The Gates of Hellwinter PDF
The Gates of Hellwinter PDF
The Gates of Hellwinter PDF
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room for the night will cost the Heroes 1 In Gallows End there is also a small and
Crown each. If they decide to enjoy their poorly-furnished emporium, where the He-
last evening in a civilised area drinking near roes can purchase some equipment.
the tavern’s fireplace, they overhear some
rumours and hearsay. The Director rolls 10 metres of rope 6 SS
one die and compares the result with the Iron rations, each 4 SS
chart below.
Linchpin 16 SS
1 The last knight to reach for Hellwin- Bronze mirror 3 GC
ter was a sad man named Gallaharn,
well-known and respected by the vil- Violet Potion 8 GC
lagers. Some years ago, Gallaharn’s
wife died to an incurable fever. No The emporium’s merchant knows nothing
one in the village has heard of him about the Potion, but he firmly believes it
since he reached the tower at the be- has magical properties, hence its rather high
ginning of winter. [True] price. In fact, it’s a Potion of Stamina. The
2 A band of cutthroats, led by a dark Potion’s properties may be detected with a
robed bandit, elected the forest its Test for Skill (Magic Lore), or by a Hero
home. [False] with the Attunement Talent.
3 An army of Undead is gathering on SCENE 2
the heights north of Hellwinter.
They’re searching for something THE FOREST OF BRON
hidden amidst the highest moun- Soundtrack
tains. Maybe they plan to descend
The Burning Crusade, by Russel Brower.
on spring to ravage the lands of men.
[True, but this issue will be dealt Read Aloud
with in a forthcoming scenario: At dawn, you check one last time your
The Three Beggars] equipment and leave Gallows End to start
4 The Forest of Bron is a perilous your trek in the Forest of Bron, under a
place, inhabited by ferocious beasts dreary and darkened sky. As you leave the
and monsters. But in ancient times it village, some yokels glance at you with a
was home to a benign druidical or- sorry look in their eyes.
der. [True]
As soon as you step into this wood of an-
5 Dark Elves have recently been spot- cient oaks, beeches and maples, a gelid rain
ted in the Forest of Bron. [False] starts pouring down like hell, dunking
6 This has been the cruellest winter in heavy your clothes.
decades. The Hellwinter peak is vio- It seems likely this damn shower will see to
lently shaken by fierce thunders al- you throughout the reaching of Hellwin-
most every night. [True] ter’s Tower.
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" The Remains of a Fight: Here the to the clearing, as soon as the party gets
party discovers something cruel that closer to its hidden outset. It’s also possible
happened about half a day ago. There is a for a Hero who passes a Test for Skill (Secret
burned cart, still smoking in the damp air of Signs or Awareness) to recognise some an-
the forest, and the corpses of two woods- cient druidic runes, barely visible on what
men and a mule that have been cruelly remains of a fallen dolmen that marks the
slain. These wretched woodcutters were entrance to the glen. If none of these Tests
surprised by the GOBLINS of Area 1 while for Skill succeed, the Heroes are lured to
they were going back home after a day of think they’ve just come to a dead end.
hard work. Here the Heroes may find: Once in the glen, the party notices it has
been decades since this place was last tres-
❖ A woodcutter axe: 2223334
passed by human beings. An eldritch, yet
❖ Bread and ham for two Provisions.
serene, atmosphere permeates the place
# A Stone Circle: This small clearing is and the cromlek: the circle of ancient stand-
not easy to reach, for the path leading ing stones found in its very centre. A small
here is hidden by bushes and moss-covered altar of black stone stands in the circle. On
stones. A successful Test for Skill (Forest the altar lies a crude iron goblet, etched
Lore) is necessary in order to spot the path with strange symbols.
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surroundings is shown to the Heroes. The Gallaharn wrote this statement in his last
tower spires northeast about 15 metres moment of mind-clearness, shortly before
high, like a claw made of the same dark succumbing to the ICE FIEND’s will, the
stone as the peak’s. Only the howling wind knowledge of what was happening be-
and the squeaky caws of the crows may be stowed unto him by the contact with the
heard from here, as there’s seemingly no alien mind of the creature. Then, he threw
sign of human presence. the casket into the well, not to be tempted
to destroy it later on.
" The Stone Well: An old stone well
lies in the courtyard’s centre. There’s a
rope hanging from a pulley shaft. Sir Galla-
harn threw down the well a small iron cas-
ket which may be retrieved by simply pull-
ing the bucket out of the well. The casket
contains:
❖ A leather pouch with a small emerald
inside, worth 12 Gold Crowns.
# The Knights’ Graveyard: A short
stone path to northwest leads to a
small graveyard, graced by ancient gnarled
❖ An ivory amulet with the effigy of a oaks. There are seven tombstones marking
woman (Sir Gallaharn’s wife). the spots where the dead Knights of Hell-
❖ A piece of parchment with writings on winter rest - for more informations, see next
it: it’s poor Gallaharn’s last statement page. This dreamy place is caressed by the
(Handout 2). icy winds and perfumed by the Knightwort
and white lavender shrubs that spontane-
Now I know for sure the Fiend came from
ously grow in here. Some Knightwort flow-
the Crystal Cage the telltales of this region
ers may be picked to concoct, with a suc-
talk about. To think I always believed them
cessful Test for Skill (Healing), a wound-
to be superstitions of naive yokels...
wrap which restores 4 STAMINA points.
The demon knows no rest. He will haunt Most of the engravings on the tombstones
me until I will succumb, wherefore it will have been erased by the ceaseless work of
happen very soon, I fear. time; two of them, however, are still legible.
My courage is betraying me. I feel I’m los-
ing my soul to the Fiend’s maddening LADY YGREINE THORNE
whispers. The gate that once sealed the BRAVE AS A KNIGHT
FAIR AS THE GOLD
Crystal Cage must be closed shut again, or
his infernal comrades and lieges will come
from Hell plaguing forever this land.
SIR DECKAR KAIRN
I failed in my duties. FRIEND OF THE DWARVES
FIRST WARDEN OF HELLWINTER
May God have mercy on me.
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There is nothing else interesting in the tion of what’s inside. The ground floor is
graveyard. The Director should strongly divided in three smaller areas: the common
discourage any attempt to desecrate the room, the kitchen and the latrine.
burials, imparting the adventurers severe Ground Floor - Common Room: The
penalisations to their LUCK. common room is cold and damp, and hosts a
Ground Floor - The Kitchen: Not even longed to Gallaharn’s wife and a crude
this place has been spared from chaos and sketch of the surroundings, where the loca-
destruction. Rotting foodstuff is littered tion of the Crystal Cage has been frantically
everywhere. However a, thorough search - outlined (Handout 4). The wardrobe bears
with a Test For Skill (Awareness) +2 - reveals an elegant pyrography of hunting scenes
a small barrel of good brandy, still drink- and the delicate scent of lavender. By
able. The kitchen’s stone oven is now home searching underneath the wardrobe, the
to a nest of GIANT RATS. The creatures lie Heroes find Gallaharn’s large shield: a mas-
silently in wait until the majority of the terfully crafted item: 0001122. In-
party gives them away. Then they swarm side the furniture there are:
out to attack. The same event triggers if one
❖ A silver mace
of the Heroes investigates the oven.
❖ A pair of warm wolf fur boots which fit
ENEMY SKI STA ATT well to any Hero.
A creaky wooden ladder takes the adven-
First GIANT RAT 5 4 1
turers to see the darkening sky from the
Second GIANT RAT 5 3 1 tower’s vantage point.
Third GIANT RAT 4 4 1
Fourth GIANT RAT 4 5 1
Fifth GIANT RAT 5 4 1
Bite 2233334
Vantage Point: Here Gallaharn, his face
Ground Floor - Latrine: There’s absolutely blood-daubed with demonic sigils, awaits
nothing interesting in this filthy room. the Heroes for an ominous, suicidal battle
First Floor: It seems like a tremendous bat- as a thunderstorm starts raging in the sky.
tle took place here. The mess is indescrib- The ICE FIEND has taken over Gallaharn’s
able: destroyed furnitures lie on the will and now the wretched man can’t do
ground, the window panes are broken and anything but to obey any order the demon
frozen bloodstains daub the room’s walls. has for him… and he wants the Heroes
Here Gallaharn fought his last, desperate, dead! A flock of DEMONCROWS, an-
struggle to repel the ICE FIEND, before nounced by deafening thunders, descends
succumbing to his infernal powers. In this from the sky in a haze of black feathers to
wide room, that could cosily host up to four aid Gallaharn in his fight. The DEMON-
persons, there’s a poster bed, a bedside ta- CROWS are a lesser demonic manifesta-
ble and a beautifully carved maple ward- tion, summoned by higher powers, who al-
robe. The bedside table contains an em- ways comes in flocks, for whom cumulative
broidered silken handkerchief that be- Statistics are given below.
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STORMBREAKER SCENE 5
Sword +1 Attack Strength, +1 Damage
vs. Demon Kin
THE CRYSTAL CAGE
The sword is crafted out of pure mithril, Soundtrack
silver and gold, its blade etched with an- Season of the Witch, by Atli Örvarsson.
cient Runes of Power. The hilt is embel- Read Aloud
lished by precious stones from the fabu- Gallaharn’s death can’t go unavenged. The
lous treasure of King Gillan. This wonder- foul creature who haunted him must be
ful masterpiece of smithing was crafted slain. You bury the knight in the graveyard
centuries ago by the legendary dwarven and spend the night in the tower’s com-
smith Boreg Stonehammer as a gift for the mon room, eating one of your Provisions.
human knight Deckar Kairn, forefather of The day after you start following the crude
Sir Gallaharn. map found in Gallaharn’s room. After a
Deckar was appointed Friend of the eight hours trek in the mountains you
Dwarves for he led the fellowship who slew eventually reach the small underground
the Balrog that haunted the dwarven for- complex which hosts the Crystal Cage.
tress of Karak Kudril. Thus, Deckar won You find an entrance to the caverns,
for himself an honour no human had ever guarded by a stone portal carved with
attained before. magical symbols.
Since Gallaharn was the last descendant of
the House of Kairn, this sword is now Action: The magic on the portal has faded
yours to claim. as a Test for Skill (Second Sight) can easily
reveal. The caves are covered by a thick
LUXIMPERITURAINTENEBRISCDEMO blanket of ice which shines with disturbing
The Runes on Stormbreaker’s blade. rainbow-like colours. Stalactites and sta-
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lagmites protrude chaotically from every- «I’m Gurala, the Matriarch of Demons and
where and a frigid mist flutters some ten all things unclean. My infernal son has many
centimetres high on the floor. The tempera- brothers, as many brothers as he has sisters,
ture inside is incredibly low, and every Hero but each of his sisters has twice as many broth-
suffers a -1 penalty on his SKILL, unless a ers as sisters. So answer me this, trespassers,
Heat Spell is cast unto him. A sip of Kalash, how many daughters and sons do I have?»
a black bear cape The correct an-
or a pair of wolf swer to the riddle
f ur boots w i l l (which is ‘3’)
work just as fine. must be spoken
For the events that o u t l o u d . Th e
take place in the statue, then, opens
Crystal Cage dun- its left hand and
geons see the map the blue gem falls
on the right and on the ground.
the following There is no other
nu m b ered sec- way the Heroes
tions. can grab the Blue
! Antecham-
b e r : Th e
northern wall of
Gem, if not an-
swering the riddle,
and the party may
this chamber is try only thrice,
occupied by a then the statue
huge crystal statue will stay silent.
re p re s ent i ng a The Blue Gem
horned demoness represents the best
with a dozen ud- way to seal the
ders, sitting cross- Crystal Cage once
legged. Sick veins and forever - see
of purplish energy the description of
pulsate within the Room 7.
statue’s cr ystal
s k i n . Th e d e-
moness’ right hand is open, its palm facing
"The Void:
In this cave
there is a strange hole that looks like if it
up, while the other tightly holds a Blue were made of pure darkness. A relaxing
Gem. If something that worths at least 1 hum comes from the hole. If the party stays
Gold Crown is placed on the open hand, longer in this area, the Hero with the high-
the statue starts to speak a riddle. est Current LUCK must Test for Luck, or
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succumb to the suasive sound, trying thus (Awareness) +1 for each Hero. On a success,
to throw himself into the hole, unless he’s the party spots a lever hidden amongst the
stopped by his comrades. Then, after a cou- icy spikes, which opens a small secret pas-
ple of minutes, the Director repeats this sage to Room 5.
procedure. Anyone - or anything - that en-
ters the hole is surely enough nowhere to
be seen again!
% Secret Cache: A hidden passageway
leads to a small cave, encrusted with
glowing crystals that quietly pulsate on a
APPENDIX HANDOUT 3
HANDOUTS
The scenario’s handouts are printer-
friendly. Just copy the images, paste them in
your clipboard or photo editor, print and
hand them over your Players.
You can scale these images to bigger dimen-
sions than the ones showed on page.
HANDOUT 1
HANDOUT 2
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HANDOUT 4 HANDOUT 6
h leavdicaniumo
mosmi boloc
nei b
ripleiots leimocre
cmarofsua
d
que meun
hlea l
lalheacn
vne tur
engi m
e
mosmi boloc
s
a e
omunicda vi la e
a b
i e
recom
h
nei
oi rsi olvil c iochesti
ieroe
oonper vna le
ro
evis lo s
se fdi ech
crigno
a d u i a to n l
e emolt
itsar q
m
osue eilpri osmi boloc
t
hnei baseanch
re ecomlei nmu e
eallas
fua ormca omunci da vi la
HANDOUT 5
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