Fantastical Places: The Crypt of Ommos

Oh, you seek the torc of Ommos the healer? Very well, I will tell you where it may be found and how it came to be there, but know that it rests in a terrible place beyond the reach of normal men. You may think yourselves clever and strong, but many have died seeking it.

A long time ago, there was a Halfling who hated everything about being a Halfling. He hated the water. He hated fish. He hated boats. He hated bargaining with humans for salt. He hated running from the Orcs. He hated that women seemed to prefer a guy with a bulging purse to someone big and strong like him. He hated being the butt of short jokes. So he did what every budding misanthrope does, he packed up his things and headed for the horizon.

More than a decade later, when his family and friends had largely forgotten him, he returned to our people with three things: a sword nearly as long as he was tall, a cloak made from wolf skins and a story. He explained to his kin how he had left the rivers and lakes far behind, living among the dwarves, elves and humans as an equal. He showed them the cloak and told them about how the bitter winter had driven the direwolves into the human farms and how the count had placed a bounty on the beasts, but that most were too frightened to vie for it. He boasted of how many he had slain and the small mountain valley the count had offered him as a reward for his heroism. “Who will come with me?” he roared. “Who will dare to forge a new destiny?

Of course, what he didn’t tell us was that the valley was cold and remote, fit for little more than herding sheep and goats. Our people took to the challenge with a will, as they often do. Before long, there were three small towns ringed with farms and we were making a healthy profit trading with humans and dwarves. We also built a fighting arena so that we could teach their children to stand their ground. Life was good.

One spring, a goliath shaman came to the valley with a dire warning. The valley was cursed with a sickness beyond the strength of mortals to conquer. This was why it had lain empty for so long. The Halfling laughed at the goliath. “It is always the same with the big folk,” he replied. “You think we are weak, so you think you can rob and cheat us. Begone with your lies before I become angry.” And so the goliath left, his words unheeded. The years passed without that sinister fate coming to pass.

Satine was the first to show the buboes. We know this because her father, the mayor of Creekbottom, was the fastidious sort and documented the spread of the plague quite thoroughly. These things happen, however, and our people were not dismayed until a second disease appeared among them, then a third… As the winter came, three-fourths of our people were ill. So many died. Entire families were wiped out, but there was no one to bury them. Instead, they were left to rot in the homes that they had built.

With the thaw, the few survivors gathered as a mob and cursed the Halfling for having led them to disaster and ruin. The Halfling tried to reason with them, but they pelted him with rocks until he fled. No one knows what became of him and all the records of his name were destroyed. I would like to think that he found a new home and was not punished overmuch for having dared to dream large.

Those that remained had a problem, however. Something in the hills was making them sick, but no other community would take them in while they were so visibly ill. They could not leave and they could not stay, so they did what desperate people have done since the first times: they prayed.

Surprisingly enough, their prayers were answered… in the form of another Halfling. This one had an aura about him. No, an actual light from within. At first, our people were frightened. After all, they had endured much. Ommos was unfazed, however. He walked among them, cleansing their ills with his touch. When he was done, he went up into the hills alone. Ommos returned the next day, feverish and weak. Hidden in the mountain, he explained, was a demon of pestilence, bound there ages past. The wards had weakened with time, but he had managed to reseal them with the power of the artifact. Then our people watched aghast as his body split open like an overripe fruit, filled with tumors and pus. Ommos had sacrificed both his power and his life to save us. We abandoned the valley, but kept the lore that had been so dearly bought.

So, yes, I can tell you the way to the healer’s torc. The road is neither long nor particularly difficult, but if you wish to have it, you will have to fight the evil that lurks there. Perhaps you are strong enough to accomplish what Ommos could not. Perhaps you will die screaming. It is not my place to choose for you.

– Burardo the Strong

Halfing Smalltitan

Requirements: Halfling, 13+ Constitution

Interestingly enough, the smalltitans revere Ommos instead of the nameless halfling that actually inspired the fighting style. There are not that many of them, as the form requires a grim tenacity not commonly found in halflings. Philosophically, the group teaches that weakness comes from choices, not stature. Halfling society tends to be conflicted on the issue of the smalltitans. They respect the smalltitan’s tenacity, but feel uncomfortable with their standoffish and martial attitude.

Smalltitan Starting Feature

You are treated as a medium creature with regard to melee weapons. Also, you gain the Grim Determination power:

Smalltitan Level5 Feature

You gain a +2 power bonus to Intimidate and Endurance checks.

Smalltitan Level 10 Feature

When you are bloodied and spend a healing surge to regain hit points, regain additional hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.

Optional Powers

The Iron Torc of Ommos

According to history, the Torc has become part of the magical bindings that hold a dangerous demon. The Halflings who remember the lore of Ommos might be reluctant to tell people about the artifact, fearing that it will be stolen and the evil unleashed. It is also possible that the Torc cannot be removed without destroying the demon.

Goals: The Iron Torc is an instrument of cleansing and purification. It would not object to being bonded to an evil person, as long as they are healing the sick (for free) and ridding the world of corruption – specifically by destroying monsters that use poison or disease. It would prefer to be used by a good person, but won’t be picky as long as its goals are being met.

It prefers halfings and humanoids with the natural or immortal origin. It dislikes creatures of the shadow, aberrant or elemental origin.

Concordance: The Torc will show its displeasure first by turning off the activated powers, then by burning the bearer with radiant fire (it doesn’t like to mess around). It rewards those who use it properly in a variety of ways. It might cause the target of its second activated power to take radiant damage equal to the bearer’s Charisma score. It might allow people targeted by its heal to heal as though they had spent healing surges or it might grant a bonus to the saving throw equal to the bearer’s Charisma modifier.

Moving On

The Iron Torc does not normally leave items in its wake. Instead, it sometimes grants Ommos’ Boon:

The Torc can grant one or both of the properties, depending on its relationship with the bearer.

Fantastical Places: The Tiateld Spew

Note: In my campaign world, the Dragonborn are seafarers that worship Pelor as their creator and Bahamut or Tiamat as their spiritual guide.

The very first whalers to go deep into the Great Moonlit Sea reported a pillar of smoke that could be seen for hundreds of miles. It was used as a reference for navigation long before anyone was able to reach the source. What they discovered came to be called the Tiateld Spew (tiateld means “fire-ash” in Draconic), a series of islands formed from lava flows and volcanic ash. It would have been dismissed out of hand, had a sailor not found a ruby the size of his fist just sitting on the beach.

No crops worth mentioning grow on the Spew and very few fish can be caught from the shores. A few small-scale expeditions were mounted, but it wasn’t until Grand Admiral Ald’Isse decided to use the islands as a “humane” prison that there was much of a presence. His idea was to stockpile magic items that generated food and water and give them to the prisoners, who could eventually buy their freedom with the gems scattered around the islands. Certainly they weren’t going to be making boats, weapons or much of anything else. This practice continued for more than thirty years until the northern captains realized that children were being born on the Spew, children who were innocent of their parents’ crimes. The great families of the Bright Isles gathered together to drive off Ald’Isse’s fleets and free the prisoners.

(AP Photo/Arnar Thorisson/Helicopter.is)

 

The current situation is the result of 150 years of treaties, betrayals and fighting. The balance of power has remained as it is for so long because it displeases everyone equally.

Ightiss is the most stable of the islands, though that isn’t saying much. None of the factions have been able to explore much of it, as it is infested with free-roaming elementals. The island is named after Ightiss Scaleshatter, a direct descendent of Ald’Isse. Ightiss was so hated that they sealed him in a cask filled with glass shards and dragged him behind a horse for a couple of days, then buried him alive in the path of a fresh lava flow. When the Dragonborn commander was asked about concerns that Ightiss might reincarnate or rise as a vengeful spirit, he is said to have replied, “Nothing will come of this but good. Bahamut has eaten his black soul.”

There is a rumor that a crypt containing a powerful lich lies at the heart of Ightiss, deep within what the locals call the Nightsand Sea. Ightiss is also the best source of Brightcandle Wisps, tiny fire elementals that are kept as exotic pets by the wealthy. A Wisp can sell for thousands of gold.

Agetas and Ird’ Alee are controlled by the Elves and Eladrin, respectively. Those races prefer to lease out their holdings for a cut of the profits. The northern half of Agetas is directly downwind from the volcano, so it is often shrouded in clouds of ash.

(Sorry about the quality of this image. Fractal Mapper hates the CRAP out of me. The original is in color.)

 

Omora is used as a base of operations by a consortium of arcanists, mostly Human and Tiefling, looking to explore the volcano itself. The ash fields have been picked clean.

Raknal has been made into a prison for Humans, Dwarves, Tieflings and Dragonborn, though the sexes are kept separate out of respect for Dragonborn morals. It is not as brutal as Ald’Isse’s camps, but being sent there is still considered a death sentence. The western shoreline is dotted with cages containing the corpses of prisoners who were caught trying to swim the straits to Omora. Every new inmate spends his or her first few weeks on the island building a cage as a way of discouraging these attempts.

Sybek and Samkal are held by competing Dwarven clans, though both are open to “prospector’s leases,” where the Dwarves charge a percentage of the gems found (These differ from the Elven leases in that they rent out specific territory, whereas the Elves don’t care about fighting out in the gem fields as long as they get paid). In a way, both islands are just as much a prison as Raknal, as those who cannot repay the Dwarves become indentured servants and are leased the same as tools and guides. Many a starry-eyed fool has ended up finding the gem that made someone else wealthy.

Achvor is controlled by the Tieflings, who maintain strict control over access to the island. Little is known about what goes on there, but the rumors are always dire.

Using the Tiateld Spew

• Elementals!: The Spew is an excellent place to hold elemental themed combats.
• Prison Break: The characters might have to get someone out of prison or they might need to escape themselves.
• Gateway to the Beyond: The barriers to otherworldly realms might be especially thin, meaning that the characters can get to some interesting places, assuming they can survive the Spew.
• Lost and Found: People and things disappear into the Spew all the time. The characters might be tasked with finding something.
• Blood upon the Seas: a shipment of gems has gone missing. Perhaps pirates are to blame, a sea creature could have eaten the fleet or maybe the gems weren’t shipped out at all…

One of the nice things about places like the Spew are that they’re interesting and unique, yet can be adapted to serve whatever story purpose you might have.

Arrellu, the Burning Lich

Arrellu is often mistaken for male, but actually was originally a Dragonborn woman. She appears as a seven-foot tall obsidian skeleton wreathed in orange-red flames. Not much is known of her history, though there is speculation that she was badly wounded and retreated to the Spew to heal. Her “crypt” is nothing more than a few ramshackle huts guarded by the efreet that never seem to leave her side. She keeps a limited number of humanoid slaves, mostly as household staff.

Design Theory: I’ll be honest, sometimes I get a little tired of having to include “stunproofing” on my elites and solos. Arrellu should be able to hold her own without needing that type of protection, because since she’ll always have allies. Once the players realize this, expect them to focus entirely on Arrellu. This is expected and why I made her a Brute, rather than another monster type. Unlimited summons on a soldier frame would probably be a bad idea.

The difficulty of the encounter can be tuned fairly closely with terrain features (fire-based gas vents come to mind) and the type and number of her allies. You can also tune with how you use Legion of Flames. It is possible for her to teleport her allies out of the radius so as to trigger the recharge. How aggressively you do this can vary over the course of the combat, just be careful not to let it get out of hand.

Kindlefetch is a sizable “gotcha” and I don’t know how I feel about it. I’ve built the fire wizard that ignored resists and immunity altogether and wasn’t impressed. It feels like more of a thought exercise than a viable and enjoyable character. Kindlefetch accomplishes the goal of creating tactical choices, but I suspect that someone who has built their character around a tight theme like that might be upset that his cool doesn’t always work.

(Yes, I am aware that the rules text says “he” and “his” despite the NPC being described as female. Arrellu’s gender was still being decided when I had the HTML problem I mentioned below and I reached a point where I just wanted to hit “publish” before I popped an aneurysm. Hell, she’s a Blazing Skeleton on steroids; gender seems somewhat irrelevant.)

(If you see any errors, please let me know. I tried using the “Press This” tool for the monster images and the HTML assploded. It was a pretty corrosive error, spreading to the previous three saves in a way I don’t really understand. I had to hunt through older saves and copy/paste to recover anything past the first three paragraphs.)