Greyhawk Adventures
World of Greyhawk Adventures

Foundations: Act V VTT Journal & Encounter Brief — The Ballad of the Rat King & The Sewer Blessing

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Foundations: Act V VTT Journal & Encounter Brief — The Ballad of the Rat King & The Sewer Blessing

  • Campaign: The Hellfire Club | World of Greyhawk (576 CY)
  • Real-World Date: Monday, August 3, 2026
  • In-Game Date: Earthday, 29th of Reaping, 576 CY (Night)
  • Setting / Location: Cargo Wharves & River Quarter Sewers, Free City of Greyhawk
  • Platform: D&D Beyond Maps VTT | 2024 Revised D&D Rules (5.5e / SRD 5.2.1)

High-Level Tactical Summary

Following the trail of dockside murders beneath the River Quarter wharves, The Hellfire Club descended into the subterranean sewer labyrinth. Guided by the smuggler Tomas Ratek, the party encountered Brother Mossback, an emissary of Ehlonna, who blessed each hero with a radiant Leaf of Ehlonna’s Mercy. Penetrating deeper into the flooded culverts, the company confronted and executed the disgraced bard Korex the Cunning (the “Rat King”), who was orchestrating the sewer rat swarms. Slaying the waterfront tailor Wexley—who ambushed the party as a sleeper cultist—the heroes seized an unholy relic of the Whispered One: the Talisman of the Eldritch Eye.

Operational Timeline & Key Tactical Beats

  • Subterranean Ingress & The Emissary of Ehlonna:

    • Rendezvoused with smuggler Tomas Ratek at the lower cargo sluice gate.
    • In a secluded masonry sanctuary where clean moss grew amid the sewer sludge, the party met Brother Mossback, a reclusive emissary of Ehlonna.
    • Recognizing the dark trials ahead, Brother Mossback performed a holy ritual, gifting each hero a sacred Leaf of Ehlonna’s Mercy to grant protection against necrotic harm.

  • The Ballad of the Rat King:

    • Tracked defiled, green-eyed plague rat swarms into an amphitheater-shaped conduit vault.
    • Confronted Korex the Cunning, playing an ivory pan flute that drove swarms of giant rats into bloodlust.
    • Nog and Tayr formed a shield wall against the biting swarms; Amelia unleashed thunderwaves; Will and Max flanked the parapet and eliminated Korex, silencing the flute forever.

  • The Cultist Ambush & The Medallion:

    • As the party prepared to surface, dockside tailor Wexley stepped from the shadows with poisoned daggers, revealing his true allegiance to the Cult of the Whispered One.
    • In a vicious close-quarters duel, Max parried Wexley’s blade with her Unicorn Horn Dagger, allowing Nog to bring his warhammer down in a decisive finish.
    • Searching Wexley’s corpse, the party recovered a cold, heavy black iron amulet pulsing with a faint heartbeat: the Talisman of the Eldritch Eye.

Spoils, Relics & Party Status

  • Sacred Boons: 4x Leaf of Ehlonna’s Mercy (Carried by Amelia, Nog, Will, and Max).
  • Key Relic Claimed: Talisman of the Eldritch Eye (Heavy black iron ocular amulet; radiating powerful unholy divination and abjuration).
  • Experience Awarded: Level 3 Complete -> Advanced to Level 4.
  • Next Vector: Retreating to the Green Dragon Inn to analyze the unholy talisman.