Nerezza’s Jagged Crown is a 4th level adventure for 4 - 5 players, compatible with 5th Edition. This is just one example of how you might layout an adventure within LegendKeeper.
Click “Go to map” in the properties sidebar on the right to see how each milestone in the quest has been marked with flags.
For more than 3000 Lunar Cycles, Nerezza Moonstone and her Moonlight Priesthood have justly ruled the southern regions of Selenia. Through their worship of the goddess Sel, the Moonlight Priesthood have lead the people through famines, pestilence, and twilight invaders.
Near the end of the last Cycle, everything changed. The gates to the Moonlight Citadel were suddenly sealed, and the Priesthood stopped showing themselves. People in the surrounding towns went into an uproar, the Citadel being the center of many of their daily lives and occupations.
The situation grows worse with every passing day. With the Priesthood sealed off, no one has access to essential healing magic. Sick and elderly folk are wasting away, with no hope in sight. The disruption to commerce in the area makes people more aggressive. Crime rates are rising, and the priests who would mete out justice remain hidden away in their Citadel. Even worse, there have been rumors of strange beings stalking the wilder plains and forests in the area. Someone in Canopy even claims to have encountered The Emerald Gatherer, though naturally no one believes such impossible nonsense.
Only one thing is certain: someone must gain access to the Moonlight Citadel and convince the Moonlight Priesthood to return to the world. If the Citadel remains sealed, the entire region will collapse in chaos and ruin.
The Full Story
Near the end of the last Lunar Cycle, under cover of night, a stranger arrived at Brom's Dock from the City of the Hollow Emperor to the north. This person was dressed modestly, and completely unremarkable in every way. He carried with him a small box made of redwood that never left his side. Witnesses remember seeing him and the box, but struggle to describe his features.
The stranger sought an audience with Nerezza Moonstone who gave it freely - it is, after all, a time of longstanding peace and prosperity. He claimed he was a son of the Nihil family, and that the box contained a family heirloom he would give as thanks for saving his brother from illness. He presented the High Priestess with a gift: a stunning crown laden with perfect amber crystals. Nerezza donned the crown and became corrupted by powerful black magic.
The Nihil family connection is a deliberate red herring. In truth, the stranger was sent as an agent of the Vicious Bard herself: Lilith Nightsong.
Targeting Nerezza within her Citadel was ingenious. Under normal circumstances, the Crown of Psychic Dissonance would simply overwhelm the person wearing it, pealing away their sanity layer by layer and then seeking its next victim. But Nerezza communes with his followers and worships Sel from a special chamber in the Citadel. The Chamber of Moonlight has a psychic amplification effect that deeply connects her mind to her followers. As she links his mind with her followers, the corrupting effects of her foul crown ripple across the entire Priesthood. Nerezza and her clergy have devolved into insane, spirit-sick, agents of Lilith.
Once the region that is so dependent on the Citadel collapses, Lilith will move in with force, enacting the first phase of her plan to depose the Hollow Emperor and rule all of Selenia, ushering in a new dark age.
Adventure Hooks
The Moonlight Priesthood are the most powerful healers in the region. If a PC contracts any sort of serious disease, the party would have no choice but to seek one of their healing relics or an audience with Nerezza.
A PC may have someone important to them in the priesthood. The sealing of the Citadel could cause great concern for their loved one.
The Moonlight Citadel is home to many wondrous magical artifacts. The PCs might seek entry for selfish material reasons such as bolstering their magic item supply. They could also seek artifacts for altruistic reasons such as to help accomplish a heroic goal. See the Magic Items list for items you can hide in the Citadel.
The Moonlight Citadel is home to the largest collection of ancient knowledge in the region. If the PCs seek critical information (ie. a forgotten language, a powerful ritual, or the location of a lost dungeon) they are sure to find it in the Citadel. Most people in the region will make it clear that such knowledge is available in the Citadel. You can also use any of the NPCs to mention a rumor of something more specific and important to them.
Continue to Part I: Seeking Ingress
