The Elemental Heresy | Book I: Whispers in Graybriar Part II
Foreward:
While Adventure 0 served more as a introduction into Graybriar, it's history and NPCs, the next Adventure throws the Heroes straight into a hard trek across the woods around Graybriar with a heavy focus on combat and multi-enemy spawns.
The basic premise is a hunter-seeker style adventure as is the usual standard for most of the adventures. The Heroes have to seek out specific tiles which then trigger specific events. Along the way they will be trekking through the woods (using the Jungle tiles from TOA) seeking out the fleeing cultist. To cater for the multi-spawn, every time a new enemy is spawned, an additional D4 is rolled to indicate the number of additional enemies to spawn. The enemies ranged from thugs to veterans to grungs (from the DOTTM base game) to the standard enemies from TOEE.
The finale is a stand-off to save villagers from the sadistic cult's sacrificial heresy.
Some things to note: Because the Heroes are all starting off at Level 4, the encounter, villain and exploration phases tend to be much harder. I suggest adjusting the difficulty rating accordingly. My Guild played through this Adventure with zero fatalities and basically just a grind-and-kill approach. If I had a replay, I would up the enemy factor (a D6) as well as the encounter cancellation to 8XP instead of 5. I would also up the difficulty in defeating Swerglemergle by having a +D6 on the Ettin's AC and a +D4 roll of multi-attacks.
Adventure 0: Whispers in Graybriar Part II
The cultist does not flee blindly.
His path leads beyond the forest’s familiar trails, into older ground — where roots grow thick and the earth feels heavy beneath your boots. This land has always been close to Graybriar… and yet untouched, as if something below has long resisted disturbance.
Villagers whisper of terrifying initiation rites. Hunters speak of blood trails that vanish into bare stone. The forest itself feels wrong now — hostile. Watching.
The soil near ancient shrines is warm… damp… alive.
The more the cult grows, the more this once-familiar place becomes something else entirely.
Whatever they are doing here…
it is not faith.
It is something forbidden. The current turmoil in the town attracts all sorts of wrong and the woods are teeming with raiders and thugs eager to capitalize on the chaos. Be wary, these bandits are driven by more than just a hunger for gold!
Objective
Explore the forest tiles until you uncover the Cultists’ Hideout. Defeat the cultists and confront Swerglemergle, the Ettin Brute.
Rewards & Penalties
- Boon Gain: Ioun Stone of Inspiration, Wings of Flying
- Gold Gain: 300 gold per player
- Bane (Failure): All Cultists gain Advantage on attack rolls in future encounters
Adventure Details
- Number of Heroes: 5–7
- Hero Level: 4
- Encounter Cancellation Cost: 5 XP
Side Quest: Mushroom Spores for Drusilia
The forest has grown volatile, and Madam Drusilia requires rare spores for her elixirs.
If you encounter any mushroom groves, recover at least 2 unblemished spores to earn her favour… and a special reward.
Components
Board Games Used:
- Temple of Elemental Evil (Town Tiles, Monsters, Encounters)
- Tomb of Annihilation (Jungle Tiles)
- Dungeon of the Mad Mage (Monsters)
Special Tiles:
- The Clearing (Start Tile)
- The Ruin (Large Tile)
- The Hollow Tree (Large Tile)
- The Fallen Tree (set aside)
- The Mushroom Grove (set aside)
- The Village Tile (set aside)
Monsters:
- 2× each Elemental Cultists (set aside)
- Bugbears, Troglodytes, Hobgoblins, Gnoll Archers
- Thugs, Veterans, Grung Assassins
- Swerglemergle (Villain) (set aside)
Other:
- Trap Tokens
- Fleeing Cultist Token
- 5 Villager Tokens
Setup
- Setup Graybriar as per TOEE rules. Distribute NPCs.
- Remove and set aside:
- Fallen Tree
- Mushroom Grove
- Village Tile
- Shuffle remaining dungeon tiles.
- Build the Playable Tile Stack (23 tiles total):
- Shuffle Village Tile into top 3 tiles → set aside
- Add 5 tiles on top
- Shuffle Fallen Tree into next 3 tiles → add
- Add 3 tiles
- Shuffle Mushroom Grove into next 3 tiles → add
- Add final 3 tiles
- Place Clearing Start Tile north or south of town. Heroes begin here.
- Set aside:
- Cultists
- Swerglemergle
- Shuffle remaining monsters to form the Monster Deck.
Special Adventure Rules
Environmental Condition: “Boobytrap!”
All diamond icons on forest tiles are trapped.
Roll 1d4 when triggered:
- 1–2: Take 1 damage, gain equivalent gold
- 3: Quicksand — Immobilized, gain 100 gold
- 4: Stone Trap — Take 2 damage, gain 200 gold
<When You Start the Adventure, Read>
The moment you leave Graybriar behind, the forest closes in.
The canopy thickens, swallowing light. Roots twist across your path like deliberate obstacles, and the air grows heavy with damp earth and decay.
Tracks are everywhere.
Broken branches. Crushed undergrowth. Stones torn from the soil.
And beneath it all… the unmistakable sense that something massive has passed through here.
Something that is not done yet.
Somewhere ahead, the cultist is still running.
And he is not alone.
<When You Uncover the Mushroom Grove Tile, Read>
The clearing is silent.
Too silent.
Towering mushrooms rise like pale sentinels, their caps choking out the sky. The ground beneath them is soft… spongy… unnervingly dark.
At the far edge, you see him — the cultist.
Frantic. Desperate. Not afraid of you…
Afraid of being late.
He wipes his hands on bloodstained robes, then glances downward.
Not at the ground.
But through it.
Then—
An ambush.
Tactics: Mushroom Grove
- Place Fleeing Cultist Token
- Spawn X + 1 Monsters (X = number of players)
- Start a 10-minute timer
Time is Up
- Cultist escapes
- Continue exploring
Made it in Time
- Replace token with Earth Cultist
- Defeat it to gain:
- Map to Abandoned Village
- Skip ahead to Fallen Tree Tile
Side Quest Mechanics: Mushroom Spores
Place 4 Mushroom Tokens.
To harvest:
- Spend attack action → roll 1d4:
1–2: Hallucigenic → All Dazed
3: Poisoned → All Poisoned
4: Pure Fuel → Extra At-Will attack
<When You Uncover the Fallen Tree Tile, Read>
The tree lies shattered — torn from below.
Roots snap like bone. Beneath it, the earth has collapsed into a crude ritual pit etched with jagged symbols.
Not worship.
Direction.
A low, arguing growl echoes through the trees.
Swerglemergle emerges.
One head laughs. The other snarls — not at you… but at something beneath the ground.
Behind him, the cultist clutches a bloodied map.
The ritual was interrupted.
And something below… noticed.
Tactics: Fallen Tree
- Spawn Swerglemergle (activates first)
- Replace token with Earth Cultist
- At half HP → Swerglemergle flees
- Defeat cultist → gain map → continue
<When You Uncover the Village Tile, Read>
You find it.
An abandoned village.
Once called Little Winging — long forgotten.
Now… something else.
The ground has broken the buildings from below. Stone foundations split apart as if rejected. Channels carved into the earth lead downward into darkness.
Cultists move freely, dragging villagers toward the center.
No sermons.
No chanting.
Only knives.
Only blood.
Only the earth… waiting beneath it all.
A thunderous crash echoes.
Swerglemergle is coming.
Tactics: Final Encounter
- Place all Cultists
- Spawn Swerglemergle (3 tiles away)
If encountered before:
- Returns enraged
- Activates twice
If first encounter:
Graybriar Allies Join
- Each player gains an NPC ally:
- 2 HP / 12 AC
- Uses player attack powers
- Acts before monsters
- Returns after turn
Villager Mechanics
- Place 5 Villagers (1 HP / 10 AC)
- Cultists prioritize villagers
- Must protect them
Victory Condition
At least 2 villagers survive
The ground stills.
The cultists fall. Swerglemergle retreats. The ritual fractures.
The earth no longer drinks.
But it has already tasted.
Among the ruins, you recover scorched texts — soaked in blood and soil. They speak not of worship… but of flow.
Of life drawn downward.
Of nodes… corrupted through sacrifice.
One phrase remains before the parchment turns to dust:
“It begins with the Earth Node.”
Failure Condition
All villagers are slain.
The ritual completes.
Blood vanishes into the earth through carved channels. The ground hums — deep, ancient, satisfied.
Survivors flee… broken.
Not speaking of belief.
Not of persuasion.
But of screams.
And a single chant that will not leave their minds:
The Earth. The Earth. The Earth.
The Earth Node will fall.
Adventure Wrap-Up
Mushroom Spores Reward
For every 2 spores returned, Drusilia grants:
- 1 Minor Healing Potion
Comments
Post a Comment
Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. I cannot always guarantee that I will reply but you're more than welcome for tea.