Temple of Healing
The lamia’s jackalweres—filthy beasts, disguised in human form—infiltrated the local settlements and quickly learned the old tales of the temple. The manipulative lamia recognized the myths as an opportunity and quickly seized control of the ruins.
Working her magic, she created a powerful illusion over the temple, changing the ruined stone into the vibrant buildings that once stood there. Furthermore, the lamia crafted a magical crystal to maintain this illusion and to heighten her powers. While a strongwilled creature might be able to recognize the signs of this fantasy, only by destroying the stone can they remove the illusion altogether.
Description
Unless stated otherwise, the following features are common to the Temple of Healing. Ambient Magic. So much magic permeates the temple that it makes magic detection impossible. If a character casts detect magic or uses a similar effect, they can only detect massive amounts of enchantment and illusion magic. Jackalweres. The lamia’s jackalwere guards are loyal to her, without the need for magical influence. To maintain the fantasy of a functioning temple, the lamia’s jackalwere guards disguise themselves as humans and wear the robes of acolytes. Furthermore, they keep weapons nearby but do not carry them. The jackalweres will be suspicious of any humanoid not wearing temple robes. The jackalweres are cowards at heart and will only attack the characters if they outnumber the characters. Otherwise, they will attempt to raise the alarm while leading the characters to an area they expect to find allies. Lighting. At night, the temple is well lit with torches and candles that the lamia’s servants light. Magical Servitude. Unless otherwise noted, the creatures within the temple are magically charmed using the lamia’s geas spell. This spell forces them into servitude and denies them the freedom to speak about what has happened to them or anything about the temple, including seeing the temple as an illusion. Such a creature can be persuaded or intimidated into answering questions with a successful DC 13 Charisma check, using a relevant skill if applicable. If a creature is influenced into divulging information, it immediately takes 27 (5d10) psychic damage, enough to kill many of these creatures instantly. Permanent Illusion. A permanent illusion covers the entire temple and the space immediately outside. This illusion makes the ruins look, sound, and smell like the temple of myth. The tactile characteristics of the terrain are unchanged, so creatures touching part of the illusion are likely to see through it. A creature carefully examining the illusion can attempt a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. On a success, the creature discerns the illusion for what it is and sees it as a vague image superimposed on the ruins. Many areas include a brief description of what it looks like without the illusion. Temple Servants. The temple is now home to dozens of creatures, most of whom serve the lamia. Whenever the characters enter a new area within the temple, roll a d6 and consult the Temple Servant Encounters table below, incorporating any additional creatures in the area’s description. These servants wear identifiable temple robes. The human servants will not raise the alarm, assuming the characters are just other servants, but any other creatures will recognize the characters as a threat.Entering the temple
A squat, whitewashed building stands before you. From your vantage point, the building is shaped like an irregular hexagon, with several smaller rooms jutting out from the sides that face you.
In the center of the nearest wall is an entrance that leads into a courtyard. As you approach, you notice that the entry contains a shallow pool of fresh water. On this side of the water are dozens of pairs of boots and shoes, while on the opposite side are neat rows of comfortable- looking slippers. A man stands under the portico.
The boots and slippers are genuine, and visitors to the temple are expected to remove their footwear, wash their feet, and don a pair of slippers so as not to track sand and filth into the temple.
The man is Jarrick (LG human male commoner), a temple servant. If the characters approach, he will ask them to wash their feet before entering. If asked, he will explain the reasoning behind this act; he will then describe how he came here to be healed and stayed to become an acolyte because he liked the simple life of devotion the temple offered. If the characters ask him any other questions, he will refer them to the high priest for answers. If they inquire as to the high priest’s location, he will direct the characters to Braxit in area 8.
Development. If the characters choose to enter from another side, perhaps climbing the walls, they can do so, but the illusion concealing area 16 is powerful, making it impossible for the characters to discover it.
1 - Topical Gardens
The temple is next to an oasis, and the buildings surround a lush and vibrant garden of tropical plants, many of them used for healing. Read or paraphrase the following:The expansive courtyard is open to the sky, but the fresh running water and shade offered by the building and wildlife seem to keep it cool and the air fresh.
In the courtyard’s center, a raised platform is surrounded by a large group of people shouting and cheering.
True Sight. If a character has seen through the illusion, they see that the plant life in this area is barely alive and that only shrubs and dead trees still exist. The gathered people are likewise an illusion.
2 – The Arena
Once used as a gymnasium, this area is now used for cruel bloodsports. Read or paraphrase the following:The noisy gathering of people surrounds a sandy pit a couple of feet deep. Through the press of excited bodies, you can make out a human dressed in shining half plate armor fighting a monstrous creature. From the many wounds scoring the monster’s hide, it would seem the warrior is nearing victory.
Encounter: Please Help Me! This scene is, once again, veiled in deception. The man, Boris (NG human male guard), was sent here to retrieve his patron’s daughter, but before he made it any further into the temple, he was forced to fight in the arena.
The monster is a minotaur and a willing servant of the lamia and will not reveal any information.
The figures within the illusory crowd will disperse into areas 4 and 8 when the combat ends.
True Sight. The crowd, the man’s armor, and the monster’s wounds are an illusion; without help, the man will surely die.
3 – Herb Gardens
During its heyday, this section of the gardens was used to grow and harvest herbs used in healing and potion-making. The lamia still uses it to grow herbs but of a different variety. Healing Herbs? If a character succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check or has proficiency with the herbalism kit, they can determine that the herbs resemble those used in healing potions. This is an illusion, and the plants are poisonous. A creature that touches them—for example, when attempting to harvest them—must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or receive 10 (3d6) poison damage. Treasure. If a character can see through the illusion, they can attempt to harvest these poisonous plants with a DC 17 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, they create an injury poison with the effect noted above.4 – Lounge
Visitors once used this smartly appointed and comfortable-looking lounge to relax and recuperate. The temple’s residents use the southeastern door to avoid the sludge. Hazard: Amber Sludge. An illusion shows this area to look as it once did, but the southwestern side of the room is covered in two inches of yellowish muck. If disturbed, the sludge ejects a cloud of spores that fills a 10-foot cube originating from the sludge. Any creature in the area must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 11 (2d10) poison damage and become poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the creature takes an additional 5 (1d10) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a 5-foot cube of the sludge is subjected to sunlight or fire damage, it is instantly destroyed.5 – Kitchen
This area is the kitchen and is one of the few areas that has been returned to its former glory. Two commoners work here, preparing food for the various creatures of the temple. If a character takes the time to investigate the prepared meals, they will quickly notice that many would be inedible to humans. The lamia has placed 2 cockatrice guards here to keep the human servants under control. These cockatrice will attack any creature not wearing temple robes.6 – Western Patient Ward
Once used for the rest and recovery of temple visitors, this area is now the barracks for the various temple servants. Read or paraphrase the following:This room is pristine, with the harsh scent of cleaning fluid plain. Beds line two of the walls, covered in immaculately clean and tightly folded linens.
Two beds are occupied, one with a human man and another with a gnome woman. These two people are Davrick (LG human male commoner) and Blossom (CG gnome female commoner), and both are resting. If the characters are noisy in this area or ask too many questions, Davrick will call for the jackalwere guards in the surrounding areas.
True Sight. A character able to see through the illusion will find this room to be filled not with beds but heaps of filthy straw. They will also find manacles hanging from the walls, used to punish servants.
7 – Private Rooms
Each of these rooms will appear to be a small, private accommodation, perhaps used by the priests who live here or for patients in need of solitude. Encounter: Jackalweres. Each room holds jackalwere guards. Unless quickly subdued, any jackalwere will alert its fellows, who will join the combat at the start of the next round. True Sight. A character able to see through the illusion will find each room a filthy mess of wrecked furniture.8 – Reception
This area was initially used as a waiting room. A priest or acolyte would then lead visitors from here into one of the examination rooms. When the characters arrive, a handsome man dressed in the robes of a high priest sits at the desk performing mundane clerical tasks. Encounter: Tricked! This man is Braxit. The lamia twisted his mind with her enchantments and made him her high priest. Unless the characters wear temple robes, Braxit will realize they are intruders. Outnumbered, Braxit will attempt to trick them into entering area 12, joining the combat only once the characters engage with the doppleganger. Development. If the characters manage to deceive Braxit initially, he will offer them one final test. Braxit will invite them to join him for a “soothing dip in the baths,” knowing that a creature already under the lamia’s power will be compelled to obey, and thus any creature that declines must be an intruder. Treasure. Braxit wears a keychain around his neck. This key opens the lockbox in area 9.9 – High Priest’s Office
The high priest once used this area. It is now used as quarters by the lamia’s most devoted follower, Braxit, found in area 8. As such, Braxit has had the room cleaned and the furniture repaired; thus, the illusion here conceals nothing. Treasure. Before arriving at the temple, Braxit was already wealthy. As a high priest, one of Braxit’s responsibilities is to “receive the donations of any acolytes.” This treasure is in a large, metal lockbox. Without the key (carried by Braxit), picking the box’s lock requires a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using proficiency in thieves’ tools. The box contain a A potion of hill giant strength, a potion of healing, and assorted coins with a combined value of 222 gp10 – Examination Rooms
These rooms were once used to examine patients and visitors to the temple. They have been repurposed into pens to hold monstrous creatures used in the arena. Despite the illusion cast over the temple, the destruction wrought by these creatures cannot be concealed, and the contents of these rooms are little more than kindling. Each room contains monsters, 2 giant wolf spiders.11 – Treatment Rooms
These rooms were once used to examine patients and visitors to the temple. They have been repurposed to serve as torture chambers. The illusion covers all signs of the vile acts that occur here, and to anyone unable to see through the illusion, these rooms appear to be meticulously clean and sterile treatment rooms, ready for the next patient.12 – Eastern Patient Ward
Once used for the recovery of temple visitors who had undergone serious treatment, this area is now the lair of another of the lamia’s sycophants, the self-proclaimed Spike the Grand. Encounter: Spike the Grand. The manticore here doesn’t bother to check the clothing worn by the characters, knowing that it can eat anything that would be sent through the doorway.13 – Pool Lobby
Once a richly adorned lobby that led into the swimming baths, this area is now a deadly trap intended to keep intruders from reaching the lamia. Trapped Room. This entire room is intended to capture intruders. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that the doors and walls have burn marks. Disarming the trap is impossible without the command word “Infirante” known only by Braxit and the lamia. The trap is triggered when a creature attempts to open either the eastern or western doors. Once triggered, the trap closes and seals all three doors, and the dragon statue breathes fire into the room. The fire fills the room, and the statue continues exhaling fire for 1 minute, or until stopped. When a creature enters the affected area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) fire damage. The doors are steel and have AC 19, 30 hit points, and immunity to fire, psychic, and poison damage. They have no locks but can be forced open with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. There are two ways to disable the trap. First, the trap ends as soon as one of the three locked doors opens. If any door was already wedged open, the trap won’t function. Second, the characters can destroy the dragon statue. The statue has AC 19, 50 hit points, and immunity to cold, fire, psychic, and poison damage.14 – Bathing Pools
In its heyday, these baths were magically heated and used by visitors to relax and heal. Both areas are identical. Charming Baths. Although it is no longer heated, the water still exists and has been cursed by the lamia with powerful magic. If a creature touches the water, that creature becomes cursed for 1 hour. Until the curse ends, the target has disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws and all ability checks. If a creature ingests the water, it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the lamia, as if she had cast the geas spell on it. While charmed in this way, the creature will obey the commands of the lamia or Braxit unless the command is considered suicidal. Staircases. A staircase spirals from both these areas to the rooftop gardens (area 16). True Sight. Characters who see through the illusion find these rooms to be nothing more than pools of filthy, stagnant water.15 – Saunas and Jacuzzi
Once used for relaxation, these areas were often in high demand by the temple’s visitors. Scrying Pool. The pool is full, painstakingly filled with fresh water by the temple servants daily. The lamia uses this water for scrying. If a creature touches the water, the lamia instantly becomes aware of its presence and can see and hear the creature, as if she had cast the spell. True Sight. Characters able to see through the illusion find these rooms to be nothing more than pools of murky water. The saunas are empty, ruined spaces.16 – Rooftop Gardens
Once upon a time, temple visitors would retire to the peace and tranquility of these gardens after a soak in the baths below. Now this area is the private sanctum of the lamia. Both gardens are identical, and the lamia will be present in whichever garden the characters enter first. The illusion covering the temple conceals this area from below, making it almost impossible for a creature to notice its presence without first knowing it was there. If a character enters the shade, read or paraphrase the following:As you enter the shade of the tree, you see a small, pink crystal wedged into the bole of the tree. It pulses warmly, and the woman, still reclining, offers her hand to kiss.
Encounter: The Lamia. This woman is, of course, the lamia in humanoid form. By reaching this far, the characters will have proven themselves capable and powerful, two qualities the lamia is always keen to exploit. She offers the characters shade to get them closer, and if a character is foolish enough to kiss her hand, they are automatically affected by her Intoxicating Touch. If this should happen, the lamia will cast suggestion on the character and invite them to take a dip in one of her bathing pools below.
Should her gambit fail, or the characters simply attack, the lamia will order her minions to reciprocate, preferring to use her magic to charm the characters. She will only join the melee if threatened. The lamia can be enhanced and supported by 4 cultist.
Enchantment Crystal. Wedged into the bole of the cherry blossom tree is a small pink diamond, the size and shape of a grape. The lamia enchanted the gem with a drop of her blood, and it is the illusion’s focal point, covering the entire temple.
Additionally, while she is within 200 feet of the stone, the duration of any spell the lamia casts is increased tenfold (for example, 1 minute becomes 10 minutes, 1 hour becomes 10 hours, and so on).
Destroying the crystal ends both these effects. The crystal has AC 13, 1 hit point, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
True Sight. Characters able to see through the illusion find a decrepit and forlorn-looking tree that can barely hold its weight.
Treasure: Lamia Lair. The lamia has been collecting servants and acolytes for weeks. Most of these creatures brought treasure, expecting they might have to pay for the healing services. The pink diamond is worth 300 gp, and along with any items the lamia is wearing or carrying, the characters can find treasure tucked under the cherry blossom tree. A potion of greater healing, a +1 mace, and assorted coins with a combined value of 307 gp
Aftermath
If the characters destroy the lamia and the crystal, the magic enchanting the various creatures within the temple quickly fades. People captured by the lamia’s intoxicating magic return to their old lives, and the party is rewarded with 500 gp. Grateful to the characters, the local people praise their efforts, but this is with an undertone of sorrow that the temple is still a thing of myth and has not returned. If the characters choose not to destroy the crystal, the illusion remains and the local people, aware of this fantasy, decide to enjoy the sight of the restored temple. Meanwhile, those charmed by the lamia stay so for the duration of the spells and effects she placed upon them.Map
History
To the locals, the Temple of Healing is a myth, a cautionary tale they tell their children. The legend says that the temple appeared one day on the edge of the desert. At first, the locals thought it was a mirage, as it was the miracle for which they had prayed: their city was in the grips of a horrific plague, the Cackle Fever that had already decimated their population. Any who entered the temple—or so the story says—were healed and returned to their families. The legend says no donation or prayers were required for this miracle healing. The temple quickly became famous across the land, as healing that didn’t require any donation was a true oasis for those without the gold to pay for more traditional healing. However, as with all such things, people’s greed undid the temple. The local ruler took control of the temple and began charging people to enter. Within a human lifetime, the temple was swallowed by the desert.Recent History
Recently, the temple ruins have once again lived up their mythical reputation and have become more occupied. Sickly people have once more entered the temple and left, claiming to be healed. Little does anyone realize, however, the temple is no temple at all; it is the lair of a powerful and manipulative monster, a lamia, who has used her powers of illusion and trickery to corrupt the myth of the Temple of Healing for her own nefarious purposes.Maps
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Temple of Healing
The lamia’s jackalweres—filthy beasts, disguised in human form—infiltrated the local settlements and quickly learned the old tales of the temple. The manipulative lamia recognized the myths as an opportunity and quickly seized control of the ruins.
Type
Temple / Religious complex
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