Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus [1492 DR]
Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus, published 2019
Mention:
JANDER SUNSTAR
(93)
Near the summit of the hill, the vampire Jander Sunstar is impaled on one of the largest iron trees. This elf warrior, cursed to an eternity of undeath, tried to redeem his corrupted soul by swearing to hunt down his own kind. Later, he volunteered to join Zariel on her crusade into the Nine Hells. Stirges now swarm back and forth from Jander’s body, preserving his existence by injecting him with the blood of his traitorous companions.
Jander pleads for the characters to cut him down so that his soul can move on from this accursed place. He reveals the following information:
• Jander and Haruman were both part of a host of warriors who joined the angel Zariel in her assault on the Nine Hells.
• After charging through the portal into Avernus, Jander panicked and fled back to Elturel. He betrayed his braver comrades by sealing the portal behind them.
• Jander and his fellow deserters never revealed their shameful retreat and betrayal of Zariel. It was a badge of shame that the Hellriders, as they were came to be known, would wear in secret until the grave.
• After years of anguish, Jander chose to face the sun and throw himself on Lathander's mercy. The prayer fell on deaf ears, and his soul was condemned to the Nine Hells to suffer for his sins.
Temple in Idyllglen:
“IDYLLGLEN HISTORY
Any character who succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (History or Religion) check recalls the following information about Idyllglen:
• Ages ago, Idyllglen was threatened by gnoll tribes. As the gnolls raided the town, Solndor Brightstar, a cleric of Lathander, led the people in prayer to his god for aid. Lathander was moved by the people’s bravery and sent the angel Zariel to defeat the gnolls. After driving off the gnolls, the people erected a statue of Zariel to honor her.
• Generations later, the gnolls returned to Idyllglen, this time with demons in their ranks and Yeenoghu himself leading the war band. Zariel and the Hellriders came to the Idyllglen’s aid, but not before the town was mostly destroyed.” (140)
"TEMPLE OF LATHANDER
This two-story, white stone temple carved with images of the sun on its exterior walls is the largest building in the town. Iron shutters cover the building’s windows, and its doors are made of oak. The temple’s occupants and features are discussed more be low.
Occupants.
Jessa Brightstar, a neutral good female human priest of Lathander, leads a congregation of fifty townsfolk (commoners) in prayer on the first floor. If forced into combat, the commoners take the Dodge action. The townsfolk are terrified of Yeenoghu’s forces and grateful for any aid the characters provide.
Illumination.
Torches burning in sconces brightly light the temple’s interior.
Barred Entrance.
An oak double door serves as the temple’s entrance and is barred from the inside. A creature can use an action to try to force open the doors from the outside, doing so with a successful DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check. A character can also convince the congregation to open the doors by shouting through the doors and succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check.
Shuttered Windows.
All windows are covered with locked iron shutters. The iron shutters are latched from the inside and have AC 19. 25 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. A character with thieves’ tools can try to unlock a window’s shutters, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.
Roleplaying Jhessa Brightstar.
Jhessa is a pious priest of Lathander and a descendant of Solndor Brightstar (see “ldyllglen History ,” page 140). The soft-spoken woman in her forties leads her flock in a prayer to Lathander, begging the Morning Lord to send Zariel to protect the people of ldyllglen once more. Jhessa is steadfast in her faith that Lathander hears the prayer and believes it’s just a matter of time before Zariel appears. If she meets the characters, Jhessa uses her spells to heal and bolster them, hoping they can protect her congregation long enough for Zariel to arrive. If the forces of Yeenoghu enter the temple, Jhessa puts herself between any threat and the commoners within, giving her life if necessary." (141-142)
Zariel:
"ZARIEL’S ARRIVAL
This event overlaps with the end of the previous one. Read the following boxed text to the players:
The cackling demon lord shuts his maw and narrows his eyes, gazing up toward the sky as a beam of radiant light pierces the haze. A powerful angel streaks down from above, followed by a gold-furred mammoth with feathered wings. The angel slashes her sword across Yeenoghu’s chest and utters a spell. A portal opens behind the demon lord as the mammoth rams its head into Yeenoghu. The demon lord is sent tumbling through the portal, which quickly closes behind him." (144)
“As Zariel prepares to lead her forces through the portal into Avernus, all other creatures except for her, Lulu, and the characters stop moving and responding as if frozen in time. Zariel turns to the characters and says, 'Yeenoghu slaughtered those I swore to protect. I canstop him and others like him. I might have to give up all I stand for, but I could stem the tide of chaos and save many lives from the demonic terrors of the Abyss. Were you in my place, would you risk it all to save others?' Zariel lets each character answer her question in turn. She thanks them for their responses, then utters a blessing to Lathander over the characters. Characters who answered that they would risk it all as Zariel did each gain a charm of vitality. Characters who answered that they would not risk it all to stop the demon lords each gain a charm of restoration. (See 'Charms' in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master 's Guide for the benefits of these supernatural gifts.) Characters who can’t or won’t answer the question receive nothing.” (144)
"CLAIMING THE SWORD
When the characters return to the Bleeding Citadel from Lulu’s memory of ldyllglen, read the following boxed text to the players:
You stand before the dais, atop which glows the Sword of Zariel. Also before you are Lulu and the ghostly warrior, Yael. The hollyphant is the first to speak. ‘I remember everything now. ldyllglen was the last straw. We followed Zariel to Avernus, but the evil there proved to be too much for us. Asmodeus appeared and promised Zariel infernal legions to end the Blood War, but she had to give the Lord of the Nine Hells her fealty. She accepted and became an archdevil, but not before Yael and I took her sword, hoping it could redeem Zariel someday. I gave up my magic and memories, and Yael gave her life to construct this place to protect the sword.’ Yael’s ghost says, “You have faced many trials to claim the Sword of Zariel. I’m sorry to say, you face one more. As the inscription on the dais says, ‘The hero who becomes one with this blade exists no longer.’ Which of you is brave enough to draw the blade and be gone forever?” (145)
"ZARIEL’S REDEMPTION
If Zariel is convinced to accept the angelic spark, she grasps the Sword of Zariel. Read or paraphrase the following boxed text out loud when this happens:
Zariel’s trembling hand reaches toward the gleaming hilt of her sword. Her fingers brush against it, and she grimaces as radiant light sears her flesh. As her grip tightens, she gasps in pain, then speaks an oath through tears of confusion, sorrow, and dawning joy. ‘I, Zariel, supplicate myself before the holy light of justice. If it should accept me, I vow to take up this blade once more in its service.’ The archdevil’s words hang in the air for a silent moment, and she glances upward in agonized uncertainty. Then Zariel is bathed in a brilliant wash of radiant light. Her fiery halo disappears, and feathers burst from her leathery wings. All of her diabolical features vanish as her angelic form is restored. At the sight of this blessed transformation, Lulu gasps in delight - and transforms into a celestial mammoth with golden fur, feathered wings, and gleaming tusks." (147)