Contents
Starting the Adventure
Once the players have chosen characters, you are ready to begin. Read the following text to set up the scenario and the bargain the characters have made for their freedom.
The Great Escape
Read the following to set up the characters' escape from the forces of the Legion of Dusk:
The characters have no gear, except for Alante. They are unarmored and can make only unarmed strikes, dealing bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + Strength modifier.
The Legion of Dusk troops stationed at Conqueror's Foothold are loyal to Vona, Butcher of Magan. Two human guards have escorted the cleric Alante into the cell. One guard carries a set of keys that can be used to open the prison cells, the main door, and the executioner's hatch (see below). The perimeter of the room is lined with five other cell blocks, each large enough to hold five prisoners but empty at present.
Only one door leads out of the executioner's chamber. Alante, Turk, and Ellie know that no prisoner has ever successfully escaped from Conqueror's Foothold, and that to go through that door means a vicious fight against dozens of guards, and no guarantee of finding an exit
The Executioner's Hatch
In one corner of the chamber, a padlocked lever stands next to a three-foot-square metal grate. If the lever is unlocked (either with the key carried by the guard or a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools), it can be pulled to drop the grate open. This reveals the executioner's hatch—a chute down which bodies are dumped into the ocean after they are drained of life by the vampires in the fort.
A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check notes that the slick walls of the chute offer no handholds. This makes it a straight drop into the ocean, and prevents anyone from getting back up this way. Characters who jump through the hatch take no damage when they hit the water, and can then easily swim to shore.
One hour after the characters escape, a new group of guards enters the executioner's block and sounds an alert (see "Conqueror's Foothold," below).
Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check notices a hunter shark in the water. Any party member who takes damage during the fight with the guards attracts its attention and causes the shark to attack.
Conqueror's Foothold
When the characters reach the beach in the shadow of the fortress, read:
Artinoq's raptor companion, Sharkbait, waits on the beach with a rucksack containing ten days' rations. Once he sees his companion, he leads the party to a hidden cache buried in the sand, which contains all their confiscated gear. Alante managed to smuggle it out of the fortress a few days ago.
To the north, a trail leads to the Field of Ruin. Following this path through to the northwest mountain passage will take the characters through the Primal Wellspring region, bypassing the strongholds of the Legion of Dusk.
Those strongholds—Fort Leor and Fort Durron—lie to the west. A well-used path makes travel along that route easier, but the area is often patrolled by soldiers of the Legion of Dusk.
Regardless of which route the characters take, they must venture through Unclaimed Territory before making their way to the Temple of Aclazotz.
Discovery and Pursuit
One hour after the characters fought the guards, another patrol enters the executioner's chamber and discovers the escape. A bell-toll alarm sounds out within the fort, and a patrol of twelve guards is sent out to comb the area for the prisoners and the duplicitous Alante. Additionally, beacon towers between Conqueror's Foothold, Fort Leor, and Fort Durron light up, making it difficult for characters who are not with the Legion of Dusk to move along the beach unseen. Any Dexterity (Stealth) checks made by the characters to avoid guards are made with disadvantage.
Two hours after the escape, Vona discovers that Alante is attempting to claim the Hierophant's Chalice before he does. The Butcher of Magan assembles a force and sends them out to find the relic first. Vona's relic hunters are comprised of two vampire soldiers (use guard statistics), a human cleric (use priest statistics), and a human scout, all on horseback. They take the most direct route to the Temple of Aclazotz, past Fort Leor and Fort Durron across the beach. However, they subsequently become lost in the Unclaimed Territory, and can be randomly encountered there.
Danger on the Beach
If the characters continue along the shoreline, they come upon the wreckage of numerous ships. Among the dead is the orc Captain Beelzebufo from the pirate ship Relentless, on which both Ellie and Turk served. Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check notes that the orc appears to have died from stab wounds rather than by drowning.
Any character surveilling the area closely with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check notices movement in the waves.
The six skeletons attack, gaining surprise if all the characters fail to notice them.
Field of Ruin
It takes four hours to reach this area from Conqueror's Foothold.
The characters can follow a river north to a mountain passage through the Primal Wellspring. To the south is the shoreline. Fort Leor and Fort Durron are to the west, within sight of the beach.
A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the presence of scavengers in the field. Three medium raptors (use deinonychus statistics) feast on corpses to the west. If the characters notice the raptors, they can attempt a group Stealth check against the creatures' passive Wisdom (Perception) of 13. On a failed group check, or if the characters don't notice the raptors, the raptors spot the party and attack.
Random Encounters
If the party travels along the shore near the forts, use the following table if a random encounter is rolled.
Shoreline Encounters
| 1d6 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A 20-foot-deep hidden pit trap is noticed only with a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. The trap fires a flare when triggered, summoning a nearby patrol of 2d6 guards to investigate. |
| 2 | 1d6 trilobites (use giant crab statistics) |
| 3 | A worn jade totem is etched with a warning in Aquan: "No good will come from what you seek. Turn back now or suffer an ignoble death far from your home." |
| 4 | An area of quicksand cannot be detected until one or more characters steps within it. The quicksand is 10 feet deep, and any creature that steps into it sinks 1d4 + 1 feet, then sinks 1d4 feet at the start of each of its turns. A successful Strength check (DC 10 + the number of feet sunk) allows a character to escape the quicksand. A rope thrown by an ally to the struggling creature grants advantage on the check. Any creature completely submerged begins to suffocate. |
| 5 | 2d4 raptors (use velociraptor statistics) |
| 6 | The characters discover a treasure cache. All characters with a Treasure token card have a contest of Wisdom (Perception), with the character with the highest check trading the token for a card from the x. |
If the party travels through the interior to avoid the forts, use the following table if a random encounter is rolled.
Interior Encounters
| 1d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2d6 skittering heartstoppers (use giant centipede statistics) |
| 2 | The characters discover a treasure cache. All characters with a Treasure token card have a contest of Wisdom (Perception), with the character with the highest check trading the token for a card from the x. |
| 3 | 1d4 aerosaurs (use quetzalcoatlus statistics) |
| 4 | 1d4 ferocidons (use allosaurus statistics) |
Fort Leor and Fort Durron
A simple structure surrounded by a wooden palisade, Fort Leor is the nearest fortress to Conqueror's Foothold. It takes one day to travel for the characters to arrive here.
Fort Durron, near the Temple of Aclazotz, is a stronghold isolated on an island and home to the armada of the Legion of Dusk. It takes one day to travel here from Fort Leor.
Avoiding Notice
The characters must pass near each fort. They can use magic or attempt a group Dexterity (Stealth) check (DC 15 to succeed during the day, DC 10 to succeed at night) to travel unseen. At either fort, if the characters are spotted, a patrol of twelve guards mounted on riding horses moves to intercept. The guards ask the characters their reasons for traveling through the area, and if not convinced by their story, move to attack and apprehend them.
Primal Wellspring
It takes two days to reach this area from the Field of Ruin.
The area around the waterfall spring is covered in thick foliage and tangles of vines, making it 3. Because there is no natural path through this region, the party's navigator must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check to find the way through to the next region. If the party is moving at a slow pace, the navigator gains a +5 bonus to the check, while a fast pace imposes a −5 penalty. The party's navigator can repeat the check after the party spends 1d6 hours trying to get back on course.
Lurking Threat
Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check notes movement beneath the water's surface, masked by the splash of the waterfall. The Primal Wellspring is home to a snapping sailback (use giant crocodile statistics).
Disturbing the spring in any manner results in attracting the attention of the creature, which attacks immediately.
Unclaimed Territory
It takes one day to reach this area from Fort Durron or the Primal Wellspring.
An Unlikely Ally
Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check while moving within the Unclaimed Territory determines that the party is being followed. In response to being spotted (or at any opportune moment), a vampire cleric named Mavren reveals himself to the characters (use cult fanatic statistics).
By all outward appearances, Mavren has gone mad. A tall figure with dark hair, sunken eyes, and pallid skin, he is an apostle of the prophet Arguel, and wears the tattered robes of the clergy of the Legion of Dusk. But unknown to the characters, Mavren is secretly under the control of a demon named Zotz—the spawn of a dread bat-god.
Mavren knows the following information, which he shares in the course of any conversation with the characters:
- The prophet Arguel had a vision that led him into the jungles of Ixalan with the Hierophant's Chalice.
- The Temple of Aclazotz is hidden in the nearby jungle, four hours away.
- A murderous creature lurks around the temple, known to Mavren as "the night horror."
Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check determines that Mavren believes he's working for some higher purpose, but that he is also hiding something. If a character succeeds on a DC 20 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check after pressing Mavren, the cleric reveals through his ravings that the Temple of Aclazotz is the home of his demonic master.
Mavren can lead the party directly to the Temple of Aclazotz. If the characters decline his aid, the party's navigator must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check to find the way to the temple. If the party is moving at a slow pace, the navigator gains a +5 bonus to the check, while a fast pace imposes a −5 penalty. The party's navigator can repeat the check after the party spends 1d6 hours trying to get back on course.
Random Encounters
As the party travels through the Unclaimed Territory, use the following table if a random encounter is rolled.
Unclaimed Territory Encounters
| 1d6 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2d4 frilled deathspitters |
| 2 | 1 dryad and 1d12 awakened shrubs |
| 3 | Vona's relic hunters: 2 vampire soldiers (guards), 1 human cleric (priest), 1 human scout |
| 4 | The characters discover a treasure cache. All characters with a Treasure token card have a contest of Wisdom (Perception), with the character with the highest check trading the token for a card from the x. |
| 5 | 1 griffon |
| 6 | 1 wildgrowth walker (use earth elemental statistics) |
Temple of Aclazotz
Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals the substance on the steps to be blood. It is impossible to determine how many bodies have been dragged into this temple.
The Night Horror
If Marven led the adventurers here, he urges them to enter quickly, before they wake the creature that lurks in the area.
The creatures mutts succeed on a DC 15 group Dexterity (Stealth) check to pass undetected by this chupacabra, which attacks if it senses any intrusion into its territory. Marven abandons and retreats into the temple if the characters are attacked.
Arguel's End
The interior of the temple is a single chamber with a ceiling thirty feet high. It is unlit, and characters must use light or have darkvision to explore.
Creatures who move within ten feet of the altar note that the corpse is little more than a desiccated husk. It wears the robes of a marshal from the Legion of Dusk and holds an ornate silver goblet in its hands.
Any creature who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana or History) check recognizes the remains as those of Arguel, the prophet rumored to have brought the Hierophant's Chalice to the temple. A source of endless blood, the chalice activates when a single drop of blood is placed within it, filling to the brim with sanguineous fluid.
Demonic Guardians
Hanging from the ceiling above the altar are four blight keepers (use giant bat statistics) and a demon named Zotz (use vrock statistics). If Mavren fled from the chupacabra attack, he alerts Zotz, his demonic master, of the party's presence outside. Otherwise, if the characters arrive by day, they find the creatures sleeping and can surprise them if they attack at once and make no loud noise. At night, the characters must succeed on a DC 10 group Dexterity (Stealth) check to enter the temple undetected and get the drop on the demon and its minions.
The spawn of a forgotten bat-god, the demon Zotz means to spread plague and corruption across Ixalan. He has long used his influence upon the insane Mavren to bring prey to the temple. Seeing how the Hierophant's Chalice could be used as a means to broker peace between the Legion of Dusk and the local inhabitants by reducing the need for blood sacrifices, Zotz protects the item and attempts to corrupt it with his demonic essence.
Mavren aids his master in combat. If he survives after Zotz is defeated, the cleric is no longer under the sway of the demon, but he remembers and is haunted by all the horrible things he's done in Zotz's name.