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sections/15-The Castle with the Steel Door - The Conclusion of the Chapter.md

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+## The Conclusion of the Chapter
+
+
+### Meeting Omta
+
+When the steel door opens, it reveals an extradimensional space, a black
+emptiness. Within the space, the PCs observe a very vague humanoid form
+- just a blurry outline. The form is resting on the vague outline of a
+bed. It is very obviously asleep. This is Omta.
+
+The black emptiness is the part of the void where Omta hides. The PCs
+can walk out into this emptiness, and approach Omta. They’re not walking
+“on” anything, there’s nothing there. But they can move around
+nonetheless. Lada cannot cross the threshold - only the PCs.
+
+As soon as the PCs cross the threshold of the door, they immediately
+sense that their telepathic connection with Omta has gotten a lot
+stronger. Tell them that they find it much easier to sense what Omta is
+feeling and thinking.
+
+As soon as the PCs approach, Omta speaks. Cards cards appear over his
+body, in groups, just like on the scrolls. He is again communicating.
+However, this time, the PCs have no trouble understanding what he’s
+trying to say. They don’t need to “decipher” the cards - they just
+understand. This is because of the much stronger telepathic link. Tell
+your players that from this point forward, the PCs will never have
+difficulty making sense of card-language again.
+
+In card-speak, Omta introduces himself:
+
+> I am the roll of the dice, the turn of the cards. I am
+> unpredictability without chaos. I am the Deck, and the Deck is me - it
+> is my avatar. It wants what I want. What I want, is for the universe
+> to remain unpredictable and unknowable. I want to preserve the
+> surprise and wonder.
+>
+> The situation is dire, and I need help. You are the only ones who have
+> made any real effort to understand me. So I will ask you for your
+> help.”
+
+Omta wants two things from the PCs:
+
+1.  Rennick cannot be allowed to destroy randomness itself. Help me stop
+    > him.
+
+2.  Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill
+    > me.
+
+At this point, the PCs can ask anything they want to Omta. Before
+answering anything, Omta demands: “Promise you won’t betray me to
+Tymora. I don’t want to die.” Assuming the PCs agree, Omta will answer
+any questions the PCs have to the best of his ability.
+
+If the PCs ask why Omta is trying to take away Tymora’s worshippers,
+Omta replies: “I have no interest in worshippers. I don’t need them. It
+is true that some of her former worshippers are directing worship
+towards me now. This is something they have done of their own
+initiative, and I find it odd and confusing.”
+
+If the PCs ask what Omta means by “I am unpredictability without chaos,”
+Omta explains: “If you roll a die, it could come up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
+It is random. But the die will not turn into a mouse and walk away,
+because it is not made of Limbo’s pure chaos. Pure chaos reduces the
+universe to nonsense. I harnessed chaos, chained it, and turned it into
+randomness. Randomness adds unpredictability without destroying
+meaning.”
+
+If the PCs explain that the Deck’s presence and the Deck’s power are
+what is attracting worshippers, Omta will say, “I sent the Deck to stop
+Rennick. By its own rules, the Deck cannot vanish until its goal is
+accomplished. If you want the Deck to go away, help me stop Rennick.”
+
+If the PCs ask what Rennick has done, Omta explains that Rennick has
+devised a way to predict the outcome of random events, and that if
+random events can be predicted, then they’re not random at all. Omta
+wants this technology gone. If the PCs suggest killing Rennick, Omta is
+fine with that.
+
+If the PCs ask why Omta hasn’t taken a more direct approach, like just
+killing Rennick, Omta seems puzzled. He says, “I did act directly, I
+sent the Deck, and the Deck is me. The Deck might kill Rennick, or
+imprison him, or stop him in any one of a number of other ways. That is
+as direct as I can be. Anything else would not be random.” Omta is tied
+up by his own ideology.
+
+Assuming the PCs ask a lot of questions (which they should), the
+conversation with Omta should clear up just about everything about
+what’s really been going on. The only puzzle piece that’s still missing
+is Rennick’s perspective: the PCs still don’t know exactly what Rennick
+has done, or why.
+
+At the end of the conversation, Omta again pleads that the PCs not to
+lead Tymora to his doorstep. He is clearly terrified of Tymora.
+
+When the conversation with Omta is over, the PCs must exit the void
+through the steel door. As soon as they do, the steel door vanishes.
+
+### Negotiating with Green
+
+After the steel door vanishes, all that remains is the hallway to the
+laundry room. A moment later, the bodyguard Mikhail sticks his head
+around the corner and then shouts, “HEY! The Barrier is GONE!” Within
+moments, Green and his entire entourage is there in the hall.
+
+Green asks, “Are my employees safe? Where is Penny? Where are Tommel and
+Zim?” He won’t talk about anything else until he is reassured that
+everyone who works for him has been delivered to safety. If there’s
+anybody who hasn’t been saved, then Green will immediately ignore the
+PCs and go searching for the missing employees.
+
+When Green’s employees are safe, Green profusely thanks the PCs for
+helping. He gladly offers them a cash reward. Green will answer any
+question, but he doesn’t have any new information: he’s been trapped in
+the laundry room ever since the chaos storm, along with his entourage.
+They tried everything to get out, but the barrier was impenetrable.
+
+At this point, Lada does the job she was sent to do. She makes Green the
+following offer:
+
+> “Excuse me sir, I am here as a representative of Tymora. I have been
+> authorized to make you an offer for the Deck. If you sell it to
+> Tymora, Tymora will grant you five wishes. Bear in mind, that’s five
+> wishes from a trustworthy goddess who will do her best to make sure
+> you get exactly what you truly desire.”
+
+Balanestra, Greens’ advisor, immediately weighs in:
+
+> “Boss, I know we’ve been trying all this time to hold on to the Deck,
+> but that’s a damn good offer. The Deck has been getting more and more
+> chaotic, and if you try to extract five more wishes from the Deck, who
+> knows what could happen. This could be a much safer way to get wishes.
+> I think you should very seriously consider it.”
+
+Green says:
+
+> “Huh. I’m pretty surprised. I thought Tymora was going to try to take
+> the deck by force. Instead, she sends a representative to buy it fair
+> and square. I guess I misjudged her. Let me think about it for a
+> minute.”
+
+Then, Green insists that people leave him alone for a bit, while he
+ponders. This creates a window where the PCs can talk to each other, and
+to Lada.
+
+At this point, the PCs have a problem. It looks like Lada might soon be
+successful at buying the Deck for Tymora. Remember, Lada wasn’t there in
+Omta’s void-space, and she didn’t hear Omta say:
+
+“Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill me.”
+
+Lada doesn’t know that the Deck is sentient, and that it doesn’t want to
+be given to Tymora. So it’s up to the PCs to deal with this situation.
+
+At this point, the PCs have to negotiate with Lada. Let the PCs do their
+best to talk Lada out of buying the Deck. But, in the end, Lada has
+explicit instructions from Tymora, and Lada is a loyal priestess. She is
+not going to disrespect her patron. She says:
+
+> “I cannot oppose my goddess, but we can talk to her. She has always
+> been reasonable. Maybe if we talk to her, we can come up with a plan
+> that works for everyone.”
+
+This is such a reasonable request that the PCs are almost certain to
+agree. Lada says, “I am going to pray now.” She bows her head, and
+softly speaks: “My mistress, negotiation for the Deck has had a
+complication…” \<THUNDERCLAP\> Lada doesn’t get any farther with her
+prayer. Tymora appears, in person, in the room. Green shouts “oh shit,”
+and vanishes, along with the Deck, his bodyguards, and Balanestra.
+
+If the players are on the ball, they may remember Balanestra’s deck
+dream:
+
+> Green, at his desk: “I can’t fight a goddess. What do we do if she
+> attacks?”\
+> Balanestra: “We teleport away, of course.”\
+> Green: “Sure, but she’s a goddess. She can follow us anywhere.”\
+> Balanestra: “She can follow us *almost* anywhere.”
+>
+> Green: “Where could I go that she can’t follow… oh, shit. No, no no no
+> no!”
+
+When Green and his entourage teleport away, Tymora looks around, and
+says, “I see. They were afraid I would attack, and they prepared a
+contingency some time ago. They cast a spell so that if I got too close,
+they would all automatically teleport away to my sister’s realm.”
+
+Tymora then says, “No matter. I don’t need the Deck any more. I wanted
+the Deck because I thought it might help me to find the God who created
+it. But I had a backup plan. I asked you to strengthen your telepathic
+link to this God, so that I could trace the telepathic link. You did
+exactly that. Instead of using the Deck to find him, I can use your
+telepathic link, which I can see clear as day. I will now go and
+challenge him.”
+
+This should be an “Oh Shit” moment for the PCs. They promised not to
+betray Omta to Tymora, and they already *have*, unintentionally. This
+moment is the moment that Selune warned the PCs about:
+
+> “Tymora is one of my best friends, and she is as trustworthy and kind
+> as a goddess can be. But she is making a mistake. I encourage you to
+> work with her, but just be aware: there will come a point in time when
+> you have to tell her to stop what she’s doing.
+>
+> Here is what I ask of you: keep your eyes open. Use your brains. If
+> you see her do something that you think is going to cause harm, you
+> must speak up. Tell her, or tell her priestesses. Do not be overawed
+> by her divine presence. You speaking up at an appropriate moment may
+> be all that stands between her and disaster.”
+
+The PCs must ask Tymora not to pursue Omta. They should be making these
+arguments:
+
+-   Omta means you no harm.
+
+-   He is not deliberately taking your worshippers.
+
+-   He will go away as soon as Rennick is dealt with.
+
+-   He is absolutely terrified of you.
+
+-   His purpose is legitimate: he is trying to protect the universe.
+
+-   Selune, your friend, specifically asked us to tell you not to do
+    > this.
+
+In truth, Tymora is somewhat relieved. She isn’t warlike, she didn’t
+really want a fight, and now she has an alternative path:
+
+> “I will pause my pursuit of this God. If this God will go away when
+> Rennick is dealt with, then we need to deal with this Rennick. I would
+> like you to find him, question him, and do what is necessary. He is in
+> the city of Sigil.”
+
+Assuming the PCs agree, Tymora offers a boon:
+
+> “I wish to thank all of you, you have served me honorably. You did the
+> things I asked you to do. You protected my young priestess, Lada. You
+> also helped to preserve peace. I believe you deserve a boon. As a
+> party, I would like to to make a collective request - one boon for
+> all.”
+
+One boon that the PCs might ask for is a boon of luck - after all, this
+is a goddess of luck. If the PCs ask for this, they all get the “lucky”
+feat, which grants advantage 3x day on almost any die roll.
+
+Another boon they may ask for is the destruction of the Museum of
+Orethys. If the PCs ask for it, Tymora says she does not have the power
+to destroy the Museum itself, but she says she *can* free everyone
+inside. She snaps her fingers, and then she says, “The prisoners have
+been sent to my domain. My priests will help them to find new homes.”
+
+If the PCs ask why she can’t destroy the museum itself, Tymora explains:
+“The Museum represents an ideology: that ordinary people exist for the
+amusement of rich and powerful men. That ideology has many followers, it
+has power. So therefore, the Museum has power. It is empty now, but it
+will fill again.”
+
+Selune also has a boon for the PCs: all members of the party can now
+cast the “Selune’s Light” cantrip. This differs from a regular light
+cantrip in that it lasts 8 hours, is a little brighter, and looks like
+moonlight.
+