Hi Scribes! Today we have a One-shot that I wrote for a group of friends to play one evening. I thought I would share it with you all as well! It's full of puzzles and twists, so beware! Let me know what you think!
Backstory
In the small town of Heartwood, a horrible curse has taken ahold of the townspeople. About 100 years ago, a woman got outcast of the town for her dabbles in black magic. Out of anger, she conquered up a curse to get her revenge on the townspeople. Girls are randomly born with a strange mark, a crescent moon, on their right hand. Once the girl is marked, she is cursed to turn into a horrible monster at the age of 13 and destined to kill her family to join the wicked witch's hoards. There is rumored to be a cure but no one has ever found it. The townspeople have tried everything to get rid of the curse, but nothing has worked. It comes back time and time again. They've resorted to shunning the families who have daughters that are marked, they're going to die either way. Can you break the curse?
Curse of the Marked Ones
Have them go to town. There, they eventually see Mr. Shield. He's a mess. He begs the adventurers for help and if they agree, he leads them to his house. It's in the slums. He explains the situations. His daughter is a cute girl named Leah and she's been marked. It's shown that there's a small crescent-shaped mark on her right hand. He begs them to help him save his only daughter before it's too late. In one day's time, his daughter will be turned. If they agree, he hands them a hand-drawn map and stresses this random word "Labyrinth". The witch that has started this curse is named Annette Grail. She was once a beautiful elf but now has turned ragged and ugly over the years of her black magic use. She's getting girls to join her Labyrinth. They need to get the items being held by the witch. The heartstone can heal any disease and lift any curse. Destroying it will lift the curse from any further girls being marked.
On their way there, have them encounter two girls. They’re crying and have the crescent-shaped mark on their hands. They’re crying about how their parents left them in the swamp because they were marked. They eventually shape into two boggles. Use this stat block. Scale to party with any number of boggles and stats.
They come across a large run-down mansion that is in the middle of an eerie swamp. You can hear noises of the night all around in the thick forest and it’s just super creepy. Once inside, a cackling can be heard. “Welcome to my humble abode. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.” They are teleported to a random room on the list of rooms.
The first room walls are covered with fresco paintings depicting children and ponies running through fire. They appear happy and laughing. In the middle of the room is a crude stone chair that was put together and brought in from the outside. There is a non-magical cloak draped in the seat. The cloak is dark red with a crystal blue silk trim, and the cloak is embossed with a flame pattern.
Along the ceiling is a slender and long brass horn that travels from all four corners of the room and meets in the middle just above the chair. In the four corners, the mouthpieces of the horn fall down the wall to just at the middle, about 5’ up. The entire tubing of the horn is embossed with a flame pattern. Three magical torches are lit on the wall, red, blue and white. There is no set solution to this room. Let the players have free reign! Once they do something to your liking that is cool, let them through.
A buzz fills the air and the players are teleported to a room with black bubbles flying about. If touched by one of these black bubbles, take 1d4 necrotic damage. Make Dex saving throws (whatever you set it to) to avoid them. As soon as they reach a door, have them fight an Animated armor. Use this stat block. Once they defeat it while avoiding the bubbles, three chests appear. The ghost from the armor says, “Well done, now take these to slay the head of the house.” Two silver swords are in the chest (rapier 1d8 piercing) and two healing potions (2d6+2).
Teleported to the next room, there's three statue faces on the wall in the see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil ones. Below them are small pedestals. To the left there are three gems on a table and to the right is an inscription carved into the wall. “At my feet lies three stones to hold dear. The source of three gifts that no one should bear. The keepers of secrets, the guardians of exits.” The gems are red, blue, and yellow. The red one cannot speak unless someone else is speaking and seems to speak over the other player at all times. The blue one can only hear and shows visible signs of pain when someone speaks of anything evil. The yellow is blinded and mute and can only regain sight when someone speaks of the Witch. The red goes to speak no evil, the blue goes to the hear no evil, and the yellow goes to the see no evil.
They are then teleported to a room with a huge pit in the center of bubbling black liquid. The liquid does no damage but has the consistency of sand. The room is slowly shrinking as the sand fills the room. There are three doors on the walls. One is just a black void, one is blocked, and the other is a fake door. If they make a perception check of 13 or higher, they will see that the rocks fall into the middle of the pit and you can hear a small sound as they land on whatever is below. They must be swallowed by the sand.
Once they do, they land in front of a sentient door. The word “Labyrinth” is carved into the wall next to it and bones of past adventurers scatter the floor. The trick is to get the door to say Labyrinth. Once they do, it opens. But if they get the door to say anything bad about the witch, a spike shoots out and does 1d4 necrotic damage, which increases over time.
Once inside, they find a crying woman in the middle of a huge room full of bones, dead bodies, and various potions. She seems scared and turns towards the adventurers. Have them interact for a second before she transforms into her true form. Use this stat block. Scale to party.
Right before they defeat her, have the hag let out a piercing scream that echos into the night. This is important for the ending.
Once they defeat her, they are left with the pink glowing heartstone. They are teleported to the surface and the house crumbles. They must touch Leah with the heartstone to lift the curse. But once they return, the house is dark. Once they enter, they find no Leah or Mr. Shield. Once they go into the basement, blood fills the air and you walk down to find a dead Mr. Shield. The Hag had activated the curse of everyone who was marked as a last-ditch effort. Sounds of screams and chaos begin to fill the air as the marked girls are turned into various monsters and kill their family, bounding to the swamp in the dead of the night. And thus, the Curse of the Marked comes to one final bloody end.
This One-shot was written and edited by us, Bards of Lore!
Love this and the puzzles!