Adventures in a Doomed World: Session 31

I'm playing a mashup of Scarlet Heroes and Basic Fantasy RPG with a few supplements to turn it into a solo fantasy hexcrawl in the world of Eilobar, a doomed land entering its end times. I'm using the Level 0 Character Tumbler, Hexcrawl Adventures, Mythic GME 2nd Edition and some homebrew rules. The characters started as level 0 peasants and have since levelled up to become heroes.

Introduction

Last time the party met with Thiri the dwarven scholar in Seethorpe and gave him the goblin king's amulet with its strage sigil. He was certain it was the symbol of a powerfully evil creature related to the Nine Kings of Hell, and sent them looking for clues in the demonic temple near the town.

The Adventure

Stilda, Cyna, Bryne and Ellyn set off on horseback into the hills northeast of Seethorpe. They spend an uneventful day travelling, but along the way Bryne warns the others, "I've read about the Three Scourges in books you know. I don't think you should be so dismissive of what Thiri was saying."

"I'm sure a lot of weird stuff happened back in the Age of Heroes," Cyna says, "But this is the modern world. There's us and there's mindless monsters that roam the hills, and that's it. There's nothing more to it."

"I'm not so sure." Ellyn, the other mage says. "Something happened to the Elves back then. Something bad enough that it destroyed their homeland and scattered them all over the world. There could be something to the stories."

The next morning they can see the temple down in a valley. There doesn't seem to be any activity around it, so they approach slowly on the horses and then tie them to a tree nearby. The temple looms over them, built from large rough-cut grey stones too big to be carried by any man. It looks utilitarian but with something slightly off about it - the angles look wrong, with strange choices made in the design.

Let's roll up some details for it using Scarlet Heroes. For size we get 1D10+10 locations: That's 11. For threat adjustment I roll a 5: They'll send for help. Your first expedition is at a threat equal to the PCs' level (9 in total). Any further expeditions are at Threat+1D4. I've made the encounter tables for the dungeon using Scarlet Heroes' system of minions, elites, mages, bosses and civilians.

The heroes climb some steps, approach the large wooden door and open it. Inside is a large stone room filled with rubbish and bones. Lit by torches, it is devoid of furniture. They start sifting through the junk on the floor just in case there's something there. There is, but will anyone find it?

Bryne makes a check (Difficulty 12)

10 +2 Int = 12. Success!

Bryne notices something green and shiny among the rubbish. It's a malachite worth 50GP, so she picks it up. There's a door in the north wall. Stilda opens it and they enter the next room. This is a wide hall about 80 feet long with straw strewn around the floor and a stone altar at the north end. Hanging above the altar is a large banner, the now familiar demonic sigil painted on it.

The party doesn't have time to dwell on that though - there are several strange creatures in here apparently praying to the sigil, the likes of which the heroes have never seen. Four barechested men are prostrating themselves down in the straw near the altar. They get to their feet and bizarrely, one has the head of a mouse, one some kind of ape, and one a green parakeet! The fourth one looks human, and he has the dead stare of some kind of brainwashed fanatic.

Off to one side two wolves are sitting in the straw alongside two odd looking creatures the size of babies. Humanoid in appearance, they have red leathery skin, wings and a tail with what looks like a sharp stinger at the end. Within moments, Stilda is over the shock and shouts "Charge!".

The two fighters rush at the wolves and imps. Bryne casts Sleep as fast as she can. As luck would have it, all the creatures in the room drop to the floor except the parakeet-headed beastman. Ellyn is up next but she waits to see what the strange monster does.

The beastman needs to make a morale check. It passes. The beastman starts squawking madly and pulls out a shortsword. It runs towards Stilda.

Just before it reaches her Stilda takes a step forward and slashes wide with her longsword, cutting it across its chest, and it falls to the floor dead. The heroes walk through the room stabbing and braining the sleeping monsters one by one until none remain (525 XP). Cyna approaches the altar and finds several offerings atop it: 60 gold pieces, a bronze amethyst bracelet worth 300GP and a copper bangle with a section made of obsidian worth 60GP. Not a bad haul. They collect up these treasures, dividing them between them and look to a door in the west wall.

Going through, they find a much smaller room lit by candles, with one door in the corner of the west wall. In the centre is a small dais with a roughly made wooden box on it. There are numerous small offerings in front of it, like flowers, teeth and other bits of detritus collected from the wilderness. "It looks like they're keeping something important in there." Ellyn says. She approaches the box and opens it. This room is a relic chamber.

What is in the box?

Empty, fancy.

The inside of the box is lined with red velvet, in contrast to its rough exterior. Nothing sits upon this lining though, whatever important item was stored here has been removed. Ellyn closes the box. The party has now explored three of eleven locations in the temple.