TEXT:  
   
  1 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  2 
   
  Adventure Overview 
  In this adventure the player characters discover a new 
  threat, face strange beings banished to the stars in a 
  previous age, and must race to stop a portal being created 
  that will bring more monsters into the Dragon Empire. 
  This adventure is split into six two-hour sessions, for a 
  total of 12 hours run-time. The adventure is designed for 
  characters of levels 1 to 4.  
  Monster stats appear at the end of this document in the 
  Race to Starport Bestiary.   
  Quick Game Advice 
  This advice is mostly for GMs running this game at 
  GenCon 2015, but applies equally to other 
  conventions and to running the game in stores, 
  online, or at home. 
  Be welcoming 
  Players at your table will have different 
  expectations, different past experiences, 
  and different ways of having fun. Some 
  players will be die-hard fans of 13th Age 
  and it will be their regular game, others 
  might play similar games, and for some this 
  might be their very first time playing an RPG.  
  Use index cards 
  It makes your life easier. Make name tents for the 
  characters, use them to track initiative (hand out a big ‘1’ to 
  the player with the highest initiative, then a ‘2’ to the next 
  highest, then a ‘3’, and so on), draw terrain, etc. 
  Don’t sweat the small stuff 
  If you forget to use a monster’s special ability, didn’t 
  remember to apply ongoing damage to a monster, or 
  whatever: don’t sweat it. Just fudge things a little to 
  compensate and move on. If a game looks like it will run 
  longer than its assigned time slot you can fudge the 
  monsters to make a fight easier, or have the monsters flee. 
  Roll with it, and say yes 
  A player comes up with an interesting idea that this 
  adventure didn’t account for then go with it. Skill checks 
  range from 15 (normal) to 25 (ridiculously hard), and if 
  they are trying something easy or failing just wouldn’t be 
  interesting just say “yes” to whatever they are trying. Saves 
  are easy (6+), normal (11+), and difficult (16+). If you need 
  to deal some damage then impromptu damage ranges from 
  2d6 to 4d6 for a single target and 1d10 to 2d8 for multiple 
  targets. 
  Fail forwards 
  Outside of battle, true failure tends to slow action down 
  rather than move the action along. A more constructive 
  way to interpret failure is as a near-success or event that 
  happens to carry unwanted consequences or 
  side effects. The character probably still 
  fails to achieve the desired goal, but 
  that’s because something happens on the 
  way to the goal rather than because 
  nothing happens. 
  Icon options 
  Throughout this adventure I’ve given 
  options on how you can customize it to 
  account for which icons are important to 
  your players. These options are not set in 
  stone, but are suggestions on how you can 
  bring the presence of the icons into a given scene. 
   
   
  Author: ASH LAW 
  Editor & Developer: Rob Heinsoo 
  Front cover: Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones & ASH LAW 
  Interior art: Lee Moyer, ASH LAW, Aaron McConnell 
  Cartography: ASH LAW 
  ©2015 Fire Opal Media, Inc. Produced by arrangement Pelgrane Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as 
  Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper 
  names (characters, icons, place names, new deities, etc.), dialogue, banter and comments from Jonathan and Rob or ASH, plots, story elements, locations, 
  characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.) Open Content: 
  Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Fire Opal Media game product are Open Game Content, as defined 
  in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced 
  in any form without written permission. 13th Age is published by Pelgrane Press Ltd. under the Open Game License version 1.0a Copyright 2000 Wizards of 
  the Coast, Inc. 13th Age is a trademark of Fire Opal Media, Inc. ©2015 Fire Opal Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 
  Race to Starport 
  
   
   
  3 
   
  Contents 
  Race to Starport ......................................................... 2 
  Quick Game Advice .................................................... 2 
  Be welcoming ....................................................... 2 
  Don’t sweat the small stuff ........................... 2 
  Roll with it, and say yes .................................. 2 
  Fail forwards ....................................................... 2 
  Use index cards ................................................... 2 
  Icon options ......................................................... 2 
  Part 1: Night of Deadly Stars ................................ 6 
  Player Characters .................................................. 7 
  Adventure set-up .................................................... 7 
  So what is a ‘marsh drake’? ............................. 7 
  Travel Montage ...................................................... 8 
  Nekrien Silverleaf ................................................. 8 
  The Sky Falls! ........................................................... 8 
  Panicked marsh-drakes ......................................... 9 
  Tracking the marsh-drakes ................................. 9 
  The Bandits ............................................................ 10 
  The Adventurers’ Camp ...................................... 10 
  The Bandit Camp ................................................... 12 
  Screams in the forest .......................................... 15 
  The Crater .............................................................. 15 
  The Abandoned Tower ........................................ 17 
  To Candlefen ......................................................... 18 
  Part 2: The Terror Beneath .................................. 21 
  Player Characters ................................................ 21 
  Village Life Montage ......................................... 21 
  Jon Doonal ............................................................. 22 
  The Thorn and Berry Inn .................................. 22 
  Readying Candlefen (optional) ....................... 22 
  Hunting Cultists (optional) ............................ 22 
  An Evening in Candlefen (optional) ............. 23 
  Cultists Attack Candlefen ............................... 25 
  The Masks ................................................................ 27 
  Missing Villagers ................................................. 27 
  The Cultists’ Lair ................................................. 27 
  If the adventurers rush in… ......................... 27 
  If the adventurers delay… ............................ 27 
  If the adventurers come up with a clever 
  plan for the attack… ....................................... 27 
  The Rescue ............................................................... 28 
  The Slaughter ........................................................ 30 
  Part 3: Echoes from a Dark Age ........................... 31 
  Player Characters ................................................ 31 
  A message from the Archmage ......................... 31 
  Journey Montage .................................................. 32 
  Rubicarn the Dragon .......................................... 32 
  If the party convinces Rubicarn… .............. 32 
  If the party fails to convince Rubicarn… 32 
  If the party kills Rubicarn… ........................ 33 
  The Village of Far Pines .................................... 35 
  The Crater............................................................... 36 
  Psychic Attack ....................................................... 37 
  Xombie Attack ....................................................... 37 
  The Treasure Chamber ........................................ 38 
  Part 4: The Doomsday Weapon ............................. 41 
  Player Characters ................................................ 41 
  The Meteorite’s Interior ................................... 41 
  The Birthing Chamber ........................................ 42 
  The Living Dungeon Stirs ................................. 44 
  The Dungeon Heart ............................................. 44 
  The Doomsday Weapon ....................................... 44 
  Sneaking past the Xombies ................................ 45 
  Sorrowscorn .......................................................... 45 
  Loot? ......................................................................... 45 
  Part 5: The Staff of Stars....................................... 48 
  Player Characters ................................................ 48 
  The Staff of Stars (recap) .................................. 48 
  Tracking Montage ............................................... 48 
  
   
   
  4 
   
  The Chase ................................................................ 48 
  Part 1: Climbing ................................................ 48 
  Part 2: Chasing (if the party succeeded at 
  part 1) .................................................................... 49 
  Part 3: Running the gauntlet (if the party 
  failed at part 1 or 2) ........................................ 49 
  Courtyard Fight ................................................... 49 
  The Staff of Stars ................................................ 52 
  The Portal Opens ................................................. 52 
  The Tunnel .............................................................. 54 
  Part 6: The Gate of Stars ....................................... 56 
  Player Characters ................................................ 56 
  The Storm ................................................................ 56 
  Surviving the Storm ............................................ 56 
  The Mines ................................................................ 56 
  Attack of the Skull Crabs ................................. 57 
  A Dungeon is Born .............................................. 58 
  The Heart of Starport ........................................ 60 
  The Apocalyptic Aftermath .............................. 62 
  Race to Starport Bestiary ..................................... 65 
  ANIMALS ................................................................ 65 
  Marsh Drake ...................................................... 65 
  HUMANS ................................................................. 66 
  Human Thug ....................................................... 66 
  Bandit Archer ................................................... 66 
  Bandit Chief ...................................................... 66 
  NEKRIEN & ZOMBIES ......................................... 66 
  Nekrien Silverleaf ........................................... 66 
  Shuffle ................................................................. 66 
  Shrug .................................................................... 66 
  STAR-MASKS & XOMBIES ................................. 67 
  Star-mask Cultist ............................................. 67 
  Star-mask ............................................................. 67 
  Star-mask Cult Leader ................................... 67 
  Star-mask Brute ................................................ 67 
  Fast Xombie ........................................................ 68 
  Meteorite Xombie ............................................ 68 
  Xombie Egg Swarm ........................................... 68 
  Skull Crab ........................................................... 68 
  Brain-Absorber Xombie .................................. 69 
  GREATER THREATS ............................................ 69 
  Star Things ......................................................... 69 
  Rubicarn the Red Dragon .............................. 70 
  Sorrowscorn the Possessed Black Dragon
   ................................................................................. 70 
  The Starport Brain .......................................... 71 
  Race to Starport Treasury .................................... 72 
  Icon Roll Ideas.......................................................... 73 
  A 6 on an icon relationship roll… can be 
  traded in for one of the following benefits 
  during this adventure. ............................................ 73 
  The Archmage .................................................... 73 
  The Crusader ...................................................... 73 
  The Diabolist ..................................................... 73 
  The Dwarf King ................................................. 73 
  The Elf Queen .................................................... 73 
  The Emperor ....................................................... 73 
  The Great Gold Wyrm .................................... 73 
  The High Druid ................................................. 74 
  The Lich King ..................................................... 74 
  The Orc Lord ..................................................... 74 
  The Priestess....................................................... 74 
  The Prince of Shadows ................................... 74 
  The Three ............................................................. 74 
  A 5 on an icon relationship roll… can be 
  traded in for one of the following benefits 
  during this adventure. 5s normally come with an 
  obligation or complication. ................................... 74 
  The Archmage, Diabolist, Elf Queen, High 
  Druid, Lich King, Priestess ........................... 74 
  The Archmage, Diabolist, Elf Queen, High 
  Druid, Lich King, the Three ......................... 74 
  
   
   
  5 
   
  The Archmage, High Druid, Lich King, the 
  Three ..................................................................... 74 
  The Crusader, Diabolist, Orc Lord, Prince 
  of Shadows .......................................................... 74 
  The Crusader, Dwarf King, Emperor, Great 
  Gold Wyrm, Orc Lord .................................... 74 
  The Crusader, Dwarf King, Emperor, Great 
  Gold Wyrm, Orc Lord, Prince of Shadows
   ................................................................................ 75 
  The Priestess ...................................................... 75 
  The Prince of Shadows, the Three ............. 75 
  Any icon ............................................................... 75 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  6 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  7 
   
  Part 1: Night of Deadly 
  Stars 
  In this introductory adventure the player characters face 
  falling meteorites, and bandits. 
  Player Characters 
  Part 1 of this adventure is designed for 1st level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 1st level versions of the characters. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  Adventure set-up 
  The adventurers are hired to aid a merchant to protect her 
  marsh-drakes from bandits. The last few merchants to 
  travel this route have been attacked. 
  Read this aloud: 
  Hosford Merrywife has purchased a herd of 
  marsh-drakes and intends to drive them to the 
  town of Candlefen for sale. She is aware of the 
  bandits that might lie in wait on the road 
  through the vast Dragon Wood, and has hired 
  you to keep her and the marsh-drakes safe. 
  Hosford Merrywife has paid you 20gp each 
  up front, and she will pay the party an extra 
  10gp per marsh-drake that makes it safely to its 
  destination. She has 20 marsh-drakes. 
  You have heard that the town of Candlefen is 
  having some sort of problem and is looking to 
  hire adventurers, so this is on your way anyway. 
  The Archmage also has a request of you: find 
  out what is going on in the Dragon Wood and 
  report back to him. There have been stories of 
  strange monsters. 
  Icon Option: Archmage 
  If the Archmage is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then Hosford Merrywife is a failed 
  wizard. She has some small magical aptitude, enough 
  to sense magic but lacks the training to cast spells. She 
  can, however, aid wizards in casting spells. As she 
  journeys with the party she can give anybody who 
  attempts a skill roll based on a magical solution a +1 to 
  the skill check. 
  Icon Option: Elf Queen 
  If the Elf Queen is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then Hosford Merrywife has distant elven 
  ancestry—not enough to make her a half-elf but enough 
  to give her sharper senses than most humans possess. 
  As she journeys with the party she can give +1 to any 
  skill checks involving spotting things. 
  Icon Option: Diabolist 
  If the Diabolist is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then one of Hosford Merrywife’s 
  ancestors made a pact with a demon. Hosford (and 
  others of her family) have a sixth sense when it comes 
  to danger. Once during this adventure Hosford can 
  shout out a supernaturally prescient warning and force 
  an attacker to reroll an attack on an adventurer. 
  Icon Option: Other Icons 
  If the other icons are important based on icon 
  relationships then Hosford Merrywife is very interested 
  in those icons, and will quiz the adventurers about them 
  as the party journeys through the marsh. 
   
  So what is a ‘marsh drake’? 
  Do they have horns? Webbed feet? Are they like 
  wingless dragons, or are they merely large lizards? Marsh 
  drakes are big enough to need driving like cattle, and they 
  can trample somebody, but in combat terms they’re like 
  mooks rather than true combatants. Apart from that the 
  details are in your hands, and if you wish you can use the icon 
  option ideas below to get you started. Marsh drakes are 
  domesticated, they don’t want to fight people, but that also 
  makes them easy to rustle. If the adventurers end up 
  fighting the marsh drakes for some reason you can find the 
  marsh drakes listed in the bestiary section at the back of 
  this adventure. 
  Icon Option: Crusader 
  If the Crusader is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the marsh drakes are dangerous 
  animals that attack those they consider not part of their 
  herd—the Crusader uses them as watch animals. Once 
  during the adventure if the adventurers have the marsh 
  drakes with them then start the escalation die at 1. 
  Icon Option: High Druid 
  If the High Druid is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the milk of marsh drakes is an 
  ingredient in healing potions. During a quick rest 
  Hosford Merrywife can milk the marsh drakes and one 
  adventurer can heal an extra 1d8 hit points from 
  drinking the milk. 
  Icon Option: Priestess 
  If the Priestess is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then these marsh drakes are part of a 
  
   
   
  8 
   
  sacrifice that is intended to take place in Candlefen. As 
  the beasts are sanctified beasts, clerics travelling with 
  them gain a +1 bonus to saving throws. 
   
  Travel Montage 
  At this point you should run a travel montage as the 
  adventurers leave the town of Oxhill with Hosford 
  Merrywife and the marsh-drakes and start travelling 
  through the Dragon Wood. Candlefen is a village that lies 
  deep in the Dragon Wood, in marshland at the foot of a 
  mountain called Starport. This montage will not take them 
  to Candlefen, just into the Dragon Wood. 
  Explain to the players how a montage works. You will 
  pick a player and ask them to describe a problem that the 
  party faced but not how it was solved. You will then ask 
  the player to their left how their character solved that 
  problem. There is no dice rolling, just a quick narration 
  from each player. As you go around the group everybody 
  will get a chance to create a problem, and everybody will 
  get a chance to have their character solve a problem. 
  The focus of this montage is travel deep into the 
  Dragon Wood. 
   
  Nekrien Silverleaf 
  As the party crosses a bridge on the ill-kept road deep in 
  the Dragon Wood they meet a dark elf, Nekrien Silverleaf. 
  She is a necromancer, and with her are her two zombies 
  Shuffle and Shrug. She is also travelling in the direction of 
  Candlefen and suggests that she join the party (“Safety in 
  numbers”). Anybody with an icon relationship with the 
  Lich King will soon spot that she has the Lich King’s tattoo 
  hidden under a bracer on her left wrist (as if the zombies 
  were not a dead give-away).  
  Flip a coin:  
  Heads: Hosford Merrywife is fine with the dark elf 
  coming along, the marsh-drakes have no problem with 
  zombies and an extra person protecting her is a great 
  idea.  
  Tails: Hosford lets the party know that she feels very 
  uncomfortable around the dark elf, and the marsh 
  drakes hate the zombies.  
  The party has a decision to make... Does the party let the 
  necromancer and her zombies travel with them? Do they 
  refuse the dark elf’s request? Do they fight Nekrien?  
  A DC 25 skill check to discern Nekrien’s motives (or to 
  rummage through her pack when she’s not looking, later after 
  she’s traveling with the group) means that the party figures 
  out that she is in the Dragon Wood investigating the 
  strange monsters recently reported in the forest. She is 
  working for the Lich King. Failing the roll means that the 
  party still uncovers the information, but are so obvious 
  about it that Nekrien knows that they know, and 
  furthermore that they have accidentally revealed that they 
  are working for the Archmage. A roll of a 1 means that no 
  information is uncovered. 
  If the party fights the bandits or the crater monsters later 
  in the adventure and Nekrien is with them, then she aids 
  the party from the edge of the fight, casting spells that 
  create entangling shadowy tentacles. The effect of the 
  shadow tentacles is that Nekrien grants one adventurer 
  each round a +1 to an attack roll. 
  If the party chooses to just attack Nekrien Silverleaf at 
  the start of the adventure that is fine. If the party refuses 
  to travel with her that is OK too. You can find Nekrien and 
  her zombies in the bestiary at the back of this adventure. 
  The most dramatically satisfying option  if it turns into a 
  fight is to allow Nekrien to flee player character-style, but 
  dropping her wand of power behind her by way of 
  compensation. (You can find the wand in the treasury at 
  the end of the adventure). 
  Shuffle and Shrug 
  These ‘friendly’ zombies are under the control of Nekrien 
  Silverleaf 
  the 
  Necromancer, 
  and 
  have 
  distinct 
  personalities. Shuffle shuffles its feet when unsure, and 
  shrug just shrugs in response to stimuli that are not 
  commands from Nekrien. The two zombies can move 
  surprisingly quickly when they are ordered to by Nekrien, 
  and can leap and climb trees. 
  Icon Option: Lich King 
  If there are adventurers with a positive or conflicted 
  relationship with the Lich King then perhaps Nekrien 
  secretly reveals her allegiance to them and asks for their 
  help. The Lich King knows that something big is 
  happening—the strange celestial phenomena known as 
  the Archmage’s Comet is interfering with magic, almost 
  as if it is probing the Dragon Empire’s defenses. 
  Naturally this interests the Lich King. Nekrien tells the 
  adventurers that Candlefen has an old abandoned 
  wizard’s tower near the town, from which the Lich King 
  can be contacted. If the party sees anything odd 
  involving the Archmage’s Comet and her secret ally in 
  the party lets her get to the tower unmolested then she’ll 
  pay them 100 gold pieces. 
  The Sky Falls! 
  Read this aloud: 
  As night begins to fall you are looking 
  for a place to camp. A whistling sound 
  draws your attention to the sky—to 
  something that is commonly known as 
  the Archmage’s Comet. This strange 
  phenomena appeared a month ago, a 
  
   
   
  9 
   
  comet that moves erratically across the 
  sky and sometimes disappears for days 
  at a time. The whistling at first sounds 
  distant, like the warbling of a bird, but it 
  grows painfully and piercingly loud as 
  the comet seems to momentarily change 
  course. 
  The comet brightens, and an instant 
  later the Dragon Wood is shaken by a 
  loud explosion. The comet is still intact, 
  but several chunks have fallen off it! 
  Suddenly the Dragon Wood is pelted 
  by red-hot rocks from the sky! Trees 
  explode. The marsh-drakes panic and 
  begin running away. What do you do? 
  The meteorites scream from the sky with whistling noises. 
  Merry Hoswife begins yelling at the adventurers to grab 
  the marsh drakes and keep them safe. This gives the 
  adventurers a chance to get out of the way, find a rocky 
  overhang to shelter under, or just raise their shields and 
  hope for the best. Exactly how they deal with the burning 
  rocks falling from the sky is up to each individual player. 
  Each adventurer must succeed at a DC 15 skill check to find 
  safety or be targeted by an attack from falling red-hot rocks, 
  steam explosions from suddenly super-heated puddles 
  with hot rocks in them, and other hazards. Each adventurer 
  who fails the roll gets targeted by one of the following 
  attacks: 
  Micrometeorite +5 vs AC—3d6 damage 
  OR 
  Exploding tree +5 vs PD—2d6 thunder damage 
  OR 
  Steam blast +4 vs PD—3d6 damage 
   
  Panicked marsh-drakes 
  Once the initial onslaught of sky-rocks ceases Merry 
  Hoswife starts franticly running after the scattered marsh 
  drakes. She yells at the adventurers to join her in rescuing 
  the freaked-out beasts. 
  Rescuing the marsh-drakes is a skill check, and the 
  higher the roll the more marsh-drakes a specific adventurer 
  can rescue. There are 20 marsh-drakes in total and each PC 
  can give it a try. 
  Roll 
  Result 
  25+ 
  5 marsh-drakes are saved 
  20-25 
  4 marsh-drakes are saved 
  15-20 
  3 marsh-drakes are saved 
  10-15 
  2 marsh-drakes are saved 
  2-10 
  1 marsh-drake is saved 
  1 
  Something interestingly bad happens 
  The interestingly bad thing could be that the adventurer 
  causes a marsh-drake that somebody else had saved to 
  become panicked and run away, or a marsh-drake tramples 
  them: 
  Trampled by a panicked marsh-drake +5 vs AC—2d6 
  damage. 
  If for some reason the adventurers decide to fight the 
  marsh drakes they can be found in the bestiary section in 
  the back of the adventure, and also below… 
   
  Marsh Drake 
  1st level wrecker [beast] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Gore +6 vs. PD—1 damage, and the trample gains a +2 
  attack bonus against the same target this turn with its 
  trample attack 
   
  Limited use: 2/round, each requiring a quick action. 
  (Hitting the same target twice with gore gives the trample 
  attack a +4 bonus.) 
  Trample +6 vs. AC—1 damage, and 1 ongoing damage 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 15 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 10 
  Mook: Kill one marsh drake mook for every 7 damage dealt 
  to the mob. 
   
   
  
   
   
  10 
   
  Tracking the marsh-drakes 
  If the party loses a lot of marsh-drakes into the forest then 
  they might decide to go after them once the meteorite 
  bombardment fully stops. It is a DC 15 skill check to 
  recover a marsh-drake. Each party member searching can 
  roll once. The first adventurer to fail the roll sees the marsh-
  drake they were trying to recover in the distance being 
  hauled off by some bandits. A natural 1 means that the 
  marsh-drake is lost somewhere in the Dragon Wood, 
  irrecoverable or that the marsh-drakes is found, but it was 
  killed by a meteorite. 
  Chasing the bandits will lead the adventurers to the 
  bandit camp. 
  Even if the party loses all the marsh-drakes then 
  Hosford Merrywife still wants to travel with the 
  adventurers to Candlefen rather than face the Dragon 
  Wood on her own. Of course she’ll end up grumbling a lot 
  on the journey if she has no marsh drakes to sell in 
  Candlefen. 
   
  The Bandits 
  The Dragon Wood has bandits in it, but who are the local 
  bandits? Here are some options to give them more flavor 
  beyond simple generic bandits. 
  Icon Option: Emperor 
  If the Emperor is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the bandits are former imperial 
  soldiers, deserters who have turned to banditry. 
  Characters with a relationship with the emperor know 
  the fighting style and tactics that the bandits are trained 
  in and gain a +1 bonus to attacks against the bandits. 
  Icon Option: Diabolist 
  If the Diabolist is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then these bandits work for the Diabolist, 
  in a roundabout way. The bandits intend to sacrifice the 
  beasts in a ritual to appease a demon that they made a 
  pact with. The sacrifice isn’t payment for their pact, 
  merely to appease the demon until the pact can be 
  fulfilled. The bandits made the pact with the demon 
  when they were about to be lunch for a black dragon 
  called Sorrowscorn. The demon got them out of the 
  frying pan, but if they want to avoid the fire(s of hell) 
  they need to keep their new master happy. Maybe the 
  adventurers will be the sacrifice that finally pays off the 
  bargain they made? 
  Icon Option: Orc Lord 
  If the Orc Lord is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then these bandits are of half-orc ancestry, 
  and have fallen to the ways of the Orc Lord. The bandits 
  enjoy raiding, killing for killing’s sake, and eating raw 
  meat. They have an especial hankering for the flesh of 
  sentient races, and look forward to eating the party if 
  they can—of course they’ll settle for the marsh drakes. 
  Icon Option: Other Icons 
  The bandits have recently raided a caravan that 
  belonged to a servant of an icon, and are bedecked in 
  stolen finery. Maybe they wear fine silks stolen from an 
  elven caravan, or have repurposed some pilfered 
  dwarven mail, or are bedecked in filched holy symbols 
  that were due to come to be delivered to a monastery on 
  the Green Star river. 
   
  
   
   
  11 
   
  The Adventurers’ Camp 
  Assuming the adventurers didn’t already find the bandits 
  while searching for the missing marsh-drakes, the 
  adventurers can either press on in the darkness of the 
  Dragon Wood, or choose to make camp for the night. If the 
  adventurers press on in the darkness they stumble into the 
  bandit camp by accident. If the adventurers make camp 
  themselves the bandits are attracted by the sound of marsh-
  drakes. 
  The bandits creep up to the edge of the clearing and 
  shout out to the adventurers. The bandits want the marsh-
  drakes, but are willing to let the adventurers past. 
  The bandits are willing to take half the remaining 
  marsh-drakes (a DC 20 skill check to negotiate this). If the 
  wizard uses charm person on a bandit then the DC of the 
  skill check becomes 15. 
  See the Bestiary section at the back of the adventure 
  for the bandit stats and all other monsters, and also on 
  this page.  
  Adventurers 
  Human Thug 
  Bandit Archer 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  4 
  4 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  4 
   
  Human Thug 
  1st level troop [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +3 
   
  Heavy mace +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: The thug deals +6 damage 
  with its next attack this battle. (GM, be sure to let 
  the PCs know this is coming, it’s not a secret.) 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 14 HP 27 
  MD 12 
   
  Bandit Archer 
  1st level mook [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +3 
   
  Short sword +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Crossbow +6 vs. AC—5 damage 
  Limited use: These bandits take 1 full turn to reload. 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 15 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 11 
  Mook: Kill one bandit archer mook for every 7 damage 
  you do to the mob. 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  12 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  13 
   
  The Bandit Camp 
  The bandits have a camp in the woods. The adventurers 
  might have chased bandits that stole some marsh-drakes 
  during the meteor shower, followed the bandits to the 
  camp after being held up in their camp, or have stumbled 
  into the camp in the dark.  
  The camp is obviously a long-term settlement, built in a 
  forest clearing near a river. The bandits have made crooked 
  shacks at the edge of the clearing. There are 15 underfed 
  marsh-drakes in a large paddock, some of which did not 
  belong to Hosford Merrywife.  
  When the adventurers approach it is a DC 15 skill check 
  to stay hidden if they have no marsh-drakes with them, and 
  impossible if they are driving marsh-drakes through the 
  forest.  
  If the adventurers have already fought the bandits then the 
  camp is deserted—otherwise half of the bandits will attack the 
  adventurers as soon as they spot them, and the other half will flee 
  into the forest. The fight below is for the bandits that stay to 
  defend their secret camp and the stolen marsh-drakes. 
  See the Bestiary section at the back of the adventure 
  for the bandit stats and all other monsters, and also on 
  this page.  
  Adventurers 
  Human Thug 
  Bandit Chief 
  3 
  2 
  1 
  4 
  3 
  1 
  5 
  4 
  1 
   
  Human Thug 
  1st level troop [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +3 
   
  Heavy mace +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: The thug deals +6 damage 
  with its next attack this battle. (GM, be sure to let 
  the PCs know this is coming, it’s not a secret.) 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 14 HP 27 
  MD 12 
   
  Bandit Chief 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Stolen sword +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
  Natural even hit: One human thug or bandit archer 
  can move as a free action. 
   
  Call to arms: When the bandit chief rolls a natural 16+ attack 
  or save one bandit archer reloads their crossbow as a free 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 15 HP 72 
  MD 13 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  14 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  15 
   
  Screams in the forest 
  The adventurers continue their journey on the road 
  through the Dragon Wood, only to hear screams echoing 
  around the forest. It is hard to tell from which direction the 
  screams are coming from, or who or what is screaming. 
  A short time later the adventurers come across a wide 
  river, known as the Green Star. The river here is swollen, 
  the water rushing over rocks and foaming white. There was 
  a bridge that crossed the river here, but it was destroyed 
  recently—most likely by the meteorites.  
  This is a skill challenge. The adventurers must cross 
  the river with the marsh-drakes. 
  Crossing the river could involve making temporary 
  repairs to the bridge, looking for a shallow place to swim 
  across, building rafts, etc. Whatever the players decide to 
  do it is a DC 20 skill check per adventurer to cross the river. 
  Possible outcomes of failure include: 
   
  The adventurer crosses the river, but loses a marsh-
  drake in the process. 
   
  The adventurer crosses the river, but 
  makes the DC of the next skill check to 
  cross the river 5 higher. The character 
  who failed the roll gets to narrate 
  why their failure inconveniences 
  others. 
   
  The adventurer crosses the river, 
  but takes 2d6 damage from half-
  drowning. 
   
  The adventurer crosses the river, 
  but loses the gold that they were paid 
  by Hosford Merrywife. 
  If the party decides to cooperatively repair the bridge 
  then it is a DC 25 skill check requiring two successes; if the 
  party gets two failures before getting two successes then 
  the bridge collapses as the party is crossing—everybody 
  still gets across but everybody takes 2d6 damage. 
   
   
  The Crater 
  The adventurers are almost to Candlefen, but their way is 
  blocked by a huge impact crater that swallows the road. 
  Much of the surrounding forest has been blasted, the trees 
  uprooted and burnt. In the road are a dozen dead people, 
  bandits that have been cooked alive in their own skins or 
  half-eaten. 
  As the adventurers consider their options they are 
  attacked by creatures rising out of the crater. It is a DC 25 
  skill check to notice the attackers before the ambush 
  happens. If the character walking at the front of the group 
  failed the skill check the star thing and one egg swarm gets 
  a free attack on the adventurer who is walking in front. 
  Adventurers 
  Star Things 
  Xombie Egg 
  Swarm 
  3 
  1 
  5 
  4 
  2 
  2 
  5 
  2 
  5 
  These strange creatures are like nothing the adventurers 
  have ever seen before. Bringing samples back for the 
  Archmage is out of the question (they start 
  dissolving 
  once 
  dead) 
  but 
  a 
  good 
  description of them and their tactics, 
  together with the fact that they come 
  from the meteorites, or at least 
  accompany them, is sure to get the 
  adventurers in the Archmage’s good 
  graces. 
  Icon Option: Archmage 
  If the Archmage is an important icon based 
  on icon relationships then the party knows 
  that Candlefen has an old abandoned wizard’s 
  tower near the town. It is possible, in theory, to use the 
  tower’s lingering magic to send a report to the 
  Archmage. 
  Icon Option: Other icons 
  If the Archmage is not an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the party still knows about the old 
  abandoned tower but the person who last lived in the 
  tower was dedicated to the service of whichever icon is 
  most important to the party based on icon relationships. 
  So it might be an old watch-tower of the Crusader, a 
  tree-wrapped tower formerly inhabited by a servant of 
  the High Druid, or an ancient elven tower known to 
  servants of the Elf Queen. 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  16 
   
  Star Things 
  They’re clearly deviant, malevolent, octopus-like flying monsters from 
  a dimension where space obeys different geometry. No one understands 
  their language, but everyone can understand their squeals of glee when 
  they kill and feed. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Ripping tentacles +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
  Natural even hit: If the target is taking ongoing 
  psychic damage, the attack deals +2d6 damage. 
   
  [Group ability] R: Warp-pulse +8 vs. PD (1d3 enemies in a 
  group)—5 ongoing psychic damage 
  Natural 16–18: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is dazed (–4 attacks). 
  Natural 19–20: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is confused instead of 
  dazed. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star things in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use warp-pulse once during the battle. 
   
  Limited flight: Star things flap and glide and hover, always 
  within seven or eight feet of the ground. No one knows 
  how that works. 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 12 HP 54 
  MD 15 
  Xombie Egg Swarm 
  These tentacled white spheres roll and hop around looking for a corpse 
  to inhabit. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Swarm +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] C: Puppeteer tentacles +7 vs. MD (one 
  nearby enemy)—the target makes a basic ranged or melee 
  attack against a target of the xombie egg swarm’s choice 
  Miss: The target is immune to puppeteer abilities 
  for the rest of this fight and the fight after. 
   
  [Once per battle] Swarm rush: As a move action the swarm 
  pops free and moves twice, but must finish its move 
  engaged with an enemy. 
   
  Group ability: For every four xombie swarms in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use puppeteer tentacles once 
  during the battle. 
   
  Nastier specials 
  Corpse puppet: If there are intact corpses in the battle (say a 
  star-mask cultist died) then part of the xombie egg swarm 
  burrows into it and it rises as a xombie. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one xombie egg swarm mook for every 9 
  damage you do to the mob. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  17 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  18 
   
  The Abandoned Tower 
  The party arrives at an abandoned tower at the edge of 
  Candlefen. Here the forest is less dense, and here and there 
  the trees have been cleared and crops planted. The 
  adventurers are not at Candlefen proper, but are near enough to 
  the settlement that they are seeing signs of civilization. 
  The tower is a means by which the party can contact an 
  icon. The exact method that the party uses is down to you: 
  a magic circle with some still-lingering magic, a special 
  room with a talking bust linked to another in the domain 
  of an icon, or maybe there is a magical servitor that roosts 
  here and can carry a message to its master or mistress. 
  Whichever you choose as the most appropriate method, let 
  the players know that the adventurers feel they will be 
  rewarded for reporting the strange incidents in the Dragon 
  Wood. 
  If the party has had only one fight so far, or  if you 
  have extra time available then Nekrien attacks the party to 
  prevent them reporting on the monsters to the Archmage. 
  If the party drove Nekrien away previously then it turns 
  out that she reached the abandoned tower minutes before 
  they did and they find her while she is preparing to send a 
  message. Of course if Nekrien is already dead then she can’t 
  attack, so ignore this fight and any other Nekrien-related ideas. 
  But wait… she serves the Lich King…GM’s choice if you want 
  her undead and angry! 
  Adventurers 
  Nekrien 
  Shuffle 
  Shrug 
  3, 4, or 5 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  If there have been two fights already (and you don’t 
  want to run a 3rd) the dark elf decides not to push her luck, 
  and lets the party do whatever they want (though 
  doubtless will try to send her own message once the 
  adventurers have left).  
  If the party is in league with the Lich King and intend 
  to report to him then Nekrien helps them to activate the 
  magic circle, bargain with the magical servant, or whatever 
  else needs to be done to send a message to her dark lord 
  and master.  
  Icon Option: Any icon 
  Sending a report to an icon will get a reply, though 
  the method of reply will depend on the icon 
  involved. With the replay comes a reward: a magic 
  item. Whichever icon is involved the contents of 
  the return message is in essence the same: 
  investigate further.
  Nekrien Silverleaf 
  This dark elf likes having people obey her. Zombies are people, right? 
  Double-strength 2nd level caster [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  C: Shadow bolt +7 vs. PD (one nearby enemy)—15 negative 
  energy damage 
  Natural even hit: The target is stuck (save ends). 
   
  [Quick action] C: Tenebrous tentacles (automatic hit vs. 
  one nearby or far away enemy)—Nekrien and her allies 
  have a cumulative +1 bonus to hit the target until the start of her 
  next turn (up to a maximum of +3 if Nekrien uses all her actions 
  this turn). 
   
  Nastier special 
  Necrotic vitality: When Nekrien takes damage she can 
  transfer that damage to the zombies that she controls, 
  splitting it between the two zombies as she sees fit. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 72 
  MD 16 
   
  Shuffle 
  3rd level wrecker [UNDEAD] 
  Initiative: +3 
  Vulnerable: holy 
   
  Death grip +8 vs. AC—8 damage 
  Natural even hit: The target and Shuffle are stuck 
  (target saving ends). Every time the target fails to 
  save they take 4 damage.  
  [Quick action against targets stuck in a death grip] 
  Squeeeeze +12 vs. PD—4 damage 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 13 HP 45 
  MD 17 
   
  Shrug 
  3rd level spoiler [UNDEAD] 
  Initiative: +3 
  Vulnerable: holy 
   
  Low moan +8 vs. MD—5 ongoing psychic damage 
  Natural even miss: Shrug can use baleful gaze as a 
  quick action this turn. 
   
  R: Baleful gaze +10 vs. MD (1d3 enemies in a group)—4 
  psychic damage and the target must attempt to move away from 
  Shrug on its next turn. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 13 HP 45 
  MD 17 
   
   
  
   
   
  19 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  20 
   
  To Candlefen 
  From the tower the adventurers can see some from the 
  chimneys of Candlefen. The town is not yet in sight, but for 
  now at least the party is out of the wilder part of the Dragon 
  Wood. 
  If they have any marsh-drakes left they are collectively 
  paid 10gp per marsh-drake by Hosford Merrywife and can 
  split the money between them as they wish. Merry Hosford 
  thanks them for getting her safely through the Dragon 
  Wood.  
   
  Read this aloud: 
  …but what of the strange creatures 
  that came out of the crater? Find out in 
  part 2: The Terror Beneath. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  21 
   
  Part 2: The Terror 
  Beneath 
  The townsfolk of Candlefen are menaced by bizarre 
  creatures from the marsh. What does the strange meteorites 
  that landed in the marsh have to do with the masked 
  cultists? 
  Player Characters 
  Part 2 of this adventure is designed for 1st level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 1st level versions of the characters, but give 
  them an incremental advance. To save time at 
  GenCon just give everybody a choice of either getting 
  their 2nd level hit points early or add +1 to all their skill 
  checks. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  New characters this session who were not part of 
  last week’s session are travelers who have joined the 
  party, travelling together for safety. 
   
   
  Village Life Montage 
  At this point you should run a montage as the adventurers 
  arrive in Candlefen. Candlefen is a village that lies deep in 
  the Dragon Wood, in marshland at the foot of a mountain 
  called Starport. 
  Explain to the players how a montage works. You will 
  pick a player and ask them to describe an NPC that the 
  party met but not who met that NPC or what the result of 
  the meeting was. You will then ask the player to their left 
  how their character interacted with that NPC. There is no 
  dice rolling, just a quick narration from each player. As you 
  go around the group everybody will get a chance to create 
  an NPC, and everybody will get a chance to have their 
  character interact with an NPC. 
  As you cooperatively describe Candlefen here are some 
  facts to keep in mind: 
   
  A woman called Hosford Merrywife has just 
  delivered some marsh drakes to the town. The 
  marsh drakes and Hosford appeared last session. 
   
  Candlefen is at the edge of the Wicklight Marsh, in 
  the Dragon Wood. 
   
  Candlefen is the last piece of what passes for 
  civilization in these parts for many day’s travel. 
  There are villages north of here, but they are small 
  and are plagued by dragons. Candlefen is the last 
  safe town. 
   
  Candlefen acts as a trading hub for the hunters and 
  other inhabitants of the Wicklight Marsh. 
   
  The village elder of Candlefen is called Jon Doonal. 
   
  There is an old abandoned wizard’s tower near the 
  edge of town, back in the Dragon Wood proper. 
  This tower was featured near the end of the last session. 
  The focus of this montage is cooperatively creating the 
  village of Candlefen. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  22 
   
  Jon Doonal 
  In Candlefen the village elder, Jon Doonal, is pleased to see 
  the adventurers (and is willing to overlook most 
  eccentricities they may have or trouble that they may have 
  caused when they arrived in the village). Elder Doonal 
  explains the following: 
  Read this aloud: 
  “Hello and welcome to Candlefen,” the 
  nervous-seeming elder says “I’m glad to 
  see so many adventurers. Naturally your 
  stay here will be free.”   
  The town elder seems anxious, as 
  though he is expecting trouble or has a 
  lot on his mind. 
  The town elder seems keen to make the adventurers at 
  home, suspiciously keen in fact. It is a DC 15 skill check to 
  gather information either by questioning Jon directly or by 
  asking around town. Adventurers who dig deeper discover 
  the following: 
   
  Strange meteorites fell into the marsh and on 
  Dragon Wood recently. Odd creatures were 
  spotted in the marsh soon after. 
   
  A group of white-masked cultists showed up, and 
  have been abducting the hunters and fur-trappers 
  of Wicklight Marsh. 
   
  Elder Doonal hopes that having adventurers in 
  town for a couple of days might convince the 
  white-masked cultists to move on and not bother 
  the town. 
  After their introduction to town the party will probably 
  want to find a place to stay: the Thorn and Berry Inn. 
   
  The Thorn and Berry Inn 
  The town has but one inn, the run-down Thorn and Berry. 
  Despite the town’s relatively poor status elder Jon Doonal 
  insists that the adventurers be given free room, food, and 
  drink. 
  This is a good time to introduce any surviving NPCs 
  from the last session, and to bring in any NPCs created 
  during the village life montage scene earlier. Some of the 
  NPCs from Candlefen will start to get nervous come dusk, 
  glancing out of the windows and huddling closer to the 
  fire. 
   
  Readying Candlefen (optional) 
  If the adventurers correctly deduce that the town fears 
  attack they might decide to prepare the town for the attack. 
  Preparing will make the town safer and make any fight in 
  the town easier as a result. 
  Preparing the town is a DC 15 skill check for each 
  adventurer, and everybody gets the chance at one roll. 
  Failing the roll means that a preparation is made, but it will 
  have no impact in any coming fight. A roll of a 1 means that 
  the fortification collapses, caves in, or catches fire before the 
  masked strangers come. Here are some fortifications and 
  their effects if the DC 15 skill check is passed. 
  Traps. These might be pits to slow the enemy down, or 
  tripwires, or crossbows rigged to fire when doors are 
  opened. Whatever the adventurer decides to rig up they 
  deal 1d4 damage to the mob of mooks in the cultists attack 
  fight. 
  Barriers. These slow down attackers. For every barrier 
  created a non-mook enemy enters the fight only once the 
  escalation die is 1+. 
  NPC 
  defenders. 
  Training 
  villagers 
  to 
  defend 
  themselves (by firing arrows from rooftops, or forming a 
  pike levy) subtracts 1d6 hp from a non-mook enemy in the 
  first round of combat. 
  Redoubt/fortification. This could be as simple as 
  nailing planks over the inn’s windows and wedging the 
  doors shut, or might involve digging ditches and putting 
  stakes in the ground—whatever it is the adventurers are 
  creating a defensible space. If an adventurer the DC 15 skill 
  check for this sort of preparation add +1 to each 
  adventurer’s AC during the coming fight, provided the 
  party stays in the defendable location. 
  Icon Option: Crusader 
  If the Crusader is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the party discovers that the town is 
  already prepared, and can pick one of the above options 
  to already be in place. Before Candlefen was a town it 
  was a garrisoned fort, and some elements of the 
  fortifications for that still exist. 
   
  Hunting Cultists (optional) 
  The adventurers might decide to actively hunt down the 
  cultists before they can attack Candlefen. If that is the case 
  then the adventurers don’t get to make preparations (see 
  Readying Candlefen) but spend the early evening and the 
  first part of the night in the Wicklight Marsh.  
  Hunting the cultists is a DC 20 skill check. Every time 
  the adventurers fail the skill check they take 1d6 damage 
  from stumbling into too-deep water, getting tangled in 
  thorn bushes in the dark, and other dangers of wandering 
  around a marsh in the gloom of night. Once they pass the 
  
   
   
  23 
   
  skill check they come across the cultists (use the Cultists 
  Attack Candlefen fight in the next section, and skip the 
  Cultists Attack Candlefen encounter itself and when the 
  adventurers get back to town use the Missing Villagers 
  scene) but start with the escalation die at 1. 
  Icon Option: Elf Queen 
  If the Elf Queen is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the party discovers an old elven road 
  through the marshland. Thanks to travelling on the 
  overgrown road failing the DC 15 tracking roll only 
  does 1d3 damage to each party member rather than 1d6. 
  Icon Option: Dwarf King 
  If the Dwarf King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the party encounters the cultists near 
  an old dwarven way-marker. Fighting with their backs 
  to the massive carved stone representation of a dwarf 
  gives the party +1 to their AC for this fight. 
   
  Adventurers 
  (Tough fight!) 
  Star-
  mask 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-
  mask 
  Brute 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cult 
  Leader 
  3 
  0 
  2 
  1 
  1 
  4 
  0 
  4 
  1 
  1 
  5 
  3 
  5 
  1 
  1 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
   
  Star-mask Cultist 
  This hapless humanoid has become host to a mask, and is in thrall to 
  the group mind. 
  1st level archer [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Club +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Bow +5 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] Coordinated attack: Until the start of its next turn 
  the star-mask cultist gets a +2 to bonus to attack enemies that are 
  engaged with allied star masks, star mask cultists, xombies, etc. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star-mask cultists in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use coordinated attack once 
  during the battle.  
   
  AC 17 
  PD 13 HP 27 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask Brute 
  This was once a large animal, but now it is a bipedal mass of muscle 
  covered in multiple masks. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +9 
   
  Fist smash +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
   
  Crush +8 vs. AC—5 damage and 5 ongoing damage and once 
  per battle the star-ask brute throws the target as a free action 
  [special trigger] Throw +12 vs. PD—Target is thrown far away, 
  takes 10 damage, and is weakened (easy save ends) 
  Miss: Target pops free. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 14 HP 45 
  MD 16 
   
  Star-mask Cult Leader 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +7 
   
  Iron-shod staff +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic domination +7 vs. MD—7 
  damage and 7 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: One dead (or unconscious 
  or otherwise out of the fight) star-mask cultist, 
  dead star-mask cult leader, or dead star-mask 
  brute becomes a living star-mask. 
   
   
  Group ability: For every two star mask-cult leaders in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use psychic dominion once 
  during the battle as a quick action. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 13 HP 72 
  MD 15 
   
  
   
   
  24 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  25 
   
  An Evening in Candlefen 
  (optional) 
  Maybe the adventurers don’t feel like preparing for an 
  attack, and don’t want to go traipsing through a swamp 
  looking for bandits. In which case just role-play the people 
  of Candlefen’s reaction to the adventurers from out of 
  town, using the NPCs created during the montage and 
  introducing more of your own creation.  
  Here are some villager names:  
   
  Able Ratner 
   
  Beatrice Chenwell 
   
  Candice Forth 
   
  Gosford Greenfield 
   
  Sally Bishopsgate 
   
  Sidney Roughdiamond 
   
  Thalia Orcsbane 
   
  Wendella Wallace  
   
  Ymir the Elderly 
  Here are some motivations: 
   
  Convince the outsiders to help Candlefen 
   
  Keep Candlefen safe from strangers (i.e. the party, 
  who are armed and dangerous in this NPC’s view) 
   
  Learn about the outside world 
   
  Party with the adventurers 
   
  Sell stuff to the outsiders 
   
  Cultists Attack Candlefen 
  As night falls a mist begins to rise from the Wicklight 
  Marsh, an unnatural mist that drifts towards Candlefen 
  village. Figures with pale faces can be seen in the mist, dark 
  figures wearing white masks. Silently, the masked cultists 
  attack the town. 
  The adventurers will face the main force of mask-
  wearing strangers, but there are more of them out there 
  lurking in the mist. 
  Adventurers 
  Star-mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-mask Cult 
  Leader 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  4 
  2 
  1 
  5 
  3 
  1 
   
  Star-mask Cultist 
  1st level archer [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Club +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Bow +5 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] Coordinated attack: Until the start of its next turn 
  the star-mask cultist gets a +2 to bonus to attack enemies that are 
  engaged with allied star masks, star mask cultists, xombies, etc. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star-mask cultists in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use coordinated attack once 
  during the battle.  
   
  AC 17 
  PD 13 HP 27 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask Cult Leader 
  This cultist is more in tune with the group mind than others, and issues 
  orders to its underlings. 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +7 
   
  Iron-shod staff +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic domination +7 vs. MD—7 
  damage and 7 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: One dead (or unconscious 
  or otherwise out of the fight) star-mask cultist, 
  dead star-mask cult leader, or dead star-mask 
  brute becomes a living star-mask. 
   
   
  Group ability: For every two star mask-cult leaders in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use psychic dominion once 
  during the battle as a quick action. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 13 HP 72 
  MD 15 
   
  
   
   
  26 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  27 
   
  The Masks 
  After the battle it should be possible to closely examine the 
  masked strangers. The cultists are wearing masks made of 
  a bone or porcelain-like substance lined with black 
  tentacles that wrap around the wearer’s heads and push 
  into their cranial openings. Some of the dying cultists even 
  make facial expressions with their masks, which flex and 
  move despite the hardness of their material. The masks are 
  alive, though dying now that their hosts have been slain! 
   
  Missing Villagers 
  After the fight (and after the adventurers get back to town 
  if they left to search for cultists in the marsh) Jon Doonal 
  rushes over to the adventurers. Elder Doonal has terrible 
  news—the cultists have snatched villagers and carried 
  them off into the marsh. Elder Doonal mentions several of 
  the NPCs that the party created during the Village Life 
  Montage as being among the missing (and perhaps Hosford 
  Merrywife is gone too). 
  Elder Doonal implores the adventurers to track down 
  the cultist’s lair and rescue the missing villagers. If the 
  adventurers ask for a reward he can offer them 10 gp for 
  each adventurer, and can be bargained up to 50 gp each if 
  the adventurers are persuasive or are refusing to heroically 
  rescue the villagers. 
  Tracking the cultists across the swampy Wicklight 
  Marsh is a DC 15 skill check, requiring 3 successes. A 
  failure means that the adventurers temporarily lose the 
  route and face a danger: 
  Dunking & drowning +5 vs PD (vs each party member)—
  1d10 damage 
  OR 
  Insidious marsh gas +5 vs MD (vs each party member)—
  1d12 psychic damage 
   
  The Cultists’ Lair 
  After the party has accrued three successes in the tracking 
  the cultists section they come across the lair of the cultists 
  on an island deep in the swamp.  
  The cultists don’t seem concerned about being tracked 
  down, as nobody seems to be standing guard. Their moss-
  covered thatched longhouse has candles burning inside, 
  and the cage in which they have placed captured villagers 
  is near the longhouse. Figures move about the island, and 
  crab-like things scuttle in the undergrowth of the swamp 
  plants that grow here and there on the small hillock that is 
  their hidden island in the swamp. 
  If the adventurers rush in… 
  They face the monsters below. Star-mask brutes are hugely-
  muscled bipedal creatures with multiple masks attached to 
  their bodies and black vein-like tentacles pulsing under 
  their skin. Unattached star-masks act like swift-moving 
  octopuses or crabs, but with the ability to leap large 
  distances. 
  Adventurers 
  (Tough 
  fight!) 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-
  mask 
  Star-
  mask 
  Brute 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cult 
  Leader 
  3 
  1 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  4 
  2 
  7 
  1 
  1 
  5 
  3 
  10 
  1 
  1 
  If the adventurers delay… 
  More masks are applied to villagers, converting them into 
  cultists. 
  Adventurers 
  (Tough 
  fight!) 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-
  mask 
  Star-
  mask 
  Brute 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cult 
  Leader 
  3 
  2 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  4 
  4 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  5 
  5 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  If the adventurers come up with a 
  clever plan for the attack… 
  Use the fight below to represent the adventurer’s improved 
  tactical situation. Having a plan and passing a DC 15 skill 
  check related to the plan starts the escalation die at 1, and 
  if the plan also involves a character’s One Unique Thing 
  start the escalation die at 2. 
  Adventurers 
  (Fight with a 
  plan in place) 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cultist 
  Star-
  mask 
  Star-
  mask 
  Brute 
  Star-
  mask 
  Cult 
  Leader 
  3 
  2 
  0 
  1 
  0 
  4 
  4 
  3 
  0 
  0 
  5 
  5 
  3 
  0 
  0 
  Warning: The fight is tough without a plan (at least 
  twice as tough as a normal fight). Let the players know that 
  just rushing in without a plan may mean that they face 
  greater odds than their characters can perhaps handle. If 
  the adventurers decide to flee the fight, the result will be 
  that the cultists move deeper into the wilderness and away 
  from Candlefen, but they’ll take all the captured villagers 
  with them, as well as the magic item the PCs would have 
  gained after victory. 
  Screaming villagers: There should probably be at least 
  one captured villager alive during the fight. That villager 
  should be yelling about not killing their friends and family. 
  It’s hidden in the combat rules, but when you drop an 
  enemy to 0 hit points you can choose to knock them 
  unconscious instead of kill them. Maybe the PCs want to 
  try that, or maybe they don’t want to take chances. 
   
  
   
   
  28 
   
  Star-mask Cultist 
  This hapless humanoid has become host to a mask, and is in thrall to 
  the group mind. 
  1st level archer [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Club +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Bow +5 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] Coordinated attack: Until the start of its next turn 
  the star-mask cultist gets a +2 to bonus to attack enemies that are 
  engaged with allied star masks, star mask cultists, xombies, etc. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star-mask cultists in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use coordinated attack once 
  during the battle.  
   
  AC 17 
  PD 13 HP 27 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
   
  Star-mask Brute 
  This was once a large animal, but now it is a bipedal mass of muscle 
  covered in multiple masks. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +9 
   
  Fist smash +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
   
  Crush +8 vs. AC—5 damage and 5 ongoing damage and once 
  per battle the star-ask brute throws the target as a free action 
  [special trigger] Throw +12 vs. PD—Target is thrown far away, 
  takes 10 damage, and is weakened (easy save ends) 
  Miss: Target pops free. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 14 HP 45 
  MD 16 
   
  Star-mask Cult Leader 
  This cultist is more in tune with the group mind than others, and issues 
  orders to its underlings. 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +7 
   
  Iron-shod staff +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic domination +7 vs. MD—7 
  damage and 7 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: One dead (or unconscious 
  or otherwise out of the fight) star-mask cultist, 
  dead star-mask cult leader, or dead star-mask 
  brute becomes a living star-mask. 
   
   
  Group ability: For every two star mask-cult leaders in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use psychic dominion once 
  during the battle as a quick action. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 13 HP 72 
  MD 15 
   
   
  
   
   
  29 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  30 
   
  The Rescue (option 1) 
  If the adventurers chose to knock out the cultists and cult 
  leaders when they drop them to 0 hit points, instead of 
  slaying them, they can cut the living masks free from 
  unconscious enemies, though doing so will kill the masks. 
  Sadly not all of the cultists can be rescued, some have had 
  their masks on for too long. 
  Any rescued villagers are horrified and grateful, as are 
  their de-masked abductors, who turn out to be a lost 
  imperial patrol who stumbled upon the masks in the 
  swamps a while back and were possessed by them. The star 
  mask brutes are integrated with their masks, and were 
  probably not human to begin with… in fact under the 
  masks some look like they might have originally have been 
  large animals before the masks changed them. 
  The lost imperial patrol leads the party to wooden cages 
  out in the marsh which contain more captured villagers 
  and marsh-dwellers, which the star-masks forced them to 
  capture and imprison while they were possessed. 
  The imperial patrol have with them a piece of magic 
  armor (see the treasury at the back of the adventure) and 
  are grateful enough to make a gift of it to the adventurers. 
   
  The Slaughter (option 2) 
  If the adventurers choose to kill the cultists then they rescue 
  the villagers who had not yet had masks applied, and many 
  more villagers that the cultists had in wooden cages in the 
  marsh near their hideout.  
  The freed villagers cheer the adventurers, thanking 
  them for their timely rescue. 
  On one of the cultist’s bodies floating in the marsh the 
  adventurers discover some magic armor.  
   
  Read this aloud: 
  …but where did these strange masks 
  come from? Find out in part 3: Echoes 
  from a Dark Age. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  31 
   
  Part 3: Echoes from a 
  Dark Age 
  The adventurers investigate a meteorite that is more than it 
  at first seems. 
  Player Characters 
  Part 3 of this adventure is designed for 2nd level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 2nd level versions of the characters. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  New characters this session who were not part of 
  last week’s session are travelers who have joined the 
  party, travelling together for safety.  
   
   
   
   
   
  A message from the Archmage 
  Explain to the players that the adventurers are in the 
  Dragon Wood north of a place known as the Wicklight 
  Marsh (between the Green Star river and the mountain 
  known as Starport). If any player in the current session took 
  part in Part 2: The Terror Beneath ask them to recount the 
  previous episode. 
  GMs: This section can be changed to be a message from the 
  Priestess, the Blue of the Three, the Elf Queen, or any other 
  magically inclined icon that the party has a positive relationship 
  with.  
  Read this aloud: 
  A glowing orb zooms up to the party, and 
  expands to become an image of the 
  powerful and wise Archmage. The image 
  speaks. 
  “Greetings 
  brave 
  adventurers. 
  A 
  strange menace has appeared in the north 
  of the Dragon Empire, and my questing 
  orb has selected you as the closest and 
  most suitable candidates to resolve the 
  issue. 
  A meteorite has fallen near your 
  location, disgorging strange creatures. If 
  you investigate the fallen star and the 
  creatures that it has bought I will reward 
  you with magic.  
  After this message has finished the orb 
  will guide you to your destination, as it 
  glows brighter the closer you get to the 
  meteorite. Once you have investigated, 
  speak your findings into the orb.” 
  …and with that the orb’s light 
  vanishes to a tiny glow and the orb drops 
  softly to the ground. 
   
  
   
   
  32 
   
  Journey Montage 
  At this point you should run a montage as the adventurers 
  march northwards through the Dragon 
  Wood. 
  Explain to the players how a 
  montage works. You will pick a 
  player and ask them to describe a 
  challenge 
  that 
  the 
  party 
  encountered on its journey but 
  not how that challenge was 
  resolved. You will then ask the 
  player to their left how their 
  character solved the problem or 
  met the challenge. There is no dice 
  rolling, just a quick narration from 
  each player. As you go around the 
  group everybody will get a chance to 
  create a problem, and everybody will 
  get a chance to have their character 
  spotlighted as they solve a problem. 
  The 
  focus 
  of 
  this 
  montage 
  is 
  cooperatively telling the story of a several 
  day journey through the Dragon Wood. 
   
  Rubicarn the Dragon 
  The party starts to see signs of dragon habitation. Dung 
  piles, bark scraped off trees, claw marks and footprints in 
  the ground, piles of burnt bones near scorched woodland. 
  A dragon definitely lives nearby. 
  At around mid-day as they follow the orb’s glow 
  northwards the party is overflown several times by a very 
  big red dragon. Let the players know that it is obvious to 
  the party that the dragon has spotted them in its territory. 
  That night the party hears something large moving in 
  the forest. As the party starts to react the dragon reveals 
  itself. 
  Read this aloud: 
  A burst of fire illuminates a large 
  shape in the forest, clinging to the top of 
  several trees. A voice like the crackling 
  of burning logs comes out of the night. 
  “Little morsels. What do you want in 
  my territory? Who dares to trespass in the 
  domain of the Rubicarn, she who melts 
  swords and brings empires to ruin?” 
  This is Rubicarn the dragon. Despite her boasts she’s 
  uncertain of her success in taking on the party in a fight, 
  and wants to convince the party to leave her territory. 
  Rubicarn the dragon just wants assurances that the 
  party is not looking for her lair or her horde of gold. If the 
  party convinces her of their mission she will let the 
  adventurers know that to the north is a 
  large crater with lots of strange bipedal 
  creatures in it. The dragon has stayed 
  clear of the creatures (they don’t 
  taste good, like rotten meat), and 
  as the crater is near the territory 
  of a larger black dragon known 
  as Sorrowscorn she hasn’t 
  investigated the crater itself. 
  If the party 
  convinces 
  Rubicarn… 
  That they are not here to harm 
  her or take what is hers she offers 
  to 
  guide 
  them 
  the 
  following 
  morning to the edge of her territory. 
  She mentions that in the no-mans-land 
  (or 
  no-dragons-land) 
  between 
  her 
  territory and that of Sorrowscorn is a village, 
  and suggests that they enquire there about the 
  crater as it is within easy (humanoid) walking 
  distance of the village. 
  If the party fails to convince 
  Rubicarn… 
   That they are here to investigate the crater and are just 
  passing through, the dragon will take to the air and fly 
  circles around the party, breathing fire to burn the forest 
  and box them in. Attempting to get through the fire inflicts 
  2d8 fire damage for 1d3+2 turns to those passing through 
  the conflagration. Once she has boxed the party in she’ll 
  land and begin to attack the party—see the bestiary section 
  at the back of this book for Rubicarn’s stats... or turn to the 
  next page. 
   
   
  
   
   
  33 
   
  If the party kills Rubicarn…  
  They can loot her cave which is nearby and easy to find if 
  they are looking for it; they recover 1000 gp worth of rubies, 
  and a single magic item. 
  Adventurers 
  Rubicarn 
  3, 4, or 5 
  1 
  Icon Option: Great Gold Wyrm 
  If the party convinces Rubicarn that they are not here to 
  raid her lair and the Great Gold Wyrm is an important 
  icon based on icon relationships then Rubicarn holds to 
  ancient dragon tradition and provides honorable guests 
  passing through its realm with a meal (roasted whole 
  cow) and a place to stay (sheltering under its wing from 
  the rain). It’s nice to eat a meal with a dragon, rather 
  than risk being a dragon’s meal. Rubicarn is apparently 
  a rare ‘good’ red dragon (or as good as red dragons can 
  get at least, which is not saying much). Of course if the 
  adventurers come back this way they are likely to get 
  eaten unless they bring appropriate tribute. 
  Icon Option: The Three 
  If the Three are an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the party spots the scars that mark 
  Rubicarn as an outcast among her kind and marked for 
  death by the Three—the party could use this 
  information to get on Rubicarn’s good side if they share 
  an enemy, or could even attempt to bluff and intimidate 
  the red dragon (a disastrous tactic if it goes wrong, 
  naturally). 
   
  Rubicarn the Red Dragon 
  Large 6th level wrecker [DRAGON] 
  Initiative: +11 
  Vulnerability: cold 
   
  Fangs, claws, and tail +11 vs. AC (2 attacks)—16 damage 
  First natural even hit or miss each turn: Roll a third 
  fangs, claws, and tail attack. 
   
  C: Fiery Breath +11 vs. PD (2d3 neaby enemies)—10 fire 
  damage 
  Miss: Half damage 
   
  Intermittent breath: Rubicarn can use her breath attack 1d3 
  times per battle, but never two turns in a row. 
   
  Resist all fire: When a fire attack targets Rubicarn the attack 
  only deals half damage. Critical hits with fire attacks 
  against Rubicarn do normal damage, not double damage. 
   
  Fiery blood: While Rubicarn is staggered add +1d8 fire 
  damage to all her attacks, hit or miss. 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 20 HP 180 
  MD 16 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  34 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  35 
   
  The Village of Far Pines 
  As the party walks over a ridge they see a village below 
  them. The village looks deserted: no smoke rises from 
  chimneys, no dogs bark, no voices can be heard, no people 
  can be seen. A palisade (a defensive wall) surrounds the 
  village, but the gates are wide open. Livestock wander 
  about untended. 
  The glowing orb indicates that the meteorite lies further 
  north than the village. If you squint you can see what might 
  be a crater, far to the north. 
  If the adventurers investigate the village: there are 
  obvious signs of struggle, as though the villagers fought off 
  attackers. There are farming implements dropped in the 
  streets, and blood splatters in doorways and inside homes. 
  Whatever happened here happened quickly. Strangely 
  none of the villagers’ possessions were taken. If the party 
  chooses to loot the village they end up with 2d100 copper 
  pieces, 2d20 silver pieces, and 2d10 gold pieces. If the 
  party wants to do so they can round up the 
  livestock, gaining themselves 1d3 goats and 
  dozens of chickens. Any farming 
  equipment, peasant clothing, and 
  the like that the party wants to 
  take is here for the taking. 
  GMs: If the party fought Rubicarn 
  skip this fight. The party still finds and 
  may investigate the village, but don’t 
  encounter the Xombies. 
  As the party is leaving the village 
  some beaten up looking villagers 
  stagger out of the forest. The villagers 
  are carrying crude weapons and farming 
  implements and appear to have recently 
  been in a fight. As soon as the party is 
  within shouting distance the villagers will sprint towards 
  the party and attack. 
  Though they appear to be alive at first, these are moving 
  corpses. Adventurers (and players) expecting zombies are 
  in for a shock. 
  These moving corpses are not undead, they are 
  xombie’s. Xombie’s do not have the weaknesses of 
  traditional undead zombies.
   
  Adventurers 
  Fast Xombie 
  3 
  7 
  4 
  9 
  5 
  11 
   
  Fast Xombie 
  One of the xombie eggs inside this xombie has matured into a star-
  mask and is directing the others like a troupe of killer corpse-puppets..  
  0 level spoiler [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Xombie rush +5 vs. AC—4 damage and the xombie pops free 
  and moves into engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
  Natural even miss: the xombie pops free and moves into 
  engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
  Natural odd miss: the xombie pops free. 
   
  Strange leap: When the escalation die is 0 or 1, as a move 
  action the xombie moves into engagement with a nearby 
  or far away enemy. 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 10 HP 20 
  MD 14 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  36 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  37 
   
  The Crater 
  The party continue to follow the glowing orb until 
  they get to the crater itself, as the orb begins to 
  pulse with ever brighter light the closer they get 
  to the meteorite. 
  Near the crater lots of zombie-like 
  creatures shuffle around in small groups, 
  with a greater concentration the closer 
  that the party gets to the meteorite. 
  In the distance in the sky above the 
  party notices the comet that people are 
  calling the Archmage’s comet. The party 
  saw this strange phenomena above the dragon 
  wood previously, prior to meteorites falling from 
  the sky. 
  If the party decides to just march into the crater: skip 
  ahead to the next section (Xombie Swarm), but add an extra 
  fast xombie to the fight. 
  If the party decides to sneak into the crater: it is a DC 
  15 skill check to sneak into the crater unseen by the 
  xombies. Roll separately for each PC. For each success that 
  the party gains remove one meteorite xombie from the 
  Xombie Swarm fight. Every failure means that whoever 
  made the roll is targeted by one of the following 
  environmental attacks: 
  Strange radiation +5 vs PD—1d10 negative energy 
  damage 
  OR 
  Hot broken rocks and shattered trees +5 vs AC—1d8 
  damage 
  Once the party has failed or passed three rolls move on 
  to the next section Xombie Swarm. 
  Icon Option: Lich King 
  If the Lich King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the meteorite landed in the 
  graveyard of the abandoned village. There are corpses 
  everywhere, and tiny white things are crawling over the 
  bodies. The white things look like tiny skulls and have 
  black tentacles.  
  Anybody with an icon relationship with the Lich 
  King can add +2 to their skill roll to avoid the dangers 
  of the crater while sneaking in. 
  Psychic Attack 
  As the adventurers approach the meteorite in the crater 
  they are assailed by a wave of images and 
  sensations. Something is attempting to 
  control their minds, but is failing to do 
  so—the big clue is that the orb 
  provided by the Archmage is glowing 
  blue and throwing out shimmering 
  wards. Instead of becoming possessed, 
  the PCs are buffeted by the thoughts 
  that emanate from the meteorite’s 
  interior. From these fleshes of thought 
  the adventurers learn the following 
  information: 
   
  The meteorite is in fact a living dungeon. 
   
  The Archmage’s Comet is not actually a comet, but 
  is in fact a conglomeration of living dungeons—a 
  living dungeon planet. 
   
  The living dungeons were cast into the skies long 
  ago by a former Archmage. The living masks come 
  from the living dungeons. 
   
  The Archmage’s Comet is searching for a way past 
  the magical defenses of the Dragon Empire.  
   
  The living dungeon meteorite in the crater was 
  supposed to land on the slopes of Starport 
  mountain. 
   
  
   
   
  38 
   
  Xombie Attack 
  As the party reels from the attempted psychic attack a 
  hoard of shambling humanoid figures start to converge on 
  their location, stumbling out of the Dragon Wood. These 
  humanoids are slow moving and easy to move past at first, 
  but as their numbers in the area increase so does their 
  speed and coordination as a group. The xombies attack the 
  party. 
  Adventurers 
  Meteorite 
  Xombie 
  Brain-
  Absorber 
  Xombie 
  3 
  7 
  1 
  4 
  12 
  1 
  5 
  7 
  2 
   
  Meteorite Xombie 
  This barely coordinated xombie is falling apart, its limbs barely held 
  on by the black tendrils of the xombie eggs within. 
  1st level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Decaying fists +6 vs. AC—3 damage 
  Natural 16+ hit: The attack does double damage, 
  but the xombie takes 1d6 damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Vomit tentacles +6 vs. PD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies in a group)—4 damage 
   
  Group ability: For every four meteorite xombies in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use vomit tentacles once during 
  the battle. 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 11 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 15 
  Mook: Kill one meteorite xombie mook for every 7 damage 
  you do to the mob. 
   
   
  Brain-Absorber Xombie 
  This xombie is mostly composed of black tentacles, with star-masks 
  crawling about on its outside. Freshly harvested brains can be seen 
  inside the dark mass. 
  Large 2nd level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Fist smash +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  C: Psychic crush +7 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away 
  enemy)—9 psychic damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: 4 ongoing psychic damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Mass confusion +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—9 damage OR if the target is the first one hit the 
  target by this attack it makes a basic melee or ranged attack 
  against one of its own allies. 
   
  [Group ability] Brain-ripping tentacles +7 vs. PD—14 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The target loses a recovery OR 
  must succeed on a normal save or become 
  confused (target’s choice). 
   
  Group ability: For every two brain-absorber xombies in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use either mass confusion 
  OR psychic crush OR brain-ripping tentacles once during the 
  battle. 
   
  [Once per battle] Re-broadcaster: If the brain-absorber 
  xombie does nothing 1d4 xombie, star mask, etc allies can 
  take an extra action on their next turns.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 14 HP 72 
  MD 18 
   
  
   
   
  39 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  40 
   
  The Treasure Chamber 
  As the last xombie falls the meteorite shudders from 
  within, rock falling off it. The adventurers are again 
  assaulted by an ineffectual psychic blast, but this time the 
  party realizes that this is the living dungeon/ meteorite is 
  calling more xombies. The xombies are not here yet, so the 
  party has time to look around. 
  The living dungeon/meteorite’s shudder has revealed 
  an inner chamber, sparking with the familiar glint of gold. 
  Inside the chamber is around 1000 gold pieces worth of 
  gold in the form of coins from a past age, and two magic 
  items. Loot!  
  The orb given to the adventurers is glowing and pulsing. The 
  adventurers can communicate with the Archmage through the 
  orb, letting him know what they have found. 
  Icon Option: Prince of Shadows 
  If the Prince of Shadows is an important icon based on 
  icon relationships then the treasure chamber has a 
  second secret chamber inside it, with an extra magic 
  item in it. However the chamber is trapped. It is a DC 
  15 skill check to get past the trap without setting off the 
  trap. 
  Guillotine doorway +5 vs PD—2d6 energy damage 
   
  Read this aloud: 
  …but what is the true meaning of the 
  meteorite, and how do the adventurers 
  escape from the Xombies? Find out in 
  part 4: The Doomsday Weapon. 
   
   
  
   
   
  41 
   
  Part 4: The Doomsday 
  Weapon 
  The adventurers explore a meteorite/living dungeon. 
  Player Characters 
  Part 4 of this adventure is designed for 2nd level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 2nd level versions of the characters, but give 
  them an incremental advance. To save time at 
  GenCon just give everybody a choice of either getting 
  their 3rd level hit points early or adding +1 to all their 
  skill checks. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  New characters this session who were not part of 
  last week’s session are travelers who encountered 
  xombies and fled to the crater, taking shelter in the 
  strange hallways of the meteorite. 
   
  The Meteorite’s Interior 
  If any players were present for Part 3: Echoes from a Dark 
  Age you should ask them to recap that adventure now—
  otherwise recap the salient points for them.  
  At this point you should run a montage as the 
  adventurers cautiously move into the interior of the living 
  dungeon/meteorite. As the adventurers move further in to 
  the rock it looks less like a rough rock and more like a 
  dungeon—with a tiled floor, smooth carved walls, 
  doorways, stairs, etc. 
  Explain to the players how a montage works. You will 
  pick a player and ask them to describe a passageway and a 
  danger that appears in that corridor. You will then ask the 
  player to their left how their character got the party past the 
  danger of the living dungeon. There is no dice rolling, just 
  a quick narration from each player. As you go around the 
  group everybody will get a chance to create a problem, and 
  everybody will get a chance to have their character 
  spotlighted as they solve a problem or overcome a danger. 
  The focus of this montage is cooperatively telling the 
  story of the adventurers as they move deeper in to the 
  meteorite/living dungeon. 
   
  
   
   
  42 
   
  The Birthing Chamber 
  The adventurers are almost to the center of the 
  meteorite/living dungeon when they come across a group 
  of star-mask brutes with a lot of corpses. The star-mask 
  brutes are vomiting out xombie eggs onto the corpses, and 
  the eggs are crawling inside them and animating them. 
  It is too late for the party to just sneak past. While the 
  newly-made xombies are too uncoordinated to attack the 
  party the brutes and the eggs are certainly able to attack. 
  Adventurers 
  Xombie 
  Egg Swarm 
  Star-mask 
  Brute 
  3 
  3 
  2 
  4 
  7 
  2 
  5 
  12 
  2 
  This fight is a good opportunity to re-introduce 
  previously met NPCs from past sessions, this time as 
  corpses! What the Star-masks are doing in the Dragon 
  Wood is pretty terrifying and abominable, and this scene 
  can serve to highlight that. Of course, you should keep 
  things PG-13, and imply all the horror of the birthing 
  chamber rather than give graphic descriptions of each 
  atrocity. 
   
  Star-mask Brute 
  This was once a large animal, but now it is a bipedal mass of muscle 
  covered in multiple masks. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +9 
   
  Fist smash +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
   
  Crush +8 vs. AC—5 damage and 5 ongoing damage and once 
  per battle the star-ask brute throws the target as a free action 
  [special trigger] Throw +12 vs. PD—Target is thrown far away, 
  takes 10 damage, and is weakened (easy save ends) 
  Miss: Target pops free. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 14 HP 45 
  MD 16 
   
  Xombie Egg Swarm 
  These tentacled white spheres roll and hop around looking for a corpse 
  to inhabit. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Swarm +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] C: Puppeteer tentacles +7 vs. MD (one 
  nearby enemy)—the target makes a basic ranged or melee 
  attack against a target of the xombie egg swarm’s choice 
  Miss: The target is immune to puppeteer abilities 
  for the rest of this fight and the fight after. 
   
  [Once per battle] Swarm rush: As a move action the swarm 
  pops free and moves twice, but must finish its move 
  engaged with an enemy. 
   
  Group ability: For every four xombie swarms in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use puppeteer tentacles once 
  during the battle. 
   
  Nastier specials 
  Corpse puppet: If there are intact corpses in the battle (say a 
  star-mask cultist died) then part of the xombie egg swarm 
  burrows into it and it rises as a xombie. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one xombie egg swarm mook for every 9 
  damage you do to the mob. 
   
   
  
   
   
  43 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  44 
   
  The Living Dungeon Stirs 
  As the adventurers kill the last xombie and brute the 
  dungeon shudders and stirs. The adventurers hear the 
  shink! and chunk! of shifting stone. The living dungeon is 
  reacting to their presence, creating traps and rearranging 
  its corridors.  
  The dungeon will keep trying to lead the adventurers 
  into newly created traps, and attempting to kill the 
  adventurers until the party is dead: let the players know 
  that their characters know this, probably as an echo of the 
  various psychic assaults they’ve endured in the dungeon. 
  The party’s only hope is to kill the dungeon’s heart—or as 
  it turns out its pulsating brain. 
  Each adventurer must pass a DC 15 skill check related 
  to moving through a dangerous environment. Every 
  character who fails the skill check is targeted by a trap. If 
  anybody rolls a natural 20 on the skill check they can aid 
  another adventurer, lowering their DC to 10. The traps 
  are… 
  Spiked pit trap +10 vs AC—3d6 damage 
  OR 
  Poison cloud trap +10 vs PD—3d4 poison damage 
  Miss: 1d4 poison damage. 
  OR 
  Stairs become slide +10 vs AC—2d10 damage 
  OR 
  Crushing wall trap +10 vs AC—2d8 damage 
  OR 
  Electrified corridor +10 vs PD—3d6 lightning damage 
  Icon Option: Dwarf King 
  If the Dwarf King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the inner corridors of the living 
  dungeon were stolen from a dwarven freehold in a past 
  age. The solid dwarven construction is hard for the 
  living dungeon to manipulate, so attacks by the 
  dungeon using traps only have a +8 to hit instead of +10. 
   
  The Dungeon Heart 
  Fortunately the adventurers survive long enough (right?) 
  to reach the very heart of the dungeon. Here a vast glowing 
  brain is embedded in the rock, glowing a baleful blue-
  green. The brain throbs like a heartbeat.  
  If the party destroys the dungeon heart (or pulsating 
  brain in this case) then the dungeon will die. The dungeon 
  isn’t fully recovered yet from crashing out of the sky and is 
  not able to mount an effective defense this close to its own 
  core.  
  It takes three DC 20 skill checks to destroy the pulsating 
  brain. What type of thing are the PCs doing? Things that 
  make sense for killing a crazy big alien brain that won’t just 
  die by taking huge amounts of damage, though feel free to 
  pile the damage on also! Of course failing a roll means that 
  the dungeon assails them with waves of psychic energy: 
  Psionic discharge +10 vs MD (vs each party member)—
  1d12 psychic damage 
  Icon Option: Archmage 
  If the Archmage is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the chamber with the pulsating brain 
  has walls that are carved with protective wards laid by 
  the hand of a past Archmage. Anybody capable of 
  casting magic can temporarily reinforce the wards, 
  lowering the damage from the brain’s reflexive psychic 
  attack to d8 from d12. 
  Icon Option: Elf Queen 
  If the Elf Queen is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the brain at the heart of the dungeon 
  is wrapped in fine silvery chains imbued with elven 
  magic. The chains restrict the brain’s growth, meaning 
  that the brain is weaker than it would otherwise be and 
  two successful skill checks are needed to destroy the 
  brain. 
   
  The Doomsday Weapon 
  The party, on their way out of the living (well, recently 
  slain and still twitching) dungeon discovers a large 
  chamber with totem-pole metal-like structures in it. The 
  metal poles drain magic from their environment, then 
  discharge the magic. Whatever is hit by this discharge 
  transforms into pulsating brain tissue. The poles are 
  arranged around an opening, for this is a weapon. It is a 
  weapon used by a living dungeon to create more living 
  dungeons! 
  Interacting with the poles in any way (poking them, 
  throwing things at them, and especially using magic) 
  causes them to discharge: 
  Mutagenic ray +15 vs PD—2d6 damage and part of the 
  target’s flesh and equipment becomes alien brain tissue. 
  Targets who have wounds filled with alien brain tissue take a 
  -1 penalty to all their rolls until the brain tissue is removed. The 
  penalty represents the brain tissue causing them pain and 
  sending nerve signals to their limbs. Cutting out the tissue 
  causes 2d6 damage. Getting infested with brain-tissue filled 
  wounds doesn’t confer any new powers or abilities. 
  The characters’ way out is via the doomsday weapon’s 
  aperture. Several of the metal poles or staffs have been 
  removed by xombies (who can be seen at the edge of the 
  crater taking them away into the forest and toward 
  Starport) so the characters can slip past the missing poles.  
  Slipping out of the dungeon here is a DC 20 skill check 
  per adventurer. Adventurers who fail the skill check are 
  attacked by the weapon discharging its mutagenic ray. 
  
   
   
  45 
   
  Alternately if the star-staff poles have discharged three 
  times already the party can rush out while they are 
  recharging. 
  Icon Option: Emperor (or Prince of 
  Shadows or the Archmage) 
  If the Emperor (or the Prince of Shadows or the 
  Archmage) is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the doomsday weapon just happens 
  to be pointed towards Axis and Glitterhaegen (and 
  Shadow Port and Horizon). This wasn’t deliberate, the 
  meteorite just happened to land pointed that way. 
  The arcing discharge of energy can’t travel very far, 
  mostly hitting the wall of the crater and making a 
  mutated mess. Still, if there are other weapons like this 
  out there they could spell doom for the cities that the 
  icon in question cares about. 
   
  Sneaking past the Xombies 
  The crashed meteorite chunk is surrounded by xombies, 
  but with the living dungeon dead they seem aimless. It 
  should be easy to sneak past them, in theory. 
  Each adventurer must succeed at a DC 20 skill check to 
  make it out of the vast crater unseen. Every adventurer 
  who fails the roll adds one meteorite xombie to the next 
  scene—the fight against Sorrowscorn. 
   
  Sorrowscorn 
  The party successfully gets out of the crater and back to the 
  Dragon Wood. Unfortunately for them one of the star-mask 
  parasites has found a host in the form of the black dragon 
  Sorrowscorn. It has been tracking the adventurers ever 
  since they passed through the dragon’s territory and has 
  been waiting for them to re-enter the dense forest (its home 
  territory and preferred terrain for fighting in). See the 
  bestiary section at the back of this book for Sorrowscorn’s 
  stats, or see below.  
  Also involved in the fight is one meteorite xombie per 
  adventurer who failed the skill check to exit the crater 
  without drawing the attention of a xombie. 
  Adventurers 
  Sorrowscorn 
  Meteorite 
  Xombie 
  3, 4, or 5 
  1 
  ? 
   
  Sorrowscorn the Possessed 
  Black Dragon 
  Sorrowscorn is host to a star-mask, and is now part of the group mind. 
  The group-mind has less control over a mighty dragon than a mere 
  humanoid, but Sorrowscorn still serves the aberrations. 
  Large 6th level wrecker [DRAGON] 
  Initiative: +13 
  Vulnerability: thunder 
   
  Claws and bite +11 vs. AC (2 attacks)—
  18 damage 
  Natural 16+: The target also takes 10 
  ongoing acid damage. 
   
  C: Acid breath +11 vs. PD (1d3 
  nearby enemies)—20 acid damage, 
  and 10 ongoing acid damage 
  Miss: 10 acid damage. 
   
  Intermittent breath: A large black dragon 
  can use acid breath 1d3 times per battle, 
  but never two turns in a row.  
   
  [once per battle] Feed upon the group mind: 
  If Sorrowscorn doesn’t use its breath weapon 
  on a turn when it is able to, it can heal 45 hp. 
  Doing so kills up to 1d3 Star-mask or Xombie 
  allies, if there are any in the battle. If there are no 
  Star-masks or Xombies the healing is only 30 hp. 
   
  Draconic grace: At the start of each of the black 
  dragon’s turns, roll a d6 to see if it gets an extra standard 
  action. If the roll is equal to or less than the escalation die, 
  the black dragon can take an extra standard action that turn. 
  After the first success, the grace die bumps up to a d8. After the 
  second success, it’s a d10, then a d12 after the third success, and finally 
  a d20 after the fourth one. 
   
  Water-breathing: Black dragons swim well and can breathe 
  underwater. 
   
  Resist acid 16+: When an acid attack targets this creature, the attacker 
  must roll a natural 16+ on the attack roll or it only deals half damage. 
   
  AC 22 
  PD 20 HP 160 
  MD 18 
  
   
   
  46 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  47 
   
  Loot? 
  Once Sorrowscorn is dead the party will need to find 
  shelter and a place to rest. The black dragon had a lair 
  under a rock overhand at a bend of a river. The trail that 
  the dragon left is obvious and the party can both rest at the 
  dragon’s lair and will discover an onyx statue worth 2000 
  gold pieces and a magic item.  
  For magic items pick one from the back of this 
  adventure. If the party also destroyed the dungeon heart 
  give out 2 or 3 items. 
  If the party fled from Sorrowscorn then the mask-
  possessed dragon will return to its lair, leaving the 
  adventurers without the opportunity to loot the lair—
  though they will be able to find rest elsewhere. 
  Icon Option: Dwarf King 
  If the Dwarf King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the black dragon had raided a 
  dwarven mine in the past and there is an extra 1000 gold 
  pieces worth of uncut diamonds in the lair. 
   
   
  Read this aloud: 
  What evil do the star-masks intend for 
  the Dragon Empire? Find out in part 5: 
  The Staff of Stars. 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  48 
   
  Part 5: The Staff of Stars 
  The adventurers face off against the bizarre creatures from 
  the stars, who are attempting to build a device to call down 
  more of their kind. 
  Player Characters 
  Part 5 of this adventure is designed for 3rd level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 3rd level versions of the characters. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  New characters this session who were not part of 
  last week’s session are agents of the Archmage, 
  teleported in (with a magic item of their own) when 
  the Archmage provides magic items to the party. 
   
   
   
   
  The Staff of Stars (recap) 
  Explain to the players that the adventurers are in the 
  Dragon Wood on the lower slopes of a massive mountain 
  known as Starport. If any player in the current session took 
  part in Part 4: The Doomsday Weapon ask them to recount the 
  previous episode. 
  Explain how the adventurers saw a group of xombies 
  carrying one of the components of the doomsday weapon 
  toward the mountain of Starport, but the xombies had a 
  head start and disappeared into the Dragon Wood forest. 
   
  Tracking Montage 
  At this point you should run a montage as the adventurers 
  climb the slopes of the colossal mountain known as 
  Starport, tracking the xombies and their curious metal pole.  
  Explain to the players how a montage works. You will 
  pick a player and ask them to describe a challenge that the 
  party encountered on its journey but not how that 
  challenge was resolved. You will then ask the player to 
  their left how their character solved the problem or met the 
  challenge. There is no dice rolling, just a quick narration 
  from each player. As you go around the group everybody 
  will get a chance to create a problem, and everybody will 
  get a chance to have their character spotlighted as they 
  solve a problem. 
  The focus of this montage is cooperatively telling the 
  story of a several day climb up the mountain. 
   
  The Chase 
  The adventurers spot a group of star-mask cultists, star-
  mask brutes, and xombies climbing the mountain with a 
  metal pole, a staff of stars from the doomsday weapon. The 
  party and their masked enemies are too distant from each 
  other to fight, in fact they are on separate ridges. 
  However, the adventurers are close enough to their 
  enemies to see that they are all carrying packs and are 
  intent on getting to what looks like a squat fort high on a 
  plateau above both groups. 
  This is a chase scene, and it comes in three parts. 
  Part 1: Climbing 
  The party tries to reach the plateau before the star-mask 
  cultists do. This is a DC 25 skill check, requiring three 
  successes. Each time the party fails the roll the adventurers 
  face one of the following threats:  
  Avalanche +15 vs AC (vs each party member)—1d12 
  damage 
  OR 
  Fall +10 vs AC (vs the person who failed the roll)—3d6 
  damage 
  
   
   
  49 
   
  Once the party passes three times, fails the roll three 
  times, or makes a total of five rolls they reach the plateau. 
  If the party succeeded move on to part 2. If the party failed 
  move on to part 3. 
  Icon Option: High Druid 
  If the High Druid is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then this area has several animal trails that 
  go across round not so covered in scree and other 
  underfoot hazards. In fact based on the piles of small 
  stones by the side of some of the trails it looks like the 
  local animals are unusually intelligent (and being such 
  have fled already).  
  Anybody with an icon relationship with the High 
  Druid, anybody who is a druid or has an animal 
  companion, pet, or familiar, or anybody who is a tracker 
  gains +2 to their skill checks in this area. 
  Part 2: Chasing (if the party 
  succeeded at part 1) 
  The adventurers reach the plateau more or less just as the 
  star-mask cultists do. The cultists race for the safety of the 
  squat stone fort, but the adventurers have a chance to catch 
  them first. Each party member must succeed on a dexterity-
  based DC 20 skill check to stop the cultists from reaching 
  the stone fort before they do. If the whole party succeeds 
  move on to the Courtyard Fight section, otherwise they fall 
  behind the cultists. 
  Part 3: Running the gauntlet (if the 
  party failed at part 1 or 2) 
  The party has failed to stop the cultists reaching the 
  fortress. The low stone fort is of dwarven construction, and 
  has been long abandoned. The gateway is missing its gate, 
  but the cultists have managed to get on top of the wall and 
  are pelting the adventurers with stones and firing arrows 
  down on them. Each adventurer must make two DC 25 skill 
  checks as they move under the barrage of missiles. Failing 
  a skill check means that the star-mask cultists make one of 
  the following attacks against that party member: 
  Lucky shot with an arrow +10 vs AC—3d4 damage 
  OR 
  Big rocks dropped down from the wall +5 vs AC—3d6 
  damage 
  After each party member has made two rolls the party 
  reaches the inner courtyard of the abandoned fort. 
  Icon Option: Elf Queen 
  If the Elf Queen is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the elves assaulted this dwarven 
  fortress long ago. The adventurers spot an elven grave 
  (really a pile of stones above a shallow depression with 
  a body in it) that is centuries old. The elf was buried 
  with their possessions, which include a magic item. 
  Since then the stones have shifted, revealing the glint of 
  magic from within the grave. 
  Looting the elf’s grave might not be something the 
  party can do mid-sprint to the dwarf fortress, but it is 
  something that they can come back for later. 
   
  Courtyard Fight 
  The adventurers meet their enemies in the courtyard of the 
  abandoned fort. The metal pillar that the xombies and 
  cultists were carrying has been planted in the center of the 
  courtyard. It has been lashed to several other similar staffs 
  and is humming with energy!  
  Before the party can investigate the star-mask creatures 
  attack. 
  Adventurers 
  Brain-
  Absorber 
  Xombie 
  Star-
  mask 
  Brute 
  Star-
  mask 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  10 
  4 
  1 
  2 
  10 
  5 
  1 
  2 
  16 
  Icon Option: Priestess 
  If the Priestess is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then also here are several recently 
  converted star-mask cultists here. They are still 
  struggling with the masks for control (they don’t join in 
  the fight), and the adventurers can remove the masks 
  and save them from permanent conversion. 
  Exactly who the cultists/victims are depends on 
  which other icons are important: if it is the Elf Queen 
  then it is a wood elf hunting party, if the Diabolist then 
  some escapees from one of the Diabolist’s dungeons, 
  etc. 
   
  Star-mask Brute 
  This was once a large animal, but now it is a bipedal mass of muscle 
  covered in multiple masks. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +9 
   
  Fist smash +8 vs. AC—10 
  damage 
   
  Crush +8 vs. AC—5 damage 
  and 5 ongoing damage and once 
  per battle the star-ask brute throws 
  the target as a free action 
  [special trigger] Throw +12 vs. 
  PD—Target is thrown far away, 
  takes 10 damage, and is weakened 
  (easy save ends) 
  Miss: Target pops free. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 14 HP 45 
  MD 16 
  
   
   
  50 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
   
   
  Brain-Absorber Xombie 
  This xombie is mostly composed of black tentacles, with star-masks 
  crawling about on its outside. Freshly harvested brains can be seen 
  inside the dark mass. 
  Large 2nd level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Fist smash +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  C: Psychic crush +7 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away 
  enemy)—9 psychic damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: 4 ongoing psychic damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Mass confusion +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—9 damage OR if the target is the first one hit the 
  target by this attack it makes a basic melee or ranged attack 
  against one of its own allies. 
   
  [Group ability] Brain-ripping tentacles +7 vs. PD—14 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The target loses a recovery OR 
  must succeed on a normal save or become 
  confused (target’s choice). 
   
  Group ability: For every two brain-absorber xombies in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use either mass confusion 
  OR psychic crush OR brain-ripping tentacles once during the 
  battle. 
   
  [Once per battle] Re-broadcaster: If the brain-absorber 
  xombie does nothing 1d4 xombie, star mask, etc allies can 
  take an extra action on their next turns.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 14 HP 72 
  MD 18 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  51 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  52 
   
   
  The Staff of Stars 
  The star-mask creatures are dead, but the strange pillar of 
  linked metal staffs is starting to glow, with a void opening 
  above it. Bizarre creatures can be seen moving about in the 
  void, crowding close to the weakening of the dimensional 
  membrane.  
  Destroying the device requires the party to pass three 
  DC 15 skill checks (keep track of the number of failures 
  accrued before the players roll 3 successes). Anybody not 
  making a skill check can rest after the fight with the star-
  mask cultists. Explain to the players that it is obvious to the 
  adventurers that something will come through the gateway 
  that is appearing above them, but destroying the staff of 
  stars will lower the number of enemies that are about to 
  appear. 
  Resting characters can explore the courtyard and 
  surrounding fort and make rolls to prepare for the fight, 
  attempting one of the following: 
   
  Look for a defensible position (DC 15): The adventurer 
  gains +1 to all defenses until they are hit. 
   
  Familiarize yourself with the battleground (DC 20): If 
  the adventurer rolls a miss and the d20 result is the 
  same as the escalation die value they either gain 
  that amount of temporary hp or may reroll the 
  attack (player’s choice). 
   
  Set up traps (DC 25): At the start of each round the 
  adventurer rolls a d6, the first time the d6 result is 
  less or equal to the escalation die value one enemy 
  selected by the player at the time takes 3d6 
  damage.  
  Icon Option: Dwarf King 
  If the Dwarf King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the dwarven fort still has some 
  working siege weapons. At the start of the next fight a 
  character can use a standard action to fire a siege 
  weapon into the rift and deal 50 damage to one of the 
  star things. 
   
  The Portal Opens 
  With a wet sound like tearing skin the gateway briefly 
  opens, spilling out the monsters and warping reality. Add 
  one extra star-mask for each failed skill check the 
  adventurers made while destroying the staff of stars 
  device. If the adventurers failed to destroy the staff of stars 
  at all then add an extra star-mask each round until the 
  adventurers destroy the device (making the skill checks to 
  destroy the device is a standard action during the battle). 
  Adventurers 
  Star Thing 
  Star-mask 
  3 
  2 
  10 
  4 
  3 
  10 
  5 
  4 
  10 
  Icon Option: Archmage 
  If the Archmage is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the adventurers have heard a song 
  about how the Archmage long ago defeated creatures 
  like these. Of course the ditty is low on details but the 
  knowledge that it can be done gives the adventurers a 
  morale boost—start the escalation die at 1. 
   
  
   
   
  53 
   
  Star Things 
  They’re clearly deviant, malevolent, octopus-like flying monsters from 
  a dimension where space obeys different geometry. No one understands 
  their language, but everyone can understand their squeals of glee when 
  they kill and feed. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Ripping tentacles +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
  Natural even hit: If the target is taking ongoing 
  psychic damage, the attack deals +2d6 damage. 
   
  [Group ability] R: Warp-pulse +8 vs. PD (1d3 enemies in a 
  group)—5 ongoing psychic damage 
  Natural 16–18: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is dazed (–4 attacks). 
  Natural 19–20: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is confused instead of 
  dazed. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star things in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use warp-pulse once during the battle. 
   
  Limited flight: Star things flap and glide and hover, always 
  within seven or eight feet of the ground. No one knows 
  how that works. 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 12 HP 54 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  54 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  55 
   
  The Tunnel 
  This fort was built by the dwarves to guard a mine entrance 
  further up the mountain. Dark lightning suddenly crackles 
  near the mine entrance. Now that the battle is over and the 
  adventurers have a chance to look around they see that in 
  the mouth of the tunnel stand more staffs!  
  A gateway is opening up to another realm, and 
  monsters are coming through. 
  We’d call it a cliff-hanger ending, but it’s more like the 
  cliff is falling on top of you.  
  Icon Option: Emperor 
  If the Emperor is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then he had sent some mercenaries here to 
  stop the impending doom his empire is facing. 
  Unfortunately the would-be-heroes died, being less 
  lucky or skilled than the party. Fortunately for the party 
  the mercenaries had a magic item with them, one that 
  the party can now claim for themselves and make use 
  of. 
   
   
  Read this aloud: 
  …can the gateway be closed? What is 
  the dark lightning?  How will it all end? 
  Find out in part 6: The Gate of Stars. 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  56 
   
  Part 6: The Gate of Stars 
  The adventurers are all that stand against the extinction of 
  the world as they know it. 
  Player Characters 
  Part 6 of this adventure is designed for 4th level 
  characters. If you are using the GenCon 2015 pregens 
  use the 4th level versions of the characters. 
  It is highly recommended that at least a couple 
  characters have positive relationships with the 
  Archmage and that none have negative relationships 
  with the Archmage. 
  New characters this session who were not part of 
  last week’s session are travelers who were caught on 
  the mountain and have joined the party for safety. 
   
  The Storm 
  Have any players whose characters were involved in a 
  previous session recap what has happened so far.  
  Explain to new players (and recap for existing players) 
  who they are on the slopes of the gigantic mountain known 
  as Starport. Strange masked figures and monsters not of the 
  world are flooding the land. A supernatural storm is 
  wheeling around the mountain, dark lightning splitting 
  apart the rocks and arcing up into the sky towards a comet. 
  Read this aloud: 
  The dark lightning on the mountain 
  crackles all around you, as the strange 
  sphere 
  known 
  by 
  some 
  as 
  the 
  Archmage’s Comet (but which the 
  adventurers know is a living dungeon 
  planet) hovers in the sky above the 
  mountain. 
  Rips appear in the sky, and strange 
  monsters flood out of the holes in reality.  
  The Archmage’s image appears before 
  you, and attempts to speak but the image 
  is blasted away by a magical wind from 
  the sky above.  
   
  Surviving the Storm 
  At this point you should run a montage as the adventurers 
  weather the trans-dimensional storm.  
  Explain to the players how a montage works. You will 
  pick a player and ask them to describe a challenge that the 
  party encountered trying to survive the storm but not how 
  that challenge was resolved. You will then ask the player 
  to their left how their character solved the problem or met 
  the challenge. There is no dice rolling, just a quick narration 
  from each player. As you go around the group everybody 
  will get a chance to create a storm-related problem, and 
  everybody will get a chance to have their character 
  spotlighted as they solve a problem. 
  The focus of this montage is cooperatively telling the 
  story surviving on the mountain known as Starport as a 
  trans-dimensional storm ravages the landscape around 
  them. 
   
  The Mines 
  The adventurers need to find a safe place to weather the 
  storm—it is getting worse. The adventurers know of a mine 
  entrance near where they have taken shelter, and that 
  seems like a good a place as any to avoid the dark lightning 
  and rock-smashing winds. 
  As the party makes its way toward the mine entrance 
  the ground about them begins to shift and melt, turning 
  into twisted flesh. The energies of the storm are warping 
  reality itself. 
  The party must make its way past the now animated 
  flesh-rocks of the mountainside. Each party member must 
  succeed at a DC 20 skill check or be targeted by one of the 
  following attacks: 
  Rock mouth +15 vs AC—3d6 damage 
  OR 
  Bleeding flesh tentacles +10 vs AC—4d6 acid damage 
  Arriving at the mine entrance the adventurers find 
  several large piles of skulls and severed heads surrounding 
  the now burnt-out staffs of stars. The possessed cultists that 
  caused the current apocalyptic breakdown of reality 
  bought these fresh brains here to enhance their strange 
  staffs that called down the power of the Archmage’s 
  Comet. 
  Icon Option: Diabolist 
  If the Diabolist is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the dwarves abandoned this area 
  because of a demons that came to live here. Any 
  character with a relationship with the Diabolist can feel 
  the lingering presence of the demons and gets to reroll 
  their icon dice with the Diabolist if they wish. 
  
   
   
  57 
   
  Icon Option: Dwarf King 
  If the Dwarf King is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the mines were abandoned by the 
  dwarves because of a demonic infestation, not because 
  they were played out. Anybody who rolls a 20 on a skill 
  check this session finds a huge nugget of silver worth 
  5d20 gold pieces. 
  Icon Option: Orc Lord 
  If the Orc Lord is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then it was a demon who drove the 
  dwarves from their mines, but that demon was then 
  killed by an orc hero. Any character with a relationship 
  with the Orc Lord remembers the legend and gets to 
  reroll their icon dice with the Diabolist if they wish. 
   
   
  Read this aloud: 
  It is obvious to you that if you do not 
  act the Dragon Empire may be soon 
  destroyed, drowned under a flood of 
  extra-terrestrial abominations. There is 
  nobody else on the mountain with you 
  that can help—you are it! 
   
  Attack of the Skull Crabs 
  As the adventurers shelter and consider how best to 
  save the day they hear something from outside. The 
  remains outside have been are animated, being used by the 
  uncanny creatures known as star-masks. 
  Adventurers 
  Brain-
  Absorber 
  Xombie 
  Skull 
  Crab 
  Xombie 
  Egg 
  Swarm 
  Star-
  mask 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  5 
  0 
  4 
  2 
  3 
  5 
  5 
  5 
  2 
  5 
  5 
  5 
  Soon after the battle is over the mountainside drops 
  away below the party, the stone-turned-to-flesh sloughing 
  off the flanks of Starport. The mountainside is collapsing—
  the only safe place to go is further into the mountain via the 
  mine entrance. 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  58 
   
  Xombie Egg Swarm 
  These tentacled white spheres roll and hop around looking for a corpse 
  to inhabit. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Swarm +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] C: Puppeteer tentacles +7 vs. MD (one 
  nearby enemy)—the target makes a basic ranged or melee 
  attack against a target of the xombie egg swarm’s choice 
  Miss: The target is immune to puppeteer abilities 
  for the rest of this fight and the fight after. 
   
  [Once per battle] Swarm rush: As a move action the swarm 
  pops free and moves twice, but must finish its move 
  engaged with an enemy. 
   
  Group ability: For every four xombie swarms in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use puppeteer tentacles once 
  during the battle. 
   
  Nastier specials 
  Corpse puppet: If there are intact corpses in the battle (say a 
  star-mask cultist died) then part of the xombie egg swarm 
  burrows into it and it rises as a xombie. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one xombie egg swarm mook for every 9 
  damage you do to the mob. 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
  Brain-Absorber Xombie 
  This xombie is mostly composed of black tentacles, with star-masks 
  crawling about on its outside. Freshly harvested brains can be seen 
  inside the dark mass. 
  Large 2nd level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Fist smash +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  C: Psychic crush +7 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away 
  enemy)—9 psychic damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: 4 ongoing psychic damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Mass confusion +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—9 damage OR if the target is the first one hit the 
  target by this attack it makes a basic melee or ranged attack 
  against one of its own allies. 
   
  [Group ability] Brain-ripping tentacles +7 vs. PD—14 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The target loses a recovery OR 
  must succeed on a normal save or become 
  confused (target’s choice). 
   
  Group ability: For every two brain-absorber xombies in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use either mass confusion 
  OR psychic crush OR brain-ripping tentacles once during the 
  battle. 
   
  [Once per battle] Re-broadcaster: If the brain-absorber 
  xombie does nothing 1d4 xombie, star mask, etc allies can 
  take an extra action on their next turns.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 14 HP 72 
  MD 18 
   
  Skull Crab 
  Lacking a full corpse, these xombie eggs make do with what they have 
  found. Of course they’d be more than happy to trade up once you’re 
  dead! 
  2nd level spoiler [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Bite & butt +7 vs. AC—7 damage 
   
  [One successful hit per battle] Burrow +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
  Natural even hit: The skull crab has burrowed its 
  tentacles into the target’s limb. Target takes a 
  cumulative -1 penalty to all d20 rolls (max -4), save 
  ends. 
   
  [Once per battle] Quick leap: As a move action the skull crab 
  moves into engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 36 
  MD 16 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  59 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  60 
   
  A Dungeon is Born 
  As the adventurers flee the transformation of the mountain 
  they discover that the tunnel they are moving down starts 
  to shift and change. The rough walls of the mine start to 
  straighten, the stone shifting and ‘plinking’ into new forms. 
  Soon the adventurers find themselves in a stone dungeon, 
  with doorways, rooms, cross-passages, and stairs. 
  The adventurers are witnessing the mountain of 
  Starport being converted into the world’s biggest living 
  dungeon; let the players know that it is obvious to their 
  characters that if this is allowed to continue the dungeon 
  will become the greatest threat to the world in the current 
  age! 
  The adventurers have more immediate problems, 
  however: as the dungeon shifts and grows it is creating 
  traps. Even the adventurers being inside the dungeon as it 
  morphs and becomes alive is dangerous. 
  Each adventurer must pass a DC 20 skill check or be 
  targeted by one of the following attacks: 
  Sudden pit +15 vs AC—4d6 damage 
  OR 
  Floor becomes wall +15 vs AC (whole party)—2d4 damage 
  OR 
  Psychic intrusion +15 vs MD—4d6 psychic damage OR 
  make a basic attack against an ally 
  OR 
  Dark lightning +15 vs PD—4d6 negative energy damage 
  Icon Option: High Druid 
  If the High Druid is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then the characters can hear the stones 
  screaming as they are twisted by the birth of the living 
  dungeon under Starport. This keening gives the 
  adventurers a +2 bonus to their skill checks to avoid the 
  dangers of the dungeon’s birth. 
  Icon Option: Priestess 
  If the Priestess is an important icon based on icon 
  relationships then Starport has a resident god or 
  ‘spiritus mundi’ which is actively resisting the changes 
  wrought by the evil magics of the Archmage’s 
  Comet/Dungeon Planet. The attack rolls made by the 
  living dungeons dangers are at +13 to attack instead of 
  +15. 
  Icon Option: The Prince of Shadows 
  If the Prince of Shadows is an important icon based on 
  icon relationships then the dungeon forms a lot of traps 
  as it comes to life. Fortunately for the adventurers these 
  traps are slow to form and not yet fully effective. 
  Replace one danger of the living dungeon with the 
  following attack: 
  Half-formed trap +10 vs AC (whole party)—1d4 
  damage 
   
  The Heart of Starport 
  The adventurers are stumbling around inside the ever-
  growing twisting dungeon that Star Port is becoming. The 
  floor opens below them, dropping them into a shaft that 
  leads downwards.  
  Thankfully the adventurers fall is broken by something 
  soft. As their eyes adjust to the darkness they discover that 
  they have landed on a vast brain! This is the dungeons’ 
  heart (or brain as it turns out), and it is not happy that the 
  adventurers are here! 
  Adventurers 
  (Tough fight!) 
  Brain-
  Absorber 
  Xombie 
  Starport 
  Brain 
  Xombie 
  Egg 
  Swarm 
  3 
  1 
  1 
  5 
  4 
  2 
  1 
  5 
  5 
  2 
  1 
  15 
  Warning: This fight is tough! The Starport Brain has lair 
  effects that make the fight tougher than it would otherwise 
  be. Additionally the adventurers can’t flee, the brain blocks 
  their exit from the area. This fight is the grand do-or-die 
  conclusion to the last 12 hours of adventuring. 
  Icon Option: Archmage (and/or Emperor) 
  If the Archmage (and/or Emperor) is an important icon 
  based on icon relationships then the brain has some 
  twisted form of racial memory, and remembers a past 
  Archmage (and/or Emperor). It forms tentacles with a 
  past Archmage’s (and/or Emperor’s) face on the end. 
  The tentacles aren’t functional in any way, but are 
  uncanny to behold. The faces scream and babble about 
  the revenge the living dungeons will take upon the 
  dragon empire. 
   
  
   
   
  61 
   
  Xombie Egg Swarm 
  These tentacled white spheres roll and hop around looking for a corpse 
  to inhabit. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Swarm +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] C: Puppeteer tentacles +7 vs. MD (one 
  nearby enemy)—the target makes a basic ranged or melee 
  attack against a target of the xombie egg swarm’s choice 
  Miss: The target is immune to puppeteer abilities 
  for the rest of this fight and the fight after. 
   
  [Once per battle] Swarm rush: As a move action the swarm 
  pops free and moves twice, but must finish its move 
  engaged with an enemy. 
   
  Group ability: For every four xombie swarms in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use puppeteer tentacles once 
  during the battle. 
   
  Nastier specials 
  Corpse puppet: If there are intact corpses in the battle (say a 
  star-mask cultist died) then part of the xombie egg swarm 
  burrows into it and it rises as a xombie. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one xombie egg swarm mook for every 9 
  damage you do to the mob. 
   
  Brain-Absorber Xombie 
  This xombie is mostly composed of black tentacles, with star-masks 
  crawling about on its outside. Freshly harvested brains can be seen 
  inside the dark mass. 
  Large 2nd level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Fist smash +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  C: Psychic crush +7 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away 
  enemy)—9 psychic damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: 4 ongoing psychic damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Mass confusion +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—9 damage OR if the target is the first one hit the 
  target by this attack it makes a basic melee or ranged attack 
  against one of its own allies. 
   
  [Group ability] Brain-ripping tentacles +7 vs. PD—14 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The target loses a recovery OR 
  must succeed on a normal save or become 
  confused (target’s choice). 
   
  Group ability: For every two brain-absorber xombies in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use either mass confusion 
  OR psychic crush OR brain-ripping tentacles once during the 
  battle. 
   
  [Once per battle] Re-broadcaster: If the brain-absorber 
  xombie does nothing 1d4 xombie, star mask, etc allies can 
  take an extra action on their next turns.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 14 HP 72 
  MD 18 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  62 
   
  The Starport Brain 
  This giant pulsing brain pushes out waves of psychic influence and 
  magical radiation. 
  Huge 4th level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  [quick action, 2/round against different enemies] C: Psionic 
  supremacy +12 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away enemy)—15 
  ongoing psychic damage 
  Aftereffect: When the target successfully saves 
  against the ongoing damage they must either: 
  make a basic melee attack against themselves or an 
  ally with their next standard action OR become 
  weakened (-4 to attacks and defenses) until the end 
  of their next turn. Target’s choice as to which 
  aftereffect they take. 
  Both attacks miss: The brain heals 20 hp. 
   
  Psychic command: The brain forgoes its 
  attack, and instead one of its allies may 
  attack as a free action with a +4 
  attack bonus. If the ally misses 
  it takes 1d8 damage and 
  the brain heals 20 hp. 
   
  Immobile: 
  The 
  brain can’t really 
  move about. 
   
  Telekinetic 
  grasp: 
  As a move action 
  the brain can move 
  an ally or enemy, 
  causing them to fly 
  about. Enemies may 
  save with a Strength 
  bonus to avoid being 
  moved 
  about 
  against 
  their will. Dropped or 
  thrown enemies take 2d6 
  damage from the fall. 
   
  AC 20 
  PD 12 HP 200 
  MD 18 
   
  The Starport Brain has some unusual lair effects. At the 
  start of each round roll d10 to see what happens: 
  1. If there are any xombie egg swarms still in the fight 
  the Starport Brain ingests one and heals 20 hp. 
  2. Magical flux: adventurers roll twice for magic 
  attacks and take the lower roll. 
  3. Magical flux: any PC casting a spell this round 
  takes 2d6 force damage. 
  4. The Starport Brain blasts the minds of the 
  adventurers with illusions—the escalation die 
  value goes down by 1 (to a minimum of 0).  
  5. The Starport Brain can mess with the adventurers’ 
  perceptions. Once during this round as a free 
  reaction the brain can redirect one ranged attack—
  on a save roll of 11+ it successfully redirects the 
  adventurer’s ranged attack so that it misses, 
  but on a 16+ it redirects the attack to 
  automatically 
  hit 
  a 
  different 
  adventurer. 
  6. The 
  Starport 
  Brain 
  extrudes an extra 1d4 
  xombie egg swarms 
  into the fight. 
  7. 
  The 
  Starport Brain 
  is 
  thinking 
  hard about the 
  party. 
  Each 
  party 
  member 
  takes 2d4 psychic 
  damage. 
  8. The 
  Starport 
  Brain 
  possesses 
  a 
  party member, forcing 
  them to attack their 
  allies! 
  One 
  party 
  member (GM chooses) 
  becomes confused until 
  the end of their turn. Each 
  adventurer can only be 
  confused once per battle from 
  this effect. 
  9. The Starport Brain shudders. Everybody pops free 
  of engagement. 
  10. The Starport Brain steals the escalation die. This 
  round the enemies get the benefit of the die, and 
  the adventurers don’t. 
   
   
  
   
   
  63 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  64 
   
  The Apocalyptic Aftermath 
  With a shudder the Starport Brain dies. The living dungeon 
  stops moving, becoming mere stone once more. The 
  dungeon begins to collapse, but the adventurers are in a 
  location that is relatively safe.  
  As one of the walls sloughs off the adventurers can see 
  the sky, and they view the Dungeon Planet hovering 
  angrily in the sky, dark lightning crackling around it. As 
  the adventurers stare they see an image of the Archmage 
  made of blue fire. The image grows until it is large enough 
  to encompass the rogue flying mega-dungeon, and with a 
  heave throws it back into space. 
  The image of the Archmage shrinks as it walks towards 
  the party, until it is a glowing blue humanoid figure, a 
  slightly translucent figure. 
  GMs: This section can be changed to be a message from the 
  Priestess, the Blue of the Three, the Elf Queen, or any other 
  magically inclined icon that the party has a positive relationship 
  with.  
   
  Read this aloud: 
  The image of the Archmage speaks. 
  “Heroes! Thanks to you the world has 
  been saved. I was not able to intervene 
  while the living dungeon was actively 
  growing in Starport.” 
  With a gesture the Archmage causes a 
  very large pile of gold to appear. 
  “Here is your reward, though the 
  Dragon Empire is still in your debt and no 
  amount of gold could ever repay what you 
  have done. It is in my power to transport 
  you to any of the Seven Cities, or if you 
  prefer you can stay here and investigate 
  the deeper secrets of Starport that the 
  death of the living dungeon has doubtless 
  laid bare. 
  The Dungeon Planet will be back, so I 
  may have to call upon you again in the 
  future.” 
   
  The adventurers each receive 2000 gp, the gratitude of 
  the most powerful wizard in existence, and can choose to 
  be teleported back to civilization to spend their treasure or 
  can decide to delve into the ruins of the (now-dead) living 
  dungeon.  
  However, that is a story for another day… 
   
   
  
   
   
  65 
   
  Race to Starport Bestiary 
  The monsters in this bestiary are split into 4 groups… 
  Humans can be used for villagers, and the adventurers 
  will end up fighting humans when they encounter the 
  bandits in session 1. 
  Animals deals with the marsh drakes, should the 
  adventurers end up fighting the cantankerous beasts that 
  they are supposed to be herding. 
  Nekrien & Zombies deals with a dark-elf NPC from 
  session 1 and her two zombie minions. 
  Star-masks and Xombies make up the bulk of the 
  enemies that the adventurers will end up fighting during 
  the adventure. They are aberrations, creatures from beyond 
  the stars. Star-masks attempt to mind-control living 
  creatures, and xombies are corpses that are puppeted by 
  star-mask eggs. 
  Greater Threats contains the ultra-dimensional star 
  things, a dragon, a dragon possessed by a star-mask (!), and 
  a gigantic psychic living dungeon heart called the 
  Starport Brain that forms the ‘end boss’ of the 
  adventure. 
   
  ANIMALS 
  Marsh Drake 
  1st level wrecker [beast] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Gore +6 vs. PD—1 damage, and the trample gains a +2 
  attack bonus against the same target this turn with its 
  trample attack 
   
  Limited use: 2/round, each requiring a quick action. 
  (Hitting the same target twice with gore gives the trample 
  attack a +4 bonus.) 
  Trample +6 vs. AC—1 damage, and 1 ongoing damage 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 15 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 10 
  Mook: Kill one marsh drake mook for every 7 damage dealt 
  to the mob. 
  
   
   
  66 
   
  HUMANS 
  Human Thug 
  1st level troop [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +3 
   
  Heavy mace +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: The thug deals +6 damage 
  with its next attack this battle. (GM, be sure to let 
  the PCs know this is coming, it’s not a secret.) 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 14 HP 27 
  MD 12 
   
  Bandit Archer 
  1st level mook [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +3 
   
  Short sword +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Crossbow +6 vs. AC—5 damage 
  Limited use: These bandits take 1 full turn to reload. 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 15 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 11 
  Mook: Kill one bandit archer mook for every 7 damage 
  you do to the mob. 
   
  Bandit Chief 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Stolen sword +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
  Natural even hit: One human thug or bandit archer 
  can move as a free action. 
   
  Call to arms: When the bandit chief rolls a natural 16+ attack 
  or save one bandit archer reloads their crossbow as a free 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 15 HP 72 
  MD 13 
   
   
  NEKRIEN & ZOMBIES 
  Nekrien Silverleaf 
  This dark elf likes having people obey her. Zombies are people, right? 
  Double-strength 2nd level caster [HUMANOID] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  C: Shadow bolt +7 vs. PD (one nearby enemy)—15 negative 
  energy damage 
  Natural even hit: The target is stuck (save ends). 
   
  [Quick action] C: Tenebrous tentacles (automatic hit vs. 
  one nearby or far away enemy)—Nekrien and her allies 
  have a cumulative +1 bonus to hit the target until the start of her 
  next turn (up to a maximum of +3 if Nekrien uses all her actions 
  this turn). 
   
  Nastier special 
  Necrotic vitality: When Nekrien takes damage she can 
  transfer that damage to the zombies that she controls, 
  splitting it between the two zombies as she sees fit. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 72 
  MD 16 
   
  Shuffle 
  3rd level wrecker [UNDEAD] 
  Initiative: +3 
  Vulnerable: holy 
   
  Death grip +8 vs. AC—8 damage 
  Natural even hit: The target and Shuffle are stuck 
  (target saving ends). Every time the target fails to 
  save they take 4 damage.  
  [Quick action against targets stuck in a death grip] 
  Squeeeeze +12 vs. PD—4 damage 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 13 HP 45 
  MD 17 
   
  Shrug 
  3rd level spoiler [UNDEAD] 
  Initiative: +3 
  Vulnerable: holy 
   
  Low moan +8 vs. MD—5 ongoing psychic damage 
  Natural even miss: Shrug can use baleful gaze as a 
  quick action this turn. 
   
  R: Baleful gaze +10 vs. MD (1d3 enemies in a group)—4 
  psychic damage and the target must attempt to move away from 
  Shrug on its next turn. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 13 HP 45 
  MD 17 
  
   
   
  67 
   
  STAR-MASKS & XOMBIES 
  These monsters have a sort of collective ‘intelligence 
  field’—not quite a hive mind, more a shared set of 
  instinctual goals combined with an intelligence boost. The 
  more of them there are in a battle the smarter and more 
  dangerous these monsters get. 
   
  Star-mask Cultist 
  This hapless humanoid has become host to a mask, and is in thrall to 
  the group mind. 
  1st level archer [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +6 
   
  Club +5 vs. AC—4 damage 
   
  R: Bow +5 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] Coordinated attack: Until the start of its next turn 
  the star-mask cultist gets a +2 to bonus to attack enemies that are 
  engaged with allied star masks, star mask cultists, xombies, etc. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star-mask cultists in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use coordinated attack once 
  during the battle.  
   
  AC 17 
  PD 13 HP 27 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask 
  The white mask scuttles along the ground on barbed tentacles, looking 
  for a host to ‘wear’ it. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Strangling tentacles +7 vs. PD—3 damage and 3 ongoing 
  damage, ongoing damage ends if the target is no longer engaged 
  with the star-mask 
   
  [Group ability] Suffocating thoughts +7 vs. MD—Until the 
  end of the battle, if the target drops to 0 hp; the target rejoins 
  the fight as a star-mask cultist. Converted player character star-
  mask cultists can be freed from their masks as a standard action 
  by a character next to them. 
   
  Group ability: For every four star-masks in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use suffocating thoughts once during the 
  battle. 
   
  Leap: On turns when the escalation die is odd the star-mask 
  can leap into engagement with a nearby enemy as a quick 
  action. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one star-mask mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
  Star-mask Cult Leader 
  This cultist is more in tune with the group mind than others, and issues 
  orders to its underlings. 
  Double-strength 2nd level leader [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +7 
   
  Iron-shod staff +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  [Group ability] R: Psychic domination +7 vs. MD—7 
  damage and 7 ongoing damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: One dead (or unconscious 
  or otherwise out of the fight) star-mask cultist, 
  dead star-mask cult leader, or dead star-mask 
  brute becomes a living star-mask. 
   
   
  Group ability: For every two star mask-cult leaders in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use psychic dominion once 
  during the battle as a quick action. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 13 HP 72 
  MD 15 
   
  Star-mask Brute 
  This was once a large animal, but now it is a bipedal mass of muscle 
  covered in multiple masks. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +9 
   
  Fist smash +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
   
  Crush +8 vs. AC—5 damage and 5 ongoing damage and once 
  per battle the star-ask brute throws the target as a free action 
  [special trigger] Throw +12 vs. PD—Target is thrown far away, 
  takes 10 damage, and is weakened (easy save ends) 
  Miss: Target pops free. 
   
  AC 19 
  PD 14 HP 45 
  MD 16 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  68 
   
  We’ve used ‘Xombie’ instead of ‘Zombie’ because these 
  walking possessed corpses are definitely not undead—they 
  are puppet-like corpses controlled from within by living 
  creatures. Xombies serve a group intelligence in search of 
  more hosts and in some cases “Brains…Braaaains…”  
  Unlike Zombies the Xombies get smarter the more of 
  them there are in a location. 
   
  Fast Xombie 
  One of the xombie eggs inside this xombie has matured into a star-
  mask and is directing the others like a troupe of killer corpse-puppets..  
  0 level spoiler [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Xombie rush +5 vs. AC—4 damage and the xombie pops free 
  and moves into engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
  Natural even miss: the xombie pops free and moves into 
  engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
  Natural odd miss: the xombie pops free. 
   
  Strange leap: When the escalation die is 0 or 1, as a 
  move 
  action 
  the 
  xombie 
  moves 
  into 
  engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 10 HP 20 
  MD 14 
   
  Meteorite Xombie 
  This barely coordinated xombie is falling 
  apart, its limbs barely held on by the black 
  tendrils of the xombie eggs within. 
  1st level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Decaying fists +6 vs. AC—3 damage 
  Natural 16+ hit: The attack does 
  double damage, but the xombie 
  takes 1d6 damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Vomit tentacles +6 vs. PD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies in a group)—4 damage 
   
  Group ability: For every four meteorite xombies in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use vomit tentacles once during 
  the battle. 
   
  AC 17 
  PD 11 HP 7 (mook) 
  MD 15 
  Mook: Kill one meteorite xombie mook for every 7 damage 
  you do to the mob. 
   
  Xombie Egg Swarm 
  These tentacled white spheres roll and hop around looking for a corpse 
  to inhabit. 
  2nd level mook [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Swarm +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
   
  [Group ability] C: Puppeteer tentacles +7 vs. MD (one 
  nearby enemy)—the target makes a basic ranged or melee 
  attack against a target of the xombie egg swarm’s choice 
  Miss: The target is immune to puppeteer abilities 
  for the rest of this fight and the fight after. 
   
  [Once per battle] Swarm rush: As a move action the swarm 
  pops free and moves twice, but must finish its move 
  engaged with an enemy. 
   
  Group ability: For every four xombie swarms in the battle 
  (round up), one of them can use puppeteer tentacles once 
  during the battle. 
   
  Nastier specials 
  Corpse puppet: If there are intact corpses in 
  the battle (say a star-mask cultist died) 
  then part of the xombie egg swarm 
  burrows into it and it rises as a 
  xombie. 
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 9 (mook) 
  MD 16 
  Mook: Kill one xombie egg swarm 
  mook for every 9 damage you do 
  to the mob. 
   
  Skull Crab 
  Lacking a full corpse, these xombie eggs make 
  do with what they have found. Of course they’d be 
  more than happy to trade up once you’re dead! 
  2nd level spoiler [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +5 
   
  Bite & butt +7 vs. AC—7 damage 
   
  [One successful hit per battle] Burrow +7 vs. AC—5 damage 
  Natural even hit: The skull crab has burrowed its 
  tentacles into the target’s limb. Target takes a 
  cumulative -1 penalty to all d20 rolls (max -4), save 
  ends. 
   
  [Once per battle] Quick leap: As a move action the skull crab 
  moves into engagement with a nearby or far away enemy. 
   
   
  AC 18 
  PD 12 HP 36 
  MD 16 
  
   
   
  69 
   
  Brain-Absorber Xombie 
  This xombie is mostly composed of black tentacles, with star-masks 
  crawling about on its outside. Freshly harvested brains can be seen 
  inside the dark mass. 
  Large 2nd level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Fist smash +7 vs. AC—14 damage 
   
  C: Psychic crush +7 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away 
  enemy)—9 psychic damage 
  Natural even hit or miss: 4 ongoing psychic damage. 
   
  [Group ability] C: Mass confusion +7 vs. MD (1d3 nearby 
  enemies)—9 damage OR if the target is the first one hit the 
  target by this attack it makes a basic melee or ranged attack 
  against one of its own allies. 
   
  [Group ability] Brain-ripping tentacles +7 vs. PD—14 
  damage 
  Natural even hit: The target loses a recovery OR 
  must succeed on a normal save or become 
  confused (target’s choice). 
   
  Group ability: For every two brain-absorber xombies in the 
  battle (round up), one of them can use either mass confusion 
  OR psychic crush OR brain-ripping tentacles once during the 
  battle. 
   
  [Once per battle] Re-broadcaster: If the brain-absorber 
  xombie does nothing 1d4 xombie, star mask, etc allies can 
  take an extra action on their next turns.  
   
  AC 18 
  PD 14 HP 72 
  MD 18 
   
   
  GREATER THREATS 
  Star Things 
  They’re clearly deviant, malevolent, octopus-like flying monsters from 
  a dimension where space obeys different geometry. No one understands 
  their language, but everyone can understand their squeals of glee when 
  they kill and feed. 
  3rd level wrecker [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  Ripping tentacles +8 vs. AC—10 damage 
  Natural even hit: If the target is taking ongoing 
  psychic damage, the attack deals +2d6 damage. 
   
  [Group ability] R: Warp-pulse +8 vs. PD (1d3 enemies in a 
  group)—5 ongoing psychic damage 
  Natural 16–18: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is dazed (–4 attacks). 
  Natural 19–20: While the target is taking the 
  ongoing psychic damage, it is confused instead of 
  dazed. 
   
  Group ability: For every two star things in the battle (round 
  up), one of them can use warp-pulse once during the battle. 
   
  Limited flight: Star things flap and glide and hover, always 
  within seven or eight feet of the ground. No one knows 
  how that works. 
   
  AC 16 
  PD 12 HP 54 
  MD 15 
   
   
  
   
   
  70 
   
  Rubicarn the Red Dragon 
  Large 6th level wrecker [DRAGON] 
  Initiative: +11 
  Vulnerability: cold 
   
  Fangs, claws, and tail +11 vs. AC (2 attacks)—16 damage 
  First natural even hit or miss each turn: Roll a third 
  fangs, claws, and tail attack. 
   
  C: Fiery Breath +11 vs. PD (2d3 neaby enemies)—10 fire 
  damage 
  Miss: Half damage 
   
  Intermittent breath: Rubicarn can use her breath attack 1d3 
  times per battle, but never two turns in a row. 
   
  Resist all fire: When a fire attack targets Rubicarn the attack 
  only deals half damage. Critical hits with fire attacks 
  against Rubicarn do normal damage, not double damage. 
   
  Fiery blood: While Rubicarn is staggered add +1d8 fire 
  damage to all her attacks, hit or miss. 
   
  AC 21 
  PD 20 HP 180 
  MD 16 
   
   
   
  Sorrowscorn the Possessed 
  Black Dragon 
  Sorrowscorn is host to a star-mask, and is now part of the group mind. 
  The group-mind has less control over a mighty dragon than a mere 
  humanoid, but Sorrowscorn still serves the aberrations. 
  Large 6th level wrecker [DRAGON] 
  Initiative: +13 
  Vulnerability: thunder 
   
  Claws and bite +11 vs. AC (2 attacks)—18 damage 
  Natural 16+: The target also takes 10 ongoing acid damage. 
   
  C: Acid breath +11 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies)—20 acid 
  damage, and 10 ongoing acid damage 
  Miss: 10 acid damage. 
   
  Intermittent breath: A large black dragon can use acid breath 1d3 
  times per battle, but never two turns in a row.  
   
  [once per battle] Feed upon the group mind: If Sorrowscorn doesn’t 
  use its breath weapon on a turn when it is able to, it can heal 45 hp. 
  Doing so kills up to 1d3 Star-mask or Xombie allies, if there are any in 
  the battle. If there are no Star-masks or Xombies the healing is only 30 
  hp. 
   
  Draconic grace: At the start of each of the black dragon’s turns, roll a 
  d6 to see if it gets an extra standard action. If the roll is equal to or less 
  than the escalation die, the black dragon can take an extra standard 
  action that turn. 
  After the first success, the grace die bumps up to a d8. After the second 
  success, it’s a d10, then a d12 after the third success, and finally a d20 
  after the fourth one. 
   
  Water-breathing: Black dragons swim well and can breathe 
  underwater. 
   
  Resist acid 16+: When an acid attack targets this creature, the attacker 
  must roll a natural 16+ on the attack roll or it only deals half damage. 
   
  AC 22 
  PD 20 HP 160 
  MD 18 
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  71 
   
  The Starport Brain 
  This giant pulsing brain pushes out waves of psychic influence and 
  magical radiation. 
  Huge 4th level caster [ABERRATION] 
  Initiative: +8 
   
  [quick action, 2/round against different enemies] C: Psionic 
  supremacy +12 vs. MD (1 nearby or far away enemy)—15 
  ongoing psychic damage 
  Aftereffect: When the target successfully saves 
  against the ongoing damage they must either: 
  make a basic melee attack against themselves or an 
  ally with their next standard action OR become 
  weakened (-4 to attacks and defenses) until the end 
  of their next turn. Target’s choice as to which 
  aftereffect they take. 
  Both attacks miss: The brain heals 20 hp. 
   
  Psychic command: The brain forgoes its 
  attack, and instead one of its allies may 
  attack as a free action with a +4 
  attack bonus. If the ally misses 
  it takes 1d8 damage and 
  the brain heals 20 hp. 
   
  Immobile: 
  The 
  brain can’t really 
  move about. 
   
  Telekinetic 
  grasp: 
  As a move action 
  the brain can move 
  an ally or enemy, 
  causing them to fly 
  about. Enemies may 
  save with a Strength 
  bonus to avoid being 
  moved 
  about 
  against 
  their will. Dropped or 
  thrown enemies take 2d6 
  damage from the fall. 
   
  AC 20 
  PD 12 HP 200 
  MD 18 
   
  The Starport Brain has some unusual lair effects. At the 
  start of each round roll d10 to see what happens: 
  11. If there are any xombie egg swarms still in the fight 
  the Starport Brain ingests one and heals 20 hp. 
  12. Magical flux: adventurers roll twice for magic 
  attacks and take the lower roll. 
  13. Magical flux: any PC casting a spell this round 
  takes 2d6 force damage. 
  14. The Starport Brain blasts the minds of the 
  adventurers with illusions—the escalation die 
  value goes down by 1 (to a minimum of 0).  
  15. The Starport Brain can mess with the adventurers’ 
  perceptions. Once during this round as a free 
  reaction the brain can redirect one ranged attack—
  on a save roll of 11+ it successfully redirects the 
  adventurer’s ranged attack so that it misses, 
  but on a 16+ it redirects the attack to 
  automatically 
  hit 
  a 
  different 
  adventurer. 
  16. The 
  Starport 
  Brain 
  extrudes an extra 1d4 
  xombie egg swarms 
  into the fight. 
  17. The 
  Starport Brain 
  is 
  thinking 
  hard about the 
  party. 
  Each 
  party 
  member 
  takes 2d4 psychic 
  damage. 
  18. 
  The 
  Starport 
  Brain 
  possesses 
  a 
  party 
  member, forcing them 
  to attack their allies! One 
  party 
  member 
  (GM 
  chooses) 
  becomes 
  confused until the end of 
  their turn. Each adventurer 
  can only be confused once 
  per battle from this effect. 
  19. The Starport Brain shudders. Everybody pops free 
  of engagement. 
  20. The Starport Brain steals the escalation die. This 
  round the enemies get the benefit of the die, and 
  the adventurers don’t. 
   
   
  
   
   
  72 
   
  Race to Starport Treasury 
  Brilliant Breastplate 
  This armor produces a bright light on 
  command, 
  impressive 
  enough 
  to 
  temporarily dazzle foes. 
  Heavy armor 
  +1 to AC 
  Once per day, as a quick action; 
  dazzle your enemies and increase 
  the escalation die by 1 
  Quirk: Fear of the dark 
   
   
  Drakescale Armor 
  Light or heavy armor 
  +1 to AC 
  Once per day as a quick action 
  when in shadow or darkness; 
  increase the AC bonus to +2 until 
  the end of the battle, but only when 
  you are in shadow or darkness.  
  Quirk: Hard to resist making puns in 
  battle 
   
  Starbright Robes 
  Woven from spun meteoric iron, this 
  shimmering robe warps space slightly. 
  Light armor 
  +1 to AC 
  Recharge 11+ after battle: pop all 
  currently engaged characters free 
  Quirk: Needs personal space 
   
  Rage Hammer 
  Weapon 
  +1 to attack and damage 
  Once per battle, when staggered; 
  reroll one attack die and take the 
  better result 
  Quirk: Eager to air grievances. 
   
  Regeneration Potion 
  Potion (x3) consumable 
  When you drink this potion spend and 
  roll a recovery; but heal only half the 
  amount rolled. 
  On the start of your next turn, you 
  heal again, this time using a free 
  recovery, but again healing only half the 
  amount you roll. Then roll a normal 
  save (11+) to see if the regeneration 
  effect continues. If it does, you'll heal 
  half a free recovery again at the start of 
  your next turn, and roll a save again to 
  see if the effect continues. If the save 
  fails, the regeneration effect ends, but 
  you get an after-effect depending on the 
  natural result of your failed save!  
  Keep rolling saves to continue the 
  healing effect on each of your turns, 
  until you fail the save. 
  Natural failed save:  
  1-3  A strange temporary side-effect: 
  sparks fly from your finger tips, your 
  eyes glow, your hair grows by a foot, 
  etc. No direct impact on game. 
  4-6  Gain 1d6 temporary hit points. 
  7-9  Barky-skin: You gain damage 
  resistance 12+ against the next attack 
  against your AC (half damage unless 
  attacker rolls 12+). 
  10  Rocky-skin: You gain +2 AC until 
  an attack against AC misses you. 
   
  Feathered Bow 
  Ranged weapon 
  +1 to attack and damage 
  When you roll a crit with this 
  weapon you can fly with your next 
  move, but must land after the move 
  action 
  Quirk: Obsessed with shiny trinkets of 
  little value 
   
  Verbal Blade 
  Weapon 
  +1 to attack and damage 
  This weapon taunts your enemies 
  (ask your GM to do its funny voice): 
  add psychic damage equal to your 
  level to your damage (hit or miss) 
  when the escalation die is not odd 
  (0,2,4,6) 
  Quirk: Loves clever insults 
   
   
  Wand of Power 
  Wand 
  +1 to wizard spell attacks and 
  damage 
  Once per day, when you crit with a 
  spell; roll a save, on a 16+ that spell 
  was not expended. 
  Quirk: Maniacal laughter and the urge 
  to say things like “FOOLS! I’LL 
  SHOW THEM ALL! BWAHAHA!” 
   
  Rainbow Symbol 
  Symbol 
  +1 to cleric spell attacks and damage 
  Once per battle, when a nearby or 
  far away ally heals; you gain 
  temporary hit points equal to your 
  wisdom modifier plus your level. 
  Quirk: Spells cast with this symbol  
  produce a rainbow effect that will give 
  your position away 
   
   
  Slayer’s Shoes 
  Boots 
  +1 to disengage checks and other 
  fancy footwork 
  +1 to attacks made immediately 
  after disengaging 
  Quirk: Writes out lists of enemies, 
  constantly warning people they are 
  going on the list. 
   
  Bear Helm 
  Helmet (can also be used by animal 
  companions, though you use your 
  chakra and get the quirk) 
  +1 to MD 
  The wearer deals +1d4 miss damage 
  if they have healed or gained 
  temporary hp since the start of their 
  current turn 
  Quirk: Eats raw fish 
   
  
   
   
  73 
   
  Icon Roll Ideas 
  You can use the following ideas for icon roll results 
  during your game, if players have an unspent 5 or 6. The 
  following are just suggestions, to get your own ideas 
  flowing. 
  A 6 on an icon relationship 
  roll… can be traded in for one of the following 
  benefits during this adventure. 
  The Archmage  
   
  Sudden inspiration! Once during this game you 
  may cast a magic missile as a quick action when 
  the escalation die is 4+. 
   
  You remember a quick yet not terribly reliable 
  spell—reduce the damage that you take from 
  meteorites by 1d6. 
  The Crusader  
   
  Stomp, stomp, stomp! You do double damage 
  (hit or miss) on any even attack rolls against 
  xombie egg swarms. 
   
  You gain a +2 to all rolls to intimidate the bandits. 
   
  You have a lot of experience in military matters. 
  You gain a +2 to skill rolls to fortify Candlefen. 
  The Diabolist  
   
  Destroy something beautiful. Gain a +5 to any 
  skill checks to destroy the dungeon heart. 
   
  Sudden cruelty! Once this battle reroll damage 
  and take the higher roll. 
   
  You gain +2 to all rolls to tempt the bandits to do 
  what you want them to do. 
   
  You have experience with the unnatural and the 
  uncanny. Gain +2 to MD this session. 
   
  You meet a demon in the marsh and are able to 
  bargain with it to show you the way. If you face 
  a danger of the marsh due to a failed skill check 
  you must nominate another party member to face 
  that danger instead of you. 
  The Dwarf King  
   
  Mountains? Dwarf fortresses? Gain +1 to all 
  defenses this session. 
   
  Stonework is easy for somebody with your 
  experience—you or one ally may reroll a failed 
  skill check involving avoiding traps. 
   
  You can’t beat dwarven know-how. You gain a 
  +2 to skill rolls to fortify Candlefen. 
   
  You expect the dark elf to betray you—gain +1 to 
  all defenses against her attacks. 
   
  You’ve withstood worse than this. Once this 
  game spend a recovery as a quick action. 
  The Elf Queen  
   
  Dreams and illusions you know about. Reduce all 
  psychic damage you take by 2 points (to a 
  minimum of 1 point of damage). 
   
  Thanks to your training of them the NPC 
  defenders of Candlefen do 1d8 damage with their 
  bows instead of 1d6. 
   
  You are light on your feet and quick with your 
  hands—you or one ally may reroll a failed skill 
  check involving avoiding traps. 
   
  You automatically dodge arrows for one whole 
  round. 
   
  You gain a +2 skill check to sneak about in the 
  Dragon Woods. 
   
  You know the weak points on a dark elf’s body—
  gain +1 to attacks against Nekrien. 
  The Emperor  
   
  The emperor has dominion over dragons, or at 
  least a good working relationship with the 
  mighty monstrosities. You may reroll a failed 
  skill check involving Rubicarn the Dragon. 
   
  You have a commanding presence—once during 
  this game you may command a nearby 
  unengaged ally to heal you. If the ally spends a 
  quick action you may spend a recovery. 
   
  You requisition a magic potion from the village 
  elders. 
   
  You spot that one of the bandits is a former 
  soldier, and in any battles with bandits if you roll 
  a save (11+) you can force one bandit to flee. 
  The Great Gold Wyrm  
   
  If your relationship is positive you can trade in 
  the 6 for a temporary magic enhancement to your 
  weapon or to armor (good for +1 to attack and 
  damage, or +1 to AC) that lasts for one fight this 
  game. If your relationship is negative you can 
  deal an extra 1d8 damage to a mook with your 
  first attack against mooks each battle. If your 
  relationship is conflicted pick which one you’d 
  rather have. 
   
  You have fought monsters before, gain +1 to 
  defenses against undead. 
   
  You know about dragons—gain a +1 to attacks 
  against Sorrowscorn. 
  
   
   
  74 
   
   
  You may reroll a failed skill check involving 
  Rubicarn the Dragon. 
  The High Druid  
   
  Abominations like these should not exist. You do 
  double damage (hit or miss) on any even attack 
  roll against star things. 
   
  One of the Marsh Drakes will follow you about, 
  not panicking or running away. 
   
  You are immune to the effects of hallucinogenic 
  marsh gas. 
   
  You gain a +2 skill check to sneak about in the 
  Dragon Woods. 
  The Lich King  
   
  Due to your experience with the undead you gain 
  a +2 bonus to discern the motives of Nekrien and 
  other skill rolls involving the necromancer. 
   
  When you first kill a non-mook enemy this game 
  you gain +2d10 temporary HP that last until lost 
  or until the end of the session. 
  The Orc Lord  
   
  You are tough as old boots, ignore damage from 
  a single trap or from environmental damage 
  The Priestess  
   
  The gods smile upon you! Reroll one failed save 
  this game, including death saves. If the rerolled 
  save still fails this benefit is not expended. 
   
  You foresaw this day in a vision—reroll one 
  failed roll this game. 
  The Prince of Shadows  
   
  Automatically succeed on an attempt to sneak 
  about or hide. 
   
  Ignore one trap, side-stepping the attack. 
   
  Ooh look, this Xombie had a magic item. Yoink! 
   
  The villagers have a magic item in their village 
  chapel. Nobody’s looking, and you can take it if 
  you want. 
   
  You gain a +2 skill check to sneak about in the 
  Dragon Woods. 
  The Three  
   
  Cultists? Pah! You’ve seen better cultists than 
  this. Reroll one failed attack. 
   
  The Starport brain looks awful squishy in places. 
  On your turns you may spend your move action 
  to deal 1d8 damage to the brain by kicking at its 
  lobes. 
   
  You know about dragons—gain a +1 to attacks 
  against Sorrowscorn. 
   
  You know the legends and lore of the Dragon 
  Woods—roll any skill checks involving the Green 
  Star River twice and take the better result. 
   
  You may reroll a failed skill check involving 
  Rubicarn the Dragon. 
  A 5 on an icon relationship 
  roll… can be traded in for one of the following 
  benefits during this adventure. 5s normally come with 
  an obligation or complication. 
  The Archmage, Diabolist, Elf Queen, 
  High Druid, Lich King, Priestess  
   
  You meet an old friend, an elf called Krow 
  Blueroot. Krow can use his magic to aid the party 
  with one skill check, granting +1 to a party 
  member. Spending additional 5s allows him to 
  help out more often. 
  The Archmage, Diabolist, Elf Queen, 
  High Druid, Lich King, the Three  
   
  You meet a trader, Lar, and can buy a magic 
  potion for 50 gold. The more 5s the party trades 
  in, the more potions are for sale. 
  The Archmage, High Druid, Lich King, 
  the Three  
   
  If you narrate a quick 5 second flashback to your 
  magical training with the mysterious Council of 
  Thorns you can gain a cumulative +1 to PD 
  against the dungeon discharge. You get 1 
  flashback per 5 spent. 
  The Crusader, Diabolist, Orc Lord, 
  Prince of Shadows  
   
  If you narrate a quick 30 second flashback to 
  escaping from jail with your buddy Thog the 
  Half-Orc you can gain a +1 to a skill check 
  relevant to the flashback. You get 1 flashback per 
  5 spent. 
  The Crusader, Dwarf King, Emperor, 
  Great Gold Wyrm, Orc Lord  
   
  You meet an old friend, a soldier called Dara 
  Goldenshield. Dara can use her battlefield 
  training to aid the party with one save, granting 
  +1 to a party member. Spending additional 5s 
  allows her to help out more often. 
  
   
   
  75 
   
  The Crusader, Dwarf King, Emperor, 
  Great Gold Wyrm, Orc Lord, Prince of 
  Shadows  
   
  You meet a traveler called Rallia Thatcher. Rallia 
  intends to steal Rubicarn’s treasure and her 
  presence starts the escalation die at 1 if the party 
  attacks the dragon. Spending additional 5s 
  allows her to find more treasure, multiplying the 
  loot by 10% for each 5 spent (including a cut that 
  she takes). 
  The Priestess  
   
  You meet a hermit living in the woods. The 
  hermit, Kala, gives advice that lets the party 
  arrive at the crater earlier than otherwise, 
  reducing the number of fast xombies by 1 for each 
  relationship die 5 spent. 
  The Prince of Shadows, the Three  
   
  A contact of yours called Sliver shows up. Sliver 
  can backstab enemies in combat, adding +1d4 to 
  the damage for one attack (hit or miss) for one 
  party member. Spending additional 5s allows 
  Sliver to attack more often. 
  Any icon  
   
  You find the corpse of a trader, who has magic 
  potions. Each potion has a 50/50 chance of 
  working, but you won’t know until you try one if 
  it works or not. The more 5s the party trades in, 
  the more potions are on the trader’s body. The 
  trader is missing their head. 
   
  If you narrate a quick 30 second flashback to 
  being in a dungeon with your old friend Nilrem 
  the Red you can gain a +1 to a skill check relevant 
  to the flashback. You get 1 flashback per 5 spent. 
   
   
  
   
   
  76 
   
  Game advice 
  Organized play for 13th Age is a little different from 
  normal organized play. This document gives you tools to 
  create a linked series of adventures that will highlight the 
  cool things about 13th Age (One Unique Things, 
  Backgrounds, Icon Relationships). You will need around 
  2 hours per session. 
     
  The organized play plan 
  The plan 
  Each game of 13th Age is different because the one unique 
  things and backgrounds of the characters in separate 
  groups will be different. The plan here is to have players 
  be able to find and take part in 13th Age games around 
  the world with a continuity of story. As a GM this will 
  require you to be on your toes, but we think you have the 
  chops for the job. This document gives you six linked 
  adventures to take place over six weeks, and advice on 
  running the adventures. 
    
  Feedback 
  We’ll be asking for feedback from both GMs and players. 
  We want to know what works, what doesn't, what people 
  enjoy, and what could do with revision. We’ll also want 
  game reports … we want to know what happened, what 
  cool and awesome things you did with 13th Age. Part of 
  our ethos is giving you the tools to play the game you 
  want - so if we get a lot of feedback saying “Hey - what 
  are the rules for exploding gems? My players found this 
  crystal throne and exploded it, and I’d like some rules for 
  that.” then we might want to consider addressing that in 
  a See Page XX article, 13th Age Monthly, or in a future 
  supplement. You can give feedback here. 
    
  One Unique Things 
  Once you’ve run a couple of dozen games for strangers 
  you’ll notice that certain unique things come up 
  surprisingly often. Illegitimate sons of the Emperor seem 
  to populate half of all adventuring parties, and there are 
  a ton of adventurers who used to be animals. In your 
  home game it is cool to build a story about the Emperor’s 
  only illegitimate son because you know that nobody else 
  in your game is going to pick that, but in an organized 
  play program you may have players who created their 
  character with another organized play GM. So as to avoid 
  conflicts of Emperor’s only son meets Emperor’s only son 
  we are saying: 
  No ONLYs please 
  You can be one of the last of your kind (or one of 
  the first) but you can’t be the only one. You can be a 
  prisoner sent forward in time from the first age as a 
  punishment but you can’t be the only one to whom 
  that happened. You can be a rare half-human half-
  clockwork creature and you might be under the 
  impression that you are the only one, but maybe you 
  aren't the only such creature. If you're one unique 
  thing relies upon you being the only something think 
  about how you could make it cooler and more unique. 
  If somebody does pick an ‘only’ type of unique remind 
  them that their character believes themselves to be the 
  only one but in fact they may not be. 
    
  Backgrounds 
  All characters have 8 background points, and can spend 
  up to five of them on any one background. Try to 
  encourage players to tell you stories about their 
  backgrounds rather than just a list of words. This... 
  - Climber 4 
  - Urban Survival 3 
  - Artist 1 
  … is boring and as a GM tells you very little about the 
  character and doesn't give you a lot to work with. 
  Encourage the players to talk about their backgrounds 
  and name them appropriately. With a little nudging the 
  above list of words can blossom into... 
  - Second best rooftop runner in Horizon 5 
  - Member of the Beggar’s Guild 3 
  … which is awesome and tells you a lot about the 
  character. 
    
   
   
  
   
   
  77 
   
  Statements about the world 
  One of the cool things about 13th Age is that players help 
  to define the world. There is no standard universal 
  Dragon Empire, each game is different. This presents 
  challenges for organized play and as a GM you need to be 
  on your feet. Whenever a player mentions something 
  about the world either via a background or one unique 
  thing or just as a plain statement make a very quick note 
  about it and repeat back to them what they have just said.  
  As an example: 
  Player: “... and then I bend down and look into the 
  mechanism. Half orcs know a lot about this stuff. How 
  hard is it to disable the trap?” 
  GM: “Half orcs do know a lot about traps - why is 
  that?” 
  Player: “Oh I meant half orcs know a lot about 
  breaking things. We love smashing clockwork.” 
  GM: “Why do half-orcs like smashing clockwork?” 
  Player: “It gives us headaches, nobody knows 
  why.” 
  GM: “Ah, you need to get a 15 to break the trap 
  without setting it off” (makes a note ‘Clockwork = 
  causes headaches for half-orcs’). 
  Each session recap all the statements about the world and 
  ask if anybody has extra input on them. Be sure to ask 
  each player if they have anything to add to the world. It’s 
  a little ritual that helps to build a stronger game for your 
  players. 
  GM: “Ok, so last week we discovered that orcs hate 
  clockwork because it gives them headaches” 
  Player 1: “Ah, I figured it is their two natures 
  warring in them. There is something mystical about 
  clockwork”. 
  Player 2: “Yeah, like maybe it is trying to separate 
  out your two natures - giving you a ‘splitting’ 
  headache” 
  GM: (makes a note) “I like that. What else did we 
  learn. High elves fear mice, they think mice are spirits 
  of the dead. That is an old elf legend.” 
  Player 3: “Yeah! It is just a legend, but they still 
  creep elves out” 
  GM: “As you are new to the group, what things did 
  your character discover last week?” 
  Player 4 (the new player): “Orcs have clockwork 
  axes” 
  GM: (makes a note) “So some tribes of orc are able 
  to use clockwork, but obviously not all tribes.” 
  … then recap them with the added player input 
  and ask if anybody has anything more to add. 
  GM: “So clockwork gives half-orcs headaches, but 
  some orc tribes use clockwork. That is true. What else 
  is true?” 
  Player 2: “Only some orc tribes are lucky enough 
  to mutate into half-orcs, and those tribes don’t use 
  clockwork. They have to get rid of it to commune with 
  the spirits and begin the transormation process.” 
  GM: “Yes, that is true.” (makes a note) “And elves 
  fear mice due to legends revolving around mice and 
  ghosts. That is true. What else is true?” 
  Player 3: “Maybe their god of the dead uses mice 
  as messengers, and elf necromancers have mice 
  familiars” 
  GM: (makes note) “Yes, that is true” 
  In this way your players build the world with you, and 
  you remind them each week of the world that you have 
  built together. You also let new players know what your 
  game is like, and you let them bring in the bits of the 13th 
  Age game they played last week into your game that are 
  important to them. 
   
  Skill checks 
  Use your index cards 
  The humble index card is one of the best gaming tools I’ve 
  discovered in years. Write down each character’s 
  backgrounds and set the index cards out in front of you. 
  As play progresses glance down and put obstacles in the 
  path of the party that speak to the backgrounds possessed 
  by the party. For example if your party’s dwarf has the 
  background ‘Mistress of Metal: I train dwarven smiths’ 
  then during play announce  
  “The path is blocked by a partially toppled 
  statue. It is made of metal of intricate design,” 
  and then look around and ask “Does anybody 
  here 
  know 
  anything 
  about 
  dwarf 
  metalworking?”.  
  Bring in interesting options for success and failure 
  (perhaps success reveals that the statue has coins in the 
  base to keep it upright, a common practice from an age 
  where gold was more plentiful - and failure results in the 
  hollow statue shifting and making a huge racket sure to 
  attract monsters). By bringing backgrounds into play you 
  make the story about the characters themselves. 
    
  
   
   
  78 
   
  When not to roll 
  Being a game with limited time you don’t want to roll for 
  every little thing, especially if pass/fail doesn't really 
  matter. Only have players roll dice when failure would be 
  an interesting outcome and would impact the story. If a 
  character has a background specific to a task and failure 
  wouldn’t be interesting narratively invite them into the 
  task. 
  “That wall looks tough to climb, but you 
  know that your Dwarf friend used to be an 
  acrobat. He could easily climb the wall and pass 
  a rope down to you” 
    
  One roll should do it 
  When you have a character attempting something with 
  lots of steps in it you don’t have them roll for every step, 
  in fact you probably shouldn’t. If a character is drinking 
  from every bottle of elven wine in a castle cellar looking 
  for the best vintage don’t have them roll once per bottle - 
  just one roll should do it. 
    
  Fail forwards 
  Remember to Fail Forwards. 
  ...outside of battle, true failure tends to slow action 
  down rather than move the action along. A more 
  constructive way to interpret failure is as a near-success 
  or event that happens to carry unwanted consequences or 
  side effects. The character probably still fails to achieve 
  the desired goal, but that’s because something happens 
  on the way to the goal rather than because nothing 
  happens. 
  Suppose a player makes a Charisma check to have his 
  or her rogue rustle up some clues as to where a certain 
  monk of the black dragon might be hiding. The player 
  fails the check. Traditionally, the GM would rule that the 
  character had failed to find any information. With 13th 
  Age, we encourage you to rule that the character does 
  indeed find clues as to the monk's location, but with 
  unexpectedly bad results. Most likely, word has gotten to 
  the monk that the rogue is looking for him, and he either 
  escapes before his lair is found, or prepares for the group, 
  either setting up an ambush or leaving a trap. The failure 
  means that interesting things happen. 
    
  Escalating risks 
  If a character fails it is interesting to offer a choice to the 
  player - fail forwards as above OR succeed but with a 
  complication. In this case the player gets what they want 
  but it causes another problem. You then pass that 
  problem on to the next player and ask them if they want 
  to attempt to solve it or leave it where it is. Consecutive 
  failures can have interesting results as the consequences 
  escalate as shown in the example below... 
  The halfling rogue successfully climbs the stable 
  wall but drops their lantern into the straw below 
  starting a fire. 
  The elf wizard successfully convinces the angry 
  crowd that the fire the rogue started was the doing of 
  the Dwarf King, but now the crowd wants to lynch 
  dwarves. 
  The dwarf paladin successfully smuggles the 
  dwarven ambassador out of town away from the 
  angry guard but the ambassador figures out that the 
  party are to blame for the fire and is going to tell 
  agents of the Dwarf King. 
  The human sorcerer successfully bribes the dodgy-
  looking boat captain to take the dwarven ambassador 
  somewhere where they can’t contact the Dwarf King’s 
  agents but as he sails away the party realizes that the 
  captain is a slaver. 
   
  Montage! 
  Sometimes you don’t want to go into details but do want 
  to give a sense of time passing. Overland travel, random 
  dungeon exploration, fortifying an old farmhouse against 
  zombies. All these things can happen in a montage if they 
  are not the focus of the montage itself. 
  Go round the table and ask each player: 
  “Describe an obstacle that the party encountered 
  but defeated.” 
  Then turn to the player to their left: 
  “Your character was the one to get the party past 
  that. How did you succeed?” 
  They don’t need to roll for this - they just tell you an 
  awesome thing that their character did that solved the 
  problem. 
  Repeat this around the table until everybody has had a 
  chance to come up with a death-trap or a wandering 
  monster or whatever their imaginations can conjure up 
  and a chance to overcome an obstacle. As each player tells 
  you how their character saved the day narrate back to 
  them what they have said and put a spin on it to highlight 
  their heroism. 
  “Yes! The party encountered a minotaur’s ghost 
  and you entertained him with your bagpipes. Not 
  
   
   
  79 
   
  only did that pacify the ghost but several other ghosts 
  appeared to hear you play and in gratitude led you 
  part-way through the maze.” 
  “Awesome - you killed the magically animated 
  pagoda with your mighty axe. Later you came to an 
  underground river and crossed it using your foe’s 
  remains. Good job.” 
  “Brilliant. With a flick of your wrist you turn over 
  your last card. The skeletal guards are amazed by your 
  winning streak and untie your companions as agreed. 
  They are so impressed with your poker-face that they 
  tell you how to get to the center of the maze. 
  Congratulations - you have a better poker-face than 
  skeletons and they don’t even have faces!” 
    
  Pacing 
  Sometimes things go slowly. Players get the idea that 
  there is a secret door they can find if only they spend 
  another 10 minutes searching for it. In organized play 
  you’ve got limited time available to you. If the players 
  start going off track supply them with unambiguous 
  information by using the phrase “It is obvious to you 
  that...” 
  “It is obvious to you that there is no secret door 
  here.” 
  “It is obvious to you that the dwarf is telling the 
  truth.” 
      
  Rolls->follow->fiction not 
  rolls=fiction 
  What does that mean? YOU tell the players when to roll, 
  based upon what they say their characters are doing. If 
  somebody announces “I’m rolling to see if I can get past 
  the guards” put your hand out in a ‘stop’ motion and ask 
  “HOW are you attempting to get past the guards?” and 
  play onwards from there. Talk about how the guards look 
  half-asleep, how the character notices one of them is 
  wearing new boots but the other one is dressed shabbily, 
  how the guard on the left gets distracted when he looks 
  at the food cart nearby. Role-play the encounter, and 
  build the scene using a back-and-forth exchange of 
  information and suggestions between you and the player. 
  Only call for a roll once the character acts to change the 
  situation and the outcome is in question and failure 
  would be interesting. Let the rolls flow from what 
  characters do. It is a small thing, but important. 
    
  Monsters & Combat 
  Some of the monsters that appear here are from the core 
  13th Age book but others appear in books like the Bestiary 
  or 13 True Ways. In this adventures we’ve put in the 
  monsters that we think you’ll need, and a guide to how 
  many to include in a fight. 
    
  Using alternate monsters 
  The backgrounds and uniques of the player characters 
  and the statements by players about the world may mean 
  that the monsters we’ve provided are not suitable for 
  your needs. In that case there are three options. Hopefully 
  you can stretch the existing monsters to fit your needs - if 
  one of the adventurers has the unique ‘Raised by giant 
  rats’ you can just say that the skeletons the party are about 
  to fight are the skeletons of giant rats. If that doesn't work 
  for you you can ‘reskin’ the monsters for the adventure - 
  instead of fighting skeletons you use the skeleton stats but 
  call them ‘giant rats’ or ‘pixie swarms’ or ‘loquacious rust-
  golems’ or whatever the story needs. If neither of those 
  options works for you the core rule book has a ton of 
  advice for creating new monsters on the fly. 
    
  Big damn heroes 
  Combat is a prime opportunity to remind players that 
  their character is awesome. When an adventurer hits an 
  enemy take the opportunity to describe the hit. 
  “With a mighty swing of the sword you slice the 
  zombie in two! Hyah!” 
  “Lightning crackles from your eyes as you unleash 
  your spell. ZZZZT!” 
  “The eyes of your enemies widen in shock as you 
  destroy their shaman with a well placed arrow. 
  Zonk!” 
  “The hag runs towards you screaming and reaches 
  out towards you, but you duck her swing and launch 
  a bolt of pure sizzling magic into her. She screams as 
  the burning energy sinks into her body.” 
  “You swing the sword and the dragon jerk’s it head 
  back … but your cunning backswing slices deep into 
  its gums - it roars in rage and you dash in under its 
  maw to strike a deep blow into the tender flesh under 
  the chin!” 
  Even miss damage is cool... 
  “You do miss damage? Your axe whizzes past the 
  goblin’s head, but your foot connects with his knee-
  cap!” 
  
   
   
  80 
   
  “The zombie staggers backwards and your axe 
  misses. You take the opportunity to kick it in the groin. 
  normally this wouldn’t faze a zombie but your kick is 
  bone shatteringly powerful!” 
  Don’t be afraid to really get into it. Stand up from the 
  table. Mime the zombie who takes an arrow through both 
  eyes. Snarl like the hob-goblin chieftain as you caper 
  about with bent back swearing vengeance on the cleric. 
  Just a second or so of play-acting each round to highlight 
  an awesome hit or near miss goes a long way towards 
  drawing our players out of their shells. Once you start 
  doing it your players will too. 
    
  Tone 
  The tone of your game will depend a lot on who you are 
  running it for. A group of 12 year olds may not appreciate 
  gory decapitations (or they may, pre-teens are a bloody 
  lot) but it is part of your job as a GM to gauge what your 
  audience wants. In the words of Tyler Durden “If 
  someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out …” then you 
  may want to tone it back a bit. If you know your audience 
  well and have previously discussed what their limits are 
  then you can play within those limits. Remember if you 
  are running the game in a public place to keep it 
  appropriate. What is cool to shout out at the top of your 
  lungs at a friend’s house may not be acceptable to say at 
  all in a game store or at a convention. 
      
  Pacing in combat 
  The escalation die and the design of monsters in 13th Age 
  means combat is pretty fast moving, but you may still be 
  pressed for time. The store that you are playing in is 
  closing for the night, or you have a limited time at a table 
  at a convention, or one of your players needs to leave 
  early. If some outside constraint is limiting your time you 
  may want to end the combat early. Drop the defences of 
  the monsters and adjust their damage downwards. If you 
  are still pressed for time have the monsters run away or 
  use a dramatic moment to kill the big bad guy (the gnome 
  bard who hasn’t hit all day gets in a crit and takes the 
  head of the dragon in one blow). 
   
  Dealing with a TPK. Total. Party. 
  Kill. 
  We haven't made this adventure super-deadly... but 
  sometimes the dice are against the players, bad decisions 
  are made, and the unthinkable is thought. If the entire 
  party dies then the following session tell the tale of how 
  their new characters were following their old characters, 
  always a day or so behind on the same quest, finding 
  dungeons pre-looted and monsters already defeated; 
  they have finally caught up with the heroes only to find 
  them dead. The next session starts normally, but perhaps 
  their new characters start with some recovered loot from 
  their former characters’ corpses. Or if you prefer use 
  Jonathan’s idea from pg 170 of the core rule book. 
   
  Tips to make your job easier 
  and the game more fun 
  Index cards 
  Seriously. Grab a pack and... 
  Make name tents 
  Each player gets a name tent. Fold the index card in two 
  and write the character name on it and put it in front of 
  the player. Now instead of saying “your dwarf” or “the 
  ranger” you can call the characters by name. This is an 
  awesome thing for you to do, it links players to their 
  characters. 
  Write out one unique things and backgrounds 
  Go around the table and have players recap their uniques. 
  As they do so jot down their uniques on index cards - two 
  or three uniques per card using a short phrase. Use big 
  letters so you can quickly glance down and see what is 
  going on. As the game progresses glance down and 
  introduce skill challenges or obstacles tailored for the 
  party. As each party member succeeds (or fails in an 
  interesting way that advances the story) cross their 
  unique or background off. 
  Use them to make scenery & minis 
  If you are using minis to map out battles (while 13th Age 
  does not rely upon minis using them does make 
  visualizing relative positioning in battles easier) you can 
  draw scenery on index cards and put them down on the 
  table to indicate terrain or objects. If you need to 
  improvise a large creature that you don’t have a mini for 
  you can make a tent out of an index card and write the 
  monster’s name on both sides. 
  Seriously - get some index cards! 
  Minis 
  When running combat in 13th Age remember that 
  miniatures don’t represent exactly where a character 
  really is, it is a rough approximation of where characters 
  are in relation to each other. You don’t need minis to run 
  13th Age combat but your job of letting players know 
  
   
   
  81 
   
  what is happening and where things are in relation to 
  each other is made easier by having them. 
   
  Terrain 
  Rob has this to say about terrain: 
  Play terrain any way you like, but don’t worry about it. 
  There isn’t really time to get deeply into terrain action 
  when people are playing for the first time. The ease of 
  simply moving your characters around and attacking 
  should be the priority. 
  If you don’t know 13th Age already, grab any style of 
  fantasy terrain/setting as the location of the battle. 
  Miserable swamps, ruined temples, ghost towns, 
  haunted orchards, regenerating graveyards, living 
  dungeons, spiral towers, woodlands, grumbling 
  volcanoes—they all exist somewhere in 13th Age. 
   
  Initiative 
  This is how I do initiative. You might prefer your own 
  system, but I find this speeds up play  
  1. Everybody rolls initiative. All monsters share the 
  same initiative, unless they are of very different 
  types. All goblins share an initiative, all spiders, 
  etc. If in doubt fudge monster initiative 
  downwards. 
  2. Count out how many characters and groups of 
  monsters there are. Write numbers from 1 to the 
  total number of characters and groups of 
  monsters acting on index cards. Write big. If there 
  are 6 adventurers and 2 types of monsters (or two 
  different groups of monsters acting on different 
  initiatives) you would have cards numbered 1-8. 
  3. Start counting upward from 1. When you get to 
  an initiative that an adventurer or monster has, 
  hand them the highest numbered card you have. 
  In a fight with six adventurers and two monsters 
  the lowest initiative gets the card with ‘8’ on it, 
  the next lowest initiative gets the ‘7’ card, and so 
  on. 
  4. Each round just look around the table for the 
  person with the number 1 in front of them and 
  tell them it is their turn. After that glance around 
  for the number 2 card, then the number 3 card, 
  and so on. Players can also use the cards to write 
  you quick notes if they wish to, or to take notes 
  during combat. I like to use the index cards with 
  the monster initiatives on them to track 
  conditions, HP left, etc. 
   
  ‘Bus Stop’ GMing… What? 
  The idea behind the Tales of the 13th Age organized play 
  program is that players should be able to play in London 
  one week and New York the next and be able to pick up 
  where they left off. This means that the games can not be 
  completely freeform. However, they are not rail-road 
  adventures either. Each session has a start point and an 
  end point and how you get from one bus stop to the next 
  is up to you, the driver of the bus. If you decide to 
  substitute goblins for kobolds or your players decide to 
  circumvent an encounter or battle then that is fine, 
  provided you end the session in such a way as it leads 
  naturally on to the next session as written. Side-quests, 
  digressions, and player-generated plots are cool - 
  encouraged even. You can go whichever route you 
  choose and do whatever weird stuff you and your players 
  like along the way, just make sure you get to the next bus 
  stop so that anybody who wants to get on your bus at that 
  point can. 
   
  When to give treasure out 
  At the start of every session roll icon relationship dice. If 
  the dice would seem to indicate it, have adventurers find 
  treasure during montage scenes or place treasure into the 
  adventure in places that it would make sense for it to 
  appear. Aim to give out one item of treasure each week 
  like this. Some sessions also have sections that will tell 
  you that it is time to hand out treasure. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  82 
   
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is 
  Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 
  1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark 
  owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” 
  means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations 
  (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, 
  addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other 
  form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) 
  “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly 
  display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the 
  game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines 
  to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an 
  enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as 
  Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this 
  License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but 
  specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means product 
  and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; 
  artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, 
  dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, 
  likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and 
  other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, 
  spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special 
  abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or 
  supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any 
  other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity 
  by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the 
  Open Game Content; (f ) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, 
  motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products 
  or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the 
  Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, 
  format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open 
  Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this 
  agreement. 
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains 
  a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and 
  in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game 
  Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this 
  License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions 
  may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License. 
  3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate 
  Your acceptance of the terms of this License. 
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this 
  License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-
  exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open 
  Game Content. 
  5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original 
  material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are 
  Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights 
  conveyed by this License. 
  6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and 
  You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to 
  the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you 
  Distribute. 
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, 
  including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in 
  another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that 
  Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability 
  with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work 
  containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, 
  independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered 
  Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not 
  constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of 
  any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title 
  and interest in and to that Product Identity. 
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly 
  indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open 
  Game Content. 
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish 
  updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this 
  License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally 
  distributed under any version of this License. 
  10 Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with 
  every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute. 
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the 
  Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have 
  written permission from the Contributor to do so. 
  12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the 
  terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game 
  Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You 
  may not Use any Open Game Material so affected. 
  13 Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to 
  comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of 
  becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of 
  this License. 
  14 Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, 
  such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it 
  enforceable. 
  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc; 
  Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. 
  Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  13th Age. Copyright 2013, Fire Opal Media; Authors: Rob Heinsoo, 
  Jonathan Tweet, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip 
  Williams. 
  13th Age Bestiary. Copyright 2014, Fire Opal Media; Authors: Ryven 
  Cedrylle, Rob Heinsoo, Kenneth Hite, Kevin Kulp, ASH LAW, Cal Moore, 
  Steve Townsend, Rob Watkins, Rob Wieland. 
  13 True Ways. Copyright 2014, Fire Opal Media; Authors Rob Heinsoo, 
  Robin D. Laws, Jonathan Tweet, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte 
  Cook, and Skip Williams. 
  Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, 
  LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte 
  Cook, and Skip Williams. 
  Tales of the 13th Age Adventures. Copyright 2013, 2014, 2015, Fire Opal 
  Media, Inc.; Author: ASH LAW. 
  Race to Starport. Copyright 2015, Fire Opal Media, Inc. Author: ASH LAW. 
  Castles & Crusades, Copyright 2004, Troll Lord Games; Authors: Davis 
  Chenault, Mac Golden. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/13th Age/EXTRAS/Magazines/13th Age Monthly - Vol 1/Organized Play - Race to Starport.pdf