TEXT: 1
  
  2
  Credits
  Designer: Cat Evans
  Editor: Liz Gist
  Cover Art: Cat Evans
  Interior Art: All licensed under CC0
  Layout: Cat Evans
  “Playing in Gothic Earth” taken from Oliver 
  Clegg’s excellent adventure Cliffhanger Abbey, 
  and reprinted here with permission. 
  Special thanks: Oliver Clegg for beta reading 
  and insights; M. T. Black and the aforemen-
  tioned Oliver Clegg for turning Gothic Earth 
  loose on DMs Guild; and several dozen odd folk 
  on Twitter for encouraging this adventure’s cre-
  ation. I hope it doesn’t disappoint.  
  If you enjoy this adventure, please consider leav-
  ing a rating or review, and looking up some more 
  of my releases.
  If you want to talk, you can find me on Twitter as 
  @perpetualgloom
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the 
  Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, the dragon 
  ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast 
  product names, and their respective logos are 
  trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA 
  and other countries.
  This work contains material that is copyright 
  Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. 
  Such material is used with permission under 
  the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon 
  Masters Guild.
  All other original material in this work is copy-
  right 2019 by Catherine Evans, published under 
  the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon 
  Masters Guild.
  Foreword
  Welcome to Gothic Earth, a world similar, but 
  not identical, to our own world in the 1890s. 
  There are no orcs or goblins to fight here, but 
  there are deep mysteries, sinister cults, doomed 
  romances, and a creature from beyond the stars,
  Whose beauty is beyond compare,
  With flaming locks of auburn hair,
  With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green. 
  We cannot compete with you, Jolene. 
  
  3
  Contents
  Welcome to Gothic Earth 4
  Playing in Gothic Earth 5
  Back ground 7
  Part One: York 
  8
  Part Two: London 13
  Part Three: York 20
  Player Handout A 23
  Appendix A: NPCs & Items 24
  Appendix B: Amended Spell List 26
  Appendix C: Order of the Balefire 33
  
  4
  Content Warnings
  This is a horror adventure. It deals with seduc-
  tion and coercion, meaning that it may have 
  negative impacts on survivors of sexual assault 
  or harassment, amongst others. The antagonist 
  of Johanna wears the form of a beautiful wom-
  an, so there is also a high probability of violence 
  against women and – depending on your group – 
  some unkind jabs about her as a sexual being. 
  In addition, Chapter One includes a graphic de-
  piction of suicide. 
  Sensitive subjects and scary situations require 
  safety tools. If you are unfamiliar with RPG 
  safety tools, this article by The Gauntlet, as well 
  as Monte Cook Games’ Consent in Gaming are 
  great places to start: 
  https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/tools-of-the-ta-
  ble.html
  https://www.montecookgames.com/store/prod-
  uct/consent-in-gaming/
  Lethality in Gothic Earth
  Gothic Earth is dangerous. Characters are mere 
  mortals, and the threats they face are evil and 
  supernatural. Worse, the world is very much on 
  the monsters’ side. 
  In a traditional game of 5th edition Dungeons 
  & Dragons it is very hard for characters to die. 
  When they do, resurrection magic makes it a 
  temporary pitfall. Not so in Gothic Earth. Com-
  bat here is dangerous, injury traumatic, and the 
  chance of a mistake leading to permanent char-
  acter death is high. 
  There are several combat encounters in Johan-
  na, or The Beauty From Beyond The Stars. Any 
  of them could prove deadly; Johanna herself is 
  a frighteningly powerful enemy for characters of 
  the recommended level. For an easier ride, save 
  the adventure for a slightly higher level. 
  Welcome to Gothic Earth
  
  5
  Playing in Gothic Earth
  What is Gothic Earth?
  Gothic Earth is a world much like ours, isolat-
  ed from all other planes by a mysterious dark 
  power. It is not, strictly speaking, a domain of 
  Ravenloft. Or, at least, scholars in the topic dif-
  fer on the matter. All that matters is that Gothic 
  Earth is a strange mirror of our own, laced with 
  dark monsters, evil magic and frozen in a period 
  of time that vaguely reflects the 1890s. Charac-
  ters are whisked away to and from Gothic Earth 
  just as they are to any other domain of Raven-
  loft, often to a bitter and unsatisfying end.
  Character Classes and Subclasses
  Gothic Earth attempts to evoke a Victorian, 
  gothic horror feel, but no classes or subclass-
  es are restricted. Instead, consider reflavouring 
  classes that may seem jarring to fit the aes-
  thetic your campaign is going for. For instance, 
  your Drunken Master monk, instead of being 
  influenced by eastern tropes,  might instead be 
  a drunken sailor with a sore head and enough 
  dumb luck to fool the devil. 
  Magic in Gothic Earth
  Gothic Earth resides in its own plane, isolated 
  from all others. No spell, not even a Wish spell, 
  allows one to escape. Astral Projection, Tele-
  port and all similar spells cast with the intent of 
  leaving Gothic Earth simply fail, as do all effects 
  that banish a creature to another plane of exist-
  ence, which instead spirit affected creatures to a 
  random location on Gothic Earth for their dura-
  tion. These restrictions apply to magic items and 
  artifacts. Magic that allows transit to the Border 
  Ethereal is the exception to this rule. A creature 
  that enters the Border Ethereal from Gothic 
  Earth is pulled back into Gothic Earth upon 
  leaving that plane.
  Magic is strange in Gothic Earth. Spells of fire 
  and thunder are far less common than curses 
  and augmentations. The world of Gothic Earth 
  shuns flashier displays of magic, tending instead 
  towards the subtle movements more easily dis-
  guised as coincidence or providence. Amended 
  spell lists for Spellcasting classes are provided 
  in the Appendices.  Creatures drawn into Goth-
  ic Earth from other worlds find they are unable 
  to remember or prepare spells not on this list 
  whilst on Gothic Earth. Any such spell inscribed 
  in spellbooks or onto a scroll appears as gibber-
  ish whilst on Gothic Earth.
  Firearms and Armour
  Firearms have been commonplace in Gothic 
  Earth for quite some time. Re-imagining cross-
  bows as pistols and rifles (while retaining their 
  in-game statistics) keeps play moving and avoids 
  learning a batch of new rules. However, fire-
  arms have one significant advantage over less 
  sophisticated ranged weapons: firearms ignore 
  non-magical armour. Dexterity, magic items, 
  and spells such as mage armor function normal-
  ly against firearms. 
  The Red Death
  Magic is wrong on Gothic Earth. Dreadful-
  ly wrong. In the ancient past, something evil 
  slipped through the cracks in reality in unknown 
  circumstances, and began to poison the leylines 
  of magic that criss cross the earth. Unopposed 
  for long years, it squats like a hideous spider 
  over the web of magic, and taints every spell 
  cast on the plane. Furthermore, it hungers for 
  the souls of magic users, seeking to corrupt 
  them and steal their delicious life essence for 
  itself. The shadow of the Red Death lies heavy on 
  Gothic Earth, and has caused the plane to take 
  on some unusual traits.
  
  6
  Dark Powers Checks
  Consider using Honor in your Ravenloft cam-
  paign as a way of determining the sway the 
  Dark Powers have over any character as a result 
  of their actions. Honor is a barometer for how 
  tightly the dark powers cling to any particular 
  soul. If creating new characters for a Ravenloft 
  campaign, you may allow characters to roll an 
  extra ability score/spend some of their points 
  on increasing their starting Honor score. See the 
  Dungeon Master’s Guide, Chapter 9: Dungeon 
  Master’s Workshop for rules on Honor. In Raven-
  loft, an Honor Saving throw is called a Dark 
  Powers check. 
  In Gothic Earth having a character make an 
  Honor saving throw when a character comes into 
  direct contact with magic, or uses it for their 
  own ends. Set the DC in accordance with how 
  likely you think the occurrence is to have drawn 
  the attention of the Red Death. On a failure, re-
  duce that character’s current Honor score by 1. 
  If the character’s Honor score ever falls below 
  half of their Spellcasting Ability score, they be-
  come an evil NPC under the Dungeon Master’s 
  Control and are removed from play. Characters 
  who do not utilise magic for their own ends need 
  not fear corruption by the Red Death, but they 
  may find themselves at its mercy without the Art 
  to protect them.
  Dark Supremacy
  In some places on Gothic Earth, where the in-
  fluence of monsters and magic lies most heavily, 
  mortal magic gutters in the face of true evil. No 
  regional or lair effect can be dismissed or coun-
  teracted by mortal magic. In addition, when a 
  spell is resisted by an evil creature’s Legendary 
  Resistance trait, the creature that cast the spell 
  must immediately make a Dark Powers check. 
  Parasitic Siphon
  The Red Death draws magic to it through ley-
  lines, disrupting magical spells as they are cast 
  and making it harder for spellcasters to safely 
  work their magic. When a creature attempts to 
  cast a spell of 1st level or higher, that creature 
  must succeed on a Spellcasting Ability check 
  equal to 10+ the level of the spell being cast. On 
  a failed check, the spell fails to cast and both the 
  action and the spell slot used to cast the spell 
  are wasted. If a creature ever rolls a 1 on this 
  check, the spell backfires in a spectacular man-
  ner determined by the Dungeon Master. 
  As if this were not enough, the casting time of 
  every spell is increased to represent the difficul-
  ty of working magic on Gothic Earth. The usu-
  al rules for casting spells over several rounds 
  apply. 
  Listed Casting Time
  Gothic Earth Casting Time
  Reaction
  Reaction
  1 bonus action
  1 action
  1 action
  2 actions
  1 minute
  10 minutes
  10 minutes
  1 hour
  1 hour
  8 hours
  8 hours
  24 hours
  24 hours
  24 hours
  See the Appendix for amended spell lists for 
  magic users in Gothic Earth.or
  
  7
  Back ground
  Miss Rose Ashton of York was, until recently 
  on course for a happy and entirely mundane 
  existence. Engaged to a dashing young mili-
  tary officer by the name of Captain Roger Hurt, 
  Rose was due to be married in the spring, mere 
  months from now. However, Roger’s affections 
  have been diverted to Miss Jolene Eldon, a rare 
  beauty who arrived from London at the turn of 
  the year. 
   
  Roger is delirious with passion for Jolene. 
  Literally. He raves about her when he dreams, 
  and is completely under her sway. Rose is a 
  determined girl and has opened up several lines 
  of enquiry. She has already engaged a private 
  investigator to look into Jolene’s history in 
  London, and has written to friends – either hers 
  or Roger’s, depending on the player characters’ 
  backgrounds – to consider more supernatural 
  possibilities. 
   
  Jolene, meanwhile, is not at all what she 
  appears to be. She is a creature of cosmic origin, 
  summoned into the body of Johanna Egremont, 
  a young London socialite, by a cult dedicated to 
  great cosmic powers. The creature is ancient but 
  its nature - a spirit of “profound, cosmic truth” - 
  resonates with the “truth is beauty” philosophy 
  of bohemians across Europe in this era of histo-
  ry. 
   
  When the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty’s 
  activities were disrupted by the secret society 
  called The Knightly Order of the Balefire, Johan-
  na escaped. Used to feeding on the adoration of 
  a hundred followers, she has subsisted on the 
  worship of eligible young men, draining them 
  of sanity and energy until they are nothing but 
  husks in the care of their families, or in asy-
  lums. She moves around the country, chang-
  ing names and identities to evade pursuit, and 
  attempting to replenish her power. She must be 
  stopped.  
  Dramatis Personae
  Captain Roger Hurt – A troubled young man 
  Rose Ashton – The fiancée of the troubled 
  young man
  Harry Arbuthnot – A private investigator hired 
  by Rose
  Jolene Eldon / Josephine Esher / Joelle 
  Ender / Joan Everley / Johanna Egremont – 
  the creature
  Spencer Norton /Kenneth Buckley /Alfred 
  Horne – the creature’s previous victims
  Felix Quisen – leader of the Cult of the Cosmic 
  Beauty 
  Helena Fisher – occult investigator who busted 
  the cult. An American  
  Adventure Outline
  In Part One, the characters meet with Rose and 
  Roger. The investigator, Harry Arbuthnot, takes 
  his own life, but investigators learn a little of 
  Johanna’s history from his notes. 
   
  Armed with Harry’s case file, in Part Two 
  the characters travel to London, where they en-
  counter the secret society called the Order of the 
  Balefire, stumble into the underground temple 
  of the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty, and discover a 
  way to dismiss Johanna back to her own plane 
  of existence. 
   
  Finally, the characters return to York for 
  Part Three, and face down the creature known 
  as Johanna. 
  Adventure Hooks
  The characters are assumed to be personal 
  friends of one of the parties involved: Rose Asht-
  on, Roger Hurt, or some member of their family, 
  and to be known as open-minded individuals 
  who can be called upon when a situation defies 
  mundane explanation. Rose (or a person close 
  to her) has invited them to York to see what they 
  make of Roger’s condition. 
   
  The adventure also works as written for 
  characters who are professional “monster hunt-
  ers” or similar, or when one of the group is a 
  respected physician or psychotherapist.
  
  8
  Part One: York
  Tea with Miss Ashton
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
  It is the tail-end of winter, and the entire city of York, from 
  the ancient walls to the spire of York Minster, is coated in 
  gritty, slushy,, grey snow polluted by coal fires and smoke 
  from the railways. Even in the medieval city centre, where 
  buildings cram into winding streets and give some shelter 
  from the wind, it is bitterly cold. To wait here, in the private 
  upstairs room of the pub called the Three Kings, is to step 
  back in time, to an age where trains and gas lamps were 
  not yet conceived of and when man fought off the creatures 
  of darkness with prayers and flashing steel. 
   
  The upstairs room of a pub is not the sort 
  of place one would expect to meet a respectable 
  young lady such as Rose Ashton, but it’s the 
  location she chose. The room is warm and cosy, 
  a retreat from the brutal winter outside, and the 
  pub is pleasant enough, serving hearty meals 
  and a range of good, local beers including the 
  infamous Viking Raider stout. 
   
  Rose arrives a little later than promised, 
  and enters without knocking. Read or para-
  phrase: 
  You are joined, quite suddenly, by a young woman in a fur-
  lined cloak who immediately calls downstairs for a brandy 
  to warm her up. It’s a little early in the day for such things 
  – if the sun could be seen in the grey sky, it would barely be 
  past its zenith – but she has a presence that does not brook 
  refusal. 
  Roleplaying Rose
   
  Rose is a tall, confident young woman. 
  Her clothes are fashionable and well made, but 
  not especially fine. With a Roman nose and pok-
  er-straight hair, she’s not quite in line with the 
  current notion of ‘beauty,’ but she has intelligent 
  eyes and there’s something about being on the 
  receiving end of her full attention that makes 
  one feel rather special. 
   
  When she speaks, she is candid and to 
  the point. She is intelligent and quick-thinking, 
  but has only a limited education (for example, 
  she is not familiar with science or medicine, 
  should these be discussed). She won’t be per-
  suaded that there is nothing “unusual” about 
  her fiancé’s condition. She responds to sugges-
  tions that she is simply jealous of Jolene Eldon 
  with a cool glare and a “try to prove me wrong, if 
  that’s the only way you’ll help me.” 
  Rose’s Perspective
  Rose describes how she and Roger met: her aunt 
  is a nurse, and cared for Roger after he was 
  discharged from the army in South Africa follow-
  ing a serious injury. The two have known each 
  other for just over a year, and been engaged for 
  seven months. They were due to marry in May, 
  just under two months away. Rose describes 
  their relationship as one of equals, a “meeting 
  of minds”: they make each other laugh, and the 
  world fades away when they’re around one an-
  other. 
   
  All was well until, around the new year, a 
  woman called Jolene Eldon entered their social 
  circle. She had just arrived from London, un-
  der somewhat mysterious circumstances, but 
  quickly made friends and was soon “invited to 
  everything.” Rose, like most of the women in her 
  circle, found her dull, almost incapable of con-
  versation, and somewhat distant. Every man, 
  however, was enchanted by her. Rose initially 
  assumed it was her beauty, but as Roger grew 
  increasingly infatuated with her, began to sus-
  pect a more sinister cause. 
   
  Roger’s health declined to the point where 
  he was almost unable to care for himself. Rose’s 
  aunt Mary-Ann is nursing him once again. He 
  spends most of his time in delirium, crying out 
  for Jolene by name or by description (“my flame 
  haired beauty, queen of my soul,” and the like). 
  He grows weaker by the day, doctors can do 
  nothing, and Rose fears Roger will be dead be-
  fore the day they were supposed to be wed. 
  Rose’s Request
  Rose wants the characters to investigate Jolene. 
  She has already employed a private investigator 
  by the name of Harry Arbuthnot to look into her 
  past in London, but she didn’t feel comfortable 
  asking him to follow supernatural leads. She 
  
  9
  hopes that the characters will be able to find out 
  what sort of creature Jolene is, and how to drive 
  her away from Roger. 
  Payment
  Rose and Roger are comfortably well-off but not 
  rich. Rose can offer payment up to £25 (roughly 
  2-3 months wages for a skilled tradesperson), 
  and if necessary will promise further payments 
  by instalment, up to a fee the characters will 
  accept. However, she tries to impress upon them 
  that this investigation might be the making of 
  their careers, or provide them with new knowl-
  edge, and reminds them that letting a creature 
  of evil hurt good people is a sin. 
  Educated Guesses
  Characters who succeed on an Intelligence 
  (Arcana) check draw the following conclusions, 
  based on the DC achieved:
  • 
  DC 12: certain vampires are said to have 
  the ability to enchant and enslave mortals
  • 
  DC 15: this sounds like faerie stories of 
  young men pining after fae beauties
  Development
  Rose provides two leads for the characters to 
  investigate: Roger and Harry. 
  Roger Hurt’s Bedside
  Roger is in his house on the outskirts of York. 
  It’s large and spacious but run-down, with a 
  sagging, leaky, roof, a damp atmosphere and 
  thick climbing plants attempting to pry their 
  way in through every loose window and cracked 
  stone. Rose, or Harry’s housekeeper, Mrs Arm-
  strong, explains that he bought it at a low price, 
  with the intention of fixing it up for he and Rose 
  when they were married. 
   
  Getting into the house is simplicity itself: 
  Mrs Armstrong will admit anyone who might be 
  able to help the young master. Mary-Ann Asht-
  on, his nurse, is another matter: characters will 
  have to drop Rose’s name for her to allow them 
  into Roger’s sickroom. 
  Mrs Armstrong
  Mrs Armstrong is a stout, grandmotherly wom-
  an in middle age. She’s been a domestic servant 
  for nigh-on fifty years, and running a household 
  where the only master is sick in bed doesn’t 
  phase her. She’s well paid and well treated, 
  and she doesn’t want to see Captain Hurt pass 
  away - she doesn’t wish to go looking for a new 
  position. She knows very little of his situation, 
  except that unless he’s heavily dosed with lau-
  danum, he wakes up screaming at all hours, 
  thrashing around and shouting for his love. 
  Sometimes he screams in a language she doesn’t 
  know, and they’ve had to start locking his bed-
  room door because he sleepwalks. 
   
  Jolene visited Roger occasionally, before 
  he grew too ill, and Mrs. Armstrong never liked 
  her: “cold and haughty, the sort of person you’d 
  cross the road to avoid.” She called in the eve-
  nings (most improper) or the late afternoons. As 
  it’s winter, this means it was always dusk or full 
  dark by the time Jolene visited. Jolene is cur-
  rently out of town – Mrs. Armstrong is not sure 
  where. 
  Mary-Ann Ashton
  Mary-Ann is about the same age as Mrs. Arm-
  strong, but considers herself superior in every 
  way. She started nursing during the Crimean 
  War, learning directly from Mary Seacole, and 
  regards this new career of caring for a single 
  invalid as a huge step down from battlefield 
  medicine. She’s only here because she feels a 
  certain loyalty to Roger after nursing him over 
  the effects of the spinal injury that ruined his 
  army career… and because her niece Rose is 
  now engaged to him. 
   
  She is acutely embarrassed by Rose’s 
  insistence that there is some supernatural force 
  at work, and firmly believes that Roger is an 
  unpleasant little man with a wandering eye and 
  a brain fever. She reels off his symptoms with 
  clinical precision, and only occasionally indulg-
  es herself in snide remarks about Roger’s moral 
  character, all relating to his abandoning her 
  niece Rose for Jolene.
   
  Mary-Ann is only present during the days; 
  after administering laudanum, she returns to 
  her own home, about fifteen minutes’ walk away. 
  She is aware that Roger is “difficult” at night, 
  but not in what ways. Mary-Ann can, however, 
  
  10
  accurately describe the symptoms of his decline. 
   
  Initially he seemed to have influenza, or 
  perhaps the early signs of tuberculosis: lack of 
  energy and appetite, and little engagement with 
  the outside world. As he neglected himself, he 
  grew weaker, and slipped into delirium. At first 
  he thought and spoke of nothing but Jolene, 
  but when he grew too ill to receive visitors he 
  declined quickly to a state of complete incoher-
  ence.
  Captain Roger Hurt
  The characters will have to wait at least an hour 
  for Roger to emerge from the protective embrace 
  of the latest dose of laudanum if they wish to 
  speak to him. They can examine him while he is 
  asleep, however. 
   
  Roger is a man in his early thirties, short, 
  red-haired, and moderately attractive. 
  Medical Examination
  The results of a Wisdom (Medicine) check are 
  as follows:
  • 
  DC 10: Roger is extremely weak. He’s 
  emaciated, and his skin and hair show signs of 
  malnutrition (they are dry, brittle, and weak)
  • 
  DC 11: He is being well cared for: he’s 
  clean, and there are no signs of sores or any 
  physical injury except scars on his lower back 
  consistent with a bullet wound, and surgery to 
  remove it (note that there are no bite marks, if 
  the characters are looking for them)
  • 
  DC 15: There is no physical illness or in-
  jury causing Roger’s decline
  Psychological Assessment  
  Once Roger is awake, the characters are free 
  to attempt to converse with him. He is not re-
  motely coherent, constantly looking towards 
  his bedroom window and attempting to get out 
  of bed and go to it. He cries out for Jolene, and 
  accuses Mary-Ann, Rose, and anyone else near-
  by of keeping him prisoner. He will not answer 
  questions on any topic other than Jolene, and 
  responds to most of those with “my queen, my 
  unearthly beauty, my star fallen to earth.” 
  Magical Intervention
  Roger’s state of mind is not magically induced, 
  and cannot be altered by dispel magic, remove 
  curse, or similar. Calm emotions makes him ra-
  tional for the spell’s duration, but does not dis-
  rupt his obsession with Jolene: he talks about 
  her as a woman he is in love with. He feels mild-
  ly guilty about choosing her over Rose, but he 
  can’t control his heart. Charm person or similar 
  enchantments have the normal effects but will 
  not, on their own, make Roger rational or take 
  priority over his obsession with Jolene. 
  The Legacy of Harry Arbuthnot
  Rose directs the characters to Harry Arbuthnot: 
  she thinks it better they hear his findings direct 
  from him. She assumes they are grave, because 
  she knows he returned from London yesterday 
  – a friend mentioned seeing him at the station – 
  but he has not yet made contact with her. When 
  the characters visit, read or paraphrase: 
   
  Harry’s home is a cottage near the railway station. 
  It’s small, far from modern, and sits on the end of a row of 
  similar whitewashed buildings. A small vegetable garden 
  out front is suffering terribly, with the leeks and winter 
  cabbages badly frost-damaged. The curtains are all drawn, 
  no smoke rises from the chimney, and there is no sign that 
  anyone is home. 
  Gaining Entrance
  The cottage has both front and back doors. Both 
  are locked – bolted from the inside – and no one 
  answers characters’ knocking or shouting. The 
  doors must be forced open with a successful DC 
  12 Strength (Athletics) check if the characters 
  wish to use them. 
   
  If characters force the front door in broad 
  daylight and do not take care to check their 
  surroundings, a passerby will see and confront 
  them, raising enough fuss that someone will 
  call the police. This may well result in an arrest, 
  if they cannot talk their way out of the matter. 
  After a brief hearing the next day, the charac-
  ters will be bound over: required to appear in 
  court a week from now, and to remain in York 
  until then. Feel free to use the local constabu-
  lary to make the characters’ lives difficult for the 
  remainder of the adventure (e.g. to have them 
  sneak unnoticed onto a train to London). 
   
  The windows are thin glass, and are easily 
  
  11
  smashed, but they are too small for anyone but 
  a child to crawl through. 
  Cottage Interior - Downstairs
  The cottage smells awful, as if a sewer pipe has 
  burst somewhere (improbable, as the toilet is in 
  a small wooden outhouse). 
   
  The lower floor has two rooms: a small 
  and dated kitchen, and the living room. There 
  is no food in the kitchen except a stale loaf of 
  bread, two full bottles of beer, four empty ones, 
  and an almost empty bottle of Scotch. The living 
  room is similarly sparse: a pair of slippers by the 
  cold hearth, and a few books (apparently Har-
  ry quite enjoys the Brontë sisters) are the only 
  personal effects. A brown leather bag, similar 
  in style to a physician’s, stands open next to an 
  armchair by the fire. It’s stuffed to bursting with 
  papers. 
   
  The Cult of the Cosmic Beauty are watch-
  ing the cottage remotely, and Harry’s bag is the 
  focus of their scrying magic. Detect magic doesn’t 
  reveal anything (the effect originates from the 
  cultist Felix Quisen, in London) but if the char-
  acters have any means of detecting magical spy-
  ing, inform them that they sense they are being 
  watched. 
   
  A narrow flight of stairs leads up to the 
  first floor. The smell is strongest close to them. 
  Cottage Interior - Upstairs
  There are two rooms up here. The back room is 
  currently a junk room, full of unwanted furni-
  ture, old correspondence, worn out clothes, and 
  the like. It’s thick with dust, and the spiders 
  (which are mundane and harmless) are very put 
  out by the characters’ intrusion. 
   
  The front bedroom is dominated by the 
  relatively new feature of a corpse hanged from 
  the rafters. The smell up here is intense, and 
  would be far worse were it not for the winter 
  chill. The corpse in question is of a short, slight 
  man with hair both greying and receding. This is 
  Harry Arbuthnot, though there is no form of ID 
  on the corpse. 
   
  A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) 
  check indicates that this man has been dead for 
  roughly two days. 
   
  The room contains a bed, desk, night-
  stand and wardrobe. Even a cursory look around 
  reveals the suicide note on the desk. It reads 
  simply: 
  I have seen her eyes like deepest stars and I shall never be 
  solely myself again.
  Characters who have the speak with dead spell 
  will surely want to speak to Harry Arbuthnot. 
  Do not gloss over the horror of this process. The 
  corpse’s vocal chords have been crushed by the 
  noose and his eyes bulge out of his head, wild 
  and staring. He speaks in a slow, ugly croak 
  and from the moment he is summoned he weeps 
  and begs to be allowed to rest once more, “safe 
  where I can forget.” Harry answers questions 
  truthfully, to the best of his ability (see “Harry’s 
  Findings” below). Characters who witness this 
  brief ‘resurrection’ must make a DC 15 Wisdom 
  saving throw. Those who fail are unable to sleep 
  that night, without the use of drugs or alcohol, 
  and do not gain the benefit of a long rest. 
  Harry’s Findings
  The doctor’s bag in the living room contains all 
  of the evidence Harry gathered in London. In 
  summary: 
  • 
  A list of names – one woman and one 
  man, paired up; each of the male names has a 
  status in parentheses (see Player Handout  A)
  • 
  A newspaper article about the shocking 
  disappearance of Miss Johanna Egremont, noted 
  society beauty, after a “scandalous week-end of 
  carousing in London’s West End.” The article is 
  dated approximately two years ago
  • 
  Portrait photographs of “Johanna Egre-
  mont” and “Miss Joelle Ender” – who are quite 
  clearly the same woman: a sharp-featured beau-
  ty with a direct, piercing gaze. Unlike Johan-
  na, Joelle has a poise and grace that borders 
  on chilling (though the characters do not know 
  this, “Joelle” was the host of the Cosmic Beauty 
  when this picture was taken). Her photograph 
  is hard to look away from, and characters who 
  see it have the strong urge to look again. This 
  woman fits any descriptions of “Jolene” that the 
  characters have gathered and, if shown to Roger 
  sets him raving, begging to be allowed to see “my 
  beautiful Jolene” in person
  • 
  Another newspaper article, this one about 
  an arson attack that burned out two restaurants 
  and a pub in Covent Garden last January
  Development
  Having gathered all of this evidence, the next 
  
  12
  logical step is to go to London and continue 
  Harry’s investigations: he wasn’t looking for 
  evidence of the supernatural, and the characters 
  are. If they do not draw this conclusion, Rose 
  will strongly suggest it. Otherwise, let the char-
  acters carry out any investigations they wish to 
  in York, and move on to London when they’re 
  ready. 
  A Perilous Journey
  The railway is by far the most efficient way to get 
  from York to London. Tickets range from expen-
  sive, for first class – a luxurious experience with 
  a dining car – to cheap third class travel that 
  requires rattling around on wooden seats for the 
  entire six-hour journey. 
   
  The Cult of the Cosmic Beauty now has 
  one eye on the characters, and would prefer they 
  not reach London armed with several leads and 
  a doctor’s bag full of painstakingly collected evi-
  dence. 
   
  Cultists in London conjure Spirits of 
  Truth – an ethereal creature that serves Johan-
  na – onto the train to steal Harry’s findings (if 
  the characters have them in their possession), 
  and to remove their memories of everything that 
  occurred in his home. 
  Spirits of Truth - Tactics
   
  Use one Spirit of Truth (use the invisible 
  stalker stat block, with the Devour Truth ability 
  described below) for every two characters. They 
  prowl through the train, invisible, and strike 
  when characters are alone if there is an opportu-
  nity to do so; otherwise, they attack as a group 
  when the train is about fifteen minutes from 
  London. 
   
  Unless characters can see invisible crea-
  tures, they are unlikely to sense the spirits’ pres-
  ence. Inform characters with a passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) score of 16 or higher that they 
  feel they are no longer alone. Characters who 
  can see the spirits perceive clouds of green and 
  purple gas that extrude limbs from their forms 
  to propel themselves along walls and ceilings. 
  Within their forms, dozens of mouths open and 
  close silently, gasping and snapping, and when 
  they locate their pray, they settle around their 
  head and shoulders like a blanket. 
   
  The spirits settle on as many characters 
  as possible, and extract the memories of Har-
  ry’s home and what they found there from their 
  minds. The spirits become visible when they 
  feed, and remain visible for a minute afterwards. 
   
  Once their work is done, or they are 
  reduced to 50 hit points, the spirits flee. They 
  escape through the windows of the train and 
  climb up onto the roof, then flee to the back 
  of the train where they take off, flying towards 
  London. Should the characters choose to follow, 
  combat on the roof of a moving train is, natural-
  ly, a dangerous endeavour. The surface is dif-
  ficult terrain, and each character must make a 
  DC 14 Dexterity saving throw at the beginning 
  of their turn. Failure means they fall prone; a 
  second consecutive failure means they fall from 
  the train, taking 21 (6d6) points of bludgeoning 
  damage. Characters who survive this will have to 
  limp into London on foot. 
  Devour Truth
  The Spirit of Truth feeds on truth, in the form 
  of memory. As an action on its turn, the many 
  mouths of the spirit’s ephemeral form whisper 
  and suck, drawing thoughts from the victim’s 
  mind and replacing them with knowledge of the 
  deeper truths of the cosmos. Victims who fail 
  a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw open their 
  mind to the spirit. It is a profoundly beautiful 
  experience, like suddenly understanding the 
  entire universe at once. It is also profoundly ter-
  rifying, causing the victim to be Paralysed. The 
  victim may repeat the save each round at the 
  end of their turn, ending the effect on a success. 
  The effect also ends if the Spirit of Truth is no 
  longer in physical contact with the victim. 
   
  If the Spirit of Truth remains in contact 
  with a victim for a full minute, it removes one 
  key memory from the victim’s mind – for exam-
  ple, the memory of a previous encounter in-
  game. 
  It is unlikely, and undesirable, that the Spirits of 
  Truth should succeed in wiping the memories of 
  the entire group of characters. If it does happen, 
  the characters remember their commission from 
  Rose, and know that Harry Arbuthnot came to 
  London to gather evidence, just not what he 
  found. When they start asking around, Helena 
  Fisher will find them, and tell them everything 
  Harry knew. 
  
  13
  Arrival
  The characters reach London’s Kings Cross sta-
  tion early in the evening, arriving in light snow 
  and bitter cold. The area is home to little except 
  warehouses, factories, and other industry, and 
  overall it is a grim, but accurate, welcome to the 
  metropolis. 
  They now have several leads to follow up: 
  • 
  Helena Fisher: Harry’s notes include a 
  scribbled reference (“Who is Helena Fisher???”). 
  Helena is not mentioned anywhere else in his 
  investigation. Whether or not the characters ac-
  tively investigate her, Helena will find them
  • 
  The Trail of Destruction: The characters 
  have the names and locations of several of Jo-
  lene’s previous conquests. Interacting with her 
  victims is optional, but provides limited insight 
  into her behaviour. At your discretion, you may 
  wish to summarise what characters learn from 
  each young man, rather than play out each 
  scene in full
  • 
  Johanna Egremont: The characters may 
  be interested in the “original” Johanna, and if 
  they have the right contacts will be able to track 
  down limited information about her
  • 
  The Covent Garden Arson: Harry noted 
  the address of the buildings burned down sev-
  eral years ago. This is the key lead: it takes the 
  characters to a meeting with the remnants of 
  the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty. If the characters 
  go here first, they may skip the ‘trail of destruc-
  tion.’ This makes for a shorter (but more action 
  packed) adventure. 
  Who is Helena Fisher? 
  As the characters follow up their leads, they 
  should hear frequent mentions of a woman 
  named Helena Fisher. Helena has been following 
  all the same beats as the characters. She’s been 
  everywhere before them. Various NPCs – monks, 
  jailors, nurses, as well as Kenneth and Arthur 
  –mention the American lady who’s been asking 
  Part Two: London
  
  14
  questions. They all remember Harry Arbuthnot 
  as well. 
   
  Characters with connections to occult 
  groups, who work their contacts, learn about a 
  group of secretive Americans who came “sniffing 
  round” the West End early last year. Some go so 
  far as to claim that one of them, a woman, is still 
  in town. 
   
  Helena is a member of the good-aligned 
  secret society known as the Order of the Bale-
  fire: a small, close-knit group dedicated to track-
  ing down and destroying groups who practise 
  “dark” magic (see Appendix C). She – with the 
  assistance of some other members – burned out 
  the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty’s sanctum in Cov-
  ent Garden. Her colleagues have returned to the 
  United States, but Helena has remained behind 
  to make sure the remnants of the cult don’t re-
  form: “it’s never a clean job. Cults are like ring-
  worm: pernicious.” 
   
  Helena knows the True Song that will sep-
  arate the Cosmic Beauty from its host. 
  Roleplaying Helena
  Helena knows the world is a bleak place where 
  the worst impulses of humanity thrive and 
  monsters own the shadows. Fortunately, Helena 
  is a calm, skilled professional who is prepared 
  to take on the darkness. She is reserved and 
  self-assured, never showing a single crack in her 
  confident demeanour. She gives the impression 
  of knowing precisely what to do in any situation, 
  and is right more often than not. She’s aware 
  that she is alone in London and in need of allies, 
  and chooses to trust the characters. 
   
  Helena is a tall, muscular, African Amer-
  ican woman with a strong New York accent, 
  who dresses in tailor-made men’s suits (she will 
  deeply regret losing access to the famous tailors 
  of Savile Row when she returns to America), 
  and carries a sword-cane (use the statistics of a 
  rapier) and a pistol (hand crossbow) with silver 
  bullets.
  Trail of Destruction
  The characters have a list of men associated 
  with Johanna, under her different aliases, and 
  their current locations.  They can visit any and 
  all of them. The three young men are in varying 
  states of health. Spencer Norton is as delicate 
  as Roger Hurt, and is kept heavily sedated; 
  Kenneth and Alfred escaped before the Cosmic 
  Beauty’s influence was as strong, and are a little 
  more coherent. 
  Spencer Norton
  Spencer knew Johanna as Josephine Esher. 
  Before their romance, which ended the previ-
  ous November (just before “Jolene” appeared in 
  York), Spencer was a promising young barrister. 
  His mental state deteriorated throughout his 
  courtship of Josephine and his family had him 
  committed to an expensive but pleasant private 
  asylum in the leafy suburb of St. John’s Wood. 
  Spencer looks exhausted: haggard, despairing, 
  and several years older than his alleged age of 
  twenty-eight. He is kept under heavy sedation. 
   
  When asked about Josephine, he weeps, 
  and begs to be allowed to see her again: his 
  family wrenched him away from her, but “a little 
  longer and she could have taken all of me. I 
  would have disappeared into her. I would have 
  known the Truth…”
   
  If the characters can get him to talk co-
  herently – allow appropriate Charisma-based 
  ability checks, or Wisdom (Medicine) for psy-
  chotherapeutic approaches (all ability checks 
  start at DC 16 but can be reduced through good 
  roleplaying) – Spencer tells them of the group 
  of gentlemen – “rather rakish, of a queer dispo-
  sition, and mostly frequenting the more outra-
  geous bars around Covent Garden” – who intro-
  duced him to Josephine. He can’t recall any of 
  their names, and he never saw them again once 
  his friendship with Josephine was established. 
  Kenneth Buckley
  Kenneth is now Brother Theophilus, of the Ab-
  bey of St. Hugh Redemptor in Bromley (a quiet 
  town a short train journey from central London). 
  He is physically healthy, but there is an anxious, 
  nervous energy about him: he seems fragile. He 
  has taken a vow of silence, and refuses even to 
  be in the presence of women. Kenneth can be 
  induced to speak through appropriate Charis-
  ma-based ability checks, or Intelligence (Re-
  ligion) checks (all made at DC 16, though this 
  can be reduced by good roleplaying). 
   
  He knew Johanna as Joelle Ender, and 
  their relationship began in July of the previous 
  year and ended in October. Before Joelle, Ken-
  neth was attracted only to men but once he met 
  her, she quickly eclipsed every other person in 
  
  15
  his life. He recalls, with hindsight, becoming 
  obsessed by her… but also terribly frightened 
  of her. He saw her in his dreams, along with 
  visions of a yawning void of silver nothingness. 
  He prayed to God for deliverance and found the 
  strength to flee, seeking sanctuary in the mon-
  astery. 
   
  Joelle simply approached him in a park 
  one day, and they fell to talking. As far as he 
  knows, their meeting was a coincidence. He 
  recalls that when they met, her hands and arms 
  were badly burned, but she made a rapid recov-
  ery in the first few weeks of their acquaintance. 
  Alfred Horne
  Alfred is the youngest son of 
  a family indirectly descend-
  ed from a baronet. That is 
  to say, he is technically a 
  nobleman, but only 
  barely. He knew – and 
  courted – Johanna as 
  Joan Everley, be-
  tween January and 
  July of last year. He 
  is currently in Pen-
  tonville Prison (very 
  new, very modern, and 
  very foreboding: over 
  five-hundred prison-
  ers, all kept in solitary 
  confinement) after falling 
  into heavy drinking and sinking 
  deeply into debt due to a serious 
  gambling addiction. 
   
  Note that the characters will 
  have to sign in and provide a current 
  address to visit. This is not intended 
  as an obstacle, but looking at these 
  records is the best approach to finding 
  Helena Fisher. 
   
  Alfred remembers Joan with no 
  fondness whatsoever:
   
  “She would have taken everything. If not 
  for Miss Fisher, there’d be nothing left of me. 
  She taught me the song…” 
   
  He frequently trails off into humming an 
  unpleasant, discordant tune under his breath. 
  The characters can learn the tune with four 
  hours of practice and a successful DC 18 In-
  telligence (Performance) check, or by making 
  multiple visits (three visits allows them to learn 
  the tune without the need for an ability check). 
   
  Helena Fisher also visited Alfred in prison 
  – and was required to provide an address to the 
  guards, when she signed in. With a little bribery 
  or coercion, the characters can learn that she is 
  staying in an upmarket hotel in the West End, 
  called Durant’s. Armed with this information, 
  they may find Helena before she finds them (see 
  Covent Garden Arson, below). 
  The Original Johanna
  The characters may wish to seek out information 
  about Johanna Egremont, the subject of one of 
  the photographs amongst Harry’s papers. This is 
  easily achieved, if the characters have any con-
  tacts in high society, or the seedier, vice-rid-
  den parts of London. 
   Johanna went missing over a year 
  ago, but she remains infamous 
  as a wild girl who turned her 
  back on respectable society 
  and spent her time (and a 
  lot of her parents’ mon-
  ey) debauching her-
  self with disreputable 
  theatre folk and other 
  “young bohemians”: 
  lots of artists and mu-
  sicians, the type who 
  preach facile ideals like 
  “truth is beauty, and 
  beauty is truth.” 
   
  Rumour has it that 
  she left the country after 
  a particularly disgrace-
  ful period of partying and 
  recklessness. She was never 
  seen again afterwards, and some 
  former acquaintances now claim she 
  described that stretch of time as “her 
  last week on earth.” 
   
  Her family left England for the continent 
  a few months after she disappeared, to escape 
  the scandal. 
  Covent Garden Arson
  Harry’s notes make reference to a cluster of 
  buildings in Covent Garden that burned out in 
  an arson attack whose perpetrator was never 
  caught. Memory of the crime is still relatively 
  fresh, and any locals – shopkeepers, hansom 
  cab (taxi) drivers – can direct the characters to 
  the site on Goring Street. When the characters 
  
  16
  arrive, read or paraphrase: 
   
  Covent Garden is busy and loud. Well-to-do 
  folk jostle shoulder-by-shoulder with the rougher 
  sort who feed and entertain them here, in the clam-
  our of the West End. Riotous Punch and Judy shows 
  take place yards away from the Royal Opera House 
  and genteel supper houses look out onto bustling 
  market stalls. 
   
  The buildings you’re looking for stand out 
  like rotten teeth, black and broken, between freshly 
  plastered shops to either side. The two restaurants 
  and a bar haven’t been rebuilt or re-opened, which 
  is in itself bizarre, in this part of London, where 
  anything that might turn a profit is for sale. 
  More Information
  The businesses to either side are Jolliver’s 
  Tea Room and McCarthy & Dunne’s, pur-
  veyor of sheet music. The staff at both are 
  more than happy to gossip with potential 
  customers about the establishments that 
  used to stand between them (the restau-
  rants Heming’s and Quisen’s, and the pub 
  called The Bantam). They insist that: 
  • 
  there was something very odd about 
  the proprietor of Quisen’s (the building in 
  the middle of the three burned out busi-
  nesses) – a young man by the name of 
  Felix Quisen
  • 
  the owner took no care of the es-
  tablishment, which therefore did very little 
  business
  • 
  the place was best known for pri-
  vate parties that went on until dawn, 
  always with the same set of people. They 
  used to “slink home, pale and worse for 
  wear” when staff were opening up nearby 
  shops the morning after
  • 
  the attendees of these parties were 
  mostly men, but there were occasional 
  women – most notable “that red-haired so-
  ciety girl. Julia something… no, Johanna.” 
  • 
  With a successful DC 13 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check, the characters conclude 
  that those they speak to are hiding some-
  thing from them; with a successful DC 13 
  Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) 
  check, they convince someone to reveal 
  that they have seen people creeping about 
  the ruins late at night, as recently as last 
  week.
  
  17
  Exploring the Ruins
  The ruined buildings on Goring Street are easy 
  to access. No one will prevent them from simply 
  walking in: not all of the windows are boarded 
  up. If the characters wish to enter without being 
  seen, they must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity 
  (Stealth) group check: the surrounding area is 
  busy at all hours of day and night. 
  By day
  Standing in the ruins is an unpleasant expe-
  rience. The characters have a strong sense of 
  unease, as if something is not quite right; they 
  feel that the street – and the rest of the world 
  – is further away than it is. At the end of every 
  minute they spend in the ruins, the charac-
  ters must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving 
  throw, or leave the area as quickly as possible. 
  If the characters manage to stay for ten consecu-
  tive minutes, they no longer need to make saving 
  throws unless they leave and re-enter. 
   
  Characters with a passive Wisdom (Per-
  ception) of 15 or better, or who succeed on a 
  DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, spot mark-
  ings on the walls. Splashed in red paint, they are 
  crudely drawn and disquieting to look upon. A 
  successful Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals 
  the following information: 
  • 
  DC 12: there are a lot of eyes and what 
  look like mouths amongst the markings
  • 
  DC 15: they have elements in common 
  with Enochian and other Western occult practic-
  es, but also a crudeness that is unique 
  • 
  DC 18: some of the symbols look almost 
  like constellations, but slightly warped
  • 
  DC 20: a hunch says the meaning is 
  something to do with readiness or return
   
  Use of comprehend languages or similar 
  ability allows a character to fully understand 
  the messages (“be ready”; “the cosmic beauty 
  is replenished”; “the beauty of cosmic truth”; 
  “awake, awake, brethren of the stars”; “she re-
  turns”). However, as they perceive the meaning, 
  they experience a vision of the starry night sky, 
  which tears open and devours them; they must 
  succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw 
  or lose the ability to speak coherently, including 
  the ability to cast spells with verbal compone-
  nets, until they complete a Long Rest. The only 
  sound they can make is a wordless, discordant, 
  ululating song. 
   
  Characters who investigate the rubble 
  and debris that cover the area find some of it 
  has been arranged to cover a new, sturdy trap-
  door. Characters who succeed on a DC 14 Intel-
  ligence (Investigation) check find the trapdoor 
  after two minutes of searching; if no characters 
  succeed, they find the trapdoor after ten min-
  utes of searching. Characters who are searching 
  must still succeed on the Wisdom saving throw 
  described above, or flee the area. 
   
  Characters with a passive Wisdom (Per-
  ception) of 18 or better, or who are actively 
  watching the street outside the area and succeed 
  on a DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check see 
  someone watching them as they browse shops 
  across the street. This is Helena Fisher. 
  By Night
  By night, the ruins are even more disconcerting. 
  Characters there after dark must succeed on a 
  DC 13 Wisdom saving throw at the end of every 
  minute, or leave the area as quickly as possible. 
  Characters continue making this saving throw 
  however long they remain. 
   
  The area is in darkness: characters with-
  out a light source or a means of seeing in the 
  dark are Blinded. 
   
  The characters are not alone in the ruins 
  of Goring Street after dark. Felix Quisen is there 
  when they arrive. He immediately takes cover 
  behind some broken chunks of masonry. Allow 
  the character with the highest passive Percep-
  tion to see him. Thinking himself unobserved, 
  Felix sneaks over to the trapdoor, opens it, and 
  descends into the cellar beneath.
   
  Helena Fisher is still watching the charac-
  ters (they have a chance to spot her, as above). If 
  the characters interact with Felix, she enters the 
  ruins and joins them. If Felix escapes, she runs 
  into the ruins, orders the characters to follow 
  her, and chases Felix through the trapdoor (trig-
  gering the glyph of warding placed on it).  
  Felix Quisen
  If the characters prevent Felix from leaving 
  through the trapdoor, they have the opportuni-
  ty to interrogate him. He won’t call for help: he 
  doesn’t want to call attention to himself or his 
  activities. If intimidated, charmed, or persuaded 
  that the characters are potential allies, he shar-
  ea the following information:  
  • 
  The Cult formed from a group of artists 
  and musicians obsessed with discovering the 
  
  18
  cosmic ideal of Truth, which they equated with 
  Beauty
  • 
  They progressed from philosophical dis-
  cussion to occult theory and then to practice, 
  eventually devising a ritual that would allow 
  them to summon an entity known as The Cos-
  mic Beauty, a force of mind-shattering, glorious, 
  Truth
  • 
  They summoned the creature into a suit-
  able vessel, the most beautiful woman they had 
  access to, and proceeded to worship it 
  • 
  They used Johanna Egremont, against 
  her will, as a host for a creature known as The 
  Cosmic Beauty: a being of Enlightened Truth, 
  which grants insight into higher wisdom than 
  the minds of men are meant to comprehend. Un-
  fortunately, the being feeds on the adoration of 
  men. The worship of the cult was enough, until 
  a group of short-sighted fools known as the Or-
  der of the Balefire burned out their headquarters
  • 
  Johanna escaped, and has been satisfying 
  her hunger elsewhere, rebuilding her strength. 
  Johanna visited him recently; she will return to 
  her loyal worshippers soon, and bless them with 
  secrets that will unravel their tangled minds
  • 
  She needs to finish just one more con-
  quest, then she will return to him. She is on her 
  way back to York, to finish her work there
  The Trapdoor
  The trapdoor is marked with a glyph of ward-
  ing, which requires a successful DC 15 Intel-
  ligence (Investigation) check to spot and, 
  when the door is opened, casts wind wall, sur-
  rounding the trapdoor and causing 3d8 Bludg-
  eoning damage (halved on a successful DC 15 
  Strength saving throw) to anyone caught in 
  or entering the area. Felix does not trigger the 
  glyph. 
  The trapdoor opens onto a narrow stone stair-
  case leading down into a low-ceilinged, thirty 
  feet square cellar. The room smells strongly of 
  smoke and is coated in a fine layer of ash. The 
  far corner of the cellar wall is collapsed, creating 
  an exit from the room. The characters hear Felix 
  Quisen’s running footsteps in the tunnel beyond 
  the collapse. 
  The Tunnels
   
  The tunnels beyond the cellar are an-
  cient, the stone rounded and worn smooth from 
  age. The same crude, yet detailed, sigils are 
  marked on the walls here as up above (use the 
  same guidelines for interpreting them with Arca-
  na or spells), both scrawled in paint and etched 
  into the stone. The tunnels give the same sense 
  of impending doom, and also twist and turn in 
  needlessly complex patterns; characters who 
  succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw 
  navigate them normally, but those who fail feel 
  mild panic and can’t concentrate on finding and 
  following the correct route (they make all Surviv-
  al checks to navigate the tunnels at disadvan-
  tage). 
   
  Helena Fisher is immune to this effect, 
  which the characters can infer with a successful 
  DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check if she is with 
  them. She does not realise, unless prompted, 
  that the characters are having an unpleasant 
  experience but does offer directions through the 
  tunnels (giving advantage on the roll, or at least 
  counteracting disadvantage). 
   
  The journey through the tunnels is an 
  ideal opportunity for the characters to learn 
  what Helena knows (see Helena Fisher, page 13). 
  
  19
   
  Call for three DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) 
  checks, each representing several minutes of 
  travel. If the characters succeed on all three, 
  they follow Felix’s footsteps directly to the Cult 
  Sanctuary (see below). On a failed check, they 
  wander off Felix’s trail and encounter some of 
  the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty’s Hosts to Truth: 
  disgusting, semi-functional creatures, the re-
  sult of summoning abstract ideas into flesh. 
  Some are still close to human: many eyed, many 
  mouthed, bipeds singing wordless hymns to 
  the Cosmic Beauty (cult fanatics). Others have 
  progressed further in their communion with 
  Beautiful Truth, and are shapeless, tentacled 
  things that gibber incoherently and drag their 
  bulk from place to place by attaching some of 
  their many mouths to 
  the ground and propel-
  ling themselves forward 
  (gibbering mouthers). 
  • 
  Fail first check: 
  hear distant, voices. If 
  the characters inves-
  tigate, they find three 
  cult fanatics gathered 
  around a small bonfire 
  eating… some sort of 
  roast meat. The cultists 
  attacks upon seeing the 
  characters
  • 
  Fail second 
  check: stumble upon 
  five cult fanatics sing-
  ing and dancing, cele-
  brating another of their 
  number becoming a 
  gibbering mouther. The 
  group attacks upon 
  seeing the characters
  • 
  Fail third check:  The characters are 
  thoroughly lost. On turning a corner they are 
  confronted by three gibbering mouthers singing 
  at each other; two cult fanatics then ambush the 
  characters from behind
  The Cult Sanctuary
  Felix flees into the cult’s sanctuary, intending to 
  gather up the badly injured Hosts to Truth that 
  are sheltering down there. Unfortunately, wheth-
  er the characters arrive promptly or not, he still 
  hasn’t managed to corral the keening, inhuman 
  monstrosities. 
  Features of the Sanctuary
  The Sanctuary is a natural chamber that has 
  been further carved out to make a round room. 
  The ceiling, walls, and floor are all stone and 
  every inch is marked with the same sigils as 
  before. Scorched stone, burned debris, and the 
  lingering smell of char give evidence of a great 
  blaze at some time in the past. 
   
  In the centre of the chamber, the dark-
  ness gives way to a ragged slit like a tear in a 
  curtain, through which unfamiliar stars shine 
  brightly. Characters who focus on the tear (e.g. 
  make any ability check relating to it) or come 
  within five feet of it must succeed on a DC 18 
  Intelligence saving throw or lose the ability 
  to speak coherently or 
  cast spells with Verbal 
  components until they 
  complete a Long Rest. 
  The only sound they 
  can make is a wordless, 
  discordant, ululating 
  song. 
  The Remains of the 
  Cult
  Felix and three Hosts to 
  Truth await the char-
  acters here. There are 
  numerous exits from 
  the sanctuary, but they 
  stay and fight: Felix 
  assumes that the char-
  acters won’t let them 
  escape, and the Hosts 
  are hungry. Felix has a pistol, and the Hosts all 
  fight in close combat. The tear in reality in the 
  centre of the chamber functions like the hunger 
  of hadar spell, except that its area of effect is 
  lightly, rather than heavily, obscured due to the 
  starlight emanating from the slit. The tentacles 
  that lash out of the slit whenever creatures get 
  close (as per the spell) attack the characters, 
  Helena, and Felix, but not the Hosts. 
   
  The Hosts fight to the death, but Felix 
  attempts to flee back down the passages towards 
  the Goring Street cellar if two of the Hosts are 
  killed or if he is reduced to 20 hit points. 
  
  20
  Part Three: York
  Debrief
  Either on the way to the sanctuary, on the way 
  back to the surface, or – if neither of these is 
  practical – later, in a quiet, secluded, park a few 
  streets away from Goring Street, Helena tells the 
  party what she knows. She is more friendly if 
  she has already seen the characters take on the 
  cult, but forthcoming and ready to talk however 
  previous events have played out.
   
  She tells them about: 
  • 
  the Order of the Balefire: its history and 
  goals (see Appendix C)
  • 
  tracking an American occultist (Joseph 
  Mark Guest) to London and finding he had 
  joined the Cult of the Cosmic Beauty
  • 
  attempting to destroy the Cult’s sanctu-
  ary, and the business that shielded it (and, as 
  unfortunate collateral damage, the ones to either 
  side)
  • 
  losing track of the Cosmic Beauty’s host 
  in the fight, and being unable to locate her
  • 
  the True Song that, if sung to the Cosmic 
  Beauty, will dismiss her back to her home be-
  yond the stars; without it, killing the host will 
  expel her, but she may remain in this world
  The True Song
  Helena knows the True Song: she and her col-
  leagues intended to capture the Cosmic Beauty, 
  and sing the song themselves, but never had the 
  opportunity
   
  She can teach the song to one or more 
  characters. Characters who are proficient in 
  Performance learn the song with eight hours of 
  practice and instruction, and a successful DC 
  16 Charisma (Performance) check.
   
  Helena will not return to York with the 
  characters: she has work to do in London, 
  stamping out the last traces of the cult in the 
  city. The characters may have learned from 
  Felix Quisen that Johanna is on her way back 
  to York. Whether they know this or not, they 
  should be ready to return there and save Cap-
  tain Hurt. By now they should have learned 
  either Alfred Horne or Helena Fisher’s version of 
  the true song. They must face the Cosmic Beau-
  ty, and decide whether to save her host or sim-
  ply kill her. 
  With All Due Haste
  If Rose Ashton has any way of knowing the 
  characters have returned, she meets them at the 
  railway station in York; otherwise, the charac-
  ters will find her anxious and tense when they 
  call upon her. She explains that Jolene Eldon 
  has returned from wherever she has been, and 
  “sunk her claws into Roger once again.” 
   
  She is with him now. Rose implores the 
  characters to tell her what they’ve learned on the 
  way to Roger’s home. 
   
  Alternatively, if the characters don’t call 
  on Rose but go straight to Roger’s home, they 
  find Jolene/Johanna there, as described below. 
  By His Side
  The characters arrive at Roger’s house to find 
  both Mrs. Armstrong and Mary-Ann Ashton 
  in a state of distress. Jolene has arrived, they 
  explain, and is walking with the Master in the 
  grounds. They fear for his delicate health, but 
  when they tried to object to her taking him, 
  found themselves powerless to stop her. 
  When the characters go looking for the two, read 
  or paraphrase: 
   
  Light snowfall converts the overgrown grounds 
  of Captain Hurt’s home to a series of looming threats: 
  half-hidden outbuildings and shrouded trees. Their voices 
  lure you to them, and you are granted your first sight of 
  Jolene – Johanna – The Cosmic Beauty. She is just like 
  her photographs: red-haired, pale, and almost impossible 
  to look away from. Dressed in a smart, fur-collared coat, 
  she is pushing Captain Hurt in a wicker-sided wheelchair 
  along a path around a frozen, icy, pond. 
  
  21
  Roleplaying the Cosmic Beauty
  Jolene is distant, and does not speak except to 
  answer questions using the fewest words possi-
  ble. Even so, she has a powerful presence: a ter-
  rible beauty that makes it difficult to oppose her. 
  Any Charisma checks against her are made with 
  disadvantage, and she makes any Charisma 
  checks against the characters with advantage. 
   
  Unless the characters initiate conversa-
  tion (or combat) her attention remains on Rog-
  er, to whom she whispers sounds that sound 
  almost like speech, but are in no language the 
  characters can understand (even with magic). 
   
  Roger seems to be fading fast, becoming 
  weaker – but happier – with every sound she 
  makes. The Cosmic Beauty does not attack the 
  characters unless she feels threatened (i.e. they 
  attack first, attempt to subdue her, separate her 
  from Roger, or begin to perform the True Song). 
  Roleplaying Roger Hurt
  Roger is semi-conscious when the characters ar-
  rive: he is far too frail to be outside in the snow. 
  If the characters wake him, which will require 
  physical force or healing magic, he is as inco-
  herent as when they last saw him. He reaches 
  constantly for Jolene’s hand, and ignores the 
  characters’ presence entirely. 
  Tactics
  Unless the characters simply let Jolene sap the 
  last of Roger’s life from him, and leave, this en-
  counter is likely to end in combat. 
   
  The Cosmic Beauty (see Appendix A) is 
  in fact two creatures: “Jolene,” and the entity 
  itself. Jolene exists in the material plane, and 
  the entity in the ethereal plane. As its first ac-
  tion, it manifests in the material plane: a hu-
  manoid, vaguely feminine shape made of stars 
  and coloured gases, in which voiceless mouths 
  open and close and a thousand eyes blink in 
  sequence. At this point, Jolene is fully enveloped 
  by the entity, and effectively exists only as a pool 
  of hit points the entity uses to regenerate. 
   
  Once it has manifested, the entity at-
  tempts to kill the characters. It does not fear for 
  its life, knowing it will only be banished back to 
  its plane of origin if it is reduced to 0 hit points. 
   
  It stays close to Roger’s wheelchair, going 
  so far as to use it as half cover. Roger is fully in 
  the thrall of the Cosmic Beauty’s Obsession abil-
  ity, and can therefore be used for Replenishment 
  (see Appendix A). 
  The True Song
  Unless the characters successfully perform the 
  True Song, their only option is to kill the Cos-
  mic Beauty, which will also result in Johanna’s 
  death (this may or may not worry the charac-
  ters). 
   
  The True Song is a one-use magic item 
  (with no material form). It requires thirty sec-
  onds (five combat rounds) to activate. While 
  singing the True Song, the character must use 
  their Action to perform it, and cannot use their 
  bonus action or reaction for any purpose that 
  involves speaking or vocalising (e.g., no spells 
  with a vocal component). The True Song requires 
  focus and attention, and characters must make 
  Concentration saving throws when they take 
  damage, the same as if they were casting the 
  spell. 
   
  If the performer is using Alfred’s version 
  of the True Song (a poor and inaccurate copy) 
  they must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence 
  (Arcana or Performance) check to begin cast-
  ing it. If they fail the check, they may repeat it in 
  following rounds until they succeed once, or fail 
  three times.
   
  If a character successfully performs the 
  song to its conclusion, a tear opens in reality, 
  just like the characters saw in the cult’s tem-
  ple (once again, it functions like the hunger of 
  hadar spell, except that the area is only lightly 
  obscured). The Cosmic Beauty is immediately 
  grappled by writhing black tentacles, as are any 
  characters in the area of effect, who fail a DC 14 
  Strength saving throw (the Cosmic Beauty fails 
  automatically). The following turn, on initiative 
  count 20, anyone grappled by the tentacles is 
  sucked through the portal, which closes after 
  them. They are, to all intents and purposes, 
  dead. 
  Killing the Cosmic Beauty
  If the characters do not attempt or complete the 
  True Song and instead reduce the Cosmic Beau-
  ty’s hit points to zero, it detaches from Johanna 
  and attempts to use its Possession ability to 
  move into the nearest character or NPC. This is 
  a very visible process. 
   
  Once the creature has successfully pos-
  
  22
  sessed a host, or has tried and failed to use the 
  ability twice, it cannot do so again: if the char-
  acters kill its new host, or it does not find one, it 
  disperses as faintly coloured gases into the air. 
  Conclusion
  With the Cosmic Beauty dealt with, it is time to 
  tally the characters’ achievements. 
  • 
  If Rose is still alive (which is likely) she 
  pays them the promised reward
  • 
  If Roger survived, she is grateful, and the 
  characters can count on her as a future ally
  • 
  If Felix Quisen died in London, the Cult of 
  the Cosmic Beauty no longer presents a threat; 
  otherwise, their work continues in secret
  • 
  Helena Fisher returns to America, but if 
  the characters successfully banished, or killed, 
  The Cosmic Beauty, she will learn of it eventual-
  ly and may, at your discretion, contact the char-
  acters to offer them membership in the Order of 
  the Balefire
  
  23
  Player Handout A
  
  24
  Appendix A: NPCs & Items
  The Cosmic Beauty
  large aberration, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 15 (natural armour)
  Hit Points 204 (24d10 + 72)
  Speed 30 ft. 
  Str
  Dex
  Con
  Int
  Wis
  Cha
  14
  (+2)
  16 
  (+3)
  17 
  (+3)
  20 
  (+5)
  15 
  (+4)
  19 
  (+4)
  Saving throws Intelligence +8, Wisdom +7, Cha-
  risma +7
  Skills Deception +7, Intimidation +7, Insight +5, 
  Perception +5, Persuasion +7  
  Damage Immunities Poison
  Condition Immunities Restrained Stunned 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
  Languages English, Deep Speech, Telepathy 60 
  ft.
  Challenge 10 (5,900 xp)
  Legendary Resistance (3/day). When the 
  Cosmic Beauty would fail a saving throw, it can 
  choose to succeed instead. 
  Obsession. The Cosmic Beauty can, after ten 
  minutes of conversation, cause one humanoid 
  who would normally be romantically or sexu-
  ally attracted to a host of the Cosmic Beauty’s 
  current gender, to become obsessed with the 
  Cosmic Beauty if they fail a DC 15 Intelligence 
  saving throw. The target may repeat the saving 
  throw once each week, but it is made at disad-
  vantage if they have spent at least an hour in 
  the Cosmic Beauty’s company that week, and at 
  advantage if they have received qualified psycho-
  therapeutic treatment, or spent time in prayer. 
  Once Obsessed, the victim must succeed on the 
  saving throw for six consecutive weeks to throw 
  off its effects. 
  The Cosmic Beauty derives sustenance from the 
  victims of Obsession (see Replenishment). 
  Probing Telepathy. If a creature communicates 
  telepathically with the Cosmic Beauty, the Cos-
  mic Beauty learns the creature’s greatest desires 
  if the Cosmic Beauty can see the creature.
  Possession. One humanoid that the Cosmic 
  Beauty can see within 5 feet of it must succeed 
  on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be pos-
  sessed by the Cosmic Beauty; the Cosmic Beau-
  ty then disappears, and the target loses control 
  of its body. The Cosmic Beauty now controls the 
  body but doesn’t deprive the target of awareness. 
  The Cosmic Beauty uses all of the game statis-
  tics listed here, not the target’s. 
  The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 
  hit points, the Cosmic Beauty ends it as a bonus 
  action, or she is turned or forced out by the True 
  Song. When the possession ends, the Cosmic 
  Beauty reappears in an unoccupied space with-
  in 5 feet of the body. The target is immune to 
  Cosmic Beauty Possession for 24 hours after 
  succeeding on the saving throw or after the pos-
  session ends.
  Regeneration. When a victim of Obsession is 
  within 10 feet, the Cosmic Beauty regenerates 
  10 hit points each round. The victim’s maximum 
  hit points are reduced by 5 each time the Cos-
  mic Beauty regenerates. 
  Replenishment. The Cosmic Beauty feeds on 
  the victims of its Obsession. One hour of com-
  pany and conversation provides it with enough 
  sustenance to remain in the Material Plane for 
  another week; the Cosmic Beauty prefers to feed 
  much more often, for the pleasure it derives 
  from the process, feeding on the victim’s secret 
  desires and most radical ideas. 
  Each time the Cosmic Beauty feeds, the victim of 
  its Obsession ages by 1 full year. 
  Victims often suffer psychological complications 
  from Obsession and Replenishment. No mechan-
  ics are offered here, as psychological trauma is 
  offered here: the process affects people different-
  ly and is best handled by narrative/roleplaying. 
  
  25
  Spellcasting. The Cosmic Beauty is a 10th level 
  spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma 
  (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). 
  She can cast the following spells without the use 
  of Material components: 
  • 
  Cantrips (at will): blade ward, chill touch, 
  eldritch blast, minor illusion
  • 
  1st level (4 slots): cause fear, charm person, 
  chromatic orb
  • 
  2nd level (3 slots): crown of madness, hold 
  person, suggestion
  • 
  3rd level (3 slots): enemies abound, hypnotic 
  pattern, hunger of hadar
  • 
  4th level (3 slots): shadow of moil, sickening 
  radiance
  • 
  5th level (2 slots): enervation, synaptic static
  Actions
  Unarmed Attack. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to 
  hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 bludgeoning 
  damage plus 10 (3d6) psychic damage, and the 
  target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it 
  makes before the Cosmic Beauty’s next turn.
  Legendary Actions
  The Cosmic Beauty can take 3 legendary ac-
  tions, choosing from the options below. Only one 
  legendary action option can be used at a time 
  and only at the end of another creature’s turn. 
  The Cosmic Beauty regains spent legendary ac-
  tions at the start of its turn.
  Attack. The Cosmic Beauty makes an unarmed 
  attack.
  Cantrip. The Cosmic Beauty casts one of its 
  cantrips. 
  Cast a Spell (Costs 2 Actions). The Cosmic 
  Beauty casts one of its spells.
  
  26
  Appendix B: Amended Spell List
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  Cantrips
  Blade 
  Ward, 
  Dancing 
  Lights, 
  Friends, 
  Light, 
  Mage 
  Hand, 
  Mending, 
  Message, 
  Minor 
  Illusion, 
  Prestidig-
  itation, 
  True 
  Strike, 
  Vicious 
  Mockery
  Guidance, 
  Light, 
  Mending, 
  Resist-
  ance, 
  Spare the 
  Dying, 
  Thauma-
  turgy
  Control 
  Flames, 
  Druid-
  craft, 
  Guidance, 
  Gust, In-
  festation, 
  Magic 
  Stone, 
  Mending, 
  Mold 
  Earth, Re-
  sistance, 
  Shape 
  Water, 
  Shillelagh
  Blade 
  Ward
  Control 
  Flames
  Dancing 
  Lights
  Friends
  Gust
  Light
  Mending
  Message
  Minor 
  Illusion
  Prestidigi-
  tation
  Shape 
  Water
  True 
  Strike
  Blade 
  Ward
  Friends
  Infestation
  Mage 
  Hand
  Magic 
  Stone
  Minor 
  Illusion
  Prestidigi-
  tation
  True 
  Strike
  Blade Ward
  Control 
  Flames
  Dancing 
  Lights
  Friends
  Gust
  Light
  Mending
  Message
  Minor Illu-
  sion
  Prestidigita-
  tion
  Shape Water
  True Strike
  Cantrips to 6th Level
  
  27
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  1st level
  Animal 
  Friend-
  ship, Bane, 
  Charm 
  Person, 
  Com-
  prehend 
  Languag-
  es, Cure 
  Wounds, 
  Detect 
  Magic, 
  Disguise 
  Self, 
  Dissonant 
  Whispers, 
  Feather 
  Fall, Heal-
  ing word, 
  Heroism, 
  Identify, 
  Longstrid-
  er, Illusory 
  Script, 
  Longstrid-
  er, SIlent 
  Image, 
  Sleep, 
  Speak 
  With 
  Animals, 
  Hideous 
  Laughter, 
  Unseen 
  Servant
  Bane, 
  Bless, 
  Ceremo-
  ny, Com-
  mand, 
  Cure 
  Wounds, 
  Detect 
  Evil & 
  Good, De-
  tect Mag-
  ic, Detect 
  Poison 
  and Dis-
  ease, Heal-
  ing Word, 
  Protection 
  from Evil 
  and Good, 
  Purify 
  Food & 
  Drink, 
  Sanctuary, 
  Shield of 
  Faith
  Absorb 
  Elements, 
  Animal 
  Friendship
  Beast 
  Bond
  Charm 
  Person
  Cure 
  Wounds
  Detect 
  Magic
  Detect 
  Poison 
  and Dis-
  ease
  Earth 
  Tremor
  Entangle
  Fog Cloud
  Healing 
  Word
  Jump
  Longstrid-
  er
  Purify 
  Food and 
  Drink
  Snare
  Speak 
  with Ani-
  mals
  Bless, 
  Ceremo-
  ny, Com-
  mand, 
  Com-
  pelled 
  Duel, 
  Cure 
  Wounds, 
  Detect 
  Evil and 
  Good, De-
  tect Mag-
  ic, Detect 
  Poison 
  and Dis-
  ease, 
  Divine 
  Favor, 
  Heroism, 
  Protection 
  from Evil 
  and Good, 
  Purify 
  Food and 
  Drink, 
  Searing 
  Smite, 
  Shield 
  of Faith, 
  Thunder-
  ous Smite, 
  Wrathful 
  Smite
  Absorb 
  Elements
  Alarm
  Animal 
  Friendship
  Beast 
  Bond
  Cure 
  Wounds
  Detect 
  Magic
  Detect 
  Poison 
  and Dis-
  ease
  Ensnaring 
  Strike
  Hunter’s 
  Mark
  Jump
  Longstrid-
  er
  Snare
  Speak 
  with Ani-
  mals
  Zephyr 
  Strike
  Absorb 
  Elements
  Catapult
  Cause 
  Fear
  Charm 
  Person
  Com-
  prehend 
  Languages
  Detect 
  Magic
  Disguise 
  Self
  Expe-
  ditious 
  Retreat
  False Life
  Feather 
  Fall
  Jump
  Longstrid-
  er
  Mage 
  Armour
  Protection 
  from Evil 
  & Good
  Silent 
  Image
  Sleep
  Cause 
  Fear
  Charm 
  Person
  Com-
  prehend 
  Languages
  Expe-
  ditious 
  Retreat
  Hex
  Illusory 
  Script
  Protection 
  from Evil 
  and Good
  Unseen 
  Servant
  Absorb 
  Elements
  Alarm
  Catapult
  Cause Fear
  Charm 
  Person
  Compre-
  hend Lan-
  guages
  Detect 
  Magic
  Disguise 
  Self
  Expeditious 
  Retreat
  False Life
  Feather Fall
  Find Famil-
  iar
  Identify
  Illusory 
  Script
  Jump
  Longstrider
  Mage Ar-
  mour
  Protection 
  from Evil & 
  Good
  Silent Image
  Sleep
  Snare
  Tasha’s 
  Hideous 
  Laughter
  Unseen 
  Servant
  
  28
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  2nd level
  Animal 
  Mes-
  senger, 
  Blindness/
  Deafness, 
  Calm 
  Emotions, 
  Crown of 
  Madness, 
  Detect 
  Thoughts, 
  Enhance 
  Ability, 
  Enthrall, 
  Hold 
  Person, 
  Invisibili-
  ty, Knock, 
  Lesser 
  Resto-
  ration, 
  Locate 
  Animals 
  or Plants, 
  Locate 
  Object, 
  Magic 
  Mouth, 
  Phantas-
  mal Force, 
  Pyrotech-
  nics, See 
  Invisibili-
  ty, Silence, 
  Skywrite, 
  Sugges-
  tion, 
  Warding 
  Wind, 
  Zone of 
  Truth
  Aid, 
  Augury, 
  Blindness, 
  Deafness, 
  Calm 
  Emotions, 
  Enhance 
  Ability, 
  Find traps, 
  Gentle Re-
  pose, Hold 
  Person, 
  Lesser 
  Resto-
  ration, 
  Locate 
  Object, 
  Prayer of 
  Healing, 
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Poison, 
  Silence, 
  Warding 
  Bond
  Animal 
  Messenger
  Beast 
  Sense
  Darkvi-
  sion
  Dust Devil
  Earthbind
  Enhance 
  Ability
  Find Traps
  Gust of 
  Wind
  Hold Per-
  son
  Lesser 
  Restora-
  tion
  Locate 
  Animals 
  or Plants
  Locate 
  Object
  Pass With-
  out Trace
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Poison
  Skywrite
  Spike 
  Growth
  Warding 
  Wind
  Aid, 
  Branding 
  Smite, 
  Lesser 
  Resto-
  ration, 
  Locate 
  Object, 
  Magic 
  Weapon, 
  Protection 
  from Poi-
  son, Zone 
  of Truth
  Animal 
  Messenger
  Barkskin
  Beast 
  Sense
  Darkvi-
  sion
  Find Traps
  Lesser 
  Restora-
  tion
  Locate 
  Animals 
  or Plants
  Locate 
  Object
  Pass With-
  out Trace
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Poison
  Silence
  Spike 
  Growth
  Arcane 
  Lock
  Blindness/
  Deafness
  Blur
  Crown of 
  Madness
  Darkvi-
  sion
  Detect 
  Thoughts
  Enhance 
  Ability
  Hold Per-
  son
  Invisibility
  Knock
  Locate 
  Object
  Magic 
  Weapon
  Phantas-
  mal Force
  See Invisi-
  bility
  Spider 
  Climb
  Suggestion
  Warding 
  Wind
  Crown of 
  Madness
  Darkness
  Earthbind
  Enthrall
  Hold Per-
  son
  Invisibility
  Mind 
  Spike
  Ray of 
  Enfeeble-
  ment
  Shadow 
  Blade
  Spider 
  Climb
  Suggestion
  Arcane 
  Lock
  Blindness/
  Deafness
  Blur
  Crown of 
  Madness
  Darkvision
  Detect 
  Thoughts
  Dust Devil
  Earthbind
  Hold Person
  Invisibility
  Knock
  Locate Ob-
  ject
  Magic 
  Mouth
  Magic 
  Weapon
  Nystul’s 
  Magic Aura
  Phantasmal 
  Force
  See Invisi-
  bility
  Spider 
  Climb
  Suggestion
  Warding 
  Wind
  
  29
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  3rd level
  Bestow 
  Curse, 
  Catnap, 
  Clairvoy-
  ance, Dis-
  pel Magic, 
  Enemies 
  Abound, 
  Fear, 
  Feign 
  Death, 
  Hypnotic 
  Pattern, 
  Major 
  Image, 
  Nondetec-
  tion, Plant 
  Growth, 
  Sending, 
  Speak 
  with 
  Dead, 
  Speak 
  with 
  Plants, 
  Tongues
  Animate 
  Dead, 
  Beacon 
  of Hope. 
  Bestow 
  Curse, 
  Clairvoy-
  ance, Cre-
  ate Food 
  and Water, 
  Daylight, 
  Dispel 
  Magic, 
  Feign 
  Death, 
  Life Trans-
  ference, 
  Magic Cir-
  cle, Mass 
  Healing 
  Word, 
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Energy, 
  Revivify, 
  Speak 
  with 
  Dead, 
  Tongues, 
  Water 
  Walk
  Call Light-
  ning
  Dispel 
  Magic
  Feign 
  Death
  Plant 
  Growth
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Energy
  Speak 
  with 
  Plants
  Water 
  Breathing
  Water 
  Walk
  Wind Wall
  Aura of 
  Vitality
  Blinding 
  Smite
  Crusader’s 
  Mantle
  Daylight
  Dispel 
  Magic
  Magic 
  Circle
  Flame 
  Arrows
  Plant 
  Growth
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Energy
  Speak 
  with 
  Plants
  Water 
  Breathing
  Water 
  Walk
  Animate 
  Dead*
  Bestow 
  Curse*
  Clairvoy-
  ance
  Counter-
  spell
  Dispel 
  Magic
  Enemies 
  Abound
  Erupting 
  Earth
  Fear 
  Feign 
  Death
  Haste
  Major 
  Image
  Protec-
  tion from 
  Energy
  Sending
  Slow
  Tongues
  Water 
  Breathing
  Counter-
  spell
  Dispel 
  Magic
  Enemies 
  Abound
  Fear
  Hunger of 
  Hadar
  Hypnotic 
  Pattern
  Magic 
  Circle
  Major 
  Image
  Tongues
  Vampiric 
  Touch
  Animate 
  Dead*
  Bestow 
  Curse*
  Catnap
  Clairvoy-
  ance
  Counter-
  spell
  Dispel 
  Magic
  Enemies 
  Abound
  Erupting 
  Earth
  Fear 
  Feign Death
  Haste
  Magic Cir-
  cle
  Major Im-
  age
  Nondetec-
  tion
  Protection 
  from Ener-
  gy
  Sending
  Slow
  Tiny Serv-
  ant
  Tongues
  Water 
  Breathing
  
  30
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  4th level
  Charm 
  Monster, 
  Compul-
  sion, Con-
  fusion, 
  Dimen-
  sion Door, 
  Freedom 
  of Move-
  ment
  Greater 
  Invisibility
  Halluci-
  natory 
  Terrain
  Locate 
  Creature
  Banish-
  ment, 
  Control 
  Water, 
  Death 
  Ward, 
  Divi-
  nation, 
  Freedom 
  of Move-
  ment, 
  Locate 
  Creature
  Charm 
  Monster
  Confusion
  Control 
  Water
  Dominate 
  Beast
  Elemental 
  Bane
  Freedom 
  of Move-
  ment
  Giant 
  Insect
  Grasping 
  Vine
  Guardian 
  of Nature
  Halluci-
  natory 
  Terrain
  Locate 
  Creature
  Aura of 
  Life
  Aura Pu-
  rity
  Banish-
  ment
  Death 
  Ward
  Locate 
  Creature
  Staggering 
  Smite
  Freedom 
  of Move-
  ment
  Grasping 
  Vine
  Locate 
  Creature
  Banish-
  ment
  Charm 
  Monster
  Confusion
  Control 
  Water
  Greater 
  Invisibility
  Locate 
  Creature
  Banish-
  ment
  Charm 
  Monster
  Elemental 
  Bane
  Halluci-
  natory 
  Terrain
  Shadow of 
  Moil
  Sickening 
  Radiance
  Summon 
  Greater 
  Demon
  Arcane 
  Eye
  Banish-
  ment
  Charm 
  Monster
  Confusion
  Control 
  Water
  Greater 
  Invisibility
  Locate 
  Creature
  Faithful 
  Hound
  Private 
  Sanctum
  
  31
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  5th level
  Animate 
  Objects, 
  Awaken, 
  Dominate 
  Person, 
  Dream, 
  Geas, 
  Greater 
  Restora-
  tion, Hold 
  Monster, 
  Legend 
  Lore, 
  Mass Cure 
  Wounds, 
  Mislead, 
  Modify 
  Memory, 
  Planar 
  Binding,
  Scrying, 
  Seem-
  ing, Skill 
  Empow-
  erment, 
  Synaptic 
  Static
  Com-
  mune, 
  Con-
  tagion, 
  Dispel Evil 
  & Good, 
  Geas, 
  Greater 
  Restora-
  tion, Hal-
  low, Holy 
  Weapon, 
  Insect 
  Plague, 
  Legend 
  Lore, 
  Mass Cure 
  Wounds, 
  Planar 
  Binding, 
  Raise 
  Dead, 
  Scrying
  Anti-life 
  Shell
  Awaken
  Commune 
  with Na-
  ture
  Contagion
  Control 
  Winds
  Geas
  Greater 
  Restora-
  tion
  Insect 
  Plague
  Maelstrom
  Mass Cure 
  Wounds
  Planar 
  Binding
  Reincar-
  nate
  Scrying
  Transmute 
  Rock
  Tree Stride
  Wrath of 
  Nature
  Banishing 
  Smite
  Circle of 
  Power
  Dispel Evil 
  & Good
  Geas
  Holy 
  Weapon
  Commune 
  with Na-
  ture
  Steel 
  Wind 
  Strike
  Swift 
  Quiver
  Tree Stride
  Animate 
  Objects
  Control 
  Winds
  Dominate 
  Person
  Hold 
  Monster
  Mislead
  Seeming
  Skill 
  Empower-
  ment
  Synaptic 
  Static
  Telekine-
  sis
  Contact 
  Other 
  plane
  Danse 
  Macabre
  Dream
  Hold 
  Monster
  Infernal 
  Calling
  Scrying
  Synaptic 
  Static
  Animate 
  Objects
  Contact 
  Other 
  Plane
  Control 
  Winds
  Danse 
  Macabre*
  Dominate 
  Person
  Dream
  Geas
  Hold 
  Monster
  Infernal 
  Calling*
  Legend 
  Lore
  Mislead
  Modify 
  Memory
  Planar 
  Binding
  Telepathic 
  Bond
  Scrying
  Seeming
  Skill 
  Empower-
  ment
  Synaptic 
  Static
  Telekine-
  sis
  Wall of 
  Force
  
  32
  Bard
  Cleric
  Druid
  Paladin Ranger
  Sorcerer Warlock Wizard
  6th level
  Eyebite, 
  Find the 
  Path, 
  Guards 
  and 
  Wards, 
  Mass Sug-
  gestion, 
  Otto’s 
  Irresistible 
  Dance, 
  Pro-
  grammed 
  Illusion, 
  True See-
  ing
  Create 
  Undead, 
  Find the 
  Path, For-
  biddance, 
  Harm, 
  Heal, 
  Heroes’ 
  Feast, 
  Planar 
  Ally, True 
  Seeing, 
  Word of 
  Recall
  Find the 
  Path, Heal, 
  Heroes’ 
  Feast, 
  Investiture 
  of Wind, 
  Move 
  Earth, 
  Primordi-
  al Ward, 
  Wall of 
  Thorns
  Eyebite*
  Mass Sug-
  gestion
  Mental 
  Prison*
  Otto’s 
  Irresistible 
  Dance
  Scatter
  True See-
  ing
  Eyebite
  Flesh to 
  Stone
  Mass Sug-
  gestion
  Mental 
  Prison
  Scatter
  Soul Cage
  True See-
  ing
  Contin-
  gency
  Create 
  Homun-
  culus*
  Create 
  Undead*
  Drawmij’s 
  Instant 
  Summons
  Eyebite*
  Globe of 
  Invulnera-
  bility
  Guards 
  and Wards
  Magic Jar*
  Mass Sug-
  gestion
  Mental 
  Prison*
  Otto’s 
  Irresistible 
  Dance
  Pro-
  grammed 
  Illusion
  Scatter
  Soul 
  Cage*
  True See-
  ing
  
  33
  Appendix C: 
  Order of the Balefire
  Overview
  There are many secret societies in Gothic Earth; 
  some date back to the middle ages or even the 
  classical world. Some are secret cabals who try 
  to exploit the Red Death, using it to gain power. 
  Others fight against it, however futile the attempt. 
  The Order of the Balefire is one of the latter. They 
  walk a risky path: they gather arcane knowledge, 
  and use it to combat the sorcerers and occultists 
  who worship the darkness… and their own mem-
  bers, should they ever fall to fantasies of power. 
  They are mostly active in North America, specif-
  ically the east coast of the United States. How-
  ever, they go where their work takes them, and 
  they have plentiful resources: if they need to send 
  members to Europe, Central or South America, or 
  further afield, they will do so. 
  Origins
  The Order of the Balefire is a relatively young 
  secret society, formed in the early 1800s in New 
  York, by Gerhard Van der Velden, a wealthy 
  gentleman and inheritor of a large fortune. When 
  Gerhard was forty, his brother Rene became 
  embroiled in a ‘hellfire club’ that formed in New 
  York. Members of the Order say that Rene fell 
  quickly into occult practices that corrupted his 
  very soul; Gerhard spent a substantial amount of 
  the family’s money uncovering, and counteract-
  ing, his brother’s evil. 
  Alone, he wasn’t capable of dispersing an entire 
  cult. He gathered others around him: magical 
  practitioners he felt he could trust, and paid them 
  well to research his brother’s club and work to 
  disrupt and destroy it, scouring New York clean 
  of its influence. Rene and many others lost their 
  lives in this crusade. Afterwards, Gerhard and 
  the allies he had gathered were all too aware that 
  there was more work to do: many more warlocks 
  and monsters to take on. And so the Order of the 
  Balefire was born, funded by the plentiful, and 
  growing, Van der Velden fortune. 
  Occult Secrets
  Members of the Order are all able to cast a few, 
  select spells. They gain the Ritual Caster (Cleric) 
  or Ritual Caster (Wizard) feat. 
  Advantages of Membership
  Members of the Order always have access to a 
  secure, moderately comfortable, place to stay in 
  New York, Boston, New Haven, and most large 
  New England towns. These are usually fronted by 
  private members clubs or, in the smaller locales, 
  inns or small hotels. Members’ clubs are secured 
  against magical scrying: no one sees what goes on 
  within their walls. 
  The New Haven club also offers a sizable library 
  of arcane knowledge and North American secret 
  history (+5 to relevant ability checks made using 
  the library). 
  
  34
  Grandmother Crookbesom’s Book of 
  Hags
  13 hag NPCs full of plots and personality, 
  including two entirely new types of hags 
  from the minute Thimble Hag to the gar-
  gantuan, monstrous Empress Ehesh. 
  Rebirth
  A one-shot adventure for 7th-9th level 
  characters. 
  Parasitic fungus, undead Celestials... 
  spring is in the air. 
  The Ghostly Library
  A one-shot adventure in Gothic Earth for 
  1st-2nd level characters. 
  A man of science binds books in human 
  skin, and is haunted by the women he has 
  so cruelly used. 
  By the Same Author...
  
  35
  Did this adventure spark your interest 
  in Gothic Earth? 
  Perhaps you wish to try a full campaign, 
  or just a one-shot with some perfectly tai-
  lored characters and more in-depth me-
  chanics to bring the 1890s to life? 
  If so, your darkest desires may soon be 
  granted... 
  
  36
  Coming Soon
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/DMsGuild/Ravenloft - Jolene or The Beauty From Beyond the Stars.pdf