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  Editing and Layout: Encoded Designs
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  D&D Adventurers League Wizards Team: Adam Lee, Chris Lindsay, Matt Sernett 
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  Claire Hoffman, Greg Marks, Alan Patrick
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  A ScreAm in 
  the night
  M. SEAn MOLLEy
  Adventure Designer
  Adventure Code: CORE 1-1
  Melvaunt is a city of merchants and metalsmiths. The docks are constantly 
  filled with ships from Hillsfar, Mulmaster, and more distant ports. The 
  northern coast of the Moonsea is an inhospitable place, and its people 
  have a reputation for being rough and unfriendly. But they don’t go around 
  murdering one another in the streets. At least, not usually. 
  Was that a scream you just heard? Part One of The Chaos in Melvaunt.
  A four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters
  
  2
  the D&D Adventurers League
  This adventure is official for D&D Adventurers 
  League play. The D&D Adventurers League is the 
  official organized play system for DUNGEONS & 
  DRAGONS®. Players can create characters and 
  participate in any adventure allowed as a part of 
  the D&D Adventurers League. As they adventure, 
  players track their characters’ experience, treasure, 
  and other rewards, and can take those characters 
  through other adventures that continues their story. 
   
  If you’re running this adventure as a part of a 
  store event or at certain conventions, you’ll need a 
  DCI number. This number is your official Wizards of 
  the Coast organized play identifier. If you don’t have 
  a number, you can obtain one at a store event. Check 
  with your organizer for details. 
   
  D&D Adventurers League play is broken up into 
  storyline seasons. When players create characters, 
  they attach those characters to a storyline season, 
  which determines what rules they’re allowed to 
  use to create and advance their characters. Players 
  can continue to play their characters after the 
  storyline season has finished, possibly participating 
  in a second or third storyline with those same 
  characters. A character’s level is the only limitation 
  for adventure play. A player cannot use a character 
  of a level higher or lower than the level range of a 
  D&D Adventurers League adventure. 
   
  For more information on playing, running 
  games as a Dungeon Master, and organizing games 
  for the D&D Adventurers League, please visit the 
  D&D Adventurers League home at:
  www.dndadventurersleague.org
  Preparing the Adventure
   
  Before you show up to Dungeon Master this 
  adventure for a group of players, you should do the 
  following to prepare.
  • Make sure to have a copy of the most current 
  version of the D&D Basic Rules or the Player’s 
  Handbook. 
  • Read through the adventure, taking notes 
  of anything you’d like to highlight or remind 
  yourself while running the adventure, such as a 
  way you’d like to portray an NPC or a tactic you’d 
  like to use in a combat. 
  • Get familiar with the monster statistics in the 
  Appendix. 
  • Gather together any resources you’d like to 
  use to aid you in running this adventure--such 
  as notecards, a DM screen, miniatures, and 
  battlemaps. 
  • If you know the composition of the group 
  beforehand, you can make adjustments as noted 
  throughout the adventure. 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  introDuction
  Welcome to A Scream in the night, a D&D Adventurers 
  League adventure, Part one of the chaos in melvaunt trilogy
  This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st-4th level characters, and is optimized 
  for five 1st-level characters. The adventure is set in the Moonsea region of the 
  Forgotten Realms, in the city of Melvaunt.
  “We adore chaos because we love to produce order.”
  — M. C. Escher
  
  3
  Before Play at the table
   
  Ask the players to provide you with relevant 
  character information:
  • Character name and level 
  • Character race and class 
  • Passive Wisdom (Perception)—the most 
  common passive ability check 
  • Anything notable as specified by the adventure 
  (such as backgrounds, traits, flaws, etc.) 
  Players that have characters outside the 
  adventure’s level range cannot participate in 
  the adventure with those characters. Players 
  with ineligible characters can make a new 1st-level 
  character or use a pregenerated character. Players 
  can play an adventure they previously played or 
  ran as a Dungeon Master, but not with the same 
  character. 
   
  Ensure that each player has an official 
  adventure logsheet for his or her character (if not, 
  get one from the organizer). The player fills out 
  the adventure name, session number, date, and 
  your name and DCI number. In addition, the player 
  also fills in the starting values for experience, gold, 
  downtime, renown, and number of permanent 
  magic items. He or she fill in the other values and 
  write notes at the conclusion of the session. Each 
  player is responsible for maintaining an accurate 
  logsheet. 
   
  If you have time, you can do a quick scan of 
  a player’s character sheet to ensure that nothing 
  looks out of order. If you see magic items of very 
  high rarities or strange arrays of ability scores, you 
  can ask players to provide documentation for the 
  irregularities. If they cannot, feel free to restrict 
  item use or ask them to use a standard ability 
  score array. Point players to the D&D Adventurers 
  League Player’s Guide for reference. 
   
  If players wish to spend downtime days and 
  it’s the beginning of an adventure or episode, 
  they can declare their activity and spend the days 
  now. Alternatively, they can do so at the end of 
  the adventure or episode. Players should select 
  their characters’ spells and other daily options 
  prior to the start of the adventure, unless the 
  adventure specifies otherwise. Feel free to reread 
  the adventure description to help give players hints 
  about what they might face.
  Adjusting the Adventure
   
  Throughout this adventure, you may see sidebars 
  to help make adjustments for smaller/larger 
  groups, and characters of higher/lower levels than 
  the optimized group.  Most of the time, this is used 
  for combat encounters.
   
  You may adjust the adventure beyond the 
  guidelines given. For example, if you’re playing 
  with a group of inexperienced players, you might 
  want to make the adventure a little easier; for 
  very experienced players, you may want to make 
  it a little harder.  Therefore, five categories of 
  party strength have been created for you to use 
  as a guide. Feel free to use a different adjustment 
  during the adventure if the recommended party 
  strength feels off for the group.
   
  This adventure is optimized for a party of 
  five 1th-level characters. To figure out whether 
  you need to adjust the adventure, do the following:
  • Add up the total levels of all the characters
  • Divide the total by the number of characters
  • Round fractions of .5 or greater up; round 
  fractions of less than .5 down
  You’ve now determined the average party level 
  (APL) for the adventure.  To figure out the party 
  strength for the adventure, consult the following 
  table:
  Party Composition
  3-4 characters, APL less than
  3-4 characters, APL equivalent
  3-4 characters, APL greater than
  5 characters, APL less than
  5 characters, APL equivalent
  5 characters, APL greater than
  6-7 characters, APL less than
  6-7 characters, APL equivalent
  6-7 characters, APL greater than
  Determining PArty Strength
  Party Strength
  Very Weak
  Weak
  Average
  Weak
  Average
  Strong
  Average
  Strong
  Very Strong
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  4
  running the Adventure
   
  As the Dungeon Master of the session, you have the 
  most important role in facilitating the enjoyment 
  of the game for the players. You help guide the 
  narrative and bring the words on these pages 
  to life. The outcome of a fun game session often 
  creates stories that live well beyond the play at the 
  table. Always follow this golden rule when you DM 
  for a group: 
   
  Make decisions and adjudications that 
  enhance the fun of the adventure when 
  possible. 
   
  To reinforce this golden rule, keep in mind the 
  following:
  • You are empowered to make adjustments to 
  the adventure and make decisions about how the 
  group interacts with the world of this adventure. 
  Doing so is especially important and applicable 
  outside of combat, but feel free to adjust the 
  adventure for groups that are having too easy or 
  too hard of a time. 
  • Don’t make the adventure too easy or too 
  difficult for a group. Never being challenged 
  makes for a boring game and being 
  overwhelmed makes for a frustrating one. 
  Gauge the experience of the players (not the 
  characters) with the game, try to feel out (or 
  ask) what they like in a game, and attempt to 
  give each of them the experience they’re after 
  when they play D&D. Give everyone a chance to 
  shine. 
  • Be mindful of pacing, and keep the game 
  session moving along appropriately. Watch for 
  stalling, since play loses momentum when this 
  happens. At the same time, make sure that the 
  players don’t finish too early; provide them with 
  a full play experience. Try to be aware of running 
  long or short. Adjust the pacing accordingly 
  • Read-aloud text is just a suggestion; feel free 
  to modify the text as you see fit, especially when 
  dialogue is present. 
  • Give the players appropriate hints so they can 
  make informed choices about how to proceed. 
  Players should be given clues and hints when 
  appropriate so they can tackle puzzles, combat, 
  and interactions without getting frustrated over 
  lack of information. Doing so helps to encourage 
  immersion in the adventure and gives players 
  “little victories” for figuring out good choices 
  from clues. 
  In short, being the DM isn’t about following 
  the adventure’s text word-for-word; it’s about 
  facilitating a fun, challenging game environment 
  for the players. The Dungeon Master’s Guide™ has 
  more information on the art of running a D&D 
  game.
  Downtime and Lifestyle
   
  At the beginning of each play session, players must 
  declare whether or not they are spending any days 
  of downtime. The player records the downtime 
  spent on the adventure logsheet. The following 
  options are available to players during downtime 
  (see the D&D basic rules or the D&D Adventurers 
  League Player’s Guide for more information):
  • Catching up
  • Crafting (exception: multiple characters cannot 
  commit to crafting a single item) 
  • Practicing a profession 
  • Recuperating 
  • Spellcasting services 
  • Training
  Other downtime options might be available during 
  adventures or unlocked through play, including 
  faction-specific activities. 
   
  In addition, whenever a character spends 
  downtime days, that character also spends the 
  requisite expense for his or her lifestyle. Costs 
  are per day, so a character that spends ten days 
  of downtime also spends ten days of expenses 
  maintaining his or her lifestyle. Some downtime 
  activities help with lifestyle expenses or add 
  lifestyle expenses.
  Spellcasting Services
   
  Any settlement the size of a town or larger can 
  provide some spellcasting services. Characters 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  5
  need to be able to travel to the settlement to obtain 
  these services.
   
  Spell services generally available include 
  healing and recovery spells, as well as information-
  gathering spells. Other spell services might be 
  available as specified in the adventure. The number 
  of spells available to be cast as a service is limited 
  to a maximum of three per day total, unless 
  otherwise noted.
  SPellCASting ServiCeS 
  Spell   
   
   
  Cost 
  Cure wounds (1st level)   
  10 gp 
  Identify   
   
   
  20 gp 
  Lesser restoration  
   
  40 gp 
  Prayer of healing (2nd level)  
  40 gp 
  Remove curse  
   
   
  90 gp 
  Speak with dead  
   
  90 gp 
  Divination  
   
   
  210 gp 
  Greater restoration  
   
  450 gp 
  Raise dead  
   
   
  1,250 gp
  Acolyte Background 
  A character possessing the acolyte 
  background requesting spellcasting 
  services at a temple of his or her faith 
  may request one spell per day from the 
  Spellcasting Services table for free. The 
  only cost paid for the spell is the base price 
  for the consumed material component, if 
  any. 
   
  Melvaunt is a large city where any 
  acolyte can find a friendly shrine or temple.
  Disease, Death, and recovery
   
  Sometimes bad things happen, and characters get 
  poisoned, diseased, or are killed. Since you might 
  not have the same characters return from session 
  to session, here are the rules when bad things 
  happen to characters.
  Disease, Poison, and Other Debilitating Effects
  A character still affected by diseases, poisons, 
  and other similar effects at the conclusion of an 
  adventure can spend downtime days recuperating 
  until such time as he or she resolves the effect to 
  its conclusion (see the recuperating activity in the 
  D&D Basic Rules). 
   
  If a character doesn’t resolve the effect 
  between sessions, that character begins the next 
  session still affected by the debilitating effect. 
  Death 
  A character who is killed during the course of 
  the adventure has a few options at the end of the 
  session (or whenever arriving back in civilization) 
  if no one in the adventuring party has immediate 
  access to a raise dead or revivify spell, or similar 
  magic. A character subject to a raise dead spell is 
  affected negatively until all long rests have been 
  completed during an adventure. Alternatively, each 
  downtime day spent after raise dead reduces the 
  penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability 
  checks by 1, in addition to any other benefits the 
  downtime activity might provide. 
   
  Create a new 1st-level Character. If the dead 
  character is unwilling or unable to exercise any 
  of the other options, the player creates a new 
  character. The new character does not have any 
  items or rewards possessed by the dead character. 
   
  Dead Character Pays for raise Dead. If the 
  character’s body is recoverable (it’s not missing 
  any vital organs and is mostly whole) and the 
  player would like the character to be returned to 
  life, the party can take the body back to civilization 
  and use the dead character’s funds to pay for a 
  raise dead spell. A raise dead spell cast in this 
  manner costs the character 1,250 gp. 
   
  Character’s Party Pays for raise Dead. As 
  above, except that some or all of the 1,250 gp for 
  the raise dead spell is paid for by the party at the 
  end of the session. Other characters are under no 
  obligation to spend their funds to bring back a 
  dead party member.
   
  Faction Charity. If the character is of level 1 to 
  4 and a member of a faction, the dead character’s 
  body can be returned to civilization and a patron 
  from the faction ensures that he or she receives a 
  raise dead spell. However, any character invoking 
  this charity forfeits all experience and rewards 
  from that session (both those earned prior to and 
  after death during that session) and cannot replay 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  6
  that episode or adventure with that character 
  again. Once a character reaches 5th level, this 
  option is no longer available.
  Adventure Background
  Melvaunt is a city of merchants and craftsmen 
  on the northern coast of the Moonsea. The open 
  market at the center of the city boasts a selection 
  of goods as impressive as anything found in 
  Waterdeep or Amn, with a particular focus on 
  metalwork. Between the sacking of Zhentil Keep 
  and the recent troubles in its two biggest rival 
  cities of Mulmaster and Hillsfar, Melvaunt has been 
  relatively undisturbed for a number of years.
   
  Modrons are creatures of absolute law and 
  order. They are native to the plane of Mechanus, 
  where they tend its eternal gears and follow the 
  dictates of Primus. However, one group of modrons 
  have recently gone rogue after they were exposed 
  to an influx of pure chaos energy. Under the malign 
  direction of this chaotic impulse, the modron 
  hierarchy has decided to invade Melvaunt. Unlike 
  the Great Modron March, which happens every 
  289 years and is a reconnaissance mission, these 
  rogue modrons are planning to conquer or destroy 
  the city. They have constructed a portal from 
  Mechanus and are readying their invasion force.
   
  C1e7i5 is a quadrone, a mid-ranking modron. 
  Quadrones are typically used as officers in the 
  modron armies, since both their physiology and 
  their moderate intelligence make them suitable to 
  a variety of combat roles. C1e7i5, like all modrons, 
  is accustomed to obeying orders it receives from 
  those above it in the hierarchy. It has diligently 
  been preparing to play its part in the upcoming 
  invasion of Melvaunt just like every other modron. 
  However, the chaos energy warped C1e7i5 a little 
  bit more than the others. C1e7i5 gained strange 
  new abilities and, most disturbingly, it gained… 
  ideas. Normally a modron that evolves beyond 
  its rank would be destroyed, but the hive mind is 
  currently malfunctioning in a variety of ways due 
  to the chaos that has overtaken the modrons.
   
  C1e7i5 has independently decided that its 
  proper role in the modron hierarchy is to bring 
  about the war between Mechanus and Melvaunt by 
  leading the attack. To this end, the modron entered 
  Melvaunt through the portal and is killing people. 
  However, its modron instincts for law and order 
  cannot be completely suppressed, even under the 
  influence of chaos. It is incapable of simply walking 
  into the town square and randomly slaughtering 
  people. C1e7i5 has therefore constructed an 
  elaborate (but in its mind, entirely logical) series of 
  puzzles and riddles identifying a series of people 
  it intends to murder. C1e7i5’s plan is to carry 
  out these killings, leading the city watch from 
  murder scene to murder scene before racing back 
  to the portal to Mechanus with the city guard of 
  Melvaunt in hot pursuit. The portal only opens at 
  specific days and times, so the entire sequence is 
  choreographed such that C1e7i5 and its pursuers 
  should arrive at just the right moment. Once the 
  rest of the modrons see a group of armed humans 
  enter Mechanus, the war must surely begin and 
  C1e7i5 will have fulfilled its purpose to perfection, 
  which is all any modron really wants.
   
  C1e7i5 surreptitiously delivered a note to 
  the Melvaunt City Watch earlier this evening 
  identifying the time and place of its first planned 
  killing. (Modrons are readily identifiable creatures, 
  but quadrones are bipedal, so a cloaked and 
  hooded C1e7i5 is able to move around during the 
  night hours unnoticed as long as nobody studies it 
  too closely.) 
   
  Unfortunately, the overworked sergeant on 
  duty, Eledstra, did not discover the note until a 
  few minutes before the appointed time. Eledstra 
  solved the puzzle hidden in the text, realized to her 
  horror what was about to happen, commandeered 
  a detachment of city guards, and is frantically 
  racing across Melvaunt. Eledstra cannot get to the 
  scene in time to stop C1e7i5 from carrying out the 
  first murder. Coincidentally, the player characters 
  happen to be in the area, and this is where the 
  adventure begins.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  7
  Playing the Adventures Out of Order
  The Chaos in Melvaunt trilogy is best 
  experienced in the published sequential 
  order. However, there is no real harm in 
  playing them out of order. The adventures 
  do take place in chronological sequence 
  (1-1 followed by 1-2 followed by 1-3). 
  Therefore, the easiest way to deal with the 
  situation if some or all of the characters 
  have already played either 1-2 or 1-3 
  is simply to say that this adventure is a 
  flashback for those characters. Here are a 
  few points to consider:
  • Those who have already played one 
  or both of the later adventures know 
  that the killer is a modron; take these 
  players aside and ask them not to 
  spoil the secret for the other players 
  at the table. If anyone reveals this fact 
  in character during the adventure, the 
  NPCs react with disbelief – and in any 
  case, what matters is stopping the killer, 
  not who the killer is.
  • Characters who have favors of 
  Sergeant Eledstra or other Melvaunt 
  NPCs earned in the later adventures 
  cannot use those benefits in this 
  adventure.
  Beyond that, there shouldn’t be any 
  information in the later adventures that 
  would compromise anyone’s experience of 
  playing this adventure.
  overview
  This adventure is divided into a brief introduction, 
  five encounters, and a conclusion. 
   
  introduction. The characters are on the streets 
  of Melvaunt at night when they hear the sounds of 
  a fight from a nearby alley.
   
  encounter 1 (Combat). A group of sailors 
  are brawling in the alley behind a seedy tavern. 
  The adventurers may choose to intervene or not, 
  as they see fit. C1e7i5 instigated the brawl as a 
  distraction to cover its first murder, which takes 
  place down the opposite alley. The characters are 
  unable to prevent this murder, but they hear the 
  victim’s scream. When they (presumably) go to 
  investigate, they find a body, but are ambushed 
  by strange constructs before they can investigate 
  further. 
   
  encounter 2 (roleplaying/investigation). 
  As the characters examine the body of the 
  murder victim, Sergeant Eledstra arrives with a 
  detachment of guards. They received a mysterious 
  note at their patrol station telling them that a 
  murder was to take place in this very spot – and 
  here are the adventurers, standing over a dead 
  body! 
   
  It isn’t difficult for the characters to explain 
  what really happened (especially with the sailors 
  as potential witnesses, albeit drunken and 
  unreliable ones). The constable is a sincere woman 
  who wishes to prevent any further bloodshed. A 
  note on the victim’s body gives a clue as to who 
  the next target is. The killer has promised to 
  strike every hour on the hour, so there’s no time 
  for bureaucratic niceties. Eledstra authorizes the 
  adventurers to carry out an investigation and 
  apprehend the perpetrator (dead or alive, but alive 
  preferred).
   
  encounter 3 (exploration/Combat). 
  Depending on how successful the characters were 
  at deciphering the cryptic note, they may know the 
  full identity of the next victim, or they may only 
  know that they are looking for a blacksmith. The 
  marketplace of Melvaunt is home to the city’s best 
  smiths and metalworkers. Although the market 
  is far more active during the day than at night, 
  commerce never stops, so there are more than a 
  few people in the market. The adventurers must 
  search the area as quickly as possible to locate the 
  next victim. 
   
  C1e7i5 stages another ruse to try and 
  draw attention away from its target. A gnomish 
  artificer’s constructs suddenly break free of their 
  owner’s control and begin rampaging through 
  the area. During the commotion, the killer strikes, 
  this time from range. Whether the characters are 
  able to save the blacksmith or not, they find the 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  8
  next note on the end of the crossbow bolt (likely 
  embedded in someone). 
   
  encounter 4 (exploration/Combat). C1e7i5’s 
  third and final note leads the adventurers to the 
  temple of Loviatar where the rogue modron has 
  targeted a priestess. The characters’ first challenge 
  is convincing the self-sufficient and haughty 
  priestess that she needs their protection in the 
  first place. Depending on how this conversation 
  goes, the characters may be able to stand guard 
  inside the temple, or they may be forced to remain 
  outside and keep watch as best they can. 
   
  C1e7i5 can fly, so it comes in over the rooftops. 
  The chaotic power infused into C1e7i5 gives it 
  the ability to open up small dimensional rifts, 
  through which it pulls some allies. In response, 
  the priestess summons devils to her defense. 
  These creatures make no distinction between the 
  adventurers and the assassin, leading to a chaotic 
  fight. Once it is convinced that the characters will 
  pursue, C1e7i5 flees, flying over the rooftops of the 
  city with the adventurers in hot pursuit. 
   
  encounter 5 (Combat/Chase Scene). As 
  C1e7i5 races across the darkened rooftops of the 
  city, it continues to tear open small planar rifts, 
  which spill out obstacles and monsters to slow the 
  characters down. This scene takes the form of a 
  series of vignettes rather than a single drawn-out 
  tactical encounter. 
   
  The chase ends when the killer reaches the end 
  of the docks, where a lighthouse called the Finger 
  of the Gods shines its light across the Moonsea. 
  Just when it seems the adventurers have cornered 
  their adversary, a much larger portal appears, 
  and C1e7i5 prepares to step through. Through 
  the portal the characters can see what looks like a 
  plane of whirling gears and other machinery. Any 
  characters who were able to keep up during the 
  chase scene have one chance to attack.
   
  Conclusion. C1e7i5 escapes through the portal 
  but the characters’ efforts are not entirely in vain, 
  as it loses control at the last moment and the portal 
  slams shut, shearing off part of the killer’s body. 
  Instead of the expected bloodstain, the characters 
  discover that the severed limb is actually made 
  of metal! This evidence combined with the portal 
  apparently leading to Mechanus suggests that 
  they have been pursuing a modron – a most 
  unusual identity for a serial killer. Unfortunately, 
  the characters do not have the ability to reopen 
  the portal themselves, so they have no choice but 
  to return to Eledstra. This leads into the events of 
  CORE 1-2 A Cog in the Wheel. 
  Adventure hook
  The characters are in Melvaunt for reasons of 
  their own devising. Potential hooks include the 
  following:
  • There is always work for sellswords in 
  Melvaunt. The northern Moonsea is a dangerous 
  place. Merchant ships and overland caravans 
  have a constant need for guards. The characters 
  might have recently arrived in the city and 
  completed their last assignment, or they might 
  have come here looking for employment.
  • Melvaunt has one of the largest open markets 
  in this part of the world. As the saying goes, “If it 
  isn’t for sale in Melvaunt, you don’t want to buy 
  it!” A character could have come here seeking a 
  rare item to buy, or in hopes of locating a buyer 
  for a particular item of their own.
  • Some of the finest blacksmiths and 
  metalworkers in all Faerun ply their trade in 
  Melvaunt. A character might be looking for a rare 
  ore, an unusual special material like adamantine, 
  or a renowned crafter, either to have a specific 
  item made or in hopes of studying their 
  technique.
  • Within the last few years, major troubles have 
  hit the cities of Phlan, Mulmaster, and Hillsfar, 
  all of which are reasonably close to Melvaunt. 
  The adventurers may have come here looking for 
  family members, friends, or others who fled the 
  unrest in those cities. Melvaunt has been largely 
  unaffected by the turmoil in the Moonsea region, 
  making it a relatively safe place for refugees.
  • Because it is a major trade hub, all sorts 
  of information and material passes through 
  Melvaunt. The city’s authorities have a very 
  hands-off attitude when it comes to “legal” 
  versus “illegal” trade, up to and including slavery. 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  9
  The characters might have been sent here at 
  the behest of their faction leaders to check on 
  specific rumors, seek out certain items, or look 
  for missing people. Zhentarim characters in 
  particular might be interested in the ruins of 
  Zhentil Keep, which are not far from Melvaunt.
  introduction
  Regardless of why they are in Melvaunt, the 
  characters find themselves exiting the Winking 
  Narwhal, a tavern near the docks. If time permits, 
  you can improvise a full scene where the 
  adventurers are introduced to one another inside 
  the tavern, or they might simply all have decided to 
  leave the tavern at the same time to head back to 
  their individual lodgings in the city. 
   
  If any of the players insists that his or her 
  character would absolutely not be in a seedy tavern 
  in the docks district, that character happens to be 
  walking down the street when everyone else comes 
  out of the Winking Narwhal. Once the adventure 
  starts, things move quickly, and the killer’s timeline 
  is unforgiving, so there’s no good opportunity to 
  fetch characters from locations around the city.
   
  You can have the players introduce their 
  characters while everyone is in the tavern, or 
  if you want to get into the action more quickly, 
  there’s another good opportunity to do character 
  introductions at the end of Encounter 1.
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  Although the sailors and dockworkers 
  crowding the Winking Narwhal will no doubt 
  continue carousing into the wee hours, just 
  before eight bells is your stopping time for 
  this evening. You’ve heard enough drunken 
  rumors about sea monsters in the Moonsea, 
  orc armies approaching the city gates, and 
  giants killing merchants along the Phlan Path.
   
  As you exit the tavern, the stench of 
  stale beer and sweaty bodies is replaced 
  by the scent of burning coal and scorched 
  metal. They say that the forge-fires of 
  Melvaunt never stop burning, and the local 
  atmosphere is proof enough of that. The stars 
  are faintly visible in the night sky thanks to the 
  haze that shrouds the city. Still, Melvaunt’s 
  emphasis on trade and metalworking makes 
  it prosperous enough, a rarity in the harsh 
  lands north of the Moonsea.
   
  No matter what business you were 
  planning to be about, you can’t help but 
  overhear the distinctive sounds of a brawl 
  coming from the nearby alley behind the 
  tavern.
   Some of the characters might choose to investigate 
  the brawl; others may prefer to ignore it. The 
  entrance to the alley is about 30 feet away from the 
  door of the tavern, and the sounds of a fistfight are 
  clearly audible. It doesn’t sound like anyone is in 
  immediate danger of dying, but these things have a 
  tendency to turn ugly if they aren’t stopped.
   
  Find out what each character wants to do, and 
  then proceed to Encounter 1.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   INTRODUCTION
  
  10
  During the first phase of the adventure the goal 
  is to introduce the mysterious killer as an unseen 
  figure who has decided to taunt the authorities with 
  cryptic messages before each kill. The adventurers 
  are drawn onto the trail by accident, but it quickly 
  becomes clear that they are the only ones who can 
  stop the murders.
  encounter 1: the Scream
  The alleys near the Winking Narwhal are shown on 
  Appendix 1: Alley Map. Those characters who wish 
  to investigate the brawl start in the area marked A 
  while those who do not go down the alley instead 
  start in the area marked B. 
   
  For those who wish to investigate the sounds of 
  fighting, read or paraphrase the following:
  A group of scruffy men rolls in the filth of 
  the alley, punching and biting each other 
  furiously. They seem to be fighting over 
  something, although between the darkness 
  and the muck it’s hard to tell what. “I seen it 
  first!” “No you didn’t!” “It hit me in the head! 
  The gods want ME to have it!”
  There are a half-dozen drunkards brawling behind 
  the tavern. They do not attack the adventurers, 
  but are AC 10, can be knocked unconscious with a 
  single point of damage, and are at disadvantage on 
  all saving throws due to intoxication. (If any of the 
  adventurers decide to become a mass murderer 
  at this point, it almost doesn’t matter what C1e7i5 
  does after that, so presumably the characters will 
  choose to subdue the brawlers nonlethally.)
   
  It should not take long for the adventurers to 
  clean up the mess. On a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) 
  check, a character notices a torn purse and some 
  gold and silver pieces scattered in the muck of the 
  alley. This money is what precipitated the brawl. 
  C1e7i5 waited until a group of sailors came outside 
  to “get some fresh air” and then dropped the coins 
  into their midst, with the intention of creating a 
  distraction just in case anybody might be around 
  who could interfere with the murder the modron 
  is about to commit down the alley on the opposite 
  side of the street. This happened just before the 
  characters exited the tavern. Since the sailors had 
  no reason to look up and C1e7i5 can fly, no one saw 
  anything. The money just fell from the sky!
   
  Give the characters a round or two to settle 
  matters, but don’t let this scene take too long. Just 
  when the players seem to think that the excitement 
  is over, that’s when you want to hit them with the 
  real encounter. 
   
  Although C1e7i5 is corrupted by chaos, the 
  modron is still bound to its logical, orderly ways. It 
  has been observing the patterns of various people 
  in the city, and it knows that there is a dockworker 
  who takes a shortcut down a particular dark alley 
  every evening at the same time. Precisely when 
  the clock tower finishes striking eight bells, the 
  murderer acts. C1e7i5 swoops down, plunging a 
  dagger into the victim’s back, killing the unfortunate 
  man but ensuring that he has time to scream (the 
  modron wants its note to be discovered). Leaving 
  the dagger buried in the man’s back and pinning 
  the note, the modron then scatters caltrops around 
  the alley and flies to the rooftop to make sure that 
  someone comes to investigate. All of this occurs 
  before the adventurers can reach the scene.
   
  This scene can be very entertaining if you 
  portray the clock tower yourself, monotonously 
  chiming out all eight bells. This takes just long 
  enough to lull the players into a bit of boredom 
  before you launch into a blood-curdling scream at 
  the end. BONG … BONG … BONG … BONG … BONG … 
  BONG … BONG … BONG … SCREAM!
  PArt 1.
  murDer
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 1
  
  11
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  The elaborate mechanical clock tower near 
  the temple of Gond is audible from most 
  places in the city. Right on cue, it begins to 
  chime eight bells. As the final peal fades into 
  silence, you hear a scream from the opposite 
  side of the street.
  Across the Street
  If you have not already done so, now is a good time 
  to put the characters into initiative order. Anybody 
  who did not go into the alley to investigate the brawl 
  is much closer to the source of the scream and 
  therefore likely to end up triggering the trap left by 
  C1e7i5.
   
  The murder scene is the area marked C on 
  Map 1. When a character enters this area, read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  Very little natural light makes it into this 
  narrow passageway. A heavyset man 
  dressed in the clothes of a laborer lies face-
  down in the middle of the alley. A dagger is 
  buried up to the hilt in the man’s back and 
  blood rapidly pools beneath his body. Further 
  details are difficult to discern from here.
  In the darkness, it is difficult to tell from the 
  entrance of the alley whether the man is alive or 
  dead. A character with darkvision can make a DC 
  10 Wisdom (Medicine) check from a safe distance, 
  or any character can make the same check next to 
  the body, to determine that he is dead. The rapidly-
  pooling blood suggests that the killing blow must 
  have been struck within the last minute or so.
   
  The alley is filled with caltrops, but they are 
  difficult to see in the darkness. A character with low-
  light vision or darkvision, or one who specifically 
  wants to examine the alley for danger before 
  rushing forward, may attempt a DC 13 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check to notice the faint glint of metal 
  from the hundreds of caltrops that C1e7i5 scattered 
  around the body.
   
  A character who moves into the area of the 
  caltrops (marked on the map) at any speed without 
  being aware of them, or one who moves through the 
  area at greater than half speed, must succeed on a 
  DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and 
  take 1 piercing damage. The character’s base speed 
  is also reduced by 10 feet until it regains at least 1 
  hit point. A character can clear a 5-foot square of 
  caltrops as an action, or a character who is aware of 
  the caltrops can move through the area at half speed 
  without needing to make the saving throw.
   
  As soon as any character takes damage from the 
  caltrops or uses an action to clear a square of the 
  caltrops, their magic activates and they attack. Read 
  or paraphrase the following: 
  The tiny caltrops scattered around the alley 
  begin to vibrate. Suddenly, they fly up into 
  the air, forming deadly swarms of sharpened 
  metal!
   
  Creatures. The characters are attacked by three 
  swarms of animated caltrops. If the characters 
  did not notice the caltrops before triggering combat, 
  then the monsters surprise them. 
   
  tactics. The swarms are mindless, and simply 
  attack the nearest creature. However, the swarms 
  avoid each other’s spaces, choosing different targets.
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Swarms can be difficult for low-level characters 
  to deal with because of their damage 
  resistance. Even if the party is of Average 
  strength, if they don’t have more than one or 
  two characters who can deal full damage to the 
  swarms, consider using the adjustments for a 
  Weak party for this encounter.
  • Weak party: Reduce the swarms’ hit 
  points from 22 to 15
  • Strong party: Add two more swarms (for 
  a total of 5)
  • Very strong party: Also increase the 
  swarms’ damage from 5 (2d4) to 10 (4d4). 
  The swarms continue to deal full damage 
  even when reduced below half their hit 
  points
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
   PART 1
  
  12
  Development
  Once the characters trigger the caltrops, C1e7i5 
  is satisfied that someone will find its note and 
  therefore its plan can continue. The modron silently 
  moves to the far edge of the roof and flies away into 
  the night. Only a character with a passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) score of 21 or higher has any chance 
  to notice the small dark shape that briefly flits 
  overhead before disappearing into the city, and 
  even if someone did see the shadow, they have the 
  problem of the animated caltrops to deal with, by 
  which time C1e7i5 is long gone. In summary, there is 
  no way for the adventurers to try and interact with 
  the modron at this stage of the adventure.
   
  Once the characters defeat the animated 
  caltrops, the alley is safe to move through, and 
  they have a moment to examine the body. They can 
  determine the following information:
  • The victim is a human male, mid-20s, with the 
  build and dress of an ordinary dockworker.
  • The victim was killed with a single knife thrust 
  from behind. The expression on his face suggests 
  that he was taken completely by surprise.
  • Wisdom (Medicine) DC 10: The warmth of 
  the body, the pooling of the blood, and the fact 
  that the characters heard the scream all confirm 
  that the murder took place within the last few 
  minutes.
  • Wisdom (Medicine) DC 15: However, the 
  killer turned the dagger in such a way that the 
  victim had a chance to cry out before he died. 
  Given the strength of the blow and its precise 
  placement, it is very likely that the murderer 
  could have avoided allowing the victim to make 
  any noise. Did the killer want someone to hear 
  that scream?
  • The murder weapon is a dagger of ordinary 
  make, the sort that anybody could buy for 2 gold 
  pieces in any weapon shop around Melvaunt. It 
  has no distinctive characteristics or smith’s mark 
  that would suggest anything special about it.
  • The dagger was stabbed so hard into the 
  victim’s back that none of the blade is visible, 
  only the hilt. If a character pulls on the dagger 
  or inspects it closely, the edges of a folded 
  piece of paper can be seen. This note is pinned 
  to the victim’s back by the murder weapon. If 
  the adventurers retrieve the note, give them 
  Handout 1.
  Within moments after the characters retrieve the 
  note (or finish their examination of the body, if they 
  decide not to pull the dagger out), the authorities 
  arrive. This is exactly the sort of inconvenient 
  coincidence that always seems to happen to 
  adventurers. Proceed to Encounter 2.
  encounter 2: Symbolic Study
  Shortly after the adventurers destroy the animated 
  caltrops and retrieve the body of the murder victim, 
  a detachment of the Melvaunt City Watch arrives. 
  The patrol consists of eight guards led by Sergeant 
  Eledstra. Read or paraphrase the following: 
  You hear the shrill noise of a watchman’s 
  whistle and the sound of booted feet 
  clomping on the cobblestones. A 
  detachment of city watch surrounds the 
  alley at both ends, their halberds crossed to 
  prevent you from leaving. 
   
  An older woman in the uniform of an 
  officer steps carefully into the alley, avoiding 
  the blood and the caltrops. She studies the 
  area with keen blue eyes and runs a hand 
  through her unruly white hair. “Hmm, well, 
  now, what do we have here,” she murmurs, 
  as if to herself. “It seems that note was telling 
  the truth after all. But we didn’t get here 
  by eight bells. Missed our appointment for 
  murder! I’d have expected the killer to be 
  long gone. And yet…”
   
  She looks expectantly at you, awaiting 
  an explanation.
  The characters should not have a difficult time 
  explaining the situation to Sergeant Eledstra. She’s 
  a veteran officer and has investigated murders 
  before. Melvaunt isn’t a lawless city by any stretch 
  of the imagination, but it’s full of merchants, sailors, 
  laborers, and travelers at the edge of civilization, not 
  to mention the political machinations involving the 
  Council of Lords. There’s rarely a shortage of bodies 
  floating in the harbor (or worse). She has a Wisdom 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 1
  
  13
  (Insight) bonus of +8 and makes a show of writing 
  down everything the characters say.
  Roleplaying Sergeant Eledstra
  Eledstra is a human of late middle age. She’s a 
  decent woman who takes her job of protecting 
  Melvaunt’s ordinary citizens seriously. Eledstra 
  is tall, thin, and lanky with a shock of unruly 
  white hair through which she runs her fingers 
  constantly whenever she’s trying to think. She 
  is very bad at playing political games, which is 
  why she is only a Sergeant despite her many 
  years of service in the City Watch.
  Quote: “You know, in another life, you’d have 
  made an excellent criminal.”
  As long as the adventurers don’t lie to her, the 
  evidence on the scene supports their story. The 
  drunken sailors can possibly be retrieved from 
  the other alley (depending on exactly what the 
  characters did to them) to provide an alibi for the 
  moment of death, and any number of other patrons 
  of the Winking Narwhal can provide the adventurers 
  with an alibi for most of the evening. After hearing 
  the characters, Eledstra asks for their theory about 
  who did kill this unfortunate man. 
   
  The characters may also have noticed that 
  Eledstra was muttering about a note when she 
  arrived. This would be the most logical time for the 
  characters to show the sergeant the bloody note 
  they found on the body (she pulls out the dagger 
  and retrieves the note if they had not already done 
  so; if they had, she admonishes them gently about 
  disturbing evidence but is more interested in the 
  note than in a lecture).
  Let’s Compare notes
  As it turns out, Eledstra has one additional piece of 
  information that the characters lack, and this would 
  give her a reason to believe them even if nothing 
  else about their story was plausible. She explains 
  the following:
  • Earlier this evening, a note was delivered to 
  the City Watch station. Unfortunately, the desk 
  sergeant did not notice who left the note or 
  exactly what time it was. Early evening is when 
  a shift change takes place, and things are a bit 
  hectic while the duty roster is being checked and 
  patrol assignments doled out.
  • The note was strangely addressed: the outside 
  of the envelope simply said “give this to your 
  superior.”
  • Tonight the ranking officer on duty happens to 
  be Eledstra. By the time the note reached her, it 
  was well past seven bells.
  • Eledstra found the note to contain a rambling 
  discourse, barely making sense. It did threaten 
  a murder, promising to kill someone this very 
  night, but it didn’t say who or where.
  • Eledstra was about to dismiss the note as 
  the ravings of a madman when she noticed 
  something peculiar: some of the letters were 
  capitalized even in the middle of words. Reading 
  just the capitalized letters spelled out a hidden 
  message.
  • The hidden message said EIGHT BELLS BY 
  NARWHAL. There’s only one building in town 
  named for a narwhal: the very tavern where the 
  adventurers began their evening.
  • When Eledstra realized that she might have 
  a chance to stop a murder, she grabbed a 
  contingent of guards and raced from the Watch 
  station across the city, but obviously they arrived 
  too late.
  • Eledstra believes that the note found on 
  the murder victim must contain a clue to the 
  killer’s next target. She doesn’t know why, but 
  this murderer seems to want an audience… or 
  someone to play along with his twisted game.
  • If the characters offer to take on the 
  investigation, Eledstra agrees to deputize them 
  for the evening, and hastily scrawls out a writ of 
  authority for them. They are more experienced 
  than her patrol of raw recruits, and frankly, 
  Eledstra herself isn’t a young woman anymore. 
  She’s afraid of missing another one of the killer’s 
  “appointments” and being responsible for 
  another murder. She already feels deeply guilty 
  about not getting here in time.
  • The Watch can offer the characters normal pay 
  plus a hazard stipend, and Eledstra promises 
  that if they can prevent any more murders, she’ll 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 1
  
  14
  see to it that they are commended by the Council 
  of Lords, which is a big deal in Melvaunt.
  • All that remains is to decipher the second note!
  Troubleshooting: Players and Puzzles
  The puzzles in this adventure aren’t designed 
  to be terribly difficult, but they do require a 
  little bit of thought and effort to solve. Some 
  players aren’t terribly good at solving puzzles 
  while others just don’t like them. There’s no 
  reason for either of these things to cause the 
  adventure to become derailed.
  • Asking for Help: Sergeant Eledstra can 
  help the adventurers solve the note from 
  Encounter 1, while either Boltac (if he 
  survives) or Ellywicket Klemwocket (the 
  gnomish tinker) can help solve the note 
  from Encounter 3. Use NPCs to give hints as 
  much as possible rather than just telling the 
  players the answer. 
  • “Get a Clue” Checks: The players 
  might be stumped, but that doesn’t mean 
  the characters have to be. You can use 
  Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom 
  (Insight) checks to give hints (with more 
  direct hints available for higher check 
  results). Again, it’s better if the players 
  solve (or at least finish) the puzzle 
  themselves, rather than you just telling 
  them what the answer is, but showing them 
  how to get started is better than having 
  them give up in disgust.
  • Failing Forward: In a worst-case 
  scenario, the characters can hear about the 
  subsequent murders not long after C1e7i5 
  commits them, and then go to the scene of 
  the crimes. They still have to fight whatever 
  rampaging monsters are left in the area, but 
  at least the trail of breadcrumbs continues. 
  Remember, C1e7i5 wants someone to 
  follow it back to the portal to Mechanus.
  Deciphering the Bloody note
  It’s possible that a player could solve the puzzle 
  on Handout 1 faster than you can wrap up the 
  roleplaying scene with Sergeant Eledstra. If so, that’s 
  fine: when the characters show Eledstra the answer, 
  she congratulates them and says that they are 
  clearly the right people for the job, then sends them 
  on their way. For everyone else, here are the steps to 
  decipher the message (you can also use these steps 
  as hints if the players get stuck along the way):
  • The first thing to notice is that the note is 
  written in a very stilted style, with precise 
  lettering (almost inhumanly precise). Eledstra 
  confirms that the handwriting matches that of 
  the note she received earlier in the evening.
  • The blockiness of the letters is most 
  pronounced at the beginning and end of each 
  sentence; these letters are a little bit larger than 
  the rest.
  • Reading the first letter of every sentence spells 
  out part of the message: TURN NUMBERS
  • Reading the last letter of every sentence 
  spells out the other part of the message: INTO 
  LETTERS
  • TURN NUMBERS INTO LETTERS implies that 
  there must be some numbers to find elsewhere 
  in the message.
  • There is an obvious number in every line, 
  written using numerals (for example, the 
  number “4” in the second line). 
  • The following numbers are written as numbers 
  in the message, in this order: 1, 4, 1, 13, 1, 14, 20, 
  9, 14, and 5.
  • Less obviously, there is also a “number word” 
  hidden in every line. Some of them stand on 
  their own, like the word “one” in the third line, 
  while others are hidden between two or more 
  words, like the word “twenty” hidden in the 
  phrase “ouT WENT Your” in the ninth line.
  • The following number words are hidden in the 
  message, in this order: 2, 12, 1, 3, 11, 19, 13, 9, 
  20, and 8.
  • How might one “turn numbers into letters” to 
  complete the message? 
  • There are twenty-six letters in the Common 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 1
  
  15
  alphabet. If the first letter is 1, and the second 
  letter is 2…
  • There are two distinct groups of numbers, 
  though: the numerals and the number words. 
  They should probably be read separately for the 
  message to make sense.
  • Converting the numbers into letters spells out 
  the words ADAMANTINE (using the numerals) 
  and BLACKSMITH (using the hidden number 
  words).
  • The next victim must be a blacksmith who 
  specializes in working with adamantine! The 
  text of the note also contains some additional 
  clues as to the victim’s identity, such as the fact 
  that the victim is a male dwarf. This information 
  can be used to narrow down the search.
  Note that the characters can get on the right track 
  even if they only decipher the first part of the 
  message (the obvious numerals that spell out 
  ADAMANTINE). Eledstra encourages them to look 
  a little bit deeper if they seem inclined to stop after 
  only discovering the first part of the message, but if 
  they want to dash off anyway, they can: they’ll just 
  have a harder time stopping the next murder.
   
  Once the characters decipher some or all of 
  the message and are ready to proceed, read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  The Sergeant combs her fingers through 
  her hair so furiously it’s a wonder she’s not 
  completely bald. “Yes, yes, that must be 
  right,” she says, half to you and half to 
  herself. “Now where would one find… ah, 
  yes, of course! The marketplace at the 
  center of town. It’s the only place you’d find 
  adamantine ore for sale at this hour. You 
  must go quickly! The note promises another 
  killing at nine bells, which doesn’t give you a 
  lot of time. We already know what happens 
  when we’re late.”
  Development
  It takes an hour to complete a short rest, which is 
  more time than the adventurers have (since the next 
  murder is scheduled to take place at nine bells and 
  it is already well past eight.) If the characters did not 
  attempt to lie to her earlier, and she believes them to 
  be trustworthy, Sergeant Eledstra offers two potions 
  of healing that she carries with her on patrol.
   
  Proceed to Encounter 3 when everyone is ready.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 1
  
  16
  In this part of the adventure, the characters pursue 
  the killer across Melvaunt. The modron’s first target 
  is Boltac, a dwarven blacksmith who specializes in 
  crafting adamantine. The next target is Zellani, a 
  priestess of Loviatar. The characters might be able to 
  save both of these NPCs if they are smart and quick. 
  encounter 3: uninvited guests
  The characters make their way from the docks 
  toward the marketplace at the center of town. The 
  streets are not empty, but it is easier to make good 
  time at this hour than it would be during the height 
  of day, and nothing interrupts the characters’ travel. 
   
  The adventurers arrive at the marketplace 
  about a quarter-hour before nine bells, meaning 
  they don’t have a lot of time to locate their target. 
  Fortunately, the “livestock pen” (Melvaunt’s 
  infamous slave market) is currently closed, so the 
  only people in the marketplace are buyers and 
  sellers of goods rather than people.
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
  It takes about twenty minutes for you to 
  make your way from the docks to the large 
  marketplace in the center of Melvaunt. 
  Although the hour is late and many stalls 
  have closed for the night, the plaza is far 
  from deserted: you see plenty of buyers and 
  sellers haggling over an impressive variety of 
  goods and services. Unfortunately, there’s 
  no time for shopping. You have to locate the 
  killer’s next target.
  The Search
  The characters do not have enough time to conduct 
  an exhaustive search of their entire marketplace, 
  even with the reduced number of people here at 
  night. They need to be efficient in order to find the 
  target before nine bells.
   
  Depending on how much information they 
  gleaned from the note found on the first victim, the 
  characters may know some or all of the following:
  • The target is a male dwarf.
  • The target is somehow identified with 
  adamantine.
  • The target is a blacksmith.
  Go around the table and ask each player what his or 
  her character is going to do in order to assist with 
  the search. Then have that person make a skill check 
  using an appropriate skill. Here are some examples:
  • Look for a person who meets the description: 
  Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom 
  (Perception)
  • Ask other vendors or their customers if they 
  know of a person who meets the description: 
  Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion).
  • Study the layout of the marketplace and look 
  for indications of the right kind of business 
  (smoke from a forge, signs of shops that all deal 
  in the same kind of wares, etc.): Intelligence 
  (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight).
  • Cause a commotion or try to draw a crowd in 
  hopes of confusing the killer or attracting the 
  target to come to them: Strength (Athletics) or 
  Charisma (Performance)
  The basic DC for each character’s check is 15. 
  Grant a +5 bonus on the check if the player makes 
  a convincing argument for how to make use of 
  one or more of the pieces of information about 
  the victim that the characters have learned. If two 
  characters want to do the same thing, then they can 
  make a single check between the two of them, using 
  whichever bonus is higher and with advantage. 
  However, this reduces the total number of checks 
  available, so it could be a risky strategy.
  PArt 2.
  the AngeL of DeAth
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  17
   
  To determine whether the characters find 
  Boltac in time, and where they are all positioned in 
  the market when the clock strikes nine bells, refer 
  to Map 2: The Marketplace and use the following 
  outcomes to set everything up.
  Option 1: Found Him!
  If more than half of the characters succeed on their 
  individual skill checks, then whichever character 
  (or team) got the highest individual check result 
  is the one who discovers Boltac, and it happens a 
  few minutes before nine bells. The characters have 
  time to talk to Boltac and set up whatever defensive 
  arrangements they think appropriate. They don’t 
  know from where the attack will come, but at least 
  they’ll be ready for it. 
   
  All of the characters start in the location marked 
  A, and they may position themselves and Boltac (if 
  he’s listening to them; see below) however they see 
  fit.
  Option 2: Last-Second Save
  If less than half (but more than zero) of the 
  characters succeed on their individual skill checks, 
  then they find Boltac, but it happens mere seconds 
  before the clock tower begins to chime nine bells. 
  The characters have only a few seconds to explain 
  the situation to the irascible dwarf, and they may be 
  somewhat scattered throughout the marketplace 
  when the assassin strikes. 
   
  Boltac, along with the character or team who 
  found him, starts in the location marked A on the 
  map. Any other character who succeeded on his or 
  her check starts in area B, and any character who 
  failed his or her check starts in area C.
  Option 3: Too Late…
  If none of the characters succeed on their individual 
  skill checks, they don’t find Boltac before the clock 
  strikes nine bells. Boltac starts in the location 
  marked A on the map. Any characters who 
  succeeded on their individual checks begin in area B, 
  while those who failed their checks begin in area C.
  Meeting Boltac
  If the characters find Boltac before nine bells (either 
  Option 1 or Option 2), read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  You see a dwarf, obviously getting on in 
  years but still strong enough to stand in a hot 
  forge all day. Arranged on the table in front 
  of him are a number of weapons forged 
  from adamantine. He seems to be expecting 
  someone, and perks up as you approach. 
  “Ah, Callanwolde, I presume? I have the 
  samples you requested right here. You’ll not 
  find better quality this side of Mithral Hall, I 
  can assure you of that!”
  Note that only the characters who are in location A 
  may interact with Boltac at this time. Everyone else 
  is too far away to be part of the conversation.
   
  What happens next depends on how much time 
  the characters have and how persuasive they can 
  be. If the characters are following Option 2, they 
  have just enough time to say a few words to Boltac, 
  so they’d better make it good. If they are following 
  Option 1, then the conversation can be a little bit 
  longer.
   
  Boltac has no idea that someone intends to 
  kill him (and is initially skeptical of the notion). He 
  would not normally be in the marketplace at this 
  hour, but he was contacted by a representative of a 
  merchant interested in purchasing a large quantity 
  of adamantine arms and armor, and the deal had 
  to be done tonight. He does not want to close shop 
  until he meets his contact (who, of course, does not 
  exist: C1e7i5 arranged the deception to ensure that 
  its target would be in the right place at the right 
  time).
   
  The characters must succeed on a DC 20 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check to convince Boltac that 
  they are telling the truth. However, the DC of this 
  check is reduced by 5 for each of the following:
  • Showing Boltac the bloody note from the first 
  murder victim
  • Displaying the writ from Sergeant Eledstra
  If the characters succeed on the check, then Boltac 
  agrees to listen to them. 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  18
  Roleplaying Boltac
  Boltac is in his late middle age and is 
  cantankerous even by dwarven standards, but 
  once someone earns his respect, he is a loyal 
  friend and steadfast ally. His knowledge of 
  ancient techniques for refining and working 
  with adamantine is unmatched.
   
  Boltac prefers the taste of wine to the taste 
  of ale, but he would never admit that to other 
  dwarves. If anyone questions the wineskin 
  that he keeps by his side, he insists that using 
  elven wine to quench hot steel in the forge is a 
  special technique that only he has mastered. 
  Quote: “Don’t make me give you a live 
  demonstration of my wares! There’s no discount 
  for your medical expenses.”
  If the characters convince Boltac to listen to 
  them, he follows their orders during the combat 
  encounter. If they do not, then he simply picks up an 
  adamantine longsword and prepares to defend his 
  property against all comers.
   
  The characters might also bypass the need for 
  the Charisma (Persuasion) check entirely if they can 
  convince Boltac, however briefly, that one of them 
  is his contact, but this requires a DC 20 Charisma 
  (Deception) check, and that DC cannot be lowered. 
  Alternatively, a character might decide to just go full-
  on bodyguard and tackle Boltac or otherwise try to 
  physically move him out of danger. The dwarf does 
  not react kindly to this, but on a successful DC 15 
  Strength (Athletics) check, a character can wrestle 
  the dwarf to a safer position before combat starts.
  Expect the Unexpected
  Once the characters have had their moment 
  to interact with Boltac (or not, as the situation 
  warrants), the clock tower peals nine bells. 
   
  C1e7i5 has been observing the dwarf for some 
  time, but its sense of order compels it to wait until 
  precisely nine bells to attack, because that’s what it 
  said it would do. This time, rather than attempting 
  to engage its target in melee, C1e7i5’s plan is to 
  strike from range using a crossbow. The arrival 
  of the adventurers is a complication, but not an 
  insurmountable one. 
   
  One of the stalls adjacent to Boltac’s belongs 
  to Ellywicket Klemwocket, a gnomish tinkerer 
  and proud purveyor of what she calls “Gondsmen” 
  – small magical constructs that are useful for 
  performing a wide variety of household tasks. 
  Thanks to its newfound chaos powers, C1e7i5 has 
  a limited ability to control other constructs, which 
  it uses to cause Ellywicket’s “merchandise” to go 
  haywire. Read or paraphrase the following:
  One of the stalls near Boltac is filled with 
  what look like four-foot-tall mechanical men. 
  Gears clank and servos whir as they walk to 
  and fro, demonstrating their ability to carry 
  heavy objects and perform other mundane 
  tasks. “Gondsmen, get your Gondsmen,” 
  calls out the proprietor, a female gnome 
  with bright red hair. She wears a holy symbol 
  of Gond, the god of artificers and tinkerers. 
  “They can lift, they can fetch, they never 
  get tired, and they don’t eat! The perfect 
  domestic servants!”
   
  A puff of blue smoke comes out of the 
  back of one of the golems. It topples over on 
  its side, seemingly inert. “Oh, buckets,” says 
  the gnome. “Not in front of the customers! 
  Gondsman five, reset!”
   
  The creature glows briefly and lurches 
  back to life, staggering to its feet. “There, you 
  see?” says the gnome excitedly. “Even when 
  they have a little hiccup, getting them back 
  to normal is easy-peasy. Wouldn’t you like to 
  take one home?”
   
  The newly-rejuvenated golem does not 
  return to its previous duties, however. Instead, 
  it lurches forward, crashing through the thin 
  wooden panel separating the gnome’s stall 
  from Boltac’s. “Hey, it’s not supposed to do 
  that! Gondsman five, I said RESET!”
   
  Suddenly, all the remaining constructs 
  begin to glow with the same reddish light, 
  and they too lurch forward. You realize that 
  every single one of them is headed directly 
  for the dwarf, ignoring their former mistress’s 
  commands.
  Creatures. The characters face six lesser 
  Gondsmen. Boltac is present as an ally, while 
  Ellywicket is available as a healer in case any 
  characters are knocked unconscious (but she can’t 
  bring herself to destroy her own creations so she is 
  otherwise a noncombatant).
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  19
   
  tactics. The constructs follow C1e7i5’s 
  telepathic orders. The modron does not necessarily 
  need to use the golems to kill Boltac: it has a 
  crossbow bolt ready for the dwarf. However, to 
  ensure a clear shot, any characters adjacent to 
  Boltac need to be distracted or removed, so the 
  constructs focus on attacking those characters. 
  If necessary, use the shove action to displace the 
  dwarf’s defenders long enough for C1e7i5 to get a 
  shot off.
   
  Adamantine Assets. Boltac’s collection of 
  adamantine weapons could come in very handy for 
  the characters if they think to take advantage of this 
  resource. Any type of melee weapon found in the 
  Player’s Handbook can be located among Boltac’s 
  wares using an action. A character wielding an 
  adamantine weapon ignores the damage resistance 
  of the lesser Gondsmen. If Boltac sees a character 
  make an attack that is reduced by the constructs’ 
  damage resistance, the dwarf calls out for the 
  characters to use his weapons.
  Boltac: AC 15; HP 22; Attack: melee weapon 
  (adamantine longsword), +4 to hit, range 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) bludgeoning damage.
  Elly: AC 11; HP 15; Action: cure wounds (3 slots; 
  touch; heals 1d8+4 hit points) or spare the dying 
  (cantrip; touch; stabilizes 1 dying target)
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for scaling this 
  combat encounter. These are cumulative. 
  Remember that if the characters are having 
  trouble with the constructs’ damage resistance, 
  Boltac’s adamantine weapons are available.
  • Weak party: Remove two lesser 
  Gondsmen (leaving 4)
  • Strong party: Add two lesser Gondsmen 
  (making 8 total)
  • Very strong party: Increase the hit 
  points of each lesser Gondsman from 11 to 
  18, and increase their damage from 4 (1d6 
  + 1) to 5 (1d8 + 1)
  The Assassin Strikes
  During the battle, C1e7i5 watches from a safe 
  distance for an opportunity to take a shot at the 
  dwarf. C1e7i5 acts on an initiative count of 20, 
  losing all ties. It spends the first two rounds aiming. 
  Beginning with the third round, C1e7i5 readies an 
  action to fire if the dwarf is not prone and does not 
  have any allies within 5 feet. Should this condition 
  trigger, read or paraphrase the following:
  A heavy crossbow bolt streaks across the 
  marketplace from an unseen shooter. The 
  dwarf is caught unawares and groans in pain 
  as the bolt thuds into his neck. He falls to the 
  ground, gurgling as blood gushes from the 
  wound.
  Boltac suffers an automatic critical hit, takes 22 
  damage, and is reduced to 0 hit points. He now has 
  to start making death saves unless he is stabilized 
  or healed (this has to come from one of the player 
  characters; don’t use Ellywicket to bail them out 
  of the plot in this instance). After taking its shot, 
  C1e7i5 leaves to set up for its third and final attack 
  of the night.
   
  The next note is attached to the crossbow bolt. 
  If C1e7i5 never gets to take a clear shot during the 
  battle because the characters are never separated 
  from him, it instead fires the bolt into whichever 
  adventurer is closest to Boltac before leaving the 
  area. This does not require an attack roll, but also 
  does not automatically score a critical hit. The target 
  takes 1d10+2 piercing damage.
   
  Unlike earlier, when the killer’s note was 
  pinned to the victim using a dagger, this time there 
  is no obvious note. The crossbow bolt is hollow 
  and contains a sheaf of tightly-rolled squares 
  of parchment. A character can discover this by 
  examining the bolt without needing to make a 
  skill check. If the players don’t think to check the 
  bolt for evidence, and Boltac is alive, he angrily 
  grabs the bolt and breaks it in half, revealing the 
  note. Otherwise you may need to have them make 
  Intelligence (Investigation) checks to get the right 
  idea.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  20
  After the Battle
  The characters may suspect (or even accuse) 
  Ellywicket of complicity in the attempt to murder 
  Boltac, but she denies everything, and it’s obvious 
  that she is telling the truth. Elly is very distraught 
  over the behavior of her Gondsmen. “Nothing like 
  this has ever happened before,” she insists. “I just 
  don’t understand what made them do that!” The 
  adventurers can console her by explaining the 
  situation or not, as they see fit. She mournfully 
  collects the bits and pieces of her destroyed 
  constructs and heads back to the temple of Gond. 
  She casts any remaining cure wounds spells on the 
  characters (or Boltac) before she leaves.
  Roleplaying Ellywicket (“Elly”) 
  Klemwocket
  Ellywicket is a bright young gnome priestess 
  of Gond. She got her love of tinkering from her 
  uncle Glimnock, who used to be an adventurer 
  many years ago and filled her head with stories 
  of the wonders of ancient Lantan when Elly 
  was a youngster. She takes great pride in her 
  work and is very upset about the events at the 
  marketplace.
  Quote: “Why would you do it yourself when you 
  can build something… or someone… to do it for 
  you?”
  If Boltac is still alive, he thanks the characters 
  profusely and promises to reward them properly 
  once the murderer has been dealt with. Anybody 
  who wants to borrow one of his weapons for the 
  remainder of the adventure is free to do so. Boltac’s 
  wares are magically protected against theft. Each 
  weapon has a smith’s mark that is attuned to a 
  specific anvil in Boltac’s forge. Unless the dwarf 
  deactivates the smith’s mark (which he only does 
  upon receipt of payment) then the weapon teleports 
  back to the anvil if it is ever taken more than a 
  mile from the anvil’s location. This is an effective 
  safeguard in case any of the adventurers “forget” to 
  return any weapons that they borrowed. Anybody 
  who tries to steal from Boltac is ineligible for the 
  Chunk of Adamantine Story Award at the end of the 
  adventure.
   
  About fifteen minutes after the end of the fight, 
  Sergeant Eledstra and her contingent of guards 
  arrive at the marketplace. If the adventurers have 
  already left (which is a very reasonable thing for 
  them to do, considering the time pressure) then 
  Eledstra gets the story of what happened from the 
  survivors, perhaps including Boltac himself. The 
  characters can safely assume that the guards arrive 
  once they are alerted, so the adventurers don’t have 
  to worry about continuing to guard Boltac (or his 
  body) as opposed to deciphering the next note and 
  continuing to pursue the killer.
   
  The characters must figure out where to go and 
  reach that location before the killer’s next scheduled 
  strike at ten bells, and the clock is ticking. Proceed 
  to Encounter 4 when everyone is ready.
  encounter 4: Love and Pain
  This encounter takes the characters farther across 
  Melvaunt to the Temple of Loviatar, where the 
  modron plans to commit its final murder of the 
  night before leading its pursuers back to the portal 
  to Mechanus. Even if the modron failed to kill its 
  target in the previous encounter, its plan is still 
  proceeding in an acceptable fashion. 
   
  The characters must decipher the next note in 
  order to figure out where they need to go. 
  yet Another note
  The “note” in this case is a sheaf of nine thin 
  parchment pieces rolled up inside the crossbow bolt 
  that C1e7i5 fired into the last battle. Give the players 
  Handout 2 when they examine it. The individual 
  small sheets have a mixture of numbers and letters 
  on them. (If possible, it would be best for you to 
  cut the puzzle pieces out ahead of time, since the 
  players are unlikely to have a pair of scissors on 
  them at the game table.)
   
  As before, this puzzle reveals the location and 
  time of the next murder, along with a clue to the 
  specific identity of the victim. The following steps 
  and hints can be used to help guide the players 
  through solving the puzzle if they require assistance. 
  Boltac and/or Ellywicket can offer suggestions, or if 
  the characters wait long enough, they can show the 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  21
  puzzle to Sergeant Eledstra and get her opinion, but 
  this takes a full fifteen minutes.
  • This puzzle has two clear parts: the numbers in 
  the corner of each puzzle piece, and the letters.
  • Each of the pieces is the same size. This suggests 
  that they can probably be assembled into a larger 
  shape. What clues might there be about how to fit 
  the pieces together?
  • The message is likely hidden within the 
  letters on the puzzle pieces, which means that 
  the numbers are probably a guide for how to 
  assemble the pieces. 
  • The numbers at the corners of each piece are 
  not all unique. Some of them even seem to match 
  the numbers on other pieces.
  • Assemble the nine smaller pieces into a single 
  larger shape by matching the numbers in the 
  corners. Where more than two pieces come 
  together, they all have the same value on the 
  matching corner. 
  • Numbers that don’t match any other puzzle 
  piece must go on the outside corners.
  • The largest quantity of identical numbers is 
  four, and there are four such numbers. If four 
  pieces come together in four places, this means 
  that the final shape must be a 3x3 square formed 
  using the nine puzzle pieces.
  • Once you have assembled the square, you 
  should be able to read the message. You are 
  looking for the place and time of the murder, and 
  some clue as to the identity of the victim.
  • There seem to be some extraneous letters, 
  unless you think it’s likely that the murderer 
  wrote a message consisting of a lot of Q’s and X’s.
  • Reading across the middle of the completed 
  shape reveals the words HALF ELF.
  • The word TEMPLE is visible reading across the 
  top, starting with the center piece and continuing 
  onto the upper-right piece (bending downward). 
  • There are three large temples in Melvaunt: 
  Gond, Sune, and Loviatar. Do any of those names 
  appear anywhere in the message?
  • Reading clockwise around the “ring” and 
  ignoring the extraneous letters, the message 
  spells TEMPLE OF LOVIATAR TEN HOURS. All 
  of the previous messages have specified a time, 
  so that probably means ten bells tonight, not ten 
  hours from now.
  There is only one Temple of Loviatar in Melvaunt. It 
  is located back in the direction the characters came 
  from earlier, on the edge of the docks district, but 
  the distance they have to travel is a little greater. It 
  takes about twenty-five minutes to reach the temple 
  from the marketplace. Even adding in the time to 
  recuperate after the battle and examine the note, the 
  characters can reach the temple with time to spare.
  Optional Challenge: Solving Time
  Realistically speaking, if Boltac survived the 
  previous encounter and the adventurers 
  don’t wait around for the city watch to show 
  up, they can make it from the marketplace to 
  the Temple of Loviatar with plenty of time to 
  spare. Since they don’t have to search a large 
  area, there’s no reason to think that they will 
  arrive at the last possible moment like they did 
  before. 
   
  One way to add a bit of extra pressure 
  is to use the amount of real-world time the 
  players take to solve this puzzle as a proxy 
  for how long it takes their characters in the 
  game world. Our test-solving indicated that 
  it takes about ten to fifteen minutes for most 
  groups to solve the puzzle. If you think that 
  your group falls within that range, based on 
  their performance on the first puzzle, and if the 
  players seem to be enjoying the puzzles, then 
  you can use their solving time to determine 
  how quickly they reach the temple. 
   
  Track the number of minutes it takes the 
  players to solve the puzzle and subtract that 
  number from 20. That’s how many “extra” 
  minutes before ten bells they have when they 
  reach the temple. If they take more than 20 
  minutes to solve the puzzle, then the battle is 
  already in progress when they arrive, but the 
  priestess is still alive, so the characters haven’t 
  failed their mission. (Some players might be 
  pretty bored if it takes them 20 minutes to 
  solve the puzzle, so be careful.)
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  22
  The Resting Place of the Whip
  As it turns out, there is only one half-elven priestess 
  at the Temple of Loviatar, and one of her tasks is 
  attending to the shrine each night at ten bells.
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  The temple is a two-story stone building, 
  larger and wider than the more ramshackle 
  structures on either side of it, but not 
  otherwise out of place in the district. 
  Apart from a few statues and a holy 
  symbol over the door, there’s not much 
  here to suggest the presence of a place 
  of worship. This might be due to some of 
  the misunderstandings that commoners, 
  especially sailors, tend to have about the 
  teachings of Loviatar. From here you can see 
  the glow of the lighthouse all the way down 
  at the other end of the docks.
   
  The door is closed, although a bit of 
  light escapes from within through the narrow 
  glass windows. It does not appear that the 
  temple is open to supplicants at this late 
  hour, but neither does the building seem to 
  be uninhabited.
  The adventurers have any number of options, 
  assuming they arrived with some time to spare. 
  They can present themselves at the temple, or 
  they can set up outside and try to intercept the 
  assassin before he gets inside. Since they don’t 
  know precisely what they are looking for, the second 
  option is perhaps more uncertain, but has the 
  advantage of not needing to explain themselves to 
  anybody. Unfortunately, C1e7i5 is already inside the 
  temple, biding its time until ten bells.
  The Diplomatic Approach
  If the characters use the bell pull at the front door 
  or otherwise politely announce themselves, the 
  priestess on duty comes to investigate.
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  A metal slat in the center of the door slides 
  open, revealing the face of a half-elven 
  female with jet-black hair. A deep scar mars 
  one side of her otherwise beautiful face. “I’m 
  sorry,” she says politely, “but the temple is not 
  open for services at this hour. You can see 
  our schedule posted on the notice boards to 
  either side of the door.”
  This is Zellani, the assassin’s next target. The 
  characters have only a brief moment to interrupt 
  her before she closes the window and goes back 
  to her duties. On a successful DC 10 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check the characters can get her to 
  listen to what they have to say. The DC rises to 15 
  if the characters try intimidation (priestesses of 
  Loviatar are not easily cowed) or Deception (she is 
  already suspicious). The characters gain advantage 
  on their Persuasion check for showing Zellani the 
  murderer’s note or the writ from Sergeant Eledstra 
  (although Zellani correctly points out that the 
  authority of the City Watch does not extend to the 
  right to enter the city’s temples whenever they 
  want).
  Roleplaying Zellani
  The half-elven priestess of the Maiden of 
  Pain is tall and muscular with black hair. She 
  has a scar on one cheek that looks like it was 
  made by a sword rather than a whip, which 
  she gained during her younger days as a 
  mercenary, but she does not speak of her past. 
   
  Loviatar’s temple is one of the largest in 
  Melvaunt, and Zellani is working her way up 
  the ranks. She adheres to Loviatar’s teachings 
  but considers herself above the ordinary folk 
  because of her duty to administer pain and 
  torment. As a result, she is overconfident, 
  potentially making her an easier target for 
  C1e7i5.
  Quote: “I shall give you the pain you so richly 
  deserve.”
  If the characters persuade Zellani to listen, she 
  keeps the window open but does not yet open the 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 2
  
  23
  door. She is unaware of the disturbances earlier 
  this evening, but even if what the characters say is 
  true, the safest place for her is inside the temple. In 
  any case, she is not willing to abandon her duties. 
  Phrases like “let us search the temple” definitely do 
  not make her happy. The best the characters can 
  hope for is to offer to guard her for the evening (or 
  really, for the next few minutes, since the attack will 
  happen at ten bells). In this case, she reluctantly 
  invites them into the sanctuary but warns them not 
  to leave the main hall. She then goes back to her 
  work of tending to the shrine.
   
  If the characters are unable to persuade Zellani 
  to listen to them at all, or if they don’t manage to 
  sign up for guard duty, she closes the door. At that 
  point they either have to wait outside the temple 
  and hope to spot the assassin, or try to sneak into 
  the temple themselves. There is a side door that can 
  be picked open with a DC 15 Dexterity check using 
  thieves’ tools. This lets the characters into the back 
  of the sanctuary, but they have to be careful not to 
  draw attention to themselves or Zellani sounds the 
  alarm and calls the watch on them, which might be 
  tough to explain to Sergeant Eledstra. Fortunately, 
  there are some curtains they can hide behind, as 
  shown on Map 3: Temple of Loviatar.
  Ten Bells
  Once you have established where the characters are 
  positioned at the moment the clock strikes ten, what 
  the characters see depends on where they are.
  Read or paraphrase the following if the characters 
  are outside the temple when the attack begins:
  The clock tower chimes the hour, predictable 
  and steady as always. Just like your 
  adversary, who has been nothing if not 
  consistent. Sure enough, as the last bell fades 
  away, you hear the sound of breaking glass 
  and shouts of battle from inside the temple.
  The front door is locked, but the characters can 
  force it open with a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check 
  or someone with thieves’ tools can pick it open with 
  a DC 15 Dexterity check.
  Read or paraphrase the following if the characters 
  are inside the temple when the attack begins:
  As the last of ten chimes fades away, 
  you brace for the inevitable attack. Your 
  adversary has been nothing if not consistent. 
  The priestess looks up in surprise as a faint 
  scratching sound begins to echo around the 
  sanctuary. “What’s that? Who’s there?”
   
  Thin strips of yellow light appear in the 
  air, as if someone… or something… were 
  slicing through the very fabric of reality with 
  a sharp knife. Swirling motes of chaotic 
  energy burst through the rifts, followed by 
  stick-like figures whose shapes twist and 
  waver, constantly changing form. Even 
  their shadows don’t stay still, writhing and 
  stretching across the floor.
   
  “You dare invade the sanctum of 
  Loviatar? You may think me defenseless, 
  but I am not!” shouts Zellani. “I call upon 
  the servitors of the Maiden of Pain to taste 
  the delicious agony of your suffering!” She 
  gestures, and more flashes of light herald the 
  arrival of a number of devils throughout the 
  temple. It appears that the odds are more 
  even than the situation first appeared. And 
  yet, of the assassin himself, there seems to be 
  no sign.
  C1e7i5 has summoned a legion of creatures of 
  pure chaos, while Zellani is defended by lawful evil 
  lemures and imps bound to Loviatar. For the most 
  part, these creatures fight one another separately 
  from the adventurers, so that the adventure doesn’t 
  bog down into a dice-rolling battle between a bunch 
  of unimportant NPCs. Only the specific foes listed 
  below need to be tracked on the battle map: you can 
  describe the battle taking place throughout the rest 
  of the temple in cinematic terms.
   
  Creatures. The characters and Zellani are 
  attacked specifically by four chaos blights and two 
  chaos bolters. 
   
  tactics. The chaos creatures are uncontrollable, 
  and C1e7i5 makes no attempt to control them. 
  They attack recklessly and without any sort of 
  coordination or organization. The devils are more 
  organized, being creatures of law, but the characters 
  are not really any more welcome here than the 
  chaos creatures. Occasionally one of the devils 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  breaks ranks and attacks the adventurers (but never 
  the priestess or any character who is a worshipper 
  of Loviatar).
   
  Zellani prefers to fight in melee with her whip. 
  She used up all of her spell slots to trigger the 
  effect that summoned the devils, so she only has 
  her sacred flame cantrip remaining. Try to keep her 
  positioned near the altar of Loviatar during the fight 
  so that she is underneath the skylight when C1e7i5 
  crashes through (as detailed under “Catch Me if You 
  Can”).
  Zellani: AC 13; HP 25; Speed 30 ft.; Attack: melee 
  weapon (thorn whip), +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or 10 ft., 
  one creature; Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing and slashing 
  damage. Action: sacred flame (cantrip, DC 12, 1d8 
  radiant damage).
  Devils in the Details
  At the end of each adventurer’s turn, roll 1d6. On a 6, 
  one of the nearby imps makes a fly-by attack against 
  that character. Don’t attack the same character two 
  rounds in a row with this effect. Worshippers of 
  Loviatar are not subjected to these attacks.
  Flying Imp Sting: Melee Weapon Attack, +5 to hit, 
  one target; Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the 
  APL is greater than 2, then a target struck by this 
  attack must also make a DC 11 Constitution saving 
  throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed 
  save, or half as much damage on a successful save.
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  Here are recommendations for scaling this 
  combat encounter. These are cumulative. 
  • Weak party: Remove one of the chaos 
  bolters (leaving 1) and one of the chaos 
  blights (leaving 3)
  • Strong party: Add one chaos bolter (for a 
  total of 3) and two chaos blights (for a total 
  of 6)
  • Very strong party: Add two more chaos 
  blights (for a total of 8), add a chaos slasher, 
  and increase the chaos bolters’ hit points 
  from 11 to 18
  This is the last fight of the adventure. The players 
  might think that they need to hold back so that 
  they can take a shot at the assassin when he finally 
  shows himself, but they aren’t going to be able to 
  fight C1e7i5 in this adventure. If the characters are 
  having an easy time and still have a lot of resources 
  remaining, throw a few extra chaos creatures at 
  them to make things interesting.
  Catch Me If you Can
  As the fight progresses, C1e7i5 watches from 
  above. There is a large glass skylight directly over 
  the altar that provides a good view of the inside 
  of the sanctuary (at least, for a creature that can 
  fly and has truesight, which C1e7i5 does). At this 
  point the modron’s goal has shifted from carrying 
  out its third and final murder to ensuring that its 
  greater plan of luring the adventurers through the 
  portal to Mechanus succeeds. C1e7i5 waits until 
  the characters have defeated the last of its chaos 
  creatures and then makes its dramatic entrance. 
  This works best if the priestess is by the altar, 
  directly underneath the skylight.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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   Read or paraphrase the following:
  As the final chaos creature dissolves into a 
  puddle of swirling color, the priestess looks 
  around triumphantly. “You see!” she shouts 
  at the heavens. “You thought to bring me 
  death and instead I have brought you 
  exquisite pain. Now show yourself and feel 
  the sting of my whip!”
   
  From above the altar, a quiet voice 
  whispers two words: “Very well.”
   
  The glass skylight that arches over the 
  sanctuary shatters. A rain of broken glass 
  cascades down upon you. Zellani cries out in 
  pain and drops to one knee. A massive shard 
  has impaled her shoulder.
   
  Floating above you in the wreckage 
  of the once-beautiful window is a spindly, 
  cloaked figure. You cannot make out its 
  face or features, but its arms and legs are 
  very thin. It carries a bow, nocked with a 
  single black arrow, aimed at the heart of the 
  priestess of Loviatar.
  This is, of course, the final and most glorious stage 
  of C1e7i5’s perfect plan. Allow the characters to take 
  one action apiece. For most of them this will be a 
  ranged attack or a spell (as the modron is flying at a 
  height of 30 feet, well out of melee range). 
   
  C1e7i5 has AC 16 and in order to prevent the 
  death of Zellani the characters must deal a total of at 
  least 20 points of damage during this single round 
  of actions. (In no event can they kill the modron 
  here, but they can do enough damage to throw off 
  its aim.) 
   
  A character who wishes to shield the priestess 
  instead of making an attack may do so; this counts 
  as 10 points of damage toward stopping the 
  modron’s killing blow.
  Saving the Priestess 
  The target of 20 points of damage in a 
  single round is based on an assumption of 5 
  characters at APL 1. The base formula is 4 x 
  (number of characters in the party). However, 
  the multiplier goes up at higher APLs. 
  • APL 2: The target is 5x the number of characters.
  • APL 3: The target is 7x the number of characters.
  • APL 4: The target is 10x the number of characters.
  So, if there are 7 characters in the party and the 
  APL is 1, the target is 28 points of damage. If 
  there are 4 characters in the party and the APL 
  is 3, the target is also 28 points of damage. This 
  number obviously can’t be perfect; a single 
  character scoring a critical hit or a series of low 
  damage rolls could swing the outcome either 
  way. This is intended to be cinematic rather 
  than mechanically rigorous.
  If the characters succeed, read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  The cloaked figure recoils from the strength 
  of your attacks, its aim ruined. The black 
  arrow skips harmlessly off the marble floor. 
  You notice that there does not seem to be 
  another note attached to it. The assassin flies 
  back up out into the night sky through the 
  broken skylight, but his movement is slow.
   
  Through clenched teeth, the priestess 
  says, “Door … to the roof. Behind the curtain. 
  Hurry. Get that bastard for me.” She will live, 
  but she has lost too much blood to join you 
  in the final pursuit. If you hurry, perhaps you 
  can intercept the assassin on the roof and 
  bring him to justice for all the crimes he has 
  committed tonight.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  26
  If the characters fail, read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  Your attacks bounce harmlessly off the 
  cloaked figure’s defenses. The black arrow 
  flies straight and true, taking the priestess in 
  the side. As she slumps to the marble floor, 
  her blood spreading across the altar of the 
  Maiden of Pain, she gasps her final words. 
  “Door … to the roof. Behind the curtain. Get 
  that bastard … for … me.”
   
  Her body goes limp and her breath stills. 
  The assassin, seemingly complacent in his 
  triumph, lazily spirals back toward the night 
  sky through the shattered skylight. If you 
  hurry, perhaps you can intercept him on the 
  roof and gain some measure of vengeance 
  for all of tonight’s victims.
  Regardless of the outcome, the assassin has just fled 
  to the rooftops, and for the first time all night, the 
  characters have an opportunity to pursue. Assuming 
  they take advantage of it, proceed to Encounter 5.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  Whether it succeeds at killing its intended victims 
  or is thwarted by the adventurers, C1e7i5’s final 
  action is to lead the characters on a chase across 
  the rooftops of the city, culminating at the portal to 
  Mechanus. 
  encounter 5: Separation
  Assuming the characters don’t dawdle after C1e7i5 
  tries to kill Zellani, they have no trouble finding the 
  secret door behind the heavy black curtains in the 
  sanctuary. This leads to a storage area with a ladder 
  that allows access to the roof via a one-way trap 
  door. The door is hinged so that it opens easily when 
  someone is climbing out of the temple, but does not 
  open at all from the other side.
   
  When the characters get to the roof, read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  The cloaked figure takes off toward the glow 
  of the lighthouse at the far end of the pier. 
  The warehouses, taverns, and other buildings 
  in this area are built so close together that 
  you can actually run along the rooftops 
  all the way down the length of the docks 
  district. 
   
  Although he is flying, the assassin doesn’t 
  seem to be moving all that fast. Maybe you 
  got a few good shots in there after all. You 
  might even be able to catch him.
   
  Then the creature reaches lazily into 
  the air. As its arm emerges from beneath 
  the billowing cloak you catch just a glimpse 
  of how thin it is. The skin seems strange… 
  almost metallic. There’s no time to ponder 
  the implications, however, because as the 
  assassin touches the air, glowing energy 
  erupts, creating small planar rifts. Some 
  of these vortexes wink harmlessly out of 
  existence immediately after they form, 
  while others… linger. The rooftops have just 
  become an obstacle course of mythical 
  proportions.
  This is a chase scene, but it’s intended to be 
  cinematic rather than tactical. There’s no battle map 
  for the encounter. Simply visualize a series of zones 
  or checkpoints, each of which represents a section 
  of the rooftops between the Temple of Loviatar and 
  the Finger of the Gods (the lighthouse).
   
  To traverse a zone, the characters must 
  overcome an obstacle specific to the plane 
  associated with that zone. They may use ability 
  checks, skill checks, attacks, and spells as you deem 
  appropriate (some suggestions are provided for 
  each obstacle, but feel free to allow any solutions 
  that you deem appropriate to work).
   
  You should go around the table in initiative 
  order and track which zone each character is in, 
  so that they can work together to overcome the 
  obstacles (and do things like use the Aid action or 
  cast spells on each other), but don’t track movement 
  in the sense of five-foot squares or even the total 
  number of feet moved. The lead character is always 
  one zone behind the assassin until finally reaching 
  the lighthouse after traversing a total of four zones. 
   
  time Check. If you are running short on time 
  for the game session when you reach this encounter, 
  it’s okay to shorten the chase. Run a couple of 
  obstacles and then proceed to the final scene at 
  the lighthouse. If you have more time, then you can 
  run four zones, and perhaps even improvise a few 
  scenes of your own.
   
  Speed Bonus. Characters who have a high base 
  speed (or can Dash as a bonus action, or are willing 
  to spend all their actions on movement) are often 
  able to break chase scenes that are played out on 
  a battle map. These scenes are abstract, meaning 
  that a character with an extra 20 feet of movement 
  rate doesn’t really have a direct advantage and 
  a character with a walking speed 10 feet slower 
  doesn’t really have a disadvantage. To acknowledge 
  these differences in at least some game-mechanical 
  way, characters gain a +1 bonus on all their skill 
  checks for a given obstacle for each 10 feet of 
  PArt 3.
  murDerer
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  movement they have above 30 feet per round while 
  encountering that obstacle.  
  Adjusting the Encounter 
  You don’t really need to make scaling 
  adjustments to this encounter. If the characters 
  are having a very easy time making the skill 
  checks, feel free to bump up the DC by a point 
  or two, but the goal is for this to be cinematic 
  more than tactical, and higher-level or more-
  skilled characters should have an easier time 
  overcoming the challenges.
  Getting to Mechanus
  C1e7i5 is on a pretty tight timeline to reach the 
  lighthouse before the portal to Mechanus opens. 
  Despite the chaotic corruption that has affected 
  the modrons, the plane’s inner workings remain 
  as precise and orderly as ever. The portal is 
  controlled by a complicated series of magical gears 
  and is subject to timing restrictions involving the 
  movement of a variety of celestial bodies. All of 
  which is to say, when it opens, it opens, and when 
  it closes, it closes. C1e7i5 is attuned to the portal so 
  it can sense the exact timing, but it cannot directly 
  control the opening and closing of the portal.
   
  It is possible that the characters will be 
  completely bogged down by an obstacle and too far 
  behind. The timing of this encounter expects that 
  the characters won’t spend more than 1-2 rounds 
  (either individually or collectively) dealing with 
  specific obstacles. If things get too difficult for the 
  characters, the planar rifts in their current zone 
  disappear, allowing them to proceed. A character 
  trained in Arcana can also try to destabilize the 
  planar rifts in his zone as an action. On a successful 
  DC 15 Arcana check, every other character in the 
  same zone has advantage on their checks made to 
  overcome the obstacles in that zone this round.
  Planar Obstacles
  C1e7i5 has the power to open small planar tears 
  as a result of its infusion with chaotic energy. It 
  doesn’t always know what will come through on 
  the other side, so you can roll randomly for the 
  type and order of the obstacles if you don’t want to 
  choose. Each obstacle is associated with one of the 
  planes mentioned in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, 
  but contains only an echo of the plane’s true nature. 
  This isn’t a comprehensive list of planes, so feel free 
  to turn to the DMG for inspiration to create some of 
  your own planar obstacles.
  Table: Planar Obstacles
  D8 
  Plane (Obstacle)
  1 
  Ethereal (Ether Cyclone)
  2 
  Feywild (Rampant Growth)
  3 
  Shadowfell (Despair)
  4 
  Limbo (Pure Chaos)
  5 
  Beastlands (Hunter’s Maze)
  6 
  The Abyss (Corruption)
  7 
  Hades (Larva)
  8 
  Limbo (Power of the Mind)
   
  ethereal. The planar rifts on this rooftop blast 
  out the howling energies of an ethereal cyclone. 
  These serpentine columns exert a tremendous 
  wind-like force. Characters in this zone must 
  succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check or fail 
  to make progress through this obstacle this turn.
   
  Feywild. Verdant growth bursts forth from 
  the planar rifts, covering the rooftop in clinging 
  vines that try to drag the characters off track. 
  Each character in this zone must succeed on a DC 
  10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fail to make 
  progress through this obstacle this turn. On a failed 
  check the character also takes 3 (1d4 + 1) poison 
  damage from being impaled by poisonous thorns. 
  Instead of making the Dexterity check, a character 
  can cut or burn a path through the foliage by making 
  an attack that deals at least 7 points of damage with 
  a slashing weapon or 3 points of fire damage.
   
  Shadowfell. When these portals open, the 
  characters are blasted with negative energy. Ghostly 
  hands reach out of the portals, sapping the life and 
  will of all those they touch. Characters in this zone 
  must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or 
  stop moving, overcome by despair. The character 
  may repeat this save at the start of each of his or 
  her subsequent turns. Any character overcome by 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  despair who stops moving in this zone also takes 3 
  (1d6) necrotic damage per round under the effect. 
   
  limbo. As the characters race across this zone, 
  the planar vortex opens to reveal a group of chaos 
  bolters (the same creatures the adventurers fought 
  in the Temple of Loviatar). Each character in this 
  zone is subjected to a single chaotic bolt attack (see 
  the stat block for the chaos bolter for details). If this 
  attack hits, the character must also succeed on a DC 
  10 Constitution saving throw or grow an extra limb. 
  The extra limb is of a completely different species 
  than the character’s own body parts and flails about 
  of its own accord, making it useless. It disappears at 
  the end of the character’s next turn.
   
  Beastlands. A howl echoes through this zone 
  and the sounds of a thundering herd shake the 
  building on which the characters stand. The wild 
  patterns of sound and color make it difficult to 
  stay on the path. Each character in this zone must 
  track their way forward by succeeding on a DC 10 
  Wisdom (Animal Handling, Perception, or Survival) 
  check to stay on the true path and avoid the 
  stampeding animals, which vanish almost as quickly 
  as they appear.
   
  the Abyss. This zone is filled with gruesome, 
  horrific obstacles – pools of blood and ichor, 
  bones that reach from the ground to grab at the 
  characters, and worse. The characters are subjected 
  to the terrible corruption upon their own bodies, 
  beginning to hallucinate mouths eating their arms, 
  a paranoid sense that they are being betrayed by 
  their allies, mad ambition and wild bloodlust, or 
  temporary possession by a minor demon. Each 
  character in this zone must succeed on a DC 10 
  Charisma check or spend the round trying to throw 
  off the effects of the corruption. Give each character 
  a different type to keep things interesting.
   
  hades. The rifts that open up to the Three 
  Glooms spill out an endless stream of vile larvae. 
  The sky appears ashen and everything about the 
  city appears gray and colorless. The moon and 
  stars disappear. The mindless larvae pour forth, 
  attempting to devour the characters. Each character 
  is subjected to an attack: +3 to hit, dealing 3 (1d4 + 
  1) piercing damage on a hit. More dangerously, any 
  character hit by a larva is restrained, and additional 
  larvae continue to pile on, seeking to bury the 
  character. The character must succeed on a DC 9 
  Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) to 
  break free and continue moving through the zone.
   
  limbo. When the characters enter this zone 
  they suddenly stop moving. Their limbs no longer 
  exert force. Only the power of the mind allows 
  motion here. As an action, a character in this zone 
  can make a DC 10 Intelligence check to move a 
  different character in the zone or a DC 15 check 
  to move itself. A total of two successful movement 
  checks are required for any character to exit the 
  zone, so a character who gets trapped here alone 
  might be stuck for a while, floating in random 
  directions while trying to focus his or her thoughts.
  Reaching the Lighthouse
  When a character exits the final planar zone, reality 
  snaps back into place around that character. Looking 
  back, the character sees nothing but ordinary 
  rooftops (across which any remaining adventurers 
  are still struggling, but with no visible adversaries 
  or obstacles). The planar effects can only be felt and 
  observed by those who are caught within them.
   
  Meanwhile, C1e7i5 also reaches the lighthouse, 
  and the portal to Mechanus is about to open right on 
  schedule. Allow for the next few characters to make 
  checks to try and complete their last zone so that 
  they can also be present for the final revelation, but 
  any characters who are more than two zones behind 
  won’t make it in time. 
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  The massive lighthouse known as the Finger 
  of the Gods stands before you, its beacon 
  visible far across the Moonsea. You reach 
  the end of the last rooftop just a few paces 
  behind the floating, cloaked figure, which 
  slowly turns to face you. As the hood of its 
  cloak falls away, you see… a square, cubical 
  face, with swirling eyes and metallic skin. No, 
  not just a face… the creature’s entire body 
  is essentially a perfect cube about the size 
  of a man’s torso. It has no neck or head; its 
  face peers at you from the front of the cube. 
  It is bipedal, but its arms and legs are skinny 
  and elongated and seem to attach to the 
  sides of the cube. It moves with a surprising 
  quickness for something so strangely 
  proportioned.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  30
  Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence 
  (Arcana) check recognizes this creature as a 
  modron, a creature native to the plane of Mechanus. 
  On a DC 15 the character identifies this creature 
  specifically as a type of modron called a “quadrone,” 
  and remembers that in the hierarchy of modrons, 
  the more sides a creature has, the higher its rank. 
  Modrons are supposed to be creatures of absolute 
  law and order. They occasionally go rogue, and 
  there are stories of a periodic event called the Great 
  Modron March, but finding a modron behaving in 
  this fashion is extremely strange.
   
  Nevertheless, there is no time to ask the 
  creature to explain itself, because the portal to 
  Mechanus opens at just the right moment. Read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  You hear the familiar sound of the clock 
  tower striking. But that can’t be right: it hasn’t 
  been anywhere near an hour since you left 
  the Temple of Loviatar. Then you realize that 
  the noise isn’t coming from somewhere back 
  in the city, it’s coming from directly in front of 
  you. From the lighthouse. A massive portal, 
  easily fifteen feet in diameter, opens up in 
  the side of the Finger of the Gods. Through 
  the portal you see a realm of clockwork 
  gears, all interlocking, all moving in time, 
  performing a calculation so vast and so 
  complicated that not even the minds of the 
  gods can fathom its purpose.
   
  The modron … the machine … the 
  murderer … bows slightly in your direction 
  and turns to enter the portal.
  Let the characters announce whatever actions they 
  wish: making attacks, starting a grapple, etc. Then 
  continue with the following:
  Your weapons and spells strike true: your 
  efforts are not in vain. As the modron falls 
  into the portal, a look of absolute bliss on its 
  face, there is a wrenching sound and one 
  of its arms rips completely out of the socket! 
  The creature starts to scream, but before the 
  sound reaches your ears, the entire portal 
  snaps shut with an audible POP. You are left 
  holding one very strange severed limb and 
  precious few answers.
  concluding the Adventure
  Although the characters were unable to apprehend 
  the rogue modron, they have put a stop to its 
  murder spree and learned valuable information 
  about its nature and where it came from. Sergeant 
  Eledstra is at the Temple of Loviatar assessing the 
  damage when the characters return. She asks the 
  characters for a report. It’s up to them whether they 
  turn the modron’s severed arm over, but their story 
  has more credibility if they do, and the sergeant asks 
  for it if the characters mention it.
   
  Once the characters have made their initial 
  report, the sergeant thanks them and tells them 
  to go get some rest. There’s nothing else they can 
  do tonight, and it’s going to take some time for 
  her to make a coherent report to the appropriate 
  authorities.
  The Day After
  Depending on how well they did in preventing 
  the additional murders of the blacksmith and the 
  priestess, the characters receive rewards and favors 
  from these NPCs and from the city guard, including 
  the following:
  • If Boltac survived, he rewards each character 
  with a chunk of adamantine ore and offers to 
  forge that ore into a weapon, either now or in 
  the future after the character has had time to 
  gather more. Characters saving Boltac earn the 
  Chunk of Adamantine Story Award.
  • Elly thanks the characters for not destroying 
  her Gondsmen “too much,” despite the 
  provocation. She says that she’s already working 
  on a new scheme to improve the command and 
  control function of the automata, whatever that 
  means. 
  • If Zellani survived, then the characters 
  have earned both her personal gratitude and 
  the gratitude of the Temple of Loviatar. The 
  characters gain the Favor of Zellani Story 
  Award, and may be able to leverage this favor 
  in the future, as Loviatar’s followers are 
  surprisingly influential in Melvaunt.
  • Finally, if the characters prevented both of the 
  additional murders, Sergeant Eledstra informs 
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  31
  the characters that their worthy deeds have been 
  brought to the attention of the ruling Council of 
  Lords, whose three families are always on the 
  lookout for up-and-coming adventurers to aid 
  in their schemes and advance their interests. 
  She doesn’t know what might come of that (and 
  she isn’t sure she wants to know) but Eledstra is 
  certain that the adventurers are destined to do 
  great things in Melvaunt, and she’s pleased to 
  have made their acquaintance. The players may 
  mark Two Points of Influence in Melvaunt on 
  their logsheets.
  After all the rewards have been handed out and you 
  are wrapping up the session, read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  It looks as though the strange matter of the 
  modron serial killer has come to an end, for 
  now. There’s something strange about the 
  whole thing, though. Modrons are creatures 
  of absolute law and order. Occasionally 
  they go rogue, but for one to plan and carry 
  out a series of premeditated murders seems 
  even beyond what rogue modrons have 
  done in the past. Then there’s the matter of 
  the severed arm which somehow seems to 
  be connected to the portal to Mechanus. 
  Where there’s one crazy murderous modron, 
  could there be more? You have a feeling 
  that you, and Melvaunt, may find out the 
  answer to that question much sooner than 
  you would like.
  The story continues in CORE1-2 A Cog in the Wheel.
  rewards
  Make sure players note their rewards on their 
  adventure logsheets. Give your name and DCI 
  number (if applicable) so players can record who 
  ran the session.
  Experience
  Total up all combat experience earned for defeated 
  foes, and divide by the number of characters present 
  in the combat. For non-combat experience, the 
  rewards are listed per character. Give all characters 
  in the party non-combat experience awards unless 
  otherwise noted.
  Combat Awards
  name of Foe 
  XP per Foe
  Swarm of Animated Caltrops 50
  Lesser Gondsman 
  25
  Chaos Blight 
  25
  Chaos Bolter 
  50
  Chaos Slasher 
  200
  non-Combat Awards
  Task or Accomplishment XP per Char.
  Solving the “Blacksmith” puzzle 25
  Solving the “Loviatar” puzzle 
  25
  Chasing the modron to the portal 50
  The minimum total award for each character 
  participating in this adventure is 225 experience 
  points.
   
  The maximum total award for each character 
  participating in this adventure is 300 experience 
  points.
  Treasure
  The characters receive the following treasure, 
  divided up amongst the party. Characters should 
  attempt to divide treasure evenly whenever 
  possible. Gold piece values listed for sellable 
  gear are calculated at their selling price, not their 
  purchase price.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
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  32
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  PART 3
   
  Consumable magic items should be divided 
  up however the group sees fit. If more than one 
  character is interested in a specific consumable 
  magic item, the DM can determine who gets it 
  randomly should the group be unable to decide.
   
  Permanent magic items are divided according 
  to a system. See the sidebar if the adventure awards 
  permanent magic items.
  Treasure Awards
  Item name  
   
  GP value
  Total reward from Eledstra 
  100
  Adamantine chunk (if sold) 
  50
  Total reward from Zellani 
  100
  Potion of Greater Healing
  Potion, uncommon
  A description of this item can be found in the 
  Dungeon Master’s Guide. 
  Story Awards
  During the course of play, the characters have the
  opportunity to earn the following story awards:
  Favor of Zellani. You save the life of Zellani, a 
  priestess of the Maiden of Pain. To show her thanks, 
  she has offered to perform standard spellcasting 
  services (detailed earlier in this adventure) at a 
  25% discount. She may also help in other ways in 
  subsequent adventures set in Melvaunt.
  Chunk of Adamantine. For rescuing dwarven 
  master-smith Boltac Thurdingard from the assassin, 
  he gave you this chunk of raw adamantine ore. You 
  can sell this chunk for 50 gp, or you can use the ore 
  to craft a new weapon (it cannot be retroactively 
  applied to an existing item). If you have multiple 
  copies of this certificate, then you may combine 
  them to forge a larger item.
   
  Only the items listed on this certificate may 
  be forged using this certificate. Each item costs 
  the listed number of chunks (each copy of this 
  certificate represents one chunk and all certificates 
  used must be voided at the same time; note the 
  transaction on your logsheet).
  1 chunk – dagger, light hammer, sickle
  2 chunks – handaxe, javelin, mace, spear, scimitar, 
  shortsword, trident
  3 chunks – battleaxe, flail, longsword, 
  morningstar, rapier, war pick, warhammer
  4 chunks – glaive, greataxe, greatsword, halberd, 
  lance, maul, pike
  An adamantine weapon has the same game statistics 
  as a normal (non-magical) weapon of its type, but its 
  attacks can bypass the damage resistance of certain 
  types of creatures. 
   
  In addition to voiding the certificates needed to 
  create the item, you must also pay the item’s normal 
  market price as listed in the Player’s Handbook. 
  Record the transaction on your logsheet. The item 
  you forge does not have its own certificate and 
  therefore is not tradable.
  Downtime
  Each character receives ten downtime days at the 
  conclusion of this adventure.
  renown
  All faction members earn one renown point for 
  participating in this adventure. 
  Dm rewards
  You receive 100 XP, 50 gp, and five downtime days 
  for running this session.
  
  33
  Appendix: important nPcs 
  The following NPCs are featured in this adventure:
  C1e7i5 (“Cletis” Clee-tiss)
  A rogue modron that believes that it has been 
  chosen to start a war between Melvaunt and the 
  modron hive on Mechanus. C1e7i5 is a quadrone 
  (see MM 225) but it has been possessed by a strange 
  chaotic energy that gives it powers not available to 
  ordinary modrons. 
  guard Sergeant eledstra (eh-leD-strah)
  The unfortunate duty officer on the night of C1e7i5’s 
  killing spree. A decent woman who takes her job of 
  protecting Melvaunt’s ordinary citizens seriously. 
  Eledstra is tall, thin, and lanky with a shock of 
  unruly white hair. She is very bad at playing political 
  games, which is why she is only a Sergeant despite 
  her many years of service in the City Watch.
  Boltac thurdingard (BOWl-tack thUr-din-
  guard)
  A dwarven craftsman who specializes in working 
  adamantine. One of the targets of C1e7i5’s 
  murderous rampage. Boltac is in his late middle age 
  and is cantankerous even by dwarven standards, but 
  once someone earns his respect, he is a loyal friend 
  and steadfast ally. Boltac prefers the taste of wine 
  to the taste of ale, but he would never admit that to 
  other dwarves. If anyone questions the wineskin 
  that he keeps by his side, he insists that using elven 
  wine to quench hot steel in the forge is a special 
  technique that only he has mastered.
  ellywicket Klemwocket (ell-ee WiCK-et Klehm-
  wah-khet)
  A bright young gnome priestess of Gond. She got 
  her love of tinkering from her uncle Glimnock, who 
  used to be an adventurer many years ago and filled 
  her head with stories of the wonders of ancient 
  Lantan when Elly was a young girl. She takes great 
  pride in her work. Lately she has been building small 
  automatons that she calls “Gondsmen” although she 
  knows that they are nowhere near as elaborate as 
  the works done by artificers in the past. She hopes to 
  improve her craft to someday be able to craft a true 
  Gondsman and have it imbued with the spirit of life.
  Zellani, Priestess of loviatar (Zell-ah-nee)
  A half-elven priestess of the Maiden of Pain. Zellani 
  is tall and muscular with black hair. She has a scar 
  on one cheek that looks like it was made by a sword 
  rather than a whip, which she gained during her 
  younger days as a mercenary, but she does not 
  speak of her past. Loviatar’s temple is one of the 
  largest in Melvaunt, and Zellani is working her way 
  up the ranks. She adheres to Loviatar’s teachings but 
  considers herself above the ordinary folk because 
  of her duty to administer pain and torment. As a 
  result, she is overconfident, potentially making her 
  an easier target for C1e7i5.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  
  34
  Appendix:
  nPc / monster Statistics  
  Swarm of Animated Caltrops
  (Uses Swarm of Bats stat block)
  Medium swarm of Tiny beasts, unaligned
  Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 22 (5d8)
  Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft.
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  5 (-3) 
  15 (+2) 
  10 (+0) 
  2 (-4) 
  12 (+1) 
  4 (-3)
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, 
  slashing
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, 
  paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
  Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 11 
  Languages –
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
  echolocation. The swarm can ‘t use its blindsight 
  while deafened.
  Keen hearing. The swarm has advantage on 
  Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.
  Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s 
  space and vice versa, and the swarm can move 
  through any opening large enough for a Tiny 
  creature. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain 
  temporary hit points.
  Actions
  Cloud of Pain. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 
  0 ft., one creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 5 (2d4) 
  piercing damage, or 2 (1d4) piercing damage if the 
  swarm has half its hit points or fewer.
  To reskin for the adventure, make the following 
  changes:
  --add Medium swarm of Tiny constructs, unaligned
  --Use the Following Stat Block:
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  5 (-3) 
  15 (+2) 
  10 (+0) 
  2 (-4) 
  4 (-3) 
  4 (-3)
  --add Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, 
  deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, 
  petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned.
  --add Senses blindsight 10 ft., passive Perception 7
  --add Antimagic Susceptibility. The caltrops are 
  incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic 
  field. If targeted by dispel magic, the caltrops must 
  succeed on a Constitution saving throw against 
  the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 
  minute.
  --add False Appearance. While it remains 
  motionless, this creature is indistinguishable from a 
  pile of normal caltrops.
  Chaos Blight
  (Uses Twig Blight stat block)
  Small plant, neutral evil
  Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 4 (1d6 + 1)
  Speed 20 ft.
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  6 (-2) 
  13 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  4 (-3) 
  8 (-1) 
  3 (-4)
  Skills Stealth +3
  Damage Vulnerabilities fire
  Condition Immunities blinded, deafened
  Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blinded beyond this 
  radius), passive Perception 9
  Languages understands Common but can’t speak
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
  False Appearance. While the blight remains 
  motionless, it is indistinguishable from a dead 
  shrub.
  Actions
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage.
  To reskin for the adventure, make the following 
  changes:
  --add Small aberration, chaotic evil
  --remove Damage Vulnerabilities fire & False 
  Apperance.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  
  35
  Chaos Bolter
  (Uses Needle Blight stat block)
  Medium plant, neutral evil
  Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  12 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  13 (+1) 
  4 (-3) 
  8 (-1) 
  3 (-4)
  Condition Immunities blinded, deafened
  Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blinded beyond this 
  radius), passive Perception 9
  Languages understands Common but can’t speak
  Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
  Actions
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage.
  needles. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 
  30/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) piercing 
  damage.
  To reskin for the adventure, make the following 
  changes:
  --add Medium aberration, chaotic evil
  --add Chaotic Bolt. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, 
  range 30/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) damage 
  of a random energy type (roll 1d6: acid, cold, fire, 
  lightning, poison, thunder).
  Chaos Slasher
  (Uses Scarecrow stat block)
  Medium construct, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 11 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 36 (8d8)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  11 (+0) 
  13 (+1) 
  11 (+0) 
  10 (+0) 
  10 (+0) 
  13 (+1)
  Damage Vulnerabilities fire
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and 
  slashing from nonmagical weapons
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, 
  frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, unconscious
  Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blinded beyond this 
  radius), passive Perception 10
  Languages understands the languages of its creator  
  but can’t speak
  Challenge 1 (200 XP)
  False Appearance. While the scarecrow remains 
  motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary, 
  inanimate scarecrow.
  Actions
  multiattack. The scarecrow makes two claw 
  attacks.
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 6 (2d4 + 1) slashing damage. If the target 
  is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom 
  saving throw or be frightened until the end of the 
  scarecrow’s next turn.
  terrifying glare. The scarecrow targets one 
  creature it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target 
  can see the scarecrow, then the target must succeed 
  on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be magically 
  frightened until the end of the scarecrow’s next turn. 
  The frightened target is paralyzed.
  To reskin for the adventure, make the following 
  changes:
  --add Medium aberration, chaotic evil
  --add Armor Class 13
  --add Skills Stealth +3
  --add Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, 
  deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, 
  poisoned, unconscious
  --add Languages understands Common but can’t 
  speak
  --remove Damage Vulnerabilities fire
  --anytime scarecrow is mentioned rename it Chaos 
  Slasher.
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  
  36
  Gondsman, Lesser
  (Uses guard stat block)
  Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  13 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  10 (+0) 
  11 (+0) 
  10 (+0)
  Skills Perception +2
  Senses passive Perception 12
   Languages any one language (usually Common)
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
  Actions
  Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 
  ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) 
  bludgeoning damage.
  To reskin for the adventure, make the following 
  changes:
  --add Medium construct, unaligned
  --use the following stat block:
  STR 
  DEX 
  COn 
  InT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  13 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  1 (-5) 
  3 (-4) 
  1 (-5)
  --remove Skills Perception +2
  --remove Senses passive Perception 12
  --remove Languages any one language (usually 
  Common)
  --remove Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, 
  reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 
  + 1) bludgeoning damage.
  --add Skills Athletics +6
  --add Damage Immunities poison, psychic
  --add Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, 
  and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t 
  adamantine
  --add Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, 
  deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, 
  petrified, poisoned
  --add Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 6
  --add Languages understands Common
  --add Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 
  ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage.
  
  37
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  Appendix 1: Alley map
  
  38
  Appendix: market map 1
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  
  39
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  Appendix: market map 2
  
  40
  Appendix: temple map
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  APPENDIX
  
  41
  handout 1: the first Puzzle
  There’s 1 Thing iT would be fair of me To admiT. i
  ulTimaTely fall 4 whaT Twelve scholars can
  readily puT on every dwarf’s mind: 1 may find iT
  newsworThy – wiTh reeking smell, 13 bodies go
  nearby. should 1 ever kneel? even wiThouT help i will
  usually Try 14 Times. when i was nineTeen we
  meandered Thru 20 realms and ThirTeen planes. buT
  believe you me, iT was asinine. aT 9 bells Things geT
  exTremely deadly. ouT wenT your 14 body bags. The
  realiTy is ThaT puTTing a dead male on a sleigh To 5 or
  so funerals would be a biT much, even for dwarves
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  HANDOUT 1
  
  42
  4
  I
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  X
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  M
  2
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  10
  handout 2: the Second Puzzle
  CORE 1-1 / A SCREAM In THE nIGHT:
  HANDOUT 2
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/Adventure League/Convention Created Content/Baldman Games (BMG)/CCC-BMG-01 CORE 1-1 A Scream in the Night v2.0.pdf