# The Amyrling Conspiracy
## Campaign Arc for Temerant
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## Table of Contents
1. [Arc Overview](#overview)
2. [Act 1: Recruitment](#act-1-recruitment)
3. [Act 2: Deep Cover](#act-2-deep-cover)
4. [Act 3: The Double Cross](#act-3-the-double-cross)
5. [Endgame: Betrayal or Redemption](#endgame)
6. [NPCs & Factions](#npcs--factions)
7. [Session Breakdown](#session-breakdown)
---
## Overview
Campaign Length: 15-25 sessions (Levels 3-10)
Tone: Political intrigue, moral ambiguity, betrayal
Core Theme: "The Amyr aren't saviors—they're hunters with an agenda."
The Amyr order, dedicated to hunting Chandrian, has been infiltrated. A faction within—the Amyrlings—believe the party can be turned to their cause: not to destroy Chandrian, but to control them. They want players to hunt down and capture a Chandrian servant, bind them with a true name, and use them as leverage against Haliax himself.
The party must navigate:
- Amyr mentorship (genuine help)
- Amyrling manipulation (hidden agenda)
- Church suspicion (heresy accusations)
- University interference (seeking Chandrian knowledge)
- Personal moral cost (using Chandrian power corrupts)
Victory means discovering the Amyrling plot, choosing to oppose/join/expose them, and deciding the Chandrian servant's fate.
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## Act 1: Recruitment
### Overview (Sessions 1-3)
The party is introduced to the Amyr through a dramatic assassination. An operative eliminates a Skin Dancer in public, leaving the seven-pointed sign. This hooks the party's curiosity and initiates contact with Kieran, an Amyr handler posing as a University liaison.
### Session 1-2: The Offer
Opening Scene: Nighttime alley in major city (Tarbean or Imre).
- Party witnesses Amyr operative assassinating a Skin Dancer
- Combat is brutal and one-sided; operative doesn't hide identity
- Leaves seven-pointed sign carved into stone
- Disappears before City Watch arrives
NPC Introduction: Kieran (Amyr handler, Human Arcanist, Level 6)
- Approaches party 1d3 days later
- Poses as University liaison interested in their "talents"
- Flatters party; implies they're "rare" and "marked for greater things"
- Offers:
- Free access to University restricted archives (DC 14 Persuasion to refuse)
- 50 gold talents/month stipend
- Training against Chandrian servants
- Hints of "greater purpose" (kept vague)
The Lure:
Party accepts if:
- They want University access
- They want gold
- They're curious about Chandrian
- They're persuaded by Kieran's charisma (DC 13 WIS save to resist completely)
Refusal Option: If party refuses, Kieran seems disappointed but leaves peacefully. However:
- Amyr watches them from distance
- Later sessions, Amyr reappears with different approach
- Party loses early gold but gains freedom
### Session 3: The Marked NPC
Complication: Party's contact (faction member, romantic interest, traveling companion, or mentor) is marked by Chandrian with seven-pointed star.
Timeline: 1d7 days until death (unless healed).
Kieran's Proposal:
- "We can save them. The Amyr have methods."
- Cost: "Your cooperation on a matter of importance."
- Kieran reveals first time: "There are seven who walk in shadow. We intend to bind one. Will you help?"
- This is the hook—party must choose between saving loved one or refusing Amyr
Party Options:
1. Accept outright → Fast recruitment, deeper hook, moral compromise
2. Attempt to save themselves → DC 16 Healing check, fails unless party has Doctor
3. Refuse Amyr → Marked NPC dies (major consequence), party hunted by Amyr
4. Investigate Amyr first → DC 15 Arcana/History to uncover their true agenda
Major Event: First training mission against Scrael pack (CR 1, easy combat).
- Kieran trains party in Chandrian hunting tactics
- Party defeats 4 Scrael + 1 Skin Dancer (incapacitated, not killed)
- After victory, Kieran privately reveals: "You're ready for the hunt."
Mechanical Elements:
- Amyr Contacts Gained: +1 faction reputation
- Restricted Knowledge Unlocked: Chandrian lore DC 13 Arcana
- Marked NPC Timeline Begins: Death in 1d7 days (unless saved by Amyr or party healer)
- First Taste of Amyr Power: Party sees operatives move like shadows, hide perfectly (DC 18 Perception to track)
## Act 2: Deep Cover
### Overview (Sessions 4-10)
Party is sent on hunt for a Chandrian servant. The Amyrling plan becomes slowly revealed: capture, not kill. Complications mount as Church, Ciridae (anti-Amyr faction), and the Skin Dancer itself create pressure.
### Session 4-5: The Hunt Begins
Kieran's Assignment:
- "We've tracked a Skin Dancer to the Commonwealth borderlands."
- Party receives journal with descriptions, last sighting location, pattern analysis
- Reward: 100 gold talents upon capture (alive)
- Kieran provides: Sympathetic anchors, tin filings (anti-Fae), iron prayer beads
The Trail:
Party follows clues across Commonwealth:
- Destroyed village with seven-pointed sign
- Survivors describe "lovely woman who brought madness"
- Track leads to isolated farmstead
Session 4 Combat: Scrael ambush (1d4 Scrael, CR 1 each).
- Party is tested; if they flee, Kieran appears with reinforcements
- If they fight well, Kieran praises their growth
Session 5 Investigation:
- Party finds safe house with Skin Dancer's supplies
- DC 15 Investigation: Discover journal fragments revealing Skin Dancer's plan
- Skin Dancer targets University Master (someone party knows)
- Creates urgency: Party must hurry to intercept
### Session 6-7: Church Interference
Complication: Inquisition also hunts same Skin Dancer.
Scene: Party arrives at University Master's estate. High Inquisitor Varnholt is already there with soldiers (2 Wights, 4 guards).
Varnholt's Assumption: Party is Amyr heretics, complicit with demon.
- "You work with the shadow-creature. Surrender your weapons and face the Pontifex's justice."
- Does not listen to reason (DC 18 Persuasion to convince him otherwise)
Party Options:
1. Fight → Combat with Church forces + Inquisitor (deadly, risks capture)
2. Negotiate → Prove they're hunting same creature; uneasy truce
3. Flee → Escape but marked as heretics by Church
4. Trick → DC 14 Deception to convince Varnholt party is actually Church agent
Consequence: Church now actively hunts party. Disadvantage on Persuasion with clergy for next 5 sessions.
### Session 8-9: The Final Hunt
Location: Thin place (Fae crossing) in deep forest.
Setup: Party tracks Skin Dancer to hidden grove where three ancient stones form a circle.
Environmental Hazard: Thin place is unstable.
- Every round, DC 13 DEX save or lose 1d4 HP (reality frays)
- Iron weapons become heavier (disadvantage on rolls) but do +1d4 damage to Skin Dancer
Combat:
- Skin Dancer (CR 4, HP 52)
- 2 Scrael (CR 1 each, HP 33)
- Skin Dancer is wounded (prior Amyr action) and desperate
Skin Dancer Bargain (during combat, if party is losing):
- "Free me. I'll give you a true name. Haliax's first syllable. Res-."
- Temptation: True name is incredibly valuable
- But Amyr will execute party if they accept
Victory Conditions:
- Subdue Skin Dancer (restrain, don't kill): Party captures servant
- Kill Skin Dancer: Amyr is disappointed but mission succeeds
- Free Skin Dancer: Amyr hunts party, but party gains Chandrian debt
### Session 10: Capture or Consequences
Party Returns to Amyr Safe House with captured Skin Dancer (or corpse, or empty hands).
If Captured Alive:
- Kieran congratulates party; binding ritual scheduled for next session
- Skin Dancer is restrained with iron chains + sygaldry wards
- Party is offered 50 gold bonus + "greater role"
If Dead:
- Kieran is disappointed: "We needed them alive. But information can be extracted."
- Party offered 75 gold (higher pay for difficulty)
- Kieran reveals: "We'll need to move up the timeline. The ritual happens tomorrow."
If Freed:
- Kieran is cold: "You've broken our trust. The Amyr will remember this."
- Party hunted (Amyr agents pursue across Temerant)
- Marked NPC dies if party hasn't found other cure
- However, Skin Dancer becomes unpredictable ally
## Act 3: The Double Cross
### Overview (Sessions 11-18)
Party is called to binding ritual. The true Amyrling agenda is revealed: they want to use the captured servant to extract location/names/weaknesses of Haliax. The ritual requires the servant's suffering and party's willingness to participate in torture-by-magic.
### Session 11: The Binding Ritual Preparation
Location: Secret Amyr chamber (beneath University, in isolated manor, or Underthing access).
Kieran's Full Revelation:
- "Once we bind the servant with a true name, they cannot lie."
- "We'll extract Haliax's location, the names of the Seven, their weaknesses."
- "With enough names, we can bind him. End the Chandrian threat forever."
- Shows party the ritual components: sympathetic links, binding circle, name-focus stone
The Moral Weight:
- Binding ritual requires the servant be conscious and aware
- The name-link causes constant agony (true name compulsion)
- Servant will suffer indefinitely unless released
- Party realizes: This is torture, sanctioned by Amyr
Kieran's Justification:
- "The Chandrian have caused centuries of suffering. One creature's pain is acceptable."
- "You're heroes. You're saving Temerant. Don't falter now."
Party Options:
1. Proceed with ritual (moral compromise, Amyrling path)
2. Object (Kieran becomes hostile, threatens marked NPC)
3. Plan sabotage (prepare to free servant during ritual)
4. Contact other factions (University, Church, Ciridae)