Hunger of the Stars

A One-Page Oneshot by DragnaCarta into the caverns below. Khel can relay the following
In this short adventure for five fourth-level characters, the information:
characters are adventurers retained by the Jewelers’ Guild
to investigate the isolated mining town of Vardur—known for • Six weeks ago, a stone that burned with ice-cold fire
its rich veins of sapphire and gold—which has abruptly crashed into the town square, burrowing deep underground.
ceased all shipments and communications. • Those that investigate were attacked by star-spawn
Yet when the characters discover a system of mysterious grues and never returned.
caverns beneath the town and a force of aberrant invaders • One week after the comet’s impact, Rith'atar—a
within, can they rescue the townsfolk before the earth once-friendly amethyst dragon wyrmling known to lair
collapses overhead—burying them all alive? beneath the town’s mines—ascended from the shaft and
demanded the town’s obedience. The townsfolk followed

Act I: The Empty Town him into the shaft, and haven’t emerged since.
• Khel isn’t sure how Rith’atar commanded the townsfolks’
The characters begin on the outskirts of Vardur, whose minds, or why he acted so strangely, but believes it may be
buildings are seemingly abandoned and in surprisingly poor connected to the crude black obsidian crown that floated
condition. Upon arriving at the center of town, the players above his head, which burned with the same ice-blue
discover that the town square has vanished—swallowed up flames as the comet. (She isn’t sure if it can be destroyed,
by a dark, deep tunnel shaft one hundred feet across and but thinks it might be worth a try. If possible, she’d prefer to
two hundred feet deep. save Rith’atar—a reclusive and eccentric dragon, but a kind
one nonetheless.)
The walls of the shaft are perfectly smooth, save for
several dozen thick, ten-foot silver-gray metal spikes that • Three weeks ago, Khel built up enough courage to
have been driven into its sides seemingly at random. A descend the shaft—but swiftly retreated when attacked by a
character that falls into the shaft must make a DC 10 strange, floating entity. (Khel doesn’t know what’s at the
Dexterity saving throw to grab onto one of these spikes as bottom, or the purpose of the metal spikes embedded in its
they fall, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage from the impact walls.)
on a success and up to 20d6 bludgeoning damage from the • Two weeks ago, an earthquake struck the town,
fall on a failure. damaging many of the buildings. Five more have struck
As the characters inspect the shaft, three Medium-sized since then—and they’re becoming more frequent.
chokers (see MTF p. 123) and six star-spawn grues (see
MTF p. 234) leap from nearby rooftops to attack. The Khel is happy to accompany the characters into the
chokers appear as hairless, boneless Varduran tunnel shaft if invited. If asked, she can also indicate the
commoners whose torsos, limbs, heads, and fingers have location of additional crates containing spare climber’s kits
been grotesquely stretched and elongated. Smaller and several hundred feet of rope.
silver-gray spikes have been driven into each choker’s
shoulders, throat, and wrists. The grues babble constantly
in Deep Speech, while each choker “speaks” only in Act II: Into the Depths
tortured, wheezing rasps. Upon reaching the bottom of the shaft, the characters can
In combat, each grue attacks a different target with its see a twenty-foot crater at its center and a narrow tunnel
confounding bite while ensuring that each character is descending further into the earth in a spiral. As the
covered within at least one grue’s aura of madness. characters proceed through the tunnel, they begin to hear
Meanwhile, each choker attacks a separate target with its the sound of metal striking rock and the sound of rushing
tentacle multiattack, preferring to attack characters wearing water.
notable amounts of metal. On a hit, a choker drags its victim At the end of the tunnel lies a fifteen-foot-tall,
into the shaft, using its spider climb to cling to the walls one-hundred- foot-radius cavern with irregular edges and
while continuing to attack with its free tentacle. multiple horizontal mine shafts twisting through the bedrock.
On initiative count 20 of the first round of combat, an The ceiling of the cavern is lined with sharp stalactites, and
earthquake strikes the ground around the tunnel shaft. Each an underground waterfall feeds a stream that runs around
creature must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall the perimeter.
prone. Approximately two-hundred Vardurans are hard at work
On initiative count 15 of the first two rounds of combat, here, mining the earth with picks and shovels. Each miner
the character whose alignment most closely approaches appears emaciated and exhausted, with starry-black voids
Good receives a telepathic message conveying the filling their eyes and a small silver-gray spike driven into
following information: their right shoulder. (The spike, which is gravitationally
bonded to its host’s flesh, can’t be removed without killing
• Round One. A grue’s aura of madness imposes the host.) The townsfolk cannot be distracted from their
disadvantage on saving throws, as well as attack rolls made work, and cannot be pulled away except by force.
against creatures other than a grue. At the center of the cavern lies a thirty-foot-wide vertical
• Round Two. A choker’s spider climb allows it to climb tunnel shaft. A five-foot-wide inclined ledge runs in a spiral
along sheer vertical surfaces without difficulty. from the top of the shaft to the bottom, its entrance guarded
by a hovering grell and six star spawn grue.
The grues and chokers fight to the death. The chamber is lit by deep veins of silver-gray ore, which
When the battle concludes, the characters are glow with a dull, unearthly light. Many of these veins have
telepathically invited to approach an abandoned general previously been tapped, and the remaining ore deposits
store on the edge of the town square. Within an empty crate appear to be the central focus of the miners’ efforts. (The
hides Khelirophreido’geuni (or “Khel” for short), a friendly walls also appear to contain untouched veins of sapphires
flumph that once accompanied the miners on their delves and gold ore).

1
 Upon arriving at the cavern, the characters can observe a Hovering above the miniature black hole is Rith’atar, an
miner approach the grell atop the shaft, present a handful of amethyst dragon wyrmling with one legendary
silver-gray ore for inspection, and descend the shaft, resistance. Cracks along the walls contain six neogi
vanishing from sight. hatchlings (VGM p. 179), which obey Rith’atar’s telepathic
commands. Like the miners, Rith'atar’s eyes are filled with
The Guardians starry black voids.
The grell and grues attack the characters on sight and Floating above Rith’atar’s head, just behind the five
fight to the death. floating amethysts that form the dragon’s frill, is the crown
of Acamar, a rough-hewn obsidian crown that burns with
On initiative count 20 of the second round of combat, cold, ice-blue flames. The crown has AC 17, 75 hit points,
another earthquake strikes. Each creature other than the resistance to force and psychic damage, and immunity to
grell must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall poison damage.
prone. Additionally, gravity in the cavern intensifies for one
minute, halving each creature’s speed for the duration and Upon noticing the characters, Rith’atar will speak to them
forcing any prone creatures to make a DC 10 Strength telepathically, in a voice that echoes with a dark, twisted
check in order to stand back up. corruption. He invites the characters to lay down their arms
and witness “the glory of the Blessed Consumption, joining
When the earthquake begins, the stalactites overhead their beings with the Holy Mass”—the miniature black
tremble and shake. One stalactite falls, impaling a miner hole—”so that all may join the One, and His Hunger may be
nearby. A character can attack a stalactite (AC 12), causing sated.”
it to fall and deal 3d10 piercing damage—or 6d10 piercing
damage in the intensified gravity—to any creature If asked, Rith’atar can also relay the following information:
immediately below it.
• The comet carried a fragment of Acamar, a dark star
The Descent and elder evil that dwells in the Far Realm, eternally
hungering.
The underground vertical shaft descends an additional • A young scholar of the Far Realm, Rith'atar sought to
fifty feet. Its walls are far rougher than the smooth shaft lock the fragment away—but was instead “enlightened” by
aboveground, and its stone sides bear large, jagged cracks. Acamar’s whispers and crafted his crown from the comet’s
Through these cracks, the characters can observe remains.
translucent glass-like “windows” that appear to look out into
a vast, distant field of stars. At the center of this star-field • Through the use of gems and metals—and especially
lies an enormous, spherical dark void, imperceptible but for the discovery of the silver-gray metal uran, whose density
the radiant nimbus of twisting, flowing light that surrounds it far outweighs gold and whose matter amplifies Acamar’s
power—Rith’atar wielded his singularity breath to create
The first time that the characters pass one of these and feed a black hole beneath Vardur.
cracks, each character must make an Intelligence check.
The character with the highest result becomes charmed for • The black hole has completed its maturation. Soon, it
one minute. While charmed, this character is driven to gaze will awaken, expanding dramatically in volume—and
into the starfield while using a sharp object—or their consuming the countryside for miles around.
fingernails, if none are available—to carve alien patterns of
circles, lines, and eldritch glyphs into the “glass.” If the characters attack Rith’atar or clearly reject his
invitation, he and his neogi hatchlings attack.
At the end of each round, if the character has
successfully carved a new part of the pattern into the wall, On initiative count 20 of the first round of combat, an
thirteen swirling shadows within the starfield grow steadily intense earthquake strikes the cavern. Each creature other
sharper and closer, their silhouettes resolving into writhing than Rith’atar must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or
masses of eye-stalks and tentacles. The characters can fall prone.
stop the charmed character from completing the pattern Immediately following the earthquake, a stalactite falls
only by restraining them, forcefully removing them from the into the black hole, causing its surface to roil and twist.
crack, or blinding them (e.g., with a blindfold). When this occurs—and each time a Small or larger object is
The pattern takes six rounds to complete. If it is finished, consumed by the black hole—a gravitational pulse fills the
thirteen gibbering mouthers emerge from the crack to cavern, halving each creature’s speed until initiative count
attack the characters. 20 of the next round and forcing each flying creature to
descend ten feet toward the ground.

Act III: An Elder Evil If Rith’atar is slain, the crown falls to the ground. If the
crown is destroyed, the enchantments upon his and the
townsfolk's minds are lifted and the miniature black hole
When the characters reach the base of the shaft, they can begins to implode, causing an earthquake that causes the
see, through the cracks, the dark void—a black entire cave system to collapse over 4d6 minutes.
hole—suddenly pulse and emanate twin beams of eldritch
light. As it does, an unearthly roar splits the air, echoed by a The townsfolk can guide the characters toward escape
new earthquake that causes a cloud of rocky debris to through an access tunnel leading back into the main mines.
plummet from the ceiling above. Each character must make If Rith’atar survived, he apologizes profusely to the
a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 bludgeoning characters and townsfolk upon regaining his faculties and
damage from falling rocks. assists in clearing a path through the use of his singularity
breath.
A crude circular opening here leads into a final
thirty-foot-tall, sixty-foot-radius cavern. Floating just above If the townsfolk successfully escape, they thank the
the base of a five-foot-deep, fifteen-foot-wide pit at the characters and present them with two 500 gold-piece
center of the cavern is a five-foot-radius spherical dark sapphires. If Rith’atar survived, he shares his gratitude and
void—a miniature facsimile of the black hole seen through presents the characters with one of the amethysts from his
the cracks. The sides of the pit are lined with piles of frill, which has the properties of a bead of force.
discarded sapphire geodes and gold ore.