02: Of Refugees & Revenge

needs:

NPC: leader of the Dao Fei

amount of people and description for the shrine

NPC: Iroh

guidelines for iroh's honesty

Skeleton and Air Mephit stat blocks

lair description and fake traps at the Fire Base

Structure

Exposition

After Fu gets some proper rest he informs the party that on the other side of Mount Zian there is an ancient shrine dedicated to Avatar Yangchen. There have been rumors of a settlement installed in its ruins, although the entry is said to be cursed by Yangchen herself.

Conflict

After locating the entry to the shrine, a whole in the middle of some cliffy rocks, a mysterious figure wearing Southern Water robes greets the newfound travelers and asks to tag along, as he is after some lost lore of the Ancient cultures.
The party finds themselves in front of a well. A circular stair-case made of marble (mármol) starts at the west, looking at Yangchen's home temple.
The well is roughly 60 feet (20 meters) in diameter and has an inscription on the entrance, written in Caelic:

Instinct is a lie, told by a fearful body, hoping to be wrong.
Let go your earthly tether. Enter the void. Empty and become wind.

— Guru Laghima

This is a puzzle! The staircase goes down forever. If a party member tries to advance or go back after the darkness of the well has taken them, they return to where they were, incapable of continuing or going back.
After the party walks down enough so the upper light is dim the same poem is revealed in the walls in dim, glowing white light, and a group of Skeleton

Skeleton

Medium undead, lawful evil

Armor Class 13 (armor scraps)

Hit Points 13 2d8+4

Speed 30ft

---

STR

10 0

DEX

14 +2

CON

15 +2

INT

6 -2

WIS

8 -1

CHA

5 -3

---

Damage Vulnerabilities Bludgeoning

Damage Immunities Poison

Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Poisoned

Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 9

Languages understands all languages it knew in life, but can't speak

Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

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Actions

Shortsword: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 1d6+2 piercing damage.
Shortbow: Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 1d6+2 piercing damage.

and an Air Mephit

Air Mephit

Small elemental, neutral evil

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 17 ( 5d6 )

Speed 30ft Fly: 30ft

---

STR

5 -3

DEX

14 +2

CON

10 0

INT

9 -1

WIS

11 0

CHA

10 0

---

Skills Perception +2, Stealth +4

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages Caelic, Common

Challenge 1/2

Death Burst. When the mephit dies, it explodes in a burst of wind. Each creature within 5 feet of the mephit must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or take 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage and be forced prone.
Innate Spellcasting (1/Day). The mephit’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). The mephit can innately cast blur, requiring no material components.

---

Actions

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 ([roll:1d4+2}) slashing damage.
Wind Breath (Recharge 6). The mephit exhales air in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 5 feet away and forced prone.

will attack them.
The amount of Skeletons and Air Mephits has been pre-calculated depending on the party size:

Party Size (counting pets)	Skeletons	Air Mephits
6	3	2
7	3	3
8	4	3

The skeleton will fight to death while the mephit will attempt to keep the party members out of the central well.
In order to end the endless staircase, each party member must jump into the central, apparently bottomless pit. Their faith is rewarded with hitting the floor after a meter. They'll face a Dexterity Saving Throw 13 to land on their feet, or fall on their faces otherwise.

Rising Action

Inside the ruins, the settlers go welcome the newcommers. They identify themselves as a group of Dao Fei, usually mistaken for bandits.
In their case, they are a travelling troupe that takes care of those in need, at the expense of the Fire Nation.
After discussing the attack on the refugee camp the Dao Fei suggest visiting the nearby Malicia House of the Fire Nation to gather more cluess and find the ruthless murderers

Climax

Infiltrating the Fire Base is apparently trivial; there are only a few Fire Officials, none benders nor warriors, dealing with paperwork. They quickly surrender, except for their leader, who will attempty to use a letter opener as a dagger to fight off the party by himself, to his own luck.
The officials will reveal that the central room is the only one with a metalic floor, rather than wooden. A quick check reveals a pit door with metal stairs walking down towards a basement.

Falling Action

In the basement, the party falls into the trap; a metal cage traps them and 5 hooded figures reveal themselves. Their dark-red cloaks are held by Royal Fire Emblembs. Their leader steps forward and reveals himself to be Fire Prince Iroh, the second in the line for the throne.
He and his siblings have been sent out to quietly hunt down the remaining Air Benders. He was after some refugee child when the news of someone traveling with the party was coming.
He found the Dao Fei settlement as well and "made a deal of peace" if they sent the party to the setup location.
He is a generous prince, so he prepares tea and offers to answer with all his honesty to one question by every party member, given that they will be executed afterwards.

Resolution

Iroh answers the questions and the game ends in a cliff-hanger, since we are here to experiment!

Components

Goals

Find a place of rest for the refugees and liberated slaves

Strike back the Fire Squad that blased off the refugee camp

Relations

Allies

Dao Fei Leader Lenniffer

Dao Fei Leader Lenniffer

Gold Dragonborn · 23 · She/her
Deceiver, impulsive

Incarnate: The Last of the Lacers

Novice Earth Bender CR: 1/4

Medium humanoid, any, any

Armor Class: 10

Hit Points: 2d8

Speed: 30 ft

STR

11 +0

DEX

10 +0

CON

10 +0

INT

10 +0

WIS

12 +1

CHA

14 +2

Skills: Perception +3

Senses: Passive Perception 13

Languages: Common, Terran

Challenge Rating: 1/4

Lacing

The novice is a 1st-level earth bender, and has 2 ki points. Its ki ability is Charisma (ki save DC 12, +4 to hit with ki attacks). The novice can initiate basic earthlacing

1st level (2 ki points)

burst ring, dust cloud, grasping earth

Actions

Elemental Strike.

Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.

Dao Fei Member Rolanda

Dao Fei Member Rolanda

Kobold · 15 (Adult at 6) · She/her
Honest, naive

Incarnate: The Last of the Lacers

Novice Earth Bender CR: 1/4

Medium humanoid, any, any

Armor Class: 10

Hit Points: 2d8

Speed: 30 ft

STR

11 +0

DEX

10 +0

CON

10 +0

INT

10 +0

WIS

12 +1

CHA

14 +2

Skills: Perception +3

Senses: Passive Perception 13

Languages: Common, Terran

Challenge Rating: 1/4

Lacing

The novice is a 1st-level earth bender, and has 2 ki points. Its ki ability is Charisma (ki save DC 12, +4 to hit with ki attacks). The novice can initiate basic earthlacing

1st level (2 ki points)

burst ring, dust cloud, grasping earth

Actions

Elemental Strike.

Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.

Adversaries

Fire Stormer

Incarnate: The Last of the Lacers

Novice Fire Stormer CR: 1/4

Medium humanoid, any, any

Armor Class: 10

Hit Points: 2d8

Speed: 30 ft

STR

10 +0

DEX

11 +0

CON

10 +0

INT

10 +0

WIS

12 +1

CHA

14 +2

Skills: Persuasion +4

Senses: Passive Perception 11

Languages: Common, Ignan

Challenge Rating: 1/4

Lacing.

The novice is a 1st-level fire bender, and has 2 ki points. Its ki ability is Charisma (ki save DC 12, +4 to hit with ki attacks). The novice can initiate basic fire bending, and knows the following forms:

1st level (2 ki points)

backfire, blinding spray, searing ray

Actions

Elemental Strike.

Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.

Dagger (6).

Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Fire Official Felvin

Fire Official Felvin

Half-elf · 57 · He/him
Cowardly, loyal

Commoner

Medium Any Humanoid Race, Any Profession, Any

Armor Class 10

Hit Points 4 (1d8) 1d8

Speed: 30 ft Swim: 10 ft Climb: 15 ft

STR

10
( +0 )

DEX

10
( +0 )

CON

10
( +0 )

INT

10
( +0 )

WIS

10
( +0 )

CHA

10
( +0 )

Languages Usually Common (depends on Race chosen)

Actions

Club

Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 1d20+2 Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. 1d4

Fire Prince Iroh

Fire Prince Iroh

Human · 25 · He/him
Respectful, friendly, generous

Incarnate: The Last of the Lacers

Journeyman Fire Bender CR: 6

Medium medium humanoid (fire folk), any

Armor Class: 12 (14 with flametongue shield)

Hit Points: 40 (9d8)

Speed: 30 ft

STR

14 +2

DEX

9 -1

CON

11 +0

INT

11 +0

WIS

12 +1

CHA

17 +3

Saving Throws: Wis +4, Cha +6

Skills: Arcana +3, Insight +4

Senses: passive Perception 11

Languages: Common, Ignan

Challenge Rating: 6

Elemental Bending. The journeyman is an 11th-level firelacer, and has 10 ki points. Its ki ability is Charisma (ki save DC 14, +6 to hit with ki attacks). The journeyman can initiate basic firelacing, and knows the following forms:

1st level (2 ki points)

backfire, blazing missile, shield of flame, smoke cloud

2nd level (3 ki points)

burn metal, flame falchion, mirage

3rd level (4 ki points)

dragonshield, pyreball

Actions

Elemental Bolt.Ranged Ki Attack: +6 to hit, range 60 ft., one or two targets within 5 ft. of each other. Hit: 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage.

Parent Plot

The Zhindler Family Quest Line

Related Locations

• Zhu

Related Session Reports

• Session 2: Of Refugees & Revenge Report