Preparations For Confronting Eustace the Monk

Two strategies the players may consider are naval battle and raiding Eustace's base. Storyguides can easily engineer Eustace's escape from the naval battle if they wish to ensure he leads his defenders in the final battle. As an alternative, the player characters may kill Eustace in the naval battle. If they do not then flush the pirates from Sark, a new leader eventually takes his place, and the problems which led to their initial involvement resume. If the characters slay Eustace and then sail directly for Sark, either an apprentice of Eustace's survived, and co-ordinates the defenders, or Argenta, a demon described later, takes personal control of the pirates Characters planning to attack Eustace have the advantage that they can choose the time of their assault, and so can make preparations which reduce the Monk's capacity to resist.

Eustace has been famously active in several places. Characters may travel to these seeking Arcane Connections or further information about Eustace's powers. The key places they can reconnoiter are his house in Winchelsea, his palace in London, and the ruined monastery at Samer in France. Each of these sites has a demonic guardian.

The options here are tied to the places where Eustace has been active, but a storyguide who feels one of these scenarios suits his troupe better than the others can switch the defenders and rewards.

Eustace's palace in Winchelsea is the least disturbed of his lairs, excepting Sark. He was driven from it by King John's men, but his servants and allies survived his expulsion, and flourish. The noble family gifted his property by the king were pruned down by assassination until a diabolist was the rightful heir.

Eustace's allies continue to worship the Infernal powers in the house's cellars. Player characters dispersing these diabolists might confront one with powers similar to Eustace. They might fight Briny Dead, encounter mockery demons, or find a hymnal to Argenta, Eustace's sponsor. This allows the characters to research the weaknesses of Eustace's demonic pirates before the larger battles.

The diabolists who aid Eustace are led by his daughter, Helen. She died under the hand of King John and was returned to the world as an infernal ghost, with fire-related powers. Her knowledge of the logistical side of her father's operation is unparalleled, and her Magic Resistance is relatively poor. The skills required to trap and interrogate her are unusual, but Stephen Crabbe can do it, if her defenders are defeated. Crabbe is active among the Infernalists of Winchelsea, and may contact the characters if an