Session 6

Shadows in the City

Investigation, intrigue, and uncovering the conspiracy

Session Overview

Theme: Noir Investigation, Cat and Mouse
Tone: Paranoid, Tense, Exploratory
Primary Challenge: Investigation & Stealth
Key Discovery: The Cabal's True Nature

Session Focus

This is an investigative session - the PCs seek answers about the Hidden Hand and the Gem while evading pursuit. Think noir film: secret meetings in back alleys, tailing suspects, decoding letters. Stealth and social skills are key; combat should be brief ambushes or skirmishes.

Scene 1: Research and Rumors

The PCs likely want answers. Multiple investigation paths available:

Option A: Library Investigation

The Grand Library of Hollowspire rises like a temple to knowledge - dusty stacks reaching toward vaulted ceilings, the smell of ancient paper thick in the air. During the day, scholars shuffle between shelves. At night, it's locked tight... but not impenetrably.

Getting In

Research Checks

Roll (Investigation) Information Found
10-12 The Gem of Vhal'Zar is mentioned in a 200-year-old text as "the Eye of the Abyss"
13-15 Used in ancient rituals by a cult of Zhal'Zar (demon/dark spirit). Said to contain "a sliver of its master's essence"
16-18 The Gem was one of two artifacts - "the Eye and the Heart." Together they can "open the path between worlds"
19+ The Duke's advisor Lord Voss pushed for the Gem's purchase. His family name appears in cult records from centuries ago.

Option B: Consulting the Weeping Lady

Through a contact, you're led to a candlelit cellar where hooded figures await. They are members of the Weeping Lady - common folk quietly resisting Hollowspire's corruption.

A priestess speaks: "We've heard whispers of robed figures meeting beneath the old temple. We suspected something called the Hidden Hand... but we were too afraid to investigate. Now you've stirred them to action."

Information Provided:

Alliance Offer: If the PCs seem trustworthy, the Weeping Lady offers to help - safe houses, information network, potential fighters for the final confrontation.

Option C: The Gem's Knowledge

The Gem's voice resonates in your mind, thoughtful and old.

"Those who imprisoned me... their descendants are the Hidden Hand. They gather in secret, pretending to serve a god of light while plotting in darkness. They seek to use me in a ritual - to summon forth Zhal'Zar into this world at the cost of many lives."

"I will not be a slave to that fate."

The Gem's Goal: It urges the PCs to either flee Hollowspire or destroy the cabal. It specifically wants to be taken to "the Sunken Ruins in the marsh" where it can be "fully free." This is suspicious but not entirely a lie - it does have a connection there.

Scene 2: The Cabal's Mask Slips

The Hidden Hand makes aggressive moves against the PCs or their allies. Choose one or more:

Option A: Ally Kidnapping

You arrive at the Weeping Lady safehouse to find the door hanging off its hinges. Inside, signs of struggle - overturned furniture, a broken lantern, spots of blood. On the wall, painted in crimson: a black handprint. The Hidden Hand's calling card.

A survivor, wounded and terrified, gasps: "They took Brother Aldous and the others. Robed figures, with magic. They said... they said they'd use them as 'offerings'..."

Consequence: Personal stakes - someone the PCs know is in danger. Motivates infiltrating the cabal's lair.

Option B: Charmed Guards Ambush

Four City Watch guards step out of an alley, blocking your path. "Halt! You're under arrest by order of the Duke!"

Something is wrong. Their eyes are glazed, unfocused. Their movements are stiff, puppet-like. And their weapons are already drawn.

Charmed Guard Encounter

Combat/Puzzle

4 Charmed Guards (use Guard stats, but glazed eyes, robotic behavior)

Goal: Subdue without killing - these are innocent people under enchantment!

Breaking the Charm:
  • Knock out leader: Breaking his concentration frees the others
  • Dispel Magic: Removes charm from one guard
  • Gem intervention: Can emit pulse that staggers them (buys 1 round)
  • Non-lethal takedown: Sleeper holds, pommel strikes

Aftermath: Freed guards are confused, remember nothing. Demonstrates cabal's infiltration of the Watch.

Option C: The "Friendly" Invitation

A street urchin approaches, pressing a sealed letter into your hand before scurrying away. The seal bears a crescent moon - Lord Voss's personal sigil.

To the bearers of the Eye,

Further bloodshed benefits neither of us. I propose a civilized discussion of our mutual interests. Meet me at the Sable Hollow Baths tonight at the tenth bell. Come alone, and I assure your safety on my honor as a noble of Hollowspire.

I offer amnesty, gold, and safe passage from the city in exchange for the artifact. Consider the alternative carefully.

- V

If they go:

The bathhouse is eerily empty, steam drifting through marble columns. Lord Voss waits in a private pool chamber, wearing a silk robe, appearing unarmed. Two masked attendants stand in the corners.

"Thank you for coming. Please, let us be reasonable people."

Voss's Offer:

Insight DC 16: He's lying. He plans to kill them once he has the Gem.

Gem's Input: "Lies. I can taste his intent. He will take me and dispose of you."

If things go bad: The "attendants" are Hidden Hand assassins. Voss has backup outside. A fight or chase ensues through the steamy bathhouse.

Scene 3: Investigating the Hidden Hand

The PCs go on the offensive to uncover or disrupt the cabal.

Infiltrate a Secret Meeting

The Temple of the Veiled Lady looms in the old quarter, its once-grand facade crumbling with neglect. The public areas are abandoned, but you've learned the cabal meets in the catacombs beneath.

You find a cellar entrance behind the altar, stone steps descending into darkness.

Stealth Mini-Mission

Challenge DC Failure Consequence
Navigate dark tunnels Survival 12 Lost, make noise alerting guards
Avoid patrolling cultist Stealth 14 Combat with 1 cultist (can't let him raise alarm)
Find observation point Perception 13 Limited view of meeting
Remain hidden during meeting Stealth 15 Noticed - full alarm raised

What They Observe

From your hiding place, you peer into a circular chamber lit by black candles. Robed figures - perhaps six or seven - stand in a circle around a carved altar. You recognize the voices of at least two: Lord Voss and a woman who sounds like the Guildmistress of Merchants.

Voss speaks: "The artifact must be retrieved. The eclipse approaches - we have only days to prepare the ritual."

Another voice: "And the thieves?"

"Expendable. Once we have the Eye, ensure the Duke suspects only them. Our hands remain clean."

"And if they won't surrender it?"

Voss's voice turns cold. "Then we take it from their corpses. Prepare the chamber below the manor. The sacrifice must be ready."

Information Gained:

Optional Combat: Disrupting the Meeting

If PCs choose to attack:

Cabal Meeting Ambush

Hard Combat

Enemies:

  • Lord Voss (if present) - will flee if possible
  • 4 Cultists (use Cult Fanatic stats)
  • 1 Shadow (summoned if combat lasts 3+ rounds)

Tactics:

  • Cultists fight fanatically, some carry poison
  • One cultist tries to escape to raise alarm
  • If captured, cultist bites suicide pill rather than talk

Loot:

  • Ritual book detailing the "Rite of Unbinding"
  • List of cabal members (partial, encoded)
  • Key to underground passage

Cult Fanatic

Medium humanoid, any evil

AC: 13 (leather) | HP: 33 | Speed: 30 ft.

STR 11 | DEX 14 | CON 12 | INT 10 | WIS 13 | CHA 14

Skills: Deception +4, Persuasion +4, Religion +2

Dark Devotion

Advantage on saves vs. charmed or frightened.

Spellcasting (DC 12)
  • Cantrips: Light, Sacred Flame, Thaumaturgy
  • 1st (4 slots): Command, Inflict Wounds, Shield of Faith
  • 2nd (3 slots): Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon

Dagger: +4 to hit, 1d4+2 piercing

Tailing a Cabal Member

Alternative investigation approach:

Shadowing Challenge

Follow a suspected cabal member (the merchant guildmistress) through the city.

Stealth DC 14 Keep distance without losing her
Perception DC 13 Notice counter-surveillance (her bodyguard checking for tails)
Deception DC 12 Blend into crowd when she looks back

Success: See her enter a secret door in a warehouse. Inside: cabal weapons cache and prisoner cells.

Failure: She spots them. Either flees or sets an ambush.

Scene 4: The Artifact's Influence

Throughout the session, the Gem continues to assert its presence:

Helpful Moments

Concerning Moments

If PCs Consider Abandoning the Gem

A spike of pain lances through your skull. The Gem's voice is suddenly cold, ancient, terrible:

"Do not even THINK of leaving me. We are bound now. Your fates and mine are intertwined. Abandon me, and I will ensure you regret it."

The pain fades as quickly as it came. When the Gem speaks again, its tone is honeyed once more:

"Forgive me. I... panicked. We are partners. I need you. Please."

DM Note: The Gem is genuinely afraid of being abandoned. It has limited ability to act on its own and knows the cabal would use it for terrible purposes. Its threats are mostly bluster, but it can cause psychic discomfort.

Session Conclusion

Key Information Assembled

By session's end, PCs should know:

Allies Gained

Setting Up Session 7

The pieces are falling into place. A secret cabal. A dark ritual. An eclipse just days away. The Duke himself, unknowingly sheltering the conspirators who would use his own manor for their bloody work.

The Gem pulses in your possession, its ancient voice contemplative:

"You have two choices. Flee and let this city burn... or strike at the heart of the conspiracy before they strike at you. The eclipse comes in three days. What will you do?"

Experience & Rewards

Session Rewards

  • Base XP: 400 XP per character
  • Bonus XP: +100 XP for successful infiltration
  • Bonus XP: +50 XP for gaining Weeping Lady alliance
  • Bonus XP: +50 XP for non-lethal handling of charmed guards
  • Intel: Cabal meeting location, ritual details, member list

Session Notes

Session 5: Aftermath Session 7: Unmasking