STAR WARS: DAWN OF DEFIANCE EPISODE 4 - Echoes of the Jedi

Echoes of the Jedi is the fourth adventure in the Dawn of Defiance campaign, which will take heroes from 1st level all the way through 20th level in a continuous storyline designed to give both players and Gamemasters a complete SW5e experience. This adventure begins the second act of the campaign, which consists of four adventures: Echoes of the Jedi, The First to Strike, The Core of Corruption and A Reckoning of Wraiths.

By now, the heroes have been on a series of adventures together and should be well acquainted with one another. Several months have passed since the last adventure, and the heroes should start Echoes of the Jedi at 7th level and reach 9th level by the conclusion. With some modifications, this adventure can also be used as a stand-alone scenario or as part of your existing campaign. Over the course of this adventure, the heroes will visit the ruins of a Jedi academy on the planet Almas in search of a Jedi holocron, confront evil forces brought forth by a Sith holocron gatekeeper, and come face to face with Inquisitor Valin Draco.

YT-1300

Tier 2 medium starship, unaligned, freighter role

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• Armor Class 8 + Pilot Skill (deflection armor)
• Hit Points 45 (7d8)
• Shield Points 45 (directional)
• Shield Regeneration Rate 8
• Speed 350 ft., turning 150 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	-	-	-

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• Saving Throws Strength +2 + Pilot Prof

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Abilities

Evasive Maneuvers. (4/maintenance) At 1st tier, When the deployed pilot rolls for initiative, they can immediately move the ship. This movement happens before the initiative order is determined.

The amount the ship moves is determined by rolling a d6 and multiplying it by 50 feet. The ship then gains that many feet that it can move or spend to turn. All expended uses are regained when the ship undergoes maintenance.

Nimble Starship. At 2nd tier, your ship can add half its Dexterity modifier (minimum of one) to any saving throw it makes that doesn't already include that modifier.

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Armament

Forward-Facing

Concussion Missile Launcher (1) - Gunner

Turreted

Light Laser Cannon (1) - Gunner

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Attacks

(Remember to add the proficiency of the gunners to the attack rolls)

Light Laser Cannon. Makes 2 Ranged Ship Attacks: +2 to hit, range 300/600, one target. Hit: 5 (1d8+2) energy damage.

Deployments

The YT-1300 has 5 deployment stations, with 1 gunnery station. Use the pilot's ability scores for the YT-1300's Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.

Modifications

The YT-1300 has 14 modification slots, including those granted by its size and role. It has the following stock modifications:

• Operations: Hyperdrive Slot
• Suites: Living Quarters, Storage Compartment

Additionally it has the following 11 modifications:

• Engineering: External Docking System
• Operations: Backup Hyperdrive, Enhanced Scanner, Navcomputer Slot, Tractor Beam
• Suites: Escape Pod, Recreation
• Weapons: 2x Direct Controller (Light Laser Cannon, Concussion Missile Launcher), 3x Fixed Hardpoint, 2x Turret Hardpoint (Light Laser Cannon, Concussion Missile Launcher)

Adventure Background

Abandoned and half buried in the sands of Almas for more than a millennium, Darth Rivan’s fortress has been recently invaded and pillaged by Jedi and Sith cultists. His tomes, amulets, and other artifacts have been stolen. Even the corrupt spirit of his failed apprentice Darsin, left behind as the stronghold’s guardian, has been defeated. But Rivan’s sarcophagus has been found empty.

In truth, the remnants of his dark influence has lingered for centuries in a diluted state in the cold, desert wastes surrounding the fortress, inching gradually toward the Force nexus over which the Jedi built their academy. This dark energy is responsible for the death of the world’s kaluthin plant—which Rivan himself engineered so long ago—as death and decay slowly spreads outward from his fortress. The recent destruction of the Almas Academy has strengthened this evil energy in this region. The spread of the dark side across Almas has left behind a blight of withered kaluthin that is visible from orbit. The power of the dark side in Almas has also attracted other creatures that feed on the Force, and they have followed it to its source in the bowels of the ravaged Jedi academy.

The residents of the city of Forard, still reeling from the destruction of the academy at its center during Order 66, made an effort to go on with their lives, but they couldn’t escape the impact of the dark side. Over a few short months, many local citizens inexplicably became violent, crime rose far beyond what local police could handle, and some people simply dropped dead. Fear and death quickly left the city deserted as residents relocated to other planets in the system with help from the now-independent Cularin Militia.

After months of interrogating Force-sensitive prisoners, Inquisitor Draco learned of a holocron in the Cularin system that supposedly contained ancient Sith knowledge. He swept the system for Jedi who might have survived the Almas Academy bombardment but did not find the refugees protected by Cularin’s natives, the Tarasin. Draco arrived at the academy ruins and was immediately entranced by an intoxicating surge of the dark side. Attempting to locate the source of this power, Draco went into the sublevels of the Jedi academy, where he chanced upon a fortunate discovery.

Deep within the academy was the Sith holocron he sought, which once belonged to the Sith Lord Darth Rivan. Moreover, the growing dark side energy on Almas had suffused the Rivan holocron with a powerful evil. As a result, the holocron’s gatekeeper took on a life of its own, believing itself to be the actual spirit of Darth Rivan, and it gained the power to activate itself and act of its own free will. Draco learned much from the faux Sith Lord spirit, and he remained in the academy to study the holocron further.

Master Vhiin’Thorla, a Twi’lek Jedi, who had been away on his homeworld when Order 66 took place, visited the Almas Academy with his Padawan in hopes of finding survivors. When Draco encountered them, a fierce lightsaber duel ensued, and Draco’s protégé Raik Muun used trickery to induce Thorla’s Padawan into a murderous rage directed at his own master. Thorla was forced to kill his own Padawan in self defense, and, wracked with grief, was easily captured. Draco imprisoned the Jedi Master in a Force-annulling Universal Energy Cage. For a week leading up to the heroes’ arrival, Draco has conspired with the holocron gatekeeper to break Thorla and turn him to the dark side.

Adventure Summary

Echoes of the Jedi opens with the heroes being sent to the planet Almas, in the Cularin system, to retrieve an ancient holocron from the ruins of the Jedi academy that once stood there. En route they are attacked by pirates, and eventually they make their way down to the surface of the planet. Delving deep into the ruined academy, they fight off evil dark side creatures, zealous followers of an ancient Sith lord, monstrous beasts, and the crumbling ruins of the academy itself. Finally they encounter Inquisitor Draco, who has fallen strongly under the sway of an evil Sith holocron gatekeeper. After doing battle with Draco, the heroes should recover the holocron and escape the collapsing academy, returning with the artifact to the Resurgence

Opening Crawl

If you wish to have an opening crawl before the adventure, consider using the boxed text below.

Part 1: Mission to Almas

Before starting the adventure, you should bring the players up to speed about what their characters have been doing since the end of The Queen of Air and Darkness. Afterward, read the following text aloud to them. It takes place in a briefing room aboard the Resurgence , where Master Denia briefs the heroes on a new mission.

The coordinates to Cularin are programmed into the nav computer of the heroes' ship, which should be consulted for additional information about the system. If the heroes have more questions before the mission starts, you should clarify or repeat only what Master Denia already told them. Don’t reveal too much, aside from what the player's Intelligence (Lore) checks entitle them to know about Almas. The trip takes approximately one day.

Almas

Region: Expansion Region
Climate: Desolate wasteland, temperate kaluthin grasslands (high oxygen)
Gravity: Normal
Moons: 1 (Dorumaa)
Length of Day: 38 standard hours
Length of Year: 5,547 local days
Sapient Species: 66% Human, 14% Tarasin, 20% other species
Government: None
Capital: Forard (Abandoned)
Major Exports: None
Major Imports: None

Intelligence (Nature)

• DC10 On the opposite side of the planet from the city is a vast wasteland where no kaluthin has grown for two hundred years. This dead zone is cold and lifeless, and full environment suits are required to survive in it. The area has grown steadily for centuries and now has reached the academy’s doorstep
• DC15 In the heart of the wasteland is an ancient Sith fortress, which was abandoned about a thousand years ago. The wasteland has grown at an estimated radius of 3 feet per year, though the death of kaluthin was further accelerated recently, starting about 13 years ago with sabotage by a dark side cult called the Believers. Since the razing of the Almas Academy, however, a radical surge in the dead zone has occurred. The wasteland now encompasses a radius of 3,100 miles, with a trail that leads straight to the ghost town of Forard.
• DC20 It is rumored that the Sith Lord who built the fortress around 1,150 to 1,400 years ago also created the kaluthin, combining his knowledge of bioengineering with the power of the Force. The kaluthin ability to synthesize the atmosphere of an entire planet is still considered an amazing achievement today. Until recently, scientists researched ways of transplanting the glowing grass to other worlds, but met with little success.

Intelligence (Lore)

• DC 10 Almas is the fourth and outermost planet in the Cularin system. Over a thousand years ago, a plant named kaluthin took root on the icy, lifeless world, nourishing itself from large underground lakes. Over time, the kaluthin synthesized the planet’s poisonous atmosphere (composed in large part of methane and phosphorus) into enough oxygen to sustain carbon-based life. Still, prolonged exposure can be hazardous to one's health due to trace amounts of toxins, and breath masks or atmospheric regulators are strongly recommended.
• DC 15 The local nights on Almas are not determined by the distant twin suns. Wherever kaluthin grow (everywhere except in the dead zone), their phosphorus-filled leaves absorb the moonlight and make the surface of the planet glow. It takes a while for newcomers to adjust to the dusk to dawn cycles, which are determined by the kaluthin’s leaves being either spread open or closed.
• DC 20 A century and a half ago, the Jedi established a training academy on Almas. The town of Forard was subsequently built, forming a circle around the Jedi academy. Several sadrin farms were found wherever kaluthin grew. All were recently abandoned, however, shortly after the academy was destroyed. Now the academy ruins and the surrounding town buildings are regularly despoiled by salvagers looking for valuable loot.
• DC 25 The academy was attacked at the end of the Clone Wars by three starships, which took the resident Jedi by surprise. One was a Cularin Allied Force ship that was brought down by Jedi starfighters and crashed into the academy grounds. Another was a mercenary vessel destroyed by allies of the Jedi. The third was a black starfighter that fled shortly after the assault, possibly carrying the party responsible for the attack.

Read-Aloud Text

When the heroes exit hyperspace, read the following text aloud.

Almas

As soon as they near Almas, the heroes’ starship sensors start beeping, alerting them to a nearby ship. A modified consular-class cruiser was hiding in orbit close to planet’s moon Dorumaa and is now coming at them fast, with cannons and tractor beams trained on the heroes’ ship.

Since the destruction of the Almas Academy, the pirates of the Red Fury Brotherhood emerged as the dominant corsairs in the Cularin system. Inquisitor Draco cut a deal to have them patrol the orbit of Almas while he investigates the darkness saturating the planet. Policing duties have fallen to one of the Red Fury’s most hardhearted and arrogant swashbucklers, the pirate Reddjak. His menacing scarlet vessel, the Blood Brother, tries to ensnare and board the heroes’ ship within moments of its arrival.

Seeing Red

"The Blood Brother"
Consular-Class Cruiser

Tier 1 large starship, unaligned. no role

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• Armor Class 10 (reinforced)
• Hit Points 76 (8d10)
• Shield Points 76 (directional)
• Shield Regeneration Rate 10
• Speed 300 ft., turning 200 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)

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• Saving Throws Strength +5

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Abilities

Point Defense System. When a hostile ship comes within 100 feet of a point defense system or ends its turn there, it must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a ship takes 2d6 energy damage. If a ship is in the area of more than one point defense system, it is affected only once.

Armament

Turreted

Heavy Laser Battery (1)

Port-Facing

Laser Battery (2)

Starboard-Facing

Laser Battery (2)

Rear-Facing

Laser Battery (1)

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Actions

The ship can use its tractor beam and as many attack actions as it has weapon hardpoints.

Tractor Beam. (1/maintenance) The Blood Brother can activate a tractor beam as an action, which has a range of 1,000 feet and a forward firing arc. Each ship within the firing arc must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a ship is tractored for 1 minute and immediately gets pulled 100 feet towards the tractoring ship, without changing the ship’s orientation. At the start of each of a tractored ship’s pilot’s turns, a tractored ship gets pulled 100 feet towards the tractoring ship, without changing the ship’s orientation, and then repeats the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. If a ship of small or tiny size is tractored, it has disadvantage on the saving throw. If a ship of gargantuan size is tractored, it instead has advantage. If the Blood Brother attempts to tractor a ship larger than it, and the ship succeeds on the saving throw, it can instead use the tractor beam to tractor itself to the ship, gaining the tractored condition. The Blood Brother can end the tractor beam at any time (no action required).

Heavy Laser Battery. Makes 1 Ranged Ship Attack: DC 12 Dex save, range 600/1,200, one target. Hit: 10 (2d4+5) energy damage.

Laser Battery. Makes 2 Ranged Ship Attacks: DC 12 Dex save, range 450/900, one target. Hit: 8 (2d4+3) energy damage.

Blood Brother Tactics

Reddjak would like to be able to claim the heroes’ cargo as booty by boarding their ship, and if the heroes are caught by the Blood Brother’s tractor beam they may have no choice. However, he’s already receiving a handsome compensation from Inquisitor Draco, so Reddjak will not hesitate to blast the heroes’ ship into smithereens if they struggle.

A ship is only as effective as its captain, and Reddjak is both overconfident and anxious to make a name for himself, making the Blood Brother vulnerable to hero ingenuity. The first thing Reddjak does is try to get a tractor beam lock on the heroes. If they try to escape, he aims to disable their ships. If the heroes flee, a pair of the Blood Brother’s Z-95 headhunters gives chase to the planet below, again taking aim at the heroes’ engines and trying to force them to land.

Z-95 Headhunter

Tier 0 small starship, unaligned, no role

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• Armor Class 13
• Hit Points 14 (3d6)
• Shield Points 14 (directional)
• Shield Regeneration Rate 6
• Speed 350 ft., turning 100 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)

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• Saving Throws Dexterity +5

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Armament

Forward-facing

Light Laser Cannons (1) Concussion Missile Launcher (1)

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Actions

The Z-95 Headhunter can take up to one action.

Light Laser Cannons. Makes 2 Ranged Ship Attacks: +5 to hit, range 300/600, one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) energy damage.

Concussion Missile Launcher. Makes 1 Ranged Ship Attack: DC 13, range 600/1,200, one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) energy damage.

Red Fury Pirates (4)

The Red Fury Brotherhood is as cutthroat as they come. Reddjak has taken on many violent outcasts and turned the alien pariahs into stonehearted killers. These corsairs are trained to board in space with space suits or force their victims onto a planet surface where they can fight in the open. Complete with cybernetic eye patches, vibrorapiers, blasters, and a stench that could bowl over a bantha, these pirates are seasoned pros, anxious to loot their first catch of the day.

Reddjak, Pirate Leader

Medium humanoid, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 18 (composite armor, light shield generator)
• Hit Points 72 (11d8+22)
• Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	18 (+4)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	11 (+0)

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• Saving Throws Dexterity +7, Wisdom +6
• Skills Athletics +4, Perception +6, Survival +6
• Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 16
• Languages Galactic Basic
• Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Aggressive. As a bonus action, the pirate can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.

Experimental Tech. The pirate deals one extra die of damage with its weapons (included).

Actions

Multiattack. The pirate makes three weapon attacks.

Heavy Slugpistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 40/160 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) kinetic damage.

Vibrorapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 5 ft., one targe. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) kinetic damage.

Red Fury Pirate Tactics

Unless the heroes voluntarily open the cargo door for the boarders, the pirates make their own entrance with a fusioncutter or similar device. They initially try to stun the heroes, hoping to capture them and sell them as slaves, but the boarders switch tactics to shoot to kill as soon as anyone in their party gets injured.

Each pirate is carrying 600 credits while Reddjak carries 1,000 credits for a total of 3,400 credits.

Conclusion

When the heroes defeat the Red Fury pirates, they can take time to survey the damage to their ship and repair it if they have a mechanic. They should then proceed towards the town of Forard and the academy.

Landing

The nav computer instructs the heroes to land near the abandoned cluster of buildings formerly comprising the city of Forard. There is no spaceport control to direct them—the landing beacons have been extinguished for close to two years. Landing the ship is not difficult, since the terrain around the town is flat for hundreds of miles. However, if the ship was damaged during the “Seeing Red” encounter, the heroes should make a few Intelligence (PIloting) checks to land without incident.

The ship’s sensors detect only a few life forms in the vicinity. The planet’s atmosphere is cold and has a very high oxygen concentration. The air contains traces of toxins (such as methane and phosphorus), and a DC 15 Survival check reveals that the heroes should wear breath masks, at least while outside the ruins, to avoid being affected.

If they ignore this warning or fail the Survival check, have the players make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, if they fail they take 2d8 poison damage and take one level of exhaustion from the toxic atmosphere. In addition, due to the large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere, players regain all their hit dice upon a long rest instead of only half.

The academy ruins are located in the city center, and since kaluthin doesn’t grow in the immediate vicinity, the heroes must use glowrods (or ignited lightsabers) to light the way. Heroes who are force sensitive automatically detect a strong presence of the dark side as soon as they get just over half a mile towards the academy. Due to the dark side interference, the Affect Mind, Mind Trick and Sense Emotion force powers do not function.

Squibs . . . Why did it have to be Squibs?

The nearly circular city of Forard escaped the fate of the Jedi academy around which it was built. Citizens of the urban sprawl watched in horror and awe as fire rained down from the sky with remarkable pinpoint accuracy, utterly annihilating the academy. But if the people thought they were safe after this precision strike, they were dead wrong. With the destruction of the academy, a series of mysterious calamities befell the city, and now it remains all but lifeless.

Whether the heroes land in this area as part of the encounter with the Red Fury Brotherhood or come to it afterward, read the following:

“Ged your unholy pseudopoda off dis Holy Artifact, Zquib-thing,” the big one says.

The little guy retorts, “From our dead, cold paws, ugly Ugor fiend-being! We did the location finding of this silver-ish, prettisome treasure pre-secondary!”

“It is unfortunate,” the half-droid says, “that Jedi Master Lanius never programmed me for a denouement of this particular design.”

“Hey, byu!” One of larger ones yells, popping off its helmet and turning part of its flabby amoebic body into an arm to wave you over “Hey byu, tell Zquib zinners we find dis Holy Artifact infinitely dimes infinitely before dem. Blease!”

Stotkli Spray Stick

Weapon (electrostaff), prototype (requires attunement)

Originally created by the nomadic Stokhli species on the planet Manress, Stokhli spray sticks served as effective long-range stun weapons, and were first employed for big game hunting. These weapons had enough power to knock out large animals like gundarks, making them very popular among big-game hunters.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon and this electrostaff's shocking DC increases from 13 to 15.

Additionally, this electrostaff comes with an integrated net launcher, the net launcher has a minimum range of 60ft and a maximum of 240ft, a reload of 5, and uses traditional power cells as ammunition.

A Large or smaller creature hit by a net is restrained and shocked until it is freed. A net has no effect on formless or Huge or larger creatures. A creature can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. The net has an AC of 10, 20 hit points, immunity to all damage not dealt by melee weapons, and resistance to damage dealt by unenhanced melee weapons. Destroying the net frees the creature without harming it and immediately ends the net’s effects.

Salvager

Medium humanoid (Squib or Ugor), lawful neutral

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• Armor Class 14 (fiber armor)
• Hit Points 33 (6d8+6)
• Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)

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• Skills Investigation +4, Lore +4, Technology +4
• Senses passive Perception 10
• Languages Galactic Basic and Squib or Ugor
• Challenge 2 (450 XP)

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Techcasting. The salvager is a 4th-level techcaster. Its techcasting ability is Intelligence(power save DC 12, +4 to hit with tech attacks) and it has 16 tech points. The salvager knows the following tech powers:

The salvager knows the following powers:

At-will: electroshock, mending, poison spray, ward
1st-level: tactical barrier, tranquilizer
2nd-level: cryogenic volley, infiltrate

Staunch. The salvager has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Actions

Multiattack. The salvager makes two melee or ranged weapon attacks.

Heavy Shotgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4+2) kinetic damage.

Heavy Shotgun Burst. Ranged Weapon Attack: 10 ft. cube, range 30/120 ft., DC 12 dexterity saving throw or 7 (2d4+2) kinetic damage.

Electrostaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) kinetic damage and make a DC 13 constitution saving throw or take 1d4 lightning damage and gain the shocked condition.

Dark Lizards of the Sith

Immediately after the heroes resolve the conflict between the Squibs and the Ugors, all are besieged by dark side reptiles that emerge from behind the broken chunks of the academy tower. The heroes’ only warning before the assault is a spine-chilling snarl and SplrMuck’s gurgling vociferation, “Holy irrebducible garbágina!”

THe Believers' Pets

Dark Lizard

Large aberration, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
• Hit Points 68 (8d10+24)
• Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft., swim 40 ft.,

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	14 (+2)	17 (+0)	5 (-3)	14 (+2)	8 (-1)

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• Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Charisma +1
• Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4
• Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 14
• Languages Can't speak but understands commands in Sith
• Challenge 3 (700 XP)

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Amphibious. The dark lizard can breathe air and water.

Keen Sight and Smell. The dark lizard has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and smell.

Sith-born. Dark forcecasters and Sith (species) have advantage on Animal Handling checks against the dark lizard.

Pounce. If the dark lizard moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the dark lizard can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Actions

Multiattack. The dark lizard makes two claw and one bite attack or one claw and prehensile tongue attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) kinetic damage

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) kinetic damage

Prehensile Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 10 ft., one target. Hit: If the target is medium or smaller, it must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is pulled into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the dark lizard and the dark lizard can make a bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Dark Lizard Alpha

Large aberration, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
• Hit Points 111 (13d10+39)
• Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft., swim 40 ft.,

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	14 (+2)	17 (+0)	5 (-3)	14 (+2)	8 (-1)

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• Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Charisma +1
• Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4
• Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 14
• Languages Can't speak but understands commands in Sith
• Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Amphibious. The dark lizard can breathe air and water.

Keen Sight and Smell. The dark lizard has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and smell.

Sith-born. Dark forcecasters and Sith (species) have advantage on Animal Handling checks against the dark lizard.

Pounce. If the dark lizard moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the dark lizard can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Actions

Multiattack. The dark lizard makes two claw and one bite attack or one claw and prehensile tongue attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) kinetic damage

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) kinetic damage

Prehensile Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 10 ft., one target. Hit: If the target is medium or smaller, it must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is pulled into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the dark lizard and the dark lizard can make a bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Reactions

Furious Bite. When an ally within 5ft is attacked by an enemy, the dark lizard alpha can make one bite attack at that enemy.

Dark Lizard Tactics

The Dark Lizards might not be sentient, but they know a thing or two about hunting. They quickly try to corral the heroes and scavengers between them, making an effort to capture them with their prehensile tongues and if it succeeds, the lizards reel their victims in to attack them with their claws and bites. Alternatively, the lizards try to trample their victims and pin them to the ground, lashing at them with bite attacks.

Conclusion

After the Dark Lizards are defeated, the Squibs and Ugors are so grateful that they’ll give the heroes anything in their possession.

Encounter Map

[To Be Added]

If the scavengers were receptive to the heroes before, they consider the heroes comrades now that they have shed dark side blood together. After killing the Dark Lizards, if the heroes had not already secured the items they wanted from the scavengers, the Squibs and Ugors turn them over with glee—at a meager 50 credits each. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for a friend, after all.

Once the heroes have secured their prize (either the half-droid or the datacron), they can head directly into the Almas Academy ruins.

Entering the Ruins

If the heroes do some reconnaissance outside, they can see that the ruins of eight rectangular buildings surround the tower like ragged teeth. The grounds between them and the main building used to be gardens, but are now littered with ferrocrete hunks of blasted wall and the remains of a military ship that crashed into the north side of the tower. Read the following text aloud:

If the heroes go directly to the exit, skip to the next encounter. If at least one hero tries to touch the black substance, add the following:

Each hero in a square that is adjacent to the ooze is attacked by one tendril. The attack is considered a surprise attack and cannot act in response. Have any adjacent players make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw and deals 1d8 points of psychic damage. The creature is a t’salak and will be encountered in the lower levels of the academy. It has been lying in wait as a sort of sentry, but it doesn’t use its powers on the heroes just yet.

Cave-In

The right path on the ground floor is pretty clear-cut. The holomap contained within SevenAy or the datacron is useful only once the heroes reach the sublevels. Still, if the heroes ask, the droid reveals that the inaccessible rooms on the ground floor used to be offices and classrooms, the lightsaber training room, and the grand lecture hall. The only way downstairs is via an empty turbolift shaft located past the fountain chamber and to the left. But before they reach it, the heroes’ passing causes a wall to cave in—a wall that was sustaining the ceiling by a hairpin.

The falling debris causes the players to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw deals 4d10 points of kinetic damage with a successful save taking half damage. Any hero who fails the check by 5 or more gets caught beneath a lump of ferrocrete. A successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check will remove the debris.

If the heroes survive, they reach the turbolift shaft. It shows signs of recent activity, and heroes who make a DC 19 Wisdom (Survival) check will know that there were several humanoids who passed through here. If they succeed in a DC 22 Wisdom (Survival) check they also know that it was only in the past few days. There are no handholds inside the shaft. To descend, the heroes must climb down or use an item such as a fibercord rope. The turbolift shaft descends for 50 feet before reaching the first sublevel.

(Note, surviving the cave in and entering the first sublevel of the Academy should be considered a level-up milestone.)

Part 2: Domain of Evil

While the ruined ground floor above had at least some reflected light streaming in, the underground level is pitch black. As the heroes scurry down the empty shaft, they must rely on their own darkvision, glowrods, lightsabers or other sources of light to guide the way. Beneath the heroes is a rubble pile that fell inside the shaft, blocking the path north to the vehicle hangar, but the south exit out of the turbolift is clear.

Once outside the lift shaft, the heroes find themselves at the intersection of two corridors that form an “L” shape (see the map of sublevel 1). A thin coat of dust covers the floor, disturbed in places where several beings have recently traveled. The walls are constructed of reinforced white duraplast. The corridor going east leads to several small study chambers and the remains of a control room, before being blocked by a cave-in (see “Control Room,” below). The corridor going straight (south) has two blast doors (see “Generator Room,” below) and turns left about 75 feet down (see “Library,” below).

Generator Room

Halfway across the corridor, on the west side wall, are two blast doors. If the heroes turned on the power in the control room, the doors whisk open with the push of a button. If not, they need to be powered up using an external source or forced (see “Control Room,” above). Behind both doors, the rooms are of equal size, roughly 20 feet by 50 feet at its largest points. The first room used to be a repair and maintenance area. Salvagers have picked it clean, but some pieces of junk are still lying around, including empty fuel containers, damaged repair tools, and all kinds of nuts, bolts, and hull plates.

The second room houses the academy’s power generator, a huge cylindrical turbine. Close inspection reveals that it is damaged beyond salvation. A smaller turbine nearby is the backup generator, and it is mostly intact. It can be powered on from the computer in the control room or by connecting a datapad directly to it and issuing the activation commands. The backup generator has only enough juice to power one level of the academy at a time, and since the top floors no longer exist, the heroes can use it to power one of the two sublevels.

Once activated, the backup generator will run for six hours before shutting down for a recharge. But the heroes won’t know this, so you can surprise them with this fact once the approximate time has lapsed (or at any particularly dramatic moment). The largely empty room also has a functioning repulsor sled, which the heroes can use to haul their gear around or as a battering ram to beat down doors.

Library

The southern corridor parallels the one to the north, where the control room is located, except that it is not blocked by debris. This corridor is 110 feet long. Along its left (north) wall are numerous doors that lead to more meditation rooms, and in the center of the opposite (south) wall is a single door. The heroes can ignore the doors, swing left around the outside of the meditation chambers, and go directly toward the stairwell (see “Storage Rooms," page 14). Each meditation room is 10 feet by 25 feet and totally empty aside from a few personal effects, now caked with dust, that were left behind in a hurry. These inexpensive items (not worth more than 5 credits) might include a personal groomer, a planetary landscape holo-mag, and a recording rod loaded with relaxing music.

The most important area of sublevel 1 is the library, located directly across from the southern meditation rooms. The blast door to the library is locked, but it must be forced or powered on (see “Control Room," above) before a DC 15 Intelligence (security kit) check can bypass the lock.

The library is 40 foot by 40 foot room. If the heroes expect to find hints about the holocron that Master Denia sent them to retrieve, they will be greatly disappointed. Half the library has been blown away by blaster fire, while the rest has fallen victim to looters, Sith cultists, Almasians, and, finally, Inquisitor Valin Draco. Draco learned the specific hidden location of the Qornah Holocron from Darth Rivan’s holocron gatekeeper and took the ancient teaching apparatus down to the deepest sublevel.

When the heroes enter the Jedi library, read the following:

If the heroes inspect the bust of Master Qornah, they notice a hidden compartment that is in the shape of a cube 4 inches to a side—just the right size for a Jedi holocron, as described by Master Denia. At the time of the attack on the academy, the Jedi librarian was studying the Qornah Holocron and quickly tucked it away at the first sign of danger. The Sith holocron gatekeeper told Draco exactly where to find the Qornah Holocron, and the Inquisitor cleaved the bust and claimed it.

The splintered east door leads into a study where older documents were held. Unlike datacards, flimsiplast burns easily (even more so in Almas’ oxygen-rich atmosphere), so the destruction here is worse. The study also served as the analysis room, and destroyed computers sit on collapsed desks.

Quoth of Rivan

When the heroes find a way inside the secret archive room, they stumble upon a grisly scene. Approximately a dozen corpses of different species, all in various states of decomposition, lie scattered about the room. A descending stairway is in plain view at the other end. When the heroes jury-rig the secret door, read the following:

This stairway leads to the archives level below and was reserved exclusively for Jedi Masters. (There was a backup stairway access farther north that was sealed up like a bunker, but it is now blocked to the heroes, anyway). To reach it, the heroes must traverse the obstacle course of corpses. A successful DC 25 Wisdom (Perception) check, giving advantage if they inspect the room before enter, lets them notice motion sensors along the walls in the center of the room, a failsafe installed by the Imperials. If the heroes do not notice the sensors, they automatically trip them, and the blast door comes crashing down. See the 'Army of Darkness' section below if this occurs.

While tiptoeing through the archive room, if the heroes make a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check—perhaps to see what valuables or weapons the dead bodies possess—they notice a scrap of durasheet at the center of the north wall. If they try to get a closer look, read the following:

The scrap is all that’s left of a tome that belonged to the Sith Lord Darth Rivan. If the heroes have SevenAy with them, the droid can translate the text. It was referred to by Rivan as “the creed of ruin” and is written in Sith. SevenAy translates as follows:

If SevenAy translates this text, a deafening rumble, like that of a giant waking from its slumber, thunders through the surviving academy structure before a violent quake throws everything into chaos. In the library outside, shelves that were still standing shatter as they crash to the floor. The archive room's blast doors slam closed, casting the room into utter darkness.

If the heroes do not trip the sensors or read the text, proceed to sublevel 2.

Army of Darkness

If the heroes are inside the archive room when the doors shut, they participate in the following encounter. If any heroes are elsewhere at the time, they will not be able to get inside until the encounter is over. The heroes have triggered a trap involving powerful parasites that animate the corpses of the dead in this room.

Read-Aloud Text

Once the heroes enter the area, read the following:

Guardian Spirit (2)

Called guardian spirits due to primitive cultures’ belief that they were the spirits of the dead come back to life, these creatures are actually parasites with telekinetic abilities. The two parasites can each inhabit one corpse at a time (the Guardian Spirit statblock), giving the body a semblance of undead animation. Simultaneously, each parasite can also reanimate up to two other corpses without actually being in their bodies (the Animated Coprse statblock), but they do so less efficiently, and only to help kill the heroes.

The parasites cannot live outside of a host body for long. If the heroes kill a host body, its parasite inhabits one of the remaining animated corpses, turning it into a guardian spirit. If there are no animated corpses close enough to inhabit, the parasite has nowhere to go and is destroyed.

These cadavers are actually made up of two distinct groups: the salvagers known as the Stalfonauts and bounty hunters led by the Kel Dor Jacen Yar, who had been out to capture Jedi survivors of the orbital bombardment. The two parties ran into each other in the academy library and wound up killing each other in the archive room. Now, controlled by the parasites like string puppets, their skeletal remains remember nothing of their former lives.

Guardian Spirit Tactics

Guardian spirits are very slow, so they use their numbers to their advantage. They flank the heroes, using the help action if necessary to guarantee hits on slippery targets. While they primarily will attack with whatever seems suitable at the time, they have no reservations about using their innate force abilities when appropriate. They keep attacking until they no longer have the limbs to do so.

Animated Corpse (4)

Conclusion

Once the corpses are eliminated (or dismembered), the heroes see small clouds of parasitic organisms rise out of them, searching for other host bodies nearby. If there are none within 30 feet, the parasites dissipate with a dying howl. Heroes need only wait a moment until the blast doors open to have easy access to the stairway leading down to sublevel 2.

Encounter Map

[To Be Added]

After the heroes neutralize the infected corpses, they can proceed down the staircase. If some heroes were trapped outside the archive room during the encounter, the blast door becomes unlocked 10 minutes after the sensors were tripped. The stairway leads to the second sublevel of the Almas Academy. Once the heroes descend the stairs, proceed to sublevel 2, below.

Storage Rooms

At the end of the corridor, past the meditation rooms and library, the heroes can turn left. At the other (north) end of this corridor, another cave-in blocks the utility staircase leading down, which the heroes might have seen on the map or learned about from SevenAy. Unfortunately, unless they want to spend a lot of time digging through the rocks (It would take roughly 12 hours of hard labor), the utility staircase is not accessible. The heroes might give up or look for another way down (see “Library," above).

Along the corridor, halfway to the utility stairway, are two blast doors. They are unlocked but need to be powered on (see “Control Room," above). The first room was a storage space for supplies— anything other than food that was needed by a small, self-contained community such as the Almas Academy. This room was heavily pillaged by thieves and salvagers, who left little behind but empty containers. Describe various containers of soap and torn articles of clothing.

If the heroes make a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, they also notice two surprisingly light, tiny strongboxes with each strongbox is 8 cubic inches in size, can fit in the palm of most people's hands and are made of smooth, black iron. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Lore) check reveals that the containers are made of Mandalorian iron, which was believed to be impenetrable by the Force. If the check beats the check by an additional 5, the heroes also know that the claim is false— the iron cannot stop the Force, but the strong alloy is resistant to many types of energy. The boxes have a very strong lock, equivalent to an ultrahigh security lock and opening them requires a DC 25 Intelligence (security kit) check.

The second room is where the Jedi received and kept their food supplies. Most food has been stolen; the rest spoiled long ago. In the southwest corner of the room is a small kitchen where the residents prepared meals and processed foods. Describe some unidentifiable blackened mounds of rubbish, leftover kitchen appliances, a heating unit, a broken-down refrigeration unit, various utensils, and small spice containers.

Sublevel 2

This sublevel can be reached only via the staircase in the library’s secret archive room. The other staircase down is blocked (see “Storage Rooms,” above). Upon reaching this area, the heroes immediately feel a deep unease that tempts them to turn back. Force-sensitive heroes must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or suffer the effects of the Curse force power when using Light aligned force powers. The effect lasts as long as they are on this sublevel. Expending 2 force points or a 1st level force slot will negate this effect. Also, the Force Sight and Sense Force force powers do not function within range of the dark side nexus that has developed here due to Rivan’s lasting influence. Species that rely on the force to see such as Miraluka are unaffected by the dark side interference for the purposes of vision.

Encounters are labeled on the map but don’t have to be followed in the sequence presented. The encounters marked “Crazed Believers” and "Dreambeast" can happen in any number of rooms at your discretion. You can decide that all unused rooms are empty or permanently locked, or you can detail them as you wish (see the note block below for suggestions).

Weapons Room

This room was visited recently, but the blast door controls were destroyed. Opening the door requires 1 hour and a DC 18 Intelligence (mechanic's kit) check.

If the heroes take the time to repair the door and open it, they find something surprising: a blaster shooting range. After all, lightsaber wielding Jedi have to practice their shooting skills, too. If the sublevel has power, several holographic targets appear when the heroes enter the room, startling them. There are representations of Gungans, Jawas, Squibs, and various small beasts.

Another blast door leads to a back room. If the heroes have not restored power and unlocked the doors to sublevel 2, they must open the blast door manually (see “Control Room," above). If they do so, they find that the back room is an armory. Transparent plexi on the ground shields a small stream that runs along just under floor level. This room has 7 usable blaster pistols and 20 power cells. Everything else has either been stolen or rusted beyond use.

Refresher

This is a fairly standard washroom for both men and women. It contains effluvial rinsers as well as refreshers. Along the floor runs a narrow natural stream, covered by transparent plexi.

Crazed Believers

As the heroes approach the west arch leading to the underground park, they are attacked by the first of many crazed Humans who wander this level, looking for blood. Feel free to run this encounter more than once in any of the labeled rooms.

Critical Challenge: The heroes must defeat the Believers cultists, who have fallen under the influence of the nearby t’salak. Most cultists have killed each other already, but the few remaining groups (as many as needed, in your judgment) wander about and attack the heroes on sight. They have been exposed to the t’salak’s touch so many times that the rage it induces is effectively a form of permanent madness.

Auxiliary Challenge: The heroes might try to subdue one or more Believers without killing them. They can accomplish this by grappling them and tying them up, stunning them with blasters, or rendering them unconscious. However, this doesn’t cure their madness, and as soon as they recover, the Believers will attack again. They must be alleviated of their delirium to be of any use. To do this, the heroes must make a DC 22 Charisma (Persuasion) to have the followers calm down. If the players provide a convincing scenario through roleplaying, give them advantage. If the Restoration force power is used, the follower's delirium is also lifted while the Calm Emotions force power will also temporarily restore their sanity.

Award: Alleviating the raging madness in one or more Believers provides the heroes with some information. The grateful victims negotiate their release by giving up details on the t’salak. They know where it is and what it does, but they do not know how to defeat it.

Believers Cultists (3)

The Believers cult is a group of Sith worshippers that got its start in the Cularin system. They are males and females of different humanoid species, and they come from all walks of life. Some are even trained in the Force. They were aided in their organization by the Sith scholar Murk Lundi, and they had grown into a formidable force by the time of the Clone Wars.

The ones encountered on this sublevel have been driven mad by repeated attacks from the t’salak. They are encountered in small groups, though, since two large groups of Believers in the same room would kill each other. Many Believers have fallen victim to their crazed companions.

Believer Cult Leader (1)

Believer Zealot (2)

Believer Tactics

Believers zealots attack with little strategy. They simply charge at the nearest target in their line of sight and engage in melee. Believers cultists use more straightforward tactics, trying to swarm individual heroes with melee attacks. Their leader has Battle Precognition already casted and activates Dark Shear before engaging in combat, using force powers as they go.

Conclusion

Once a Believer is incapacitated, the heroes can search him or her for items. Some of them might carry ID cards, datapads, or other personal items tucked in the pockets of their dirty and ripped vests. They carry whatever weapons they were able to find in their mindless wanderings.

Encounter Map

See the map of Sublevel 2.

Underground Park

All water on Almas is underground, so the academy’s Jedi custodians reasoned that building an underground park with a running stream would be in tune with the will of the Force. The stream was discovered while digging the academy foundations. Instead of diverting it, the Jedi requested that the architects integrate the stream into the design—it was they who had intruded on the water’s natural course, after all. The Jedi then planted local trees and kaluthin and created a garden around the stream. Occasionally, they took blind coboko fish out of the pond that formed in the park center, adding them to the academy menu.

Of course, all the park vegetation is now dead, blackened by the intense presence of the dark side. The park also contains several bodies of Believers who managed to find the secret stairwell in the library and turned viciously on one another after encountering the t’salak. At the center of the room, beside the pool, is a large pump used to force water to the levels above. It looks like it hasn’t functioned in a long time. The heroes don’t have much time to admire the scenery, however. When they reach the park center, read the following text:

This encounter is similar to Luke’s experience inside the cave on Dagobah. Each hero finds him- or herself face to face with his or her worst nightmare. The heroes are caught in a combination of a mind trick (which makes them believe that they cannot walk away or speak out) and a Force illusion (which makes them believe that they are facing an old enemy).

For each hero, choose a character or creature that poses a threat and has some significance to that hero. It could be an enemy, living or dead, from a previous adventure or even from the current adventure. It could also be someone from the hero’s past (for instance, an unlikable former employer or a cruel family member). Determine the appropriate encounter for each hero in advance, without worrying about statistics.

Encounter Example

Here’s an example of how this encounter could be run. Assume that the party contains five heroes, so four of the heroes fight each other, while the fifth fights a Believer.

• Vor’en the soldier (Init 20) versus Arani the noble (Init 14)
• Kelko the scout (Init 16) versus Sia-Lan the Jedi (Init 28)
• Deel the scoundrel (Init 24) versus a Believer (Init 8)

Oozing Madness

There's Something Familiar About This Place

When the heroes enter one of the rooms labeled “Dreambeast” (your choice), an extreme cold envelops them. The heroes immediately fall into a profound sleep without realizing it. Read the following text:

The room is an illusion, a trap devised by the Sith holocron gatekeeper and created by Inquisitor Draco. As the heroes proceed through the sublevel toward the nexus of evil, they are unwittingly immersing themselves more and more fully within Rivan’s aura of influence. This is doubly true now that the holocron gatekeeper of the Dark Lord has found a cohort in the Inquisitor, augmenting Draco’s powers significantly.

Wherever this encounter plays out, the sleeping heroes discover that the room looks identical to one they’ve previously visited. If they attempt to exit the room, they stumble into another familiar area of the academy, but not one normally connected to the room they are leaving, creating a disorienting effect. You should try to create the claustrophobia of a recurring nightmare from which the heroes cannot seem to wake. To drive the point home, you can repeat descriptions of academy chambers that the heroes have visited already. Each time, preface the description with one of the following three phrases (preferably in this order):

• There’s something’s not right here . . .
• There’s something familiar about this place . . .
• You’ve got a very bad feeling about this . . .

The longer their minds remain under Draco’s power, the more despair eats away at their confidence and motivation. For every encounter that the heroes relive in the dreamscape, their “dream persona” gains one level of exhaustion. However, the heroes can have a maximum of three encounters in the dreamscape. During each encounter, the heroes have a chance to break free of the illusion. With their minds playing tricks on them, they need to overcome their own senses; each hero can make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw once per faux-encounter. If they succeed, they wake up, preventing Draco from further sapping their moral strength. Otherwise, after the third encounter, the heroes awaken regardless, though their exhaustion is persistent.

If any hero avoids Draco’s trap entirely—that is, if a hero does not enter the room at all—she does not enter the dreamscape. Instead, she realizes that she nearly fell to a dark side trick and can see her friends lying unconscious in the room. Heroes caught in the dreamscape take note of the “missing” party members, and their interaction with them is limited.

Any hero who avoided Draco’s trap sees her sleeping friends writhe and groan in mental anguish. She can’t shake them awake, but once per dreamscape encounter, she can try to communicate with them. However, her words will be distorted. The dreamer should be baffled by the gibberish, but a successful DC 15 Intelligence check deciphers the words. If that occurs, the hero can make the Wisdom saving throw with advantage to realize that he is trapped in a dream state and escape immediately. If the hero fails the saving throw, he goes on to have another déjà vu experience.

Regardless of the manner by which the heroes awaken, immediately thereafter, they must battle a fearsome k’kayeh dreambeast that has anchored itself to the heroes and pursued them into the waking world.

When the heroes defeat the k’kayeh dreambeast and its spawn, it disappears as if it never existed. A true k’kayeh will make a stunning appearance at the end of the adventure, but for now, heroes can continue exploring the area.

The Dreams Beasts Are Made Of

K’kayeh Dreambeast

Gargantuan aberration, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 18
• Hit Points 145 (8d20+32)
• Speed 40 ft., Swim 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	10 (+0)	19 (+4)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)	15 (+2)

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• Saving Throws Str +8, Dex +3, Con +7
• Damage Resistances Energy and kinetic damage from unenhanced weapons
• Skills Athletics +8, Deception +5, Perception +3, Stealth +3, Survival +3
• Senses passive Perception 13
• Languages Can't speak but understands Sith
• Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

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Amphibious. The K'kayeh Dreambeast can breathe air and water.

Actions

Multiattack. The K’kayeh Dreambeast can use its Frightful Roar. It then makes three attacks: one with its claws, and two with its bite. It can use its devour instead of its bite.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, 15 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) psychic damage. If the target is large or smaller, the target is now grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the K'kayeh Dreambeast can't bite another target.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) psychic damage.

Force Lightning Breath (Recharge 5-6). The K’kayeh Dreambeast exhales force lightning in a 90 foot cone. Each creature in that cone must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Devour. The K’kayeh Dreambeast makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target takes the bite's damage, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the K’kayeh Dreambeast, and it takes 14 (4d6) psychic damage at the start of each of the K’kayeh Dreambeast's turns. If the K’kayeh Dreambeast takes 25 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the K’kayeh Dreambeast must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the K’kayeh Dreambeast. If the K’kayeh Dreambeast dies, a swallowed creature appears within a space that the K'kayeh Dreambeast occupied as K'kayeh Dreambeast's body vanishes.

Frightful Roar. Each creature of the K’kayeh Dreambeast's choice within 90 feet of it must succeed a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if the K’kayeh Dreambeast is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the K’kayeh Dreambeast's Frightful Roar for the next 24 hours.

The most disturbing thing about the beast is its snout. Sure, you’ve read the fairy tales about fire-breathing monsters. You may even have fought a dragon-slug on Corulag. But as you watch dark side lightning dance wickedly from one of the creature’s mammoth nostrils to the other, you know only one thing for certain . . . you’re in trouble.

K'Kayeh Dreambeast Tactics

The k’kayeh dreambeast has many weapons at its disposal. Besides its teeth and claws, it uses its force lightning breath when avaliable to hit as many heroes as possible. Any cover in the room can be crushed (or appear to be crushed) by the enormous beast. Any hero grabbed by the creature winds up in its mouth to be consumed, taking damage from its arm-length teeth.

Living Nightmare (4)

Living nightmares are manifestations of Force energy that appear in shifting, horrific forms. They usually take on the forms of monstrous beings from their targets’ memories and attack the minds of their opponents. The k’kayeh dreambeast creates these nightmares from the dark energy suffusing the remains of the Almas Academy.

Living Nightmare

Medium aberration, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 13
• Hit Points 41 (9d8)
• Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	17 (+3)	10 (+0)	5 (-2)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)

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• Damage Resistances Energy and kinetic damage from unenhanced weapons
• Senses passive Perception 12
• Languages —
• Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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Actions

Attack the Mind. The Living Nightmare strikes a single creature within 5 ft of it with psychic energy forcing the target to make a DC 13 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save the target takes 9 (2d8) psychic damage. On a successful save the target takes half damage.

Living Nightmare Tactics

Given their semi-corporeal nature, living nightmares tend to focus their attacks on opponents that cannot harm them. However, if they discover that a player has a particularly low Intelligence save, they will target that opponent instead.

Conclusion

When defeated, the k’kayeh dragon and the living nightmares fade away. The room returns to its original state, and any feature of the area that appeared destroyed is returned to normal. Any hero who has been “eaten” is found on the floor where the creature disappeared.

Encounter Map

See the map of sublevel 2

Jedi Prisoner

At some point, the heroes reach the room where Master Vhiin’Thorla is held. If they pass the room without entering it, they are attacked by the nighthunter that guards Thorla. The blast door is open, and the Twi’lek Jedi Master’s powers are kept in check inside a Universal Energy Cage designed to contain Force-users.

Draco's Best Friend

Nighthunter

Medium beast, chaotic dark

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• Armor Class 16
• Hit Points 72 (13d8+13)
• Speed 40 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	6 (-2)

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• Saving Throws Dex +7
• Skills Perception +4, Stealth +10, Survival +4
• Damage Resistances Energy, fire
• Senses darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 14
• Languages —
• Challenge 5 (200 XP)

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Force Sensitive. The Nighthunter's forcecasting ability is Wisdom (power save DC 11, +3 to hit with force attacks).

The Nighthunter knows the following powers:

At-will: force camouflage

Keen Hearing and Smell. The Nighthunter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Actions

Multiattack. The Nighthunter can make two claw attacks and a bite attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) kinetic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) kinetic damage.

Nighthunter Tactics

The nighthunter runs at the heroes, makes its attacks, and runs away before they retaliate (the heroes can make attacks of opportunity). The beast circles around, uses force camouflage and stealthily comes back from another direction, perhaps several rounds later. You can create tension by having the heroes make Perception checks if they are not searching for the nighthunter. They might think it’s gone and proceed with their exploration, only to be attacked in a different area.

Conclusion

After defeating the beast, the heroes can enter the room it guarded.

Encounter Map

See the map of sublevel 2.

Having dealt with the Nighthunter, read the following:

This room also contains a thick plasteel table, with traces of a black substance on it and a Jedi robe sprawled across it. Master Thorla is in very bad shape, both physically and mentally. His body is emaciated, and he sports several burns and cuts. To run this dramatic encounter, you must understand the Jedi’s backstory (see the sidebar on page 18). The heroes might suspect that the prisoner is a Jedi and decide to free him. If they interrogate him, Thorla tells them to leave him alone and that he is beyond redemption.

The Universal Energy Cage was designed specifically to contain a Force-user’s powers. Prisoners in the cage can, however, use the Force at very low levels, such as casting cantrips. The cage’s functions are controlled by a handheld remote that is currently in Draco’s possession. The cage has no visible controls, and the only way to open it is to destroy it, which endangers the life of the prisoner within. The Universal Energy Cage has a damage threshold of 10 and 55 (5d10) hit points. The cage is also built with a contact shock field, and every time the cage receives damage from an attack that deals 25 damage or more, the Jedi inside receives a nonlethal shock that deals 9 (2d8) lightning damage, this effect also occurs when an attack would automatically miss. When this happens, Thorla yelps in pain, but does not otherwise react.

Once the Jedi is free, whether he is conscious or not, the heroes notice that his skin is charred in multiple places, showing that he has suffered many shocks. He has four levels of exhaustion, which can only be removed by receiving extensive, long-term medical and psychological care. If Thorla is conscious, he does not run away or try to escape, but he won’t answer the heroes’ questions, either, wanting only to be left alone. He’s been fighting off Draco’s attempts at turning him to the dark side and has fallen into despair. Since the loss of his Padawan, Thorla has become disconsolate, and any mention of Jedi or Imperials angers him. He has an unfriendly attitude and if the heroes physically push or restrain him, he becomes violent and attacks.

Vhiin’Thorla, Survivor of Order 66

A green-skinned Twi'lek, Vhiin'Thorla studied at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where he befriended fellow student Devan For'deschel. Thorla eventually became a Jedi Master and a skilled duelist, participating in many missions. One of these missions changed his life.

About a year before the Clone Wars sparked, he and his Padawan Kritz Drassarb were sent to investigate a band of pirates in the Mid Rim. After two months, the ruthless organization was dismantled, but at the cost of Kritz’s life. Thorla blamed himself for his student’s death and exiled himself to his homeworld of Ryloth. He sought solitude in the planet's badlands but soon found a new purpose.

A few months into the Clone Wars, Master Devan sent envoys to Ryloth to invite her old friend to join her at the Almas Academy as the new Master of Lightsabers. When the envoys finally found Thorla, they discovered that he had spent the last year rescuing Twi'lek prisoners from slavers and had formed a community called the Enclave. Thorla had also taken on a new Padawan, a young Lethan Twi’lek named Dorv'Tilsta. Witnessing all the good that Master Thorla was accomplishing, the envoys respected his decision to decline Master Devan’s offer.

Increasing slaver attacks forced Thorla to delay a visit to the Almas Academy. Then Order 66 came. Thorla felt the death of his fellow Jedi through the Force and moved the Enclave to a more secure location, but after two long years, he risked exposure to learn more about the current state of the galaxy. Repulsed by what he discovered, he decided to investigate the fate of his old friend Devan on Almas, taking his 10-year-old Padawan with him. What he found was a demolished academy at the heart of a ghost town. He probed the ruins, winding his way down to the deepest sublevel, where he knew the secured archives were located.

Fate was not on Thorla’s side. Inquisitor Draco and his retinue arrived shortly thereafter, and a fierce lightsaber duel ensued. However, Draco’s Dark Jedi lapdog Raik Muun held Thorla's inexperienced Padawan hostage and induced a murderous rage into young Dorv with her evil t'salak, forcing him to attack his own master. A tortured Thorla fended off his Padawan, while Draco threatened to turn the boy to the dark side if Thorla refused to fight. Remorsefully, Thorla finally severed Dorv from life and misery. At that moment, the Twi'lek master snapped and fell to the dark side, racked with guilt over losing another Padawan. He desired to die, but the Imperials denied him this wish. He’s been held in a Universal Energy Cage ever since, meditating on how he lost his way as a Jedi.

Part 3: Draco's Lair

As the heroes descend into the depths of the Jedi academy, they draw closer to the nexus of dark power surrounding Inquisitor Draco. You should emphasize the growing sense of dread the heroes feel, including a strong sense of danger for any force sensitive players.

Archives Room

When the heroes reach the archives room (whether they found it themselves or were informed by SevenAy or Master Thorla), they find the door tightly shut. They can open the door by following the procedures described in “Control Room” from the first sublevel.

If the heroes enter the archives room, read the following:

This chamber was forbidden to Padawans. It was where the Jedi Masters kept their most precious Force artifacts, including the holocron the heroes seek (until it was hidden in the bust of Master Qornah). It also contains the entrance to the underground caves where Draco is consulting with the holocron gatekeeper of Darth Rivan. To keep intruders from interrupting his studies, Draco left behind some of the deadliest henchbeings in the galaxy to guard the cave entrance. Several creatures await the heroes here, as motionless as statues in their hiding places among the shadows. Masters of stealth, these steely, grayskinned warriors are all but undetectable in the dim light.

If players decide to investigate the room they will discover that information that relates to Inquisitor Draco and Darth Rivan's Holocron, specifically that Sith holocrons can sometimes bond to a force user granting them additional power. It is possible to disrupt this connection by the use of the Force Suppression power.

As the heroes enter the archives room, have them roll Wisdom (Perception) checks against the creatures’ Dexterity (Stealth) checks, with disadvantage unless they have some form of light. If the heroes succeed, one of their light sources or pure chance illuminates what appears to be a five foot-high statue resembling a gargoyle in one of the corners. This is enough warning for the heroes to avoid being ambushed, and a second later, six repulsive “statues” pounce on them from all sides. If the heroes fail their roll, the players are affected by the surprise condition as combat starts.

If the players are not startled and make a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Lore) or DC 25 Intelligence (Nature) check, they can identify the species of their attackers. These squat killing machines are called Noghri, aliens seldom seen away from their home planet. The entire room is considered to be heavily obscured unless the players bring light along from lightsabers or glowrods.

Death Commandos

Noghri Warrior

Medium humanoid (Noghri), lawful dark

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• Armor Class 16 (combat suit)
• Hit Points 83 (11d8+33)
• Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	20 (+5)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)

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• Saving Throws Dex +7
• Skills Acrobatics +7 Perception +6, Stealth +9, Survival +6
• Senses darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 16
• Languages Galatic Basic, Honorghran
• Challenge 2 (450 XP)

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Assassinate. The warrior has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. Additionally, any hit it scores against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.

Powerful Leap. If the warrior jumps at least 10 feet in a straight line before hitting with a melee weapon attack, the warrior can attempt to shove the target prone as part of the same attack.

Stokhli Spray Stick. The Stokli Spray Stick has two modes. As a bonus action, the warrior can switch between modes.

Strong-Legged. When the warrior makes a long jump, it can leap up to 30ft. When the Assassin makes a high jump it can leap up to 9 ft in the air

Actions

Staff Mode. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) kinetic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 1d4 lightning damage and become shocked until the end of its next turn.

Integrated Net Launcher Mode. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 60/240 ft, one target. Hit: The creature is shocked and restrained until until it is freed. A net has no effect on formless or Huge or larger creatures. A creature can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. The net has an AC of 10, 20 hit points, immunity to all damage not dealt by melee weapons, and resistance to damage dealt by unenhanced melee weapons. Destroying the net frees the creature without harming it and immediately ends the net’s effects.

Noghri Warrior Leader (1)

Noghri Warrior tactics

The Noghri use the darkness to their advantage. First, they try to capture the heroes in a net from their Stokhli spray sticks. If they stun or incapacitate the heroes, they bring the prisoners before Draco. Otherwise, the Noghri fight fiercely to prevent intruders from interrupting Draco, but they will be reasonable if they see that they are outmatched. They prefer to fight in melee, using their stealth and martial arts to devastating effect. If the heroes try to escape by entering the tunnel, the Noghri give chase.

Each Noghri has 1000 credits each for a total of 6000 credits.

Conclusion

If the heroes defeat the Death Commandos, they are free to enter the tunnel leading down to Draco’s location. The heroes can retain the weapons wielded by the Noghri.

Encounter Map

See the map of sublevel 2.

Nearing the Nexus

When the heroes investigate the opening in the far wall, they see that the crumbled floor and wall have revealed a tunnel. It slopes downward into utter darkness, and the rocky ground is made slippery by the natural spring that runs across the second sublevel of the academy. The slope is 5 feet wide and 60 feet long, prompting two DC 20 Strength (Athletics) checks to get down, a player with a climb speed only makes one check. A hero who fails a check by 9 or less suffers a minor slip but does not fall. A hero who fails a check by 10 or more also causes a rockslide, dealing 2d10 points of kinetic damage to himself and anyone below him. If the heroes have no light source, they must move even more cautiously and make an additional Strength (Athletics) check.

The players if they have rope, may use that to lower themselves down instead, avoiding the checks entirely.

Enter the Dragon

When the heroes arrive at the bottom, Valin Draco is waiting for them, literally surrounded by darkness. He has the controls to Thorla’s Universal Energy Cage in his possession and is studying the Qornah Holocron with the Rivan holocron gatekeeper. As the heroes approach, read the following:

Hiding behind rocks on both sides of the Inquisitor are two blackarmored Imperial shadow troopers. A player who manages to pass a DC 21 Wisdom (Perception) check can barely make them out in the darkness. Draco has the Dark Jedi Raik Muun flanking him, red lightsaber ignited, and directly behind him hovers an indistinct blot resonating with evil. This is the holocron gatekeeper of Darth Rivan, which provides Draco with advanced knowledge of Sith techniques throughout the fight.

Draco is a methodical villain. His preferred method of dealing with his enemies is to convert them to his cause, a tactic that has worked equally well on Raik and the nighthunter, and that nearly succeeded on Jedi Master Vhiin’Thorla. Draco knows that to have reached this far, the heroes must have defeated challenges that would have sundered less formidable foes.

However, before Draco invites the heroes to join him, he greets them with a single word: “Crant?” This is the name of Draco’s nighthunter. It’s unlikely that the heroes will know this, so Draco elaborates:

The heroes can tell Draco whatever they wish. If they confirm that they have killed the beast, Draco betrays no emotion, though the glint in his eye dulls. However, he immediately gathers his composure and begins his entreaty as follows:

Shadows of the Empire

Inquisitor Valin Draco

Nearly 6'5 tall, with closely cropped hair and a lantern jaw, Valin Draco looks every bit the heroic Jedi he once was. The former Padawan of Master Denia, Jedi Draco, the “Valiant Dragon,” embraced his role as a Republic commander in the Clone Wars wholeheartedly. However, at some point during the conflict, his heady determination to defeat the Separatist threat evolved into something pernicious, and he turned to the dark side.

Draco was thought lost in the chaotic Battle of Parein II 4, but he emerged after the Clone Wars as one of the new Empire’s Jedi hunters. Left for dead and stranded on Parein II’s fourth moon, a weakened Draco was stalked by a nighthunter. Ultimately, Draco subdued the beast in a vicious confrontation, but not before the creature bit off his left thumb and clamped its massive fangs down around his throat. Draco has since replaced the missing thumb with a cybernetic substitute, while masking the glaring scars around his neck with the high collar of his Inquisitor’s tunic.

Draco arrived in the Cularin system in the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Assiduous, accompanied by a Lictor-class Imperial dungeon ship, Revelator. However, unable to traverse the comet field in the vessel, Draco and his entourage made the journey to Almas in a Theta class shuttle, tucked safely away at what’s left of the Forard spaceport.

Inquisitor Valin Draco Tactics

Valin Draco activates his Rage power and engages the players in melee combat, using Saber Reflect or Parry when appropriate. He will happily use his force powers if he thinks them useful but will always save at least 3 force points so he can cast Phasewalk to escape to the next chamber when he drops to to half hp or if his allies are killed. During this encounter he does not use any of his legendary actions.

Death Rivan's Holocron Gatekeeper

Darth Rivan is an enigma of the New Sith Wars. A Zelosian, he defied nearly every stereotype of his gregarious people except for his knowledge of plant biology, and his Sith moniker is believed to have been culled from a corrupted Sith text, possibly written by Darth Revan. As the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith sometime between 1,150 and 1,400 years ago, Rivan’s story is intimately tied to an object he called the Darkstaff. Drawn to this dark side artifact, Rivan erected a stronghold on the poisonous planet Almas, using the Force and his biological knowledge to terraform the world into a paradise. At first, Rivan desired to possess the Darkstaff, but when he learned that it was a malevolent vacuum of power, he became bent on destroying it.

During the New Sith Wars, Darth Rivan consolidated many dark siders into an army. To circumvent the betrayals common among Sith, he pioneered the creation of Battlelords. This radical process bonded one of Rivan’s Sith commanders—the Battlelord—through the Force to his or her troops, such that if subordinates tried to injure or kill their superior, the alchemical bond insured that the traitors would instead be the recipients of the damage they intended to inflict.

During a pivotal battle, Rivan simply vanished from the combat zone in a catastrophic and violent way. Legend relates that Rivan at last obtained possession of the Darkstaff that he both craved and feared, and that it created a hyperspace wormhole, known as a Force Storm, that annihilated Rivan’s Battlelord army. Caught in the eye of this unnatural tempest, Rivan was flung to a time and place far removed from Almas. He found himself on the planet Ruusan, caught in the War of Light and Dark between Lord Hoth’s Army of Light and Lord Kaan’s Brotherhood of Darkness. The Darkstaff left Rivan bereft of the Force, and when he encountered a Force-user of inconsequential power, the Dark Lord was easily dispatched.

Under the influence of dark Force energies on Almas, the gatekeeper of Darth Rivan’s holocron has been given the ability to function independently and of its own free will, acting as the real Rivan would.

Darth Rivan's Holocron Gatekeeper Tactics

The Gatekeeper will attempt to avoid placing the friendly Imperial troops within its aura but if it thinks that it can harm the players it will do so despite the risk to its allies. Additionally the Gatekeeper will always grant Draco one of the bonds it thinks he will benefit the most from at the time.

Shadow Troopers (4)

It’s believed that when the curse “Emperor’s black bones” was coined, it was at the sight of these ashen-armored soldiers. Imperial shadow troopers might be mistaken for regular clone troopers, except that their stealth armor and red visors give them the appearance of demonic silhouettes. They are trained for reconnaissance and occasionally serve as guardians to vital facilities and personnel. Inquisitor Draco reasons that if they’re good enough for the Emperor’s secret Utapau storehouse, they’re good enough for him.

Unlike that of other stormtroopers, shadow trooper armor retains its distinctive pre-Imperial appearance. There is talk of eventually streamlining shadow trooper armor, but for now, their scarlet T-visors remain a haunting reminder of Palpatine’s bloody ascension to the rank of Emperor. Like all other stormtroopers, shadow troopers cannot be bribed, blackmailed, or seduced. Any such attempt automatically fails.

Shadow Trooper Tactics

The Shadow Troopers attempt to remain hidden and shoot at the heroes, using their cunning actions to hide if the players manage to figure out where they are.

If the players decide to loot the Shadow Troopers, the DC-19 Stealth Carbine uses the statistics of a Nightstinger Rifle. Additionally they carry 400 credits each for a total of 1,600 credits.

Raik Muun, Dark Jedi

A former Padawan at the Almas Academy, Human half-breed Raik Muun once fell in love with a fellow Jedi student. When her affections were not reciprocated, love turned to obsession, and Master Kirlocca dismissed her from the academy. Angered at these rejections, Raik became bent on revenge. She attempted to undermine the Jedi by impersonating members of the Jedi Order while publicly performing acts of sabotage and chaos. Muun also learned of the existence of an evil creature called a t'salak, and by kidnapping and impersonating a Jedi, she gained possession of the beast. Successfully fissioning the creature into multiple entities, she attempted to use two t'salaks to turn some Jedi into crazed killers during a peace conference. Her plan failed, but Master Kirlocca lost his life defeating the t'salaks, and Raik escaped.

When Raik returned to her base on the planet Tilnes, she learned about the decimation of Jedi throughout the galaxy as a result of Order 66. Her revenge was now denied, but she could still fuel the rumors of the “Jedi Rebellion.” Raik went to Coruscant to confront those responsible for the destruction of the self-righteous Force-users, not sure if she should thank them or kill them. That’s when she met Valin Draco. The Inquisitor saw enormous potential in the wild-eyed Dark Jedi and asked her to join him. Raik felt that she had finally found someone who would love her back.

Raik has accompanied Draco on various assignments, indulging in the opportunity to hunt Jedi. When Draco travels to Almas, Raik's familiarity with the academy proves essential, as does the t’salak she brought along.

Raik Muun

Medium humanoid (human), neutral dark

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• Armor Class 16 (battle precognition)
• Hit Points 113 (25d8)
• Speed 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
11 (+0)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)	16 (+3)

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• Saving Throws Dex +5, Cha +5
• Skills Acrobatics +5, Intimidation +5
• Senses darkvision 60ft, passive Perception 11
• Languages Galatic Basic
• Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

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Forcecasting. Raik Muun is a 9th level forcecaster. Her forcecasting ability is Charisma (force save DC 13, +5 to hit with force attacks, 21 force points).

Raik Muun knows the following powers:

At-will: enfeeble, force push/pull, saber reflect
1st-level: battle precognition, curse, slow descent, wound
2nd-level: animate weapon, force throw, phasewalk
3rd-level: knight speed, sever force

Actions

Multiattack. Raik Muun makes three lightfoil attacks.

Lightfoil. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d8+3) energy damage.

Raik Muun Tactics

Raik Muun will attempt to block the players from attacking Draco at first, deflecting any attacks the heroes make at her and standing in front of him. However if the players do not approach and stay at range, she will charge them and engage them in melee combat alongside Draco.

Conclusion

If Draco is reduced to fewer than half of his hit points, or if all of his allies are dead, he retreats to another cavern for the final encounter.

Encounter Map

[To Be Added]

Behemoth from Below

At any point when Draco finds himself below half of his hit points, or if his apprentice and shadow troopers are dead, he retreats to a back entrance that opens into an immense cavern that is spectacularly lit by bioluminescent, multicolored lichen coating the walls. Draco retreats onto a natural rock overpass bridging a wide chasm that appears as bottomless as it is black. Even in flight, the Inquisitor still tries to push players off the ledge. But Draco is growing desperate, and his connection to Rivan weakens as his resolve does the same. He is prepared to make his last stand here as long as he deprives the heroes of the object they desire—the Qornah Holocron.

However, there is one factor Inquisitor Draco hasn’t accounted for. Darth Rivan’s holocron gatekeeper has not been completely forthcoming with him. If the gatekeeper couldn’t retain control of Draco, he planned to summon the real k’kayeh dragon, which has grown to a massive 200 meters (as big as some space slugs) since the Dark Lord first created the monster more than a thousand years ago.

If the gatekeeper is stripped from the holocron, his final howl of rage awakens the k’kayeh and draws it upward. If the gatekeeper is not separated from the holocron, he chooses to summon the beast at this moment. Either way, the behemoth is unleashed.

When Draco flees onto the bridge formation, he threatens to destroy the Quornah Holocron, holding it out over the chasm as tendrils of Force lightning flash from his hands. Though the beast has been released, it is not completely uncontrolled. Still seething with the dark side of the Force from his tutelage under the Sith holocron gatekeeper, Draco is able to control the beast—at least enough to keep it from devouring him. Likewise, he bends the massive strikes of Force lightning to his will, causing them to lash out at the heroes while he nimbly steps between them. Draco plans to destroy the heroes here, and unless they can defeat him, they will lose

Read-Aloud Text

When the first heroes enter the cavern where this encounter takes place, read the following text aloud:

Inquisitor Draco

Draco, now without the aid of the Sith holocron gatekeeper, has gained some control over both the dreambeast and the Force lightning erupting from the abyss below. Before the encounter begins, Draco regains 20 hitpoints from the dark side knowledge he has retained, knowing that he’ll need them in the coming fight. Remember to include any damage health or spent force points in this encounter.

As a bonus action, Inquisitor Draco can force an arc of Force lightning lances out at a creature, forcing it to make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 16 (3d10) lightning damage, half on a success. Additionally, all creatures within 5 feet of the target take half the damage as well. As a result, he never uses this against targets in which he is engaged in melee.

Inquisitor Draco Tactics

Draco knows that, alone, he could easily be overwhelmed by a group of heroes. As such, he takes a much more defensive position than he did in the previous encounter. He uses the ambient Force lightning to keep multiple enemies from getting too close to him each round. Similarly, he will use Choke to shut down one hero, letting the k’kayeh dragon do the attacking for him (while still shooting an arc of Force lightning). If no heroes are engaged in melee, Draco uses his action to dodge, hoping the disadvantage to attackers will prevent them from hitting him. Draco uses Saber Reflect when appropriate to deal with any attacks that get by his AC, hoping to draw one or two melee attackers to him at a time so that he can whittle them down rather than face a barrage from all of the heroes at once.

Draco will also begin using his Legendary Action abilities as well.

Conclusion

When the heroes deal the killing blow to Draco, he drops the Qornah Holocron at his feet. With a gasp, he goes wide-eyed and tumbles from the side of the bridge into the abyss. As Draco plummets into darkness, the Force lightning stops, and the k’kayeh dragon descends into the abyss once more, presumably after the body of the Inquisitor. With Draco defeated and the holocron recovered, the heroes need to escape from the collapsing academy with haste.

Encounter Map

[To Be Added]

Leaving the Echoes Behind

The giant dragon causes major tremors, and the academy’s foundations, already weakened by a major bombardment and several years of misuse, start to collapse. This is a good time for the heroes to exit.

Describe the ground shaking and falling rocks at random points. Reuse the fallen debris from the Cave-In section a few times as the heroes make their way back up toward the surface. Appropriate points on the map would be the tunnel leading to sublevel 2, the stairs leading up to sublevel 1, and any corridor on sublevel 1.

If the heroes survived their encounter with Draco relatively unscathed, feel free to run more encounters on sublevel 2. For example

• Some Believers might have escaped the heroes’ first trip through the level.
• The nighthunter or the t’salak might have survived.
• The library on sublevel 1 might have some guardian spirits still roaming around.
• Some Dark Lizards might still be stalking the ruins on the top level.

As you run through the ruins of the academy’s ground floor, the remaining walls of the fountain room and the columns in the entry hall collapse around you, showering you with dust. As you leap for the exit out of the academy, huge clouds of dust billow into the air, obscuring your view as the ground quakes and devours the ruins.

As the dust clears, you could not have imagined how good Almas’ toxin-filled air would feel in your lungs. It’s a good thing you rescued the holocron, because no one will be able to go back down there for a long, long time.

Looking away from the falling rubble, you see the familiar buildings of deserted Forard city. You feel like resting a bit before walking back to your ship. You can’t wait to reunite with your uncomfortable bunk bed.

Master Denia will be grateful that you’ve recovered the holocron. You should return to the Resurgence soon, before more Imperial agents come looking for Inquisitor Draco.

Concluding the Adventure

When the heroes leave the Cularin system, they can reach the last known coordinates of the Resurgence. The trip back takes one day, giving the heroes time to rest, treat their wounds, and study the holocron. Any non-Force-sensitive heroes find the cube unresponsive, but a force user can conjure the holocron’s gatekeeper, Master Qornah, who answers a few basic questions but insists on the presence of another Jedi Master.

When they finally approach the Nebulon-B frigate, the heroes receive a communication from Captain Verana asking if their mission was successful. He greets them as they dock underneath the large ship and walks them to their quarters. When the heroes are ready, they are instructed to go to the briefing room to meet with Master Denia.

Denia asks the heroes for the holocron and activates it. She then listens as the heroes recount their adventure. At the mention of Draco’s name, Denia displays a brief look of shock and becomes very pensive thereafter, as if distracted by something far away. Gathering her composure, she states the following:

If any of the players are level 7 in a force using class who have an appropriate background, Jedi Master Denia will officially make them a Jedi Knight in a ceremony before the next chapter.