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Iristul Vladaam is not currently located in Ptolus, and is not further detailed here. Each Vladaam heir, however, is detailed with:

• A universal roleplaying template, as detailed here, for easy use.
• Connections to other factions, scenarios, or major players in Ptolus.
• Responsibilities, which summarize which aspects of the Vladaam deot they oversee.
• A schedule of their activities, as detailed below.

Along with any additional details that are relevant.

FAMILY SCHEDULES

Schedule information is given below for each family member. If a specific investigation is made into the schedule of a specific heir, a Charisma (Investigation) check (DC 15) turns up one piece of information plus one additional piece of information for every 4 margin of success.

Use the following table to determine what sort of scheduling information is gained:

Note that the same random table is used for both recent activity and upcoming planned activity. Some of these activities may be one-time events; others might be something that happens semi-regularly. (Use your best judgment to determine whether or not to repeat certain events.)

ALIASTER VLADAAM

APPEARANCE: Bushy sideburns down to his jowls. A man in his fifties. Six fingers on each hand (and six toes on each foot).

• GM Note: His eyes are completely black. (But he wears magical lenses to make them appear normal.)

ROLEPLAYING:

• Lacks ambition and drive, but makes up for it with a thirsting desire for knowledge.
• Extreme cowardice.
• Jut the head forward and down; the eyes looking slightly up at anyone standing across from him.
• Traces figures in his left palm with his right index finger.

BACKGROUND: Aliastar is on friendly terms with Navanna and has no interest in vying with her for control of the house. He manages only those concerns within the deot that he finds personal interesting (primarily matters of magic or alchemy or, lately, chaositech).

Aliaster helps his half-sister with her schemes by casting spells on her or for her in the simple hope that she will leave him alone and not actually force him into a dangerous situation.

STATS: Ptolus, p. 101

CONNECTIONS

Aliaster is part of the thoughtstone network. (Ptolus, p. 158)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Aliaster handles anything magical or alchemical in the family’s portfolio. This includes:

• Alchemical Labs (Part 7)
• Red Company of Fletchers (Guild – Dreadwood Grove)
• Red Company of Founders (Guild – Founders’ Workshop)
• Oldtown Apartments (Part 15)
• Red Company of Magi (Part 13)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity: Visits Haven’s Haven every Fireday to shave and trim his beard.

Aliaster’s Arcane Sigil

GATTARA VLADAAM

 APPEARANCE: A round face and shoulder-length, dark brown hair with reddish tints. She wears scandalously revealing garments and large, glittering jewelry much of the time.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Hopelessly mad, given to fits of irrational rage without notice.
• A high-pitched, tittering laugh.
• A raw, desperate flirtation that craves a mixture of acceptance and adoration. (Can easily flip into a cruel sadism.)

BACKGROUND: Once thought a promising wizard, she gave up her studies to serve as a priestess to the Galchutt. She maintains a fancy of opening a temple to the Galchutt in the Temple District (perhaps even using the Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother, see Part 6), but there is nothing concrete to any of it.

She has some contact with the chaos cults, but no direct contact with Wuntad. (He was initially intrigued, but he considers her madness and her irrational fervor too much of a liability.) Gattara has convinced Navanna to provide supplies to the chaos cults through various parts of the Vladaam deots.

Despite her madness (or perhaps because of it), she serves as something of the “family sage.”

STATS: Ptolus, p. 608

CONNECTIONS

BALACAZARS: Gattara has been good friends with Malkeen Balacazar (Ptolus, p. 103) since childhood. Rumors of them being lovers are false, but Malkeen will regularly consult with her regarding sorcerous matters – particularly those of the macabre or sadistic bent that he knows she will enjoy.

MARCUS CORELLIUS: Gattara has a good (and periodically intimate) relationship with Den Master Marcus Corellius (Part 8: Curse Dens). Although Godfred is technically in charge of the curse dens, Gattara liaised with Corellius regularly regarding the slave trade cover operations (Part 16).

THOUGHTSTONES: Gattara is part of the thoughtstone network (Ptolus, pg. 167)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Gattara likes slaves. She really, really likes them. Navanna generally leaves her to it, although she makes a point of regularly checking the books.

• Part 16: Slave Trade

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity:

• Danbury’s (Ptolus, p. 192): Socializing at this tavern for wizards and sorcerers three nights out of four.
• Jade Woman (Ptolus, p. 277): Visits roughly once a week to shop for a new set of garish outfits.

GODFRED VLADAAM

APPEARANCE: Tall, dark-haired, and pale, with extremely broad shoulders. Thick hair and bushy eyebrows. A long scar down one side of his often unshaven face.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Slow witted and rash. A lumbering oaf.
• Haughty, with an immense sense of entitlement.
• Looks down his nose (literally) at anyone he deems to be a lesser being… which is virtually everyone.

BACKGROUND: Youngest of the heirs and Iristul’s favored, but Iristul is smart enough to know that the boy isn’t capable of being in charge.

Godfred is a master of the greatsword and wields the only hungersword Iristul has yet found.

STATS: Ptolus, p. 102

CONNECTIONS

None of note.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Navanna has handed over responsibility for the drug-running activities of the Vladaam deot to Godfred and, with them, the family’s shipping concerns. This is ideal because these aspects of the deot largely run themselves (either through the Fleet of Iron captains or the Red Company of Surveyors), and she also figures that if these activities were to ever blow up, she could lay the whole thing on Godfred and call it a day.

• Curse Dens (Part 8)
• Fleet of Iron Sails (Part 9)
• Red Company of Surveyors (Part 14)
• Vladaam Drug Running (Part 18)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity: Godfred’s entire schedule is relatively predictable. The White House, Lady Cardie’s, and the Waterfall are all basically daily activities for him. The Arena is only irregular because it largely depends on when his fighter is scheduled.

NAVANNA VLADAAM

APPEARANCE (GLAMERED): A black dress with burnished armlets which send patterns of magical shadow writhing up her arms. A large glittering ruby in a simple fixture of taurum has been affixed directly to her breastbone. All of this stands out starkly and sharply against her dusky skin.

• GM Note: The ruby functions as a hat of disguise.

APPEARANCE (ACTUAL): Short-haired, pointy-chinned, extremely fit and thin. Her hair is dark brown and her skin is extraordinarily black – almost blue. Her teeth are bright yellow and she has four tiny red horns on her forehead right at the hairline.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Polite, charming, and perfectly willing to stick a dagger into your back at the first opportunity if there’s any profit in it.
• Coolly asexual, although she can drape other personalities (from femme fatale to gregarious bard) onto her false identities.
• If driven to true fury, she hisses like a cat. (She has not hissed in years.)

BACKGROUND: While Iristul is away, Navanna runs House Vladaam. Like her siblings, she is wicked and cruel – but she is also extremely devious and painstakingly cautious. She is not the most powerful of the family, nor the eldest, but she is the best leader.

KEY INFO: Navanna is constantly accompanied by at least four of the Twelve Claws (her personal werewolf bodyguards; see Part 5: The Vladaam Estate).

STATS: Ptolus, p. 101

CONNECTIONS

• Renn Sadar (Ptolus, p. 98)
• Commissar Igor Urnst (Ptolus, p. 140)
• City Council (Ptolus, p. 140)
• Menon Balacazar (Ptolus, p. 103)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Navanna officially runs the deot of House Vladaam while Prince Iristul is away. Although certain aspects of the deot are handed off to her siblings for daily operations, she still oversees everything.

• Abandoned Temple of the Mother (Part 6)
• Ithildin Couriers (Part 1)
• Red Companies (Part 1)
• Undead Shipping Warehouse (Part 17)
• Vladaam Family Estate (Part 5)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity:

• Visits the Winsome Gallery (Ptolus, pg. 277) every week on Airday to see the latest arrivals and occasionally purchase pieces she fancies.
• Meeting of City Council. (1 in 6 chance of meeting each day. She has, however, been leaving a larger number of votes in the Trade Circle to the family’s proxies.)

NAVANNA’S FALSE IDENTITIES

Navanna maintains a number of false identities in the city. She is constantly discarding old identities and creating new ones as opportunities and needs arise.

Navanna will use her ruby of disguise and then simply teleport out of the Vladaam House Estate. Some of her identities maintain rooms at the Soaring Idyll across the street (so she simply teleports there). She also rents a room in Oldtown almost directly below the House Estate and she can teleport there.

ELLA FENRIS: A swarthy-skinned half-orc. Master Delver of the Delver’s Guild (Ptolus, p. 108). Rarely goes on actual delves, but uses guild contacts to find out the latest discoveries beneath Ptolus.

IDORU: As Idoru, Navanna works as a freelance representative of the Eight Shadows (Ptolus, pg. 377). In that role, she either approaches (or is approached by) would-be clients of the Eight Shadows (either for vile fantasies at their brothel or, more likely, their job as drug dealers, assassins, spies, and enforcers). The Eight Shadows are part of the Balacazar criminal cartel, but neither they nor the Balacazars know that Idoru is secretly Navanna.

NICALON REGELIS: A new member of the Knights of the Golden Cross (Ptolus, p. 120). Spread story of being recently imprisoned by the Vladaams and would speak out strongly against the House in order to find out what her enemies have to say. She sacrificed this identity (blowing months of work) in order to identify the Hand of the Banelord and steal it from the PCs. See Banewarrens, p. 42.

OALA: A hostess at the Onyx Spider (Ptolus, p. 203). The owner of the Spider knows that Oala is an agent of House Vladaam, but doesn’t realize she’s actually Navanna in disguise. Navanna finds it useful to be able to move freely through the crowds here, eavesdropping wherever it seems wise.

Go to Part 3: Clue List

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This is a brief overview of the entirety of House Vladaam, including its members, citizens, business affairs, and criminal enterprises. You can use it to orient yourself as you explore and run the adventure.

LORD VLADAAM

IRISTUL VLADAAM: Leader of the Vladaams. Currently searching the world for hungerswords. (Ptolus, p. 100)

HEIRS

ALIASTER: Eldest brother. Specializes in arcane magic and alchemy.

GATTARA: Eldest sibling. Given to fits of irrational rage. She abandoned arcane studies to become a priestess of the Galchutt.

GODFRED: Younger brother. A lumbering oaf who enjoys violence.

NAVANNA: Younger sister. The de facto leader of the family in Ptolus. Mostly keeps out of the public eye.

The heirs are described in more detail in Part 2: The Vladaam Family.

HOUSE ESTATE

Vladaam is one of the smaller houses, claiming a total deot of 636 citizens. (However, it’s suspected that their actual total may be higher due to shadow members of the deot who participate in criminal activities.)

NOTABLE PROPERTIES:

The Vladaams own dozens of properties throughout Ptolus and many more through their various guilds (see below). Notable properties include:

• Vladaam Family Estate (Part 5)
• Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother (Part 6)
• Alchemical Labs (Part 7)
• Oldtown Apartments (Part 15)

PROPERTY LEASES:

If a search of a property’s deed is made at the Administration Building — DC 25 Charisma (Investigation), -1 per 5 gp of bribe, minimum DC 15 —the following ownership can be discovered:

• The ownership of any guild’s properties is generally in the name of the guild (and these guilds are recognized as being part of House Vladaam’s deot).
• The deed for the Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother is held by the Red Company of Goldsmiths.
• The Alchemical Labs are all directly owned by House Vladaam, except for the Storefront on Guilder Street (which is officially the Red Company of Alchemists).
• The Curse Dens are all owned by Marcus Corellius (Curse Den Master).
• The Oldtown Apartments are all directly owned by House Vladaam.
• The Slave Trade Warehouse is owned by Marcus Corellius (Curse Den Master).
• The Undead Shipping Warehouse is officially owned by the Guild of Silver Seamstresses (an organization that doesn’t actually exist, but pays its taxes regularly).

NOTABLE HOUSE GUILDS

The house guilds of the Vladaams are also known as the Red Companies. (The Red Company of Glaziers, for example.) The house controls a couple dozen guilds of various sizes and importance. Notable red companies are listed below.

RED COMPANY OF ALCHEMISTS

Red Company of Alchemists. Officially operating out of a building on Guilder Street, the Red Company of Alchemists maintains a network of secret alchemy labs around the city for making illicit substances. (Part 7: Alchemical Labs)

RED COMPANY OF FLETCHERS

Well-known for the distinctive black shafts of their arrows. These arrows have become particularly favored by assassins in Ptolus, although the Vladaams deny any direct connection. After all, anyone is free to purchase their guildcraft; they have no control over what they do with it after that.

The Red Company of Fletchers also maintains a black market in dreadwood arrows. They harvest the wood from an underground grove maintained by the guild. (Part 10: Guild – Dreadwood Grove)

RED COMPANY OF FOUNDERS

Publicly a guild of brass and bronze workers. In practice, however, this guild has become the focal point for Vladaam research into chaositech.

Word on the street is that the Shuul believe the Red Company of Founders is responsible for a recent theft from the Foundry. They have been unwilling to make an official complaint due to the prestige of House Vladaam, but they are currently looking to hire some mercenaries to steal their goods back. (Part 11: Guild – Founders’ Workshop)

RED COMPANY OF GLAZIERS

Essentially the only guild in Ptolus specializing in paned glass. They achieve this distinction – and the monopolistically high prices that come with it – by virtue of violently shutting down competitors. (The term “glass-shatterer” has become common slang in Ptolus for guild-on-guild violence.)

The company also supplies alchemical glassware.

RED COMPANY OF GOLDSMITHS

A small metal-working guild. The Vladaams use it to launder stolen funds and goods from their other enterprises. (Part 12: Guild – Goldsmiths)

RED COMPANY OF MAGI

This is a wizard’s guild directly under the control of Aliaster Vladaam. Although relatively small by some standards, in the shadow of the Inverted Pyramid, the Red Company of Magi is one of the largest groups of organized spellcrafting in Ptolus. (Part 13: Guild – Red Company of Magi)

The group is ostensibly dedicated to research, but the junior members of the company are deeply enmeshed into the illegal activities of the Vladaam family (providing arcane might where and when it’s necessary). The company’s dedication to research is not entirely a sham, however: The senior members of the company – referred to as “Archmages” – are often pursuing arcane research.

RED COMPANY OF SURVEYORS

This company of mapmakers rose to prominence nearly three centuries ago when they began producing incredibly detailed maps of the Teeth of Light based on the exploration ships that were sent into the southern reaches of the island chain by Yrkyth Vladaam. These charts greatly expanded trade throughout the Whitewind Sea during the decades leading up to the Great Sea War.

The Red Company of Surveyors still uses as its mark the great seal Yrkyth used when he was head of the household. It’s also said that the company was intimately involved in the creation of Yrkyth’s “Enigma Engine”. The company’s influence considerably declined following Yrkyth’s disappearance in 651 IA, but continues to be known for their accurate navigation charts.

The company’s chart-making workshop is located in Oldtown. Their apprentices work as boy messengers on the Docks, purchasing interesting chart data from docking ship captains. (Some of these apprentices are part of Part 18: Vladaam Drug Running.)

The guild uses a diamond-feather badge (representing the quills of the cartographers, but also having deeper meanings for the Brotherhood of Yrkyth).

See the Brotherhood of Yrkyth, below, and Part 14: Guild – Surveyors’ Headquarters.

RED COMPANY OF PAINTERS

Colloquially known on the streets as the “Forgers’ Guild”. They provide portraiture and murals of all kinds, but fifteen years ago they were involved in a minor scandal involving their forgeries. The company was able to successfully weasel their way out of it by claiming that the works were merely imitations and were never meant to actually deceive anyone.

RED COMPANY OF PAVIORS

Responsible for laying much of the original roadwork for Rivergate, the company still holds license for maintaining most of those paving stones and also the maintenance of the Rivergate Bridge.

A century ago, the Red Company of Paviors was involved in a scandal involving repeated sabotage of the Wings Fall Bridge. Their tolling rights for the Rivergate Bridge were stripped from them, but the Vladaams responded by getting all bridge tolls banned within the city.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

BROTHERHOOD OF YYRKYTH

The Brotherhood of Yyrkyth is a secret society founded by Yrkyth Vladaam in 600 IA. Its membership is primarily made up of the senior members of the Red Company of Surveyors and the captains of the Fleet of Iron Sails.

In the early decades of the 7^th century, the Brotherhood coordinated the gathering of arcane knowledge from the arcane isles of the Whitewind Sea using the Fleet of Iron Sails and the Red Company of Surveyors. They were also involved in the creation of Yrkyth’s “Enigma Engine” (the plans for which are still held in their secret headquarters beneath the Red Company of Surveyors). Following Yrkyth’s disappearance in 651 IA, the Brotherhood withdrew itself into a greater cloak of secrecy.

The Brotherhood is deeply tied to a variety of Vladaam activities, but is notable because none of the current Vladaam family are members. It’s a secret within a secret. However, the Brotherhood does arrange for certain arcane information gathered by the Brotherhood to be transmitted to the family for its benefit. (For example, the Brotherhood was responsible for forging the family’s connection with the dark dwarves in Catar, which resulted in the family gaining the services of the dark dwarf alchemy masters. See Part 7: Alchemical Labs.)

The sign of the brotherhood are four quills laid over each other to form the pattern of a diamond.

See Part 14: Guild – Surveyor’s Headquarters.

CURSE DENS

These dens of iniquity feature a rich drug culture mixed with strange curse magicks and gambling. (Part 8: Curse Dens)

DRUG RUNNING

The Vladaams deal primarily in three drugs. The Fleet of Iron Sails (see Part 9) is used to smuggle in Snakeweed and Abyss Dust from Freeport, while the slave trade (Part 16) is used to create Liquid Pain. (See Vladaam Drug Running.)

ITHILDIN COURIERS

The Vladaams also run one of the many companies of couriers in Ptolus. The Ithildin Couriers carry small badges of ithildin (a decorative silver that glows at night but is dull and almost invisible during the day) and are notable for three reasons: First, they operate primarily at night, a time when most other courier services are either shut down or operating at a reduced capacity. (This has also earned them the nickname of “the night couriers”.)

Second, the ithildin badges they carry provide a rudimentary form of message authentication. The message sender takes the badge and speaks a password to it. The receiver can then speak the same password and the ithildin will flash brightly.

Finally, they carry the full and brutal protection of House Vladaam. No one dares to interfere with an Ithildin Courier, and that includes the Watch.

As a result, the Ithildin Couriers are one of the most secure methods for sending a message in the city.

FLEET OF IRON SAILS

The Vladaams maintain a fleet of trade ships which are active throughout the Whitewind Sea. They are notable for their dull grey sails. The current Fleet of the Iron Sails contains 18 ships. See Part 9: Fleet of Iron Sails and Part 16: Slave Trade Ships.

Note that all ship captains of the Fleet of Iron Sails are members of the Brotherhood of Yrkyth.

SLAVE TRADE

The Vladaams are involved in the slave trade in two ways.

• The Fleet of Iron Sails – specifically the Pride of Morrain, Eye of the East, and Sarathyn’s Sail – are regularly used to transport slaves for the Ennin. These ships collect slaves from the Teeth of Light and deliver them to the Ennin Headquarters (Ptolus, p. 168).
• The Vladaams maintain a warehouse as a place where the Ennin can temporarily store slaves who are going to be sold at the Ennin Slave Market (Ptolus, p. 399). It’s used as either an overflow storage facility or as a place to move the current stock of the Slave Market if  it’s threatened by law enforcement. The Vladaams offer this service gratis in exchange for being allowed to use the slaves to process Liquid Pain (see Drug Running, above).

See Part 16: Slave Trade.

UNDEAD SHIPPING

The Vladaams maintain a black market for undead in Ptolus based out of a warehouse in the South Market. See Part 17: Undead Shipping Warehouse.

Go to Part 2: The Vladaam Family

SPOILERS FOR PTOLUS: BANEWARRENS

In Monte Cook’s Ptolus, the Vladaams are one of the noble families who rule the city. They feature prominently in the Banewarrens campaign, where they hold the Banewarrens Key in their vault (see Chapter 4 of the campaign book).

In my own Ptolus: In the Shadow of the Spire campaign, the PCs became increasingly interested in the Vladaams. In response, I developed The Vladaam Affair, a node-based mini-campaign of massively interlinked scenarios that fully describe the arcano-criminal network of the family.

You can easily incorporate The Vladaam Affair into your own run of the Banewarrens by keeping Navanna Vladaam’s involvement in those events at a high pitch. Because the Vladaams are a major faction in the city, it would, in fact, be relatively easy to incorporate this material into almost any mid-tier campaign set in Ptolus. (There are also, for example, connections to the Night of Dissolution campaign to be found here.)

These notes were developed for use in my Ptolus: In the Shadow of the Spire campaign. They’ve been adapted to 5E for use with the newly adapted release of the Ptolus sourcebook and campaigns.

My own version of Ptolus was integrated into my campaign world, where it was excised from the Empire of Tarsis and instead incorporated into a merchant empire. References to my campaign world have been stripped out to make this material easier to use for a standard Ptolus campaign (or more easily cross-converted to your own variant of the city).

The one exception is the use of the term deot, which is used to describe the total holdings and the vassal “citizens” of a noble house. The Vladaam Affair is more or less the description of the Vladaam deot, and so I found it convenient to leave references to the deot intact. The concept of the deot can be pretty easily added to a standard Ptolus campaign, or it’s easy enough to just ignore the term while running the adventure.

Even if you’re not running a Ptolus campaign, you may find The Vladaam Affair useful for any arcano-criminal conspiracy in your setting.

GETTING STARTED: INFINITE SCENARIO HOOKS

The Vladaam Affair doesn’t have an initial node (i.e., a specific scenario hook from which the rest of the scenario flows). It doesn’t even really have specific entry nodes. The deot’s design is much more organic than that, with the Vladaams affairs all being intermeshed with each other. No matter where the PCs get involved with the Vladaams, they’ll find a path of clues and leads that will lead them through the family’s entire criminal network.

Generally speaking, there are a couple ways to get the ball rolling.

Gather Information: The Vladaam Affair was originally designed for PCs who were already interested in House Vladaam and were looking to investigate their affairs. There are obviously many ways this could happen, including the Vladaam’s involvement in the Banewarrens. Once it does, you can use the information tables in Part 4 to feed the PCs information about one or more of the Vladaam’s ventures.

Scenario Hook: Alternatively, or in addition to the method above, simply pick any one of the Vladaam’s ventures and create a scenario hook pointing the PCs in that direction. At this point, the PCs may not even realize that Vladaams are involved until they start digging deeper.

• While dealing with cultists, the PCs encounter an evil mage. Investigation reveals that she was a member of the Red Company of Magi (Part 13).
• A slave escapes from a Vladaam warehouse (Part 16) and begs the PCs to help her.
• The PCs are investigating gang activity, and one of the members leads them to a curse den (Part 8).

And so forth. A few surprising scenario hooks never hurt anybody. For more on this technique, check out Juggling Scenario Hooks.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1: House Vladaam
Part 2: The Vladaam Family
Part 3: Clue List
Part 4: Gathering Information

THE DEOT OF HOUSE VLADAAM
Part 5: The Vladaam Estate
Part 6: Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother
Part 7: Alchemical Labs
Part 8:Curse Dens
Part 9: Fleet of Iron Sails
Part 10: Guild – Dreadwood Grove
Part 11: Guild – Founders’ Workshop
Part 12: Guild – Goldsmiths
Part 13: Guild – Red Company of Magi
Part 14: Guild – Surveyor’s Headquarters
Part 15: Oldtown Apartments
Part 16: Slave Trade
Part 17: Undead Shipping Warehouse
Part 18: Vladaam Drug Running

ADDENDUMS
Alchemical Lorebooks
Dragonscales
5E Drugs

Numenera, the Cypher System, No Thank You, Evil!, Invisible Sun, and their respective logos are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC. Content derived from Monte Cook Games publications is © 2013-2022 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

TM and © 2022 Monte Cook Games, LLC

Go to Part 1

Aggah-Shan has been building Mrathrach tables and distributing them to gambling establishments throughout Ptolus. The Mrathrach Machine operates by harvesting small amounts of chaos from nodules placed within these Mrathrach tables. As a result, the Mrathrach game (Ptolus, p. 331) becomes less random than it should be, generally rewarding higher payouts (which, conveniently, makes the game more popular, resulting in more plays, and more chaos being harvested). On the other end of the interaction, the Mrathrach Machine gathers that chaotic potential, using it to forge a connection to the Pit of Mrathrach (Ptolus, p. 78).

In my Ptolus campaign, I fleshed out the clues for this revelation of the true purpose of Mrathrach. My goal was to give the PCs a better understanding of what was happening with the Mrathrach Machine.

Unexpectedly, however, my players decided to attack the problem from both ends: Not only would they assault the Mrathrach Tower; first they would target and destroy all of the Mrathrach tables.

They had been working with the Commissar’s Men at this point. Once they had gathered enough evidence of what Aggah-Shan was doing, they were able to flex those muscles and assemble an official task force. If your players end up going after the Mrathrach tables in the same way, I’ve included information on the task force below.

The other thing you’ll find here is a Report on the Mrathrach Tables of Ptolus. My players engaged in an extended task to gather this information, and I gave them the Report as a handout. They were able to use the Report to plan their raids, and I was able to use it as the basis for running the raids.

As I’ve described, this scenario was very much an idiosyncratic response to a goal formulated more or less entirely by the players. If you want to increase the odds of being able to use it in your own games, you may want to add additional clues pointing the PCs more clearly in the direction of the Mrathrach tables. (For example, perhaps a list of locations the tables have been shipped to could be added to the workshop in the White House.)

Even if your campaign never ends up including the Mrathrach table raids, however, you may still find this a useful reference guide for gambling establishments in Ptolus.

THE TASK FORCE

WHITE HOUSE INFORMATION: The City Watch’s can be checked regarding Aggah-Shan and the White House.

Thirty years ago, an informant told the City Watch that Aggah-Shan had extensive catacombs beneath the White House. The informant disappeared and the case went with her. Aggah-Shan has kept his nose clean (publicly any way) since then, but it’s likely those catacombs have only been expanded.

CAPTAIN SARTH: The task force is led by Captain Sarth of the Commissar’s Men (Ptolus, p. 141).

COMMISSAR’S MEN: 75 commissar’s man (Ptolus, p. 141).

GOLDSHIELDS: 3 goldshields (Ptolus, p. 144), using arcanist stat blocks (Ptolus, p. 605).

RAIDING THE CATACOMBS: The Commissar’s Men and the City Watch both hate delving into the dungeons beneath the city. Their standard operating procedure is to seal and burn the entrance. Their strong preference will be to leave exploring the catacombs to the PCs.

Playtest Tip: If at all possible, give these resources to the players and let them work with Captain Sarth (and any other contacts they might have) to create a plan. That might be simultaneous raids on all of the Mrathrach table sites (with the Commissar’s Men splitting up to hit them simultaneously) while the PCs head into the catacombs. Or it might be the PCs assisting the Commissar’s Men sequentially hit the raid locations. Or maybe the PCs split up, with each PC accompanying one of the raid squads. Or any number of other possibilities.

My players ended up using teleportation and a potion of giant’s strength, to enable one of the PCs to teleport into a location after the Commissar’s Men secured it, lift the Mrathrach table, and then teleport it to a secure location for destruction.

REPORT ON THE MRATHRACH TABLES OF PTOLUS

AGGAH-SHAN’S ESTABLISHMENTS

Mrathrach tables are being operated at essentially all of Aggah-Shan’s gambling establishments (both legal and illegal) around the city.

WHITE HOUSE (Oldtown): The White House has recently expanded to house three Mrathrach wheels, which are increasingly popular due to their lucrative pay-outs.

• The White House has also been hiring an unusually large number of new operators and dealers over the past two weeks.

COCK PIT (South Market): Started as an underground cock-fighting arena in the South Market, the Cock Pit has grown into one of the largest illegal gambling dens in Ptolus. (The arena has also been expanded to include gladiator duels.)

• It’s operated by a half-orc named Naosh.
• There’s an expansive basement which services the arena and its gladiators.
• There are two Mrathrach tables: One on the sunken portion of the main floor and another in an exclusive gambling room.

Cock Pit (H8)

YELLOW PIGEON (Guildsman District): In an alley running between Carriage Row and Gem Street in the Guildsman District there’s a set of sunken stairs leading down to an iron door. Above the door is the faded painting of a yellow pigeon. The door leads to stairs that lead to a section of Ghul’s Labyrinth that’s been converted into an illegal gambling den serving mostly guild workers.

• There are guards on the door and in the gambling den below.
• The Watch has tried to raid the place a couple of times, but there are multiple bolt-holes leading through the labyrinths into the sewers.
• There is one Mrathrach table.

Yellow Pigeon (H8)

TEMPLE OF THE ONE-EYED GOD (Temple District): A temple based around the veneration / idolization of a mummified beholder’s corpse. While it may have once been a legitimate house of worship, its primary purpose now is to provide a semi-legitimate gambling establishment for Aggah-Shan. (They pay their taxes, but at a substantially reduced rate because the gambling is officially part of their religious beliefs.)

• The western wing of the temple has been converted into a gambling hall, including a Mrathrach table that was installed two days ago.
• The eastern wing houses the “priesthood”.
• The central dome still holds the “One-Eyed God”.

Temple of the One-Eyed God (G4)

BROKEN SPINE (Docks): The Broken Spine is a squalid tavern that ran an illegal gambling operation out of a secret basement for a number of years. It somehow got a reputation for being a place that young heirs of Merchant Houses would slum in. Fifteen years ago, Aggah-Shan muscled his way into the establishment. Ten years ago, he created a separate “basement” catering specifically to the “slumming” merchant princes: This basement is actually a lavishly decorated “bubble” that looks out into the waters of the Docks. Four years ago the place was raided and Aggah-Shan publicly “took it over” and started paying taxes on it, making the place legitimate in the eyes of the law.

• There are two Mrathrach tables here. One in the original sub-basement that still caters to sailors and other dock-crawlers; the other in the bubble.
• Three days ago there was a minor ruckus at the Broken Spine when Caraniss Erthuo, a daughter of a secondary line of the Erthuo Merchant House, fell ill in the Broken Spine and collapsed. She was taken to the Daykeeper’s Chapel in Midtown, but her condition has not improved. Her symptoms include a general fever, telepathic confirmation of nightmares, and fingernails which have turned chalky and weak.

Broken Spine (M6)

HELL’S DOOR (Midtown): In Pipe Row Court, there is a door painted crimson with garish red flames. Nicknamed “Hell’s Door”, it leads to a long corridor containing multiple private rooms. The décor is red velvet and the general pastime are illegal card games.

• One of the private rooms has recently been converted to hold a Mrathrach table.
• A dreamspeaker named Godam Martinelli, who lives a couple blocks away on Farther Street, has been loudly protesting Hell’s Door, claiming that something catastrophic is going to happen there.

Hell’s Door (F7)

URDOCH’S MRATHRACH HOLES (Warrens): Three Mrathrach tables are being run by an agent of Aggah-Shan named Urdoch in the Warrens. They’re set up in various abandoned buildings and occasionally moved around as necessary.

OTHER GAMBLING HOUSES

Mrathrach tables have also been sold or leased to gambling establishments around Ptolus which are not directly owned by Aggah-Shan.

AJACK’S TENT: Located in Tent City (located outside Market Gate), a litorian named Ajack operates a semi-legal gambling operation out of a large tent. (Technically he’s outside the city limits, so he doesn’t owe gambling taxes.)

When Mrathrach was introduced, Ajack was reportedly very excited about how popular it was and leased a table. Unfortunately, he’s been losing considerable amounts of money. He’s borrowed a large amount of money from either the Balacazars or the Killravens and now he’s having difficulty paying it back.

And now it sounds like the stress of it has caused him to fall ill.

Tent City (E9)

BAZAAR OF 1,000 SINS (South Market): One of several large markets scattered around the South Market district, the Bazaar of 1,000 Sins has earned a reputation as being the place to go for illegal, illicit, or simply questionable goods. Drugs, diabolic items, and the like are common.

• A Mrathrach wheel has been installed in one of the elaborate, silk-shrouded gambling tents of the bazaar.

Bazaar of 1,000 Sins (E7)

SILVER WHEEL (Rivergate): Perched at the top of the Great Ramp leading into Rivergate, the Silver Wheel is a legal gambling house catering to the expensive tastes of both Rivergate residents and the merchants passing through the North Gate. It finished construction just six months ago.

• A Mrathrach wheel was installed here three weeks ago. It was decommissioned a week ago, apparently due to the heavy losses it was sustaining.
• During its construction, the Silver Wheel was targeted by a firebomb. Rumor on the street is that the Vladaams were angry about the Wheel interfering with the custom at their Curse Den in Rivergate. It’s believed that the owners of the Silver Wheel agreed to ban Skullrattle and offer a cut of the Wheel’s proceeds from Dragonscales in order to settle the dispute without further bloodshed.
• Recently, however, there are reports that the Killravens are trying to apply pressure.

Silver Wheel (F3)

GILDED PHOENIX (North Market): Located along Argent Street, the Gilded Phoenix is operated by the Killravens. Notable for the nine “Phoenix Wheels”, the establishment recently added a Mrathrach wheel rebranded as a Phoenix Wheel two weeks ago.

• The arrival of the “Tenth Wheel!” was celebrated with a major social event as the latest “rebirth of the phoenix”.
• Reports are that the Killravens are less than happy with the performance of the Tenth Wheel, but since the losses are subsidized across the other wheels in the Phoenix Cycle they’re riding it out for now.

Gilded Phoenix (J3)

THE ARENA (Oldtown): The Ptolus Arena is more than 600 years old. It was built during the 2^nd century as part of the wave of free arenas which became popular throughout the Five Empires.

In addition to gladiatorial combat, a large number of other entertainments and events have been established at the Arena. A legal Mrathrach table was recently installed in one of the entertainment suites circling the concourse.

Arena (D6)

VLADAAM REJECTION

Aggah-Shan’s agents made a concerted effort to get the Vladaams interested in the Mrathrach wheels, possibly for installation in the Vladaam curse dens. The Vladaams, however, rejected Aggah-Shan’s proposals out of hand. The word “sacrilege” was apparently used.

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Go to Part 1

Aggah-Shan has stolen a ledger which belongs to the Balacazar crime family (Ptolus, p. 102). He’s been using the ledger to blackmail and manipulate them, and they want it back. But if they just send their own agents and something goes wrong, Aggah-Shan will be able to cause them a lot of trouble. What they need are patsies who can take the blame (and bear Aggah-Shan’s wrath).

Enter the PCs.

GROUNDWORK

In my own Ptolus campaign, the PCs came to the attention of the Balacazars when they flubbed the “Smuggler’s Daughter” adventure (Ptolus, p. 563) and woke in chains as Malkeen Balacazar’s prisoners. The PCs became very intimidated by the Balacazars as a result, and vowed to (a) avoid them as much as possible and (b) stay on their good side if at all possible.

This laid the original foundtation for this side adventure, which was designed to (a) foreshadow the White House, (b) possibly reveal Aggah-Shan’s involvement with the chaos cultists, and/or (c) provide an alternative vector for discovering the Mrathrach Machine.

Having your PCs similarly get entangled with the Balacazars and/or their thugs is a great way to set up the groundwork for this mission, but it’s not required: If the PCs have any sort of reputation in Ptolus as either heroes or hired help, that’s more than enough justification for the Balacazars to select them for the gig.

ADVENTURE HOOK: THE MISSIVE

Maystra Balacazar sends a messenger to the PCs. The messenger carries a sending token. When he spots the PCs, he’ll use the sending token to send a message to Maystra, wait fifteen minutes, and then deliver Maystra’s Note (in order to give Maystra and Fesamere time to reach the Yellow Wall ahead of the PCs).

PCs who succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check notice the man watching them (from across the street, at the bar, etc.). If they succeed on DC 18, they notice the messenger wears a Balacazar family ring.

---

MAYSTRA’S NOTE

We have a sphere of mutual interest.

You have talents I would find useful.

I have an offer you need to hear.

Come to the Yellow Wall.

M. Balacazar

---

THE YELLOW WALL

The Yellow Wall is a tavern located in the Rivergate District (Ptolus, p. 323). It’s built up right against the city wall, and the wall above it has been painted yellow, off-setting the grain paint and trim of the restaurant itself. The tavern is owned by Fallaster Nobrand.

WATCHER: A Balacazar master thief (Ptolus, p. 612) lounges near the door of the Yellow Wall. When he sees the PCs approaching, he’ll head into the tavern and give a head’s up to everyone inside. A DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check notices the man eye them up and then slip into the tavern.

ENFORCERS: Six Balacazar thugs are mixed into the crowd. DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Insight) checks to notice them.

ARKHALL: Arkhall Vaughn (Ptolus, p. 105), the Balacazar’s archmage, is sitting at the bar. He uses detect magic to scope out the PCs, noting any magical items or abilities they have. He’s particularly looking for anything that might allow them to spot invisible intruders. (If he does, Fesamere will be careful to keep her distance during the heist. If not, there’s a 50% chance she’ll get too close and probably be automatically spotted.)

If the PCs have previously interacted with Arkhall, he’ll be using a disguise self spell to conceal his identity.

THE PROPOSAL

Maystra Balacazar sits with her sister Fesamere at a table along the wall of the tavern. A DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check notes that the tables nearest them are conspicuously empty. (They’ve been cleared out to prevent eavesdropping.)

THE BRIEFING:

• Aggah-Shan stole a porcelain doll that was a gift to the Balacazar girls from their mother. (Lie)
• The doll itself is not particularly valuable, but they belief Aggah-Shan is using it to target them for scrying spells. (Lie)
• They need someone to break to the White House and steal the doll for them. (True, from a certain point of view)
• If Aggah-Shan caught Balacazar agents trying to infiltrate the White House, he’d cause a lot of trouble for the family. (True)
• They need someone to do the job who has no connection to the Balacazars, so that they can be plausibly denied if anything goes wrong. (True)
• Aggah-Shan has temporarily left town. For how long, they’re not sure, but it’s created a window opportunity. The PCs need to do the job tonight. (True)
• They are offering to pay 5,000 gp to break into the White House’s vault and retrieve the doll. (True)

They don’t care if the PCs steal other material, too. (That might even be for the best, since it will hide the true target of the heist.) But they will caution the PCs that the more they take, the more resources Aggah-Shan is likely to put into tracking them down.

MAYSTRA BALACAZAR

Appearance: Tall and lithe, with dark hair and olive skin.

Roleplaying Notes:

• Impatient and distrustful, but willing to hide it.
• Fiery temper if provoked.

Quote: “Enough! I am a daughter of the Balacazars. I am not to be trifled with.”

Background: Ptolus, p. 104

FESAMERE BALACAZAR

Appearance: Dark, olive-colored skin. She dyes her hair golden blond. A slight build and very fit.

Roleplaying Notes:

• A calming influence.
• Playful; perhaps even flirtatious.
• Decadent and self-absorbed.
• Fiercely loyal to her family, but has no interest in the family business.

Quote: “Let’s not all rush to a hasty judgment. I think we’d all prefer a softer touch. I know I do.”

Background: Ptolus, p. 104

Key Info: She’s at the meeting primarily so that she’ll be able to clearly ID the PCs during the heist.

THE REAL PLAN

THE PORCELAIN DOLL: The doll never belonged to the Balacazars, they’re just aware that it exists. The doll actually contains an idol of madness (see below).

FESAMERE’S GAMBIT: When the PCs break into the White House, Fesamere will follow them invisibly. Her goal is to retrieve the Balacazar Ledger in Area 10 of the White House and then leave, preferably with neither the PCs nor the White House guards ever knowing she was there.

The ideal is that the PCs will (a) clear a path and (b) draw attention. Whether they get spotted or just leave evidence behind, it will take heat off the Balacazars.

PAYMENT: If the PCs steal the doll, the Balacazars will happily pay them the agreed to price. (The idol of madness is valuable in its own right, after all.)

IDOL OF MADNESS

Wondrous item, rare

A small, humanoid statue of violet stone. The head seems oddly enlarged and its arms and legs are both longer than the porportions of a human would suggest. (It depicts a Titan Spawn of Lithuin.)

One holding the idol hears a constant, maddening mumur of voices coursing through their mind. The statue opens the bearer’s mind to the mad whispers of the Tainted Dreaming. The bearer gains advantage on Dreaming Arts, Chaositech, and Chaos Surgery checks.

Anyone benefiting from this advantage or sleeping with the idol must make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or suffer a long-term madness. If they fail the save by 10 points or more, they instead suffer an indefinite madness.

Go to Part 5: Mrathrach Table Raids