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Curse of Hallowog, The Gnawing Nightmare

Pre-Sesh

Premise

In the dystopian days of the Gigadragonomy, the ancient & catastrophic wars fought between the dragons & the giants for dominion of the world, humanoid societies suffered heavy casualties from both oppressors. While most came from Draconic & giant farming/conquest, some came from lesser giantoids, like ogres & onis (“magic ogres”).   One such oni, Hallowog, lived during the final years of the Gigadragonomy. He relished in raiding small settlements and consuming every humanoid in its bounds, using his Garonis magic to kill armed resistance or trap his prey. After the climactic end of the Gigadragonomy and the mass offensive by humanoids to take their new dominions, Hallowog grew erratic & wrathful, missing the “good old days” where giants could eat whoever without societal consequence. His killings enhanced his power, but also drew the attention of the powerful elven armies plowing through Dalterra. During his rampage, he was slain by a regiment of these armies, swearing vengeance against Elvenkind for all time.   Dark, wild magic remaining from the wars (combined with his own arcane/Gaioforce will to remain in the land of the living), corrupted his deceased spirit into a special type of Revenant: rather than seeking vengeance against the individual that wrongly killed him, Hallowog’s haunted soul seeks eternal vengeance against all Elvenkind (and to an extent, humanoids in general. Therefore, no matter how many times he was slain, he would always return with a greater vengeance than before, which started with killing the adventurers that most recently slayed him. Eventually, his power became too great for standard adventurers to deal with and he became revered by sickened elves who believed in his cause, calling themselves the Children of Hallowog. This faith from his new cult emboldened him to up his efforts, becoming a true terror in the mortal realm. As clerics & paladins were relatively new during this period of history, none of the adventurers who fought against Hallowog could destroy him permanently with holy magic. Rather, an adventuring party with powerful mages sealed Hallowog within his haunted manor and banished it to float in the Astral Fog, although the party sacrificed themselves to send it there by traveling with it. His following was mostly culled in the process, leaving only a few family lines remaining to tell the tale of Hallowog.   After centuries in the Astral Fog, Hallowog became so powerful with his magic that he learned how to project visions into dreams in the mortal realm, turning them into horrific nightmares. While many were traumatized/tormented, a few saw inspiration and reverence in their terrifying overlord. This reverence was picked up by the last descendent of the original Children of Hallowog, who led these followers to become the Hallowkins, cultists with pumpkin/jack-o-lantern heads and scarecrow bodies. The Hallowkins slowly spread the practice of a new holiday, Halloween.   On paper, this would be one day a year where children & adults dress as their scariest monsters & wander their communities in search of delectable treats. As tradition, everyone would leave their candy overnight at a shrine to the Pumpkin King (secretly Hallowog). The divine essence of the Pumpkin King’s worship baked into the candy would be absorbed into the shrine and sent to a temple run by the Hallowkins, which would then be funneled to Hallowog in the Astral Fog. Over the centuries, Hallowog built up this power and continued haunting dreams until he could power an arcane device he built into his manor: the Astral Gate. This device would allow him to teleport his manor to the mortal realm once a year, on Halloween. He would then terrorize individuals and towns that did not participate in Halloween, tossing them in into his haunted candy basket and taking them back to his manor. He would lock them in the dungeon and wait until his day on Gaion is up, then would feast on them one by one as the days passed in the Astral Fog. In between holidays, the Hallowkins spread gospel that all who practice the holiday shall not earn the wrath of the “Hallowgeist”, the evil spirit of Halloween and archenemy of the Pumpkin King (rebranded Hallowog, so the Hallowgeist & the Pumpkin King are one and the same). It was the “ignorance of the nonbelievers that released the Hallowgeist from its eternal prison; now, the Pumpkin King needs their annual worship to keep it at bay.   After enough time of this fucked up tradition, Goru, the Demon God of Fear, granted his blessing upon Hallowog, transforming him into a demon with Hallowog’s Manor as his home plane (if he dies outside the manor, he will reform inside it. If he’s slain within the manor, he dies for good). Goru’s blessing bound the Hallowkins to Hallowog’s undying essence, becoming his eternal servants as the heralds of Halloween. Hallowog masquerades as Uncle H, a wealthy member of the Halloween clergy that brings his manor (Hal’s Manor) to the mortal realm as a special trick-or-treating house. Instead, he lured family’s there and captures them, collecting all the adults in the basement pit and the kids on the side ring. After the night ends and Hal’s Manor returns to the Astral Fog, Dr. Hal turns into Hallowog and eats the adults one by one, in the pit with the others while the kids had to watch. Generally, he’ll eat 1-3 people per day; his victims become his skeletal servants in the manor. One such skeleton, Lady Betrina, was among his first victims from this practice, having brought an entire field trip of children to the house from its praises in the gospel. Her strong maternal will (and experience with magic of the Astral Fog) allowed her to bind her soul to her bones while being eaten, unable to move on to the afterlife but at least able to care for the children she brought. Nowadays, she has crafted a pseudo-skin suit (not made of actual skin; probably cloth. Gonna be puppet-like and scare the shit out of Ruphio). She made it to make the kids more comfortable, and acts as the mother hen for the kids & boss of the skeletal servants.   Hallowog’s Manor (Uncle H’s house)   The horrible haunting mansion that acts as Hallowog’s prison in the Astral Fog. It is riddled with fear demons & skeletal servants/mournful ghosts of his victims. It is introduced to the heroes as an orphanage for children who lost their parents on Halloween. In truth, it is where Hallowog houses the children of his adult victims, having Lady Betrina & the servants raise them while he regularly trains them in combat. When they turn 18, they are sent in to fight against the creature that ate their parents (anyone with the same bday can fight together). However, this is just a front to invoke fear from these new adults and instill a slight challenge for himself. No-one has ever defeated the monster (Hallowog in his true form, not his Uncle H form), and all the “students” are forced to watch the fight/be demoralized. The manor has several areas •The Lobby (Upper Manor): filled with halls & staircases to the other areas. Haunted by fear demons. •The Orphanage (Upper Manor): upstairs network of hallways leading to the children’s bedrooms. Includes a kitchen, common area, and dorm life aesthetics. The skeletons staff the kitchen with animals hunted in Hallowog’s Garden. Run by Lady Betrina & the skeletal staff, haunted by mourning ghosts. •Hallowog’s Garden (Lower Manor): a diverse rainforest ecosystem stocked by flora & fauna from all over the world, collected from each of his stops. During his time in Frondosa, Hallowog used 4 captured rangers from the Darkspore Watch as Pumpkin Puppets to capture a Mycelin Panther, some Mycelin Squirrles & a Mushroom Treant for the garden. •The Pit (Lower Manor): the place where adults go to die. When kidnapped on Halloween, the adults are stashed here while the kids are stashed in the coliseum seating around it. The adults remain in the pit as Hallowog eats them one by one over the course of days/weeks, in front of their kids. Then, the kids are “rescued” by Uncle H, who fends off the “Hallowgeist” (his true form, used a programmed illusion of it to pull off this ruse), then trains the kids in his “orphanage” until they turn 18, then can face the “Hallowgeist” himself to avenge their parents (they always lose, and thus Hallowog can eat them without breaking his “moral code”; in reality, he has no problem eating children, he just thinks they taste better as an adult suffering from chronic fear). Alternatively, he gives the children the choice to walk away and figure out their own path in the world. Unfortunately, this either leads them to either get lost in the house & eaten by fear demons, or outside to realize that they are floating in the Astral Plane. If they leave the house, Hallowog leaves a programmed illusion of Uncle H or Lady Betrina with the kids while he chases the terrified child around the yard and eats them.   Modern Day Our adventurers start out in the remote village of Frondosa, structured on several fungal shelves/levels of society stuck to the side of a giant mushtree in the Mycelin Jungle. The Mycelin Jungle is a fungal rainforest in Western Thagoria, rich with natural fey spirits & demonic fiends. The fey spirits coexist in harmony alongside the Frondosians, aside from occasional trickster mischief and haggard deals. However, the Darkspore Bog, home to a large concentration of demonic fiends & evil fey (hags), borders Frondosa on all but the Western side. While these fiends were a problem in the early days of the village, they have since made a pact with the Darkspore Watch, a circle of Druids & rangers sworn to keep the balance between “dark spirits & light”. In exchange for doing their part to preserve the rainforest’s natural resources & balance of life (no overhunting/foraging, polluting, arcane necromancy, etc.), the Darkspore Watch maintains the borders against the fiendish spirits of the surrounding swamp, protecting Frondosa. Given its isolation, the village previously had no knowledge of Halloween, the Gaionian holiday established centuries ago. In legend, Halloween is a day where kids & young adults dress up as the scariest monster they can think of, collect offerings of candy & treats from their neighbors/fellow residents, then leave their total haul overnight at a shrine to the Pumpkin King. The Pumpkin King draws power from the essence of divine worship that this practice creates, then uses it in his annual battle against the Hallowgeist, the evil spirit of Halloween that will break into our world and consume our children if he wins.   While most that live here are born from their ancestors, who settled long ago to escape orc invasions, our adventurers are [brackets aren't canon: made up of locals & foreigners alike, opening them up to any race canon on Gaion (everything except Spelljammer/super specific stuff)]. As such, some of them may know of the passing stories of Halloween & it’s haunting lore, some might have practiced it themselves, and some might be trying to end the holiday based on its rumored curse. Either way, a week prior to Halloween, [brackets aren't canon: the oracles & witch doctors experienced powerful nightmares & visions of] the Hallowkins, terrifying entities with scarecrow bodies and pumpkins for heads that act as the intermediaries between mortals and the Pumpkin King. They explained the legend of Halloween and emphasized how the Pumpkin King needs “more strength than ever” to defeat the Hallowgeist this year. This set the superstitious town into a week-long scramble to prepare for their first Halloween, desperately gathering and baking up delicious holiday treats as offerings to avoid their prophetic fate. We start our story on the morning of Halloween (level 10 as the town bustles with last-minute preparations, a conspicuous messenger approaches a wealthy bugbear to deliver a message from the southern border of the Darkspore Bog, perking the interest of our heroes Ruphio & Hunkshroom.
 

Setup

Hallowog’s Manor (Uncle H’s house) The horrible haunting mansion that acts as Hallowog’s prison in the Astral Fog. It is riddled with fear demons & skeletal servants of   Monsters •Lesser Demons wandering the woods (group Survival or Stealth checks to navigate away from their notice, their choice. There are also lesser demons haunting Hallowog’s Manor) •Mycelin Panther (within the jungle or bog. Hallowog stashes one of these in his personal rainforest, stocked with exotic creatures from all his stops) •Mushroom Treant (within the jungle or bog; can exhale Spore Breath. Hallowog stashes one of these in his personal rainforest, stocked with exotic creatures from all his stops) •Hallowkin Priests (outside of Hallowog’s Manor): warlocks of Hallowog. The souls of Hallowog’s followers sealed into constructs of pumpkin heads, scarecrow bodies, and the dried, sinewy guts of their former bodies as “straw filling”. Most will be off manning their temple, but 2-3 may stand guard as having prepped the ground for the Manor’s arrival. •Skeletons (Hallowog’s Manor): reanimated bones of Hallowog’s victims over the years, picked clean of flesh. •Mourning Ghosts (Hallowog’s Manor): restless spirits of Hallowog’s victims over the years, unable to escape the haunting grasp of Hallowog’s Manor. They will thank the party if destroyed, finally allowed to escape and be collected by the Denowraiths/other death agents patrolling the Astral Fog. •Hallowog the Gnawing Nightmare (Final Boss): a flesh-eating oni (magic ogre) transformed into a demon of fear by Goru. He can casts Fear at will, taking the form of whatever the character fears most (get this info from each player as part of their character sheet). He also has access to powerful magic, including the Garonis Gaioforce. He knows a number of spells equal to his Intelligence+Charisma modifiers, and has spell slots that scale with the party. Otherwise, he has a powerful Bite attack and Claw attacks, able to make two attacks per round or one Bite/one Spell. He has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing & slashing damage from nonmagical attacks, cold & psychic. Immunity to poison, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned. While in his lair, he regains 20 HP at the start of his turn, unless he has taken acid damage since his last turn.

Part 1

the beginning

  • Ruphio & Hunkshroom meet in the village a few days before Halloween, gathering the intel of what's happened here
  • The morning of, the two investigate the shrine of the Pumpkin King. They meet Drak the Bugbear,

  • roast for 20 radiant/10 radiant (2 & 1)

Combat: Ruphio & Hunkshroom vs Hallowkins

Initiative

  • Ruphio: 8
  • Hunkshroom: 15
  • Hallowkins: 5 (4/50, 0/50, 0/50)
  • Pumpkin Spiders (12/17): 18

round 1

  • Spiders: run up
  • Hunkshroom: rages & attacks a Hallowkin for 15 damage. the Hallowkinhas disadvantage on anyone except Hunk.
  • Ruphio: cast Fireball and kills 5 spiders
  • Hallowkin: foiled, but Bless is here
 

Round 2

  • Spiders: run up and attack, one gets shot by a ranger
  • Hunkshroom: kills a guy, then runs up to another guy while taking 15 damage from a spider
  • Ruphio: casts Wall of Fire on a bunch of spiders; killed a bunch
  • Hallowkin: kills the ranger, who reveals the secret of the house
 

Round 3

 
  • Spiders: they die
  • Hunkshroom: 10 damage to Hallowkin
  • Ruphio: casts Inflict Wounds, but misses
  • Hallowkin: cast Necrotic Whispers, dealing 22 necrotic to Ruphio & Hunkshroom
 

Round 4

 
  • Hunkshroom: kills the Hallowkin
  • Ruphio: does something
  • Hallowkin: kils the last Darkspore Watch Ranger, who warns them that "The true terror is in the house"

Aftermath

  • Ruphio & Hunkshroom mourn the loss of these rangers as they face the spooky manor enveloped in the fog of the Darkspore Bog.

Part 2

Beginning

  • Hunkshroom closes the eyes of the fallen ranger and imbues it with spores (will rise as a Spore Servant in 24 hours)
  • Take a short Rest and roll hit dice; Ruphio heals 26 HP, Hunkshroom heals 54 HP) Ruphio has 73/73 HP, Hunkshroom has 109/109 HP
  • During the Short Rest, Ruphio searches the Hallowkin bodies and finds straw-innards within its clothes. No possessions, but the clothes have Abyssal runes embroiled on them. Now, they go into the spooky house, finding a grandiose front door
  • They go around back to find an alternate entrance. They find an open window on the upper floor, about 20 ft up. Ruphio casts Aid (2nd) to increase HP max by 5 for both of them. They go to the front door and knock
  • They meet Uncle H, who greets them and talks to them about Halloween
  • They meet the kids of Hallowog's Manor. After talking to Simor & Kyron (two of the older kids), they deduce that Uncle H isn't who he seems and seek to get rid of him
  • Ruphio & Hunkshroom offer to fight the Hallowgeist alongside Simor (since it's his 18th birthday and he can choose to fight the Hallowgeist per tradition of Uncle H's Manor). Uncle H agrees and leads them down to the Pit, strangely not inviting the other kids to watch as he normally would have. On the way down, Ruphio grills Uncle H and determines through her insight that he is trying to deceive them.
  • Ruphio calls out Uncle H and tries to cast Hold Person, but he resists. Uncle H reveals himself as the Hallowgeist and transforms into his true form; Hallowog. Ruphio casts Protection from Good and Evil (1st level) on Simon - fiends & undead has disadvantage on attacks against him, and he can't be charmed or frightened by them
 

Combat: Ruphio & Hunkshroom vs. Hallowog

Initiative

  • Ruphio: 7 (78/78 HP)
  • Hunkshroom: 20 (114/114 HP)
  • Simor: 19 (15/58 HP)
  • Hallowog: 18 (10/200 HP)
  • Goons: 10 (0/66)

Round 1

  • Hunkshroom: swings for 47 slashing damage and then jumps in the pit. Hallowog has disadvantage against anyone that's not you, and damage against others is halved
  • Simor: 13 slashing to Hallowog
  • Hallowog: 7 damage to Simor, then misses. Runs up to Ruphio
  • Goons: 4 demons appear
  • Ruphio: casts Channel Divinity (Radiance of the Dawn 3 shadow demons take 18 radiant damage (36 due to vulnerability) Hallowog and the other one take 9 (18 due to vulnerability) Strikes him, but misses

Round 2

  • Hunkshroom: Uses Fighting Spirit, gains 5 temp HP, then attacks a shadow demon for 16 damage, 15 damage. Destroys the Shadow Demon by carving him to pieces, then kicking his shadow. Then Action Surges & charges for 19 damage & 15 (kills another one), then climbs back up
  • Simor: misses
  • Hallowog: misses
  • Goons: 11 psychic to Hunkshroom, 18 psychic to Ruphio (loses Protection from Good & Evil)
  • Ruphio: casts Dispel Evil & Good (5th level), they have disadvantage on attack rolls against her. She then banishes Hallowog to the Astral Fog, sending the entire manor with it

Round 3 (Session 3, 12/14/23)

  • Hunkshroom: Fighting Spirit (5 temp HP). Deals 14 damage & 29 damage, killing the demon and taking some influence over the storm.
  • Simor: swings and hits Hallowog twice for 15 slashing
  • Hallowog: Restores 10 HP, Casts Mass Fear (Ruphio succeeds), then attacks Simor. One misses due to Warding Flame, one hits for 7 slashing/5 acid, then 20 piercing and poisons Simor. Walks over to Ruphio, but takes 5 slashing on the way out.
  • Demon: deals 9 psychic to Hunk
  • Ruphio: casts Guardian of Faith to bring Spectral Daddy to the field.

Round 4

  • Hunkshroom: is so scared, he runs away taking 13 psychic from the Shadow Demon.
  • Simor: Takes 4 poison, dashes away, then overcomes his fear
  • Hallowog: Heals 10 HP, then takes 20 radiant from Spectral Daddy. Deals 7 shashing/5 acid, then 9 piercing and poisons Ruphio. Scares Simor.
  • Shadow Demon: runs towards Hunk, cackling and latching onto
  • Ruphio: 4 poison, then casts Fireball for 25 fire to Hallowog/6 fire to Demon.

 

Round 5

  • Hunkshroom: Runs farther, more fear.
  • Simor: 1 poison, runs farther, more fear, shakes off poison.
  • Hallowog: Regains and loses 10 HP (no effect), casts Super Fear on Ruphio (still fails), the casts Boulder Roll at Hunk for 12 bludgeoning.
  • Shadow Demon: Runs up to Ruphio and takes 10 radiant (20 due to vuln.), the. Squares up.
  • Ruphio: Casts Banishment, but it doesn't work out.

Round 6

  • Hunkshroom: breaks fear, rages, and charges towards Hallowog
  • Simor: Shakes off the fear and fires a shortbow strike for 3 piercing.
  • Hallowog: No healing, casts Mass Fear (everyone's immune), then Georifts Ruphio & Hunk for 24 thunder.
  • Ruphio: Radiance of the Dawn for 12 radiant damage

Round 7

  • Hunkshroom: Fighting Spirit, hits twice, Action surge for two more. Deals 61 slashing damage
  • Simor: Shoots for 12 piercing
  • Hallowog: Desperate, casts Rockupuncture for 15 piercing to Ruphio & Hunk (downing Ruphio).
  • Ruphio: Death Fail

Round 8

  • Hunkshroom: Heals Ruphio for 7 HP.
  • Simor: Fires two arrows, but Hallowog deflects
  • Hallowog: Regains 10 HP, but nat1s a Terra Spike at Simor.
  • Ruphio: With a trip zero Divine Intervention, Ruphio calls in light from the multiverse (Hytheria & Aurofae) and destroys Hallowog for good.

Aftermath

  • Simor sees a new vision in the clods of the dying etherstorm: Hallowog preparing to eat his parents, but being pulled back by chains of light held by S vision change symbolizes how Ruphio & Hunkshroom helped him face his trauma, beginning the healing process.
  • The gang sees Kyron hanging off the house with a rope, holding the other kids with him. After getting everyone back to safety, Ruphio casts Banishment, using the fading magic of the prior Banishment curse surrounding the house (placed on Hallowog & his manor by a previous adventuring party) to send all of them back to the material plane. Once there, the Darkspore Watch finds them and the two factions exchange stories. They return to the village and are hailed as heroes for saving Halloween. 

Epilogue

 
  • Ruphio & Hunkshroom spend the next few years making sure the kids from Hallowog's Manor are taken care of until they become adults. Drak, the sole proprietor of Drak's Drapes, purchased the manor & land it fell on and turned it into a Halloween museum & haunted house, dedicating a portion of every sale to the kids' education & living expenses.
Completion Date
11/15/2023
Plot type
Two-shot Campaign
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