Adventures in Richemulot

.JACQ_U E L I N E R E N I E R

posed. The burgeoning middle class sapped her family's authority, transforming them from lords over the commoners into mere landlords. But Renier's family surrendered to the times. Her grandfather grew infirm over the years and less able to look out for the family's interests, and the others-even her twin sister, Louise-seemed oblivious to the threat. It fell to Jacqueline to correct their failings. Finding like-minded souls took Renier years, but she finally became aware of the mysterious Trueblood Council, a secret society of Richemulot's eldest and most esteemed families. Expending a fortune, Renier aggressively pursued membership. Finally she was granted a n invitation to join the society's members at their meeting place hidden among the sewers of Pont-a-Museau. But when Renier arrived, she found a throng of filthy commoners, not the dramatic masterminds she'd expected. As she cursed them and set off to fetch the guards, the council members revealed their true wererat forms. That night, she was inducted into their ranks. Renier swiftly accepted her new life as a wererat and her status as a member of Richemulot's first inhabitants. Her spite toward the lowborn turned instead toward non-wererats. Her first major act consisted of conferring the gift of lycanthropy upon h e r family. O n l y h e r t w i n , Louise, resisted, for which Jacqueline disfigured her and cast her out.

Next, she bent her wererat allies to her vicious pursuit of control, unifying the country's verminous hordes. Within the sewers of Pont-a-Museau, the wererats concocted a roiling pestilence incubated in the filth of the bourgeoisie. Disease was not unknown in Richemulot, but the virulence of this new Gnawing Plague sent panic through the populace. The disease killed indiscriminately, wiping out the nation's royal dynasty and leaving power vacuums filled and then quickly emptied by ailing nobles. Only the Reniers proved immune, and eventually Jacqueline stood as the highest-born noble in the land, and the nation's de facto leader.

The people begged Renier for help. Disgusted by the masses, she deemed them unworthy merely for the circumstance of their birth and the scarcity of coins in their pockets, Renier let them die. As the last human soul expired in Pont-a-Museau, the Mists rose, drawing Richemulot into the Domains of Dread. JACQU E L I N E ' S POWERS AND D O M I NION

Although Jacqueline Renier has statistics similar to those of a wererat, she assumes her hybrid or rat form only when forced to defend herself or when pushed to the brink of rage. She is rarely without guards, be they members of the Casques Silencieux, wererat bodyguards, or hidden swarms of rats.

Casques Silencieux. The Darklord's silent state police guard Chateau Delanuit and enforce her quarantines across Richemulot. Rather than the soldiers they appear to be, these troops are animated armor filled with rats that mindlessly and mercilessly enact Jacqueline Renier's will. If a guard is defeated, the armor collapses, releasing a swarm of rats.

Plague Seasons. The I nverted Court beneath Chateau Delanuit holds hidden sewer laboratories where wererat alchemists endlessly brew evermore-virulent strains of the Gnawing Plague and even worse maladies. Rats are then infected with these diseases to spread them across the domain. As each strain is subtly different, creatures might fall victim to the Gnawing Plague again and again.

Rat Queen. Jacqueline Renier can understand and magically command any rat within 1 20 feet of her using limited telepathy. All rats in Richemulot are especially intelligent and eagerly obey Renier's will. This typically involves spying for her: eavesdropping on conversations, tailing individuals, and reporting back.

Closing the Borders. When Jacqueline Renier wishes to close her domain's borders, the Mists rise at the edge of the lands, as detailed in "The Mists" at the start of this chapter. Additionally, the Mists

are filled with swarms of rats; endless waves of them attack any creatures that enter the Mists. JACQU E LI N E 'S TOR M E N T

A s Darklord and de facto steward of Richemulot, Jacqueline Renier stands at the height of society. However, when Richemulot was claimed by the Mists, its populace consisted mostly of commoners once more. Rather than ruling a land dominated by her wererat peers, Renier now endures various torments: • Renier has no taste for ruling, yet feels obligated to keep up appearances to maintain her power. • Her decrees are rash and self-serving. Renier's schemes killed most of the finer aspects of Richemulot's society. She endlessly craves the • decadence she once took for granted. The people talk of establishing a new government when the threat of the plague passes. Renier and her wererat allies must constantly create new strains of the plague to maintain power. ROLEPLAYING JACQU E LI N E

Jacqueline Renier believes she's infallible. Proper rule by the Reniers benefits all, and she is obviously the greatest of the Reniers. On some level, she knows that her certainty is born of unchecked privilege and vanity. These flashes of clarity frustrate her, leading her to impose cruel edicts and public displays of her superiority, such as city-spanning punishments and dramatic executions.

Personality Trait. "The commoners think they're the future. I ' l l show them how much they need me."

Ideal. "Nothing is more important than the preservation of power."

Bond. "Those who show their obedience are my true subjects. All others have a chance to prove their loyalty. I s that not mercy?"

Flaw. "I will let everything rot in the streets before I give up one bit of what I was given." ADVENTUR E S I N R I C H E M U LOT

Adventurers might be accustomed to defeating foes using sword and spell, but such weapons hold little power against a nation-spanning plague. The characters might even be able to handle maladies when they afflict one or two members of the party, but their magical resources are quickly expended in the face of relentless contagion that's intentionally spread. The "Cycle of the Plague" section later in this domain explores how to use an ongoing disease as a backdrop to your adventures, while the Richemulot Adventures table suggests other plots that might unfold in the domain.

R I C H E M U LOT A DV E N T U R E S d 6 Adventure

At the comm a n d of J acqu e l i n e R e n i e r, swarms of rats n ightly s l i p i nto h o m e s a n d m u rd e r the res i d e n t cats. D i straught pet owners entreat the c h aracters fo r a i d . 2 A d e s p erate rogue seeks the c h a racters' a i d w h e n the rest of h e r b a n d i s t r a p p e d withi n the a b a n d o n e d F i o x Estate b y a h aywire security system. 3 A b a n d of students p l ot a revol ution a g a i n st J acq u e l i n e R e n i e r i n t h e v a l l ey c a l l e d Assa s s i n 's Echo.

They're convin ce d o n e among them i s a traitor b u t d o n ' t rea l i ze t h e re's a wererat i n t h e i r m i d st . 4 A constable req u ests t h e c h a racters' a i d in solvin g m u rd e rs i n w h i c h the v i ct i m s h ave b e e n d ra i n e d of b l o o d . The m u rd e re r i s a strigoi (see c h a pter 5 ) t h at h a u nts a s u n ke n c h a p e l i n the swa m p k n own a s the G a rd e n s . 5 Doctor Temator of M o rtigny believes s h e c a n create a c u re for the G nawin g P l a g u e and e n l i sts t h e c h a racters t o fi n d s u bjects w h o h a v e n e v e r h a d the d isease. R umors soon s p read t h at t h e doctor and c h a racters a re a ct u a l l y s p readi n g the p l a g u e . 6 L o u i s e R e n i e r seeks the c h a racters' a i d in i n fi l trat i n g a b a l l J acqu e l i n e i s h o l d i n g at Chateau

D e l a nu it. She a i m s to i nfuriate J ac q u e l i n e so that she reve a l s her wererat n a t u re before h e r guests.

THE GNAW I N G P LAGUE

The Gnawing Plague, also known as "the Gnaws," is known in every corner of Richemulot.

Transmission. The Gnaws is spread when a creature is bitten by a rat, giant rat, swarm of rats, or wererat that carries the disease, or by coming into physical contact with an infected creature.

Infection. Creatures exposed to the disease must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or become infected. The DC of this saving throw can increase depending on the severity of the plague's spread (see "Cycle of the Plague" below).

Symptoms. It takes l d 2 days for the Gnawing Plague's symptoms to manifest in an infected creature. The infected creature then gains 1 level of exhaustion, regains only half the normal number of hit points from spending Hit Dice, and regains no hit points from finishing a long rest. The plague's symptoms include buboes, fatigue, splotchy rashes, sweats, and shaking, particularly facial tremors. Locals liken these twitches to the sniffing of rats. Sufferers often have scraps of leather placed in their mouths to prevent their teeth from clattering, though they inevitably gnaw through these scraps.

Recovery. At the end of each long rest, an infected creature must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature gains 1 level of exhaustion. On a successful save, the creature's exhaustion level decreases by 1 . If a successful saving throw reduces the infected creature's level of exhaustion below 1 , the creature recovers from the disease.

Immunity. All forms of rats and wererats are immune to the Gnawing Plague. CYC L E OF T H E P LAGUE

The Gnawing Plague is an ever-present threat in Richemulot. At any given time, every community in the domain is in one of four stages of the plague. Whenever characters find themselves in a community, determine what stage that community is experiencing and if it's different from the day before. PROGRES S I N G STAGES

T h e plague's progress begins a t stage one, advances to stage four, and then either wanes back to stage one or ends when everyone in a community is dead. Each stage can last for days or weeks, as appropriate for your adventures. Alternatively, if you'd like to have the plague play out more randomly, roll a d20 each day. If you roll 2 or lower, the stage decreases by one. If you roll a 17 o r higher, the stage increases by one. If the characters spend at least 1 hour during the day working to treat the sick, the stage decreases by one if you roll a 4 or lower. Let the plague's cycle proceed for as long as your adventures demand, waxing or waning whenever it's most dramatic. The plague will never kill everyone in Richemulot; there will always be miraculous cures or reasons for Jacqueline Renier to withdraw her infected rat swarms. The cities then repopulate swiftly, with new residents emerging from the Mists to little notice. This ensures that after a period of relative peace, the plague's next wave is just as devastating as the last. STAGE O N E : THREAT

At its calmest, the plague isn't obvious in the population. The plague behaves as detailed in "The Gnawing Plague" section and isn't likely to spread unless an influx of the Darklord's rats causes it to. STAGE Two : O UTBREAK

Coughing can be heard in t h e streets. Furtive looks pass between strangers, and the Casques Silencieux appear in increasing numbers. During this stage, whenever a character goes out in public, roll or choose an encounter from the Stage Two Encounters table. If exposed to the Gnawing Plague, a character must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to resist the disease with the DC listed in the table entry for that encounter.