The Sin Eater

Set-Up:

If any PC reveres Pholtus, he will be sent for by his temple head and introduced to Pholemius Brightmantle, the Sin Eater, and asked to assist him. If no PCs are such worshipers, then an acolyte of his can ask the PCs to meet Pholemius to discuss employment as body guards. Alternatively, a street scene can be staged in which a very strange man simply walks up to the PCs, fixes them with his glare, and says in a loud, resonant voice, "I have been guided. You will be my companions for the journey ahead. Come, let us talk of the rewards you will seek!"

Assuming the PCs are ready to listen and discuss, Pholemius explains his mission. He is a Sin Eater of Pholtus, and his job is to give succor to those who have served Pholtus well and are near death. By visiting them and taking bread, meat, and mead in their presence, the Sin Eater is deemed to bring their souls as close to the acceptance of Pholtus' supremely critical faculties as possible. His act is thus a blessing and preparation for the afterlife. A PC with Theology proficiency will know this to be an unusual, but not heretical, view within Pholtus' cult.

Pholemius needs to travel to a location in the Gnarley Forest to give this final absolution to a Templar of the Church Militant who has fallen there, and lies near death. Pholemius does not know exactly where, but that doesn't matter to him; Pholtus is going to guide him. The PCs are wanted as bodyguards. After all, the Gnarley is a dangerous place.

Pholemius doesn't deal with money. His acolyte, Beramane, will negotiate with the PCs. His basic offer is 10 gp per PC per day, plus a bonus of 500 gp per PC if they arrive at the place Pholemius wishes to visit. These rates can be upped by 25% if the PC who negotiates makes a Charisma check. Travel expenses, board, and the like will be paid by Pholemius en route. If the PCs are still unsure, Beramane offers the lure of a potion of invulnerability to the toughest-looking fighter of the group.

Pholemius does not wish to discuss how a Templar came to be in the Gnarley, and Beramane will avoid this subject too ("church business, you know"). One final clause is that PCs will be expected to swear an oath at the temple of Pholtus that they will not harm Pholemius in any way (and if they do, Pholtus himself will want to know why, unless the PCs were charmed, under other magical compulsion, etc.).

Pholemius wishes to travel to Two Ford by barge the next day, then cross the Selintan and strike out west into the forest.

The Character and the Plot

Pholemius is exactly what he says he is, and more. He is a 12th-level priest of Pholtus who does not employ spells, saving his spiritual energy for his work instead. Only if he is in personal dire peril will he pray for a spell (such as heal if he has suffered much combat damage). Pholtus will grant one per day, immediately upon request, for such dire need.

The lost Templar is Ragaer Mandarian, a member of the Church Militant who is a LN F7/ C11. The quest that brought him to the Gnarley Forest is strange indeed.

Foremost among the enemies of Pholtus' priesthood is a powerful, unique tanar'ri, Xazivort, who has had an enduring enmity for Pholtus after a number of run-ins with his priests over centuries. The fiend was finally imprisoned in a sealed dungeon below the Gnarley, but recently it escaped when a foolhardy group of adventurers dispelled the spells binding it. Xazivort immediately took over the mind and body of a young female ranger, Sheltaer Ellendrin, and began to secretly experiment with its powers within its new host.

In the Theocracy, the unbinding of the fiend did not go unnoticed. Ragaer was dispatched to investigate, and after much exploration, finally came upon the Sheltaer-fiend. Cunningly, the fiend used its powers to beguile and fool the Templar, and Ragaer fell in love with the young woman. When she told him that she bore a terrible curse from which she could be freed only by another willingly taking its effects upon himself, the poor besotted Templar pleaded that he would do so, if only he knew how. The fiend in structed Ragaer accordingly and, with all protections removed, Ragaer became possessed by it. Love and magic are enough to turn the head and obscure the judgment of even such a man.

Sheltaer, half-mad herself after the fiend possessed her for so long, fled into solitude within the forest.

However, the fiend found it had taken over a man of stern mettle. Within his heart, Ragaer has battled with it long and hard, and both parties are exhausted by the battle. Ragaer is close to death, and the fiend is barely able to use any of its powers now. Ragaer will be found by some junior Gnarley rangers just before the PCs arrive, and their meeting will be one of major conflict, just before the climax of the adventure.

The fiend has sufficient energies and powers to create magical effects to beset the Sin Eater, which it knows full well will come to give Ragaer absolution. The PCs are going to be beset by these effects too. With a suitable symbolism, the fiend will create magical effects targeted at the four deadly sins of the creed of Pholtus: coward ice, avarice, self-indulgence, and self-will. In so doing, it strikes at weak points within its host, further weakening Ragaer.

Pholemius knows that Ragaer was investigating a fiend, but does not know what has happened exactly. He knows the fiend is weak and that Ragaer is close to death, but he doesn't know that the fiend is possessing the Templar's body. He won't tell the PCs any of this to begin with. Finally, he's recruited the PCs because, should there be a fiend around, there may well be fatalities, and it's better if these are not valued members of the Church Militant, so he has not brought his own force of men with him.

The adventure begins in earnest when the PCs reach the edge of the Gnarley Forest opposite Two Ford. The site they are headed for (although they won't know this yet) is some 18 miles northeast of Corustaith. Pholemius may meander a bit in getting there, since Pholtus' guidance may not involve taking the most direct route (despite what they say about the One True Path).

The following encounters will take place during the travel to the final location. Others may be added as necessary. For encounters 1-4 below, modifiers apply to saving throws as follows: +1 if LG, +2 if a follower of Pholtus, +4 if priest or paladin of Pholtus (not cumulative).

Encounter 1, Cowardice: A band of 1d4 + 5 kech ambushes the party. After one round of combat with the kech, a small floating yellow globe appears amid the melee. It darkens, then turns black, then a smoky black tendril edged with blue snakes through the air to touch each PC. Each PC must save versus spell or be affected by a form of fear for the remainder of the combat. Affected PCs must save versus spell each round thereafter; if they fail, they cringe in fear of the kech and cannot attack (+ 4 penalty to AC when defending).

If they save successfully, they can fight, but only feebly (-2 to attack and damage rolls). After this combat, Pholemius is visibly disturbed by this sign (especially if affected by the fear). He is silent for the rest of the day, but a spell such as ESP is 50% likely to detect the thought that "it is preying on our weaknesses."

Encounter 2, Avarice: The party comes upon what appears to be a mass of gold coins and treasure, unguarded. All PCs must save versus spell or rush to this illusion, shoveling "gold" greedily into bags, backpacks, pockets, purses, etc. At this moment, unaffected PCs are attacked by a group of ogres (two per PC). If the PCs under attack call to their friends for help, affected PCs are allowed a check against half Wisdom each round to grudgingly break off gold shoveling and undertake combat actions. The "gold" is seen as false when all the ogres have been slain, but all affected PCs will mull over gold, treasure, and monetary matters for the rest of the day (an XP bonus may be awarded for creative role-playing of this obsession).

Pholemius (who will not be affected by the illusion) berates those PCs for their wickedness.

If any PC with the Theology skill passes a check, he will now realize that the events with the kech and ogres pertain to two of the deadly sins of the Pholtus creed. Any priest PC will realize this if he makes a check against half Wisdom. A cleric of Pholtus will automatically realize it. PCs may, at this point, ask Pholemius for more information on what they're getting into. If they don't, move on to the next encounter.

Pholemius Speaks of Sins

If challenged, Pholemius will admit that the two unusual magical effects the group has encountered relate to two deadly sins. He does not know why or how these attacks occur (but he guesses a fiend may be involved. ESP and such spells will reveal this.). If the PCs force him by strong argument to give more detail, award an XP bonus to the PCs (200-750 XPs for the whole group, depending on how well they couch their arguments).

Pholemius will finally admit that Ragaer was investigating an "evil being from another plane," but says he cannot give details. Only after the following encounter will he mention Xazivort (without giving its name), and he will claim that he knows the fiend is weak. He also claims that the party is nearing its goal, and if the fiend has been active, the only way to stop it is to banish it. Otherwise, it may pursue the PCs in the future. If the PCs decide to turn around and go home, then indeed, Xazivort will eventually decide to track them down and give them a hard time, as the DM determines.

Encounter 3, Self-indulgence: Place this encounter at the end of the day. The PCs come across a small woodsman settlement, with an inn where they can stay for the night. A moderately stiff combat encounter (without decimating hit points and forcing them to use up all their spells) earlier in the day may be a good idea, to make the PCs feel they'd really like to rest up.

The basis of this encounter is that two alu fiends (Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix) will seek to charm two male PCs and seduce them here. They pose, in polymorphed form, as human female rangers, and the ordinary woodsmen are comfortable enough with them and appear to know them (the fiends have used charm, suggestion etc. on these folk; clever spell use by the PCs may reveal this). If the PCs go to their rooms, the alu-fiends get the males to disrobe, then attack with daggers (each alu-fiend will use two daggers with no attack penalties).

This encounter must be handled carefully by the DM. If the relevant Monstrous Compendium appendix is unavailable, a suitable alternative candidate—a vampiress, for example (just one!)—might do. Review the special abilities and powers of the alu-fiend carefully, to extract greatest value from them.

Award extra XPs if the PCs show careful planning, an anticipation of events based on interrogating Pholemius, knowing what the next targeted weakness may be, and playing along with the alu-fiends long enough to ready their own defenses and attack with surprise.

Encounter 4, Rangers/Militia: The next day, provide some simple encounters with patroling rangers and woodsmen just to familiarize PCs with these folk of the forest. These men will simply want to know what the PCs are up to, and they should have a story ready that isn't a lie (Pholemius will not stand for that!) but that isn't the whole truth, either.

Pholemius doesn't want the Gnarley rangers or anyone else to know a fiend may be on the loose. He points out that this may panic ordinary people, and that they may associate Ragaer with the work of a fiend and blame him and the PC party for its freedom. It will then be very hard for the group to complete its quest, and the fiend will have more time to wreak its evil on the world. Have a very curious ranger party interrogate the PCs, and if a PC role-plays the exchange with a honeyed tongue, award a suitable XP bonus for this.

Encounter 5, Self-will: Finally, the fiend tries to divide the party into factions that compete with each other. This must be designed by the DM, taking into account the composition of the party. Harp on significant divisions: law versus chaos, dwarf-elf, personal antipathies, annoying character traits (boastfulness, etc.).

At the start of the day, make a secret saving throw versus spell for each PC. For those who fail, pass their players a note instructing them how their characters must behave (in accordance with the divisions you want to perpetuate). Good role-playing should get an XP bonus; this includes not going over the top. For example, it would be quite in character for a paladin to listen to a thief PC bragging about his wealth for a while before shooting back, "yes, you've always been a greedy and dishonest little so-and-so."

Pholemius won't be affected by this, and will try his best to mediate disputes and prevent party members from arguing too fiercely.

When the carping and sniping come nicely to the boil, a symbol of discord appears in mid-air right in front of the PCs. All must save versus spell to negate its effects (Pholemius will be unaffected), and those who failed their earlier save have a -4 penalty to this second save. The duration of the effect is as per a normal symbol spell.

Encounter 6, The Mad Ranger: The party is attacked by Sheltaer from bush cover. She is a 4th-level ranger, equipped with ragged leather armor, long bow and long sword (Str 15, Dex 15, Int 14, Wis 16). She still wears the acorn-badge of the Gnarley rangers and it should be easy for the PCs to subdue her (with hold spells, etc.). She is filthy and decrepit, and can do little more than mutter, drool, and periodically scream. The PCs should take this wretched individual with them; if they don't wish to, deduct 250 XPs for each good-aligned PC. In this case, Pholemius will insist that she accompanies the group.

End of the Trail

When the party gets within five miles of the final location, Pholemius spreads his arms wide and cries, "the end is nigh!" and marches determinedly forward.

One mile away from the woodsman's hut where Ragaer is lying comatose, a group of nervous young rangers awaits the party with long bows at the ready. There are seven of them, all of levels 1-4, with leather armor and long bow and spear as primary weapons. They tell the PCs to keep away or they will attack. If the PCs assault the rangers, they will easily overcome them, but deduct 1,000 XPs for any good-aligned PC participating in their murder. The Gnarley rangers will not forget this massacre. They will plan revenge carefully, and they have many friends.

The PCs must negotiate carefully. They must ascertain what is troubling the rangers here. The rangers' spokesman explains that a warrior from a far land lies close to death nearby, and he has brought some terrible evil force into the Gnarley. Evil magic has been witnessed by all the rangers, some folk have been driven insane, and the warrior himself slew several woodsmen with insane ferocity before he could be subdued. The rangers wish him simply to die, believing the evil will go away with his death. They fear the PCs (who obviously look powerful) who have come to meddle in the affair, and the rangers will not allow this. The PCs must persuade the rangers to let them get at the warrior, of course.

After some initial discussions, the rangers may well notice Sheltaer (they won't notice her if the PCs have taken some precaution such as rendering her invisible and gagging her; if they're this smart, give an additional 250 XP award to the PC thinking of such a plan). If they notice her, they look deeply fearful and say that she was driven mad by the evil freed by the warrior.

If the PCs immediately say they will gladly release her to the rangers, there's no penalty to the subsequent Charisma checks. If the PCs say that they are prepared to do all they can to help her (e.g., with a heal spell) then subsequent Charisma checks are made with a + 1 bonus.

The PCs must now argue their case (Pholemius stays silent; he is preoccupied thinking about what he must do here). The PCs' spokesman gets three Charisma checks, of which at least two must be successful for the rangers to reluctantly allow them passage. There is a base 3 penalty to all these checks. Suggested bonus modifiers for specific negotiation points follow, but the DM may give bonuses for other clever, plausible points made by the PCs. In order, the Charisma checks relate to the following topics.

Combatting the Evil: The PCs must show that they are prepared to deal with the evil associated with Ragaer. The Charisma check is modified by a +1 bonus for each of the following points made by the PCs: (i) they have fought it and know something of what it can do; (ii) they know its nature (fiendish (iii) they can state, easily and fluently, what kinds of precautions and tactics they will use (protection from evil 10' radius, dispel evil, dismissal, etc.). General statements to the effect that "we're a powerful bunch you know" won't help, but a polite pointing-out of the fact that the PCs are obviously better equipped to deal with a fiend than the rangers are gains a +1 bonus.

Dealing with Ragaer: The PCs must show that they have concern for Ragaer, and also for the threat he might yet pose if not controlled. The Charisma check is modified by +1 for each of the following points the PCs might make: (i) Ragaer is near death and is unlikely to pose any threat; (ii) the PCs are prepared to use a spell such as hold person and physical restraint, or other means, to immobilize Ragaer; (iii) the PCs are aware these measures may not work, but cumulatively, they have a good chance (showing that the PCs can assess risk sensibly; a fiend possessed man, after all, might not be vulnerable to a hold spell).

Concern for the Gnarley: The PCs must show that they aren't just here to meddle with a fiend and hightail it out. This last Charisma check is modified by + 1 for each of the following points they might make: (i) banishing the fiend is necessary to the security of the Gnarley forest; (ii) the PCs know one or more senior rangers and can put in a good word for these nervous juniors afterward if they help (this may not be true, but a white lie is OK if the PC saying this isn't lawfully aligned (iii) the PCs wish to learn what the fiend has done so that some reparations can be made (they can look to Pholemius here, and he will nod quietly).

If the PCs don't make two Charisma checks, the rangers won't give way and the PCs will have to overcome them to get past. They should use disabling spells and subduing/nonweapon combat here, otherwise suffer an XP penalty as noted. If PCs make the Charisma check, the rangers nervously escort them on. Either way, they arrive at the hut where two other young rangers are looking after Ragaer. These rangers will admit the PCs even if the PCs aren't accompanied by their fellows, since they can hardly hope to fight them off.

Ragaer looks dreadful; his lips and face are swollen, his skin grey, his breath comes in gasps. Pholemius draws from a pouch a silver flask of wine, a plug of preserved meat, and a hard ryebread roll. He places the meat and bread on the man's chest, then mutters some prayerful words. Finally, he lifts the flask to his lips and drains it. It is during this time the PCs should make suitable preparations for combat, if they haven't already. If they don't, penalize their final XP award as you deem fit.

Ragaer sits bolt upright (unless he has been heavily strapped down, successfully held by magic, etc.) and vomits blood, a scene that should be shocking and impactful. The hut grows very cold, and the two young rangers flee, affected by fear. Any rangers outside are too fearful to enter. The PCs are now on their own in the final shreds of Xazivort's onslaught. The fiend is slipping from the Prime Material, weakened by its struggle with Ragaer, but it uses all its remaining energies to magically assault the PCs.

This fiend is treated as a formless entity which has a notional 50 hp. Its hp total can be reduced in the following ways: dispel magic cast into the room drains 5 hp; dispel evil drains 20 hp;

protection from evil

gives + 2 to saves for PCs but doesn't affect the fiend; abjure/dismissal behave normally; the sweep of any magical or holy weapon through the air causes damage equal to the magical bonus each round the weapon is swung (needing no attack roll, so a holy avenger +5 causes 5 hp damage per round and a flask of holy water thrown anywhere in the room causes 1d3 hp damage.

The fiend has a base save of 4 versus spells (for the purposes of dismissal etc., worsening by + 1 for every 5 hp it loses). The fiend also loses 1d4 hp of its presence per round as it fades from the Prime Material. Spells other than those listed may have some effect at the DM's discretion (higher level ones in particular, which, in all likelihood, a party of levels 5-9 will not have access to).

The fiend can create 1d3 magical effects per round while it still has a positive hp total, from the following list: cause serious wounds, charm person, emotion (hopelessness), enervation, fear (as wand), heat metal, polymorph other, ray of enfeeblement, suggestion, telekinesis. Effects are created at 14th level of magic use, and cease if the fiendish presence reaches 0hp. Which powers the fiend uses are randomly determined (1d10), but its targets should be selected intelligently.

The fiend "wins" if all PCs are slain or forced to flee the site in magical fear, as a result of suggestion, etc.; in this event, when they return, Ragaer is dead and the fiend is free to stalk the Gnarley. If you want to avoid having this happen, Pholemius can pray for a holy word to dispel the fiend, but don't do this unless all the PCs are slain or have fled. The PCs win if they reduce the fiend to 0 hp.

Play this encounter with good atmosphere. The fiend can't be seen, but it can be sensed; the air is chill, a smell of acrid acid burns the back of the throat, Ragaer coughs horribly and shakes, the Sin Eater prays to Pholtus for guidance (he's no use in this combat, unless you want to have him save the day at the death), a wind seems to be whipping up about the hut, its timbers creak, and so on. Finally, if the PCs strike at Ragaer, mistakenly believing him to be the source of the effects, this will not affect the fiend (but Ragaer is AC 10 and has only 9 hp).

This adventure is for PCs of levels 5-9, a total party levels of 40-45 being most suitable. Chaotic characters will have great difficulty with this adventure and will be a liability to the group, as will anyone who openly espouses the cause of St Cuthbert. Reverers of Pholtus will have an especially interesting time during this adventure! Characters with Theology proficiency, high Charisma, and lawful alignment will be valuable here.

If the PCs Lose

There's now a powerful fiend on the loose in the Gnarley. It will slay Pholemius, and its own power will increase considerably. Later in the campaign, the PCs may find Xazivort stalking them; this may become a dominant campaign theme, as the PCs desperately set off to the Theocracy for help and information (any DM can have fun with this one). The Gnarley rangers will have an enmity for the PCs, and they won't be welcome in the Gnarley again, but that may be the least of their troubles.

If the PCs Win

Ragaer is weak and feeble, but just about alive. He can tell more of the story of the fiend (see below). If he sees Sheltaer, he realizes his love for her was magically induced, but he feels a tenderness and compassion for her and will wish to see her healed (he will rest and recover spells to do this, although he is not himself powerful enough to be granted a heal spell). Both Ragaer and Pholemius will be pleased with the PCs, and they now have friends in the Theocracy. Making that work in a running campaign is again a fun prospect!

The PCs will also have friends among the Gnarley rangers, especially if they escort Ragaer and Pholemius to safety (Greyhawk, Dyvers) and bring back Sheltaer, healed and well. They may well get an invitation to visit august person ages in Corustaith out of that, which can in turn lead to many adventures.

There are many spin-offs here. First, Ragaer discovered the fiend's partly-explored dungeon prison, and he'd like to cleanse it of evil completely (the PCs can help). This should be quite a complex, with strong good and evil magic and suitable traps and monsters (undead, elementals, automata, etc.). You will need to develop Ragaer's story of his dealings with the fiend to use this theme.

Second, while Xazivort has faded from the Prime Material for a time, its banishment has been breached and it may seek to creep back again. Ragaer would like the PCs to accompany him to explore the magic-rich, evil places where it might gate back and prevent that from happening. The Theocracy has a long lore about this fiend, after all, and these places could give the PCs a real round-the-world trip or something much more modest.

Third, there may be spin-offs from optional additional encounters discussed below.

Adding Encounters

You may want to add encounters with residents of the Gnarley scripted in the earlier chapter—more woodsmen, perhaps an orc/ woodsman fight the PCs bump into, nervous faerie creatures, a swanmay who may have seen Sheltaer but was unable to pursue and calm her, and the like. These should not take up much time by sidetracking the adventure, since Pholemius will want to press ahead, but by shaping the encounters and giving the PCs the chance to help or befriend forest residents, you can set up contacts for further adventures.