Maer's Confession:
- "I'm dying. Not from blade or poison. From my own blood."
- "Distant cousin Lackless. I feel the curse in my veins."
- "Find cure. I grant you whatever I have to offer."
Court Intrigue:
- Some nobles want Maer cured (increase his power)
- Some nobles want Maer cursed (destabilize his rule)
- Party can play factions against each other (dangerous game)
- Potential allies: Lady Hespe (Maer's advisor, secretly Amyr), courtiers sympathetic to Lackless
Session 10: The Maer's Revelation
If party investigates Maer's family tree, they discover:
- Maer's line traces back to original Lackless family branch
- Branch split 200 years ago (political division, not blood separation)
- Curse affects Maer because blood connection never broke
- Maer has 1d4 years before curse kills him (sense of urgency)
Maer's Bargain:
- "Cure me, and I grant you: 1,000 gold talents, noble title, or political leverage."
- "Fail, and at least you tried. The court will remember."
- "Refuse, and I ensure you never find patronage in Vintas again."
Mechanical Element:
- Party gains: Court access, political leverage, time pressure
- Court becomes dangerous locale (assassination attempts, intrigue)
- Potential quest: Spy on other nobles, investigate court secrets
### Path 3: Arcanum Deep Research (Sessions 11-12)
Location: University Underthing (secret magical archive).
Session 11: Master Elodin's Hint
If party has Arcanist or high Arcana skill, Master Elodin takes interest:
- "You're researching curses. Foolish or brave."
- Cryptic statement: "Some curses are locks. Some are keys."
- Implication: Lackless curse might be lock restraining something or key to breaking restraint
- Elodin is deliberately unhelpful (enjoys mystery)
Access to Arcanum:
- Party must negotiate with Masters (DC 15 Persuasion or provide valuable information)
- Or steal access (break in, DC 16 Stealth, high risk)
- Or trick access (elaborate deception, DC 18)
Discovery: The Binding Mechanics
Underground in Underthing, party finds theoretical texts on binding curses:
- Sympathetic Binding: Link two entities via personal connection (blood, name, object)
- Iterative Linking: Each generation added to bloodline adds another link
- Containment Binding: Links can seal dangerous entities inside a safe space
- Cost-Transfer: Bound individuals share suffering (distributed across bloodline)
Key Insight (DC 16 Arcana):
- Lackless curse is not curse at all—it's sympathetic binding
- Binding is voluntary and ancient (not enemy-imposed)
- Every Lackless born increases binding strength (protecting Temerant)
- Every Lackless death weakens binding slightly (entity stirs when births decrease)
- Current generation: Births are down; binding is weakening
Implication: Lackless must continue having children or entity escapes. Curse that prevents marriage/relationships is literally preventing its own breaking.
Session 12: Sympathist Research
If party has access to Arcanum, advanced sympathist can teach them:
- How to read sympathetic links (requires Master-level study)
- How to strengthen bindings (ritual magic, rare components)
- How to replace bindings (redirect curse to new bearer)
- How to break bindings (catastrophic; entity likely escapes)
Research Requirement: 2 weeks University study, DC 18 Arcana check (success = partial knowledge; fail = time wasted but no other consequence).
Mechanical Element: Party gains theoretical knowledge for endgame ritual-casting. They can now understand options (strengthen, replace, break) mechanically.
### Path 4: The Fae Connection (Sessions 13-14)
Session 13: Thin Place Discovery
Party finds thin place (Fae crossing) connecting to Fae realm. Guide: Kael Lackless suggests ancient Lackless might have known Fae secrets.
Crossing the Veil:
- Reality is fluid in thin place
- Time passes strangely (1 hour mortal time = 1d4 hours Fae time)
- Party meets Fae guardians (2x Fae Courtiers, CR 3 each)
- Guardians are amused by party: "Mortals investigating old debts. Quaint."
Session 14: Fae Court Knowledge
If party negotiates (DC 14 Persuasion, +5 if flattery/bargaining):
- Fae reveals Lackless made pact during Creation War
- Fae courts know of entity: "Ancient, powerful, wrong. From before world was remade."
- Fae perspective: "Chandrian are young. That is old."
- Implication: Entity is older/more dangerous than Chandrian
The Fae's Offer:
- "Give us a personal name (yours or party member), gain knowledge of breaking binding."
- "Or give us service (3 quests), gain same knowledge."
- High cost; party must decide if worth it
Knowledge if Obtained:
- Entity is willing prisoner (doesn't want to escape; was imprisoned by choice)
- Guardian (Lackless Boy's descendant) is also prisoner (cursed to guard binding)
- Only way to break binding: Entity's cooperation OR overwhelming power OR sacrifice
Mechanical Element: Party learns binding is consensual (changes moral calculus). They also gain Fae contact for later aid.
### Subplot: The Cursed PC
If party member is Lackless (or if you introduce curse to PC):
Session 8: Curse begins manifesting on PC
- Nightmares of binding ceremony (vivid, disturbing)
- Strange compulsions (must visit certain locations, meet certain people)
- Talent loss (disadvantage on one skill per session)
- DC 14 CON save or gain 1 Cursed level (max 5; at 5, PC begins transforming)
Session 12: Curse accelerates
- PC hears voices (entity trying to communicate?)
- PC experiences memory loss (others remember PC's past, PC doesn't)
- PC has prophetic visions of binding ceremony
- PC realizes: "I'm the lock. I can feel what's locked inside."
Session 15-16: PC becomes crucial to endgame
- PC must choose: Strengthen their own binding (bear more burden) or break it
- PC becomes emotionally attached to entity (sympathetic link intensifies)
- Party must convince PC not to free entity (temptation is strong)
### Subplot: Lackey (The Hidden Heir)
Introduction (Session 8-9):
Party meets street orphan named Lackey (Lackey is Lacking):
- Humble, funny, loyal
- Orphaned young; no memory of parents
- Party grows fond of Lackey (make this emotional)
Session 12: The Revelation
Lackey falls gravely ill (curse symptoms). Doctor examines Lackey:
- "This child bears seven-pointed scar. Faint, hidden. Chandrian work."
- No wait—actually it's Lackless curse mark (hidden by magical obscuring)
Twist: Lackey is Lackless heir, hidden at birth to break curse line.
- Reasoning: If no Lackless are born, binding weakens, entity might escape
- But then entity will escape
- Hidden Lackey was supposed to break cycle (failed strategy)
Lackey's Realization:
- "I'm one of them. The cursed ones. That's why I never fit anywhere."
- Lackey becomes conflicted (is being Lackless a curse or a calling?)
Party Choice:
- Protect Lackey (hide from Lackless family)
- Reveal Lackey to Lackless family (what responsibility awaits?)
- Attempt to cure Lackey (break curse specifically for this child)
Mechanical Element: Lackey's fate influences endgame (which ending becomes possible).
## Act 3: The Curse Deepens
### Overview (Sessions 15-22)
As party gets closer to truth, curse manifestations become violent and catastrophic. Multiple factions converge. Mysterious guardian appears, revealing they've guarded binding for 3,000 years and are dying.
### Sessions 15-17: The Accelerating Curse
Manifestation Escalation:
Session 15: Lackless nobles start dying
- Mad Lackless nobleman commits suicide (hears voices commanding death)
- Lackless noblewoman forgets how to eat (can't remember food's purpose)
- Lackless child becomes completely forgotten (erased from town records in 24 hours)
Session 16: Maer's court devolves
- If party revealed Maer connection, Maer now shows curse openly
- Court paranoia spreads (nobles fear curse-carrying bloodline)
- Political coup attempt (some nobles want Maer deposed)
- Opportunity: Party can stabilize court or watch it fall
Session 17: If PC is Lackless
- PC's body begins changing (skin shows faint seven-pointed marks)
- PC experiences personality fracturing (memories blur, identity splits)
- Party realizes: PC is becoming anchor for binding (entity reaching through PC)
- PC's life expectancy drops to 1d4 weeks unless binding is addressed
### Sessions 15-17: The Mysterious Guardian Appears
Who They Are: Ancient sympathist, bound to original Lackless Boy's binding for 3,000+ years.
- Never aged; cursed to guard binding indefinitely
- Now dying (binding is weakening; guardian is too)
- Appears to party as ghostly figure or person slowly fading
Guardian Reveals:
- "I've watched your line suffer for three millennia."
- "I was there when the boy made his choice."
- "The binding is weakening. I can feel it. Soon I will rest."
- "But if binding breaks, something very wrong wakes."
Guardian's Motivation:
- Wants freedom (from guardianship) more than anything
- Willing to help party, but at a cost
- Hidden goal: Free themself, by any method
Guardian's Aid:
- Teaches party true binding mechanics
- Provides rare components for ritual magic
- Knows location of bind-point (where entity is held)
- But will betray party if it serves guardian's freedom
### Session 18: The Truth Revealed
Party learns complete history via combination of sources:
The Creation War Context:
- During war, reality was being unmade
- Singers (post-Cataclysm) fought to stabilize world
- Entity emerged: something alien, pre-Cataclysm, wrong
- Entity could not be killed; could only be imprisoned