The Magic Touch | Free Adventure for D&D and PF2e

When a pair of young scholar-warriors accidentally tear open a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire, the surrounding countryside erupts into chaos, and only the characters can help set things right. The Magic Touch drops your party into a crisis born from misfired magic, cursed coins, and a comet whose remnants still hum with arcane power. As the heroes battle azers, bargain (or clash) with an ambitious efreeti, and defend two initiates desperately trying to seal the portal they unleashed, they’ll uncover the truth behind the disaster and decide the fate of a gateway that could enrich—or doom—the entire region.

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The Magic Touch - D&D 5e

Below are the details you need to run this adventure. However, the game master is encouraged to customize it slightly for their group and ongoing campaign. Consider questions such as the following:

Where will this adventure take place in your world?
Should you change any of the location names to make them better fit your campaign setting?
Should you increase or decrease the loot, including adding or removing magic items?
Should you adjust any of the encounters to better fit the power level of your players and their characters?

Game Master Notes

Level. This adventure is designed for a group of four to six level-ten characters.

Creatures. This adventure features the following creatures: azer, efreeti, largesse initiate*.

*This creature can be found in Generosity and Virtue in this issue of Lair Magazine.

Resting. It’s expected that the party will not need to take any long rests in this adventure, though they may need a short rest if the characters encounter bad luck.

Loot. This adventure contains the following treasure: magical amber worth 500 gp.

Magic often takes years to study, learn, and control. For those who misuse their magic or try to cheat the system, even accidentally, the consequences are dire.

You can use this adventure after the Briar Shadows adventure since many of Philax’s coins are still scattered through the area, causing trouble for those who hold them.

Part One

Lush green trees and spotted red mushrooms line the edges of this medium clearing. The old stone foundations of a house encircle a round tent and campsite. At the center of this clearing is a massive pit that digs into the earth like an old wound. At the center of the pit is a black rock the size of a small shed, with gold veins covering its surface like lace. Two fiery warriors clash with a pair of humans around the rock, and the humans appear to be losing ground and health quickly.

Creatures. Two largesse initiates are present here.

Roleplaying Notes.

· The two largesse initiates are human women named Ame Urza and Ana Urzu. Despite their similar names and voices, they are not related—something their fellow initiates have teased them about several times. Ame is more extroverted and outgoing, while Ana is more passive and introverted.

· If one of the pair survives, they’ll be grateful for the party’s assistance and explain that elementals from a portal that opened nearby have been harassing them constantly.

· If the party pries into the portal’s origin or succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) check to determine that the initiates are hiding something, Ana will bashfully admit that the portal is their fault; they were practicing high-level magic in preparation for advancing in the ranks of the Largesse Shrine. Their magic escaped their control without warning, creating a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire.

· Both are ashamed that their magic got out of hand and have avoided going to their elders for assistance in dealing with this issue. Thus, the events at Largesse Shrine occurred without their knowledge.

· Unbeknownst to the pair, the golden coin Ame accepted as an offering a month ago was from Philax, and the detrimental curse caused their magic to misbehave and open the portal.

· They’re harvesting amber from this meteor to serve as fuel in the spell to shut the portal and request the party act as their bodyguards.

· The two azers were sent to kill the initiates before they could gather enough amber. They are not particularly interested in beating up “children,” but their code of honor demands that they finish the job Sharm paid them to do.

Encounter Notes.

· Ame and Ana are at 30 hit points each when the characters arrive and are wielding pickaxes to fend off the azers. If the party joins the fight, they’ll fall back to allow stronger characters to take over.

· This is a trivial encounter for characters of this level, so they should have no problem taking out the azers, who fight to the death.

Meteor Amber. The meteor is a shard from the comet Mokarun, which hit Aetherfract over two centuries ago. The largesse treat this location as a religious site to keep the meteor’s existence a secret. The golden material’s origin and true name remain unknown even after decades of research, so the largesse simply call it “amber.” An ounce of amber scrapings from the meteor can substitute for a material component worth 50 gp in spellcasting.

Working Together. With the party’s assistance, it will take 4 hours to scrape away enough amber needed for the two initiates to complete the ritual.

Dead Initiates. If, by some unfortunate dice rolls, both Ana and Ame die in combat, have a diary explaining the circumstances and the events leading up to in the nearby tent so the party can learn what is happening.

History of the Ruins. A religious temple to an unnamed celestial stood on this site pre-shard formation. Characters who examine the ruins and can speak Celestial can decipher phrases such as “Glory Be to. . .” and “The light of heaven shines on the people of. . .”

Part Two

The popping and gurgling magma stretches across the creek bed, casting an otherworldly red-orange glow on the area. The walls of the creek bed are charred a smokey black, and ash floats lazily through the air. The edges of a nearby tent flap aimlessly in the hot wind, and a barrel-filled wagon remains miraculously untouched by fire.

Creatures. One efreeti and one azer are present here.

Roleplaying Notes.

· Sharm the efreeti wants to keep the portal open so he can acquire wealth, resources, and slaves from the Material Plane. He wears red-and-purple silks, and his voice crackles and pops like an oil fire.

· Given enough time and resources, he plans to create an outpost fortress around the portal to ensure the flow of goods to his domain.

· If the party doesn’t start the ritual within a minute of arriving, Sharm will emerge and attempt to bribe the characters into turning on Ame and Ana. He believes that greed conquers all and will make ridiculous offers to the party, such as giving them “a ruby the size of a horse’s head,” “two celestial pearls of power,” or “a gem of four souls.” These are carefully worded offers. He can provide a ruby the size of a horse’s head, but it would be the size of a newborn foal’s head, not a full-grown horse’s head.

· His azer attendant is more devoted to him than the pair encountered earlier and is lawful evil. If there are six characters or one azer goes down too quickly, add a second azer to maintain the intended encounter difficulty.

Encounter Notes.

· When the initiates begin the ritual to seal the portal, Sharm and his attendant will pop out of the lava if they haven’t already appeared. Neither group gains advantage in initiative from surprise.

· The elementals will attempt to kill the initiates, correctly assuming that they are the highest-value targets. This fight is a combination of protection and support, as the party must keep the elementals as far away from Ame and Ana as possible while keeping them from being killed.

· The azer will fight to the death, but if Sharm drops below 50 hit points, he will flee into the portal, choosing to escape with his life and strike another time.

Sealing the Portal. The initiates must use every round to focus on the ritual and seal the portal. They must use their full turn to channel arcane energy into the spell. They cannot defend themselves without breaking concentration, though they can take reactions. If one of them gets knocked out or dies, a member of the party must take their place to assist the initiate. As long as one initiate is standing, this character doesn’t have to be a spellcaster. The ritual takes 1 minute to complete, and if successful, they seal the portal, and the lava disappears in 1d4 hours.

Lava. A non-magical object that falls into the lava instantly catches on fire and burns to ash in 1 round. A magical object that falls into the lava burns after 3 rounds. If a character falls into the lava, they instantly take 55 (10d10) fire damage and take an additional 55 (10d10) fire damage if they are still in the lava at the end of their turn.

Conclusion

If the ritual is unsuccessful (because both initiates die or the group retreats), they must choose to attempt the ritual again or ignore it and leave the area. If the portal remains open, this has consequences down the line: Sharm gets to work on creating a fortress around the portal and begins causing problems for the area. If both initiates die and the party wants to shut the portal, they need to find a spellcaster of high enough level (either a largesse devotee or an archmage) to lead the ritual.

If the initiates succeed in the ritual to close the portal, Ame and Ana are grateful to the party for their assistance and offer them unused vials of amber worth 500 gp as a reward. They ask that the party keeps the meteor’s existence a secret, as someone could easily use such a powerful site for evil if knowledge of its existence gets into the wrong hands.

If the party mentions the events of Largasse Shrine and the coin that caused it, both Ame and Ana are shocked and embarrassed as Ame has accepted a coin from a being that sounds like Philax. They realize that this coin may have been the cause of their problems and resolve to destroy it as soon as possible.

The Magic Touch - PF2e

Below are the details you need to run this adventure. However, the game master is encouraged to customize it slightly for their group and ongoing campaign. Consider questions such as the following:

Where will this adventure take place in your world?
Should you change any of the location names to make them better fit your campaign setting?
Should you increase or decrease the loot, including adding or removing magic items?
Should you adjust any of the encounters to better fit the power level of your players and their characters?

Game Master Notes

Level. This adventure is designed for a group of four level-ten characters.

Creatures. This adventure features the following creatures: azer, ifrit shuyoohk, largesse initiate*.

*This creature can be found in Generosity and Virtue in this issue of Lair Magazine.

Adventure Difficulty. The party can expect to encounter one trivial and one severe encounter in this adventure.

Loot. This adventure contains the following treasure: magical amber worth 500 gp.

Magic often takes years to study, learn, and control. For those who misuse their magic or try to cheat the system, even accidentally, the consequences are dire.

You can use this adventure after the Briar Shadows adventure since many of Philax’s coins are still scattered through the area, causing trouble for those who hold them.

Part One Trivial 10

Creatures. Two largesse devotees are present here.

Roleplaying Notes.

· The two largesse devotees are human women named Ame Urza and Ana Urzu. Despite their similar names and voices, they are not related—something their fellow initiates have teased them about several times. Ame is more extroverted and outgoing, while Ana is more passive and introverted.

· If one of the pair survives, they’ll be grateful for the party’s assistance and explain that elementals from a portal that opened nearby have been harassing them constantly.

· If the party pries into the portal’s origin or succeeds on a DC 26 Perception check to determine that the devotees are hiding something, Ana will bashfully admit that the portal is their fault; they were practicing high-level magic in preparation for advancing in the ranks of the Largesse Shrine. Their magic escaped their control without warning, creating a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire.

· Unbeknownst to the pair, the golden coin Ame accepted as an offering a month ago was from Philax, and the detrimental curse caused their magic to misbehave and open the portal.

· They’re harvesting amber from this meteor to serve as fuel in the spell to shut the portal and request the party act as their bodyguards.

· The two azers were sent to kill the devotees before they could gather enough amber. They are not particularly interested in beating up “children,” but their code of honor demands that they finish the job Sharm paid them to do.

Encounter Notes.

· This is a trivial encounter for characters of this level, so they should have no problem taking out the azers, who fight to the death.

Working Together. With the party’s assistance, it will take 4 hours to scrape away enough amber needed for the two initiates to complete the ritual.

Part Two Severe 10

Creatures. One ifrit shuyookh (weak) and one azer are present here.

The fight against the ifrit is going to be a nasty fight, no matter what. The azer is of no consequence, but the ifrit is much stronger than the characters and will pose a deadly threat to the party.

Roleplaying Notes.

· Sharm the ifrit wants to keep the portal open so he can acquire wealth, resources, and slaves from the Material Plane. He wears red-and-purple silks, and his voice crackles and pops like an oil fire.

· Given enough time and resources, he plans to create an outpost fortress around the portal to ensure the flow of goods to his domain.

Encounter Notes.

· When the initiates begin the ritual to seal the portal, Sharm and his attendant will pop out of the lava if they haven’t already appeared. Neither group is flat-footed in initiative from surprise.

· The azer will fight to the death, but if Sharm drops below 50 hit points, he will flee into the portal, choosing to escape with his life and strike another time.