Session 2 Player Handout

What Your Characters Know

These are the facts your characters have directly witnessed or been told this session. You may share information freely among party members—assume general knowledge is common to all of you unless your DM specifies otherwise.

About Markos Delphi

• Markos Delphi is bleeding out. Without the Codex, he suffers hemophiliac-like bleeding from even small wounds.
• He has magical blood, but that blood alone is not enough—he genuinely needs the Codex to survive.
• Zala was his research partner before he stole her work on magical theory. She confirms he is ruthless but brilliant.

About Zala the Wizard

• Zala is nothic-cursed. She cannot venture to the basement (the curse and her spider-spine make stairs difficult).
• She has been using ritual magic to suppress wild magic surges throughout the mansion. Without her active work, surges would occur much more frequently.
• She is now exhausted and must meditate. Do not cast spells while she rests—it will hamper her recovery and leave the mansion vulnerable to surges.
• She needs the Great Snake Constellation Map from the basement to help break her curse.
• She is willing to be an ally: she provided you with her spellbook and a hooded lantern.

About the Entity (Old Crow)

• There is an entity in this mansion. Never speak its true name aloud again. Doing so summons shadow creatures and creates eldritch rifts. Always call it "Old Crow."
• Zala's ritual work has been keeping it suppressed. Her exhaustion is a vulnerability.

About the Mansion's Layout & Features

• The eastern guest room (first floor) is safe and manifests comfort to those within. It is also intelligent: it creates what occupants desire, based on their thoughts.
• Warning: Items manifested by the guest room cannot be removed from it. The room retains all its creations.
• The westernmost room (first floor) is forbidden. Opening its door creates an eldritch rift. It contains potions in a curio closet, but entry is too dangerous.
• The word "Hralfrak" is a trigger that opens doors to the basement level. Orimene knows this word.
• Ritual/ceremonial music has been heard coming from the second floor. Its source has not yet been investigated.

About the Creatures You've Encountered

• Jeremy: A Gibbering Mouther in the eastern guest room. He is not intentionally evil—he is suffering from a severe magical allergy to pollen. Winston raised him from a tadpole and cares for him. Jeremy can be calmed with empathy and gentle handling.
• The Mimic: A creature pretending to be a deer head plaque in the dining room. It has spiky prehensile tentacles and enormous teeth. It can be pinned with improvised weapons (like a curtain rod through its tongue).

About the Secret Room

• A secret room exists behind the deer head plaque mechanism in the dining room. It is lined with bookshelves (hundreds of books).
• The room contains three ancient magic circles on the floor—a single ritual structure with three activation points.
• The circles are lit by a near-dead candelabra with flickering candles (like failing fluorescent bulbs).
• Notes written in Deep Speech cover the floor (meaning unknown to you).
• One wall section contains preserved specimens: a preserved head, a preserved hand, and four tadpole-like creatures swimming in rubbing-alcohol-smelling liquid. Purpose unknown. Faint fermentation smell in the room.
• Current status: Three party members are standing on the glowing summoning circles. The ritual is active. The outcome is unknown.

Zala's Spellbook (Loaned)

Holder: Puck Everheart

Usage: Each spell may be cast once. After that use, Zala must reattune to the spellbook (a ritual action). All spells require normal components and concentration as usual.

Important: Do not cast spells while Zala is meditating to recover. Her rest is critical to mansion stability.

Spell	Level	Notes
Arcane Lock	2nd	Magically locks a door, chest, or container. DC increases to open. Can be opened with Knock or by someone who knows the password.
Detect Magic	1st	Senses magical auras within 30 feet for up to 10 minutes. Useful for identifying enchanted items or magical traps.
Detect Thoughts	2nd	Read surface thoughts of creatures you can see within 60 feet. Potentially useful for interrogation or navigating social encounters.
Knock	2nd	Opens a locked or magically sealed door, chest, or container. Useful for bypassing Arcane Lock or other magical seals. Noted as useful for the Markos plan.
Mage Armor	1st	Grants +2 to AC for the duration (requires concentration). Useful for unarmored casters.
Magic Missile	1st	Unerring ranged attack spell. Creates 1d4+1 missiles (at low levels). Cannot miss; reliable damage.
Phantasmal Force	2nd	Creates an illusion visible only to one target. Illusion cannot deal damage but can create difficult terrain. Useful for battlefield control and deception.
Shield	1st	Reaction spell. Grants +5 AC against one attack and makes magic missile attacks against you fail. Excellent for defense in crisis moments.
Suggestion	2nd	Convince a target to take a reasonable action. Very powerful for social encounters and problem-solving. Noted as useful for the Markos plan.

Zala's Information

Knowledge shared directly by Zala:

• Ritual magic is immune to wild surges. Only instantaneous magic causes wild magic effects. This is a fundamental principle of magic in this location.
• The entity's true name must never be spoken. Calling it by its real name summons shadow creatures and causes planar rifts. Only ever call it "Old Crow."
• Without the Codex, Markos Delphi will bleed to death. His magical blood sustains him, but the Codex is necessary for true survival. The situation is dire.
• The Great Snake Constellation Map will help break Zala's spider curse. It is located in the basement, but Zala cannot retrieve it herself due to her condition. She is asking for your help.
• Zala's gift of supplies: She has provided you with her personal spellbook (each spell once) and a hooded lantern (permanent flame, requires oil). She also threw black protective dust in everyone's faces (+1 AC for ~1 hour).
• Safe rest location: The eastern guest room is safe for sleeping. The room will manifest comfort and provide what you need.
• Forbidden zone: The westernmost room creates an eldritch rift if the door is opened. It contains potions, but entry is too dangerous at present.

The Secret Room Discovery

Location: Behind the deer head plaque mechanism in the dining room (first floor).

How to open: Push the deer head plaque with force. It serves as a mechanism trigger.

Physical Description

• Walls lined with bookshelves—hundreds of books. No regular texts visible near the specimen jars.
• Three ancient magic circles on the floor in a complex pattern.
• Near-dead candelabra with flickering candles (like failing fluorescent bulbs). As circles activate, candle flames grow brighter and taller.
• Notes written in Deep Speech scattered across the floor (language unknown; meaning uncertain).
• One wall section contains jars and specimens.

Jars & Specimens

• One jar contains a preserved human head.
• One jar contains a preserved human hand.
• Four jars each contain a single tadpole-like creature swimming in a liquid that smells like rubbing alcohol. Faint fermentation smell.
• Purpose and origin unknown. Could be related to Markos? To the entity? To Zala's curse? Unknown.

The Summoning Circles

• Three magic circles form a single ritual structure.
• Each circle can be activated by stepping on it. Activation is visual: static electricity, light, and heat increase with each circle.
• Circle 1: Static electricity, hair stands on end.
• Circle 2: Both circles blaze with light. Candles grow taller.
• Circle 3: All three circles ignite brilliantly. Candle flames reach forearm-length.
• Purpose: The ritual could be pulling something in from another plane or pushing something out. The true purpose is not yet clear.
• Current status: All three circles are fully activated. Penelope, Puck, and Orimene are standing on them. Anar is at the doorway, pinning the Mimic with a curtain rod. What happens next is unknown.

Open Questions

These are mysteries your characters have noticed but not yet resolved. Investigate further at your own risk.

1. What is the ritual's true purpose? The summoning circles are now fully activated. Are you summoning something in, or pushing something out? And to what end?
2. What is making the ritual/ceremonial music on the second floor? Puck heard it around 20:00, growing louder and more ominous. The source has not been investigated.
3. Who preserved the head, hand, and tadpoles in the jars? And why? Connection to Markos? To the entity? To Zala's curse?
4. What do the Deep Speech notes in the secret room say? They may contain critical information about the ritual, the specimens, or the mansion itself.
5. What was the purpose of the guest room manifesting pollen for Jeremy? The room creates based on occupant thoughts. Who was thinking about Jeremy's allergy?
6. Where is the Great Snake Constellation Map? Zala needs it to break her curse. It is somewhere in the basement, but exact location is unknown.
7. Where is Markos Delphi? He is bleeding out somewhere in the mansion, possibly guarded. Does he know you're coming? Is he a prisoner?
8. What happened to the four purple-cloaked cultists from last session? They are presumed to be in the basement. Are they still there? Have they moved? What is their allegiance?
9. What will happen if the summoning ritual completes? You have only just activated it. What are its effects? Are they beneficial or catastrophic?
10. Why is Winston so protective of Jeremy? He raised the Mouther "from a tadpole." How does a ghost butler raise a creature? What is his history in this place?