man in Kell’s guild will give the crime boss 
  an excuse to leave his hiding spot—most likely a fake meeting with Kell’s 
  Obscurati contact, a man Morgan knows only by the name “Norm” (see 
  Busy Night, next page). Yes, Morgan says, he’s got some inkling about 
  Kell’s involvement with the group, though he hopes the party knows more 
  about them than he does, because he can’t find out much of anything.
  Morgan’s man will report back with the route Kell will take, and it 
  will be up to the party to take him down. Morgan recommends enlisting 
  some of the locals to be ready to protest or riot in order to cut off certain 
  roads and funnel Kell where they want him. Morgan’s suggestion is one 
  of the bridges along Stanfield Canal, where Kell won’t be able to slip 
  down alleys to escape.
  What does he want in exchange?
  First
  * 
  , a moratorium on murder investigations in Parity Lake, at 
  least for a few weeks. It’s dirty business, but this city deserves a 
  better class of criminal. If his people don’t cull the ranks of Kell’s 
  thugs, there’ll just be another round of street wars in a few years. 
  He’ll practically be doing the city a favor, and he doesn’t want his 
  people getting locked up for it.
  Second
  * 
  , a prisoner release. Morgan reminds them that his “fam-
  ily” originates in Crisillyir. Though he doesn’t like to get involved 
  in politics, he promised a relative that he’d help out a family friend 
  if he could. That friend is one giovanni algardi.
  The party might (Knowledge (history) DC 15) remember him 
  as an aged sculptor nicknamed “The Carver.” It eventually was 
  discovered that he could animate his statues to assassinate people 
  inside their own exquisitely-carved homes. Algardi confessed to 
  the murders of several Risuri nobles, but international politics has 
  kept him from the gallows for three years.
  Morgan wants him released and teleported tomorrow to Alais 
  Primos, capital of Crisillyir. Family members there will contact 
  Morgan via sending to verify the delivery.
  third
  * 
   (and you can skip this if it doesn’t apply to the party), 
  Morgan asks what Ashima-Shimtu told them. The party likely met 
  with the imprisoned demoness several months ago, in Adventure 
  Four, Always on Time. Morgan wants to know whether they made 
  a deal with her. If pressed on how he knows about this, he just says 
  that word travels fast when people land on islands that have been 
  cursed for centuries.
  Good Faith.
  To show he is well-intentioned, Morgan offers them a free bit of informa-
  tion. The man in charge of the Obscurati facility here in Flint is Leone 
  Quital, known as the “Steelshaper.” Morgan reiterates that he doesn’t 
  know much about the actual group, but word has gotten around of the 
  man making an appearance in The Nettles a few months ago, and he’s 
  distinctive enough that Morgan was able to find out who he is.
  Morgan says that Leone is supposed to be able to control metal with 
  his mind, to bend, break, or levitate it with ease. He doesn’t know if it 
  will be of much help in the current mission, but he can also give the party 
  the location of the Quital family estate, northeast of Vendricce.
  Making a Deal.
  On their own, the party cannot hope to get either the moratorium or the 
  prisoner release, but if they ask the king for either or both of these things, 
  he’ll back their decision. He has misgivings about releasing the Carver, 
  though. It’s a judgment call for the party whether they’ll be able to nab 
  Kell on their own, or if they need to accept Morgan’s offer.
  As for Morgan’s third request, if the party shares the details of their 
  encounter with Ashima-Shimtu he doesn’t seem fazed at all. He’ll thank 
  them for doing business, then go back to the show. After it’s over, he’ll 
  pass it along via sending to his contacts in the Clergy back in Crisillyir.
  Morgan    
  Cippiano
  Morgan Cippiano heads the local 
  branch of the Family crime syndicate, 
  based out of Crisillyir. Though gruff-
  voiced and cocky, Morgan has an 
  unusual fascination with fashion. He 
  rejects trends, but has a good eye for 
  classical styles that people of any cul-
  ture can appreciate. He hopes some 
  day to be seen as a father figure to his 
  community, but for now he’s willing to 
  smash a few heads and order a few 
  throats slit in order to clear out the 
  competition.
  
  27
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  Man on the Inside.
  If the party agrees, a few hours after Morgan gets word that Giovanni 
  made it home safely, the RHC is visited by Morgan’s man on the inside, 
  dester rathtine. Scruffy, dressed like a common pickpocket but pack-
  ing a pair of finely-crafted concealed daggers, Dester is cheeky, chatty, 
  and a little arrogant. He’s been a low-level street enforcer for Kell for 
  years, but was recruited a few months ago by the Family as a double 
  agent. Now he’s one of the trusted runners who deliver information be-
  tween Kell and his guild while he’s in hiding.
  Dester tells the party where Kell is hiding, about his bodyguards, and 
  that he has mentioned a few times his “escape plan,” which Dester thinks 
  will let him teleport, but that he can only use once. If the RHC tries to 
  assault him, he’ll almost certainly be able to get away. He’d have used his 
  ace in the hole, but it might take days to find him again.
  What Dester thinks will work better is if he tells Kell that “the other 
  guys” (by which he means the Obscurati) have agreed to get him to safety, 
  and want to meet him. Dester suggests a bar on the south side of the Nida 
  Street Bridge, along the Stanfield Canal, at 3 in the morning. The RHC 
  could then whip up some sort of ritual to block Kell’s get-away plan, and 
  place it on the bridge, which would be deserted at that time of night.
  The party can call upon Principal Minister Harkover Lee to perform a 
  ritual akin to dimensional lock on the bridge, blanketing a 100-ft. radius. 
  See Duke of Slaughter (page 29) for how Kell reacts.
  Sunset Bench. *
  Social. Real-Time. Level 8.
  The B-Team escorts Brakken and some dignitaries to one of Kell’s fronts.
  On the evening of the 10th of Spring, Brakken decides to take digni-
  taries from both Risur and Danor out for a night on the town, hoping that 
  some fun will form bonds. The B-Team escorts the group from Hotel 
  Aurum to a fancy club in North Shore, the Sunset Bench.
  The outing consists of Brakken, geoff Massarde (Risur-allied tiefling 
  engineer), and captain rosalyn taylor (representative from Danor’s 
  navy). The B-Team acts as bodyguards for all of them. Brakken leaves 
  Feroz at the consulate, saying, “In Ber, you never bring your bear to a bar.”
  These NPCs reappear at the banquet in Part Two (page 53), but this 
  scene and a few others with the B-Team gives you an opportunity to in-
  troduce them to the players, so you won’t have to present a half-dozen 
  new NPCs all at once at the banquet. The short version goes like this:
  Geoff Massarde. This tiefling helped build the Risuri flagship Coaltongue. A 
  strong advocate for technology and reconciliation, Massarde drinks too much and 
  hits on women. He has a wand that can chill things with a touch, which he uses to 
  make ice.
  Captain Rosalyn Taylor. One-eyed, red-headed captain of Freux Rouge, Dan-
  or’s last sail-powered warship. Old-fashioned, high-spirited, and responsible.
  A Very Important Mission.
  When Brakken brings up the outing with the B-Team, he claims he 
  needs their help for what might be the most important part of the peace 
  talks: making sure everyone has a good time at a club. Depending on 
  your party’s enthusiasm for the B-Team, you might breeze through this 
  scene, or let them treat it as a mission to get the two sides to be friendly.
  Busy Night.
  Sunset Bench is a truly fine establishment, on the ground floor of a 
  five-level building with apartments for two dozen wealthy occupants. 
  Every hall and room is gently lit by colored glass sculptures that have 
  light spells active within. Beyond the foyer and its coat/sword check, the 
  main room of the club is circular, two hundred feet across, with a sunken 
  central area and small private cubbies dotting the outer walls. At the 
  far of the sunken area, spot lights illuminate the stage, behind which a 
  curtain leads to the kitchens, dressing rooms, and storage. On the near 
  side by the entrance, glass shelves loaded with various alcohols line the 
  wall behind the bar.
  The club is hosting the last night of a week-long tour starring local 
  celebrity rock rackus. A band backs him up as he sings, narrates, and 
  jokes about his many exploits across the world. He might even have a bit 
  about the main PCs, if they interacted with him in a previous adventure. 
  Brakken reads Rock’s thoughts and is enthralled when he finds that the 
  man’s wild claims are actually true.
  Also present tonight but keeping a low profile is Quentin Augst, who 
  is meeting a representative of the Obscurati—a nondescript Risuri man 
  who calls himself norm (his actual name is Sylyx). Augst is trying to 
  bargain for help from the conspiracy, and the desperation in his voice is 
  slowly convincing Norm that they’ll need to kill the lawyer before he can 
  talk to the authorities.
  When the B-Team enters the club, they might recognize Augst in a 
  corner of the crowded club (Perception DC 25), which could give them 
  a chance to eavesdrop or make a move, though he does have bodyguards 
  lingering nearby in the crowd. If the constables can get close enough 
  without attracting attention (Stealth DC 15), they hear Norm offering 
  Kell and a few lieutenants an escape route to the Bleak Gate; he can’t 
  send any large forces.
  Tip Your Servers.
  Unless the constables suggest otherwise, Brakken selects a table near the 
  stage and psychically “nudges” the current occupants, whereupon they 
  suddenly decide it’s a good idea to get up and leave the table.
  After half an hour, Rock takes a break to let his band get some drinks, 
  and he makes a point to remind everyone that this is his more casual 
  show, put on by “the greatest venue in the city, Sunset Bench!” He’ll be 
  headlining at a “lesser venue, the Navras Opera House, tomorrow night.” 
  After that, he hops off the stage to hobnob with the crowd.
  Eager to hear more of Rock’s tales, Brakken enlists Geoff and Rosa-
  lyn to accompany him and meet the famous adventurer. Shortly after 
  they get up, the discussion between Augst and Norm gets heated, with 
  Augst snapping at a waitress who comes by to offer them drinks, then 
  yelling, “We’re not running. That’s just throwing money away! We 
  need firepower, not a damn escape route! And because you couldn’t 
  just shut up and agree, now I’ve missed half the show!”
  Norm tells Augst to calm down, but instead Augst gestures to his 
  bodyguards and storms out. If Augst leaves unaccosted, Norm finishes 
  his drink and follows a minute later.
  Making a Move.
  If Augst realizes the constables are onto him, he’ll leave in a hurry. If con-
  fronted, he looks at his men meaningfully, and suggests the two groups 
  take things outside so no innocents get hurt. Then, just as he nears the 
  exit, he says, “Do it, please.” One of his bodyguards pulls out a flask 
  of alchemist’s fire and chucks it at the shelves of liquor behind the bar. 
  Flame bursts across the wall, and the crowd begins to panic.
  
  28
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  Augst and the Ob Rep
  Quentin Augst
  Norm, Obscurati Liaison
  3 Kell-Guild Pistoleers
  4 Kell-Guild Scoundrels
  Quentin Augst 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male Human Expert 3
  NE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +1
  Defense
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex)
  hp 17 (3d8)
  Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +1 (1d4–1)
  Ranged alchemist fire +3 touch (1d6 fire and 1 splash, 1d6 fire next round)
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 14
  Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
  Feats Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Profession (criminal lieutenant)), Skill Focus (Use 
  Magic Device)
  Skills Appraise +9, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (history) +9, 
  Knowledge (local) +9, Profession (lawyer) +7, Profession (criminal lieutenant) +10, 
  Sense Motive +7, Use Magic Device +11
  Languages Common, Dwarf, Giant, Primordial
  Combat Gear dagger, three flasks of alchemist fire, wand of charm person (10 charges)
  Norm, Obscurati Liaison 
  CR 5
  XP 2,000
  Male Human Sorcerer (shadow) 6
  LE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +1, darkvision 30 ft.
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex, +1 dodge)
  hp 23 (6d6)
  Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +4 (1d4+1) or touch spell +4 touch
  Ranged ray +4 touch
  Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 6th, concentration +9)
  3rd (4/day)—suggestion (DC 16)
  2nd (6/day)—darkvision, web (DC 15), spectral hand
  1st (7/day)—disguise self, disrupt undead, expeditious retreat, ray of enfeeblement 
  (DC 14), shocking grasp, vanish
  0th—arcane mark, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, message, read magic, 
  prestidigitation
  Statistics
  Str 12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 16
  Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Silent Spell
  Skills Bluff +12, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +10
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Combat Gear dagger, Obscurati wand (stashed in apartment; completes transition to 
  Bleak Gate after using the canal path, see below)
  Kell-Guild Pistoleer (3) 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 1/rogue 1
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 17 (1d10+1d8+2)
  Fort +3, Ref +4, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+3 (1d6+2/19–20)
  Ranged broken pistol+1 (1d8–1/×2)
  Special Attacks improved grapple, sneak attack +1d6, strangler
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +1; CMB +3 (+5 to grapple); CMD 15 (17 vs. grapple)
  Feats Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Strangler
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff +6, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +6, Perception +4, Stealth +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear broken pistol with 10 bullets, studded leather armor, short sword
  Special Abilities
  Strangler (Ex) When he maintains a grapple, the Kell-Guild pistoleer deals 1d6 sneak 
  attack damage to the grappled target.
  Kell-Guild Scoundrels (4) 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 1/rogue 1
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 light shield, +2 Dex)
  hp 17 (1d10+1d8+2)
  Fort +2, Ref +4, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+1 (1d6+2/19–20) and short-sword +1 (1d6+1/19–20)
  Ranged thrown alchemical+3 (varies)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15
  Feats Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (short sword)
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff +6, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +6, Perception +4, Stealth 
  +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear studded leather armor, 2x short swords, 2x alchemist fire, 2x tanglefoot 
  bag
  Tactics.
  The pistoleers grapple anyone who gets adjacent to their boss, but oth-
  erwise shoot to keep the constables at bay. Any shots that miss almost 
  certainly strike someone in the club. The scoundrels gang up on vulner-
  able PCs to take them down, and shout at the constables to back off if 
  they don’t want anyone to die. The B-Team is likely outmatched here, 
  and if given a chance, Augst and his men make a run for it.
  If that’s not feasible, such as if the constables called in back-up, Augst 
  chucks his own alchemist’s fire, then pulls out his wand of charm person 
  
  29
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  and tries to make it work (Use Magic Device +11 vs. DC 20).
  Norm mostly hides in the crowd, casts a silent disguise self, and watch-
  es. But if it looks like Augst is about to be captured, he might get involved. 
  He’ll cast spectral hand silently, then follow up with a silent shocking 
  grasp. The glowing hand freaks out bystanders, but people are too fo-
  cused on the ruckus with Augst to notice Norm wiggling his fingers to 
  cast spells. Once Augst is down he’ll shock him again to make sure the 
  man is dead. This won’t stop the party from speaking with his corpse or 
  spirit, but it should reduce what they can get out of him.
  Most likely, though, Augst and his crew will get away, and Norm will 
  suggest to his superiors that the lawyer needs to be silenced.
  Follow-Up.
  If captured, Augst tries to cut a deal for a reduced sentence in exchange 
  for information. This provides ten Task Force Tokens for the main par-
  ty’s efforts against the guild, and also counts as 2 Strikes.
  Additionally, Augst knows the five arcane signs that are required to 
  activate the rusted ring gates along Stanfield Canal. When the guild 
  smuggled materials to “the guys on the other side,” as he puts it, they 
  would mark crates or objects as they were loaded onto barges going down 
  the canal in the real world. Though the Ob were secretive, Augst figured 
  out that each bridge had ring of rusted metal worked into its stone on 
  the underside, and the sigils were linked to each gate. As the barge went 
  under the bridges one by one, each gate would draw the marked item 
  more fully into the Bleak Gate. Eventually the item would shift fully over, 
  disappear from the barge, and plunge into the canal, where he assumes 
  it would be recovered by the other side’s men.
  One time he did a test, marking an empty box with the five signs, and 
  sending it on a barge when the Ob were not expecting a delivery. The 
  box did disappear from the barge briefly, but the crew spotted it floating 
  in the water behind the ship and recovered it. Augst isn’t sure if somehow 
  the Ob can turn their gates on and off, or if there’s some extra process at 
  the end that’s required to make the transition permanent.
  It’s the latter, by the way. When the Ob expect a shipment, a team 
  waits at the end of the Bleak Gate analogue of the canal, then casts a mi-
  nor spell from a wand on each object (or person) coming through. If they 
  don’t cast the spell, the object slips back to reality after a few minutes. 
  Norm has one of these wands, which he uses to slip back and forth on his 
  missions, but he keeps it stashed in his apartment in North Shore.
  Augst can share these signs, which can get the party most of the way to 
  the Bleak Gate. Capturing Norm gives them a chance to get his wand (he 
  also knows the arcane sigils), which would complete the deal. See Canal 
  Route (page 58) if they try this method.
  Dead Lawyer.
  If Augst dies, it only counts as a single Strike, plus maybe one token 
  if the party can use magic to interrogate his corpse and ask the right 
  questions.
  Escaped Lawyer.
  If Augst gets away, Brakken comes to the constables and tells them that 
  he overheard someone muttering, “We’ll have to kill him before he talks.” 
  He actually just noted it telepathically, since it was one of the strongest 
  thoughts in the room.
  Norm will follow Augst, waiting for him to leave himself exposed 
  without his bodyguards. Augst, though, is loath to run when he thinks 
  he can salvage things. He holes up in his home and keeps sending run-
  ners out to try to coordinate with the guild.
  After a few hours, Norm comes up with a plan. He knows Augst’s 
  fondness for opera, and recalls Rock Rackus mentioning that he’d be 
  performing the next evening (Spring 11). So he purchases box seats for 
  Augst and his children, enchants the tickets with a subtle suggestion, 
  and has them delivered to Augst’s house in the morning, with a fake note 
  from Rock Rackus asking him to come.
  Augst obeys the suggestion and attends with his children. He travels 
  in a pair of carriages, never far from his bodyguards. But once he’s at the 
  opera house he asks his guards to wait outside the box. Norm has tickets 
  for the next box over, where no one will see him casting spectral hand 
  and shocking grasp to kill the lawyer.
  Of course, if the B-Team or the party or their task force put in much 
  effort, they can probably get enough manpower to swoop in and capture 
  Augst before Norm gets a chance (treat this as an Assault or Sting against 
  8 hostiles), but smart parties might wait for the Ob to make their move, 
  in order to get more information. Indeed, if the party does capture Augst, 
  they might use him as bait to draw out the Obscurati.
  His Grace, the Duke of Slaughter.
  Action. Tactical. Level 11.
  The party tries to capture Lorcan Kell.
  There are a couple of ways this can go down. Use the stats for named 
  Kell-Guild foes that appear in Appendix C.
  Kell’s Team
  Lorcan Kell
  Kate Glenn
  Nick Reder
  3 Kell-Guild veteran pistoleers (page 28)
  Task Force Failure.
  If the party gets five or fewer Strikes against Kell’s guild, they’re unable 
  to put enough pressure on Kell to leave his hiding spot, and they don’t 
  gather enough intelligence to figure out where he is. On the afternoon of 
  the 12th, a representative of the Ob informs Kell via sending that they’ll 
  get him out if he’s willing to work for them. Kell agrees, but wants to send 
  a message before he leaves behind his guild.
  lorcan Kell and his bodyguards Kate glenn, a cleric, and nick red-
  er, a fighter specialized in grappling, leave the safe house at 3 a.m. on the 
  13th, track down the B-Team, and kill them. See Massacre, below. He 
  and his bodyguards show up later in the Cauldron Hill complex.
  Task Force Partial Victory.
  If the party gets six or seven Strikes against Kell’s guild, they’re able to 
  figure out where he’s holed up. The party has a chance to catch him, but 
  he has a massive advantage because of his gatecrasher charm. See Safe 
  House Raid, below.
  The Ob still have agents in the RHC and police, and so if Kell man-
  ages to escape the party here, the Ob track him down and bring him to 
  the Cauldron Hill complex. As above, he likely goes after the B-Team 
  first, unless he’s been substantially injured.
  Task Force Victory.
  With eight Strikes, Kell sees his empire destroyed, his allies falling or 
  turning against him. The Ob don’t want to be dragged into the conflict, 
  though they will help him if he can get to safety.
  
  30
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread One
  The party learns where Kell is hiding, and have time to make some 
  sort of plan. Enough members of his guild turn on him that the party 
  should be aware of his gatecrasher charm, and they likely concoct a plan 
  to let him run and then ambush him at a spot that is dimensionally locked. 
  Most likely is that he’s tricked into fleeing at 3 a.m. on the 13th, and his 
  route will lead him into an ambush. See Road Ambush below.
  Family Assistance.
  If the party takes Morgan Cippiano’s offer for help, things look similar to 
  the Road Ambush scenario. However, if there are still moles in the task 
  force, the moles warn Kell that Dester Rathnine is a turncoat. Kell turns 
  the party’s ambush against them. See Cruel Variant below.
  Massacre.
  There are several scenarios that might result in Kell avoiding capture. He 
  might trick the PCs into chasing his carriage (with a thug inside dressed 
  like him as a decoy), he might use his gatecrasher charm to outrun them, 
  or they might simply never get close enough to him. In these scenarios, 
  Kell will try to kill some RHC constables—the B-Team—before he links 
  up with the Ob and goes to the Bleak Gate.
  The tone here might be purely spiteful, or it could be prideful—hav-
  ing outwitted the police, Kell now taunts them. If the B-Team captured 
  Quentin Augst, the tone might be retaliatory. Most likely, Kell and his 
  bodyguards attack the B-Team as they’re nearing the Beran consulate at 
  dawn on the 13th. The narrative purpose of this scene is to give the play-
  ers a sense of Kell’s capabilities before their main PCs deal with him.
  Tactics.
  Against the B-Team, Kell’s pistoleers strike first, trying to rush from hid-
  ing and grapple weak constables. Kell stalks into melee after them. If 
  anyone seems to be legitimately a threat to Kell, Nick grabs them and 
  pulls them away. Kate hangs back and readies an action to counterspell 
  any takedown magic like hold person.
  The constables should be thoroughly outmatched: unless they run, 
  Kell should slaughter them. Play up the smug enjoyment he gets from 
  stabbing people or gouging out eyes, leaving foes debilitated with bleed-
  ing wounds. If he deals enough damage to kill someone outright, the 
  killing blow is probably gruesome: a limb severed or a throat slit.
  If he can blind someone, he’ll drop that person on the ground and 
  leave them as a witness. Otherwise, whenever he has only one foe left, 
  he’ll use nonlethal damage to knock them out, then will carve out their 
  eyes and have Kate stabilize them so they can live to tell the tale.
  Kell is under orders not to kill Brakken, but if the minotaur (or his 
  bear) are present, he’ll gladly cut them up and leave them barely alive. If 
  by some miracle the B-Team can overpower him, he’ll try to flee when 
  reduced to 20 hit points. Otherwise, he cuts down the B-Team then slips 
  away. Any witnesses are too horrified to even consider getting involved.
  Safe House Raid.
  In the event Kell is still holed up in his safe house, he’s on the fourth floor 
  of a tenement building, and his group hides using rope trick to avoid 
  divination. A thug watches the roof, and another waits at the base of the 
  rope trick with a bell tied to a rope around his ankle. If he isn’t careful to 
  remove the rope, any movement will ring out a warning to those inside 
  the rope trick. The third thug rests in the rope trick, so the trio can work 
  in shifts.
  There is a clockwork time bomb next to the window, and another next 
  to the door (the same type the Kell-Guild technologists had in the first 
  encounter). They are primed so a move action can activate a four-round 
  fuse. The countdown can be stopped with a Disable Device check (DC 
  25), or the bomb can be pried loose from the wall with a Strength check 
  (DC 20).
  If either bomb explodes it blows up the whole roof, dealing 10d6 
  damage to everyone on the fourth floor (Reflex DC 16 half), and 2d6 to 
  everyone on the third floor (DC 14).
  The party can deploy any officers from the task force who haven’t al-
  ready gone on missions today. This would be a deadly fight for a party 
  of 7th level characters, but backed up by two dozen officers, they have a 
  good shot. The trick is keeping Kell from getting away.
  Tactics.
  If attackers are spotted, Kell and his people try to take up defensive posi-
  tions away from windows. If he has at least a minute before the task force 
  breaches the building, Kell gets one of his thugs to don a disguise—a top 
  hat and coat—and be a decoy. The man heads down to the ground floor, 
  goes to a rear entrance, and activates the figurine of wondrous power to 
  conjure the mechanical carriage. Then he jumps in and speeds off as 
  fast as a horse. Depending on who chases the decoy, Kell might be able 
  to slip away.
  If forced to fight, he and his team do so brutally, hoping to break the 
  assault. If Kate goes down, or if Kell is reduced below 40 hit points, he 
  decides to run for it. He triggers the fuse on the time bomb, then jumps 
  out a window and plummets to a canal thirty feet below. Four rounds 
  later, the top floor explodes.
  If he thinks he’s still not clear, Kell activates his gatecrasher charm. 
  That gives him about a five minute head start, and he runs for The Net-
  tles, where he can leave a few signs that will draw the Ob’s attention. If 
  the party doesn’t manage to track him down within two hours, the Ob 
  scoop him up and deliver him to the Bleak Gate. Of course, clever par-
  ties might tail him and then steal the Ob’s equipment so they can head 
  into the Bleak Gate themselves.
  Road Ambush.
  Kell can be tricked into thinking he’s meeting with the Ob, and con-
  vinced to head to a rendezvous on the south side of the Nida Street 
  Bridge. Though Principal Minister Harkover Lee is not a warmage and 
  won’t join the fight, he can prepare a ritual to blanket a 100-ft. radius 
  of the bridge with a dimensional lock effect, blocking teleportation and 
  plane-shifting for several hours.
  Kell travels to the fake meeting in his mechanical carriage, and likely 
  the party can rig something to block his path. The bridge is sixty feet 
  wide, four hundred feet long, stone with metal railings and street lamps 
  spaced widely enough that the party could hide. Also, at each of the pil-
  ings supporting the bridge, broad stairwells lead down to landings and 
  small docks, thirty feet below. A few boats moor at these pilings, and so 
  dozens of officers could hide just down the stairs.
  Tactics.
  If the party manages to block the carriage, Kell sends out a thug to see 
  what the problem is, but he stays inside. The carriage is bullet proof and 
  its doors can be locked for security (much like in the first encounter; see 
  what we did there?). Kell refuses to surrender, and will try to activate his 
  gatecrasher charm when he realizes he’s trapped. When that fails, he’ll 
  try to fight his way to the edge of the bridge and dive off (at a spot that 
  doesn’t have a dock below). He’ll still have to swim at least seventy feet 
  to get beyond the dimensional lock.
  
  31
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  If he does manage to avoid being filled with bullets and gets away, he 
  links up with the Ob in the Nettles, as above.
  Cruel Variant.
  If the party relies on Morgan’s man on the inside, Dester Rathnine, be-
  fore they manage to get rid of all three moles in the task force, Kell lays 
  a trap of his own for the party. He sends out his carriage, but when it 
  stops on the bridge, no one gets out. If anyone opens it, they pull a cord 
  that triggers the fuses for four clockwork time bombs stuck to the inside 
  walls. And sitting right in the middle, bound, gagged, and panicked, is 
  Dester Rathnine. Iron manacles around his feet loop through an iron 
  ring on the floor of the carriage.
  Kell uses the distraction to track down the B-Team to massacre them 
  before joining up with the Ob, but he’ll listen carefully for the distant 
  sound of a massive explosion.
  Interrogation.
  Social. Real-Time.
  If the party takes Kell alive, or at least recovers a body…
  So, the party has captured Lorcan Kell. What have they won?
  You can let the party interrogate the crime boss, or leave it to “profes-
  sionals.” Kell resists normal threats, intimidation, and even torture, but 
  he can’t resist magical compulsion. A quick dominate person by Hark-
  over Lee gets Kell to share everything he knows about the Obscurati. It’s 
  mostly about the local cell’s operations in the real world and how they 
  get back and forth between the worlds. He’s never been to the Bleak Gate 
  facility, and he’s never met Leone Quital.
  Like Quentin Augst, though, he knows the five sigils used to send 
  crates down the Stanfield Canal. Also, he has a stash of amulets (just 
  enough for the party and maybe a few other key NPCs) various Ob agents 
  used when they shifted partially into the Bleak Gate. The magic of the 
  amulets faded before Kell could ever use them, but with Minister Lee’s 
  aid the party can reactivate enough amulets to get the party equipped 
  with one each.
  Finally, he managed to recover a broken wand of the sort the Ob use to 
  finalize the transition. As with the amulets, Minister Lee can figure out 
  what magic the wand had and reverse engineer it. With all these elements 
  combined, the party can now undertake the Canal Route (page 58).
  If they killed Kell, it takes a day to arrange for a powerful cleric from 
  Crisillyir, archmissionary cornelius eboracum, to teleport in. He 
  performs frankly evil magic to drag Kell’s soul out of the afterlife and 
  compel it to provide the information above.
  If Kell is defeated or dead, the Ob aren’t going to go to the effort to 
  rescue or resurrect him. Unless, that is, you get to the battle in the Ob-
  scurati complex, and the party is having too easy a time. Then…who 
  knows? Ghost Kell? Golem Kell? Cyborg ghost Kell?
  Thread Two: 
  One Season Slain
  In this thread, the party aids Asrabey in stopping Ekossigan.
  Where’s Ekossigan?
  To open a portal to the Bleak Gate, Ekossigan needs to sacrifice thirty-
  one children on the branches of a century-old tree. He has found Gallo’s 
  School for Boys, an orphanage founded in 401 A.O.V., a century ago, 
  by a small group of druids. It eventually faded into obscurity, but it has 
  continued in operation, quietly raising children. The orphanage sits in 
  the boughs of a massive tree, a hundred feet high, about seven miles east 
  of the city, in the southern Cloudwood.
  Following Fey.
  Exploration. Montage. Level 15.
  The party keeps tabs on Asrabey or looks for Ekossigan themselves.
  Following Asrabey’s brief meeting with the king, the dreadnought 
  spends the next day gathering information from various contacts in Flint. 
  The party is likely occupied on the first day with setting up the task force 
  and looking for the dwarven radicals, giving Asrabey free leave to meet 
  with sympathizers to the Unseen Court, all of whom he asks to keep an 
  eye out for Ekossigan.
  His contacts include members of the Vekeshi Mystics, like rear ad-
  miral Morris dawkins (known as the old Stag) in North Shore, and 
  possibly a Vekeshi PC. Many gnomes and elves are more than willing to 
  grant him hospitality, including the alderman, a gnome beadle who 
  lives in an alder tree in Pine Island, and Valentina yorke, an elvish 
  druid working in Central District to ensure their subrail construction 
  does not anger the local spirits.
  Asrabey also speaks with numerous fey throughout the city, including 
  a pixie named Mugwort who has been spying from the rafters at the 
  RHC offices in Central District, and the trash heap, a filthy hag-like 
  entity who lives beneath the city’s dump northeast of the Nettles and 
  gives out strange cast-off objects with prophetic usefulness.
  One person he is unable to reach is Gale, the fey terrorist.
  Following Asrabey.
  Keeping an eye on the high elf is tough, and doesn’t earn the party much, 
  except perhaps for political ammunition that goes beyond the scope of 
  this adventure.
  A Powerful Ally.
  Asrabey’s stats are presented in Appendix B, but generally you should try 
  to avoid involving him in combat. He’s dramatically more powerful than 
  any of the PCs, and his assistance would make fights too easy and take 
  the spotlight away from the party. We suggest things for him to do in each 
  combat encounter that involve him in the action without having him face 
  (and completely outclass) the same foes as the party.
  The grizzled Kell grew up an enforcer for local gangs 
  and eventually murdered his way into a position of 
  leadership. Now he feigns gentility, dressing in el-
  egant clothing that conceals no less than eight blades 
  at any time.
  Kell is unpredictable and hot-headed, confident 
  he can kill anyone who’s a threat. He possesses a 
  great knack for instilling loyalty in intelligent minions 
  who can run operations for him. His guild’s recent 
  work with the Obscurati earned him a nice variety 
  of magical toys, and as the turf war with the Fam-
  ily heats up, the Ob have promised him more aid to 
  keep him loyal.
  Lorcan Kell
  
  32
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Tailing him to each of his meetings requires a Perception check (DC 
  20), but also calls for a Stealth check (DC 23) to keep from being noticed. 
  The tail can take a penalty to his Perception check by hanging back far-
  ther, and get an equal bonus to his Stealth check.
  If Asrabey spots his tail, he will demand once that the character leave 
  him be or else be cut down. He actually draws a weapon and will give 
  the PC a minute to run away. The second time he spots his tail, he im-
  mediately attacks, though he will not intentionally kill. Remember how 
  we said Asrabey is ridiculously stubborn? He also really doesn’t like be-
  ing followed.
  Frosty Relations.
  Asrabey shows up at the RHC office (or wherever the party is) on the 
  morning of the 10th, as he promised. He explains that he has met with 
  people around the city, none of whom have seen Ekossigan. But he had 
  trouble finding several of his contacts in the Cloudwood, and he sus-
  pects that Ekossigan, a powerful fey lord, is gathering the local fey in the 
  forest under his banner.
  Cloudwood Tension.
  The Cloudwood has been a hotbed of unexplained phenomena for the 
  past few days, as amply reported in the newspapers. Police reports re-
  veal that yesterday morning (the 9th) the body of a young boy was found 
  strangled, lying in a stream, partially gnawed on by cats. No one in the 
  district has reported any missing children, but people in the district are 
  begging the police to protect their children.
  On the 11th, the Flint Tribune (if it still exists) will break this story, 
  and the article will accuse the RHC of endangering children by wasting 
  police manpower on a violent and pointless crackdown in Parity Lake.
  Where to Look.
  Asrabey knows the party has previously spoken with Gale, and he wants 
  them to arrange a meeting. He believes that even if she is sympathetic to 
  the fey cause, she is nevertheless an elf, not a true fey. She might be per-
  suaded to help, whereas the true fey are compelled to serve Ekossigan.
  (If the party did not meet Gale in Adventure Two, The Dying Sky-
  seer, Asrabey still asks them for help. He hopes the party can find her by 
  working through a journalist she gave an interview to, or pulling police 
  files to figure out where she’s most often sighted.)
  If the party still has the messenger wind Gale offered in Adventure 
  Two, they can easily arrange to meet as soon as the same morning. Oth-
  erwise they can head into the Cloudwood to speak with the local druids, 
  who can get a message to her. Any Vekeshi Mystic PC would know how 
  to reach her as well, through a relay of contacts.
  Tell Me About Ekossigan.
  Varal does not go into much detail about the affairs of the Unseen Court, 
  but he has had some dealings with Ekossigan in the past. The rebel fey 
  has a nature that changes with the seasons, and sometimes when an event 
  really affects him, his change in mood will change the seasons, leading 
  to freak snowstorms in summer or trees blossoming in the middle of 
  winter.
  As for Ekossigan’s combat abilities, Asrabey relates that the fey has 
  shown little in the way of offense. He has great sway over true fey, though, 
  so his minions may be a greater threat than he is. Indeed, if any members 
  of the party are actual fey, Asrabey gives them a small charm to wear—a 
  ring with gear teeth on the inside, within which a pair of other gears can 
  spin—that will protect them from Ekossigan’s influence.
  Being part of the Unseen Court makes Ekossigan almost completely 
  immune to divinations that try to find him. Like many fey, he can step 
  from here to there without occupying the space between, and around 
  him arrows never hit what they’re aimed at.
  His skin is treebark, making him hard to harm. Asrabey then goes on 
  to smile and mention that trees burn—while lightly igniting his sword 
  for effect.
  Casing the Cloudwood.
  Exploration. Montage. Level 7.
  Ekossigan is hiding somewhere in the Cloudwood.
  There are three major groups in the Cloudwood that the RHC have 
  easy access to speak with. The local populace can be spoken with by 
  wandering the streets, stopping at street cafes, and the like. The other 
  two groups are conveniently located in the same office—the local police 
  force, and the district Mayor, Doyle Idylls.
  The Mayor.
  Doyle Idylls is spooked about recent events happening in his district, 
  but he officially blames them on local hooligans rather than actual fey 
  intruders. Still, he’s having his building’s exterior painted with a coat 
  of crushed mulberry and powdered chicken bone—a supposed ward 
  against fey intrusion.
  Idylls knows the party is heading up the task force against Kell; some of 
  his police were pulled away for it, and he’s getting yelled at by the locals 
  who are afraid for their children. He won’t readily meet with the party, 
  though they can just barge in on him, or try to convince his secretary. 
  Forcing the issue will make the mayor and his police uncooperative.
  The Police.
  The main police office is built on the backside of the mayor’s mansion. 
  Led by a boisterous second-generation immigrant from Danor, Sergeant 
  langlois, the police won’t talk to the party unless they get approval from 
  the mayor. If a chat is approved, the sergeant and his men can bring the 
  PCs up to speed on a rash of vandalism that’s overtaken many public of-
  fices in the district. During their visit to the station, the officers complain 
  about oddities: rotten bird eggs keep falling on the sidewalk, gophers 
  chew through his basement, and every book in the building mysteriously 
  lost its last page.
  They can also provide detailed maps of the forest, which is a night-
  mare to patrol. The police just set up guard posts along key trails to try 
  to protect the district borders, and leave the deep woods alone. There 
  are dozens of square miles of forest within a day’s walk of the city where 
  Ekossigan could be hiding, so just roaming and looking is pointless 
  without some sort of lead.
  Sergeant Langlois and his men can be requisitioned to help search 
  the forest for fey. He really can’t spare the officers, since too many of his 
  people are already on the task force, but if the party pulls strings he’ll go 
  along with it. Another option is just to use the task force men, if the party 
  thinks they can spare them.
  The Kid.
  If the party asks to look at the body of the child found in the woods, it’s 
  a grisly sight. He was found naked, covered with patterns of green paint, 
  which a Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 20) identifies as old fey ritual 
  markings from the time when men regularly fought the fey, nearly two 
  
  33
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  thousand years ago. In-depth research, or a Knowledge (arcana) check 
  (DC 30), can pinpoint the ritual: a curse on the child’s family to cause 
  paranoia and in-fighting.
  The fingers and toes have been gnawed at by cats, and the throat is 
  crushed. Closer examination (Heal DC 15) reveals that the child wasn’t 
  strangled, but hung by a rope. Also, he has dozens of thin lacerations 
  across his body, like you’d get running through trees and brush naked. 
  That, combined with numerous small fractures scattered throughout his 
  body, might clue the party to the fact that he fell from a tree and through 
  its branches.
  What happened was the boy, one of the orphans at the Gallo school, 
  was too old for Ekossigan to use in the ritual. He instead hung the boy 
  from the tree the orphanage sits in, then cut him loose and sent some of 
  his gremlins down to place the body where it would be found, several 
  miles from the orphanage. Since the child was an orphan and he was 
  being “raised by the state,” the death and the curse curse are spreading 
  fear and distrust through the whole district.
  A remove curse cast on the body will help soothe shattered nerves: the 
  party will be able to call in one free favor with the locals that doesn’t 
  count against their normal limit per day. If the curse persists, though, 
  tempers will soon flare.
  The Locals.
  Regardless of the status of the curse, the locals don’t want to talk; in fact, 
  if they realize the party is law enforcement, they’ll be unfriendly and an-
  gry, blaming them for leaving their children without proper protection.
  Aside from a few blocks that make up the business part of the district, 
  the Cloudwood is very rural, with farmland dominating the north and 
  woodlands on the low mountains and further south. The place barely 
  qualifies as part of the city—neighbors might live half a mile apart. Nev-
  ertheless, people have found ways to get into plenty of fights, separating 
  into little tribes that are edging closer to full-scale rioting.
  If people are persuaded to talk, they’ll explain that all the customary 
  nighttime offerings of milk and sliced fruit have been disappearing—
  normally only a few offerings disappear overnight (many are thought 
  taken by starving homeless folk). A Knowledge (nature) check (DC 16) 
  suggests that offerings are taken in larger quantities when the fey them-
  selves feel the need to pay tribute to something greater than themselves.
  People used to give these offerings out of respect for the fey, but since 
  doyle Idylls became mayor here and began trying to convince locals 
  that the fey are a threat, the offerings have become more of a safeguard to 
  avoid bad luck. If the party’s clever, they might try to follow the fey who 
  snag these offerings.
  Fey Sympathizers.
  In the deep woods, a handful of lumberjacks, farmers, and hunters are 
  upset with Doyle Idylls’s anti-fey sentiment. Though unfriendly to out-
  siders, if the party can earn their trust or feign having similar beliefs, 
  they can learn that the group knows there’s a major fey in the forest, and 
  they’re trying to meet him. Their goal is to force the mayor out. They 
  have no clue of Ekossigan’s real plan, but if the party seems stuck you can 
  have these people guide them to the orphanage at the last minute.
  Fey Contacts.
  Any characters who have pre-established fey contacts with the forest 
  cannot communicate with their contacts until Ekossigan is dealt with. 
  The intent here is not to punish the players or take away leads, but rather 
  to show what powerful influence Ekossigan has.
  Her Majesty, Princess Fairy Dust.
  Social. Real-Time. Level 8.
  The fey terrorist Gale might know how to find Ekossigan.
  Gale has contact with a creepy gremlin named ellik, who acted as a 
  courier for the Unseen Court. When Ekossigan arrived in Cloudwood, 
  Ellik sought Gale and asked for her help. She met with Ekossigan, and 
  he played to her desires of being accepted by the fey, sweeping her up in 
  a narrative of making a grand difference to the world.
  Before she realized the danger, she had agreed to help him, and the 
  binding power of a pact to a fey lord now compels her into his service. To 
  make her a more useful tool, he imbued her with a sliver of the power of 
  summer, giving her destructive weather magic that she never possessed 
  before.
  Gale hates Danor and theoretically should agree with Ekossigan, but 
  as she sees the rapid pace of the fey gathering and preparing, she grows 
  nervous. She wants to help the party, and struggles against her master’s 
  will so as not to betray them outright. He has ordered her to warn him 
  of any threats, and to kill anyone who is trying to stop him, but that 
  leaves her enough wiggle room of interpretation that she can spare a few 
  minutes of conversation.
  When the party approaches her, she asks to meet them at a switch-
  back trail in the forest (if you still have the map from Dying Skyseer, that 
  works). She keeps her distance, hiding in the trees (Perception DC 36 for 
  range and the concealment of trees) and speaks to them via message.
  She warns them that Ekossigan is powerful, and asks that they leave. 
  She knows Ekossigan plans to go into the Bleak Gate, and lead a small 
  army of fey to Cauldron Hill. Though she’s afraid of him, she thinks it 
  will be best if the party just lets him go. If they insist, she confesses her 
  mistake in promising to help the fey lord, and how she will have to fight 
  the party if they continue.
  The party has a chance to finagle around the legalese of Gale’s bond to 
  Ekossigan, such as if they convincingly claim they have no desire to stop 
  Ekossigan. They can also break her free with a remove curse or dispel 
  magic (vs. caster level 15), and protection from evil temporarily blocks 
  the compulsion.
  Gale doesn’t know where Ekossigan is; she communicates with whis-
  pering wind. But if she’s freed from Ekossigan’s bond, she can lead the 
  party to Ellik, the gremlin who is his lead henchman. Ellik has been to 
  the Bleak Gate several times over his long life, and a year ago he took 
  Gale, but the same route won’t be available for years. If Ekossigan in-
  tends to get there, it will involve powerful magic, and she worries what 
  the price will be.
  Ekossigan’s Enforcer
  Hana “Gale” Soliogn
  
  34
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Hana “Gale” Soliogn 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  Female high elf sorcerer 9
  CN Medium humanoid (elf)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +7, low-light vision
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex, +1 dodge)
  hp 33 (9d6), DR 10/- versus ranged weapons (90 hp)
  Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +7
  Immune wind
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
  Special Attacks control winds
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th)
  Constant—overland flight, speak with animals (flying animals only)
  Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 9th, concentration +13)
  4th (5/day)—solid fog, shout (DC 18), storm shield (as fire shield, but blocks and 
  deals electricity damage)
  3rd (7/day)—clairaudience/clairvoyance, fly, lightning bolt (DC 17), nondetection
  2nd (7/day)—fog cloud, levitate, protection from arrows, shatter (DC 16), whispering 
  wind
  1st (7/day)—feather fall, mage armor, magic missile, message, shield, shocking grasp
  0th—daze, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, mending, message, prestidigita-
  tion, resistance
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 18
  Base Atk +4; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Flyby Attack, Lightning 
  Reflexes, Mobility
  Skills Bluff +7, Diplomacy +6, Disable Device +3, Escape Artist +3, Fly +11, Knowledge 
  (arcana) +7, Knowledge (nature) +4, Knowledge (nobility) +7, Knowledge (planes) 
  +3, Perception +5, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +7, Survival +5
  Languages Common, Elf, Primordial, Sylvan
  Combat Gear none
  Special Abilities
  Air Affinity (Su) Gale can innately control winds, and is immune to the effects of 
  strong wind. She can fly at will and can speak with flying animals, who usually are 
  friendly to her.
  Control Winds (Sp) Gale can control winds in a 360-ft. radius. She can use this ability 
  for up to 9 minutes per day, in chunks of at least one minute at a time. Activating or 
  controlling it is a standard action, maintaining is a free action.
   
  She can increase winds by up to three steps (enough to turn a still day into 
  a severe storm of 50 miles per hour), or a strong breeze into a small hurricane). 
  Creatures other than her in the area must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 19) 
  to resist the winds.
  Tactics.
  If the party insists on confronting Ekossigan, Gale attacks them, taking 
  the horribly unfair advantage of being a flying spellcaster. She already 
  has cast mage armor, protection from arrows, and nondetection (included 
  in her stats above). She casts shield, then uses her control winds ability 
  to blast severe winds at the party, so she’s constantly upwind from them, 
  which incurs a –4 penalty to their ranged weapon attacks.
  Then she hovers a hundred feet away, launching lightning bolts and 
  magic missiles, then takes cover behind the treetops, sixty feet above the 
  ground. If any PCs start to approach she drops a solid fog on them to slow 
  them down, then changes position. If she runs low on spells she’ll flee.
  Throughout the fight Gale shouts that she’s sorry, and that she’s trying 
  to resist. If Asrabey is with the party, he hesitates to join the battle. High 
  elf women are exceedingly precious and rare, and he doesn’t want to risk 
  her being harmed. If the party can convince him they can break Gale 
  free from her compulsion he’ll help, but he will grow wrathful against 
  any PC who deals lethal damage to her.
  The party will likely have to use cover and stealth to defeat Gale, or 
  else simply outlast her. Fireball works pretty well too, but a good dam-
  age roll could kill her. If she’s knocked out, she descends safely to the 
  ground, as with feather fall.
  Aftermath.
  If Gale manages to defeat the party, she contacts Ekossigan, who sends 
  gremlins to recover them and bring them to him. He cannot use them 
  as part of his ritual to reach the Bleak Gate, but he’ll gladly hang them 
  from the orphanage’s branches as a message against those who oppose 
  the Unseen Court.
  If the party defeats Gale, she rambles semi-consciously about Ellik’s 
  location—The Nutgarden, an abandoned beer house that is infamous in 
  the district for burning down and claiming the lives of forty people a few 
  years ago. This information lets them skip the “Finding a Gremlin” part 
  of the challenge in It Takes a Gremlin, and gives them a chance to go 
  after the gremlin during daylight.
  Torches and Pitchforks *
  Social. Real-Time. Level 4.
  An angry mob disrupts Brakken’s visit to the Cloudwood.
  At dawn on the 11th, the B-Team meets Brakken at the Beran consul-
  ate, picks up a dignitary from each side, and sets out for the Cloudwood 
  on another bid to create some unity between the two groups.
  Today’s outing involves Kian doherty (Risur’s Minister of Agricul-
  ture) and Pierre riquier (Danoran Minister of Magic), and Brakken 
  hopes taking them out to the city district famous for its fey-friendly 
  woodlands will be a bonding experience. Unfortunately, as the trio is 
  enjoying some light brunch while hummingbirds flit about and a mon-
  key snags their scraps, an angry mob is gathering just down the street, 
  incited to paranoia by Ekossigan’s curse.
  (If the party already removed the curse, this scene is very short and 
  pleasant, sans angry mob.)
  Kian Doherty. Well-groomed 40-something who values Risur’s druidic tradi-
  tions and hates being in Flint. Sullen, but trying to keep an open mind.
  Pierre Riquier. A rare Danoran half-elf, Pierre came from a rich family that could 
  afford magic lessons for him. Heavy spectacles, messy hair, full of trivia about 
  magic. Weak-willed and obsequious, he isn’t that interested in magic, honestly, but 
  he’s one of the few people qualified for his position.
  Timing.
  This scene takes place the morning after Brakken’s visit to the Sunset 
  Bench, detailed in Thread One. We apologize for the timeline being split 
  this way, we hope this arrangement creates a good pace. Also, if you want 
  to shuffle things a bit (such as to fill out a session that has run short), you 
  might move this up to the morning of the 10th, or even the afternoon of 
  the 9th, but no sooner.
  
  35
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  A Wee Squabble.
  The restaurant is next to a creek that weaves under several small bridges 
  on the street. Other small shops line the road, and the mayor’s mansion 
  is just two blocks away. A few minutes into the meal, a young girl runs 
  into view from between the buildings on the other side of the creek. She 
  hops the creek, scampers past Brakken and the B-Team, and starts yell-
  ing for people to help.
  A few seconds behind her, a woman in a sun dress holding a rolling 
  pin runs to the creek, then stops when she sees the girl calling for help. 
  After a moment’s panic she turns and runs.
  All that happened was that the girl, circe, was taking a shortcut, and 
  she went past the house of the woman, relle. Relle didn’t recognize the 
  girl and yelled at her to get away from her house. Then, for no reason 
  either of them rationally understands, Circe threw a rock at the house, 
  and Relle gave chase. Nudged by Ekossigan’s curse, the tiny distrust of 
  a stranger turned into a chase.
  Within a minute, Circe gets a dozen people to come out and meet her 
  in the street, where she explains that she was chased, and she thinks the 
  woman was going to kill her. The crowd starts getting weapons from 
  their houses and shops, and over the next ten minutes the group grows 
  to thirty people. Then they’re ready, and they start to follow Circe back 
  to the house so they can drag Relle out, search the house for signs of 
  witchcraft, and burn the building down.
  While the crowd is gathering, the constables might notice (Perception 
  DC 10) another kid, dressed in long sleeves and with a hood hiding his 
  face, watching from the creek bed. He has a bundle in his arms. None 
  of the locals care about this stranger, because it is actually a gremlin dis-
  guised as a kid. He was out collecting the neighborhood’s offerings and 
  got drunk on some stolen wine, so he just now woke up.
  Forestalling a Riot.
  Brakken can sense that the crowd won’t respond to reason, and Pierre 
  is too feeble to want to get involved, but Kian doesn’t like how things 
  are looking. When the mob is just forming, Kian gets up and asks what’s 
  going on. The crowd shoves him away and tells him to stop sticking his 
  nose into things. A few minutes later, when it’s obvious things are about 
  to get violent, Brakken tries to leave, but Kian again tries to calm the 
  group down, and they attack him, shoving him and knocking him down 
  and eventually throwing him into the creek, where they pelt him with 
  rocks—nothing big enough to kill him, but he eventually curls into a ball 
  and yells for mercy.
  A show of force from the constables—incapacitating at least four of the 
  crowd—can get the mob to break up. Killing anyone, though, leads to a 
  riot. If the group doesn’t get involved, the mob leaves Kian cowering in 
  the stream and goes to burn down Relle’s house.
  If the party goes after the gremlin, it runs. The constables can try 
  to pursue the goblin (see It Takes a Gremlin below), and have a decent 
  shot because they’re chasing the critter during daylight. They might not 
  know what to do with it if they catch it, though.
  Further Trouble.
  A few other small mobs attack people during the day. One albino cow is 
  lynched.
  Later that afternoon, people start frantically chopping down trees as 
  a rumor spreads that “someone” is going to set fires tonight. The fires 
  never occur.
  The next morning, a small crowd chases down a police officer and 
  beats him to death, on the rationale that if the police aren’t going to 
  protect the children, maybe they actually are the ones killing children. 
  (No other children have been killed yet, but rumors are rampant.) Any 
  Cloudwood police helping the party at this point return to their station 
  to protect it.
  Finally, at sunset on the 12th, if the curse hasn’t been broken, the wave 
  of paranoia reaches its peak. A huge mob of a hundred townsfolk rally 
  around Circe, who is convinced that Mayor Idylls is a witch. The mob 
  storms his house and a dozen people die before the police give up and 
  flee. The mob then drags the mayor to a dairy and drown him in a huge 
  tub of milk, then leave him out as an offering to the fey, in hopes the 
  madness will end.
  And ironically it does. Since the curse was tied to “the state” raising 
  the sacrificed child, killing the local head of state ends the curse. Still, 
  the district never quite returns to normal.
  
  36
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  It Takes a Gremlin.
  Action. Montage. Level 7.
  Ellik or another gremlin might lead the party to Ekossigan.
  Chasing gremlins is a tough proposition in the middle of the night, 
  especially if the PCs don’t possess darkvision or a quickly activated light 
  source. Given these conditions, successfully chasing down a gremlin 
  and subduing it is broken down into a Skill Encounter as follows. This 
  is meant to be a challenging pursuit, and it might take the party a few 
  tries to get it right.
  Key Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (nature), Per-
  ception, Stealth, Survival
  difficulty: Unless otherwise noted, all skill checks are DC 24.
  goals: The party must first find a gremlin. Then they can either grab 
  it and interrogate it, or chase it and follow it back to Ekossigan.
  Gremlin  Target
  1 nuglub gremlin (page 39 )
  Finding a Gremlin.
  Ekossigan’s gremlin servants operate in the later hours of the night, typi-
  cally between 2:00 and 4:00 am. The tiny creatures move from house 
  to house, ignoring those with any visible light sources and using their 
  diminutive height to sneak under windows to stealthily claim the offer-
  ings, which they carelessly shove into a large sack. The actual quality of 
  the offering is not important, merely the latent spiritual power invested 
  in them. The gremlins actively hide and stick to the darkness when re-
  trieving offerings.
  Recommended Tactics.
  The party can spot gremlins only after midnight, up until about 6:00 am. 
  On the night of the 12th, the gremlins are active instead from 8:00 pm un-
  til 11:00 pm, at which point they all rush to the orphanage for the ritual.
  Checks made between 2:00 and 4:00 am, when the gremlins are most 
  active, get a +2 bonus to the required skill check. If the party waits until 
  the night of the 12th, increase the DCs by 2 because of the frantic activity 
  of the locals.
  A well-described action or a clever idea can earn another +2 to +5 bo-
  nus. A fool-proof plan counts as a success.
  To find a gremlin, the party needs to succeed two of the following skill 
  checks (or do something similar and effective). Each PC can make one 
  attempt every half hour or so.
  craft (traps) or disable device.
  * 
   A character might rig up some 
  sort of trap near offerings, like a noose and a wire that rings bells 
  to alert the party.
  Perception.
  * 
   A character can camp a particular house or roam 
  about in a likely area. Those with low-light gain a +2 bonus to the 
  Perception check, while darkvision grants a +5 bonus.
  Stealth.
  * 
   A character can aid the party in being stealthy and hid-
  den, which makes it easier to lure the gremlins in.
  Survival.
  * 
   It is also possible to track down a roaming gremlin by 
  searching for tracks.
  Police Force.
  Bringing at least a dozen police officers negates the need for checks, as 
  the officers are able to successfully discover several of the gremlins. Over 
  a half hour of coordinated searching, the officers find a gremlin and bring 
  the party by. They won’t be much use in chasing it down, though.
  Gale’s Help.
  If the party gets Gale’s help or defeats her in combat, they can automati-
  cally locate the gremlin Ellik at the burnt-out bar The Nutgarden. Even 
  better, they can find him during daylight, making him much easier to 
  chase down. If they give chase to him and fail, though, they’ll need to 
  start over and try to find another gremlin.
  Catch a Gremlin.
  After discovering one of Ekossigan’s gremlins, the tricky part is captur-
  ing it. These creatures are fast and easily spooked if they so much as 
  sense another living being approach. Once the party gets within 100 feet, 
  they must use normal Stealth rules (against the gremlin’s darkvision and 
  +9 Perception check) to get close enough to grab it, knock it out, or oth-
  erwise disable it. A captured gremlin can be interrogated.
  If it spots another creature, a gremlin madly dashes in an attempt to 
  escape a potential captor. If the gremlin manages to get more than 100 
  feet away from the party, proceed to the Chase section below.
  Chase a Gremlin.
  The party might have to chase a gremlin if they want to catch and inter-
  rogate it. Gremlins are wily, and fey in the Cloudwood have a tendency 
  to teleport short distances, making pursuit erratic.
  The PCs and gremlin starts 100 feet apart, but keep track of each PC’s 
  distance separately, since the party might get split up. The gremlin leads 
  them on a merry chase, and each minute each pursuing PC can make a 
  skill check to try to close the gap. A success gets 25 feet closer. Success 
  by 5 or more gets 50 feet closer. Failure keeps the status quo, and failure 
  by 5 or more means the PC falls back 25 feet.
  Because the terrain doesn’t lend itself to flat-out sprinting, having a 
  faster or slower base speed is not a deal-breaker. A speed of 20 imposes a 
  –4 penalty, a speed of 40 grants a +4 bonus, and 50 or greater grants +6.
  Below are a series of suggested actions the gremlin can take, and how 
  the PCs can respond. The normal DC 24 applies to a night chase when 
  the party has light sources or darkvision. If a PC has neither, he takes a 
  –5 penalty. If the chase happens during the day, the PCs get a +5 bonus.
  gap in the wall.
  * 
   The gremlin wiggles through a narrow gap—a 
  tall fence, hedge, wall of brush, or perhaps a fox burrow. Charac-
  ters must use Escape Artist to follow.
  through a Pond.
  * 
   The gremlin dives underwater and tries to lose 
  the party. Characters must make an easy Swim check (DC 10) to 
  keep up, plus a Perception check (DC 24) to see where the gremlin 
  is under the water.
  up a wall. 
  * 
  A PC can use Climb to follow as the little bugger is 
  climbing up a cliff wall!
  crumbling Bridge.
  * 
   The gremlin scampers across an old wooden 
  bridge seeing its last days, forcing an Acrobatics check to keep up.
  Chasers’ Options.
  A character can make a Knowledge (nature) or Survival check to try a 
  shortcut. Success brings the PC 50 feet closer. Failure causes the char-
  acter to fall 50 feet behind.
  A character can try to make a ranged attack against the gremlin or cast 
  a spell, but doing so means the character isn’t moving as fast. He falls 
  behind 25 feet. Usually the gremlin will have cover and concealment 
  from the terrain.
  
  37
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Ending the Chase.
  Once a character gets adjacent to the gremlin, he can make a CMB check 
  against a CMD of 15 to tackle the critter. Other attacks can take the 
  gremlin out. If the gremlin manages to get 200 feet away from all the 
  PCs, it loses them. The party can follow its tracks with three successful 
  Survival checks.
  Tailing the Gremlin.
  The party might want to just follow the gremlin all the way to Ekossigan. 
  To do this, one PC must manage to keep the gremlin in his sights (within 
  200 feet during the day, or range of their light source at night) for at least 
  five minutes. Then he must make three Constitution checks (DC 5) and 
  succeed at least two to keep pace with the gremlin during the rest of the 
  pursuit. The whole chase covers an erratic path some ten miles long, and 
  likely takes three hours.
  Interrogation.
  With a captured gremlin in custody, the party can extract information 
  from the creature. Gremlins are impulsive in nature, and those loyal to 
  Ekossigan are borderline psychotic. Dealing with such creatures should 
  test the PCs’ patience, as keeping the creatures on task is difficult.
  Only exceptionally skilled characters could hope to negotiate with 
  such creatures (DC 30 Diplomacy or Intimidate), and even the promise 
  of release, riches, or any other wild offering would be a hard sell (DC 28 
  Bluff). During such talks, the gremlins constantly switch topics, taking 
  note of simple things like the color of the PC’s clothing, or the current 
  temperature in the room. The party gains a bonus to these interrogation 
  checks equal to twice their Prestige with the Unseen Court.
  Magical compulsion effects or divination magic might pull the neces-
  sary information out of the gremlin.
  If successfully negotiated with, the gremlin reveals that Ekossigan is 
  staying in the orphanage. However, its sense of direction doesn’t rely 
  on normal human landmarks, so finding the orphanage requires either 
  a Knowledge (local) check (DC 20), a Survival check (DC 24), or some 
  sort of magical guidance. If the district hasn’t gone crazy yet, the party 
  can also find the orphanage on a map in the mayor’s office after about an 
  hour of research.
  Unless the party asks and succeeds a second round of interrogation, 
  the gremlin does not mention that the children of the orphanage are 
  set to be ritually sacrificed. The creature simply forgets this point—not 
  thinking it important—and does not withhold it as an act of slight to-
  wards the party.
  Asrabey Varal’s presence in the interrogation grants the party an 
  effective Prestige of 5 with the Unseen Court, and the dreadnought’s 
  reputation is worth another +5 bonus (for a total of +15).
  Once the gremlin has talked, Asrabey dispatches the creature with a 
  cold iron stake through the head—an act of mercy for the fey’s betrayal 
  of the Unseen Court.
  Gallo’s School for Boys.
  Exploration/Social. Real-Time. Level 7.
  Dozens of children are imperiled. The party must approach Ekossigan 
  carefully.
  A light drizzle falls regularly on the area within a half mile of Gallo’s 
  School for Boys, reflecting ekossigan’s dour mood. It also helps dis-
  courage explorers from finding his hiding spot. The fey lord has set up 
  a small court for himself in an orphanage in the southeast of the Cloud-
  wood district. He and his fey minions killed the headmaster, teachers, 
  and attendants, but have kept the children here. Miles away from the 
  nearest settlement, no one has any idea anything is amiss.
  If the party guesses the dead child in Casing the Cloudwood might 
  have disappeared from an orphanage, the locals do know about the 
  place, but it’s not prominent enough for any NPCs to suggest it. Similar-
  ly, if they figure out what ritual Ekossigan is planning, tracking down a 
  “century-old” tree is hard, but with some asking around the party could 
  learn about the orphanage, which was founded one hundred years ago, 
  and whose logo is a tree with a book in place of its boughs.
  The party has until midnight at the end of the 12th of Spring to stop 
  Ekossigan. At that point he hangs the children at the orphanage, creates 
  a portal to the Bleak Gate, and leads a small army of fey through.
  Unless the party has tried to keep Asrabey Varal from following them, 
  he will accompany them to the orphanage.
  Gremlin Presence.
  Most of the gremlins sleep during the day, except for those on the bal-
  cony. At night they head out to gather offerings, though they make sure 
  to all be back at the orphanage by 11:45 pm on the 12th, in preparation 
  for the ritual.
  Ekossigan vs. 
  the Obscurati.
  The act of sacrificing the children and entering the Bleak Gate will drive 
  Ekossigan from a little crazy to completely. He takes three dozen gremlins 
  and numerous other fey with him, all of whom are driven a little mad as 
  well. Indeed they do find the Cauldron Hill complex and attack it, and the 
  gremlins set to work causing all the technology and machinery within to 
  go haywire.
  Ekossigan tries to attack within, but the defenders overwhelm him. 
  Kept barely alive he’s brought up to the golem lab (area 14, page 66) for 
  experimentation. By the time the PCs arrive (likely on the 14th), the com-
  plex is in disarray, but most of the fey are scattered and unable to put up 
  a unified front.
  If left to their own devices, the battalion of fey will start to become 
  twisted and monstrous, slowly shifting into blind grues and wraith-like 
  monsters that wander away into the hollow city surrounding the mountain. 
  Ekossigan, trapped and helpless, cackles himself to death. Alternately, if 
  the party has already killed Lorcan Kell, you could have the Obscurati im-
  plant machinery in Ekossigan to turn him into a puppet for them, making 
  him the headline foe in the Ob complex.
  Should the party actually side with Ekossigan for the assault, their 
  presence can keep him a bit more grounded, but he still shrieks at the 
  sight of technology, making stealth fairly useless. See Mass Murder with 
  Ekossigan (page 58).
  
  38
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  If they detect intruders, the gremlins will fling rocks or shoot arrows 
  down at people advancing up the staircase. Once the party gets onto the 
  orphanage level, the fey try to slip through the holes in the walls to avoid 
  being cornered in melee. There are other fey around—pixies, brownies, 
  satyrs, a couple redcaps, and even a nymph—but they stay away from the 
  gremlins and won’t join the fight. Not yet, at least.
  Layout.
  Gallo’s School for Boys has a few activity buildings on the ground level, 
  but it is mostly 100 feet above the ground in the boughs of a massive tree, 
  centuries-old. A sturdy but vertigo-inducing staircase spirals around the 
  tree’s trunk up to the entrance. A rancid stench drifts on the breeze.
  The orphanage sits in the boughs of a tree, and areas of leaves on the 
  map represent terrain with enough branches to support a person. Mov-
  ing through the branches requires an Acrobatics or Climb check (DC 
  10), and they count as difficult terrain. A character can take –5 to his 
  check to move at full speed. Failure means the character makes no prog-
  ress. Fail by 5 or more and, well, I hope you prepared feather fall.
  The outside of the structure is made up of wood, recently painted 
  green. In places the slats and beams appear to have started sprouting 
  short leafy branches, as though coming back to life. All the windows are 
  shuttered, and now they’ve grown enough that they cannot be opened, 
  though they still let in dim light during the day. The walls have warped 
  enough that Medium creatures can find a spot to squeeze through (Es-
  cape Artist DC 25). Small creatures can easily move through the walls 
  (counts as difficult terrain), and Tiny creatures aren’t even slowed down. 
  The “walls” provide superior cover, not total cover.
  Ekossigan
  A fey lord of the Unseen Court, Ekossigan appears 
  as a slender male, draped in robes adorned with 
  leaves, his face concealed by a wooden mask with 
  empty eye sockets. Ekossigan’s magic and demeanor 
  are tied to the seasons, alternately chill and bleak in 
  winter, spirited and hopeful in spring, and so on. 
  When he is swayed by strong emotion, though, his 
  nature may change, and his mood can manifest in 
  the world around him.
  As an ever-changing entity, Ekossigan has no set 
  followers, but his very presence can turn lesser fey 
  to his side. Of all in the Unseen Court, Ekossigan 
  sees technology as the greatest threat because it will 
  change the perpetual cycle of seasons into a march for progress. He foresees a future 
  where there is no such thing as nature, and the thought of such a future has driven 
  him to desperation.
  
  39
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Stench.
  Inside the orphanage, the new life is offset by the stench of rotten fruit, 
  pools of spoiled milk, and piles of refuse. Inside areas 7, 8, and 9 the 
  stench is overpowering. Creatures must make a Fortitude save (DC 14) 
  when they enter or be sickened for the remainder of their stay inside the 
  structure. Only one such save needs to be made for a 24-hour period.
  Nooses.
  The balcony around each dorm has seven or eight rope nooses tied to the 
  railing, waiting for children’s heads to be slipped through.
  1. Balcony.
  The walkway has a good view of the ground below. Railings, sized for 
  children, make it hard to accidentally fall off. A pair of tiny gremlins 
  hide (Perception DC 37 from the ground) and watch out for intruders, 
  their miniscule bows always in hand.
  Balcony Bullies
  2 pugwampi gremlins
  Gremlin, Pugwampi (2) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  NE Tiny fey
  Init +5, Senses Perception +6, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision
  Aura unluck (20 ft.)
  Defense
  AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 size, +1 Dex)
  hp 6 (1d6+3)
  Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +4
  DR 2/cold iron; SR 7
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +3 (1d2–4, 19–20/×2)
  Ranged shortbow +3 (1d3–4, ×3)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st, concentration –1) 
  At-will—prestidigitation, speak with animals
  1/day—shatter (DC 10)
  SQ gunshy, unluck aura
  Statistics
  Str 3, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16
  Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 5
  Feats Improved Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Bluff +2, Craft (traps) +4, Disable Device +2, Perception +6 (+2 listening), Ride 
  +2, Stealth +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth, –4 Perception when listening
  Languages Sylvan, a few words of Primordial
  Special Abilities
  Gunshy (Su) Firearms aimed at a gremlin will not fire on first pull. If a character holds 
  his aim on the gremlin for a round, the shot will go off at the start of the shooter’s 
  next turn. Otherwise the gun fires the moment the shooter stops aiming.
  Unluck Aura (Su) A pugwampi radiates an aura of unluck to a radius of 20 feet. Any 
  creature in this area must roll two d20s whenever a situation calls for a d20 roll 
  (such as an attack roll, a skill check, or a saving throw) and must use the lower of the 
  two results generated. This is a mind-affecting effect that does not work on animals, 
  other gremlins, or gnolls. Any character who gains any sort of luck bonus (such as 
  that granted by a luckstone or divine favor) is immune to the pugwampi unluck aura.
  2. Lobby.
  The desk chairs act as beds for some gremlins, while others doze in the 
  desks’ drawers. They’ve taken stacks of paper and clumped them into 
  crude shapes of animals. If alerted, the tiny pugwampi gremlins take 
  cover behind the desk so they can shoot intruders. The larger nuglub 
  gremlins crawl through holes in the ceiling and try to sneak and ambush 
  the intruders from above.
  Lobby Layabouts
  4 pugwampi gremlins
  2 nuglub gremlins
  Gremlin, Nuglub (2) 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  CE Small fey
  Init +4, Senses Perception +9, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision
  Defense
  AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +3 natural)
  hp 19 (3d6+9)
  Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +2
  DR 5/cold iron; SR 13
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
  Melee bite +3 (1d4+1 plus grab), 2 claws +4 (1d3+1 plus trip)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd, concentration +4) 
  At-will—prestidigitation
  1/day—heat metal, shocking grasp
  SQ gunshy
  Statistics
  Str 13, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 12
  Base Atk +1; CMB +1 (+5 grapple and trip); CMD 15
  Feats Step Up, Toughness, Weapon Focus (claw)
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +9, Intimidate +8, Perception +9, Stealth +14; Racial 
  Modifiers +4 Craft (traps), +4 Intimidate, +4 Perception
  Languages Sylvan, a few words of Primordial
  Special Abilities
  Gunshy (Su) Firearms aimed at a gremlin will not fire on first pull. If a character holds 
  his aim on the gremlin for a round, the shot will go off at the start of the shooter’s 
  next turn. Otherwise the gun fires the moment the shooter stops aiming.
  3. Office.
  Characters who are interested in keeping the orphans from being aban-
  doned in the aftermath might want to look here for financial documents 
  of the orphanage. There’s enough resources to at least pay for a bit of 
  lodging before the kids are left homeless.
  4. Common Room.
  This room is full of discarded toys, balls, and piles of clothes the grem-
  lins can put on when they need a disguise.
  5. Library.
  Ekossigan, not without pity for the children, has moved all the books 
  from the library to the various dorms. With no hope for escape, the chil-
  dren read to avoid thinking about their suffering.
  
  40
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  6. Classroom.
  The fey used mud, beeswax, leaves, and twigs to assemble remarkably 
  life-like sculptures of adults sitting awkwardly in the classroom’s chairs. 
  One woman even has her arm raised like she wants to ask a question. 
  The statues crumble at a touch.
  7. Dining Room.
  Four wooden tables with an array of broken chairs litter this room, all 
  of them sprouting recent growth. During the day, a group of gremlins 
  lounge in this room, eating leftover morsels from the previous night’s 
  offerings. They attack any intruders viciously, hoping to swarm them.
  Dining Room Dalliers
  8 pugwampi gremlins (page 39)
  8. Kitchen.
  A large crockpot and various old metal eating implements are scattered 
  throughout this room. During the day a duo of larger gremlins works 
  here, preparing food offerings for Ekossigan in the attic. If interrupted 
  the gremlins attempt to flee and get reinforcements from other fey in the 
  building.
  Kitchen Cooks
  2 nuglub gremlins (page 39)
  9. Storage Room.
  This is the source of the stench. Nothing much useful is here.
  10. Dorms.
  Unsteady walkways lead down tree limbs to the dorms, each of which 
  holds 8 children who sleep in bunk-beds, except the southeast dorm, 
  which only has 7 children. The doors’ wood has grown so they won’t 
  open except at the touch of a fey, or with a heavy shove (Strength DC 22 
  from outside, DC 27 from within).
  11. Headmaster’s Office.
  If the party did not manage to defeat or free Gale, Ekossigan summoned 
  her here when he sensed the party was coming.
  Gale sits on the roof of this small building, undeterred by the light 
  drizzle. She puts a finger to her lips and tries to discourage the party 
  from going inside with just hand gestures. If Gale had to flee before she 
  won’t fight here, but she will featherfall any PC who falls. If the party 
  hasn’t faced Gale at all, she’ll reluctantly fight beside Ekossigan.
  Inside the office, the headmaster’s unimpressive, but functional, fur-
  niture has been shattered, leaving a cracked desk atop a tattered rug. 
  There’s a hole in the wall to the east. The fey have stashed a sizable trea-
  sure trove of offerings underneath the bed (1,000 gp value total), though 
  mixed in with coins and jewelry are plates of half-chewed offerings and 
  more than a few squirrel carcasses.
  There’s no sign of Ekossigan, but if anyone steps onto the balcony 
  around the office, or if any outsider speaks within earshot of the build-
  ing, Ekossigan addresses them. A fey lord like Ekossigan can easily step 
  between this world and the Dreaming, and so he remains hidden in the 
  parallel version of the office, speaking via a limited form of telepathy un-
  til he’s ready.
  
  41
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Spring Returns to Winter.
  Action. Tactical. Level 10.
  Ekossigan will kill those who are against him.
  When the PCs enter the chamber, read the following. Though Ekos-
  sigan wants to say his piece to Asrabey, make sure he also speaks with 
  the PCs. He’s unlikely to stand down unless the party agrees to let him 
  sacrifice all the children, in which case he’ll invite them along. If the par-
  ty attacks before he manifests fully into the real world, he just laughs.
  A wooden mask with antlers sweeping back from its jaw appears in the air 
  in front of you. Its eyes are hollow, but it tilts slightly, as if it’s considering your 
  appearance. Slowly a hood fades in behind the mask, giving the impression of an 
  unseen head, and then a mantle of leaves over the shoulders of this invisible man. 
  A sonorous voice issues from the mask.
   “Greetings. I am Ekossigan of Spring, devoted servant of the Unseen Court 
  and protector of the ever-turning seasons. It is with much remorse that I come to 
  your dull and colorless world, but I come to rid this garden of the dark seeds you 
  have planted.”
   The fey’s mask turns to look you over, then stops at Asrabey.
   “Ah, the guard dog of the Court. I had hoped that you would lend me aid, but 
  I see your masters want me put down. Yet you cannot harm me, so the guard dog 
  brings pups of his own.
   “Do you know what is inside Cauldron Hill, little pups? Step with me into 
  the gate, and we’ll weed this dark garden together. And Asrabey, you know the 
  gardener. Do you remember your dear wife, Kasvarina? I’m afraid she doesn’t 
  remember you.”
   Asrabey says, “How do you know—,” but he stops mid-sentence because the 
  ground is trembling.
   Over the constant drone of the rain you hear movement, dozens of creatures 
  down below, wings fluttering and tree branches slashing through the rain, hooves 
  tramping the grass. From the dorms on the other branches come the nervous 
  cries of children.
   Ekossigan’s mask seems to grow more solid. “Opening the gate requires death. 
  The fresher the flower when cut, the more beautiful the wreath when woven. 
  Spring must ever turn to Winter.”
   More of his form begins to appear and blue light beams from every surface of 
  his wooden skin. The temperature begins to drop, and the fey lord cackles once.
   Asrabey says to you coldly, “Stop Ekossigan. I’ll keep his army at bay. You keep 
  him alive. I need answers.”
   Then he’s out the door, sprinting toward the staircase, and you see the rain 
  has turned to driving sleet. Ekossigan flares with near-blinding light, and then he 
  stands before you, fully and physically in this world.
  “Greetings,” he says. “I am Ekossigan of Winter.”
  Killing Winter.
  The mad fey seeks to slay the party so that he can complete his ritual 
  sacrifice. While the party battles Ekossigan, Asrabey holds the staircase 
  against an oncoming tide of hundreds of fey. The party has very little 
  chance of being able to run, but once they defeat the fey lord his sway 
  over his minions will be broken.
  A pair of fey snow leopards, the Sentries of Winter, manifest with Eko-
  ssigan and harry the party.
  Winter Storm.
  Ekossigan’s change in nature has killed the tree the orphanage sits in. 
  Its leaves begin to blow away quickly, its branches creak, and its bark 
  cracks at a touch. Simultaneously, the drizzle of rain has turned to 
  driving sleet. Surfaces across the tree are slowly coated in ice; if Ekos-
  sigan is not stopped, whole sections of the tree will collapse under the 
  weight of the storm.
  Unprotected flames are automatically put out. Protected fires like lan-
  terns have a 75% chance of being put out. Ranged weapon attacks and 
  Perception checks take a –4 penalty.
  Treefall.
  In the first round, surfaces are just starting to get slick. Outdoor areas 
  are treated as difficult terrain.
  In the second round, everything is coated in ice. In addition to being 
  difficult terrain, the ice forces a Reflex save (DC 10) to move. Failing by 
  5 or more means the creature falls prone.
  In the third round, the larger branches begin to creak, and the south-
  west dorm shudders as the branch supporting it splits down its length. 
  Creatures on that branch must make a Reflex save (DC 10) or be knocked 
  prone.
  In the fourth round, the southwest branch cracks more thoroughly, 
  and the branch starts to dangle at a 45 degree angle downward. Crea-
  tures on that branch must make a Reflex save (DC 12) or be knocked 
  prone.
  At the end of the fifth round, the southwest branch snaps off. Anyone 
  inside the dorm plummets; With feather fall, Gale can save at most 9 
  creatures, who must be within 20 feet of each other and not inside the 
  dorm building. With the branch gone, a large chunk of the foliage disap-
  pears too, shrinking the battlefield.
  In the sixth round, the northwest and northeast branches crack 
  resoundingly. They dangle precariously on the seventh round, and 
  plummet away on the eighth. The southeast and due south branches 
  crack in round eight, dangle in round nine, and fall away in round ten.
  If the fight is still going on in the twelfth round, the whole tree teeters, 
  and at the end of the thirteenth round, it topples to the ground.
  On the Ground.
  A creature who survives a fall to the ground takes 5 damage per round 
  from the onslaught of a horde of fey, barring some sort of trick to keep 
  them at bay. There’s no feasible way to defeat the whole horde, but the 
  fey will ignore someone who runs away.
  Gale Assist?
  If the party seems to be in trouble, and especially if one of the PCs dies, 
  Gale snaps out of Ekossigan’s control (she can justify breaking the fey 
  pact because the fey lord is now calling himself “Ekossigan of Winter,” 
  but she promised to aid “Ekossigan of Spring”). She can aid the party 
  by casting fly on them, but she still can’t bring herself to actually attack 
  the fey lord.
  Ekossigan’s Retinue
  Ekossigan of Winter
  2 sentries of winter
  
  42
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Two
  Ekossigan of Winter 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  CE Medium fey (cold)
  Init +11, Senses low-light vision; Perception +12
  Defense
  AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+7 Dex, +4 natural)
  hp 84 (12d6+36);
  Fort +12, Ref +14, Will +9
  DR 5/cold iron, Immune cold
  Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
  Offense
  Speed 35 ft.
  Melee 2 claws+15 (2d6+2/19–20 plus 2d6 cold)
  Special Attacks breath weapon (20-ft. cone, 8d6 cold damage, Reflex DC 13 half, 
  usable once every 1d4 rounds), cold skin (2d6)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +9)
  3/day—chill metal (DC 18), confusion (DC 20), deep slumber (DC 19)
  1/day—entangle (DC 17), geas
  SQ Arrowtwist, Walk of Nature
  Statistics
  Str 12, Dex 24, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 22
  Base Atk +9; CMB +10; CMD 27
  Feats Fleet, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Improved 
  Natural Armor, Stealthy, Step Up, Vital Strike, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (claw)
  Skills Climb +15, Craft (sculpture) +13, Escape Artist +25, Handle Animal +19, Knowl-
  edge (nature) +16, Perception +12, Stealth +18, Survival +11
  Languages Common, Elven, Primordial, Sylvan
  Special Abilities
  Cold Skin (Ex) Ekossigan’s body generates intense cold, dealing 2d6 points of damage 
  with its touch. Creatures attacking Ekossigan with unarmed strikes or natural 
  weapons take this same cold damage each time one of their attacks hits.
  Arrowtwist (Su) Any arrowed fired at a creature within 30 ft. of Ekossigan (including 
  the fey lord himself) swerves toward the next nearest creature instead. If multiple 
  targets are equally close, randomly determine whom the arrow targets. If there is 
  no creature other than Ekossigan within that range, the arrow simply thuds to the 
  ground near his feet. Yes, the party is encouraged to shoot at their allies.
   
  This effect applies to any ranged attack—arrows, bolts, bullets, slings, axes, 
  rays, even magic missiles. Area-effect attacks like fireballs work normally, unless 
  the attacker tries to peg a target with a projectile. A flask of alchemist fire thrown 
  at the ground at Ekossigan’s feet will deal splash damage normally, but one thrown 
  directly at him swerves.
  Walk of Nature (Su) Ekossigan can teleport through nature with ease. As a free action 
  at the end of his turn he can begin his transition. He begins to glow, and he chooses 
  a destination within 60 ft. that must be in or adjacent to a tree. That spot also begins 
  to glow. On his next turn he must spend a move action to teleport to the chosen 
  destination. If he cannot, he takes 2d6 damage.
   
  His feet hover slightly above the ground, so his movement is unimpeded by snow 
  or ice. Additionally, he can choose to hover in midair as long as he is within five feet 
  of a solid surface he could stand on.
  Sentry of Winter 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N Medium animal
  Init +4, Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +10
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +1 natural)
  hp 30 (4d8+12);
  Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +2
  Offense
  Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
  Melee 2 claw +7 (1d4+2), bite +7 (1d6+2)
  Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +7, 1d4+2)
  Statistics
  Str 15, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
  Special Abilities
  Snow Move (ex) Because of its large, fur-covered paws, the sentry of 
  winter suffers no penalty for movement through snow-covered terrain.
  Tactics.
  Ekossigan starts by using his breath weapon, then prepares to teleport to 
  a spot in the tree’s branches. He tries to distance himself from the party 
  while using his various spell-like abilities to turn them against each other. 
  He’ll seek to imperil someone on a branch about to fall by putting him to 
  sleep or entangling him with dry, dying branches.
  If Ekossigan’s spells begin to fail him, he instead switches to using his 
  claws up close, trying to tear down weaker PCs in melee and relying on 
  his high armor and damage reduction.
  The Sentries of Winter move to protect Ekossigan, attacking PCs that 
  engage him, trying to give their master time to reposition. If a Sentry is 
  low on health, it charges into the thick of battle, hoping to deal as much 
  damage as possible to enemy PCs when it is destroyed.
  During combat, Ekossigan will shout out the following quotes which 
  you can use to embellish the battle:
  “You do not realize the child that sleeps in the mountain. Your 
  * 
  nation’s womb will birth a monster! He shall not be awakened! He 
  must not be awakened!”
  “So many screams! How many have been sacrificed to fuel this 
  * 
  thing? How many souls have died to create this abomination? 
  What are a few more to stop it? You would do the same if you 
  could hear it.”
  “Why do you persist? The cold of winter takes all things—and 
  * 
  even if it does not take you, that thing will.”
  “You have seen him and he knows you, but you do not know him. 
  * 
  The old man wishes to make amends, but he needs a body.”
  “She waits in the hill Asrabey Varal, but for how long? Kasvarina, 
  * 
  your lover is coming. Why do you hide?”
  (After a tree branch falls.) “You know, I 
  * 
  was going to simply hang 
  the children, but this works just as well!”
  
  43
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Ekossigan’s Demise.
  Once Ekossigan is defeated, the storm ends, the tree creaks but does not 
  collapse, and the fey who were trying to fight through Asrabey stop and 
  then flee. If Ekossigan was merely knocked out or otherwise disabled, 
  Asrabey thanks the party, then presses a cold iron spike to the fey lord’s 
  heart and slaps him to consciousness.
  He demands to know about Kasvarina, and Ekossigan, still deranged, 
  whispers that he has seen her held prisoner in a steel cage lined with 
  tapestries, beneath Cauldron Hill in the Bleak Gate. He doesn’t know 
  anything else.
  Unless the party stops him, Asrabey proclaims the Ekossigan is guilty 
  of betraying the Unseen Court. Rather than impale him with the spike, 
  though, he presses a dagger into Ekossigan’s hand, and guides him to 
  slit his own throat.
  When Ekossigan dies (even if the party just takes him out in combat), 
  his body begins to crumble away into a mass of dead leaves which are 
  carried away on the wind. A “life bloom” overtakes the area, as plants 
  begin to sprout and smaller trees begin emerging across the ground 
  beneath the tree. The orphanage stops falling away, and each PC is re-
  turned to full health.
  Skyseer Vision.
  Any character with the Skyseer theme feels his gaze drawn to watch the 
  leaves as they’re blown skyward, and he receives a vision. It is simple: A 
  bird made of black steel, weeping blood, lands at the peak of Cauldron 
  Hill. Then it flies away toward the harbor, but there is no city beneath it. 
  Instead its shadow falls across a verdant forest.
  This invokes part of Nevard’s prophecy from Adventure Two, The 
  Dying Skyseer, warning that a second doom would come from Cauldron 
  Hill. Ideally, it will also suggest to the party that when the colossus heads 
  for the harbor, they should try to drive it to the Dreaming.
  Asrabey’s Departure.
  The high elf dreadnought, saddened from having killed many fey who 
  tried to assault the tree, perfunctorily thanks the party for their aid if 
  they simply killed Ekossigan. If they kept him alive long enough for As-
  rabey to ask about Kasvarina he shows a bit more sincerity. Either way 
  he says he intends to ask their king for permission to enter the Bleak Gate 
  and explore Cauldron Hill, to search for Kasvarina. He warns them not 
  to trust the Danorans, then leaves.
  Aftermath.
  In the coming days, the Cloudwood returns to normal as Varal and 
  Gale deal with the remaining troublemaking fey. Doyle Idylls (if alive) is 
  thrilled at the turn of events, and if he knows of the party’s involvement, 
  he mails each of them a gift package containing two potions of cure mod-
  erate wounds, a potion of heroism, and an oil of align weapon.
  Thread Three: 
  Eschatological Terrorists
  In this thread, the party reacts to the surprise attacks by Grundun 
  Zubov’s group of radical eschatologists. Zubov’s plan is to sow panic 
  amongst the citizens of Flint by perpetrating various attacks throughout 
  the city. By diverting resources away from the peace talks, Zubov hopes 
  to launch a more direct attack on a newly opened subrail station, giv-
  ing him access to a tunnel that passes near Hotel Aurum. A well-timed 
  explosion will send the building tumbling down.
  Epistle from Heid.
  Exposition. Real-Time.
  Philosopher Vlendam Heid contacts the party.
  If the party has an eschatologist, or if they befriended dwarven philos-
  opher Vlendam Heid in Adventure Four, Always on Time, they receive a 
  letter on the morning of the 9th of Spring. See Player’s Handout: Epistle 
  from Heid.
  Investigating Zubov.
  Action/Exploration. Montage. Level 8.
  Zubov knows the authorities will come looking for him.
  After the first attack by the eschatologists, Inspector Delft asks the 
  party if they can spare time to investigate this threat while leading the 
  task force and searching for Ekossigan. He knows they’re busy, but 
  they’re his best constables, and the only other people he can really spare 
  are the B-Team, which would leave the mediator at risk. It’s up to the 
  party whether to give it a shot or pass the buck.
  If the PCs did not have enough time to investigate the first attack, they 
  can return and look for clues, though clean-up might have removed some 
  of them. Between Steffan Eberhardt’s knowledge of the sect, the objects 
  on the bodies of the defeated attackers, and accounts of the dwarves’ 
  activities the night before, the party should either know about Soknik 
  Repairs or be able to track the dwarves there with a few hours’ work.
  Another lead the party may wish to follow-up with is Kvarti gorbatiy. 
  The PCs likely met Kvarti in Adventure Three, Digging for Lies, and 
  may have struck up a relationship with the eschatologist gunsmith. Par-
  ties without an eschatologist in their ranks may seek out Kvarti to get 
  some insight into the attacks, while eschatologist PCs will likely want to 
  speak with Kvarti as per their letter from Vlendam Heid.
  If the party is stuck on how to proceed, a surviving intern who was 
  working at the Risuri Record comes into the RHC later in the day and 
  says that they had technicians from Soknik Repairs come by the day 
  before the explosion occurred. The intern believes that the repair tech-
  nician may have been involved in the sabotage. He also asks if there’s any 
  reward for him offering this information.
  Soknik Repairs.
  A front business used to disguise a safe house and planning site for 
  Grundun Zubov’s attacks, Soknik Repairs caters to only a select clien-
  tele. The building is nondescript and contains several businesses, but a 
  wide glass window makes up the entire exterior of the repair shop. In-
  side there is only a single room storefront, with a bland rug, a few display 
  cases, and a single door leading to the back. The cases are used to show 
  off various technological gadgets like ornate cuckoo clocks and a pedal-
  Long-Term Plans.
  The radical eschatologists led here by Grundun Zubov are just one cell of 
  a radical movement whose figurehead is Grandis Komanov, a dwarven 
  cult leader who hides in the frozen northern wastes of Drakr. Komanov 
  wields mighty frost magic, and all of her followers eventually develop 
  white hair and markings akin to frostbite.
  When members of the sect prepare for death, they shave their facial 
  hair, so they are no longer shielded from the cold winds of winter.
  
  44
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  cranked sewing machine that the staff has “repaired.” In truth these are 
  just imports from Drakr. None of them are for sale.
  During the daytime, a single human teenage clerk named doug clap-
  per operates the counter. Those who come with honest inquiries are 
  all rebuffed by the clerk, who insists that Soknik Repairs is full up on 
  clients and all their technicians are scheduled for months ahead. This is 
  of course a fabrication, as the building is nothing more than a front that 
  keeps relations with a small number of key “target clients” such as the 
  Risuri Record. The clerk was hired by Zubov to stop people from inquir-
  ing too much about the business.
  At any point in the morning and afternoon, Kvarti Gorbatiy is set up 
  in a second floor window across the street from the storefront, keeping 
  an eye on those who go in. Zubov did not trust the mercenary enough to 
  involve him in any of his major plans, and so uses the sniper to protect 
  the storefront. His orders are to watch for law enforcement and if it looks 
  like their cover is blown, to kill any officers if they try to get downstairs. 
  From Kvarti’s vantage point he can see through the glass storefront and 
  target anyone inside with ease.
  If the PCs arrive with a warrant to search the grounds, the clerk is 
  truly shaken and clearly hiding something. The clerk is unable to stop 
  the PCs and simply hopes that they will not discover the secret passage 
  to the safe house in the backroom. The passage is hidden under a foot-
  pedal table saw workbench, and the clerk doesn’t know where it goes.
  Kvarti isn’t ready to attack the PCs right away, so he’ll wait to see what 
  happens when they leave.
  Searching the backroom reveals an amount of paperwork nowhere 
  near appropriately sized for a company that is too busy to take on new 
  customers. A casual inspection of the books reveals that the office has 
  only a handful of small paying customers, and has been operating at a 
  substantial loss since opening.
  If the clerk is pressed about the state of the business, he pretends to 
  crack (Sense Motive DC 22) and says there’s a trap door in the front of-
  fice, under the rug. He heads back to the front and snaps his fingers in 
  the direction of the window, a sign to Kvarti that their cover is blown. If 
  Kvarti recognizes the party, he’ll fire a warning shot, just trying to give 
  Doug cover to run. Otherwise he’ll try to pin the party down and injure 
  but not kill them.
  Soknik Sniper
  Kvarti Gorbatiy
  Kvarti Gorbatiy 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  Male dwarf gunslinger 9 (see the Pathfinder role-Playing game AdvAnced PlAyer guide)
  LN Medium humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +5, Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
  Defense
  AC 22, touch 17, flat-footed 17 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 natural, +2 deflection, +2 dodge)
  hp 81 (9d10+27)
  Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +5
  Defensive Abilities defensive training
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Ranged +2 frost rifle +14/+9 (1d10+5/19–20/×4 plus 2d6 cold)
  Special Attacks covering shot, dead shot, pistol-whip, startling shot
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 10
  Base Atk +9; CMB +9; CMD 24
  Feats Clustered Shots, Critical Focus, Far Shot, Gunsmithing, Improved Critical: Rifle, 
  Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload: Rifle
  Skills Appraise +1, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +5, Intimidate +7, Knowl-
  edge (History) +3, Knowledge (Local) +6, Perception +9, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +9
  Languages Common, Dwarven, Primordial
  SQ Deadeye, Deeds, Greed, Grit, Gun Training +3: Pistol, Gun Training +3: Rifle, Gun-
  slinger Initiative, Gunslinger’s Dodge, Hardy +2, Hatred, Slow and Steady, Stability, 
  Stonecunning +2, Targeting, Utility Shot
  Combat Gear +2 frost rifle, +2 leather armor; Other Gear amulet of natural armor +1, 
  ring of protection +2
  Tactics.
  If Kvarti recognizes the party, he’s actually kind of amused, and he 
  shoots at them in good fun, making a big show of shattering the display 
  cases around them but never actually hurting any of them. Then he’ll 
  duck behind cover and wait for the party to come across the street and 
  find him. He greets them with his hands over his head and his sniper 
  rifle at his feet.
  If he doesn’t know the party, he’ll be more aggressive, trying to heavily 
  wound one or two PCs so the rest of the party will tend to them, giving 
  him an opportunity to run downstairs and slip out into an alley.
  If the party catches him, see Kvarti Talks (page 47) for details on 
  interrogation.
  Trapped Tunnels.
  The trapdoor ladder leads down to a series of complex tunnels, origi-
  nally dug out two hundred years ago. There are no light sources inside 
  the tunnels or safe house, since dwarves can see in the dark. If the party 
  has light they can see centuries-old graffiti denouncing the witches who 
  once ruled atop Cauldron Hill. The tunnels are strewn with old wooden 
  debris, as if furniture once filled these underground passages. The 
  ground has dozens of cracks, sunken areas, and pools of stagnant water.
  If one knows the route, the safe house is about five minutes from 
  Soknik Repairs. The tunnels leading to the safe house have been trapped 
  by Zubov’s men. The dwarven radical ensured that all of his loyal fol-
  lowers were given the correct navigation route through the tunnel, and 
  crafted various traps to kill or debilitate anyone else.
  Recent tracks from those coming and going from the safe house can 
  be followed (DC 15 Survival). This causes the party to only come across 
  the traps listed below. If they wander the tunnels without any guidance, 
  they stumble upon another one or two traps.
  Kvarti 
  Gorbatiy
  A dwarven locksmith-turned-mer-
  cenary, Kvarti found a book of Heid 
  Eschatol philosophy in the hands of 
  a man he had assassinated. Though 
  he presents a weary face to maintain 
  his reputation, he goes through life 
  content. All his affairs are in order, 
  and while he hopes to find a cause 
  worth dying for, he would not be an-
  gry if his life was cut short. His overly 
  grim reputation got him his job as one 
  of Zubov’s snipers, but he does not 
  agree with the man’s philosophy.
  
  45
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Trapped Puddle.
  A puddle conceals a magic rune scribed on the floor. When anyone steps 
  across the rune, the trap activates.
  Cold Chill of Death 
  CR 6
  From the ground rises a chilled mist that freezes you to the bone. You can feel death 
  approach; an inevitable fate for all.
  Type magic; Perception DC 22; Disable Device DC 22
  Effects
  Trigger location; Duration 3 rounds; Reset none
  Effect freezing cold air (2d6 cold damage, DC 20 Fortitude save or be staggered for 1 
  minute); multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft.-radius)
  Fool’s Door.
  A few twists, turns, and confusing splits beyond the puddle rune, the 
  party reaches an area strewn with more wooden debris than usual, with 
  platforms covering the ground and nailed-together planks leaned against 
  the wall. One set of planks conceals what looks like a doorway (Percep-
  tion DC 15). However, if the planks are disturbed, they reveal a cold chill 
  of death rune, as above. Additionally, immediately beyond the false door 
  is a pit trap.
  Camouflaged Spiked Pit Trap 
  CR 6
  The wooden planks beneath you snap and drop you toward a distant floor of rusted 
  spikes.
  Type mechanical; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 20
  Effects
  Trigger location; Reset manual
  Effect 30-ft. deep pit (3d6 falling damage); pit spikes (Atk +15 melee, 1d4 spikes per 
  target for 1d6+5 damage each); Reflex DC 20 avoids.
  Threshold Trap.
  As the tunnels near the safe house, the party sees a large arch of polished 
  white marble along the walls and ceiling. The first such arch is just a 
  normal arch. Twenty feet after it the tunnel splits and both paths have 
  arches of their own. (The party wants to go right.) There’s another split 
  twenty feet later, and another two arches. (This time, left is the way to 
  go.) The third white arch is trapped, and the stones are each inscribed 
  with small runes in dwarven (Perception DC 18). They seem jumbled, 
  and include the words: “Arc white the lost world in the heart beyond the 
  serpent shall gyre in the end the coils of ice.”
  Each rune can be depressed by pressing it once, or reset by pressing 
  it again. The trap is disarmed by pressing, in order, runes to read, “The 
  world shall end in ice.” Those entering without doing so will be subject 
  to the trap below.
  The End of All Things 
  CR 6
  Crossing the threshold of the arch without speaking the truth of the universe has dire 
  consequences, as a sharpened iron gate falls from the ceiling.
  Type magical; Perception DC 18 (and Linguistics DC 22 to decipher); Disable Device 
  DC 22
  Effects
  Trigger location; Reset manual
  Effect sharpened iron gate (Atk +20 melee, 6d6 damage and the target is knocked 
  prone); multiple targets (all creatures in entrance). Lifting the gate requires a 
  Strength check (DC 20), and until then any creature hit by it is immobilized.
  Safe House.
  Beyond the threshold trap, the party finds a hallway with clean-picked 
  pork ribs scattered across the ground. Thirty feet beyond the arch is a 
  30-ft. by 20-ft. living chamber, and off that is a pair of similarly-sized 
  rooms, a workshop and a meeting room.
  The bones are one of the ways the dwarves keep at bay the army ant 
  swarm that lairs here. A minute after the party arrives in the hallway, the 
  ants pour out of cracks in the wall, drawn by the scent of food.
  The dwarves treat their boots with sodium borate, which deters the 
  ants from attacking them. They likewise powdered the floor of their liv-
  ing quarters with it, though if the party manages to enter the area faster 
  than the ants show up, they nevertheless spot a several trails of ants snak-
  ing across the floor.
  Living Chamber.
  This simple room contains an assemblage of two dozen cots for members 
  to sleep in. When the PCs arrive, it is likely that two eschatologist radi-
  cals are in the living chamber resting.
  Four skeletons, animated by dwarven clerics from the old remains of 
  those who once sheltered here from witches, stand in the corners. Their 
  orders are to attack any non-dwarf humanoids who find the hide-out, as 
  well as any creature that harms them. The ant swarm cannot deal any 
  damage to the skeletons, so they ignore it.
  Workshop.
  Workbenches have been arranged along the walls of this room filled with 
  small mechanical pieces, weapon scopes of different shapes and sizes, 
  and several casks of firedust. This room is where the radicals designed 
  their bombs and crafted several of their other specialty weapons. Four 
  skeletons stand in the corners of the room.
  Meeting Room.
  Inside this chamber are several haphazardly arranged tables and chairs. 
  The tables are littered with newsletters, notes, pictures, and maps. Sev-
  eral charts and maps of Flint are affixed to the walls of this room, and are 
  clearly part of some large plan. Four skeletons stand in the corners.
  Safe House Mob
  2 eschatologist radicals (page 19)
  1 army ant swarm
  12 Medium skeletons
  Medium Skeleton (12) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  NE Medium undead
  Init +6, Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +0
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 4 (1d8)
  Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +2
  DR 5/bludgeoning
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee broken hammer +0 (1d6)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 10
  Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
  Other Gear broken chain shirt, broken hammer
  
  46
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Army Ant Swarm 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  N Fine vermin (swarm)
  Init +2, Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent, Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 18 (+8 size, +2 Dex)
  hp 49 (11d8)
  Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +3
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee swarm (3d6)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks cling, consume, distraction (DC 15)
  Statistics
  Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
  Base Atk +8; CMB -; CMD -
  Skills Climb +10, Perception +4
  Special Abilities
  Cling (Ex) If a creature leaves an army ant swarm’s square, the swarm suffers 1d6 
  points of damage to reflect the loss of its numbers as several of the crawling pests 
  continue to cling tenaciously to the victim. A creature with army ants clinging to 
  him takes 3d6 points of damage at the end of his turn each round. As a full-round 
  action, he can remove the ants with a DC 17 Reflex save. High wind or any amount of 
  damage from an area effect destroys all clinging ants.
  Consume (Ex) An army ant swarm can rapidly consume any creature it swarms over. 
  Against helpless or nauseated targets, an army ant swarm attack deals 6d6 points 
  of damage.
  Tactics.
  When the dwarf radicals hear the threshold trap go off, they wake up 
  and hide in a hurry, hoping the skeletons can keep the intruders stuck 
  in the hallway long enough for the ants to eat them. They make sure not 
  to catch each other in their shotgun lines of fire. As with everyone else 
  in this sect, the dwarves will 
  try to take their suicide pills 
  if captured.
  Putting the Pieces 
  Together.
  Once the PCs secure the safe 
  house, they have a treasure 
  trove of information to read 
  over. Once the safe house 
  is compromised (indicated 
  by the clerk’s absence) the 
  radicals abandon the site, 
  but continue on with their 
  plans, believing that law en-
  forcement doesn’t have the 
  intelligence and time to piece 
  together their operation.
  Meeting room: Most of 
  the valuable information can 
  be found in the meeting room, 
  where an analysis of the 
  documents within (Linguis-
  tics DC 18) can reveal that 
  the radicals were awaiting a 
  large shipment by boat from the Drakr border city of Ysfeld. Based on 
  the departing location of the shipment (Knowledge [geography] DC 16) 
  there should be nothing of note in the area, but those familiar with local 
  fauna (Knowledge [arcana or nature] DC 18) realize that the site is a hot-
  bed of malice beasts, the misshapen monsters that live in the magically 
  unstable region known as the Malice Lands.
  The documents imply the ship would sneak into Flint harbor on the 
  night of Spring 10 and that the dwarves would meet it at Golden Point, 
  the western transfer station between the Red subrail line and Orange 
  line. Due to weather and other factors, the ship might be delayed if you 
  want to give a tardy party a chance to stop it.
  A second set of documents seem to be city maps from different de-
  cades, each of them traced with the routes of the modern subrail lines. 
  PCs who parse through these (Knowledge [dungeoneering or geogra-
  phy] DC 14) can identify several old, hidden tunnels leading into the 
  newly constructed subrail station.
  There is an envelope, its seal broken, that contains a letter to the news 
  director of the Flint Tribune, inviting him to send a reporter to the open-
  ing ceremony of a new subrail stop, the Sharon M. Baker Station (Red 
  Line, station 4). See Player’s Handout: Subrail Opening.
  workshop: A sweep of the construction area (Knowledge [engineer-
  ing] DC 14), reveals that the radicals were in the process of constructing 
  something far larger than their previous firedust explosives.
  Spellcasters or alchemists can try to make sense of the magical ele-
  ments of the devices (Knowledge [arcana] or Craft [alchemy] DC 18), 
  and if successful are able to identify the components used, and can 
  deduce that the newly constructed “super bomb” would not be as 
  easily triggered as the previous firedust casks. Instead, such a device 
  would need to be triggered on site and would require some kind of 
  countdown to properly activate all the necessary alchemical and magi-
  cal reactions.
  A more thorough examination (DC 28) can reveal the exact nature 
  of the explosive (see page 17). Based on the amount of materials that 
  
  47
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  seem to have been present here and some of the formulae scribbled on 
  stray papers, a character can determine that once the elements were 
  combined it would take exactly twenty-six minutes and 18 seconds for 
  it to explode. The force would be enough to level a couple city blocks. 
  It’s clear that whatever was being constructed here has already been 
  completed, and these parts are leftovers or prototype test bits that were 
  not cleaned up.
  Technologist PCs gain a +5 bonus to any of the above checks.
  the Plot: Don’t nudge the players here, but if they ask the right ques-
  tions, let them figure out that, based on the average speed of the subrail 
  train, it could travel the distance between three stations in twenty-six 
  minutes, or maybe six stations if there were no other traffic or stops. 
  That means that from Sharon M. Baker station, it could reach Darvill 
  Station, by Hotel Aurum, just as the bomb went off.
  Kvarti Talks.
  Social. Real-Time.
  The party likely has ways to track down Kvarti’s temporary lodgings—a 
  small rented condo in North Shore. The gunsmith is not present dur-
  ing most of the day, spending his time as a hired gun at Soknik Repairs, 
  though he can be found here in the later parts of the evening. Either by 
  tracking him down or simply meeting him at Soknik Repairs, the party 
  might have a chance to chat with the dwarf.
  Kvarti’s relationship with Grundun Zubov is cold at best. Zubov made 
  contact with Kvarti by letter several months in advance of the arrival of 
  the radicals. It was Kvarti who found the tunnels, and he helped acquire 
  forged documents to get the radicals into the city without drawing any 
  attention. Kvarti was led to believe these efforts were a lead-up to an 
  assassination attempt—his pet theory was that he’d be hired to kill the 
  reincarnated man, Governor Roland Stanfield.
  Once Zubov arrived and they met in person, though, Kvarti real-
  ized their views of the eschatologist philosophy were far apart. Zubov 
  would not bring Kvarti in to any of the major plans, but he kept paying 
  the dwarf to keep quiet, and Kvarti was prepared in case his employer 
  double crossed him and tried to kill him.
  Only after the bombings at Pardwight did Kvarti start putting the 
  pieces together. Kvarti is now rethinking his contract, not wanting to be 
  associated with mass murdering terrorists. If the Armageddon Beasts 
  are unleashed before the party finds him, Kvarti decides to stop showing 
  up at Soknik Repairs and ends his relationship with Zubov. Whether it 
  succeeds or fails, the malice beast attack is the last straw for Kvarti, and 
  if the party hasn’t found him yet, he’ll find them.
  Information and Assistance.
  If the party seems amenable, Kvarti might offer to work with them to 
  help stop Zubov. He doesn’t know how to reach the sect leader, but 
  he knows they had a meeting planned at the docks for the night of the 
  10th. He describes the group as a doomsday cult, then corrects himself. 
  “Doomsdays cult. Multiple days of doom.”
  Rewards of Cooperation.
  If Kvarti survives the adventure, he might thank any Gunsmith PC (or 
  simply a gun-wielder) by providing a free +1 magical enhancement bo-
  nus along with the frost special ability to one of their firearms. If the PCs 
  already have +1 firearms, Kvarti can enchant up to two of them, giving 
  them the frost ability in addition to any other abilities.
  Beasts of the End Time.
  Action. Tactical. Level 8.
  The terrorists try to sneak armageddon beasts into the city.
  Just after sunset on the 10th of Spring, the Drakr steamship Cherno 
  Bezna (Black Abyss) kills its engine three miles from Flint and deploys 
  oars. The dwarven crew rows silently for an hour and a half, enters 
  Flint Harbor, and spends the next four hours slowly approaching freight 
  docks near the Golden Point subrail stop in Central District. The ship 
  carries six Armageddon Beasts—terrifying creatures from the Drakr-
  Malice Lands border. If the ship makes landfall it will unleash its cargo 
  of monsters on the city, and they will slay hundreds before the sun rises.
  Waiting for the ship to land is risky, and the party has a better chance 
  of spotting the approach and catching them if they’re on their own ship.
  Beasts at Sea
  Spotting a ship under oars on a nearly-moonless night is challenging, and 
  spotting a ship that’s covered in a light-blocking magical shroud, crewed 
  by dwarves with darkvision, is nearly impossible. If the party is at sea 
  between 8:00 pm and midnight, they have an opportunity to see the ship. 
  Let each PC make a Perception check (DC 30) to notice the ship; if they 
  patrol the harbor (thus giving themselves a better chance of being within 
  range of the slow-moving Cherno Bezna at any given moment), they can 
  make a check every half hour.
  The party might just camp out near Golden Point, which gives them 
  a +10 bonus to their Perception check, but limits them to just making 
  one. Also, the ship will just be a single naval round at full speed from 
  reaching land.
  Naval Tactics
  If the Bezna’s look-out, a young dwarf named doug clapper, realizes a 
  ship is headed for them, he’ll alert captain tamushin, who orders the 
  engine back to life, and the crew back to their stations. In the first round 
  of naval combat, the dwarven ship’s speed is only 2 (due to oars), but 
  thereafter it has its normal speed.
  Depending on when the party spots them, the Bezna might still be 
  miles from their intended drop-off point. If they’re close they might try to 
  flee, and just need to move a few stages to reach the docks, which they’ll 
  crash into (but at least reinforcements will be on hand). Otherwise they 
  The Cargo.
  We’re conscious of the fact that in this campaign heavily based around 
  investigation and cities there have been relatively few monsters, espe-
  cially by normal fantasy RPG standards. The nature of the Armageddon 
  Beasts doesn’t matter too much, just that they’re large and horrible. We 
  encourage you to use the stats of existing CR 7 to 9 monsters and reskin 
  them a bit so they are more misshapen. None of the beasts are intelligent 
  beyond animal level, and none should fly. Otherwise, here’s an opportu-
  nity to throw your favorite nasty critters at the party.
  Some suggestions include:
  Behir
   •
  Bulette
   •
  Digester
   •
  Gray render
   •
  Hydra
   •
  A hivemind of 8 psychically-linked shocker lizards.
   •
  
  48
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  will try to ram the party’s ship, then open the cages of the Armageddon 
  Beasts and try to avoid dying in the mayhem that follows.
  Rules for naval combat are available in E.N. Publishing’s Admiral 
  o’ the High Seas. Quick-play rules are available on the E.N. Publishing 
  website.
  Cherno Bezna, Steamship 
  Level 10 Vehicle
  Large Vehicle 
  14,400 gp
  Hull Integrity 3 
  Command +7
  Defense 15 
  Minimum Crew 2
  Maneuverability 6 
  Full Crew 8
  Speed 6 
  Total Complement 20
  Design
  Length 85 ft. Beam 25 ft. Steam engine, three decks.
  Makeshift Oars
  In a pinch, the engine can be killed and the ship rowed, letting it slip through the night 
  silently. If 16 crew work the oars, the ship can travel at speed 2.
  Abyssal Shroud * Installed
  When this magic is activated, gloom falls upon the ship in a 100-ft. radius.
   
  The engineer can activate the shroud as his naval action. While the shroud is up, 
  you roll twice for Command checks and shipboard weapon attack rolls, and take the 
  worse result. Other ships targeting you likewise roll twice on attacks and take the 
  worse. If two ships are at short range, the shroud does not affect their attack rolls 
  against each other. 
  Armaments
  A pair of enchanted cannons facing forward. Where they strike, ice spreads across the 
  target, freezing the sea and making decks dangerously slick.
  Crew: 5. Attack: +7, forward only.
   
  Strikes that deal hull integrity damage create ice that slows the vessel, reducing its 
  Speed on the next naval round by 2 per strike. Strikes against propulsion coat sails or 
  jam rudders, and so likewise reduce the target’s Maneuverability on the next naval 
  round by 2 per strike.
  Total Cost 8,400 gp
  Hull (base level 6, engine, improved speed ×2, Level 10): 5,000 gp
  Armaments (Level 10; freezing, Level 8): 8,400 gp
  Shroud (Level 5): 1,000 gp
  Cherno Bezna Crew
  Captain Tamushin, eschatologist prophet
  2 eschatologist radicals (page 19)
  17 Drakran sailors
  Eschatologist Prophet 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male dwarf cleric 5
  CE Medium humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +1, Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +3
  Defense
  AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +1 Dex, +1 shield)
  hp 31 (5d8+5)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +7
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee mwk mace +4 (1d6)
  Ranged broken pistol +2 (1d8–2)
  Special Attacks channel negative energy 5/day (DC 16, 3d6), command undead
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th) Darkness and Death domains
  Touch of Darkness (6/day)—Melee touch attack, target partially blinded, suffers 
  20% concealment for 2 rounds. 
  Bleeding Blessing (6/day)—Melee touch attack, target bleeds 1d6 per round for 2 
  rounds (Heal DC 15 or magic healing stops).
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 5th, concentration +8)
  3rd—animate dead, deeper darkness, inflict serious wounds
  2nd—blindness (DC 15), inflict moderate wounds, spiritual weapon, shatter (DC 15)
  1st—cause fear ×2 (DC 14), entropic shield, protection from law
  0th—bleed, detect magic, detect poison, guidance, light
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Combat Casting, Command Undead
  Skills Craft (alchemy) +9, Intimidate +7, Spellcraft +9
  Languages Common, Dwarven, Primordial
  Drakran Sailors (17) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  Male dwarf warrior 1
  N Medium Humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +0
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +1 shield)
  hp 13 each (1d10+3)
  Fort +3, Ref +1, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee warhammer +2 (1d8+1/×3)
  Ranged heavy crossbow +1 (1d10/19–20)
  Statistics
  Str 13, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 6
  Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 12
  Feats Expert Sailor
  Skills Perception +0, Profession (sailor) +3, Swim +0
  Languages Common, Dwarven
  Grundun 
  Zubov
  Leader of a radical sect of eschatologists, Zubov is a 
  man of few words. While his underlings chatter and 
  philosophize, Zubov simply smokes his pipe, carved 
  from glacial ice that will never melt. He knows his 
  purpose, and talking won’t change anything.
  Zubov’s clan back in Drakr has been long trampled 
  upon by the rich and powerful, and after nearly dying 
  in a pointless war against an equally pointless border 
  state, Zubov felt nothing but hatred for his country. In 
  the teachings of Heid Eschatol he saw a reason for his 
  suffering: to prepare him for an uncelebrated death, 
  but one necessary to bring about the end of the world. 
  Though many like him and his family will die, the fall 
  of the high and mighty will be oh so much greater.
  
  49
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Welcome Party.
  Awaiting the ship is a trio of radicals, here to pick up their caged beasts 
  and deliver them to an empty warehouse. A dozen local dockers have 
  been paid extraordinarily well by the eschatologists for this strange of-
  fload, but the dockers are so hard-pressed due to the influx of workers 
  from rural areas that they took the job with no questions asked.
  Zubov’s men have bribed local authorities to not inspect the cargo, 
  so unless the PCs are present, the offload occurs without a hitch. Once 
  the cages are offloaded, the dockers cart them into a warehouse. The 
  dwarves attach a clockwork device on each cage, set for half an hour, 
  and when it runs down the gates of the beasts’ cages will open. By then, 
  the dwarves plan to have killed their docker helpers and gotten safely 
  underground.
  If the party approaches, the radicals are unfazed by their presence. 
  If the PCs show their credentials and demand to see what’s making all 
  the horrible snarling sounds inside the cages, the dwarves can spend 
  a move action next to a cage to advance the clockwork countdown and 
  unlock the cage immediately. The Armageddon Beasts burst out, and it 
  becomes a desperate scramble to not be the one eaten by the monsters.
  Radical Dock Party
  1 eschatologist prophet (page 48)
  2 eschatologist radicals (page 19)
  12 dockers (noncombatants)
  Tactics.
  The beasts are crazed by the sudden influx of movement and targets, and 
  move to attack those nearest the cages: the dockers. The dockers reply by 
  trying to flee as best they can, while the eschatologists use their abilities 
  to slow down the PCs so the dwarves can get away. As they say, you don’t 
  have to outrun Armageddon, just your friend.
  With luck, the party can stop the dwarves from opening all the cages, 
  though in such a situation the extra monsters are liable to just make a run 
  for it rather than tussle with other malice beasts.
  Aftermath.
  Zubov was counting on the monsters to stretch the city’s police thin, so 
  he’d have an easier time at his final attack. If the party stops the Arma-
  geddon Beasts, he’ll have fewer men in the next scene.
  If any of the monsters get away they wreak havoc through the night 
  and kill a dozen people or so apiece before finding a lair in the sewers. 
  The next day the military gets called in from the bayou west of the city 
  to hunt the monsters down. They track them down and slays them, but 
  the streets start to empty because people are afraid. You might have one 
  of these creatures happen upon the party in another encounter to liven 
  things up, but generally they’re just in the background wreaking havoc.
  Hostage Situation.
  Social. Real-Time.
  Will the party risk Zubov killing his hostages, or give in to his demands?
  At 9:00 in the morning on the 12th of Spring, Flint’s aasimar city 
  governor roland Stanfield invites several low-level dignitaries to the 
  opening of the Sharon M. Baker subrail station. As the press, politicians, 
  and business elite watch Stanfield cut the ribbon, Grundun Zubov and 
  his radicals approach through secret passages that lead into the subrail 
  tunnels.
  A handful of dwarves wait outside the station, poised to distract law 
  enforcement with a suicidal gun battle. Meanwhile Zubov and twenty 
  more dwarves will burst up from the tunnels, abduct Stanfield, subrail 
  architect Kevin wilson, and several other VIPs, and then take control 
  of the underground platform.
  Outside the police find notes on each of the dead radicals with a list 
  of demands the terrorists have. Zubov doesn’t particularly care if these 
  are fulfilled, though he does want his message to get out. Mostly he 
  cares about stalling for time while he prepares the alchemical bomb. 
  He expects to have to repel a rescue attempt, but he wants to draw in 
  law enforcement officers, pulling them away from Hotel Aurum. When 
  the time is right—about fifteen minutes before noon—he and all but five 
  radicals will set out in a short subrail train. Five will stay behind and 
  attack the police as a distraction.
  If he gets a chance, his route takes him from Baker Station (Red Line, 
  station 4) to the Golden Point switchpoint, and finally to Darvill Sta-
  tion (Orange Line, station 2) a stone’s throw from Hotel Aurum. If he’s 
  not stopped, the bomb will explode, annihilating several city blocks and 
  causing Hotel Aurum to tumble, killing everyone within. Harkover Lee 
  will smash a hole in the building’s wall and teleport the king to safety, 
  but hundreds more will die.
  Demands.
  “I am Grundun Zubov, speaker for this clan of eschatologists. We follow 
  the word of our philosopher Grandis Komanov, and we were responsible 
  for the attacks this week. Do not trifle with us, and you will not have to 
  suffer more deaths. My men have been active in your city for weeks, 
  and if any harm befalls me or my men here, your city will reel from the 
  devastation.
  “Herein follow our demands.
  “My men are going to need ale. Let’s start with that.
  “Then bring us that Price fellow, the one who runs the RHC in Slate. We 
  know you can get him here with magic, and you will if you don’t want to 
  go searching for your governor’s next incarnation. Nigel Price-Hill will pay 
  for the death of our necromancer comrades.
  “I want to speak to one of your skyseers. You no longer listen to them, 
  but they could see the future. You threw smoke into the skies and blinded 
  yourself to the truth: the world will end in ice. Once you hand over Price, 
  and once I have spoken with a skyseer, I will inform you of my further 
  demands.”
  An Ounce of Prevention?
  The party might figure out Zubov’s target and lay a trap for him in the tun-
  nels. They can easily get a dozen police officers to back them. The fight 
  will be less dynamic than the one outlined below, so you might throw a 
  curveball by having dwarven reinforcements arrive by rail car.
  
  50
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Clearing the Tracks.
  The Red Line was scheduled for shutdown this morning so VIPs could 
  enjoy a train trip without the rabble. The Orange Line bomb at station 4 
  stopped traffic on that line, so the tunnels are basically clear this morning.
  We Don’t Negotiate with Terrorists!
  Within minutes of the attack, the local police precincts expend their lim-
  ited-use magical communication to contact the military and the RHC. 
  Likely by the time the PCs get on scene, the situation is being overseen 
  by colonel aden tucker. Tucker brings the PCs up to speed on the situ-
  ation, and explains that he’s in charge and doesn’t want the RHC getting 
  in his way. These dwarves have some qualms with the current leader of 
  the RHC, and they’re liable to overreact if they see RHC constables.
  Tucker’s initial plan is to stall until about noon, giving the terrorists 
  a few snippets of what they have demanded. By noon his team will have 
  arrived, and he intends to send them into the subrail tunnels from the 
  sewers and launch a rescue mission. Unfortunately, by that point the 
  dwarves will already have launched their bomb-filled train.
  Colonel Tucker waits for his task force of forty soldiers to arrive, smug-
  ly confident that the dwarves are stuck in a hole so he can take as long 
  as he wants to get overwhelming force. If the party reminds Tucker that 
  the dwarves have access to a train so they can move, the embarrassed 
  colonel pretends that changes nothing. Despite the risk to the hostages, 
  Tucker thinks he needs his men to make the victory clean. He assumes 
  the dwarves won’t move, and prefers to wait.
  Though Colonel Tucker may initally seem to fit the cliché of the proud 
  military man too confident to realize that he’s been outwitted, he’s ac-
  tually a sympathizer to the Duchess and traditional Risuri values. He 
  wouldn’t mind if the governor’s metal machine road got negative press, 
  and he figures that even if the mission is a failure, the governor will just 
  reincarnate anyway. Only if the party has shown strong anti-Danoran 
  sentiments will he listen to their advice. In that case they might be able 
  to get four Allied Soldiers (page 80) who arrived early on their side. Oth-
  erwise, the party might have to move on their own.
  Subrail Assault.
  Action. Tactical. Level 11.
  Trying to rescue the hostages is just playing into Zubov’s trap.
  Zubov lost a few radicals in the first rush, but he still has plenty guard-
  ing the subrail station.
  Stopping the Armageddon Beasts means that there were more police 
  at the subrail station, able to cause more casualties among the dwarves. 
  For every 2 of the 6 beasts that the party kept from getting loose in the 
  city, subtract one radical from Zubov’s group.
  Zubov’s Subrail Team
  Grundun Zubov
  1 eschatologist prophet (see page 48)
  12 eschatologist radicals (see page 19)
  4 eschatologist snipers (see page 19)
  Governor 
  Roland 
  Stanfield
  Stanfield witnessed the fall of the eladrin goddess 
  Srasama five hundred years ago and died soon 
  thereafter in the chaos of Elfaivar’s fall. But he re-
  incarnated, restored to life by a sliver of the divine 
  power he absorbed when Srasama was slain. His 
  memories vague and jumbled, he found his way 
  back to his homeland of Risur and eventually settled 
  in Flint, then just a modest coastal port.
  In the centuries since, he has died at irregular 
  intervals, and with each rebirth he has returned to 
  the city he calls home. For most of that time he has 
  served as Flint’s governor, having constantly striven 
  to improve himself with each life, from a simple 
  warrior, to a humble leader, to an educated Renaissance man nimbly handling the 
  complex challenges of the fastest-growing city in the world. Stanfield wears a near-
  constant expression of contented optimism, but still occasionally complains of a war 
  wound he took to his back in his first life.
  
  51
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Upper Level.
  The grand architecture is empty and bullet-pocked, with a few blood-
  stains where people fell. The place is deserted, its two exits covered 
  by dozens of police officers. Wicket gates stand open, though normally 
  they’d require a copper penny to enter. In the center of the eerily-quiet 
  hall are two pairs of staircases, one set leading to the eastbound platform, 
  the other to the westbound platform.
  Tunnel Approach.
  The secret tunnels Zubov’s men used to enter the subrail open out two 
  hundred feet west of the platform. The subrail route can also be accessed 
  via sewers or access shafts, but the nearest shaft (shown on the map) is 
  trapped. If the party goes to the next access shaft to the east or west, they 
  can get onto the rails a hundred feet from the edge of the map.
  Platform Level.
  Grundun’s men have rigged this area with traps, and tossed burlap sacks 
  all across the ground to conceal some nasty surprises. They decoupled 
  some of the train cars and moved them to the west to provide a bottle-
  neck. The locomotive of the subrail train is “idling” but makes enough 
  noise to cover the sound of footsteps.
  l—lantern. Not actually a trap, but since the dwarves can see in the 
  dark, they keep everything dark except this one lantern. It’s easy for them 
  to notice if anyone moves in front of the lantern from that direction.
  S—Shotgun. Anyone opening the doors of the parked rail cars will 
  get blasted with a trio of shotguns. This deters sneaking up, and works 
  as an alarm.
  Shotgun Trap 
  CR 3
  As you slide the door open, a wire snaps and a trio of shotguns discharge in your face.
  Type mechanical; Perception DC 20; Disable Device DC 20
  Effects
  Trigger touch; Reset none
  Effect Atk +15 ranged in a 30-ft. cone (shotgun, 3d8+3/×2).
  t—tripwire. Walking between rail cars, or trying to climb up by the 
  western pillars, likely sets off a small mine attached to a tripwire.
  Tripwire Mine Trap 
  CR 4
  Your foot snags something, and then you’re hurled back by an explosion.
  Type mechanical; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 25
  Effects
  Trigger location; Reset none
  Effect explosion (4d6 damage and knocked prone); Reflex DC 20 half
  P—Piercing clamp. The burlap conceal bear-trap like clamps. When 
  stepped on the clamp tears through the sack and pierces the target’s leg. 
  The rest of the bag is weighted to keep the target from moving away.
  Piercing Clamp 
  CR 1/2
  You step on what looks like a discarded burlap sack, but there’s a click, and your leg 
  feels like it’s been bitten by a dragon.
  Type mechanical; Perception DC 20; Disable Device DC 20
  Effects
  Trigger location; Reset manual
  Effect clamp (atk +10 melee, 2d4); clamp holds target in place; the trap can be 
  escaped with a Disable Device or Escape Artist check (DC 20), or a Strength check 
  (DC 24).
  Hostages.
  The dwarves have eight hostages—Kevin Wilson the architect, Gover-
  nor Roland Stanfield, and six other dignitaries. They have placed two 
  generic hostages, bound, gagged, and blind-folded, in inner window 
  seats of the two parked train cars, expecting their presence to distract 
  and slow down any attackers.
  The other six hostages are bound and forced to sit on the floor of the 
  second car in the short train. All are gagged except Stanfield, who en-
  gages Zubov in a philosophical discussion, arguing that reincarnation 
  renders the Heid Eschatol philosophy a fool’s platitude.
  Stanfield is not worried. He is actually a masterful warrior with ef-
  fectively centuries of experience, but he does not want this information 
  known by the public. He doesn’t care enough about the people around 
  him to risk that secret for their lives. Only if he is stuck on the train 
  when it is about to explode will he make a move; he breaks his hand 
  to slip his bonds, stuns any foes with a few punches, then leaps free. 
  He won’t bother to rescue anyone, especially not PCs who he knows 
  are trying to defeat the Obscurati. Of course, if there are witnesses to 
  his escape, he’ll do what is socially expected and try to save a few in-
  nocents in the process.
  Grundun Zubov 
  CR 7
  XP 2,800
  Male dwarf antipaladin 7 (see Pathfinder rPg advanced Player’s guide)
  CE Medium humanoid (dwarf)
  Init +1; Senses Perception +6, darkvision
  Aura evil
  Defense
  AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 22 (+10 armor, +1 Dex, +2 shield)
  hp 70 (7d10+21); 
  Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +9
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee +1 frost warhammer +12 (1d8+4 plus 1d6 cold/x3)
  Ranged masterwork pistol +9 (1d8/x4)
  Special Attacks Smite Good (3/day; +3 attack, +7 damage or +14 vs. good cleric or 
  paladin; +3 AC against target; lasts until target dies), Touch of Corruption (3/day, 
  touch attack, 3d6 damage, target is staggered 3 rounds [Fort DC 16 negates stagger])
  Special Abilities Detect Good (at-will)
  Spells silence (cast already), command ×2 (DC 14)
  Statistics
  Str 16 Dex 12, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16
  Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 21
  Feats Cleave, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (warhammer)
  Skills Disguise +13, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (religion) +12
  Languages Common, Dwarven, Giant, Primordial
  Combat Gear +1 frost warhammer, +1 full plate, masterwork heavy steel shield, 
  masterwork pistol
  Mid-Route Attack.
  The party might let Zubov start the train, then have some sort of blockade 
  in the tunnel at Golden Point to stop them. The train would be packed 
  with dwarves—Zubov, the prophet, 7 radicals, and 4 snipers—and if 
  the party managed to defeat them they’d only have about ten minutes to 
  disarm the bomb.
  
  52
  Cauldron-Born
  Part One: Setup • Thread Three
  Tactics.
  Two snipers lie prone, one each on the north and south platforms on 
  the right, their rifles trained on the spot between the two parked rail 
  cars. A third sniper stands on the central divider, keeping watch on the 
  other direction. The fourth sniper stands in the back of the short train, 
  having already smashed out a window on the back door so he can fire 
  from cover.
  Eight radicals with shotguns hide in the trench where the rails run, 
  ready to pop up and shoot soldiers coming down the stairs. Three stand 
  in the train watching the hostages, while one waits crouched on the 
  walkway at the front of the train, on the look-out of sneaky intruders.
  Zubov works in the locomotive, watching the chemicals for the explo-
  sive as they mix. He has the train primed and ready to go at a moment’s 
  notice. The eschatologist prophet waits beside Zubov; his main mission is 
  to extinguish the light sources of attackers, then to heal injured dwarves.
  If attacked, the dwarves unleash a devastating barrage of gunfire, stag-
  gering their shots so half can shoot while the others reload. The snipers 
  can reload fast enough to fire each round. Wounded dwarves fall back 
  to the train to be healed. Zubov does not expose himself to combat. If 
  thinks his side is going to lose a fight, he starts the train as a move action 
  and activates the alchemical explosive as a standard action. From that 
  moment, the party has twenty-six minutes and eighteen seconds before 
  it explodes.
  When the train starts, it travels 15 feet the first round, 30 the next, 
  then 45, and so on until it reaches a speed of 90 feet per round. If the 
  party jumps on, Zubov and any of his remaining radicals fight to the end, 
  smiling at the thought of glorious death. There’s a good chance the party 
  defeats Zubov but are stuck traveling at ten miles per hour with a bomb.
  Someone Set Us Up the Bomb.
  The Eschatologists bomb is a complex device that requires several steps 
  to defuse.
  Open the Case. The first step requires the PCs to open the casing of 
  the device without rattling the interior too much. This can be accom-
  plished by sliding the metallic sheeting off the outside shell (Disable 
  Device DC 20). Alternatively a PC can quickly re-arrange some of the 
  plates for easier access to the internals (Sleight of Hand DC 18). Each 
  attempt takes a minute. Failure here does not detonate the bomb, but 
  will eat up time on the clock.
  Examine the Internals. Inside, twenty-nine rune-inscribed steel 
  wires criss-cross an amberglass drum that holds forty gallons of alchem-
  icals. The drum is divided into eight sections, each filled with a different 
  substance. The eight substances are:
  Fire humor.
  * 
   Refined trait in sentient beings that motivates activity 
  and emotion. Acts as trigger.
  aether.
  * 
   That which fills vacuum. Massively expands size of 
  explosion.
  Phlogiston.
  * 
   Pure elemental fire in liquid form. The actual 
  destructive agent of the explosion.
  Frayed chronosomia.
  * 
   Fluid time which, when poured, extrudes 
  in the shape of woven threads. This unstable version makes the 
  explosion difficult to detect with foresight and divination.
  witchoil.
  * 
   Black essence of the barrier between this world and the 
  Bleak Gate. An accelerant that starts the reaction.
  Blood infused with ambergris.
  * 
   The calming agent that prevents 
  premature detonation.
  Serpent’s loop.
  * 
   Scales of snakes that have devoured themselves, 
  boiled in venom. Makes the fire burn any substance, even stone.
  Frostburn.
  * 
   Transmuted phlogiston that freezes instead of burns. 
  Will coat everything burnt by the explosion with a layer of ice.
  The runes on each wire are in Dwarven, and describe the connection, 
  such as “Frayed Chronosomia to Phlogiston.” One wire is engraved sim-
  ply “Black,” and it runs from the top of the barrel to the floor.
  Every few seconds one of the twenty-nine wires starts to glow, and 
  then the two chambers it connects admix some of their contents. The 
  wires glow in no discernible pattern over the course of four minutes, and 
  touching one of the wires while it is live will deal 1d6 electricity damage 
  to the character. The wire labeled “Black” never glows. It acts as a magi-
  cal ground, and a character holding it can touch any of the wires without 
  concern for taking damage.
  Disable the Mixture. The mixing can be stopped simply by cutting 
  all the wires. However if you cut a wire while a chamber on either end 
  has any of its wires active, the whole thing will detonate. For instance, 
  if you want to cut a wire that leads from Witchoil to Aether, and while 
  you’re cutting it any other wire that connects with either Witchoil or 
  Aether activates, you’ll set off the bomb.
  Figuring this out requires a minute of examination (Disable Device or 
  Knowledge [arcana] DC 28). Technologist PCs gain a +5 bonus to this 
  check. Examination at the safe house might have previously determined 
  this.
  Actually pulling off the feat requires seven consecutive Disable Device 
  checks that get progressively harder since you have fewer safe windows. 
  The first check is DC 15, and they increase by 1 each, to a maximum of 
  DC 21. Being able to detect magic at will grants a +2 bonus because you 
  have more warning of which wire is about to activate. Technologist PCs 
  gain a +5 bonus to these checks; if a technologist is just directing another 
  PC, the bonus is only +2.
  An early detonation is less destructive, perhaps only collapsing the 
  subrail tunnel, but it certainly kills any PCs nearby. The danger gets 
  progressively worse, and by the time the train reaches Golden Point the 
  bomb is primed enough that a detonation would create a thirty-foot wide 
  crater. If the party manages to successfully cut all seven wires to phlogis-
  ton, they can keep the bomb from getting any more dangerous, but it will 
  eventually go off unless they can deactivate the whole thing. The choice 
  is up to the party.
  Aftermath.
  If the party succeeds, the bomb can eventually be disposed of safely. If 
  the bomb goes off at full power, thousands die. In between, the party 
  might decide they can’t deactivate the bomb, so they have to choose 
  where to let it go off. The safest spot is probably Golden Point, which has 
  wharfs and warehouses, but no residences. It’s the easiest to evacuate.
  Between the police and marines, any eschatologists who escape are 
  soon rounded up. Colonel Tucker grudgingly gives the PCs his thanks 
  for their assistance, but remains unimpressed if they disobeyed his 
  orders.
  The press is, of course, ecstatic at any acts of heroics that occurred in 
  their vicinity, especially if the party (or B-Team) previously took down 
  the terrorists responsible for destroying the Flint Tribune. They want 
  interviews, but Governor Stanfield orders the police to clear the area 
  so clean-up can begin. He convincingly congratulates the party, thanks 
  them for their services, and tells them he’ll see them at the peace summit 
  banquet.
  
  53
  I
  n this chapter, Risur sits down to dinner with its 
   enemies.
  The Guest List.
  The party has a list of the attendees in the dossier they received at the start 
  of the adventure, but here is a refresher for you. The NPCs who don’t merit 
  a full character bio get brief descriptions.
  the Risur delegation.
  King Aodhan. 
   •
  See page 11.
  Principal Minister Harkover Lee. 
   •
  See page 12.
  Royal Engineer Geoff Massarde. 
   •
  Tiefling who helped build the 
  Risuri flagship Coaltongue. Strong advocate for technology and 
  reconciliation. Drinks too much and hits on women. Has a wand that 
  can chill things with a touch, which he uses to make ice.
  Minister of Agriculture Kian Doherty. 
   •
  Well-groomed 40-something 
  who values Risur’s druidic traditions and hates being in Flint. Sullen, 
  but trying to keep an open mind.
  City Governor Roland Stanfield. 
   •
  Aasimar who has reincarnated for 
  centuries, always returning to lead Flint. Calm, polite, and blandly 
  political. Has a very long view on problem-solving, which is what 
  drew him to the Obscurati. He secretly heads Colossus Cell, but 
  keeps his distance from the daily affairs.
  The Danorans.
  Sovereign Han Jierre. 
   •
  See page 54.
  Minister of Outsiders Lya Jierre. 
   •
  See page 54.
  Minster of War Eloise Duffet. 
   •
  Broad, tall, dark-haired tiefling 
  woman, bearing scars from the Fourth Yerasol War. Deeply bitter 
  against Risur because she was orphaned in the Third Yerasol War. 
  Dismisses any non-warriors as not having valuable opinions. Has a 
  mechanical left arm with a spring-mounted blade.
  Minister of Magic Pierre Riquier.
   •
   A rare Danoran half-elf, Pierre 
  came from a rich family that could afford magic lessons for him. 
  Heavy spectacles, messy hair, full of trivia about magic. Weak-willed 
  and obsequious, he isn’t that interested in magic, honestly, but he’s 
  one of the few people qualified for his position.
  Naval Representative Rosalyn Taylor. 
   •
  Human, one-eyed red-
  headed captain of Freux Rouge, Danor’s last sail-powered warship. 
  Old-fashioned, high-spirited, and responsible.
  Other Interested Parties.
  Mediator Brakken of Heffanita. 
   •
  See page 13.
  Drakran Observer Steffan Eberhardt. 
   •
  Old thin dwarf with sickly 
  white skin, who supports himself on a skull-tipped ebony cane. 
  Represents weapons manufacturers with a financial stake in the 
  continued conflict between Risur and Danor, but would never 
  consider trying to disrupt the talks.
  Invitation and Welcoming
  Social. Montage.
  The PCs are invited to the banquet and are asked to attend the delegates’ 
  arrival.
  On the morning of the 13th, Stover Delft tracks the party down and 
  hand-delivers their invitations to the opening dinner of the peace sum-
  mit. He tries not to make a fuss about the fact that he was not invited. He 
  does, however, tap a finger meaningfully at the “Guest of” entry. The 
  party was invited by Danoran Minister of outsiders lya Jierre.
  The five-course dinner starts at 8 p.m., but tailors are standing by 
  at the RHC headquarters to get the group properly presentable before 
  5 p.m. The Danorans arrive at 6 p.m., and the king wants the party 
  present when they disembark their ship. The dinner will also give the 
  party an opportunity to observe the Danoran delegation for clues to why 
  they’re still here when they have to know that the RHC knows Lya Jierre 
  is involved with the Obscurati.
  If your group is the sort that needs the reminder, Delft can point out 
  that insulting or god forbid attacking the Danorans might start a war, so 
  the party should be on their best behavior. On the up-side, if the party is 
  rude, technically Lya Jierre is responsible, because she invited them.
  Meeting at the Royal Docks.
  On the 9th, the Freux Rouge, captained by rosalyn taylor, parked at 
  the Royal Docks. It bore a small party of dignitaries and a security de-
  tachment protecting the Danoran side of Hotel Aurum. At 6 p.m. on the 
  13th, a second ship arrives.
  Lux Profectusque cruises into Flint Bay and makes a grand impression. 
  Two hundred Danoran sailors in crisp white uniforms line the edge of its 
  main deck, helping the ship seem to glow in the afternoon sun. The ves-
  sel swings about and closes with the Royal Docks, and with measured 
  precision it cuts its engine and glides on momentum to stop not ten feet 
  from the prow of Risur’s own flagship, Coaltongue.
  A company of Risuri marines flank the welcoming party in Fleet 
  Square, while across the bridge in Royal Square, several hundred 
  Flinters strain to watch. The king is not in attendance, having sent Gov-
  ernor Stanfield in his stead.
  A ramp is deployed, and the line of crew parts to reveal, first, a small 
  string and woodwind orchestra that strikes up the Danoran national 
  anthem; and second, the head of state, Sovereign han Jierre. He starts 
  down the ramp as the elegant overture of the anthem begins. Beside him 
  walks his niece Lya Jierre, and behind him follows the Danoran Minister 
  of War eloise duffet, several bodyguards, and attendants bearing gifts. 
  As they step off the ramp onto the dock, the strings and woodwinds rise 
  and are joined by previously unseen brass instruments. Then, just as 
  the sovereign reaches Governor Stanfield, the anthem crescendos and is 
  joined by a blast of the steamship’s horn.
  The sound fades out, and Governor Stanfield formally welcomes the 
  Danorans. He starts to introduce the party, but Lya Jierre slips in first 
  and describes the PCs as “the good people I crossed swords with in Ven-
  dricce, and who helped us at Axis Island.” She explains that she asked 
  for them to come to the dinner to show her commitment to clearing up 
  any misunderstandings. This moment could play out a lot of different 
  Part Two:
  Gustatory Interrogation
  
  54
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Two: Gustatory Interrogation
  ways depending on how the party has previously interacted with Lya, 
  but try to portray her as genuinely concerned that nothing gets in the 
  way of peace between the two countries.
  After some brief pleasantries, everyone loads up into royal carriages—
  windows shuttered so no rabble in the crowd are tempted to make a 
  move on the Danorans—and they set out for Hotel Aurum.
  Lya’s Explanation.
  If the party encountered Lya Jierre at the end of Adventure Four, they’ll 
  no doubt be curious why she’s here when it seems obvious she’s involved 
  in a hostile conspiracy. In this case, the Obscurati is going for the big 
  lie, and is counting on the compartmentalization of their conspiracy to 
  pull it off.
  A key aspect here is that even the heads of Obscurati cells don’t know 
  what’s going on in other cells. Lya is head of Golden Cell, so she knows 
  the conspiracy’s ultimate goal, and she has been informed that, yes, the 
  Ob do have a project in Flint, and that Reed Macbannin was involved. 
  But she doesn’t know what is being built here. She just knows her mission 
  is to protect the peace summit and if possible delay Risuri efforts to dis-
  rupt the cell in Flint.
  Lya claims that her brother Luc was indeed working on an experimen-
  tal device, and that the lantern is intended to solve the “Magic Problem,” 
  as she puts it. Danor lies in a mostly dead magic zone, yet despite there 
  being no access to elemental planes, the world still functions by follow-
  ing physical and chemical processes. Her brother’s lamp, she claims, is 
  a science experiment to help probe the nature of how such processes 
  function in regions of different magic. She admits there are some niche 
  military applications, but the primary purpose is scientific and techno-
  logical inquiry.
  Why then was Caius Bergeron—whom the party has clear evidence 
  was part of a conspiracy called the Obscurati—supposed to be on the 
  train with Luc? Lya states here that Danor’s intelligence community in-
  vestigated the events on the Avery Coast Railroad and learned that Caius 
  recruited bodyguards. But as far as anyone in Danor knew, Caius was 
  just a philanthropist with a penchant for archaeology. It seems now that 
  he was collaborating somehow with Reed Macbannin, and was trying 
  to steal Luc’s lantern for himself. Lya says her theory is that Caius was 
  obsessed with ancient magic tied to other worlds, and that he thought 
  the lantern would help him.
  She claims that if there’s any assistance she can offer to help ensure 
  the threat from this group is squelched, the party need only ask. But she 
  assures them that she was simply in Vendricce to meet her brother and 
  support him as he tested his invention. Any combat that might have hap-
  pened after that she chalks up to fear for her brother’s safety.
  And if asked why the gathering was hidden in the Bleak Gate, she ex-
  plains that the Clergy in Crisillyir have long crafted personal domains 
  in that realm, and they were simply making use of their hosts’ generosity. 
  Indeed, she points out that Danor is relatively inexperienced at using 
  magic, and that if the party is looking for people who might have been 
  working with Reed Macbannin and hiding in the Bleak Gate, it makes far 
  more sense to look at Crisillyir.
  Now, this lie is almost certainly not going to convince the party, but 
  since the proof mostly comes down to the party’s word versus hers, it’s 
  believable enough to keep the peace summit going. Plus there’s a slim 
  chance the PCs might think they’ve been tricked, and that between Mor-
  gan Cippiano and Leone Quital, the Steelshaper, perhaps the conspiracy 
  actually is based out of Crisillyir.
  Minister
  Lya Jierre
  Sovereign 
  Han Jierre
  An ambitious tiefling in her late 20s, Lya’s uncle is 
  Han Jierre, the Sovereign of Danor. She graduated 
  top of her class from the prestigious academy of 
  war, the Jierre Sciens d’Arms, and many students of 
  other war colleges have read her thesis, Field Study 
  of Melee Effectiveness and Foe Debilitation through 
  Focused Limb Severance Techniques Contrasted with 
  Mainstream Opportunistic Techniques, which she 
  wrote near the end of the last Yerasol War.
  Despite her youth, she was awarded the position 
  of Minister of Outsiders, giving her great leeway to 
  travel and make alliances. For the past three years 
  she has worked with King Aodhan to keep the peace 
  between their two nations, and as they began making plans for a formal alliance, she 
  accepted the king’s offer of marriage as a symbolic union.
  She is also the leader of the Obscurati’s Golden Cell, tasked with recruiting archae-
  ologists and miners around Lanjyr to seek out ancient seals like the one on Axis Island. 
  She was told it was simply part of a plan to strengthen Danor by finding more magical 
  powers, but she has suspicions of something greater. At the start of the adventure she 
  does not know about Colossus Cell.
  Han’s father made sure he traveled and experienced 
  the grand diversity of life, both good and bad, so 
  that he would not be complacent with the sheltered 
  prosperity his family enjoyed. He returned from his 
  travels still devoted to the supremacy of science and 
  reason, and his father brought him into the Obscu-
  rati, grooming him to become one of the conspiracy’s 
  three leaders.
  Today Han is sympathetic to the needs and per-
  spectives of others, but has ordered so many foul 
  acts to promote the Ob agenda that he finds little joy 
  in his own life. He still keeps in touch with the fami-
  lies of those he lived with during his youthful travels, 
  to remind himself why he’s pledged himself to this course.
  Danoran Bodyguards.
  In addition to the usual riflemen who would escort any Danoran dignitary, 
  Lya travels with a pair of unique bodyguards, Rush and Merton.
  Rush, a snide half-elf, carries a pair of elaborately decorated platinum 
  rods, slotted into holsters at his hips, which function as extensible im-
  movable rods. Merton, a hulking half-deaf half-orc, wears a steel helmet 
  with unusually thick protection over his ears, which protects him from 
  the staff-like object he carries: an arcanoscientific sonic weapon shaped 
  vaguely like a tuning fork, but wrapped in cashmere to avoid attracting 
  attention.
  
  55
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Two: Gustatory Interrogation
  The Banquet
  Social. Montage.
  Everyone is trying to be nice to each other, except one woman.
  The banquet lasts two hours all told, and is generally a polite, dip-
  lomatic affair where no one does anything truly contentious or openly 
  offensive. But interspersed are moments where the party has a chance to 
  define their positions and influence the opinions various NPCs have of 
  them and of Risur.
  The key with this encounter is to make the PCs feel involved in the 
  politicking going on, and to give them a chance to flex their diplomatic 
  and investigative muscle. Certain parties will not enjoy this type of gam-
  ing, so you’ll need to decide whether to give your players time to hold 
  full conversations with NPCs, or to handwave the actual conversation, 
  glossing over everything but the key moments.
  Running the Banquet.
  To help the party keep track of who’s talking, you might want to make 
  stands or use minis for the different characters. You can point to each 
  NPC as they talk, and heavily combat-oriented parties might pay more 
  attention if they see minis and think combat is possible.
  Event 1: Seating and the Toast.
  Being members of the head table, the PCs await their declared entrance 
  to the banquet in an adjacent chamber alongside the other members of 
  the table. The PCs are kept in the back of the line, away from King Aod-
  han and Han Jierre, with the Risuri Head of Agriculture, Kian Doherty, 
  one spot in front of them.
  The group is announced, and each of the PCs is named. The line 
  moves into the banquet hall, and the PCs and the rest of the table take 
  their seats. The tables are setup with empty plates, but the wine glasses 
  have been filled in anticipation of the delegation’s arrival.
  King Aodhan is the first to rise, addressing the attendees in a loud voice, bid-
  ding them his deepest thanks and blessings for attending. He bids Han Jierre 
  to rise and give the first toast of the evening. The Sovereign of Danor rises and 
  takes the opportunity to give a toast to the cessation of hostilities between the 
  two nations, proclaiming, “Our long conflict is finally at an end, and we can begin 
  looking forward to a shining future.”
  After Han Jierre gives his toast, the king of Risur rises once again and gives 
  his toast. The king thanks Sovereign Jierre before giving his toast in honor of his 
  soon-to-be wife: “To the lovely and talented Lya Jierre. Without her, none of this 
  would be possible.”
  Conversation murmurs around the various tables as King Aodhan sits. At this 
  point etiquette permits one more person from each side to make a toast before 
  the first course arrives.
  Give the PCs a chance to go first, and either in the silence or in response 
  to them, Danoran Minister of War Eloise Duffet proposes a toast:
  “Let us remember the fallen sailors and orphaned children, and do them honor 
  in these coming talks.”
  Then she gives the king a frigid glare. A Knowledge (history) check 
  (DC 25) recalls a bit of Danoran propaganda from the Third Yerasol War 
  claiming Aodhan, before he was king, fired upon the Danoran capital of 
  Cherage and struck an orphanage.
  
  56
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Two: Gustatory Interrogation
  Event 2: Salad Fork, Soup Spoon.
  Following the toasts, chefs come to deliver the first round of food. If you 
  wish, have each PC make a Diplomacy check (DC 8) to maintain the 
  proper etiquette as they eat.
  The first course consists of a specially made Risuri soup imported from distant 
  Shale. The soup is made using local spices and select fish that can only be found 
  near the Yerasol Archipelago.
  As people finish their soup, a second course of specially made Danoran salad 
  and Beran breads are brought to the table. A server notes that Danoran Minister 
  of War Eloise Duffet has not touched her soup, to which Duffet responds that the 
  soup’s origin seems rather political. “After all,” he says, “Shale was the seat of 
  power of Duchess Ethelyn, was it not?”
  Lya Jierre steps in and says that if a cow rancher murdered her father, she 
  would not stop eating beef. The table chuckles, but Han Jierre seems intrigued 
  by the topic. He brings up your exploits at Axis Island, thanks you for aiding his 
  niece in handling the matter, and then asks for your opinions on what the Duch-
  ess did and what punishment she deserved.
  Duchess Ethelyn’s betrayal of her brother King Aodhan played out in 
  Adventure One. Let the PCs extemporize here. If your players are not the 
  extemporizing type, let them off the hook by having Lya or King Aodhan 
  brush off the question as one that is too serious for this gathering.
  Event 3: Intermission.
  Conversation continues for a bit, but then the first intermission of the 
  event is called. Guests are invited to view a gallery of fine art that has 
  been set up in one of the skywalks. During the intermission the PCs have 
  time to meet with other members of the crowd.
  If the B-Team perished, the party receives three separate visits from 
  Geoff Massarde, Kian Doherty, and Rosalyn Taylor, all of whom express 
  condolences and recall their brief time with the other constables.
  Once sufficient time has passed (GM’s discretion), the attendees are 
  called back to their tables for the next part of the meal.
  Event 4: Let’s Talk Peace.
  The third course of the banquet consists of renowned meat samplings brought 
  to Flint via magical transportation from the Risuri capital of Slate. Three plates are 
  put on the table, each of them filled with a selection of finely spiced and thinly 
  sliced meat meant as a preparatory appetizer for the guests.
  When the attendees begin to eat, the topic of conversation changes to 
  a discussion about the start of the peace talks. Sovereign Jierre and King 
  Aodhan give every impression of resuming an ongoing conversation 
  about specifics of the talks, and they supply one another hints on how 
  to handle some of their more difficult advisors and councilors. The tone 
  of the conversation between the two sovereigns is open and friendly, and 
  PCs should get a sense that both rulers are generally looking forward to 
  the talks and bear no ill will towards one another.
  Eventually Brakken, Lya Jierre, and Principal Minister Lee begin a 
  conversation about what might be the hardest hurdle to overcome in the 
  peace talks. Harkover Lee believes that many in Risur are against the 
  talks because of the fear of industrialization, while Lya Jierre believes 
  her people cannot forgive past transgressions from the last Yerasol war. 
  Brakken tries to include the PCs in the conversation, interested in hear-
  ing their opinions, since they’re much more in touch with the Risuri 
  people on the streets.
  Event 5: Agitation.
  The fourth course consists of a haunch of specially bred boar from distant Ber, 
  a personal gift from Vairday Bruse, King of Ber. The meat is accompanied by a se-
  lection of varied fruits from Elfaivar, sliced into bite-sized chunks, and everything 
  is glazed with a sweet honey-based sauce.
  Conversation switches again, and Roland Stanfield begins to talk 
  about the several changes that have come to Flint as a result of Risur’s 
  new industrial revolution. The governor feathers his own nest by men-
  tioning prominent construction, including the finished subrail system, 
  the various factories of the Parity Lake district, and the Hotel Aurum.
  The Governor is quickly confronted by the Danoran Minister of War, 
  Eloise Duffet. She brings up several problems that have confronted Flint 
  recently, including the corruption and suicide of Mayor Reed MacBan-
  nin, arsonist attacks, and the events of the past few days—which she 
  learned of only after arriving in the city today. Duffet wants to hear the 
  governor’s thoughts on these matters, but Stanfield just offers a stock 
  political answer: 
  “Every society has to find its balance after a transition, but we are committed 
  to ensuring the safety of our citizens and our guests. You have my promise that if 
  you had been in any danger neither I nor the king would have kept that informa-
  tion from you.”
  Duffet then asks the PCs what they’ve done to maintain the security 
  in the city. She points out that the Danoran capital of Cherage has been 
  peaceful for a generation, and claims the only violence in her homeland 
  is what Risur brings to its shores. She neglects to mention that Cherage 
  has had a strict curfew since its last riots.
  Event 6: No Dessert.
  A second intermission is called. This one includes a performance by a 
  string quartet, with one violinist using the famous Hurricane Violin, 
  enchanted in the Navras Opera House. Lya Jierre tries to get Eloise to 
  step aside for a private conversation when a Risuri guard comes running 
  in, finds Minister Lee, and explains that Asrabey Varal is on his way up.
  Less than a minute later, Asrabey strides into the gathering. No NPC 
  will try to bar him as he makes his way to King Aodhan, where he in-
  tends to kneel as he speaks. If the party helped him with Ekossigan, he 
  will show them respect and not try to force past them.
  At no point does the dreadnought make eye contact with any of the 
  Danoran delegation, seeing them as unworthy of his attention. He says,
  “King Aodhan, I apologize for my disruption. The Unseen Court wishes to know 
  more of the danger Ekossigan saw, and so I request permission to investigate 
  further, passing into the Bleak Gate to explore Cauldron Hill. Your nation owes 
  me nothing, and so I ask this as a favor. If you would deny my request, you need 
  only say so.”
  Varal is telling a white lie to the king, as the Court has no knowledge 
  of what’s happening in Cauldron Hill. But he sees this as his best chance 
  to find Kasvarina.
  The party might (Perception or Sense Motive DC 26) glimpse a slight 
  twitch of anxiety from Brakken. This is because the mediator is hear-
  ing the surface thoughts of Han Jierre. (Roland Stanfield is immune 
  to mind-reading.) The Danoran sovereign is far better at keeping up a 
  poker face than Brakken, and gives no indication of being perturbed by 
  
  57
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Two: Gustatory Interrogation
  the specifics of Asrabey’s request, though he demonstrates an appropri-
  ate level of displeasure at his breach of protocol.
  King Aodhan berates Asrabey for choosing this moment of all times, 
  and demands the high elf leave at once. That said, he does not explic-
  itly deny Asrabey’s request; this sort of nuance is common in Risur–fey 
  relations, but the Danorans don’t pick it up. Asrabey accepts the king’s 
  statements and departs.
  Most everyone else lets out the breaths they’ve been holding, and Aod-
  han jokes that dessert should be ready now. Han Jierre declines politely, 
  saying he will take his leave so Risur can deal with its fey allies. He nods 
  to Brakken to verify they’re still scheduled to meet the next morning, 
  and with that the Danoran delegation leaves with as much dignity as is 
  possible.
  Aodhan asks the party and Minister Lee to come with him to talk in 
  private. Brakken follows, and promises the king he has information of 
  import, but Minister Lee closes the door in his face, then casts a spell to 
  sound-proof the room.
  Final Preparation
  Social. Real-Time.
  The king tells the party to prepare for their mission to the Bleak Gate, and 
  Brakken provides some key information.
  King Aodhan is furious. He doesn’t buy the Jierres’ story that the evi-
  dence of their involvement is just a coincidence, but he wanted them to 
  think he did. Now any element of surprise they might have had is blown 
  because Asrabey likes making a dramatic entrance. Nevertheless, he 
  recognizes that the party could use the high elf’s help in a fight, so if they 
  don’t have any serious objections, he’ll grant Asrabey’s request.
  Telepathic Revelation.
  Brakken, with no other recourse to get the king to listen, psionically 
  sends a message to the party.
  “I’m a telepath, and I read the Jierres’ minds. Please let me in.”
  When Asrabey Varal made his request, Brakken casually read the 
  surface thoughts of all those in attendance. Han Jierre’s reaction was 
  the most shocking, and Brakken could tell he was quite worried about 
  what Varal may unearth during his expedition to the hill. The Sovereign 
  was also concerned that the knowledge might endanger his niece Lya. 
  As for Lya’s thoughts, Brakken sensed that she suddenly grew wary of 
  her uncle, as if Asrabey’s arrival had confirmed some suspicion she had 
  about her uncle’s activities.
  Brakken has gotten a sense all night that everyone has been hiding 
  things from each other, and that it all revolves around Lya’s involvement 
  in something far greater than he can read. But he knows that Cauldron 
  Hill is at the center of it, because the last thought he overheard before 
  the Danorans left was Han thinking, “I’ll have to send a messenger to 
  Cauldron Hill.”
  If the party doesn’t figure it out, King Aodhan explains for them. 
  If Han’s sending a messenger to warn the Obscurati, that means they 
  didn’t already know an attack was imminent. And if the party can stop 
  the messenger, they can maintain the element of surprise.
  Harkover quickly calls in a few of his aides and gives them directions 
  to watch for any way Han Jierre might pass along a message. If the party 
  is ready to act, a few minutes later Harkover gets word of a Danoran 
  guard heading downstairs toward the lobby; it might be worth following 
  him and detaining him once he’s out of the hotel. The man is unfamiliar 
  with Flint, relying on a map to navigate to Stanfield Canal. He should be 
  fairly easy to catch.
  Meanwhile….
  Han and Lya Jierre hold a quick, private meeting after the banquet—Lya 
  is incensed at how close Risur is to finding real proof of the conspiracy. 
  The Danoran sovereign agrees that an intrusion into Cauldron Hill will 
  be a setback, but he tells her not to worry: he knows things she doesn’t, 
  and there are contingency plans in place.
  The best-case scenario for them is that the RHC investigators and As-
  rabey are killed in the Bleak Gate and can bring back no information. If 
  that fails, though, they’ll have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
  Han calls in one of his guards and gives the man the complicated in-
  structions of how to deliver a message. He scribes five sigils on a sheet of 
  paper, as well as a brief warning that the RHC and Asrabey are coming. 
  He tucks the note into the man’s pocket, then tells him to go as discreetly 
  as possible along the Canal Route.
  The man departs, and Han relaxes. Lya asks whether he thinks ev-
  erything is fine now, and Han smiles. He explains that he expects the 
  messenger to be captured. Sending him out will just lull Risur into a 
  false sense of security, when indeed a message has already been sent that 
  no bold hero could ever run down and catch.
  Han knows that Roland Stanfield is part of Colossus Cell, and will 
  pass along the news magically. Lya is unaware of Stanfield’s involvement 
  in the conspiracy.
  Lya asks, and not for the first time, what is going on in Cauldron Hill, 
  or at least when she’ll have proved herself enough that he can trust her 
  with the information. Han says later, but certainly not before they leave 
  Risur. He encourages his niece not to worry.
  When, later, the colossus does rip free and cause a panic, Han resigns 
  himself to giving up on peace with Risur. In the confusion he and Lya 
  will withdraw to Lux Profectusque, which flees back to Danor at full 
  speed. The ship will fight its way out if necessary, but if the party has 
  a foolproof plan to halt the ship, the two can also make use of teleporta-
  tion magic once they’re out of the Hotel. They likely disappear when the 
  party is too distracted to bother stopping them.
  
  58
  T
  he party attacks or sneaks into the Obscurati’s 
   complex.
  Pick Your Team
  Social. Montage.
  If the party goes the Canal Route, they can bring along perhaps a 
  handful of allies—if they’re using amulets, there are only enough 
  for the PCs, Asrabey, Alexander Grappa (in his fully reas-
  sembled golem body), and perhaps one or two other prominent 
  NPCs like Kvarti or Gale, though the party need to be persuasive 
  to convince them to step into the Bleak Gate. If they’re relying 
  on Obscurati wands to complete the transition, there are only 
  a limited number of charges available, at the GM’s discretion. 
  We know tagalong NPCs can be annoying. Asrabey and Grappa, 
  though, have important plot roles.
  If the party travels with Ekossigan, they’ll have the fey lord and 
  his hundreds of lesser fey minions, plus Asrabey. They might be 
  able to convince Ekossigan to wait long enough to get Alexander 
  Grappa, but he won’t let them bring along military or police.
  If the party uses the king’s Ritual of Transposition, the expedi-
  tion can include up to thirty-one people, which should include 
  Asrabey and Grappa. The party might even convince Kvarti Gor-
  batiy to tag along. Sixty Allied Soliders (see Appendix B) gather 
  to travel with them, but not all of them make it through the portal 
  before it closes.
  Canal Route.
  This route involves passing beneath five bridges that cross Stan-
  field Canal, which runs between Bosum Strand and Parity Lake. 
  The route can be traveled by barge or steamboat (the bridges 
  aren’t tall enough for most sailing ships); there is also a foot path 
  paralleling the canal. The route to enter the Bleak Gate goes west 
  to east, and to exit is east to west.
  Each bridge is keyed to a different magical sigil, and a person 
  or object must be marked with or carrying something marked 
  with that sigil. Each bridge you pass under with the right sigil 
  pulls you further into the Bleak Gate, and over the course of a 
  few miles the real world fades out. The effect of each bridge only 
  lasts about ten minutes unless you pass beneath the next in the 
  line. The party might take this path if they manage to get the five 
  sigils from Quentin Augst, but then they’d have to know to seize 
  the Obscurati wand from the watchmen in order to complete the 
  transition. If they got a wand from Norm or amulets from Lorcan 
  Kell repaired by Minister Lee, they can get in on their own.
  At the east exit, a detachment of watchmen wait beneath the 
  last bridge with wands that finalize the transition. Without the 
  wand, a person remains in the Bleak Gate for only a few minutes 
  then snapps back to reality. Normally the watchmen let through 
  couriers or pick up crates that fall into the canal (the ship they’re on isn’t 
  in the same plane). They’ve never had to deal with a hostile incursion. 
  See Toll Bridge (next page).
  Grappa and Asrabey.
  If the party has these two with them, Asrabey mentions Kasvarina’s 
  name, and Grappa explains what he did to her. Because of his geas, all 
  he can explain is that he learned her history and thought that if she had 
  another chance to experience her life she might make different choices.
  Kasvarina was once a great person who did much good, but eventually 
  the conspiracy corrupted her. So when Grappa fled, he locked away her 
  memories. She’ll regain them at a rate of a year’s worth every few days, 
  but she’s over five centuries old, so it’ll take a while. Certainly she’ll 
  eventually recall what the Ob have told her, but she won’t have her own 
  full memories for months or years. Being exposed to her original life can 
  bring memories back faster, but they’ll be spotty.
  Asrabey is unsure what to make of this, but he promises he will find 
  her and keep her safe. If she really is part of this conspiracy, perhaps he’ll 
  be able to help her recall something of use. If any PC is a Vekeshi Mystic, 
  Asrabey asks for his help, and if other PCs offer he won’t refuse them.
  Mass Murder with Ekossigan.
  Ekossigan, fully unhinged after sacrificing thirty-one children, marches 
  with three dozen gremlins and numerous other fey—satyrs, nymphs, 
  pixies, and the like. These are presented as generic Allied Fey (see Ap-
  pendix B). The small army cavorts and dances from the bleak analogue 
  of Cloudwood to the Nettles. The music starts boisterous but turns ee-
  rie as more and more fey start cackling maniacally. Ekossigan deploys 
  scouts, and after a few hours they find the front entrance.
  Ritual of Transposition.
  After the banquet, the king and party take a carriage from Hotel Au-
  rum to a wooded grove at the foot of Cauldron Hill. Sixty soldiers wait 
  around an unlit bonfire. Stover Delft is also there to wish the party off, 
  and has brought along Alexander Grappa. Asrabey arrives on his own.
  Minister Lee draws a ritual circle with powdered rust and then hands 
  out thimble-sized charm bags woven with pieces of a Risuri flag. The 
  king stands aside, concentrating and gathering power. A flicker of weak-
  ness passes through the crowd, and everyone present somehow knows 
  that the king is drawing upon his people to perform the ritual.
  At midnight, with no moon in the sky and no city lights visible through 
  the trees, the king explains that once they appear in the Bleak Gate, they 
  will be stuck there at least until the sun rises, though its light will be 
  barely noticeable on that plane. After sunrise, if they want to return they 
  can tear open the charm bags, which will end the spell’s effect on them. 
  He warns them that when the spell ends, they’ll appear in the equivalent 
  spot in this world—the terrain is the same, but structures might be very 
  different, so be careful. If they don’t open the bags by sunset, which will 
  be in about eighteen hours, they’ll be trapped there.
  Stover Delft is unusually polite to the PCs during this time, knowing 
  that this mission could prove to be fatal. He tells them to come back alive 
  so he can take credit for training them.
  When everyone is ready, the king begins the ritual.
  Part Three:
  Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  
  59
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  Into the Gate
  Exploration. Montage. Level 8.
  The party navigates the Bleak Gate to reach Cauldron Hill.
  Sounds do not echo in the Bleak Gate, but neither is there ambient 
  noise to muffle them. The water is still, the sky black, cloudless, starless. 
  Wherever the party appears, they smell an everpresent stench of burnt 
  engine oil and hear a dull hiss coming from the direction of Cauldron 
  Hill: the faint exhalations of dozens of steam boilers.
  The city exists just as in the real world, the same buildings, the same 
  trees, but wholly unoccupied. A single flicker of light could can be seen 
  for miles, but there’s no light to be seen.
  There are five possible entrances the party can find to the Cauldron 
  Hill complex: three “front doors,” the entrance from Parity Lake, and 
  the utility access from atop the hill.
  Front Doors.
  The front doors are three heavily-guarded mechanically-operated doors 
  built into the side of Cauldron Hill. One faces Stanfield Canal, another 
  is in the western Nettles, and one in the south Nettles. All three have 
  similar defenses and open onto long passages that lead to the interior 
  checkpoint.
  Each of these also has a nearby U-shaped tunnel carved into the 
  hillside, lined with rusted ring gates. These passageways, magically 
  concealed, let Ob operatives step out of one of the front entrances, then 
  immediately go through a short loop to transition four-fifths of the way 
  into the real world. These gates have different sigils than the Stanfield 
  Canal gates, and only have 4 gates, not enough to fully transition be-
  tween the planes.
  Parity Lake Entrance.
  In the unlikely event the party explores the southern shore of Parity 
  Lake, they can find another entrance with a channel to let small boats 
  deliver materials directly into the complex. A large hydraulic elevator 
  (Area 3 on the complex map) carries material up to the main level.
  Utility Access.
  On the surface of the mountain directly above the underground complex 
  are five utility shafts, their exits surrounded by rocks or trees to mak-
  ing stumbling across them unlikely. However if a character gets within 
  a hundred feet he can pinpoint the location by sound and eventually by 
  the smoke and steam billowing out.
  A grated cover is trapped with explosive runes (5d6 fire damage), but 
  if it is removed the 20-ft. wide shaft provides access to the complex, a 
  hundred feet down (Area 4 on the complex map). Each minute a char-
  acter spends in the shaft he must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or else 
  become take 1d6 points of damage from the heat.
  Toll Bridge
  Action. Tactical. Level 8.
  At the end of the canal route, Obscurati watchmen bar the way.
  Depending on their resources, the party might simply need to avoid or 
  kill these foes, or capture them and get them to explain where they keep 
  the Obscurati wand that will complete the party’s trip into this plane. 
  The guards at this bridge have one wand between them.
  Obscurati Watchmen
  2 Obscurati guards
  2 shadow trolls
  Obscurati Guard 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male human fighter 4
  LN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init –1; Senses Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 21, touch 9, flat-footed 21 (+9 armor, +3 shield, –1 Dex)
  hp 41 (4d10+12);
  Fort +7, Ref +0, Will +2;
  Defensive Abilities bravery +1
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee mwk longsword+7 (1d8+3/19–20)
  Ranged pistol +4 (1d8/×4)
  Statistics
  Str 16 Dex 8, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10
  Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 19
  Feats Cleave, Power Attack, Shield Focus, Shield Specialization (heavy shield), 
  Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Focus (pistol)
  Skills Acrobatics –6, Bluff +3, Climb –2, Diplomacy +2, Escape Artist –6, Fly –6, 
  Intimidate +7, Perception +4, Ride –6, Sense Motive +5, Stealth –6, Swim –2
  Languages Common, Primordial
  SQ armor training 1
  Other Gear mwk full plate, mwk longsword, mwk heavy steel shield, potion of 
  darkvision
  Shadow Troll 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  CE Large humanoid (giant)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +5 natural, –1 size)
  hp 63 (6d8+36); regeneration 5 (acid or fire)
  Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +3
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+5 plus 2 Strength damage)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 1d6+7)
  Statistics
  Str 21, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 6
  Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 22
  Feats Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Focus (Stealth)
  Skills Climb +14, Perception +8, Stealth +10
  Languages Primordial
  Special Abilities
  Natural Climber (Ex) A shadow troll can cling to surfaces with its feet, freeing up its 
  hands to attack, but it needs at least three free limbs to move while climbing.
  Strength Damage (Su) A shadow troll’s claws deal 2 points of Strength damage in 
  addition to their normal physical damage. This is a negative energy effect. Its rend 
  does not deal extra damage.
  
  60
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  Terrain.
  The final bridge in the canal has a 10-ft. wide walkway that passes be-
  neath it, with a short drop into still water on one side, and a gentle grassy 
  slope on the other. The bottom of the bridge is 20 feet up and has various 
  trusses and decorations that let the shadow trolls hide from the party.
  Tactics.
  The two Obscurati guards are posted at the top of the bridge with a dim 
  shielded lantern. They can easily see the party approaching if they have 
  any light sources, and likely have enough time to move to the walkway 
  and hide just out of sight up the hill. They drink their potions of darkvi-
  sion so they can attack from the shadows.
  When the party approaches, the shadow trolls wait and then attack the 
  last person in line. One likely grabs and pulls the victim off the ground, 
  while the other rends it.
  When the trolls attack, the guards shoot anyone at close range, then 
  charge into melee. With the trolls on their side they think there’s no one 
  they can’t beat. If things turn sour, a guard might run, but he’s slow. If he 
  manages to get back to the top of the bridge he’ll light a flare that alerts 
  the guards at the front door that faces the canal.
  Aftermath.
  The watchmen know only about the parts of the Cauldron Hill complex 
  in areas 1, 2, and 3. They seem almost relieved that they were attacked, 
  since it means things are going to change. Morale has been terrible, and 
  after a bit of reflection a surviving guard might decide he’d be happier 
  back in the real world.
  Cauldron Hill Entrance
  Action. Tactical. Level 6+.
  The party fights or sneaks their way into the Obscurati’s fortress.
  The Obscurati don’t like solicitors. Getting into their complex will 
  require clever planning. Luckily, the early paranoia that helped create 
  the base’s defenses has faded, so the more expensive and tedious protec-
  tions, like magic alarms on every entrance, are no longer active.
  Layout.
  The interior of the Cauldron Hill Facility is primarily made up of steel 
  walls, specially shaped by Leone Quital. As most Obscurati operatives 
  working in the facility lack darkvision, gas lamps dot the walls at inter-
  vals of about every 10 ft. Unless indicated, every room is considered to 
  be fully illuminated by lights, though PCs can attack them if desired 
  (treat as a lantern).
  A pervasive smell of oil can almost be tasted throughout the facility. 
  Recent activation attempts with Borne have resulted in pools of leaked 
  witchoil. The smell lingers even though they were cleaned up.
  Front Doors.
  Each of the three main entrances is a highly defensible structure, with 
  steel doors (20 ft. wide, 12 ft. tall, 4 inches thick) built into the stone 
  sides of the hill. Thin lines of gold crisscross the frame on the inside, 
  barring any sort of teleportation effects.
  Beyond the doors is a simple foyer with a room for the guards on the 
  right and the hydraulic-powered mechanism on the left that operates the 
  doors. Though not separately mapped, they all resemble Checkpoint 
  One (Area 1 on the complex map).
  Beyond the foyer, a 10-ft. wide tunnel continues a half mile or more to 
  Checkpoint One. Two sets of light rail tracks run the length, and small 
  hand-cranked vehicles make it easier to ferry men and supplies, allowing 
  travel at up to 15 miles per hour. There are currently two such vehicles 
  stationed near the entrance.
  The front doors remain closed most of the time, but a slot can be 
  opened to communicate with visitors. When shut, the doors lock into 
  the floor and ceiling with steel bars, making forcing them open nearly 
  impossible (Strength DC 34). Gremlins with the party can make the 
  bars jostle loose, so the doors simply have to be pushed apart (Strength 
  DC 24).
  In addition to the group of watchmen at the end of the canal, two other 
  groups roam the area around the mountain, maintaining wards that keep 
  evil spirits at bay. Therefore, every two hours the front doors open to al-
  low people to cycle in and out. Each door has a daily passcode—today’s 
  are “outdoor,” “gathering,” and “yawning,” and the guards are actually 
  quite cautious because they’ve had to deal with a handful of incursions 
  by possessed guards and evil shadow doppelgangers.
  Defenders.
  If the party comes by a route other than the Ritual of Transposition, 
  there are only two Ob guards and two dark creepers here, but the door is 
  closed. They count as a Level 6 encounter.
  If the party waits for the gate to open to let a group in or out, add those 
  two extra guards to the hostile forces. This is a Level 7 encounter.
  If the party waits until the 14th, the defenders are on alert. In addition 
  to the normal guards inside the gate, an ambush contingent waits hidden 
  on the hill, looking for light sources that approach any of the entrances. 
  They then rush to the exterior of that entrance and hide a hundred feet 
  away in the darkness. The ambush squad has several Bleak Gate mon-
  sters working for them, and they will try to attack from opposite sides to 
  pin the party against the cliff face.
  By themselves, the ambush squad is a Level 10 encounter, and com-
  bined with the normal guards are a Level 11 encounter. However, the 
  party should have a lot of soldiers at their side, giving them the advan-
  tage, and making it feel like they really have to fight to get into the Ob 
  complex.
  Normal Front Door Guards
  2 Obscurati guards (page 59)
  2 Obscurati dark creepers
  Ambush Squad
  8 Obscurati slayers
  2 serpent-maned lions
  2 cackling crawlers
  Recruitment.
  How does one end up working in the Bleak Gate for a mysterious con-
  spiracy? Most of the people here are patriotic soldiers and engineers, 
  recruited with the promise of a chance to serve their country. In the af-
  termath of the adventure, the party might track down the head recruiter, 
  one Colonel Greg Masterson, at the Battalion military academy. As soon 
  as he gets word of the catastrophe at Cauldron Hill, though, he goes out 
  into the bayou and blows his brains out. He reported to Roland Stanfield, 
  and does not want anyone to discover Stanfield’s involvement, not even 
  by interrogating his corpse.
  
  61
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  Obscurati Dark Creeper 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  CN small humanoid (dark folk)
  Init +3; Senses see in darkness, perception +4
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 19 (3d8+6);
  Fort +3 Ref +6, Will +1;
  Weaknesses light blindness
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger+6 (1d3/19–20 plus poison)
  Special Attacks snuff light, sneak attack +1d6
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd)
  At Will—darkness, detect magic
  Statistics
  Str 11, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
  Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 14
  Feats Skill Focus (Sleight of Hand), Weapon Finesse
  Skills Climb +8, Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +12
  SQ poison use, rag armor
  Languages Common
  Combat Gear creeper poison (3 doses); Other Gear dagger
  Special Abilities
  Snuff Light (Su) As a standard action, a dark creeper can snuff any one nonmagical 
  light within 50 ft. Magical lights affected by this ability are extinguished for 2d6 
  rounds.
  Poison Use (Ex) Dark creepers are skilled in the use of poison and never risk acciden-
  tally poisoning themselves. Dark creepers favor a foul-smelling black paste distilled 
  from certain deep-underground fungi known as black smear—injury; save Fort DC 
  15; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.
  Rag Armor (Ex) A dark creeper’s multiple layers of filthy rags function as leather 
  armor when worn by one of their kind.
  See in Darkness (Su) A dark creeper can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, 
  including that created by deeper darkness.
  Obscurati Slayer 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +4; Senses detect magic, see in darkness; Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex)
  hp 22 (4d8+4);
  Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1;
  Weakness light blindness
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee kukri +8 (1d4 plus poison)
  Ranged rifle +7 (1d8/×4)
  Special Attacks sneak attack (+2d6), soul harvest
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th ; concentration +6)
  3/day—bleed (DC 12), chill touch (DC 13), darkness, daze monster (DC 14), death 
  knell (DC 14), inflict moderate wounds (DC 14), spectral hand
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 15
  Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 15
  Feats Skill Focus (Use Magic Device), Weapon Finesse
  Skills Climb +3, Perception +4, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +8, Use Magic Device +12 
  Language Common, Primordial
  SQ poison use
  Special Abilities
  Poison Use (Ex): Dark slayers are skilled in the use of poison and never risk acciden-
  tally poisoning themselves. Black Smear—injury; save Fort DC 15; frequency 1/
  round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save. The poison DC is Constitution-based.
  See in Darkness (Ex): A dark slayer can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, includ-
  ing that created by deeper darkness.
  Soul Harvest (Su): When a dark slayer damages a flat-footed foe or a foe it is flanking 
  with a melee touch spell or spell-like ability that deals hit point damage, the spell 
  does an additional 1d6 points of damage and the dark slayer gains an equal amount 
  of temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last for a maximum of 1 hour.
  Serpent-Maned Lion 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N large undead (incorporeal, shade)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, Perception +9
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, –1 size)
  hp 32 (5d10+10);
  Fort +6 Ref +7, Will +2
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Immune undead traits
  Offense
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee bite+6 (1d8+4 plus poison), 2 claws +6 (1d4+4)
  Space 10ft.; Reach 5 ft.
  Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +6, 1d4+4)
  Statistics
  Str 19, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +3; CMB 9; CMD 22 (26 vs. trip)
  Feats Improved Initiative, Run, Skill Focus (Perception)
  Skills Acrobatics +11, Perception +9, Stealth +8 (+12 in undergrowth)
  Languages Abyssal
  Special Abilities
  Poison (Ex): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 
  Con; cure 1 save.
  Number of Defenders.
  Unless you need to make the challenge tougher, assume the complex as a 
  whole has the following occupants. There used to be more, but the party 
  has killed a fair number who were sent on missions over the past year.
  100 engineers.
   •
   100 in the barracks.
  60 Obscurati guards.
   •
   2 at the canal bridge, 4 on patrol, 2 each 
  at the three front entrances, 2 at the Parity Lake entrance, 6 at 
  Checkpoint One, and 40 in the barracks who are off duty but tend 
  to the kitchen and various menial tasks. The off-duty ones aren’t in 
  armor but do carry weapons.
  18 Obscurati dark creepers.
   •
   2 each at the three front entrances, 
  12 who sleep outside on the mountain, staking territory so local 
  monsters don’t invade.
  12 Obscurati slayers.
   •
   These work in the VIP suites (areas 10 to 26).
  6 elite researchers.
   •
   They reside in the VIP suites.
  3 golems.
   •
   2 Borne prototype and 1 greater Borne prototype, usually 
  at the Golem Guardpost (area 5).
  3 unique characters.
   •
   Leone Quital and the fairly helpless Kas-
  varina, plus possibly Norm, the Obscurati liaison to the Kell guild.
  
  62
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  Cackling Crawler 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N Medium undead (incorporeal, shade)
  Init +3; Senses darkvision 60ft., low-light vision, Perception +0
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 19 (3d10+3);
  Fort +1 Ref +4, Will +1
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Immune undead traits
  DR 5/bludgeoning or slashing
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee bite+6 (1d8+4 plus maddening gaze)
  Special Attacks dance of death
  Statistics
  Str 16, Dex 17, Con 12, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
  Base Atk +3; CMB 6; CMD 19 (cannot be tripped)
  Skills Stealth +15; 
  Languages Abyssal
  Special Abilities
  Dance of Death (Su): The skeletal crawler can entrance opponents by swaying back 
  and forth as a full-round action. All hostile creatures within 30 feet who can see the 
  crawler when it uses its dance of death must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or be 
  dazed for 2d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting effect.
  Legless Laughter (Su): The crawler is always considered prone and cannot stand. 
  The crawler does not take the typical penalty for attacking while prone, but ranged 
  attacks against it still take a –2 penalty.
  Maddening Gaze (Su): Any living creature the crawler bites must succeed on a DC 13 
  Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds as it stares into the target’s soul.
  Tactics.
  If the normal guards are attacked, they send one of the dark creep-
  ers to hop onto the push cart. The little critter cranks his way toward 
  Checkpoint One, which takes a minute. This raises the alert within the 
  compound, but no reinforcements come. If the ambush party can attack 
  from ambush, the cackling crawlers and serpent-maned lions attack first, 
  causing a panic. The slayers then move in pairs to strike whoever is most 
  vulnerable at the edge of the group.
  Parity Lake Entrance
  This entrance is accessible by a 30-ft. wide lightless tunnel with 10-ft. 
  deep water. A much larger version of the front entrance doors, powered 
  by a similarly large machine, allows this entrance to be locked. The en-
  trance only opens for scheduled deliveries of materiel. It only takes a 
  skeleton crew to make sure the doors stay closed, so should the party 
  trick their way through here, there are only two Obscurati guards.
  Utility Access.
  A party that enters from above must basically guess which of the five 
  service shafts to go down. They’re two hundred feet or more apart, so 
  splitting up is a very bad idea. After a bit of shoving or unscrewing, the 
  party can exit the service areas, though they need to make Stealth checks 
  at a –5 penalty to avoid attracting the attention of those nearby.
  Lower Facility.
  This section of the facility only has strong security, not ridiculous 
  security.
  1. Checkpoint One
  Level 8.
  Much like the front entrance guard houses, this defensive station has 
  a pair of mechanically-operated steel doors at the front of a hallway, and 
  another pair at the end. Two secret doors (Perception DC 25, Disable 
  Device DC 30) lead to the side chambers, where a small guard force can 
  observe the area outside with a complex series of mirrors and lenses that 
  run through the ceiling.
  The main tunnel is a killing field, equipped with oil sprayers and fire-
  starters. At the command of the guards in either side chamber, the oil 
  room can be sprayed with oil, which takes three rounds. On the fourth 
  round, several sparks ignite the whole room, burning people inside alive. 
  The fire deals 3d6 damage per round, and if somehow they survive that, 
  it consumes all breathable oxygen after a minute.
  Checkpoint One Defenders
  6 Obscurati guards (three on each side, page 59)
  2. Barracks
  The rooms around the outer edges are occupied by about 100 engineers 
  who won’t get into battle. They try to pass the time with games, read-
  ing, and writing theoretical papers, since their work on the colossus is 
  complete. These rooms also house 20 Obscurati guards who are out of 
  their armor (speed 30, AC 9), who won’t have their weapons handy if 
  caught by surprise.
  The interior area consists of well-stocked supply rooms, offices for 
  handling logistics, a large kitchen, and a commissary. Twenty more un-
  armored Obscurati guards work here.
  Two sets of service passages (Area 9) can be accessed via riveted 
  (Strength DC 26) and alarmed (caster level 15th) hatches. The alarms 
  notify Leone if anyone opens the hatch. One leads to Area 3, another to 
  the Upper Facility. These passages have pipes for natural gas, fresh water, 
  waste water, hydraulic pump pressure, and air circulation. Each passage 
  is just less than 5 ft. wide and unlit. Their exits are also alarmed.
  3. Checkpoint Two
  This huge hall was once a staging area for colossus construction, stor-
  ing all the massive components needed. Now the space is empty, with 
  vaulted ceilings and a floor that has huge gouges from several years of 
  industrial work.
  On the east end, a massive hydraulic elevator descends three hundred 
  feet to the Parity Lake entrance. A pair of service passages, riveted and 
  alarmed like those in Area 2, lead off near the elevator.
  A small checkpoint lies on the west end, this one is simply intended 
  to keep curious engineers from roaming. The secret doors that lead to 
  the side chambers are accessed from inside Area 3. There is no deadly 
  oil-fire trap here.
  The Shadows of 
  Cauldron Hill.
  From a mechanical standpoint, as shadow-beings, the monsters work-
  ing for the Obscurati share many abilities commonly attributed to the 
  undead. They are treated as undead for purposes of channeling and im-
  munities, but share no other similarities to undead creatures (including 
  Hit Die and lack of Constitution). Creatures of this type are indicated with 
  the Shade subtype.
  
  63
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  The double doors to the north are huge, each 15 ft. wide and 30 ft. tall. 
  Controls are located in the two alcoves just south of the doors, but the 
  doors stand open when the party arrives.
  4. Utility Access
  These areas contain steam engines that power fans to circulate air, and 
  operate pumps for the hydraulic doors, as well as sewage and fresh water 
  pumps. Large vertical shafts lead to the surface.
  5. Golem Guardpost
  This area functions like an airlock. The doors that lead to Checkpoint 
  Two can’t open if the doors that lead to the Colossus Chamber are open, 
  and vice versa. The south doors can be controlled from the alcove 
  outside the south side, and the north doors can be controlled from the 
  alcove at the north end of this area.
  However, once you’re inside, you can be trapped, because controls 
  next to the doors in the Colossus Chamber can operate and lock both 
  ends of this area. As a final defense before the conspiracy’s masterpiece, 
  this chamber is enchanted to let the master of the facility—in this case 
  Leone Quital—see what happens and communicate with anyone inside.
  Welcome to My Parlor
  Action. Tactical. Level 12.
  Quital toys with the PCs by using prototype golems to try and kill them.
  When the party arrives, unless the party has been completely stealthy 
  and no one has had a chance to run and raise an alarm, Leone waits 
  until he gets as much of the party as he thinks possible inside this area. 
  Then he manipulates the controls to close and lock the south doors. He 
  addresses the party, who should recognize his voice if they encountered 
  him in Adventure Two, The Dying Skyseer.
  The doors slam shut, and the gas lights along the walls flicker off. A disembod-
  ied voice echoes in the dark, speaking with an aristocratic Crisillyir accent.
  “I don’t know whether to be impressed with you getting past my security, or 
  disappointed in the men who were supposed to stop you. But men, after all, are 
  weak. That’s why we build machines, why we have progress! All we’re good for is 
  thinking. That, and enjoying the pleasures in life.”
  You hear a soft sip, as if from a wine glass, then a contented sigh.
  “Best to leave the violence and physical labor to the steam and steel. Now I 
  leave it to you to decide whether to go the easy way or the hard way. Throw down 
  your weapons and have a drink with me, and I’ll explain what it is we’re doing 
  here. Would you believe the engineers we had working on it thought this was a 
  Risuri military project? They were fools, and I’d like to hold out hope that you’re 
  not fools.
  “So yes, throw down your weapons and we can think, and talk, and enjoy life. 
  Or be foolish, and see which breaks first: your flesh, or my steel.”
  If the party refuses to throw down their weapons, the doors to the 
  north open, revealing two man-sized and one 12-ft. tall golem that march 
  in and attack. The northern doorway has two sets of doors, and the sec-
  ond set that actually would lead to the colossus construction chamber 
  remain closed and locked.
  If the party does throw down their weapons, the exact same thing hap-
  pens. Leone is a liar.
  Golem Greeting
  Leone Quital (absent)
  2 Borne prototypes
  1 greater Borne prototype
  Leone Quital, Master of Magnetism 
  CR N/A
  XP N/A
  Defenses
  Should the party manage to attack Leone, he has 84 hp, AC 21, +10 to saves, and a con-
  stant shield of floating metal that absorbs incoming damage. The shield has 50 hp and 
  AC 25, it “heals” 10 hp per round, and it prevents attacks from affecting Leone until it 
  is destroyed. He is protected by freedom of movement and 7 levels of spell turning.
  Special Abilities
  I’m an Effect (Sp): Leone Quital is not actually a combatant in this battle; instead, he 
  uses his steelshaping abilities to modify the Borne prototypes, but not the greater 
  prototype. He uses this magic through a scrying sensor, which can be dispelled 
  (caster level 10th). Once dispelled, he cannot reactivate the sensor for a day.
   
  Every round, Quital acts at the beginning of the initiative order with one of the 
  following abilities:
  Faster, Faster, Faster: 
  * 
  One Borne Prototype counts as being under the effects of 
  a haste spell for this round.
  A Gentle Push:
  * 
   Quital can move one of the Borne Prototypes in the room up to 
  15 ft. This does not count as a move action for the Prototype, allowing it to full 
  attack in its round.
  Drop Your Weapon:
  * 
   Quital makes one disarm attempt against a PC holding a 
  metallic item. Treat Quital as having a CMB of +15 for this attack.
  Pinned: 
  * 
  Quital makes one free grapple attempt against a PC wearing metal 
  armor, holding them in a grapple for one round. Treat Quital as having a CMB of 
  +15 for this attack.
  Borne Prototype 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  N Medium construct
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
  Defense
  AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +2 dodge +6 natural)
  hp 64 (8d10+20)
  Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +0
  DR 5/adamantine Immune construct traits, magic
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee 2 slams +14 (1d6+9)
  Statistics
  Str 28, Dex 15, Con —, Int 13, Wis 6, Cha 6
  Base Atk +8; CMB +17; CMD 31
  Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
  Special Abilities
  Immunity to Magic (Ex) A Borne Prototype is immune to any spell or spell-like ability 
  that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differ-
  ently against the creature, as noted below.
  A 
  * telekinesis used against the Prototype can counter Quital’s control, using 
  telekinesis in such a way makes the Prototype count as stunned for as long as the 
  spell is maintained.
  A magical attack that deals electricity damage slows a Borne Prototype (as the 
  * 
  slow 
  spell) for 2d6 rounds, with no saving throw.
  
  64
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  Greater Borne Prototype 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  N Large construct
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
  Defense
  AC 24, touch 12, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +2 dodge, +12 natural, –1 size)
  hp 118 (16d10+30)
  Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +3
  DR 10/adamantine Immune construct traits, magic
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee 2 slams +24 (1d8+11)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
  Statistics
  Str 32, Dex 13, Con —, Int 13, Wis 6, Cha 6
  Base Atk +16; CMB +27; CMD 40
  Feats Awesome Blow, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, 
  Power Attack
  Special Abilities
  Immunity to Magic (Ex) As with a Borne Prototype, above.
  Awesome Blow (Ex) As a standard action, the golem can make a combat maneuver. 
  On a success, it deals slam damage, pushes the target 10 feet, and knocks it prone. If 
  the target hits an obstacle, it takes an extra 1d6 damage.
  Tactics.
  Quital gives the golems verbal orders, directing them to attack weaker 
  PCs, and having them double team when possible. The greater pro-
  totype is a deadly threat from its sheer size, but it’s not really built for 
  brawling, and so it only has as much reach as a medium creature. It might 
  shock the party when the golems start talking, bickering like brothers 
  when one of them messes up or gets in another’s way.
  If a PC visibly does damage to the prototypes, Quital uses his action 
  for that round to try and grapple that PC, or disarm them if they have 
  a particularly potent weapon. If one of the PCs becomes an unexpected 
  threat, Leone pushes a golem into contact with that PC to deliver a full 
  attack. Should things be going well for the golems, he’ll use his haste 
  effect to make one of the golems more efficient in close combat.
  The party’s allies make a big difference here. Asrabey will try to keep 
  the greater prototype at bay while the rest of the party handles the small-
  er ones. During the fight he shouts at Leone to bring him Kasvarina if he 
  wants his death to be brief.
  Alexander Grappa recognizes the golems—he raised them, after all—
  and uses his “click-to-voice” gadget to call out to them: Linus, Hunting, 
  and Colin (the big one). Though he’s useless offensively, Grappa’s pres-
  ence deters the golems. The golems won’t attack him, and take a –2 
  penalty to attack any PC adjacent to him. After five rounds of slowly ex-
  plaining who he is, he manages to convince Hunting, who stops fighting. 
  
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  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  The others are more loyal to Leone, and will keep attacking the party. 
  Hunting won’t get involved.
  Without Grappa, the party might still reason with the golems, since 
  they’re starved for intellectual conversation. A petition to talk (Diploma-
  cy DC 20) will get them to ask what the party has that’s worth discussing 
  in the middle of combat. If a character brings up interesting topics—by 
  making a Knowledge check (any, DC 20) on his turn as a free action—
  the golems take a –2 penalty to their attacks for the round as they’re too 
  distracted for their own good.
  Aftermath.
  If the golems take the party out, Quital drags any survivors into Area 6 
  and has a medic stabilize them so they can be interrogated. See Villain-
  ous Victory (page 66).
  If the party either destroys or talks down the golems, Leone scoffs and 
  ends his observation of them so he can prepare a final line of defense. 
  The party remains locked in the room, but some thorough dismantling 
  (Disable Device DC 36) can make the doors open. If they got the golem 
  Hunting to stand down, Grappa asks him to smash the doors open, but 
  he cannot manage it.
  Gnomish Escape Plan.
  If the party is stuck for more than a minute, they hear muffled nervous 
  laughter coming from the walls—the voice of tinker oddcog, the 
  gnomish artificer who designed the colossus. Tinker mutters about how 
  small and dark and safe the tunnel he is in is, and then begins jabbering 
  about how he needs them to get him out. He’s quite erratic, obsessed 
  with things being tiny, and has trouble carrying on a conversation.
  He never moves out from behind the wall, but after a moment he seems 
  to address the doors, saying, “I know you’re large, and I don’t trust you. 
  You were always watching me. But you do as I say! Open up! Let these 
  people through.”
  And then the doors open, revealing Area 6.
  Tinker won’t show up again until Adventure Six, Revelations from the 
  Mouth of a Madman.
  Upper Facility
  Action. Tactical. Level 12.
  The party likely won’t have time for a thorough exploration.
  From where the party enters, a giant shaft rises nearly 200 ft. above 
  and a pit drops 150 ft. below to bare rock that is drenched five feet deep 
  with witchoil. In the center stands the colossus Borne, three hundred 
  feet of riveted steel and adamantine, etched with thousands of arcane 
  runes of power and protection. He appears generally human-shaped, 
  save for a small nook in the center of his chest, about five feet across. 
  This is where the Ob intended to install a version of the wayfarer’s lan-
  tern, to help stabilize it as it worked on the Axis Seal.
  Two freight elevators (Area 7) run between levels. Though there are 
  numerous defunct operating platforms at different elevations, the only 
  two currently in operation are the entrance level and the VIP level 100 
  ft. higher up. A large drawbridge crosses the chamber at the colossus’s 
  shoulder level (Area 8), and a door off the right freight elevator leads to 
  the VIP suites (Areas 10 to 26). Two utility shafts (Area 4) lead to the 
  surface, and narrow service tunnels (Area 9) provide a possible way for 
  characters to sneak into this area.
  A truss of light catwalks surround his head, but they easily tumble 
  if the bridge moves or if any part of the catwalks are damaged. A crane 
  overhead sits unused, accessible only by narrow gear-toothed walkways 
  around the edge of the chamber.
  Element of Surprise.
  If the party enters this area without having first set off an alarm, people 
  shout as they spot the intruders. Despite all the technology here, the 
  Obscurati don’t have radios or electricity to trigger buzzers, so unless 
  they can get someone outside this area, they won’t be able to call for help 
  from the lower facility.
  6. Staging Platform.
  Crates, barrels full of witchoil, and a few stacks of adamantine scales the 
  size of a whole man have been pushed to the edges of this area. Catwalks 
  lead to the freight elevators, which can be called by a lever at the end of 
  the catwalk. When the party enters, the left elevator is down, and the 
  right one is up at the VIP suites level. Ladders on the walls do let people 
  climb the 100 ft. if the elevator is out of order.
  7. Freight Elevators.
  When called, or when operated from the elevator itself, these huge plat-
  forms ascend or descend 25 ft. per round.
  8. Construction Bridge.
  The bridge is suspended 100 ft. above the staging platform, but has side-
  support rails meant to prevent any falls. A visible “cut” in the middle of 
  bridge indicates that the support bridge can be retracted. This feature is 
  operated by a pair of control cabins, one at each end of the bridge.
  A character inside the control cab can spend a standard action and 
  make a Knowledge (engineering) check (DC 14) to raise or lower their 
  half of the bridge, causing the platform to tilt about 30 degrees per round. 
  He can also ascend or descend, causing that entire half of the bridge to 
  go up or down 10 feet per round.
  9. Service Tunnels.
  These 5-ft. wide tunnels contain the utility pipes. Each exit is riveted 
  (Strength DC 26) and alarmed (caster level 15th). As they approach Area 
  10, the shaft becomes vertical but has a narrow ladder.
  10. Dignitary Checkpoint.
  The guards here are Obscurati slayers, loyal members of the conspiracy 
  and much better treated than the normal guards in the lower facility. Of 
  the dozen slayers in the facility, four usually are on duty here, impec-
  cably dressed. The other eight either rest or attend to maintenance of 
  the VIP suites, acting as (again, very well-paid) butlers and cooks. If 
  Leone knew the party was coming, eight of the slayers were sent out as 
  the ambush party.
  11. Dining Hall.
  The VIPs dine here, as do the occasional Obscurati visitor like Kas-
  varina or Nicodemus. Leone was hoping to hold a celebration here, but 
  Grappa’s sabotage of the colossus ruined that plan.
  12. Kitchen.
  Behind a chilled meat locker is a utility shaft.
  
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  Cauldron-Born
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  13. Hybridization Laboratory.
  This lab is where some of the researchers worked to infuse first animals 
  and then humans with shadow magic, and to apply mechanical enhance-
  ments to flesh. Most of these researchers worked on the witchoil golem 
  and flayed jaguars the party faced in Adventure Two. They are non-com-
  batants, and cower behind shelves of dead experiments. The place is full 
  of horrible devices and deadly fluids, in case combat ends up here.
  14. Golem Laboratory.
  Similar to above, here is where the prototype golems were constructed. 
  Those that didn’t guard Area 5 have been shipped off to other Obscurati 
  projects or scrapped after their consciousnesses were transferred unsuc-
  cessfully into the colossus.
  15–26. Lodgings.
  Rooms 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, and 26 house the Obscurati slayers. Room 21, 
  23, and 25 were other researchers working in the two labs.
  Room 16 is Leone’s. 18 was Tinker Oddcog’s, though he’ll have fled 
  before the party gets here. 20 was Grappa’s, but currently Kasvarina 
  stays here. See Grappa and Asrabey (page 58) for details of Kasvarina’s 
  state. Right now she only remembers her life up to about age thirty, and 
  has no real magical powers or useful knowledge. The walls of her room 
  are covered in ornate tapestries, hiding the daunting shell of steel.
  Villainous Victory
  Action. Tactical. Level 10+.
  With the party at his mercy, Leone torments the party. The colossus’s acti-
  vation prevents him from killing them.
  If the party was defeated previously, they are disarmed, bound in 
  mage-cuffs (which deal damage to anyone casting a spell while wearing 
  them equal to the spell’s level, forcing a concentration check), and then 
  dragged to the colossus construction chamber.
  Leone’s men bring the party onto the bridge in front of the colossus 
  and set them on their knees. Lorcan Kell and his bodyguards appear, 
  and if necessary Kate Glenn rouses the PCs with light healing magic.
  If you think this scenario is likely, try to have an ace up your sleeve to 
  get the party out of near-certain doom. For example, if you know your 
  PCs will have a verbal duel with Leone, he grows angry, and the metal 
  around him flexes. If the party enrages him, a clamp securing the colos-
  sus breaks loose, and the titan moves. Or perhaps Alexander Grappa 
  can address the colossus and awaken it. If the party spared an Ob tech-
  nician or operative earlier in the campaign, maybe the man has second 
  thoughts; perhaps a disgruntled engineer who just wants out swings the 
  crane and knocks the colossus loose.
  But before that point, Leone gloats. You can use this opportunity to 
  let him explain any lingering mysteries about how the cell operated (as 
  
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  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  long as you don’t reveal Roland Stanfield’s involvement, nor anything 
  about the Axis Seal) and disabuse the party of any crackpot theories 
  they might have tricked themselves into believing.
  Depending on how dark you want things to get, Leone might use his 
  power to torture or kill one of the PCs—slowly crushing him in his own 
  armor, dangling him telekinetically over a two hundred foot drop into 
  a pool of witchoil, or killing one PC with the weapon of another. Then, 
  either right before or right after the point of no return, some lucky break 
  gives the party a chance.
  The colossus activates, the cavern shudders, Leone flees so he can try 
  to regain control of it, and the party has to survive Lorcan Kell if they 
  want to get out alive.
  Borne to be Wild
  Action. Tactical. Level 10+.
  Lorcan Kell attacks the party, and won’t give up even as Borne activates 
  and tears the mountain apart around them.
  The party’s arrival brings forth the last defenders of the complex. Ex-
  actly who shows up depends on how the party got here.
  Of course, feel free to add foes—likely Obscurati guards or perhaps a 
  couple Obscurati dark creepers—if you think the party needs the chal-
  lenge. If they have a ton of soldiers or fey still with them, you might have 
  an equivalent force of guards arrive, letting you reduce the two groups’ 
  battle to background detail while you focus on the party versus Kell and 
  his bodyguards.
  Kell’s Group
  Lorcan Kell
  Kate Glenn
  Nick Reder
  Obscurati Defenders
  4 Obscurati slayers
  Leone Quital, the steelshaper
  Conditional Defenders
  8 additional Obscurati slayers
  Norm, Obscurati liaison
  Setup.
  When combat begins, Asrabey abandons the party and moves at full 
  speed for the VIP suites, shouting for Kasvarina. Leone sees that As-
  rabey has no metal equipment (wooden shield, sword made of fire), so 
  he devotes himself to trying to manually control the colossus. He uses 
  magnetic power to pull himself to the colossus’s shoulder. Meanwhile, 
  Grappa makes his way to the construction bridge.
  If the party already killed Lorcan Kell (and if you don’t think you 
  can bring him back as a mechanically-augmented cyborg ghost or 
  something), you might need to come up with another headliner foe, or 
  perhaps change the focus to rescuing Kasvarina.
  The key to this encounter is to make sure the party engages someone 
  they perceive as the main threat, and halfway through the battle have 
  something trigger the colossus’s release. The main threat is likely Kell, 
  and the colossus probably gets released when the party gets curious and 
  does something to it, causing the wards the Ob put in place to stutter 
  long enough for it to break free.
  However, if the party isn’t grooving on Kell, and if they don’t disturb 
  the colossus, you have some options.
  Grappa.
  The Mindmaker likely makes a move for the colossus as soon as he can. 
  He climbs to the bridge, then scrambles across scaffolding to reach 
  Borne’s face. He tries to communicate with it.
  If you don’t think your players would mind NPCs doing something 
  plot-critical in their presence, have Grappa place his hand to the colos-
  sus’s face. Leone swoops in, recognizes the bronze golem, and realizes 
  that it must be Grappa. He rips one of Grappa’s arms off, but Grappa 
  leaps at Leone and manages to grab his face. Leone proceeds to tear the 
  bronze golem completely apart. This enrages the colossus, and it growls 
  “Father!” as it rips free.
  Quital.
  The Steelshaper is beyond the party in a stand-up fight now, but if it 
  leads to a good resolution, they could strike Leone while he’s distracted, 
  causing him to lose his perch and tumble. He would instinctively reach 
  out with his steelshaping powers to catch himself, and in the shock of 
  An aristocrat from Crisillyir, Leone was recruited into 
  the Ob for his unusual, innate ability to manipulate 
  and shape metal without having to actually learn 
  or cast spells. Contacts groomed him and encour-
  aged him to acquire skills that the conspiracy would 
  need, but he only gained the leadership’s trust after 
  he helped rescue Kasvarina Varal eight years ago 
  during a Risuri raid on Cherage. A cannon bombard-
  ment collapsed a factory she was touring, and Leone 
  nearly killed himself with exertion to tear apart the 
  crumpled steel and pull her to safety.
  A few years later he was placed in charge of the 
  secretive construction of the colossus, reporting 
  directly to Roland Stanfield (page 50). Though he doesn’t believe the cover story that 
  the colossus is meant as a weapon to help Risur fight the fey titans, he works loyally, 
  hoping to earn the right to know the group’s real goal.
  Though he prefers to appear refined, romantic, and honorable, Leone is flamboy-
  ant and short-tempered. He sometimes imagines himself a conductor, waving his 
  hands to imagined music as he telekinetically manipulates metal. He has a fondness 
  for fine bromago cheese, and often enjoys the wine from his family’s vineyard.
  A centuries-old high elf who allied with William 
  Miller during the Second Victory and later helped 
  Nicodemus the Gnostic found the Obscurati. Her 
  key responsibility has been to undermine the 
  Clergy’s military and monetary might, primarily by 
  forming vengeance cults among her fellow surviv-
  ing high elves.
  In the past few years she helped oversee the 
  various cells of the conspiracy as they neared the 
  opening of the Axis Seal, but nine months ago she 
  was tricked by Alexander Grappa and her memo-
  ries erased. Now she only barely recollects the first 
  decade of her life, and has trouble understanding 
  where she is. Her memories are slowly returning, and though Leone assures her she 
  was an ally of his, she doesn’t trust him and wants to escape.
  Leone Quital
  Kasvarina 
  Varal
  
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  Cauldron-Born
  Part Three: Expedition to the Bleak Gate
  being attacked he over-exerts, tearing free sheets of metal that were 
  warded to keep the colossus still. The titan begins to move, and Leone 
  gets perhaps one or two more attacks off against the party before either 
  they strike him again and knock him free, or the colossus’s movement 
  sends him plummeting deep into the construction pit. It’s an ambiguous 
  death, but the party won’t have time to follow up since the whole facility 
  will be collapsing around them.
  Ekossigan.
  If the party failed to stop Ekossigan and didn’t come with him, perhaps 
  he is the main threat, having been augmented and controlled by the Ob 
  after he failed to defeat the complex. He fights much as in Thread Two, 
  but as the ice spreads it causes the colossus to break free.
  Alternately, an allied Ekossigan might get impaled by a steel spear 
  thrown by Leone, and his death throes shake the whole area, jostling 
  Borne free.
  Kasvarina.
  Perhaps when Asrabey brings Kasvarina out of the VIP suites, she 
  screams, confused and terrified by the combat. Her scream jolts the co-
  lossus, and it turns its head to face her. It growls, “Mother,” and starts 
  to tear free.
  Battle on the Big Bridge.
  The Obscurati slayers take up position on the big bridge (but gener-
  ally stay away from the explosive red barrels). They rain fire down on 
  the party with their rifles, and have cover against the party’s counter-
  attacks.
  Leone meanwhile manually grabs the colossus’s right arm and swipes 
  it across the staging platform. At initiative count 0 each round, each 
  creature in the area must make a Fortitude or Reflex save (DC 15) or take 
  3d6 damage, be knocked prone, and be pushed toward the east end of 
  the room.
  Together, these likely force the party to take the lift up so they can 
  avoid the slayers’ advantage and get to a spot where the colossus—still 
  mostly restrained—cannot reach.
  Before leaving the VIP suites, Kate Glenn used her wand of invisibil-
  ity to turn herself, Nick, and Kell invisible. When the party reaches the 
  bridge, Kell and his bodyguards attack. Alternately, they might descend 
  on the lift or climb down the ladder if the party doesn’t come up. Kell 
  attacks with furious hate for the people who destroyed the guild he spent 
  his life building, and he fights to the death. His bodyguards might sur-
  render if he goes down and things look bad for them.
  Uh-Oh….
  After five or ten rounds of combat, something should happen to let the 
  colossus break free, and each round thereafter the facility becomes more 
  unstable. If the party runs, Kell follows them, preferring vengeance to 
  escaping alive.
  Borne round 1: A deafening rumble fills the chamber as a massive 
  engine turns over. Black smoke begins to pour out of vents along the 
  colossus’s back, equivalent to a small factory worth of smokestacks. The 
  party likely recognizes the distinct smell of witchoil burning within the 
  golem’s chest.
  Borne takes its first step and tears its arm free from magical bindings. 
  This causes a massive tremor to shake the room, knocking anyone inside 
  prone unless they make a Reflex save (DC 14).
  Borne round 2: Borne moves again, this time crashing through the 
  main support bridge in front of him. The bridge heaves; anyone on it must 
  make a Reflex save (DC 14) or be thrown 10 feet, perhaps off the side.
  Borne round 3: The colossus realizes its way forward is blocked, so 
  it looks up and grabs the walls overhead. Its fingers tear through stone 
  and steel, and it heaves itself up the construction shaft. Again, creatures 
  must make a Reflex save (DC 14) or be knocked prone from the tremors.
  Borne round 4: The colossus strikes the ceiling, roars, then punches 
  several times into the stone above it. Every in the facility must make two 
  Reflex saves (DC 14). The first avoids being knocked prone. The second 
  avoids 4d6 damage from falling debris.
  Borne round 5: Borne tears a tunnel free to the surface and heaves 
  itself up until its head peeks out of the hole. The massive weight of the 
  colossus causes massive chunks of stone thirty feet or larger to cleave 
  free from the walls. The party can see that they’re about to collapse, and 
  they have until the start of the next round to seek cover—perhaps the 
  arch of the Golem Guardpost, or one of the VIP suites.
  Borne round 6: Borne pulls itself to the surface. Anyone out in the 
  open is crushed, taking 10d6 damage (Fortitude DC 15 half). The re-
  sulting destruction shatters the various wards surrounding the facility, 
  transporting the broken remnants of the complex, Borne, and all those 
  inside the Cauldron Hill region of the Bleak Gate back to the material 
  plane. Light from outside pours through the hole overhead—either day-
  light or starlight—making it clear to the party they’ve transitioned to the 
  real world.
  later: Borne pauses a moment atop the hill. Though Grappa has re-
  moved its conscious mind, its base primitive mind marvels at the beauty 
  of a world it has never seen. It stands still for a few minutes, giving the 
  party a lull during which they can climb to safety.
  Eventually Borne continues moving, slowly stomping its way down 
  the mountainside. It triggers massive rockslides that would kill anyone 
  still on the mountain, though luckily the natives of The Nettles fled here 
  months ago, thanks to the warnings of the skyseer Nevard. The colossus 
  stumbles several times, having never actually walked before, and even-
  tually it stops at level ground between the base of Cauldron Hill and 
  Stanfield Canal.
  Aftermath.
  In the chaos, Leone and Grappa likely fall into the pit and have an am-
  biguous death. They’ll return in Adventure Seven. If Grappa wasn’t 
  here, by the time the party gets back to the RHC headquarters, he’ll have 
  slipped away.
  As soon as the facility shifts back to the real world, Asrabey grabs Kas-
  varina and uses magic granted him by the Unseen Court to travel to the 
  Dreaming, sparing the party only a brief nod of thanks before leaving.
  If necessary, the party might receive aid in exiting the pit when Cap-
  tain Dale and his men atop Cauldron Hill throw ropes down. Dale 
  handles the sudden appearance of the colossus with aplomb and points 
  out that even if it isn’t under anyone’s control, it will devastate the city 
  just by trampling buildings.
  Alternately, perhaps Gale can help them out with air magic. If Kvarti 
  is present, the dwarf announces that he’s off to go drink, because he sus-
  pects the end of the world is nigh.
  
  69
  T
  he PCs work with the Risuri Navy to lure Borne out 
   to sea, while King Aodhan enacts a ritual to send 
  the creature to the Dreaming.
  Shadow of the Colossus
  Until dealt with, the colossus becomes a permanent fixture in the 
  background of the city. It has no particular goal, so it is content 
  for now to look at its surroundings and poke things like a child, 
  curious to see how strong they are. Though each stride is fifty 
  feet long or more, it does not stray far.
  It is certain that if left unchecked, the titan will make the city 
  unlivable. The king wants to get it out of populated areas, but 
  trying to get it to move anywhere is likely to stir its anger, and 
  that’s when things will get really dangerous. First though, the 
  party will need to make their way back to the Hotel Aurum, 
  where King Aodhan is holding an emergency session to handle 
  the situation.
  Regroup Time
  Social. Real-Time.
  Let’s talk to the King about this? Sounds like a good idea!
  It takes the party at least an hour to make their way from Cauldron 
  Hill to the Hotel Aurum. As the PCs approach, they can see that the 
  Danoran contingent no longer has guards on post. A quick check with 
  any Risuri guard reveals that Han Jierre and his group vacated the hotel 
  mere minutes after the colossus was first reported. No one knows for 
  sure where they went.
  The PCs are admitted to meet with King Aodhan, who has convened 
  on the ground floor lobby, having concluded that speed of evacuation 
  trumps good furniture. Present with the king are several military officers, 
  Chief Inspector Stover Delft, and Principal Minister Harkover Lee.
  During the quick debrief that follows, the king and Inspector Delft 
  bring the PCs up to speed on what’s happened in Flint.
  Parity Lake district is being evacuated, leading to panic and loot-
  * 
  ing in neighboring districts.
  Reports keep coming in of ships fleeing the harbor, including 
  * 
  Lux 
  Aurumque, the Danoran capital ship.
  The panicked evacuation is making it difficult for the naval fleet 
  * 
  that defends Flint to get back into the harbor. There are twenty 
  first-rate ships-of-the-line stuck out at sea, and only a handful of 
  combat-ready vessels in the actual harbor.
  King Aodhan and Minister Lee have thrown together a basic plan on 
  how to remove the colossus threat, though it is highly dangerous.
  The Ritual Plan.
  Using a powerful magical ritual invested in him as part of the Rites of 
  Rulership, King Aodhan intends to banish the colossus into the Dream-
  ing. While the exact ramifications of performing such an act are as of yet 
  unknown to him, King Aodhan believes it is the only option available to 
  them if they are to save Flint.
  In order to enact his ritual, the King requires thirty minutes of un-
  impeded casting time, and he must stay within a thousand feet of the 
  target. The King knows the dangers of this, especially if the golem takes 
  note of him, and he isn’t sure it will be possible to keep the titan still for 
  that long. To this end, Aodhan wants to lessen the colossus’s advantage 
  by bringing the immense construct out into the harbor, where its slow 
  movement will be further impeded by having it square off against faster 
  seafaring vessels.
  The main decision Aodhan has to make is whether to draw the co-
  lossus to the harbor via Stanfield Canal, which would minimize the 
  collateral damage, or draw it to the waters north of the city, near The 
  Ayres, where more of the Risuri fleet could confront it. The second route 
  would wreck a swath of the city at least a mile long. The first route only 
  endangers a few blocks—though unfortunately it would destroy all the 
  bridges along the canal—plus it gives them the ability to deploy the 
  R.N.S. Coaltongue.
  The king is inclined to go for the harbor, but he can be convinced to 
  try the other route. Once that decision is made, Aodhan asks if anyone 
  has a better plan, and if not he sends orders for every military ship in the 
  harbor to assemble at the Royal Docks.
  Part Four:
  To Battle a Colossus
  
  70
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Four: To Battle a Colossus
  Other Plans.
  Disabling the colossus seems infeasible. People have shot at it with pis-
  tols and muskets and it hasn’t noticed. Observation by telescope suggests 
  its skin is adamantine, effectively impervious to any mundane weapon, 
  though perhaps enchanted cannons could injure it. Luckily it seems not 
  to have any sort of ranged weapons.
  Climbing it and looking for a way inside is an option, because there is 
  some space along its back with hollow components intended for storing 
  witchoil and other fuel. These do feed into its inner forge-heart, which 
  provides magical energy to the colossus’s limbs. However, anywhere 
  vulnerable would be so hot as to set fire to flesh and melt most metals 
  other than adamantine. Even if someone could get in, magical wards 
  would dispel the intruder’s protections and leave him doomed in the 
  forge’s heat.
  Its mind is too limited for it to communicate, though it does respond 
  with curiosity to unusual sights and sounds. It has no fear of anything, 
  but it does get angry if it is harmed.
  Luring It to Sea.
  You can have the local authorities handle this, unless the party seems 
  excited to volunteer or has their own plan. The plan Delft comes up 
  with is to get as many spare fireworks from the New Year’s festival as pos-
  sible, perform a few quick test launches to see if the colossus responds 
  to them, and, if so, determine whether he follows or retreats from the 
  pretty lights.
  After an hour’s setup, the teams start setting off their fireworks. The 
  first launch shows that the colossus is attracted to the light—it reaches 
  out a hand and tries to grab at the blossom of fire in the sky—so the au-
  thorities begin firing a quickly-planned path that draws the colossus first 
  to Stanfield Canal, and then down the canal toward the harbor.
  Another option might be to requisition the hurricane violin and use 
  its enchantment to amplify a song that would lure the colossus.
  To Your Stations!
  King Aodhan intends to board the R.N.S. Coaltongue, and he wants the 
  PCs either by his side or on a ship of their own. Harkover Lee explains 
  that no amount of armor or protection will keep them safe from the co-
  lossus; in this case, speed is the best defense.
  Minister Lee will join the main fleet attacking Borne, and add his own 
  magical abilities to the battle, while Stover Delft will remain behind in 
  the city to coordinate evacuations from coastal areas and use the local 
  police and RHC to keep order.
  The Battle of 
  Bosum Strand
  Social. Montage.
  The party and their king rally a makeshift fleet to save Flint from 
  destruction.
  Dark clouds form ahead, and it begins to lightly rain during their trip 
  from the Hotel Aurum to the royal docks. When they arrive, they see 
  amassed a dozen Risuri warships—a mix of sail and steam, most of them 
  sixth-rate (110-ft. long, 30 cannons) or smaller, but perhaps with a few 
  larger vessels like the R.N.S. Impossible or the party’s own ship. They 
  await the arrival of their king, flags flying high, their skeleton crews ner-
  vous at the deadly mission before them.
  Also present, surprisingly, is a Danoran warship, the Freux Rouge.
  A Danoran Always Pays Her Debts.
  The loud shouts of a woman with a heavy Danoran accent ring through 
  the nearly abandoned docks. If the PCs met her at the banquet, they rec-
  ognize the voice of Captain Rosalyn Taylor.
  Unlike the Lux Aurumque, which fled at the first sign of trouble, Tay-
  lor and her crew actually sailed to the Royal Docks, intending to offer 
  aid. A contingent of Flint marines prevents the captain from disembark-
  ing, but she shouts to get the attention of the party.
  If approached, Taylor asks the PCs to let her know what’s going on 
  and how she can help. Unless the party made a terrible impression, she 
  goes on to say that the Sovereign is safely away, and that she will obey the 
  last directions he gave her, which was to protect peace with Risur. She 
  would gladly add her vessel’s armaments to the Risuri fleet. A first-class 
  ship-of-the-line, the Freux Rouge is probably the second strongest vessel 
  in the harbor after the Coaltongue.
  Luckily, the PCs have King Aodhan at their side, and the king will give 
  orders based on whatever the PCs decide to do with Captain Taylor’s 
  ship. If the PCs approve, Taylor proves true to her word, and the Dano-
  ran vessel joins the Risuri fleet in their distraction attack on Borne.
  Dockers United.
  Closer to the docked Impossible several transport vessels remain moored 
  in the harbor, with hundreds of people shouting and surging, nervously 
  stranded after their ships fled the harbor without them. These people, 
  most simple sailors or dockworkers, are close to panic, but from atop a 
  warehouse Thames Grimsley tries to get the crowd’s attention and calm 
  them down.
  The PCs should know that the naval vessels currently in the harbor 
  are understaffed, since most of the ships were in dock for maintenance 
  and repairs while the ship-shape ones were out guarding the open sea 
  to the north. The dockers could be used to assist the vessels, by coming 
  aboard and helping to man the rigging and give extra muscle in arming 
  weapons and steering ships.
  Getting their aid requires some manner of inspirational speech (Di-
  plomacy DC 25). The character who makes the check gets a bonus equal 
  to twice the party’s Flint prestige, and a further +5 bonus if they’re on 
  good terms with Thames Grimsley or if at least one of them is a Docker. 
  Bringing the king certainly can’t hurt.
  If the attempt fails, the crowd devolves into a riot, another disaster 
  that threatens to bring the great city down. If rallied, though, the dock-
  ers start pouring onto transports that take them to the makeshift fleet.
  The Impossible Mission.
  Another setback reveals itself: upon seeing the colossus, the aged captain 
  of the R.N.S. Coaltongue suffered a heart attack. His first officer can take 
  command, but this gives you a chance to keep the party close to the king, 
  and perhaps provide a player who doesn’t normally get to be captain a 
  chance to control a vessel of his own.
  As the crew makes ready, the tiefling engineer Geoff Masarde appears 
  and explains to any spellcasters who will be aboard how to make use of 
  the ship’s capacitor to empower their spells.
  Each PC gets a quick tutorial on using the turrets, which allows them 
  to make ranged attacks with the cannons using their normal ranged 
  attack bonuses. Harkover Lee says he’ll devote his power to creating a 
  defensive shield around the ship.
  King Aodhan reminds everyone that he needs thirty minutes to com-
  plete the ritual that will banish the colossus into the Dreaming, and he 
  needs to stay within a thousand feet. Mechanically, that means the party 
  
  71
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Four: To Battle a Colossus
  must keep the Coaltongue in either the same naval stage or an adjacent 
  one for six consecutive naval rounds.
  He also points out that he’ll be particularly vulnerable during this 
  period, so the PCs will need to protect him if anything tries to board the 
  ship or harm him.
  Let’s Get Its Attention!
  By the time the fleet is ready, the colossus is dangerously close to the end 
  of the canal. The king gives the order to launch.
  As the Coaltongue comes out to into the bay, it is greeted by a resound-
  ing salvo of cannon fire. Landing harmlessly in the waters in front of 
  the Bosum Strand docks, the resounding “BOOM” sound can be heard 
  from most corners of the city. Borne immediately reacts to this by turn-
  ing towards the distant fleet and standing to his full height.
  From here, the fleet begins launching another barrage along with an 
  impressive pyrotechnical display of magic. The result looks like brilliant 
  fireworks crackling up in the sky during the ongoing downpour of rain. 
  This display is enough to fully captivate Borne, and the colossus begins 
  slowly walking towards the assembled fleet, stepping into water first as 
  deep as its knees, then its waist.
  The Battle Begins
  Action. Tactical. Level 9.
  The party engages the colossus in a naval combat that they cannot 
  hope to win, only endure.
  To quickly handle the naval combat, determine the Command score 
  of the captain, which is half his level plus the highest bonus among his 
  Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The colossus’s effective Com-
  mand score is +5. (We use the term “ship” here for the colossus because 
  it will behave mechanically like a ship.)
  Crew Roles.
  A character that is not acting as captain can be bosun, relaying orders 
  to the crew. Doing this adds the bosun’s Charisma modifier to the engi-
  neer’s check or the gunner’s attack roll.
  One character can be the engineer. The engineer makes a Knowledge 
  (architecture and engineering) check (DC 10), and adds 1 to the ship’s 
  speed or maneuverability per round if successful, plus 1 for every 10 
  points the roll succeeds by.
  A character can be gunner, perhaps ordering the crew to fire can-
  nons, aiming the ship’s brand, or casting spells through its capacitor. 
  The gunner rolls the ship’s attack and adds his Intelligence or Dexterity 
  modifier.
  Or a character can be the navigator. Once per round after the captain 
  makes a Command check, the navigator can make a Dexterity, Intel-
  ligence, or Wisdom check and choose to use his result in place of the 
  captain’s roll.
  Naval Rounds.
  Each naval round is five minutes. Actions occur simultaneously. Terrain 
  is roughly divided into stages each 500 feet across.
  Each round contains three phases—Location, Bearing, and Attack.
  location. Make opposed Command checks and add the ship’s Speed 
  rating. Reroll ties. The winner can decide to block the other ship from 
  moving, or move to an adjacent stage. If you succeed by 5 or more you 
  can also approach within close-combat range, or drive an enemy into an 
  adjacent stage and follow it.
  Bearing. Make opposed Command checks and add the ship’s Maneu-
  verability rating. If the Coaltongue wins, it gets to the colossus’s side, 
  and so the titan takes a –2 penalty to its attack roll this round. If the 
  Coaltongue succeeds by 5 or more, the colossus instead takes a –5 pen-
  alty. On a success by 10 or more, the Coaltongue can stay directly behind 
  the colossus, preventing it from counter-attacking.
  If the colossus wins, each side can attack as normal, since the 
  Coaltongue’s capacitor lets it fire in any arc.
  attack. Each side makes an attack roll, 1d20 + the ship’s attack bonus 
  vs. the target’s Defense. You gain a +5 bonus to attack at close-combat 
  range, and cannot attack if the target is in an adjacent stage. A hit in-
  flicts one strike, plus an additional strike for every 5 points the attack 
  succeeded.
  A strike against the colossus doesn’t actually cause notable damage, 
  but does draw its anger. It will always try to attack whichever vessel 
  last injured it, which keeps it from destroying the rest of the fleet (see 
  below).
  For a strike against the Coaltongue, roll 1d6:
  Result
  Location
  Effect
  1–2
  Hull Integrity
  Reduces Hull Integrity by 1 and kills 1d6 crew.
  At 0 Hull Integrity, the ship starts sinking. 
  3–4
  Propulsion
  First strike—reduce speed and maneuverability by 5. 
  Kills 2d6 crew.
  Second strike—ship is immobilized. Kills 6d6 crew.
  5–6
  Armaments
  Each strike disables either brand (forward arc) or 
  capacitor (others), kills 2d6 crew.
  If the Coaltongue falls beneath 132 crew, it takes a –5 penalty to either 
  Command checks or Attack rolls. If it falls beneath 104 crew, it takes 
  either a –10 penalty to one, or a –5 penalty to both.
  Borne, the Colossus
  Colossal Creature
  Hull Integrity special 
  Command +5
  Defense 35 
  Full Crew —
  Maneuverability 4 
  Minimum Crew —
  Speed 10 
  Total Complement —
  Design
  Height 300 ft. Reach 100 ft.
  Armaments
  The angered colossus strikes with fists as big as a house, or kicks through the water and 
  creates massive waves.
  Attack: +25 to the fore and broadsides. The colossus takes a –5 penalty to attacks 
  against targets that aren’t at close-combat range. It cannot attack targets in an adjacent 
  stage.
   
  Additionally, whenever it hits a ship, the witchoil fueling it leaves a residue, which 
  manifests monsters known as witchoil horrors.
  Because Someone Is 
  Going to Suggest It.
  If a ship rams the colossus, it doesn’t hurt the thing. If they blow up the 
  Coaltongue right next to it, they manage to injure the titan’s knee so it 
  limps for a bit, but it magically repairs itself over the course of a day.
  
  72
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Four: To Battle a Colossus
  R.N.S. Coaltongue 
  Level 26 Vehicle
  Gargantuan Vehicle 
  1,500,440 gp
  Hull Integrity 4 
  Command see page 71
  Defense 30 
  Full Crew 32 
  Maneuverability 8 
  Minimum Crew 4
  Speed 18 
  Total Complement 200
  Design
  Length 205 ft. Beam 50 ft. Two level central bridge. Steam engine with two propellers. 
  Five decks.
  Armaments
  Dozens of cannons fire to either broadside, but the ship’s greatest weapons are its 
  capacitor, which magnifies the spells of mages who cast from the main deck, and its 
  brand, which can launch a blast of arcane flame from the prow.
  Crew: 100. Attack: +25 in any firing arc. Can use acidic, chain shot, flaming, freezing, 
  and shocking attacks, but no more than one in any given round in a single firing arc.
  Eldritch Defenses
  The ship gains a +5 bonus to saving throws against the burning condition. Any spells 
  that originate more than 50 feet from the ship deal 26 less damage to targets within 
  that area. Teleportation cannot enter or leave the ship.
  Engaging in Combat.
  When the colossus first enters the harbor, it reaches out and grabs a 
  Risuri warship, the Avalanche. Simple curiosity causes it to lift the hun-
  dred foot ship halfway out of the water, which snaps the wooden vessel 
  in half in a stunning display of tossed bodies, exploding ammunition 
  stores, and splintered wood.
  The king curses and yells to keep the thing’s attention. Then he be-
  gins his ritual. A verdant green swoosh of magic energy reaches out from 
  the monarch to Borne. With the connection established, the colossus 
  takes note of the Coaltongue, but that alone is not enough to keep it from 
  destroying its other toys. At first it just wants to be left alone, but as it gets 
  attacked more and it begins to sense the king’s spell upon it growing dan-
  gerously strong, it starts roaring with anger and aggressively attacking.
  The other ships try to avoid the colossus, and whenever it starts to 
  go for one of the lesser vessels, the rest of the fleet fires to try to draw its 
  attention away. Each naval round, if the party did not inflict a strike on 
  the colossus the round before, the colossus tries to destroy another ship.
  To see if the rest of the fleet’s shots manage to distract the colossus, 
  have a PC roll 1d20 vs. DC 35, with a +2 bonus per surviving ship in the 
  fleet other than the Coaltongue. (The fleet starts with 12 ships, or 13 if 
  the Freux Rouge is present.) On a success, the fleet avoids harm. Other-
  wise, one of the ships is destroyed.
  The Horrors that Hitched a Ride.
  Whenever Borne strikes the Coaltongue, it leaves behind a witchoil resi-
  due that transforms into 1d3 witchoil horrors.
  If it gets into close combat, Borne creates violent waves that crash 
  alongside the side of the vessel. Everyone onboard must make a Reflex 
  save (DC 16) or be knocked prone. Along with the wave, two witchoil 
  monstrosities wash onto the deck.
  Either type of monster forces the party to enter normal tactical com-
  bat, which is concurrent with the naval combat. If left unchecked, each 
  round a horror kills 1 crewman and does 3 damage to King Aodhan; a 
  monstrosity also kills 1 crew, but does 6 damage to the king. The king 
  effectively has 200 hit points, and can be healed, but if reduces to 0 HP 
  he has to end the ritual and is unable to restart it.
  However, for every minute (or fraction thereof) a PC devotes to tacti-
  cal combat instead of aiding the ship, that PC takes a –2 penalty to any 
  checks or attack rolls he makes for the next naval round.
  If Borne has destroyed any other ships, scatter difficult terrain and 
  debris around the deck of the Coaltongue as the wreckage falls from the 
  titan’s hands and washes aboard.
  Witchoil Horror 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N Medium ooze
  Init +1 Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  Defense
  AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, )
  hp 18 (3d8+6);
  Fort +2, Ref +2, Will –5
  Immune negative energy, ooze traits;
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft., climb 20ft.
  Melee slam+5 (1d6+2 plus 1d6 negative energy)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 10
  Base Atk +3; CMB +15; CMD 23 (can’t be tripped)
  Skills Climb +7
  SQ Aura of Decay
  Special Abilities
  Witchoil Creature (Su) The Witchoil Horror is made up of spilt witchoil. This sub-
  stance gives the creature vulnerability to positive energy as though it were undead, 
  though negative energy will not heal it.
  Aura of Decay (Ex) For every full round (not including the first) that a witchoil horror 
  remains onboard the hull of the Coaltongue, reduce King Aodhan’s HP by 3.
  Witchoil Monstrosity 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  N Large ooze
  Init –2 Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 7, flat-footed 12 (–2 Dex, +5 natural, –1 size)
  hp 49 (7d8+21);
  Fort +6, Ref +1, Will –2
  Immune negative energy, ooze traits; SR 18 (against positive energy)
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft, climb 20 ft.
  Melee slam+11 (2d6+7 plus ability damage)
  Space 10ft.; Reach 5 ft.
  Special Attacks ability damage (1d4 strength, DC 15)
  Statistics
  Str 18, Dex 6, Con 16, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 10
  Base Atk +8; CMB +15; CMD 23 (can’t be tripped)
  Skills Climb +10
  SQ Aura of Decay
  Special Abilities
  Witchoil Creature (Su) The Witchoil Monstrosity is made up of spilt witchoil. This 
  substance gives the creature vulnerability to positive energy as though it were 
  undead, though negative energy will not heal it.
  Aura of Decay (Ex) For every full round (not including the first) that a witchoil mon-
  strosity remains onboard the hull of the Coaltongue, reduce King Aodhan’s HP by 6.
  
  73
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Four: To Battle a Colossus
  Potential Saves.
  As the combat progresses, the party might find themselves overwhelmed 
  by the witchoil creatures or the attacks of Borne. Use your best judg-
  ment to keep the tension high, and if your players are more interested in 
  the naval battle than facing the oozes, perhaps simply just require them 
  to kill one group, determine how much time it takes, and guesstimate 
  appropriate penalties for the party to take to their checks when more 
  monsters show up.
  If the party is in trouble, you can use one of the following saves.
  Harkover Lee conjures a powerful evocation, centered on the deck 
  * 
  of the Coaltongue, that burns away all the present witchoil crea-
  tures, but leaves him weakened and unable to keep casting spells.
  Captain Taylor’s ship the 
  * 
  Freux Rouge launches an all-out attack 
  against the colossus, scoring a strike that takes the attention off the 
  Coaltongue, but the colossus easily destroys the ship on its next 
  turn.
  A ship under the direction of Thames Grimsley swoops in and 
  * 
  picks up the king and other survivors if the Coaltongue does start 
  to go down.
  Ritual Complete.
  During the half-hour of desperate maneuvering to avoid the colossus’s 
  wrath, the rain overhead intensifies into a thunderstorm, and as King 
  Aodhan’s spell reaches its crescendo a green light swirls around the 
  colossus like a century of vines wrapped around an abandoned vehicle. 
  The colossus surges toward the king and party and raises its fists, but 
  then the light flashes and the colossus is simply gone. The sea heaves at 
  the sudden vacuum, but the storm abates, and air is filled with the fresh 
  scent of spring.
  Failure?
  If the party fails to protect the king, or if they are defeated, the colos-
  sus continues its rampage. The events of the next three adventures 
  will remain similar, since neither side can seize control of the colossus, 
  even while it is on this plane. But it causes great devastation, spending 
  a day tromping around Flint before the rising sun draws it east toward 
  Crisillyir.
  
  74
  Cauldron-Born
  Part Four: To Battle a Colossus
  Conclusion
  The king charges the party to ensure no disaster like this ever befalls their 
  nation.
  The city will be rebuilt, and the dead mourned. But first, the king 
  seeks the party’s counsel. As the damaged fleet returns to harbor, he sags 
  onto a seat and tells them that the colossus has been banished. It’s now in 
  the Dreaming, where he hopes it’s beyond the reach of the Obscurati.
  He intends to send messengers to the Unseen Court to ask for their aid 
  in keeping the machine from falling back into enemy hands, though he 
  worries the fey might view the sudden arrival of the colossus as an act of 
  war. Still, that’s an easier mission than the one he has for the party.
  Take time to heal, recover, and prepare, he insists. But once their 
  agents find a lead, the party will need to be ready to go anywhere at a mo-
  ment’s notice. Today he’s content to just have driven the colossus away, 
  but when they cross paths with it again, he wants this weapon for Risur. 
  He wants to know why the Obscurati were building it, and either how to 
  control it, or how to destroy it.
  The question he has for them, then, is what happens now between 
  Risur and Danor. If he tells his people this was an attack by Danor, it 
  will help with the rebuilding, and might be best for the security of the 
  nation. But it’s not quite true. He’s not sure his people will appreciate the 
  nuance of a multinational conspiracy that happens to be headed by the 
  Sovereign of Danor, even if not all of Danor is part of it.
  He gestures to the Freux Rouge, or its wreckage. By tomorrow, the 
  crew of that ship will either be heroes who helped Risur defend against 
  a mysterious new foe, or they’ll be enemies, doomed for prison and pos-
  sibly execution. He groans, feeling his age suddenly, and mentions that 
  he probably wouldn’t have agreed to be king if he’d known he’d have to 
  make decisions like this.
  Let the party offer their suggestions, and perhaps discuss the course 
  ahead, but soon the ship nears shore.
  Victory!
  The people of Flint line the shore, cheering and applauding for the he-
  roes that drove away the monster that attacked their city. As the party 
  sails close enough to be clearly viewed by the citizens, the king stands, 
  draws his sword, and asks the party to kneel. Then, with just a simple 
  proclamation that no one will ever hear but them, he touches his sword 
  to their shoulders and grants them each a knighthood.
  The crowd grows quiet at the scene, and then Aodhan tells them to 
  stand, and the applause can be heard across the city.
  Onward to Act Two.
  In Adventure Six, 
  * 
  Revelations from the Mouth of a Madman, the 
  party races against Lya Jierre to track down Tinker Oddcog, the 
  gnome Gearbuilder who knows all the secrets of the colossus’s de-
  sign. Tinker is hiding amid the savage tribes of Ber, and has several 
  monstrous defenders, but if the party finds him, the insane gnome 
  has slipped free of his geas and can provide a trove of information 
  about the Obscurati.
  In Adventure Seven, 
  * 
  Schism, a letter from Alexander Grappa, the 
  Mindmaker, invites the party to the capital of Drakr and explains 
  that he has taken up residence in the brain of Leone Quital, the 
  Steelshaper, and they are now struggling for control. The party 
  finds the Steelshaper in a vast railyard, and after defeating him 
  they can help Grappa take full control. The Mindmaker proposes a 
  daring mission: they must strike another Ob cell, take live captives, 
  and then slip their consciousnesses into those bodies so they can 
  infiltrate a grand conclave of the Obscurati.
  While undercover, the party learns that the colossus will be used 
  to manipulate the very nature of reality, to reshape the course of the 
  world. But the conspiracy is at odds with itself, split into two camps 
  with differing ideals. When the Ob’s leader Nicodemus launches a 
  purge, the party can find allies, information, and fabulous treasure 
  if they’re willing to risk getting killed in the crossfire.
  Having returned to their original bodies, in Adventure Eight, 
  * 
  Diaspora, the party explores the wild jungle of Elfaivar to find 
  Kasvarina. Asrabey has her convinced to help destroy the con-
  spiracy, and she is determined not to repeat the mistakes that led her 
  to villainy. The party recovers a high elf relic, the Crown of the Lost 
  Arc, which can reenact events from history. The party accompanies 
  Kasvarina on a journey across many nations, retracing the steps of 
  her lost memories and bringing them to life so she can reveal the 
  creation story of the Obscurati.
  The colossus follows their path, drawn by a connection to 
  Kasvarina, albeit hidden in the Dreaming. And the Obscurati 
  pursue them both, seeing in Kasvarina a chance to gain control 
  of the titan. The trek finally reaches the dread city of Methia, 
  which lies in a planar sink where no magic works. The colossus 
  simply steps into the real world, and an overwhelming force of the 
  Obscurati sweeps in to capture it and kill the party. But the Crown 
  can bring back the magic that once existed here, fully restoring 
  Kasvarina’s memories and giving the party a slim chance to escape.
  Finally in Adventure Nine, 
  * 
  The Last Starry Sky, the party rushes 
  back to Risur, having learned through Kasvarina that Governor 
  Stanfield is part of the Ob. The aasimar plans a coup, and will ac-
  tivate a massive version of the wayfarer’s lantern that will bring the 
  entire nation under the control of the conspiracy. The party likely 
  arrives too late to save the king, but he can pass along the mantle 
  to one of the PCs, bestowing on the party the power they need to 
  confront Stanfield.
  Breaking through the defenses at Flint’s governor’s mansion, 
  the party can try to destroy an eldritch machine manipulating the 
  fabric of reality as the stars themselves fall from the sky in silvery 
  shards. Even if the party manages to thwart Stanfield, though, they 
  learn that the Ob’s plot was enacted simultaneously across the entire 
  world. They may have saved one nation from becoming slaves of the 
  conspiracy, but the rest of civilization now lies in the hands of the 
  Obscurati. Only the highest-level heroes can now attempt to set the 
  world aright. +
  
  75
  This dossier is official correspondence of His Majesty 
  King Aodhan’s Royal Homeland Constabulary. By the 
  powers of his office, the king has sealed this document, 
  and any unauthorized individuals opening it shall come 
  to the attention of the RHC.
  Unapproved opening of this document is an offense 
  against the crown. Let those who transgress be struck 
  down, as established in the Rites of Rulership.
  Appendix A: 
  Briefing Dossier
  Peace Summit of 501 AOV
  In the Risur delegation.
  King Aodhan.
  * 
  Principal Minister Harkover Lee.
  * 
  Royal Engineer Geoff Massarde.
  * 
  Minister of Agriculture Kian Doherty.
  * 
  City Governor Roland Stanfield.
  * 
  And for the Danorans.
  Sovereign Han Jierre.
  * 
  Minister of Outsiders Lya Jierre.
  * 
  Minster of War Eloise Duffet.
  * 
  Minister of Magic Pierre Riquier.
  * 
  Naval Representative Rosalyn Taylor.
  * 
  And finally.
  Mediator Brakken of Heffanita.
  * 
  Drakran Observer Steffan Eberhardt.
  * 
  Spring 8. Mediator Brakken of Heffanita arrives from 
  Ber. Drakran observer Steffan Eberhardt is already in 
  town.
  Spring 9. Danoran vessel Freux Rouge arrives, carry-
  ing Captain Rosalyn Taylor and Minister of Magic Pierre 
  Riquier. For the Risur delegation, Geoff Massarde and 
  Kian Doherty arrive from Slate.
  Spring 13. At 6pm, Danoran vessel Lux Profectusque 
  arrives, carrying Sovereign Han Jierre, Minister of 
  Outsiders Lya Jierre, and Minister of War Eloise Duffet. 
  That evening a banquet involving all dignitaries and 
  begins the Peace Summit.
  Spring 14. King Aodhan and Sovereign Han Jierre hold 
  private talks.
  Spring 20. The talks are scheduled to end with a formal 
  declaration of betrothal between the King and Lya Jierre.
  Spring 22. The Sovereign and most of the delegation 
  will depart, while Lya Jierre will begin a nationwide 
  political tour. Life in Flint can return to normal.
  
  76
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix A: Briefing Dossier
  Persons of Note
  Examination of stolen financial documents reveal many 
  factories in Parity Lake changed ownership—we suspect by 
  intimidation—and were registered in the names of known 
  members of Kell’s guild. Strong certainty that Kell aided 
  Macbannin in smuggling various industrial goods to destination 
  unknown. 
  After Macbannin’s arrest, Kell’s guild apparently accompanied 
  agents of the Obscurati during the attack on the RHC 
  headquarters.
  PN12. “SteelShaPer.”
  * 
   Unnamed individual who aided PN8 Creed 
  to recover documents at an abandoned church in The Nettles. 
  Demonstrated ability to move and shape metal without obvious 
  spellcasting. Had a Crisillyiri accent.
  PN13.
  * 
   lady INSPectreSS Margaret Saxby. Former head of the 
  RHC in Flint. Apparently worked to help Macbannin maintain 
  secrecy, believing it was part of an official Risuri military 
  project. Appears to have no direct affiliation with the Obscurati.
  PN14. Kaja Stewart.
  * 
   (deceased) Arcanoscientist in Macbannin’s 
  laboratory who stole items identified as “Ancient Artifacts” 
  after Macbannin was captured. Worked with PN11 Kell to fence 
  these items. Dead through possibly faked suicide in cell at RHC 
  headquarters.
  PN15. caIuS bergeroN.
  * 
   Alleged patron of archaeology. Ac-
  cording to PN14 Kaja, Bergeron brought Ancient Artifacts to 
  Macbannin for examination, to determine their powers and 
  risk. Funded multiple expeditions to Ancient ruins. Killed via 
  exneuralation by Sijhen. Arranged bodyguards for PN3 Luc on 
  Avery Coast Railroad, apparently with intent to accompany to 
  Vendricce.
  PN16. SIjheN.
  * 
   Mysterious being, identified as a “Gidim.” See 
  attachment PN16a for details of Gidim. Entity sought to return 
  to its own plane. Believed dead or banished when its portal col-
  lapsed. No apparent affiliation with conspiracy.
  PN17. xaMbrIa MeredIth.
  * 
   Archaeologist who excavated location 
  identified as “Ancient High Bayou Ziggurat.” Recovered Ancient 
  Artifacts, which were delivered to PN15 Bergeron. Possessed by 
  PN16 Sijhen, and shared memories. Provided the name “Obscu-
  rati” to identify hostile conspiracy; we suspect the name was 
  gleaned from consumed brain of PN15.
  Hereafter labeled as PN#.
  PN1. daNoraN MINISter of outSIderS lya jIerre.
  * 
   Niece of 
  Sovereign Han Jierre. Witnessed at gathering of Obscurati in 
  Vendricce. Involvement unknown.
  PN2. NathaN jIerre.
  * 
   Cousin of Lya. Researcher at Axis Island, 
  accomplice of Duchess Ethelyn of Shale. Involved in extraplanar 
  observation.
  PN3. luc jIerre.
  * 
   Brother of Lya. Arcanoscientist, inventor of 
  artifact identified as “Wayfarer Lantern.” Delivered lantern to 
  Lya Jierre and PN5 in Vendricce.
  PN4. SovereIgN haN jIerre.
  * 
   Ruler of Danor. Involvement 
  unknown.
  PN5. “NIcodeMuS.”
  * 
   Unnamed individual smoking cigarettes (leaf 
  of Nicodemus) at gathering in Vendricce. Appeared to have a 
  leadership role.
  PN6. ducheSS ethelyN of Shale.
  * 
   Sister of King Aodhan. 
  Claimed skyseer vision warned of threat to Risur. Attempted 
  assassination of king. Attacked Axis Island. See attachment 
  PN6a.
  PN7. reed MacbaNNIN.
  * 
   (deceased) Mayor of Flint district of The 
  Nettles. Operated facility on Cauldron Hill refining substance 
  identified as “Witchoil.” Committed suicide in prison cell.
  PN8. cIllIaN creed.
  * 
   (deceased) Butler of Macbannin. Infused 
  with Bleak Gate magic, granting shadowy physical form. 
  Performed murder, organized smuggling operation, attempted 
  cover-up, and likely other criminal activities on behalf of 
  Macbannin.
  PN9. her MajeSty PrINceSS faIry duSt,
  * 
   haNa “gale” SolIogN. 
  High elf refugee from Danor. Hostile to Danoran industrial 
  activity in Flint. Unconfirmed role in murder and arson of 
  industrialists. Sent PN10 Nilasa on spy mission in Danoran 
  consulate in Flint.
  PN10.
  * 
   NIlaSa huMe. (deceased) Stole financial documents from 
  consulate, linking Macbannin to various criminal enterprises. 
  Murdered by PN8 Cillian Creed.
  PN11. hIS grace the duKe of Slaughter. lorcaN Kell.
  * 
   
  Crime lord in Flint district Parity Lake, with base of operations 
  in location identified as “Theater of Scoundrels.” Renowned for 
  violence and cruelty. 
  Attachment PN6a: Ethelyn’s Prophecy
  Duchess Ethelyn of Shale allegedly received this prophecy. It, along 
  with numerous other factors, motivated her treason against the crown.
  A globe spins on its axis, and a steel ship sets off to war 
  on a sail of shadows. The world passes into night, and black-
  ness grips all of Risur as the stars fall from the sky. The 
  king’s eyes turn a soulless white, and he moves as a puppet, his 
  strings pulled by a man who has already died a thousand times.
  Though we are wary of putting excessive stock in prophecy--if 
  for no other reason than the desire to avoid hubristically bringing its 
  predictions to pass in the course of trying to prevent them--we can 
  see some obvious parallels to current situations.
  The “axis” likely motivated Ethelyn to target Axis Island. Likewise the 
  “steel ship” suggests the R.N.S. Coaltongue, a prominent Risuri steel 
  warship. The “sail of shadows” could simply be the smoke from its 
  engine, or might be related to the Obscurati’s penchant for hiding, 
  particularly in the shadowy Bleak Gate. However, the ship has not set 
  off to war, and indeed the current peace plans will hopefully avoid 
  any imminent war.
  We see no obvious correlations in the rest of the prophecy. If it 
  is true, that suggests the events have not yet occurred. Stars falling 
  from the sky could relate to any number of meteor showers, or 
  perhaps the incursion from Gidim, a previously unknown world (see 
  Attachment PN16a), but this is only speculation.
  -- Royal Skyseer Cliff Swanland
  
  77
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix A: Briefing Dossier
  Obscurati Intelligence
  which likely would be used as fuel for whatever is being created.
  The Ob want it to remain secret, and have gone to elaborate 
  lengths to keep it so. 
  The Ob appear to have a base, and likely factory or assembly 
  facilities in the Bleak Gate, and possess means to travel between 
  that world and ours with relative ease.
  Section the Third: Wider Operations
  The Ob are interested in reaching or manipulating other planes. 
  It is possible PN15 Bergeron’s funding of Ancient expeditions is 
  merely tangential to their main activities, but PN3 Luc’s inven-
  tion, the Wayfarer Lantern, has the potential to influence planar 
  magic. Additionally, Axis Island had unusual planar fluctuations, 
  and PN2 Nathan was studying other stars.
  Section the Fourth: Goals
  Unfortunately, we lack enough information to present anything 
  but baseless speculation.
  Attachment PN16a: Gidim
    Creatures identified as “Gidim Warbeasts” appeared several times, apparently sum-
  moned from the planet Apet, also known as The Distant Plane. Apet is source of 
  teleportation and divination magic, and the incomplete silver ring that surrounds it 
  is source of foresight magic. Travel to plane was believed impossible, and no creatures 
  could be summoned from there.
    At Ancient High Bayou Ziggurat, a golden plate sealed a portal to a small pocket di-
  mension, which appeared to have originally been part of Apet before being sliced away. 
  Several creatures escaped, including PN16 Sijhen. Based on explanation from PN14 Xam-
  bria, the entity was not native to Apet, but rather from the planet/plane/star called 
  Gidim. Alternately, the creature’s race might just be called Gidim. We are operating 
  with dubious nomenclature.
    Sijhen, like the Gidim Warbeasts, existed primarily as manifested thought, with 
  ability to become solid. Our best guess is that they feed on thought or emotion, ei-
  ther indirectly—like plants requiring intangible sunlight—or physically. After PN16’s 
  arrival in Flint, numerous victims were reported having their brains removed through 
  the palates of their mouths. Apparently Sijhen acquired the knowledge of the minds it 
  ate. The warbeasts appear to have been lacking higher intelligence.
  Sijhen’s possession of PN17 might have been dependent on circumstances, or could be 
  trait of entire species.
    Entity attempted to open a portal to its homeworld, though no place called Gidim is 
  known to our skyseers or astronomers, and such travel would normally be impossible. It 
  acquired an ancient artifact known as “Ancient Star Map” which it appeared to use to 
  direct its portal. The possibility of an extraterrestrial race possessed of these pow-
  ers is greatly concerning, but is beyond the scope of this current investigation.
  Henceforth, by order of the king, all information about the Gidim is to remain secret, 
  and any previous statements are to be disavowed as a deception perpetrated by unknown 
  fey entities. Until further information is acquired, any additional incursions by the 
  Gidim should be kept hidden from the general public to avoid a mass panic.
  Ranyard Muldrate
  RHC Slate branch
  S.C.P. Division
  On behalf of Lord Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill
  Herein an overview of knowledge about the organization identi-
  fied as “Obscurati” by Person of Note 17 (Xambria Meredith).
  Section the First: Obscurati Organization
  The Ob (for short) appear to have a very strong focus on secrecy 
  and compartmentalization. It is possible they have other cells of 
  their organization that we are unaware of simply because the op-
  eratives we’ve interrogated were not privy to the full scope. Indeed, 
  given the conspiracy’s assets and international span, it seems likely 
  they are up to more than just operations in Flint.
  It is imperative that we trace the chain of command to its top 
  and then work our way down to lower tiers of other cells.
  Section the Second: Operations in Flint
  In Flint, we suspect PN12 Steelshaper convinced PN7 Macban-
  nin to work on a fake Risuri military project. Macbannin operated 
  in our world and helped smuggle materials, we suspect into the 
  Bleak Gate, which are likely being used to construct something that 
  requires a great industrial base. Macbannin also refined witchoil, 
  
  78
  Kaea 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Female elf wizard 4
  CN Medium Humanoid (elf)
  Init +2, Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
  hp 20 (4d6+4)
  Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5; +2 vs. enchantments
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee +1 quarterstaff +4 (1d6+2)
  Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 4th, concentration +4)
  2nd—scorching ray ×2, shatter (DC 17), blur
  1st—shocking grasp, shield, mage armor, burning hands ×2 (DC 16)
  0th—acid splash, ray of frost, light, spark
  Statistics
  Str 12, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 10
  Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
  Feats Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (Evocation)
  Skills Craft (painting) +7, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowl-
  edge (local) +10, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +9, Perception +5, 
  Sense Motive +1, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +4
  Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Orc
  SQ Bonded Object (+1 quarterstaff)
  Combat Gear +1 quarterstaff; Other Gear potion of aid, potion of cure light wounds, 
  scroll of identify
  Josiah 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male Human Gunslinger 4
  LN Medium Humanoid (human)
  Init +9, Senses Perception +9
  Defense
  AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge)
  hp 38 (4d10+8)
  Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +3;
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Ranged +1 musket +8 (1d12+1/×4)
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 13
  Base Atk +4; CMB +4; CMD 18
  Feats Gunsmithing, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload 
  (Musket)
  Skills Acrobatics +5 (+1 jump), Bluff +6, Climb –3, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +2, Fly +0, 
  Intimidate +6, Perception +9, Ride +0, Stealth +2, Swim –3
  Languages Common
  SQ Deed: Deadeye, Deed: Gunslinger Initiative, Deed: Gunslinger’s Dodge (+2 AC), 
  Deed: Pistol-Whip, Deed: Quick Clear, Deed: Utility Shot, Grit
  Combat Gear +1 musket, mwk chain shirt; Other Gear potion of invisibility, potion of 
  remove fear, potion of shield of faith +2
  Appendix B: 
  Allies and Back-Up
  Gaethan 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male half-elf fighter 4
  LG Medium humanoid (elf, human)
  Init +7, Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
  Defense
  AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +3 Dex)
  hp 34 (4d10+8)
  Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +1; +2 vs. enchantments
  Defensive Abilities bravery +1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Ranged +1 composite longbow +9 (1d8+3/×3)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
  Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 19
  Feats Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Skill Focus 
  (Diplomacy), Weapon Focus (Longbow)
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Diplomacy +2, Handle Animal +4, Heal +2, Perception +5, Sense 
  Motive +2, Stealth +6, Survival +5
  Languages Common, Elven
  SQ Elf Blood
  Combat Gear +1 composite longbow (Str +2), +1 studded leather armor; Other Gear 
  potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of fly
  Carlao 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male human cavalier 4 (See Pathfinder rPg® advanced Player’s guide™)
  LG Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +6
  Defense
  AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+8 armor, +2 shield)
  hp 41 (4d10+12)
  Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +4
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee +1 Longsword +8 (1d8+3/19–20)
  Special Attacks cavalier’s charge, dragon’s challenge
  Statistics
  Str 15 Dex 14, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
  Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 16
  Feats Iron Will, Outflank, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword)
  Skills Acrobatics –3, Climb –5, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist –5, Fly –5, Heal +3, 
  Knowledge (Local) +0, Knowledge (Religion) +0, Perception +6, Ride +0, Sense 
  Motive +7, Stealth –5, Swim –5
  Languages Common
  SQ Aid Allies, Animal Companion Link (Horse named Valiant not present), Expert 
  Trainer, Tactician
  Combat Gear +1 longsword, mwk half plate, mwk heavy steel shield; Other Gear 
  potion of cure moderate wounds
  
  79
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix B: Allies and Back-Up
  Dima 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male dwarf cleric 4
  LG Medium humanoid (Dwarf)
  Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
  Defense
  AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 19 (+7 armor, +3 shield, –1 Dex)
  hp 40 (4d8+16)
  Fort +7, Ref +0, Will +7
  Offense
  Speed 20 ft.,
  Melee mwk warhammer +4 (1d8/×3)
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 4th, concentration+5)
  2nd—sound burst (DC 15), cure moderate wounds, hold person (DC 15), zone of 
  truth
  1st—entropic shield, cause fear (DC 14), comprehend languages, detect evil, sanctu-
  ary (DC 14)
  0—create water, detect magic, resistance
  Statistics
  Str 10 Dex 8, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 12
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 12
  Feats Shield Focus, Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics –6, Climb –5, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist –6, Fly –6, Heal +7, 
  Knowledge (History) +7, Knowledge (Nature) +6, Knowledge (Religion) +7, Ride –6, 
  Spellcraft +5, Stealth –6, Swim –5
  Languages Celestial, Common, Dwarven
  SQ channel positive energy 2d6 (4/day)
  Combat Gear +1 chainmail, mwk heavy steel shield, mwk warhammer; Other Gear 
  scroll of cure serious wounds, wand of cure light wounds (20 charges)
  Serena 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Female human rogue 4
  CN Medium humanoid (Human)
  Init +8; Senses Perception +6
  Defense
  AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex)
  hp 24 (4d8+4);
  Fort +2, Ref +8, Will +0;
  Defensive Abilities evasion, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge
  Offense
  Speed 35 ft.
  Melee +1 rapier+8 (1d6+3/18–20)
  Special Attacks powerful sneak, sneak attack +2d6
  Statistics
  Str 14 Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19
  Feats Fleet, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Acrobatics +11, Bluff +7, Climb +8, Escape Artist +11, Intimidate +6, Knowledge 
  (Dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (Local) +7, Knowledge (Nobility) +4, Perception +6, 
  Sleight of Hand +11, Stealth +11
  Languages Common
  SQ surprise attacks, trapfinding +2
  Combat Gear +1 rapier, mwk studded leather; Other Gear belt of incredible dexterity 
  +2, potion of spider climb
  Allied Fey 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  CN Medium fey
  Init +1; Senses low-light vision, Perception –1
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+4 deflection, +1 Dex)
  hp 4 (1d6);
  Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee various –1 (1d6–1)
  Special Abilities fey powers
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 12
  Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 10
  Feats Ability Focus
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Bluff +5, Climb +3, Disguise +5, Perform (various) +5, Stealth +5
  Languages Primordial, Sylvan
  Fey Powers Each allied fey has one of the following abilities.
  Flight. The fey can fly at speed 30.
  Gremlin Tricks. Firearms hangfire when aimed at the fey. They go off immediately 
  if the attacker stops aiming at the gremlin; otherwise they fire one round after the 
  trigger is pulled. When the fey dies, the nearest mechanical device stops working 
  until repaired.
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1, DC 14): 1/hour—choose one: charm person, disguise 
  self, entangle, silent image, or sleep
  Wild Might. The fey is a tough fighter, and attacks at +3 (1d8+3).
  Allied Police Officer 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  Male human warrior 1
  LN Medium Humanoid (human)
  Init +1; Senses Perception –1
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +1 shield)
  hp 8 (1d10+2);
  Fort +3, Ref +1, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee longsword +1 (1d8 / 19–20)
  Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8 / 19–20)
  Statistics
  Str 11, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8
  Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 12
  Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
  Skills Climb +1, Insight +3, Ride +2
  Languages Common, Primordial
  
  80
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix B: Allies and Back-Up
  Allied Soldier 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human warrior 3
  LN Medium Humanoid (human)
  Init +1; Senses Perception –1
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +1 shield)
  hp 23 (3d10+6);
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee longsword +3 (1d8/19–20)
  Ranged light crossbow +4 (1d8/19–20)
  Statistics
  Str 11, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload
  Skills Climb +3, Stealth +2, Swim +3
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds, alchemist’s fire(3); Other Gear chain shirt, 
  buckler, longsword, light crossbow
  Asrabey Varal 
  CR 15
  XP 38,400
  Male Elf fighter 15
  CN Medium humanoid (elf)
  Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +13
  Defense
  AC 35, touch 16, flat-footed 31 (+12 armor, +2 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 natural, +5 shield)
  hp 162 (15d10+75)
  Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +8; +2 vs. enchantments, +4 vs. fear
  Defensive Abilities bravery +4
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee Vekeshi Blade +28/+23/+18 (1d8+14 /17–20 plus 1d6 fire)
  Special Attacks weapon training (heavy blades +3, light blades +2, thrown +1)
  Statistics
  Str 22, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8
  Base Atk +15; CMB +21; CMD 37
  Feats Cleave, Critical Focus, Great Cleave, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical 
  (longsword), Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Vital Strike, Iron 
  Will, Power Attack, Step Up, Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (longsword), 
  Weapon Specialization (longsword)
  Skills Acrobatics +12, Climb +17, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception 
  +13, Sense Motive +6, Swim +17; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception, +2 Spellcraft 
  identify magic item properties
  SQ armor training 4, elven magic, weapon familiarity
  Languages Common, Elven
  Other Gear amulet of natural armor +2, belt of physical perfection +4, cloak of smoke, 
  glamered plate, lion shield, slippers of spider climbing
  High Level Equipment.
  Below are the listed rules for all equipment wielded by the Dreadnought 
  Asrabey Varal. Take note that the equipment presented here is meant for 
  GM reference only, and PCs should not be expected to acquire this gear 
  under any circumstance. Should Asrabey fall, the Unseen Court demand 
  his gear be returned to them.
  Vekeshi Blade.
  Normally a +3 flaming longsword, the Vekeshi Blade wielded by Asrabey 
  Varal is a potent artifact of the Unseen Court. The wielder of the Veke-
  shi Blade can transform the weapon into a whip-like form that has 15-ft. 
  reach and can be used to make trip attacks, but which still deals dam-
  age as a longsword. The blade shifts and reverts as a free action at the 
  wielder’s control.
  Lion Shield.
  A specially crafted +3 heavy wooden shield, the Lion Shield can also be 
  loosed to attack on its own. It fights for 4 rounds using the base attack 
  bonus of the one who loosed it and then drops. For combat purposes, 
  the Lion Shield is treated as having a 2d6 damage bite attack with the 
  Grab special rule (CMB equals the CMB of the wielder). While attacking, 
  it cannot make attacks of opportunity, and the person who activated it is 
  not considered as having the shield equipped. The shield is considered 
  wielded or attended by the creature for all maneuvers and effects that 
  target items. While attacking, the shield shares the same space as the ac-
  tivating character and can attack adjacent foes. The shield accompanies 
  the person who activated it everywhere, whether she moves by physical 
  or magical means. If the wielder who loosed it has an unoccupied hand, 
  she can grasp it while it is attacking on its own as a free action; when so 
  retrieved, the shield can’t dance (attack on its own) again for 4 rounds.
  Cloak of Smoke.
  An ornate cloak from the lands of the Unseen Court, this cloak fills the air 
  around the wearer with a constant roil of smoke, causing enemies to take 
  a 20% miss chance due to concealment. The wearer can see through the 
  smoke without trouble, and can dismiss or invoke the smoke as a free 
  action. In addition the wearer receives a +2 deflection bonus to AC.
  Glamered Plate.
  Woven of a distilled essence made from stories of warriors dodging 
  deadly blows, this cloth tunic protects its wearer as well as +3 full plate, 
  but does not hinder his movements or skills.
  
  81
  U
  se these stats to assemble encounters if the party picks a fight with Lorcan Kell’s guild.
  Guild Leaders
  Special Abilities
  *Machete. Kell does not gain medium or heavy armor or shield proficiency, nor the 
  armor training or bravery class features. Instead he gains the Critical Focus feat for 
  free, and qualifies for Critical Focus feats as if his attack bonus were 5 higher.
   
  Additionally, Kell fights primarily with machetes, one-handed martial weapons 
  that deal 1d6 slashing or piercing damage and have a crit range of 18–20/×2.
  Critical Focus (Ex) When Kell scores a critical hit, he can choose to blind the target 
  permanently (Fort DC 20 reduces to dazzled for 1d4 rounds) or, if he’s using a 
  machete, he can impale the target.
   
  While the target is impaled, whenever it starts its turn it takes 1d6 damage (or 
  3d6 if Kell is using his +1 human-bane machete against a human). Kell can remove 
  the weapon as an immediate action, or the target can remove it as a move action. 
  Removing the weapon deals another 1d6 damage (again, 3d6 against humans). If the 
  target moves outside Kell’s reach, he can pull the weapon out as a free action, or let 
  go of the weapon so it remains stuck in the target.
  Greater Grapple (Ex) Kell can maintain a grapple as a move action and make two 
  grapple checks (to move, harm, or pin an opponent) per round. As an immediate ac-
  tion he can use someone he’s grappling as cover against a single attack. If the attack 
  misses him, the attack targets the creature used as cover, using the same attack roll.
  Gatecrasher Charm (Sp) This one-use token can be crushed as a standard action to 
  transport its holder most of the way into the Bleak Gate. The person so transported 
  has five minutes to be pulled through fully by the magic of an Obscurati wand, or 
  else he will return to the real world. This travel is dangerous. When activated (and 
  again if he’s pulled back to the real world), the traveler takes 5d6 necrotic damage.
  Figurine of Wondrous Power—Mechanical Carriage (Su) When activated, this 
  two-inch figurine grows to a full-sized armored carriage. Instead of being drawn 
  by horses, though, it is pulled by mechanical horse legs that churn along at up to 
  twenty miles per hour, but only over fairly even terrain. It fits up to six people, plus 
  two atop the “driver’s seat,” but the carriage goes where directed by the figurine’s 
  owner, without actually needing a driver. The owner can see whatever is ahead or 
  slightly to the side of the carriage as long as he holds the figurine, allowing him to 
  steer it. Otherwise, the carriage follows general directions but swerves or stops to 
  avoid hazards.
  Appendix C: 
  Kell-Guild Stats
  Lorcan Kell 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Male Human Fighter (Machete*) 10
  N Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception +2
  Defense
  AC 22, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+6 armor, +2 Dex, +2 deflection, +2 natural armor)
  hp 80 (10d10+20)
  Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +7
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee +1 human-bane machete +20/+15 (1d6+10, crit 15–20/×2); +22/+17 and 3d6+12 
  damage against humans
  Melee Mwk kukri +19/+14 (1d4+8, crit 18–20/×2)
  Melee Dual wield machete +18/+13 and kukri +17
  Ranged Mwk dagger +15/+10 (1d4+8, crit 19–20/×2, increment 10 ft.)
  Special Attacks Critical Focus, Greater Grapple
  Statistics
  Str 22, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14
  Base Atk +10; CMB +16 (+20 Grapple); CMD 28 (30 vs. Grapple)
  Feats Blinding Critical, Body Shield, Critical Focus, Greater Grapple, Impaling Critical, 
  Improved Critical (machete), Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Quick 
  Draw, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (machete), Weapon Specialization 
  (machete)
  Skills Intimidate +15, Knowledge (local) +11, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +12
  Languages Common, Bad Common, Primordial
  SQ Weapon Training (light blades +2, heavy blades +1)
  Combat Gear 3 potions of cure serious wounds; Other Gear belt of giant strength +4, 
  ring of protection +2, top-hat of mental superiority (+2 Int/Wis/Cha), genteel coat 
  of resistance +2 (as cloak) with a +2 mithral shirt lining, +1 human-bane machete, 1 
  mwk machete, 2 mwk kukris, 6 mwk daggers, mwk sword cane, 10 mwk shuriken, 
  gatecrasher charm, figurine of wondrous power—mechanical carriage
  
  82
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix C: Kell-Guild Stats
  Rufus Hammerton 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male human fighter 2/rogue 3
  CE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +7
  Defense
  AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 light shield, +3 Dex)
  hp 37 (2d10+3d8+5)
  Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +0
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+4 (1d6+2/19–20) and short-sword +4 (1d6+1/19–20)
  Ranged thrown alchemical+7 (varies)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6
  SQ expert leaper
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +4; CMB +6 (+8 to grapple); CMD 19 (21 vs. grapple)
  Feats Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-
  Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (short sword)
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +6, Climb +9, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +9, Knowledge 
  (local) +8, Perception +7, Stealth +10
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear studded leather armor, 2 short swords, 2 alchemist’s fire, 2 tanglefoot bags
  Special Abilities
  Expert Leaper (Ex) Rufus always has a running start for jump checks. When he delib-
  erately falls, a DC 15 Acrobatics check allows him to ignore the first 20 feet fallen.
  Nick Reder  
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male human monk (martial artist) 1/fighter 4
  CE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+9 armor, +1 Dex)
  hp 39 (1d8+4d10+1d8+5)
  Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +3
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee unarmed strike +8 (1d8+4), or flurry +7/+7 (1d8+4)
  Ranged thrown alchemical+6 (varies), or musket +6 (1d12/×4)
  Special Attacks stunning fist (2/day, DC 12)
  Statistics
  Str 18, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8
  Base Atk +4; CMB +8 (+10 to grapple or trip); CMD 20 (22 vs. grapple or trip)
  Feats Binding Throw, Combat Expertise, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Improved 
  Unarmed Strike, Ki Throw, Stunning Fist
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +4, Climb +9, Perception +8, Stealth +10; ACP –6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear full plate armor, musket, 20 bullets, 2 tanglefoot bags
  Special Abilities
  Full Metal Monk (Ex) If Nick is caught unprepared without his armor, his AC is only 
  12, but his speed is 30 ft., he doesn’t suffer the –6 armor check penalty to Acrobat-
  ics, Climb, or Stealth, and he can use flurry of blows.
  Tactics Nick will throw a foe then hold them down while dislocating their shoulders 
  until they submit. This is a trip attack, a ki throw, and then a grapple attempt (the 
  grapple attempt is a swift action.) Thereafter Nick makes grapple checks to hold the 
  target and deal unarmed strike damage.
  Kate Glenn 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Female human cleric 5
  CE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +3
  Defense
  AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +1 Dex, +1 shield)
  hp 26 (5d8)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +7
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee mwk mace +4 (1d6); or nonlethal pain smite mace +4 (1d6+3 plus intimidate)
  Ranged broken pistol +2 (1d8–2)
  Special Attacks channel negative energy 5/day (DC 16, 3d6)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th) Trickery and Destruction (torture) domains
  Copycat (6/day)—Move action, create an illusory duplicate like mirror image for 5 
  rounds or until destroyed. 
  Painful Smite (6/day)—melee attack does nonlethal, +3 damage, then make 
  Intimidate check to demoralize with bonus equal to damage dealt.
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 5th, concentration +8)
  3rd—dispel magic, magical circle against law, nondetection
  2nd—hold person ×2 (DC 15), invisibility, remove paralysis
  1st—cure light wounds ×4, disguise self
  0th—detect magic, light, purify food and drink, stabilize
  Statistics
  Str 10, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Combat Casting, Improved Channel, Skill Focus (Intimidate)
  Skills Appraise +5, Bluff +6, Intimidate +10, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +3
  Languages Common, Primordial
  SQ Evil cleric’s aura
  Combat Gear breastplate, light shield, mwk mace, wand of rope trick (8 charges), 
  broken pistol w/10 bullets, wand of invisibility (6 charges).
  Quentin Augst 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human expert 3
  NE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1, Senses Perception +1
  Defense
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex)
  hp 17 (3d8)
  Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4
  OFfense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +1 (1d4–1)
  Ranged alchemist fire +3 touch (1d6 fire and 1 splash, 1d6 fire next round)
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 14
  Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
  Feats Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Profession (criminal lieutenant)), Skill Focus (Use 
  Magic Device)
  Skills Appraise +9, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (history) +9, 
  Knowledge (local) +9, Profession (lawyer) +7, Profession (criminal lieutenant) +10, 
  Sense Motive +7, Use Magic Device +11
  Languages Common, Dwarf, Giant, Primordial
  Combat Gear dagger, three alchemist fire flasks, wand of charm person (10 charges).
  
  83
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix C: Kell-Guild Stats
  Lesser Thugs
  Kell-Guild Technologist 
  CR 3
  XP 400
  Male human rogue 4
  N Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +3, Senses Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
  hp 14 (4d6)
  Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +2
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+3 (1d6–1/19–20)
  Ranged musket +6 (1d12/×4), or gadgets +6 (varied)
  SA sneak attack +2d6
  SQ evasion, uncanny dodge
  Statistics
  Str 8, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12
  Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 15
  Feats Point-Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Weapon Proficiency (musket)
  Skills Acrobatics +9, Disable Device +9, Disguise +8, Handle Animal +8, Knowledge 
  (arcane) +9, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Perception +8, Ride +10, Spellcraft +9, 
  Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +8
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear musket, 20 bullets, short sword, time bomb launcher with 2 bombs, tranq 
  drill-dart gun with 2 drill-darts.
  Special Abilities
  Time Bomb Launcher (Ex) This musket-like device shoots a fist-sized projectile with 
  four prongs that dig into a solid surface. When it attaches, it arms and begins ticking 
  loudly once per second. After one round it begins ticking twice as fast, and after 
  two rounds it ticks four times per second. At the end of the third round the bomb 
  explodes, dealing 10d6 damage (Reflex DC 16 half) in a 20-ft. radius.
   
  Before it explodes, the explosive can be detached with a Strength check (DC 20), 
  and the countdown can be stopped with a Disable Device check (DC 25).
   
  The maximum effective range it can be shot is 40 feet. If it hits flesh it bounces off 
  and does not arm. The timer can be manually set as a standard action, and can be 
  set to anywhere from 3 rounds to 10 rounds.
  Tranq Drill-Dart Gun (Ex) This musket-like device fires an arrow-like device that can 
  embed in a person or object. If it hits an object like a door a spool inside the device 
  activates a drill that bores a narrow hole through surfaces up to three inches deep. 
  One round later, the device sprays gas through the hole.
   
  The drill-dart releases enough gas to fill up to a 10-ft. cube with tranquilizing 
  gas. Each round a creature is in the gas it must make a Fortitude save (DC 16) or take 
  1d2 Charisma damage. The gas can be cleared out by opening a window, but that of 
  course is the goal of the gadget: to force targets to remove their cover.
   
  If the dart hits a person it deals 1d6 damage but it cannot get enough purchase to 
  drill.
  Kell-Guild Musketeer 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 2
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception –1
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 13 (2d10+2)
  Fort +4, Ref +2, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+4 (1d6+2/19–20)
  Ranged musket +5 (1d12/×4)
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
  Feats Far Shot, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Reload, Weapon Focus (musket)
  Skills Acrobatics +3, Intimidate +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear musket, 20 bullets, studded leather armor, short sword
  Kell-Guild Pistoleer 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 1/rogue 1
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2, Senses Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 17 (1d10+1d8+2)
  Fort +3, Ref +4, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+3 (1d6+2/19–20)
  Ranged broken pistol+1 (1d8–1/×2)
  Special Attacks improved grapple, sneak attack +1d6, strangler
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +1; CMB +3 (+5 to grapple); CMD 15 (17 vs. grapple)
  Feats Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Strangler
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff +6, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +6, Perception +4, Stealth +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear broken pistol, 10 bullets, studded leather armor, short sword
  Special Abilities
  Strangler (Ex) When he maintains a grapple, the Kell Guild pistoleer deals 1d6 sneak 
  attack damage to the grappled target.
  
  84
  Cauldron-Born
  Appendix C: Kell-Guild Stats
  Kell-Guild Scoundrel 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male human fighter 1/rogue 1
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +4
  Defense
  AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 light shield, +2 Dex)
  hp 17 (1d10+1d8+2)
  Fort +2, Ref +4, Will –1
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee short sword+1 (1d6+2/19–20) and short-sword +1 (1d6+1/19–20)
  Ranged thrown alchemical+3 (varies)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
  Statistics
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12
  Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15
  Feats Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (short sword)
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff +6, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +6, Perception +4, Stealth 
  +6
  Languages Common, Primordial
  Other Gear studded leather armor, 2 short swords, 2 vials alchemist fire, 2 tanglefoot 
  bags
  Bull Dog 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  N Small Animal
  Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
  Defense
  AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+1 armor, +1 natural)
  hp 6 (1d8+2)
  Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1
  Offense
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee bite +2 (1d4+1 plus grab)
  Statistics
  Str 13, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 11 (15 vs. trip)
  Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
  Skills Acrobatics +1 (+9 jumping), Perception +8, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking)
  Bleak Amulet
  This rusted amulet bears no special inscription or embellishment, only a pressed circle 
  of brass.
  Aura faint (transmutation)
  Slot neck; Weight -; Price 1,000gp.
  Description
  This amulet has no effect while worn on any plane but the Bleak Gate. When worn 
  in the Bleak Gate, the wearer receives a +1 bonus to natural armor, a +2 bonus on all 
  saving throws, and a +1 bonus on all attack and damage rolls.
   
  The amulet can only hold back the power of the shadowy plane for a limited time. 
  After 24 hours the amulet crumbles to dust. Alternately, the amulet can be used once 
  to re-roll any single dice roll while the wearer is in the Bleak Gate, after which the 
  amulet crumbles to dust immediately.
  Dale Assault
  Meditation makes everything cooler.
  Training
  Requirement
  Characters with the Martial Scientist theme who spend time training with Captain 
  Dale can learn this ability. Alternatively, researching his infamous thesis, Meditation, 
  Coffee and Cherry Pie: Unorthodox Salves Against the Supernatural, can learn this 
  technique.
  Description
  If you have enjoyed a filling and pleasant meal in the past day, you can spend a move 
  action to gain a calm reflection as if you were meditating. While so relaxed, when you 
  would be affected by any fear effect, delay its onset by one round.
   
  You can end this trance to make a feint attempt as a free action against one target 
  in range. If the target is an Aberration, Dragon, Fey, Magical Beast, Outsider, or 
  Undead, you gain a +4 bonus on the attempt.
  Appendix D: 
  Magic Items
  
  85
  Taking Down Kell’s Guild
  Location and Transaction.
  Scouted Location
  Defenders
  Defeated?
  Scouted Location
  Defenders
  Defeated?
  Transaction Tracker.
  Scouted Transaction
  Defenders
  Defeated?
  Maximum three strikes from illicit transactions.
  Day Tracker.
  Officers
  Moles
  TFTs
  Strikes
  Spring 9
  Spring 10
  Spring 11
  Spring 12
  Assault Tracker.
  Base Defenders
  Trait
  Current Defenders
  Defeated?
  Grand Suites
  30
  Tunnels—1d6 reinforcements per day
  Casa de Kell
  22
  Trapped. Disable Device (DC 17) to avoid 1d8 deaths.
  Machete Hill
  21 or 25 w/Rufus
  Cannons kill 2d6 attackers if not successfully scouted.
  Theater of Scoundrels
  100–(20 per defeated stronghold)
  Kell Tracker.
  Strikes
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  Hide
  Feint
  Flee
  Appendix E: 
  GM Quick Reference
  
  86
  Cauldron-Born
  GM Quick Reference
  Timeline
  I
  n between scripted the scenes the party will likely be working to find Kell, Ekossigan, or the eschatologists. 
   Scenes that involve the B-Team are marked with an asterisk to help you keep track of when to switch over to them.
  Spring 8.
  afternoon.
  * 
   The party meets with King Aodhan. Asrabey embroils the party in the search for Ekossigan.
  *afternoon.
  * 
   The B-Team picks up Brakken, and eschatologist snipers strike.
  Spring 9.
  Morning. 
  * 
  The party and B-Team examine the broken golem. A letter from Vlendam Heid arrives, as does an invitation from Captain Dale. 
  The party takes command of the task force to capture Kell.
  Spring 10.
  Morning. 
  * 
  Asrabey asks the party to take him to Gale.
  *evening. 
  * 
  The B-Team escorts Brakken to the club Sunset Bench, one of Kell’s fronts.
  late night. 
  * 
  An eschatologist ship full of monsters arrives.
  Spring 11.
  *Morning. 
  * 
  Brakken and the B-Team witness a paranoid mob in the Cloudwood.
  evening. 
  * 
  An opera gives the party a chance to nab Kell’s lawyer.
  Spring 12.
  Morning. 
  * 
  Zubov leads the eschatologist attack on the subrail station.
  evening. 
  * 
  At sunset paranoia in the Cloudwood leads a mob to murder the mayor.
  late night. 
  * 
  Ekossigan performs his ritual sacrifice just before midnight.
  Spring 13.
  Pre-dawn. 
  * 
  Kell leaves his hideout, giving the party a chance to take him down.
  afternoon. 
  * 
  Han Jierre and his niece Lya arrive.
  evening. 
  * 
  Opening dinner of the peace summit.
  Midnight. 
  * 
  The king will be able to send the party to the Bleak Gate if they have not already found a way.
  
  87
  Cauldron-Born
  GM Quick Reference
  NPC Quick Reference
  alexander graPPa. Mind mage. Addled memories, geas to keep Ob-
  scurati secrets. Golem body has no mouth. Possesses great aplomb. 
  Desires Ob downfall. Apologetic he can’t help more.
  aodhan. Aged king, still full of vitality. Cool-headed, favors rational 
  persuasion to combat. Gladly spares a few moments to talk about 
  personal issues with those he meets. Physically feels the emotions 
  of nearby fey.
  asraBey. High elf warrior of unmatched prowess. Flaming sword. 
  Animated lion shield. Cloak of smoke. Despises Danorans. Honor-
  able, duty-focused. Doesn’t talk about self, but is fanatically loyal 
  to Kasvarina. He is one of her many husbands.
  Brakken. Minotaur mediator. Telepath, with obedient pet dire bear. 
  Uses psychic powers to help high-stakes peace negotiations. En-
  joys making strangers become friends. Likes to sight-see. 
  ekossigan. Fey lord of the seasons. Arrows redirect nearby him. 
  Invisible body. Wears a wooden mask. Devoted to maintaining 
  proper order and rhythm in nature and culture. Gets flustered if 
  interrupted while talking.
  grundun ZuBov. Beardless, white-haired dwarf with a pipe made of 
  ice. Wants to see this corrupt world end. Willing to die to help that 
  happen. Only talks to give orders, except when someone who re-
  ally understands his philosophy challenges it. Then he gets angry.
  han Jierre. Joyless leader of Danor, who orders horrible acts that he 
  might create a better world for others. Easily separates his sympa-
  thetic personal beliefs from his political persona, which is erudite, 
  polite, and often cutting. 
  hana “gale” soliogn. High elf with wind magic, favored by Ekos-
  sigan to gain storm magic. Was owned by a Danoran family. Has 
  chip on shoulder against technology and industry. Unwilling to 
  help Ekossigan murder people. Refined, but cautious.
  harkover lee. King’s magical advisor/bodyguard. Straight-backed. 
  Never eats. Beran accent.
  kasvarina varal. High elf matriarch, suffering from near-total am-
  nesia, unaware of her own power.
  kvarti gorBatiy. Dwarf sniper. Has made his peace, but still is 
  boisterous and talkative. Pays people compliments easily. Has rifle 
  made of a giant’s bone, carved with infernal letters.
  leone quital. Flamboyant steelshaper. Acts cultured, appreciates 
  fine food, wine, and music, but has a vicious short temper. Eager to 
  please Obscurati so he’ll be brought into the fold.
  lorcan kell. Leader of thieves’ guild. Ugly face. Fancy clothes and 
  top hat. Lots of hidden knives. Not too clever. Is brutally intimi-
  dating figurehead, while his minions run his guild.
  lya Jierre. Tiefling martial scientist. Ambitious. Haughty but 
  friendly. Progressive. Wants peace. Arcano-technological vorpal 
  rapier.
  morgan ciPPiano. Leads Flint branch of Family. Bald. Gravelly 
  voice. Talks fashion. Wants Kell out; will “trade favors.” Gathers 
  info for the Clergy, but won’t talk about his role.
  quentin augst. Physically unimposing, monocle. Convinced money 
  can solve anything, and is more important than anything. Doesn’t 
  really like his kids. Exasperated that things are going wrong.
  roland stanfield. Aasimar. Constant expression of contented opti-
  mism. Perfect politician’s smile. Old war wound in his lower back.
  stover delft. Party’s boss. Chews tobacco. Cane. Spits. Good-
  natured.
  
  88
  Cauldron-Born
  Player Handout
  A Fancy Invitation.
  You Are Invited
   to the Risur-Danor
  Peace Summit
  Opening Dinner
  Save This Envelope
  Guest of Lya Jierre of Danor 
  Minister of Outsiders
  
  89
  Cauldron-Born
  Player Handout
  Bad Boys, Bad Boys.
  Targets.
  Front. Guild-affiliated business. Low resistance.
  den of thieves. Guild hang-out. Medium resistance.
  Illicit transaction. Major scheduled crime. Medium resistance.
  Stronghold. One of three well-defended compounds within the city. 
  High resistance.
  theater of Scoundrels. The guild’s seat of power in eastern Parity 
  Lake. Very high resistance.
  Missions.
  You can trade in a Task Force Token before a mission to get +2 to your 
  roll for that mission.
  case a district. Diplomacy or Knowledge (local). Look for fronts, 
  dens, and transactions in one district. Success reveals 1 or more items of 
  interest. Minimum officers 2. Optimal 6.
  Scout. Perception. Choose a known location and find out about it, in-
  cluding number of defenders. Minimum officers 1. Optimal 3.
  Bust up a Joint. Intimidate. Go into a Front or a Den of Thieves to 
  look for information. Success earns 1 TFT at a front, or 2 TFTs at a den 
  of thieves. Minimum officers is equal to number of defenders. Optimal 
  is three times that many.
  Sting. Intimidate. Swoop in during an Illicit Transaction. Success 
  earns 1 Strike and 1 TFT. As above, you want three times number of 
  defenders, but you cannot scout for a sting, so be careful.
  assault. Attack a stronghold to earn 1 Strike. Attack the Theater of 
  Scoundrels to earn 3 Strikes.
  Task Force Tracking.
  Enter numbers or hash marks below to keep track of how many officers 
  you have available, how you deploy them each day, and how successful 
  you are.
  Spring 9
  Spring 10
  Spring 11
  Spring 12
  Final
  Available
  Officers
  Additional Resources
  Total Manpower
  Deployed
  Case a District
  Scout
  Bust Up a Joint
  Sting
  Assault
  Results
  TFTs Acquired
  TFTs Expended
  TFTs Remaining
  Strikes Acquired
  Casualties
  Remaining Officers
  Strikes Total
  Goal.
  Dismantle Kell’s guild and force him into the open, then take him down. 
  To do this, send the 50 police officers of your task force on missions 
  to acquire leads, take out Kell’s support, and eventually attack his 
  strongholds.
  Kell’s seat of power is the Theater of Scoundrels, in the district Parity 
  Lake. He’s known to have three lesser strongholds: a fancy tower called 
  Grand Suites, and a mansion dubbed Casa de Kell, both in Parity Lake; 
  and a gated compound called Machete Hill in The Nettles.
  The guild likely has affairs in other districts. The districts of Flint 
  include Bosum Strand, Central, North Shore, Parity Lake, Pine Island, 
  Stray River, The Ayres, and The Nettles.
  Mechanics.
  Each officer can perform one mission per day, and you have four days, 
  from Spring 9 to Spring 12. You can call in favors for additional aid, and 
  can go on missions yourself, but each mission you join takes 4 hours of 
  your time, and there are other matters that need attending.
  For each mission, choose how many men to send and which district 
  to send them to, then roll the officers’ skill check. If you accompany, use 
  your skill modifier instead. This check determines success or failure.
  The GM may call for an additional check to avoid a mishap. For in-
  stance, the Scout mission requires Perception to see how many thugs 
  are at a location. The GM might ask for a Stealth check to keep the thugs 
  from spotting the surveillance officers and attacking.
  Each mission has a Minimum Officer entry and an Optimal Officer 
  entry. Take a –5 penalty to the check for less than optimal, or –10 for less 
  than minimum.
  Successful missions can acquire task Force tokens (TFTs) and 
  Strikes. TFTs help on later missions, and Strikes erode the guild’s co-
  hesion. Failure wastes time and might cause casualties.
  
  90
  Cauldron-Born
  Player Handout
  Epistle from Heid
  I, Vlendam Heid, son of Anisim Heid, son of Modya Bohm, dictate this 
  letter to professional typist Kimsta Vicked, who uses only the finest 
  Zhugo-brand mecha-typographs. It was delivered by Trekhom-based Mori 
  Couriers.
  May you have the wisdom and calm to face your coming end.
  I send this in hopes it can help you prepare for whatever end may befall 
  you. While I accept not all who are exposed to my writings and speeches 
  shall interpret them as I would desire, it does not surprise me that some 
  radicals claim the name of this movement I inspired and pervert it to ends 
  inimical to my intentions, and to what I believe any good citizen of this 
  world, man or dwarf, would support.
  There is, in the frigid north of Drakr, a dwarf woman named Grandis 
  Komanov whom I cannot in good faith call a philosopher. Rather she is, 
  if I may use a pejorative term, a spiritual leader. One of Komanov’s adher-
  ents came to me this evening and in a most vulgar fashion bragged of what 
  one of his peers would be doing in your city of Flint. I believe he thought I 
  would show him approval, but his intentions—and moreover his enthusi-
  asm for the methods—repulsed me.
  Komanov has taken the volumes of writing I have produced, condensed 
  them to a simple aphorism “Prepare for the end,” and then encouraged 
  an interpretation that more closely resembles “Make things end.” You 
  may not be familiar with my nation’s old history of monsters in the fro-
  zen wastes, but we are always putting up with zealots who derive worldly 
  power by preying on the beliefs of those seeking spiritual power from these 
  long-perished entities. Komanov continues this tradition, but appears 
  much more invested in the fiction she has produced.
  In short, my visitor this night claims a group of Komanov’s followers—
  who alas have several days’ head start on this letter—head now to Flint 
  with the intention of disrupting your peace summit and causing a great 
  tide of mayhem and death. They think peace between your two nations will 
  forestall a doomsday they greatly desire.
  I feigned interest in my visitor’s claims, and elicited two pieces of infor-
  mation you might value. First, the leader of this group is Grundun Zubov 
  who is not known to me. Second, they have hired a crack marksman for 
  reasons I can only guess, one Kvarti Gorbatiy. His name kindled some rec-
  ognition, and I pored through old correspondence to find a letter he had 
  written me a few months past. Unless his demeanor has greatly changed 
  in the intervening time, I suspect his involvement is mercenary and not 
  philosophically aligned with Komanov’s radicalism.
  While I assume you will pursue actions to obviate any disaster they in-
  tend, I entreat you first to prepare yourself that your best efforts may fail 
  and that you might perish in undertaking your duty. Nevertheless, I wish 
  you success.
  
  91
  Cauldron-Born
  Open Game License 1.0a
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc 
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards 
  of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wiz-
  ards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, 
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by 
  E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo 
  Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based 
  on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and 
  Skip Williams.
  Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide. Copy-
  right 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason 
  Buhlman.
  Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat. Copyright 2011, 
  Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, 
  Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Ja-
  son Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K 
  Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.
  Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic. Copyright 2011, Paizo 
  Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim 
  Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason 
  Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K 
  Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.
  Zeitgeist Players’ Guide. Copyright 2011, EN Publishing; 
  Author: Ryan Nock.
  Zeitgeist Campaign Guide. Copyright 2011, EN Publish-
  ing; Author: Ryan Nock.
  Cauldron-Born. Copyright 2012, EN Publishing; Au-
  thor: Thurston Hillman.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/3rd Party/EN Publishing/Zeitgeist/#05 ~ Cauldron-Born.pdf