Troy's Hollow Gift
A level 8 siege infiltration about what victory is allowed to cost.
Style: Siege heist with double agents, civilian stakes, and a construct payload.
Win: Place or sabotage the wooden colossus to end the siege on the party's chosen terms without razing Troy as the victory condition.
Lose: The colossus becomes an excuse for massacre, the party is named as the betrayal, and both armies learn the wrong lesson.
Maguffin: Cedar Heart-Key · Ally: Cassandra, Unbelieved Witness · QG: Sinon, Professional Survivor
"A palm-sized cedar horse opens at the belly. Inside are two maps: one for entry, one for evacuation."
Major Beats
- Sinon makes the plan sound simple because he has hidden every consequence.
- Cassandra offers truth without the comfort of certainty.
- The colossus is a tool; the betrayal is deciding people are only terrain.
- The final turn of the heart-key defines what kind of victory survives the song.
Difficulty
| Tier | Adjust |
|---|
| As Written ★ | 6 PCs · APL 10 |
| Library Standard | 6 PCs · APL 8 — Dial back: reduce boss HP ~20–25%, cut one legendary action option or recharge breath to 6 only; Favor/track thresholds −1 where present; skill DCs −1. |
| Easier | APL 8–9: use the Library Standard (6×L8) box, then shave one more minion wave. |
| Harder | APL 11–12: boss HP +20%; +1 legendary; Favor/track +1 to win. |
Sinon, Professional Survivor hooks the party. Maguffin Cedar Heart-Key pays off in the finale against Wooden Colossus, Hollow Gift . Recruit Cassandra, Unbelieved Witness along the way. Plant (or sabotage) a wooden colossus inside a siege without becoming the betrayal.
Stakes
- Sinon makes the plan sound simple because he has hidden every consequence.
- Cassandra offers truth without the comfort of certainty.
- The colossus is a tool; the betrayal is deciding people are only terrain.
- The final turn of the heart-key defines what kind of victory survives the song.
Creature / Enemy List
| Creature | Counts / Notes |
|---|
| Troy Gate Watch | med · hard · CR 5 · Alert guards with civic duties |
| Hidden Greek Raider | med · hard · CR 6 · Impatient payload soldier |
| Bronze Owl Sentry | med · hard · CR 7 · Automaton scout and alarm engine |
| Wooden Colossus, Hollow Gift | med · hard · CR 11 · Boss construct, siege payload, and moral machine |
| Cassandra, Unbelieved Witness | 1 · 1 · Recruit Enc. Encounter 1 or 2 |
DM Tips
- As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 10: Baseline for this guide. Numbers, DCs, and win tracks assume six PCs at average level 10.
- Easier: APL 8–9: use the Library Standard (6×L8) box, then shave one more minion wave.
- Harder: APL 11–12: boss HP +20%; +1 legendary; Favor/track +1 to win.
Encounter 1 — The Gift at the Ditch
Between trench fires and city walls, Sinon offers the party a way to move the wooden colossus while every faction lies about what happens after the gate opens.
- Non-combat path: gather terms from three factions with Insight, Deception, or History.
- Use the Cedar Heart-Key to discover the colossus has more modes than Sinon admits.
- Recruit Cassandra by honoring her warning or preserving the evacuation map.
- Choose a branch: plant, sabotage, delay, or convert the hollow gift.
- Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
- Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Prophetic ally and civilian conscience
- Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Listen without asking her to prove the curse, protect a civilian route she names, or admit the plan may be wrong.
- Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Encounter 2 — Inside the Wall's Shadow
The colossus inches toward the gate while the party slips through inspections, omen rites, and panicked civilians who may be saved or used as cover.
- Non-combat path: 6 stealth or social successes before 3 alarm failures.
- Spend successes to open civilian exits, hide raiders, or plant sabotage charges.
- Cassandra can identify which omen is fake and which alarm is real.
- If the party treats Troy as already doomed, Greek Raiders act with advantage in Encounter 3.
- Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
- Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Prophetic ally and civilian conscience
- Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Listen without asking her to prove the curse, protect a civilian route she names, or admit the plan may be wrong.
- Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Encounter 3 — The Belly Opens
Inside Troy, the colossus wakes as soldiers, sentries, and prophecy collide. The party must decide what the hollow gift does before the siege becomes a sack.
- Hard fight: the colossus shifts modes between stealth payload, gate ram, and evacuation crane.
- Maguffin payoff: insert the Cedar Heart-Key to select or lock the construct's final mode.
- Branching win: plant, sabotage, expose, or evacuate, but razing Troy is not the win.
- Every spared watch squad or rescued civilian creates a witness who can refute betrayal.
- Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
- Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Prophetic ally and civilian conscience
- Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Listen without asking her to prove the curse, protect a civilian route she names, or admit the plan may be wrong.
- Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
DM Callouts
- Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
- Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Prophetic ally and civilian conscience
- RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Listen without asking her to prove the curse, protect a civilian route she names, or admit the plan may be wrong.
- Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
NPC / ALLY
Sinon, Professional Survivor
- Get the colossus through Troy's gates and make sure someone else owns the moral stain if it goes wrong.
- He will not enter the horse himself; he always keeps one exit and one scapegoat prepared.
Cassandra, Unbelieved Witness
- Recruit Enc. Encounter 1 or 2: Listen without asking her to prove the curse, protect a civilian route she names, or admit the plan may be wrong.
- AC 14 · HP 58 · Ritual dagger +6 to hit, 1d4+3 piercing; prophecy imposes disadvantage once.
Remember
- Place or sabotage the wooden colossus to end the siege on the party's chosen terms without razing Troy as the victory condition.
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