Thursday, January 29, 2009

B37 (Vorel's Laboratory)

Aldern waits to be encountered here. In keeping with his fractured personality, he is now two distinct monsters. The first, The Hurter, is an elite monster. The second, The Skinsaw Man, is a solo creature and is the real challenge of this encounter. The party must burn through the first version of Aldern before they are able to glean some information from His Lordship, arguably the sanest of the three personalities. As soon as the party tries to take any action that would deprive him of the ability to fight back, or once he divulges all the knowledge the adventure allows him to give at this point, he becomes The Skinsaw Man, donning the Stalker's Mask and activating its daily power (targeting the PC of his obsession). I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

Total: 2,625 xp (Level 10 Encounter)

Keep in mind that one of the characters will be affected by Vorel's Legacy near the beginning of the fight. The Hurter and The Skinsaw Man are different monsters for all intents and purposes; no ongoing effects persist from one to the next. This remains a single encounter, however. The party does not recharge encounter powers, spend healing surges without abilities to do so, or lose any ongoing effects on themselves or the room with an encounter-long duration.

Iesha Foxglove, if released by the party, could make an appearance here. If she makes it to Aldern well in advance of the party (as is likely), the two fight for a time and Aldern comes out on top. If the party then encounters him before they take an extended rest, The Hurter begins the encounter bloodied. If they take an extended rest, Aldern has recovered all his hit points. If the party makes it to Aldern with Iesha in tow, she attacks Aldern to the exclusion of anyone else (unless they happen to get in her way).

Aldern carries on his person treasure parcel 4 from level 5 as well as the Stalker's Mask (treasure parcel 4 from level 6)

Stat block(s):



B36 (The Vent)

A party boasting a number of ranged attacks will have a field day at the beginning of this fight. Assuming they can see to the bottom of the vent, the goblin ghouls will suffer a number of rounds of complete vulnerability as they slowly work their way up the ramp. This is fine. If the party wants to play it cautious for this one encounter and take advantage of their abilities, let them.

Terrain Features:

  • Sloping ledge: navigating the ledge is tricky. A character can either climb along it (only a DC of 5) or attempt to balance while moving down or up the slope (a DC of 15). Characters who fail either check by 5 or more slide down the ledge, taking 1d10 points of damage for every 2 squares they move along the ledge on their way to the bottom. This damage can be mitigated as if it were falling damage.
I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 5 Wights
Total: 1,000 xp (Level 5 Encounter)

B35 (The Grave)

Yet another straightforward fight. Mind the open ledges that are part of this area of the caverns. A character pushed off the side could find himself in a lot of trouble at the bottom of B36. Note that it is potentially easy for the party to skip this encounter completely by simply heading from B34 to B36. In this case, you may want to have the ghouls find them on their way out of the caverns. The carpenter is an especially nasty customer - a greater ghoul. This will be one of the most challenging monsters the party faces, at the upper reaches of what they should be able to handle. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

Total: 1,300 xp (Level 6 Encounter)

B34 (Ghoulish Guardians)

This is a relatively straight-up encounter. Keep the party's location in mind, because the confines of the cave are relatively small (though I strongly advise widening some sections out to allow freer movement) and it's quite possible that they will inadvertently run through another encounter's area. I know the adventure suggests drawing the ghouls from B35 here if combat starts, but in the interest of not overwhelming the party I suggest avoiding this unless the group actually gets the next group of ghouls' attention by running through their area or the like. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 4 Ghouls
  • 1 Deathlock Wight
Total: 975 xp (Level 5 Encounter)

B33 (Dangerous Mold)

For the observant, cautious party this shouldn't prove much of a challenge as an encounter. Its real danger lies in the possibility that the party will be forced to run through this area while fighting another encounter, exposing injured characters to the mold (doomspore in this conversion). I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 3 squares of Elite Doomspore
Total: 900 xp (Level 4 Encounter)

Tucked away behind the patches of mold is treasure parcel 2 from level 5.

B32 (Feeding Cave)

While the very notion of a monstrously huge ghoul bat is terrifying, it didn't make much sense to throw another solo monster at the party with Aldern right around the corner. I noticed while reading through the adventure that a number of the ghouls in the original adventure were dread ghouls, which gives them the supernatural ability to command other ghouls. The ghoul bat is one such dread ghoul. I thought it appropriate, then, to provide him with a couple of underlings to guard his lair. These lesser undead are under the ghoul bat's complete control, and they seek to protect it even over their own safety. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 1 Winged Putrescence (see Draconomicon)
  • 2 Ghouls
Total: 1200 xp (Level 6 Encounter)

The back of this cave contains Shaz and his belongings, which amount to a pearl ring and some coin worth 300 gold pieces in total (treasure parcel 9 from level 6). Knowing about Shaz and his wanted status is as simple as a DC 17 Streetwise check. If the party takes the corpse (or head) to turn into the authorities, provide them with a minor quest (which awards treasure parcel 8 from level 6) for doing so.

Quest card(s):

Tangent: Treasure and Leveling in The Skinsaw Murders

This is a continuation of the previous Treasure and Leveling in Burnt Offerings post.Complete leveling information for reference purposes will be added once the conversion of The Skinsaw Murders is complete. Treasure information will be updated as we go.

In terms of an experience breakdown, this is what can be expected from The Skinsaw Murders. There are five parts to the adventure, and four of them have been converted so far. My goal is to have the party reach 8th level by the end of the adventure, which requires that the party achieve a grand total of 65,000 experience points. Burnt Offerings awarded 22,168 experience points, so 42,832 experience points need to come from The Skinsaw Murders.

Part One: Murder Most Foul holds only 4,275 xp. Part Two: Misgivings is much richer with encounters, providing 15,225 xp; just under halfway there. The party should hit 5th level shortly after part two begins, and 6th level by the time they face Aldern. Part Three: Welcome to Magnimar only awards 3,000 xp. Part Four: The Seven's Sawmill offers exactly 10,000 xp, which means the party will hit level 7 during their fight against the cultists. Part Five: The Shadow Clock totals 10,700 xp, bringing the grand total for The Skinsaw Murders to 43,200 xp - clear of our goal of 42,832 xp.

The treasure parcel line-up for The Skinsaw Murders follows:

Treasure Parcels for Level 4:

  • Parcel 1 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 2 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 3 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 4 is found with Rogors Craesby.
  • Parcel 5 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 6 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 7 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 8 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 9 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 10 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.

Treasure Parcels for Level 5:

  • Parcel 1 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 2 is found lying behind patches of dangerous mold in the caverns.
  • Parcel 3 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 4 is carried by Aldern.
  • Parcel 5 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 6 is in the kitchen.
  • Parcel 7 is allocated in Burnt Offerings.
  • Parcel 8 is in Crade Hambley's hidden coffer.
  • Parcel 9 is in the kitchen.
  • Parcel 10 allocated in Burnt Offerings.

Treasure Parcels for Level 6:

  • Parcel 1 is found with Justice Ironbriar.
  • Parcel 2 is found with Justice Ironbriar.
  • Parcel 3 is found in a closet in the sawmill.
  • Parcel 4 is carried by Aldern.
  • Parcel 5 is found in Aldern's townhouse.
  • Parcel 6 is found in a closet in the sawmill.
  • Parcel 7 is found in a closet in the sawmill.
  • Parcel 8 is awarded by the Shaz "Redshiv" Bilger minor quest.
  • Parcel 9 is found in the feeding cave.
  • Parcel 10 is found in the wine cellar.

Treasure Parcels for Level 7:

  • Parcel 1 is found on Xanesha or in her nest.
  • Parcel 2 is found at the bottom of the Shadow Clock.
  • Parcel 3 is found on Xanesha or in her nest.
  • Parcel 4 is found at the bottom of the Shadow Clock.
  • Parcel 5 is awarded by the Lord-Mayor.
  • Parcel 6 is awarded by the Lord-Mayor.
  • Parcel 7 is awarded by the Lord-Mayor.
  • Parcel 8 is found in Justice Ironbriar's office.
  • Parcel 9 is found at the bottom of the Shadow Clock.
  • Parcel 10 is found in Justice Ironbriar's office.
Treasure Parcels for Level 8:

  • Parcel 1 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 2 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 3 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 4 is found on Xanesha or in her nest.
  • Parcel 5 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 6 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 7 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 8 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 9 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.
  • Parcel 10 is allocated in The Hook Mountain Massacre.

Tangent: Material from New Books

This isn't so much a post dealing with the adventure so much as with the conversion process itself. I'm fortunate enough to have access to all released material through D&D Insider (and in many cases, hard copy) but there are probably some interested in using this material who do not. Many times I find a monster that I feel is better suited to the particular occasion than what I would be forced to use if I were limited to the Monster Manual, for instance. While I certainly could make alternate suggestions for those who have access to supplemental material and those who don't, I'm only able to playtest this conversion material once. I'd like everyone reading to weigh in on this and let me know which route you think I should take. Honestly, I'd prefer to use all the options available to me when converting the adventure but I don't want to prevent a group from making use of the conversion by filling an adventure with monsters and such that they don't have access to. For those of you who are on the fence, keep in mind that a D&D Insider subscription runs you from $5 - $8 per month and essentially gives you access to all supplemental material that I would be using through the Compendium (and is a great thing to have your group chip in for - $1 per person per month shouldn't see anyone hurting - or to buy as a thank you gift for your DM). You also get the recently released full version of the Character Builder, which is in my opinion the most useful and most promising application ever created for Dungeons & Dragons.

Please use the comments feature to let me know what you think.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

B30 (The Pit)

Stat block(s):

B29 (Vorel's Workshop)

Stat block(s):

B25 (Kitchen)

Rat swarms are a dime a dozen, and two is simply not enough to feel like there's a serious infestation (not to mention provide a challenging encounter). The kitchen (or pantry) is now home to eight rat swarms. They pour out of the walls two rounds after the party arrives in the room.

The rats are blind, but to avoid trivializing this encounter the only change from normal rat swarms is that they grant combat advantage to all foes for the duration of the fight. A successful attack from the rats exposes the target to Vorel's Phage, which makes up for the reduced difficulty due to the rats being blind. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 8 Rat Swarms (blind)
Total: 1,000 xp (Level 5 Encounter)

The kitchen holds a few valuables: a fine silver set worth 500 gold pieces (treasure parcel 6 from level 5) and an urn holding four small garnets worth 160 gold pieces in total (treasure parcel 9 from level 5). The eight hidden bottles of wine in the nearby wine cellar are worth a total of 200 gold pieces (treasure parcel 10 from level 6).

B24 (Iesha's Prison)

Handling Iesha's situation is something that needs to be given serious attention. Unless the party is particularly gung-ho about undead slaying, they will probably be given pause when they find the revenant. Outside of combat, play her according to the way she is presented in the original adventure.

It is quite possible that she will end up leading the party towards Aldern in the caverns below. Bear in mind that one of the basement doors is locked and Iesha does not possess the strength necessary to break it down. If Iesha does make it into the caverns below the manor, I suggest that the undead allow her to pass unharmed (if you need rationalization for this, it's likely that Aldern's commanding orders to his ghouls were something along the lines of "Let no living creature pass"). This will probably separate the PCs from Iesha while they are forced to deal with Aldern's guardians, giving her time to confront Aldern (and subsequently be destroyed by him). Consequences for Aldern, should this take place, will be provided in his encounter.

This is not necessarily intended to take place as a combat encounter in this room (though that is entirely within the realm of possibility). Whether the PCs fight Iesha or she confronts Aldern, award the party experience as though they defeated her.

B23 (Private Study)

Stat block(s):

B22 (Observatory)

Stat block(s):

B18 (Bedroom)

Stat block(s):

B17 (Gallery)

Stat block(s):

B15 (Master Bedroom)

Stat block(s):

B14 (Upstairs Washroom)

This room contains a silly "gotcha" trap that doesn't really harry the party in any significant way (unless the rat in the room below is left alive long enough to bite any PC unfortunate enough to fall). It does serve as a reminder of the state of disrepair the house has fallen under, however.

Stat block(s):

B13 (Guest Bedchamber)

Stat block(s):

B11 (Aldern's Bedroom)

Stat block(s):

B9 (Library)

Stat block(s):

Monday, January 5, 2009

B7 (Dancing Parlor)

Stat block(s):

B6 (Washroom)

Once again, the diseased rat found here in the washtub is not meant to represent a credible threat to our adventurers, but rather to foreshadow the nature of the curse Vorel manifests in the manor. The party will probably want to put the vermin out of its misery, and it's best, in my opinion, to simply allow them to do so.

In case it becomes an issue, however, Vorel's Phage is presented below.

Stat block(s):

B5 (Lounge)

Stat block(s):

B2 (Entrance Hall)

Stat block(s):

B1 (Ruined Servants' Quarters)

As in the original adventure, the party does not encounter the carrionstorms' attack until the second time they pass through this area, either after they clear out the Misgivings or when they emerge temporarily for some other reason (to rest outside, or because they were driven out by a haunt's compulsion). I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

Total: 1,050 xp (Level 5 Encounter)

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Tangent: Haunts

A new haunt mechanic was designed for the original adventure to provide a trap-like set of challenges held in place by Vorel's spirit. As with many such challenges in 3.5e adventures, they do not adapt well to 4th Edition design philosophy. Not only do the haunts largely only encourage the participation of a single character (and, in some cases, no participation at all is needed), they usually only affect a single character. I have decided to simply do a straightforward conversion of the haunts to 4th Edition mechanics and assign them experience point values appropriate for traps of their level.

Pick the haunts' targets as explained in the original adventure (by assigning a keyword to each player). Don't worry too much about sticking faithfully to the targets of the haunts dictated by the adventure. The players will never know the difference if you switch the target for effect. If the target of the haunt, for example, is reluctant to even enter the room (something that can become commonplace as the party becomes more afraid of what might lurk in each room) feel free to change the target to someone else. It is more important that you are able to use the haunts to expose the manor's secrets and reveal bits of Aldern's fate, and most of the haunts aren't threatening enough that you should feel bad about singling out the PC brave enough to search the rooms.

Unless otherwise noted, run the rooms containing the haunts as written in the original adventure, substituting the converted stat block for the original once the haunt is triggered. By default, the dangers of the haunts cannot be discovered or defused before they are triggered.

To represent the pervasive taint of Vorel upon the entirety of the manor and its grounds, all haunted characters at the Misgivings (within the grounds, the manor or the caverns below) receive a -2 penalty to all saving throws. This increases the danger of many of the haunts (turning some from minor threats into potentially hazardous situations). I suggest informing the players of this when they first come into contact with one of the haunted aspects of the manor. This effect lasts until the characters leave the Misgivings or exorcise it of Vorel's taint.

Update: as of the release of Open Grave, mechanics for hauntings now exist in 4th Edition. I have updated all haunts to reflect these new guidelines. All characters can use perception to identify haunts right as they manifest. Only the target (or targets) of the particular haunt can use insight to detect the presence of supernatural evil manifesting. Credit to Darren for bringing the new rules to my attention.

The Misgivings

By this point the PCs should definitely have discovered that the key to unmasking the murderer lies in following the trail of breadcrumbs he's left behind leading to Foxglove Manor. As a DM, do what you can to encourage the PCs' arrival at the Misgivings to take place in the evening. As with all haunted houses, it is best explored when it's dark out. Prepare the entire Misgivings to be run ahead of time, because there is no clear linear path through the manor and the rooms go quickly due to a lack of actual encounters within the house.

The Hambley Farmhouse and Barn

Once the party reaches the farmhouse proper, they should encounter Craesby and his own pack of ghouls. Begin the encounter when the PCs try to enter the barn or farmhouse. Have two ghouls leap out of the upper story windows to ambush the group, while two emerge from the farmhouse to flank. Rogors joins the fight from the farmhouse first story.

Rogors should endeavor to keep his aura over all the wights for as much of the fight as possible. He waits to make use of wake the dead until at least two of his wights have been destroyed. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

Total: 1,100 xp (Level 5 Encounter)

Rogors Craesby carries or wields treasure parcel 4 from level 4. Crade Hambley's hidden coffer contains the same 3,400 silver pieces found in the original adventure (treasure parcel 8 from level 5).

The Hambley Farm Fields

The morning after the PCs finish (or come near finishing) their investigation of the murders, Farmer Grump wanders into town and demands that someone do something about the wandering undead that have begun to spring up in Sandpoint's local farms. Sheriff Hemlock sends the PCs out to substantiate Grump's claims. If the PCs accept the aid of Hemlock's men, send four guards with them (use the Grand Melee Gladiator stat block from Dragon #368) and subtract 31 xp per guard from the experience reward for each fight they participate in.

When the PCs arrive at the farm fields, give them a moment or two to decide on a course of action. When they do venture into the field itself, they quickly trigger the changed ghoul's hunger. Don't bother rolling strength checks for the ghouls to break free of the supports. It's much more cinematic if they start breaking out immediately. If you want to introduce a short delay, have three break free at the start of the encounter and the remaining two join in during the second round. In these fights I call for wight stat blocks but they remain ghouls in the adventure itself. I suggest the following encounter for a party of five adventurers:

  • 3 Wights
  • 1 Deathlock Wight
  • 1 Battle Wight
Total: 1175 xp (Level 6 Encounter)

Tangent: The Skinsaw Man's Letters

This adventure provides that multiple letters (usually penned to murder victims) will be discovered by the party. They are written by the Skinsaw Man and are addressed to the target of his obsession. Having a physical version of the letter to present to the character in question is, I think, a nice touch. It doesn't have to be elaborate. I took 3"x5" note cards, wrote the message inside in red marker, folded the card in half and stapled it shut on one end. Add the character's name to the outside and suddenly you have a prop to make the game feel a bit more alive.

Investigating the Murders

The process of identifying Aldern as the perpetrator of the murders and tracking him down should be protracted. He knows how to hide his tracks well, and if it weren't for his fierce obsession with one of the PCs he would prove exceptionally difficult to follow back to the Misgivings. To that end, this is as complex a skill challenge as there is, and you should try aiming for it to take roughly the same amount of time as an average combat encounter. Play out each individual check as its own interaction, and make sure to give the PCs an idea of their progress every so often.

Skill Challenge: Investigating the Murders

Setup: A young couple has been viciously murdered at the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, only days after three con men fell to a similar set of crimes not far from the town proper. Sheriff Hemlock is doing his best to keep the situation under control, but has turned to the PCs for assistance and to warn them that the murderer seems to have marked one of their own. Armed with a set of leads to investigate, they must discover the identity of the killer and stop him before he strikes again.

Note: In running this skill challenge, make frequent reference back to the adventure. This challenge is designed to provide a rules framework for gauging the party's success (and providing consequences, positive or negative). The investigation will involve more than simply making the following skill checks, and completing the skill challenge does not necessarily mean that the PCs have discovered the link to Aldern or Foxglove Manor. To that end, do not make any attempt to cut off the investigation once the party has finished the skill challenge if there is more for them to investigate.

In dealing with Grayst, do not run his sudden insane aggression against the obsessed PC as a combat encounter unless absolutely necessary. He is not meant to be a credible threat to the party. Prompt the group for actions, and if one of them decides to intervene simply allow them to succeed in stopping Grayst. It should be resolved swiftly, and only to demonstrate the continued consequences of the Skinsaw Man's ongoing killing spree.

Complexity: 5 (12 successes before 3 failures)
Level: 5 (1,000 xp)
Primary Skills: Perception, Nature, Heal, Streetwise, History, Religion, Arcana, Diplomacy, Insight

At the Sandpoint Lumber Mill:

Perception (DC 12): You notice a set of muddy footprints leading from the pier towards the mill. Success here unlocks the ability to make a Nature check to follow the prints.

Perception (DC 17): Scouring the marsh across the river from the mill, you notice a spot baring a number of humanoid footprints and still reeking of rotting flesh. Success here unlocks the ability to make a Nature check to follow the prints.

Perception (DC 12): You lend your senses to one of your companions and together you hunt for new clues to the murders. Use of this skill can provide an ally a +2 bonus to a single Nature or Heal check but does not provide a success for the skill challenge.

Nature (DC 12): Begins the challenge locked. You carefully follow the footprints from the pier to the mill, noting that they belong to a barefoot human man who clambered up from the mud under the pier, crossed over to the mill and then scaled the wall to an upper-story window.

Nature (DC 7): You are able to determine that, yes, judging by the copious amounts of blood spilled in the murder scene and the way the footprints play out in the sawdust, a fierce struggle took place in the mill recently. Hitting a DC of 17 provides an additional success for the challenge and causes the character to discover that not only is one set of prints barefoot, but smells of rotting meat.

Nature (DC 12): Begins the challenge locked. You carefully follow the footprints found in the marsh to and from the river. The tracks never lead away from the site other than to the river, and the spot offers a perfect hiding place to view the mill from.

Heal (DC 12): You are able to pick out a number of wounds on Harker's body that seem to have been made by claws the size of a human hand. These wounds smell more strongly of rotten meat.

Diplomacy
(DC 12): You convince Ibor Thorn to discuss the victims and their relationship. Use of this skill here prompts for an Insight check but does not provide a success for the skill challenge.

Insight (DC 15): You think Ibor might be holding something back, and after some prompting he reveals Harker's accounting scams.

History or Arcana (DC 25): You are able to recall, from your studies or travels, that the rune carved into the victims is known as the Sihedron Rune, an antiquated glyph that symbolizes arcane magic once practiced in ancient Thassilon.

Religion (DC 19): You identify the stench lingering on the axe as belonging to some form of corporeal undead.

At the Sandpoint Garrison:

Heal (DC 12): You are able to pick out a number of wounds on the thugs' bodies that seem to have been made by claws the size of a human hand. These wounds smell more strongly of rotten meat.

At Habe's Sanatorium:

Heal (DC 7): Grayst's physical appearance indicates that he is suffering from an illness of the body in addition to whatever may be plaguing his mind. Hitting a DC of 17 provides an additional success for the challenge and indicates that Grayst is suffering from ghoul fever.

Diplomacy (DC 19): You manage to convince Erin Habe that it is imperative that you be allowed to examine and question Grayst. Any character presenting Habe with Sheriff Hemlock's letter of introduction receives a +10 bonus to this check.

Diplomacy (DC 12): You calm Grayst down enough to question him, though he provides little beyond incoherent mumblings about "razors" and "too many teeth" and how "the Skinsaw Man is coming". Success here prompts Grayst to deliver Aldern's message to the target of his obsession, should he or she be present. This unlocks the ability to make a Streetwise check to research the Misgivings.

Anywhere:

Streetwise (DC 7): You have heard that the mill has been working late recently, and was probably open last night.

Streetwise (DC 12): You remember hearing about a sage in town who has some familiarity with runes and their meaning. His name is Brodert Quink.

Streetwise (DC 12): Begins the challenge locked. You recognize the fact that "the Misgivings" is a local name for a run-down and abandoned estate further south - a place called Foxglove Manor.

Streetwise (DC 17): Though the party may have strayed off the trail of the mystery, you recall something that might prove useful if you re-examine one of your leads. Use of this skill removes a failure for the challenge, or allows one skill check that was just failed to be re-tried, but does not provide a success for the challenge itself. Using Streetwise for this purpose can only be done twice.

Success: The party has made substantial progress in tracking down the Skinsaw Man. They likely know the location of his hideout, and perhaps have even uncovered his identity. Their next target should be Foxglove Manor, but their preparations are interrupted by Farmer Grump's distressed arrival in town.

Failure: Accumulating three failed checks in this skill challenge does not end it. The investigation has simply taken too long, and the Skinsaw Man has had the opportunity to strike once more. Another murder crops up in the middle of the investigation. While this may provide more clues to the party, it also is harder for the Sheriff to contain it and prevent a widespread panic. For every two failures beyond this, an additional murder occurs during the investigation.

Tangent: The Skinsaw Murders Bestiary

The Skinsaw Murders contains the Carrionstorm, Boggard, Lyrakien, Faceless Stalker, Revenant and the Lamia Matriarch.

Carrionstorm:


Boggard:


Boggard Priest-King:


Lyrakien:


Lyrakien Familiar:


A lyrakien familiar is a spirit, not a natural living creature, granted to particularly dedicated followers of Desna. Fundamentally different from other lyrakien, it represents a tiny portion of Desna's will made manifest.

A lyrakien familiar is a paragon tier familiar. It is only available to arcane characters of 11th level and above. Such characters may take the Arcane Familiar feat to receive the benefits of having a familiar (see Arcane Power for the rules for familiars, and Dragon #374 for more familiar feats and information on paragon and epic tier familiars).

Faceless Stalker:


Ugothol Assassin:


Revenant:


Lamia Matriarch:

The Skinsaw Murders

Hemlock's audience with the PCs is the kick-off point for The Skinsaw Murders. He exposes them to the first new threads of the story in the form of the recent killings that have taken place in the environs of Sandpoint. This should immediately set the PCs about the task of pinning down the culprit, which will first involve an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the murders. When they decide to begin poking around, assign them the major quest provided below and then move on to the skill challenge.

Quest card(s):