Third Dawn Adventure Path - From the Deep 1 - Uncertain Futures.pdf

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Uncerta in Fu t ur es

By M ich a el M

C a rt h y

For Ch a r ac t er L e v el s 1-4

Unc er t a i n F u t u r es

Written by Michael McCarthy

Publisher:

Jeremy Smith

Editing:

Shane O’Connor

Additional Content:

Jeremy Smith and Andreas Rönnqvist

Cover Artist:

Rick Hershey

Graphic Design:

Erik Nowak

Interior Artists:

Rick Hersey, Tsailanza Rayne

Based on the original roleplaying game rules designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and inspired by the third edition of the

game designed by Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

From the Deep

requires the use of

Psionics Unleashed: Core Psionics System,

See dreamscarredpress.com for more information on

Psionics Unleashed.

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, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots,

storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content

or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)

Open Content:

Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this 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.

Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC.

See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying

Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

Compatibility License. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/compatibility for more information on the compatibility license.

From the Deep

Unc er t a i n F u t u r es

Introduction

AdventUre BACkgroUnd

Half-buried in the earth, the kobold city of Vensnak lives a

peaceful existence. They work their mines and sell the ore and

metal to the other cities of the Ophid Protectorate, which in

turn allows them to live their lives as they would, far away from

where anyone would have to interact with the non-psionic race.

This isolation left the city uniquely open to a swarm of

puppeteers, puppeteers who are themselves under the control of

a man named Scriven, and three weeks ago the city fell in short

order to the psionic assault. But the city wasn’t what the puppeteers

wanted; it wasn’t even the people. The puppeteers brought with

them an ancient machine salvaged from the depths of the sea, and

they strive to make it work. They believe a soft black rock will burn

in its center, bringing it to life as an unstoppable automaton.

Their efforts so far have led only to failure, and as so many stones

are chewed within the machine’s body, it creeps slowly toward a

devastating explosion that will be felt for miles around. With the

mines in ruins and the remnants of the machine belching forth a

toxic gas, the players must travel across the countryside and deep

underground to the source of the machine – and then eliminate

it once and for all.

the MInes

hAve gone dry

In the three weeks since the attack on Vensnak, not a single

shipment of stone or metal has left the small kobold city. The last

time this happened was thirty years ago, just after the founding

of Arbil, when the kobolds had to find new veins. While people

have noticed the lack of these resources, lulls in shipments are

not yet cause for concern under the assumption that the kobolds

simply search for promising new veins.

No one from the city of Arbil or nearby countryside has yet had

reason to visit Vensnak and return with actual news, as the forest

has become an extremely dangerous place since the puppeteers

invaded, both cutting off kobold patrols that kept it safe and

moving in a number of large beasts under puppeteer control.

Uncertain Futures

is presented in four parts:

In Part One,

the PCs find themselves in a sudden position

of respect and authority in the small town of Arbil. Prophesized

heroes in a city known for foretelling, they are immediately

saddled with the task of uncovering the cause of the recent

quake and its ties to the terrifying severing of the Flow.

In Part Two,

the PCs travel across the now-dangerous

countryside, stirred up by the earthquake, the puppeteers, and a

strange gas rising from underground. The PCs must travel to the

kobold mines, and then the kobold city, braving the treacherous

Hirauu Forest on their route.

In Part Three,

the PCs must traverse the underground

labyrinth, with miles of catacombs spread beneath the rolling

countryside. They will uncover the now-decimated Vensnak,

and begin to question the puppeteer motives as they cross the

treacherous underground passageways, uncovering a buried

temple and the numerous dangerous denizens of the dark.

In Part Four,

the PCs brave the depths of the mines only to find

that the puppeteers controlling the kobolds have grown paranoid

in their isolation. Not only is the air dangerous to breathe, and

the kobolds thirsty for blood, but the puppeteers have slowly been

turning the mine into a gauntlet of traps the PCs must carefully

navigate before they can put an end to the puppeteers and the

strange machine they are so intent on repairing.

Throughout

Uncertain Futures,

the PCs will progress from

1st to 4th level. They should reach 2nd level before they arrive

in the kobold city of Vensnak, and should be 3rd level before

they delve into the now-lethal mines. A variety of side quests are

given in the different sections of the adventure to help keep the

PCs at the appropriate level before progressing further.

FroM the deep

pLAyer’s gUIde

Before starting this adventure path, it is recommended to

have your players download the

From the Deep Player’s Guide,

which gives a variety of information aimed at players, including

regional information, advice on what type of characters can

be made within the

Third Dawn Campaign Setting,

and

additional material. This Player’s Guide is available for free at

dreamscarredpress.com

AdventUre sUMMAry

As the adventure begins, the characters find themselves in the

seaside city of Arbil, nestled at the southern edge of the Ophid

Protectorate. The PCs could be soldiers in the Protectorate’s

military, refugees and travelers from Femon, or simply residents

of the city. Regardless of their reason for being in the city,

they all find themselves in the market one day where they are

unexpectedly prophesized to save the city from the results of a

devastating earthquake moments before it strikes the town.

Boxed text

Text to be read aloud to the players is presented in a

box like this.

Unc er t a i n F u t u r es

MIssIng persons

Throughout the adventure, the PCs will come across a number

of people dominated by puppeteers. While this is not strange on

its own, the puppeteers are behaving differently than their normal

body-snatching operations. When the PCs encounter a creature

controlled by a puppeteer and recognize that the creature was

under the control of a puppeteer, allow them to make a Sense

Motive or Knowledge (geography) check to identify something

out of place from the normal puppeteer tactics.

DC 13:

The puppeteers regularly hunt people across the world

for their phrenic masters in the Impact Sea. It is not unusual to

have a person travelling alone to be attacked and dominated by

the puppeteer and then never heard from again.

DC 18:

Typically, when a creature is dominated by a

puppeteer, they immediately begin to return to the Impact Sea,

the home of the phrenic scourges who act as masters over the

puppeteers. These puppeteers, however, seem to be lingering in

the area, rather than leaving.

DC 25:

The few puppeteers that are leaving are not heading

south towards the sea, but north, deeper into the Ophid

Protectorate.

More importantly for the PCs in the long run is that the

creatures under the control of the puppeteers are typically

innocent creatures. While it isn’t an evil act to defeat them in

battle as a typical encounter, it is a good one to instead rescue

them from puppeteer control. Most encounters with puppeteer-

controlled creatures can be ended by simply removing the

puppeteers from the creatures they control. Each time the PCs

encounter a creature enslaved by a puppeteer, allow them to

make a single DC 15 Perception check each to see it hidden on

the creature.

The number of creatures the PCs rescue and defeat should

be tracked as the PCs progress through Uncertain Futures. Not

only could these creatures and characters become important

NPCs in their own right, but the number of rescued creatures

makes a difference in several major events during this adventure.

For instance, the number of kobolds rescued determines how

well the group will eventually integrate with Arbil when they

migrate to the city at the end of Part Four.

Any time the PCs rescue a creature from puppeteer control,

grant the PCs XP as if they had defeated them in combat, as

well as an extra 100 XP for each creature rescued.

part one:

the earth trembles

Uncertain Futures

begins in the market district of the city

of Arbil on a morning in late spring in the month of Spalis.

Amongst dozens of other townsfolk and sailors, the PCs have

been drawn to the market today as a shipload of exotic new

goods has just been approved for sale on the open market. With

rising prices over the recent lack of iron and stone, everyone is

excited over the influx of goods.

The good mood of the day is broken when a commotion

begins at the northern side of the market, and the crowd grows

quiet as they watch one of the city’s most respected and aged

seers, Zorotaer (male ophiduan psion 8 (seer)), push violently

through the market.

The old ophiduan pushes his way from one crowd of people

to the next, clinging to the hems of robes and the shoulders of

children as he staggers unsteadily across the square.

In the center, he nearly topples over as he stops, and

begins to shout “The end is nigh! The end of the future!

The ground will split and the Flow will be torn asunder!

All will be lost... Unless... you, you! And... And you and

you!” each accusation is punctuated by a sudden point of

his finger, one of them at you. You do not have time to

process what he means before he adds, “Cut the strings...”

With the final enigmatic statement, Zorotaer collapses as

a rag doll tossed aside, and though people rush to help him, all

eyes are on you; prophesized to save a city of prophecy.

To anyone examining the seer, Zorotaer appears to have died

in the throes of the prophecy. Allow the crowd to herd the PCs

together for the moment and make basic introductions to one

another. After a minute of people beginning to grieve over the

fallen sage, the prophecy begins to unfold:

The ringing of glass rises above the idle noise of

the market, soon joined by the clattering of clay, wood

and stone. The rumbling of the ground violently throws

people to the ground, and the market becomes a floor of

people, covering their heads as stalls and shelves collapse,

sending their contents everywhere. It is over in less than

a minute, and though the market has nearly collapsed in

the commotion, the remainder of the city seems to have

survived in mostly one piece.

This is too much of a coincidence for the people of Arbil –

the seer’s prediction followed so closely by such a powerful

earthquake. Worse, the seer also seemingly predicted the end of

the world, and the tension in the crowd is palpable as they suspect

that more might be wrong than just an earthquake.

Unc er t a i n F u t u r es

Eventually, the PCs should go to the overseer’s villa in area A3 to

meet with him. If they do not go of their own inclination, an escort

of Mosephi’s soldiers will seek out the PCs to attend the meeting.

When they arrive, they will be invited into a sparse room

where, across from Zorotaer, still unconscious but miraculously

alive, sits Mosephi. He stands as the PCs enter the room, and

ushers them to sit in the now-vacated couch.

“I am glad to see you. I have heard that you were

prophesized to avert the end of the future, hm? Yes, I know

all about it; Zorotaer said he has been dreaming of it for

days – though the specifics of the situation had escaped him

until, obviously, he wandered into the market.”

He sighs, and runs his hand over his head, “Normally,

I would look into the future and see what he meant by it.

But, also like he predicted, the future is broken, missing,

obscured. Search the Flow around you, something is wrong.

And doubtlessly it is tied to this quake.”

“I will be busy here for some time, as will the guard,

assuring the citizens that everything is in hand. It seems

only fitting to ask you to be emissaries to the kobolds of the

mining village of Vensnak to the north. Hopefully they will

have more details as to what the quake actually was, being

the experts of the earth that they are.”

“And while there, perhaps you can discover why they

have stopped their shipments of ore.”

Mosephi

Before the fear can escalate into panic, the booming voice of

the city’s overseer, Mosephi, echoes through the mind of everyone

present,

“Everything is fine, and all should remain calm. The

Protectorate has everything under control. Citizens should

begin taking stock of damage. Thank you all.”

Mosephi

is using

mass missive

(DC 17 Spellcraft check to identify), and

happens to be at the northern end of the market plaza with a small

contingent of soldiers, most of whom break off to begin helping

people up and out from under collapsed stalls or large objects.

Mosephi strides into the center of the square and looks at the

PCs carefully for a moment before speaking. He will tell the

PCs that he would like to talk with them this afternoon in his

villa, as he must see to Zorotaer first. Any questions, including

how he knows the PCs, are stopped with a simple declaration to

see him later. Mosephi will order three men to pick up Zorotaer,

and together the five leave the plaza.

Only a few minutes later, still in the market, there is a scream.

A thought eater has slipped into the city after the earthquake

and has just attacked a woman in area A1. If the PCs don’t

give chase, two nearby soldiers will – but they will only follow

the creature as far as area A1, where one will stay outside to

watch the door and the other will leave to check how long until

reinforcements arrive, and will ask the PCs to help if they can.

After this, the PCs have enough time before meeting with

Mosephi to shop, heal, and assess the damage to the city, should

they so desire. While few buildings have collapsed, many have

suffered damage, and even the city wall has cracked open in the

northwestern corner of the city.

overseer trivia

Players may seek to learn more about Overseer

Mosephi while in his villa. Roll a Knowledge (local) or

Diplomacy roll below to see what sort of information

they know or can uncover.

DC 10:

Mosephi has been the overseer of Arbil

since its founding. He possesses incredible powers

of foresight and was once a student of Zorotaer.

DC 15:

The Overseer actually dueled for leadership

of another Protectorate city, Lirasse, but lost the duel.

He chose to found the city of Arbil because of his

failed attempt.

DC 20:

It is mostly due to the Overseer’s

clairsentient abilities that the city of Arbil has avoided

the hardships most other cities suffer. Rumors suggest

that Zorotaer envies his former pupil for surpassing

the older ophiduan in ability.

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