Folklore: The Affliction – Demons & Dark Artifacts

Expansion for Folklore: The Affliction

Folklore: The Affliction – Demons & Dark Artifacts Rulebook

Table of Contents

Story III: Flames from Beneath

Nightmare · Any Location · 180 min

Story from Demons & Dark Artifacts

Chapter One

Chapter Skirmish Table

Die Roll (D10)	Creatures
1-4	Highwayman
5-7	Werewolf
8-0	Vampire

Wounded Earth

You are on your way to Yorotrusk in order to replenish your supplies and speak with the city authorities about the state of Kremel. There has been many incursions into the land by dark forces and you can only hope for a respite.

World Map: Travel to Yorotrusk. If the group is already in Yorotrusk, assume that they are outside the city, checking the surrounding countryside for trouble.

You spot Yorotrusk in the distance and are relieved that you are almost there, safe from the dangers that lurk in the wild. The sky darkens suddenly and the air around you becomes hazy as smoky vapor rises from the earth. The temperature becomes noticeably warmer, almost uncomfortably so. Then the ground begins to tremble, gently at first, but gradually becoming a terrible quake. The ground before you unleashes a burst of hot, foul-smelling steam!

Story Skill Check: TRICKERY 6 – All Characters

You attempt to avoid the hot steam before it sears your flesh.

SUCCESS: You leap back, successfully dodging the steam. Gain 8 Lore.
FAILURE: The steam blasts you full in the face, temporarily blinding you. Lose 1d6 Vita and receive -10 Might for the next combat.

The crevasse is massive, its walls steeply sloped, descending into smoke and fire. Strange, misshapen figures claw themselves from it, eyes red with malicious intent. They look upon you with eager anticipation, ready to rend and tear your life away.

Map Setup: Use Flaming Crevasse 1 & 2, tiles FE10B, FE09B.

The map shows "The Crevasse" running down one side, with a Start Zone on the opposite side. Its printed tokens are two Demon Spawn, three Demonic Flames, and two Imps.

Attention! Characters standing adjacent to the crevasse lose 2 Vita at the start of their turn due to the heat arising from it. If a character enters or starts their turn in the crevasse, they lose 4 Vita and their Stride is reduced to 1 until the start of their next turn. Creatures are immune to all effects from the crevasse.

Primary Goals

Defeat all foes. See the Encounter dialog box.
After the combat, immediately read the After The Fight section.

Encounter

Encounter 2 Imps and 3 Demonic Flames.

In a 4-5 character game, also encounter 2 Demonspawn.
Whenever a Creature "pushes" a character, it will always be TOWARDS the crevasse.

After The Fight

As the last demon falls, their corpses turn to a fine dust. The crevasse slowly closes, blocking off the passage to the underworld.

Attention! Any character still within a crevasse space when the battle ends loses 2d4 Vita.

The haze clears from the immediate vicinity and you see the city of Yorotrusk blanketed in flames. Thick black clouds of smoke billow forth from a city on fire. You rush towards the gates to help. Upon arrival, you see people are rushing about, some carrying buckets of water to extinguish the flames, while others drag the injured and dying from houses afire. You quickly join in, trying to contain the fires as best as you can.

After hours of heavy labor, there are still many fires in other parts of the city being contained, however the risk of it spreading has passed. The injured line the streets, some horribly disfigured by the flames. Many of the buildings have been destroyed, so there is not enough space to hold all of the casualties. You head towards the city square to speak to the authorities about what happened, as well as the demonic visitation you survived, as surely there is a connection.

You approach one of the officials, who welcomes you warmly. You have helped this place many of times of late, and have earned the city's trust. The man says, "It was one of those rare days when everything seemed to be going right. Nothing unusual in the slightest. That should have been a warning to start worrying! Then the sky darkened and the earth shook enough to make bookcases fall and ale to spill. The all these cracks opened throughout the city, with demons and living flame emerging. They set about burning townsfolk and building alike. We didn't have a chance, even with the additional defenses that we created after the city was torched by those possessed townsfolk a while back. The city was ablaze and we were all too busy trying to fight off these creatures to worry about it. I am not sure what caused them to leave, but they eventually departed, sealing up the holes they came out of. We will have to rebuild...almost nothing is left."

Attention! All town services in Yorotrusk are unavailable, including the gypsy encampment. If the group dies, you must spawn at the next closest town.

The Alchemist might know something about these demons and what is causing them to emerge from the underworld. You must find out what is going on quickly before more of Kremel is destroyed. It took just minutes for these creatures to destroy Yorotrusk, the largest and best defended city in the land. You shudder at the thought of this occurring elsewhere.

Continue to "Looking for Answers" on pg 17.

Looking for Answers

World Map: Travel to the Alchemist.

You arrive at the Alchemist's tower and realize that he must have also been assaulted by the demons. Dark scorch marks mar the surface of his home, and the ground before it has been brutally gouged and singed, however it looks like the Creatures could not penetrate its bolstered defenses. You knock on the door of the tower and it opens after a moment to reveal a worried Alchemist, who quickly ushers you in.

In his laboratory, he tells you a familiar story of demons emerging from cracks in the earth to attack. You explain your own experience and the fate of Yorotrusk. The Alchemist looks ever more worried as you go on. He tells you that he must divine what is behind these attacks so that a course of action can be decided upon, and then proceeds to gather a fistful of glimmering black stones, a large plaster bowl and, a few odd tools. Using these implements, he somehow extracts a tar like substance from the stones. Into the bowl, he adds various alchemical substances and a bar of what looks like silver. After heating the mixture over an intense flame, an amalgam forms within the bowl and becomes highly reflective, like a mirror. He lays an old hand drawn map of Kremel over the bowl. The map glows as if a light was held underneath it and then coalesces into a single spot right over Moroi Peaks.

The Alchemist tells you that the source of the power invading Kremel is concentrated at Moroi Peaks, but he needs more information. He asks that you help him search the library for all demonic references associated with the Peaks.

Story Skill Check: AWARENESS 9 – All Characters (One Success Needed)

Search the Alchemist's library for information about demons within Moroi Peaks.

SUCCESS: After hours of searching, you find a non-descript book bound in red leather that contains the references you searched for. All characters who passed the skill check gain 30 Lore.
FAILURE: Your search is fruitless; however, the Alchemist discovers a book that references demons within Moroi Peaks.

The book's contents are obscure and hard to make sense of. The author, so the Alchemist says, was mentally unstable and imprisoned in order to protect others, and himself, from harm. The book was written shortly before he died of natural causes, at the height of his lunacy. It hints that demons do not live within Moroi Peaks, but that there is an ancient, sealed gateway to the underworld hidden deep within. Only by "feeding" this portal the blood of the righteous will it allow passage. Although this sounds grim, the Alchemist does not believe it requires a life to be given, although that would surely do it. But if this portal was given some significant amount of vitality, it may open passage to the underworld.

He suggests traveling to Moroi Peaks to find this portal to gain entrance to the underworld. Perhaps answers to this demonic incursions may be found. He gives you a set of horses to to speed your long journey to the perilous cave system.

World Map: Travel to Moroi Peaks. All characters gain +1 Stride on the World Map for this trip due to the horses provided by the Alchemist.

Chapter Two

Chapter Skirmish Table

Die Roll (D10)	Creatures
1-4	Banshee
5-7	Werewolf
8-0	Banshee

Into the Peaks

Arriving at Moroi Peaks, you detect no sign of demonic activity, which lifts your spirits. However, you are apprehensive about entering this dangerous network of caves. Most who enter never return. You cautiously enter the caves, knowing the dangers here are real, not the imaginings of frightened villagers. It is dark, even light sources barely penetrating the void, forcing you to keep your pace slow. You pass many side passages, but your intuition draws you forward. After several hours of travel in the darkness of Moroi Peaks, you run into a dead end. Two passageways are blocked by rubble from cave-in. It appears that the block passage to the north can be cleared with a little hard work, but due to the obvious instability, you will need to be careful to avoid further collapse.

Map Setup: Use Cave Tunnels tile FC10B.

The map shows numbered markers 1 to 4, with marker 4 inside the Start Zone and the Exit Zone at the left. Four rubble tokens and four red sigil tokens are also printed on the map.

Primary Goals

Complete the Map Skill Check to unlock the passageway that leads to the Exit Zone.

Story Skill Check: TRICKERY 8 – Any Character (During Their Turn)

Remove the rubble to clear the passageway. It must be done careful to avoid further collapse!

SUCCESS: You have successfully cleared the passageway. Remove the Rubble from the map and then continue to "After Clearing The Passageway" on pg 19.
FAILURE: The rubble shifts dangerously, making the room around you tremble. Roll a d4 and locate the numbered rolled on the map.

Any character on or adjacent to that space loses 1d6 Vita due to debris falling from the ceiling. Another character may try on their next turn.

After Clearing The Passageway

To your surprise, you are no longer alone. Two pale figures stand before you, long teeth protruding from beneath their lips. They are accompanied by men in robes, bright red scars from self-inflicted wounds covering their bodies. They have been waiting for you!

Primary Goals

Defeat all foes. See the Encounter dialog box.
After the combat, immediately read the After The Fight section.

Optional Goals

Investigate all Search locations and receive a +1 to your search roll. Only available during combat.

Encounter

Encounter a Necuratu and 2 Blood Priests. For 4-5 characters, add an additional Necuratu.

Place the Tracking tokens in the back row with the Blood Priests, and the Tracking tokens in the front row with Necuratu.

After The Fight

You destroy the bloodsucking vampires, along with their thralls. Knowing the entrance you seek must be getting closer, you trudge on, determined to finish your mission.

Continue on "Entrance to the Underworld" below.

Entrance to the Underworld

Down, down, down you travel until you lose track of time. Instead of getting colder, the cave walls become warm, and then almost hot to the touch. Ahead of you, along a twisted path, the darkness of the tunnels flees in the presence of a reddish glow. The glow materializes into living flame, guardians of the portal to the underworld.

Primary Goals

Unlock the portal to the Underworld! There are four ways to unlock the portal.
Any character making a sacrifice or interacting with the portal must be adjacent to it. Once successful, immediately skip to "Chapter Three" on pg 20.
1. Sacrifice 20 Vita from the group.
2. Sacrifice 4 Militia and/or Animal Companions.
3. Pass OCCULT 10 using the Map Skill Check die. This die cannot be re-rolled or changed by any character ability/power. Failure: The character loses 2d4 Vita. Remove the die from the map.
4. One character sacrifices their life and becomes a ghost.

Optional Goals

Defeat any foes that appear during your time on this map.
Investigate the Search locations.

Map Setup: Use Entrance to Underworld tile FE11A.

The map shows a Demonic Flame token, two red sigil tokens, two magnifying-glass Search markers, a red die token, and a Start Zone.

Encounter

Encounter 2 Demonic Flames.

At the start of every round on this adventure map, roll a d10. On 1-3, spawn a Demonic Flame on a random spawn location if there are less than 3 currently in play. You may only receive awards for the first 5 Creatures that materialize.

Chapter Three

Chapter Skirmish Table

Die Roll (D10)	Creatures
1-4	Demonic Flame
5-7	Imp
8-0	Demonspawn

Attention! Environmental Effects

Due to the intense heat within the Underworld, all characters must pass ECOLOGY 5 at the start of their turn or lose 1 Vita while in this realm. All firey areas of adventure maps are treated like Flames.

Thou Shalt Burn

As you pass through the portal to the underworld, your body feels like it is afire, your skin turning crispy black as flame consumes you. But when you finally emerge, you are unscathed. The heat of this place is intense, far hotter than the hottest summer day. Hot, molten fluid runs under the ledge beneath you, threatening to consume any who dare venture too close.

Living flame, like you encountered when the crevasse appeared outside Yorotrusk, and again at the entry to this forbidding realm, emerge from the lava, and grotesque imps patrolling the area approach.

Map Setup: Use Underworld Cavern tile FE13A.

The map shows the Exit Zone at the top and the Start Zone at the bottom, with two Imp tokens and two Demonic Flame tokens.

Primary Goals

Defeat all foes. See the Encounter dialog box.
Once combat is over, proceed to the Exit Zone to map transition.

Encounter

Encounter an Imp and 2 Demonic Flames. For a 4-5 character game, add an additional Imp.

Test of Flame

You come to a bridge which extends across a large chasm filled with molten rock. It has been severely damaged, chunks of it having fallen into the sea of fire below. There is no other path to follow, so you must carefully navigate the broken bridge.

Attention!

Characters may only occupy spaces on the bridge, within the white outline.

Map Setup: Use Lava Bridge tile FE12A.

The map shows the Exit Zone at the top and the Start Zone at the bottom, joined by a bridge of spaces. Some bridge spaces carry red-ringed tokens with a jaws icon, which the goals below call Snare tokens, and others carry flame tokens.

Primary Goals

All characters must reach the Exit Zone while navigating through the flames and Snares.
The Snare tokens represent sections of the bridge that have been damaged and are a source of potential danger to the group. Whenever a character lands on a damaged bridge space, movement stops and they must roll a d10:
- 1: The character falls into the sea of lava and is killed, becoming a ghost character.
- 2-3: The space crumbles and is no longer an available space. The character must pass TRICKERY 8 to immediately move to an adjacent space, otherwise they lose 1d6 Vita.
- 4-9: Nothing happens.
- 0: The character may resume movement.
When the group reaches the Exit Zone, continue to "The Shadowlord" on pg 21.

The Shadowlord

You approach a dias suspended above a fiery pit by huge metal chains. Sitting on an enormous stone throne is a large figure encased in robes of black, that seem to move with a life of their own. With a voice that reverberates against the spiked walls of the chamber, it speaks in a deep humming voice, "Ahhh, you have arrived. The portal was manipulated to take you directly to me. Now I may dispense with you. I mean to make this world my own, starting with Kremel. Flames and shadow will envelope its inhabitants and they will serve as my slaves for all time." Pensively he pauses, then with what looks like a sneer, he continues, "I shall not kill you. Because you have opposed me, I shall honor your bravery. Your charred husks will become the most honored thralls of the Shadowlord. Come let us begin your transformation!"

Primary Goals

Defeat the Shadowlord and his allies. See the Affliction Encounter dialog box.
After the combat, immediately read "Story Closing" on pg 21.

Affliction Encounter: New Affliction – Shadowlord

Encounter the "Shadowlord (Spirit / Melee)" (54) and 2 Demonspawn.

Map Setup: Use Lava Throne tile FE14A.

The map shows the Shadowlord at the top, a Demon Spawn on each side, and the Start Zone at the bottom.

Characters may only occupy spaces on the stone platform within the white outline.

Story Closing

If You Won the Battle

With the Shadowlord destroyed, Kremel is safe from demonic influences...for now. His plans to turn Kremel into his own realm within the lands of humanity chill your soul, but you are gratified that you were able to turn this terrible threat aside.

All characters gain an additional 50 Lore and 1 Item.
The group is awarded the Shadowblade:

New Artifact – Shadowblade: 1d6. On attack roll > 85, cause an additional BURST 1d4 fire damage, which harms only foes. ABSORPTION 1 against Demonic Creatures [2 Hand / Weapon]

If You Lost the Battle

You awaken at the Gypsy Encampment on the outskirts of Ostelink, confused and disoriented (see Rulebook "On Death and Dying" on page 32 and follow the instruction of Total Group Death). Your bodies were discovered burnt and blistered, on the road between Ostelink and Moroi Peaks. The demonic attacks by the Shadowlord have slowed, likely due to the injuries he sustained in battle, but he remains a threat to Kremel. You inform the authorities throughout the land, who set up the local militias to watch for trouble.

Until the end of the next story played, no Militia Companions may be hired from any town

The End