Tannis#

  • Small, peaceful farming village located just south of the enchanted Elven forest
  • The campaign’s starting location — where all four party members first meet at the Raven’s Perch Tavern
  • Site of the Curse of Tannis — a devastating magical darkness conjured by Serenity using a ritual taught by the Weaver, which plunged the village into impenetrable shadow and unleashed creatures that hunted the villagers
  • Home to the Church of the Dusk Lord, whose catacombs and dungeons beneath became the party’s first major dungeon crawl
  • The Arbiter — an Angel of Justice serving the Dusk Lord — intervened here, marking the party with her holy symbol and becoming a recurring divine ally
  • The party has returned to Tannis multiple times throughout the campaign, making it an anchor point and safe haven

Notable Locations#

  • Raven’s Perch Tavern — the village’s main gathering place, run by Lerissa; where the party first meets and where Serenity performed as a singer in her disguise
  • Church of the Dusk Lord — the village’s religious center, tended by Father Samael; contains catacombs and hidden dungeons below; was the only building that emitted light during the curse, its holy wards repelling shadow creatures
  • Bastian’s Windmill — on a hill overlooking the village; used by Lerissa for ale storage and guest lodging; where the party rested early in the campaign
  • Sig Rockwell’s Blacksmith Shop — home and workshop of Tannis’s master blacksmith; later the source of custom magical gear for the party
  • The Great Oak — a massive tree in the town square, visible for miles around

Key Residents#

Lerissa — Tiefling bartender of the Raven’s Perch Tavern

  • Former beast master ranger and retired adventurer
  • Owns a gray wolf companion named “The Duchess”
  • Knowledgeable about local geography, the Order of Seasons, and the legend of the Knight of Ravens
  • Directed the party to Vidrir for deeper knowledge of the region’s history

Father Samael — Priest of the Dusk Lord

  • Tends the Church of the Dusk Lord and its catacombs
  • Had his holy symbol stolen by Serenity during a visit where she flirted with him and left his memory fuzzy (magical influence)
  • That stolen symbol became the curse’s anchor after Serenity defiled it with blood
  • Warded the church during the darkness crisis, making it the only safe refuge in the village

Sig Rockwell — Master blacksmith

  • Father of Winry, who was kidnapped by goblins and cultists in the campaign’s earliest sessions
  • The party rescued Winry, earning Sig’s lifelong gratitude
  • Later crafted the Dagger of Brightness for Toby using a gem provided by the Arbiter, inflicting radiant damage
  • Maintains Skreek’s warhorse for river travel

Winry — Sig’s daughter

  • Kidnapped for use in a dark ritual; rescued by the party in their first adventure
  • Traumatized but safe, remaining with her father in Tannis

The Curse of Tannis#

The defining event of Tannis and the campaign’s inciting crisis, spanning Sessions 2-5.

“Without warning, the villagers woke up to screams and panic. Complete darkness shrouded their entire village. No light could illuminate more than twenty feet in any direction. And then came the monsters. No one knows how many people are still alive, and it’s impossible to count the sheer amount of screams that eventually go quiet.”

  • Complete magical darkness descended on the village — impenetrable by light or darkvision
  • A magical barrier formed around Tannis, preventing anyone from leaving
  • Shadowy hands emerged from the darkness, attempting to drag villagers into the abyss
  • Spawn creatures attacked anyone outside holy ground, scratching at the church walls but unable to penetrate Father Samael’s wards

Source of the Curse#

  • Perpetrated by Serenity (Old Polly Pigtooth), a night hag over 300 years old serving the Cult of the Eclipse
  • Used a ritual taught by the Weaver combining a defiled holy symbol of the Dusk Lord (stolen from Father Samael) and a diorama of Tannis kept in her cabin’s altar room
  • Motivated by hatred for the Dusk Lord and a desire to earn Nidhogg’s favor
  • Serenity’s journal: “the dusk lord?!? What a joke. His suffering would surely please the great shadow… would it not?”

Resolution#

  1. The party tracked Serenity’s signal to her cabin in the Elven forest (Sessions 9-10), discovering the defiled holy symbol and the diorama
  2. The Arbiter confirmed the defiled symbol as the curse’s anchor
  3. The Arbiter cleansed the holy symbol, lifting the magical barrier and destroying the remaining shadow creatures
  4. Serenity was later permanently defeated by the party in Session 15 — her body beheaded and her cabin burned to prevent resurrection

The Arbiter’s Intervention#

  • The Dusk Lord, seeing his holy symbol defiled and his followers under attack, sent the Arbiter — an Angel of Justice — to investigate
  • The Arbiter initially planned a purification ritual to cleanse Tannis entirely, which would have killed everyone in the village
  • The party convinced her to delay by vowing to find and destroy the corruption’s source themselves
  • After the curse was broken, the Arbiter marked the party with her holy symbol, granting:
    • Safe passage through her divine barriers
    • The ability to commune with her
    • Blessing of the Dusk Lord (1d8 radiant damage, once per long rest)
  • She also gave Skreek a +1 Shield of the Dusk Lord recovered from the church crypt
  • The Arbiter became an ongoing divine ally, though she cannot intervene directly in mortal affairs beyond boundary and temple locations — mortals must choose to protect their world themselves

The Church Catacombs & Dungeons#

The party’s first major dungeon crawl, explored during the darkness crisis (Sessions 3-5).

  • The Church — the only building emitting light during the curse; Father Samael’s wards held the shadow creatures at bay
  • The Catacombs — below the main church level; contains deceased priests, holy relics, and symbols; the party navigated using holy symbols recovered from the dead
  • The Snatcher — a dangerous shadow entity lurking in the catacombs that had killed several priests; the party chose to avoid rather than fight it
  • The Dungeons — a hidden level beneath the catacombs containing a secret chamber where the Arbiter was preparing her purification ritual; the party reached her here and negotiated the village’s survival

Campaign Significance#

Tannis is the foundation of the entire campaign, serving multiple narrative roles:

  • The Inciting Incident — the Curse of Tannis is the party’s first encounter with the Cult of the Eclipse’s threat, setting the campaign’s central conflict in motion
  • Introduction to the Divine — the Dusk Lord, the Arbiter, and the concept of divine intervention are all established here
  • First Evidence of Serenity and the Weaver — the curse reveals the cult’s reach and methods, leading the party to track Serenity to her lair
  • Safe Haven — the party returns to Tannis repeatedly throughout the campaign to rest, resupply, and reconnect with allies like Sig, Lerissa, and Vidrir (whose grove lies in the nearby Shimmerwood forest)
  • Gateway to the Feywild — Tannis’s proximity to the Elven forest and Vidrir’s grove makes it the launching point for journeys to the seasonal courts

Party Visits#

  • Sessions 1-2: Party assembles at the Raven’s Perch Tavern; rescues Winry from goblins; returns her to Sig
  • Sessions 3-5: The Curse of Tannis — darkness descends; party explores the Church catacombs and dungeons; meets the Arbiter
  • Session 41: Party returns via leyline gate network; witnesses Summer’s Edge restoration at Vidrir’s grove; Vidrir revealed as Odin in disguise when he touches the blade
  • Session 46: Party returns via river travel from the Order of Seasons Tomb; visits Sig and Winry; receives Toby’s completed Dagger of Brightness