Jolan Tankran, a Karrnathi war criminal who pushed his experiments with the undead too far during the Last War, is hiding out with sympathizers in Grindstone. Despite his best efforts to avoid them, some of those seeking restitution for his deeds have discovered his hiding place and—not wanting to tip their hand— sent a single agent into the city to find assistance in bringing him to justice.
The PCs are chosen as the instrument of revenge for the wronged parties and offered a lot of gold to set things right for them. In addition, the characters are briefed with information about all of Jolan’s crimes, experiments, and powers.
The Emerald Claw and sympathizers among the Karrn community of Stormreach are sheltering Jolan. In addition, the nature of the overall community in Grindstone—where citizens watch each other’s backs—makes bringing Jolan to justice a task far more difficult than either the characters or their sponsors have anticipated.
TWISTS AND TURNS
Some or all of the following statements might be true.
- The PCs’ sponsors are not wronged families seeking revenge for their fallen brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. They are the victims themselves. Jolan’s experiments with the undead sometimes went awry and these intelligent zombies (use mummies with full human intelligence) have enough intelligence and capability to seek revenge themselves.
- Jolan hasn’t stopped his experiments while in exile. His research has borne new fruit. His home, a plain-looking house in the heart of Grindstone, descends into a series of labyrinthine basements that he has filled with his various undead experiments.
- Jolan has made himself undead (use a mummy with his character levels applied to him and with full human intelligence). This new wrinkle was not mentioned in the reports about him and makes facing him a more dire prospect than was originally envisioned.
CONCLUSION
If the characters face Jolan in his den and either capture or kill him, their sponsors are suitably impressed. Stormreach is a place where criminals from all sides in the Last War have come to hide. The characters might be able to parlay this success into a job as bounty hunters. They can track war criminals hiding in Stormreach and kill or capture them for return to Khorvaire.
Jolan’s notes fetch a pretty penny from experimenters in the necromantic arts, divine or arcane, though their sale opens a Pandora’s box. Jolan’s experiments were devoted to finding ways of raising more intelligent and more self-sustaining undead than prior methods allowed. In the wrong hands, such knowledge, even with his limited and unpredictable successes, could tip the balance of power in the city. The notes and the knowledge that the characters might have gained become a hot commodity not only in Stormreach’s intrigues, but also in political machinations across the world.
Finally, Killing Jolan is not as complete an end to things as some might have hoped. After his death, either in Stormreach or after he is executed in Khorvaire, he rises again as one of the undead. Those who hunted him become the hunted themselves. His new necromantic powers increase his previous abilities with the undead, and he and his new experiments seek revenge upon both Stormreach and the characters.