Village of the Damned

High-Level Plot

• The party approach the village, expecting a small vibrant little place and to find board overnight before continuing on their journey.

• As the party near the village they find a mist covered place and the lanterns which would guide them into the village are extinguished.
• The party find an NPC wnadering near the entrance looking for help. (Ian? Small Children?)
• There's a ritual in the town square, sacrifices to be made of the town mayor?
• Eldritch horrors, scared villagers.
• Mid-session, Ian's character turns on the party as the mastermind of this plan.
• If Characters succeed with stopping the summoning then they fight the high priest
• If they fail, the high priest uses plane shift/teleport with the summoned creature. Once the fight concludes the fog lifts and horrors are no longer present.

## IAN NOTES ##

So odds are you'll be putting a village in either Westhold, a more military centric county, or Mirrial, where the capital is. Both are human/half-elf territories, though the former was historically elven.

Setup

As you travel on your way from Fairwind. It's a clear day, and once you're out of the city the road quietens as you make your way. The travel is pleasant for the first half a day's worth of travel, and you are approaching the small village of Lithune. You expect to arrive at the village for an overnight stop to rest up before continuing your journey.

As you near Lithune, a mist seems to descend and as you arrive at the gates to the village you find that the lanterns aren't lit and all is quiet. A little too quiet. As you pause to take a moment you hear a noise

hook 1 - ian's character

hook 2 - 2 small children crying

Once the adventurers enter the town/village a 1hr timer begins within which they must interrupt the ritual.

Pax has a 'moment' and an alternate personality is present "Who the fuck are you all? Where the hell am I?" "Oh bugger this, I'm out" ## NOTE - NEED TO FLESH OUT PERSONALITY WITH IAN AS WELL AS A POSSIBLE TRIGGER FOR THE SWITCH OUT

The Ritual

To prepare for this spell, the Priest will have a box made from ebony and ivory, approximately six inches on each of its sides. The box will have a Hendecagram carved upon the lid. The box will be endowed with the Caster’s True Name. They will also have a silver bladed ceremonial knife as well as an additional container available to capture the Vapour that escapes from the sacrifice’s mouth, a sheet of parchment, a silver bowl and a quill made from a crow’s feather.

A human will be made available to sacrifice.

At the beginning of the casting, the Priest will drink a concoction formed from hemlock, honey and water

When they drink the poison, they will need to roll vs Constitution. A successful save deals no damage. A fail deals 3d6 damage.

The Priest takes the blade in their hand. Whilst they do so, black blood, blood that has been corrupted by the poison, will drip from their hand, running down the blade and dripping onto the ground. The Priest's nails will turn black, both on their hands and on their feet. Their bones will also all turn black, including the teeth, although the teeth will not fall out. Whilst, the blackening of the bones will fade over the next few hours, if the Caster dies, this whitening will not occur. This may lead to skeletons being found that are completely black.

The Priest then stabs down into the chest of the sacrificial victim and cuts out the heart with their dagger. Taking the dagger into their hands, they squeeze it and drain the blood into the silver bowl.

The Priest will then place a Scarab Beetle into the hole in the sacrifice’s chest that has been created by the removal of the heart. The Beetle will latch onto the torn flesh with its mandibles, and begin to expand and contract, beating like the heart that it has replaced.

Dipping the quill that has been made from the feather of a crow into the blood in the silver bowl, the Priest will commence writing down the spell. Once the entire chant has been written down, the scroll is burned until it is nothing but ashes.

The Priest then eats the ashes of the burned scroll. They open the box made of ebony and ivory and whisper the name of XXXXXXXXXX into the box, They shut the box and speak a short chant and then open the box directly next to the sacrificial victim’s mouth. The word XXXXXXX will be whispered from the box and enter the victim’s mouth along with a swirl of grey ashes, seemingly blown by the breath of the dead.

The dead sacrificial victim will then speak the chant. Whilst the victim is doing so, their breath will be blue and if gathered becomes Vapour.

Upon the completion of the chant by the dead body, the ritual is complete and the summoning occurs.

Combat Ideas

Patrolling monsters, players must avoid or trigger combat.