Chapter 1: The Blood Sun Rises

Kings of Tyranny begins with a brutal attack on a small, poorly defended village. The heroes that survive will go on to embark on a grand adventure to rally the free nations and declare war on the aggressor: Godking Assurgazzar, immortal lord of Brazodir.

Many of the players’ heroes will die in this chapter, so it is important that they each come with at least six heroes ready for the fight. If you and your table do not wish to start the campaign in such a bloody fashion, skip to chapter 2, which picks up in the immediate aftermath of this attack.

Prior to the catalyzing event of the campaign, describe the quiet town of Grovecleft.

Read Aloud: Grovecleft is a small town - really a large village would be a more apt description - in the far west reaches of the Empire of Gilgalon. Grovecleft, named for its geographical vantage, resides in a clearing on the eastern side of a vast, unexplored jungle. Towering trees form a crescent around Grovecleft’s north, west, and south perimeter, and the town’s eastern side reveals sloping hills that gradually fold their way down to the gulf in the east. The town consists of a square of commercial buildings built around a plaza of packed earth, and a handful of residential buildings clustered around this center. In the fields to the east, farmsteads provided crops to Grovecleft. A fence of sharpened wooden stakes encircles the town proper, warding off most roving animals.

Having set the stage, ask each player to contribute to the description of this town, perhaps narrating a day in the life of one or more of the heroes that they created. Encourage them to mention multiple heroes in this narration, as it will give all of the players a better sense of the town’s lifeblood.

As they contribute to the narration of this town, incorporate the following NPCs into their world. These NPCs will each die in the beginning of the attack. They possess magic items that the heroes can acquire, which will help them even the playing field against their powerful foes. Each magic item described in these NPCs’ information can be found in Appendix B.

Nin-Kagina, elder augur. Nin-Kagina is an eccentric soothsayer whose wisdom often comes out as inscrutable rhymes. Children like her, but many adults find her confusing advice frustrating. She is a halfling, and her back has stooped with age, making her appear incredibly short. Nin-Kagina typically dresses in drab burlap robes with a deep hood that shades her face, and she can always be seen with a silver fish ring on her finger.

Judge Naomi, town leader. Naomi is a middle-aged human woman who usually has a merry disposition. When needed, she can adopt a stern demeanor that immediately curbs any thought of insubordination. Judge Naomi wears leather armor and goes everywhere with a magic buckler strapped to her belt. This shield intuitively floats around her body when she engages in combat.

Shinn, town constable. A dragonfolk with glistening black scales and a gruff demeanor, Shinn looks frightening. He leverages his looks and his muscular physique to keep order in town whenever there is unrest. He is a bit of a loner, but loves the people of his town even if he doesn’t express this. Part of his skill at fighting comes from a dark iron ring that he refers to as his “ring of foul play.”

Dadazig, lieutenant constable. A male elf with sharp eyes and a sharp tongue, Dadazig is Shinn’s direct subordinate. The two work closely to maintain peace within the town (usually an easy, quiet job) and to patrol the forest for threats (usually a more dangerous task). Dadazig’s spear seems always to remain perfectly sharp, no matter how much he dings it with rocks or blunt irons.

Chad, game hunter. A human male who hunts big game to supply food to Grovecleft. He always goes on hunting expeditions with his mask, which helps him predict the movement of more elusive prey.

Fiddly, traveling merchant. A nonbinary halfling who has primarily mundane trinkets for sale. Fiddly also has one magic item: the screaming wand. Fiddly wouldn’t sell this item, instead using it to protect themself when traveling.

Once it seems that the players are grounded in the setting, transition to the dawn of the devastating attack.

Read Aloud: A red sun peeks above the horizon in the east, beginning its daily duty of burning away the cool mist of night. As the thin veil of mist recedes, a glowing red descends upon the town from the north. Flaming arrows vibrate with the roars of great beasts as a terrible force smashes into the town. Beast and warrior alike quickly begin the grizzly job of destroying all that they can see.

You are afforded precious little time to react. You scramble to don your armor and grab your gear, for an invasion is upon you. Already, the earth is sticky and soaked with blood. Already, buildings are splintered ruins and thatched roofs blaze with fire. Now is the time to fight and to die.

Regardless of how many players you have, this will be a very difficult combat. Remember that many heroes are expected to die during this combat. The heroes that survive can go on to become the main heroes of the campaign.

Set Apart

Alternatively, if your players want specific heroes to survive, then set those heroes aside. They are NPCs for this battle, and they will survive. Your players will then play as other folk from the town, many of whom will die. When the dust settles from this first fight, the players may then take control of their preferred heroes, who emerge from the carnage as the new leaders of the village as described in the Concluding the Battle section below.

The Attack

The Brazodiran Army is vast and cruel, but their shock troops are ill-trained. This is reflected in a number of ways: there are endlessly respawning humanoid enemies during this fight, and the less prominent dinosaurs behave in a manner reflecting their poor training.

During this combat, the heroes must contend with a Brazodontus (AB:tFS chapter 5), respawning Thugs and Bandits (CC chapter 4), and the occasional aggressive dinosaur, such as a Velociraptor, Gallimimus, or Parasaurolophus (AB:tFS chapter 5). More information on each of these threats is provided below.

The Brazodontus

The main threat in this battle is the Brazodontus. Once the heroes defeat the Brazodontus, then the other Brazodiran forces retreat.

The Brazodontus in this combat has 100 maximum HP, but its stats are otherwise unadjusted. This makes it terribly deadly for a group of level 1 heroes. There are a variety of environmental effects that they will need to turn to their advantage in order to damage, and ultimately kill, the Brazodontus. Details on such environmental effects can be found under the “The Village” subheading.

Brazodontus Tactics

The Brazodontus is chiefly interested in destroying the infrastructure of the town. It smashes through buildings and merchant carts with obvious glee.

Once a hero manages to damage it, the Brazodontus will focus on that hero until the hero is dead, or until another hero deals damage to it. Once its vengeance is satisfied, it will return to destroying the town.

Respawning Enemies

There are scores of Brazodiran aggressors attacking Grovecleft. Be sure to describe the chaos of the moment: soldiers chasing common folk, farmers grabbing pitchforks to fight off Brazodiran thugs, and dinosaurs looking to gobble up fallen villagers.

Because the folk of Grovecleft are actively fighting back, the heroes only have to worry about a handful of enemies at a time.

At the beginning of the battle, there are a number of Thugs (CC chapter 4) equal to the number of players. There is also one Bandit (CC chapter 4).

On Initiative count 0, check the number of active hostile humanoids. If it is less than the number of players, roll on the table below and add new hostile humanoids to the battlefield accordingly. These humanoids should appear in an unoccupied space no closer than 40 ft from any heroes.

1d10	Enemy
1-4	1 Thug
5-7	2 Thugs
8-9	1 Bandit
10	1 Bandit riding 1 Gallimimus

These enemies will fight with baseline tactical efficiency, ganging up on nearby heroes. They will make use of flanking, but will not make use of other potential environmental advantages.

These enemies also have torches and can spend their turn lighting a structure on fire.

Dinosaurs

Besides the Brazodontus, there are a number of smaller dinosaurs terrorizing the town. Choose Gallimimus, Parasaurolophus, or Velociraptor (respectively the easiest to deadliest choices) to include in this combat.

There are a number of these creatures on the battlefield equal to the number of players -1. Whenever such a dinosaur starts its turn within 40ft of a hero, have the hero roll a LUCK check. On a roll of 5 or less, the dinosaur will attack the nearest hero. On a roll of 6 or more, the dinosaur will ignore the hero or heroes and will continue attacking the villagers.

If a hero damages a dinosaur, that dinosaur will focus on the hero on its next turn. It may then return to attacking commoner NPCs; resume making LUCK checks as normal after it has attacked the perpetrating hero one time.

The Villagers

This battle takes place in the small village of Grovecleft. Although it would be impractical to track every civilian villager on the battle map, be sure to instill the feeling of chaos: people run to and fro trying to put out fires or flee from hungry dinosaurs. Steel clashes and smoke billows.

Up to six notable NPCs are some of the first to fall in combat. They each have a magical item, which the heroes can take and use during this fight. As the MC, you may choose whether all six of these NPCs die or if only specific ones die. Make sure that at least one NPC dies per hero, enabling each player to start the game with one magic item. Note, however, that the players do not automatically get these items. They must reach the NPC’s fallen body and take the item from them before they can use it in the fight.

These six items are: the Eversharp Spear, the Screaming Wand, the Instinctive Buckler, the Fish Ring, the Mask of Future Vision, and the Ring of Foul Play. Details on each one can be found in Appendix B.

The Village

Below is a numbered battle map of the village. This map includes several environmental resources that will give clever heroes an edge over the sheer power of the dinosaurs attacking them. The Brazodontus enters the map from the western breach.

File:KoT - Grovecleft Attacked.jpg

The Huts

The thatched roof huts each contain small two-room living units. One room contains a kitchenette and dining table; the other contains bedding for between 2 and 6 humanoids.

The Fire

A creature that starts its turn within 5 ft of an open flame must make a DC 12 END check. On a fail, they take 2 (1d4) fire damage. On a crit fail, they gain the Burning 1d4 condition.

You may choose how rapidly or slowly the fire spreads based on the materials burning. Thatched roofs would burn more quickly than wooden shingles, for example.

1. Breach Points

These four locations on the map are breach points. When spawning new enemies for the heroes to face, note that the enemies will have entered the village from these areas. Narratively, the most carnage and conflict initiates from these points and spreads deeper into the village.

2. Watchtowers

There are six watchtowers around the village’s outer walls. Each watchtower has the following stats.

Watchtower

Huge Constructed Object

HP 20

AR 12 REF 7 FORT 12

Resist Physical 3 DT 8

Proportions. The watchtower is 15 ft tall. It is 10 ft deep and either 10 ft or 20 ft wide. If it is 20 ft wide, then double its maximum HP.

Crenelations. The watchtower has wooden crenels that offer Cover 2 to creatures standing on the watchtower. Ranged attacks from a watchtower have TA.

Structural Stability. Fire damage ignores that watchtower’s DT. When the watchtower is Bloodied, a creature that starts its turn on the tower must make a DC 10 DEX check. On a fail, the creature falls off, landing prone and taking 2 (1d4) falling damage.

Some of these towers are on fire. A tower on fire suffers the Burning 1d4 condition.

3. Bridges

Two wide streams run through Grovecleft, and three bridges span these streams in different points. The bridges are structurally sound, but collapse if the Brazodontus walks across them, due to its tremendous weight. If this happens, the Brazodontus suffers 11 (2d10) sharp damage as jagged timbers pierce it.

4. Docks

Three rowboats are moored at these docks. The lake on the edge of Grovecleft is brackish and opens into the Crater Gulf.

The adventurers may unmoor the rowboats and flee. If they do this, see the “Survivors” section at the end of this chapter.

5. Bubblestream Tavern

This tavern is the primary place of congregation for the people of Grovecleft when they aren’t working.

6. Tanner and Thatch

Tanner and Thatch is a multipurpose workshop where animal hides are cured into leather, and where straw, fiber, and furs are spun into thatch or woven into garments.

7. Granary

The granary is a simple food storehouse where the people of Grovecleft store seed, grains, dried fruits, and cured meats.

8. The Ironmonger

The Ironmonger is a smithy that supplies Grovecleft with all of its metalworking needs.

9. Storm Shelter

Judge Naomi, Constable Shinn, and Lieutenant Dadazig all operate out of the Storm Shelter, which serves several purposes. It is the town hall and the barracks for the handful of hunters occasionally deputized to help with town affairs. It serves as a storm shelter - hence its name - during periods of natural disaster. It also has two jail cells for when anyone becomes too much of a public nuisance and needs time to calm down.

10. The Lumber Mill

The lumber mill is very primitive as industrial buildings go. Its table saws and planing devices do not utilize water wheels, instead relying on humanoid or animal laborers walking inside large wheels. While the whole mill has a rooftop, the eastern half does not have a wall, allowing laborers to bring logs in from that side of the building.

11. Oil Shipment

Outside the Bubblestream Tavern, there is a pile of barrels. These barrels were recently delivered from another town farther to the south. These barrels contain oil, tar, and hard liquor - all highly flammable. There are six total barrels.

A hero may spend 3 AP to break open a barrel, splashing its contents onto the dirt walkway. Once any amount of flammable liquid is splashed onto the ground, a hero that has a torch or a burning branch or bit of thatch may spend 1 AP or 1 Reactive AP to drop the flame into the liquid, igniting it.

A hero that spends Reactive AP to ignite this liquid as the Brazodontus moves through this space can do serious damage to the dinosaur. It takes Xd6 fire damage, where X equals the number of barrels broken. Then the hero makes a LUCK check: on a roll of 10 or lower, the Brazodontus’s skin is charred and its DT reduces by 4. On a roll of 11 or higher, its skin is charred and it loses all its DT. It also gains Burning 1d6.

12. Log Pile

A large pile of logs is precariously assembled at the top of a hill next to the lumber mill. Heroes can spend 2 AP or 2 Reactive AP to cut the ropes holding the logs in place. If they do, then the logs roll down the hill, crushing anything in their path until they smash against the hut next to the bridge.

Any creature in the logs’ path must make a DC 12 DEX check. On a fail, they take 6d10 blunt damage. On a success, they take ½ damage. If the Brazodontus takes this damage, it twists its foot and its speed is reduced by 10 ft.

13. Wall Repairs

A large section of Grovecleft’s wooden wall was destroyed in a recent storm. New wall sections have been built, but not yet installed. The bottoms of these wall sections are sharpened stakes, to ease inserting them into the ground. A series of ropes are woven through these wall sections to help move them more easily. A hero within 5 ft of the wall may spend 2 AP or 2 Reactive AP to pull the ropes taught, drawing the spikes up into an anti-cavalry barricade. If they do this as the Brazodontus moves within 5 ft of the stakes, the Brazodontus takes 4d10 sharp damage and suffers Bleeding 1d6. The Brazodontus then becomes focused exclusively on the hero that did this until that hero is dead.

Concluding the Battle

After the Brazodontus is killed, all hostiles will retreat. Surviving adventurers will be recognized by all surviving townsfolk as heroes that rose to the challenge.

Party Advancement Each hero levels up from level 1 to level 2. Each hero also gains 1 Fame.

The townsfolk will look to the heroes for leadership. Grovecleft was a town of about 160 people before the attack. Now, they are a town of only 95, and their constables and town judge were all killed in the battle.

If the heroes suggest that they leave the town behind and migrate to somewhere more safe, the townsfolk will readily comply. If the heroes suggest that they reinforce the town and dig in, the townsfolk will suggest that without Gilgalon’s aid, Brazodir will flatten Grovecleft next time they attack.

Assessing the Situation

The heroes may try to gather more information. They can send scouts (or they can themselves scout) and pursue the retreating Brazodiran forces. Such a course of action reveals that Brazodir has a much, much larger army a little less than a day’s travel away. Resisting such a large army would prove completely futile.

Hope in Gilgalon

The folk of Grovecleft historically have been uninterested in the goings on of the kingdom of Gilgalon. A representative from Gilgalon will come around roughly once per year to collect taxes, but that is generally the extent of interaction between Grovecleft and the larger nation. Now, however, Gilgalon offers security. And perhaps a chance at vengeance. The heroes and the villagers all know this, and so they must set out for Gilgalon’s capital city, Palask.

Read Aloud: The road to Palask is long and hard. It means weeks of travel with a large group of people under harsh conditions and with little preparation. But the folk of Grovecleft look to you to guide them; to put the ashes of their former lives in the past, and look through the fields of blood to a future that offers survival.

Survivors

Your adventurers may prove not to be very heroic. If they hop into the boats and flee, leaving Grovecleft to its fate, then follow this alternate storyline until Chapter 3.

Party Advancement Each hero levels up from level 1 to level 2.

The adventurers, floating adrift in shallow coastal waters, may wonder where to go from here. Inform your players that their heroes would be aware that Palask, the capital of Gilgalon, is known to be a large and safe city. Grovecleft is technically part of the kingdom of Gilgalon, so it would make sense for the heroes to make their way to Palask and seek safety. They might also inform the godking about the attack, so that he can retaliate against Brazodir.

The adventurers must deal with the following challenges en route to Palask. Remind them that these challenges demonstrate a montage of adversities that they experience over several weeks on their journey.

Coastal Beasts

Challenge your heroes with any of the following combat encounters. Rather than playing out every day of their journey, highlight one particularly dangerous day that has two or three of these combat encounters. All of these monsters have stats in AB:tFS chapter 5.

d4	Encounter
1	Three Ichthyosaurus Infantus
2	Three Hesperornis
3	Two Castoroides
4	One Ichthyosaurus

Survival

Have each of the heroes make a DEX, INT, or AWR check. If they have a skill with the Survival tag, they may use it. Take the average of their rolls to determine how fatigued the heroes are. They gain this Fatigue over the course of several consecutive days based on their rolls.

DC	Fatigue Gained
8 or fewer	4
9-12	3
13-16	2
17 or more	1

Bandits

While contending with the Fatigue from the previous challenge, the heroes are a day away from Palask when they are waylaid by bandits.

There is one Bandit and one Thug per hero.

Heroes that survive can proceed to Palask.

Party Advancement Each hero levels up from level 2 to level 3.

Arriving in Palask

Proceed to chapter 3. Consider how impoverished and ragged the heroes look after enduring this trial. Be sure to account for this when determining how Palask receives them.