Evil from the Past
c. 100 ADW
The four guildmasters of Kingdom Grand, Evenfell, Kdor, and New Arcanum send adventurers to Holt's abandoned laboratory beneath the temple of Vitalia, discovered through Sage Elbera's final intelligence. A magic mouth delivers Holt's farewell before vents release shimmering Lullwater that floods the chambers. Navigating rising water and failing magic, they recover Holt's journal revealing his childhood among the Molokite, his manipulation of their ancient desires, and his belief that their "god" was one of The Evil One's experiments—a creature grown from a tarrasque corpse through biomancy, controllable by the Lullwater. They escape the drowning ruin as the guildmasters prepare a full strike on Holt's camp at the dungeon gate.
Referenced In
This module is referenced by the following lore entries:
Divine Pantheon
- VitaliaGoddess of Fertility. Symbolized by a flowering tree with fruit. Her temple in the Creed District of Kingdom Grand is a garden sanctuary, where the central shrine features a great flowering tree that bears fruit year-round. The temple grounds are lush with vegetation, and couples seeking children, farmers hoping for bountiful harvests, and those celebrating new life come to make offerings. Chambers beneath the Temple of Vitalia concealed Holt's Laboratory until adventurers breached it during the hunt for Holt.
Factions and Organizations
- Adventurer's GuildAlso known as Spear of Elina or Spear of the Goddess. A hundred years after the Dead Wars, the Guild has grown into a global hub for missions, with adventurers flocking to it from all over the world. It is currently led by Guild Master Master Thalin Fernstride in Kingdom Grand, with branches overseen by Guildmaster Teyla Coalmaker in Kdor, Elrin Veymar in Evenfell, and Alyndor "Aly" Marvale in New Arcanum. The Guild uses a ranking system, with new recruits earning a rank of Tin, Copper, or Brass; higher known ranks include Colbot, Steel, and Diamond. When Holt threatens to awaken He Who Slumbers, the four guilds unite their forces beneath Kingdom Grand.
- Arcane ConservatoryA magic school located in Kingdom Grand, housed in the Scriptorium. It is a stunning structure of brilliant blues and purples, built in the shape of a five-pointed star with a large tower in the center. Researchers from the Conservatory, such as Sage Elbera, work with the Adventurer's Guild to investigate and handle magical threats.
- Kdor's Adventurers GuildThe branch of the Adventurer's Guild located in Kdor. It is overseen by Guildmaster Guildmaster Teyla Coalmaker.
- MolokiteAn ancient elven people—not a metal—known for pale skin, ethereal green veins, large black eyes, and regal bearing. They once traded with the dwarves of the Dwarven Mountains until they sought power from a demigod, attacked mortal races, and were driven underground. There they found a shrine to The Evil One and later worshipped He Who Slumbers, a biomantic horror bred from a tarrasque corpse. Holt was raised among them and led them alongside the Slumber Cult to awaken their god. After Holt's defeat, the few Molokite who survived—including the medicine woman Raphira—helped the guilds re-bind the Beast and rearm the freed Cinder Guard with sunsteel.
- Slumber CultA secret cult whose Slumber Cultist members wear black cloaks and whisper that what slumbers soon awakes. They kidnap victims for sacrifice, infiltrate cities such as Evenfell and Kdor, and ultimately serve Holt's plan to rouse He Who Slumbers alongside the Molokite.
Legendary Characters
- Alyndor "Aly" MarvaleA tiefling who serves as Guildmaster of New Arcanum's Adventurers Guild. Sharp-tongued, brilliant, and unshakably confident, she reads the weave with unsettling precision. She favors simple but elegant robes and a faint perfume, and is fond of small pranks and bad jokes. She stands with Master Thalin Fernstride, Guildmaster Teyla Coalmaker, and Elrin Veymar when the four great guilds unite against Holt and the Molokite. As Thalin's counterpart in the west, she agrees the string of caravan robberies "smells like trouble," and welcomes the agents he sends across the Western Wastes to investigate Aurelian's soul brokers.
- Elrin VeymarGuildmaster of Evenfell's Adventurers Guild. A tall, tan-skinned human with greying sandy brown hair. He wears black slacks, a grey open shirt, and a leather vest. Sour, cold, depressed, and often drunk, he is burdened by the city's decline. He hopes new adventurers can restore some spark of life to Evenfell.
- Guildmaster Teyla CoalmakerA proud and energetic dwarf with dark hair, keen dark eyes, and a mechanical monocle. She wears an oil-streaked apron and silver-laced red armor and has a prosthetic robotic arm. She is the Overseer of Kdor's Adventurers Guild and believes in second chances, but not thirds. She likes using mechanical metaphors and is known to be a fast talker. Always has a backup plan.
- HoltA Firbolg who rose to Adamantine rank in the Adventurer's Guild and wore fine orange silk with red trim while posing as a monster expert and mentor. He is dismissive, arrogant, and blunt, and shared running commentary via a magical resonator while hiding years of kidnappings and cult work. After betraying and murdering Sage Elbera at the dungeon mosaic—unleashing his paper dragon Jeffery to cover his escape—he vanished to lead the Molokite and Slumber Cult in awakening He Who Slumbers. He was raised among the Molokite as a child, learned The Evil One's biomantic secrets, and believes Lullwater will let him control the sleeping god. He owns a monkey with neon green hair named Elanor.
- Master Thalin FernstrideA towering Firbolg who serves as the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild in the century following the Dead Wars. He has long black hair braided down his back, piercing blue eyes, and dark green fur, and wears a forest green and white Gi. His personality is calm and measured, and he is known for giving inspiring speeches that relate adventuring to baking. He expects discipline and creativity from his guild members. As Holt's treachery unfolds, Thalin grows weary but resolute, coordinating the four great guilds against the threat beneath Kingdom Grand. After the tremors from the Elderdungeon crack the city's streets, he opens a fresh recruitment drive to replace the guild members lost in the fighting, and later leads the hunt for a saboteur hiding inside his own guild. Troubled by a caravan of strangely well-guarded stolen keepsakes bound west, he hand-picks a party and dispatches them across the Western Wastes to New Arcanum to work with his counterpart Alyndor "Aly" Marvale, convinced the thefts are somehow tied to Biscuit's fate.
- Sage ElberaA half-elf Elemental Researcher at the Arcane Conservatory. She wore a purple robe with a silver sash, had blue eyes, and wore her brown hair up in a bun. She was eager and direct, and loved to talk about elementals to the exclusion of all else. She hated Holt's attitude but admitted he knew a great deal about monsters and dungeons—until he murdered her in the dungeon beneath Kingdom Grand. Her final intelligence from beyond the grave led the guildmasters to Holt's Laboratory beneath the temple of Vitalia.
- The Evil OneDeath: ADW 0. A powerful necromancer and the primary antagonist in Dead Wars I. Tried to ascend to godhood. Holt's journal beneath Kingdom Grand reveals that the Molokite's god, He Who Slumbers, was one of his biomantic experiments—a beast grown from a tarrasque corpse and meant to be unleashed if he ever failed to dominate the mortal world.
Legendary Items & Artifacts
- LullwaterA pale green, shimmering water used by the Molokite and Holt. It smells sharp and wrong, like fungi and meat. When consumed, a creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer disadvantage on spell attack rolls and Constitution saves; failing by 5 or more causes unconsciousness. Holt flooded Holt's Laboratory with it and believes it can control He Who Slumbers.
Locations
- Holt's LaboratoryHolt's personal laboratory hidden below the Temple of Vitalia. Its iron door is marked with Molokite runes, and the facility floods intruders with Lullwater from ceiling vents. Adventurers recovered Holt's journal here, revealing The Evil One's biomantic secret and Holt's plan to control He Who Slumbers.
- KdorA snow-covered nation located to the northeast of Kingdom Grand, known for its gleaming white-and-gold spire. It is one of the major nations connected to Kingdom Grand via teleportation gates in the century after the Dead Wars. Ruled by the Goldsteil family. The city hosts an annual Festival of Rebirth, celebrating Kdor's reconstruction and the rise of the Goldsteil family. The highlight of the festival is The Gauntlet, a multi-stage challenge course that tests martial, mechanical, and magical prowess. The rules are strict: no magic on others (only yourself), stealth is encouraged, and the only way to lose is to be knocked out. The competition includes puzzles, stealth challenges, skill challenges, and a final combat footrace. Only the top three teams receive prizes, with first place earning a special item and the Medallion of the Gauntlet. The festival features various shops, food stalls, and entertainment, with gold and white banners decorating the streets.
- Kingdom GrandAlso known as First City, New Kingdom Grand, or New Grand. Formerly the only major civilized city in the region as of ADW 0, it is now the bustling heart of a more interconnected world, linked to other nations via teleportation gates. Holds an annual Festival of Peace to celebrate Elina's sacrifice in Dead Wars I. The tremors from the battle beneath the city cracked streets and toppled buildings across Kingdom Grand, scattering loose magic and prompting a fresh wave of Adventurers Guild recruitment.
- New ArcanumA magical metropolis rising from the heart of the Western Wastes that, in the century after the Dead Wars, became the seat of power for the Arcane Registry and its nation. Perfectly circular, it is a city of towering spires and gravity-defying floating platforms, with airships passing overhead and a great floating black obelisk at its center. A shimmering protective dome cools the entire city, granting relief from the desert heat to travelers who reach its gates. It is connected to other major world powers via teleportation gates, and about a week's wagon travel from Kingdom Grand along a well-marked but perilous trade route. Its Adventurers Guild is led by Alyndor "Aly" Marvale, who joins the other guildmasters against Holt.
- Temple of VitaliaA garden sanctuary in the Creed District dedicated to Vitalia, goddess of fertility. Holt's Laboratory lies in the flooded chambers beneath it.
Military Units and Creatures
- He Who SlumbersAlso called the One Who Sleeps, or simply the Beast by the Molokite who once served it. A primordial horror created by The Evil One from a tarrasque corpse through biomancy, grown stronger with each life sacrificed to its bio-vats—the younger the victim, the greater the offering. The Molokite worship it in the dungeon beyond the Great Dungeon Gate, and Holt believed Lullwater would let him control it upon awakening. After the guilds forced it back into slumber, it could no longer be held by the failing rites of the last Molokite survivors alone, and a living soul had to be bound into the Sealing Chasm to anchor it once more.