Centuries ago, when Jhavhul first came to the Material Plane to raise an army, he brought an exquisite treasure with him: an artifact called the Brazen Tower. As Jhavhul served the wizard-priest Ezer Hazzebaim as a general for his army, and later in command of his own horde of marauders, the efreeti prince campaigned in style, making his headquarters in the portable brass fortress. When he later found Xotani’s Grave deep beneath Pale Mountain, Jhavhul put the Brazen Tower aside in the treasury (area D16), and there it lay for all the long years Jhavhul remained trapped in Kakishon. Upon his triumphant return to Golarion, Jhavhul brought the tower out of storage and used it as an undeniable symbol of his domination over Kelmarane by expanding the huge tower to full size while standing within the village battle market. Although lately Jhavhul spends his time in Xotani’s Grave, he plans on returning to reclaim the Brazen Tower once his plans are complete. Until then, Jhavhul leaves the Brazen Tower under the control of his newest ally, Davashuum, the fallen Templar of the Five Winds, along with a magical bone key that opens the portal to Xotani’s Grave beneath the House of the Beast.
As the battle for Kelmarane moves forward, Davashuum remains ensconced within his tower, regularly communicating with his commanders via telepathy. While not a coward, Davashuum realizes that Nefeshti and the PCs would like nothing better than to capture and kill him for what he’s done to Kelmarane and his treason against the templars. Worse, he knows that his new master Jhavhul is in a delicate situation, unable to leave Xotani’s Grave now that the final wish is so near—Davashuum won’t let himself call upon Jhavhul for aid because he knows such aid would not be given, and worse, doing so would only ensure his own horrific punishment for failing to handle the situation.
Davashuum is in a difficult position, unable to call upon aid from his new master and unwilling to ask for forgiveness from Nefeshti. He sees his only choice is to hole up in the Brazen Tower, defend the bone key to Xotani’s Grave, and hold out long enough for Jhavhul to finish his ritual.
Although the rout of the primary mass of Davashuum’s army is a victory, it is not the end of the war. Before Kelmarane can be truly free, the Brazen Tower and its defenders must be destroyed. The PCs can take as long as they desire to accomplish this goal—Nefeshti and her surviving jann occupy the village and lay siege to the tower, keeping the tower’s inhabitants in a state of constant oppression and fear, giving the PCs the time they need to mount as many sorties as they can against its interior.
Unless you think the PCs could use the additional aid, Nefeshti does not accompany them into the tower.
Each day that passes without Davashuum’s defeat, the PCs lose 1d4 Liberation Points. If they ever reach 0 Liberation Points, time has run out and Jhavhul makes his final wish (see Concluding the Adventure for details). If at any point the PCs’ Liberation Point total drops to four or less (indicating that one more day could make the difference), you should warn them by having Pale Mountain give an ominous rumble, with a sudden venting of steam as a minor eruption sends a cloud of ash into the sky.
Jhavhul certainly knows time is limited at this point, and as a result, Nefeshti is no longer worried about him realizing she’s involved and offers her three daily wishes to the PCs as a resource—with a few limitations. She prefers to use these wishes to duplicate existing spells, and suggests that keeping her wishes in reserve for healing and recovering from afflictions, petrification, death, and other conditions is a wise move. She’ll also agree to use wishes to create permanent spell effects for the PCs as they desire, using one wish to duplicate the spell effect and another to duplicate a permanency spell, although this leaves her with only one wish for the remainder of the day. She can also grant inherent bonuses to PC ability scores, to a magnitude of +3 by using all three of her daily wishes in a row. She does not use wishes to grant magic items except as rewards to the PCs for their success with the liberation of Kelmarane (see page 31).
Remember that each time Nefeshti grants a wish, there’s a 5% chance the act causes a wishwarp (see page 59). Canny PCs might hit upon the idea of teleporting beyond the Pale Mountain region with Nefeshti to wish in more stable environs—this method works, as long as the PCs have enough teleport magic to come and go as they please.
Finally, it’s possible that a PC might simply try to defeat Davashuum or even Jhavhul with one well-worded wish.
Nefeshti will not grant any such wish—and if asked for a reason, she points out that Jhavhul is even more skilled at wishcraft than she is, and even he hasn’t dared to try such a blatant abuse of wishing. Such potent wishes never work out the way one intends, and this close to victory, Nefeshti does not want to risk it all by meddling with a wish that’s beyond the scope of what is outlined above.
This adventure is on a soft timer—there’s no hard-and-fast deadline by which the PCs need to finish the adventure before Jhavhul makes his final wish, but if they get distracted for too long, neither will the adventure’s climax wait patiently for them. If your group is remaining focused and not retreating too often to recover, you can simply keep the tension high by mentioning slight earth tremors or ventings of steam and ash from Pale Mountain’s slopes now and then, but assume that the final confrontation with Jhavhul happens in time to stop him.
One alternate to this is to use the PCs’ Liberation Points as a timer. Each day that passes after the liberation of Kelmarane, reduce their total Liberation Points by one. When they reach 0 LP, Jhavhul completes his ritual as detailed in Concluding the Adventure. Go ahead and let the PCs know when you reduce their LP total, but don’t tell them why you’re doing it. This should help to create a feeling of impending doom and menace and prevent them from wasting time.
The Brazen Tower’s only entrance is at the ground floor, currently within the ruined shell of the Kelmarane battle market (area B1). As long as the siege continues, the Brazen Tower remains impassive and silent, its occupants hidden within.
The Brazen Tower is protected by a constant mage’s private sanctum effect, blocking any scrying attempts as well as normal vision from the outside. In addition, the interior of the Brazen Tower is protected by a constant dimensional lock effect—this hampers teleportation effects and ethereal travel within the tower as per the spell, but the blocking effect is not complete. A spellcaster who makes a successful Level 5 Caster Level check can cast such a spell normally within the Brazen Tower.
Unless otherwise noted, the following features are found throughout the Brazen Tower. Ceilings are 20 feet high in the main tower, and 10 feet high in the flanking towers. Most rooms are lit with braziers. All floors, ceilings, and walls (interior and exterior) are composed of magically treated brass (Hardness 20, hp 180 per 5-foot square).
Interior doors are also of magically treated brass (Hardness 20, hp 120, Break DC 48). They are usually unlocked, with exceptions noted in the text.
The Brazen Tower may only be commanded to shrink or grow (similar to an instant fortress) by Jhavhul as long as the genie lives. If Jhavhul is slain, the Brazen Tower reverts to its small size and teleports back into the treasury in Bayt al-Bazan, leaving behind all creatures and objects not native to the Plane of Fire. If the PCs can then recover the Brazen Tower from the palace treasury, it functions as an instant fortress does, but the tower it grows into matches the dimensions and shape detailed in this adventure. The Brazen Tower is a major artifact.
These doors are the only physical entrance into the Brazen Tower—they are locked with an arcane lock (CL 20th), one of the artifact’s many powers. If the PCs cannot force entry, Nefeshti is willing to use a wish (spoken by a PC) to force the doors to open for them.
The double doors open onto a circular brass chamber whose walls rise to form a dome twenty-five feet above. A sloping ramp leads down from the doors to the bronze floor five feet below. The room’s floor and walls are bare, but the walls are engraved with stylized flames and scenes of a cityscape that wrap around the entire room. Above, the dome is carved with cavorting genies and other fiery creatures. The floor, walls, and dome are all polished to a mirror-like sheen, scattering the light of a large burning brazier that stands in the center of the room directly beneath a hole in the apex of the dome. Against the far wall, a gleaming ramp of bronze curves clockwise out of sight below the floor, while a second ramp curves upward in a counterclockwise direction.
The hole in the center of the dome above leads to the tower’s central shaft (area B3), and can only be reached by flight, levitation, or similar types of movement.
The ramps are provided for non-flying visitors. The northwestern ramp leads down to the cellar (area B2), and the northeastern ramp leads up to the second floor (area B4). A Level 3 Knowledge (the planes) check identifies the wall engravings as depictions of the Plane of Fire and the City of Brass.
The Brazen Tower wards the ramp leading down from the main doors with a mental alarm effect (CL 20th) that alerts Davashuum if anyone enters this area from the main entrance.
Creatures: Jhavhul traveled to the Plane of Fire to woo and hire the guardians of this chamber, a pair of elder fire elementals. Eager to see the volcanic eruption they’ve been promised, they pursue opponents anywhere within the tower, but they are bound to the tower itself and are unable to leave its environs. Each of these elementals resembles an immense serpentine dragon made out of flames.
hp 204 each (MM 99)
The walls here are smoothly shaped stone, and the low stone ceiling is peppered with a number of small stalactites. A brass door stands in the middle of the western wall next to a fearsome demonic statue carved from a single block of obsidian. A table and two large chairs sit under the ramp in the northern part of the room next to a large keg.
This level is unlit, and serves as a prison. The ceiling here is only 15 feet high, and the brass door leads to the prison cells to the west. The door is locked—one of the guards here carries the key. The keg contains strong wine and is half full.
The prison cells to the west are bare stone cells with locked bronze doors. The northern cell (B2a) holds a gnoll slaver imprisoned for breaking curfew who pleads for his life in broken Common. A total of four human townsfolk are confined in the two western cells (B2b and B2c), including the merchant Ahmad Ali Bhura (LG male human expert 3), the father of the servant girl Madra in room B8b. The southern cell (B2d) is empty—feel free to place an NPC important to the PCs in this cell. All prisoners are in bad shape (0 hp) and eager to be freed, although none have anything with which they can reward the PCs for their freedom.
Creatures: The obsidian statue is a stone golem carved to resemble a demon, but it is not the only guardian posted here. The golem follows the commands of the two efreet stationed here, a vain pair who feel that Davashuum has not done enough to stroke their massive egos. As a result, they spend more time drinking, sulking, and complaining than guarding prisoners, and take a –5 penalty on Listen and Spot checks. The stone golem normally stands inert beside the western door, activating only when trespassers enter the room, be they intruders or prisoners trying to escape.
hp 65 each (MM 115)
hp 96 (MM 136)
Liberation Points: Freeing the human prisoners earns 1 LP.
This circular, polished brass shaft disappears upwards into darkness, although archways can be seen piercing the walls along its length.
Built for flying genies, this shaft vertically connects the tower’s aboveground floors. The shaft is circular, 10 feet in diameter, and unlit. Its smooth, polished walls provide no handholds, so it can only be climbed if a rope has been affixed somewhere above. Otherwise, travel through the shaft can only be accomplished with flight, levitation, or similar means of movement.
Arrow slits line the curving northwestern wall of this room on either side of a set of double doors. Two smaller doors stand in the eastern and southern walls, and a bronze ramp along the outer wall curves down to the first floor. A brass column protrudes into the southeastern corner of the chamber, with an archway providing access to its interior. A brazier in the southwestern corner illuminates the room.
This is a combination guardroom and waiting room for visitors to the tower. The double doors open onto a small exterior bridge leading to the western side tower (B10a).
Creatures: A group of six janni captains, survivors of the battle outside, are stationed in this guardroom. Each janni is wounded and worried, but if they hear sounds of combat in area B1 below, they cast invisibility and wait to ambush intruders.
hp 68 each (each has taken 3d6 points of damage already; see page 14)
Arrow slits line the curving northeastern wall of this room on either side of a set of double doors. Two smaller doors stand in the western and southern walls, and a brass column protrudes into the southwestern corner of the room, an archway providing access to its interior. A thick carpet lies in the center of the floor, while a brazier in the northern portion of the room gives off dim light.
Trap: The carpet is 20 feet square and covers the central portion of the floor, which has been trapped. If the carpet is trod upon or moved in any way, the entire chamber is filled with coruscating bolts of electricity that leap between the walls, floors, and ceiling.
Type magic; Search DC 31; Disable Device DC 31
Effects
Trigger touch; Reset automatic (1d6 rounds)
Effect spell effect (empowered chain lightning, CL 18th, 18d6 × 1.5 electricity damage to primary target, half damage to up to 18 secondary targets in area B5, DC 22 Reflex save for half )
Treasure: The carpet is an exquisite import from Jalmeray worth 4,000 gp to a collector, but weighs over 300 lbs. The trap itself doesn’t hurt the carpet if it is triggered.
The bronze-bound door to this chamber is locked (Open Lock DC 30).
This wedge-shaped chamber has a strange, musty smell. A thin layer of dust covers a bed, a wardrobe, a small desk and chair, a small brazier, and a washbasin on a stand. Tapestries embroidered with an abstract flame pattern hang on the walls between a pair of arrow slits.
This room serves as living quarters for visiting allies or dignitaries, and is currently given to the Clockwork General. He spends most of his time in the war room (area B12) as he has no need of sleep—his assignment to this room is more of a formality than anything else.
Treasure: A battered wooden shield with an unrecognizable heraldic blazon hangs on the wall above the desk. It is a caster’s shield with eagle’s splendor scribed on it. A locked iron coffer (Open Lock DC 40) in the wardrobe holds some of the general’s treasure, consisting of three golden pearls worth 150 gp each, a violet garnet and a black pearl worth 700 gp each, and a black opal worth 1,100 gp.
This unlit, spartan room contains a narrow bed, along with a desk and wardrobe.
This room was used by Davashuum before Jhavhul left him in charge of the entire tower; there is nothing of interest in here.
A ten-foot-diameter hole yawns in the ceiling of this kitchen. A brass oven sits against the northern wall next to a brass sink. Wooden shelves and tables stacked with various foodstuffs and eating utensils line the room’s vacant walls. A large fire pit smolders merrily in the middle of the floor, directly under the hole in the ceiling above.
The bottom level of each side tower serves as a kitchen for the Brazen Tower’s residents. Food is prepared here (the smoke from cooking conveniently exits through the hole in the ceiling) before being carried to rooms throughout the fortress by the tower’s flame servants, who also bring soiled dishes back to clean.
Creatures: Currently, Davashuum keeps two enslaved village girls here to cook for him and his guards—as he is fond of saying, “Food tastes better when it’s prepared with fear and hopelessness.” As the girls cannot fly, these basement rooms also serve as effective prisons for them. Madra bint Ahmad (NG female human expert 2), the daughter of a once wealthy merchant, is held in the eastern kitchen (area B8a).
Young and naïve, she does not enjoy her imprisonment here but honestly believes that in exchange for serving him, the janni general will reward her by increasing her father’s influence, and that she will eventually be released once her term of service is over. Madra does not know her father is actually being held prisoner in the cellar (area B2c). She is unfriendly to any would-be rescuers, and must be made friendly with a successful Diplomacy check to willingly leave the kitchen without permission—if her father is brought to her, she realizes what’s really going on and breaks down in a fit of shameful tears.
The girl in the western kitchen, Qura (LN female human rogue 2; Bluff +7), is older than Madra. With a fiery temper to match her bright red hair, her sharp tongue and unwillingness to work have earned her several beatings from Davashuum. Apprenticed as an apothecary before her capture, she has secretly been collecting various herbs from the stores in the hopes of creating a poison that she can slip into the janni’s food. Her plan is close to fruition, and she’s ready to prepare a meal poisoned with oil of taggit. Unfortunately for her, she’s unaware of Davashuum’s immunity to poison, and even with the PCs’ help, her plan is doomed to failure. Should she go through with it, her life is essentially forfeit unless the PCs protect her. In any case, Qura greets rescuers eagerly, and happily tells them about the layout and inhabitants of the tower’s cellar and first two levels (although she does not know of the trap in B5). Her initial attitude is friendly—she reveals her plan to poison Davashuum only if made helpful.
Ad Hoc Experience Award: Award the PCs a CR 9 experience award for each of the prisoners they manage to rescue.
Shelves line the walls of this circular room and hold a variety of foodstuffs, spices, and fresh vegetables, as well as mundane supplies such as cleaning agents and linens. Ten-foot-diameter holes pierce both the ceiling and the floor.
Treasure: Ten minutes of searching and a DC 20 Search check turns up a variety of rare herbs and spices worth a total of 1,000 gp, and nine bottles of exquisite Mendevian icewine worth 250 gp each.
Ten-foot-diameter holes yawn in the center of the floor and ceiling of this room. Simple bunks line the walls, with arrow slits between each of the beds. A small wooden table and four chairs fill the remainder of the space.
The holes in the floor and ceiling form open shafts that connect the four levels of each flanking tower. Both chambers are barracks and mess halls for janni captains stationed in the tower. The western barracks (B10a) is currently empty, home to the jann posted in the western guardroom (B4).
Creatures: The eastern barracks (B10b) houses four janni soldiers, currently recovering from the battle against Nefeshti’s troops. They immediately snatch up their arms and attack anyone entering the tower.
hp 68 each (each has taken 3d6 points of damage already; see page 14)
Treasure: A footlocker beneath one of the beds in B10a holds a chess set with pieces carved from moonstone and carnelian to resemble djinn and efreet. The set is worth 1,050 gp.
Through the arches that surround this open-air gallery sprawls the striking panorama of Kelmarane. Wooden beams supporting a brass-clad onion dome crisscross the open ceiling. A ten-foot diameter hole fills the center of the floor.
The galleries atop the two side towers are used for additional defense, but currently stand empty. Two quivers holding 20 masterwork arrows each hang from columns in each gallery. The hole in the floor forms an open shaft that connects the four levels of each flanking tower, but walls of force (CL 20th; one of the many features possessed by the Brazen Tower) currently seal both entrances, keeping enemies from flying into the open gallery and working their way downward. If the PCs can punch through one of these walls of force, either side tower presents an unguarded point of entry into the main tower, although as soon as one of the walls is brought down, Davashuum immediately receives a mental alarm as a warning.
An archway pierces the northern wall of this immense chamber. A heavy black curtain hangs to the east. Arrow slits pierce the outer wall in all directions, scenes of warring efreet, azers, and salamanders engraving the brass walls between engraved maps and charts hanging amid them. A large sand table sits in the southern half of the room, depicting the town of Kelmarane and its surroundings in great detail, burning braziers flanking it on either side.
This is Davashuum’s war room. The northeastern portion of the room contains a small brazier and several chairs and is used for semi-private meetings. A desk before the northeastern wall contains detailed ledgers of troop transfers, duty rosters, supply schedules, and other minutiae of the day-to-day management of an army, all written in Ignan. An iron strongbox sits beside the desk, and a folding wooden screen stands next to the eastern wall.
A study of the sand table reveals the outline of a vast area of destruction emanating from Pale Mountain. Coupled with information contained on the desk, it seems that the genies expect Pale Mountain to erupt into a volcano soon.
A Level 3 Knowledge (nature) check is enough to know that the Brazen Peaks are not volcanic, so whatever disaster is coming must be unnatural in origin.
Creature: One of Jhavhul’s more exotic advisors, a Kolyarut inevitable known as the Clockwork General, spends most of its time in this chamber. Until recently an aging mercenary who’d grown tired of his lot in life, the general offered his services to Jhavhul when the efreeti slaughtered his men in the Brazen Peaks not long after the genie escaped from Kakishon. He begged for his life, and Jhavhul used him to get two more wishes closer to his goal—the general used his own wish to ask for a new, immortal body. Jhavhul granted his wish, transforming him into a gleaming brass inevitable, stripping him of his emotions and memories and turning him into his own loyal general.
The Clockwork General was ordered by Jhavhul to assist Davashuum in commanding the efreeti’s janni armies.
He spends most of his time obsessing over strategies and maneuvers at the sand table. He is under no orders to defend the tower, so he will not go to the aid of any of the tower’s other residents, but he attacks any intruders who enter this room.
Kolyarut inevitable (MM 159)
hp 91
Treasure: The strongbox next to the desk is locked (Open Locks DC 30, Davashuum has the key) and contains the army’s payroll: 6,480 sp and 433 gp.
Liberation Points: Defeating the Clockwork General earns 2 LP.
The door from the central shaft (B3) into this chamber is arcane locked (CL 20th).
Tall, wide windows along the curving walls of this large chamber provide a panoramic view of the town and the dome of the battle market below. Luxurious carpets line the floor, and several desks sit in the northern portion of the room buried under maps and papers. A small sitting area with luxurious chairs and divans fills the western half of the room, while silken curtains screen the southern quadrant.
This room is the personal living quarters of the fallen templar, Davashuum. The tower’s walls are transparent on this level, appearing as windows that provide one-way viewing outside. They otherwise have the same statistics as the tower’s normal brass walls. The curtained area to the south is a sleeping area containing a large bed. A sparring dummy and weapons rack stand in the eastern side of the room.
Careful perusal of the documents on the desks (a process that takes about 30 minutes) reveals that regular shipments of slaves have been sent from Kelmarane to the House of the Beast atop Pale Mountain since the town was captured. The officer in charge of each shipment was given a “bone key” to open Jhavhul’s Doorstep near the Chamber of the Stone Speakers. This is a reference to Xotani’s bone key, which the PCs will need to enter Xotani’s Grave to confront Jhavhul—Davashuum carries one such key. Each entry in the ledgers has been signed twice by the officer in charge, once upon his departure when he was given responsibility for the bone key, and again on his return to the Brazen Tower when he relinquished the key to Davashuum.
In addition, among the lists of transferred slaves is the name of Kelmarane’s mayor, Almah Roveshki. You should add the names of any other NPCs that the PCs might want to rescue to this list as well.
Creatures: Davashuum rules Kelmarane from this chamber, and currently commands his army from here as well. The windows afford him an unparalleled view of the course of the battle. Rather than face Nefeshti and her allies personally, Davashuum waits here for them to come to him, pacing the room and brooding over the dark turn events have taken. He hopes to hold off the PCs and Nefeshti long enough for Jhavhul to finish his ritual, for once he is reborn as Xotani, the PCs are as good as dead.
Davashuum is a tall and imposing janni with darkly tanned, weather-beaten skin, a shaved head, and piercing, pale blue eyes. He wears loose blue robes and carries a silver-shod quarterstaff whose simple appearance belies its potent magical properties. Davashuum is accompanied at all times by a quartet of flesh golems stitched together from the bodies of a dozen or so gnolls that follow his commands—gifts from Jhavhul sent to Davashuum from Xotani’s Grave.
Once the tower is alerted, Davashuum waits here to face any invaders. Davashuum makes no attempt to parley, having firmly set his mind on the course he has chosen. If the PCs try to reason with him, or offer him mercy on Nefeshti’s behalf, a dark look passes across his face. “It is too late to turn back now. Soon the fire will consume us all,” he growls, and presses his attack. If one of the PCs bears Blizzard, Davashuum attempts to remove the character of that ancient weapon. Although he will not use Blizzard in combat himself, Davashuum believes the PCs are unworthy to carry a templar’s weapon.
Davashuum CR 13
Male janni monk 12 (MM 116)
LE Large outsider (native)
Init +9 (+8 after change size); Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +12, Spot +12
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 19, flat-footed 19 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 monk, +1 natural, –1 size, +3 Wis)
hp 156 (18d8+75)
Fort +17, Ref +17, Will +16; +2 against enchantment
Defensive Abilities improved evasion, slow fall 60 ft.; Immune nonmagical disease, poison; Resist fire 10
OFFENSE
Spd 70 ft., fly 20 ft. (perfect)
Melee Maelstrom +21/+21/+21/+16/+11 (1d8+8/19–20 plus 1d6 electricity)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks abundant step 1/day, flurry of blows, ki strike (lawful and magic), plane shift, stunning fist (12/day, DC 19), unarmed strike
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
3/day—invisibility (self only), speak with animals
2/day—quickened change size (DC 13)
1/day—create food and water (CL 7th), ethereal jaunt (for 1 hour)
TACTICS
During Combat On the first round of combat, Davashuum uses his quickened change size to become Large; he uses a second quickened change size to shrink his strongest looking enemy the next round. He generally attempts a disarm attack with one of his best attacks each round, following with a stunning fist delivered through Maelstrom. If surrounded, he attacks a single character with his flurry of blows to try to make an opening as quickly as possible. If one of the PCs is armed with Tempest, Davashuum attempts an Ki focused disarm (attack bonus +21) to remove Blizzard away from that character. If seriously wounded, Davashuum uses abundant step to relocate to another floor of the Brazen Tower, heals himself with wholeness of body or his potions, then turns invisible and returns to ambush the party.
Morale Davashuum lives to serve Jhavhul and fights to the death.
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +15; Grp +24
Feats Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Critical (quarterstaff), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (change size), Stunning Fist, Spring Attack, Weapon Focus (quarterstaff)
Skills Balance +18, Concentration +14, Craft (bookbinding) +10, Craft (calligraphy) +10, Escape Artist +13, Hide +19, Jump +35, Listen +12, Move Silently +13, Ride +13, Sense Motive +12, Spot +12, Tumble +27
Languages Common, Ignan, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ elemental endurance, wholeness of body (24 hp/day)
Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds (3); Other Gear bracers of armor +3, Maelstrom (+1 ki focus shock thundering quarterstaff), ring of protection +1, key to strongbox in B12
hp 79 each (M 135)
Treasure: The bone holy symbol of Rovagug that Davashuum carries is in fact a bone key of Xotani, carved from one of the monster’s fossilized claws. The bone key radiates abjuration magic, and if successfully identified, is revealed to be nothing more than a key designed to open a magic portal. It has no ability other than to open the portal in Jhavhul’s Doorstep (area C3) and provide easy entrance into Xotani’s Grave.
Liberation Points: Defeating Davashuum earns 3 LP, and immediately ends the battle for Kelmarane; proceed with “The Liberation of Kelmarane” to determine how successful the PCs were at saving the village.
Columned arches spaced around the walls of this circular, domed chamber provide access to a ten-foot-wide walkway that encircles the tower. The cracked and shattered dome of the battle market drops away twenty feet below, and the entirety of the town can be seen beyond. In the middle of the floor is a ten-foot-diameter hole.
The hole in the floor leads to the central shaft (B3), and can only be navigated with flight, levitation, or similar types of movement; the shaft entrance is blocked by a wall of force in the same manner as those at area B11.
Creatures: A group of eight janni captains, held in reserve from the battle, are stationed atop the tower to watch for invaders approaching the battle market. They fire arrows at anyone not obviously a member of Davashuum’s forces, and telepathically alert the rest of the tower’s inhabitants of intruders.
Janni Captains (8) CR 7
hp 68 each (see page 14)
Once the PCs have defeated Davashuum, the battle for Kelmarane is essentially over. A few scattered pockets of Davashuum’s jann still remain, but they lack leadership and pose no significant barrier to the PCs. Nefeshti thanks the PCs, either quietly and grimly or warmly and with great pleasure, depending on the level of success they achieved.
During the battle for Kelmarane, the PCs acquired Liberation Points for successfully completing missions and achieving goals in the Brazen Tower. Add up all the points they’ve accumulated—this total represents what level of victory the PCs have had against the janni army.
The table below shows how successful the battle was, the level of reward Nefeshti gives each PC (these rewards are either magic items or treasure granted by wishes, and as such it may take more than a day for Nefeshti to hand out all due rewards), and the CR equivalent for an ad hoc experience award for the PCs
Regardless of the outcome of the battle, as long as the PCs survived there is still much to do. Based on the information found in the Brazen Tower and rumors and information gathered from the town’s surviving citizens, the PCs should know that their next step is a journey back to Pale Mountain, both to rescue townsfolk taken from Kelmarane as slaves and to find Xotani’s Grave and confront Jhavhul. If they need guidance, you can provide it to them via divination spells like commune, contact other plane, or the like (perhaps by having Nefeshti grant such spell effects via a wish).
The PCs don’t have to leave immediately, however. They can spend a night resting and recovering, if necessary, and Nefeshti can provide them with what healing she can spare. That night, she invites the PCs to dinner with her commanders and the town’s surviving leaders, although Almah Roveshki’s absence (along with any other key NPCs that are missing) remains a reminder of heroics not yet attempted. The meal is a subdued affair, and while the townsfolk are grateful to the PCs, a pall hangs over the gathering. During dinner, small skirmishes can be heard all over town, continuing throughout the night as Nefeshti’s jann root out the last remaining enemies.
After the meal, Nefeshti dismisses the other guests in order to speak to the PCs privately. Although they have done the templars and the citizens of Kelmarane a great service today, this is no time for the PCs to rest on their laurels.
The battle for Kelmarane may have been won, but the war is far from over, for if they don’t stop Jhavhul, Golarion will be visited by devastation unseen in centuries.
LP Reward CR Award Level of Success
0 or less — — Astounding failure, 90% civilian casualties, all allied jann slain
1–5 5,000 gp 8 Pyrrhic victory, 50% civilian casualties, 90% janni casualties
6–9 12,000 gp 10 Narrow victory, 20% civilian casualties, 50% janni casualties
10–13 20,000 gp 12 Overwhelming victory, no civilian casualties, 20% jann casualties
14 or more 25,000 gp 14 Complete triumph, no casualties