Portal Campaign - Temple Guardians Pt 1 - WIP

 

Warrior Priest - Dressed in Red Robes and armed with a large curved Temple Sword - The priest is serene and calm but firm with the adventures informing them that unless they are Initiates of the God Who Is they may not enter the holy place. He is steadfast and cannot be bribed. If the Player Characters claim they are initiates the Warrior Priest will ask PCs to describe the statue of the God Who Is. If their description doesn’t match they will politely but firmly be refused entrance. 

If the players persist and their reaction roll was 9 or higher the Warrior Priest invites them to become Blood Initiates. If they accept the warrior priest performs a short ritual by cutting the thumb of each PC and daubing a dot of their blood on their forehead. The character will gain +1 Wisdom but lose 1HP permanently.  If the party rolled less than 9 on their reaction roll or refuse initiation then the only way past him is to defeat him or outwit him some other way.

Warrior Priest - AC: 4[15], HD:2+2*, (10HP), Atk:1x Temple Sword 2h 1d10+1, THAC0:18[+1], MV:120’ (40’), Save as: Elf 1, Morale: 10, Align: Neutral, XP: 45, Spells: Sleep

The Red Robed Warrior Priest will use their sleep spell at the first opportunity and then fight with their sword. If their morale is broken or they are reduced to 3HP or less they will offer to surrender and let the party enter the temple with him as a humble servant. If the party refuse he will fight to the death cursing them as unworthy of the God Who Is. The defeated Priest carried only his robes, the Temple Sword, and a begging bowl all of which are enchanted. 

The Robes if examined are covered in runes and glyphs which are not easily seen as they are in almost the same shade of red as the robes themselves. Their enchantment is that they provide AC 4[15] to their wearer. If combined with any other armour or a shield they just become normal robes AC 9[10].

The Begging Bowl has an enchantment that only works for those that worship the God Who Is. If they are not a true believer it does nothing. For a true believer, the bowl fills up with water at dawn every morning, cooked rice at midday, and 2d10 copper pieces at dusk. If the contents are not used or removed from the bowl each time it will not fill up at the next time it was due to refill.

The Temple Sword is a huge two-handed sword with a curved blade it is +1 against any unbelievers (which when the party find it is everyone in the world including them). It is also cursed. Whoever uses it in combat it must save vs paralysis or petrification if they fail they are now forced to return to the temple entrance and guard it against any who seek entrance. (including fellow players) the character may be considered an NPC until the curse is removed by magic. If they make the saving throw it is still cursed and the character now has a deep love for the God Who Is even though they may know little or nothing of the God. They also feel the need to convert every NPC they meet. If they the character role plays this the sword remains a +1 2H sword if they don’t it becomes a -1 2H sword. Either way, the curse can be removed by magic leaving the player with a +1 2H sword.

Cultists - 4d4 cultists in ragged and discoloured white robes. They are armed with assorted crude and ill-kept rusty daggers, blunt axes, and makeshift clubs. Their most striking feature is that half of them have their eyelids stitched closed and the other half have their earlobes stitched flat. There are also several white-robed corpses scattered around who appear to have had their mouths stitched shut. Living and dead alike they hey all look malnourished. The party gets +2 to any reaction roll if they offer the cultists food first. 

If questioned about the temple or their God they will blabber incoherently constantly referring to the greater good, the values of sacrifice, and their unworthiness, but they have no actual useful info. If a bribe of food or money is offered they will allow the party to pass and enter the temple. Alternatively, the cultists are all craven and half-mad and not that bright so any lie, bluff, or outright threat will see them step aside and let the party pass. If the reaction roll was a disaster or the party grows tired of their antics they won’t offer much resistance. 

Cultists - AC:9[10], HD:1/2(2HP), Atk:Shoddy weapon 1d4-1, THAC0:19[0], MV: 60’ (20), Save as: NH, Morale:4 , Align: Chaotic , XP: 5

Their robes are rancid and their weapons rubbish (1d4-1) and if searched the party find 3d8cp per cultist.

Strange Beast - This strange beast has the body of the man, the head of an ape, the forelimbs and claws of a tiger and the legs of a heron. It struts around the temple entrance in an agitated state repeating the single phrase . . .

“Wizardidit!Wizardidit!Wizardidit!” 

As the party draw near it howls and roars and shouts “Blood, meat! Blood, meat!” 

Other than those two phrases it cannot communicate. It will not attack the party unless they attack first or try and open the temple doors. It can only eat raw meat and cannot leave the vicinity of the temple and although it cannot die of natural causes it is nevertheless still desperate for the taste of bloody meat. If the party can supply it with raw meat it will drag that off to its nest, which is hidden nearby, eat and then sleep. 

If it comes to combat and the beast manages to kill a Player Character or hireling it will hop away from the party and gesture to the temple door. If the party takes it up on its offer and heads into the temple, leaving their fallen comrade behind, it will leave them in peace. If they don’t accept the offer or try to remove their dead party member the fight resumes.

Strange Beast - AC:5[14] , HD:4+1*(19HP), Atk: 2x claws (1d6) 1x bite 1d4 1x kick (special) , THAC0:15[+4], MV: 90’(30’), Save as: 4 , Morale:10 , Align: Chaotic , XP:145 

As well as its tiger claws attack its long heron legs kick out each turn sending someone flying. This attack requires no to-hit roll but also does no damage. Instead, it sends one human-sized enemy flying per round. Anyone kicked ends up lying on their back away from the fight and won’t be able to catch their breath and rejoin the fight until the next turn. 

If the party slays or somehow subdues the beast a quick search of the area will find its nest which contains mostly bones of previous prey and a few flea-infested ragged Orange robes. There is however a newish looking still fairly clean Green robe and a ring of animal control.

Clockwork Knight - A first glance this appears to be a solitary, motionless warrior dressed head to toe in an impressive suit of bronze plate and armed with a large bronze poleaxe. As they draw nearer the party can see that there are no eyeholes or breathing vents in the helmet, instead, there is what looks to be a large keyhole in the middle of the helm. Eagled eyed elves can also spot what look to be bronze wheels and gears at all the movable joints of the armour. 

When the party get withing 10’ of the temple the clockwork knight whirs into life and a strange metallic voice from somewhere inside the mechanism booms . . . 

. . . then he advances on the party. He is slow and ponderous so the party always have initiative. However, he is hard to hit, hard to kill and can dish out a lot of damage. 

Anyone, who wants to chance their arm can try and run around him and into the temple, but despite being slow he has a good reach with his poleaxe so have them save vs dragon breath. If they make the save he just clips them for 2 damage and they slip into the temple. If they miss they take half his normal damage and are knocked back and still have the knight between them and the temple doors.

If the party decide to fight him head-on after each of his attacks the PCs hear the creaking of his gears winding down and he shudders a little and seems just a little slower. The knight has 1d4-1 combats turns of full power after that he starts to wind down and will get slower and weaker until he stops. 

If the party realises this they can play cat and mouse and try to wait out the rounds until he runs down. This can be done in the same way as trying to dodge past it into the temple. Instead of rolling to hit have the players baiting him save vs Dragon breath if they make the save they take no damage and hit the bronze knight for half damage, if they fail he hits them for half damage.  

Once his mechanism has wound down he is a harmless inanimate lump of bronze and gears. He would be worth a lot as a curio for a rich noble or research subject for a wizard but moving him would be a major project requiring a team of labourers, an engineer, and a large cart. Of course, he is much more valuable to a bunch of adventurers who might find his key and the secrets to commanding him. His poleaxe is a mighty weapon but only someone with supernatural strength (via gauntlets of strength for example) could prise it out of his bronze hands and wield it.

Clockwork Knight - AC:3[16] , HD:4/3/2/1***, (HP40), Atk:1x bronze poleaxe 1d10+2 , THAC0:15[+4]/16[+3]/17[+2]/18[+1]/19[0], MV: 70(30’), Save as: 4/1-3, Morale:12 , Align: N/A , XP:225 , Spells: Immune to control 1/2 damage from attack spells.

As his clockwork mechanism winds down he becomes less effective this is marked by a drop in his HD, which in turn affects his THAC0 and Save as scores. It doesn’t affect his HP which will always be the same as his maximum HP for his starting HD (which varies depending on the number of turns of his key). They cannot be healed but they can be repaired. Dwarves and Gnomes have 2-6 chance of repairing clockwork knights even without training. 

This knight’s key is not with it, but there are other Clockwork Knights and other keys throughout the campaign world. If the players can get one of these keys and find the spell that empowers them they will be able to come back and claim this Knight

Blue Orb of Thaziador - A liquid blue orb floats in front of the temple at about head height. As the party approach, it starts to vibrate wildly then stretch back and forth from a lozenge to a sphere. If the party retreats it will return to its previous more stable shape. If the party get within 30’ it will attack. It does not have a conventional attack, but each round it targets someone (roll to see which PC, or NPC it attacks or pick a target yourself) for some bad vibrations. There is no ‘to hit’ roll instead the player must save vs Spells if they make it they merely vomit, miss a turn, and lose 1hp if they fail roll 1d6 . . .

1: They can see nothing but strange swirling shapes and brightly coloured patterns they also feel wildly euphoric - blind and giddy for 1d6+1 hours

2: Their body becomes leaden and they are rooted to the spot and cannot move their legs, arms, torso, and neck for 1d4 rounds. After that, they spend the rest of the day moving at half speed and always attack last.

3: A strange raucous and discordant song rings in their ears. Only they can hear it - deaf for 1d6+1 turns

4: Overcome by the strangest sensation that their mind is drowning in a viscous blue liquid - They lose 1 Int every turn until their Int hits 3 then after 1d4 rounds they gain 1 Int per round until their Int goes back to their original score.

5: All they can speak is a strange and alien language. No one knows what they are saying. Even they don’t understand. - Effectively mute for 1d4+2 hours. Afterwards, they understand parts of the language even though they have no idea what language it is.

6: Lose all sense of balance and are in fear of falling off the world at any moment - can only crawl for the next 1d6+1 turns.

At missile range, the orb is a small and difficult target to hit (hence its high 1st AC score) at melee range it is easier to hit but its vibrations are destructive. 

Each character in melee range who misses a save vs spells loses one piece of equipment as it turns into a thick blue liquid. To do this just assign six items of the PC a number between 1 and 6 then roll 1d6. If their armour is the item in question just part of it is damaged (increase/reduce the AC by +1[-1] if a weapon is picked reduce its weapon die by one type. So a 2h Sword drops from 1d10 to 1d8, a Sword from 1d8 to 1d6, etc. Any 1d4 weapon such as a dagger is destroyed as is any mundane item like rope, pitons, rations, backpack, etc.

Blue Orb of Thaziador - AC:3[15]/6[15], HD:4+1**, (6HP), Atk: 1x Bad Vibes, THAC0: N/A, MV:180’(60), Save as:4, Morale: N/A, Align: Chaotic, XP:275, Spells: Immune to all mental spells.

The first AC is against missile attacks the second against melee attacks. The orb is listed as 4+1 HD to represent the level it saves as and its value in XP if defeated, but only has 6HP to represent, that despite being magical and dangerous and hard to hit, it is very delicate.

Once reduced to 0HP the orb falls to the floor in a blob of blue gloop that shines brightly and starts to fade. If any of the players think to gather some of the gloop it can be used as a potion that if it comes into contact with flesh has the same effects as those projected by the living orb. The party can use this by getting foes to eat or drink it somehow, smearing it on a weapon, or throwing it in the face of a foe. Obviously, if they get it on themselves they will be affected. There is enough for 3 applications.