Earthdawn 3ed_adventure_resource_like_moths_to_a_flame.pdf

Adventure resource

Lie oths

To A Flame

here was fear and suspicion before the Scourge, during the

Scourge, and ater the Scourge. Is it not time we stopped

blaming the Horrors for all our problems?

• Kern Redbeard, Village Innkeeper •

tains, roughly ten days from Jerris. W hile the light cannot

be seen from Jerris, it has been spoted by several passing

airships and it can be clearly seen from a small group of villages situ-

ated in the foothills of the mountains. he light shines throughout

the night and vanishes at dawn, just like all those who have tried to

discover its source. Investigating the strange light, the characters

discover a recently abandoned kaer—as well as a cabal of deranged

magicians who have been holding the former kaer’s residents hos-

tage since the beginning of the Scourge.

area off limits and believe that a Horror is using the light to

lure its victims.

The mystery light is emitted from the giant light quartz that

once hung in the center of Kaer Skyhorn. Over the centuries,

those that escaped to the tunnels waged a war of resistance

against the cabal of magicians. They spent many years digging

further tunnels to hide in. Over the centuries, the people of the

enslaved kaer became brutalized and used in all manner of ter-

rible experiments. The resistance, realizing they could not defeat

the cabal directly, dug a series of tunnels to weaken the outside

wall of the kaer. Over the course of generations they eventually

succeeded, and the thick rock on the face of the mountain pro-

tecting the kaer collapsed, taking part of the kaer with it. Many

of the resistance died in their efforts, preferring death rather

than facing the Horrors. Of course, the resistance had no way

of knowing the Scourge was long over. With the kaer no longer

protecting them, and many of the kaer’s residents dead, the

cabal simply relocated to a small nearby village where they had

an ample supply of fresh slaves to continue their experiments.

The player characters are hired by a distraught villager whose

sons have traveled to the nearby mountains, disobeying the

elders’ decree, to find the source of the mysterious light and

have not returned.

grip, fear and suspicion resulted in refugees being turned

away from kaers that oten had spare capacity to accom-

modate them. hose unable to ind shelter oten took their own

lives rather than face the Horrors. For those who chose to make a

stand, the Horrors took considerable delight in showing them the

error of their ways. However, not all kaers turned away refugees,

some showing kindness and compassion to their fellow Namegiv-

ers. Many that did accept strangers into their sanctuary regreted

their decision, for it was often the cause of their downfall, and

blame did not always lie with the Horrors.

One such kaer that fell to the depravations of their fellow

Namegivers was Kaer Skyhorn. Its residents granted last-min-

ute entry to a small group of Theran refugees claiming they got

waylaid on their journey back to Thera. W hile the refugees were

indeed from Thera, their tale was false and they had instead

been exiled from Thera for terrible crimes they committed.

Soon after the kaer closed its doors, the refugees revealed them-

selves as a cabal of magicians. They took control and enslaved

the population, bar a few that escaped into the mining tunnels

used to construct the kaer. Those that escaped formed a resis-

tance and swore to take back what was theirs.

Recently, a bright light has appeared in the mountains, and

every night it can clearly be seen from the towns and villages

in the surrounding foothills. Several curious villagers have

made the journey to investigate and have never returned. The

council of elders representing all the villages have decreed the

er’s sons, he takes them to his village so they can see the

light for themselves. W hen they arrive, they are warned

of from going any further by a village elder unhappy about outsid-

ers having been brought to the village. Angry, he tells the player

characters they are not welcome in the village and must leave imme-

diately. From here the player characters go home or travel toward

the source of the light that is two days as the crow lies, but takes

longer on foot as much of the journey is uphill. he characters are

ambushed by a group of hunters from the village sent by the elder

as they continue their journey. he elder is terriied that the player

characters may be captured and reveal the location of his village to a

ADveNTuRe ReSOuRce | Like Moths to a Flame

A mysterious bright light has appeared in the Delaris Moun-

Setup

B efore the Scourge had fully seized Barsaive in its corrupt

Event One: In

Search of the Light

A ter the player characters have agreed to ind the villag-

Horror. he hunters engage in missile combat from long range and

scater if they take a single wound or if the player characters atempt

to engage them in melee combat. hey use their expert knowledge

of the terrain and the mystical silence of the Delaris Mountains

to their best advantage. Later that night, the player characters see

the bright light just as the villager described.

defeating the tentacles directly; killing defenseless Namegiv-

ers, however, may be a step too far for some. As a guideline for

the tentacle stats, the gamemaster can use the stats for creeping

vines (see Gamemaster’s Guide , p. 164). If the player characters

are subdued, they are taken prisoner by the cabal.

the base of the mountains and ind the abandoned kaer

just ater dawn. From what the player characters can

tell, part of the mountain face has collapsed revealing the kaer’s

entrance. The characters must climb the rubble pile to get in,

carefully avoiding further rockslides. As they climb, they can see

that a good part of the kaer has collapsed. entering the kaer, they

realize that they are actually in its very center and they begin to

explore the ruins. However, the group cannot initially ind the

source of the light. hey discover many strange contraptions that

have dead Namegivers embedded in them, a result of the cabal’s

experiments in blood magic as a source of power. he player char-

acters notice that most of the kaer appears like a prison, with iron

shackles hanging from all the available wall space. As the player

characters continue, the daylight begins to fade to dusk. As it

does, a bright light begins to shine from halfway down the rubble

pile illuminating the area. he player characters cannot miss it

and recognize it as the kaer’s main light quartz. he light, how-

ever, atracts all manner of creatures including will o’ the wisps,

death moths, and the cadaver men let behind by the cabal. he

characters suddenly ind themselves facing an unprecedented

assault, ighting running batles for their lives through the hours

of darkness until the break of dawn. he only way the assault can

prematurely be stopped, is if the light crystal can be smashed or

its enchantment broken, but the player characters have to make

the connection.

ficed one by one in a powerful blood magic ritual. The

cabal consists of magicians of various Disciplines and

circles. The battle involves lots of magic, summoned spirits,

cadaver men, and a few downright odd contraptions (allowing

the gamemaster to have some extra fun). The magicians have

little or no hand-to-hand combat ability, but have an arsenal

of minions and spell magic. If the battle looks to turn against

the cabal, they offer the heroes eternal life in return for their

own. If the player characters accept this deal, they become part

of the cabal, using the life force of others to sustain their own,

and are unable to travel without the cabal and their slaves as

constant companions. If the player characters decline the deal,

the cabal plays their final card telling them that if they die, so

will the villagers. This is a partial truth—only those slaves that

are currently feeding the cabal with their life energy would die,

and most of the recently captured villagers and the two sons will

survive. One member of the cabal proves his point by stepping

forward, wounding himself. As he does, an old lady cowering

by the village well slumps to the ground, dead.

sons and several dozen other rescued Namegivers in

tow. However, after they left, rumor of the strange light

spread beyond the immediate area and a chapter of the Grim

Legion arrived to investigate in the meanwhile. The Legion-

naires wish to prove that the player characters and the rescued

villagers are not Horror-marked—which undoubtedly takes

various forms of unpleasantness...

Another sequel may be that not all of the cabal were pres-

ent in the village when the player characters arrived. And as

soon as they gather their strength, they become a constant

thorn in their side. Not all the resistance died when Kaer

Skyhorn collapsed, however, and they f led into the hills

and will make likely allies for the player characters against

the cabal. If the player characters take on the Grim Legion,

they may also find themselves with more than one nemesis

before the day is done.

a previously obscured trail. The trail leads them to a

small village protected by a simple wooden palisade of

sharpened stakes and a deep moat fed by a mountain stream.

A drawbridge leads to a small causeway that in turn leads to

the village gate. As the group approaches the village, they are

hailed by a guard on the palisade asking who they are and what

they want. The guard truthfully tells the characters the name

of the village and confirms they are the survivors from the col-

lapsed kaer; however, he then lies if asked about the shackles in

the walls of the kaer, stating the kaer was once a penal colony.

After some debate, the guard agrees to let the characters enter

the village.

It’s a trap! As the player characters cross the causeway, the

gates open, seemingly under their own power, as does the draw-

bridge, which rises behind them. Shackled to the back of the

village gates is a Namegiver, his life force powering the cabal’s

magic. The player characters cannot see this until they enter the

village, however. As they get halfway along the causeway, a large

pit almost the full length of the causeway opens underneath

them; full of writhing metallic tentacles that try to grapple the

player characters. ensconced in the walls of the pit are Namegiv-

ers of various races whose life force powers the tentacles. Killing

these Namegivers stops the tentacles and should be easier than

Credits

Writing:  A llen Farr

Editing: carsten Damm, Steven J. Black, Benjamin Plaga

Artwork: Kathy Schad

Earthdawn Line Developer: carsten Damm

Earthdawn® is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. Barsaive™ is a Trade-

and all associated Trademarks used under license rom FASA Corporation. Artwork

used under license rom Kathy Schad. Published by RedBrick LLC.

ADveNTuRe ReSOuRce | Like Moths to a Flame

Climax

T he group must escape, otherwise they will be sacri-

Event Two: Ruins

A ter a few days of hard travel, the player characters reach

Sequels

T he group eventually returns triumphant, the missing

Event Three: The Village

L eaving the ruins behind, the player characters discover

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