Initial commit
This commit is contained in:
162
sections/summaries/01-Introduction.md
Normal file
162
sections/summaries/01-Introduction.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
|
||||
# Introduction Summary
|
||||
|
||||
## Campaign Premise
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs are imprisoned in a donjon after drawing cards from the Deck of Many Things. They must escape, help NPCs affected by the Deck, and ultimately confront Green and uncover the truth about who created the Deck and why it exists.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Plot Points
|
||||
|
||||
### The Deck's Unusual Behavior
|
||||
- Normally appears every few hundred years, dispenses chaos briefly, then vanishes
|
||||
- This time: hundreds have drawn cards, the Deck isn't disappearing
|
||||
- Has flooded the economy with gems, magic items, and wishes, warping reality itself
|
||||
|
||||
### Green's Scheme
|
||||
- Green runs a profitable operation: others draw cards while he takes cuts of wishes and gems
|
||||
- If someone draws three wishes, one must be used on Green's behalf
|
||||
- Green takes 25% of gems by weight
|
||||
- He's using wishes to become stronger, smarter, more magically talented, and ultimately to become a dragon
|
||||
- Morally grey: exploitative but provides honest warnings and honors contracts
|
||||
|
||||
### The Gods' Concerns
|
||||
- **Tymora** (goddess of Good Luck): fears a more powerful luck deity exists, threatening her position
|
||||
- **Beshaba** (goddess of Bad Luck): hates Tymora, sees the Deck as potential bait to lure and kill her sister
|
||||
- **Omta** (Inventor of Randomness): the true creator of the Deck, asleep in the far cosmos
|
||||
|
||||
## The Power Players & Their Motives
|
||||
|
||||
### Omta (The Hidden God)
|
||||
- Ancient deity who invented randomness to make the predictable universe more interesting
|
||||
- Planted randomness secretly, then fled and fell asleep in the far cosmos
|
||||
- The Deck is his avatar (not a mere artifact), sent when randomness is threatened
|
||||
- Now a greater god but still sees himself as tiny and fragile
|
||||
- Monitors the multiverse unconsciously, reacting instinctually to threats against randomness
|
||||
|
||||
### Tymora
|
||||
- Young goddess lacking confidence in her position
|
||||
- Sees the Deck as proof of a rival luck god threatening her portfolio
|
||||
- Not violent by nature, but must protect her divine role or die
|
||||
- Losing respect as people attribute the Deck to a more powerful deity
|
||||
|
||||
### Beshaba
|
||||
- Lives only to hurt Tymora, driven by despair, envy, bitterness, and spite
|
||||
- Maintains worship through threats and a protection racket
|
||||
- Doesn't fear the Deck's creator; sees it as useful bait to lure Tymora to the Abyss
|
||||
|
||||
### Rennick (Theoretical Fortunologist)
|
||||
- Fraternity of Order member, casino regulator by day
|
||||
- Made a breakthrough: can predict random events (roll outcomes)
|
||||
- Understands this threatens randomness itself and could be weaponized
|
||||
- Received the Deck when he made his breakthrough; studied it instead of drawing
|
||||
- Figured out Omta's existence and that Omta is asleep
|
||||
- Trying to wake Omta to fix the problem with the universe
|
||||
- Deliberately misused the Deck by creating a predictable income stream (Green's operation) to provoke Omta
|
||||
|
||||
### Green
|
||||
- Entrepreneur who runs a casino in Sigil
|
||||
- Rennick gave him the Deck with instructions never to draw himself
|
||||
- Created the card-drawing operation that has made him wealthy
|
||||
- Morally grey: exploitative but ethical about warnings and honoring deals
|
||||
- Not the "Big Bad" - has a conscience and can be reasoned with
|
||||
- Ultimate goal: accumulate enough wishes to become a dragon
|
||||
|
||||
## Important NPCs (Deck-Touched)
|
||||
|
||||
All drew story cards and are connected via telepathic link:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Borghan (the Caged Beast)** - Drew Beast card, transformed into animal hybrid
|
||||
- **Sam Link (the Chosen One)** - Drew Sun card, granted divine spark and healing powers
|
||||
- **Alyssa Varn (the Squatter)** - Drew Bricklayer card, compelled to live in a structure the Deck built
|
||||
- **Balanestra (the Wish-Keeper)** - Drew Moon card (three wishes), advises Green
|
||||
- **Pig (the Ogre King)** - Drew Throne card, became king; also drew Jester (nobody takes him seriously)
|
||||
- **Brunna (the Antiquarian)** - Drew Comet card, can see the past when touching objects
|
||||
- **Asatya (the Astral Sleepwalker)** - Drew Void card, trapped in permanent sleep
|
||||
- **Rackle (the Punching Bag)** - Drew Euryale (fear of monsters), Ruin (destroys valuable items), Rogue (perceived as criminal)
|
||||
|
||||
## Card Mechanics
|
||||
|
||||
### Card Structure
|
||||
- Each person draws exactly 3 cards in this manifestation
|
||||
- First card: player chooses best of 3 good cards
|
||||
- Second card: player chooses least bad of 3 bad cards
|
||||
- Third card: always Donjon for PCs
|
||||
|
||||
### Good Cards (8 total)
|
||||
- **Owl** - Increase Int/Wis/Cha by 2
|
||||
- **Tiger** - Increase Str/Dex/Con by 2
|
||||
- **Knight** - Receive magical weapon/armor (max 5000gp)
|
||||
- **Star** - Receive wondrous item (max 5000gp)
|
||||
- **Vizier** - Monthly divination ability
|
||||
- **Key** - +5 to skills for one mundane career
|
||||
- **Gem** - 5000gp in gems after Green's cut
|
||||
|
||||
### Bad Cards (7 total)
|
||||
- **Euryale** - Fear of monsters, WIS save to attack creepy species
|
||||
- **Idiot** - Lose 2 Int/Wis/Cha
|
||||
- **Cripple** - Lose 2 Str/Dex/Con
|
||||
- **Fool** - Lose an important feat/skill
|
||||
- **Ruin** - 5% chance to destroy valuable items touched
|
||||
- **Skull** - Summon avatar of death
|
||||
- **Jester** - -5 to persuasion/intimidation
|
||||
|
||||
### Story Cards (9 total)
|
||||
Transformative, make people "deck-touched":
|
||||
- **Sun** - Divine spark, potential godhood
|
||||
- **Moon** - Three wishes
|
||||
- **Throne** - Become king/queen
|
||||
- **Bricklayer** - Deck builds structure, compulsion to live there
|
||||
- **Void** - Permanent sleep, dreams of other deck users
|
||||
- **Beast** - Transform into animal hybrid, lose rationality
|
||||
- **Donjon** - Cast into inescapable prison
|
||||
- **Comet** - See the past when touching objects/people
|
||||
- **Rogue** - Perceived as criminal everywhere
|
||||
|
||||
## Deck Side Effects
|
||||
|
||||
### 1. Deck Awareness
|
||||
- Deck-touched individuals see each other's cards as illusionary images overhead
|
||||
- Actually a telepathic connection broadcasting between all deck-touched people
|
||||
- Non-deck-touched cannot see the cards
|
||||
|
||||
### 2. Deck Immunity
|
||||
- Cannot draw from Deck again after first draw
|
||||
- Immune to other people's card effects (direct only, not indirect)
|
||||
- Items created by Deck phase through other deck-touched people
|
||||
- Exception: three wishes can affect other deck-touched individuals
|
||||
- Loophole: items sold to third parties become real and usable
|
||||
|
||||
### 3. Deck Dreaming
|
||||
- Dreams show visions through eyes of other deck-touched individuals
|
||||
- Continue until all deck-touched NPCs are encountered
|
||||
- Another manifestation of telepathic link
|
||||
|
||||
## Character Creation Requirements
|
||||
|
||||
- Level 2 start, will reach approximately Level 8
|
||||
- Must be desperate/willing to risk extreme danger for reward
|
||||
- Cannot have flight ability at start
|
||||
- Must accept Green's job offer to be part of campaign
|
||||
|
||||
## Player Expectations
|
||||
|
||||
This campaign requires players who:
|
||||
- Accept help from NPCs (essential for success)
|
||||
- Care about NPCs and want to protect them
|
||||
- Enjoy investigating mysteries
|
||||
- Are comfortable with potentially many non-combat sessions
|
||||
|
||||
## Initial Session Structure
|
||||
|
||||
- Each PC solo roleplays accepting the job at Castle Green
|
||||
- Green explains terms, warns of risks, demonstrates moral greyness
|
||||
- PC draws 1 good card (choose best of 3), then 1 bad card (choose least bad of 3)
|
||||
- All PCs draw Donjon as third card and are imprisoned together
|
||||
- This begins the main campaign
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
- Deck cards differ from DMG version intentionally - signals "what you know may be wrong"
|
||||
- Cards are blank ivory tablets that hover in a ring when tossed
|
||||
- Never reveal symbolism/NPCs for cards players didn't draw (important for later quests)
|
||||
- Deck curses resist normal magic; require wish, divine intervention, or special quest
|
||||
- Green must be portrayed as morally grey, not pure evil - PCs will need to negotiate with him later
|
||||
101
sections/summaries/02-The Museum of Orethys - Preamble.md
Normal file
101
sections/summaries/02-The Museum of Orethys - Preamble.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
|
||||
# Summary: The Museum of Orethys - Preamble
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
The PCs drew the Donjon card and are imprisoned in the **Museum of Orethys**, a demiplane created 100 years ago by the wizard Orethys to collect interesting people as living exhibits. Orethys died 60 years ago fighting an exhibit, but the museum persists.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Museum's Nature
|
||||
|
||||
**Physical Structure:**
|
||||
- Hundreds of floating islands in a cavern, each containing a building/diorama with 1-2 people
|
||||
- Islands organized in "floors" at similar elevations, ~8 feet apart horizontally, ~30 feet between floors
|
||||
- Cavern edges are mist that teleports anyone entering back to their starting point (5th floor)
|
||||
- Each island has its own weather and terrain from its origin
|
||||
|
||||
**Stasis Effect:**
|
||||
- All exhibits (people, buildings, objects) are frozen in time
|
||||
- People repeat the same day endlessly, cannot form new memories, don't recognize visitors
|
||||
- Injuries/death are temporary - everything resets after hours or if attention shifts
|
||||
- Items taken from exhibits vanish 1-2 hours after being set down (unless held)
|
||||
- Supplies regenerate constantly in pantries/shops
|
||||
- PCs also benefit: death teleports them back to starting location, fully restored
|
||||
|
||||
**Time and Magic:**
|
||||
- Time passes at inconsistent rates vs. the multiverse
|
||||
- Arcane/divine magic, gravity, and physics work normally
|
||||
- No flight allowed for PCs (harpies above block climbing up)
|
||||
|
||||
## Key NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
**Caretakers (Aarakocra):**
|
||||
- **Keira** - Talkative, frustrated caretaker. Has a magical guidebook listing all exhibits and their locations
|
||||
- **Qurak** - Calmer companion who moderates Keira
|
||||
- Bound by geas to patrol museum forever; immortal but bored
|
||||
- Hate Orethys but must serve the museum
|
||||
- Will eventually approach PCs to determine if they're guests or exhibits
|
||||
|
||||
**Diometron:**
|
||||
- Another exhibit who refuses to stay on his island, explores constantly
|
||||
- Mentioned by caretakers as similar to the PCs
|
||||
|
||||
## Starting Situation
|
||||
|
||||
**Party Formation:**
|
||||
- All PCs drew Donjon but arrived separately due to time distortion
|
||||
- DM runs one PC solo briefly, then introduces second PC - both experience **Deck Awareness** (see hovering cards showing what each drew)
|
||||
- Rest of party spotted on nearby island (~10 feet away)
|
||||
- Must improvise bridge (ropes, ladders) to unite
|
||||
- Start location: 5th floor, near "The Tavern of the South Gate"
|
||||
|
||||
**Exhibit Assignment:**
|
||||
- PCs are supposed to be exhibit "The Deck of Many Things" inside Castle Green
|
||||
- Castle Green's arrival is "delayed" - exhibit doesn't exist yet
|
||||
- This is why they're wandering instead of frozen in stasis
|
||||
|
||||
## Escape Solution
|
||||
|
||||
**The Puzzle:**
|
||||
1. Ask NPCs (hypothetically) about planar travel to avoid triggering their mental blocks
|
||||
2. NPCs suggest *sending* (call for help) and *plane shift* (travel between planes)
|
||||
3. PCs must find someone in museum who can cast *sending*
|
||||
4. Contact a friend outside who will eventually find someone powerful to cast *plane shift*
|
||||
5. Rescue arrives (don't reveal this - let players discover it)
|
||||
|
||||
**Exploration Constraints:**
|
||||
- Can't climb upward (no flight, harpies on 6th floor cut ropes)
|
||||
- Can descend floors via ropes tied to trees/posts
|
||||
- Ropes vanish after ~1 hour if left unattended (return to origin)
|
||||
- Must explore floors 5 down to bottom
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Destinations
|
||||
|
||||
**Guest Services (Bottom Floor):**
|
||||
- Contains guidebooks that list all exhibits, locations, and inhabitants
|
||||
- Critical for finding spellcasters and locating Diometron
|
||||
- PCs learn about this from Keira
|
||||
|
||||
**The Harpy Eyrie (6th Floor):**
|
||||
- Directly above starting location
|
||||
- Hostile harpies prevent upward travel
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
**Teaching New Players:**
|
||||
- Museum's no-death stasis makes it safe for inexperienced players
|
||||
- Use repetition shortcuts: don't roleplay identical conversations/actions multiple times
|
||||
- Emphasize "you have infinite time" to reduce travel/duplication tedium
|
||||
|
||||
**Pacing:**
|
||||
- Let PCs explore 3+ exhibits randomly to discover stasis effects
|
||||
- Introduce caretakers when PCs tire of random exploration OR reach floor 3
|
||||
- Caretakers provide direction: "get a guidebook from guest services"
|
||||
|
||||
**Atmosphere:**
|
||||
- Mix of fascinating people from across multiverse (Orethys chose interesting individuals)
|
||||
- Most are low/zero level (Orethys avoided powerful beings)
|
||||
- Exhibits don't notice other islands unless directly shown
|
||||
- Mental blocks prevent exhibits from processing their imprisonment
|
||||
|
||||
**Deck Connection:**
|
||||
- Unusual that all PCs arrived together at same time
|
||||
- The Deck is binding their fates together, not just punishing them
|
||||
- More is happening than just standard Donjon card effects
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
|
||||
# Summary: The Bottom Floors of the Museum
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
The bottom floors (6th floor down to ground floor) of Orethys's demiplane museum contain exhibits frozen in stasis. PCs materialize on the 5th floor near the Tavern. The Dreaming Ghost is essential—ensure PCs encounter him.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Locations & Exhibits
|
||||
|
||||
### 6th Floor: Harpy Eyrie
|
||||
A floating island spanning the entire floor. Harpies attack climbers unless they wear monk robes from Guest Services. Blocks upward travel until PCs obtain levitation/flying means and protective gear (robe + willpower potion).
|
||||
|
||||
### 5th Floor: Tavern of the South Gate
|
||||
**NPC: Kellia Meeks (bartender)**
|
||||
- Offers free first drink to "first-timers"
|
||||
- Knowledgeable about *plane shift* and *sending* spells
|
||||
- Resets completely when PCs leave and return, demonstrating stasis
|
||||
- Mental block prevents acknowledging she's trapped; stabilization iron fixes this
|
||||
- Contains rope and supplies in storeroom
|
||||
|
||||
**NPC: Bart Wyntell**
|
||||
- Can drink unlimited alcohol, never passes out
|
||||
- Challenges PCs to drinking contests (5gp bet minimum)
|
||||
- Also resets (becomes dry/sober again)
|
||||
|
||||
**DM Note:** Spent gold resets back to where PCs first arrived. Coins can be identified by their minting marks.
|
||||
|
||||
### 5th Floor: Golden Goats
|
||||
Goats with golden hair from Mount Olympus. Fighting them yields ~100gp of hair that vanishes after 1-2 hours. Key info: **Items from exhibits cannot be removed from demiplane, even with plane shift.**
|
||||
|
||||
### 4th Floor: Library of Dame Kenere
|
||||
**NPC: Nolan Levant (butler)**
|
||||
- Blocks entry unless PCs claim to be from "Shiny Stone Publishing"
|
||||
- PCs must look professional (not armed), convince him of appointment
|
||||
- Can be killed (respawns in 15 min, attacks on sight, 3HP dagger attacks)
|
||||
- Deception DC is high but can retry infinitely due to stasis
|
||||
|
||||
**Contents:**
|
||||
- Abyssal recipe books (survival guides)
|
||||
- "An Index of the Spells of the Multiverse" — describes all known spells including *sending* and *plane shift*
|
||||
- Dame Kenere herself wasn't captured (still alive, 101 years old); can be contacted via *sending* later
|
||||
|
||||
### 4th Floor: Breakneck Chariot
|
||||
**NPCs: Viggart (ranger), Althune (passenger), 24 quicklings**
|
||||
|
||||
Quicklings enslaved to pull racing chariot. They attempt to ram PCs to steal daggers/shortswords and cut themselves free.
|
||||
|
||||
**Combat mechanics:**
|
||||
- DEX save DC13 to avoid being rammed (D4 damage if fail)
|
||||
- Quicklings steal small sharp weapons from holsters or dropped weapons
|
||||
- Armed quicklings cut themselves/others free, then attack Viggart
|
||||
- If successful, quicklings will escape exhibit (unusual—they overcome mental block)
|
||||
|
||||
**Loot:** 150 feet of rope (choke-rope system), shed supplies
|
||||
|
||||
### 3rd Floor: Claren's Tapestries
|
||||
**NPC: Claren Lusk (elderly elf weaver)**
|
||||
|
||||
Magical tapestries create immersive illusions. Staring at tapestry transports viewer into woven world. Items removed from tapestries become phantasms lasting 6 hours to 3 days.
|
||||
|
||||
**Available tapestries:**
|
||||
- Log cabin on hill with seagulls
|
||||
- Well in forest clearing
|
||||
- Apple orchard with equipment
|
||||
- Rocky shore with waves
|
||||
- Forest canopy view with butterflies
|
||||
|
||||
**NPC: Algion (aarakocra merchant)**
|
||||
- Mesmerized by butterfly tapestry
|
||||
- Can fly, potentially helpful for upward travel
|
||||
- Mental block prevents leaving exhibit
|
||||
- Needs stabilization iron + potion of willpower to join party
|
||||
- Not a combatant
|
||||
|
||||
### 3rd Floor: Wasted Wino
|
||||
**NPC: Rixmort (green slaad bartender)**
|
||||
|
||||
Makes "artisan cocktails" by randomly mixing ingredients and secretly spitting in them. Slaad chaos essence creates random-effect potions. *Identify* only reveals "potion with random effect" because effect isn't determined until drunk.
|
||||
|
||||
Terrible at conversation—constantly goes on tangents with confusing pronouns. No real quest utility beyond entertainment.
|
||||
|
||||
### 3rd Floor: Orb Conclave
|
||||
Beholder-kin consisting of 11 hovering eyes (1 large, 10 small) with no body. From icy tundra.
|
||||
|
||||
**Behavior:**
|
||||
- Stares impassively, no response to communication
|
||||
- Attacks if touched or damaged
|
||||
- Each small eye has 5 HP (color-coded by ray type), large eye has 50 HP
|
||||
- Eyes can spread out independently when attacked
|
||||
- Doesn't hold grudges (due to nature, not just stasis)
|
||||
- Flees if losing, scattering in all directions
|
||||
|
||||
**Tactical info:**
|
||||
- Fires 3 rays per turn (standard beholder abilities)
|
||||
- If defeated/damaged, teaches PCs about respawning mechanics
|
||||
|
||||
### 2nd Floor: Dreaming Ghost
|
||||
**NPC: Johann** — CRITICAL NPC
|
||||
|
||||
Made fey bargain: can explore others' dreams but cannot enter waking world. Physical body in stasis but mind roams multiverse.
|
||||
|
||||
**How to contact:**
|
||||
- Wake him (he vanishes)
|
||||
- Next time that PC sleeps, Johann visits their dream
|
||||
- Creates lucid dreams for clear communication
|
||||
|
||||
**Abilities:**
|
||||
- Can deliver messages through dreams (alternative to *sending*)
|
||||
- Recipient must be someone who pays attention to dreams (priests, soothsayers, fortune-tellers)
|
||||
- Reports success/failure of message delivery in subsequent dreams
|
||||
|
||||
**DM Note:** Ensure PCs befriend Johann—needed for later chapters. Make him friendly, outgoing, slightly nosy.
|
||||
|
||||
### 2nd Floor: Reggie's Boots
|
||||
**NPC: Reggie Drum (4th level fighter, fae-blooded shoemaker)**
|
||||
|
||||
Makes enchanted boots. All boots prevent leg fatigue. Has major magic boots for sale:
|
||||
- **Boots of Levitation (4000gp)** — QUEST ITEM for climbing museum
|
||||
- Boots of Speed (4000gp)
|
||||
- Boots of Elvenkind (2500gp)
|
||||
- Boots of Striding and Springing (5000gp)
|
||||
|
||||
**The Problem:** PCs can't afford boots. Reggie refuses gems ("bring me gold"). Stealing is necessary and morally acceptable (items respawn).
|
||||
|
||||
**The Heist:**
|
||||
- Magic boots hidden under floorboards beneath cabinet
|
||||
- Can spy through windows to see hiding spot
|
||||
- Reggie wears Boots of Kicking and Jumping (bonus action kick 1D6, bonus action dodge/disengage/dash with doubled jump)
|
||||
- Can kill him (tough fight) or find way to make him nap
|
||||
- Items won't be visible until hiding spot is discovered
|
||||
|
||||
### 1st Floor: Tiny Men
|
||||
Primitive hunter-gatherers less than 2 inches tall, living in caves behind 3-inch wooden doors hidden in rocks. Not important to main quest.
|
||||
|
||||
**Significance:** Island is only 10 feet diameter, positioned 30 feet below Reggie's island. Requires creative rope-work to reach (rope must hang underneath large island to avoid mist). Teaches problem-solving.
|
||||
|
||||
### Bottom Floor: Guest Services
|
||||
|
||||
**Main Hall:**
|
||||
- Dining hall with buffet (self-replenishing)
|
||||
- Bedrooms with self-making beds
|
||||
- Clean restrooms (auto-cleaning)
|
||||
- 10-foot painting of Orethys (aarakocra creator)
|
||||
|
||||
**Featured Exhibits Room:**
|
||||
Contains two pedestals near entrance:
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Guidebook pedestal** — Infinite guidebooks available (stasis respawn)
|
||||
2. **Stabilization iron** — Brands items with glyph, extending their lifespan from 1-2 hours to 3-4 days. Glyphed coins are suspicious to merchants.
|
||||
|
||||
**Two showrooms:**
|
||||
- "Monsters of Divine Beauty" — Info on Harpy Eyrie, Golden Goats, Medusa's Visage. Contains chest with monk robes and willpower potion for harpy exhibit.
|
||||
- "Innately Magical Craftspeople" — Info on Claren's Tapestries, Reggie's Boots, Wasted Wino.
|
||||
|
||||
**Locked closet ("caretakers only"):**
|
||||
Contains the **Capture Device** on pedestal. Doesn't work inside museum yet.
|
||||
|
||||
**Long Rest Trigger:** Sleeping here causes **Deck Dreams** — telepathic visions of other people who drew from Deck of Many Things. Provides campaign foreshadowing.
|
||||
|
||||
## Core Mechanics
|
||||
|
||||
### Stasis Effect
|
||||
- NPCs reset to original state when PCs leave and return
|
||||
- NPCs don't remember previous interactions
|
||||
- Damage, physical changes, consumed items all reset
|
||||
- Most NPCs have mental blocks against acknowledging anything wrong
|
||||
- Stabilization iron + potion of willpower can overcome blocks
|
||||
|
||||
### Item Persistence
|
||||
- Items from exhibits vanish after 1-2 hours
|
||||
- Stabilization iron extends to 3-4 days but adds visible glyph
|
||||
- Items cannot leave demiplane via *plane shift*
|
||||
- PC's own gold resets back to spawn point (Tavern area)
|
||||
|
||||
### Death & Respawning
|
||||
PCs who die in museum respawn at Tavern of the South Gate. Death is not permanent here.
|
||||
|
||||
## Critical Path Items
|
||||
1. **Guidebook** — from Guest Services pedestal
|
||||
2. **Stabilization iron** — from Guest Services pedestal
|
||||
3. **Boots of Levitation** — must be stolen from Reggie (needed to ascend museum)
|
||||
4. **Monk robe + willpower potion** — from Guest Services chest (needed for harpies)
|
||||
5. **Rope** — from Tavern storeroom or chariot exhibit
|
||||
6. **Johann's help** — for message delivery (alternative to *sending*)
|
||||
|
||||
## Important NPCs for Later
|
||||
- **Kellia Meeks** — Make PCs care about her; knowledge of escape spells
|
||||
- **Johann** — Essential ally for dream communication
|
||||
- **Algion** — Can assist with flying/rope placement if stabilized
|
||||
- **Dame Kenere** — Still alive outside museum, can be contacted for rescue
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
- Must ensure PCs meet Johann/Dreaming Ghost
|
||||
- Let PCs experiment extensively with stasis at Tavern
|
||||
- Stealing from Reggie is necessary—reassure players it's not immoral
|
||||
- Orethys was aarakocra (explains floating islands, assumes guests can fly)
|
||||
- Next step after guidebook: talk to Diometron (next chapter)
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
|
||||
# Magic Items in Guest Services — Summary
|
||||
|
||||
Guest Services contains four magical items available to the party:
|
||||
|
||||
## The Guidebook
|
||||
A leather-bound volume on a pedestal with alphabetically sorted exhibit pages. Features a compass on the cover that points to the nearest exhibit and shows its danger rating. Includes a resident index and a bookmark that redirects the compass to a chosen exhibit. Useful for locating exhibits by name or resident, but cannot search by content or abilities. Shows current location when standing on an exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Stabilization Iron
|
||||
A tiny branding iron that applies stabilization glyphs to objects, extending their duration from ~1 hour to several days. Works on objects, animals, and people from exhibits. When applied to NPCs, enables them to remember information and observe other islands (overcoming their usual mental blocks). Has unlimited uses per day. Can stabilize itself if two irons are obtained and used on each other.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Capture Device
|
||||
A metal cylinder (3" diameter, 2" tall) that creates new exhibits. Activated by rotating its halves, triggering a 5-minute countdown with verbal warning. Captures the entire building/structure containing an exotic being or anomaly. Target gets a DC15 Wisdom save to resist. Fails if used inside the museum, building lacks exotic elements, or contains more than two people. Unique item that leaves the museum when taken; cannot be recharged for several months after successful capture. DM note: prevent party members from being captured if they fail to evacuate.
|
||||
|
||||
## Potion of Willpower
|
||||
A general-purpose potion that grants +5 to Wisdom saving throws for approximately one hour. Provided by Orethys to resist harpy charms but useful for any Wisdom save situation.
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
|
||||
# Summary: Escaping the Museum
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
After exploring the museum's lower floors, the PCs must complete several steps to escape. The process involves meeting a rogue modron, sending a distress call, receiving divine visitations, and negotiating their freedom with the museum's caretakers.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
### Diometron (Rogue Modron)
|
||||
- **Background**: Former duodrone infected with slaad essence, fled incineration orders, captured by Orethys
|
||||
- **Current state**: Self-promoted to quadrone with custom functional wings (invented his own blueprint)
|
||||
- **Unique traits**: Resistant to museum's memory-wiping stasis due to "axiomatic mind" redundancy systems
|
||||
- **Personality**: Cheerful but damaged self-esteem, believes he should've been incinerated, afraid of spreading chaos
|
||||
- **Speech patterns**: No contractions, bright/cheery voice even when saying sad things, constantly tilts head
|
||||
- **Skills**: Self-proclaimed "excellent" at wizard, swordsman, musician, bartender, weaver (some overestimation)
|
||||
- **Relevance**: 6th level wizard who can cast *sending*, only NPC besides caretakers who remembers the PCs
|
||||
- **Name meaning**: Di (two) + metric (measurement) + tron (mechanism) = two incompatible value systems
|
||||
- **Current residence**: Garden shed (compromised with caretakers to at least sleep in his exhibit)
|
||||
|
||||
### Joycie
|
||||
- **Level**: 14th level Cleric of Tymora
|
||||
- **Role**: On *plane shift* duty, rescues the PCs but cannot stay long (essential worker at Brightwater temple)
|
||||
- **Appearance**: 7 feet tall, prominent forehead (one-eighth hill giant)
|
||||
- **Personality**: Bubbly, friendly, happy-go-lucky, flirts playfully but not seriously
|
||||
|
||||
### Lada
|
||||
- **Level**: 3rd level Cleric of Tymora (Theoretical Fortunologist)
|
||||
- **Role**: Tymora's best researcher on magical luck and the Deck, stays with party long-term
|
||||
- **Appearance**: Young halfling with wild curly hair
|
||||
- **Personality**: Shy and awkward initially, becomes warm when comfortable, passionate about research
|
||||
- **Combat role**: Support only (healing, blessing, buffing), refuses front-line combat
|
||||
- **Plot function**: Friendly NPC for player investment, raises mysteries, provides occasional DM hints
|
||||
- **Mechanics**: Always one level below PCs, players control her in combat
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Encounters
|
||||
|
||||
### The Medusa Exhibit
|
||||
- **Setup**: Hall of mirrors with medusa trapped inside, takes 16 minutes to reach front
|
||||
- **Teleportation circle**: Located at back of maze where medusa starts, sigil reads "*put medusa here*" in rune-script
|
||||
- **Building**: Rectangular stone bunker with ~12 steel doors around perimeter, deadbolts only operable from outside
|
||||
- **Door markings**: "Use this door" (last door medusa reaches), "Do not use this door!" (near starting position)
|
||||
- **Strategy**: One PC enters safe door, waits until medusa is halfway through maze, signals ally to enter unsafe door and memorize sigil sequence
|
||||
- **Orethys' design**: Built doors everywhere, observed medusa's exact path in stasis, marked appropriate doors
|
||||
- **Discovery methods**: Enter exhibit and see circle in mirrors, OR recall seeing it in guest services pictures (easy Insight roll)
|
||||
- **Medusa state**: In stasis, thinks she was just attacked 5 minutes ago, panicked and angry (persuasion very difficult)
|
||||
|
||||
## Plot Developments
|
||||
|
||||
### Sending the Distress Call
|
||||
**Requirements**: Diometron must cast *sending* but lacks familiarity with anyone outside museum
|
||||
|
||||
**Solutions**:
|
||||
- Describe a friend convincingly (2-3 methods: *Disguise Self*, Performance check, *Encode Thoughts*, *Detect Thoughts*, telepathy, verbal description)
|
||||
- Contact Dame Kenere (Diometron knows her from books/portraits)
|
||||
- Use Johann the Dreaming Ghost (enters dreams, only works on people who pay attention to dreams)
|
||||
|
||||
**Recipient**: Message reaches Tymora through chain of contacts, Joycie responds requesting teleportation circle sigil sequence
|
||||
|
||||
### Tymora's Motivations
|
||||
|
||||
**The Problem**:
|
||||
- Tymora didn't create the Deck (it's much older than her)
|
||||
- People now see Deck's creator as "new god of luck" more powerful than Tymora
|
||||
- In the past, Deck appeared briefly every ~100 years then vanished
|
||||
- This time: Deck has stuck around for months (Green's operation), entered public consciousness
|
||||
- Public perception threatens Tymora's portfolio and worshipper base
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora's Goals**:
|
||||
- Negotiate with the god who created the Deck (not start a war)
|
||||
- Buy the Deck from Green (won't use force/divine presence to intimidate)
|
||||
- Use PCs as ambassadors (they already know Green)
|
||||
- Strengthen PCs' telepathic connection to Deck's creator (Tymora can see weak "channels" radiating from PCs)
|
||||
- Trace those channels to find the other god
|
||||
|
||||
**Why PCs**: Connected to Deck users via telepathy, corrupted by elemental chaos (side effect of Deck use), already know Green
|
||||
|
||||
### Divine Visitations
|
||||
|
||||
#### Selune's Warning
|
||||
- **Setting**: Grassy field at night, enormous moon, silvery light
|
||||
- **Message**: Tymora is trustworthy and kind but making a mistake; PCs must speak up when they see harm coming
|
||||
- **Constraint**: Bound by ancient promise to keep a secret, cannot give details
|
||||
- **Backstory (hidden from PCs)**: Selune witnessed Omta plant seeds of randomness, promised to keep his hiding place secret for millennia; thinks Tymora tracking down Omta would be disaster
|
||||
- **Personality**: Soft-spoken, very warm
|
||||
|
||||
#### Beshaba's Deception
|
||||
- **Setting**: Same field, but obsidian shards, roiling black clouds, red light shafts (mimics Selune's visitation mockingly)
|
||||
- **Opening**: "Am I not more beautiful than Selune?"
|
||||
- **Claimed rationale**: Prevent war between gods, protect innocents (100% lies)
|
||||
- **Request**: Pretend to work for Tymora but undermine her (negotiate badly, talk her out of taking Deck)
|
||||
- **True goal**: Get Deck before Tymora does, lure Tymora into Beshaba's realm (where Beshaba is strongest), kill Tymora
|
||||
- **Why not just curse PCs**: "You have Tymora's ear and can convince her of things. Killing you wouldn't stop her, she'd find others."
|
||||
|
||||
### Failed First Departure
|
||||
- **Attempt**: Joycie casts *plane shift* with circle formed, she and Lada vanish but PCs remain
|
||||
- **Joycie's *sending***: "What happened? Are you still in the museum? I'm going to take a long rest, we'll come try again in the morning."
|
||||
- **Reason**: PCs are part of an exhibit, physically impossible to remove exhibit pieces from demiplane (same as Golden Goats blurb)
|
||||
|
||||
### Castle Green Arrives
|
||||
- **Warning**: Guidebook changes from "delayed" to "arriving soon," caretakers wake PCs at night
|
||||
- **Event**: Top half of Castle Green appears in white mist clearing, sliced off from bottom half
|
||||
- **State**: Hovering chunks with no island underneath, crooked angles, nobody present, valuables removed
|
||||
- **Deck room**: Present but desk knocked over, accessories scattered, Deck not present
|
||||
- **Guidebook update**: "The Deck of Many Things" now reads "Exhibit is Out of Order"
|
||||
- **Purpose**: Create mystery about what's happening at Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
## Escape Mechanics
|
||||
|
||||
### The Trade Agreement
|
||||
**Problem**: PCs are exhibit property, cannot leave without permission
|
||||
|
||||
**Qurak's Solution**:
|
||||
- Has power to set PCs free with "magic words"
|
||||
- Normally prevented by geas (must act in museum's best interests, Orethys never gave anything away)
|
||||
- **Workaround**: Trade PCs for better exhibit (allowed under geas)
|
||||
- **Procedure**: Qurak frees PCs, PCs agree to capture new exhibit within ~1 month using capture device
|
||||
- **Risk**: If PCs fail, geas tortures Qurak forever (can't die in museum)
|
||||
- **Qurak's price**: PCs promise to dismantle museum and free Keira and Qurak
|
||||
|
||||
**Moral objections addressed**:
|
||||
- Capture someone dangerous who deserves prison
|
||||
- Capture interesting place/object without people
|
||||
- If dismantling museum succeeds, imprisonment is temporary
|
||||
|
||||
**Tutorial**: Qurak teaches capture device use
|
||||
|
||||
**Incantation**: "By the will of Orethys, you are free to go."
|
||||
|
||||
### Final Departure
|
||||
- Only freed PCs can leave (Diometron and other exhibit NPCs must stay)
|
||||
- Joycie uses *plane shift* successfully
|
||||
- PCs materialize in market square of St. Parnas with Joycie and Lada
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
### Diometron Design
|
||||
- **Plot function**: Must brag "I am an excellent Wizard" so PCs think of *sending*
|
||||
- **Emotional purpose**: Likeable NPC to create player investment in museum inhabitants
|
||||
- **Future relevance**: When PCs can dismantle museum later, caring about NPCs makes their freedom feel important
|
||||
- **Loneliness**: Talks to everyone but nobody remembers him, caretakers only discourage him (geas-forced)
|
||||
|
||||
### Lada's Purpose
|
||||
1. Friendly NPC for player emotional investment
|
||||
2. Raises mysterious questions for ongoing investigation
|
||||
3. DM hint channel
|
||||
4. Combat support (players control, always 1 level below party)
|
||||
|
||||
### Important Points
|
||||
- PCs **must** accept Tymora's job for campaign to continue
|
||||
- If PCs refuse: Make impassioned, reasoned argument (Tymora is genuinely good, needs help, saved PCs, priesthood's eternal gratitude)
|
||||
- Character creation note: Ensure PCs have at least one living friend in background for *sending* target
|
||||
|
||||
### Puzzle Solutions Flexibility
|
||||
Multiple valid approaches to most problems (finding teleportation circle, becoming familiar for *sending*, dealing with medusa). Reward creative thinking.
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
|
||||
# The Museum of Orethys - Bonus Exhibits Summary
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
A section of optional random exhibits for filler or additional museum encounters. These are lighter, more whimsical attractions.
|
||||
|
||||
## Exhibits
|
||||
|
||||
### The Organ Player
|
||||
A flumph named **Fff-Huss** plays a custom pipe organ with four independent bellows to accommodate his 40 independently-moving tentacles. He performs fast, arhythmic "music" with complex chords (30-40 notes simultaneously) that is impressive but difficult to enjoy. The venue is a captured theatrical playhouse used for normal productions except on Thursdays when Fff-Huss performs. He cannot speak or understand verbal language but responds to telepathy and gestures. After performances, he requests three silver coins per audience member using a bowl as a collection device. If unpaid, he turns red and hisses but does nothing else.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Mud Sauna
|
||||
A natural hot spring cave with warm mud covering the interior. Features two relaxed bathers (Bartleby, a human, and Imbrex, a half-celestial) soaking in the mud. A lonely **mud elemental** inhabits the pit below—if PCs avoid the mud, he emerges and attempts to cover them in mud to create the illusion of fellow mud elementals. The elemental is harmless and gives good massages. Soaking for 30 minutes provides long rest equivalent with full healing from injuries (though without dreams). The elemental watches sadly when PCs leave but returns to the pit.
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
- Use The Organ Player for atmospheric, quirky encounters
|
||||
- The Mud Sauna offers recovery/healing opportunity and lighter social roleplay
|
||||
- Both exhibits allow flexible NPC personalities
|
||||
- Fff-Huss payment refusal won't escalate into combat
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
|
||||
# The Castle with the Steel Door — Chapter 1: Overview
|
||||
|
||||
## The Situation
|
||||
|
||||
The party returns to Castle Green to find only the basement remains. Omta, the sentient Deck of Many Things, is deeply conflicted about the PCs—they are deck-touched (creating a bond) but have allied with Tymora (whom Omta fears). To manage this conflict, Omta erects two lines of defense: a confusing labyrinth in the basement and an impenetrable steel door sealing off the Deck itself. However, he also attempts to communicate, using the telepathic bond he shares with the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Labyrinth and Communication
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs enter the labyrinth, they discover it is impossible to navigate without permission. Omta reaches out telepathically, trying to establish contact. Once the PCs make a genuine effort to communicate with him—regardless of success—Omta begins assisting them, guiding them through the labyrinth to reach their goals. Along the way, the party finds and rescues Green's scattered employees who are trapped in the maze.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Scrolls and the Main Quest
|
||||
|
||||
Upon reaching the steel door, Omta realizes that telepathic communication is too vague. Instead, he creates six parchment scrolls containing symbolic card arrangements and adds pigeonholes to the door. When all six scrolls are deciphered and placed in the holes, the door will open.
|
||||
|
||||
The scrolls use cards as symbolism. The PCs automatically know the meanings of cards they have drawn, but must seek out NPCs who drew the unknown cards to learn their symbolic significance. This quest forces the party to track down and interact with NPCs whose lives have been upended by the Deck—some transformed into beasts, others comatose or cursed. By helping these NPCs, the PCs build relationships that will yield powerful allies in future chapters.
|
||||
|
||||
## Resolution
|
||||
|
||||
Once all six scrolls are deciphered, the door opens and the PCs finally meet Omta directly. The conversation ends, and the party is returned to Castle Green, where the barriers are gone. They can now negotiate with Green to purchase the Deck.
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
|
||||
# The Market Square of St Parnas — Summary
|
||||
|
||||
## Location
|
||||
St. Parnas market square: a central hub with shops, stalls, and vendors. Normally a modest town market, but currently flooded with magic items due to Deck activity. The square itself suffered minimal damage from the chaos storm but shows evidence of scattered merchandise being cleaned up by merchants.
|
||||
|
||||
## Chaos Storm
|
||||
A magical phenomenon caused by Omta's panic—when the PCs agreed to help Tymora locate him, Omta manifested his fear as uncontrolled teleportation. Objects teleported 20–30 feet randomly; worst damage occurred at Castle Green (whose top half was teleported into the Museum of Orethys), with secondary damage in nearby areas. Many injured civilians, structural damage. Much of this chapter deals with aftermath and recovery.
|
||||
|
||||
## NPCs & Party Changes
|
||||
- **Joycie** departs to return to her temple duties (high-level, in-demand)
|
||||
- **Lada** joins the party as a support character (always one level behind PCs, focuses on healing/blessing, will not engage in combat, panics if targeted)
|
||||
|
||||
## Encounters & DM Notes
|
||||
- **Pig** (ogre, INT 6) stands in the market square holding a mandolin, recently gifted music ability by the Deck. Perplexed by the chaos storm, accessible for conversation but limited in what he can understand or relay.
|
||||
- **Magic item availability**: Unusually high for a medium town; merchants are selling Deck-conjured items, shipping unsold stock to Tradegate.
|
||||
- **PC compensation**: Any PC who received nothing from the Deck is owed 5,000 gp by Green—funds were distributed to their friends/family. DM should ensure all players have resources for one serious magic item purchase.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Mechanic
|
||||
Let players rotate running Lada's character during gameplay.
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
|
||||
# The Deck-Touched NPCs — Summary
|
||||
|
||||
These NPCs all drew cards from the Deck of Many Things and can be found throughout St. Parnas. Each has a Deck Dream associated with them that provides clues to their location and situation. All are visible to PCs via **Deck Awareness** (three cards hovering over their heads), and PCs have **Deck Immunity** (immune to effects of others' cards).
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Pig: The Ogre King
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Ysgard Ogre (10 feet tall) / None
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Key, Jester, Throne
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Pig was once the strongest ogre in his tribe and their leader. He contracted *Wasting Rot*, a disease that reduced his STR to 13, making him weak and a laughingstock. Desperate for a cure, he drew from the Deck. The Key card gave him musical talent (plays mandolin beautifully). The Jester card makes everyone laugh at everything he says, even when he's sad. The Throne card prophesies he will become king of a nation—which seems impossible given his current state.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Melancholic, depressed, speaks in third person, yells constantly (INT 6—mental age of a toddler). Not evil, just a simple apex predator. Currently submissive due to weakness. Grateful to PCs because they don't laugh at him (immune to Jester card).
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Market square in St. Parnas, playing mandolin for food
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Curing Pig requires *Greater Restoration* (only available in larger cities, Chapter 3)
|
||||
- If healed, becomes powerful tank ally—but needs supervision (intelligence of toddler, can kill with one blow)
|
||||
- Fixing Jester card requires Wish or divine intervention
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Borghan: The Caged Beast
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Human (transformed) / None
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Gem, Beast, Bricklayer
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Drew cards to pay off debts. Gem card paid his debts with shower of gems. Beast card transformed him into an oversized grizzly bear with humanoid features (not a werebear—permanent form, animal intelligence). Bricklayer card built him a labyrinth under Castle Green and instilled magical compulsion to stay there. He's starving to death but can't leave due to the compulsion.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Animal intelligence (INT 7), operates on instinct, ravenously hungry, territorial about "his" labyrinth. Once fed, becomes reasonably cooperative.
|
||||
|
||||
**Combat Stats:** CR 6, 200 HP, multiattack (2 claws + bite), Rage and Hunger ability
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Will attack PCs on sight due to starvation unless they're very clever
|
||||
- If reduced to 0 HP, gets death saves—can be spared with healing
|
||||
- Must be fed enormous amount (whole pig/sheep) before he can think about anything but food
|
||||
- Communication requires *Speak with Animals*, magic item, or druid PC
|
||||
- Solutions: hire someone to feed him regularly until compulsion wears off; capture in Museum of Orethys; *Headband of Intellect* to restore intelligence; Wish/divine intervention to restore human form
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Sam Link: The Chosen One
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Elf / Divine Spark (path to godhood)
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Star, Cripple, Sun
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Felt compelled to visit Castle Green and draw cards. Star gave him a ring of feather falling. Cripple gave him serious lower-back pain. Sun granted him a divine spark—he's on the path to godhood and has healing powers. Believes there's a reason for everything and he was "chosen" for a purpose, but doesn't know what. Currently healing injured people around town after the chaos storm.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Philosophical, earnest, thoughtful. Won't give brief answers—demands deep engagement with existential questions. Believes gods have a plan.
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Mobile—looking for injured people. Can be found at basilisk fight aftermath, waiting to heal petrified woman with broken hand.
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Will answer questions about cards IF PCs answer his questions (trades question-for-question)
|
||||
- His four questions: (1) Why was I chosen? (2) How should I use this gift? (3) How do I ascend further? (4) What's the ring for?
|
||||
- Requires thoughtful, non-glib answers or he refuses to continue
|
||||
- Best help: Get him to stop obsessing—needs something else in life besides solving the "puzzle" of his purpose
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Alyssa Varn: The Squatter
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Tiefling / None (was a gambler)
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Tiger, Knight, Bricklayer
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Deeply in debt from gambling. Tiger made her extremely limber (contortionist). Knight gave her a staff of withering (sold it). Bricklayer built her a castle, which she sold to Green under pressure from her husband (who threatened divorce). The card instilled overwhelming compulsion to live in the castle. She's convinced the sale was invalid ("made under duress") and keeps sneaking back in. Lives in hidden room in castle basement. Sets non-lethal traps to harass Green.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Obsessive, irrational about the castle, zero-level NPC. Becomes violently angry if told to leave (magical compulsion). Apologetic after tantrums. Uses words like "territory"—animalistic possession.
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Hidden behind bookcases in Castle Green basement storage room. Passage through wall leads to Mikhail's wardrobe.
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Sets various traps (tripwire in armory, bucket on door, nailing doors shut)
|
||||
- Eventually found sitting on sofa in lounge, watching ants, losing hope
|
||||
- Escaping compulsion requires WIS saving throw DC 15 (her WIS is 8)
|
||||
- PCs can help her prepare: *Bless*, *Beacon of Hope*, *Resistance*; helping her understand it's magical compulsion (+4); offering alternative home (+4); inspiration for second roll
|
||||
- Green has lawsuit pending to commit her to mental institution (mayor is slow-rolling it)
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Balanestra: The Wish-Keeper
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Aasimar / None (wealthy woman, now Green's advisor)
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Gem, Skull, Moon
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Drew cards seeking excitement from her mundane life. Gem gave her wealth she didn't need. Skull forced her to fight an avatar of death (bodyguards handled it). Moon granted three wishes. Wish 1: highly skilled at plotting/manipulation/intrigue (fully granted). Wish 2: ability to magically scry on anyone (mostly granted—can look in mirrors and see people she's thinking about, 3x/day for 15 min, target gets WIS save DC 20). She kept her third wish as an "emergency get-out-of-jail-free card" and negotiated to become Green's advisor in exchange.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Clever, manipulative, loving her new exciting life. Proof that "three wishes make you miserable" is moralizing nonsense.
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** With Green behind Omta's steel door (inaccessible in this chapter)
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- PCs don't need her help—Gem meanings available from Borghan, Skull is easy to guess (death/killing), Moon meanings can be inferred
|
||||
- Will appear briefly at end of Chapter 2
|
||||
- Becomes important figure later in campaign
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Brunna: The Antiquarian
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Dwarf / None (former musical instrument merchant)
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Vizier, Comet, Idiot
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Successful but bored with life, drew cards seeking change. Vizier lets her ask the fates one question per month. Comet lets her hold items and know their past. Idiot reduced her charisma by 2—she now looks down her nose at people and speaks like a know-it-all. Lost sales ability, sold music business, became antiquarian (fits the know-it-all persona, uses Comet power). Enjoying new career but not profitable—suffering from failure of imagination about how to use her power.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Know-it-all manner (can't understand her own lack of charisma due to Idiot card). Enjoys storytelling and expanding her knowledge. Hasn't used Vizier power yet (saving for special occasion). Charges 5 gp consulting fee.
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Former music shop near market square (faded lute outline on brickwork, new sign: "historical research: antique objects investigated")
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Asks PCs for business advice—needs to think beyond heirlooms
|
||||
- Alternative uses: crime investigation, private investigation, industrial espionage, art authentication, archaeology, general espionage
|
||||
- If helped with 4+ new ideas, becomes friendly resource
|
||||
- Can feed PCs exactly the clues DM wants without major spoilers
|
||||
- Knows something about any item—but not necessarily what PCs want to know
|
||||
- Reveals scrolls use ancient pre-language communication method (gods showing images to each other)
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Asatya: The Sleepwalker
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Human / None (former gardener)
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Owl, Fool, Void
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Getting older, hands arthritic, needed new direction. Owl gave her great intelligence. Fool made her forget how to cook (doesn't matter much). Void put her in deep sleep from which she cannot awaken. Her body is in hospice, completely unresponsive. Her spirit sleepwalks through the city gardens in confused, delirious state—can see physical world but thought processes are foggy.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Confused, foggy-minded while sleepwalking. Gives dreamy, drifty answers. Former gardener, still drawn to gardens.
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Body at hospice. Spirit in orchard (invisible but cards visible via Deck Awareness).
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Deck Awareness doesn't work on her body (cards hover over spirit, not body)
|
||||
- Nurses reveal she was gardener (triggers memory of deck dream)
|
||||
- Johann (Museum of Orethys ghost) can enter dreams but can't talk to sleepwalkers (they see physical world, not dream world)
|
||||
- Communication: Johann listens while PC stands in front of spirit and asks questions—spirit answers, Johann relays
|
||||
- Helping: Tell her to close eyes OR cast *Sleep* on her—makes her see dream world so she can see Johann
|
||||
- Johann makes her lucid, clears cobwebs—she's no longer alone or confused
|
||||
- Johann desperately wants to meet another permanently sleeping person—demands PCs help in exchange for his help
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Rackle: The Punching Bag
|
||||
|
||||
**Race/Class:** Human / None
|
||||
**Cards Drawn:** Euryale, Ruin, Rogue
|
||||
|
||||
**Situation:** Had medical condition causing constant pain, drew cards in desperation. Euryale makes him terrified of monsters (sees demons everywhere). Ruin makes items he touches crumble to dust. Rogue makes people think he's a fraudster/con man without evidence. Three terrible cards—life went from bad to exponentially worse. Can't get job (Rogue), can't steal valuables (Ruin), lives in abandoned watchtower. Still in constant pain. Makes salt protection circles against imaginary demons.
|
||||
|
||||
**Personality:** Terrified, desperate, suicidal. Has attempted suicide multiple times. Currently starving to death (stopped eating).
|
||||
|
||||
**Location:** Middle floor of abandoned watchtower (one of five around St. Parnas)
|
||||
|
||||
**Associated NPC: Clarissa** — Priestess of Beshaba (goddess of misfortune), mid-50s human. Former sadist who witnessed so much suffering she gave up torture to study it philosophically. Assigned by Beshaba to keep Rackle alive (he's a "saint of misfortune"). Has been preventing his suicide attempts and buying *goodberries* from druids to keep him fed, but druids are getting suspicious of her lies.
|
||||
|
||||
**Quest Hooks:**
|
||||
- Finding him: round stone room ~10 feet across with staircase (watchtower), need to search all five
|
||||
- When found: passed out, Clarissa ministering, out of goodberries
|
||||
- Clarissa admits she's priestess of Beshaba sent to protect him (omits "keeping him alive to suffer")
|
||||
- Lada senses Beshaba's influence, warns PCs priests of Beshaba are "never here to help"
|
||||
- If attacked, Clarissa casts *Hypnotic Pattern* (DC 16) then surrenders
|
||||
- Medical care: 100 gp/day at good temples, regains consciousness in 2 days
|
||||
- Needs salt protection circle or freaks out about demons
|
||||
- PCs immune to Rogue card effect—see him as he really is
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Card Symbolism Reference
|
||||
|
||||
Information these NPCs can provide about symbolic meanings:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Key:** Teaching, skills, careers
|
||||
- **Jester:** Making people laugh, not being taken seriously
|
||||
- **Throne:** Ruling by raw power, biggest/strongest
|
||||
- **Gem:** Beauty, sparkly things, wealth, money
|
||||
- **Bricklayer:** Building, possessiveness, territoriality
|
||||
- **Beast:** Transformation into animal
|
||||
- **Star:** Wondrous magic items, wonder, wonderful things/places
|
||||
- **Cripple:** Infirmity, physical flaws, being broken
|
||||
- **Sun:** Divine ascension, divinity, godlike
|
||||
- **Tiger:** Limberness, contortionist abilities
|
||||
- **Knight:** Receiving a weapon
|
||||
- **Skull:** Killing, death, wanting to kill
|
||||
- **Moon:** Wishes, granted wishes, desires, fulfilled desires
|
||||
- **Vizier:** Seer, scholar, researcher, asking questions, investigation, secret knowledge
|
||||
- **Comet:** Time, past, future, waiting, history, prophecy
|
||||
- **Idiot:** Lack of intelligence/wisdom/social skill, mistakes, bad decisions, mental handicap
|
||||
- **Owl:** Intelligence, wisdom
|
||||
- **Fool:** Forgetting, disappearance
|
||||
- **Void:** Emptiness, darkness, silence
|
||||
- **Euryale:** Fear of monsters
|
||||
- **Ruin:** Items crumbling, decay
|
||||
- **Rogue:** Being perceived as fraudster/con man
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
|
||||
# Summary: Life in St Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
|
||||
St. Parnas is a small, good-aligned town in the Outlands, about a day's journey spireward of Tradegate. It has a strong civic virtue culture influenced by Bytopian values (hard work, diligence, community). The town is quiet and law-abiding with small-town amenities. Overt evil is not tolerated.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Locations
|
||||
|
||||
**The Unnamed Inn** — Primary lodging. 2 gp/night for party of 4 (includes two rooms and meals). Has a common room for relaxing and occasional music. Eight bedrooms upstairs.
|
||||
|
||||
**The Named Inn** — A fancier inn in the nicer part of town. May not welcome scruffy parties.
|
||||
|
||||
**The Orchard** — Encircles the entire town, containing every type of fruit and nut tree. Marks the boundary beyond which the town cannot expand (part of the peace treaty with druids 200 years ago). Free picking for townsfolk and druids. **Contains Asatya's spirit** (near apple trees) — she drew the "void" card and her spirit now wanders here. She appears as three hovering cards over an invisible person.
|
||||
|
||||
**Old Watchtowers** — Five abandoned stone cylinders just inside the orchard, built 90 years ago, abandoned 60 years ago. Used by homeless and drifters. Contents:
|
||||
- Tower 1: Abandoned campsite with carved wooden statue of Ilmater (message for Rackle)
|
||||
- Tower 2: Aggressive bat swarm on upper landing (100 bats, requires tactical combat)
|
||||
- Tower 3: Collapsed by fallen tree
|
||||
- Tower 4: Contains Rackle and Clarissa (see separate section)
|
||||
- Tower 5: Empty except graffiti and garbage
|
||||
|
||||
**The White Ward** — Hospital run by priests of good-aligned gods and non-magical doctors. Named for white stucco building and white-clad doctors. Contains Asatya's unconscious body. Will likely need to bring Rackle here. [INCOMPLETE IN SOURCE]
|
||||
|
||||
**Mayor's Manor** — Contains residential quarter and offices, but the mayor doesn't fit. Mayor lives in a pagoda in the back yard instead.
|
||||
|
||||
**Collapsed Lizardman Temple** — In poor quarter. Ramshackle two-story wooden building that collapsed post-chaos storm, releasing dangerous reptiles.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
**Mayor Elar Mossbrow** — Firbolg mayor who doesn't fit in the manor. Free-thinking firbolg who believes "commerce binds people together" (unusual for his kind). Unhappy with Green for disrupting the quiet town. Plans to kick Green out once he's free from the castle basement. Will help PCs with town records if they assist the guards. Often does orchard maintenance to clear his mind.
|
||||
|
||||
**Zell Parnas (historical)** — Negotiated peace between settlers and druids 200 years ago. Financed the orchard boundary with his own money. Declared a saint 100 years after death. Town named after him.
|
||||
|
||||
**Town Guards** — Complacent and undertrained due to town's safety. Not very skilled in actual combat.
|
||||
|
||||
## Magic Items for Sale
|
||||
|
||||
Due to the Deck conjuring items, St. Parnas has random magic items available despite being a small town:
|
||||
|
||||
- Envenomed Shortsword (3,500 gp) — 3x/day +1d8 poison damage
|
||||
- Javelin of Lightning (3,000 gp) — 1x/day 4d6 lightning in line
|
||||
- Headband of Warning (3,500 gp) — Advantage on initiative, can't be surprised
|
||||
- Cloak of Protection (4,000 gp) — +1 AC and saves
|
||||
- Decanter of Endless Water (2,200 gp)
|
||||
- Key of Curious Locks (3,000 gp) — Knock 1x/day, detects door problems/traps
|
||||
- Navigator's Compass (2,800 gp) — Points to any established landmark
|
||||
- Lens of Far Seeing (3,000 gp) — 1 mile vision, Clairvoyance 1x/long rest
|
||||
- Pouch of the Burrowing Familiar (3,000 gp) — Summon badger 1 hour, burrows, doesn't fight
|
||||
- Ring of Hopping (3,500 gp) — Jump 3x/long rest, Misty Step 1x/long rest
|
||||
- Lantern of the Firefly (3,000 gp) — Endless dim light 100ft, Faerie Fire 1x/long rest
|
||||
- Staff of the Potent Caster (7,500 gp) — Quarterstaff, focus, +1 spell save DC
|
||||
- Wand of Silent Casting (5,500 gp) — Cast verbal spells with only somatic components
|
||||
|
||||
## Events & Encounters
|
||||
|
||||
**The Collapsed Temple Encounter** — Optional combat event for when PCs want action. Occurs a few days post-chaos storm.
|
||||
|
||||
Setup: Two reptiles escaped the collapsed lizardman temple — a mirage serpent and a basilisk. PCs can follow running guards to find petrified people and engage.
|
||||
|
||||
**Mirage Serpent** (CR 4, 1,100 XP)
|
||||
- AC 14, HP 68
|
||||
- Fights with two illusory duplicates that appear real
|
||||
- PCs must identify which is real through trial and error
|
||||
- Actions: Psychic Lash (+5, 15ft, 1d10+1 psychic) or Shuffle (all three serpents teleport 15ft, real one reassigned secretly)
|
||||
- Tactically uses shuffle when PCs focus on real serpent
|
||||
|
||||
**Basilisk (Modified)** (CR 4, 1,100 XP)
|
||||
- AC 16, HP 65
|
||||
- Eight-legged lizard appearance
|
||||
- Bite: +5, 2d6+10 piercing
|
||||
- Lock On (reaction, one per eye): Two independently-pivoting eyes can paralyze creatures
|
||||
- Target makes DC 15 CON save when attempting action
|
||||
- Fail = paralyzed, locked gaze, lose action
|
||||
- Takes minimum 3 turns to petrify (lock → resist fail → resist fail → stone)
|
||||
- Breaking line of sight frees victim immediately
|
||||
- Motion-sensitive: can't lock on to motionless creatures
|
||||
- Petrified creatures remain stone for 48 hours then revert
|
||||
|
||||
**Sam Link Connection** — After reptile attacks, Sam Link arrives to help. One petrified commoner lost a hand and will bleed out when they revert to flesh in 48 hours. Sam waits with the statue for 48 hours to heal them immediately upon reversion. This gives PCs multiple opportunities to find Sam, as mayor and guards know his location.
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
- Don't introduce Mayor Mossbrow until PCs have gained some notoriety
|
||||
- Bat swarm encounter uses special mechanics: DEX DC 13 and CON DC 13 saves each round for 10% remaining bats as damage. AOE spells kill approximately 1/3 as many bats as damage dealt. Swarm disperses at 30 bats.
|
||||
- Finding Asatya requires searching orchard for apple trees, then brute-force search for three hovering cards
|
||||
- The Legend of St Parnas can be told by any local if asked
|
||||
- Camping on outskirts is an option if PCs prefer
|
||||
- White Ward section is incomplete in source material
|
||||
|
||||
## Connections to Broader Campaign
|
||||
|
||||
- Mayor Mossbrow wants Green gone but can't reach him while he's trapped in castle basement
|
||||
- Asatya (void card victim) is in the orchard — deck dream will show her among apple trees
|
||||
- Rackle (punching bag) is in Tower 4 with the Ilmater statue in Tower 1 as a clue
|
||||
- Sam Link can be tracked down via the petrification aftermath
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
|
||||
# Castle Green - Summary
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
Castle Green is a keep created by the Bricklayer card (drawn by Alyssa Varn), later expanded with a labyrinth underneath (drawn by Borghan). The chaos storm destroyed everything from ground level up, leaving only the basement and labyrinth intact.
|
||||
|
||||
## Structure
|
||||
- **Ground Floor**: Destroyed—only floors and bottom 2 feet of walls remain. Stairs to basement are intact.
|
||||
- **Basement**: Functional rooms including barracks, kitchen/dining, armory/sparring room, holding cells, lounge, laundry/latrine, wine cellar, root cellar. Stone block walls.
|
||||
- **Labyrinth**: Below basement, confusing passages with decorative wooden paneling (Victorian library style). No inherent magic, just confusing layout. Trapdoor access from basement lounge.
|
||||
|
||||
## Major Defenses
|
||||
|
||||
### Portal System
|
||||
- **Red lines on map** mark portals placed by Omta as defensive measure against Tymora's agents
|
||||
- All basement hallway portals lead into labyrinth
|
||||
- Labyrinth portals are ever-shifting, controlled by Omta
|
||||
- Creates appearance that basement is broken into 8 isolated chunks within the labyrinth
|
||||
- Omta keeps intruders trapped by continuously portaling them in circles
|
||||
|
||||
### Bypassing Portals
|
||||
- **Holes in walls** (red dots on map): Chaos storm teleported stone blocks out, leaving gaps
|
||||
- Small creatures (gnome/halfling) can fit through; medium creatures need enlarge/reduce
|
||||
- Holes bypass portals completely
|
||||
- Digging into laundry area creates steel barrier (Omta protecting the Deck)
|
||||
|
||||
### Navigating with Omta
|
||||
**Step 1**: Reassure the telepathic presence (Omta is fearful, asleep, using dream logic)
|
||||
**Step 2**: Ask Omta verbally for navigation help—he'll rearrange portals to guide you
|
||||
|
||||
**Navigation Rules**:
|
||||
- Room types work: "Take me to the Kitchen"
|
||||
- Ambiguous requests go to location farthest from Deck
|
||||
- Employee names usually don't work (except "Green")
|
||||
- Professions work: "Take me to the wizard's bedroom"
|
||||
- Card-based queries work: "Take me to the woman who drew the bricklayer card"
|
||||
- Requests for Green, Deck, Laundry, or Lounge trigger intense fear—Omta refuses
|
||||
|
||||
**Do not allow PCs to reach lounge/laundry areas until trigger events.**
|
||||
|
||||
## Trapped NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
### Behind the Steel Door (Laundry Area)
|
||||
- **Green** (has the Deck)
|
||||
- **Mikhail** - Male Half-Orc Fighter LV8, natural peacemaker
|
||||
- **Etienne Vireaux** - Male Tiefling Diviner LV8, helpful
|
||||
- **Siduri** - Female High Elf Duelist LV8, reserved, graceful
|
||||
- **Harkon** - Male Dwarf Cleric of Helm LV8 (conjures food/water, group not in danger)
|
||||
- **Balanestra** - Female Aasimar, deck-touched, adventurous
|
||||
|
||||
### In Basement (Various Locations)
|
||||
- **Bran** - Gate Guard, Male Dwarf, talkative but helpful (Sparring Room region)
|
||||
- **Inya** - Gate Guard, Female Tiefling, lets Bran talk (Sparring Room region)
|
||||
- **Zimmi** - Cook, Female Gnome, loud and pushy
|
||||
- **Edric** - Steward/Bookkeeper, Male Bariaur, all business
|
||||
- **Penny** - Helper, Teen Female Tiefling, super smart, skill with languages
|
||||
|
||||
These employees lack telepathic connection to Omta (didn't draw cards), so they can't navigate the labyrinth and get stuck wandering in circles.
|
||||
|
||||
### At Inn in St. Parnas (Not Trapped)
|
||||
- **Wim** - Janitor, Male Kobold, avoids eye contact
|
||||
- **Tommel** - Gardener, Male Earth Genasi, aloof
|
||||
|
||||
## Ant Invasion
|
||||
|
||||
### Background
|
||||
Chaos storm destroyed the intelligent giant ants' anthill. Ant Queen is angry and claiming Castle Green as compensation. Ants are moving in by force but willing to let humans leave peacefully.
|
||||
|
||||
### Ant Types
|
||||
- **Workers**: Small dog-sized, task-focused, fungus farmers
|
||||
- **Soldiers**: Large dog-sized, tactically smart
|
||||
- **Queen**: Small horse-sized, broad intelligence, can cast comprehend languages
|
||||
|
||||
### Communication
|
||||
- Ants use antennae waving, not speech
|
||||
- **Tongues**: Full communication
|
||||
- **Comprehend Languages**: Understand them (they can't understand you without yes/no system)
|
||||
- **Speak with Animals**: Doesn't work (too intelligent)
|
||||
- Queen is creative enough to suggest hand signals or antenna signals for communication
|
||||
|
||||
### Ant Mentality
|
||||
- **Workers/Soldiers**: Extremely specialized, task-focused. Deep knowledge in their domain, basic understanding elsewhere.
|
||||
- **Queen**: Smart, broad knowledge, strategic thinker
|
||||
- **Alignment**: True neutral to outsiders, lawful good to each other
|
||||
- Not hostile by nature—won't attack PCs unless provoked
|
||||
- Don't see mammals as prey (fungus farmers)
|
||||
|
||||
### Ant Navigation
|
||||
- Navigate by scent, largely unaffected by shifting portals
|
||||
- Forming ant lines creates stability—Omta hesitant to move portals when ants are watching
|
||||
- PCs can follow ant trails to reach new areas
|
||||
|
||||
### Ant Territory Claims
|
||||
- **Green's Bedroom**: Queen's new chambers. Heavy soldier guard on both sides of door, blocking access. Also blocks Edric's bedroom.
|
||||
- **Tommel/Bran/Wim's Bedroom**: New brood chamber, full of eggs. Soldiers guard both ends.
|
||||
- **Kitchen**: New fungus farm. Workers swarming, carrying rotting organic matter. Light soldier presence (not blocking access).
|
||||
- **Root Cellar**: Main entrance for ants. Earthen floor full of ant-sized holes. Soldier-ant-sized hole chewed in wooden door. Queen smart enough to open human doors.
|
||||
|
||||
### Potential Cooperation
|
||||
Ants not hostile to PCs (can tell PCs don't live in castle by scent). Queen would cooperate against Borghan or help dig bypass holes if PCs establish communication.
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
- Omta's behavior is contradictory (hindering and helping) because he's asleep and emotionally conflicted—wants Tymora away but also wants relationship with PCs
|
||||
- Ants provide living world flavor—other agendas exist beyond the PCs' quest
|
||||
- PCs rescue employees one by one by navigating to each basement region
|
||||
- Stat blocks for ants still needed (TODO in original document)
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
|
||||
# Summary: Sections of Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
Castle Green's ground floor has been destroyed by a chaos storm, leaving only the basement intact. The basement is connected to a magical labyrinth through shifting portals. Green and his employees are trapped inside. The PCs must navigate the labyrinth, rescue the trapped individuals, and locate the Deck of Many Things.
|
||||
|
||||
## Key Areas & Encounters
|
||||
|
||||
### The Ground Floor
|
||||
- **NPC: Rennick** - Fraternity of Order casino regulator and luck researcher. He's a business associate of Green's.
|
||||
- Rennick is open about his Fraternity membership and casino regulation work, but clams up about the Deck and his ability to predict random events.
|
||||
- He encourages PCs to descend and help Green's trapped employees.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Basement Landing
|
||||
- Three hallways (N/W/E) lead to portals. Stone transitions to wood-paneled labyrinth walls.
|
||||
- Insight roll reveals the transition looks magically created, not man-made.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Labyrinth
|
||||
- Victorian library-style wood paneling. Portals shift randomly, making mapping impossible.
|
||||
- PCs marking paths will find their own arrows pointing in contradictory directions.
|
||||
- **Presence: Omta** - WIS DC15 to realize the anxiety/dread is coming from an external entity in the labyrinth.
|
||||
- **Navigation:** PCs must reassure Omta and ask for help to navigate successfully.
|
||||
|
||||
**Random Encounters:**
|
||||
- Borghan's fur scraped on woodwork
|
||||
- Single stone block teleported from a wall
|
||||
- Ant encounters
|
||||
- Portal anomalies (perception check to spot visual seams)
|
||||
- **Borghan encounter** (after PCs learn navigation)
|
||||
|
||||
### The Sparring Room, Armory, and Cells
|
||||
- **NPCs: Bran and Inya** (gate guards) - Stuck here, provide complete inventory of missing people.
|
||||
- **Three cells:** Two dusty, one with shattered bar and coarse brown fur (Borghan's former cell).
|
||||
- **Armory trap:** Piano wire at shin-level. Perception DC15 to spot. 6HP damage (DEX DC15 for half). Note from "AV" (Alyssa Varn): "Get the &^$ out of my castle!"
|
||||
- **Info from Bran/Inya:**
|
||||
- Alyssa Varn drew "bricklayer" (created castle), sold it to Green, has seller's remorse
|
||||
- Borghan drew "bricklayer" (created labyrinth), now a grizzly bear
|
||||
- Green's a decent boss, hired mostly from his old Sigil casino
|
||||
- Hole in wall leads to armory (perception DC15).
|
||||
|
||||
### The Kitchen, Pantry, and Dining Area
|
||||
- **Dining room:** Sparse decorations, potted plants, Outlands artwork. Missing stone block in wall (small creatures can squeeze through).
|
||||
- **Kitchen:** Taken over by fungus-farming ants. Spongy bed of rotting plant matter covers floor.
|
||||
- 10 worker ants, 4 soldier ants
|
||||
- Workers have plier-like mandibles, soldiers have sharp mandibles
|
||||
- Soldiers form barrier but won't attack unless PCs push through
|
||||
- Offering food rations earns trust; soldiers allow movement while PCs feed workers
|
||||
- **NPC: Zimmi** (cook, gnome) - Locked in pantry, scared but unharmed. Can be rescued once PCs demonstrate ants aren't hostile.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Root Cellar, Wine Cellar, and Furniture Storage
|
||||
- **Root cellar:** Earthen floor, emptied by ants. Tilled ground with ant tunnels. Soldier-ant hole chewed through door.
|
||||
- **Wine cellar trap:** Bucket of urine on door. Perception DC15 to spot. DEX DC15 to dodge. Nauseated = disadvantage until cleaned. Bucket message: "This is my Castle! Get the $%& Out!"
|
||||
- Contains table wine and 5 bottles of good wine
|
||||
- **Furniture storage:** Packed with unused castle furniture (Green replaced cheap conjured furniture).
|
||||
- **Alyssa Varn's hideout:** Hidden behind bookshelves. Contains sleeping bag, nightstand with candle, two changes of clothes (very petite woman). Perception DC15 to find dust-free path leading to hideout.
|
||||
- **Secret passage:** Missing block in wall, mortar carefully carved away (differs from random chaos storm holes). Leads to Etienne's wardrobe. Must be small to pass through.
|
||||
- This is one of few ways to move between castle regions without using labyrinth portals.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Bedrooms of the Bodyguards
|
||||
- Four bodyguards (Mikhail, Harkon, Siduri, Etienne), each has personalized bedroom. None present except Alyssa Varn (lurking).
|
||||
|
||||
**Mikhail's Room:** Half-orc fighter. Tea sets, books on Sigil politics.
|
||||
|
||||
**Harkon's Room:** Dwarf cleric of Helm. Shrine to Helm, writing desk.
|
||||
|
||||
**Siduri's Room:** High elf duelist. Ornate curved swords on wall, fencing maneuver books.
|
||||
|
||||
**Etienne's Room:** Tiefling diviner. Mushroom hunting books, unsent letter revealing:
|
||||
- **Asatya** drew "void" card, fell into coma (nobody inside, not locked-in)
|
||||
- **Borghan** drew "beast" card, now oversized grizzly with animal intelligence (Etienne can communicate via "speak with animals")
|
||||
- Etienne seeks powerful artifacts/individuals to break deck curses (simple restoration won't work)
|
||||
|
||||
**Alyssa's trap:** Will jam doorstop under door and nail it shut if weaker PCs are alone in single-exit room. 10-15 minute escape project.
|
||||
|
||||
Worker ants may pass through carrying eggs, ignoring PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Barracks of the Castle Staff
|
||||
- **Men's barracks:** Tommel, Wim, Bran live here. Nothing remarkable.
|
||||
- **Women's barracks:** Taken over as ant egg incubator. Many workers and soldiers present.
|
||||
- **NPC: Penny** (teenage tiefling) - Helping ants move eggs. Already learned rudiments of ant-language despite only a few days. Exceptional at language learning, can help decipher messages.
|
||||
- Ants trust Penny. She wiggles arms like antennae to signal safety to ants.
|
||||
- Can translate basic phrases like "people not dangerous" but limited vocabulary.
|
||||
- Cheerful, grateful for rescue. Useful for deciphering scrolls later.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Lounge, and Green and Edric's Quarters
|
||||
- Omta keeps PCs away from this area initially (contains his steel door). Last area found.
|
||||
- **Lounge:** Furniture upended by chaos storm, piled in SE corner hiding hole in wall to Edric's room (small creatures only).
|
||||
- **NPC: Edric** (bariaur steward) - Manages paperwork, books, orders, moneybox. Won't leave without lockbox.
|
||||
- **Hallway east of lounge:** Jam-packed with soldier ants guarding door to Green's bedroom (ant queen's lair).
|
||||
- **Green's bedroom:** Nothing interesting except ant queen.
|
||||
- **Edric's office:** Wardrobe, bed, writing table, vault.
|
||||
- **Treasure: Vault** - Closet with wooden door, mundane padlock (lockpick DC15, can bash). Contains lockbox (lockpick DC13) with:
|
||||
- 3500gp in gems (conjured by Deck)
|
||||
- 500gp in gold
|
||||
- Ledgers and records
|
||||
- Accessible via hole in lounge wall (bypasses soldier ants).
|
||||
- If PCs steal gems, Edric makes impassioned plea about Green's fair dealings. Theft earns disapproval of all employees, no cooperation.
|
||||
- **Trapdoor:** In lounge floor, leads down to labyrinth physically underneath basement (not a portal).
|
||||
- **Soldier ants at queen's chamber:** More aggressive than elsewhere. Will fight if PCs push into hallway. Only way past: Penny can ask permission to see queen (limited access: one PC + Penny).
|
||||
- **Hallway north of lounge:** Contains steel barrier. Behind it: latrine, laundry room, cistern. Green and bodyguards are sealed inside with the Deck. Barrier later becomes steel door.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Latrine, Cistern, and Laundry
|
||||
- Currently inaccessible (steel barrier).
|
||||
- **Cistern:** Rainwater collection tank for fresh water.
|
||||
- **Latrine:** Watertight relief boxes, not emptied since seal. Odor seeping out.
|
||||
- **Laundry room:** Steel tubs for laundry and bathing, hearth for heating water, towels, folding tables.
|
||||
- **Green and his four bodyguards** are trapped here.
|
||||
- Omta portaled them here and sealed the hallway to protect the Deck (people are collateral damage).
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
**Missing People Checklist (from Bran/Inya):**
|
||||
- Green (with bodyguards in laundry)
|
||||
- Four bodyguards: Mikhail, Harkon, Siduri, Etienne (with Green)
|
||||
- Zimmi (cook, in pantry)
|
||||
- Penny (in women's barracks)
|
||||
- Edric (in lounge/office area)
|
||||
- Borghan (wandering as grizzly bear)
|
||||
|
||||
**Key Progression:**
|
||||
1. Meet Rennick, learn about trapped people
|
||||
2. Navigate labyrinth by befriending Omta
|
||||
3. Rescue employees one by one
|
||||
4. Deal with Alyssa Varn's traps and sabotage
|
||||
5. Negotiate with ant colony
|
||||
6. Eventually deal with steel barrier to reach Green and the Deck
|
||||
|
||||
**Recurring Elements:**
|
||||
- Holes in walls (chaos storm and Alyssa's carved passages) provide alternative routes
|
||||
- Ant colony is not hostile if approached correctly
|
||||
- Alyssa Varn is sabotaging via traps and harassment
|
||||
- Omta (presence in labyrinth) controls navigation and created steel barrier to protect Deck
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
|
||||
# Summary: Communicating with Omta
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
This section covers how the PCs communicate with Omta (the Deck of Many Things itself) through a telepathic link and symbol-based scrolls. The communication is a gradual puzzle involving card interpretation, NPC assistance, and ultimately unlocking a steel door that guards direct access to Omta.
|
||||
|
||||
## Initial Communication
|
||||
|
||||
**Telepathic Link**: When PCs first enter the castle, they sense anxiety and dread from Omta. As they speak aloud, Omta hears them and reacts emotionally through the telepathic link. PCs can eventually request things ("take us to the cook"), and Omta will rearrange portals to comply if the request isn't threatening.
|
||||
|
||||
**Prerequisites**: PCs should explore extensively first—meet at least two employees, interact with ants, encounter Borghan and Alyssa Varn before Omta attempts detailed communication.
|
||||
|
||||
## Failed Telepathic Messages
|
||||
|
||||
Omta attempts to send complex messages but fails. PCs receive only emotions (surprise, shock, fear, determination, trapped feeling) followed by frustration. This repeats at least three times. The problem: Omta's alien reasoning doesn't translate through telepathy—only emotions come through, not details.
|
||||
|
||||
**Key patterns**:
|
||||
- Heavy fear, anxiety, and dread (Omta is terrified of Tymora)
|
||||
- Every sequence ends in frustration (unable to communicate)
|
||||
|
||||
## Written Communication
|
||||
|
||||
After failed telepathy, Omta has an insight and materializes a parchment scroll using card symbols from the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
**Why cards?** Omta fled before mortals invented language and never learned sentences. He only knows symbol-based communication from pre-mortal gods. Cards are grouped by association, not in subject-verb-object order.
|
||||
|
||||
**Card meanings**: Each card has multiple symbolic meanings. PCs who drew a card instinctively know ALL its meanings. To learn meanings of cards they didn't draw, PCs must find NPCs who drew those cards.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Three Key Questions
|
||||
|
||||
**First scroll meaning**: "I want the four of you to ask me questions."
|
||||
- Shows four Donjon cards (the PCs), Omta's holy symbol (dice with sunburst), and the Vizier card (asking questions of gods)
|
||||
- Omta takes PCs to basement landing and won't navigate further until they figure out the message
|
||||
- When PCs interpret correctly, parts of the scroll glow brighter; wrong interpretations cause confusion from Omta
|
||||
|
||||
**Omta will only answer three specific questions** (phrasing can vary):
|
||||
1. Why are you afraid?
|
||||
2. What is your goal?
|
||||
3. Who are you?
|
||||
|
||||
If PCs ask about their own goals instead, Omta reacts with annoyance. Lada hints: "We should ask him about his agenda, not ours."
|
||||
|
||||
## The Three Answers
|
||||
|
||||
### 1. "Why are you afraid?"
|
||||
**Meaning**: "I'm afraid because Tymora intends to kill me!"
|
||||
- Omta (holy symbol, Sun=god, Euryale=fear)
|
||||
- Tymora (Sun=god, Gem=coin/holy symbol, Skull=dangerous killer)
|
||||
- Omta is overly fearful due to past trauma with an aggressive god. Tymora is angry but not actually a murderer—though she won't rule out a fight.
|
||||
|
||||
### 2. "What is your goal?"
|
||||
**Meaning**: "I have to save the universe from Rennick, before he ruins everything!"
|
||||
- Omta (holy symbol, Knight=defender)
|
||||
- Rennick (Vizier=scholar/seer, Idiot=careless fool, Ruin=destroyer)
|
||||
- Universe (Star-Gem combo: Star=wondrous, Gem=beautiful; also includes Ruin card)
|
||||
- Omta sees Rennick as a knowledgeable but reckless idiot who will destroy everything
|
||||
|
||||
### 3. "Who are you?"
|
||||
Omta responds with FOUR scrolls telling his life story. Page numbers use Comet cards (backward): 4 comets = longest time ago, 1 comet = recent past.
|
||||
|
||||
**Scroll 4 (oldest)**: "A god created the universe. He was the original bricklayer, king of gods, a beast who was possessive and controlling. His universe was wondrous and beautiful but flawed—too predictable, too boring. I was wise and knew how to fix it. I snuck in without the creator seeing and taught the universe how to use randomness."
|
||||
- Creator god: Sun (god), Bricklayer (creator/possessive), Throne (king by might)
|
||||
- Universe: Star-Gem combo, Cripple (sick/lacking randomness)
|
||||
- Omta: Holy symbol, Owl (wise), Key (teaching skill), Rogue (sneaky)
|
||||
|
||||
**Scroll 3**: "I fled the scene and hid in the farthest reaches of the void. I was terrified."
|
||||
- Omta alone: Dungeon (self-imposed isolation), Void (far reaches), Rogue (sneaky), Euryale (terrified)
|
||||
|
||||
**Scroll 2**: "I tried to be sneaky, but Selune found me out. She saw what I did, found me in the void. I'm such an idiot! I should have been more careful! Fortunately, Selune was wise. She agreed to keep silent—would not tell anyone what I did, where I was hiding, or that I exist."
|
||||
- Selune: Sun-Moon (goddess of moon), Owl (wise), Void (silent/keeping secrets)
|
||||
- Omta: Rogue (sneaky), Euryale (terrified), Idiot (caught)
|
||||
- Connects to Selune's earlier vision: "A long time ago, I promised to keep a secret."
|
||||
|
||||
**Scroll 1 (most recent)**: [Not shown in text but presumably explains current situation]
|
||||
|
||||
## Puzzle-Solving Mechanics
|
||||
|
||||
**Feedback system**:
|
||||
- Correct interpretation: Relevant scroll portions glow brighter, enthusiasm from Omta
|
||||
- Incorrect interpretation: Mild confusion/annoyance from Omta
|
||||
- Twenty-questions guessing: Omta gets annoyed, may close telepathic link for hours
|
||||
- Wild guesses that happen to be right: Section gets barely bolder, but internal details don't illuminate until fully deciphered
|
||||
|
||||
**Help available**:
|
||||
- **Lada**: Researcher of Luck and the Deck, but her knowledge is out-of-date (matches DM's guide, which differs from current module). She's clear this information is unreliable.
|
||||
- **Penny**: Natural affinity for languages, enjoys studying scrolls. Use her to provide exactly the right amount of hints—no more, no less. She's bright, perky, especially happy when working on scrolls.
|
||||
- **NPCs who drew cards**: Essential resource for learning card meanings
|
||||
|
||||
**Key observations NPCs can make**:
|
||||
- Only ~20 words in this language, so each has many meanings
|
||||
- Don't try solving scrolls without knowing all card meanings first
|
||||
- Star-Gem combo appears repeatedly (likely represents same thing)
|
||||
- Picture languages make abstract concepts difficult
|
||||
- Not all languages use subject-verb-object order
|
||||
- Don't get locked into a single card meaning
|
||||
- Consider literal interpretations
|
||||
- Some NPCs (like Pig) lack intelligence to explain card meanings well
|
||||
|
||||
## The Steel Door Puzzle
|
||||
|
||||
Once PCs receive scrolls, the steel barrier in the lounge physically transforms:
|
||||
- Three hinges appear (barrier becomes door)
|
||||
- Six pigeonholes appear
|
||||
- Brass plaque inscribed: "Vizier, Key" (Knowledge is the key)
|
||||
|
||||
**How to unlock**:
|
||||
1. Ask all three key questions (obtain all six scrolls)
|
||||
2. Decipher all six scrolls correctly
|
||||
3. Insert deciphered scrolls into pigeonholes (one at a time)
|
||||
4. Each correct insertion triggers mechanical tumblers
|
||||
5. When all six are in place, door opens
|
||||
|
||||
Random objects pop back out immediately. Scrolls slide back out slowly (getting warmer). If PCs struggle, Lada suggests: "Maybe we're supposed to read the scrolls before inserting them."
|
||||
|
||||
**Behind the door**: PCs can finally meet and talk to Omta directly.
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
**Pacing**: This is an incredibly open-ended puzzle. Players WILL go off on wild tangent interpretations. The DM must:
|
||||
- Repeatedly remind players to talk to NPCs who drew the cards
|
||||
- Provide lots of hints and feedback
|
||||
- Use positive reinforcement when PCs are on the right track
|
||||
- Use annoyance reactions when PCs are way off base
|
||||
- Have Lada/Penny speak up to redirect misguided theories
|
||||
- Give exactly enough hints for progress without making it feel easy
|
||||
|
||||
**Critical reminders for PCs**:
|
||||
- "Talk to the people who drew the cards" (most important)
|
||||
- Don't guess meanings—find someone who knows
|
||||
- Every image can have many meanings
|
||||
- Ask about Omta's agenda, not your own
|
||||
|
||||
**Multi-meaning examples**:
|
||||
- Gem: gems, money, wealth, precious, beautiful, sparkly
|
||||
- Key: a key, to lock, to unlock, a skill (non-obvious)
|
||||
- Void: void/emptiness, silence, far reaches
|
||||
- Sun: god (when used with other symbols)
|
||||
|
||||
Omta won't let PCs approach the Deck until they've heard his entire side of the story. This establishes sympathy and understanding before the final confrontation.
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
|
||||
## Summary: The Conclusion of the Chapter
|
||||
|
||||
### How the Chapter Ends
|
||||
|
||||
The chapter concludes with the PCs successfully preventing a divine conflict between Tymora and Omta, while receiving boons from both Tymora and Selune. The steel door vanishes after the PCs meet Omta, Green escapes with the Deck to avoid Tymora's arrival, and the party is tasked with finding and dealing with Rennick in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Events
|
||||
|
||||
**Meeting Omta:** The PCs cross the threshold of the steel door into an extradimensional void where they meet Omta—the personification of randomness itself. The Deck of Many Things is his avatar. With a strengthened telepathic connection, the PCs can now understand card-language effortlessly. Omta reveals his true nature: "I am unpredictability without chaos... I harnessed chaos, chained it, and turned it into randomness."
|
||||
|
||||
Omta makes two requests: (1) Stop Rennick, who has devised a way to predict random events, thereby threatening randomness itself. (2) Don't give the Deck to Tymora—she will use it to kill him. Omta explains he sent the Deck to stop Rennick, and it cannot vanish until its goal is accomplished. He is terrified of Tymora and makes the PCs promise not to betray him.
|
||||
|
||||
**Negotiating with Green:** After the steel door vanishes, Green and his entourage emerge from the laundry room. Once reassured his employees are safe, Green thanks the PCs. Lada offers to buy the Deck on Tymora's behalf for five wishes from the goddess—a safer alternative to extracting more wishes from the increasingly chaotic Deck. Green seriously considers the offer.
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora's Arrival:** When Lada prays to report complications, Tymora appears in person. Green immediately teleports away with the Deck and his entourage to Beshaba's realm (Tymora's sister), triggering a contingency spell they prepared in case Tymora attacked.
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora reveals her backup plan: she used the PCs to strengthen their telepathic link to Omta, allowing her to trace it directly to him. The PCs realize they've unintentionally betrayed Omta—the "Oh Shit" moment Selune warned them about.
|
||||
|
||||
**Averting Disaster:** Following Selune's advice, the PCs speak up and convince Tymora not to pursue Omta. They argue: Omta means no harm, isn't deliberately stealing worshippers, will leave when Rennick is dealt with, is terrified of Tymora, and serves a legitimate purpose protecting universal randomness. Tymora, relieved to avoid conflict, agrees to pause her pursuit and tasks the PCs with finding Rennick in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
### Consequences
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs can now understand card-language without difficulty (permanent telepathic enhancement)
|
||||
- The Deck remains in Green's possession, hidden in Beshaba's realm
|
||||
- Tymora tasks the party with finding and dealing with Rennick in Sigil
|
||||
- Divine conflict between Tymora and Omta is averted
|
||||
- The party receives boons from both goddesses
|
||||
|
||||
### Boons Granted
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora's Boon (collective party request):**
|
||||
- Option 1: "Lucky" feat for all PCs (advantage 3x/day on any roll)
|
||||
- Option 2: Free all prisoners from the Museum of Orethys (sent to Tymora's domain for rehabilitation). Tymora cannot destroy the Museum itself because it represents an ideology with power.
|
||||
|
||||
**Selune's Boon:**
|
||||
- All party members gain "Selune's Light" cantrip (8-hour duration, brighter than normal light, appears as moonlight)
|
||||
|
||||
### DM Notes
|
||||
|
||||
**Critical Plot Reveal:** This scene answers nearly all the campaign's mysteries about what's happening with the Deck and why it won't vanish. The only remaining puzzle piece is Rennick's perspective—what exactly he's done and why.
|
||||
|
||||
**Omta's Ideology:** Omta cannot act more directly because it would violate his nature. He explains: "I did act directly, I sent the Deck... 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." He is bound by his own philosophy.
|
||||
|
||||
**The Betrayal Twist:** The PCs promised not to betray Omta, but they already did—unwittingly—by strengthening the telepathic link Tymora used to find him. This is the moment Selune predicted when she warned: "there will come a point in time when you have to tell her to stop what she's doing."
|
||||
|
||||
**Green's Contingency:** Green and Balanestra prepared for Tymora's arrival by creating a contingency teleport to Beshaba's realm—the one place Tymora cannot easily follow. This references Balanestra's deck dream about escaping to a place the goddess "can't follow."
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora's Character:** Tymora isn't inherently warlike and is actually relieved to have an alternative to divine combat. This reinforces her characterization as reasonable and kind, while showing she was willing to fight if necessary to protect her worshippers.
|
||||
|
||||
**Next Chapter Setup:** The chapter transitions the campaign to Sigil, where the PCs must find Rennick and learn his side of the story. This sets up the final confrontation and resolution of the Deck's presence in the world.
|
||||
41
sections/summaries/16-A Warning from Chronepsis.md
Normal file
41
sections/summaries/16-A Warning from Chronepsis.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
|
||||
# Summary: A Warning from Chronepsis
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
This section occurs as the PCs travel through the Outlands toward a portal to Sigil to find Rennick. The Dragon God of Time and Fate, Chronepsis, subtly intervenes to deliver a warning about Green's misuse of the Deck of Many Things.
|
||||
|
||||
## Who is Chronepsis?
|
||||
Chronepsis is the Dragon God of Time and Fate. He never speaks to anyone (mortal or god), acts only in subtle ways, and maintains permanent enigma about his intentions. Divination spells cannot determine his purpose. He appears as an ancient ash-grey dragon, bony and skeletal, resting in his Mausoleum. He will instantly erase from existence anyone who bothers or attacks him.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Warning
|
||||
**Green is a steel dragon** who used wishes from the Deck to transform from human into dragon form, then artificially age himself for more power. This violates dragon code—dragons must earn their years, and the dragon gods have decreed that magical aging of dragons is forbidden. Chronepsis is particularly annoyed. The warning: **Green must stop using wishes to age himself, or face consequences from the dragon gods.**
|
||||
|
||||
## Plot Developments
|
||||
- While traveling through the Outlands, the PCs' campsite mysteriously moves overnight (Chronepsis's doing)
|
||||
- The PCs become trapped, repeatedly passing the same clearing until they enter Chronepsis's realm
|
||||
- The realm contains a ruined ancient city and underground Mausoleum filled with tens of thousands of intangible hourglasses—one for each living dragon, showing their remaining natural lifespan
|
||||
- The PCs must deduce their mission through conversation with Laeros before they can leave
|
||||
|
||||
## Key NPC: Laeros
|
||||
**Laeros** is a young adult gold dragon in dragonborn form (golden skin). A philosopher studying fate and dragons, he meditates in Chronepsis's realm for inspiration. He witnessed a steel dragon's hourglass jump ahead (artificial aging), which should be impossible. This mystery has consumed his thoughts. He's friendly, intellectually curious, and will ask about the Deck when he learns the PCs are connected to Tymora and the famous adventurers from the rumors.
|
||||
|
||||
## The Mystery Solution
|
||||
Chronepsis orchestrated the meeting between the PCs and Laeros:
|
||||
1. He placed Green's hourglass where Laeros would witness the unnatural aging
|
||||
2. He trapped the PCs in his realm to force them to meet Laeros
|
||||
3. Through conversation, they must realize: someone is using the Deck to magically age a dragon (Green)
|
||||
4. When they understand their mission—to warn Green to stop—they feel a weight lift and are free to leave
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can use *sending* to deliver the warning. Green will respond: "Understood. Thanks for the warning."
|
||||
|
||||
## Subsequent Travel: Sylvania to Sigil
|
||||
After leaving Chronepsis's realm, the PCs reach **Sylvania**—a party town wedged between giant trees (like Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street). Arborea's mood-altering properties leak through: restaurants are dangerous (WIS save DC18 or overindulge, gain exhaustion, spend 5X intended gold). The city parties at night, works hard by day.
|
||||
|
||||
The portal to Sigil is accessed through the flea market's scrap metal dealer (10gp each). He creates steel wire bracelets ("rings of steel have affinity for Sigil, which is like a ring of steel") and leads them through his tent—a one-way portal to the Bazaar in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
## DM Notes
|
||||
- Treat Chronepsis as permanent enigma; never confirm or deny his actions
|
||||
- The realm exploration yields little—the real point is the conversation with Laeros
|
||||
- Players must deduce the connection between the aging hourglass and the Deck
|
||||
- If they don't deliver the warning immediately, they may remember when Green tries to age himself again
|
||||
- Sylvania can be expanded with additional adventures if desired
|
||||
- The hourglass color (steel) and age (juvenile → young adult) are critical clues
|
||||
380
sections/summaries/COMPLETE_SUMMARY.md
Normal file
380
sections/summaries/COMPLETE_SUMMARY.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,380 @@
|
||||
# Complete Summary: The Deck of Many Things
|
||||
|
||||
## Overview
|
||||
|
||||
This is a Planescape D&D 5th Edition campaign centered on the **Deck of Many Things** — not the standard DMG artifact, but a reimagined version that is actually the avatar of **Omta**, a hidden god who invented randomness itself. The campaign takes PCs from imprisonment in a magical museum, through a small Outlands town dealing with the Deck's fallout, into the depths of a labyrinth guarded by a terrified sleeping god, and ultimately toward the city of Sigil to confront the man whose research threatens the very concept of randomness.
|
||||
|
||||
The campaign is designed for players who enjoy investigation, NPC interaction, and moral complexity over combat optimization. It features a cast of "deck-touched" NPCs whose lives have been transformed by drawing cards, a scheme run by a morally grey entrepreneur, and a divine conflict between gods of luck, fate, and chaos.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Part One: Introduction and Campaign Premise
|
||||
|
||||
### The Deck's Unusual Behavior
|
||||
|
||||
The Deck of Many Things normally appears every few hundred years, dispenses chaos briefly, and then vanishes. This time, something is different: hundreds of people have drawn cards, the Deck refuses to disappear, and the economy has been flooded with conjured gems, magic items, and wishes. Reality itself is warping under the strain.
|
||||
|
||||
### Green's Operation
|
||||
|
||||
A man named **Green** runs a profitable card-drawing operation out of **Castle Green** in the Outlands town of **St. Parnas**. He recruits people to draw cards, taking a cut of the proceeds: 25% of gems by weight, and one out of every three wishes must be used on Green's behalf. Green provides honest warnings about the risks and honors his contracts — he's exploitative but not dishonest. His ultimate personal goal is to accumulate enough wishes to become a dragon (and eventually succeeds, transforming into a steel dragon).
|
||||
|
||||
### The Gods' Concerns
|
||||
|
||||
Three deities have stakes in the Deck's activity:
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora** (goddess of Good Luck) is a young goddess who lacks confidence in her position. The Deck's prolonged presence has led people to believe a more powerful luck deity exists — one who created the Deck — threatening Tymora's divine portfolio. If she loses enough worshippers, she could die. She wants to find the Deck's creator and negotiate, not fight, but she'll protect herself if necessary.
|
||||
|
||||
**Beshaba** (goddess of Bad Luck) is Tymora's sister and lives only to hurt her. She maintains worship through threats and a protection racket. Beshaba sees the Deck situation as bait to lure Tymora into a vulnerable position where Beshaba can kill her. Everything she tells the PCs is a lie.
|
||||
|
||||
**Omta** (the Inventor of Randomness) is the true creator of the Deck. An ancient deity who planted randomness into a predictable universe, then fled to the far cosmos and fell asleep. The Deck is his avatar, sent automatically when randomness is threatened. He's now a greater god but still sees himself as tiny and fragile, terrified of being discovered.
|
||||
|
||||
### Rennick: The Catalyst
|
||||
|
||||
**Rennick** is a Fraternity of Order employee — a casino regulator by day, a "Theoretical Fortunologist" by passion. He made a breakthrough discovery: he can predict random events (dice rolls, card draws, coin flips). He understands that this ability, if weaponized or spread, would destroy randomness itself. When he made his breakthrough, the Deck appeared to him. Instead of drawing, he studied it, deduced Omta's existence, and realized Omta was asleep.
|
||||
|
||||
Rennick's plan: wake Omta up so Omta can fix the threat to randomness. To provoke Omta, Rennick gave the Deck to Green with instructions to create a predictable income stream from it — a deliberate misuse designed to trigger Omta's unconscious defenses. The plan worked: Omta sent the Deck, but Omta himself remains asleep and operating on instinct.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Card System
|
||||
|
||||
In this manifestation, each person draws exactly three cards:
|
||||
- **First card**: Choose the best of three good cards (stat boosts, magic items, gems, skills)
|
||||
- **Second card**: Choose the least bad of three bad cards (stat penalties, curses, fears)
|
||||
- **Third card**: Always the Donjon card for PCs (imprisonment)
|
||||
|
||||
There are also nine **Story Cards** that create "deck-touched" individuals — people profoundly transformed by the Deck. These include cards that grant divine sparks, wishes, animal transformation, compulsive building, permanent sleep, kingship, and more.
|
||||
|
||||
### Deck Side Effects
|
||||
|
||||
All deck-touched individuals share three side effects:
|
||||
1. **Deck Awareness**: They see illusionary cards hovering over other deck-touched people, showing what cards they drew. This is actually a telepathic connection broadcasting between all deck-touched individuals.
|
||||
2. **Deck Immunity**: They cannot draw again, are immune to direct effects of others' cards, and items created by the Deck phase through them (with important exceptions for wishes and items sold to third parties).
|
||||
3. **Deck Dreaming**: They dream visions through the eyes of other deck-touched people — another manifestation of the telepathic link.
|
||||
|
||||
### Character Creation and Player Expectations
|
||||
|
||||
PCs start at Level 2 and reach approximately Level 8. They must be desperate enough to risk drawing from the Deck, cannot have flight at the start, and must accept Green's job offer. The campaign requires players who accept help from NPCs, care about NPC welfare, enjoy investigation, and are comfortable with many non-combat sessions.
|
||||
|
||||
The initial session has each PC solo roleplay accepting Green's job, drawing their good and bad cards, then drawing Donjon as their third card and being imprisoned together — launching the main campaign.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Part Two: The Museum of Orethys
|
||||
|
||||
### The Prison
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs' Donjon cards imprison them in the **Museum of Orethys**, a demiplane created 100 years ago by an aarakocra wizard named Orethys who collected interesting people as living exhibits. Orethys died 60 years ago fighting one of his own exhibits, but the museum persists.
|
||||
|
||||
The museum consists of hundreds of floating islands in a vast cavern, each containing a building or diorama with one or two people. The islands are organized in "floors" at similar elevations, roughly 8 feet apart horizontally and 30 feet between floors. The cavern edges are mist that teleports anyone who enters it back to their starting location on the 5th floor.
|
||||
|
||||
### Stasis
|
||||
|
||||
Everything in the museum is frozen in time. Exhibits repeat the same day endlessly, cannot form new memories, and don't recognize visitors between encounters. Injuries and death are temporary — everything resets after hours or when attention shifts. Items taken from exhibits vanish after 1-2 hours unless continuously held. PCs benefit from this too: death teleports them back to the 5th floor Tavern, fully restored.
|
||||
|
||||
This stasis system serves a design purpose: it makes the museum safe for inexperienced players to learn D&D mechanics without permanent consequences.
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Museum NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
**Keira and Qurak** are aarakocra caretakers bound by geas to patrol the museum forever. They're immortal but deeply bored and resentful of Orethys. Keira is talkative and frustrated; Qurak is calmer. They have a magical guidebook listing all exhibits and will eventually approach the PCs to determine if they're guests or exhibits.
|
||||
|
||||
**Diometron** is a rogue modron — a former duodrone infected with slaad essence who fled incineration orders before being captured by Orethys. He self-promoted to quadrone and invented his own functional wings. Due to his "axiomatic mind" with redundancy systems, he resists the museum's memory-wiping stasis and remembers the PCs between visits. He's cheerful but has damaged self-esteem, believing he should have been incinerated. Critically, he's a 6th-level wizard who can cast *sending* — the spell needed to call for rescue.
|
||||
|
||||
**Johann (the Dreaming Ghost)** made a fey bargain that lets him explore others' dreams but prevents him from entering the waking world. His physical body is in stasis but his mind roams the multiverse. He can deliver messages through dreams to people who pay attention to dreams (priests, soothsayers, fortune-tellers). He's essential for later chapters and the DM is instructed to ensure the PCs befriend him.
|
||||
|
||||
**Reggie Drum** is a fae-blooded shoemaker who makes enchanted boots, including **Boots of Levitation** (4000gp) — a quest item needed to ascend the museum. Since PCs can't afford them and Reggie won't accept gems, stealing is necessary and morally acceptable (items respawn in stasis).
|
||||
|
||||
### Museum Exhibits (Floors 5 through Ground)
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs start on the 5th floor near the **Tavern of the South Gate**, where bartender Kellia Meeks demonstrates stasis mechanics (resets completely between visits) and knows about *plane shift* and *sending* spells.
|
||||
|
||||
Other notable exhibits include:
|
||||
- **Golden Goats** (5th floor) — goats with golden hair worth 100gp that vanishes after hours, demonstrating that exhibit items can't leave the demiplane
|
||||
- **Library of Dame Kenere** (4th floor) — contains a spell index describing *sending* and *plane shift*; Dame Kenere herself was never captured and is still alive outside
|
||||
- **Breakneck Chariot** (4th floor) — enslaved quicklings pulling a racing chariot who try to steal weapons to cut themselves free
|
||||
- **Claren's Tapestries** (3rd floor) — magical tapestries that create immersive illusions; contains Algion, an aarakocra who could help with flight if freed from his mental block
|
||||
- **Wasted Wino** (3rd floor) — a green slaad bartender whose chaos essence creates random-effect potions
|
||||
- **Orb Conclave** (3rd floor) — a beholder-kin of 11 hovering eyes with no body
|
||||
- **Reggie's Boots** (2nd floor) — the boot heist
|
||||
- **Tiny Men** (1st floor) — primitive 2-inch hunter-gatherers; teaches rope problem-solving
|
||||
- **Guest Services** (ground floor) — contains guidebooks, the stabilization iron (extends item duration to 3-4 days), the capture device (creates new exhibits), monk robes and willpower potion (needed for harpies), and sleeping here triggers Deck Dreams
|
||||
|
||||
The **Harpy Eyrie** on the 6th floor blocks upward travel. Harpies attack anyone climbing unless they wear monk robes from Guest Services.
|
||||
|
||||
**Bonus exhibits** include a flumph named Fff-Huss who plays a pipe organ with 40 tentacles, and a mud sauna with a lonely mud elemental who gives good massages and provides healing equivalent to a long rest.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Medusa Exhibit and Escape
|
||||
|
||||
The **Medusa exhibit** on an upper floor contains a teleportation circle needed for rescue. It's a hall of mirrors with a medusa trapped inside, taking 16 minutes to traverse. The sigil sequence for the circle is at the back of the maze. PCs must coordinate: one enters a safe door while another enters a dangerous door to memorize the sigil while the medusa is far enough away.
|
||||
|
||||
### Calling for Help
|
||||
|
||||
To escape, PCs must:
|
||||
1. Find someone who can cast *sending* (Diometron)
|
||||
2. Describe a friend convincingly enough for Diometron to target the spell (via *Disguise Self*, Performance check, *Detect Thoughts*, or verbal description)
|
||||
3. The message chains up to **Tymora** through her temple network
|
||||
4. **Joycie**, a 14th-level Cleric of Tymora, responds requesting the teleportation circle sigil
|
||||
|
||||
### The Failed Departure
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie arrives and casts *plane shift* using the circle. She and **Lada** (a 3rd-level halfling Cleric of Tymora who will become a permanent companion) vanish successfully — but the PCs remain. They are part of an exhibit, and exhibit pieces physically cannot leave the demiplane.
|
||||
|
||||
### Divine Visitations
|
||||
|
||||
While waiting for rescue, PCs receive two divine dream visitations:
|
||||
|
||||
**Selune** appears in a grassy field under moonlight. She warns that Tymora is trustworthy and kind but is making a mistake, and the PCs must speak up when they see harm coming. She's bound by an ancient promise and cannot give details. (Backstory: Selune witnessed Omta plant seeds of randomness millennia ago and promised to keep his existence secret.)
|
||||
|
||||
**Beshaba** appears in a mockery of Selune's setting — obsidian shards, roiling clouds, red light. She opens with "Am I not more beautiful than Selune?" and asks the PCs to pretend to work for Tymora while undermining her. Her true goal is to get the Deck, lure Tymora into Beshaba's realm, and kill her sister. Everything she says is a lie.
|
||||
|
||||
### Castle Green Arrives
|
||||
|
||||
The top half of Castle Green materializes in the museum — sliced off, hovering in chunks with no island underneath, nobody present, valuables removed. The Deck room exists but is empty. The guidebook changes the exhibit status to "Out of Order." This creates mystery about what's happening at Castle Green in the real world.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Trade Agreement
|
||||
|
||||
**Qurak** reveals he has the power to free the PCs with "magic words," but his geas normally prevents it (must act in the museum's best interests). The workaround: a trade. Qurak frees the PCs, and they agree to capture a new exhibit within approximately one month using the capture device from Guest Services. If they fail, the geas will torture Qurak forever (he can't die in the museum).
|
||||
|
||||
Qurak's additional price: the PCs must eventually return and dismantle the museum, freeing Keira and Qurak from their eternal servitude.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs are freed, Joycie casts *plane shift* successfully, and the party materializes in the market square of **St. Parnas** with Joycie and Lada.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Part Three: The Castle with the Steel Door
|
||||
|
||||
### Arriving in St. Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
St. Parnas is a small, good-aligned town in the Outlands, about a day's journey spireward of Tradegate. It has a strong civic virtue culture influenced by Bytopian values — hard work, diligence, community. The town is quiet, law-abiding, and does not tolerate overt evil.
|
||||
|
||||
**Joycie** departs to return to her temple duties. **Lada** stays with the party as a permanent support NPC — always one level behind the PCs, focused on healing and buffing, refusing front-line combat. Players rotate controlling her in combat.
|
||||
|
||||
A **chaos storm** has recently devastated the area — a magical phenomenon caused by Omta's panic when the PCs agreed to help Tymora locate him. Objects teleported 20-30 feet randomly. Castle Green's top half was teleported into the Museum of Orethys (explaining what the PCs saw earlier), with secondary damage throughout town. Many civilians are injured.
|
||||
|
||||
The market square is flooded with magic items due to Deck activity. Merchants are selling Deck-conjured items and shipping unsold stock to Tradegate. A detailed magic item list provides shopping opportunities for the party.
|
||||
|
||||
### Key St. Parnas Locations
|
||||
|
||||
**The Unnamed Inn** — primary lodging, 2gp/night for a party of four.
|
||||
|
||||
**The Orchard** — encircles the entire town, containing every type of fruit and nut tree. Part of a 200-year-old peace treaty with local druids. Contains **Asatya's spirit** (she drew the Void card and her invisible spirit now wanders among the apple trees, visible only as three hovering cards via Deck Awareness).
|
||||
|
||||
**Old Watchtowers** — five abandoned stone cylinders. Tower 4 contains **Rackle** and his caretaker **Clarissa**. Tower 1 contains a carved wooden statue of Ilmater with a message for Rackle.
|
||||
|
||||
**The White Ward** — hospital run by priests of good-aligned gods. Contains Asatya's unconscious body.
|
||||
|
||||
**Mayor Elar Mossbrow** — a firbolg who doesn't fit in his own manor (lives in a pagoda in the backyard). Free-thinking for a firbolg, believes "commerce binds people together." Unhappy with Green for disrupting the town, plans to kick him out once Green is free from the castle basement.
|
||||
|
||||
### Combat Encounters
|
||||
|
||||
A collapsed lizardman temple releases two dangerous reptiles:
|
||||
|
||||
**Mirage Serpent** (CR 4) — fights with two illusory duplicates, uses psychic lash and can shuffle positions to confuse attackers.
|
||||
|
||||
**Modified Basilisk** (CR 4) — eight-legged lizard with two independently-pivoting eyes that can paralyze and eventually petrify creatures. Takes minimum 3 turns to petrify; breaking line of sight frees victims immediately.
|
||||
|
||||
After this encounter, **Sam Link** (the Chosen One, who drew the Sun card) arrives to heal the injured, giving PCs a way to find him.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Deck-Touched NPCs
|
||||
|
||||
Eight NPCs have drawn Story Cards and are scattered throughout St. Parnas. Each has a Deck Dream associated with them and can teach the PCs the symbolic meanings of their cards — knowledge essential for later puzzles.
|
||||
|
||||
**Pig (the Ogre King)** — A 10-foot Ysgard ogre who contracted Wasting Rot (reducing his STR to 13). Drew Key (musical talent — plays mandolin beautifully), Jester (everyone laughs at everything he says, even when sad), and Throne (prophecy of kingship). He's melancholic, speaks in third person, has the intelligence of a toddler. Grateful to PCs because they're immune to his Jester card and don't laugh at him. Found in the market square playing mandolin for food. Curing his disease requires *Greater Restoration* only available in larger cities.
|
||||
|
||||
**Borghan (the Caged Beast)** — Drew Gem (paid his debts), Beast (transformed into an oversized grizzly bear with animal intelligence), and Bricklayer (built a labyrinth under Castle Green with magical compulsion to stay). He's starving to death but can't leave. CR 6, 200 HP. Will attack on sight unless cleverly approached with large amounts of food. Communication requires *Speak with Animals* or similar magic.
|
||||
|
||||
**Sam Link (the Chosen One)** — An elf who drew Star (ring of feather falling), Cripple (chronic back pain), and Sun (divine spark with healing powers and a path to godhood). Philosophical and earnest, he demands deep engagement with existential questions. Will trade card knowledge for thoughtful answers to his four questions about purpose and destiny.
|
||||
|
||||
**Alyssa Varn (the Squatter)** — A tiefling gambler who drew Tiger (extreme limberness), Knight (staff of withering, sold), and Bricklayer (built Castle Green, which she sold to Green under duress). The Bricklayer card instilled overwhelming compulsion to live in the castle. She keeps sneaking back in, setting non-lethal traps, and living in a hidden room in the basement. Escaping the compulsion requires a WIS save DC 15 (her WIS is 8), but PCs can stack bonuses to help her.
|
||||
|
||||
**Balanestra (the Wish-Keeper)** — An aasimar who drew Gem (unneeded wealth), Skull (fought avatar of death), and Moon (three wishes). Used wishes to become skilled at manipulation/intrigue and to gain magical scrying ability. Kept her third wish as emergency insurance and became Green's advisor. She's clever, manipulative, and loving her exciting new life. Currently trapped with Green behind Omta's steel door.
|
||||
|
||||
**Brunna (the Antiquarian)** — A dwarf who drew Vizier (monthly question to the fates), Comet (psychometric visions of objects' pasts), and Idiot (-2 charisma, now acts like a know-it-all). Former music merchant, now an antiquarian using her Comet power. Needs business advice from PCs. Can provide clues about any item the DM wants to reveal.
|
||||
|
||||
**Asatya (the Sleepwalker)** — Drew Owl (great intelligence), Fool (forgot how to cook), and Void (permanent sleep). Her body is in hospice, unresponsive. Her spirit wanders the orchard in a confused, foggy state — visible only as hovering cards. Communication requires Johann the Dreaming Ghost as intermediary. Johann desperately wants to meet another permanently sleeping person and demands PCs help him reach Asatya in exchange for his message-delivery services.
|
||||
|
||||
**Rackle (the Punching Bag)** — Drew Euryale (terrified of monsters, sees demons everywhere), Ruin (items he touches crumble to dust), and Rogue (everyone perceives him as a fraudster). Three terrible cards on top of a pre-existing medical condition causing constant pain. Can't get a job, can't steal, can't touch anything valuable. Living in an abandoned watchtower, starving, suicidal. **Clarissa**, a priestess of Beshaba assigned to keep Rackle alive as a "saint of misfortune," has been preventing his suicide attempts and buying *goodberries* to keep him fed. Lada warns that priests of Beshaba are "never here to help."
|
||||
|
||||
### Castle Green: Structure and Defenses
|
||||
|
||||
Castle Green's ground floor was destroyed by the chaos storm — only the basement and the labyrinth beneath it remain.
|
||||
|
||||
**Omta's Portal System**: Red-line portals placed by Omta as a defensive measure turn the basement into an apparent maze. All basement hallway portals lead into the labyrinth; labyrinth portals shift constantly under Omta's control. This creates the appearance that the basement is broken into 8 isolated chunks within the labyrinth, and intruders get trapped wandering in circles.
|
||||
|
||||
**Bypassing Portals**: The chaos storm teleported stone blocks out of walls, leaving gaps. Small creatures can fit through; medium creatures need enlarge/reduce magic. These holes bypass the portals entirely.
|
||||
|
||||
**Navigating with Omta**: PCs must first reassure the telepathic presence (Omta is fearful and operating on dream logic). Then they can ask Omta verbally for navigation help — he'll rearrange portals to guide them. Room-type requests work ("take me to the kitchen"), as do profession-based and card-based queries. But requests related to Green, the Deck, the Laundry, or the Lounge trigger intense fear and refusal.
|
||||
|
||||
### Rennick
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs first meet **Rennick** on the ruined ground floor of Castle Green. He's a Fraternity of Order casino regulator and business associate of Green's. He's open about his work but clams up about the Deck and his ability to predict random events. He encourages the PCs to descend and rescue Green's trapped employees.
|
||||
|
||||
### Exploring the Basement
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs explore the basement section by section, rescuing trapped employees:
|
||||
|
||||
**Sparring Room / Armory / Cells**: Gate guards **Bran** (talkative dwarf) and **Inya** (quiet tiefling) provide a complete inventory of missing people. The cells include one with a shattered bar and coarse brown fur (Borghan's former cell). Alyssa has set a piano wire trap in the armory with a note: "Get the &^$ out of my castle!"
|
||||
|
||||
**Kitchen / Pantry / Dining**: The kitchen has been taken over by fungus-farming giant ants. 10 workers and 4 soldiers are present. Soldiers form a barrier but won't attack unless PCs push through. Offering food rations earns their trust. Cook **Zimmi** (gnome) is locked in the pantry, scared but unharmed.
|
||||
|
||||
**Root Cellar / Wine Cellar / Storage**: The root cellar has been emptied by ants, with tunnels in the tilled ground. The wine cellar has another Alyssa trap (bucket of urine on the door). The furniture storage contains **Alyssa Varn's hidden living space** behind bookshelves — sleeping bag, nightstand, clothes — with a secret passage she carved through the wall leading to the bodyguards' quarters.
|
||||
|
||||
**Bodyguard Bedrooms**: Four bedrooms for Green's bodyguards (Mikhail, Harkon, Siduri, Etienne), each personalized. Etienne's room contains an unsent letter revealing that Asatya drew the Void card (now comatose) and Borghan drew the Beast card (now a grizzly bear). Alyssa may trap PCs alone in single-exit rooms by jamming doorstops and nailing doors shut.
|
||||
|
||||
**Staff Barracks**: The women's barracks has been taken over as an ant egg incubator. Here the PCs find **Penny**, a teenage tiefling who has already begun learning rudimentary ant-language despite only a few days of exposure. She's exceptionally gifted at languages. She can help with basic ant communication and will later be crucial for deciphering Omta's scroll puzzles.
|
||||
|
||||
**Lounge / Green's Quarters / Edric's Office**: Omta keeps PCs away from this area initially. Steward **Edric** (bariaur) manages paperwork and won't leave without his lockbox. A vault contains 3500gp in Deck-conjured gems and 500gp in gold. Stealing earns disapproval from all employees. A trapdoor leads down to the labyrinth. The hallway to the east is packed with soldier ants guarding the door to Green's bedroom (now the ant queen's lair). The hallway to the north contains a **steel barrier** — behind it, Green and his four bodyguards are sealed in the latrine/laundry/cistern area with the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Ant Colony
|
||||
|
||||
The chaos storm destroyed the intelligent giant ants' anthill. The Ant Queen, who is strategic and can cast *Comprehend Languages*, is claiming Castle Green as compensation. The ants are not hostile — they're fungus farmers, not predators — but they're moving in by force. Workers are small-dog-sized and task-focused; soldiers are large-dog-sized and tactically smart; the Queen is small-horse-sized with broad intelligence.
|
||||
|
||||
Communication requires *Tongues* for full dialogue, or *Comprehend Languages* for one-way understanding. The Queen is creative enough to suggest hand signals. Penny's emerging ant-language skills help bridge the gap.
|
||||
|
||||
Ants navigate by scent and are largely unaffected by Omta's shifting portals. PCs can follow ant trails to reach new areas. The ants are willing to cooperate — they could help deal with Borghan or dig bypass holes if PCs establish communication.
|
||||
|
||||
### Communicating with Omta: The Scroll Puzzle
|
||||
|
||||
Once PCs have explored extensively (met at least two employees, interacted with ants, encountered Borghan and Alyssa), Omta attempts detailed telepathic communication. He fails — his alien reasoning doesn't translate through telepathy, and only emotions come through (fear, anxiety, frustration, determination).
|
||||
|
||||
After repeated failures, Omta has an insight: he materializes parchment scrolls using **card symbols** from the Deck as a written language. Omta fled before mortals invented language and never learned sentences. He only knows symbol-based communication from pre-mortal gods. Cards are grouped by association, not in subject-verb-object order. Each card has multiple symbolic meanings, and PCs who drew a card instinctively know all its meanings. To learn meanings of unfamiliar cards, PCs must find the NPCs who drew them.
|
||||
|
||||
**The First Scroll** means: "I want the four of you to ask me questions." It shows four Donjon cards (the PCs), Omta's holy symbol (dice with sunburst), and the Vizier card (asking questions). Omta takes PCs to the basement landing and won't navigate further until they decipher it.
|
||||
|
||||
**Omta will answer three specific questions:**
|
||||
|
||||
1. **"Why are you afraid?"** — Answer: "I'm afraid because Tymora intends to kill me!" (Omta is overly fearful due to past trauma. Tymora is angry but not actually a murderer.)
|
||||
|
||||
2. **"What is your goal?"** — Answer: "I have to save the universe from Rennick, before he ruins everything!" (Omta sees Rennick as a knowledgeable but reckless fool who will destroy randomness.)
|
||||
|
||||
3. **"Who are you?"** — Omta responds with FOUR scrolls telling his life story:
|
||||
- **Scroll 4 (oldest)**: A possessive creator god built a wondrous but predictable universe. Omta was wise and knew how to fix it. He secretly taught the universe randomness.
|
||||
- **Scroll 3**: Omta fled and hid in the farthest void, terrified.
|
||||
- **Scroll 2**: Selune found him anyway. She agreed to keep his existence, his hiding place, and his deeds secret. (This connects to Selune's earlier warning: "A long time ago, I promised to keep a secret.")
|
||||
- **Scroll 1**: Explains the current situation.
|
||||
|
||||
**Puzzle-solving mechanics**: Correct interpretations make scroll portions glow brighter and generate enthusiasm from Omta. Incorrect ones cause confusion. Twenty-questions guessing annoys Omta, who may close the telepathic link for hours. NPCs like Lada and Penny provide calibrated hints.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Steel Door
|
||||
|
||||
Once PCs have the scrolls, the steel barrier transforms: three hinges appear (making it a door), six pigeonholes appear, and a brass plaque reads "Vizier, Key" (Knowledge is the key).
|
||||
|
||||
To unlock the door:
|
||||
1. Ask all three questions (obtain all six answer scrolls)
|
||||
2. Decipher all six scrolls correctly
|
||||
3. Insert each correctly deciphered scroll into a pigeonhole
|
||||
4. When all six are in place, the door opens
|
||||
|
||||
### Meeting Omta
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs cross the threshold into an extradimensional void where they meet Omta directly. With a strengthened telepathic connection, they can now understand card-language effortlessly.
|
||||
|
||||
Omta reveals his nature: "I am unpredictability without chaos... I harnessed chaos, chained it, and turned it into randomness."
|
||||
|
||||
He makes two requests:
|
||||
1. **Stop Rennick**, who has devised a way to predict random events, threatening randomness itself.
|
||||
2. **Don't give the Deck to Tymora** — she will use it to find and kill him.
|
||||
|
||||
Omta explains he sent the Deck to stop Rennick, and it cannot vanish until its goal is accomplished. He is bound by his own philosophy: "I did act directly, I sent the Deck... 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."
|
||||
|
||||
### Negotiating with Green
|
||||
|
||||
After the steel door vanishes, Green and his entourage emerge from the laundry room. Lada offers to buy the Deck on Tymora's behalf for five wishes from the goddess. Green seriously considers the offer.
|
||||
|
||||
### Tymora's Arrival and the Betrayal
|
||||
|
||||
When Lada prays to report, Tymora appears in person. Green immediately activates a contingency spell and teleports away with the Deck and his entourage to **Beshaba's realm** — the one place Tymora cannot easily follow.
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora reveals her backup plan: she used the PCs to strengthen their telepathic link to Omta, allowing her to trace it directly to him. The PCs realize they've unintentionally betrayed Omta — the "Oh Shit" moment Selune warned them about.
|
||||
|
||||
### Averting Disaster
|
||||
|
||||
Following Selune's advice, the PCs speak up and convince Tymora not to pursue Omta. They argue: Omta means no harm, isn't deliberately stealing worshippers, will leave when Rennick is dealt with, is terrified of Tymora, and serves a legitimate purpose protecting universal randomness.
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora, genuinely relieved to avoid divine conflict, agrees to pause her pursuit and tasks the PCs with finding Rennick in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
### Divine Boons
|
||||
|
||||
**Tymora's Boon** (party chooses one):
|
||||
- Option 1: "Lucky" feat for all PCs (advantage 3x/day on any roll)
|
||||
- Option 2: Free all prisoners from the Museum of Orethys (sent to Tymora's domain for rehabilitation)
|
||||
|
||||
**Selune's Boon**: All party members gain "Selune's Light" cantrip (8-hour duration moonlight, brighter than normal light).
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can now understand card-language permanently (telepathic enhancement from meeting Omta).
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Part Four: A Warning from Chronepsis
|
||||
|
||||
### The Detour
|
||||
|
||||
As the PCs travel through the Outlands toward a portal to Sigil, their campsite mysteriously moves overnight. They find themselves trapped, repeatedly passing the same clearing until they enter the realm of **Chronepsis**, the Dragon God of Time and Fate.
|
||||
|
||||
Chronepsis never speaks to anyone — mortal or god — and acts only in subtle, indirect ways. He appears as an ancient ash-grey dragon, bony and skeletal. He will instantly erase from existence anyone who bothers or attacks him. His realm contains a ruined ancient city and an underground Mausoleum filled with tens of thousands of intangible hourglasses — one for each living dragon, showing their remaining natural lifespan.
|
||||
|
||||
### Laeros and the Mystery
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs meet **Laeros**, a young adult gold dragon in dragonborn form (golden skin). A philosopher studying fate and dragons, he meditates in Chronepsis's realm for inspiration. He witnessed a steel dragon's hourglass jump forward unnaturally — artificial magical aging that should be impossible. This mystery has consumed him.
|
||||
|
||||
Chronepsis orchestrated the meeting:
|
||||
1. He placed Green's hourglass where Laeros would witness the unnatural aging
|
||||
2. He trapped the PCs in his realm to force them to meet Laeros
|
||||
3. Through conversation, they must realize: someone is using the Deck to magically age a dragon — Green, who used wishes to transform into a steel dragon and then age himself for more power
|
||||
|
||||
### The Warning
|
||||
|
||||
**Green has violated dragon code**: dragons must earn their years naturally, and the dragon gods have decreed that magical aging of dragons is forbidden. Chronepsis is particularly annoyed. The PCs must warn Green to stop using wishes to age himself, or face consequences from the dragon gods.
|
||||
|
||||
When they understand their mission, a weight lifts and they're free to leave. The warning can be delivered via *sending*. Green responds: "Understood. Thanks for the warning."
|
||||
|
||||
### Sylvania
|
||||
|
||||
After leaving Chronepsis's realm, the PCs reach **Sylvania** — a party town wedged between giant trees, like Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. Arborea's mood-altering properties leak through: restaurants are dangerous (WIS save DC 18 or overindulge, gaining exhaustion and spending 5X intended gold).
|
||||
|
||||
The portal to Sigil is accessed through the flea market's scrap metal dealer (10gp each). He creates steel wire bracelets ("rings of steel have affinity for Sigil, which is like a ring of steel") and leads them through his tent — a one-way portal to the Bazaar in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Part Five: Setup for Sigil
|
||||
|
||||
The campaign manuscript ends with the party's arrival in Sigil. The remaining plot threads:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Find Rennick** in Sigil — he's in hiding from Crow (an Incantifer hunting him) and the Xaositects (who see his prediction ability as a threat to chaos)
|
||||
- **Deal with Rennick's discovery** — his ability to predict random events threatens randomness itself
|
||||
- **The Deck remains in Green's possession**, hidden in Beshaba's realm
|
||||
- **Beshaba** is still scheming to kill Tymora
|
||||
- **The Museum of Orethys** still holds Diometron, Johann, and all other exhibits — the PCs owe Qurak a new exhibit (capture device) and promised to eventually dismantle the museum
|
||||
- **Green** has been warned about dragon aging but still has the Deck and his card-drawing operation
|
||||
|
||||
The campaign is designed to reach approximately Level 8 and centers on investigation, NPC relationships, and moral complexity rather than dungeon-crawling combat.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Appendix: Card Symbolism Reference
|
||||
|
||||
Each card has symbolic meanings used in Omta's scroll-language:
|
||||
|
||||
| Card | Meanings |
|
||||
|------|----------|
|
||||
| Key | Teaching, skills, careers |
|
||||
| Jester | Making people laugh, not being taken seriously |
|
||||
| Throne | Ruling by raw power, biggest/strongest |
|
||||
| Gem | Beauty, sparkly things, wealth, money, precious |
|
||||
| Bricklayer | Building, possessiveness, territoriality |
|
||||
| Beast | Transformation into animal |
|
||||
| Star | Wondrous magic items, wonder, wonderful things/places |
|
||||
| Cripple | Infirmity, physical flaws, being broken |
|
||||
| Sun | Divine ascension, divinity, godlike (also: "god" when combined with other symbols) |
|
||||
| Tiger | Limberness, contortionist abilities |
|
||||
| Knight | Receiving a weapon, defender |
|
||||
| Skull | Killing, death, wanting to kill |
|
||||
| Moon | Wishes, granted wishes, desires, fulfilled desires |
|
||||
| Vizier | Seer, scholar, researcher, asking questions, investigation, secret knowledge |
|
||||
| Comet | Time, past, future, waiting, history, prophecy |
|
||||
| Idiot | Lack of intelligence/wisdom/social skill, mistakes, bad decisions |
|
||||
| Owl | Intelligence, wisdom |
|
||||
| Fool | Forgetting, disappearance |
|
||||
| Void | Emptiness, darkness, silence, far reaches |
|
||||
| Euryale | Fear of monsters |
|
||||
| Ruin | Items crumbling, decay, destroyer |
|
||||
| Rogue | Being perceived as fraudster/con man, sneaky |
|
||||
| Donjon | Imprisonment (represents the PCs in scroll-language) |
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user