Cult of the blessed one

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The setting

The Family can be in any room but I would consider the Library or the large bedroom at the opposite end of the hall. These rooms are large enough for a confrontation and gives the family an advantage in a fight. Needless to say that warping the house to its current state the family is immune to the various environmental effects that occur within the walls and when utilising their legendary abilities and lair actions I would consider the walls and floors as non-existent as they are nearly one with the house by this stage. More on that in a moment.

The tactics

The family fight as one, each knows what they need to do and how to work as a team as they have been living and working together for many years now.

Aunt used her strength to bully those who stand in her way – using her abilities to throw people around or try and push them out windows as a way to control the engagement. Her ability to target one person and gain advantage would be her releasing her pent up rage, energy and fanatical faith in the blessed one to try and tap more into the demonic energy that courses through the family. Despite being kitted out for combat she is extremely defensive and wont stray too far from Father, Mother and especially Uncle as he is the frailest of them all.

Uncle will wait until the time is right to use his legendary action, looking to alter reality to make himself appear faster where the target of the initiative switch becomes that much slower. He will use this ability to try and better position himself away from combat by swapping with someone who is coming up next rather than just the highest person in the initiative order. His ability Spark is to be used as a way of launching an offensive spell after casting a defensive one or to try and provide suppressive fire against multiple targets that are getting too close to his family – particularly Aunt.

Father is the master mind of all – standing back and using his spells (which should have a demonic feel/ description such as green-black flames and the like) to harass the enemy backline. He will heal his family first and foremost but will also stand with Aunt if the front line begins to crumble using the ability to misty step into combat just as readily to step out. His legendary ability giving him the ability to re-heal (small caveat being put here) is intended to be used on damage suffered in that turn or at least most recently – this means that if he wont keep coming back to life but it should be used to make him appear as if he is truly blessed by his dark lord and perhaps bring him back to consciousness once in the fight IF IT MAKES SENSE TO DO SO. I would also rule that if his family is down, Mother, Uncle and Aunt then his legendary ability will also no longer trigger as the lore/theory behind it is his devotion to the Blessed one and his family keeps pushing him through the pain and suffering he encounters.

Mother slipping through shadows with the families lair ability to misty step through walls/floors and her own legendary action to disengage and hide. She would focus on those who can be caught unawares and may even ambush the party when they are exploring the home – utilising the misty step like ability or trying to fear the party from shifting out of her motherly appearance into the gaunt, nightmarish near-demonic appearance that they have warped into.

The stat-blocks (mind the little typos.. only realised AFTER I had finished them all)

The possessed ship

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In addition to the normal stat-block that the Gaki has he will be accompanied by the unconcious, yet possessed bodies of his daughter and grand daughter, Hana and Saki. As they approach the party in a shuffling, disjointed manner the party can see a dark mist flickering about them as tears streak down their face and a look of anguish and confusion as one of them, Hana – the grand daughter, breaks the possession for a moment to scream for the party to run, to escape as her grandfather had full control of the ship now and it wasn’t safe. After the warning she would go limp, falling to the floor before slowly standing back up with a the same anguish filled face as her mother as they both stumble towards them.

Both Hana and Saki follow the commoner template below.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Gaki spirit (Grandfather Ren) takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Gaki can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Waves of water that are within 5ft of the edge of the ship crash onto the deck before draining outwards under the railing. Any creature on the deck within 5 feet of the railing (edge of the boat) must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 20 feet into the water overboard and knocked prone.
• A knife, hook, oar, shard of glass, bottle or other object on the ship flies towards each member of the party. Any creature on the deck of the ship must make on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5 (2d4) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
• A wave of dark mist suddenly blows across the deck of the ship centred on the cabin and extending for 30ft on deck before dissipating. Any creature caught in the wave of mist must make a DC12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the start of the creatures next turn as they retch and become overwhelmed with nausea and hunger. A creature that succeeds on their saving throw has advantage on the next constitution saving throw for the same dark mist next time and a subsequent success will grant them immunity to the third time they are affected.

The Gaki will be in the Cabin at the stern of the ship, for reference perhaps check out the ship map in my Ship Life post from November. Hana and Saki are meant really as a morale dilemma for the party. Knocking them out is what is preferred – hence why I have Hana waking up to warn the party to show that 1, they are possessed and 2, they can wake up from it. Their purpose isn’t to damage or attack the party but to try and grapple (likely unsuccessfully) and disarm the silver weapons where possible. Once unconscious, or you know, dead, the party will find Grandfather Ren – Gaki spirit in the cabin wearing his Hiro body and likely holding something valuable that maybe the perceptive party member may recognise from Takeo or Kyoko. Maybe a Short blade with an elegant long handle (wakatashi) that they have seen Kyoko wearing before in almost a ceremonial manner.

This is to trigger the party into knowing that Kyoko may have been here or is somewhere near by. The Gaki would likely be enraged and continue to use lair actions whilst dashing in to attack the party members who fall, slip or otherwise are hindered by the Gaki’s possessed ship lair actions. He would be aware of any remaining silvered weapons and avoid these characters at all cost unless there was no option. Once reduced to 0 HP by a silvered weapon the dark mist would shriek outwards from Hiro and fly into a urn that was the only non desecrated item in this room upon a mantle with a kind, smiling gentleman sitting above it in a painting. When Hiro wakes up (as he will be wounded by not dead – his grandfather wouldn’t let him die now would he) he would rush past the party wanting to check on his family and Kyoko, Takeo and Hurane.

Gaki – Hunger Spirit

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The Gaki is the spirit of someone who left this world without achieving a great desire and being so driven to achieve this goal they hungered for it even in death. Normally these creatures die without having much to their name, no means to survive or achieve their goal so when they find themselves returned as one of the undead they immediately try and rectify this by, generally, approaching one of their family members and asking them to help the spirit complete it’s dying wish. In doing so they take possession of the body at night as they are fearful of what they will see in themselves come the morning light of the sun.

During the day the possessed creature has no signs that they carry something within them unless the creatures hunger or lust for their desired object is so great that the creature risks exposing themselves to sunlight to get at what they seek. At night however the almost malevolent hunger that fuels these creatures takes form of a great inky black mist that surrounds their host and turns their body of flesh and bones into something incorporeal, mostly. Its arms, hands and mouth are always physical (yet able to turn to mist to achieve its goals) and this gives the creature a nightmarish appearance at night.

The Gaki are so terrified of their own appearance that they avoid Silver, being mirrors, at all costs and unless driven nearly insane by their hunger they will flee at the mere sigh of silver whether it’s coins, weapons, jewellery, dining and cooking utensils or armour.

Although their hungers all differ they all have an affinity for destroying magical items as a way of fuelling themselves and their incorporeal form.

The Gaki, in this adventures instance, is also bound by wards made from liquified silver as the ‘magical wards’ appear as molten silver metal that reflects the very nature of their soul. Not even their hunger will let them pass wards made with this special liquid created by the Red Fleets alchemists and priests. The Gaki this adventure hungers for wealth and promised its family (who it resides within) that it would grant them wealth and success in business if they allow it to help them. However once surrounded by minor magical trinkets, and some not-so-minor, it became overwhelmed by its hunger for wealth and desire to obtain more and was driven into a feeding frenzy to sustain the amount of energy it was using in its pursuit of wealth.

Priestess Elizabeth ‘Lizbet’

The youngest priestess to be granted favour from Chauntea in the town of Daye for quite a number of decades she is seen to be a child of prophecy and as such is granted praise and status not readily given. This year her order and the town came together to celebrate her coming with age and organised a special gift from the visiting merchants known as the Red Fleet to celebrate her blessings and her age.

Despite the praise and gifts granted to her she is level headed, humble and only seeks to aid and teach Chaunteas blessings to those who are seeking it. She is warm, friendly and an excellent judge of character and as such is known to see the true intentions of those who would seek to mislead and trick her. This is aided by some of the magical trinkets that she keeps on her person that seek to keep her from harm and rumours of her power as a priestess has spread to neighbouring villages and towns.