Session 70
Session Themes
This session should feel different from the resurrection ritual.
The previous session was about:
- Loss
- Hope
- Failure
This session is about:
- Investigation
- Unease
- Discovery
- Realising the threat is larger than anyone imagined
The party failed to save one child.
Now they discover there are many more at risk.
ACT 1 – The Morning After
Opening Scene
Allow the players a few moments to discuss the previous evening.
The failed ritual should still weigh heavily on them.
The Temple of Dannan feels subdued.
The roots that pulsed with life now lie still.
Priests move quietly through the halls.
No bells ring.
No hymns are sung.
Even the earth itself seems contemplative.
Optional Scene: Venrieth
If the party visits the temple before beginning their day, Venrieth receives them privately.
Read Aloud
High Priestess Venrieth stands within one of the temple gardens.
Ancient roots rise through the earth around her.
Her hands are stained with soil.
She has clearly been working through the night.
Not praying.
Searching.
Studying.
Trying to understand.
She does not look up immediately.
Instead, she speaks to the earth beneath her feet.
"Stone remembers."
A pause.
"Roots remember."
Only then does she turn toward the party.
"Yet there are moments when memory itself is obscured."
What Venrieth Knows
Venrieth believes:
- The ritual should have succeeded.
- Something interfered.
- She cannot prove it.
- The resistance came from outside the ritual.
She may tell the party:
"Something stood at the threshold."
"Not the child."
"Something else."
"Something that wanted the door left open."
This should be unsettling.
She cannot identify what it was.
Yet.
ACT 2 – The Ranger's Discovery
Read Aloud
As the morning progresses, the ranger's avian companion returns from its night-long vigil.
Rainwater clings to its feathers.
It lands nearby.
Restless.
Unsettled.
The bird followed the woman from the inn.
From rooftop to rooftop.
From chimney to chimney.
She returned home safely.
Nothing happened for hours.
Then shortly before dawn—
Someone arrived.
The figure never approached the house.
Never knocked.
Never spoke.
They simply stood across the street.
Watching.
Waiting.
For nearly an hour.
When the stranger finally departed, the bird followed.
The figure moved through twisting alleys and forgotten streets before disappearing into one of the oldest districts of Danu.
Near the river.
Near foundations older than the city itself.
And then—
They were simply gone.
ACT 3 – Elara Thornwell
Finding the House
The bird can guide the party back to the Weaver's Quarter.
The neighbourhood is modest.
Narrow streets.
Colourful hanging fabrics.
Small workshops.
Working families.
Life continuing despite hardship.
Read Aloud
A small townhouse sits between a dyer's workshop and a cobbler's store.
Its curtains remain tightly shut.
Despite the daylight.
The door opens only slightly when someone knocks.
A tired woman peers through the gap.
The moment she sees the ranger's companion perched nearby, recognition flashes across her face.
Then suspicion.
Initial Roleplay
Elara immediately asks:
"Why were you following me?"
Allow the party to explain.
Eventually she calms enough to invite them inside.
Elara's Story
Elara Thornwell
Human seamstress.
Widowed.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
Protective.
Missing Child
Her son:
Rowan Thornwell
Age: 9
Missing for three nights.
No ransom.
No witnesses.
No body.
No answers.
The City Watch believes he ran away.
She knows he did not.
The Dreams
Eventually the conversation turns toward Rowan's nightmares.
Elara retrieves a bundle of folded parchment.
Children's drawings.
Dozens of them.
Every single one depicts the same scene.
Read Aloud
The drawings are crude.
Simple charcoal sketches.
Yet every page shows the same terrible vision.
A city beneath a sky devoid of stars.
Buildings burning.
People fleeing.
Creatures swarming through the streets.
And towering over everything—
A colossal shadow.
Watching.
Waiting.
Coming.
Investigation DC 13
The creatures change between drawings.
Too many limbs.
Too many eyes.
Impossible proportions.
The child never drew them exactly the same way twice.
Insight DC 13
These are not imaginative stories.
The child believed every word.
Religion DC 15
Nothing resembles any known fiend, demon, devil, undead or aberration.
At least not one recognised by conventional teachings.
Rowan's Vision
Elara explains:
"He said they came from everywhere."
"The forests."
"The roads."
"The rivers."
"Even the ground."
"Like the city was drowning in monsters."
She unfolds the final drawing.
A massive silhouette towers above the city.
Larger than any castle.
Larger than any dragon.
Its shape seems wrong.
Almost impossible to focus on.
"He said they followed it."
Silence.
"And the night before he vanished..."
Her voice falters.
"He said it saw him."
The Final Words
If asked:
"He woke crying."
"Not screaming."
"Crying."
"And he kept saying..."
Pause.
"It knows I'm dreaming."
"And now it knows where I am."
ACT 4 – Following the Watcher
The party now has two mysteries:
- Rowan's disappearance
- The stranger watching the house
Investigation Skill Challenge
Goal
Determine where the watcher went.
Success Requirement
4 successes before 3 failures.
Suggested Skills
- Survival
- Investigation
- Perception
- Insight
- Stealth
Success
The party discovers:
The stranger travelled repeatedly between:
- Weaver's Quarter
- River District
- Abandoned warehouses
They were conducting surveillance.
Not random movement.
Failure
The party still reaches the warehouse district.
However cultists have already begun destroying evidence.
Additional enemies appear later.
ACT 5 – Warehouse 17
Read Aloud
The warehouse stands abandoned.
Its windows boarded.
Its roof partially collapsed.
The river fog curls around it like grasping fingers.
Despite the decay—
Someone has been here recently.
Exploration
Inside:
- Children's blankets
- Wooden toys
- Food supplies
- Water barrels
- Charcoal drawings
Many drawings.
All depicting:
- The black sky
- The creatures
- The giant shadow
Not just Rowan's.
Many children saw the same thing.
Discovery
A hidden trapdoor beneath stacked crates.
Below:
A concealed cellar.
The Cellar
The smell of damp earth is overwhelming.
Candles burn with pale blue flames.
The walls are covered in notes.
Maps.
Names.
Drawings.
Observations.
Journal Fragments
"The dreaming children are easiest to find."
"The visions are increasing."
"The Sleepless Host gathers."
"The Veiled One stirs."
"Prepare the vessels."
Important Discovery
Lists of missing children.
Including:
Rowan Thornwell
Beside his name:
"Confirmed Dreamer"
ACT 6 – Cultist Ambush
The cult returns.
They were not guarding the warehouse.
They were guarding what lies beneath.
Encounter
4 Dream-Touched Cultists
I would run:
- 4 Dream-Touched Cultists
- 1 Dream Speaker
- 1 Nightmare Manifestation (summoned during combat, not present initially)
This creates a dynamic encounter without overwhelming action economy.
Dream-Touched Cultist
Medium humanoid (any race), chaotic evil
Armor Class 13 (leather armor)
Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 11 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 13 (+1) |
Skills Deception +3, Religion +2
Senses Passive Perception 11
Languages Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Dream Resistance
The cultist has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Nightmare Strike (1/Turn)
When the cultist hits a creature with a weapon attack, the attack deals an additional 1d6 psychic damage.
Actions
Scimitar
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) psychic damage from Nightmare Strike.
Light Crossbow
Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Dream Speaker
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic evil
A recruiter and ritualist who identifies children experiencing prophetic nightmares.
Armor Class 14 (natural warding)
Hit Points 72 (11d8 + 22)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 10 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) |
Saving Throws Wis +5, Cha +6
Skills Deception +6, Insight +5, Religion +4
Damage Resistances Psychic
Senses Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Infernal
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Prophetic Awareness
The Dream Speaker cannot be surprised.
Nightmare Channel
When a creature within 30 feet fails a saving throw against one of the Dream Speaker's spells, the creature takes an additional 3 (1d6) psychic damage.
Spellcasting
The Dream Speaker is a 7th-level spellcaster.
Spell Save DC: 14
Spell Attack Bonus: +6
At Will
- Thaumaturgy
- Minor Illusion
- Toll the Dead
3/Day Each
- Command
- Hold Person
- Blindness/Deafness
1/Day Each
- Fear
- Bestow Curse
Actions
Ritual Dagger
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) psychic damage.
Call the Nightmare (1/Encounter)
The Dream Speaker summons a Nightmare Manifestation in an unoccupied space within 30 feet.
Nightmare Manifestation
Medium aberration, chaotic evil
This creature appears as a shifting amalgamation of children's fears. Its shape changes constantly, making it difficult to focus on.
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 6 (-2) | 13 (+1) | 15 (+2) |
Damage Resistances Psychic, Necrotic
Condition Immunities Frightened
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 11
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Unstable Form
When hit by an attack, the manifestation can move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
This movement can occur once per round.
Nightmare Presence
A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the manifestation must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or suffer disadvantage on its next attack roll.
Actions
Claws of Dread
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) psychic damage.
Feed on Fear (Recharge 5-6)
One frightened or incapacitated creature within 30 feet takes 13 (3d8) psychic damage.
If no valid target exists, the manifestation cannot use this ability.
Horrific Screech (Recharge 6)
Each creature within 15 feet must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw.
Failure:
- Takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage
- Frightened until the end of its next turn
Success:
- Half damage
- Not frightened
Running the Encounter
Round 1
The party explores the cellar.
The Dream Speaker is already present, examining records.
Two Dream-Touched Cultists stand guard.
The remaining two arrive at the end of Round 1 from outside.
Round 2
The Dream Speaker uses:
"They have seen too much."
and summons the Nightmare Manifestation.
This dramatically changes the battlefield.
Round 3+
The cultists attempt to delay the party while the Dream Speaker escapes through the hidden passage if reduced below one-third hit points.
If escape seems dramatically appropriate, allow it.
If not, let the party kill or capture them.
A captured Dream Speaker can provide valuable information about:
- The missing children
- The Dreaming Host
- The Veiled One
- The tunnels beneath Danu
This can substantially alter the next session's investigation.
Cult Dialogue
During battle:
"The children have seen the future."
"You cannot stop what is coming."
"The Sleepless Host already walks."
"The Veiled One knows their names."
ACT 7 – The Hidden Passage
Searching the cellar reveals a concealed stone door.
Behind it:
Ancient stairs descending deep beneath Danu.
Far older than the city.
Far older than the kingdom.
Read Aloud
The passage spirals downward into darkness.
Roots thicker than tree trunks pierce the walls.
Ancient carvings emerge from beneath centuries of dust.
Symbols of Dannan.
Deliberately defaced.
Chiselled away.
As though someone wished to erase the memory of what once stood here.
Final Discovery
Several hundred feet below:
The party finds signs of recent travel.
Small footprints.
Children's belongings.
A blanket.
A toy.
A wooden sword.
Carved into the hilt:
R.T.
Rowan Thornwell.
He was here.
And not long ago.
Cliffhanger Ending
Read Aloud
The tunnel opens into a vast cavern.
A subterranean world hidden beneath Danu.
At its centre stands an immense stone structure.
Ancient.
Cyclopean.
Impossible.
Green light flickers from within its broken entrance.
The roots surrounding it pulse slowly.
Like a heartbeat.
Then—
A scream echoes through the darkness.
A child's scream.
Alive.
Terrified.
And unmistakably close.
End Session.
