A scenario from Dunderdagar

THE KARKION’S
REVENGE
This game is not affiliated with, sponsored, or
endorsed by Fria Ligan AB. This Supplement
was created under Fria Ligan AB’s Dragonbane
Third Party Supplement License.
BACKGROUND
A day or two’s journey west of Nordrose, high atop a
cliff on the rugged coast of Northern Viddenmark, lies
Baron Vredenek’s summer palace of Evengold. The de-
sign of this delicate and airy palace of wood and marble
was inspired by elvish architecture, and it is the baron’s
pride and joy. He designed much of it himself, and was
very active in overseeing its construction (often to the
frustration of his chief builder and architect). The fre-
quent storms that batter the coast in the autumn and
winter mean that for most of the year the palace is in-
habited by only a skeleton staff tasked with the main-
tenance and upkeep of the building. However, when the
milder weather comes to Northern Viddenmark in the
late spring or early summer, the baron makes the jour-
ney along the coast, accompanied by anyone who is
anyone in the high society of Nordrose, to spend the
hottest weeks of the year enjoying the cool sea breezes
and stunning clifftop views of Elmer’s Sea. The sum-
mer sunsets are particularly spectacular, and the pal-
ace takes its name from the lingering golden light of
the summer evenings.
Long before humans discovered the site where Even-
gold now stands, however, it was considered to be a
sacred place by a tribe of cat people who dwell deep
in Overseer’s Forest, south of Nordrose. Since time im-
memorial there was a circle of standing stones on the
clifftop where the cat people, led by their karkion chief-
tain and high priest, would conduct rituals every mid-
summer and midwinter. When the tribe discovered hu-
mans digging the foundations of a palace so close to
their most sacred place, they attacked, and many lives
were lost on both sides. Eventually an agreement was
reached between the baron and the karkion chieftain
that the construction of the palace would go ahead, but
that the humans would keep a respectful distance from
the standing stones. This agreement held for some
years, but eventually the baron grew tired of the cat
people carrying out their strange rituals among the
stones every midsummer. His guests found the rhyth-
mic chanting, mewling, and screeching irksome and
unsettling, and it really put a damper on the mood of
the baron’s own midsummer party.
Eventually, some seven years ago, Baron Vredenek
decided that there was no reason for him to feel bound
by an agreement made with a tribe of savage demi-
humans. He simultaneously ordered that the standing
stones be removed and replaced with a lush pleasure
garden, and that his household guard chase the cat peo-
ple out of the woods – or slaughter them if they wouldn’t
leave. After suffering heavy casualties at the hands of
the baron’s soldiers, the karkion chieftain agreed to
lead his people to find a new home in the east. Before
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departing, the karkion made a cryptic comment that
the humans might come to regret being without his
tribe’s protection, a comment that was the source of
much amusement to the baron, who turned it into a
kind of running joke.
INTRODUCTION
After not having been seen or heard from for seven
years, the cat people tribe and their chieftain have
made a sudden and unexpected return to Northern
Viddenmark. Some weeks ago, the winter staff of Even-
gold returned battered and bloody to Nordrose, report-
ing that the palace had been taken over by a karkion,
accompanied by a dozen or more cat people. The staff
tried to fight back, but were overwhelmed. The karkion
let them leave with their lives in order to deliver a mes-
sage to the baron: that humans were no longer permit-
ted to approach the clifftop, and that death would be
the fate of any who dared defy him.
The baron was enraged by this impudence, but tem-
pered his first instinct, which was to attack the tribe
with the full force of his household guard. This restraint
was not motivated by any feelings of mercy, but simply
by the fear that the palace might be damaged or even
destroyed were it to be the site of a pitched battle. In-
stead the baron has hired a small group of adventurers
(the PCs) to get rid of the cat people, promising them
100 gold apiece if they are successful. He doesn’t give
the PCs any information about the history of his con-
flict with the tribe, or the broken agreement. He sim-
ply tells them that a tribe of cat people, led by an evil
and wily karkion, has taken over his summer palace
and that they must be got rid of in time for the sum-
mer party season. He doesn’t care how the PCs achieve
this – trickery, violence, or negotiation – just as long as
no serious damage is done to the palace. He does sug-
gest that the best strategy might be to assassinate the
karkion chieftain, as he believes the cat people will like-
ly be much more amenable to negotiation (or intimida-
tion) without their leader.
NORDROSE
If they wish, the PCs can prepare for their mission in
Nordrose by gathering information and purchasing sup-
plies. Nordrose is a large settlement where common
and uncommon items are readily available for purchase.
Even certain rare items can be located without too
much trouble, if you ask the right people. The baron
himself will not tell the PCs anything about the history
of his conflict with the cat people tribe, but there are
others in Nordrose who know at least parts of the story
and who might be willing to share what they know with
the PCs given the right incentives. In particular, the PCs
might hear some interesting stories about Evengold at
the Rusty Flail, an inn popular with local soldiers and
mercenaries, especially if they are generous in buying
drinks for some of the more battle-worn patrons. If any
of the PCs have, or are able to make, contacts with any-
one belonging to the upper echelons of Nordrose so-
ciety, they may be able to hear some tales about the
grand midsummer parties that are held there every
year, and about how these parties used to be disturbed
by the strange rituals of a bunch of scruffy, smelly forest-
dwellers before their dirty stone monument was re-
moved some years ago.
JOURNEY TO EVENGOLD
Travelling to Evengold is straightforward. The palace
lies about 50km along the coast from Nordrose, and
the adventurers can follow the coast road, meaning no
pathfinder rolls are required. However, if the PCs sim-
ply make their way along the open road without mak-
ing any efforts to disguise their intentions, they will be
ambushed by cat people rangers about 3km from the
palace. The ambush will take place in a narrow ravine,
with archers firing arrows down on the party before
ducking behind the cover of the rocks. Treat this attack
as an ambush (Rulebook p.43) and treat all of the cat
people as obscured targets (Rulebook p.49), giving a
bane to any ranged attacks against them. There should
be as many cat people as PCs +D4. They will instruct
the PCs to surrender and lay down their weapons. If
they do so, the cat people will stop attacking and take
them prisoner, leading them to Evengold for an audi-
ence with their chieftain (see NEGOTIATION below).
If the PCs manage to reduce the cat people’s numbers
to 3 or fewer, the survivors will flee to Evengold to raise
the alarm.
If the PCs decide to take a more roundabout route to
the palace, approaching from the south or the south-
east, a successful SNEAKING roll will allow them to get
within sight of the palace without being detected by
lookouts – whose attention is focused on the road from
Nordrose. Sneaking into the palace itself requires a fur-
ther SNEAKING roll, opposed against the cat people
guards’ AWARENESS of 12. If the PCs attempt to infil-
trate the palace in daylight, their SNEAKING rolls are
made with a bane.
EVENGOLD
There are D6+12 cat people guards in and around Even-
gold at any one time, of which D4+2 are patrolling the
grounds. During daylight, 6 cat people will be working
in the pleasure garden, digging up the flower beds and
setting up a series of standing stones using a complex
system of ropes and pulleys. The karkion chieftain will
either be overseeing the work in the garden, resting
in the baron’s chambers, or brooding on the rooftop.
DIFFICULT DECISIONS
The scenario presented to the PCs has no obvious so-
lution, and the more the PCs know about the back-
ground to the conflict, the less sympathy they are like-
ly to feel with Baron Vredenek. GMs should encourage
the players to think creatively about how they wish to
approach the problem, and roll with their ideas, within
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reason. That being said, most groups of players are
likely to choose an approach that falls into one of three
categories: employing brute force in an all-out attack
on the tribe; sneaking into the palace to assassinate
the karkion chieftain; and trying to negotiate with the
tribe to get them to leave willingly. Some suggestions
follow as to how each approach might play out.
NEGOTIATION
If the PCs are captured on the way to Evengold, or sim-
ply choose to approach the palace openly and peace-
fully, requesting an audience with the tribe’s leader,
they will be brought before the karkion chieftain. He
will view them with scepticism, and if he concludes
that they represent a threat to his mission he will not
hesitate to sentence them to death by being thrown
from the clifftop. Although he will not shy from violence,
however, it will not be his first resort and he will hear
the PCs out.
He will respond with indignation to accusations that
he is an intruder or trespasser, and tell the PCs with a
CAT PEOPLE RANGER
Movement: 12 • HP: 8 • WP: 9
Damage Bonus: AGL +D4, STR +D4
Skills: Acrobatics 14, Awareness 12, Evade 12,
Sneaking 14
Abilities: Catlike, Nine Lives
Armour: Leather (1)
Weapons: Longbow 12 (D12 damage),
Dagger 12 (D8 damage)
CAT PEOPLE GUARD
Movement: 12 • HP: 10 • WP: 9
Damage Bonus: STR +D4
Skills: Acrobatics 14, Awareness 12, Evade 12,
Sneaking 10
Abilities: Fast Footwork, Nine Lives
Armour: Studded leather (2)
Weapons: Long spear 12 (2D8 damage),
Short sword 10 (D10 damage)
KARKION CHIEFTAIN
Movement: 12 • HP: 20 • WP: 16
Damage Bonus: AGL +D4, STR +D4
Skills: Acrobatics 14, Awareness 16, Evade 14,
Mentalism 14, Myths & Legends 16
Abilities: Iron Fist, Robust (2), Wings
Spells: Dispel, Dominate, Mental Strike,
Power Fist, Stone Skin, Telepathy
snarl that it is the humans that built this monument to
vanity who are the real trespassers. The tribe are sim-
ply taking back what is theirs.
If the PCs take a more conciliatory tone and attempt
to negotiate a solution, the chieftain may be sympa-
thetic to what they are trying to do, but will inform the
PCs that the baron has already broken a negotiated
agreement and that he cannot be trusted.
If the PCs come to understand the real history of the
construction of Evengold and of the way the tribe have
been treated by the baron, they may decide to abandon
the promise of the baron’s gold and instead side with
the tribe. If they do so, the karkion chieftain may reveal
the full truth of the situation to them, see THE KAR-
KION’S SECRET and SWITCHING SIDES below.
VIOLENCE
The PCs will be significantly outnumbered by the cat
people, but if they count some capable fighters among
their number, and employ sound tactics (e.g. attacking
under cover of darkness, making sneak attacks to pick
off the cat people one by one or in small groups, etc.)
they may be able to achieve their mission by simply
killing all of the cat people occupying the palace, along
with their leader. If the party takes this approach, see
THE KARKION’S SECRET and MIDSUMMER PARTY
below.
ASSASSINATION
The baron’s suggestion of assassinating the karkion
chieftain is a sound – if dishonourable – one. If one of the
PCs is able to sneak into the palace at night and attack
the chieftain in his sleep, or poison his food, they may
well be able to kill him without raising the alarm. Should
such an intruder fail though, they will be quickly over-
whelmed by cat people guards and summarily execut-
ed by being thrown from the clifftop. If their leader is
killed, the cat people will become disheartened and
leave the palace. Again, see THE KARKION’S SECRET
and MIDSUMMER PARTY below if the party take this
path.
THE KARKION’S SECRET
The karkion chieftain has a very good reason for return-
ing to Evengold, but this is a secret he will not share
lightly – even the cat people he leads are not fully aware
of the true situation. The circle of standing stones that
the baron razed in order to construct his pleasure gar-
den was not simply a place of religious tradition and
ritual. The clifftop where Evengold now stands was the
site of a great battle many centuries ago between a
great karkion mage and a demon. According to legend,
they struggled together on the clifftop for seven days
and seven nights – now one gaining the upper hand,
now the other. Realising that the demon was too power-
ful for him to defeat outright, the mage used the last
of his strength to imprison the demon inside a great
block of black stone which he buried deep under the
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ground. He knew, however, that the spell imprisoning
the demon would not last forever, but would need to be
renewed every seven years at most. This secret was
passed down through the generations to the current
chieftain, who is his direct descendant. Six midsum-
mers have now passed without the rituals being per-
formed that are needed to ensure the demon’s contin-
ued imprisonment. If the standing stones are not re-
established and the rituals carried out in full this mid-
summer, the demon will break free to ravage the world
once more.
SWITCHING SIDES
If the PCs decide to side with the karkion and the cat
people and are able to win the trust of the chieftain, he
will reveal to them the secret of the imprisoned demon
and ask for their help in averting the impending cata-
strophe. If the PCs take this path, the baron will even-
tually send a detachment of his household guard to
investigate what has happened to them. The PCs will
need to work with the karkion chieftain and the cat peo-
ple and form a strategy to either defeat the baron’s
soldiers or to hold them off until midsummer. There
should be as many guards as there are PCs and cat peo-
ple, led by a knight. (Use the Guard and Knight Cham-
pion stats from p.105 in the Rulebook.)
MIDSUMMER PARTY
If the PCs successfully kill or drive off the tribe, the
baron will be delighted, and reward each of them with
the gold they were promised, along with a mastercraft-
ed weapon made to order by his own armourer. He will
also invite them to celebrate midsummer with him as
his guests of honour at Evengold. During the festivities,
the baron will insist that they leave their weapons and
armour in the palace armoury, and will ply them with
alcohol in a series of toasts given at regular intervals
throughout the party, which is held in the pleasure gar-
den. (Note the rules for the effects of consuming alco-
hol described on p.80 of the Rulebook.) When the party
is at its height, the air will be rent by a great crack of
splitting stone, and a demon will emerge from the fis-
sure that has opened up in the ground.
While the PCs rush to retrieve their weapons and
armour, the demon will begin devouring the hapless
guests. Use the stats for the Demon on p.85 of the
Rulebook, or the stats for the Shadow Demon on p.146
of the Bestiary. As they battle the demon, the PCs may
spot the karkion chieftain circling in the air far above.
He will wait for the demon to kill the foolish humans be-
fore descending to take it on in single combat and try
to imprison it in stone once more. This will be a sight to
behold, should the PCs live long enough to witness it.
CREDITS
–
Writing: Śraddha
­­­ ­­pa Shan Welsh
Design: Jörgen Karlsson • Cover image: Rully Akbar
Copyright © Dunderdagar 2024
 ELMER’S SEA

EVENGOLD PALACE

STANDING
STONES

5
D
PON

FOREST
GAZEBO
EVENGOLD AND THE STANDING STONES

FOREST

50 metres
 GROUND FLOOR

12

5 5

2 1 3 4
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 9

10

11

1. Hall 5. Stairs 9. Servants’ room

2. Dining hall 6. Guest room 10. Kitchen
3. Lounge 7. Armoury 11. Storage
4. Library 8. Guards’ room 12. Patio 2x2 metres

TOP FLOOR

13 14

17 17
15 16 16 15

17

13. The Baron’s Bedchamber 16. Wardrobe

14. The Heir’s Bedchamber 17. Roof
15. Bathroom 2x2 metres