Chapter 1 Adventure Overview

This adventure thrusts a group of heroes in the role of adversaries to an alien evil and its earthly cult of followers. The heroes will encounter many classic tropes of rpg adventuring games: the exploration of the wilderness, delving into dungeons, fighting iconic monsters, investigating a series of murders, pulling off a heist, defending a city against a siege, devil’s bargains, and a final confrontation with an otherworldly threat.

1.1 Short Summary of the Main Conflict

Andromalion is a being from the Far Realm, imprisoned on the Material Plane. They have spent several thousand years on this world in a never-ending sleep cycle. For 227 years, they sleep underground, dreaming of the Far Realm, only to emerge on Midsommer night of the 227th year to feast on human souls, wreaking destruction on the world around them. Andromalion is currently cocooned under the Northern city of Helsundburg. It is the year 226 of Andromalion’s sleep cycle and they are famished.

The Church of Andromalion is a religious sect that reveres Andromalion as a god. Tempted by Andromalion via its dreams, they work to prepare the Midsommer feast. They plan to use the Sun-Harp, a magical musical instrument, and Andromalion’s Blessing, a magically-imbued drug, to force the whole population of Helsundburg into a dancing trance, allowing Andromalion to consume their souls in a moment of ecstasy. To the Church, dying on the day of Andromalion’s emergence is the way to salvation.

The Church of Andromalion is led by the four the Pillars: Mencius Moravian—The Herald; Vraxa Redstar—The Guardian; Lady Linnea Halvermont—The Matron; Klausman Torfburg—The Steward. Under the leadership of Mencius, the Church is actively searching for five magical shards to construct the Sun-Harp, complete the research on Andromalion’s Blessing, produce sufficient quantities, and ship it to Helsundburg for the Midsommer festivities, and seize control of the city to assure a successful emergence of Andromalion.

Besides the heroes, several other actors and factions are at cross-purposes with the Church of Andromalion: the Silversword family, the town of Bracken, the city of Helsundburg, the Helsundburg Merchant Bank, the dwarven Rumnaheim Society, the devil Paimoraxxas, and the Serpent-Lich Akuthla.

1.2 Timeline of Events

At the beginning of the adventure, we are exactly one year away from Andromalion’s emergence from their slumber. The timeline of events without the heroes’ intervention is:

Month Events
July/August One shard is already in the possession of Mencius. One missing shard is being held by the goblin shaman Shargak, but Mencius has dispatched an agent to acquire the shard (see The Wayward Inn) and deliver it to him in the mining town of Bracken. Mencius is also using the Church’s influence over the Bracking Mining Corporation to establish access to a steady supply of Dream Dust from the Underdark, a necessary ingredient in the production of Andromalion’s Blessing (see Mining Trouble in Bracken).
September The two remaining shards are in the possession of Benoit La Tour d’Auvergne in the city of Mersenne. Mencius will attempt to steal the missing shards from Benoit, possibly using the PCs as unwitting accomplices (see A Hired Hand).
October In Helsundburg, Klausman Torfburg is planning to seize full control of the Helsundburg Merchant Bank to gain enough fiscal resources to support the mass production of Andromalion’s Blessing in Flowerdale. He is also using The House of the Red Door, a high-end drug den, to establish control over powerful members of high-society in Helsundburg (see Coin and Dagger). His right-hand man, Balthazar, is also responsible for a string of grisly murders in the city.
October–May Lady Linnea is using her control over the Free County of Flowerdale to conduct her research into Andromalion’s Blessing, eventually producing three shiploads of the drug. The last shipment of the drug leaves for Helsundburg in May.
November–January At some point during this time, Mencius learns of the location of the last remaining shard. He begins an expedition to the Underdark to find the Shrine of Jaelrynna and the last resting place of Torgga Wyrmstalker.
April Shargak (or his second in command) is leading a goblin horde against the town of Bracken.
June Vraxa Redstar, as the leader of the Order of the Crimson Heart, completes a coup in Helsundburg to sideline Gregor Silversword as the Sword of Justice and seize control of the law enforcement and defense of the city.
Midsommar Mencius uses the traditional Midsommer celebrations in Helsundburg to prepare the city for the emergence of Andromalion. He poisons the freshwater supply of the city through the major aqueducts and uses the Sun-Harp on the central square to put the whole city into a dancing trance. During twilight, Andromalion emerges. They consume every living soul, including the members of the Church of Andromalion, flying off into the distance to burrow under another city and begin their next sleep cycle.

1.3 Adventure Flowchart

Phase 1:

  • The adventure begins with a linear portion in The Wayward Inn.

  • Mining Trouble in Bracken is a mini-sandbox that gives PCs the chance to explore the mining town of Bracken and become more deeply involved in thwarting Mencius’ plans.

Phase 2:

  • After the PCs conclude the events in Mining Trouble in Bracken, they have several leads to pursue that lead to other mini-sandboxes, combined with linear plot developments:

    • Travel to Mersenne and steal some mysterious magical shards (A Hired Hand).

    • Travel to Helsundburg and investigate the Helsundburg Merchant Bank and a grisly string of murders (Coin and Dagger).

    • Travel to Flowerdale in search of a shipment of dream dust (Flower Fields).

Phase 3:

  • Eventually, the PCs will have found additional clues that allow them to:

    • Travel to the dwarven city of Rumna-Ur in search of a missing shard, pursued by Mencius himself Mountains of Madness.

    • Make a deal with a devil for more information and travel to the desert in search of a banishment ritual Into the Desert.

  • Sometime in Spring, the PCs face the choice to aid the city of Bracken in its defense against a Goblin horde under the leadership of Shazirr–an old enemy of the PCs Old Enemies. During the same time period, Vraxa Redstar will execute her coup attempt in Helsundburg and attack Benoit Silversword (Old Enemies).

Phase 4:

  • No matter what, in June Mencius will execute his plan and Andromalion will consume every single living soul in Helsundburg unless the PCs stop them Dreams of Andromalion.
Adventure Flowchart

Figure 1.1: Adventure Flowchart

1.4 Factions and Dramatis Personae

1.4.1 The Church of Andromalion

The Church has existed in many forms over the centuries. Ever since Andromalion has been exiled to the Material Plane, they have recruited mortals to their cause. The Church has had many names, e.g., the Ever Exalted Tree of Life, the Cult of the Morning Child, the Diagrammatic Church of Un, the Brotherhood of the Sanctified Blood, but has recurring features. First, the Church is always lead by four leaders, the so called Pillars, each fulfilling a specific role: The Herald leads the church and communes directly with Andromalion through dreams; The Guardian is the protector of the Church and its members, responsible for the security of the congregation; The Matron is the caretaker and healer of the Church; The Steward sees after the worldly resources of the Church.

Historically, the Church has always been a small organization with few members. The Church tries to recruit among the upper class of any given society, especially individuals with deep-seated insecurities due to failed expectations of peers and their families, business and artistic failures, and perceived intellectual or physical shortcomings. It has been popular among second born children of leading families, the offspring of merchant houses, children of famed warriors and mages. Individuals with unusual physical deformities are particularly targeted by the Church and internally revered as blessed by Andromalion. The Church promises salvation and transformation through Andromalion towards the goal of physical, emotional, intellectual and artistic perfection. Under its joyful and harmless veneer, the Church is a vile organization that has refined its methods of predation and indoctrination over centuries.

The rites and ceremonies of the Church always feature music (often the harp), singing, trance-like dancing, and outburst of joyful exultation. The highest holiday is Midsommar, in particular, the Holy Day of Emergence, every 227th year. The most important reliquary is the Sun-Harp, a magical instrument in the form of a wind chime consisting of five distinct glass shards. When sunlight hits the Sun-Harp, it generates a kaleidoscope of colors and music that The Herald uses in important ceremonies. The magical drug Andromalion’s Blessing, based on dried purple fungus from the Underdark and magically refined, is a holy sacrament to the Church.

1.4.1.1 Leaders of the Church

Mencius (The Herald) A Warlock of Andromalion.

  • Physical appearance: Mid-50s male (he/him). Half-Elf with beautiful features, long blond hair, perfectly manicured hands, dreamy blue eyes. Exudes a subtle smell, reminiscent of wine and flowers, immediately arousing to most.

  • Personality: Eternally vain and short-tempered. Considers himself the artistic talent of the century.

  • Social Background: Born of low class and failed as an artist, sold his soul to Andromalion in exchange for magical power and success.

  • Main Desire: At first he sought artistic success, but now he wants to experience unconditional love and devotion by all around him.

Klausman Torfburg (The Steward) Director in the Helsundburg Merchant Bank.

  • Physical appearance: Male halfling in his 70s, tonsured grey hair, likes to wear well-tailored but conservative clothes.

  • Personality: Craves control in all parts of his life. Always circumspect, will let everyone else talk first. A collector of fine things (people included). Treats staff poorly.

  • Social Background: Born to a middling halfling merchant family that was entirely too trusting and easygoing for his taste. Worked his way up from a lowly clerk position in the Helsundburg Merchant Bank—believes his success is solely due to his work ethic.

  • Main Desire: To become Director-General of the Helsundburg Merchant Bank and grow its fortune.

Vraxa Redstar (The Guardian) Dragonborn Paladin and First Fist of the Order of the Crimson Heart.

  • Physical appearance: Dragonborn female (they/them), middle-aged, red scales. 7’ tall and athletic.

  • Personality: Imperious and inflexible. Feels she is deserving of leadership.

  • Social Background: Born to a family of warriors and paladins, never taken seriously by her family.

  • Main Desire: To lead armies in battle.

Lady Linnea Halvermont (The Matron)

  • Physical appearance: Human woman (she/her) in her 50s. Wavy brown hair with grey streaks, green eyes, royal features. Smells like honey.

  • Personality: Warm, kind, and motherly.

  • Social Background: Born to a noble family, current ruler of Flowerdale, well-respected among her peers and her subjects.

  • Main Desire: To have and love a child of her own.

1.4.2 The Goblin Horde

An assortment of goblin, bugbear, and ogre tribes that have coalesced under the leadership of the goblin shaman Shargok and his secon-in-command Krezmak.

1.4.2.1 Major NPCs

Shargak A goblin shaman on the hunt for one of the glass shards. His horde poses a real threat to the people of the Eastern mountains.

  • Physical appearance: Goblin male (he/him) in his 60s. Skin like old leather, patchy, long dark grey hair. Wiry. Walks with a distinct limp.

  • Personality: Cunning enough to live 60+ years as a goblin. Ambitious. Has a vision for his people.

  • Social Background: Born in the muck and taken a slave by a coven of hags. Poisoned the old crones and stole their magic. Returned to the goblins and schemed his way to the top.

  • Main Desire: Reclaim his missing glass shard. Wants to use the powers of the shard/Andromalion to unite th goblin tribes and conquer the Eastern mountains.

Krezmak A fierce bugbear warrior, general of Shargak’s horde.

  • Physical appearance: Bugbear male (he/him) in his 30s. Huge. Mute since birth.

  • Personality: Fiercely loyal to Shargok. Disciplined and systematic.

  • Social Background: His fellow bugbears did not see the value in his way of thinking, favoring wild fury over strategy. Shargak did. Made him the general of his goblin horde.

  • Main Desire: Protect Shargok, break human and dwarven hegemony in the Eastern Mountains. If Shargak dies at any point, Krezmak will assume leadership of the horde and seek revenge.

1.4.3 The Silversword Family

1.4.3.1 Major NPCs

Benoit La Tour d’Auvergne / Benjamin Silversword

  • Physical appearance: Human male (he/him) in his late 50s. Silver grey hair, bookish, and frail. Always a playful twinkle in his eye.

  • Personality: A bonvivant. Jovial, pleasant, and quite. Shies away from responsibility. Deeply in love with his partner

  • Social Background: Scion of the Silversword noble family out of Helsundburg. As a second son with mahical talents, he was expected to join the College of War mages, but refused. Ran away at a young age and became an adventurer. Eventually settled in coastal Mersenne, becoming a wealthy illusionist and socialist–all under an assumed identity. Is on bad terms with his family.

  • Main Desire: Enjoy life without a hassle. Wants to reconnect to his brother Gregor and his niece Maxine. Once he learns of the threat posed by the Church he is reluctantly willing to help in order to protect his family and hometown.

Gregor Silversword First Sword of Justice in Helsundburg. Member of the Royal Privy Council.

  • Physical appearance: Human male (he/him) in his 60s. Silver grey hair, tall, and in surprisingly good physical shape. Face like a hawk.

  • Personality: Arrogant, conservative, and only concerned about his family’s legacy. Tradition and honor above all else. Despises his younger brother for abandoning his responsibilities. Social order and decorum must be maintained.

  • Social Background: First-born scion of the Silversword noble family out of Helsundburg. An accomplished knight, veteran of many campaigns. Worked years to grow his families estate and influence. Was named First Sword of Justice in Helsundburg ten years ago. A pillar of society. Has two sons and a daughter (Maxine)–who he favors.

  • Main Desire: Protect the Silversword name, protect Maxine, protect the king, protect the nobles and merchants of Helsundburg–in exactly that order.

1.4.4 The Rumnaheim Society

The Rumnaheim society is a dwarven traditionalist organization. Created by the famous dwarven hero Durin Silverbeard, its purpose is to preserve dwarven traditions and protect dwarven communities from internal and external threats. Operates in parallel to the official dwarven leadership in Rumnahold. Mostly recruits warriors, paladins, clerics, and scholars. Maintains a large paramilitary force. Keeper of ancestral dwarven records. They protect the Archive of the Fathers and Mothers of the Mountain–where all ancestral clan records of the dwarfs of Rumnahold and the wider region are kept.

Gilthur Goblinbane Current leader of the Rumnaheim society.

  • Physical appearance: Dwarven male (he/him) in his 240s. Golden hair, massive and braided beard. While strong in his youth, he likes his dwarven ale too much and it is starting to show.

  • Personality: Boisterous and tends to exaggerate his personal accomplishments. Affected by terrible mood swings and bouts of depression. Not a man for details. Despite his flaws, his drive and charisma has made him an effective leader of the Rumnaheim society.

  • Social Background: Comes from a respected family of dwarven warriors and brewers. Squire to During Silverbeard. After Durin’s disappearance, took on the leadership of the Rumnaheim society. One of the most influential dwarfs in Rumnahold.

  • Main Desire: Lead the dwarfs back to glory. Reclaim the holy site of Graumgyr in the Underdark. Find his lost mentor and good friend Durin Silverbeard and lay him to rest.

1.5 Additional Background Information

To call Andromalion a being is a misnomer. They are both more and less than that. If anything, they are an existence reduced to a single emotion: desire. Having been cast out from the Far Realm, Andromalion has a singular wish, to again gaze upon the swirling maelstrom that is Azathoth, the Blind Idiot God, and revel in the atonal hymns of its continuous birth, death, and re-birth. Not much remains or ever existed beyond this one fixation. They have a faint memory of the times when they blissfully danced to the terrible tunes at the Blind Idiot God’s court. Then, suddenly, they were torn away and cast upon this world, blinded and disoriented, kept at an insurmountable distance from the maelstrom.

Shackled to the material plane, imprisoned on this insignificant rock, it took them eons to find a way to hear Azathoth’s spherical music again—by using their dreams to travel the planes and temporarily return to Azathoth’s court. But dreams like these require power. Thus began the Cycle. For thousands of years, Andromalion spends 227 years in deep slumber, encased in a protective cocoon under the earth, dreaming their way to Azathoth’s court and exulting in their presence. Every 227 years, on midsummer night, they awaken, being pulled away from their reveling, filled with an insatiable hunger to replenish their reserves to return to their dream-state. The only satiation offered on this plane are human souls taken in a moment of blissful ecstasy. On midsummer night, they emerge from their cocoon to gorge themselves, only to return underground in a different part of the world to re-enter their dream-state.

To prepare their feasting, Andromalion dreamed their way into the minds of some weak-willed mortals on the material plane, seducing them with promises of eternal joy, beauty, and physical transformation. Thus, the Church of Andromalion was born. A small religious organization, versions of which have emerged in different parts of the world throughout the ages, with the sole purpose of preparing for the eventual awaking of their false god. The Church’s prime focus is to use the Sun Harp, a magical instrument using shards of Andromalion’s carapace, and Andromalion’s Blessing, a magical drug derived from purple fungus growing near Andromalion’s cocoon in the Underdark, to put as many humans as possible into a ecstatic, trance-like state on the eve of Andromalion’s emergence. Dazed by the drug and the magical tunes of the Sun-Harp, the population begins to dance until death and their souls can be consumed by Andromalion. The music of the Sun-Harp also has a secondary purpose. After its slumber, Andromalion awakens weakened and confused. The music of the Sun-Harp helps it to regain focus and strength, facilitating the mass consumption of souls and destruction of the city. This cycle has been repeated for thousands of years, often ending in calamity for the city close to Andromalion’s resting place. Always, the Church re-emerges and recruits individuals to its cause.

The last time the cycle culminated in the awakening of Andromalion near the Northern city of Helsundburg, the Pearl of the North. A group of heroes, led by Edward Silversword, thwarted the Church’s plan, forcing Andromalion to prematurely return to its slumber, weakened and only partially fed. The heroes also captured the Sun-Harp and broke it into pieces, hiding the parts to hamper any future efforts by the Church to aid Andromalion.

Only partially satiated, Andromalion remained in Helsundburg, again burrowed deep under it. Official town records do not mention the emergence of Andromalion, only the occurrence of an earthquake. Andromalion has spent the last 226 years in their dream-state to re-build the Church and ensure revenge on the family that resisted its desire to feast.

The adventure begins exactly one year from the emergence of Andromalion. Andromalion has recruited four individuals to lead the new Church of Andromalion (see Dramatis Personae): Mencius (The Herald), Vraxa Redstar (The Guardian), Lady Linnea Halvermont (The Matron), Klausman Torfburg (The Steward). At the beginning of the adventure Mencius has acquired two of the five shards needed to reconstruct the Sun-Harp. He has plans in motion to:

  • Acquire the three missing shards.

  • Produce the necessary quantities of Andromalion’s Blessing to poison the whole city of Helsundburg during the Midsommer festivities.