The Obsidian Tower

Game Master Handout

The Obsidian Tower is an adventure Describing the Scene
designed for 3 to 4 players. Located roughly halfway up the tower,
the cafeteria is an open and well-lit area.
Wooden tables and chairs litter the room,
Scene Breakdown and a few barred windows look out over
The following section contains detailed the sea. A few other prisoners will be
breakdowns of important scenes during eating at separate tables, with a general
the adventure. sense of unease and distrust permeating
the air. There is one entrance, leading out
The Prison Cafeteria to the main stairwell, and a small alcove
This scene serves as the opening to the in the corner of the room with an opening
adventure. The players can use this time for the dumbwaiter. There are always a
to introduce their characters and agree on minimum of 6 guards on duty in the
a plan of escape. cafeteria, with 2 at the entrance and the
remaining 4 dotted around the room.
Optionally:
Once the players have begun planning, set Prison Riot
a timer for 15 minutes – pausing There are enough prisoners in the
whenever they ask for information. If the cafeteria to overwhelm the guards. They
group is struggling to come up with a can be incited to riot if a character
plan, ask them the following questions: succeeds a Conflict roll of Difficulty 12.
Describe the prisoners making quick work
1. How does the group intend to get of the guards and dispersing to cause
past the barrier? chaos throughout the tower. The players
will not have any of their items yet and
2. Once a way past the barrier has will need to return to their cells if they
been secured, how does the group wish to collect them.
intend to leave the island?

Once the group have agreed on a plan or

the timer has finished, describe them
returning to their cells to await the
moment of escape.
Consequences The Archmage
Causing a riot will send the tower into If the players head directly to the
high alert, with guards now patrolling in Archmage, they will first encounter a
units of 4 regular guards and 1 Guard group of guards.
Captain. However, there will also be
numerous prisoners free. If the players Guards Playing Cards
encounter a patrol, they will already be If a riot is taking place, this scene will be
engaged with prisoners. Roll a 1d6 and replaced with an updated guard patrol
use the table below to determine the state (see Consequences under Prison Riot).
of the prisoners.
Three guards are playing a card game
1-2 A lone prisoner is being outside the stairwell leading to the
apprehended by the guards. All Archmage’s quarters. The players can
guards will be uninjured. sneak past them if they beat a Difficulty 12
3-4 A group of prisoners have been Group Roll. If the players wish to
defeated by the guards. Only individually roll, make the Difficulty 8.
the Guard Captain and a single
guard will be unharmed, with Describing the Scene
the others unable to fight. The guards are sitting in a small room
5-6 The guard patrol has been with a table, chairs and a few shelves
slaughtered, with no one in containing food and drink. There are two
sight. stairwells at opposite ends of the room,
one leading up to the Archmage and the
The Cells other leading down to the prisoner cells.
A brief scene if the players return to their
cells before the breakout. The cells will
contain any items the characters possess.
A key to each character’s cell will be
hidden inside their evening meals (a
delicious bowl of gruel). Describe the
characters meeting outside their cells to
conclude the scene.

Describing the Scene

The cells are cramped and dimly lit from
braziers out in the hallway, with the only
items in the room being straw bedding
and a single bucket. The cell doors are
iron and require a Difficulty 9 to unlock
without a key.
Archmage’s Quarters The Torturer
The Archmage will be sitting in the centre If the players go directly to the Torturer,
of his room on a large pillow. He will be they will have to have to avoid guard
in a trance, unaware of his surroundings. patrols before reaching the lower levels of
The players may approach him with no the tower.
difficulty but attempting to attack him
will require a Conflict roll (Difficulty 7) to Avoiding Patrols
not be detected. A separate Conflict roll The players may roll a Group Conflict roll
will then need to be made for damage. If to avoid guard patrols (Difficulty 13). If
the players approach him to converse, the they are detected, describe two guards
Archmage will not immediately be hostile catching sight of them as they round a
and can even be persuaded to drop the corner. They will attempt to flee and
barrier – though it will be difficult. Players gather allies if not struck down
rolling to convince him will need to beat immediately.
his Opposed Conflict with Resist
Temptation (3). If fought, the Archmage Torturer’s Quarters
will ese barriers to defend himself while The descent into the Torturer’s quarters
he attempts to alert the guards. will be unhindered as guards rarely enter
his domain. The walls will progressively
Describing the Scene become slimier, with a faint clanging of
The Archmage’s quarters are the best of a metal echoing from below. A waft of
bad situation. A neat bed and drawers are decay will assault the players nostrils as
pushed to a single corner, with a small they enter the Torturer’s abode. The
glass enclosure sitting atop the drawers. Torturer will be facing away from the
Inside is a brilliant shining purple beetle. group, working on something out of sight
A few potted plants litter the floor in (his bell). He uses a hammer, and a
various states of care. There are unbarred Difficulty 7 Conflict roll will reveal the
windows that provide a nice amount of hammer has a faint magical glow.
light, and a large desk directly facing the
windows stacked with various papers. As If approached peacefully, the Torturer
the characters will likely enter at night, will request a live body in exchange for
there will also be floating magical lights the information out of the tower. If the
that give a soft yellow glow to the room. players refuse, he will not immediately be
A single stairwell leads up to the rooftop hostile and will alternatively ask them to
of the tower. assassinate Duke Carson. If attacked, he
will use the bell to summon The Frog
Prince and The First Gaoler.
If the Torturer’s conditions are met, he The Dumbwaiter
will reveal that the pool in the back of his If the players choose to use the
room leads to an underwater cave that dumbwaiter to either ascend or descend
continues all the way to the mainland. The the tower, roll Conflict against a Difficulty
tunnel is far enough below the water to determined by how many characters are
completely avoid the barrier, and if the currently riding the dumbwaiter. Failing
group takes the path, the adventure will this roll will cause the rope of the
end with the group emerging from a dumbwaiter to snap.
beach cave on the mainland to the gleam
of a morning sun. 1 Person Difficulty 7
2 People Difficulty 9
Describing the Scene
3 People Difficulty 12
The Torturer’s room is large and open,
4 People Difficulty 16
with bodies throw aside in disorganized
5+ People Difficulty 22
piles. Metallic hooks hang from the
ceiling, and a large stone plinth sits in the
If the rope snaps, the characters currently
centre of the room. It appears a statue
riding the dumbwaiter will plummet to
once stood atop it, though it now serves as
the bottom of the shaft. Give the
a makeshift workbench. In the furthest
characters a scene to try and slow or
reaches of the room, brickwork makes
negate their fall, then deal 12 damage to
way to a natural cave formation. A pool of
any that fail. Players may roll 1d6 to
water sits against the back wall and is in
negate a portion of the damage as per the
fact the Torturer’s way out of the tower.
Damage Rules.

Each time the dumbwaiter is used, roll

1d6 to determine what happens to the
characters not in the dumbwaiter using
the table below.

1 A group of three guards

approach them.
2-3 One guard approaches them.
4-6 Nothing happens.
The Rooftop
If the players attempt to scale the wall,
they must first head to the Archmage’s
quarters. Once there, they can either head
to the roof, or exit out his windows. The
tower walls are slick and hard to hold
onto unassisted. To successfully scale the
wall without aid players will need to roll a
Difficulty 12 Conflict. If they are assisted
someway, like tying a rope to the
ramparts or using some form of magic to
aid their descent, give them Situational
Resolve as well as their modifiers. If a
player falls, they will take 12 damage
which can be reduced by rolling 1d6 with
applicable modifiers.

Finding the Commander

If the players decide to seek out Duke
Carson, they will find him in his quarters
located on the ground floor of the tower,
near the main entrance. Reaching his
quarters will require a Group Roll
(Difficulty 12) to avoid being seen. If
caught, a regular guard encounter will
occur unless a riot is in progress (See
Consequences under the Prison Riot
section)

Duke Carson will be sleeping, even if a

riot is underway. His snores will echo
from outside the room and entering will
not require stealth. If woken he will
lumber over to his axe, then engage them
in combat. Otherwise, he can be attacked
in his sleep for extra damage, though he
still rolls 1d6 without modifiers to reduce
damage.
Character Stat Guide The First Gaoler
This section contains information on This creature is a mass of tentacles, with a
characters you will control as the GM. malformed beak in the centre. A skull that
once was human sits just behind the beak,
with one large weeping eye staring out
Guard
from under the folds of flesh. Flesh and
1 Health
bone have been grafted onto the skull
0 Dying
countless times, increasing the total mass
of the creature to the size of a horse.
Skills:
General + 1
15 Health
2 Dying
Items:
2 Actions per turn, can be reduced to 1
Sword + 2
Action per turn if the players actively try
to cut off the tentacles. Make it clear that
Generally, these guards should travel in
the whipping tentacles are the problem.
groups of 3. If they encounter prisoners,
one will always attempt to run for backup
Skills:
while the remaining guards will attempt
Grab Person + 3
to subdue the prisoners. Any damage they
Eat Person + 6
take will be enough to kill or incapacitate
them.
The First Gaoler will always attempt to
grab a person first, then if it succeeds on
Guard Captain the grab it will attempt to eat the person.
5 Health
1 Dying Once the First Gaoler reaches dying, it
will begin to beg for mercy in a garbled
Skills: human voice. It will then attempt to flee
Mental + 1 by dragging itself into the nearest body of
Physical + 2 water.

Items:
Sword + 3

Guards Captains are stronger, more

disciplined guards who control a unit. If a
guard successfully calls for backup, a
Guard captain and 4 Guards will arrive to
fight the prisoners 3 scenes later.
The Frog Prince The Commander – Duke Carson
A bizarre mix of human and frog features, A massive man, constantly hunched from
the Frog Prince stands over 7 feet tall. A having to fit through doorways to small to
thin sheen of slime covers its green skin, accommodate his size. Two beady eyes
and faintly glowing pustules dot its back. peer out from beneath a tangled forest of
Each pustule almost resembles an eye, but hair, and his beard covers a large portion
in fact contain a deadly toxic mixture. of his scarred chest. His hand is constantly
wrapped around the hilt of his axe, which
10 Health hangs from his belt.
1 Dying
15 Health
Skills: 1 Dying, will use it to attack whoever is
Spit Poison + 3 nearest to him.
Grab with Tongue + 3 1 Resolve
Swallow Person + 5
Skills:
The Frog Prince will alternate between Punch Face + 4
spitting poison and attempting to grab a Intimidate Person + 3
person each action. If it successfully grabs
a person, it will attempt to swallow them Items:
whole. Once swallowed, a character will Axe + 4
take 10 damage every time they take an Unique Quality:
action (can be reduced by 1d6 as per the The axe is cursed, anyone attempting to
damage rules). The Frog Prince will not use it will need to first roll a Difficulty 10
stop fighting until fully dead. Conflict to overcome its will. Failing to do
so will cause the character to instead
attack their nearest ally. Once the
character has succeeded on the Conflict
roll, they can control the axe freely. The
axe deals double damage after damage
calculation is applied. (If total damage
would be 2, it would instead be 4)

More magically inclined players are likely

to pick up that it's a cursed item, and a
Difficulty 8 Conflict roll will reveal what it
does.
The Warden – Archmage Francois The Torturer – Finch Cromwell
A diminutive man nearly a century old, Finch is all skin and bones, his pale
Francois is cleanshaven and neatly
complexion and skeletal frame not
dressed in a tailored blue robe. Despite his
advanced age, Francois gives off the matching the feverish strength he seems
energy of a man 8 decades his junior. to possess while working on his victims.
He carries both a magic hammer, capable
12 Health of working flesh like it might iron – and a
0 Dying - can be instantly killed. bell capable of summoning his monstrous
Will be unaware of everyone when they
pets.
find him. His focus on the barrier means
the characters have an opportunity to
attack him outright. 5 Health
3 Dying
Skills:
Create Magical Barrier + 6 Skills:
Resist Temptation + 3 Suspect Deception + 3

Items:
The Warden’s Pet Beetle
Hammer + 1
Beloved by Francois, this purple beetle
(Hammer) Graft Flesh + 4
resides in a cage on his bedside drawers.
If forced to fight, Finch will strike a
It’s true name is Dinklebamp, though only
character with the hammer to deal
the Warden knows this.
damage.

1 Health
Bell + 4
0 Dying
As soon as Finch feels threatened, he will
ring the bell. To ring the bell, roll Conflict.
Skills:
If his total score is 10 or higher, his pets
Create Noxious Gas + 6
will arrive within the next scene. Lower
Dinklebamp will only use this skill if it
will result in both pets taking 2 scenes to
feels threatened. The noxious gas will
arrive.
engulf whoever is immediately next to
Dinklebamp. Failing the Opposed Conflict
roll will cause the target to fall
unconscious for a scene.