Pathfinder - Module - The Demon Within.pdf - Modules - pillowbookworm

A 3.5/OGL ADVENTURE FOR LEVEL 11

D 3

Clydwell Keep

B11

B10

Keep Proper

B13

B12

B11

B16

Upper Baily

B11

Lower Baily

B15

chapel B8

B14

Bitter

River

B11

160

B11

feet

St. Clydwell’s Cathedral

Legend

Cathedral

A Main Entrance

B Nave

C Tr ansepts

Presbytery

P1 Ambulatory

P2 Sancristy

P3 Reliquary

P4 Stairs to River Tunnel

P5 Galley

P6 Chapter House

P7 Chancel

P4 Gardens and Fountain

One square = 5 feet

Clydwell Keep

B11

B10

Keep Proper

B13

B12

B16

B11

Upper Baily

Lower Baily

B11

B15

chapel B8

B14

Bitter

River

B11

160

B11

feet

St. Clydwell’s Cathedral

Legend

Presbytery

P1 Ambulatory

P2 Sancristy

P3 Reliquary

P4 Stairs to River Tunnel

Cathedral

A Main Entrance

B Nave

C Tr ansepts

P5 Galley

P6 Chapter House

P7 Chancel

P4 Gardens and Fountain

One square = 5 feet

THE DEMON WITHIN

Gamemastery module d3

dunGeon adventure

CREDITS

Design: Stephen S. Greer and Tim Hitchcock

Development and Editing: Jason Bulmahn, Mike McArtor, Jeremy Walker

Art Director: Drew Pocza

Cover Artist: Warren Mahy

Interior Artists: JZ Concepts, Drew Pocza, Wayne Reynolds

Cartographer: Rob Lazzaretti

Managing Art Director: James Davis

Director of Operations: Jef Alvarez

Brand Manager: Jason Bulmahn

Director of Sales & Marketing: Joshua J. Frost

Sales & Marketing Assistant: Carolyn Mull

Paizo CEO: Lisa Stevens

Corporate Accountant: Dave Erickson

Staf Accountant: Chris Self

Technical Director: Vic Wertz

Publisher: Erik Mona

D3: The Demon Within is a GameMastery Module designed for four 11th-level characters. By the end of this module, characters

should reach 13th level. This module is designed for play in the Pathinder Chronicles tm campaign setting, but can easily be

adapted for use with any world. This module is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the

world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.

The OGL can be found on page 31 of this product.

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Product Identity: The following items are hereby identiied as Product Identity, as deined in the Open Game License version

1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, artifacts,

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Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the contents of this Paizo Publishing game

product are Open Game Content, as deined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work

other than the material designated as Open Game Content might be reproduced in any form without written permission. To

learn more about the Open Game License and the d20 System License, please visit wizards.com/d20.

Printed in China.

THE DEMON WITHIN

the crusades looks out over the twisted geography across the river. These fortresses

house battle-hardened warriors, who frequently switch between defending Mendev

from rapacious hellspawn emerging from the Worldwound and conducting suicide missions

into the heart of the chaos in attempts to stem it at its source.

One of the Mendevians’ better-kept secrets is the power that allows them keep the demons

from slipping over the border between the fortresses and completely overrunning their land.

Each fortress along the border houses a powerful wardstone, forged in the hectic days of the

First Crusade. These wardstones are the keys to the survival of the crusader theocracy, and

thus, the keys to its downfall. The lynchpin of the wardstones’ power lies within the greatest of

the Mendevian fortresses: Clydwell Keep, guarded by the mysterious Order of Holy Sentinels.

Within this bastion of holy power lies the Demonscope, a powerful artifact responsible for

maintaining the strength of the wardstones and keeping the demons at bay. For this reason,

Clydwell Keep is the key to the defense of the entire border. As long as it stands, Mendev is safe

from the marauding hordes to the west. But should it ever fall, the crusader state is doomed.

of the cells, afraid of the eternal punishment

awaiting him for his misguided actions and

feeling powerless to make things right.

The situation within the keep became a

battle of attrition. Only the fading power of

the control shards resonating in the Demon-

scope keeps the remaining magical protec-

tions intact. As the magical barrier weakens,

more demons slip through the holes sporadi-

cally forming in it. When the power inally

fades, nothing can prevent the demons from

overrunning the entire keep, the nation of

Mendev, and beyond.

Adventure Summary

The PCs attend the Holy Inauguration in

Kenabres as guests of honor and witness a

demonic slaughter in what is intended to be

a sacred ceremony. They learn that Clydwell

Keep is besieged by a large force of demons

and are asked to aid the knights before it and

the Demonscope are lost to the iends.

The PCs use a secret tunnel to enter Cly-

dwell Keep via the mausoleum beneath the

keep’s chapel. Once inside the mausoleum

PCs ind subtle clues among the statuary

to help them restore the Demonscope shards

later in the adventure. Stairs lead up to the

chapel, but as the PCs ascend they pick up

an unwelcome addition to their numbers. A

quasit rogue begins tailing the PCs, eventu-

ally becoming a real nuisance if not discov-

ered. Inside the chapel, the PCs face a demon-

possessed oicer and several babaus.

Once they leave the chapel, the characters

are free to explore the rest of the fortress, but

the keep is where they must to go in order to

restore the Demonscope and protect it from

the invaders.

Stairs from the keep descend to the dun-

geon, which is the current battleield, as the

last vestiges of the keep’s defenders struggle to

keep the invaders away from the Demonscope .

Zombie paladins dangle from ropes along

the staircase, dretches and babaus torment

their knightly prisoners in the dungeon’s

cell blocks, and a group of succubi corners

Sir Holton Albright inside a warded chamber

they cannot enter. Rescuing Holton allows the

PCs to learn the reason behind the demonic

invasion and its target. Holton has the miss-

ing shard from the Demonscope the PCs need

to restore in order to save the fortress.

Descending to the lower dungeon level, the

PCs ind their way to the Demonscope blocked by

a demon knight, a demonling nabasu, and its

Adventure Background

Holton Albright is one of three knights

ordained to a sacred fraternity of paladins called

the Order of Holy Sentinels. Through sacred

rituals, these knights are consecrated at birth

to protect and maintain the magical efects

of a powerful artifact called the Demonscope ,

providing the energy and guidance it needs

to maintain a series of magical wardstones that

hedges out an entire nation of demons from

the lands of Mendev. Members of the order are

raised from birth to watch over the artifact.

Holton Albright memorized the prayers,

incantations, rituals, and other secrets of

controling the Demonscope , but within his

heart he never felt the devotion of his peers

and repeatedly questioned his faith. Beneath

the façade of strength and character, fear and

weakness ruled the young paladin. The order

appointed him as one of the new Holy Sen-

tinels and forced him to pit his will against a

demonic essence trapped within the Demon-

scope, which he believed he could not defeat.

To him, failure was an absolute certainty. For

years, Holton lived in fear of what might hap-

pen if his impure spirit was discovered and

his shortcomings publicly exposed. That fear

became so strong that he was willing to go to

almost any length to hide it.

The evening prior to his appointment into

the order of Holy Sentinels, a demon known

as a son of perdition appeared to Holton

disguised as the angel of Saint Clydwell. It

convinced Holton that those who claimed to

follow the teachings of Iomedae had perverted

her words and Saint Clydwell had chosen

Holton to correct them. The craty demon

convinced Holton that the Demonscope was

an evil tool and the root of the problem. By

shattering at least one of the control shards

upon the Anvil of Gravehearst, Holton could

end the long chain of misguided traditions

and the heart of the corruption of his order.

Holton fervently embraced the demon’s

honeyed lies and followed its instructions.

Instead of presenting himself at Saint Cly-

dwell’s Grand Temple in Kenabres on the day

of his inauguration, he snuck down to the

Demonscope chamber, snatched the control

shard from the aged Holy Sentinel on duty, and

led through a secret passage out of the keep.

This was the cue the demons waited for, and

with it they launched their attack on the keep

and the grand temple. As Holton snuck across

the bailey, he watched in horror as demons

assaulted the keep, spilled over its walls, and

appeared in the sky overhead. It was then that

the false Saint Clydwell revealed its true nature

to Holton and laughed at his folly.

Holton inally realized the betrayal. Curs-

ing himself a fool, he raced back to the

Demonscope chamber to replace the shard,

but found the way hopelessly blocked by

demonic invaders. More demons hemmed

him in from behind. With no other choice, he

led deeper into the dungeons and hid in one

module d3

A long the border of the Worldwound, a string of fortresses named for generals lost in

ghoulish minions. Within the Heart Chamber,

the PCs ind that the terrible balor imprisoned

in the Demonscope has created several false

shards to confuse those who attempt to correct

the situation. As the PCs unravel the puzzle,

the demon within the artifact begins to break

free. The PCs must fend of the attacks of the

enraged demon and restore the shards before

the demon escapes and consumes the PCs,

along with the rest of the fortress.

important political signiicance—perhaps

even providing military support from an

allied nation.

If you have the luxury of preparing for this

adventure early in a campaign, the PCs might

know Holton Albright. The PCs, as friends,

receive invitations to witness Holton’s inau-

guration in Kenabres.

Designer

Snoozing in Church

The service is described

as boring to lower the

players’ suspicions. Its

lack of detail might per-

turb players expecting their skill checks

to reveal more thorough information.

For this reason, I deliberately left out

text for the speaking priest, to prevent

players from becoming sidetracked by

an accidental red herring. Instead, I

suggest choosing a poem in a foreign

language and singing/chanting it as if

you were a cleric performing an actual

service. It’s a little freaky, but effective.

Should players insist on interpreting the

service with skill checks, you can simply

reiterate that it’s a boring service typi-

cal for the appointment of a new reli-

gious officer and should be over in a few

hours. Your players might even decide

that their characters fall asleep during

the service (which is helpful and speeds

things up drastically, while allowing you

to establish the overall mood).

—Tim Hitchcock

PArt One: InAugurAtIOn

DAy

Whatever way you get the PCs to Kenabres,

they are present to witness the inauguration

of Sir Holton Albright, the Fiendslayer, a

holy champion of the highest caliber and

irst heir to the Order of Holy Sentinels. As

emissaries, friends, or respected heroes, the

PCs are invited to attend the ceremony at

Saint Clydwell’s Grand Temple.

A great stone building marked by a narrow

steeple shingled with green copper stands

near the center of the town. Saint Clydwell

was a holy warrior of Iomedae who sacriiced

himself to seal the Abyssal hordes within an

earthly prison. One of Saint Clydwell’s greatest

acts during life was the imprisonment of a

powerful demon within an artifact known

as the Demonscope, transforming it into a

potent scrying device and focus for a chain

of magical wardstones . Only the constant

struggle of generations of heroes has kept the

demon imprisoned within the Demonscope

and the chain of wardstones active. Holton

Albright is one such sentinel.

Introduction

At the edge of the Worldwound, overlooking the

Bitter River, stands Clydwell Keep, a fortress of

light on the border of a blighted land. For more

than a century, holy champions from all corners

of the known world have taken up the crusade

against Abyssal monstrosities lurking within the

Worldwound. The blood of countless martyrs and

crusaders anoints the stones of this legendary

keep—a testimony to the sacriices made to

protect Golarion from the hordes of the Abyss.

Standing but a few miles distant, the town

of Kenabres bolsters the keep’s defenders

by continually providing two important

commodities: weapons capable of slaying

demons and the soldiers to use them.

Today marks an important occasion in

Kenabres, for today a young man is to be

consecrated to the sacred Order of Holy

Sentinels. Dignitaries, soldiers, merchants,

zealots, and other invitees gather from far and

wide to witness the ceremony, a renewal of

the pledge of protection and a reminder of the

sacriices of those who came before.

The grand temple is magniicent. High above,

vaulted ceilings form a cracked ribcage draped

in shadow and resonant echoes. Along the

perimeter rise curved timber beams thick with

detailed carvings, leafy furls, and symmetrical

clubs. Around the perimeter, marked by tiered

rows of amber-glowing candles, tall stained-

glass windows set in leaden frames depict the

major accomplishments of Saint Clydwell’s life.

At the far end of the chamber, a raised

dais supports a long marble altar fronted by

a pulpit and a gold-leafed reliquary. Flanking

the altar stand two exquisitely carved massive

wooden statues of Saint Clydwell. The once-

bright colors of the oil paints covering the

statues have faded and dulled with time.

The saint is depicted at the time of his

ascension, with a crown of light on his head

and feathered wings sprouting from his back

as he prepares to ly toward the heavens.

Moments later, a few minor priests enter

and make inal preparations at the altar for

the approaching ceremony, while more robed

acolytes pace the outer aisles, chanting and

swinging censers in smoky jasmine trails.

Inauguration (eL 13)

A long line of gleaming, armored knights

trails through the cloisters and towering

doorways of Saint Clydwell’s Grand

Temple. The throng moves slowly but with

determined excitement. One of its own is

scheduled to ascend to near-sainthood, as

the responsibility of the Demonscope is passed

from one generation to the next.

Inside, robed acolytes usher congregants

into rows of rosewood pews, the laking

lacquer worn clean and rubbed smooth

paying tribute to the congregation’s frequent

attendance. As the seats fill, the crowd

becomes a mix of knights and priests, nobles

and dignitaries, all of whom seem socially

signiicant. The PCs are assigned seats near

the back of the grand temple. Other, more

important guests, religious oicials, and local

heroes are seated closer to the front, as beit

their stations.

This adventure begins when the PCs

attend the consecration ceremony for Holton

Albright, the newest Holy Sentinel. The PCs

could be at the ceremony for any number of

reasons. Three examples follow.

If the PCs encountered problems with

demons in past adventures or need to consult

a specialist about demons, they might be in

Kenabres seeking counsel from the town’s

resident demonologist, Kutholiam Vuere. They

might also have some interest in purchasing a

copy of his book, Vuere’s Demonic Taxonomy .

If you run a political campaign that involves

the PCs as representatives, emissaries,

or even members of ruling houses, the

characters might be in Kenabres to attend the

inauguration in a formal capacity of goodwill

between nations. Their involvement in aiding

the soldiers of Clydwell Keep might have

Notes

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