Manor Uvior: Difference between revisions

|Mogg Appears!

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''The ghostly visage of a haggard, elderly human man in an embroidered maroon robe floats towards you.''

|The magic item can have an Essence Point cost of 20 or less

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If the party asks Uvior about what happened before they arrived, Uvior is generally elusive, declaring that they need not concern themselves with the past and should just focus on getting rid of the gretchlings. A DC 12 AWR/Intuiting check will confirm that he is hiding something, and a DC 24 CHA/Persuading check will get Uvior to open up and explain what happened.

Six years ago, Uvior invited all of his old adventuring companions to have a feast with him in remembrance of their past quests. Uvior was particularly excited to show them an artifact he had discovered. When used correctly, the artifact would solidify the user’s soul into a physical form, effectively bestowing immortality upon the creature. However, the artifact malfunctioned, turning Uvior into some kind of ghost and exploding outward with concussive arcane force that immediately turned all of Uvior’s guests into stone. Uvior has been trapped in his incorporeal form ever since, and wants more than anything to discover a way to reverse the damage.

If the party threatens Uvior instead of talking with him, or if they try to abscond with more treasure than they agreed upon, it will result in combat. See the Showdown section for more information.

''Muffled footfalls and the rattle of metal give you a moment’s notice, and a horde of armed skeletons burst into view.''

If the party fights the skeletons, the skeletons will fight until dead.

This encounter is functionally the same as the Undead Horde encounter, but with 1d4+1 Skeletons instead.

''The curtains rustle, and something scrapes and scrabbles out from under the furniture. Severed, skeletal limbs writhe towards you!''

2d4 Crepits crawl out from under furniture, behind curtains, and the like. They will attack the heroes and will fight until dead.

''You hear a quick, punctuated hiss.''

|1d4 toxic damage

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''Whatever you thought you heard, apparently it was nothing after all. The house was just settling, I suppose.''

''You step on a floorboard that lets out a sharp creak.''

Randomly determine one of the party members and make a +2 attack against their ANT. On a hit, a floorboard snaps. Their leg becomes stuck and they are Restrained (escape DC 12); the floorboard flies up and smacks them in the face for 1d4 blunt damage. The undead hear the commotion and 1d4 Skeletons come to investigate.

Do not use this trap too frequently; every four or five times a hero tries to interact with a book is plenty. When a hero grabs a book off of a shelf without first investigating (AWR/ Investigating DC 14), the book might be trapped. Make a +4 attack against their ANT. On a hit, the shelf falls on the hero for 1d10 blunt damage, and the hero is Dazed for the next 1 minute.

''You hear a faint rustling, and a wet footstep, but you see nothing at first glance.''

She and the other gretchlings, under the leadership of Mogg the Marvelous, are trying to find and devour all of his delicious magic scrolls and items. If the heroes will come back and meet Mogg, then Gooth is certain that they can work out some kind of deal. Maybe the heroes can defeat Uvior the Horrible in exchange for a couple magic items.

Gretchlings are not strong creatures, and they will flee if the heroes act violent. If this happens, they will return in force later, led by Mogg.

''You hear a chorus of slimy footsteps and quiet croaking. Large, reflective eyes stare out from the darkness.''

Begh tries to bully the heroes into leaving the manor, but if that does not work, then he will demand that they become his prisoners and he will escort them to Mogg.

Gretchlings are not strong creatures, and they will flee if the heroes act violent. If this happens, they will return in force later, led by Mogg.

''A speckled gretchling approaches you, holding a high, proud posture. He wears a wizard’s hat atop his amphibian head.''

|Each hero can also take one magic item with an Essence Point cost of 15 or less

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If the party threatens Mogg, it will result in combat. See the Showdown section for more information.  

=== Ground Floor ===

'''1. Dining Room'''

A balcony overlooks the ballroom, and although there are no stairs or ladders directly up to the balcony, heroes with rope or magic might be able to reach the balcony directly.

There is nothing of interest in the foyer, but if a hero makes a LUCK/Scavenging check, they can find sc equal to their roll as they look along the room’s ornamentation and through the couch stuffing.

The coat check is a small, unremarkable room that smells of mothballs.  

The latrine smells old and musty. A hero that makes a DC 10 AWR/Tracking check or AWR/Investigating check can determine that the latrine has not been used for several years.

The library is a tremendous, three-floor room that takes up half of the east wing. The first floor has dozens of freestanding bookshelves in the middle of the room, and the walls on all three floors are lined with shelves as well. The second and third floors have balustraded balconies, allowing anyone on those floors to see down to the first floor.

Heroes can find books of any mundane topic within this library. They can also find a handful of spell scrolls. Any creature with such a spell scroll can cast the spell one time without using any SP. They must still spend the requisite AP to cast the spell. The power of the spell scroll that a hero finds depends on their INT/History or INT/Arcana roll.

{| class="wikitable"

|+

|4-8 SP; MC decides which spell

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|4-8 SP; player decides which spell

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''The chapel is filled with rows of rotten pews, some of which have mostly collapsed into sawdust. If you look carefully, you see the off-white forms of termites crawling in the rotten wood. At the north end of the chapel, there is a simple pulpit from which a speaker might deliver a sermon. Glass double doors offer a clear view of the courtyard. Across from these doors, on the eastern side of the chapel, there is a small desk with a clay mug on it. The mug is glowing.''

Aside from the mug, there is nothing remarkable in the chapel. A narrow staircase leads up to the chapel’s balcony, part of the second floor. The chapel’s glass doors lead out into the courtyard.

=== Second Floor ===

The ballroom balcony overlooks the ballroom dance floor. It has circular tables covered in tablecloths, like those on the ground floor of the ballroom. They are also covered in stacks of books.

* Nikolai was visiting Uvior along with a great many adventurers of middling import. Uvior made connections with many adventurers, including Nikolai, in his youth.

* Uvior was known to only stay with an adventuring party when it benefitted him directly, especially when he got a large share of magical treasure.

* Nikolai and the other adventurers that responded to Uvior’s summons came unsure what to expect, but they found that Uvior had prepared a grand banquet for them.

* Nikolai’s last diary entry describes his confusion at the whole ordeal, given that Uvior was never one for shows of generosity.

The second floor foyer is separated by an empty space looking down on the first floor. On both the north and south side of the foyer, hallways lead deeper into the east and west wings. On the south side of the foyer, a wide staircase leads up to the third floor, and doorways open out to a balcony overlooking the manor’s main entrance.

The crenelated balcony has empty quivers mounted on the insides of the crenels so that archers can easily stock up on arrows and quickly fire on enemies below. There is otherwise nothing of interest on this balcony.

The second floor of the library is functionally the same as the first floor, though without a hidden doorway. It connects to the second floor of the foyer, is across the hall from the chapel’s balcony, and has staircases to both the first and third floor of the library.

=== Third Floor ===

The crenelated balcony has empty quivers mounted on the insides of the crenels so that archers can easily stock up on arrows and quickly fire on enemies below. There is otherwise nothing of interest on this balcony.

The private dining room has a rectangular table that can seat eight people. The table is unladen aside from a few books written in a strange cipher.

The room is otherwise empty.

The private study is locked, but this can be overcome with a DC 16 INT/Lockpicking or STR/Applied Force check.

If they ask Uvior about this, he will begrudgingly tell the heroes his story (see the Uvior Appears! encounter).

If the heroes have allied with Uvior, then they can Recoup and Take a Rest in the master bedroom without threat of danger.

The third floor of the library is otherwise functionally the same as the first floor, though without a hidden doorway. It connects to the lounge and one of the crenelated balconies overlooking the courtyard. A staircase connects the second and third floors of the library.

=== Basement ===

''Rows of single beds afford little privacy, and these quarters look reminiscent of a barracks, with small chests at the foot of each bed for personal effects.''

The servants’ quarters are austere and have nothing of interest, save a servant’s journal on one of the beds. The journal holds no information of great pertinence other than frequent ramblings about how the servants are discontented with Uvior. It seems that Uvior underpaid and overworked his servants, and treated them with a dismissive indifference that made him quite unpopular.

The cellar directly beneath the kitchens is for food storage. The smell is quite unpleasant, as most of the food has gone bad long ago. There are 1d6 Dire Rats in this room, who will behave aggressively towards the party but will flee once one or more of the rats are Bloodied.

''Crates and barrels pile upon one another in an unorganized jumble. White sheets have been pulled over some strange ornamentation, resulting in a facsimile of the ghosts from a child’s drawing.''

With a DC 14 AWR/Investigating check, the heroes also find a broken ball of crystal. If one of them touches this crystal, they briefly see a vision:

When a hero sees this vision, they take 1d8 psychic damage.

''The undercroft is dark and musty, the ground being packed earth rather than wood or stone. Wooden coffins have been slotted into the walls like books on a shelf, and a handful more stone coffins are pressed into the ground.''

''The scriptorium has several writing desks and stark, empty shelves. The desks are alight with cheerful candelabras. It smells of an odd mix of incense and faintly acidic slime. Many gretchlings idle in the room, playing cards or dice with one another, napping, or chatting. A gretchling with speckled skin wears a large, pointy wizard hat that falls over his froglike eyes, and he chats amicably with some of the others nearby.''

If the heroes are allied with the gretchlings, they can Recoup or Take a Rest in the scriptorium without threat of danger.

Once the heroes have explored much of the manor, tensions between Uvior and Mogg will eventually force some form of showdown. This might be a battle between the heroes and Uvior or the heroes and Mogg, or it might be a tense negotiation brokered by the heroes.

If the heroes attempt to negotiate a peace between Mogg and Uvior, they must first understand what both parties want.

Uvior keeps his desires closer to his chest, but the heroes might have discerned what he wants by exploring the manor. Uvior wants to undo the curse that he accidentally unleashed when he tried to activate the ancient artifact: he wants to be restored to his corporeal body. The Greater Restoration divine ritual can achieve this.

If the party has access to the Greater Restoration ritual, they can use it as leverage to get Uvior to negotiate. Mogg suggests that Uvior can keep his manor and be restored, but leaves all magic in the manor to be consumed by the gretchlings, whereupon they will leave him alone. Uvior does not like these terms, but is keen on being restored, so is willing to consider it.

However, if the sum total of the heroes’ CHA/Persuading checks is equal to or greater than the number of heroes x12, then Uvior reluctantly agrees to the deal and will uphold his end of the bargain. The heroes are granted treasure as though they had made an alliance with both Uvior and Mogg, and all parties get more or less what they want.

=== Battle ===

'''Fighting Uvior'''

* The party confronts and defeats Uvior

* The party confronts and defeats Mogg

* The party negotiates a peace between them

The best possible outcome for the heroes is negotiating a peace between Uvior and Mogg, and using Greater Restoration on Humphrey the Cleric. Doing so will result in the heroes getting the maximum amount of treasure from both Uvior and Mogg (see their respective random encounter entries for this treasure), and earns them +4 Goodwill whenever they enter a settlement that is home to an adventurer who was turned to stone at Uvior’s tragic banquet.

__NOAUTOLINKS__