THE SIEGE OF

HEROIKA
An Adventure of Political and
Supernatural Intrigue set in Esmeralda
(Maztica) – TWA4
By Nicolás Carrillo-Santarelli
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 II. RECENT EVENTS IN
ESMERALDA:
The adventure is set one year after the
status of Lopango and Esmeralda
described in those books. The following
events have taken place in that year and
INDEX: players know about them:
• Hinkalliano has entered into an
I. OVERVIEW: ................................... 2 agreement with the Natican
II. RECENT EVENTS IN ESMERALDA: ... 2 Empire, agreeing to become a
vassal State with a large degree of
III. FUTURE ADVENTURES ............... 3 autonomy given its incorporation
through peaceful means instead
IV. BACKGROUND: .......................... 3 of conquest. Fulfilling a condition
V. STRUCTURE OF THE ADVENTURE: . 3 to implement the agreement, the
1. Introduction: .................................. 3 highest Sun-priest of the Naticans,
Huamanpallpa (see Lopango,
2. First mission, Operation Serpent: ... 4
TWC2), has taken two concubines
3. Second mission, Operation Puma: .. 5
in addition to his official wife:
4. Third mission, the Legacy of the Maiatah, the daughter of the
Condor People: ...................................... 6 chieftain of of Kamancha Picchu,
5. Epilogue: ........................................ 7 a free citadel that has thus joined
the Natican empire; and
VI. FACTIONS, NPCS AND Kalaiatah, the daughter of the
MOTIVATIONS: ..................................... 7 Supreme Leader of Hinkalliano.
Both concubines are pregnant of
Huamanpallpa, and a follow-up
adventure will focus on how each
I. OVERVIEW: group claims that the son of each
concubine or the wife of the Sun-
This adventure is described in a narrative
priest is the legitimate heir,
way and in strokes rather than in detail, for
weakening the Natican Empire
DMs to fill gaps and follow the actions of
when it faces its greatest threats.
players and adjust events. Stats of
Each group attempts to dominate
monsters are intentionally not provided,
or secede to carry out things the
for DMs to use monsters as they see fit
Naticans would not normally
regarding the level of players and the
accept: replace Intiri with Tezca
difficulty they want to set. At the end of
(Hinkalliano faction) or carry out
the adventure, mass combat is imminent,
Moon pacts of the Night (Azul or
and the players may lead the defense of
Kamancha Picchu faction).
their home free city.
• Soon after the previous alliance,
To play the adventure, familiarity with the united forces of Hinkalliano and
TWC-4 Esmeralda main material, found the Naticans launched
here, is required; and familiarity with the simultaneous sea attacks against
TWC-2 Lopango PDF, available at the the Dragon Empire/New Athkatla;
DMsGuild, is encouraged. Use of the PDF and some slaves in the Empire,
‘Spiritual Struggles & Abilities” (available having received magical
here) is also suggested. implements from them, cast curses
on imperial leaders. Two coastal
cities of New Athkatla suffered

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 heavy losses and their populations Azul called the Wailing Mother and
dwindled. dabble in the shadow magic forbidden by
• New Athkatla invoked self- Intiri centuries ago. Moreover,
defence and, along with its supernatural beings are stirred and adopt
mysteriously rejuvenated dragon the Supay gnomes as their servants, with
Ibernu, launch an impressive the mummy lord from Esmeralda claiming
attack against Mount Cuzcalac by an island between Lopango and
allying with the giants and orcs Esmeralda; and the giants form a more
from Lopango. The Sun Priests of functioning State.
Lopango recoiled in fear when
their prayers to Intiri were not
heard and his avatar, while seen IV. BACKGROUND:
inside his temple in Pichu Umu, did
Heroika and its surrounding areas is the city
nothing to stop the attack. Some
where the adventure takes place. The
say that the avatar of Intiri shines
players are secret agents of the resistance
even brighter than ever before.
of the city against the colonization designs
• The Hinkalliano have made a
of the Dragon Empire, New Athkatla. After
secret Pact of neutrality with the
an armistice, the city of Heroika faces a
Supay gnomes, allowing them to
renewed naval blockade and is
conduct necromantic
surrounded in the land portions by armies
experiments on the fallen soldiers
of the Empire of New Athkatla. The Empire
of both sides except those from
argues that it is preventing the provision of
Hinkalliano.
assistance by the city’s military leaders to
• The thought police of Hinkalliano
the Hinkalliano Republic, which recently
have detained many civilians and
launched a massive attack against the
accused them of having
Empire allied with a foreign nation.
treasonous thoughts and
Additionally, the Empire claims that it
disapproving of their attacks
enforces its duty to pressure the city to pay
against New Athkatla.
its debts to imperial creditors. As a result,
• The war between New Athkatla,
apart from the payment of the foreign
Hinkalliano and Lopango has
loan, imperial authorities demand to
ceased after an Armistice.
inspect the city in order to find any
• A railway between the Republics
weapons cache to be sent to the
has been recently built by
Hinkalliano Republic, and also demand
Renacida engineers.
that those who allegedly provided
assistance to the Republic be held
accountable for breaching international
III. FUTURE ADVENTURES
norms of ‘neutrality and non-intervention.’
At the conclusion of this short adventure, it They ask that they are either and be
is hinted that the Natican Empire will be executed or extradited to an international
divided in three, after a civil struggle Tribunal (described in the Esmeralda
based on who is the real inheritor of the campaign, TWC-4).
‘True Sun’: the decimated Intiri faction
(under attack of the giants of Lopango);
the Tezcan’s from Esmeralda and their V. STRUCTURE OF THE
three new enclaves they establish in ADVENTURE:
mainland Lopango when marching
towards Mount Cuzcalac; or the coastal
empire of the Drowned Moon, centered 1. Introduction:
on Kamancha Picchu, where the son of a
concubine of the high Sun-priest of the The players begin by dreaming that the
Naticans will be. They follow an aspect of sun has been swallowed by the moon and

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how a hag called Lasheena laughs at
them and chases, only for them to stumble
upon an underground cemetery and find
the foreign sun god Intiri gagged and
captive while another sun god, Texca,
tortures him. They see the vision of an
angel saying that St. Clavierd, patron saint
of the city of Heroika, has spared their souls
from being devoured by the hag in their
dreams, for them to wake up. After
playing in this ‘dream’ or ‘vision’ (Int. and
Piety [see the TWC-4 Esmeralda and the
Spiritual Struggles & Abilities PDFs] scores
are relevant), the players, who are secret
agents of the Heroika resistance and
under the direct command of Lady
Protector Santzi (Esmeralda book TWC-4),
will be informed in Fort Endurance of two
worrisome reports and gossip and perform
those missions or one of them (described
below). The players must choose if they will
address both problems or one of them,
and in which order.
Rules while in the plane of dreams
(Feywild): Using intelligence, the players
can do whatever they describe and
imagine while in the land of dreams, as
long as they overcome the challenge
rating of what they seek to do, which is
higher the more fantastical or weird it is, as
set by the DM. Moreover, extremely weird
attempts and actions attract the Fae, who
want to kidnap mortals. The Fae oppose
intelligence rolls or checks with
advantage and Piety ones with
disadvantage.
2. First mission, Operation Serpent:
The Lady Protector informs the players
that, since a week ago, people have
been disappearing from the slums of the
city, and some of their corpses have
washed ashore in the turquoise beaches
where golden butterflies fly. These bodies
are mutilated and bear the marks of
strange teeth just like victims of the
mystical Caiman (Esmeralda book TWC-4)
did before its disappearance seven
months ago after an exorcist banished him
in a ritual branding a relic of St. Clavierd,
patron saint and mystical protector of the
city.
If they players follow the leads, they will
find out that all of those who have
disappeared were addicted to the
narcotic called Borrachón from the
neighboring land of Cordelliana (on the
drug and the nation, see TW4-C
Esmeralda). Detaining some dealers who
fear for their lives reveals that the lower
classes are suffering the most for the
blockades and resort to the narcotic to
offset the effects of hunger, and that the
dealers have done nothing but know that
the missing persons are almost always the
ones who have not paid for the drug after
some time. Further investigation reveals
that the drug is provided by a foreign
criminal organization from Cordelliana
called the Claws of Tezca (TWC-4
Esmeralda). All of the agents of the group
operating in Heroika are either orcs or half-
orcs. Furthermore, the Embassy of
Cordelliana has further information, and
an agent of the ‘Untouchables’ detectives
informs that some members of the criminal
group are alleged to reside in the sewers
of the city, which is weird given their love
of luxuries. Moreover, the group is known
for having kidnapped and ransoming a
professor of the University of Heroika
called Lukas.
When investigating, the players will find
out that Lukas was a scholar and historian
who thought he discovered where a long
lost buried temple lay in the sewer system
of Heroika. If the players follow the lead
with intelligence checks, they will stumble
upon a perfectly preserved temple where
people is being thrown by the criminal
group through a well. Interrogating the
gang’s leader they find out that some
people from the Republic of Hinkalliano,
supposed allies of Heroika, pays the
criminal group very well for doing so. The
criminal group decides to throw those
who do not pay them for their drugs, thus
profiting twice. Inside the well, the players
come across a supernatural being called
Morkustai, a werealligator who cannot be
defeated through magic or weapons, but
only through piety abilities. Defeating him
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is useless, as the players find out the next
night, since another werealligator comes
back every night due to a ritual
conducted at the well by people from
Hinkalliano. A priest from the Cathedral
informs that those beings were banished
from the material plane after St. Clavierd
conducted an exorcism when he was
alive, and that an angel promised that
they would never come back as long as
the body of the saint remains in the city.
Going to the Cathedral, they find out that
the body had been stolen (no one
noticed because the body was located in
a sealed crypt).
Witnesses (nuns and monks) do say that
some pilgrims from Hinkalliano came a
week ago to pray in the crypt, and the
only way to Hinkalliano is going through a
road that crosses the land of Talaesta,
reconquered by the Dragon Empire and
patrolled by it. If the players go after them,
they find out that the ‘pilgrims’ were
detained by imperial troops some days
ago, and the empire has found the body
and a cavalry regiment under command
of Lieutenant Amtoros (a centaur created
in accordance to the centaurs’
description in TWC-4, Esmeralda) plans to
burn it as a heretical body given how the
saint often preached against imperial
racist policies. If the players manage to
rescue the body and return it to the
Cathedral, the werealligators vanish from
the material plane and are sent back to
the Land of the Fae (Feywild) and can no
longer enter Heroika.
Further investigation reveals that the
werealligators (use the stats of wererats)
were allowed to stalk and roam the city for
the population to grow desperate and
accept the proposal of the alliance of the
nations of Lopango and Hinkalliano to
form an army of peasant in and mass levy
against the imperial troops who are
stationed outside the city but have not
attacked it yet. Any such provocation
could spark a new armed conflict, which
is on the brink of happening. Moreover,
the Hinkalliano repeatedly and pointedly
asked the invoked werealligators if they
know the whereabouts of the crypt inside
the tombs of the tribe of the Condor,
which lived a century ago in the fields
surrounding Heroika. This is a clue as to the
place where the third mission will take
place, and the Hinkalliano ask the
werealligators if they know the hag
Lasheena, which according to legends
know about a crypt in that place. The
players hear that some kidnapped people
are sent to those tombs.
3. Second mission, Operation Puma:
According to the Lady Protector, this
operation is not so urgent since she thinks
the alleged victim is drunk and in the
brothels as he usually does for days. That
person is an envoy of New Athkatla who
came to the city from the warships
surrounding Heroika and was negotiating
with the Council of the City debt
restructuring and terms for ending the
blockade has gone missing for one day.
The Lady Protector and authorities of the
city are concerned because the Empire
could argue that they failed to properly
protect with due diligence a diplomatic
envoy and declare war. Investigation first
suggests that the local populace desired
to avenge their humiliation against the
imperial abuses and conduct, but then
contrary evidence questions this and
posits whether this could be a ploy by the
Empire to justify an attack against the city
and capture it. Finally, the players are
informed that the agent came from the
Warship conducting the blockade, called
the Empress of the Waves. To reach it, the
players have two options: either to sail
towards it in one of the small caravels of
the city, risking attacks by Imperial boats
surrounding the Warship; or a more subtle
approach, by contacting the Sahuagin or
Sea Halflings (TWC4) who, according to
tales, live under the coastal sea of Heroika.
If they do a favour to either of those tribes
(killing a sea creature bothering the
Halflings or stealing a relic that once
belonged to the Sahuagin but is now in
the City Museum), they are led to the
Warship, where they find out the following
in the Captain’s cabin. First, that the
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disappearance was indeed a ploy to entering a pact with a supernatural being
justify an invasion. Secondly, that the when her husband and children were
envoy went to a neighboring small island killed).
where weapons were being hidden by the
Finding the place, the players see that
Empire and which all sailors are afraid of.
others arrived before: the Hinkalliano, who
Third, that the envoy should have returned
were followed by the New Athkatlans. The
two days ago but has not shown up,
New Athkatlans are excavating the place
presumably due to his well-known
and opened up an entrance to the
drunkenness. If they go to such island, the
underground tombs. Inside, the players will
players come across a weird place where,
see undead creatures awakening as the
as soon as they step in [this is a manifest
mummies of interred natives rise (the act
zone to the Land of the Dead, a plane
as zombies). Yet, they eventually find what
described in Esmeralda], it seems as if it
each faction seeks: the New Athkatlans
were night even if it is actually a moment
are after one of the largest deposits of
of daylight hours. Steps and traces of the
fossil fuel found in Esmeralda (descriptions
presence of the envoy, as his diary or
of a pool of black water surrounding the
food, are found. Investigating they come
high altar of the tomb coincide with fossil
across an old tree which is sentient, where
fuel), which can be used for artifice magic
the envoy is tied and a hag is about to eat
purposes (Esmeralda book TWC-4) by any
him. The hag boasts about how she will
army with devastating effects. The
bring his corpse to the long lost tombs of
Hinkalliano look for the crypt of the high
the Condor people to summon a
priest of the Condor, who was legendary
mythological beast that will prey on all the
for his summonings, since they seek to
living. The hag’s name is Lasheena and
summon monsters to attack the Empire.
says that she woke up from a 50-years
slumber after the presence of a saint in the At the end, after defeating or outsmarting
city’s Cathedral, who was her sworn the leaders of both factions, and when
enemy, was stolen. When the heroes about to be eaten by a hundred zombies
arrive, if they use piety and bring a relic of in the crypt, where the altar is, the hag
the saint (provided by the clergy if they Lasheena dismisses the undead and tells
rescue the body in the first operation) they the players they can join her, moment
will easily overcome the hag, who will when the leaders of other factions
escape swimming. Otherwise, she simply appear. This presents the players with four
kills the envoy, takes his head and goes options that will be proposed to them:
swimming. make a pact with Lasheena; join the
Hinkalliano in order to defeat the New
Athkatlans and seek to expel them from
4. Third mission, the Legacy of the Esmeralda; join the New Athkatlans in
Condor People: stopping the undead threat that will
certainly attack the city of Heroika but
This third mission can only be played after
contributing to the colonial aspirations; or
completing one or both of the previous
release the people kidnapped by the
missions and gathering some clues. Either
Claws and thwart the plans of both the
because they follow the hag when she
New Athkatlans and the Hinkalliano, who
escapes with the body of the killed
could finally defeat the siege of Heroika
Imperial envoy (see Operation Puma) or
but at a cost of allying with evil beings.
because they investigate on where the
Lasheena stole the body of the saint from
tombs of the Condor are (after mission
the Hinkalliano and plans to burn it at the
one, if they go to the University, they will
altar. A holy avenger appears when she
see narrations of where Lasheena resided,
plans to do so in the hands of the most
which is where the tombs are. Lasheena
suitable character. If defeated, Lasheena
was the wife of the chieftain of the Condor
escapes through a portal that opens
people, who became a hag after
above the altar. If they cross it, Macaró,

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the spirit of the totem guardian of the
condor, a Tabaxi, appears and tells them
that they are entering a parallel plane,
that of the Feywild, but that to do so safely
they must make a contract with her
promising to respect the traditions and
ruins of the Condor people. If so,
whenever they enter the plane the players
become Tabaxi while they are in that
plane (see the Volo’s Guide to Monsters)
and see what people do on the material
plane whenever they are close to native
temples, either above or underground,
since the temples connect the material
plane and the parallel dimensions of the
Feywild and Shadowfell. The spirit guide
Macaró explains to the players that they
can travel faster while in the Feywild (time
and space operate differently there) to
other native temples and go from them to
the material plane, thus traveling much
faster. While in the plane, use the rules
described in the introduction to the
adventure.
5. Epilogue:
If they players decide to follow Lasheena,
they see how she reaches a temple in the
city of Kamancha Picchu in Lopango,
where she talks to someone saying that
shadow magic is now available to that
people as she promised on behalf of the
deity Azul, and also hear that giants from
Lopango allied with New Athkatla are
about to attack Mount Cuzcalac.
Furthermore, they hear that the avatar
found in Pichu Umu is not that of Intiri but
an avatar of a mightier sun deity: Tezca,
after Intiri’s avatar was defeated by a
chosen of Zaltec. This will end this
adventure and set the stage of future
ones. From there, the hag informs her allies
that Heroika will be attacked in two days
by a large army from Hinkalliano by land
(in an attempt to ‘force’ them to become
rebels) and by the Empire by sea (to
annex the city).
The players will receive a vision of all the
network of temples where they can cross
to or from the parallel planes, and how
they can visit temples hidden in the
Republics of Esmeralda to ask for help
from their armies to defend their city. Thus,
two adventures will follow: defending
Heroika from foreign invasion; and to deal
with the political and supernatural civil
strife in Lopango later on.
VI. FACTIONS, NPCS AND
MOTIVATIONS:
Lady Protector Santzi: the military leader
entrusted with the defense of the city of
Heroika. She is actually a Couatl in
disguise, but no one knows about this.
The Claws of Tezca: a drug cartel and non-
state armed group that profits from its illicit
activities.
Hinkalliano: a totalitarian State ruled by a
circle and a Supreme leader who seek to
carry out genocide or expulsion of all
‘foreigners’ or ‘reactionaries’.
Cordelliana: a free Republic besieged by
criminal groups.
Lasheena: a hag who was centuries ago
the wife of a powerful native chieftain
killed by invaders from another tribe.
When her sons were slaughtered as well,
she made a pact with the lord of the Land
of the Dead to avenge herself. After
wiping out the entire clan and feeding on
their corpses, she became a hag, who
now hates the living.
Macaró: an ancient Tabaxi guardian spirit
of the long lost Tribe of the Condor,
composed entirely of Aarakocra.
The Dragon Empire, New Athkatla: a
colonial power who once ruled all of
Esmeralda, before parts under its
dominion fought for independence and
became free Republics. The Empire seeks
to reconquer the lands it once lost,
including Heroika.
Lopango: part of mainland Maztica, to the
East of the island of Esmeralda, where the
Naticans have the capital city of Mount
Cuzcalac, the mystical citadel of Pichu
Umu, where the avatar of the good sun
deity Intiri resided until defeated by a
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champion of the evil god Zaltec. Now, the
temple is fully closed and inhabited by an
avatar of the evil sun god Tezca. The
windows of the temple now shone brighter
than ever. Another place in Lopango is
Kamancha Picchu, another mystical
citadel taken over by the tribe of the
Moon, whose members worship an aspect
of the water and rain god Azul they call
Mother Luna. They carry out rituals of the
evil shadow magic (a form of blood
magic, described in TWC-4 Esmeralda).
Sahuagin: an aquatic race that devours
sailors who fall to the sea. They are hostile
to water halflings, which are also
aggressive towards the people of Heroika,
whom they see as defilers of the land and
the descendants of foreign invaders,
despite many of them being descendants
of multiethnic parents. Both races are
mistrustful of the land-based peoples, and
must be persuaded somehow, with feats
of strength or assistance.
Land of the Fae: the name given to the
Feywild in Esmeralda, where mystical
beings abound, the power of imagination
rules and soars. It can be reached via
temples once one is authorized to do so
by one of the guardian spirits who protect
its doors, and it is possible to travel to other
temples therein (temples exist
simultaneously there and in the material
plane). Inhabitants of the dimension are
aware of the network of and paths to
temples.
Temple of the Condor: a mystical temple
of the lost tribe of the Condor Aarakocra,
where huge deposits of Fossil fuel, which
can power artifacts of artifice magic,
military ones included, lie; and where the
altar can be used to carry out sacrifices
and summon mighty supernatural beings.