Q18: Citadel of the Cult

[Count Mohawk]

This is the fourth and last quest in the Cultist / Undead arc. The others in this series are "Q15: The Ruins of Direburg", "Q16: The Silent Crypts" and "Q17: Minos Pass". The next story arc that comes after this one details the successful summoning of Morcar's servant and his subsequent attack or siege against the Empire.

HQ25 Quest 18.png

QUEST 18: Citadel of the Cult

You have reached the citadel of the Cult of Chaos. Here, the cult’s acolytes practice profane magics and learn how to call the powers of Chaos into our world. You must eliminate the leader of the cult and all his acolytes, lest he complete a ritual and summon Morcar’s best servant back from the depths into which he was originally cast.

NOTES—
A A Potion of Healing capable of restoring up to six lost Body Points sits on the Alchemist’s Bench.
B The Treasure Chest contains 125 gold coins, but is trapped. If a Hero Searches for Treasure before the trap is disarmed, they will lose two Body Points to a blade trap concealed inside the chest.
C These cultists have just completed a ritual of summoning. The minor demon that answered their call possessed the Gargoyle statue in the center of the room. The demonic Gargoyle attacks with one extra Combat Die, and cannot be harmed until the cultists powering its summoning it are slain.
D On their turn, if at least three of these cultists are still alive, they can collectively cast a ritual of hatred, attacking all Heroes in the room with four Combat Dice each. The Heroes defend normally. (Only one ritual may be cast per room.)
E This Treasure Chest contains a Potion of Healing capable of restoring up to four lost Body Points.
F This is Cassius, the Grand Wizard of the Cult of Chaos. He has the following stats:
Movement 8 | Attack 4 | Defend 4 | Body 4 | Mind 6
Cassius knows the Chaos Spells Command, Fear, Lightning Bolt and Sleep. Using the power of Chaos, he can attack at range.
The cultists in this room are Cassius’ favored acolytes. They can attack at range with two Combat Dice each, and roll two extra Combat Dice in defense.

Wandering Monster: Chaos Warrior

[Count Mohawk]

Just as the last Quest featured two Minotaurs and some Beastmen, this Quest includes a few Chaos Dwarfs to flesh out the dungeon a little more than just "several Cultists and one or two Chaos Warriors".
I'll have more comments on this one later. I have to go back and adjust the Cultist counts in the other three Quests anyway, so no big deal. I tried to make sure the various rituals the Heroes encounter gave the idea that this area is a place of dark magics, while also keeping the difficulty manageable and the notes short. You may note I left out the traditional "gaudy robes" bit for the ritual Cultists in this Quest; I did this not because of space reasons but because pretty much everyone in the Citadel wears gaudy robes anyway (minor flavor drabble not features in Mentor's note).
Also, have I ever mentioned how little I care for vanilla Gargoyles? Suffice to say, I never use Gargoyles at their base level - there's always a trick to them!

[cynthialee]

I like it. The only thing I would do to up the anti would be to make the wandering monster 2 chaos warriors to keep up with the power level of this dungeon. 1 Chaos Warrior as a wandering monster and he will get smoked soon after showing up. The heroes should be rather well equipped by this point.