HARVEST OF SORROW
Encounter Level: 5th - 7th called GoL) is upside down, and its colors are
Encounter Type: Combat, Social, Exploration
Encounter Overview: The party encounters a
ritual sacrifice, disguised as a celebration/feast.
Encounters Location: Any wooded environment
BACKGROUND
On its way somewhere, the party stumbles upon a
mansion, where a celebration of an equinox of
spring is happening. There, a small cult of the god
of undeath takes place, in a sinister roleplay that
intends to mock the god of life. In truth, a servant
of the Demon Lord of Undeath intends to sacrifice
the guests in a ritual.
Magnus (he/him, NE human mage), is a servant
of the Demon Lord of Undeath (henceforth called
DLoU). During his lifetime, he has experienced a
heavy load of trauma. Unable to deal with it, he’s
turned his gaze towards doom and the extinction of
life itself as the final solution for the grievances of
living. For the past three years, as a way to
strengthen the bond with his master, Magnus has
staged a mockery celebration of the god of life that
culminates in a sacrificial ritual, offering the lives
of those in attendance to the demon lord of
undeath. The mockery is subtle, as is his trickery. It
consists of a feast that pretends to celebrate the
equinox of spring and the bountiful harvests it
brings, but it happens on the last day of autumn,
beginning of winter, season of cold, death and
scarcity. The symbol of the God of Life (henceforth
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inverted. The celebration happens at night, on a
full moon, instead of in the light. The mansion was
stolen, its former owners killed, their grounds
desecrated. Even the flowers were picked from the
earth and hung there, dying... As the full moon
reaches its zenith, the dead rise and the real feast
begins. A feast on the living.
THE ENCOUNTER
At some point during the party’s travel through a
wooded environment, read or paraphrase:
As the sun sets calmly in the west, the fresh air of the
evening brings the sweet scent of baked pie and boar,
through the gentle wind. A well-maintained road
goes slightly north, uphill. The vegetation itself
seems to gradually change into a more dense, darker
green. Over the hill and far away, the tip of a
chimney can be seen, venting out some thin smoke
that seems to be the source of the delightful smell
A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Religion) check
reveals that the symbol belongs to a GoL.
Any character can roll for an Intelligence
(Investigation) check. A character who succeeded
on the Religion check above to identify the GoL
symbol has the opportunity to uncover an
additional piece of information, tagged as “*”.
Consult the table below to identify which DC the
character reaches. The information is cumulative,
meaning that reaching higher DCs allows learning
the information from lower DCs.
Battle Events
DC Reached Information
The road had been traveled
recently by a few people. A discreet
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welcome sign can be seen 30
meters ahead.
Around ten people traveled the
road, a cart/wagon too, a week or
15
so ago. The welcome sign has a
Symbol of GoL.
There are braziers kept alit
20 through the woods for no
discernible reason.
The symbol of GoL is upside-
* down and, coincidentally or not,
its colors are reversed.
If the party goes toward the house, read or
paraphrase:
Going uphill, the party continues unperturbed
through the silent night. As it approaches the
clearing, a well-kept mansion unfolds. Its doors are
wide open all the way a, revealing a huge table inside,
where apparently a small feast is happening.
Although the windows have tasteful stained glass,
black velvet curtains are closed, revealing only the
wavering light of fire and candlelight. Crowns of
autumn flowers decorate the walls and windows. A
barn can be observed around the back, through the
right side, with plenty of haystack piled around it. To
the left of the main door, a tall thin man stands
beside a simple wooden table, which has a silver tin,
clean towels, two woodcutting axes, a pitchfork and
three beautiful swords upon it. He’s unarmed, dressed
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 in fine clothing with no jewelry, he smiles widely as
he sees the group, opens his arms, bows reverently
and says:
“All be welcome to the feast! Let us celebrate life, let
us celebrate its bounty, for it is certain and it is for all
of us that live!”
Check the table below and match it against the
passive Perception of the characters to see what
they notice.
Passive Information
Perception
One of the sheaths in one of the
swords, has a herald on it. An axe
15 and an executioner’s hood. It
belongs to a wealthy and
important family of the region
The family in question is called
The Sullivans, keepers of the
Whitehold. The family has been
20
supplying the lord of the region
with executioners for the last 5
generation
DM Note
The bounty of life, which is certain and for all of us,
is death. This and all of the subtle hints are part of a
philosophy, not a litany or moto, it is up to the
players to realize that, not their characters
INTERACTING WITH MAGNUS
Magnus didn’t expect a party of adventures as
guests, but it doesn’t matter. All living flesh tastes
the same for the demon lord, and trying to keep
them at bay would only risk warning the guests.
The more, the merrier. Magnus avoids directly
lying to the party, for he knows his time is short
and intends to fulfill his promise to his dreadful
patron. To be caught lying would be unwise,
instead, he rather feeds them vague information
and half-truths, pretending to be concerned with
the good continuation of the feast and comfort of
the guests. He’s pretending to hold a feast in honor
of GoL, but if confronted about it, he says that he’s
indeed celebrating the fulfillment of the promises
of the glorious cycle of life–which always ends in
death–though he leaves that part out. He makes
statements such as “glory to the one that grants us
eternal peace, to the great one, which provides us
with what we really need and covers the world
with what suffices”.
Very skilled in the use of euphemisms, Magnus is
evasive, discreet, always appearing to be talking
about a good and merciful god, while dispensing
his understanding of what in his belief is the real
benefit of mortality: death.
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The host invites the party to leave their weapons
at the table, to ensure the “tranquility of the event
and peace of mind of all present” (specially his
own). He insists on it, exemplifying that everyone
who had tools or weapons left it outside, even the
“lord guest and his companions”. Invoking common
courtesy and reminding the party that they are
guests and he’s the owner, showing that it would be
extremely impolite and menacing to insist to be
armed in someone else's home is his preferred
strategy, but he won’t take action to force the party
to comply. He does what it takes to drag the night
until midnight, when the undead rise to sate their
hunger. He claims he owns the house, not saying
how he acquired it, which was by killing and
stealing from the original owners.
The servant of the DLoU also doesn’t claim to be
a priest of any sort, instead, he claims being a
grateful devout, wanting to show appreciation for
the bountiful cycle of life. He uses the fact that this
is an “unofficial event that he promotes every year”,
to repel any argument or question about “why’s the
symbol upside down” or anything that the party is
suspicious of. He has no official obligation to the
expectations of his guests and they are free to not
partake into the activities. If the party chooses to
accept the invitation however, he insists that after
10 o'clock, all must remain at the house until
midnight, when he serves the main course (the
guests) before providing them accommodations for
the night (their graves).
The noble guest (noble) at the mansion is
someone whose family wronged Magnus' father
and against whom Magnus has a personal score to
settle. Accompanied by two swordsmen
(veterans), Magnus has manipulated them into a
friendship with him, unaware of his intentions. All
three are prone to side with and defend Magnus in
case anything uncourteous happens towards him
during the feast, even taking up arms if necessary.
THE MANSION
The house has a broad dining room, with a broad
table for 20 people, a kitchen with a small storage
room behind it and a bedroom (locked, the key
remains in Magnus pocket at all times). The
bathroom is a small construction near the barn,
outside at the back of the mansion. All the
windows of the house, except for those in the
living room are discreetly nailed shut by the inside.
Other rooms are hidden behind the mechanism on
a bookshelf, in Magnus' room. The mechanism
opens a secret door to his alchemical lab and stair
for a tunnel that leads to a crypt underground.
As the party enters the mansion, read or
paraphrase:
As you pass through the heavy doors, it reveals a rich
environment. The table is set for twenty-two people
and twelve of those seats are occupied. At the far end
of the table, a beautiful set of full plate rests
assembled as if part of the decoration. The dark steel
 has clearly seen better days. Around its chest, four
arrow holes have a silver medallion intertwined,
forming some sort of weaving.
At the right side, what seems to be a nobleman
drinks wine from an exquisite glass cup with two
men of arms. The rest of the guests seem to be of
varied backgrounds. Some with rough hands and
poor clothes, others with embroidered silk. All seem
to ignore those differences, drinking and laughing
loudly. There are six people that appear to be
working as staff at the event, are all stunningly
beautiful and dressed in provocative clothing, as if in
a brothel. They come and go, flirting with the guests
and partaking of the food and drinks. Smaller tables
and couches are spread throughout the room, with
caskets of wine and barrels of beer. At the table,
bread, boar, fresh fruits and stew. The host remains
at the door, waiting for more guests.
A detect magic spell reveals that the medallion has a
faint light. It’s in fact a trigger that unleashed the
incantation on the armor, making it a construct
(animated armor, see “The Combat”). The phrase
that triggers it is “That is not dead which can eternal
lie, and with strange Aeons even death may die.”
If asked about the armor, Magnus responds that it
belonged to his murdered father, that it saddens
him to talk about it and that this is his way of
“making his father partake on the feast from
beyond the grave”. He avoids to elaborate further.
THE RISE OF THE DEAD
Around two minutes to midnight, as the moon
approaches its zenith, Magnus calls upon the guests
for them to observe the climax of the feast, going
outside.
As the party exits the mansion, read or
paraphrase:
All the guests and servants joyfully exit the mansion.
In a drunk stupor, they stumble forward laughing
and singing, looking up in wonder to the beautiful
moon that seems to be particularly closer, ruling the
night sky. Myriads of stars and its constellations
make this one a very clear night.
A strong gust of wind suddenly set all the guests in
silence, as Magnus lifts his finger towards the moon
and chants:
“Behold my friends, behold the light that shines in
the dark! It is not the end of the cycle, but the
beginning of the truest one! For not life or death is
being celebrated here, but the life of the dead.
Undeath! That is not dead which can eternal lie, and
with strange Aeons even death may die.”
The nobleman, Lord Sullivan, points up towards the
moon while the remaining guests look at each other
confused. He shouts:
“What in the name of…”
In the sky, flying towards the group, four winged
horrors come down screaming songs of death.
 COMBAT REWARDS
Magnus backs off and lets the dead do his work. Aside from any XP from combat, if the party
While speaking the phrase that triggers the engages in roleplay situations with Magnus and the
combat, the armor at the table is animated and goes guests, award them XP equal to a Medium
towards its master to protect him, acting as a encounter. If the party risks themselves to help
bodyguard. The undead harpies will at first NPCs, award them XP equal to a Hard encounter.
randomly attack the guests, including the party. If
attacked, they focus their attention on the CREDITS
attackers. Five ghouls rise from the pumpin field
and silently move toward the party. Author: Ricardo Andrade, Christian Zeuch
The nobleman and his two swordsmen will also Editor: Ricardo Andrade
enter the fray, once they realize Magnus is not Cartographer: Jeremy Kemberling
their friend. All three of them attack Magnus and
his animated bodyguard. Art: Oliver Denker, SugaBom86, Corey Johnston
Magnus fully intends to live. Once the fight starts
to turn sour, he tries to flee to his room and uses a
spell scroll of teleportation circle. He can be back at a
later stage to get revenge from the party.
Find below the list of creatures involved in the
fight:
• Magnus, a mage
• His animated armor with the below modifications:
• It has 66 hit points
• It deals an additional 10 necrotic damage on a hit
with its slam attack
• It is CR 3
• A noble and two veterans, fighting Magnus and his
bodyguard
• Four undead harpies, with the below modifications:
• They have the Undead Fortitude trait.
• Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the harpy to
0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving
throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless
the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a
success, the harpy drops to 1 hit point instead.
• They deal an additional 5 necrotic damage on a
hit with a claw attack
• Four ghouls with the below modifications:
• They can take Hide as a Bonus Action.
• They don’t provoke attacks of opportunity from a
creature they attacked in that turn.
OUTCOMES:
Some of the possible outcomes are listed below:
• The party manages to kill the monsters and save the
nobleman, who promises them a handsome reward of
500 gp and an uncommon magic item for the heroic
endeavor.
• The party finds the spell scroll of teleportation, which
is linked to a specific place that Magnus planned to
escape, and find themselves in trouble after using it.
This opens up possibilities for future adventures.
• The characters take the corpses of the people to town
afterwards and get rewarded by the nobleman’s family
for bringing them back so they can be properly buried.
The reward consists of 100 gp.
• The group escapes the fight and leaves the others to
certain death.
• Magnus manages to escape and plots his revenge.

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