Martyn Patrick / Portfolio
Way Of the Wicked: The Horn Of Abaddon
Background
What are a bunch of freshly escaped prisoners to do in a town of Lawful Good citizens and soldiers who are looking for them?
The church of St.Dothan is an encounter I run for my villains early on in Way of the Wicked, they will have just escaped the worst prison in Talingarde and the next phase of the book is a somewhat awkwardly thrown in dungeon that their new dark master (who helped them escape from prison) tells them to go into in order to test them. Personally, I think an Asmodian mastermind should be a little more cunning than that. Instead I throw out the dungeon and introduce the town of Varyston (a town that is mentioned but has all but a line to describe it and it never comes up again in the adventure.)
I have the town fully fleshed out as a living breathing place so when my players first arrive in Varyston they arrive with one mission. Buy equipment. The only complication to that is that they are wanted fugitives, with death sentences. As this is the case our villains are under-cover which makes this optional heist risky but not impossible. Afterall this is the lawful good kingdom of Talingarde no one would ever dream of stealing from a church surely! It's exactly because no one expects to find our Villains here in the town and especially not within the church they can succeed.
When the players arrive in town one of the first things they have the chance to encounter is daily mid-day mass. Mitra, the shining lord is the dominant religion (to the extent that other forms of religion are all but extinct on the island.) As such the point where the sun is highest in the sky is a sacred time indeed. If the players attend the mass, ask around about the church, listen in on conversations or if they even asked at the Manor. They will soon learn that the town despite being a backwater that is only notable for the infamous salt mines. Surprisingly boasts a relic of Saint Dothan a sword made from the purest Mithril and blessed by the Saint's touch it was a gift from the ancient dwarves of the region. Functionally the weapon is a +1 longsword that behaves as if it were made from Mithril AND Fire-forged steel.
Stealing the sword is entirely optional however just how often do you get to steal the prized relic of a lawful good church in dungeons and dragons! And even if the players decide to play it safe and not steal the item, Varyston will still be useful to them later on as their dark master has them return while he trains them to be something beyond standard adventurers.
The Church's Design
The make up of the church is fairly simple, it's a public building and therefore isn't very secure however Farther Karbold Vyte (a level 5 cleric) lives within it and has 2 other acolytes to help out around the church during the day. Karbold is you're typical fire and brimstone preacher and a respected member of the local community. He has taken to wearing armor under his robes of late, his dreams have been of dark shadows and he belives Mitra has granted him a vision of the coming darkness (our pcs.) He sees their escape from Branderascar as a sign from Mitra, and if the town does not heed him the devils in the shadows will bring ruin to Talingarde.
So what you have is a very dangerous (and slightly paranoid) foe in Karbold the threat of the acolytes is very minor being only level 1 clerics they can be dropped in a single well planned strike. However the security of the church itself is actually very poor, during the day the sword is kept on full display in a glass case on the front podium it's never left unattended (unless the pcs create some sort of diversion.) The glass case is locked by a DC 30 lock so it's unlikely the players will be able to get it out unless they manage to secure the key from Farther Karbold first.
The only other room open to the public is a small office where Farther Karbold and his acolytes manage church affairs and where the common folk of the town receive his counsel, deal with accounts or have him read/write letters. Aside from some mundane records the only other things of note in the office are a window (wooden shutter) and a locked door (DC 20). That leads to Farther Karbold's room which is where the sword is stored at night, hidden in a cupboard in a glass case locked with a only DC 20 lock (or yet again his key.) The night is beyond the best time to get the key without bloodshed, as Karbold himself will be alone and his acolyte's go to their own homes within the town.
The Mitran church is one of the main antagonists to our villains and as such my players are often willing to get their hands dirty. That said, Karbold is obviously armed and given the power of the Mitran church our Level 2 Villains should beware when tangling with him (and if they don't I have the opportunity to teach them a lesson without too harshly punishing them.) The players have a week to plan and execute their heist and I use it as an opportunity to let them dip their toes in the sandbox of Villainy my version of Way Of The Wicked is. If they steal the sword, I make sure that when they next return they hear of gossip of who the townfolk think did it and how outraged they are. And that if Farther Karbold is still alive, his fire and brimstone sermons are only redoubled infact the poor priest seems to have lost his marbles a bit and as he starts acting hostile to anyone new in town (very usual for a Mitran Priest.)