TEXT: Angel’s Bacchanalia | EN World EN5idEr
  A
  a
  Angel’s Bacchanalia
  A 
  creature claiming to be 
  an angel throws a revel every 
  year on the solstice. These celebrations 
  are legendary where every pleasure is 
  indulged and the divine host absolves 
  all sins. Rumors abound about the holy 
  benefactor, but one thing is certain--
  some of the revelers never come home. 
  What happened to those missing 
  guests? What danger resides within the 
  angel’s bacchanalia?
   
  WRITING Andrew Engelbrite
   
  COLOR ART Savage Mojo
   
  MAPS Dyson Logos
   
  EDITING Mike Myler
   
  LAYOUT Frank Michienzi
  A mini-adventure for 4-5 PCs of 11th or 12th level near a settlement and woodlands
  
  Angel’s Bacchanalia | EN World EN5idEr
  Open Game Content | The game rule information in this 
  article is designated Open Game Content. All other material 
  in this article, including maps and illustrations (including 
  illustrations in the public domain), in-character and out-of-
  character narrative and descriptive text, character and place 
  names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” “EN World,” “EN5ider,” 
  EN Publishing product and article titles, and  
  EN World and EN Publishing logos, are designated 
  Product Identity.
  Background
  Samyaza is an erinyes masquerading as a benevo-
  lent angel. For the past 12 years he’s been desecrating 
  the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to a goddess 
  of purity, trying to open a portal to the sixth level of 
  Hell by overloading a sanctifying pool with exces-
  sive amounts of moral sin and 13 mortal sacrifices. 
  By impersonating an angel, he has convinced the 
  local populace that he can ‘absolve’ sins and he 
  welcomes them to indulge every possible sin in his 
  yearly solstice bacchanalia before ‘baptizing’ them-
  selves in the sanctifying pool. This solstice is the 
  13th and if another mortal is sacrificed, Samyaza’s 
  portal will open and plunge the whole celebration 
  into the depths of the realm infernal.
  Hot Ticket Invite
  A young girl named Beruse was sacrificed during 
  the last solstice bacchanalia, and her mother Bora 
  beseeches the party to investigate her disappear-
  ance. She approaches the PCs wherever it’s most 
  convenient in the current campaign, generally 
  along a road or within a small town. Read or para-
  phrase the following:
  A haggard old woman approaches you cautiously, 
  saying “You there! You lot’ve got to help me! You’ve got 
  to help them! Nobody here believes me but that solstice 
  is evil! People drinkin’ and fookin’ like animals, crime 
  against any living god it tis! My girl Beruse went last 
  year and never came back! Lost in the woods my left 
  foot, pull the other one it’s got bells on!  Please, I’ve got 
  nuthin to offer, but it’s happening again tonight! You’ve 
  got to stop it!”
  Bora provides any additional information the 
  PCs ask of her, to the best of her abilities. This 
  includes the location of the solstice bacchanalia, 
  and a rudimentary description of Samyaza. Bora 
  doesn’t follow with the adventurers, explaining 
  that the revelers threw her out the last time she 
  tried to interfere and that she’d be recognized.
  Unchecked Debauchery 
  As the party approaches the bacchanalia from the 
  north, read or paraphrase the following:
  You reach the clearing to find hundreds of people amidst 
  a raucous celebration in a ruined temple. The figures 
  feast and revel, partaking of drink and drug and indulging 
  pleasures of the flesh. A resplendent gray-winged angel 
  sits atop a dias at the center, lounging among cush-
  ions and a half-dozen unclothed men and women. 
  Carved upon the base of this dias you can clearly read, 
  “Welcome weary mortals. Bring no judgment with you, 
  for here there is no shame, and absolution for all sins.”       
  The PCs must infiltrate and investigate the 
  bacchanalia, determine Samyaza’s true nature, 
  and discover how and why guests have been 
  going missing. They are largely regarded as fellow 
  revelers and allowed to traverse the grounds freely. 
  The moon is full and the whole area is illuminated 
  in dim light. 
  If the adventurers attack Samyaza directly the 
  revelers treat them with hostility, as they regard 
  Samyaza as a benevolent ally. There are approxi-
  mately 200 guests at the bacchanalia (use the 
  statistics for cultists). In addition, Samyaza has 
  several succubus/incubus agents disguised as 
  humans that mingle throughout the celebration 
  and attempt to tempt mortals towards ‘sins’ that 
  go against the will of this temple’s ancient goddess. 
  Mark down a note whenever a PC partakes in one of 
  these sins, as they will become relevant during the 
  Party’s Over section (page 5). If an adventurer has 
  an evil alignment, start them off with 5 sins. Any 
  accrued sins can be removed by spending at least 1 
  round submerged within the Pool of Sanctification. 
  
  Angel’s Bacchanalia | EN World EN5idEr
  #1: The Pool of Sanctification
  This circular 20-foot wide pool is filled with an opaque 
  magical blue liquid that obscures its depth. Two robed 
  ‘disciples’ of Samyaza keep a watchful eye over it.  
  This relic was left in the foundations of the temple 
  and Samyaza hatched his plan when he discov-
  ered it. Magical detection discerns that the pool is 
  filled with strange celestial magic. When a creature 
  bathes within the pool it ‘absolves their sins’, which 
  appears visually as a black tar-like substance that 
  leeches off the bather before dispersing into the 
  pool. A pair of succubus/incubus guard the pool, 
  and only allow revelers to bathe within it if they 
  have accrued 3 or more ‘sins’. The pool is 20 feet 
  deep and the bones of the previously sacrificed 
  guests still line the bottom, discovered with a 
  successful DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check or DC 16 
  Intelligence (Investigation) check.
  #2: Samyaza’s Pedestal
  Rubble stretches down from the northeast corner of 
  his raised plinth, it ascends 15 feet up at the center of 
  the ruin and is capped with a vision of decadence. A 
  gray-winged angel lounges atop it along with six of the 
  most attractive revelers that he has taken as lovers. 
  Occasionally one runs down the piled scree to dive into 
  the sanctifying pool, only to emerge and return to this 
  pinnacle of debauchery. 
  Samyaza is busy indulging and takes little notice 
  of the party, his attentions on pleasure, and he 
  allows his 2 succubus/incubus guards to stop the 
  adventurers if they attempt to climb the pedestal. 
  PCs that make a DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) check 
  are allowed up to see Samyaza. Read or paraphrase 
  the following: 
  
  Angel’s Bacchanalia | EN World EN5idEr
  The statuesque angel wipes the sweat from his brow 
  as you climb the ruin, half a dozen gorgeous men and 
  women lay naked and exhausted about the cushion-
  lined plinth. “Hello new faces, partake of anything and 
  everything and know you will be absolved. What plea-
  sures lie unbidden within your souls?”
  Samyaza tells the PCs to enjoy the revelry and 
  claims to know nothing about missing guests. If 
  questioned about the sanctifying pool, he explains 
  that it is a gift he chose to bestow upon mortals to 
  allow them to indulge without fear of retribution.
  Samyaza is an erinyes and wearing a ring of mind 
  shielding that is currently invisible, preventing 
  detection of his alignment or creature type as well 
  as any attempts to detect his thoughts or lies.
  Any PC that succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check feels like Samyaza is lying about 
  something, but finds him difficult to read. Anyone 
  with a result of 24 or higher notices a tiny flicker 
  of Samyaza’s eyes towards the pool whenever the 
  missing guests are mentioned.
  Samyaza invites any adventurer with a Charisma 
  score of 20 or higher to stay and join his orgy. Any 
  PC that participates in such activities gains 1 sin 
  and 1 additional sin for every 10 minutes they 
  remain here.  
  #3: The Banquet
  Numerous small tables litter this ruined courtyard and 
  sit heavy with countless rich foods and drinks as the 
  revelers engorge themselves. Whole roasted oxen and 
  pigs sit among ranks of wine bottles and trays of psyche-
  delic powders and exotic drugs. 
  A succubus/incubus patrols the banquet area 
  and tries using their charm ability on any adven-
  turer that enters the area. They convince any PC 
  charmed in this way to indulge in the banquet-
  -particularly the drugs. The goddess of this temple
  regarded meat eating as sinful, as well as drunken-
  ness and all forms of mind-altering drugs.
  Any PC that partakes in the banquet gains 1 
  sin and 1 additional sin for every 10 minutes they 
  continue to partake. Any PC that partakes of the 
  drugs gains the poisoned condition for the next 10 
  minutes, and for the next hour has disadvantage on 
  Wisdom saving throws.
  #4: The Fight Room
  A great 120-foot square room in the northeastern corner 
  of the ruin seems to have survived the test of time far 
  better than the rest of the grounds. Countless heavenly 
  statues adorn the wall, though all of their statuesque 
  figures have been defaced by vulgarity and broken with 
  impunity. The broken stone faces look down upon a 
  mindlessly shouting horde and blood-stained floors. 
  The walls are lined with onlookers as combatants-
  -seemingly chosen at random--separate from the crowd 
  before violently attacking each other, the losers of these 
  battles left unconscious by the entrance.
  A succubus/incubus patrols this area and tries 
  using their charm ability on any adventurer that 
  enters the area. They convince any PC charmed 
  in this way to run into the center of the room and 
  fight another reveler. The revelers use the statistics 
  of cultists and should hold little challenge. PCs gain 
  1 sin for each reveler defeated in this way.  
  #5: The Stage
  A 30-foot wide area of ruin has been beaten and cleared 
  into a simple stage tucked into a lone remaining corner 
  of ruined wall. A dozen musicians fill the area with 
  pulsing drum beats and rhythms that fuel the dancing 
  feet of more than 100 guests.
  A succubus named Krynaela patrols this area 
  and has been ordered to keep the dance going--
  dancing with someone other than one’s betrothed 
  is strangely a sin to the ancient prudish goddess. 
  The fiend doesn’t want the portal to open however 
  as she would have to return to servitude under her 
  fiendish masters, and she recognizes the PCs as a 
  potential way to stop the ritual. Read or paraphrase 
  the following: 
  
  Angel’s Bacchanalia | EN World EN5idEr
  A beautiful woman emerges from the crowd and disap-
  pears back into the throng, but not before whispering in 
  your ear, “You’re not safe. Meet me in the westernmost 
  boudoir across the river--bring your cohorts.” 
  Krynaela makes her way across the river and 
  waits for the party to arrive there. PCs gain 1 sin for 
  each 10 minutes they spend dancing here.   
  #6: The Boudoirs
  An 8-foot deep temperate river lazily makes its way 
  across this field. Dozens of makeshift tents made of 
  stretched fabrics and stone salvaged from the ruins 
  create private boudoirs just across the river, and count-
  less swimmers cavort in the waterway, occasionally 
  pairing together and making their way up the banks and 
  into one of the primitive enclosures. 
  The area holds little except for guests attempting 
  to find privacy. 
  If Krynaela has already spoken to one of the 
  PCs, she waits within the westernmost boudoir. 
  When the adventurers converse with her here, she 
  explains the entire situation and reveals herself as 
  a succubus. 
  Tonight is the thirteenth solstice and if Samyaza 
  completes the ritual the portal will open, throwing 
  chaos into the region and returning her to her 
  masters. She offers the adventurers an angel’s 
  feather, promising that if it is dropped into the 
  sanctifying pool it will repurify the sacred waters 
  and undo all of Samyaza’s efforts. 
  Party’s Over
  This point can be reached in one of four ways. 
  1. By discovering and bringing up one of the
  bones from the pool.
  2. By dropping the angel’s feather given by
  Krynaela into the pool.
  3. By damning the risks and attacking Samyaza
  or his succubus/incubus directly.
  4. If the PCs allow the partying to continue for
  more than 6 hours, the solstice reaches its
  zenith and Samyaza chooses a sacrifice.
  Most of the revelers have fallen unconscious 
  from one indulgence or another, and he 
  quietly plucks a slumbering mortal and 
  attempts to drown them within the pool.  
  Should a conflict arise, Samyaza and the 6 succubus/
  incubus in the area (not including Krynaela, who 
  flees) fight the PCs to the death. 
  If the adventurers have any sins, the latent dese-
  cration remaining on the PCs empower the fiends. 
  Samyaza and his cohorts all gain a bonus on attack 
  rolls made against a target equal to the target’s 
  current number of sins.
  If the PCs repurify the pool, it starts glowing 
  with golden light as Samyaza screams in horror. 
  Any fiend that ends its turn within 30 feet of the 
  sanctified pool or enters the area for the first time 
  on a turn takes 10 radiant damage. Any creature 
  with sins that ends its turn within the area has 1 of 
  those sins removed. 
  If the PCs attack directly, without purifying the 
  pool or displaying the bones of the sacrifices, 12 
  of the revelers (using the statistics of cultists) try 
  to defend their host and attack the party along-
  side him. Otherwise they all disperse and flee as 
  fighting breaks out.
  Resolving the Adventure
  By putting an end to Samyaza’s plans the adven-
  turers stopped a hellmouth from opening in the 
  region and prevented yet another human sacrifice 
  in this ruin. A search of Samyaza’s remains yields 
  his ring of mind shielding, a suit of full plate armor, 
  and his longbow and longsword—along with a 
  slender golden key. A search of his pedestal yields 
  a small lockbox that can unlocked by the key on 
  his person or with a successful DC 22 Dexterity 
  (thieves’ tools) check. Inside of it are 12,000 gp (in 
  platinum) and a set of dimensional shackles.
  If the pool was repurified, it now provides the PCs 
  with a useful tool. Any creature that bathes within 
  the glowing golden pool is cured of all diseases 
  afflicting it as well as any curses targeting it. e
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 287 - Angels Bacchanalia.pdf