### Session 12: The Marked NPC Dies (or is Saved)
Complication: Marked NPC is dying. Clock runs out.
Scene: Kieran brings marked NPC to chamber (fever, delirious, hours from death).
Kieran's Ultimatum:
- "Complete the binding. The servant's agony will extend your friend's life 10 years."
- "Refuse, and they die. You'll have failed them."
- "You could save them and stop Haliax. Do both."
This is the emotional crux:
- Save loved one via torture (moral compromise)
- Let loved one die (emotional devastation, party guilt)
- Find third option (requires clever thinking, faction aid)
Third Options (if party is clever):
- Ciridae Aid: If party contacted them, Ciridae provides cure to marked NPC (no torture needed)
- University Master: Elodin may provide healing in exchange for information
- Doctor: Master Physicker Wells can remove mark (requires rare components, quest)
- Fae Bargain: Contact Fae courts, trade years of life for marked NPC healing
Consequence: Whichever path party takes shapes rest of arc.
### Sessions 13-16: Factional Chaos
The Ciridae Strikes (Session 13):
The anti-Amyr faction, the Ciridae, attacks the binding ritual site.
Who They Are:
- Arcanists who believe binding Chandrian is suicidal
- Led by Hallan (Human Arcanist, Level 8)
- Philosophy: Only erasure is safe; named Chandrian will escape
The Attack:
- Ciridae ambush ritual chamber with 6 Arcanists + 2 warriors
- Combat: Party must choose who to defend (Amyr, servant, or stay neutral)
- Site descends into chaos
Party Options:
- Fight with Amyr (defend ritual)
- Fight with Ciridae (disrupt ritual, free servant)
- Fight everyone (claim servant, flee)
- Parley with Hallan (negotiate peace)
Hallan's Pitch:
- "The Amyr are insane. Binding won't control Chandrian—it will free them."
- "We can destroy the servant. End this madness."
- "Join us. We offer freedom, not slavery."
### Session 14-15: Church Inquisition
Varnholt Returns (Session 14):
High Inquisitor Varnholt arrives with force: 20 soldiers, 4 Wights, 2 priests.
His Accusation:
- Party is heretical; Amyr are demonic; ritual is devil-worship
- "By the Tehlin Church, I arrest you all for witchcraft and shadow-summoning."
Four-Way Battle:
This is chaotic: Amyr vs. Ciridae vs. Church vs. Party (if not allied with one side).
Complication: Servant attempts escape during chaos.
- If alive: Servant breaks free, runs toward thin place
- If bound: Binding partially breaks; servant is weakened but mobile
- If dead: Ritual's purpose lost; fighting becomes pointless
Surviving Party:
- Faction loyalties are tested in crossfire
- Injury/death likely (this is dangerous)
- Escape becomes priority
Consequences:
- Church now hunts party openly (heresy charges)
- Amyr either grateful or angry (depends on party action)
- Ciridae offers asylum
- Servant is loose (or captured by Church)
### Session 15: The Servant's Gambit
Communication: Servant (if alive/free) contacts party via dream/telepathy.
Servant's Offer:
- "I will give you a true name. Not Haliax (impossible). The Blighted."
- "Release me. This name is worth more than my life."
- "The Amyr fear this knowledge. The Church would burn you for it."
- "The Ciridae would kill me to keep it secret. Be clever."
The Name: "Taleath Keth Vorren" (fragmented; requires research to strengthen)
Temptation:
- True name of one of the Seven is legendary power
- But accepting it means breaking from Amyr
- Servant might be lying (DC 15 Insight to gauge truth)
### Session 17: The Binding Decision
The Ritual Site is Damaged. Amyr reveals true cost:
Master Amyr Council Member appears (Level 10 Arcanist).
- "Kieran was a test. You've been evaluated."
- "This is your final choice: serve the Amyr, or serve yourself."
- "What is your answer?"
Party Chooses:
#### Option 1: Complete Binding
- Ritual succeeds; servant is enslaved
- Marked NPC is healed (agony-transfer complete)
- Party gains true name of The Blighted
- Consequence: Servant escapes within 1d4 days (Chandrian power breaks magical bonds)
- Party becomes Amyrling operatives (branded as heretics if discovered)
- Amyr hunts escaped servant; party is blamed for failure
#### Option 2: Free the Servant
- Party refuses ritual; helps servant escape
- Ciridae becomes ally/mentor faction
- Amyr turns hostile; assassins pursue party
- Servant owes party unpredictable debt (might help later, might betray)
- Marked NPC survives if party used alternate cure method
- Consequence: Hunted by Amyr across Temerant for years
#### Option 3: Expose the Conspiracy
- Party reveals Amyrling agenda to University Master, Church, and Ciridae
- Amyr splinters: reformists thank party, hardliners swear revenge
- Party becomes mediator in factional cold war
- Servant is escaped/imprisoned depending on faction control
- Consequence: Complex political web; everyone owes party favors
#### Option 4: Chaos & Theft
- Party steals servant, true name knowledge, and ritual components
- All three factions hunt them
- Servant becomes ally (grateful for freedom) or enemy (ambiguous motivations)
- Party is exiled or goes underground
- Consequence: No faction allies; pure survival mode
---
## Endgame
### Sessions 19-25: The Fallout
Path 1: Completed Binding
- Amyr officially thanks party; full operatives
- But servant escapes 1d4 days later (Chandrian power unstoppable)
- Escaped servant brings Chandrian attention to party (hunted)
- Ciridae blames party for loosing threat
- Party hunted by both Chandrian and Ciridae simultaneously
- Moral: "You thought you controlled the darkness. It controlled you."
Path 2: Freed Servant
- Ciridae becomes primary ally; offer safe houses, training
- Amyr hunts party with assassination attempts
- Servant becomes mysterious advisor/ally (unpredictable loyalty)
- Party must hide or flee Temerant
- Moral: "Freedom comes at the cost of trust. Trust is a luxury."
Path 3: Exposed Conspiracy
- Amyr reforms or splinters
- Some Amyrlings are purged; some go underground
- Party becomes known mediator; factions court them
- Political intrigue becomes permanent feature of campaign
- University/Church gain leverage over remaining Amyr
- Moral: "Truth is a weapon. It cuts both ways."
Path 4: Chaos & Theft
- All three factions pursue party
- Servant becomes either loyal ally or bitter enemy (50/50 chance)
- Party must survive year-long manhunt
- Possible redemption: Become independent force balancing factions
- Moral: "Chaos rewards the clever and punishes the weak."
### Endgame Questline (Sessions 20-25)
Available Quests (depending on path):
If Amyr-aligned:
- Hunt down rogue Amyrlings (assassination missions)
- Recapture escaped servant
- Eliminate Ciridae leadership (sabotage)
- Help Amyr redefine mission (reform)
If Ciridae-aligned:
- Dismantle Amyrling cells
- Free other captured Chandrian (controversial)
- Expose University/Church cooperation with Amyr
- Establish Ciridae as counterbalance to Amyr
If Exposed:
- Investigate who knew what in each faction
- Find evidence of Amyrling conspiracy
- Broker deals between factions
- Determine Amyr's future leadership
If Chaos:
- Survive assassination attempts
- Gather allies from underworld
- Bargain with Fae for protection
- Discover who really pulls Amyrling strings
### Final Boss: The Amyr's True Master (Sessions 24-25)
Stat Block: Amyr Council Master (Level 11 Arcanist)
- HP: 72 | AC: 14 (robes)
- Stats: INT 19 (+4), WIS 17 (+3), CHA 16 (+3)
- Spells: Alar Anchor, Heat Sink, Naming Storm (prepared)
- Tactics: Avoids direct combat; uses minions and sympathetic links
- Weakness: True name forces surrender (DC 20 Arcana to remember name)
Revelation:
- Council Master was behind entire conspiracy
- Kieran was puppet/asset (may be salvageable)
- Real goal: Bind multiple Chandrian servants (not just one)
- Plan: Create chain of bound servants to reach Haliax
Victory Conditions:
- Negotiate new Amyr mission (if party is respected)
- Force Council Master's resignation (politics/evidence)
- Kill/capture Council Master (direct combat)
- Blackmail Council Master with compromising knowledge
Consequence:
- Amyr reforms or is destroyed
- Party's reputation is sealed (hero or villain, depending on choices)
- Chandrian attention increases (entity they tried to control notices them)
---
## NPCs & Factions
### Primary NPCs
Kieran (Amyr Handler, Human Arcanist, Level 6)
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral (genuinely believes in cause)
- Description: 40s, tired eyes, competent swordsman despite being scholar
- Motivation: Wants party success; conflicted about using them as pawns
- Secret: Kieran is beginning to doubt Amyrling methods
- Redemption Option: Can be swayed to party's side if they're clever
- Betrayal Option: Will kill party if they threaten Amyrling goal
The Ciridae Leader: Hallan (Human Arcanist, Level 8)
- Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Description: 50s, scarred by Chandrian mark (survived), intense eyes
- Motivation: Prevent Chandrian binding (too dangerous)
- Secret: Hallan lost family to Chandrian; binding survivors drove him insane
- Redemption: Can ally with party against Amyrlings
- Extremism: May push party to commit genocide against bound servants
The Marked NPC (party-defined, Level varies)
- Role: Emotional center; dying unless party acts
- Consequence: Whoever saves them (Amyr, Ciridae, party) gains their loyalty
- Twist: Marked NPC may become Chandrian-touched (unstable loyalty)
The Servant "Voice" (Skin Dancer, Level 7)
- Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (self-preservation, no morality)
- Appearance: Perfectly lovely but wrong (uncanny valley)
- Motivation: Escape; offer names to highest bidder
- Deception: Always lies, but truths are hidden in lies (hard to parse)
- Redemption: If freed, may help party later (unpredictably)
Amyr Council Master (Final Boss, Level 11)
- Alignment: Lawful Evil (greater good justifies any means)
- Motivation: Control Chandrian; use them as weapons
- Secret: Council Master made pact with rogue Fae (unknown to other Amyr)
- Weakness: Ambition; can be turned against Amyrlings with leverage