The Purple Sapphire of the Black Veil

The PCs meet with a businessman by the name of Arden Farleigh at the town of Nabal. Arden needs the
PCs help to retrieve a very special item. Arden is going to be getting married within the next six months
and needs a very special gift to give his bride-to-be.

He is after a very special brooch called the Delhi Sapphire. The gem has a very unique history. It was
stolen from the main temple of Waunim in the capital of Kerellian. When it was stolen the goddess was
so outraged that she put a curse on the gem. The curse was said that anyone that owned the purple
sapphire and did not return it to the temple would fall onto bad times. The current owner was a pirate
by the name of Melinda McTynker. Melinda was the leader of a band of thieves call the Black Veils.
Since owning the Delhi Sapphire, she started to get paranoid, went mad, and killed her entire group of
thieves before taking her own life.

Right now, the sapphire is sitting buried in a pile of treasure in an abandoned and crumbling temple near
the town of Adara.

First the PCs must get a very special box to carry the purple sapphire so that they wouldn’t be cursed by
the gem. The box is in an old dilapidated manor formally owned by a man named Thamas Merkle.
Thamas did own the sapphire before Melinda McTynker but was able to hold off the curse by sealing the
gem inside a very special magical hinged box. The box gives off a mild abjuration aura.

The Purple Sapphire of the Black Veil: The sapphire’s container

Beginning the Adventure

You meet with Arden Farleigh and the daughter of Thamas, Anabelle Merkle. Anabelle is one of the
local clerics of Falengoth and has given Arden permission to retrieve the box from her father’s old
house.

The Merkle Manor

The mansion is a two-story structure built of local limestone. The building is weathered from constant
exposure to sea and wind, but a decade of neglect has also taken its toll.

Exterior

The manor is an imposing structure built of weathered limestone. It has a clay tile roof and polished
blue-green coral for trim. Tiles are missing from the roof, plants grow up all the walls, and the yard is
overgrown with weeds.

The building has two entrances – a wooden door reinforced with metal strips in the central part of the
building, and intricately carved set of wooden doors on the right side of the front section. The central
door is so warped that it doesn’t quite close properly, and the double doors seem to be swollen shut.
Next to the warped door is a broken window.
Day – If the PCs approach during the day they will see smoke drifting from a broken chimney on the
roof.

Night – If the PCs approach during the night they will see torch lights coming from inside the building.

The lights and smoke come from a group of orcs and that have taken up residence withing the run-down
manor.

The entire exterior of the house is mildewed, and the odor renders the scent ability useless for acquiring
any other information.

There are four ways to enter the manor

1.) The reinforced wooden door leading into the foyer (area 1)
2.) The double doors leading into the chapel (area 2)
3.) The broken window leading into the dining area (area 3)
4.) The entrance to the basement (area 8) by way of the docks.

Only the broken window entrance offers a way to get in quietly; all other entrances make enough noise
to alert the Orcs (area 4).

Area 1: The Foyer

The door leading into this room from the outside doesn’t shut properly. The wood is warped, and the
metal bands reinforcing it are corroded and rusty. Unless the party takes measures to silence the door,
it opens with a loud shriek of metal on metal that alerts the orcs (see area 4)

The foyer is littered with natural debris that has drifted in through the partially open door. Pegs in the
walls provide places to hang cloaks, and a couple of low benches allow for storage of boots. Hanging
from the ceiling is an oil lamp suspended on a corroded brass chain.

Another door leads to the chapel (area 2), and archways provide access to the dining room (area 2) and
the sitting room (area 4).

Area 2: The Chapel

The double doors connecting the outside world with this room are swollen shut. Forcing them open is
easy (Strength DC 12) but doing so snaps one door from its hinges with a loud crack. The noise alerts
the orcs (see area 4).

The area is obviously a chapel dedicated to Falengoth. Several pews face and alter and the walls are
lined with brass oil lamps – twelve in all – in severe need of cleaning. No holy symbol graces the alter,
but nine floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows depict the magnificence of Falengoth. Remarkably, all
are still intact. Two doors provide access to the interior of the house.

Divine spellcasters can feel a hallowed feeling when entering this area.
One of the two interior doors lead to the foyer (area 1), the other to the sitting room (area 4).

Area 3: The Dining Room

The chamber holds a modest dining table and four matching chairs. A broken window gives access to the
outside, and a small cabinet stands in the corner. A hanging oil lamp and four brass lamps, now
corroded with age, once provided cheery light to dinner guest. An archway and a simple wooden door
lead to other parts of the house.

The cabinet is unlocked and contains an intact washbasin, barely recognizable under the layers of mold
and moss that has accumulated on it. The archway lead to the foyer (area 1), and the wooden door to
the kitchen (area 5)

Area 4: The Sitting Room

This is the room that the orcs have made their lair.

A fire crackles merrily in the hooded copper fireplace that occupies the center of the room, and the smell
of roasting meat wafts from it. Its chimney carries the smoke up through the ceiling to the outside. Two
once comfortable chairs, now stain with mildew, flank the fireplace. A small writing desk stands nearby.
Bookshelves ring the walls, but the few remaining books have obviously suffered badly from the ravages
of time and the elements. An archway, four doors, and a set of stone stairs lead from this room.

Stealthy Entrance: The PCs will find one Orc sitting in front of the fireplace tending to the meat and the
others lounging on the moldy chairs and the floor.

Creatures: Orcs (hp 44) see separate sheet for stats.

Possessions: Chain shirts, Greatclub, 2d20 gp in various coins.

If the PCs take great pains to enter the house silently, the Orcs use this time until their arrival to prepare
for a fight. The Orcs move onto the balcony (area 4a) to stage an ambush for the PCs.

The archway leads to the foyer (area 1), one door leads to the chapel (area 2), another to the kitchen
(area 5), and the other two lead to the balcony (area 4a). The stone stairs lead to a small landing on the
second floor.

Area 4a: The Balcony

The balcony is constructed of limestone and blue-green coral, like the rest of the house. It overlooks the
harbor, giving a view that would be even more stunning at night, under the light of the full moon

A pair of doors lead back into the sitting room (area 4)

Area 5: The Kitchen

This long, narrow room is the kitchen.

Equipped to provide for a lord and all his retainers, the kitchen features several stone counters, wooden
cabinets, a large washbasin, and a sizable cookstove. Any foodstuffs that were once here, however, have
long since been scavenged. Most of the surfaces are covered with a layer of mildew, and the cabinets
are hanging open. Two doors provide access to other areas on the ground floor, and a flight of stone
steps leads down.

Anyone checking the stove (Wisdom: Perception CD 12) discovers that a family of mice has moved into
it. One door leads to the dining room (area 3), and another to the sitting room (area 4). The stone stairs
lead down to the basement (area 8)

Area 6: Master Bedroom

This chamber served as Thamas Merkle.

An oversized bed and a large wooden wardrobe dominate this chamber. In one corner stands a
washbasin. Brighter patches on the walls show where paintings and a full-length mirror used to hang.
All the furniture is worn and faded. The room has only one door and one window.

The door leads to the small landing on the stairs. The wardrobe contains a few old cloths.

Treasure: A thorough search of the wardrobe (Wisdom: Perception DC 14) reveals a hidden
compartment in the bottom. Within it is a locked steel box covered with rust. The rust raises the DC for
picking the lock by +2. Inside the box is a silver ring set with a single ruby (worth approximately 50 gp)
and several unsent love letters signed “Thamas”. They bear no names or addresses.

Rusted Steel Box: 2 inches thick, hardness 8, hp 60, AC 12, Break DC 28.

Area 7: Guest Bedroom

This room contains two beds covered with rotting linens, a pair of trunks, and a stand with a washbasin.

Area 8: The Basement

The stairs from the kitchen lead down to the main basement area.

Dry goods, oil, and other supplies are stored here, but judging from the smell and the vermin crawling in
and out of bins, the supplies remaining here now are long past usefulness. Sooty patches on the walls
show where three oil lamps used to hang, but they are missing. The chamber has two wooden doors, a
steel door, and a stone door. Both the steel and the stone door stand wide open.

A quick look inside the stone door reveals the dead bodies of several hobgoblins.

The two wooden doors lead to the servants’ quarters (areas 9a and 9b). The steel door leads to the sea
cave (area 10), and the stone one to the vault (area 11). The stone door is actually a secret door, but
little secrecy remains now that it is open.

Area 9a and 9b: Servants’ Quarters

These two rooms once housed Thamas’s servants. The wooden doors are warped and difficult to open.
The two chambers are almost mirror images of each other. Each contains two beds, a simple set of
shelves for storage and two lamps, one on either side of the room.

Area 10: Seacave

The rusted steel door stands open to a seacave. The dock at the seaward side of the house was built
into the cave to allow access to the basement from the outside, since the ceiling is not high enough for
any boat with a sail to enter. This seacave was the route the hobgoblins took to get into the house.
Read or paraphrase the following when the PCs investigate this chamber.

This natural cavern opens to the sea. Water fills it to a level just below the rusted steel door. A rotting
wooden dock runs past the door, providing access to the basement for anyone docked outside. The
ceiling is only about 7 feet above the dock. The water here must be deep, since the bottom is not visible,
even though the water is quite clear.

At the back of the cave is an underwater passage that leads to the underground tunnels where the
hobgoblins came from to get to the seacave.

A successful Strength (Athletics) check DC 10 allows a swimming character to move at one-quarter

speed as a move action or half-speed as part of a Dash action. The passage lies underwater for a total
distance of 100 feet.

A successful Wisdom (Perception) check DC 12 allows the PCs to see 4 sets of swimming gear in the
farthest corner of the dock. Since the dock is rotted and broken it would take a Dexterity (Acrobatics)
check DC 14 to get to the other side and retrieve the items. Then it would take another of the same
check to get back.

Area 11: The Vault

This area is where Thamas kept his most valuable treasures. It was guarded by a clay golem and a trap,
but when the clay golem went berserk and left the premises after fighting the hobgoblins.

Read or paraphrase the following aloud when the PCs arrive.

The walls of this cavern are perfectly smooth and lit by veins of crystal that glow with a reddish light.
The stone door looks as if it would fit seamlessly against the jamb. It has no handle on the outside, but
there is a carved wooden handle on the inside. The only objects within this chamber are a large black
box and the bodies of five hobgoblins, apparently freshly dead.

The light from the glowing crystal is the equivalent of torchlight. The clay golem is no longer here. It
went berserk after fighting the hobgoblins and charged off through the seacave. It will not bother the
PCs.

The box detects as magical (moderate Abjuration) and it is locked (Dexterity check DC 13) and trapped
(see description). Opening the box without the key (currently in the possession of the church of
Falengoth, along with the rest of Thamas’ items) will set off the trap.

Poison Needle: Mechanical Trap

A poisoned needle is hidden within a treasure chest’s lock, or in something else that a creature
might open. Opening the chest without the proper key causes the needle to spring out,
delivering a dose of poison. When the trap is triggered, the needle extends 3 inches straight out
from the lock. A creature within range takes 1 piercing damage and 11 (2d10) poison damage
and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour. A successful
 DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check allows a character to deduce the trap’s presence from
alterations made to the lock to accommodate the needle. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check
using thieves’ tools disarms the trap, removing the needle from the lock. Unsuccessfully
attempting to pick the lock triggers the trap.

Treasure: The box contains the following: 1,000 gp, a single ruby (worth 500 gp), a gold and platinum
gem studded music box (worth 800 gp), a divine scroll of detect good and evil, lesser restoration,
protection from poison, and spiritual weapon, a crystal mask of language (undercommon), and the third
eye of detect magic (see description). The box itself is what the PCs have come for.

The Purple Sapphire of the Black Veil: Finding the Actual Sapphire

DM Note: At some time in the travel of the PCs to the abbey the PCs should run into at least one
wandering Troll. It doesn’t matter when but sometime from leaving the town of Fiore to the Abbey.

When the PCs defeat all the monsters and obtain the box, they can return to find Arden Farleigh and
Anabelle Merkle. Anabelle wishes only the music box (if the PCs show it to her) and leaves the rest for
payment to the PCs for securing her home again.

Arden then gives the PCs their next assignment. They must go to the outskirts of the small town of
Fiore. There will be an abandoned abbey that was the home of the Black Veils gang. The ruins have not
been restored and nearly all its lands and buildings have sunk back into the fens. The abbey lies a mere
10 miles from the town of Fiore, but the locals seldom visit the place because of the trolls and other
swamp dwellers that infest the fens. Further, the area has an evil reputation as a place where the
restless dead walk.

Arden also states that the sapphire must not be touched at any costs and to place it into the box that
they got from the Merkle manor.

Abbey of the Black Veils

Characters wishing to gain more information about the Band of the Black Veils can do so in several ways.
The average citizen of Fiore can provide the following information in response to questions.

 “Everyone in the Band of the Black Veils has been dead and gone for fifty years.”
 “The leader of the bandits was Melinda McTynker. She pretended to be a local girl, but she was
probably some kind of demon spawn. It’s a fact that young men who gazed into her eyes would
do anything for her.”
 “Her whole family was cursed. Eventually we ran ‘em all outta town, ‘cause we don’t have no
truck with the likes of demons around here. Sure enough, they all went out to the swamp to
join her band.”
 “Silly folks insist that there’s still a treasure out there in the abbey. She was the type to keep
part of her money even from her friends and family. But no one’s ever found anything out there
except snakes, biting flies, trolls, and corpses of stupid treasure hunters.”
 “Oh yes, her ghost is still out there. You can see her eyes at night, hanging over the fen. The
silly adventurers who’ve gone out there thinking they’ll find her treasure have all died ‘cause
they looked into those eyes and she made ‘em jump in the water and drown themselves. The
only way to get near those eyes safely is to go up with your own eyes closed.”
Gathering Information: Charisma check

If the PCs spread around a little gold and make a successful Charisma check (DC 15), they can learn all of
the above, plus they get an account of the antics the green hag’s victims performed in town (as noted
earlier, the hag occasionally primes the pump by sending a charmed victim into town to talk about
finding treasure):

“The last folks that went out there looking for Mollie’s treasure came back a day or so later claiming
they’d found it. They said it was right there where those floating eyes of hers were looking, in a water-
filled chamber. They had some nice-looking gems with ‘em, as well as enough gold to keep a family alive
for about a year. Said they had to hire some horses and wagons to get the rest, ‘cause there was too
much to carry out by themselves. But they didn’t come back . . . we haven’t seen ’em for about three
weeks now.”

Features of the ruins:

The ground floor of the abbey church and one bell tower are all that remains today. The whole place is
covered with rubble and overgrown with ivy. Most of the roof is gone, and the crypts below have largely
collapsed and been filled in with mud from the fens and debris from the upper works of the church. The
remains of ground floor stand about 5 feet above the surrounding earth. It an easy thing, however, to
jump or climb up, either via staircases leading up from the ground or by climbing the lower walls.

The following features are common in these ruins:

Ceilings: Except in areas where the roof is intact (these are noted in the text) there are no ceilings at all.
Roofed areas have water-stained plaster ceilings about 12 feet above the floor.

Floors: The abbey church’s smooth stone floors have buckled and cracked as the building slowly
collapsed. They are extremely uneven, with many bumps and cracks; running or charging across these
floors is impossible.

Light: During the day, sunlight illuminates the ruins fairly well, except where noted otherwise. After
sundown, the ruins grow as dark as the surrounding night.

Rubble: In some areas, the floor is littered with loose masonry debris. Bipedal creatures are limited to
half speed in these areas unless they are Huge or larger.

Sinkholes: Openings in the ground formed naturally as the ruins collapsed. As a rule, they measure
about 6 feet wide and 12 to 18 feet deep. Their walls are fairly easy to climb, since they are lined with
broken masonry (Strength (Athletics) DC 5), but they lead nowhere unless they connect to a
subterranean tunnel

Subterranean Tunnels: Melinda discovered and enlarged the cramped passages under the ruins.

Walls: The walls, like the floors, are badly cracked and falling down. They’re also damp and often
covered with ivy. They are made of masonry at least a foot thick. These walls have Strength (Athletics)
DCs of 15. They are anywhere from 7 to 9 feet high in roofless areas, and 12 feet high or more in areas
where the roof remains intact.

Reinforced Masonry Wall: 12 in. thick; Hardness 8; hp 360; Break DC 45.

Area 1: Belfry

This circular chamber is a collection of bare beams and rafters, with nothing but empty space below. An
arcade of narrow, empty arches (each no wider than a human boy’s shoulders) leaves the chamber open
to the elements, as do a few holes in the roof here and there. One arch lead to a spiral staircase of rain-
slick stone curving down.

A rickety catwalk leads from the top of the spiral staircase to the chamber’s center, where it ends in
midair. Above the catwalk, farther up than a tall human can reach, is a structure of exceptionally heavy
beams radiating out from a central hub like a colossal wagon wheel. Massive bronze hangers, green with
age, adorn the spokes of the wheel. Chimes and small bells dangle from some of the hangers, but most
are empty.

Ivy growing on the tower’s exterior has invaded this chamber, festooning the walls and beams with leafy
green.

This chamber once housed the bells for the abbey’s church. Most of the bells are long gone, stripped
away by the bandits who sacked the abbey.

The ivy grows in here naturally. Creatures of Tiny or smaller size can pass freely though the arches
ringing the chamber. Creatures of Small or Medium-size can squeeze through as a move-equivalent
action.

The hag Melinda, with assistance from charmed victims, has converted the belfry into a deadly trap.

Net and Pit trap:

mechanical; location trigger; repair reset; Dexterity saving throw (DC 16) avoids; 60 ft. drop (6d6
damage, fall plus 1d6 damage, weighted net); multiple targets (all in chamber); pit bottom trap;
Intelligence (Investigation) (DC 16); Dexterity check (DC 18).

Notes: A large net hangs from the beams, concealed by the ivy. Anyone weighing more than 15 lb. who
walks on the catwalk triggers the trap. Another trigger cord lies concealed atop the beams near the
chamber’s center.

When the trap is triggered, a net large enough to fill the entire chamber, weighted with 5,500 lb. of
stones tied along the edges, falls from the rafters. Anyone under the net must make a Dexterity save (DC
16). Those who fail become entangled in the net and are dragged downward along with it. Success
indicates that the subject has managed to evade the net or hold onto something (or both), so as to avoid
being dragged down.

The circular net has a slit that allows it to drop past the catwalk without snagging on it; a pleat in the net
catches and entangles creatures on the catwalk.

Creatures entangled in the net drop 40 feet to area 2, where they break through the pit cover and drop
another 20 feet to the water in area 2A. The impact of the net inflicts 1d6 points of damage and the
subsequent fall inflicts 6d6 points of damage.

Any creature entangled in the net also suffers a –2 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to effective
Dexterity. The entangled creature can move only at half speed and cannot charge or run. Unless the
entangled creature can drag 5,500 lb., the net’s weights holds it immobile. If the entangled creature
attempts to cast a spell, it must first succeed at a Concentration check (DC 15).

The entangled creature can escape with a Dexterity check (DC 15) made as a full-round action. The net
has 10 hit points and can be burst with a Strength check (DC 20, also a full-round action).

The net is useful only against creatures between Tiny and Large size, inclusive.

Creatures: Two Will-o’-Wisps lurk here.

Tactics: As the moon sets each night, the wisps simply hang outside two of the arches on the east side of
the chamber and glow, thus masquerading as the “eyes” of Mollie McTynker. They become invisible and
retreat into the network of beams when they note anyone approaching the belfry or entering area 2. If
the interloper does not trigger the trap, the wisps trigger it themselves (by severing the trigger cord with
an electrical zap). They attack anyone who evades the trap.

During the day, the will-o’-wisps hide among the beams, invisible. One dozes while the other keeps
watch. If anyone enters the belfry, they follow the tactics noted above, except that one wisp rings the
bells and chimes remaining in the belfry to raise the alarm.

In a fight, the wisps attack the foe who seems weakest first.

The will-o’-wisps relish their recent successes, but they know when to quit. They become invisible and
flee if reduced to 10 hit points or less, unless they face only a single foe at that time.

Area 2: Tower Ground Floor

A mound of old leaves, twigs, and bits of stone covers the floor in this circular chamber. Here and there,
bits of crystal glitter in the debris—probably shards of glass from the chamber’s broken windows, which
are now blocked by masses of ivy. Just to the right of the chamber’s entrance, a closed stairwell with a
stone spiral staircase leads up.

Though it’s dark here, light filtering down reveals the remains of a wood-and-plaster ceiling some 12 or
15 feet above the chamber floor. Beyond that, only stone walls are visible, rising a good bow shot up to
a network of wooden rafters high above. The only apparent opening in the staircase (besides the one
here on the ground floor) seems to be at a catwalk just below the beams.

This chamber originally served as the bell-ringing chamber. Many ropes and cords hung down from the
belfry, 40 feet above, through a false ceiling, and dangled here.

When Mollie McTynker’s bandits took over the abbey, they broke loose the larger bells and let them fall,
destroying the ceiling here. They sold most of the smaller bells and broke up the larger ones for scrap.

Today, one can look from here all the way up into the belfry (area 1). At night, light comes from the will-
o’-wisps in the belfry. By day, sunlight shines down through the open ceiling.

Trap: This chamber is not as innocent as it seems at first glance. The hag Melinda has used the labor of
many charmed victims to excavate the floor, leaving it open to the flooded crypt below (area 2A) A
lattice of ivy branches covered with dead leaves and small bits of debris from the ruins has converted
the chamber floor into a pit trap
 Covered Pit: mechanical; location trigger; repair reset; Dexterity saving throw (DC 20) avoids; 20
ft. deep (2d6 damage, fall); multiple targets (all in chamber); pit bottom trap; Intelligence
(Investigate) (DC 15); Dexterity check (DC 15). Market Price: 1,600 gp.

Notes: Any weight of 15 lb. or more collapses the cover, dumping the victims 20 feet into area 2A. The
fall inflicts 2d6 points of damage, but the victim plummets into the deep water in area 2A. Characters
already entangled in the net (see area 1) when they fall into this pit are not entitled to saving throws to
avoid it.

Creatures: No creatures live here, but the will-o’-wisps in area 1 keep watch.

Tactics: The will-o’-wisps drop the net in area 1 onto anyone they notice poking around below.
Characters in this chamber when the net falls must success at Dexterity saves (DC 16) or become
entangled in the net, which drags them into the pit. The impact of the net and the fall inflict a total of
3d6 points of subdual damage.

Development: If the will-o’-wisps in area 1 notice anything going on down here, they signal the hag in
area 5 by “blinking” or by ringing the chimes in the belfry.

Area 2a: Tower Pit

This area once served as part of the crypts below the abbey church. It is now isolated from what remains
of the crypts (thanks to the building’s general collapse) and flooded to a depth of 10 feet. The surface of
the water is 20 feet below the pit cover. This area serves as the bottom of the net and pit trap in areas 1
and 2.

Flooded Pit: CR 5; mechanical; location trigger; automatic reset; multiple targets (all in pit);
never-miss; onset delay (0 rounds); water; Intelligence (Investigate) (DC 15); Dexterity check (DC
15). Market Price: 12,500 gp.

Notes: Characters who fall into the deep water here while entangled in the net from area 1 immediately
sink to the bottom. They must escape the net before they can swim to the surface. Escape Artist checks
made underwater are at a –2 penalty to the DC (see area 1) unless the character is under a freedom of
movement effect.

The bottom of the pit is littered with bones (the remains of past victims), and perhaps even a bloated
corpse or two.

Area 3: Large Sinkholes

Gaping holes mark places where the upper works of the old abbey church have collapsed into the
flooded crypts below. The three sinkholes drop 20 feet to an underground pool that is connected to the
surrounding fens. There’s nothing here now, but a Intelligence (Investigate) or a Wisdom (Survival)
check DC 14 reveals a few slimy footprints.

The bog mummies from area 4 made the footprints. They use the sinkholes to move between the ruins
and the fens. Once the group locates these prints, characters can follow the trail to area 4 (Wisdom
(Survival) check DC 14).
Area 4: Ruined Alter

The remains of the church’s altar, despoiled when Mollie McTynker’s bandits took over the abbey, still
stand on a dais here. The altar itself has been thoroughly smashed, and its shards are now festooned
with toadstools. The roof overhead is largely intact.

Creatures: Several bog mummies always lurk near the altar. They are the remnants of brothers of the
abbey killed during the bandit attack and thrown into the fens. One of Molly’s henchmen later exhumed
the bodies and turned them into undead.

Bog Mummies: See separate stats. The bog mummies are the same as regular mummies but
have immunity to fire instead of vulnerability to fire.

Tactics: The mummies usually lurk behind (east) of the altar and shamble out to attack anyone who
comes within 20 feet, except for Melinda, the hag from area 5.

Development: Melinda contrives to get a good look at the mummies each day, so that he need not fear
their dreadful glare power in the event that he has to pass by this area in a hurry. The mummies, for
their part, have long since ceased to regard the hag as an enemy.

Area 5: Melinda’s Chambers

These areas once served as the abbot’s lodgings and later as quarters for Melinda McTynker and her,
now deceased, lieutenants. The rooms are roofless today (except for area 5b), with floors covered with
rubble and ivy vines

Area 5a: Melinda’s Lookout

The piles of rubble here provide Melinda with an excellent lookout post.

Creature: Each night, Melinda, hunkers down in the rubble here to keep watch on area 1.

Melinda McTynker: Green Hag (see stats on separate sheet). The equipment that she is
carrying is two potions of flying, two potions of heal (4d4+4), and two potions of speed.

Tactics: Melinda first will use her Illusory Appearance feature to fool the characters that she is a towns
folk that was captured and held captive by the ghost of Melinda McTynker. Her Mimicry ability will
allow her to sound like a young woman. If that doesn’t work, she will fall back to her Invisible Passage
feature to disappear, drink her potion of haste, and hide in the flooded sinkholes to swim away.
Melinda tries to stay out of a fight if she can. If she has been injured in any way, she will drink her
potion of heal and if she is extremely desperate, she will drink her potion of flying to get away.

Area 5b: Melinda’s Lair

This chamber has a mostly intact roof and a working fireplace. The chamber contains a loose nest made
from twigs and marsh reeds and a stack of firewood.

Creature: Melinda snoozes here during the daylight hours.

Tactics: Melinda is likely to sleep through almost any daytime disturbance except a bell or chime
sounding in area 1, someone actually entering his complex of rooms. Once alerted to trouble, Melinda
follows the tactics noted in area 5A.

Treasure: Melinda carries his magic items with him, in a small pack strapped to a belt around her waist.
Behind a loose stone near the fireplace is a niche holding two oddly cut diamonds (small, clear ovals
with prism-shaped hollows) worth 100 gp each.

An Intelligence (Investigation) check DC 15 around the fireplace reveals the niche. The PCs can find the
niche automatically if they pull down all the loose stone in the chamber, but this requires an hour’s
work.

Area 6: Library

The walls of this roofless, circular chamber are lined with empty shelves. Empty scroll cases litter the
floor along with leaves, scraps of paper, and a few rotting books. A huge fireplace dominates the
southeast wall. In front of the fireplace stand two sections of a fireplace screen, separated by about a
foot. The screen consists of two curtains of black iron mesh (now very rusty) held in blackened metal
frames of unusual design.

Though the chamber seems empty, the treasure of Mollie McTynker lies here.

Treasure: When positioned together, the metalwork designs on the fireplace screen resemble the top
half of a woman’s face. The metal sockets where the eyes should be are empty. The mesh curtains
resemble a veil covering the lower half of the woman’s face.

Each eye socket of this fireplace screen once held a diamond. When properly assembled and placed in
front of a roaring fire, these gems concentrated the firelight into two beams that converged on a
flagstone on the floor. Tripping the hidden catch (Intelligence (Investigate) DC 18) on this stone opens it
and reveals Melinda McTynker’s treasure vault. Without the converging beams of light, it’s next to
impossible to find the correct flagstone (Intelligence (Investigate) DC 25).

The diamonds are currently in the possession of Melinda, who took them from her lieutenant. The hag
keeps them hidden in area 5B. No other gems produce the desired effect, since these two were cut
specially to focus light. The sockets in the screen are made to hold the gems at a slight downward angle.

Once the PCs open the vault, a glittering treasure awaits them: three golden bracelets (55 gp each), six
small gold candlesticks (50 gp each), a gold chalice with rubies (5,000 gp), three silver chalices (75 gp
each), 10 large silver candlesticks (25 gp each), a golden censer (1,000 gp), two silver censers (150 gp
each), 300 pp, and a sealed silver casket. The casket is worth 100 gp all by itself. Inside lies a large purple
sapphire.

The PCs must put the sapphire into the box that they found in the Merkle manor. If the PCs touch the
sapphire, they must make a Wisdom save DC 20 or gain a -10 to all die rolls until a successful remove
curse is cast on the PC.
Ending the Adventure:

When they retrieve the purple sapphire, they can return to Arden to give it to him and receive a reward
from him of 3,000 gp for group. He thanks them for their help and offers his assistance on any business
adventure that they need him on.
 CHARACTER SUMMARY RACE, BACKGROUND, CLASS & FEATS v2.27

Merkle Manor Orc Defender, Fighter 5 (Battle Master) RACE. Orc

Medium humanoid (orc), neutral evil • +2 Strength, +1 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
ARMOR CLASS 14 HIT POINTS 44 Remaining • Size. Medium
• Speed. 30ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
• Darkvision 60ft
ABILITY SCORES 16 +3 13 +1 14 +2 10 +0 11 +0 11 +0 • Aggressive. as a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

SAVING THROWS +6 +1 +5 +0 +0 +0 that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.
SKILLS • Menacing. you are trained in the Intimidation skill.
● Acrobatics +4 ○ Insight +0 ○ Performance +0 • Powerful Build. one size larger when determining carrying capacity and push, drag or lift weight
● Animal Handling +3 ● Intimidation +3 ○ Persuasion +0 • Language. Common, Orc
○ Arcana +0 ○ Investigation +0 ○ Religion +0
● Athletics +6 ○ Medicine +0 ○ Sleight of Hand +1 BACKGROUND. Soldier
○ Deception +0 ○ Nature +0 ○ Stealth +1 • Region. Kerell
○ History +0 ● Perception +3 ○ Survival +0 • Feature. Military Rank
Resistances You have a military rank from your career as a soldier. Soldiers loyal to your former military
Senses passive Perception 13, Darkvision 60ft organization still recognize your authority and influence, and they defer to you if they are of
Languages Common, Orc a lower rank.
Carrying 0 lb Max. Carry Weight 480 lb Push, Drag, Lift³ 960 lb • Specialty. Infantry
• Skills. Athletics, Intimidation
ACTIONS Attacks 2 Initiative +1 Speed 30 ft • Tools. One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)
Great club • Lifestyle. Modest, 1 gp per day
Simple Melee: +6 to hit, range -. Hit: 1d8+3 bludgeoning • Languages. none
Properties: proficient, two-handed
Longbow CLASS. Fighter
Martial Ranged: +4 to hit, range 150/600. Hit: 1d8+1 piercing • Armor. All armor, shields
Properties: proficient, ammunition, heavy, two-handed • Weapons. Simple and martial weapons
• Tools. none
• Saves. Strength, Constitution
• Skills. Choose 2 from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation,
Perception and Survival
• Fighting Style (Great Weapon Fighting)
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage roll using a melee attack with a two-handed or versatile
melee weapon with two hands, you can reroll the die. You must use the new roll
• Second Wind
On your turn, use a bonus action to regain 1d10+5 hit points. Regain ability after a short
or long rest
• Action Surge (One Use)
On your turn, take one additional action. Regain ability after a short or long rest
• Martial Archetype (Battle Master)
• Martial Archetype Feature (Student of War)
SPELLCASTING 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Gain proficiency with one type of artisan’s tools of your choice
Pact Magic

DC SPELL SLOTS - - - - - - - - - • Martial Archetype Feature (Combat Superiority)

SLOTS USED - Superiority Dice - 4d8
- 3 Maneuvers - use only one maneuver per attack (DC14)
L NAME PREPARED/KNOWN CAST RANGE DURATION COMPONENT TYPE
»Select…

»Select…

»Select…

• Ability Score Improvement / Feat: Level 4

• Extra Attack

ABILITY SCORE IMPROVEMENT & FEATS

• Great Weapon Master - Fighter 4
- On your turn, when you score a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduce a creature to 0 hit
points with one, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action.
- Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can
choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, add +10 to the attack’s damage