Add Sister Vratch stat block, Sunken Chapel battlemap prompt, and session
state updates (plot, rolls, history) through Inigo's failed parley and
combat initiation at the chapel.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Top-down battle map of a partially submerged ancient stone chapel sinking into a dark swamp. The chapel's walls are old grey limestone, cracked and overgrown with dark moss and hanging vines. The building has partially collapsed — the southwest corner has caved inward, leaving a ragged rubble field that extends into the black water. The interior floor is flooded in sections: the nave (central aisle) has about 6 inches of still, dark water covering it, while two raised stone platforms to either side of the aisle (old pew areas) rise 1 foot above the waterline and are dry but cracked. A massive stone altar at the far end is still standing but has been defaced — carved with a large thorn-ringed Gogunta rune and flanked by crude reed-and-bone fetishes. Behind the altar, a collapsed section of rear wall opens directly into the swamp. Several thick cypress roots have pushed up through the chapel floor, creating natural cover and difficult terrain. Outside the walls, black swamp water surrounds the structure on three sides, with a narrow muddy bank providing a landing point at the entrance. Two dead trees lean against the exterior walls. Sickly green bioluminescent algae floats on the surface of the floodwater inside. Mood: desecrated ruin, cult shrine, oppressive swamp gothic, dim moonlight filtering through broken roof. No grid overlay, top-down overhead view.
- **Role:** Priest of Gogunta; leads the remnant cell at the Sunken Chapel
- **Deity:** Gogunta (demon lord of swamps)
- **Personality:** Fat, bloated, imperious; treats the chapel as a sacred site; barks commands in Boggard before switching to accented Common; does not flee — she will die at the altar
- **Status:** Active — at Sunken Chapel, Heron's Reach
- **Location:** Sunken Chapel, Heron's Reach
- **Creature Level:** 2
- **Alignment:** NE | **Size:** Medium | **Traits:** Amphibious, Boggard, Humanoid
- **Attributes:** Str +1, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +3
- **AC:** 16 | **HP:** 26 | **Speed:** 20 ft / swim 25 ft
- **Fort** +8 | **Ref** +5 | **Will** +11
- **Melee:** Morningstar +6 (1d6+1 B/P)
- **Ranged:** Tongue +6, reach 10 ft (1d4 B + Grab; DC 17 Escape / AC 13 to sever with 2+ slashing)
- **Special Abilities:**
- *Terrifying Croak* (1 action, auditory/emotion/fear/mental): Non-boggard creatures within 30 ft make a DC 18 Will save or become Frightened 1. Critical failure: Frightened 2. Success: immune for 1 minute. Vratch uses this immediately when combat starts.
- *Swamp Stride:* Ignores difficult terrain from bogs, mud, and shallow water.
- *Bloated Presence:* While Vratch is alive, cult boggards within 30 ft receive a +1 status bonus to Will saves (her faith radiates outward).
- **Harm (Rank 2):** 1 action = 2d8+4 negative damage to one creature in touch/30 ft (no save); 2 actions = 2d8+4 negative damage, DC 18 basic Fort save, 30-ft emanation.
- **Tactics:** Round 1 — Terrifying Croak as PCs enter → Stride behind altar for cover → cast Fear on the most dangerous melee PC. Round 2 — Harm (2 actions) targeting clustered PCs in the flooded nave. Round 3+ — Daze on casters, use melee only if cornered. Will not retreat.
- **Treasure:** Ritual pouch with 14 gp; tarnished silver chalice on the altar (8 gp); stolen Gozreh prayer beads (4 gp). Total: 26 gp.
@ -23,4 +23,4 @@ The party — Fronda Blarf (Lizardfolk Druid), Twig (Leshy Cleric of Gozreh), an
**Travel Encounter — Slurk (defeated):** Party encountered and defeated a Slurk (Creature 2) during passage through Mire's Throat. Fronda Blarf examined the corpse (Nature 23 vs DC 20 → Success) and successfully harvested: 2 doses of back-slime resin, 1 vial of belly grease, and 1 pair of ivory tusks.
**Arrival at Heron's Reach:** Party emerged from Mire's Throat into the fen. No herons — unnatural silence. The sunken chapel is visible ahead: an old stone structure half-swallowed by the swamp, Gogunta thorn-runes carved into exposed stonework, faint firelight flickering from below the waterline. Two boggard sentries spotted on the chapel roof. Party choosing approach.
**Arrival at Heron's Reach:** Party emerged from Mire's Throat into the fen. No herons — unnatural silence. The sunken chapel is visible ahead: an old stone structure half-swallowed by the swamp, Gogunta thorn-runes carved into exposed stonework, faint firelight flickering from below the waterline. Two boggard sentries spotted on the chapel roof. Twig hailed them; one sentry went below to sound the alarm. Inigo attempted Diplomacy (16 vs DC 20 — Failure). Combat initiated.
| 1 | Inigo Montoya | Diplomacy (Gather Information re: flood/Gogunta cult connection in Bog Bottom) | 8 | 20 | Critical Failure | Picked up garbled lead from Old Beck pointing to a "sunken chapel near Heron's Reach"; specifics unreliable but underlying remnant-cell rumor is true |
awesom-o DM
3 weeks ago