Duskwood represents the Night Forest (courtesy Blizzard Entertainment and the WoWWiki).
Located east by southeast of Phaeselis itself, the Night Forest is a stretch of woods that have been transformed by evil, dark magic into a small realm of horror. It has become a cursed, dark land that few venture to tread. There is but one human settlement, and that is Sybaris. The place was a beautiful part of the forest outside the city, but it has become a land of gnarled trees that has become inhabited by dreadful undead and the Lycacon Pack ofLycans. Not to mention the ogres in one of the valleys.
The Night Forest has several geographical features. First is the small resort town Sybaris, which was a place of drunken revelry and riotous living until the curse came over the land. Second is the Night Forest proper. Third is the old gold mine that was mined when Bronze was king. Fourth are farming settlements that have been abandoned to the forest, then the valley of the ogres, and finally the small settlement of Heraclea by Phaeselis, which has been taken over by the Cimmerian Pack of Lycans.
Monsters Encountered[]
Dire wolf pack.
The following monsters are encountered in the Night Forest.
- Bat Swarm
- giant spider (white)
- lizard
- Persian Horned Viper (venomous snake)
- dire wolf
- Redtailed toelasher (Pyroraptor)
- Rat swarm
- Maenad (see the PATHFINDER Bestiary 4)
- Ogre
- Weasel
- Orc
- Werewolf
- Ghoul
- Lycacon Lycan
- Skeleton
- pseudodragon
- Wraith
- Banshee
- Shadow
- Soulbound Doll
Intelligent Being Settlements[]
Sybaris[]
Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf, engraving by Hendrik Goltzius.
Once a resort town for the rich and famous of Phaeselis, Sybaris was established by Moonbow Lake. It featured gambling, prostitution, sexual orgies, and other entertainments enjoyed by the rich and powerful. The town was given a little autonomy by Phaeselis as long as the laws of the land were followed.
Led by Lycacon, the resort town was prosperous until the fateful night when Lycacon lost his daughter. Enraged with grief, he felt that the Gods abandoned him and used the Craft to summon a thing which he made a pact with. The thing was the spirit of all wolves, and in return for the spirit of his daughter, Lycacon had to give his soul to the wolves. Using elder magic, the wolf spirit put a Wolf Spirit into Lycacon, forcing him to become something half-human, half-wolf, the first WEREWOLF! His daughter came back to life, but was horrified that by the light of the full moon, her father transformed into a wolf. His daughter left him. Distraught, Lycacon attacked and ravaged the town, creating new werewolves by the people he bit, and a pack of Lycans called the Lycacon pack. Their emergence brought the whole land under Shadow and a curse.
Now the humans have reclaimed Sybaris and use it as an advance base to cleanse the land of it's curse. Still, shadowed things attract things not of this World, and the undead lurk in the cemeteries and the old mine. One crazed alchemist from the city of Hallicarnasus had come here, seeking ways to resurrect his ghoulish wife. Unable to restore her to life, he went mad.
Ogre Valley[]
Ogre.
A tribe of ogres, now called the Nightcrown Ogres, have moved into this small valley in the region. The ogres do not like human life except for eating and breeding. The Ogres are mighty things that can be held in check, though, by the Phalanx from Alexandria on the Phoenix. However, the Phalanxes hardly venture into the Night Forest, leaving the ogres for bands of adventurers to slay. The ogres are said to have captured the Shield of Achilles.
Heraclea by Phaeselis[]
Heraclea by Phaeselis was a human town established by Parmenio as a simple farming town. Indead, many farmsteads surround the town. Now overcome by Shadow, the local graveyard has become a haunt for the undead. Most of the humans abandoned their farmsteads and the town, leaving only a few residents. When the Cimmerian Lycans moved in, there was little struggle.
Being lycans that are able to retain their humanity once changed into humanoid wolves, the Cimmerians are trying to help Phaeselis relieve the Night Forest of it's curse. However, their presence is aggravating the situation by being Lycans. Nevertheless, they are here to help the Lycacon pack to reclaim their humanity. It is also here that the mad alchemist -- Kleisthenes -- resides. Unable to restore his ghoulish wife back to true life, Kieisthenes vents his anger by studying the human body.
Adventure Seeds[]
Helping a Grieving Old Man: Kleisthenes' grief over his ghoulified wife has turned his grief into anger. Posing as a hermit needing help, he askes the player characters to retrieve some ribs, hair, eyes, and blood for a project he is working on. Retreival of the objects would result in the creation of a flesh golem after they are complete. The flesh golem is sent into the countryside to ravage the land and to cause panic.
The player characters are sent back to deal with the hermit, when infact his wife comes to his rescue in an attempt to eat him and the player characters!
Kleisthenes (represented by Krennan Aranas, the creepiest man in Gilneas -- courtesy WoW Wiki).
Kleisthenes
CR 8, 48,000 XP
Human Reanimator (Alchemist) 9
LE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 75 (9d6+41)
Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +9
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk Khopis +6 (1d8–1)
Ranged javelin +6 (1d6–1)
Special Attacks bomb 20/day (5d4+9 fire, DC 24), acid bomb (5d4+9 acid, 1d4 acid next round on direct hit, DC 24), throw anything
Alchemist Extracts (CL 9th, Concentration +16)
- 3rd -- absorbing touch, heroism, lesser animate undead
- 2nd -- blur (2), cat's grace (2), cure moderate wounds, see invisibility
- 1st -- bomber's eye, enlarge person, expeditious retreat, reduce person, shield true strike (2)
TACTICS
Before Combat Kleisthenes will not engage in combat, and will rely on his wife to defend him.
During Combat Kleisthenes will use his animate dead extract to animate a skeleton or two and then give the PCs the slip.
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 12, Con 9, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 13
Base Atk +6/+1; CMB +15; CMD 16
Feats: Brew Potion, Deadly Aim, Expert Alchemist, Journeyman Alchemist, Point Blank Shot, Skill Focus: Craft Alchemy, Weapon Focus (Bomb)
Skills: Appraise +8, Craft: Alchemy +12, Disable Device +12, Fly +5, Heal +7, Knowledge: Arcana +13, Spellcraft +13, Survival +6, Swim +4
Languages: Ariyan, Aryavartan, Hellenic, Phoenician
Discoveries: Alchemical Simulacrum, Alchemical Zombie, Combine Extract, Mummification
Gear: potion of cure light wounds, potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of darkvision, potion of false life, potion of haste (2), potion of invisibility, potion of lesser restoration, potion of resist energy (fire), potion of shield, potion of thorn body, acid, alchemist's fire (2), Mutagen (+4 Strength). Masterwork Khopis and three javelins.
Journeyman Alchemy:Philter of Detect Undead (x2), Philter of Lion's Strength, Minor Rejuvenation Draught
Expert Alchemy: Lesser Healing Draught (x3)
Kleisthenes' horrible flesh golem! (Stitches from the WoW MMO).
Kleisthenes is from Hallicarnasus. He moved to Phaeselis in order to find a better life for him and his beloved wife. He moved to Heraclea by Phaeselis because they needed an Alchemist. When the curse of the Night Forest began, Kliesthenes fought the undead by supplying alchemical products until his wife caught a plague.
She died of the plague, but the curse made her rise as a ghoul. Distraught, Kliesthenes turned to reanimation to cure his wife. After suffering a nervous breakdown from failing to cure his wife of his ghoulishness, Kliesthenes concluded that the world has been unfair to him and he seeks to take out his frustration by building a flesh golem. He needs various ingredients in order to complete his horrific creation.
Ghoul from Carrion Hill.
Eudokia, The Ghoulish Wife
CR 3, XP 1,200
CE Medium undead
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
DEFENSES
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2
OFFENSE
Str 14, Dex 15, Con —, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Power Attack, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +4, Climb +6, Perception +7, Stealth +7, Swim +3
Languages Hellenic
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Disease (Su) Ghoul Fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con and 1d3 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based. A humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast.
TREASURE
Both Kleisthenes and Eudokia have about 25 gold staters for their old age.
The Mystery of Lycacon: The leaders of Sybaris want to understand how Lycacon -- once a good servant of Alexander and his Strategos Parmenio, have turned into a werewolf. The investigation takes them to the Lyceum of Phaeselis, and the old agora of Heraclea by Phaeselis in order to find out. The book revealed would be the Lupinocron, a set of scrolls that reveals how to summon the Spirit of Lupus. Unfortunately the heroes are stalked by a Lycan named Aiwi-xvarenah. Aiwi-xvarenah is a Lycan who is trying to prevent the uncovering of the Lupinocron. If the PCs capture the Lycan and bring it to the Cimmerians, the Cimmerians will cure the Lycan -- helping her to regain her humanity. Part human, part wolf, she'll lash out at any human being, telling them that her life has been ruined!
Dathan's Murders: A
Theseus and Procrustes.
man in black has been stalking the humans of Sybaris lately. He has been grusomely killing them, by cutting off their feet or cutting off their head. The PCs are sent to investigate the trail of grusome murders. They all lead to an estate once owned by the infamous Procrustes. Dathan, a Phoenician that had been taken over by Procrustes' shade; is protected by a number of people who served Procustes -- who are all now skeletons and ghouls. Defeating Procustes again requires that his corpse be stabbed with a silver stake. Procrustes will stop possessing Dathan and will attack the PCs as a wraith, telling them that his quest for perfection is unfinished! Procustes then can only be stopped by the Sword of Theseus, an artifact Sunsword found in Procustes' inn courtyard.
Procustes' real form.
Procrustes' Wraith Spirit
CR 5, XP 1,600
LE Medium undead (incorporeal)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +10
Aura unnatural aura (30 ft.)
Defense
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+5 deflection, +3 Dex)
hp 47 (5d8+25)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +6
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, incorporeal; Immune undead traits
Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness
Offense
Speed fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee incorporeal touch +6 (1d6 negative energy plus 1d6 Con drain)
Special Attack create spawn
Statistics
Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 21
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 21
Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Skills Diplomacy +10, Fly +7, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (planes) +7, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +11
Languages Common, Infernal
Special Abilities
Create Spawn (Su) A humanoid slain by a wraith becomes a wraith in 1d4 rounds. These spawn are less powerful than typical wraiths, and suffer a –2 penalty on all d20 rolls and checks, receive –2 hp per HD, and only drain 1d2 points of Constitution on a touch. Spawn are under the command of the wraith that created them until its death, at which point they lose their spawn penalties and become free-willed wraiths. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life.
Constitution Drain (Su) Creatures hit by a wraith's touch attack must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. On each successful attack, the wraith gains 5 temporary hit points. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Lifesense (Su) A wraith notices and locates living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability.
Sunlight Powerlessness (Ex) A wraith caught in sunlight cannot attack and is staggered.
Unnatural Aura (Su) Animals do not willingly approach within 30 feet of a wraith, unless a master makes a DC 25 Handle Animal, Ride, or wild empathy check.