Session Summary

Style: Contests → mafia investigation → arena boss. Olympia is alive: white marble, rival tents, roaring stands — not a ruin crawl.

Antagonists: Human gambling ring (Sons of Ares) run by Damon “the Book” of Megara. FIFA-scandal bribes, greased clerks, planted ringers, fight-fixing. Khalkotaurus is their insurance policy if anyone digs too deep — not Ares’s will.

Materials: Olive Token prop; score tally; optional ledger scrap; Olympic flame / torch token; optional brow-socket diagram handout.

Tone: Sacred sand, pine-torch smoke, whispered odds. Contests stay real until someone draws steel. Blood on the sand = crowd panic.

DM note: Leave Enc. 1 suspicious of one or more teams. Prove Damon’s ring before Enc. 3. APL10 default = Harder Enc. 3 (HP 200, LR 3).

Major Beats

1. Misthaven — Diaktoros (Hermes) invites the party; hands the Olive Token; mist opens to Olympia’s gates.
2. Lykos registers the Mistwalkers; explains the contest slate; Olympic flame burns thin and gold; Damon works the rails.
3. Enc. 1 — two heats + crowd clues; red herrings on rival teams; lethal branches if the fix is threatened.
4. Enc. 2 — laurel stolen, flame gutters; vault control spike; split-party / upstairs distraction.
5. Closing ceremony — flame omen if snuffed; bronze prize idol stirs on the plinth.
6. Enc. 3 — Khalkotaurus rampage; torch brands; olive brow payoff; allies if earned.

Encounter Digests

Enc. 1 — Opening Contests (Hard). ~3 compete, ~3 work the crowd (Insight / Investigation / Perception). Run any two heats from the menu. Contestants earn glory and cover; spectators gather clues. Win = ≥1 Contest Victory and/or 2+ solid clues; survive lethal branches without a massacre DQ.

Enc. 2 — Contested Laurel (Hard). Timed vault puzzle + optional skirmish. Recover laurel / brow diagram; keep or rekindle Olympic flame. Spike escape = bull starts Enc. 3 with Furnace Breath ready. Strong split-party support.

Enc. 3 — Brazen Bull (Deadly). Arena boss in a disaster zone. Allies (Lea / satyrs / hoplites) if earned. Token brow ×2 or 0 HP ends it. Olympic torch ignores fire resist and distracts the bull.

Skill DCs — Enc. 1–2 Reveal

2+ solid clues before Enc. 3 = accuse with Lykos’s backing. Zero clues: still playable; vault colder and rival teams feel like co-conspirators longer than they should.

Red Herrings (Enc. 1)

• Iron Tusks: take side coin and foul often — muscle, not planners (Insight 13).
• Wild Chorus satyr: petty foul-shout bribe (Insight 12) — not Damon’s crew.
• Phalanx clerk: one name marked “χ” on the ledger; the rest of the phalanx is clean.
• Pride tents: Lea’s gear is clean; someone warned her to stop asking (Inv 13).
• Cyclopeans: paid forge work, not cultists — still a real lead to the brow socket.

Solid Clues (need 2+)

• Betting ledger naming Iron Tusks + Phalanx clerk
• Damon’s sizing tell (Insight 14) — odds shift early
• Spike case passed toward north tunnel (Perc 15)
• Religion/History 14: Sons wear Ares’s colors; the god does not claim them
• Captured saboteur → Damon runs the books; spike went north

NPC Roster

• Judge Lykos: Hellanodikai; composed voice, shaking hands; grants investigator status with proof.
• Damon “the Book”: crimson-sash fixer; plants ringers; animates the bull if the fix collapses.
• Captain Lea: Pride of Nemea; best Enc. 3 ally if honor is shown under pressure.
• Diaktoros: Hermes in a lean herald’s shape; Olive Token; mist home on success.

Flavor — Read Aloud

Misthaven / Diaktoros

A lean herald presses a warm olive disc into the nearest palm. “When bronze claims the sacred sand and the crowd screams for blood, press this olive to the false victor’s brow.” Mist opens like a curtain. The roar of twenty thousand hits like surf.

Stadium Arrival

The stadium smells of packed sand, pine-torch smoke, and ten thousand people in the afternoon heat. White marble catches the sun. Rival teams warm in the shadow of the tents — leonins by the north gate, satyrs making noise, hoplites in formation. The Iron Tusks don’t stretch. They stare. Judge Lykos reads the contest slate from a gilded scroll. Coin changes hands too fast in the stands. The Olympic flame burns thin and gold on the altar. You are registered as the Mistwalkers. No one knows your names. That makes you interesting.

Enc. 2 — Between Heats

The eternal flame — which has not guttered in living memory — sputters to a blue tongue. The north tunnel smells wrong: metallic, sharp, like a forge running hot in a small space. Lykos finds you — voice composed, hands not. “The laurel is gone. Quietly. Before the crowd understands.”

Enc. 3 — Closing

The victor’s plinth. The hymn. If the flame dies mid-verse, the stands murmur the wrong omen. Then bronze groans — plates shifting — marble cracks — the prize idol steps off its base, sand blackening under furnace hooves.

Contest Menu (run any 2)

10 heats (A–J) · 3 rounds unless noted. Nat 1 or fail by 5+ vs Iron Tusk/ringer may foul → that heat’s Lethal. Contestors finish current-round checks while others fight. Announce results so Damon and the crowd can react.

A. Stadion Footrace

Ath or Acro DC 14 each round; best 2-of-3 vs rivals’ best. Optional shove (opp Ath): +2 next / fail 5+ = foul. Crowd roars on beat-by-5 finishes.

Lethal: Water-bearer spikes skins — Con DC 14 or poisoned (disadv Contest). Medicine 13 / lesser restoration. Catch bearer = saboteur + Damon’s cipher vial → Combat Path if steel drawn.

B. Discus of Apollo

Atk AC 12 or Ath DC 15 ×3. Disadv if rushed. Nature/Surv 13 once (wind flags) = wind adv. Mark distances fictionally.

Lethal: Iron Tusk “miss” becomes a thrown discus at a PC (+5, 1d6+3). Steel answer → Combat Path; Contest shove keeps it “legal.”

C. Pankration Circle

Nonlethal. Opposed Ath/Acro; first to 3 pins. Casters may Ath with casting ability for magical grapple; judges ban damaging cantrips.

Lethal: Late ringer draws a short sword from behind a pillar → 1–2 saboteurs. Lykos screams nonlethal; blood on sand = crowd panic.

D. Torch Relay Puzzle

Prefer light from the Olympic flame — that brand matters in Enc. 3. Ath 13 → Acro 14 → Str 13 → Perc/Surv 14. Fail = 1 strike; 3 = loss. Prestidigitation once removes 1 strike.

Lethal: Saboteur oil-slicks a station or snuffs the brand mid-run — Dex DC 13 or 2d6 fire + prone; thief flees with the brand toward the altar. Chase / Combat Path. Flame loss matters for Enc. 3.

E. Long Jump of the Heroes (Dex)

Acro DC 14 ×3 (or Ath-with-Dex approach). Optional mid-air twist Acro 16: +2 that jump / fail prone −2 next. Good showcase for mobile PCs.

Lethal: Landing board collapses onto caltrops or a hidden blade — Dex DC 13 or 2d4 + prone; saboteur waits in the pit for a surprise attack.

Crowd Cheer

Spectator action (not the same as Aid). Whip the stands for a Mistwalker in the heat.

• Check: Performance or Persuasion DC 13 (Intimidation DC 14 for a war-chant / stomp). Once per spectator per heat.
• Success: Choose one allied contestant — they gain Inspiration or advantage on their next Contest check this heat (player’s choice when granted).
• Beat by 5+ / nat 20: Whole Mistwalker heat gains advantage on their next Contest check this round (roar rolls through the stands).
• Fail by 5+: Boos / wrong chant — that contestant has disadvantage on their next Contest check; Damon may shift odds against the guests.
• Stacking: Cheer and Aid can both land on the same heat, but a contestant can’t bank more than one Inspiration from Cheer at a time. Lea’s Pack Leader (+1 Contest) stacks with advantage as usual.

F. Dance / Footwork Course (Dex)

Weave poles and sand pits: Acro or Perf (Dex) DC 14 ×3. 2 successes = place; 3 = victory. Satyrs excel; Iron Tusks hate it.

Lethal: Opposed Ath shove into a spiked sand pit (2d6 pierce) or a saboteur knife among the poles (+4, 1d4+2). Steel → Combat Path.

G. Dolichos Endurance (Con)

Long circuit. Each of 3 rounds: Con save DC 13, then Ath DC 14. Fail save = exhaustion 1 for the heat (disadv later). Best 2-of-3. Water / Hit Die once OK. Narrate heat shimmer.

Lethal: Mid-circuit laced water — Con DC 14 or poisoned + 1 exhaustion. Alternate: caltrop stretch (Dex 13 or 1d4) then saboteur ambush from the stands. Cipher vial on the bearer.

H. Oil & Heat Trial (Con)

Hold stance under noon sun after oiling: Con save DC 14 ×3; first to 3 points wins. Insight 13: rival oil laced. Medicine 13 cleanses before next save.

Lethal: Laced oil ignites — Dex DC 13 or 2d6 fire; saboteur with a torch tries to finish the job. Medicine 13 still clears poison if caught early. Combat Path if the ring is exposed mid-burn.

I. Archery of Apollo

Three shots: ranged vs AC 12 / 14 / 16 (near/mid/far). Or Dex (tool) 13/15/17. Perc 13: sabotaged string (−2 until restrung, action).

Lethal: “Stray” arrow from the butts at a PC in another heat (+6, 1d8+2; poison Con 13). Shooter is a saboteur — chase into stands; bag may hold ledger scraps.

J. Javelin Throw

Best of 3: atk AC 13 or Ath DC 15. Nature/Surv 13 once = wind adv. Beat DC by 5+ or nat 20 = crowd roar (adv one social this enc).

Lethal: Ringer “miss” becomes a thrown javelin at a PC (+5, 1d6+3). Steel → Combat Path; Contest shove stays “legal.”

Using Lethals & Fouls

Trigger when investigators get close, contestants beat the fix, or someone refuses Damon’s bribe. Use the Lethal for the heat on the sand. Contest Victory still counts if they place before dropping. Alternate spotlight every 2–3 minutes.

• Ledger found / public bribe refused → that heat’s Lethal
• Investigators succeed by 5+ twice → spike case moves early (Enc. 2 hook)
• Blood on sand → Lykos freezes slate until nonlethal restored
• Call Foul (Cha DC 13) bars next Contest check; false fouls = satyr bribe (Insight 12)
• Name Damon without proof → he laughs; odds swing against Mistwalkers

Factions & Field Sizes

Caps = miniature limits, not XP budgets. Shrink heats to who shows.

Heat rivals (typical)

• Footrace / footwork / jump: 3 Leonin or 4 Satyr
• Discus / javelin / archery: 2 Bugbear + 1 Rhino or 3 Hoplite
• Pankration: 2 Cyclopean or 2 Minotaur
• Torch / dolichos / oil: mix Pride + Iron Tusks for tension

Partial-party scaling

• 1–2 in heat: 1 rival; Contest DCs −2
• 3 (default): baseline; 2–3 rivals on the sand
• 5–6: full DCs; team features + Aid OK
• Spectators: Aid 12 (coach) or Crowd Cheer Perf/Pers 13 (Inspiration / adv); clue table p. 1; distraction 13 + bags 14

Tone cheat-sheet

• Pride: proud, fair, fierce — best Enc. 3 ally
• Iron Tusks: brutal, foul-prone — Damon’s muscle
• Wild Chorus: chaotic, recruitable with music or fair play
• Phalanx: legalistic; one clerk may be bought
• Cyclopeans: forge-kin; paid for the bull socket, not cultists
• Labyrinth Horns: honor-charge; ringers only if paid
• Sons of Ares: mafia cosplay; Ares does not claim them

Who Damon buys

• Always: Tusks muscle; one Phalanx clerk; saboteur “athletes”
• Sometimes: Labyrinth ringer for pankration; satyr false-foul shouter
• Never: Lea / Pride (unless table insists — she’s already tipped)
• Paid, not cult: Cyclopeans forged the brow socket for crimson-sash coin

Prizes & payoffs

Glory + olive-leaf tokens (flavor) + captain rapport. Contest Victory → Enc. 2 social adv + short rest in tents. Fair play / ledger to Lea → Enc. 3 alliance (+2 Leonins if miniatures allow). Short on minis? Use Easy column and narrate the rest as crowd.

Combat Path & Budgets

Enc. 1: 2 saboteurs + 1 bugbear or 2 bugbears + 1 rhino. Nonlethal; Phalanx joins rd 3 (3 hoplites) unless Damon’s clerk hesitates (Insight 13). Win: 0 HP nonlethal or Intim 14 after dropping one. Interrogate 13 → Damon + spike north.

Enc. 2 vault: 2–3 saboteurs (Blood Signal +1d2). Chase spike Ath/Acro 14; stop flame-douse Ath 14.

Enc. 3 Hard+ (APL10 default): bull HP 200; LR 3; 2 saboteur snipers; gates seal until ≤ half HP. Allies if earned (p. 3).

Enc. 1 — Opening Contests

Dialogue — Lykos (slate)

“Mistwalkers — guests of the sand. Choose your heats. Two only. Glory is olive and rumor; blood is for wars, not Olympia. The Phalanx watches the fouls. Compete cleanly — or answer to me.”

Dialogue — Damon (odds)

“Friendly odds on the guests! Tell me which of you finishes first — I’ll make it worth your while to… finish second, if you’d rather. Everyone bets. The wise bet on who already knows the score.”

Dialogue — Lea (after fair heat)

“You fight like that again in my heat and I’ll return the favor. Straight. …Someone in a crimson sash has been asking athletes to look the other way. I told them to stop. They told me to stop.”

Dialogue — Overheard cultist

“Spike goes north after the discus. Flame dies before the crowning — Damon’s order. If the guests dig, put a sword in the circle and keep the sand busy.”

Flow

• Default: ~3 PCs compete, ~3 work the crowd. Run any two heats from p. 2 that fit the table.
• Crowd: clue table p. 1; Aid DC 12 or Crowd Cheer Perf/Pers DC 13 (Inspiration / adv on next Contest check); Distraction (Perf/Ath/staged foul DC 13) while an ally searches Damon’s bags (Stealth/SoH DC 14).
• Lethal branches if the fix is threatened (p. 2). Parallel contest rounds — don’t pause the whole table.
• Terrain: ~200×80 ft sand; pankration circle 40 ft; archery butts; javelin/discus field; Olympic altar flame (knock into: Dex DC 14 / 2d6 fire).

Resolution

• Contest Victory: adv on one Enc. 2 social with judges/captains; short rest in athlete tents.
• 2+ solid clues: Lykos grants investigator status; party knows Damon / Sons plan, rivals are mostly tools or red herrings.
• Brawl without massacre: no DQ if nonlethal. Iron Tusks (and surviving saboteurs) tip Damon → Enc. 2 vault already half-looted.
• Lethal overkill: Lykos fines the party; disadv on Enc. 2 social; Lea will not recruit unless they atone (donate prize / public apology Pers 15).

DM beats mid-heat

• After heat 1: Damon recalculates odds loudly; offer a bribe once (refuse → Lethal next heat; accept → auto-loss that heat, Lea cools).
• Between heats: Perception 15 spike-case beat if not yet found.
• Cold investigators: satyr red herring first, then Pride tents clear Lea.
• Hot investigators: tip lethal branch; keep contestors rolling.
• All-crowd table (no contestors): still plant one Lethal; no Contest Victory / short rest.

Enc. 2 — Contested Laurel

Dialogue — Lykos (urgent)

“The laurel is gone from the vault. The flame — look at it. Quietly. If the crowd understands, we will have a riot before we have answers. Take the north tunnel. Bring me what they stole — and do not let the sand taste blood.”

Dialogue — Vault cultists

“Socket first, then the crowning. If the flame’s still lit, douse it — Damon’s bull hates that fire. Move before the guests finish their heat.”

Dialogue — Cyclopean (paid)

“We forged a ceremonial bull. Brow socket for a victor’s seal. The coin was crimson-sash coin. We do not ask whose war it serves.”

Split party

Default: 2–3 still finishing Enc. 1 heats (or a late heat Damon wants fixed) while 2–3 run the vault. Alternate spotlight every few minutes — do not freeze one group for the other.

• Vault 2–3: 2 saboteurs; puzzle needs 2 successes; DCs −1
• Stadium: keep running the heat; Damon may lethal-branch to stall. Abandon heat = forfeit Contest Victory; reinforce vault on round 2
• Full party in vault: 3 saboteurs; puzzle as written; Lykos delays the next heat upstairs
• Only 1–2 investigators: Lykos assigns 2× Hoplite escorts; DCs −2; Insight 14 mid-fight if an escort is Damon’s clerk
• Distraction upstairs: crowd scene DC 13 → adv on Stealth snatch / bag search; fail = 1 saboteur peels upstairs

Phases

• 1 Soft clues: bronze filings Perc/Inv 13; Iron Tusk Insight 14; Cyclopeans Hist/Pers 13; Enc. 1 ledger → free vault-order hint (Lykos freezes the marked clerk)
• 2 Puzzle: Four reliefs — Footrace, Discus, Wrestling, Sacred Flame. Press in today’s opening slate order (the two contests played, then flame last — or Lykos’s posted order). Wrong press: Dex 14 / 2d6 poison dart; 3 fails = alarm. Arcana/Rel 15: control spike + Olympic flame keyed against the idol
• 3 Confront: Stealth 14 snatch laurel (adv if distraction) / Pers-Intim 15 to force flee (drop brow diagram). Combat: chase spike Ath/Acro 14; stop flame-douse Ath 14

Spike escapes: bull starts Enc. 3 with Furnace Breath ready. Flame snuffed: stampede round 1 of Enc. 3 unless rekindled (Rel 15 / oil+fire / relay brand) before the ceremony.

Recruit: Lea auto-allies if shown Sons proof; satyrs Pers/Perf 13 (adv on fair musical 15).

Enc. 2 outcomes

• Laurel + diagram + flame lit: best case; ceremony starts clean; bull weaker vs torch
• Spike stopped, flame out: rekindle before ceremony or stampede rd 1
• Spike escapes / vault skipped: breath ready at init; flame may already be dead
• Half-looted vault (Tusks tipped): puzzle already half-solved; race the spike

Puzzle order reminder

Reliefs: Footrace → Discus → Wrestling/Pankration → Sacred Flame. Substitute today’s two heats before Flame, or post Lykos’s order. Wrong press: Dex 14 / 2d6 poison; third fail alerts saboteurs.

Dialogue — Lea (if fetched mid-vault)

“You want Pride in a tunnel fight? Show me the ledger. Show me the crimson sash. Then we move.”

Enc. 3 — Brazen Bull

Dialogue — Lykos (ceremony)

“By olive and law — the crown—” (bronze groans; marble cracks) “Stand! Phalanx to the south gate — Mistwalkers, that idol is no god’s gift! Keep the people off the sand!”

Dialogue — Lea (if allied)

“Pride with me! Keep it off the stands — and if you’ve still got that olive, press it when the brow shows!”

Dialogue — Damon (stands)

“True champion! Crown whoever paid — Ares wills it!” (Religion DC 14 or Diaktoros: Ares wills no such thing.)

Dialogue — Diaktoros (if present)

“Run the race you were given. The olive will know the finish — and the fire of Olympia still answers a champion’s hand.”

Mechanics

• Map: ~120×80 ft sand; collapsed stands = difficult terrain / half cover; water troughs (Ath 13) suppress Furnace Heart 1 rd; brow visible after thunder damage or Inv 14 within 10 ft
• Initiative: bull on its count; lair tremor on initiative 20 (one 10-ft square → difficult terrain)
• Olive Token: action adjacent → 40 force (ignores resist) + strip legendary actions until EoNT. Second press (Help or while prone) ends the fight
• Olympic Torch: take torch (action) if flame lit. Brand (action): melee spell attack or Ath DC 14 — 4d8 radiant+fire (ignores fire resist) + bull disadv on attacks until EoNT. Thrown 20 ft = damage only. 1/round. Rekindle mid-fight: Rel 15 or oil+fire at the altar
• Crowd stampede: end of round 2 (round 1 if flame died mid-ceremony): Str DC 13 or 2d6 + prone in the outer 10 ft of the arena
• Allies: Lea focuses the bull; satyrs peel saboteurs / calm crowds; hoplites shield civilians (soft fail if many civilians die)
• Hard+ (APL10 default): HP 200; LR 3; 2 saboteur snipers; gates seal until bull ≤ half HP
• Persistence: bull turns from the Temple of Zeus back toward the PCs — it seeks a champion to crown, not rubble. Ares does not intervene

Resolution

• Bull broken / token / brands: Games saved; olive crowns; Diaktoros opens mist home; Nike rumor if the token ended it
• Failure: allies drag survivors clear; a wing of the stadium ruined; cult flees with a spike fragment (sequel hook)

Round-by-round cues

• Rd 1: bull steps off plinth; lair tremor; allies form if earned; torch grab if flame lit
• Rd 2: stampede (or rd 1 if flame died mid-hymn); saboteur snipers if Hard+
• Mid-fight: brow shows after thunder / Inv 14; first Olive Token press strips LA
• ≤ half HP: gates unseal (Hard+); Damon flees the stands
• Finish: second brow press or 0 HP; crowd roar; Diaktoros mist

Tools on the table

• Olive Token (brow ×2)
• Olympic torch brand (ignore fire resist + disadv)
• Water troughs vs Furnace Heart
• Thunder vs vulnerability / brow reveal
• Allies earned in Enc. 1–2

Remind once if Token / torch / allies sit unused while civilians die.