THE ENDLESS NIGHT

by Joaquín Ollo/Khimus, Argentina

The villagers cursed they luck when they knew the dreaded battle against Akhivar, the witch king, would be fought near Ulfruntadt. They had to put up with the empire’s army camp near their town. The soldiers, bearing the arrogance of those who know they are heroes, occupied their time in savagery, abuses and feast. The day prior to the battle, more than half of Ulfruntadt’s inhabitants had left it, among them their mayor. And finally the day came. By the night, there were still no news about the battle. And the night went on an on, endless: nobody knew if it was an illusion caused by their anxiety, or they were cursed (this caused many arguments). Some brave villagers risked their lives to go out and explore: few returned, but those who did told everyone what they had seen, and drew a crude map.

The curse hasn’t reached this forest yet, so it is still in semi-darkness. But the spirit that dwells here got aggresive, and turns intruders into trees: how does he resist the curse?

It is written in the cave entrance: “To...

...The heart of Akhivar”

Here, two races fight each other eternally.

Akhivarrün’s domain

Inhabited by 1d6+3 beings whose skins are made of papyrus and written. Each one has a spell written in his body, and can use it at will. They’re Akhivar’s rational half: what was his plan to make the world a better place?

Ulfruntadt

traps: blades and darts

These are the still populated and defended remains of the town, about 80 villagers.

altar with offerings to akhivar

-WAGENA: prophet witch, from the old cult. -SKÚLI: rich merchant, he believes this is a common night. -FJÓLA and VALDÍS: they went out to explore, and came back alive.

The south of Ulfruntadt... ...was abandoned: it is said the dead left their graves and went back to their life-routines. -A powerful spirit made of shadows wanders through the abandoned streets.

-Omid’s temple (empire cult’s god) might have something of value to defend against the curse. -¿Has the mayor left in his house anything useful?

exit

The battlefield...

...eis filled with bodies in constant agony. They can neither die nor get healed. -Packs of vultures and wolves have claimed the zone, and wander around feeding with the bodies. -There is valuable stuff among the bodies. -A giant vulture carries what seems to be Akhivar’s corpse.

secret door+ chest

this library contains the truth about akhivar

corpses of the 2 factions at war akhivarian treasure: gold, weapons & armors

Akhivaria’s domain

Inhabited by 2d6+3 beings whose nape is a volcano crater: it might expel fire, steam or fog, depending on their mood. They’re Akhivar’s emotional half: why does he hate the empire so much?

pitfall trap

A chest

...containing the heart of Akhivar, and the source of the curse: what object represents the heart of Akhivar? This chest amplifies the power of the object it contains: what might happen if the heart is replaced with something else?

“The endless night” is an unfinished adventure! To complete it... Thanks to Carnero, Rodrigo and Juani for helping me with edition & layout

1

Ask and question answer s:

From 10 minutes to half an hour prior to the session, the GM should read this adventure and think about the lacking elements, ask himself some questions. There are many parts left empty on purpose, to make every “endless night” different from the other ones. The elements to define might be the story’s backbround as much as specific details from the scenario:

-How was Akhivar, the witch king? Why did he hate the empire, and when did this feeling begin? What was his plan to make the world a better place? -Where is Akhivar right now? Is he dead? -What’s the link between the shadow spirit and the curse? -How does the forest spirit resist the curse, and why is he angry?

You may also ask some questions to the players before game begins, and use their answers: -What do Ulfruntadt villagers think about the empire? -What have the player characters heard about Akhivar? -How’s the official empire’s religion? How’s the ancient cult, and which one is preferred in Ulfruntadt?

2

turn it into your game rules: This adventure works for any game, but it’s your job to turn the scenario elements into mechanics:

-Set the dimensions, specially for The heart of Akhivar. -Create (prior to the session, or on the fly) the necessary monsters: vultures, wolves, akhivarrün, akhivarias, undead, (shadow and forest) spirits. Decide also how many of them will the PCs find. -How does the curse and the endless night affect those who venture away from the town? Specially when traveling. -How do the traps look and work? -What treasures might the characters find?

It’s up for the GM and the group to decide how easy or hard is going to be the scenario: the curse might only be an endless night, or cause nightmares and weaken those who wander outside town, for example.

To play w

ith Wo

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Dungeo

ns:

Undead (2d6): roll 1 hit dice for hp. 1d6 damage. Shadow spirit: 20 hp, 2d6 damage, it produces nightmares by squeezing with his claws. Armor 2 against physical damage. Forest spirit: 17 hp, his touch forces a CON roll to resist being turned into a tree, otherwise 1d6 damage. Armor 1 against physical damage. Vultures (1d6+1): 2 hp, 1d6+1 damage. Wolves (1d6+3): 3 hp, 1d6+1 damage. Akhivarrün: 3 hp, 1d6 damage. 1d6: 1-invisibility; 2-pass through walls; 3-acid spit; 4-fear; 5-fireball; 6-teleport. Akhivaria: 4 hp, 1d6+1 damage, armor 1. 1 out of 6 akhivarias expel fire from their crater-nape. Traps: darts cause 1 point of damage and carry a deadly poison. Blades and pitfall: 1d6+2 damage.

Possible magic objects:

3 Improvise! Improvising is fun! This scenario is going to work better if you don’t set up everything in advance, and even better if you use a simple game, where it’s easy to make up stuff while playing.

Thanks to Aldo, Yudi, Patricia, Blaz and Agustín for being the first ones to try out this scenario

-brotherhood rings: 2 rings, those who use them may distribute damage received as they want. -command crown: 1/day, you may try to control any NPC for 1d6 hours. -sacred sword: immunity against the curse granted, and also +2 damage against undead.

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