The Prompt

So, I used the random adventure generator to give me a prompt.

* Title: Acolyte of Chaos
* Mission: Destroy a Crystal
* Hook: Asked as a favor
* Antagonist: Corrupt official
* Potential Ally: Demon seeking the soul of antagonist
* Complication: Old rival of a PC becomes involved
* Obstacle: Monster
* Twist: Antagonist is actually pursuing a worthy goal
* Reward: Magical armour; shield; or weapon, 2 magic items


Setting

I decided on upon a map from Dyson. Used a decent amount of the content from the blog posts.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2015/10/27/tuesday-map-the-shattered-tower-lower-levels/

https://dysonlogos.blog/2015/10/30/friday-map-the-shattered-tower-upper-levels/

Then I set it in The Sinking City. This is the newest section and it's spires aren't as magnificent and even this one is a minor spire.


Thoughts and Inspiration

Tower is a temple of Azathoth

Eddie of Iron Maiden is an avatar

The crystal is a means to summon and control the avatar. Each of the
different versions of Eddie are faces of the avatar. Each having
different strengths and such.

Minor avatars of him guard things

Outside of a specific radius the tower looks whole. Inside it
you can see its reality.

The boundary couldn't be breached until recently. Even then the
connection between the sections only recently appeared.

Avatars in each level reset to "original" state in 1d4 hours.

Anything "not original" and not alive to the tower is sent elsewhere.

The Tower

# Level 1

Zombie Eddie (Avatar 1)

Basically a hasted gloom-eater zombie

# Level 2

Axe Murderer Eddie (Avatar 2)

Basically a hasted zombie, but no zombiesm.

Axe has paralyzing toxin SV+4 or paralyzed for a turn

# Level 3

Ghoul Eddie (Avatar 3)

# Level 4

Empty

# Level 5

# Ladder between 5 and 6

60 feet
1:8 chance of harpy or wyvern flying
The spikes holding it on level 6 somehow have resisted
the reset effect of the tower.

# Level 6

Pary working for a corrupt ward council member, Elpis , female kimmerian.

They are seeking the crystal as well. Elpis will use it to deal
with her enemies.

Lawful Good NPC Party, total number = 9, 4 classed, 5 mercs

3 chests on the "safe" side
  * Chest 1
    * Consuming Darkness (in Latin)
      * reading summons a grey ooze
        * seeps out of book
        * Test of DX to avoid a possible attack
  * Chest 2
    * Bulging Light (written in Latin)
      * reading calls forth a minor or weak Colour Out of Space
        HD 5 instead of 10, only drains 2d4 CN, Fear SV at +4
  * Chest 3
    * Rise Avatar, and Destroy (Hellenic (Kimmerian dialect) Kimmeri-Kelts, Kimmerian)
      * Methods of summoning an Avatar
      * Describes devices that have been used to
        summon or control an Avatar
        * the crystal in this tower is in the book

2 in the crumbling side.
  * Test of DX to make the jump, or fall 60 feet.
  * Chest 1
    * 3,000gp
    * The Hungering Maw (Keltic (Goidelic) - Kelts, Kimmeri-Kelts)
      * reading it summons a gibbering mouther
        * SV vs Death to control it for 2d6 turns
      
  * Chest 2
    * 3,000gp
    * The Bloom of Chaos (Thracian (Ixian dialect))
      * SV vs Sorcery +4
      * fail - Confusion for 2d6 rounds

# Level 7

Legionair Eddie (Avatar 4)
5th level fighters. Laminated Armor, Large Shields and short swords (gladius)
1 stationed at each of the 4 columns of the interior

Southern wall is a series of murals. Incarnations of
Azathoth and The Avatar leading destruction of various kinds.

Harpies might be here (outside) or on level 9

# Level 8

Behind the secret door is a shrine

There are 4 statues of the Avatar. Each holding a differing
manifestation of Azathoth

Each is wearing a necklace. The necklace will open the tower
door on the first level. It will also show the wearer any
hidden/secret doors in the tower.
If the wearer is a follower of Azathoth then the avatars will not attack.
If not, the avatars need roll a save vs sorcery to attack.

They also give the wearer Truesight when looking through the telescopes on level 11

Removing a necklace causes a manifestation of Azathoth along
with a mode of the Avatar (3:8 chance)

1. Gibbering Mouther
2. Grey Ooze
3. Colour out of Space
4. Otyugh

# Level 9

4 Eddie as a bard (avatar 5)

There are wearing guitars with the bottom edge of sharpened to
a fine edge. They will wield them as a great axe +1.
The Mesmerize ability of these bards will cause those failing
their saves to start head banging, "throwing the goat", and other
forms of moshing while in such a state.

# Level 10
4 trooper Eddie (Avatar 6)

Pulpit
Rubble

# Level 11
2 wyverns live on the platform

Telescopes

# Level 12
Boss Monster (cyborg Eddie?)

# Level 13
Crystal

What the party is up to (at the time of the original post that is)

The party has ran into the NPCs at level 6. The party was told to do away, the berserker that climbed up first, opened the door, and asked where the bathrom was actually.

Berserked tied a rope to the spikes/structure the rope ladder is attached to and climbed down.

The party decided to attack instead of parley. It was going badly for them until the berserker used his horn of valhalla and flooded the room the npc's were in with 40 berserkers.

They are hiding out and recovering from their wounds deciding what to do next.

edited 2022-07-25 : reformatted original post, and updated level contents
 

Last edited by gizmomathboy (7/25/2022 2:11 pm)