In the beginning there was the Word.

And the Word had Power.

Many laypersons believe that arcane sigils are a language which describe power. But true wizards know that the symbols are the power. Wizards know full well the dangers of unleashing such runes in the open tablets of their minds, but they also know the great advantage of it and are willing to wrestle with the words for possession of their own sanity.

This is the great art of the scroll-writers: To trap primeval energy, ethereal spirits, and astral constructs in the ancient bonds of ink and parchment. If one were to carelessly copy such writings — to treat them like any scribbling to be trivially transcribed — one would be fortunate to merely waste their time. Far worse would be to mimic rites without perfecting them; to attract spirits without binding them.

Photo by Henrik Sendelbach.

The malero (meaning “the taking of sin”) is a religious ritual of cleansing.

Its origins lie in the auto da fes performed during the Years of Heresy by the Imperial Church. In these public processions, those found guilty of heretical crimes would be marched through the streets of a city before being led to a place of judgment where many would be tortured or executed.

The first bearer of the malero was Saint Alesia of Malthusta, who received a holy vision to lift the burden of sin from her town and bear it herself before performing a mighty geas to cleanse her own soul of its weight. Similar maleros were performed throughout the Years of Heresy, allowing those accused of heretical crimes to instead go free.

The practice of malero continues today in a lessened form: Holy warriors and knights are given tasks by the church in order to periodically cleanse their communities of the “vestige sin” which accumulates wherever men gather in great numbers.

More rarely, a malero be assumed in an effort to lift a curse or blight from a particular region.

THE MALERO IN YOUR CAMPAIGN

A malero can serve as a convenient scenario hook. Knights, paladins, and clerics associated with the church may be called on directly to perform them. In other cases, churches may put out a general call for anyone willing to undertake a malero. (This is particularly true for smaller churches with more limited resources.)

Notably, maleros are often called for in the wake of great tragedies. Have the PCs just captured a serial killer? We’ll need a malero to cleanse the community of such weight sin. Did they just save the village from some natural calamity? The gods must be cursing us with such times of trouble because of our sins; must be time for a malero.

A failed malero is a particularly weighty manner. If Sir Godric has taken on the community’s sin and has fallen before it could be cleansed, that means that the sin has merely been concentrated and is now free to roam once more. Who knows what mischief such sin might get up to? Once the players are familiar with the concept of the malero, you can use a failed malero to crank up the stakes for them.

You shouldn’t forget to play up the ritualistic component of the malero, either. Functionally it may not be much different from a guy hiring them at the local tavern; but the devil is in the details, and you can imbue the malero with a lot more unique flavor than that: Anoint them with oils. Make them swear a holy oath. Let them receive a proper blessing.

Make the malero significant.

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

The key posted over the last several days for the Ruined Temple of Illhan represents the temple as it was discovered by my players. If you’re interested in running through the temple in the days after that hardy group of wanderers passed through it, you’ll want to make the following changes:

AREA 9: The secret door has been wedged open with iron spike.

AREA 20: The stone block has been propped up with three iron chests, holding it far enough off the ground for halflings and unarmored characters to crawl under.

AREA 21: Portcullis has been raised (using the control level in area 23).

AREA 26: The ceiling of this room has collapsed, leaving behind a solid wall of rubble in the doorway.

AREA 30: The iron chests and treasure have been removed.

AREA 36: Spear has been removed.

AREA 43: All of these doors have been chopped through with axes.

Thanks again to Dyson Logos for giving me permission to share his re-keyed map. I very much recommend checking out his site; he’s got a plethora of terrific stuff over there ripe for pillaging.

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

AREA 32: Empty chamber.

AREA 33: The angled wall has the chipped remnants of what must have once been an extravagant mural; but it is now too damaged to make out any pertinent details. On the wall opposite the mural there is an iron rod bracketed to the wall about seven feet off the floor and running perpendicular to it.

AREA 34 – PIT TRAP (30’ deep): 1 in 6 chance of opening when crossed.

AREA 35: These rubble piles will shift ominously as people walk over the top of them (but there’s no real risk).

AREA 36: A metallic pole covered in runes stands upright from the floor in the middle of this room.

Pole: The runes are arcane. The pole is actually a +1 spear of charged lightning, which can hurl 1d6 lightning bolts which deal 4d6 points of damage each. When the charges on the spear are exhausted, it remains a +1 spear but cannot discharge lightning again until it has been returned to the depression in this chamber. The weapon can be used normally by any follower of the Norse or Neo-Norskan pantheon (despite being a bladed weapon).

Each time the spear is used (whether to throw lightning or in melee) by a character who does not worship the Norse or Neo-Norskan pantheons, there is a 1 in 6 chance that its curse will be revealed: Black lightning will run up the spear and into the arms of the character wielding the spear. The black lightning will sap the strength from their limbs, inflicting a -4 penalty on attack rolls on damage until the spear has been returned to this chamber or they have received a blessing from a Norse cleric.

AREA 37: Empty room.

AREA 38: Partially collapsed chamber.

AREA 39: Room is empty. Door is wooden.

Secret Door: On the wall here there are two small, concealed lenses. (See area 40.)

AREA 40: On one wall of the chamber there is a kind of iron coffin or sarcophagus which is flush with the wall (where the secret door is indicated). On the other side of the room, a set of open stairs goes up, takes a turn to the left across a short landing, and then heads up another flight (to area 24).

Iron Coffin: This is hinged and can be opened if six clasps down the opposite side are removed. Affixed to the wall within the cavity of the sarcophagus are a set of “viewing glasses” (similar to binoculars or opera glasses), which look through the lenses into area 39. If the viewer is sealed inside the sarcophagus (with all six clasps being shut from the outside), the view in area 39 will shift to show the same room several hundred years ago when the complex was still in use.

Vision: Three maidens wearing blindfolds (one of crimson red, one of royal purple, and one of pale blue) sitting around a large brass bowl filled with burning incense. Priests of Illhan will enter, drop tokens of intricately carved wood into the burning incense, and ask questions. There’s no sound, but those who can read lips will be able to decipher a prophecy describing the temple’s destruction.

AREA 41: An empty room.

AREA 42: In the center of the room there is a large pile of dry wood. (Those looking through it will discover the remains of broken furniture.)

Closet: The wooden door on the far side of the room has been hit with an axe several times, but is still mostly intact. The closet beyond it has a skeleton slouched in one corner; it has a small, badly rotten pouch with 6 sp and 76 cp.

AREA 43: All of the rooms in this little complex are empty. The doors are made of wood, several of which have swelled from moisture and jammed shut (3 in 6 chance).

Continued tomorrow…

(Original cartography by Dyson Logos.)

Go to Part 1 – Go to Map

AREA 24: The arches at either end of the long hall here are formed from the upper halves of a spinning wheel. A half chipped mural on the ceiling depicts white clouds in a blue sky.

Stairs: Go down, turn right across a short landing, and then descend again into area 40.

AREA 25: The arch to the south has the top of a hammer serving as a capstone (with its handle pointing up). The arches to the north both have a pair of horns curving up from their capstones.

AREA 26: The room opens off to the left. There are still two columns left standing, but you can see a third one further down the length of the hall which has fallen onto its side. Beyond that the room has collapsed. And as the door opens, you see some dust drift down from the ceiling.

Pillars: Disturbing a pillar has a 1 in 6 chance of causing the room to collapse. Removing one of the pillars will automatically cause the chamber to collapse. Everyone in the room will take 8d6 points of damage.

AREA 27: This room contains a stone well raised about three feet high. There’s potable water 30 feet down.

AREA 28: The arch leading to the stair is formed by two large hammers (see area 16). The archway leading towards area 29 has a large, stone eye serving as its capstone. The archway leading towards area 30 has an empty socket at its capstone (a missing eye).

Capstones: Moving the capstone from one arch to the other will cause the (currently secret) door leading to area 31 to become visible and the door to area 29 to vanish.

AREA 29: Hanging from a long iron rod on the far side of the room there is a single red curtain in perfect condition. (The curtain benefits from a mild enchantment to render it immune to the passage of time, but is otherwise unremarkable.)

AREA 30: The archway in this chamber is formed by two spears. There are three iron chests at the end of the chamber. Their lids are thrown back and they have been completely emptied. The chests have been bolted to the floor, although the one on the right is slightly loose.

Secret Compartment: Beneath the iron chest on the right there is a hidden compartment. Loosening the bolts allows the chest to be removed, revealing the compartment. The compartment contains 9 thin strips of gold, each worth 100 gp. There is also a small flask of crystal filled with a reddish liquid (potion of fire resistance).

AREA 31: The door to this room only becomes visible if the capstone in area 28 swaps its position. On a small, circular altar of white marble at the far end of this chamber lie two silver hammers worth 250 gp each due to their high craftsmanship.

Those familiar with dwarfcraft will recognize the hammers as being of dwarf-make. One of the hammers has the dwarven rune for FRIENDSHIP engraved upon it; the other has the Norskan rune for FRIENDSHIP on it.

(Note: These hammers can be used in area 19.)

Continued tomorrow…

(Original cartography by Dyson Logos.)