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The Vladaam maintain four alchemical labs in Ptolus, all located in the Guildsman District.

DARK DWARF MASTERS

The alchemical labs are run by four dark dwarf alchemical masters:

• Grui (Bodyworks)
• Thornai (Poisoner’s Guild)
• Kilana (Shadowworks)
• Kaldri (Common Labs)

ALCHEMICAL LOREBOOKS

These are two types of alchemical lorebooks that are maintained in each laboratory (see Addendum: Alchemical Lorebooks).

Common Lorebooks: These are written in Common or Old Prustan and require an Intelligence (Alchemist’s Supplies) check to decode the appropriate recipes. (DC 12 to identify a recipe; DC equal to the crafting check to actually know what the recipe entails.)

Secret Lorebooks: These are maintained by the dark dwarves. They are written in Undercommon and also encrypted. It requires a DC 18 Intelligence (Alchemist’s Supplies) check and a DC 18 Intelligence (Deception) check to decode a secret lorebook.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES

The Bodyworks and Poisoner’s Guild are maintained as low profile guild workshops that are generally not open to the public.

The Shadowworks maintains a small public shop for selling alchemical bolts and arrow.

Goods are shipped from these three labs to the Storefront/Common Labs on Guilder Street. This storefront is officially the Red Company of Alchemists in city records.

VLADAAM ALCHEMISTS & OTHER DENIZENS

Apprentice Alchemist: Use commoner stats, MM p. 345.

• Intelligence 12
• Proficiency (+2): Arcana, Alchemist’s Supplies
• Acid Flask: ranged attack, 2d6 acid damage
• Equipment: acid, dagger, alchemist’s supplies, Vladaam deot ring
• CR ⅛

Journeyman Alchemist: Use artisan stats, Ptolus, p. 606.

• Intelligence 16
• Proficiency (+2): Arcana, Alchemist’s Supplies
• Equipment: caltrips x5, oil of mending x2, potion of climbing, potion of healing, Vladaam deot ring

Many of the journeymen alchemists are half-orcs:

• darkvision 60 ft.
• Proficiency: Intimidation
• Relentless Endurance: Once per long rest, when reduced to 0 hp, instead drop to 1 hp.
• Languages: Orc

Dark Dwarf Masters: Use mage stats, MM p. 347.

• Characterize spellcasting as deploying alchemical admixtures.
• Proficiency (+3): Alchemist’s Supplies
• Alchemical Master: Double proficiency bonus on checks related to alchemy.
• Equipment: alchemist’s fire x2, oil of mending x5, potion of healing x2

Dark dwarf traits:

• darkvision 60 ft.
• speed 25 ft.
• Dark Dwarf Resilience: Advantage on saving throws vs. spells.
• Tool Proficiency: Smith’s Tools
• Stonecunning: Proficient in Intelligence (History) checks related to the origin of stonework and add double proficiency bonus.
• Languages: Dwarvish

Vladaam Gladiators: Use gladiator stats, MM p. 344 with orc traits (darkvision 60 ft., as bonus action can move up to its speed towards a hostile creature).

Vladaam Guards: Use guard stats, MM p. 347, with AC 17. (Equipment: breastplate, shield, longsword, longbow, arrows x20, potion of healing, Vladaam deot ring.)

Advanced Vladaam Guards: Use knight stats, MM p. 347.

Go to Part 7A: Alchemical Lab 1 – Bodyworks

DISCUSSING
In the Shadow of the Spire – Session 31E: Kabel’s Tale

Returning to the Ghostly Minstrel they spent the better part of an hour cleaning up the coagulate gore and blood that had been spattered across them in the Banewarrens (and only now pausing to reflect on Brother Heth’s blithe reaction to the same).

We all have weak spots as GMs. Stuff that’s tougher for us. Mistakes that we make more often than we’d like. Things we overlook or fail to take advantage of.

One of these for me is keeping an updated “mental portrait” of the PCs in my head (and, therefore, my descriptions). I generally have a vision of the PCs in mind, but I have a tendency to let it default back to its generic baseline instead of, for example, incorporating all the muck and filth that a bunch of people rummaging around in monster-infested caverns are likely to get coated in.

In this particular case, the players had also forgotten to think about this until later in the session (when they wanted to get cleaned up for a social event), so we were able to play it as ironic comedy beat.

(Although I feel that if I was better about personally tracking this sort of thing and incorporating it into my long-term descriptions, then my players would be less likely to forget about it themselves. So I think the failure still comes back to me.)

A technique I’ve found useful for this is to put a reminder of the group’s “descriptive status” on a swap note on my GM screen. Having it persistently present in my field of vision provides a periodic, unprompted reminder that helps me describe things appropriately and make sure the campaign world is reacting appropriately.

(Now I just need to remember to update the swap notes…)

I’m still running this Ptolus campaign today, and, as you can tell from the dates on the campaign journals, the campaign has progressed quite a bit beyond this point. As a result, I’ve actually discovered a long-term problem related to this one: My mental image of the characters is kind of “stuck” on how the characters looked during these early days of the campaign.

(Sort of like how you often think about how your friends looked in college, even if it’s been years and years since any of you were in college.)

Talking with the players, I discovered that I was not entirely alone in this.

In the actual campaign, though, the PCs are all decked out in awe-inspiring magical gear, one of them has horns now, and a couple have been transformed into albinos. (As you do.)

For this, I discovered that commissioning some fresh character art and then either hanging it in the game room or using it for my GM screen did the trick.

Campaign Journal: Session 32A – Running the Campaign: The Traps That Move You
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31E: KABEL’S TALE

November 9th, 2008
The 18th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

A NOONTIME WITH KABEL

After dropping Iltumar back at the Bull and Bear (the lad was rather saddle sore), Tor returned to the Nibeck Street mansion. As arranged, Ranthir and Tee met him just inside the door. Tee broke the news of Kabel’s warrant (which she had learned from Elestra when she had returned earlier). Ranthir rendered him invisible and then headed out the door first, allowing Tor to slip out without any visible sign.

From the outside, Pythoness House still looked completely deserted. Tor passed through the gatehouse, easily slipping past two knights of the Order of the Dawn who were stationed as covert guards in the courtyard. He quickly found Sir Kabel and Sera Nara in one of the former bedchambers on the first floor, quietly discussing matters over a game of dragonscales.

Tor knocked on the door.

Sera Nara was jumpy. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

“That will be… difficult,” Tor said. “It’s Tor. I thought it best if I came as secretly as possible.”

Sir Kabel waved Sera Nara down.

“Where should I sit?” Tor asked.

“Wherever you like,” Kabel said. “We are, after all, here at your sufferance.”

It took a few moments for the invisibility spell Ranthir had worked to wear off. As Tor became visible, Sir Kabel smiled, “It’s good to see you, Master Tor.”

“Before we begin,” Tor said, “I have a confession to make.” He quickly explained that he was responsible for Kabel nearly being captured. “I thought it was a snare. I am sorry.”

“No, the debt is entirely mine,” Kabel said. “Without the efforts of you and your friends, we would have all been captured.”

“I’m sorry to say that I have more bad news,” Tor said. “A warrant has been sworn out for your arrest.”

Kabel grimaced.

“I’d like to help you. We’d all like to help you. But first I’d like to know what happened that morning.”

A flash of anger crossed Sera Nara’s face. Sir Kabel held up a placating hand to her, “No. It’s all right. I’m sure that Rehobath has spread his story far and wide. It’s good to hear the truth.”

KABEL’S TALE

“I had taken several knights from the Order to train at the tournament field. Many of these were loyalists to the Church, but there were a few that were brought so that we might try to recruit them. We needed all the support we could if we were going to remove the False Novarch.

“Unfortunately, not all of those I trusted were truly loyal. Two of my knights – Aric and Thomas – attacked me. Crying their loyalty to Rehobath and with a vow to kill me for a traitor, they attempted to assassinate me.

“They failed, largely through the quick blade of Sera Nara. While we were still gathering our wits, another of my loyal knights rode up and warned us of further treachery: Sir Gemmell had attempted to gather those knights loyal to me and ambush them in the Great Hall of the Godskeep.

“We rode hard and discovered that Gemmell’s plan had failed. The loyalist knights had fought their way out of the Godskeep. But now there was heavy fighting on the green south of the keep and my men were pinned down between the Godskeep and the Cathedral.

“We were able to cut through the defensive line that Gemmell had formed. We fled west down Sunrise Street. When we came to the Street of a Million Gods, I ordered my men to scatter. The group I led eventually made our way to the pub in Rivergate and, from there – through your grace – to here.”

PRELUDE OF THE FATAR

“That explains many things,” Tor said.

“Now, there’s something else I’d like to propose.” Sir Kabel leaned back and gestured expansively, taking in the whole of the room and beyond. “The knights loyal to our cause are scattered, hiding in bolt-holes around the city. They’re just waiting to bound by Gemmell and the other traitors and captured. But Pythoness House is practically a fortress. It could be secured against any assault by Rehobath or his cronies. You brought us here. Is it all right if use this as a safe haven for the others?”

Tor was hesitant. “I’m not sure I have the right to make the decision without first consulting my comrades. We’ve spoken, actually, of our need to find a place more secure – and secret – than the Ghostly Minstrel as a base of operations. We had been thinking of using Pythoness House ourselves.”

“I understand,” Kabel said.

“What are your plans, exactly?” Tor asked.

“I’ve received word from the Church in Seyrun. Kirian Ylestos has been raised as the Silver Fatar of Athor and dispatched to Ptolus to take control of the Cathedral. He’s bringing with him a small platoon of the Crimson Guard. With the guard reinforcing my loyalists, I believe that we’ll able to overwhelm Sir Gemmell, capture Rehobath, and put an end to this farce.”

“How many men do you have?”

“Twenty or so loyalists, unless more have been captured,” Kabel said. “And the platoon will bring another twenty armed men to our side.”

“And how many men does Gemmell have?”

“At least forty knights still serve him in the Godskeep,” Kabel admitted. “But when the true Fatar arrives and the word of the Church is heard again, I think many of them will realize their folly. Of course it would be easier if… Since he isn’t here, am I to understand that Dominic is not to be trusted?”

“No,” Tor said. “I only came alone in an effort to be as secure as possible.”

“If Dominic were to publicly denounce Rehobath, that would go far towards discrediting Rehobath’s heresies. More of the Order might turn against him and Gemmell.”

“He’s not a friend to Rehobath, I can tell you that,” Tor said. “But beyond that I can’t say. I would need to ask him. Perhaps it would be best if I brought all of my friends here to meet with you.”

Tee stepped out of the shadows by the door. “Some of us are here already.”

TEE’S PATH

After Tor left the Nibeck Street mansion, Tee had waited ten minutes and then climbed over the rear wall of the mansion. When she had reached Pythoness House she hadn’t bothered trying to go through the gates, instead climbing the wall and quickly reaching the roof above the gatehouse. From there she was able to look down into the courtyard and easily spotted the two knights guarding the entrance. She had slipped down through the gatehouse (saying a quiet “hello” to Taunell) and started looking for Tor. It took her several minutes, but she had arrived outside the door just in time to hear the last few sentences of the conversation.

Nara leapt to her feet and her sword leapt into her hand. “Who are you?”

Tor quickly made the requisite introductions. Tee gently pushed Nara’s sword away from her throat as Kabel waved her down again.

“Apparently we’re going to need new guards.” Kabel smiled.

They agreed to meet for dinner that evening and Tor asked him if they would need any supplies or the like.

“No. Nara is quite… skilled in keeping a low profile,” Kabel said. “She should be able to supply all of our needs. I look forward to our… palaver.” He smiled again. “Master Tor, I am forever in your debt.”

“It was the least I could do,” Tor said.

Kabel led them out into the courtyard – quite confusing the two guards who were still standing duty there (Kabel promised to explain things to them later). Then they made their farewells and left.

BACK AT THE MANSION AGAIN

Returning to the Nibeck Street mansion, Tee and Tor met up with the others and filled them in on the situation. They all readily agreed to return to Pythoness House for dinner the next day and listen to Kabel’s proposals.

Tee, having business in the city, left the rest of them to return to their vigil in the Banewarrens. On the walk back towards the excavated cave, the discussion turned towards what Dominic should do: Denounce Rehobath or continue keeping as low a profile as possible?

“So what is Vehthyl telling you to do?” Elestra asked.

“Vehthyl has nothing to say about it,” Dominic quipped.

“What about that other saint?” Elestra said.

Dominic was getting uncomfortable with her cavalier attitude towards the whole matter. He still wasn’t sure what he thought about being a saint or the “Chosen of Vehthyl” or whatever, so he wasn’t prepared for her to be so familiar with the idea of it. “Do you mean the Star of Itor?”

“Yeah. What was it he said to you? That you should follow your heart? What is your heart saying?”

“I… I don’t think I know,” Dominic said.

“I guess it’s a question of where your loyalties lie,” Ranthir said.

“I don’t know that, either,” Dominic said.

“We may not know which side is right,” Tor said. “But I think we know which side is wrong.”

Running the Campaign: Gore-Spattered Reactions  – Campaign Journal: Session 32A
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

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BACKGROUND

This church belonged to a small cult which worshipped Aredhel, the sacred ur-tree which they claimed was the Mother of the Gods. The cult had a minor renaissance about fifteen years ago, during which time they claimed that the church’s tree was a sapling grown from a cutting of Aredhel herself. Seven years ago, however, the tree was struck by lightning and killed. The cult’s popularity abruptly declined and the church was abandoned.

The church stood vacant for several years and was then purchased by the Vladaams in 747 IA. They’ve used it for storage (and, most importantly, the hidden stash of illicit goods in Area 10).

(Malav Street – Temple District – I4)

THE TEMPLE

The church is entered by climbing stairs up from street level to the large balcony on the second level (Area 1).

Windows: Large windows look into Area 2 from the east and west. Smaller windows look into Areas 7, 8, and 9. Solid glass except for the window in Area 8 (which was broken and then boarded over).

AREA 1 – THE BALCONY OF THE TREE

The balcony has a balustrade of begrimed white marble. The floor is a mosaic of blue and green tiles, although several of the tiles are now missing and the rest are badly weathered.

Trap – Temple Entrance: Anyone crossing the threshold of the church into Area 2 who doesn’t wear a Vladaam deot ring triggers a bestow curse spell (DC 20 Wisdom saving throw to negate). On a failure, their forehead is branded with a “V” sigil which glows bright green and inflicts incredible pain (causing disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks).

• DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation), DC 24 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

DM Background: It’s become a custom in the neighborhood to pry up bits of the balcony as good luck charms.

AREA 2 – HALL OF THE DIVINE SEED

Statues: Depict Ahaar, the Lord of Air, and Gaen, Goddess of Light, kneeling as if in subservience towards the tree in Area 3.

Pillars: These pillars are designed to dispense some sort of small nodule. (Four dispensaries per pillar.) The mechanism still works, but nothing comes out.

• DM Background: The pillars would dispense small silver “seeds” that would be swallowed to produce an intoxicating effect on supplicants before they descended into the lower halls of worship.

AREA 3 – THE GREAT MOTHER

The tree is long dead, but still stand proudly. Its bark is papery-thin and silver-grey in color.

AREA 4 – THE ASCENT OF GODHOOD

The floor here is molded to resemble grass and dirt and is sloped steeply towards from the tree, forcing anyone proceeding towards Area 6 to climb up.

DM Background: Symbolically this mirrors the journey of the Ahaar, Gaen, and the other gods out of the Grove of Aredhel. So, too, do worshipers move out of divine grace and into the deeper mysteries of the cult.

AREA 5 – PRIESTS’ QUARTERS

Filled with old, ruined furniture.

Doors: Badly weathered. One hangs loosely by a broken hinge.

DM Background: These were once the quarters of the church’s priests. Simple abode beneath the boughs of the Great Mother.

AREA 6 – HALL

The walls have been marked with crude graffiti, but it’s so worn with age now that it’s impossible to make out.

AREA 7 – VLADAAM STORAGE

Several crates have been stacked here, each marked with the Vladaam seal.

• 500 pounds of saffron (worth 7,500 gp).
• 3 crates of purple-and-red linen (worth 3,000 gp)
• A crate containing 700 finely crafted arrows with black shafts. (DC 14 Intelligence check for local knowledge notes that the black shafted arrows identify the arrows as coming from the Red Company of Fletchers. They have a reputation for being favored by assassins in the city.)
• 2 crates containing 50 longswords.

AREA 8 – EMPTY ROOM

This room has been stripped down to the bare stone. The window has been broken and boarded over.

DM Background: Formerly the High Priestess’ chamber.

AREA 9 – EMPTY ROOM

This room has been stripped down to the bare stone.

Mental Alarm: An alarm spell keyed to Aliaster Vladaam is triggered if anyone enters the room who doesn’t wear a Vladaam deot ring.

• DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation), DC 24 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

Secret Door – DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation): A loose stone on the windowsill can be depressed, causing the secret door to Area 10 to swing open.

AREA 10 – VLADAAM SECURITY CACHE

Forged Art: A dozen framelss paintings have been propped against the walls here and there. DC 15 Intelligence (History) recognizes numerous famous paintings, with a total worth around 55,000 gp.

• The Heath of Midnight by Collier
• Eyes of the Satyr by Banald
• The Fire of the Gray Forest by Pannal
• The Color of the Gods by Lacas
• Beneath the Southern Sea by Lacas
• The Nine Eyes by Lacas
• Guildcrafters of Sarlush by Supparo
• The Valley of the Street by Supparo
• The Forbidden Love of the Gods by Pannal
• The Warrior’s Gauntlet by Pannal
• The Blooded Claw by Kabuto
• At Anchor at Dohrinthas by Heffala

DC 21 Intelligence (History) or Wisdom (Perception) recognizes one of the paintings as a forgery, plus one additional painting per point of success. (All of the paintings are forgeries.)

Dagger of the Black Sapphire: The dagger of the black sapphire is a +1 silvered dagger. Its hilt has a large black sapphire (cut into the shape of s dagger) embedded in it (so that it can be seen from both sides of the hilt). If someone is slain by the dagger, their soul is drawn into the gemstone and held there. Over the course of a year and a day, the soul is slowly consumed (during which time the victim cannot be revived or resurrected by any means). The holder of the dagger can speak with dead once per month to communicate with the soul. Only one soul can be held by the dagger at a time and it will not capture another until it has consumed a soul it currently holds. Shattering the gemstone releases the imprisoned soul.

• Current Occupant: A man named Makett who was a former member of the Red Company of Surveyors. He made the mistake of embezzling money from the Vladaams, and the even bigger mistake of getting caught. He does know several pertinent pieces of information regarding the Vladaams (conveying all the information on the notable guild houses and also 1d4+1 random bits of information from the gather information tables). He also suspects the presence of hidden chambers with the Surveyor’s guild headquarters (but he was not a member of the Brotherhood of Yrkyth, see Part 14: Surveyor’s Headquarters).

Black Lotus Poison: 3 vials of black lotus extract (7d8+30 poison damage and the poisoned condition, DC 17 Constitution saving throw for half damage and no poisoned condition).

• Attached Note: “Make sure payment is passed to Master Thornai for the concoction and Captain Hinmos for retrieving the lotus blooms.”
• DC 18 Charisma (Investigation): Thornai is the Master Alchemist at the alchemical lab on Black Street (see Part 7: Alchemical Labs).
• DC 14 Charisma (Inveistgation): Captain Hinmos is of the God’s Pearl, one of the Fleet of Iron Sails (see Part 9: Fleet of Iron Sails).

DM Background: This area was originally designed as a safe room where the priests could hide in case of religious persecution. The Vladaams use it as a place to store hot or risky items.

AREA 11 – HALL OF WORSHIP

Several rows of dusty pews, including one which has partially collapsed, face a dais on the far side of the chamber.

Dais: There are signs that an altar once stood here, but it’s been removed (leaving only bolt holes in the floor).

AREA 12 – MURAL OF THE GREAT MOTHER

A painting of a silver-barked and silver-leafed tree fills the wall of this alcove. Depictions of Ahaar and Gaen, their holy symbols tattooed or burned onto their chests, stand below the tree, and seventeen huge, cocoon-like seedpods depend from the boughs of the trees (each marked with a holy symbol of a different god).

A dry and empty pool is slightly raised from the floor in front of the mural.

Go to Part 7: Alchemical Labs

DM: As you’re crossing the completely empty, 20’ x 20’ room, your foot hits a pressure plate. A huge fireball engulfs the room! Give me a Dexterity saving throw!

Player: 18! And I have evasion!

DM: Somehow, while standing upright in the middle of the featureless room and taking no defensive action whatsoever, you’ve managed to completely avoid the raging inferno!

That’s weird, right?

But we’ve all come to just kind of accept it as a weird trope of D&D. It’s not even an intentional trope. It’s just a weird artifact of turn-based actions, locking our characters onto a grid, and requiring specific abilities or effects to declare any sort of positional change.

Partly we can address this by just loosening up a bit and giving ourselves a bit more creative leeway when narrating outcomes in a scene like this. (There’s nothing inherently wrong with describing a PC diving out of the room in the nick of time.) Even if we want to remain more firmly locked to the grid, the reality is that the 5’ x 5’ square is an abstraction that can cover a multitude of sins, particularly in a typical room.

(Seriously: Tape out a typical room of your house in 5’ x 5’ squares. You’ll discover that pretty much any square has some bit of furniture or a door or some other form of cover that you could imagine an evasive monk finding cover behind in the event of an unexpected explosion your living room. This is a useful lesson in general: Even if your dungeon map or battlemap may make most squares look wide open for the sake of legibility, that doesn’t mean you can’t weave unillustrated details into your descriptions of the action.)

Of course, many of our fantastical adventures will take us into quite atypical rooms — barren rooms, vast vaults, and so forth.

Regardless, we might find a slightly more formal system useful in any case. For better or worse, I’ve frequently had players object to bits of flavor text woven into action descriptions (e.g., “you stagger back a step” or “you leap out of the way”), and you may find a little formality can help grease those wheels.

DYNAMIC RESPONSES

When a character has to make a Dexterity saving throw in order to avoid an area effect (or any other effect where the DM deems it appropriate), they can describe a dynamic response that explains why/how the saving throw is being made.

Examples include:

• falling prone
• ducking behind a large shield
• getting behind cover
• moving out of the area of effect

Other options are certainly possible, particularly in specific environments (e.g., diving into a lake). Players are encouraged to be creative in the dynamic responses that they create.

Guidelines for resolving dynamic responses:

Not a Reaction: A dynamic response is not a reaction. If a character cannot take a reaction, however, they also cannot make a dynamic response.

No Response: If no appropriate dynamic response is attempted (or can be attempted), the character makes their Dexterity saving throw with disadvantage.

Movement: Characters can move up to 5 ft. as part of a dynamic response. Alternatively, they can move up to 10 ft., but they must fall prone at the end of the movement. (In other words, they’re diving for cover.) This movement provokes attacks of opportunity normally.

Duck and Cover: Simply falling prone and covering up can be a sufficient dynamic response, but this renders the character prone.

Design Note: Dynamic responses essentially create a wider spectrum of mechanical response to area effects. You can have no adequate response (disadvantage), actively seek to avoid the effect (resolve normally), or be well-prepared and take the Dodge action (advantage).

ABUSING THE SYSTEM

“Hey! What if my players start dropping area effects on each other just so they can ‘dive out of the way’ and get ‘free’ movement across the battlefield?”

You have a few options:

• Simply disallow it.
• Limit dynamic response movement to once per round.
• Allow it, with the rationale that the area effects are creating enough chaos and confusion that people are able to move around a little more freely than they usually could. (Or whatever other rationale makes you happy.)
• Only require/allow dynamic responses to trap effects.
• Sigh… fine, dynamic responses now require you to use your reaction. If you don’t have a reaction left this round, then you’re stuck making your Dexterity saving throws at disadvantage.