Saving the Wicked
This quest is designed to challenge players’ sense of morality, forcing them to confront tough decisions and accept the unforeseen consequences of their actions. It embodies the gothic horror genre, presenting a world where the line between savior and destroyer is blurred, and even good intentions may lead to tragedy.
Backstory:
Four adventurers find themselves atop a desolate hill, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of twenty cultists who ended their own lives in a grim ritual. They have no memory of how they arrived in this twilight land but bound by a shared goal to escape, they navigate the hostile terrain, uncover the land’s secrets, and confront their own weaknesses along the way.
Summary:
The quest begins with Liandre, a warrior known for protecting the weak, struggling with guilt after escaping a deadly prison without rescuing other prisoners. Her dreams are haunted by the voice of a desperate figure crying out for help. When she awakens, the voice persists, compelling her to lead her companions into the eerie dead forest.
There, the adventurers discover a group of cultists performing a ritual around a caged monster. The creature’s telepathic pleas for salvation challenge the party to decide whether to intervene. However, the cultists’ actions are driven by their devotion to the god Osibus, and the adventurers must weigh the morality of saving the creature against the potential consequences of disrupting the ritual.
The party’s decision reveals dark truths about the nature of the land, the role of Osibus in its curse, and their own mysterious presence within this world.
Objective:
Discover and respond to the source of the mysterious voice calling out for help.
The scene:
The adventurers, weary from their escape, take shelter in a cave deep within the dead forest. Liandre, haunted by guilt and exhaustion, dreams of a voice begging for help. When she awakens, the voice persists in her waking thoughts, compelling her to take action. Despite their initial doubts, the group agrees to follow her, navigating the oppressive terrain of the dead forest.
They arrive at a hill where a group of cultists chants around a caged monster. The creature’s sorrowful cries echo in their minds, presenting the party with a moral dilemma: save the creature and disrupt the ritual or stand by and witness its grim conclusion.
Dialogue Example:
Liandre: "I failed the others. I can't let this one die too. She's calling to me..., how can I ignore it?"
Companion:"Liandre, we just escaped with our lives. Do you want to risk them all again for… what? A dream?"
Monster (telepathic):"Please… help me… I don’t want to die. They will kill me!"
Obstacles and Challenges
Exploration of the dead forest:
The forest presents numerous hazards, including disorienting paths, low visibility, monstrous creatures ready for a fight, and an oppressive atmosphere that wears down the party’s morale. As the adventurers explore, they stumble upon broken ritual tools and abandoned altars.
The Moral Dilemma:
The creature’s pleas create internal conflict. Is it truly innocent, or does the cultists’ ritual serve a greater purpose?
Choices and Consequences
Choice 1: Aid the Creature
Action:The adventurers decide to kill the cultists and release the creature from the cage.
Dialogue Example:
Liandre:"You’re still alive… We stopped them. Why were they keeping you in this cage?"
Creature:"Please… free me… I beg you. I was meant to be a sacrifice, but I’m not the creature they said I was. I don’t want to die here."
Companion:"How do we know you’re not just another trap? What if we free you and make everything worse?"
Creature:"You don’t understand… I can help you. Please, let me out. They’ll come for me soon, you have to act now!"
- Outcomes:
- If they release the creature immediately: The creature attacks the party. Its earlier pleas for help turn out to be a ruse. The fight is brutal, but the party survives, gaining no immediate answers about the land or the ritual.
- If they restrain the creature within the cage: The party interrogates it, while the creature starts to use its tongue. The creature reveals cryptic details about the land, hinting at its cursed nature and its connection to the god Osibus. However, once freed, the creature inevitably attacks.
At low health, the creature escapes.
- Consequences:
- If they restrain the creature
within the cage:
The adventurers gain critical about the land’s politics and who is in charge of this wrenched land. They now know better about the status quo and the factions at large, but at the cost of trust and resources, as they must defend themselves against the monster’s attack. - The monstrous creature reappears at later
quest as the pet of an elder Noble, who expresses gratitude for its
freedom. By choosing to free the creature, the adventurers gain the Noble
as a valuable ally.
Choice 2: Do Not Aid the Creature
Action:The adventurers allow the ritual to proceed and do not interfere with the cultists.
- Outcomes:
- As the cultists
chant their final hymn, they slit their own throats one by one,
collapsing into a macabre circle around the cage. The air thickens with
dark energy as the monster vanishes in a swirl of black mist. In its
place, a small, lifeless boy appears, crumpled on the cold ground. The
adventurers, remaining hidden, search the scene and find a torn page from
the Book of Osibus. The text reveals that a holy war rages in the
realm of the gods. Osibus’ followers believe they must sacrifice their
lives to summon powerful servants to aid their deity in this divine
conflict. The boy’s appearance leads to a haunting realization: the
adventurers themselves were likely summoned in the same way after the
cultists’ ritual claimed the lives of others.
- Consequences:
- The party gains valuable knowledge about the land’s rituals and the divine conflict involving Osibus. They now understand their arrival in this cursed land was not accidental but part of a larger, divine mechanism.
- The absence of surviving cultists leaves no immediate allies or enemies, but the revelations deepen the adventurers’ sense of unease and set the stage for future encounters with Osibus’ followers.
· The Book of Osibus
The torn page found near the ritual site reads:
"A holy war rages in the realm of the gods. Osibus calls upon his faithful to give their lives and send powerful servants to his side. These servants, whether beast or devilish creature, are vital to his dominion over the divine conflict, ensuring his will reigns eternal."
Liandre’s Character Arc:
Liandre’s crushing guilt from failing to save others in the prison compels her to pursue the voice pleading for help. This quest offers her a chance at redemption, yet the outcome denies her that solace, instead deepening the grim reality of her world.
- If the creature is freed and attacks: Liandre’s guilt deepens, as her compassion is met with betrayal. This failure reinforces her self-doubt and may affect how she approaches future decisions, making her more cautious or cynical.
- If the ritual proceeds: Liandre’s guilt is offset by a sense of clarity about the land’s mysteries, but her inaction could weigh heavily on her, leaving her to question whether her hesitation cost an innocent life.
Aftermath:
In the aftermath of their decision, the adventurers are left with the weight of their actions hanging heavily over them. The forest, once a place of mystery and dread, now feels like a tomb, its silence deafening. If they freed the creature, it may have been the beginning of something far more dangerous than they anticipated. If they allowed the ritual to proceed, they now know their arrival in this cursed realm was no accident, but a part of something much larger. In this place where the line between savior and destroyer is so easily crossed, the true cost of heroism may yet be revealed.
And, in the distance, the sound of footsteps grows ever closer.