DM Guide: Act 1 Narrative Arc

DM Guide: Act 1 Narrative Arc & Expected PC Path

This timeline outlines the optimal path for the party through Thornwick, building tension over three days before culminating in the Church Siege.

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Phase 1: Arrival & Night 1 (Arrival at T3)

• Arrival: The party arrives in Thornwick. Their most natural first stop is the Church of Pharasma (T3) during the day.
• Meeting Sister Mirela: Read through Subscene T3 (The Church by Day) before running this scene. Sister Mirela welcomes them, assesses their intentions, and offers them shelter.
• Accommodations:
  • The party can camp inside the church nave for free alongside the displaced villagers.
  • Alternatively, if they prefer privacy or a real bed, they can pay for a room at The Bleating Lamb (T1) (Grist Mallow).
• Night 1 Event: The first night features spooky, non-hostile echoes. Transparent spirits repeat peaceful or mundane living routines (walking down the street, sitting by an empty doorway).
• DM Note: The echoes do not interact with the party or cause harm tonight, but Sister Mirela remarks that these manifestations are visibly more intense and frequent than normal.

Phase 2: Day 2 & The Cemetery Surge (Exploration & Area T2)

• Daytime Exploration: Encourage the party to explore the village.
  • Old Varla’s Hut (T4): Ideally, the PCs visit the local witch. She can provide critical context about the screaming boundary, sell minor remedies or scrolls, and offer grave-salt for defense.
• Dusk at the Church: The party heads back to the church near sundown. Sister Mirela reports strange blue light and sudden activity surging across the gravestones behind the building.
• Night 2 Encounter: Mirela suggests the party investigate the cemetery.
  • Trigger: Run Encounter T2 (Echoes in the Cemetery). The echoes turn hostile for the first time as the tear below surges, attacking the party among the gravestones.

Phase 3: Day 3 & The Siege (Preparation & Area T3)

• Rest & Downtime: The party can rest, heal, and resupply.
  • DM Note: The other village structures aren't fully fleshed out in the module, so feel free to ad-lib minor interactions with paranoid locals, small trade, or brief investigation checks around town.
• Dusk Returns: When the party returns to Sister Mirela at dusk, a palpable psychic pressure hangs over the church. The air turns freezing, and the salt lines across the crypt threshold begin to crack. Sister Mirela warns them that the boundary is about to breach entirely.
• Night 3 Climax:
  • Allow the party time to set up barricades, consecrate entrances, or assign tactical positions.
  • Run Encounter T3 (The Church Siege)—the 5-wave defense where the party holds off the escalating breach while Sister Mirela completes her sealing ritual.
  • Once the siege is broken, proceed down to Subscene T3B (The Church Crypt) to resolve the seed.