```metadata
title: 'ADVENTURE: A Touch Of Black P7: Pitiful Little Things'
description: ''
tags: []
systems: []
renderer: V3
theme: 5ePHB
```
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# Pitiful Little Things
### A Touch of Black: Chapter 7
According to Folklore, hags steal children and eat them. They soon after give birth to a baby girl. That offspring grows normally with absolutely no indication that the child is destined to become a monster. On the day they transition into ”adulthood” the child transforms into a Hag akin to their mother. This is common knowledge among those who study evil. What is not commonly known is what happens when a Hag consumes a Hag’s child.
}}
{{toc,
- ## TABLE OF CONTENTS
- #### [{{ SETUP INFORMATION}}{{ 2}}](#p3)
- #### [{{ ACT 1: Proposals}}{{ 3}}](#p4)
- #### [{{ ACT 2: Downs}}{{ 6}}](#p7)
- #### [{{ ACT 3: Tunnels}}{{ 7}}](#p8)
- #### [{{ ACT 4: Altar}}{{ 9}}](#p10)
- #### [{{ CLOSING}}{{ 10}}](#p11)
- #### [{{ OTHER CHAPTER LINKS}}{{ 11}}](#p12)
- #### [{{ THE APPENDECIES}}{{ 12}}](#p13)
- #### [{{ MAPS}}{{ 20}}](#p21)
}}
:
### ADVENTURE MECHANICS
- This Adventure is Part 7 of Many
- Target Party: Four Players, Early Tier 2 Adventures
- Expected Playtime: 4+ Hours
- Tone: Urban Exploration
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### STYLE "SHORT SHOT"
A Short Shot is designed to give the GM a solid concept of what is going on inside of the adventure not just ideas. The Story will be well flushed out, including both Area and NPC descriptions, but will be more conceptual regarding things like encounters, rewards, and hazards. The Short Shot gives everything most GMs requires to lead a fantastic game.
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### PLAYING A.O.G. ADVENTURES
AOG adventures are written and designed to be system neutral to avoid Copyright and IP conflicts or issues. They will lean toward a d20 system, particularly 5e D&D, but language referencing specific creature types, treasures, and environments may be more generic or cast in my Homebrew World. All of which should be easily imported into any system of your choosing. I will always include an appendix of notes and my thoughts on mechanics to help GMs and Players understand what I may mean by certain phrases and ideas, as well as helpful links to our own source materials.
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### ABOUT HORROR GAMES
Running an effective Horror game can be a real trick and takes a different set of skills than the average DM employs from game to game. It is my favorite style of game to run, and has been for thirty years, so I have some suggestions for you. You can find those in the Appendices.
## What is The AOG?
It started 40ish years ago. I still remember the day my cousin brought out this thin blue book with a white sketched dragon on its cover and a pile of strange dice. He told eight year old me that we were going to play a game where I could be anything I wanted (as long as it was an elf, dwarf, human, or halfling). I immediately developed that love of bringing people along on journey after journey, and through all the moments and four decades of playing, the trip has never lost its wonder.
:
Now, I think we are best described as a network of Table Top Role Playing Gamers (Mostly D&D). I had been sharing my work online for some time but decided in April 2021 to open a Patreon and Discord. Honestly, I knew I was behind the Patreon Train, but it made sense as a platform. I’m not interested in money, but I am interested in sharing with and helping others in the hobby. So I run the site 100% free of any paywalls. More like a Digital Magazine than a Patreon.
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Over a year in and we’ve grown quite a bit. We host One Shots through the Discord. I do a lot of requests for our supporters and some commission work. I coach many of our subscribers regularly on DMing and fantasy cartography. My son helps write our “Year One” series which are adventures designed for entry level DMs and players, and we use our content to run an after school Jr High Group. We even support a podcast my youngest son and I lend our voices to. It has been a busy year.
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### Contact us
:
[PATREON](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames) Amplus Ordo Games
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[DISCORD](https://discord.gg/GDp7a3CFtA) Join the Network
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[REDDIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/amplusordogames/) Our Sub in Reddit (Not super active)
::
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## SETUP INFORMATION
### Town of Tragedies Guidebook
This adventure is part 7 of many to come, and will put your players on a collision course with a Elder Being and designed to be used with the Town of Tragedies Guide, which isn’t necessary, but referenced often.
[A TOWN OF TRAGEDIES GUIDE](https://www.patreon.com/posts/62746174)
### Trigger Warning
Horror Games often deal with Triggering topics. This episode deals with a wheelchair bound woman struggling with infertility. She has gotten into a bad deal with a hag in order to find a way to conceive a child. There are a lot of folks who have struggled with conception. Their desperation is real and deep. So many may be able to relate to Persephone’s choices, but at the same time they could be deeply wounded by the topic. So tread lightly, and shift if you need to.
### Story Flow
The adventurer’s employer, Lady Persephone, has introduced them to a new partner in her endeavors. Cynthia Duprang, a kindly middle aged woman, is managing something very important for their Lady in exchange for the player’s helping Cynthia with some extremely dangerous tasks. The whole thing likely reeks to them as at best shady and at worst deadly.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. Persephone was stricken with a disease as a child that left her paralyzed from the waist down and unable to conceive children. Cynthia has promised to remedy Persephone’s ailments. Cynthia, as many will guess, is an extremely powerful hag known as Old Oma Sindy Spinsister, and with hags there are always catches. Persephone knows this and hopes to turn the tables later on Oma, but she is in way over her head. Her only hope is eventually going to be to turn to the Players and have them help, but as of right now she is keeping her secrets close.
This is the third and final task the players will be given by Cynthia. A child has been kidnapped. A Hag’s child. She will be upfront with them concerning the matter. The child is to be sacrificed to an Eldritch Entity, one they’ve run into before, Aberrant Black, who has a shrine deep under the city. This cannot be allowed to happen. They are to rescue the child and return it to Cynthia… unharmed.
### Game Opening and Hooks
- **Campaign:** Rescue a child for Cynthia
- **One Shot:** Rescue a kidnapped Noble’s child!
- **One Shot Alternative:** They are hired to eliminate an infestation of creatures and find more than they have bargained for!
### Mood
Things hidden away. Moments covered in darkness. The unknowable. Secrets. Mysteries. Echoes of the past long thought forgotten. These are the bedrock of Deleran’s Crossing. Beyond every door. Behind the curtains. Under every stone. Locked in the backroom. Chained in the cellar. Politely veiled evils covered by swollen sad eyes and wryly smiling lips. There are few, if any, places in the city that have corners empty of shadow or closets sans skeletons. Now in most cases these private wickednesses remain buried but not forgotten. In most cases… Those that live here, know there are those rare and wretched moments where what was thought long lost has gently come rapping, so faintly it comes tapping, tapping at the chamber door. It shall be hidden nevermore.
### Madness, Sanity. and Trauma
Madness, Sanity. and Trauma
These adventures often deal with Madness and Insanity in the NPCs. For the PCs I have introduced Madness issues and a Sanity Mechanic to the campaign in this episode. Coming face to face with inexplicable horror does things to the mind, and that should not be lost on your players. It is 100% optional, and if it in any way makes you or your players uncomfortable you should not use it. You can check out the mechanic I use in the Appendices.
### Important Locations
#### Balinovia and the City of Beurnoli
The Stolregard Barony carved out of the heart of an dark old growth forest known as the Graywood. Deleran’s Crossing is the ruling seat of the Barony. It is a poverty stricken, dying city, rotting from the inside out.
#### The Barony and Deleran’s Crossing
This is Persephone’s home, and worth mentioning as a backdrop to her life. Balinovia has an Italian feel to it, particularly when it comes to social and familial culture.
### NPCs
#### Lady Persephone Trellu
The player’s Adventuring Patron. She is a noblewoman new to town looking to extend her family’s power.
#### Marsilia Baralini
She is Persephone’s Handmaiden and personal bodyguard.
#### Oma Sindy Spinsister (Cynthia)
#### Hag of the Night Circle
Oma and her sisters are ancient and powerful hags who settled into the Stolegard forest around Deleran’s Crossing and have staked a major claim on the land. Sindy moves about the city in the form of Cynthia Duprang, a kindly middle aged woman.
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#### Vaemond Maleris, Second Son of the Maleris Family of Coldrock
Vaemond is a pleasant young man with dashing features, deep brown eyes, a finely trimmed black mustache, and dark swept back hair. He is a dutiful son to both family and business, and has been courting Persephone for some time now and will have proposed marriage the night before the adventure begins.
## PRE-GAME
### Story Arcs
As of part 7 and we’ve built up a large network of threads. The Gray Griffon, Aberrant Black, The Political Games, and now Persephone’s Arc is front and center. We now return to Aberrant Black in this arc, and set course for Persephone’s tragic conclusion while getting the villain to the forefront for the next major story.
### Tier of Play
The players should be Level 4, possibly receiving a power bump before starting this adventure. I don’t know if it is absolutely necessary as this could play out as a heavy Exploration and Social Event Episode, so a smart group of players could pull this one off. Still, this is a longer run with the possibility of many back to back encounters, and they may need that extra umph.
*These adventure are designed using Milestone Experience. So if you are counting numbers then they may or may not be there yet. If you are unfamiliar with that concept, it is basically rewarding them equally for achieving certain goals in the main avenues adventures take - Exploration, Social Interaction, and Combat. I find it gives the GM a lot more wiggle room when it comes to Adventure Design and encounter planing. Buy you play how you want!*
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### OPENING CUT-SCENE
{{monster,frame
### The Guardian
##### She slithers down the tunnel. The bones of her spine clattering across the rocks. Dark energy filling her serpent like skull and running up and down the length of her figure. These have been her tunnels for thousands of years. Long before the fleshy ones settled the surface above. Long before their buildings, their streets, their sewers. Foolish mortals flitting about their business dwelling on their petty worries and empty desires..Her snakelike body curls up into the pile of treasures she has guarded for as long as her memory reaches.
}}
## ACT 1: Proposals
Several weeks have passed since their adventures in Shadow Song. This gives them some opportunity to do things about town. If they so wish. It could also be a great place to insert an adventure off the books. In these weeks Persephone has been busy. The work on the Estate has been completed and it looks amazing, completely out of place here in town, but amazing all the same. The paperwork has begun for a building in High Road, as well as plans for restoring it. Ultimately, the family will open an Imported Goods Shop, hopefully in the near future. But before all that happens, Perspehone will announce her engagement to Veamond. It should be a happy morning, but Cynthia will appear fortheir last task. At least she will make them breakfast first.
### EVENT: Most Important Meals
The players will be awaken to the smell of breakfast being cooked. Bacon, Eggs, Pancakes, Potatoes, Fruits and all the other niceties. They’re usually on their own for their morning meal so this is a nice surprise.
{{monster,frame
### Chef Cynthia
##### You come into the kitchen and find Cynthia bustling about. She has on a head scarf and large apron. There are multiple dishes cooking at the same time. Some of them by obviously magical means. (They’re floating) When she sees you she smiles and waves, her flour covered face beaming with a near comical joy. “Well don’t just stand there gaping come, come sit down. We do have to talk about our next problem, but before that we have much to celebrate.” She waves you toward the seat and is about to return to cooking when Lady Perspehone and Marsilia enter the room. She looks annoyed that Cynthia is here, but there is also an undefeatable joy on her face. “Well there she is! The future Mrs Maleris, or will you be keeping your family name?” Cynthia calls out, and the annoyance on Persephone’s face grows. “I’ll be taking his name, thank you. Now what is all this?” Cynthin dramatically mocks being hurt by the curt response. “Why it is a celebration feast for your house. Such good news calls for it. And it’ll do a great deal to help our friends here with the next task. But before that, come, let us eat.” And with that the dishes float from the counter laden with food and set themselves on the table. Chairs pull themselves out and Cything ushers you to sit.
}}
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**PLAYER CHOICES:** They’re probably going to ask some questions.
Some of the players may refuse to eat. Persephone and Marsilia will eat, and begrudgingly declare Cynthia to be a masterful cook. The meal should grant benefits to the players. These could include things like extra health, resilience against magical effects, enhancing their abilities, or even more powerful effects should the GM decide they are necessary. After breakfast is resolved Cynthia will get to business.
{{monster,frame
### Kidnapped
##### Cynthia’s beamy expression hardens. “I hate to sully such a fine morning with terrible news. But it does pertain to our final task. There has been a kidnapping. My sister has had her child stolen from her. Now, I’m sure you’ve all guessed, at least in part, that I’m not just some simple old woman who makes a good waffle. Well, neither are my sisters, and we, like any other being, have to live by certain rules and obligations. My niece has been taken to a place that we simply cannot go. And so I’m sending you all to retrieve the baby and bring her back to me. This is your final task. Succeed and the deal your Lady has made with me will be complete on her end. I’ll have my obligations, but you’ll be done dealing with Ol’ Cynthia… unless you want to.” She smiles, and not in a kindly manner. More like a cat watching a mouse. “I’ll always be around if you ever find yourselves needing help.” Her gaze drifts toward the entrance of the house. As she does the bell rings and the smile grows.
}}
**PC CHOICES:**
They’re probably going to ask some questions. Let a little time pass, she probably won’t take her eyes off the door.
{{monster,frame
##### A few moments later Vaemond enters the room, flowers in hand.“Congratulations Vaemond. We are just about to conclude our final business.” Cythina returns to the task. “Now, I’m sure you’re aware of the Ratfolk problem the city has. (Use any vermin-ish humanoid creature you like here) Nasty little creatures skulking through the sewers in service to some garbage god. Well, it has convinced them to sacrifice my niece tomorrow night when the moon peaks in the sky. This trash lord intends to inhabit the body of that sweet little baby, you’re going to stop this and return her to me unharmed..."
}}
{{monster,frame
##### She shuffles about the kitchen, cleaning up. "Unfortunately, their god keeps them hidden from us. But the town believes the heart of the infestation is below the Downs. Not far from the Crimson Curtain, which I believe you are familiar with. You should begin your search there. I’ve brought these for you” she places a collection of potions on the table. “The green will make you small, and the purple will restore your size. Ratfolk are small and likely to go places you cannot fit. Good luck and don’t fail. The fates of everyone in this room depends on it.” And with that she vanishes. Marsilia gasps and Vaemod yelps. Persephone seems unsurprised.
}}
**PC CHOICES:**
They’re going to ask more questions. And Persephone will finally be willing to answer... some
{{monster,frame
### Coming Clean
##### “Well…” Persephone sighs. “Now that Cynthia has so openly played her hand. Some time ago I was contacted by her. She claimed to be able to remedy my… conditions. While at first I was dismissive, I quickly became convinced. And that set into motion the series of events that have led us here. I have no illusions as to her true nature, she is most certainly a Hag, and a powerful one at that. But I have made plans of my own and intend to come out on top of this bargain. You are all part of that. We have many things to prepare, but for now, go and quickly rescue this child. We cannot gain the upper hand until the deal is complete.” Vaemond takes the handles of her chair and wheels her out of the room. Marsilia follows behind. She turns to look at you with concern and worry. “Please, for all our sake, hurry.”
}}
## ACT 2: Downs
They will now have to head for the Downs and explore that area until they find the proper location.
### EVENT: Search the Downs
This ACT will be a bit of work for you as the GM, as there are just so many possibilities for interactions and outcomes. I suggest running it as a Skill Challenge and letting the Dice decide much of what happens. Their first course will likely be to ask people they’ve met about the Ratfolk, but they’re players and giving them an open ended problem will always become interesting. Just be ready for anything.
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They’ve been to the Downs before, and depending on those interactions will increase or decrease the challenge of finding the Ratfolk’s hiding spot. The Downs, in and of themselves, are a difficult place to navigate. If the people choose to be unhelpful or even dishonest, it will be worse. Once they find the apartment they will easily see the cultic symbols painted on the floor, walls, and ceiling. A hole fit for small humanoids will be in the corner, it will lead downward.
{{monster,frame
### The Downs
##### You once again approach the Downs. Wretched at a distance… abysmal up close. The filth and the rot that cover the streets there makes the stones slick and gives them an odd sense of cushion while you walk, almost like stopping onto a thin blanket on a hard floor. The air is choked with the reek of burnt garbage and humanoid waste. The buildings ahead are stacked haphazardly like a child’s blocks, just waiting to topple over. You must begin your search, but even knowing the source of the infestation is here still leaves a huge number of possibilities.
}}
#### CHALLENGE: Following the Clues
Finding a room that leads down to Tunnel Town shouldn’t be hard, as they do have to arrive eventually. So the challenge reflects the difficulty of the path there, how long it takes them to get there, which is extremely important for this adventure to come out successfully.
**Success Could Include**
- Helpful Locals that point them in the right direction
- Ratfolk sightings that lead to the right area
- “Luck” while searching the area.
**Failures Could Include**
- A Random Encounter with Street Thugs or appropriate Creatures
- Getting the run around and bad info from the locals.
- Chasing Ratfolk and losing them in the wrong buildings.
#### Specific Locations in the Downs
1) The Crimson Curtain (Classy Bordello)
2) Smiling Thad’s Remedies (Drug Den)
3) The Moaning Toad (Tavern)
4) Mother’s Goods and Services (Basic Store & Fence)
5) Jhymes Kastivar’s Tower
6) Laundry and Bathouse
7) Common House (Inn)
8) Aberrant Black Worshiper’s Room
::
#### Types of Random Buildings
1) Abandoned Room (Shouldn’t be many as Squatters move in quick)
2) Encounter Room (Haunting/Undead/Thieves/Etc)
3) Disturbing Room (Any Occult or Macabre Type Theme)
4) Ratfolk Hideout (Only one but could be in any generic room)
## ACT 3: Tunnels
Time to head into Tunnel Town (The undercity). The space between the sewers. It is a collection of interconnected tunnels and rooms that exist under hillside. I’ll provide a page or two of random maps that can be used as locales for Tunnel Town. Many of these places are inhabited by locals, but there are far more abandoned and dangerous locations here than there are above. Traversing these tunnels will be challenging due to the limiting space, and as they get closer the traps the Ratfolk have set.
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### EVENT: Tunnel Town
Navigating the Tunnels and Rooms should be a combination of their own decisions and the results of Skill Challenges that determine the ease at which they arrive at their destination. The Provided map is a series of interconnected “dungeon” rooms and tunnels. They do somewhat match up with the buildings above as basements and cellars but there are also a number of solitary rooms and caverns that have been constructed over the years for long forgotten purposes.
#### CHALLENGE: Navigate Tunnel Town
Similar to the hunt through the Downs, tracking the Ratfolk through Tunnel Town needs to feel complicated and to some degree confusing. It also needs to be a non-failure case for the players as they have to get to the Ratfolk Warren eventually. So the point of the Challenge is to give them a feeling of either “Hot on the Trail” or “Lost in the Dark”.
**Success Could Include**
- Finding evidence of the Ratfolk’s presence.
- Ratfolk sightings that lead to the right area
- “Luck” while searching the area.
- A helpful Tunnel Dweller that can point them in the right direction.
**Failures Could Include**
- A Random Encounter with appropriate Creatures
- Getting lost or turned around in the tunnels
- An encounter with a fairly dangerous sewer creature
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### EVENT: Ratfolk Warren
Eventually they will find the Ratfolk Warren and have to engage the clan. The Ratfolk will fight viciously until they hit half strength. At that point they will flee into the tunnels and will not return to this particular area. As they begin to look around they will see a glowing purple tunnel. At the end of this tunnel is a Shrine to Aberrant Black, they will find the baby laying on an altar made of trash.
{{monster,frame
### The Warren
##### You climb down into a dimly lit earthen cavern that reminds you more of a large burrow than it does a cave. It reeks of smoke, rodent urine, and garbage down here. Piles of debris are scattered about the burrow, and a few small fires burn nearby. The air is choked with foul smoke that clings to the ceiling. Shadows flit on the walks thrown into a dance by the various small fires. From these shadows peer bestial yellow eyes. Hissing sounds fill the air as the eyes narrow, whispers emerge from the darkness. “Kill them. Eat them. Chew their bones.”
}}
#### ENCOUNTER: Ratfolk
**Environment:** The area if filled with large piles of trash and debris. It will provide much cover and allow the Ratfolk to dive in and out of the piles. The ceiling isn’t too high 15’-20’ but is choked with smoke, the Ratfolk can climb the walls to hide up here as well.
**Combat:** These creatures should be fast and hard to target. They will fight with strike and cover tactics. Most of them will be spread out using missile weapons of some kind, but a few will attack with Melee, they should gain some sort of bonuses for attacking in groups. The creatures themselves are weak and should be defeated with one or two strikes.
### EVENT: Search the Lair
They should be quick to head for the baby, but players also love to search for loot. Any successful search check should turn up a Small treasure. Mostly low value coins and a few baubles, as most valuables have been offered to Aberrant Black in the Shrine.
## ACT 4: Altar
They’ll want to head to the Shrine room where they’ll have to contend with a manifestation of Aberrant Black and Rescue the baby.
:::
### EVENT: Aberrant Black
AB is currently possessing a young Human Girl. This girl is a dark caster and the combat considered a boss fight, and should borderline on deadly. AB cannot inhabit the baby, adding the hag powers to its own, until the peak of the moon this evening, so you may want to play the time up for dramatic effect. Once defeated the girl will die as Aberrant Black slithers into the trash pile and escapes. She will thank them for freeing her, and the Baby is now safe and can be returned to Cynthia.
{{monster,frame
### Touched by Black
##### You enter the room and your eyes fix on a small child no more than a few months old. She is being cradled in the arms of a small child covered in grime who sits upon a mounded throne of rubbish and discarded odds and ends. The Babe cries a little as the girl turns her attention toward you. Black fluid leaks from her eyes pale. Her lips and fingers have an appearance similar to someone suffering from frostbite, only they glisten in the light rather than taking on the dull appearance of dead flesh. “Have you come to thwart me? Is this the moment you take a heroic stance to stop my evil.” She smiles and ichor leaks at the corners of her mouth. She sets the baby aside. “Let us get to it then shall we?” the room plunges into a cold sticky darkness.
}}
#### ENCOUNTER: Aberrant Black
**Environment:** AB has opened an Eldritch Rift to the void that is its native plane. This created a darkness players will have a hard time seeing through and appropriate penalties should be enforced on actions requiring sight. In an otherworldly sense the darkness can also be felt making the area difficult to move through, and slowing them down. Strange sounds and unintelligible whispers will fill the darkness. All adding up to the players having to make a Hard Sanity Checks. If you are using that mechanic. The environment will continue to work against the players every round, forcing a reroll of checks and even make psychic attacks against them.
**Combat:** AB’s avatar will employ both telekinetic attacks, throwing them or throwing things at them as well as physical attacks, lashing out with ichor based tentacles. AB has significant resistances to magical spells and non-magical physical attacks. It will also use psychic attacks inflicting both fear and confusion on players. Hits from the tentacles will latch to the players and drain their life force and add it back to AB. Depending on the rulesets these attacks should be subject to player resistances and saving throws.
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### EVENT: Search the Shrine
The pile below the baby is a hodge-podge of high quality trash, and actual valuables pilfered from the city, all of which should qualify for a Large Treasure for reward purposes. They should find an odd amount of Religious and Occult style objects in this pile. Some of which can be mildly magical in the sense that they give off a vibe. One or two should be actually magical with both pros and cons to their use. Handling them, particlarily if they decide to keep them, should force a Sanity Check.
## CLOSING
When they return Cynthia will be waiting with Persephone and Vaemond. The players will likely be very hesitant to turn the child over to Cynthia. If they are, she will cast a spell that causes mass paralysis and take the child. You may give them a chance to resist this spell but even a success should leave them moving as if time has been greatly slowed. This lasts only for a moment, and either way Cynthia will take this time to demonstrate her “Good WiIl” for the accomplishment of the three tasks. When the paralysis lifts Cynthia and the Baby will be gone, but Persephone will remove her Blindfold. Seemingly healed of her ailments.
Once they’re returned home they’ll have to wait for Cynthia to show up. Persephone and Marisila will be pleased to see them back with the Harp. One step closer to finalizing their dealings. It will be several days before Cynthia comes for her prize. If the players have the Celestial Crystal she will offer to trade that instead. If they object she will offer a boon to them in order to sweeten the deal. If they refuse a second time she will take the Harp but will remember how uncooperative they were. This will certainly make dealing with her in the future more difficult. If they don’t have the crystal she will politely examine the Harp and ask them to explain what happened in the village. She will be quite interested in the story, and still take the Harp as promised. If she takes the Harp she will cast a spell on it, shrinking it to fit in her bag. She will ten take her leave and inform them she will be back in one weeks time in order to give them their final assignment.
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::::::::::::::::
### REWARDS
Being that this Chapter feels best if it ends on the cliff hanger of Persephone receiving a miracle in regard to healing Rewards, post game may feel a bit out of place. But still, unrewarded players often are uninterested players. They have the treasures from the SHrine below but let us do just a little more for them, shall we?
:
With Persephone nearing the end of her dealing with Cynthia, her needs for the players are now slimming down. She does need them for the final confrontation, but by this time players likely hate this town and the people in it. So we need something to get them to stay. Persephone will be offering them the house next door, which she has recently purchased. Afterall honeymooners, don’t want houseguests living with them right after the wedding, and so this second estate will be deeded to them, under the House Trellu banner of course.
:::::::
## The End
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#### The Story Will Continue in
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#### "Along Came The Spider"
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# THANKS FOR PLAYING
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**I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. [AMPLUS ORDO GAMES](https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames)**
:::::
### DELERAN'S CROSSING CAMPAIGN GUIDE
:
#### [A Town of Tragedy Campaign Guide](https://www.patreon.com/posts/supplement-town-62746174)
:::
### A TOUCH OF BLACK ADVENTURE CAMPAIGM
:
#### [Warehouse of Woe](https://www.patreon.com/posts/63188187)
:
#### [Condemned](https://www.patreon.com/posts/64929203)
:
#### [The Haunting of House Trellu](https://www.patreon.com/posts/adventure-of-of-65802400)
:
#### [Black Taxes](https://www.patreon.com/posts/adventure-black-68566623)
:
#### [A Candle In The Window](https://www.patreon.com/posts/adventure-candle-69463504)
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#### [The Shadows of Song Dell](https://www.patreon.com/posts/adventure-of-71110441)
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#### Pitiful Little Things
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#### MARCH 2023: Along Came The Spider
::::::::::::::::::::::::::
### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To the Long History of Open Gaming that allows our adventures to be written system neutral.
Original story written by Amplus Ordo Games
All Maps and Handouts were done by Designers at AOG using Inkarnate
PDF Formatting done using The Homebrewery
:
# THE APPENDICES
## Notes, Lore, Stories, Handouts, Maps, & Statblocks
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D&D is a complicated dance of information and imagination. I've often found a lot of trouble seeing someone else's vision in what they have written. Having put out dozens of adventures now, we at the AOG have figured out that what we see isn't always what you see. And while that is absolutely wonderful when it spawns creativity... it is absolutely tragic when it breeds confusion.
You probably won't find sections like these in our "Year One" or "Quick Shot" Adventures, as those are designed to flow without a lot of extra information. But when it comes to our Bigger Releases we'll typically include quite a bit of extra information to bring some clarity to our thinking, to further expand on our vision, and hopefully add fuel to your own.
Some of the things below probably won't change from module to module. Things like the House Rules and How I structure the AOG's Adventures. Other parts like Maps and Statblocks will change every Adventure.
I think that's about all you need to know about this section.
And as always Thank You for playing with us!
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## PLAYING AN AOG ADVENTURE
#### Homebrewed World
First off, almost all my adventures are set in my Homebrew World of Taalist, particularly the Continent of Krenshad. Which the majority of has a very Gothic Art and Renaissance Period cultural feel to it. With some Greek and Middle Eastern Cultre from various time periods thrown in there for flavor. That said… Almost all of my Adventures can be easily ported into your location of choice. If you would like to play in Taalist my Campaign Guide (All 150+ Pages of it) can be accessed on our Discord.
#### The Lay Out
I divide my adventures into “Acts”. An Act doesn’t necessarily reflect an amount of time, but more of an important series of events or locations. Some Acts may take 5 minutes, some 5 hours. Why? I dunno, ask the players who over complicate simple matters and simplify the overly complex.
#### Skill Check DCs
I don’t spend a lot of time defining DCs as I play with a bit wider scale of success and failures. What does that mean? For reference the DC scale in 5E looks like this.... Very Easy DC 5, Easy DC 10, Medium DC 15, Hard DC 20, Very Hard DC 25, Nearly Impossible DC 30. When I list a DC, I will tell you it is Hard. But Hard for one party may be easy for another so I leave the actual number value up to you. I also play with a “Success but with Consequences” mentality. That means if they get close they still accomplish their goal, but there is a “but” to that success. An Example? Hard Stealth DC is 20, they roll an 18, I tell them “You sneak past the guard you see, but the guard you didn’t see heard something and is headed your way.” I think it adds more to the story that way.
#### Search Checks
I often reference Search Checks. What is a Search Check? When the players want to “search” something or for something I let them use either Investigation or Perception. I know that isn’t RAW but it just makes things so much easier. I got real tired of explaining to players who have been playing with me for years the difference between the two… just let them look for stuff!
#### Treasure Sizes
Every game is different. So I do not *usually* list out treasures. Instead I use the follwing terms to assign value not size to the treasure Petty, Small, Medium, Large, Huge. Often I will use a combination of them. You can decide how best to fulfill that for your party.
#### Identify Rules
I use a different style of Identify. Items in my world have a Knowledge DC on them (Arcana, Religion, History, and Nature). I allow the player to use an appropriate Check on an item to identify it. The Identify Spell adds a +10 to this. It can be upcast for additional +5 bonuses. Depending on the score of the Check I give them different information. Some information is extremely hard to obtain, for example Curses are well hidden behind DCs that are at least DC 30, often much higher.
#### Opening Cutscene
I like to start my games with an Opening Cutscene which is read before anything else happens. These are usually really vague bits of information that give a glimpse into something that will maybe happen later, happened before the adventure, or is story adjacent to it. I have found these to be great tools to set the mood and create a little mystery.
#### Setting, Background Info, and Hooks
These portions can be used as you see fit. Each one is a little different, so it is hard for me to say how best to use them. Some will play better if you can get them into the hands of the players before the game. Others may have better influence when read just after the Cutscene. Some are really only relevant to moments in the story. But as in all things you do what is best for your game! That is always the way to go.
#### Skill Challenges
I use the idea of Skill Challenges a lot. What is that? It is an event in the game that isn’t quite an encounter and it isn’t a simple skill check. It is a problem they solve with their whole skill set. Typically they must get three successes before three failures in order to succeed in a skill check. The thing about a Skill challenge is they’re are vague on purpose to allow players to be creative in solving a problem. An example may help here.
> - DM says “Your Boat is taking on water. What would you like to do?”
> - Player 1 responds with “I use my carpentry tools to fix the hole” and they make a Tool Check. But they roll a 2 so they fail. Too much water.
> - Player 2 says “ wants to row harder with the crew to get us toward shore faster” They make an Athletics Check and roll an 18. So that is a success.
> - Player 3 “I use Destroy Water to get water out” OK, well it only destroys 10 gallons so it isn’t super helpful, but the momentary reprieve allows a little drywork to happen and allow player 1 to reroll.
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## THOUGHTS ABOUT HORROR GAMES
##### What is a Horror Game?
That question covers a lot of bases! But there are some core values that make a game a Horror Game, and they aren’t what a lot of people think. Sure it can be a gross out carnage and gore run with entrail and blood covered monstrosities, but far more often it is about the tension and mood of the game you are running. Horror games dive deep into setting a specific tension building tone and subverting player expectations. If you have access to Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, read it! It has a multitudes of tips on what a Horror game is and can be!
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##### Safety and Boundaries
VRGtR talks about this a lot. Make sure you know your group’s boundaries and have a safety system in place when you play. You can google info about that real quick if you need to. But basically it is a way for players to let you know that you’re heading into territory that makes them uncomfortable in NOT a fun way. Then you as the DM can pause and redirect. Twas a time I thought that was lame and unnecessary… then I had a player have a breakdown. I didn’t know it was coming and in fact they didn’t either, but the narrative got way to close to home emotionally in regard to past trauma. Were there safety tools in place that player could have let me know, but instead they felt trapped there growing more and more uncomfortable until it was too late. So talk to your players and develop a plan to create and protect boundaries!
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##### Tone and Subverting expectations.
So lets talk about tone. Not the specific tone differences between say a gothic horror game and a cosmic horror game. The overall tone that horror should create. No matter what the style of the game is, horror games always promote feelings of rising tension and release. A lot of people compare this to a roller coaster, that’s close but coasters usually start big and end slower. Horror tends to work in reverse. Rising tension, small relief, more tension, more relief, high tension, little relief, you get the idea, and then it all comes racing to a finish at the end… or did it? Creating that kind of tension and not making your players miserable with it is a skill that you as the DM will need to develop. And one of the best ways to do that is to subvert their expectations.
This is another place where the Roller Coaster analogy kind of goes off the rails. (Yeah I punned that). You know on a coaster that after a long rise there is going to be a drop. You see it coming. You’ve watched it the entire time you were in line. It built excitement for that moment. But what if the coaster didn’t drop right there? What if it only dipped a little bit? What if the design of the track was intentionally misleading? That is the kind of tension you want to create.
Ever ride a Disney Coaster? Most are encased in a building or shoot through massive scenery that obscures your vision. That is 100% intentional, because were those coasters open air they'd be pretty lame, but the fact that you have no idea there are dips and twists coming on that run-away-mine-train makes otherwise yawnable rides fun. That is horror. The players think something is about to happen, but what is really happening is over here. You ever do the pull a quarter out of a kid’s ear trick? If you’re good at it you learned to get them to look anywhere but at where you’re keeping that quarter, and then the moment they look away you grab their head and scream WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR EAR! OMG!... lol… don’t do that to children… that’s called trauma. But when it comes to Horror Games I’m sure you get the idea. Its basic illusion work, get them looking anywhere other than where the threat is.
You also need to play with tropes and then sometimes turn them on their heads. Folks say all the time they hate tropes. I’m just gonna put this out there… most people don’t know what they actually like and hate. People love tropes, they’re tropes for a reason. We play a game that in all of its core aspects is a living breathing trope and it is really hard to get away from it.
So what we’ve all done is embrace it, sometimes without realizing it, and that gives you a lot of room to take tropes and flip them upside down. Horror leans into tropes all the time. A group of people get isolated and a creature picks them off one by one. That is the heart and soul of 90% of horror stories. That’s a trope. Strahd is one of the tropiest tropes that ever troped, and we all still love him. Tropes create a sense of security, players think they know what’s coming, and messing with that is your most effective tool in creating tension.
I ran Curse of Strahd a while back. It is wonderful as written, but I can’t help but mess with stuff so I jiggered the heck out of that module. In the run I introduced Colletta (the “Tatyanna”) character as the typical damsel in distress being chased by a Vampire. But then they met Strahd who was simply done with everything and determined to destroy his own realm. He was of course hot after Coletta as he always is, but more interested in the end of his curse. This turned him into an anti-hero of sorts, and every interaction with him was uncomfortable but helpful. . Now the players Never Ever Ever trusted Strahd, nor should they have. But Strahd was never the Villain of my story. Colletta was. I had given her access to past memories of her former lives and she was determined to not let Strahd free of his curse but instead to strip him of his powers and torment him herself forever. They players did so many horrible things to protect that damsel in distress and all the while were pawns to evil, meanwhile evil was attempting a true redemption that they denied him. Tropes used and expectations subverted. It was a glorious ending full of shock and horror. And I couldn’t have done it without leaning into tropes!
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##### Keep your Focus & Remember, Less is More
Less is More, this old saying rings true in so many areas of life, and holds a lot of sway over Horror. How many monsters are there in most Horror stories? Most of the time there is only one. If there are more it is usually the same type of creature. There is a reason for that. One you should lean into. One very hard to kill creature is a lot scarier than dozens of slaughterable goons. “If it Bleeds We Can Kill It.” is a statement of Hope not Fact. Hope can be crushed. Now I’m not saying don’t use minions or random encounters or mini bosses. We need those in an Adventure. What I am saying is don’t drown your players in them, and never let the focus off your main threat. It is always there. Looming and lurking. In many ways it is the Monster’s story and no one else's. Doubt that? Think of most of the popular Horror Stories you know, who is easier to remember? The Monster or the People it is after? In almost every regard, your threat is your Protagonist. You still probably want your players to pull out a win, because that is fun for them, but your monster is your true star.
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##### The World Doesn’t Work in Their Favor
Normally, there are a lot of things that should work in the players favor. NPC cooperation is often one of them. But you’re out to create a general feel of suspicion and distrust. Therefore NPC and the World should give the impression of wanting to cooperate, but they often don’t.
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##### Use Good Descriptive Words.
It’s not an Ogre. He isn’t just ugly. He is a hulking monstrocity nearly 10 feet tall covered in oozing sores with chunks of flesh hanging between its rotting teeth.
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##### Hunt Them
Being Hunted by a monster is more nerve wracking than fighting it. Building on a feeling of dread and anticipation can really make people unsettled.
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##### 2 Steps Forward 1 Step Back, Always…
They never fully win. Everything has strings attached and ripple effects. You‘re out to create the shadow of hopelessness. They save a peasant from a monster but while they were helping them, something else bad happened. Not as bad, but they need to start to live with the feeling that they have too many fires to fight. Let them win once and awhile, but they should mostly be partial victories. I mean you don’t want to crush their souls or anything… wait… or do you… ?
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##### Use a Kobayashi Maru
Otherwise known as a No Win Situation. Someone is sick and dying and they can’t save them. Someone can’t be brought back from the dead because - reasons. They couldn’t prevent a village from being destroyed. And if they pull a Captain Kirk and try to cheat the system… well remind them that Star Trek is fiction and this is D&D.
##### Force Them to Make Terrible Choices
In a regular game a BBEG might monologue and players could try to save the day. Yeah, that doesn’t happen here. If the BBEG is monologuing it is because players can’t stop them and they think it is amusing. There are two guillotine and two people trapped in them. They literally, no matter what can only save one. Those type of things. I have even killed a player very early in the campaign to emphasis that in a Horror Game villains don’t piss around.
##### Enforce Consequences.
Bad choice need consequences. This chips away at their morale. However, a player can usually deal with consequences affecting them. But… If they have an NPC ally and that NPC pays for it. That is differet. Hurt the helpless and your players will become extremely nervous. Hurt someone they don’t want to mess with and they will be down right scared. Now, this does not work on Murder Hobos... at first… because players like that don’t care about things like NPCs… but there are things they do care about, and once the consequence affects those things it hurts bad.
##### Chipping Away at Their Sanity
I highly reccomend using a sanity mechanic. There are many good ones out there that don't come across as blunt force trauma immediately. The things seen in a Horror Game should unsettle the characters deeply. In fact if we're honest most of what adventurers do and see should leave emotional trauma in their wake. Lean into that. When they see something have them make a sanity check... the more they fail the harder the checks get. And the more unhinged thier behavior becomes. Will they even be able to tell friend from foe by the end of the game? Hopefully at least one of them wont! Because having someone's character completely go off the rails is a good time in a game like this!
### SUPER IMPORTANT
##### Give Them a Flower in the Desert
The last thing I will leave you with is an easy and simple notion. Don’t constantly oppress the players. Horror has a lot of things that chip away at resolve, and if you don’t lift them up once and a while they’ll give up. That means they stop having fun. The Flower in the Desert concept is exactly what it sounds like. Give them something fun and wonderful once and a while. Give them a scene of beauty not terror. Give them a flower in the desert. It keeps them going and helps relieve the stress of the adventure. Humor is often one of your best avenues, but a real spot of world building beauty is something they will always remember!
##### The End?
I’ve got a ton more I could say about all things Horror, but I gotta wrap it up somewhere. If you want to pick my brain about it, send me a message where you found this and I’ll get back to ya!
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## MADNESS MECHANIC
I enjoy using madness, but with care. Real life faces difficult things, many extreme. I am not prone to dancing around those issues. Personally I think we are made stronger when we deal with them head on. And happen to think Role Playing can be a great setting to deal with such things. HOWEVER. (A big however, that is what I prefer… not what everyone else prefers.) There is absolutely no excuse or reason to be insensitive or flippant with another human being's emotional state and past trauma. I highly recommend talking about the possibility of sensitive issues before the game and having a way for players to signal the need for a course correction when something begins to cross boundaries.
### The Mechanic I Use
I use a countdown mechanism. Players start with 100 Sanity Points, which work like HP. Certain events and sights cause Sanity Damage. Conversely, treatments, rest, and downtime activity restore them, like healing does for HP. Once enough points are lost they cross Madness Thresholds and begin to suffer from different mental and emotional maladies. At first they aren’t all that bad. Picking up odd superstitions. Strange habits. A smidge of paranoia or a phobia. But the further they dive or the more often the dip into madness the greater the issues. Kleptomania. Real Paranoia. Hallucinations. Even violence against themselves or their friends. How this manifests should be a conversation between the player and the DM and should fit into the game. The Official Rules have lists of Types of Madness that we can go to for ideas. It is preferable to have this conversation precampaign. I really don’t like forcing a behavior on a player without consulting them. Once the type of Madness is agreed upon, that type, and or any additional issues, will continue to grow.
#### Starting Stats
1) All players begin with 100 Sanity Points.
2) This Score is modified by their Int or Wisdom. Players gain +/- 5 points based on their modifiers. Example +10 Sanity if they have a +2 Wisdom. -5 Sanity if they have a -1 Intelligence. If they have a negative this is their top tier threshold. (See Note)
#### In Game
1) Throughout their adventures they will encounter triggering events. Seeing a horrific ghost. Watching a loved one fall to their death. Stumbling upon humans eating a corpse. Reading from a Cursed Occultic Tome. Spending time at a child’s overly attended and out of control 6th birthday party… Trauma isn’t specific either. Some events may hit one character harder than others. As the DM this is up to you. How much damage they take will depend on the event. Trauma Damage will manifest as an all or nothing saving throw aimed at either Int or Wis.
2) Players should be able to do things to recover Sanity. Including simply getting a good rest. Other things like a night out at the inn, visiting your temple, casual reading, hobbies, spa days, etc… These types of things keep Madness at bay, but in a horror game Madness, like time, comes for us all. Once players dip below the thresholds of 100/75/50/25 they can’t normally go back over.
3) Once they cross one of the Madness Thresholds they will begin to suffer some form of mental health issue. The further down the rabbit hole they go the worse things should get.
4) It is up to you as the DM to decide the damage and the healing certain events do, but I recommend using multiples of a d6s for Damage and d4s for Healing. I also limit the healing to two events, usually weekly. But that depends on the pacing of your game.
Note: Now, we can’t leave our friends who start with scores below 100 feeling like mindful characters have an unfair advantage. It is well studied that people with higher IQs suffer from a lot more mental health issues. Not my opinion, that’s just science. It is likely due to the slower of mind not always processing things, information, and events as completely, or in many cases over-completely, as folks with more active and acute thinking patterns do. In other words Barbarian Smash and Move On! Wizard Obsesses and Over-Think! So if the Player has a negative stat, it grants them resistance to that type of Trauma and advantage when rolling to recover Sanity Points from activities.
## LOCATIONS
### The Stolregard Barony and Deleran’s Crossing
Let us begin with the Nation itself. Once a thriving part of Cetnovia, The Barony was founded long ago after land and title for the Eastern forests of Cetnovia were granted to Deleran Callington as reward for stopping the Kren Empire from using the Throne of Bones to dominate Cetnovia. It was later split off from Cetnovia after some near cataclysmic disasters. Nestled in the rocky foothills and valleys of the Stolregard mountains, the barony is a land with deep old growth forests. It was once a shining jewel in the world but centuries of struggle have dimed its light. The Gray Wood is now filled with dark creatures and foreboding mystery.
The Capital City of Stolregard, Deleran’s Crossing is nestled deep in the foothills of the Stolregard Mountains and surrounded by dark and foreboding Gray Wood forest. Even in these late years and dark times it is still a sight to behold. The city is built upon a cliffed island surrounded by a series of ridges and dells cut out of the land by the Cold Rock River. The ruling seat, Castle Skystone, sits just above the higher points of the city on a plateau along the town’s northern edge.
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At first glance Deleran’s Crossing appears to be something out of a storybook, upon closer inspection it more closely resembles a Shakespearean tragedy. Being a resident here is difficult, and life is pretty dismal. Despair and hopelessness are as common in town as rats and roaches. Low level violence and petty crime are a daily occurrence. The people do what they have to do to survive both physically and emotionally.
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### The Nation of Balinovia And The City of Beurnoli
This is Persephone’s home, and worth mentioning as a backdrop to her life. Balinovia has an Italian feel to it, particularly when it comes to social and familial culture. Sadly, it is a land of extreme selfishness, most everyone there is looking out for themselves first and themselves second. And who could blame them? The nation is run by a former Pirate who wrangled the nobility under his thumb with the promises of riches or blood. They chose riches. It likely won’t last though. There are tens of thousands of Orcs from the Blood Axe Dominion building up on their northern borders. Balinovia has managed to keep them at bay thus far, but sooner or later the Orcs will break the lines and sweep through the land.
Buernoli is a good sized city of tens of thousands nestled on the north side of the Thundering River, and is a valuable industrial center, and produces much of the nations arms and armor. The surrounding area is hilly and rich with minerals, though most of the major mining operations are across the river in the mountains. It is covered with small farms producing grain and livestock. There are also a fair amount of vineyards here, though the land isn’t as well suited to growing grapes as the towns to the southwest are. It would be extremely picturesque if it weren’t for the pollution. Buernoli itself is filthy, the streets are filled with trash from large amount of industry that dominates the town. The waste has tainted the river and forges have filled the sky with smoke. The wealthy live well outside the city in hillside villas where they can ignore the decay happening in town.
## NPCs
### Lady Persephone of House Trellu of Balinovia
House Trellu is a powerful Noble family in the nation of Balinovia, the city of Beurnoli specifically. They, like most nobles, maintain their wealth by owning land and collecting rent. The recent passing of a cousin who held both land and title in Deleran’s Crossing has opened some interesting doors for them. Balinovia is at war with the Blood Axe Orcs to the North and their chances of keeping the Orcs at bay are not good. Barnabus Trellu, the current head of House Trellu has sent his eldest daughter Persephone to manage the properties and put them in an order worthy of House Trellu. Persephone is a remarkable woman in many ways. As an infant she contracted the Pox, a disease that ravaged her body leaving her blind, and confined to a wheelchair. She has never let her disabilities define her. Now in her mid twenties, she has a sharp mind and a remarkable insight. She has proven herself time and again in both social situations and business. She has a no nonsense personality, that some consider cold and calculating. She is a fine looking woman of natural beauty, but does not allow Marsilia, her handmaid, to apply makeup or do anything more than a simple braid with her hair. She wears a simple scarlet blindfold to cover her eyes, as their empty pale milky color often puts people off, and not in a way that benefits negotiations.
**Potential Dark Secret:** Persephone does not have many desires. She accepted her life as a child and does not often live with wishes or regrets. She does, however, have one. She wants children herself, but her physicians have informed her that such a thing is impossible. The Pox took that from her as well. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants. Shortly, before her Aunt’s death she received a letter from her. That letter hinted that someone in Deleran’s Crossing had the power to help her conceive a child, maybe even recover fully. Shortly afterward, another letter appeared. This one from an unknown sender. It claimed that they could indeed help Persephone, but blood would have to be spilled, beginning with her Aunt. If she was willing to earn her cure then she should put a black candle in the window and burn the letter at midnight.
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She hasn’t fooled herself into thinking this arrangement isn’t without danger. She knows the force behind it is likely a Fiend or a Hag. No matter, one week later a candle had been purchased, a letter burned, and Auntie Zanetta passed away unexpectedly. Persephone has come to do family business, and with any luck start one of her own.
**DM Notes:** Persephone is a main protagonist for the early adventures in A Town of Tragedy. There should be a certain amount of mystery surrounding her, enough to create suspicion but not so much that the players turn on her. I will be using her Dark Secret as the story builds, but intend for her to be more of a tragic figure as things develop.
### Marsilia Baralini
When one uses the word Handmaiden it conjures pictures of young maidens in plain dresses attending much older women. In this case the picture is turned about. Marsilia has been many things to Persephone Trellu. Nursemaid, Nanny, Governess, and Handmaiden. She is a middle aged woman of proper bearing. She holds herself as a lady of class, although
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she has no claim to any titles herself. She has been a loyal servant to the Trellu family since she was a scullery maid in their kitchens as a child. She was married a long time ago, but the same Pox that took Persephone’s eyes and legs stole her husband and two children. She has always looked after Persephone as her own, and has never let that attachment show in an inappropriate way. She is also the young woman’s personal bodyguard, Handmaidens in Balinovia are not simply responsible for dresses and makeup. They are trained combatants responsible for protecting their charges with their very lives.
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**Potential Dark Secret:** Marsilia was contacted by the Hag before Aunt Zanetta’s letter arrived. Zanetta had no intention of luring Persephone into a contract with a Hag, but the vile creature was made aware of the situation and decided to take advantage. Afterall, broken hearts are the most fertile grounds for empty promises. Marsilia was promised a second chance with her family. She has made that arrangement. Though the price for her family is steep and may be more than she can bear. Marsilia is to help the Hag lure Persephone into a soul forfeiting deal. Once done, Marsilia and her family will be restored and allowed to carry on with their lives in a demi-plane recreation of Beurnoli before the Pox came.
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**DM Notes:** Marsilia is in way over her head, but so far is holding the course. There should be minimal hinting at her Dark Secret until the actual reveal. She is truly torn by this decision, and will still fight desperately to keep Persephone safe. She still thinks of her as a daughter, but she still wants her family back. So the loyalty is one part needing Persephone alive and one part actually caring. Either way Marsilia is not slotted for a happy ending.
### Old Oma Sindy Spinsister, Hag of The Night Circle
Oma and her sisters are ancient and powerful hags who settled into the Stolegard forest around Deleran’s Crossing after the Pentad War. When the Weave Drought took magic from the hands of mortals their coven infiltrated the City and began doing what Hags do best, broker deals with beings whose wants outgrow their sensibilities. The hags have divided up the aspects of the city amongst themselves. Oma, is the Hag of the Downtrodden. She loves to dwell in the ruins of the city and walk through the sewers below. Oma usually takes the form of Cynthia Duprang, a middle aged woman from the lower aristocracy. Cynthia is an average looking human woman with dishwater blond hair with small streaks of gray forming. She has dull green eyes, a welcoming smile, and the healthy, yet attractive, figure of a woman who has led a full life. Cynthia is extremely disarming and pleasant to be around.
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**Potential Dark Secret:** Not as much a dark secret as a terrifying reality. Oma’s true form is the stuff of nightmares. She, like most hags, has many features of the stereotypical folklore witch. A bent posture, wrinkly warted skin, long scraggly gray hair. But that is where the similarities end. She has four arms and four legs. Her hands and feet each have eight digits. Four fingers where you would expect them and four more opposite her palm where a normal beings wrist would connect to the hand. Her wrists instead join at the back of her palm and can unnaturally rotate. She wears a filthy black silken gown that does not cover her sagging granny bits, and a ratty belt from which numerous pouches hang. Beneath he scant wardrobe one can clearly see a spider like spinneret in her lower abdomen. She has twelve eyes scattered across forehead and arachnid mandibles in place of a mouth. She typically crawls about on all eight limbs, but is just as quick when she rears up on her legs in order to cast spells. Her skin is a dark decomposing gray color and covered in countless pussing wounds where multiple spider colonies nest inside of her. She can naturally climb walls as the spell *spider climb* and can attack anyone within 5' of her with the spiders living in her as a free action in a similar fashion to the *infestation* spell.
## NPC Group
### THE NIGHT CIRCLE
There are few things more unsettling or more dangerous in the world than a coven of powerful Hags. There is no doubt that there is such a coven lurking in and pulling the strings on the town of Deleran’s Crossing. They have divided the area amongst themselves and each controls a different aspect of the city. One manages the forests around Deleran’s Crossing, her reach extending far beyond the immediate woodlands, from there she twists the natural into the unnatural. Another has embedded herself into the upper class, aristocracy, and leadership of the town, loving the backstabbing and treachery people in power engage in. The last has happily chosen the downtrodden souls whose misery she revels in, and takes great pleasure in compounding. Together they form the coven the locals whisper about as the Night Circle. The people are terrified of the coven, though no real proof of its existence has ever been presented. They simply know and understand that such things lurk in their shadows. Children are warned against making wishes, and adults dare not speak dark desires out loud. Those who commit dark deeds often watch over their shoulders. But the truth is, although the coven loves to take advantage of such situations, and will happily bargain with those who desire their help, they are often far more subtle than the citizens would imagine. They play long games of influence and debt and have their claws deep into the hearts of the people, who are oftentimes completely unaware.
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# The Stolregard Barony
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# Deleran's Crossing
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# The Downs, Exterior
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}
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{{footnote Pittiful Little Things, January 2023}}
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# The Downs, Interior F1
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}
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{{footnote Pittiful Little Things, January 2023}}
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# The Downs, Interior F2
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}
{{pageNumber,auto}}
{{footnote Pittiful Little Things, January 2023}}
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# The Downs, Interior F3
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}
{{pageNumber,auto}}
{{footnote Pittiful Little Things, January 2023}}
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# The Downs, Interior F4
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}
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# The Downs, Tunnel Town
 {position:absolute;top:120px;right:8px;width:800px}