One-Shot: Liberation of the Emerald City

Liberation of the Emerald City: An Eberron Adventure for 7th Level Characters

The PCs are taking a lightning rail from the Mror Holds back south, planning on passing through the Talenta Plains and the Mournland on the way back to Sharn. Near the southern border of Karrnath, the train passes through a large town called Vulyar - at least, it’s supposed to. Outside the town, a group of men in plate armor under green tabards are blocking the rails; they wear the distinctive half-helms and wooden shields of the Order of the Emerald Claw, a well-known Karrnathi nationalist terrorist organization. They force everyone out of the train and announce that their organization has occupied this city as the first step in a Karrnathi revolution, and they attempt to take everyone on the train prisoner and drag them back to the city. The party may either comply, becoming prisoners and having their equipment taken, or kill the soldiers and enter the city themselves, or flee, becoming enemies of the new Vulyar on the outside.

If the PCs comply: The soldiers, led by one Sir Gerus, search all the passengers and remove their valuables and any weapons; an Emerald Claw mage puts them in a bag of holding. The soldiers then chain everyone up and march them back to the city gates. They are taken through the city and can see other groups of prisoners being marched around, as well as “free” citizens standing around looking terrified and tired from labor. Eventually they reach the prison and are placed in separate cells.

If the PCs do not comply: The soldiers attack and the PCs kill them or flee. They could take the refugees to the nearest city, Vedykar, which is a day’s walk away. Once there, they presumably warn the leaders of the threat in Vulyar, but the leaders are unwilling to send a whole army to combat the situation. Instead, they send a small strike force back with the PCs to get inside the city. The mayor of Vedykar has the idea for the PCs to pose as prisoners to get inside, find any resistance movement, then break out and let the soldiers in.

Alternatively, and perhaps most likely, the PCs will send the refugees on their way alone and enter the city themselves. There is a small side tunnel through the city walls guarded by a couple of soldiers. When the PCs enter the city, they could either sneak around or attack and try to free some of the prisoners. If they attack, their battle is long and hard with many soldiers and mages, but it is possible to kill all of the enemies around the entrance to the city. However, this will cause the city to go on high alert; add a few extra soldiers to each future encounter.

After the battle as they explore the city, or if they sneak past the soldiers, they find a seemingly-abandoned bar called the Bargewright Inn that appears to be a good place to hide out. A perception check reveals a secret passage in the floor leading down to the resistance headquarters, where they meet Haven as detailed below.

The following is the scenario in case the PCs are captured. In the prison are many other prisoners, naturally. If the PCs talk to them, they meet a young red-haired man named Raeburn who is quite friendly, and says he used to be a blacksmith. They may learn from him that the Emerald Claw freed most of the actual criminals who were here and let them join their ranks; the rest were taken off to be executed. These criminals make up the bulk of the Claw’s forces. All of these prisoners now are awaiting judgement; they will either join the Emerald Claw if they seem willing and able, be “freed” to forced labor if they seem harmless, or be executed if they seem dangerous. It seems the Claw needs a large amount of labor for some project, but none of the prisoners know what it is. After about an hour, Raeburn is taken away for execution; as the guards are coming, he tells the PCs to seek out his sister Haven if they somehow get free. Haven is still free and running the resistance movement in secret; she used to be captain of the guard here, and now is the highest-ranking surviving official.

After about another hour, two guards come for the PCs. They have been judged to be dangerous based on the amount of weapons and equipment found on them when they were brought in, so their execution has been expedited. This is the chance for the PCs to escape and reclaim their equipment, which is in another room of the guardhouse they’re in. It’s on the PCs to actually escape; one tactic they could use is dressing up in Emerald Claw uniforms. Once they’re away from the guardhouse it becomes easier to escape detection. Once outside they see the labor project the Claw has everyone working on: a huge pit to dump all the executed bodies in, growing larger all the time. They have clerics there reanimating the corpses and arming them from the town’s barracks, making an undead army. From there they must find Haven and her resistance movement; they’re hiding out beneath an abandoned bar, the Bargewright Inn. If the PCs are dressed as Emerald Claw officers, the resistance fighters are hostile at first and the PCs must convince them of their good intent. Haven looks quite a lot like her brother, but is less friendly and more business; once the PCs earn her trust, however, she opens up more.

She outlines her plan, saying that there are two targets that must be hit to cripple the occupation: the military center at the barracks, and the administration, led by a Blood of Vol priest holed up in the city hall. Haven’s group isn’t nearly large enough or trained enough to take on either of those, but with the PCs and their skills there, she can team up with them and form an elite strike group to hit one at a time. She tells them about the leading priest there, a man named Delwyn who is fond of unusual creatures and is bound to have a couple of dangerous pets with him. She also describes the military leader, a giant of a man known as Sir Derrick who is rumored to possess some unusual power that makes his men terrified of him. She wants to free all the prisoners while they attack the guardhouse, arming them and letting them loose to kill the unprepared soldiers, but she lets the PCs decide which target to hit first and lets them give input on the tactical plan.

Sir Derrick is at the top of the guardtower which has 3 floors. The first floor is easy to take, since it only has one man at a desk. The second floor has about six guards; if they attack at night, they will be sleeping. The top floor houses Sir Derrick, his pet war dog, and four elite soldiers. Sir Derrick is a psychic warrior, so he may give the PCs quite a bit of trouble. Delwyn is in the city hall, accompanied by a few bodyguards. He has a couple of pets with him - one displacer beast and one ankheg.

When both Derrick and Delwyn are dead, and the former prisoners hold the barracks, restoring order to the city becomes academic. The undead soldiers they were creating don’t have orders yet, so they can be simply destroyed. Haven takes command, as the highest-ranking military officer remaining, and the military will appoint a mayor at some point soon. She thanks the PCs for their service and offers them permanent positions on her elite guard; if they don’t accept, she still rewards them and grants them permanent welcome in this city.


Emerald Claw Elite Soldier, human Fighter 5
LE Medium Humanoid (human)
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 8
HD 5d10+10 (60 hp)
Initiative +6
Speed 20 ft.
AC 22 (+1 dex, +9 armor, +2 shield) Touch 11 FF 21
BAB/CMB/CMD: +5/+9 (+11 trip)/21
Attack: Flail +12 (d8+11) or longbow +7 (d8+4/x3)
Weapon Training (Flail) +1
Feats: Weapon Focus (flail), Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Improved Initiative, Weapon Specialization (flail), Furious Focus
Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +2 (+3 vs. fear)
Equipment: Masterwork flail, +1 half-plate, masterwork heavy steel shield, composite longbow [+4], 2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds

Emerald Claw Mage, human Necromancer 4
NE Medium Humanoid (human)
Str 7, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 7
HD 4d6+8 (32 hp)
Initiative +2
Speed 30 ft.
AC 16 (+2 dex, +4 mage armor) Touch 12 FF 14
BAB/CMB/CMD: +2/+0/12
Attack: Dagger +0 (d4-2/19-20) or touch spell +0 or ranged touch +4
Arcane Bond (Ring)
Opposition Schools: Illusion, Divination
Grave Touch 8/day (shaken 2 rounds, then frightened 3 rounds if touched again)
Spells/day: 0-4 1-6 2-5 DC 15+level
0: Bleed, Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Flare
1: Mage Armor, Bungle, Burning Hands, Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Enfeeblement, Burning Disarm
2: Create Pit, Flaming Sphere, False Life, Ghoul Touch
Feats: Spell Focus (necromancy), Command Undead, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Spell Penetration
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +6
Equipment: Dagger, 2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, Scroll of Summon Monster III

Delwyn, human Priest of Vol 8
LE Medium Humanoid (human)
Str 7, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 20, Cha 4
HD 8d6+24 (72 hp) 47
Initiative +6
Speed 30 ft.
AC 14 (+2 dex, +1 natural, +1 deflection) Touch 13 FF 12
BAB/CMB/CMD: +4/+2/14
Attack: Ranged touch attack +6 or touch attack +2
Channel negative energy 4d6 5/day DC 16
Primary dogma: Death (Undead) (+1 CL necromancy spells)
Secondary dogmas: Nobility (leadership) (add Wis to Leadership), Magic (+1 CL dogma spells)
Spells/day 0-5 1-7 2-5 3-5 4-4 DC 15+level
0: Bleed, Detect Magic, Guidance, Mending, Resistance
1: Bless, Burning Disarm, Command, Cure Light Wounds, Doom, Murderous Command, Shield of Faith
2: Admonishing Ray, Cure Moderate Wounds, Dread Bolt, Hold Person, Sound Burst
3: Prayer, Dispel Magic, Bestow Curse, Searing Light, Stone Shape
4: Enervation, Enervation, Blessing of Fervor, Empowered Dread Bolt
Feats: Improved Initiative, Empower Spell, Toughness, Spell Focus (Necromancy), Spell Focus (Enchantment)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +11
Equipment: Blood of Vol unholy symbol, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Ring of Protection +1, Belt of Dexterity +2

Displacer Beast
LE Large Magical Beast
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 3
HD 6d10+18 (78 hp) 1
Initiative +2
Speed 40 ft.
AC 17 (-1 size, +2 dex, +5 natural, +1 dodge) Touch 12 FF 14
BAB/CMB/CMD: +6/+11/23
Attack: 2 tentacles +9 (d6+4) and bite +4 (d8+2)
Displacement 50%
+2 saves vs. targeted magical ranged attacks except touch attacks
Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Stealthy
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3

Zombie Displacer Beast
NE Large Undead
Str 20, Dex 14, Wis 10, Cha 10
HD 8d8+8 (72 hp)
Initiative +2
Speed 40 ft. (Can’t run or charge)
AC 14 (-1 size, +2 dex, +3 natural) Touch 11 FF 12
BAB/CMB/CMD: +6/+12/24
Attack: Slam +10 (d8+5) and 2 tentacles +5 (d6+2) and bite +5 (d8+2)
DR 5/slashing
Staggered
Feats: Toughness
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +6

Ankheg
N Large Magical Beast
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 6
HD 3d10+12 (42 hp) 10
Initiative +0
Speed 30 ft. Burrow 20 ft.
AC 16 (+7 natural, -1 size) Touch 9 FF 16
BAB/CMB/CMD: +3/+7 (+11 grapple)/17
Attack: Bite +5 (2d6+4 plus 1d4 acid and grab)
Spit acid (30 ft. line, 4d4 acid, reflex 14 half, no acid damage on bite for 6 hours)
Feats: Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness
Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +2

Sir Derrick, human Psychic Warrior 8
LE Medium Humanoid (human)
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 0
HD 8d8+24 (88 hp) 67
Initiative +7
Speed 20 ft.
AC 22 (+7 armor, +2 natural, +2 deflection, +1 dex) Touch 13 FF 21
BAB/CMB/CMD: +6/+10/21
Attack: Greatsword +13/8 (2d6+8/19-20) or power attack +13/6 (2d6+14/19-20). +2 attack and +3 damage when psionically focused.
Mind Knight Path: Call Weaponry, Inertial Armor
Trance: +2 initiative, +2 called weapon attack and damage
Maneuver: attack 3 adjacent creatures
Martial Power
Power points: 18
Powers known: 10 DC 13+level
1: Biofeedback, Empty Mind, Metaphysical Weapon, Inevitable Strike, Stomp
2: Dissolving Weapon, Hustle, Strength of My Enemy
3: Empathic Feedback, Mental Barrier
Feats: Power Attack, Psionic Meditation, Psionic Weapon, Furious Focus, Weapon Focus (Greatsword), Improved Initiative, Hustle Power, Deep Impact
Fort +9, Ref +2, Will +5
Equipment: 3 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, Cognizance Crystal 3, +2 Amulet of Natural Armor, +2 Ring of Protection, +2 Belt of Dexterity

Emerald Claw Foot Soldier, human Fighter 3
LE Medium Humanoid (Human)
Str 17, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
HD 3d10+6 (36 hp) 6
Initiative +5
Speed 20 ft.
AC 20 (+1 dex, +6 armor, +3 shield) Touch 11 FF 19
BAB/CMB/CMD: +3/+6/16
Attack: Longsword +7 (d8+3/19-20) or power attack +6 (d8+5/19-20) or shortbow +4 (d6+3/x3)
Feats: Weapon Focus (longsword), Shield Focus, Power Attack, Improved Initiative, Point-Blank Shot
Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +2 (+3 vs. fear)
Equipment: Longsword, chain mail, heavy wooden shield, composite shortbow [+3]