Here’s the write up for our twelfth Scarlet Citadel session, featuring Warlock Lair 50: The Light of Memoria by Victoria Jaczko. Hopefully these write ups will prove useful to others running the adventure.
You can read earlier posts here. This post contains spoilers for Scarlet Citadel.
In this session, the characters returned to the mysterious arch in the Lifeless Clearing to the west of Redtower through which they had caught a fleeting glimpse of a chained prisoner.
Torander had examined the strange blue crystal they’d found on the bandits last session and read the elvish inscription saying “We give of our years ahead to summon those whose years are behind.” He knew he would be channelling some of his life energy into the portal, but was a bit taken aback when he aged 70 years – 10% of a shadow fey’s lifespan!
The portal opened and the characters stepped through, finding themselves in the pocket dimension between Midgard and the Shadow Realm created by the Memorians. I decided not to refer to it as the Oubliette to avoid confusion with the dangerous chamber with the hanging zombies on level 1 of the Scarlet Citadel.
Here, they rescued Tymon from the chains binding him to the arch. The young apprentice told them he was Gellert the Gruesome’s “top man” and that they would need to enlist the help of Memoria’s mages to escape back through the portal. The adventurers weren’t convinced that Tymon was an important lieutenant of Gellert’s but decided to follow his advice about how to escape for now.
I used the excellent map created by Jason R as the characters and Tymon explored the pocket dimension. After attacking the first spectral memory they came across, the adventurers soon realised (with a hint from Tymon) they needed to talk to the ghostly mages and get them to charge the Light of Memoria. Because the PCs were 3rd or 4th level, I made their undead opponents a bit tougher, giving the shrouds 16 hp each and having four shadows (one per PC) attack the group in the Shadow Corridor. Shadows are nasty monsters for CR 1/2 when only one PC can deal full damage with their weapons, and this encounter was pretty tough. Later, I changed Ivon’s longsword into a +1 magic weapon as the characters have only found one other magic weapon in the campaign so far.
After the party had restored all three mages to charge the relic, they were confronted by the Forgotten when they returned to the arch. I’d made the Forgotten a CR 5 wraith, a tough but appropriate challenge for the final encounter. The characters were able to defeat the unholy spirit and close the portal behind them for good.
Tymon was very grateful for his rescue and gave the characters his stone of good luck, as well as promising to tell them everything he knows about Cagoth-Ze and Gellert. Torander was very relieved when the aging he’d experienced was reversed.
I thought The Light of Memoria – and last session’s adventures in Redtower – worked really well as a change of pace. Next session, the characters – all now 4th level – are heading back to the Scarlet Citadel to continue their exploration of level 2.
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Main image by David Auden Nash
Richard Green | Game Designer 