Tales of a Fallen City
An Adventure for 7th Level Characters
About This Adventure
When the characters arrive in Luskan, they find that the lawless pirate city has fallen under attack by swarms of demons and undead. It’s up to the adventurers to find out what’s causing the attack and put a stop to it. This adventure is heavy on exploration and combat. The player characters must traverse the city in search of clues to find out what happened in the city while combating the threats that populate its streets.What Happened in Luskan
A few months ago, a cult that worshipped Orcus, demon lord of the undead, discovered a forgotten relic from Orcus’ long history as a mortal, demon lord, and god. The relic, known as the Orcusgate, had the power to summon demons that kill everyone who refused to follow the will of Orcus and animate their corpses as his servants. While delivering the device to Neverwinter, where the cult operated and intended to activate the device, the ship traveling with the device came under attack by pirates from Luskan. The pirates overpowered the cultists and took everything aboard - including the Orcusgate, though no one knew what it was. Ship Kurth, the most powerful pirate gang in the city, kept the relic and the rest of their plunder in the tower that was their base of operations. Upon learning of the pirates’ theft, the cult - in its entirety - migrated north to Luskan to take back what was theirs. This drew the attention of the Order of the Gauntlet, which followed. The cult laid waste to the city by raising minor undead creatures. Many residents fled before it got worse, but many also stayed behind in the belief that someone would rescue them. Eventually, the cult found the relic in Kurth Tower and activated it. What they didn’t know was it would kill all of them, save for the cult master who turned it on. Though the device granted the lone survivor control of the demons and the undead they raised, it also placed her absolutely under Orcus’ control. Outside the tower, the demons called by the Orcusgate slaughtered the denizens of the city and raised them as ghouls and ghasts. Those creatures spread out from there, killing and devouring the dead. The demons, ghouls, and ghasts quickly took over the city. Few managed to get out alive. No one knew what was really happening in the city. The Order of the Gauntlet, also unaware of what was really happening in the city, set up posts at all the city’s exits to stop the demons and undead creatures from spreading. They tried to send soldiers into the city to rescue survivors, but few soldiers returned. Those that did reported that they faced resistance from the city’s denizens, most of whom were criminals and miscreants. Instead, Commander Tarhuun ordered his soldiers to maintain a watchful vigil, refusing entry to any who attempted to visit the town either by road or sea. It’s been that way ever since. Until the characters arrive, that is.Major Players
Several groups of creatures lay claim to Luskan. Some protect it, while others seek to exploit it or watch it burn. Most aren’t powerful anymore - and are unlikely to regain footing now that the city has fallen.Cult of Orcus
The main villains of the adventure, their actions caused the end of Luskan. They took up residence in Tower Kurth after they arrived, but only the cult master remains alive. The rest of the cult died, with their corpses reanimated as servants on the tower’s top level.Order of the Gauntlet
The Order of the Gauntlet followed the Cult of Orcus to the city and likely believes the cult is to blame - and they’re right. The Order is likely the first group the characters will encounter. They’re led by Commander Tarhuun. They’ve sent several bands of soldiers into the city, but few or none have returned. As a result, they’re simply trying to stop the undead and demons from escaping the city - but they’re not actually venturing inside.Gangs of Luskan
Five gangs used to control the city of Luskan. Known as the “ships,” they each laid claim to a different criminal enterprise. Ship Kurth was most powerful, controlling the city’s docks and activity occurring thereupon. Ship Baram was second, operating Luskan’s fishing industry. Ship Suljack was third, conducting most of the piracy and raiding that originated out of Luskan. Fourth was Ship Taerl, who happily accept chances for profit handed down from above. Fifth was Ship Rethnor, engaging in few worthwhile activities aside from guard duty. Other gangs also existed, such as the Coinspinners and the Dead Rats, but they were not nearly as powerful as the rest.Arcane Brotherhood
A secretive band of powerful wizards who controlled much of Luskan in secret. None of the Arcane Brotherhood remain in the city, but their influence is ever-present.People of Luskan
Luskan was a diverse city before its fall. Most of the people are dead or have fled, but some still survive. Notably, there are refugees hiding in certain locations - many of whom tried to leave but were forced back into the city by the Order of the Gauntlet because they were criminals and not to be trusted.The Adventure
Arriving in Luskan
The characters dock at The Open Shore. They find the entrances to the city under the control of the Order of the Gauntlet, so it is relatively safe. About a hundred guards of the order stand at the shore and at each gate. The characters meet Commander Terhune (NG male blue dragonborn champion), the order’s commander, who is a proud dragonborn man and devotee to Bahamut. He explains the situation - the city’s occupants somehow have become ghouls who are trying to escape the city, and the order has set up camps at all the city’s gates to stop them. He then asks why the characters are there. Regardless of their answer, the Commander asks them for help exploring the city. He says that he can't risk any more of his soldiers, but that if the characters were to find out what was going on in the city, he would be very grateful and allow them to keep anything they find there.Exploring Luskan
Once the characters get into the city proper, they realize how big Luskan is. The City of Sails once housed 16,000 people, though recently, it’s closer to 4,000 because of its shift to crime and general lawlessness. Combine the size of the city with the fact that much of it is in ruins, and they’ll realize it takes a lot of time to travel through it.Tracking Time
Time plays a major factor in this adventure. The characters might not realize it at first, but they’re on a time constraint because the final boss gets stronger the longer it takes the characters to confront them.Story Events at Dusk
Story events only occur at dusk. This is because the Orcusgate, located in Tower Kurth and under the control of the necromancer, activates when the sun sets each day at 8:00 PM. Each time it activates, its power spreads and begins to make Luskan a haven for the undead and demons in the city.Dusk 1: Palpable Fear
At dusk on the first day, the Orcusgate has finally absorbed enough souls to put the necromancer’s plan into motion. As this happens, a deep feeling of dread spreads suddenly through the city and lasts only a few moments. Every living creature feels it. Some people yelp or even scream, and others’ teeth start to chatter. Birds and small mammals scurry away from the city. Horses whinny and rear onto their hindlegs in fear. Starting now, the characters use a d12 for dusk rolls at each dusk.Dusk 3: Darkening Sun
At dusk on the third day, the sun seems to set faster than it usually does. When the characters look to the horizon, they see the sun is still setting - but it’s surrounded by a violet haze. This haze is only visible in Luskan, and it makes it as if the sun sets an hour earlier, at 7:00 PM, and rises an hour later, at 7:00 AM, every day. This effect lasts indefinitely. On this day, the PCs spend one hour as if they were moving after sunset in order to get to safety. Starting now, the characters use a d10 for dusk rolls at each dusk.Dusk 6: Demonic Cackling
At dusk on the sixth day, the haze around the sun grows even darker, making it so the sun sets two hours earlier than normal, at 6:00 PM, and rises two hours later than normal, at 8:00 AM. This effect lasts indefinitely. Like with the first time this happened, the characters spend an hour traveling at night to get to shelter. In addition, as the sun grows darker, every person in the city hears deep, demonic laughter spread through the streets. Everyone who hears it can tell what direction it came from, but not the specific origin sector or place of interest. Since the laughter came from Tower Kurth in the West Sector, a character in the Northwest Sector would know they heard the laughter come from the south, but that’s all. The only exception is characters in the West Sector, who hear the sound come from nearby. They know the sound came from the West Sector, but they don’t know which place of interest. The characters can question NPCs they meet in the city about from what direction they heard the demonic laughter come. This should give them a strong clue about where to look. Starting now, the characters use a d8 for dusk rolls at each dusk.Dusk 10: Light of Darkness
The final story event that occurs in the city happens at dusk on the tenth day. On this day, the sun darkens even more - making it so dusk comes three hours earlier at 5:00 PM, and dawn comes three hours later than normal, at 9:00 AM. Just like the previous two times this has happened, the PCs must spend an extra hour traveling at night to get to shelter. In addition, demonic laughter once again spreads through the city, this time as a bright purple light bursts from the roof of Tower Kurth. This alerts the characters that the tower is the place they’re looking for. Starting now, the PCs use a d6 for dusk rolls at each dusk.Dusk Rolls
Starting after the first dusk event, the characters must make a dusk roll each dusk. This roll determines the horror that happens that night. The die the characters use for dusk rolls depends on how much power the Orcusgate has gained. At first, the characters will roll a d12, and the die will slowly drop to a d6 as dusks occur. Characters gain a bonus to dusk rolls based on the shelter they stay in. The characters earn a generic +2 bonus for taking shelter in a random house, but the bonus can get as high as +10 for taking shelter in the various places of interest.Traveling at Night
The characters will learn very quickly that it’s not safe to travel at night with so much danger lurking about. If the characters are caught outside after dusk, roll on the table below for each hour that passes. It’s very likely that the characters will face combat, which will get the point across - the streets of Luskan weren’t safe before the invasion, and they’re even less safe now. The characters should avoid traveling at night at all costs. This will make the dusk events that make dusk come sooner and dawn come later all the more dire.The Danger Table
Some of the results on the danger table, which is below, are combat events. Others are more flavor-based and present a challenge the characters must overcome for the day.| Dusk Roll | Dusk Event |
|---|---|
| 2 or less | Undead Horde |
| 3-4 | Ghast Patrol |
| 5-6 | Ghoul Troop |
| 7 | Ghoul Stragglers |
| 8 | Dogs of War |
| 9 | Quasit Sentries |
| 10 | Living Shadows |
| 11 | Hallucinations |
| 12 | Hearing Voices |
| 13 | Dark Omen |
| 14 | Trembling Anxiety |
| 15 | Silenced by Terror |
| 16-19 | Unsettling Safety |
| 20 or more | Divine Intervention |
North Shore
One-Eyed Jax
This building takes two hours to search and grants a +4 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the inn reveals nothing of substance - it’s already been looted - but does turn up a journal on a woman’s corpse that details the city’s final days. Penned by a woman named Serena, it details her disdain for Ship Kurth after it failed to respond to calls for help from the tavern’s patrons. Their failure to act ultimately resulted in the tavern’s demise (Ship Kurth didn’t respond because its people were among the first people killed by the cult, since Ship Kurth looted the Orcusgate from a cult ship during a raid).Red Dragon Trading Post
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this post reveals nothing of value except for a sturdy safe that can be picked with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check. The safe contains 3d4 x 10 gp and 1d6 potions of healing.The Mirabar Shield
This compound takes three hours to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the compound uncovers a ghoul nest, where the undead seek shelter from the sun. The characters encounter a single ghast and eight ghouls. Through searching, the characters also find 1d100 barrels of iron that was shipped to Luskan for transportation down the Sword Coast before the invasion. Each 70-pound barrel contains 1,800 pounds of iron, worth 180 gp if traded to an interested merchant or blacksmith. Most merchants and blacksmiths won’t buy more than a barrel at a time. The characters can try to find a way to transport the barrels through the debris-strewn streets; it usually takes a group three hours to get a barrel to any of the protected entrances.The Throat
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this tower reveals an intricate spider painted recently on the water tower’s backside with a message written in Elvish (by a drow). The message reads: “Behold! We are Lolth’s chosen.” Another Elvish message in different handwriting reads: “Then why do the dead still come for us?" The water tower is a tall structure, and from the top, the characters have a clear view of the other tall structures and their locations (the Hosttower of the Arcane, Kurth Tower, The Needle, and the Winter Palace).Whitesails Harbor
This area takes one hour to search and grants a +10 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching reveals the harbor has been picked clean. Only fishing tackle remains.South Shore
Baram's Palace
This area takes two hours to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. When searched, the characters encounter the only tenant remaining in the palace: a glabrezu demon that calls itself Mammu. Despite its intimidating appearance, the demon does not jump into a fight. Instead, it greets the characters as friends and offers them food and wine - insisting that none of it will cause them harm and telling them it can help them. It’s telling the truth. As it speaks, it reveals it knows details about the characters and their travels as if it’s been watching them for a long time. The demon eventually offers to aid them: It can provide them power, wealth, or respect in exchange for the small price of taking their souls after they die. It promises not to harm them beforehand, and it even explains what it can offer in detail. Power. Only characters with at least 13 Charisma can pick to receive power from the demon. If a characters chooses power, they instantly level up - but they must take the warlock class with the fiend patron, as the demon offers some of its own power to them. Wealth. If a character chooses wealth, the demon produces a gold cup set with emeralds worth 7,500 gp. Respect. If a character chooses respect, the demon grants them a boon – they receive a permanent +2 bonus to an ability score of their choice, and the maximum value that ability score can reach increases to 22 (instead of 20). If a character takes the deal, the demon lets the entire group leave unharmed - but the character's soul is doomed to the demonic realms when they die. When this happens, demons turn the character's soul into a mane, meaning the character cannot be resurrected. They’re doomed to suffer for eternity and submit to their fate as a demon. If the characters decline to make a deal, the demon tries to convince them. If the characters try to leave without at least one of them taking a bargain, the demon attacks and combat breaks out.Captains' Court
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +4 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. If searched, the characters find a small group of people that have formed a doomsday cult. The characters may mistake them for the culprits at first, but they are not the same. The cult believes the entire world is overrun by demons and undead like Luskan is. They worship the undead, as they believe that’s what keeps them from harm - and indeed, Orcus has spared them harm as a result. The cult is peaceful, but they grow agitated if the characters challenge their beliefs or threaten them. They refuse to leave. There are two cult fanatics and four cultists, and each of them carries a cord necklace with an obsidian charm worth 10 gp.Dragon Beach
This area takes one hour to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the beach and piers reveals two apelike demons, barlguras, that attack the characters. There is nothing valuable here.Martina's House of Horses
This area takes two hours to search and grants a +2 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this stable reveals one of the sheds was actually a home, presumably where Martina lived. In the kitchen, beneath a rug, is a trapdoor locked from the inside. The characters don’t know it, but Martina is still alive, hunkered down under the trapdoor with food, water, and other supplies. She will not answer knocks at the door, and she turns hostile if disturbed. The space under the trapdoor has no valuables. However, the characters can hide under the trapdoor to get a +8 bonus to dusk rolls, instead of the +2 bonus this place usually provides.Ruins of Illusk
This area takes two hours to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the ruins reveals the underground passageways are now the daytime resting place for three hell hounds, which will fight the characters.Seven Sails Inn
This building takes two hours to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the inn reveals the place was heavily looted during the invasion. However, if someone succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check, they find a loose panel in the wall of the high-ceilinged lobby. The wall reveals a small stone chest decorated on its flat top with a pair of skeletal hands holding a plaque that reads: “With more of me, the more you’d weigh; when seas rise and fall, praise me and Selûne. To win my contents, my name you should say - but know when you do, the ground does betray.” The answer is “gravity.” When a character says the word, the chest unlocks and swings open - but it also casts reverse gravity with one side of the cylinder of effect centered on it and the other side directly above it. This causes the characters and furniture - including the chest and its contents - to fall upward 40 feet to the ceiling, and creatures take 4d6 bludgeoning damage when this happens. The spell ends after a minute, causing everything to fall back down to the ground for another 4d6 damage, unless the characters come up with a way to mitigate the harm. The chest contains a total of 13 black pearls, but a number of them shatter (equal to half the damage the characters suffered, rounded down) when they hit the gravity-altered ceiling. A number of them shatter again (using the same calculation) when they hit the true ground after the spell reverses (unless the characters gather the ones that aren’t broken while they’re still on the ceiling).Suljack's Lodge
This building takes two hours to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. When the characters search the lodge, they find 2d6 bottles of Flamewine in the larder. However, they also disturb a pack of eight quasits that make their home there, and they attack instantly. When just one foe remains, it tries to bargain with the characters. It offers to become a familiar to the character with the lowest Wisdom score in exchange for its safety. If the character agrees, it serves its partner faithfully until the characters leave Luskan, at which point it will look for the next opportunity to cease its service and flee.Taerl's Fortress
This building takes two hours to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Characters searching the fort can make a DC 20 Wisom (Perception) check to find a secret and long-undisturbed chamber containing five beautifully painted, centuries-old portraits. The mahogany-framed portraits depict the five high captains (the founders of Luskan’s five Ships, or strongest criminal gangs) with labels showing their names as Kurth, Baram, Suljack, Taerl, and Rethnor. Each portrait is worth 100 gp. Affixed to a plaque beneath Taerl’s portrait, which depicts him with a crossbow, is a +1 hand crossbow - likely the same one.Temple of Red Sails
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +4 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this temple reveals nothing dangerous. The characters find 1d100 azurites, which the clerics would commonly drop into the sea as part of a ritual to appease Umberlee. If they take the gems, Umberlee sends a massive storm as retribution that arrives shortly before the next dawn and dissipates shortly before dawn 2d4 days later. The storm slows travel for the duration, causing the group to spend extra time traveling. The storm also halves shelter bonuses to dawn rolls for the duration.Ten Oaks
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +2 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. If searched, the characters discover this place is now where ghouls seem shelter during the daylight hours. The characters face a single ghast and eight ghouls.The Cutlass
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this inn reveals a passage to the cellar, which is protected from intruders by an iron golem called Captain Reaver. Several corpses of ghouls and dretches lie on the ground around it. If the characters fight the golem and lose, they are stabilized and placed in a holding cell further in the cellar by the owner, Carissa Geary, and several of her employees, who have been staying safe in the cellar under the protection of the golem. The characters wake 1d4 hours later, and Carissa questions them about how they got in. She will offer to set them free if they will convince the Order of the Gauntlet to let them (and the golem) board a ship in Whitesails Harbor. She reveals the Order has refused to let them leave because they are known criminals. Carissa and her employees have 3d6 x 100 gp in their possession, but they will not pay the characters for their help. If the characters defeat the iron golem in the initial encounter, Carissa knows she can’t beat them and tries to pay off the characters with half her gold in exchange for her life.The Needle
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this tower reveals an intricate spider painted recently on the water tower’s backside with a message in Elvish (by a drow). The message reads: “Lolth did not raise the dead, but she keeps the drow safe from them.” Another Elvish message in different handwriting reads: “You call it safety, I call it captivity.” This is a tall structure, and from the top, characters have a clear view of the other tall structures and their locations (The Throat, the Hosttower of the Arcane, Kurth Tower, and The Winter Palace).The Royal Arms Inn
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +4 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching The Royal Arms Inn reveals a locked safe. The safe can be picked with a successful DC 12 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check, and it contains a velvet pouch filled with 2d6 carnelians, 500 sp, and 5,000 cp.The Winter Palace
This building takes one hour to search and grants a +0 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this temple reveals nothing of value, but the characters' presence disturbs a water elemental and its minions - four ice mephits - which will fight the characters. Also, from the top of the temple, characters have a clear view of the other tall structures and their locations (The Throat, the Hosttower of the Arcane, Kurth Tower, and The Needle).Islands
Hosttower of the Arcane
This part of the building takes three hours to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the base of the tower reveals it is a dense building that will take much longer than originally thought to search; the characters will have to search the four spires separately. There is nothing valuable, but it looks like the tower has gone without looting. There is evidence of magical activity that spellcasters will recognize as attempting to combat the demonic and undead presence in the city. Also, the base of the tower and each of the four spires are tall structures. From the top, characters have a clear view of the other tall structures and their locations (The Throat, Kurth Tower, The Needle, and the Winter Palace).North Spire
This part of the building takes three hours to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this spire reveals no people and few signs of violence. There are no valuables. However, there are records that indicate the Brotherhood was using divination magic to spy on shipments coming to and from the city. Shortly before the undead and demon invasion, Ship Kurth brought in a huge score of loot after raiding a passing cargo ship, which was flying an unfamiliar flag - one depicting a mace with a human skull at its tip. The Brotherhood’s high-ranking officials seemed understandably disturbed by this and ordered its scholars to research the symbol.East Spire
This part of the building takes three hours to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this area reveals no people or valuables, but there’s evidence that people were in a rush to leave the tower as quickly as possible. They grabbed their things and fled, seemingly weeks ago considering the light dust that covers many of the surfaces here.South Spire
This part of the building takes three hours to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching this tower reveals no treasure or people, but does reveal some of the recent research performed by the Brotherhood scholars. They had been researching a demon lord called Orcus, who presided over the undead. Orcus was once mortal and, like many wicked people, became a weak demon. Unlike many, he rose the ranks over an ungodly amount of time until he was a demon lord. Over his long existences, Orcus has fathered many mortal children, killed a few gods, and been killed several times – but he always returns, sometimes even stronger than before. Many cults are known to worship him. His symbol is a mace topped with a human skull.West Spire
This part of the building takes three hours to search and grants a +8 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the spire reveals no people. However, there are some potions in a few of the alchemy labs – two potions of necrotic resistance, a potion of growth, and a potion of heroism. In addition, the characters find a message scrawled on a wall in one of the ritual chambers reading, simply, “This place is lost. Find us in Baldur’s Gate.”Sea Tower
This building takes two hours to search and grants a +6 bonus to dusk rolls if the characters stay here. Searching the tower reveals a group of 3d10 petty thieves (human bandits) - refugees from unfair treatment by the law in other settlements - have taken up residence in the tower's basement to stay safe and watch each other’s back. They welcome the characters with open arms and offer firsthand accounts of the destruction that ensued.Tower Kurth
The tower is six stories tall. The bottom floor holds the audience chamber and foyer, and the top floor holds the treasure and trophy room. The middle floors each hold a challenge that the characters must face.The Guide Spirit
While most of the undead simulacrums of people conjured by the Orcusgate are immeasurably evil, some spirits are simply too pure to taint. A spirit of Orsik, who died to Xanathar in Waterdeep, meets the characters on the first floor of Tower Kurth, in the audience chamber and foyer, and explains the context of the tower. He tells the characters that there are spirits throughout the tower that have no true form until the characters interact with them. Orsik also explains that a device controlled by the Cult of Orcus is to blame – and that just one cultist on the top floor remains.The Dungeon
The basement is a dungeon containing 4d6 emaciated prisoners (commoners). They are all enemies of Ship Kurth. The characters can save them or release them if they wish. They have nothing to offer the characters but thanks.The Challenges
Each floor of Tower Kurth has a challenge issued by the Orcusgate.Guest Chambers
A dozen soldiers resembling those who part of Rivior the Bandit Lord's gang appear in the room as spirits. Rivior decrees that Miior acts only for profit. As atonement, she must pay them 1,000 gp. If she doesn’t have 1,000 gp, the money will be deducted from her future earnings until his debt is paid. If she does not agree, the group must fight the phantom warriors, which include 11 bandits and Rivior, a bandit captain.Dining Hall & Library
Three well-preserved wights appear, all of them looking like Loran. One looking like a human from when Loran first died, bearing bludgeoning wounds, the second looking like a half-elf, bearing piercing and slashing wounds, and the third only having the eyes and mouth remaining. They accuse Loran of cheating death, and to atone, they demand one of Loran's eyes. If he refuses, the group fights the wights.Sleeping Chambers
The ghosts of four goblins and Kalabash (CE male Calishite human high mage) appear in the room. They explain that Miior killed them for pursuing power, but Miior herself is also pursuing power. As atonement, they demand that Miior give up some of her power (the equivalent of a level of experience). If she refuses, the group fights the ghosts.Ballroom
Five dead family members of Loran's appear before the characters as ghasts - both of his dead parents, his two dead brothers, and one dead sister. They blame the character, claiming he got them killed. As atonement, they demand that Loran give them his life. If he refuses, the group fights the ghasts.The Treasure Vault
The top floor is a treasure vault. It is filled with all the loot that Ship Kurth obtained over the years - including the Orcusgate. It is a looming, arch-like structure that now ripples with energy. Demonic runes glow along the edge of its length. The cult master is a necromancer named Oskar Gundersen (CG male Illuskan human high mage). He surrounds himself with six zombies, which are made from the undead bodies of his fellow cultists - all of whom died when he activated the Orcusgate. Oskar wears a cloak of protection and has 10 temporary hit points for each dawn that’s passed since the character's arrived, from the Orcusgate giving him power. When the characters arrive, Oskar does not try to talk to them. He knows why they’re here, and he is not having any of it. He unleashes an onslaught, sending his zombies in as fodder while he attacks and protects himself from afar. The characters might not realize it, but he’s also protecting the Orcusgate itself. The Orcusgate is a Medium black cube that allows its user great control over the undead and demons, but at a cost: the souls of everyone who dies in its radius. For this reason, any character who dies cannot be resurrected until the Orcusgate is destroyed. The Orcusgate protects itself, though: It reads the minds of those who threaten it and creates undead minions that take on the appearance of dead people with whom the characters have troubled pasts. It uses these people’s appearance to trick the characters into “atoning” for their sins - by sacrificing something important. The Orcusgate does not get a spot in the initiative, but it does react to the actions of combatants. The characters can try to destroy the Orcusgate on their turns. It is an object with AC 15, exactly twice as many hit points as the necromancer, immunity to poison and psychic damage and all conditions, vulnerability to radiant damage, and resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. Whenever the Orcusgate takes damage, the necromancer takes half as much damage (rounded down). This damage bypasses the necromancer’s temporary hit points. If the Orcusgate is destroyed, the necromancer dies. When the Orcusgate is destroyed, the sun returns to normal over Luskan and the demons infesting the city disappear. The undead remain but without direction. Once the Order of the Gauntlet realize this, they’ll send their soldiers in to eradicate the ghouls and ghasts that remain inside the city walls.Treasure
Tower Kurth’s treasure room has more than just a necromancer, undead beings, and a demonic artifact. If the characters search the place, they a hoard that includes 300 cp, 8,000 sp, 2,400 gp, 130 pp, a ring of mind shielding, adamantine chain mail, a +1 shortbow, a silk handkerchief worth 25 gp, fine clothes, a small gold bracelet worth 25 gp, and a carved bone statue worth 25 gp.Conclusion
Once the Orcusgate is destroyed, the demons disappear and the sun returns to normal; dusk rolls no longer cause fights with demons or torturous nightmares and terrors. The undead remain, but no longer try to leave the city. It is now an undead paradise. The characters can stick around and explore the rest of the city, or they can leave.
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