Maenad Midnight

A level 8 civic escort through a god-touched midnight riot.

Style: Urban escort under ecstatic pressure, built for restraint, disguise, and mercy.
Win: Deliver the prince to the dawn treaty, keep the revelers alive, and prove the city can honor Dionysus without becoming his casualty.
Lose: The prince breaks sobriety or dies, the riot becomes a massacre, and the god's mask follows the party into future feasts.
Maguffin: Dry Cup of Ariadne · Ally: Thyia, Exhausted Maenad · QG: Prince Lykon the Unwined

"A clay cup sealed with wax and ivy. Inside is dry air, not wine; it rings softly when a lie is toasted nearby."

Major Beats

The palace wants quiet extraction; the street wants every secret sung aloud.
Thyia proves the revelers are victims, witnesses, and obstacles at once.
The prince is tempted with one perfect cup that would make every fear vanish.
Dawn judges restraint as much as speed.

Difficulty

Tier	Adjust
As Written ★	6 PCs · APL 6
Library Standard	6 PCs · APL 8 — Raise key enemy HP ~+25% and damage +1 per attack die; social/skill DCs +1–2. Boss legendary actions as written or +1/round.
Easier	APL 4–5: −1 enemy/wave; DCs −1; ally auto-recruits if approached peacefully.
Harder	APL 7–8: use Library Standard (6×L8).

ENC 1 — Masks at the Palace Gate

Enc 1: Social Escort Launch · ~45 min · Palace portico, fountain court, wine carts, servants' arcade.

Non-combat path: build a cover identity with three DC 15 Deception, Performance, or Insight checks.
The Dry Cup identifies wine traps and one false servant.
Recruit Thyia by protecting a reveler from guard brutality or returning her ribbon.
If the prince is publicly named, Encounter 2 begins with the crowd alerted.

ENC 2 — The Alley That Keeps Dancing

Enc 2: Stealth Through Riot · ~60 min · Looping alley grid, roof laundry lines, shrine steps, wine-flooded underpass.

Non-combat path: 6 successes before 3 failures using Stealth, Acrobatics, Performance, or Religion.
Spend a success to rescue civilians and lower the final boss's starting hp by 20.
Panpipe illusions can be broken by silence, counter-melody, or the Dry Cup's ring.
Violent crowd control gives advantage now but adds a retaliation wave in Encounter 3.

ENC 3 — The Sober Hush

Enc 3: Hard Mercy Boss · ~90 min · Public square with treaty dais, amphora stacks, balcony musicians, fountain.

Hard fight: crowd zones restrain, shove, and block line of sight each round.
Use nonlethal damage, music, vows, or divine respect to spare possessed mortals.
Maguffin payoff: break the Dry Cup to create a sober hush and reveal the true prince.
Victory requires the prince sober and alive when the dawn bell rings.

STAT BLOCKS

6 PCs level 8; escort must reach dawn treaty.
Do not reward killing god-touched revelers.
Enc 1/2 support social, stealth, and mercy solutions.
Enc 3 is Hard; break Dry Cup for sober hush.
Win: prince sober, citizens alive, treaty signed.

Maguffin

Dry Cup of Ariadne

The sealed cup grants advantage on one save against charm, frenzy, or intoxication; it also exposes disguised wine.
Breaking the cup at the revel's heart creates a 30-foot sober hush for 1 round, ending fey glamours and opening the route to the prince.

NPC / ALLY

Prince Lykon the Unwined

Reach the dawn parley sober so his signature is valid and his war-weary city can stand down.
He refuses to authorize lethal force against citizens who may be innocent by sunrise.

Thyia, Exhausted Maenad

Recruit Enc. Encounter 1 or 2: Return her lost thyrsus-ribbon, promise not to shame the revelers, or let her name the safe alleys.
AC 15 · HP 68 · Thyrsus +7 to hit, 2d6+4 bludgeoning; can shove without damage.

Remember

Deliver the prince to the dawn treaty, keep the revelers alive, and prove the city can honor Dionysus without becoming his casualty.

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