```col-mdflexGrow=2.5===# Outline## Players Information Non-resident player characters visiting [[landmark/the-bandersnatch-inn|The Bandersnatch Inn]] during the evening will almost always be asked to sing a song or tell a tale from their personal experience. If the players describe themselves as adventures and relate an incident which either describes a past success, or demonstrates that they are possessed of high ideas or a love of nature, there is a 60% chance that they will be approached by a young halfling woman named [[person/chelsea-cheddar|Chelsea Cheddar]]. Chelsea will ask the players if they are interested in undertaking a difficult quest for a lucrative reward. If they express interest, she will lead them out of the inn and up the hillside to the [[landmark/residence-of-rombo-alecastle|Residence of Rombo Alecastle]], a well-known figure in [[settlement/the-dell|The Dell]] because of his past exploits as a participant in a number of highly successful dungeon expeditions. Rombo will indicate that he is the person requiring the players' assistance, to seek out the whereabouts of his only son and heir, Thorn. He offers them one sack of gold (1,000gp) now to accept the mission, and will pay them an additional 10,000gp when Thorn is safely returned.## GM's Notes Thorn set out almost seven years ago from Haven, seeking to follow in his father's footsteps. At first, he gained employment as an apprentice bard in the household of Narthi Hammerhand, a noble dwarven warrior who was an old fighting comrade of Rombo's, and accompanied the expedition that destroyed the goblin citadel of Bel Kassoor and sacked its "heathen" temples. Soon after this adventure, Thorn left Narthi's castle in the company of four dwarven warriors. Six days later, the hideously mangled bodies of the dwarves were found in a glade near the roadway, but no trace of Thorn or his possessions was visible. Since that time, Rombo has received messages from several of the villages in the region surrounding the initial incident, reporting that a halfling matching Thorn's genera, description has been seen slinking about the forest lands, moving about in a terrified manner and babbling incoherently. Each time the character has run away before anyone could approach and question him, and has proven a very elusive quarry. These messages also tell of a strange second figure, an exceptionally malevolent troubadour named [[person/blackheart-north|BlackHeart North]], opinion is mixed as to whether Blackheart is a halfling or tiefling), who has assembled a rather loosely knit band of highway marauders in the area, and who is said to have sworn vengeance upon the Alecastle family (among numerous other dwarven and halfling kindred), for unspecified wrongs done to him in the past.The area in which these sightings have been made is about 150 miles northwest of the city. The region consists mainly of farms and woodlands, with a scattering of small villages and trading outposts. Rombo has a number of old friends and contacts in this area (innkeepers, retired warriors, merchants) whom the player can get in touch with to obtain the most recent rumors about the whereabouts of Thorn, and Blackheart and his gang. The GM has free rein to work up these informants to his desired specifications, and to map out the specific terrain in which the sightings have taken place - the only restriction is that Blackheart and Thorn should never be seen more than a few miles apart. The players may also be able to find additional allies among Narthi's household or elsewhere among the dwarves of this area, for many in these parts know and respect Rombo. The dwarves believe that [[person/blackheart-north|BlackHeart North]] and his men are responsible for the murders of Thorn's comrades, and the source of his overwhelming fear.The crux of the mystery of Rombo's heir is that, at present, Thorn and [[person/blackheart-north|BlackHeart North]] are one and the same person. During the sacking of the temple of Bel Kassoor, a stone idol was shattered, releasing a rather potent evil spirit named Shakeem. The spirit latched onto Thorn and began to take over his consciousness. When its power became too strong, Shakeem/Thorn left the confines of the castle. He slaughtered his companions as they slept and adopted the guise of [[person/blackheart-north|BlackHeart North]] (we hope, by now, you have noticed the anagrammatic connection between the two names) to continue his destructive assaults. As Blackheart, Shakeem is in complete control, a merciless diabolical schemer who has molded his band of petty ruffians into an efficient, albeit bloodthirsty, group of highwaymen. Within 8-12 hours after each vicious atrocity Blackheart engineers, however, the noble son, of Thorn generates enough strength to temporarily throw off its domination. In these moments of lucidness, Thorn is virtually mad with grief and remorse. He has attempted to kill himself but has found that he cannot overcome Shakeem's thirst for life long enough to complete that task. He shuns all contact with others, for the first time he tried to explain his plight to. a farmer he encountered, Shakeem re-exerted his control and brutally butchered the other man.As Blackheart, Thorn's normal strength becomes greatly enhanced (See NPC descriptions for the statistical differences between the two identities). Because of Shakeem's supernatural powers, Blackheart can only be harmed by magical weapons, and cannot be critically or mortally wounded with a single blow (an attacker must roll 10 or more above his needed HP on two consecutive melee rounds in order to register a critical hit). He can be affected by clerical spells of turning. Thorn can only be restored to himself if Shakeem can be successfully exorcised by a priest or priestly mage. Even then, it is likely that he will go mad with grief over what he has done if he is not soon (within 48 hours of recovery) placed in the hands of expert healers, who can relieve this tremendous mental and psychological burden. If the players figure out the mystery, and confront Blackheart with his true identity, it will successfully stun him into inaction for 1d6 melee round, until Shakeem can re-exert control. During this period, each brigand must make a morale roll (Base morale 80%, -5% for each highwayman in the party who is wounded, and -10% for each highwayman who has been killed) each melee round, to see if he stands and fights while his leader hesitates.``````col-md**Locations/Start** - [[settlement/the-dell|The Dell]]- [[landmark/the-bandersnatch-inn|The Bandersnatch Inn]]- [[landmark/residence-of-rombo-alecastle|Residence of Rombo Alecastle]] **Key Participants** - [[person/chelsea-cheddar|Chelsea Cheddar]]- [[person/rombo-alecastle|Rombo Alecastle]]- Thorn / [[person/blackheart-north|BlackHeart North]]- Shakeem---### World Anvil Metadata**Id:** c56eb5b8-f17e-4d6c-aa63-ce813753745a<br>**Entity Type:** Article / plot<br>**Category:** Haven Encounters and Scenarios<br>**Tags:** FCoH-plot```