**Veil of Sorrow: Trials of the Cursed Lagoon**
Setting: The Cursed Lagoon
The players find themselves on the edge of a sprawling lagoon, shimmering with an unnatural hue of green under the light of a waning moon. Surrounding the lagoon are dense mangroves that hiss in the wind, their branches like skeletal fingers pointing towards the water. Legends tell of a fabled treasure hidden on an island at the center of the lagoon, but those who seek it often fall victim to the lagoon’s curse—a plague of sorrow that transforms the bravest souls into wretched apparitions.
As they approach the water’s edge, the party feels an unsettling pull, as if the lagoon itself beckons them closer. Strange whispers drift through the air, tugging at their feelings of sadness and regret. To reach the treasure, the adventurers must navigate the trials laid by the spirits that reside in the lagoon, discover the cause of the curse, and decide the fate of both the treasure and the trapped wraiths.
Characters
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Verithan the Guardian: A remorseful spirit who protects the lagoon and knows its history. Verithan appears as a half-fading specter, clad in tattered robes, with glowing eyes that speak of ancient wisdom and sorrow. He serves as both ally and adversary, as he challenges the players to prove their worth before he reveals the lagoon’s secrets.
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The Wailing Sisters: A trio of malevolent wraiths, former guardians of the treasure who became twisted by their grief. Each sister possesses a unique ability: one can summon a mist that disorients, another can drain the hope from a character (lowering their morale), and the third can unleash an echoing wail that can incapacitate those who hear it. They roam the island and the lagoon, attacking any intruders.
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The Bane of Regret: The ultimate encounter lies with the Bane, a colossal creature formed from the combined sorrow and despair of those lost to the lagoon. Its body resembles a monstrous amalgamation of shadowy shapes—twisted hands, sorrowful faces, and clinging mist. Defeating this creature is key to breaking the curse.
Goal
The party must navigate the lagoon, overcome trials presented by Verithan and the Wailing Sisters, and ultimately confront the Bane of Regret to lift the curse. They must choose whether to take the treasure for themselves, return it to its rightful place, or set the trapped souls free, which will provide them with different rewards and consequences.
Setup: The Approach to the Lagoon
As the players approach the lagoon, they face their first challenge. The ancient mangrove trees are intertwined with thick vines and shadows that attempt to ensnare them. To cross, the party must either cut the vines (requiring a series of successful strength or weapon checks) or navigate through the tangled roots, using dexterity and acrobatics to avoid getting caught. Each failure results in them losing morale or sustaining minor physical damage due to splinters and thorns.
Once they successfully traverse the trees, they reach the water’s edge. The lagoon appears deceptively calm, with soft rippling waves, but upon closer inspection, the water is alive with glowing entities that swirl below the surface. The whispers grow stronger here, echoing with the lost hopes of those who have drowned.
As they explore, they encounter Verithan, who appears before them, warning them of the lagoon’s curse. He tells them that they must prove their strength, valor, and, most importantly, their compassion in order to proceed. Verithan presents them with three trials that will test their character:
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Trial of the Heart: Each player must recount a personal story of failure or loss. Their honesty earns them a blessing or a boon to aid them later (a temporary boost to power or an item), while those who refuse to share suffer an immediate curse—for instance, a reduction in their maximum hit points for the encounter.
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Trial of Courage: The players must enter the mist across the lagoon’s waters to retrieve a token of sorrow—a locket that belonged to one of the Wailing Sisters. The mist is disorienting, causing players to make wild navigation checks (a series of perception or survival rolls) to avoid the wraiths who lurk there. If they fail, they attract the attention of the Sisters, forcing a potential combat situation.
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Trial of the Giver: The players must willingly sacrifice something valuable during the course of the adventure, whether it’s an item, a spell, or a portion of their personal wealth. Those who do so will find themselves strengthened by Verithan's spirit; those who refuse will face the Wailing Sisters who take their advantage through cunning and trickery.
Confrontation: The Wailing Sisters
Successfully completing Verithan's trials allows the players access to the island at the lagoon's center. However, there they find the Wailing Sisters waiting for them. The sisters will attack in waves, using their respective abilities:
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Mist Form: One of the sisters unleashes a thick fog across the battlefield which imposes disadvantage on ranged attacks and perception checks. Players must make successful wisdom saves to avoid becoming lost in despair, represented by multiple failed saves leading to temporary confusion.
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Soul Drain: Another Sister attempts to sap the hope from players, requiring them to make constitution saves to resist her call. On failure, players suffer disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until a short rest.
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Echoing Wail: The third sister focuses her energy on producing a horrifying wail. Each player within earshot must succeed on a wisdom save or become incapacitated for one round, leaving them vulnerable to future attacks.
The players can devise clever tactics, like using spells to dispel the mist or tactics to flank the sisters, but if they defeat the wraiths, they can harness the energy of the lagoon to rejuvenate the burdens that weigh heavily on their souls.
Resolution: Encountering the Bane of Regret
Once the Wailing Sisters are defeated, the lagoon starts to churn violently, signaling the emergence of the Bane of Regret. The air grows thick with sorrow, and the players can see the combined forms of their past failures and the souls lost to the lagoon within the Bane’s body.
As they engage the creature, they quickly realize that normal attacks do little to impress the Bane. Players must work to use the lagoon's unique environment to their advantage:
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Channel Souls: Players who had willingly shared their losses in the earlier trials can channel that energy into empowering their attacks. For every tale told, they can make a stronger attack against the Bane.
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Elemental Weakness: The Bane has a vulnerability to radiant damage, a discovery that can be made through insight checks or lore knowledge. Players can also seek to open pockets of light (perhaps by solving environmental puzzles in the lagoon’s surroundings) to weaken its form.
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Breaking the Curse: As they deplete the Bane's hit points, they must face an internal conflict: do they claim the treasure? Do they release the souls they'll find? As they defeat the Bane, their choice will render one of three endings:
- If they take the treasure, it provides monetary rewards, but the lagoon remains cursed.
- If they set the souls free, they receive spiritual guidance and wisdom in their future adventures.
- If they return to the treasure’s rightful place, they lift the curse entirely, becoming legends spoken of for generations.
The lagoon begins to calm, and the spirits of those lost find their peace, the whispers fade into a gentle breeze. The party's choice echoes in their memories—an emotional weight that will shape their bond as adventurers.
