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# The Museum of Orethys
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### About the Museum
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The PCs drew the card *Donjon,* which imprisons the victim in an
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apparently inescapable prison. For reasons known only to the deck
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itself, the deck has chosen a strange prison called the *Museum of
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Orethys*.
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About a hundred years ago, a powerful Wizard named Orethys took in
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interest in collecting *people*. He gathered interesting and strange
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folk from around the multiverse, and brought them to his hometown, and
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paid them to be exhibits in the original *Museum of Orethys*. However,
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the bigger his collection got, the harder it was to keep his exhibits
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from quitting, rebelling, or unionizing. Eventually, he got tired of the
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hassle, and he decided to start over.
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By this time, he was a much more powerful wizard, so instead of building
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the museum in his hometown, he created a demiplane to house his
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collection. He carefully designed the demiplane to make it perfect for
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storing people. His exhibits would “live” in the demiplane, but they
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would be frozen in a living stasis that would make it impossible to
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rebel or quit. They would always be the same strange, interesting people
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that they were when they were placed into the museum.
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When Orethys found a person worthy to be an exhibit in the Museum, he
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would take not only the person, but the building they were in, and the
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patch of land the building was standing on. That way, he wouldn’t just
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have an interesting person. He’d have a whole diorama, a person in their
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natural environment.
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About sixty years ago, Orethys died: he tried to make an exhibit out of
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somebody who was tough enough to fight back. Although Orethys is dead,
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the Museum of Orethys still survives. After his death, the Museum
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received no new exhibits, and no further guests showed up in the museum:
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apparently, only Orethys knew how to get there. The exhibits remain in
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stasis, sixty years later, more or less exactly as they have been the
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whole time.
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The demiplane appears as several hundred islands hovering in an immense
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cavernous space. Most islands consist of a patch of land, and one
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building. The patch of land is just big enough to hold the building and
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its yard. Some islands hold something larger, like a university, or a
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monastery, or a farm. A few islands have no building, only a geographic
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feature. Each building contains, on average, 1 or 2 people.
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The people in the exhibits are not frozen, motionless. They are allowed
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to move around and talk in order to make the exhibits more life-like.
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They go about their daily business as they did in their original lives.
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Yet, the people are in both a physical and a mental stasis. They are
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fundamentally incapable of doing or thinking new things, or changing in
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any meaningful way. They are trapped living the same day over and over.
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They cannot remember anything that has happened since they were
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captured. They still believe themselves to be at home. They have no
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ability to learn that they are no longer at home - or to learn anything.
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The physical stasis means their bodies can’t change, either. If they
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were injured at the moment when they were captured, then they’re still
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injured today. If you heal them, they’ll be injured again an hour or two
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later. If you kill one of them, they’ll reappear on their island back in
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the same state they were in when they were captured. They won’t remember
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that you attacked them, because they don’t remember anything that
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happened after their capture. They are utterly incapable of change as
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long as they’re in the museum.
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The buildings and the islands are also in stasis, incapable of change.
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If you break a door down, then a few hours later, the door will be back
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where it was. Even if you burn a whole building down, then if you stop
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paying attention for a while, the building will be back. If you try to
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build something on an island, it will remain for a few hours, and then
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vanish.
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If you approach the people, they will react as people do. Many are
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willing to answer questions. Some are friendly, offering food and water
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and assistance. A few are scared, and some are hostile. In other words,
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they’re people, with all the personality variation that implies.
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However: If you talk to them and leave, and then come back, they will
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not remember you. They will react exactly the same way as the first time
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you met them, right down to saying the same phrases.
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That doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent: they’re just as smart and
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creative as they were in life. They tend to be pretty interesting
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people. These individuals are here because Orethys thought that they
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were distinctive, and that they ought to be saved. You can talk to them
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and learn a lot: in fact, that’s what guests of the Museum used to do,
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back when there were guests.
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Exhibits come from everywhere: prime worlds, outer planes, inner planes,
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you name it. The people are of every imaginable race. Most are either
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low-level or zero-level: Orethys didn’t attempt to capture powerful
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people who could fight back.
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The people here only interact with other people in the same diorama.
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They don’t notice other islands, even if those other islands would
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normally be considered “attention grabbing.” For example, there could be
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a raging fire on one island, and the people on the next island over from
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that will be completely uninterested. If you deliberately draw their
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attention to some other island, they will be surprised that other
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islands even exist. But then, a mental block will take over, and they
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will direct their attention back to their own island, quickly forgetting
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that other islands exist.
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The people here can produce material goods, but those goods are
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transient. For example, if an island contains a baker, he may bake a
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loaf of bread. But remember, the island is in stasis, and that loaf
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wasn’t on the island when the island was captured, so it has to vanish.
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The loaf will cease to exist an hour or two after it is put down.
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Despite the absence of any real production, there is no shortage of
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supplies here. If somebody’s house is put in stasis at a time when its
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pantry is full, then that pantry will always be full. If you remove the
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food, then the pantry will return to its full state as soon as you stop
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paying attention to the pantry. The food you took won’t disappear from
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your inventory. You can eat it without difficulties. But if you put the
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food down and then look away, it will only remain on the ground an hour
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or two, and then vanish.
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The people here may talk about the future, but the future never comes.
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For example, a farmer who is busy tilling the fields in spring may talk
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about what he’s going to do at harvest-time, in the fall. But on his
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island, it will be spring forever, and he will be tilling every day,
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forever.
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The floating islands are hovering in a big cavern, whose “walls” are
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made of mist. The edges of the outermost islands just barely poke into
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the mist. Nothing will stop you from entering the mist. The mist does
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not smell of anything, and it doesn’t feel like anything either. If you
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enter the mist, you find yourself in what seems to be an endless expanse
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of mist. In the mist, there’s no gravity or wind, and you lose track of
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time. You also lose track of anyone around you. After being in the mist
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about 10 minutes, the mist around you will dissipate, and you’ll find
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yourself back on the island where you first appeared in the demiplane.
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From anywhere in the cavern, reaching the mist only takes a few minutes
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(assuming you have a way to cross from island to island). The cavern
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isn’t that large.
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Each island has its own weather. If you’re on an island with clear,
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sunny weather, then the entire cavern will appear clear and sunny to
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you. If you’re on an island with a blizzard, then the whole cavern will
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appear to be in a blizzard to you. The weather on a given island never
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changes. Each island has the terrain that it had before it was ripped
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from the multiverse. Some are grassy, some are rocky, some are sandy.
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Some might be permafrost, or desert, or you name it. It all depends on
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where they came from.
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The passage of time in the Museum feels normal. But the passage of time
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is not strictly tethered to the passage of time in most other parts of
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the multiverse. Time here sometimes passes faster than in the
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multiverse, sometimes slower. The reason for this is that the Museum
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doesn’t care about the passage of time. Nothing ever happens here, no
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matter how much time elapses. Nothing ever changes. When time has no
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meaning in a place, then that place gradually starts untethering itself
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from time.
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Arcane and divine magic work normally here. Gravity and falling damage
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are normal here. Most of the physical properties of the world here are
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normal, as they would be on a prime world.
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The Museum of Orethys has caretakers. These are aarakocras, they can fly
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around the cavern easily. Their job, sixty years ago, was mainly to
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attend to the guests. Orethys used a ‘geas’ spell to force them to keep
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doing their job forever. As long as they do their jobs, they can
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otherwise do as they wish. They eat at tavern and restaurant exhibits
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and they sleep wherever they like. They gain the benefit of the plane’s
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physical stasis: they can’t age, they can’t stay injured long, and they
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can’t die. But they can remember what happens from day to day. Now that
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there are no guests, they really don’t have much work to do. But the
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geas forces them to patrol the museum.
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### The Party is United
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The PCs have all been imprisoned in the *Museum of Orethys*. But even
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though they’re all in the Museum, they haven’t met each other yet. The
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DM should choose a PC, and run them solo. At this point, it will only be
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a few minutes until the party is united.
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The PC knows that they are standing on a strange floating island. They
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also know they drew the card *Donjon*, so they can infer that this must
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be some kind of prison. But aside from that, they don’t know much about
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the place. They certainly have no idea it’s a museum, or that they’re
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supposed to be an exhibit.
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The PC should start exploring the museum. As soon as they round a
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corner, or enter a building, have them spot one of the other PCs.
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When the two PCs see each other, they both experience a new special
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ability: *Deck Awareness*. When they look at each other, they see cards
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hovering over each other’s heads: each one knows exactly what cards the
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other one drew from the deck. They will experience this effect
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consistently every time they meet somebody who has drawn from the Deck.
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Let the PCs know they all have *Deck Awareness*. Do not tell them about
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the other deck side effects, let them learn about them over time.
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A few minutes after the first two player characters get together, they
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notice another group on another nearby island, staring at them. This is
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the rest of the PCs. Everyone can start roleplaying together now. The
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two groups are physically separated by being on two separate islands,
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but the two islands are only about ten feet apart. They can easily talk
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to each other. They have to find a way to cross from one island to
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another. This is not particularly hard: ladders, ropes, and the like
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work fine. These items can be found nearby. The Jump spell is also
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useful. One way or another, the party is united.
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It’s odd that the players all arrived at the museum at the same time, in
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roughly the same place. There is nothing on the card *Donjon* that says
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that these people should end up in the same prison, yet they did.
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Although they don’t know this, they did not draw cards on the same day,
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yet with the help of the Museum’s loose connection to time, they were
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able to appear in the museum on the same day. The deck isn’t just giving
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these people cards, it’s tying them to each other, bringing their lives
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together.
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Now that the party is united, the players will want to know where they
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are and what the heck is going on. To find out, they will need to
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explore the museum.
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### Ropes and Ladders
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For simplicity, we can describe the museum as consisting of “floors.” A
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“floor” is a bunch of islands that are all hovering at more or less the
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same elevation.
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Islands on the same floor are separated by gaps about 8 feet wide on
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average. Some acrobatic characters may be able to jump it without
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assistance. It is also possible to use the spell *jump*. Otherwise, a
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makeshift bridge may be needed. Never leave your PCs stranded. There is
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always something in the exhibit that will enable one to cross a gap. A
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rope could be tied to a tree near the edge of an exhibit. There might be
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a wooden fence that could be repurposed. There’s always something.
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To climb from a floor to the floor below, the most obvious method is to
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use a rope. This will require a rope of about 30 feet, which will have
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to be tied to a tree or a lamppost and then dangled down over the edge
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of the exhibit. It is also possible to use the spell *feather fall*.
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The islands are not perfect circles, they are irregular. There are good
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spots to climb down, and bad spots to climb down. Good spots have
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something to tie a rope to, and they have a bit of island sticking out
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below that the players can descend onto. To find a good spot, the
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players will have to go around the periphery of the island.
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You must not let your PCs climb upward yet. We have provided several
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obstacles to stop them:
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- When the players created their characters, they were not permitted
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> to create flying characters.
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- Most people don’t have the physical strength to throw a rope 30 feet
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> upward.
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- When throwing upward, you need the rope to catch on something on the
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> island above. But of course, you can’t *see* what’s on the island
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> above you. You’re throwing blind.
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- The floor above the PCs consists of one exhibit: *The Harpy Eyrie*.
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> The harpies will deliberately cut ropes, and anyone clinging to a
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> rope is a sitting duck for harpy attacks.
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Since the PCs start on the 5th floor, and since they can’t climb upward,
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they are currently limited to the 5th floor and below. We have provided
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a map called *The Bottom Floors of the Museum*, including everything
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from the 5th floor on down. As you can see from the map, the cavern
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narrows substantially at the bottom, so there are fewer and fewer
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islands at each level as you go down. Do not show the map to your
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players. It is for the DM only. The map includes exhibit names. You can
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find the corresponding exhibit descriptions in the upcoming chapter,
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also titled *The Bottom Floors of the Museum*.
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At first, let your players explore randomly. They don’t really have a
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goal or a destination yet, and they don’t have a map yet, so they really
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can’t do any better than random exploration. There are lots of strange
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and interesting things to find in the museum, so they should be
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entertained by this for a while. As the PCs travel from exhibit to
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exhibit, refer to the *The Bottom Floors of the Museum* for instructions
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on running individual exhibits.
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As the players climb downward, they may leave ropes dangling down, to
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make it possible to get back up. But if they leave a rope somewhere,
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then the rope only stays for about an hour after you stop paying
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attention to it. Then, it vanishes. This is because of the stasis
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effect: the rope is resetting back to its original location. If the rope
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belongs to a PC, then the rope returns back to the PC’s starting
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location. If it’s a rope that they obtained from an exhibit, then the
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rope returns to that exhibit.
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If ropes are disappearing, you should have the players make perception
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checks to notice that one of their ropes is gone. They might freak out,
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and wonder how they’re ever going to get back up. Let them worry: it’s
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an interesting part of the puzzle that is the museum.
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If the players fall while climbing, then falling damage in the cavern is
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normal. The average distance between floors about 30 feet. You can
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easily hurt yourself badly by falling, especially if you fall more than
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one level. Fortunately, travel in the demiplane is inherently safe: the
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stasis effect makes it impossible to die permanently.
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### No Death in the Museum
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Everything in the museum is in stasis, and that includes the health of
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your PCs. If they get injured or die, then the injury or death is
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impermanent. Their bodies will eventually reset back to the conditions
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they were in when they first entered the demiplane. If a PC dies, that
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PC fades out of existence, and reappears at the exact spot where he
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first entered the demiplane, back by the tavern of the south gate.
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That makes the Museum a perfect place for inexperienced D&D players who
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are still learning the ropes. The stakes are reduced, so new players can
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learn without fear.
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### Learning about the Stasis Effect
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After exploring three exhibits, the PCs should be well on their way to
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figuring out that everything and everyone is in stasis. Physical objects
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revert to their original positions. Enemies killed pop back to life.
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People say the same things each time you return. There are tons of
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clues. You should look for many opportunities to show the stasis effects
|
||||
to them.
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### The Mist at the Edge of the Cavern
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At some point, the PCs may try going to the edge of the cavern. Let them
|
||||
try escaping via the mist. Each time they enter the mist, they drift for
|
||||
a few minutes, then the mist clears around them and they find themselves
|
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right back at the exact spot where they originally arrived in the
|
||||
demiplane. If they are attentive, they will realize that this is useful:
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||||
the mist is a shortcut to the 5th floor.
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||||
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||||
However, the mist is not a way to leave the demiplane. If they want to
|
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escape the demiplane, the key to success is this: they need to start
|
||||
asking the inhabitants about ways to escape. They need to ask for help.
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||||
|
||||
If the players fall into the mist, then they take no damage at all, and
|
||||
they reappear at the exact spot where they entered the demiplane. This
|
||||
effect is actually quite useful: it makes it so that it is always
|
||||
possible to get back to the starting location. You can’t ever really be
|
||||
stuck in the museum.
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||||
|
||||
### Figuring out How to Escape
|
||||
|
||||
At some point, the PCs should start thinking about how they’ll get out
|
||||
of this prison. Realistically, to escape, the PCs need to ask the NPCs
|
||||
for help. If the players don’t think of asking for help, wait until one
|
||||
of them asks you something about escaping. Then, just answer
|
||||
in-character: instead of speaking as the DM, speak as the bartender the
|
||||
PCs are standing next to. Let him say something semi-useful. That should
|
||||
nudge the PCs to start asking around.
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||||
|
||||
If the players tell the residents that they’re trapped in a demiplane,
|
||||
the residents will be skeptical at first, but it’s very easy to convince
|
||||
them: just point out the window at the floating islands. They will be
|
||||
shocked, then agitated, and then a mental block will kick in that forces
|
||||
them to turn away from the sight and reenter the safety of their own
|
||||
exhibit. As soon as they do this, the inhabitant will lose their train
|
||||
of thought, and then they will forget that anything is out of the
|
||||
ordinary.
|
||||
|
||||
This makes it difficult to ask the inhabitants about escaping. For
|
||||
example, saying, “we are stuck in a demiplane, how can we get out” will
|
||||
inevitably lead to a freak-out, and they will lose their train of
|
||||
thought again. But if you say, “hypothetically, if somebody were stuck
|
||||
in a demiplane, how would they get out,” you can avoid the freak-out and
|
||||
have a productive conversation.
|
||||
|
||||
Many of the residents are quite smart. If you ask them (in general
|
||||
terms) about planar travel, one will eventually make three
|
||||
straightforward suggestions:
|
||||
|
||||
1. They might suggest the *plane shift* spell, as a way to travel out
|
||||
> of a demiplane.
|
||||
|
||||
2. They might suggest the *sending* spell, as a way to call for help.
|
||||
|
||||
3. If you can’t cast these spells yourself, maybe there’s somebody else
|
||||
> who can.
|
||||
|
||||
These three suggestions are sufficiently straightforward that pretty
|
||||
much *any* knowledgeable person could make them. A bartender might know
|
||||
about these spells because in his life, he had planar travelers come
|
||||
through his tavern. A butler might know about these spells because his
|
||||
boss used to be a planar traveler. Let the players ask around, and make
|
||||
sure that it takes them no more than 2 or 3 tries to find somebody who
|
||||
can make these three suggestions. It’s important to emphasize *both*
|
||||
spells, because in fact, both spells are part of the solution.
|
||||
|
||||
Spoiler: the actual process for escaping is as follows: the PCs will
|
||||
call a friend for help, using the *sending* spell. It doesn’t matter
|
||||
*which* friend they contact. It could be a relative, a business partner,
|
||||
a spouse - anything that makes sense given the PC’s background story.
|
||||
The friend is not able to *plane shift*, but the friend will talk to
|
||||
somebody, who will talk to somebody else, and eventually, they will find
|
||||
somebody powerful who is able to cast *plane shift* and who is willing
|
||||
to help. Do not tell the PCs that this is the way out. Figuring it out
|
||||
is a substantial part of the puzzle that is the Museum.
|
||||
|
||||
However, the PCs do know that *sending* and *plane shift* are useful. As
|
||||
they explore the museum, the PCs should constantly be on the lookout for
|
||||
people who can cast *sending* or *plane shift*.
|
||||
|
||||
### Caretakers and their Guidebooks
|
||||
|
||||
At times, the PCs may see man-sized flying creatures. These are the
|
||||
museum caretakers, who are all aarakocras. Do not let the PCs interact
|
||||
with the caretakers until “the time is right.” The time is right when
|
||||
the PCs are getting tired of exploring randomly, and they’re starting to
|
||||
feel the urge for a little more direction. Alternately, if the PCs never
|
||||
get tired of exploring randomly, then the time is right when the PCs
|
||||
reach the 3rd floor or below.
|
||||
|
||||
At the appropriate time, have two caretakers land in front of the PCs:
|
||||
Keira, and Qurak. They are among the dozen or so caretakers of the
|
||||
Museum. Keira does almost all the talking.
|
||||
|
||||
Keira asks: “Who are you? Are you museum guests, or are you part of an
|
||||
exhibit?” The players will give some answer, but of course, they don’t
|
||||
really know anything, and this will become obvious to Keira and Qurak
|
||||
fairly quickly. Of course, the PCs may have all sorts of questions.
|
||||
Keira is happy to answer questions, but first she wants to know who the
|
||||
PCs are. When Keira realizes that the PCs don’t know if they are guests
|
||||
or exhibits, Keira will sigh, she’ll point at one PC, and say, “What’s
|
||||
your full name?”
|
||||
|
||||
If the player refuses to give their name, Keira gets frustrated, but
|
||||
Qurak says, “give them time.” Qurak seems to have the ability to calm
|
||||
Keira down. Keira says, “I’m not trying to hurt you. Please, could
|
||||
somebody just give a name?”
|
||||
|
||||
If the players persist in refusing to give their names, Keira will say,
|
||||
“Fine, just wander for all I care. When you get tired of that, flag us
|
||||
down.” The two caretakers leave. The players can bring them back by
|
||||
doing something attention-grabbing. Force the PCs to be as inventive as
|
||||
they can in this regard.
|
||||
|
||||
If a player gives a full name, the Keira will pull a *guidebook* from
|
||||
her belt. The guidebook is a magical book that lists all the people in
|
||||
the exhibits, and tells about what’s in the exhibits. It also tells the
|
||||
spatial position of each exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
Keira looks up the PC’s name in the guidebook: “Let’s see… here’s your
|
||||
name in the index. Your exhibit is called *The Deck of Many Things*. Let
|
||||
me find it in here… Flip, flip, flip… oh… crap.” Qurak says, “What?”
|
||||
Keira says “look.” Then they both peer at the book. Then Keira shows the
|
||||
book to the PCs. The guidebook says:
|
||||
|
||||
> **The Deck of Many Things**
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Exhibit will be located inside Castle Green. The arrival of Castle
|
||||
> Green has been delayed.
|
||||
|
||||
Keira says: “You’re supposed to be in your own diorama, but your diorama
|
||||
isn’t even here yet. That explains why you’re wandering around.”
|
||||
|
||||
At this point, the players can ask questions. Keira will answer general
|
||||
questions about the museum truthfully. She’ll answer about the nature of
|
||||
the museum, about who created the museum, about why there are no guests,
|
||||
and so forth. If asked, she’ll say there are no portals out. If asked if
|
||||
anyone can cast *plane shift* or *sending*, she says she doesn’t know.
|
||||
|
||||
If asked why she works for the museum, Keira tells the PCs about the
|
||||
*geas*. When Orethys needed caretakers, he used a *geas* spell to force
|
||||
people to serve. The caretakers *must* do their best to care for the
|
||||
museum, or they will be tortured and eventually killed by the *geas*.
|
||||
|
||||
The geas does not prevent Keira from express her contempt for Orethys
|
||||
himself. The caretakers hate Orethys, they all consider themselves
|
||||
prisoners for eternity in a pointless museum where nothing ever happens
|
||||
and no patrons ever arrive. They have been bored for decades now.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can ask lots of questions, but what Keira won’t do is describe
|
||||
the contents of specific exhibits. If you ask her about a specific
|
||||
exhibit, she’ll say, “There’s just too many exhibits for me to stand
|
||||
here all day telling you what’s in them. Get a guidebook.” If the
|
||||
players ask what a guidebook is, Keira will flash the guidebook she’s
|
||||
been using. She says the players can get a guidebook from guest
|
||||
services, on the bottom floor.
|
||||
|
||||
At some point, Qurak says: “These guys remind me of Diometron. Same
|
||||
deal.” If the PCs follow up on this, Keira says, “he’s another exhibit
|
||||
who won’t stay in his diorama. Spends most days exploring the museum. We
|
||||
can’t get him to stay on his island.” If the PCs are smart, they might
|
||||
realize that Diometron is a potential resource: he is very familiar with
|
||||
the museum.
|
||||
|
||||
Now the players have three reasons to want a guidebook: so that they can
|
||||
look up Diometron, to see where Castle Green is, and to find people who
|
||||
might know the spells *plane shift* or *sending*.
|
||||
|
||||
If the players ask Keira for her guidebook, she says “No, sorry, I need
|
||||
it to do my job.” If they ask her to go down to guest services and get a
|
||||
copy for them, she says, “You guys are trapped here for all eternity
|
||||
with nothing but free time. In a few years, you’ll wish you had
|
||||
something to occupy your time. Believe me, I’m doing you a favor by
|
||||
giving you something to do.”
|
||||
|
||||
When the players seem like they’re running out of questions, Qurak says
|
||||
“OK, so what do we do with them?” Keira says, “I guess we just check on
|
||||
them again in a while.” Then she tells the players: “Have fun for now.”
|
||||
The two depart.
|
||||
|
||||
The most important result of this visit is that now, the players have a
|
||||
mission: get a guidebook. To get one, they need to descend to the bottom
|
||||
of the cavern, to the “bottom floor,” to guest services.
|
||||
|
||||
### Repetition in the Museum
|
||||
|
||||
Because the NPCs cannot remember the PCs from visit to visit, the PCs
|
||||
will have many repetitive conversations with the NPCs. They will have to
|
||||
introduce themselves every single time. This can get old fast. To make
|
||||
it less tedious, say to your players:
|
||||
|
||||
> DM: In the museum, it’s often necessary to introduce yourself a second
|
||||
> and third time. I’m not going to ask you to roleplay the same
|
||||
> conversation over and over. I’m going to take it for granted that when
|
||||
> you visit somebody for the second time, that you introduce yourselves
|
||||
> the same as you did the previous time. If you want to introduce
|
||||
> yourselves differently than the previous time, just tell me what
|
||||
> you’re doing different.
|
||||
|
||||
There’s another kind of repetition that happens in the museum. The PCs
|
||||
often have to climb from one floating island to another. This involves
|
||||
ropes and ladders. The first time they do this, have them roleplay how
|
||||
they improvise a ladder out of scrap wood and whatever they find lying
|
||||
around the exhibit. Have them make acrobatics checks to make sure they
|
||||
don’t fall, make it exciting. But the third time they need to improvise
|
||||
a ladder, tell them:
|
||||
|
||||
> DM: By now, you guys have gotten the hang of improvising ladders and
|
||||
> finding ropes to get from one exhibit to the next. You’ve crossed two
|
||||
> bridges, and you’ve figured out how to do it without falling. It would
|
||||
> get boring to keep roleplaying the construction of ladders. From now
|
||||
> on, just say to me, “we’re crossing to the next exhibit,” and I’ll
|
||||
> take it for granted that you’re finding an improvised ladder and doing
|
||||
> whatever it takes. I’ll take it for granted that you can accomplish
|
||||
> that without further difficulty.
|
||||
|
||||
After they’ve climbed around on islands for a bit, you might hear the
|
||||
PCs say, “we can’t go *all the way back* to that exhibit, it’s too far
|
||||
away!” Respond like this:
|
||||
|
||||
> DM: Moving around the museum is pretty time-consuming, what with all
|
||||
> the rope-climbing and ladders. But you guys have all the time in the
|
||||
> world: you’re trapped here for eternity. So if it takes several hours
|
||||
> to climb from one exhibit to another, it’s not really an issue. Just
|
||||
> accept that in the museum, moving around takes a few hours, and that’s
|
||||
> not a problem. If you want to climb from an exhibit to another
|
||||
> exhibit, just say you’re traveling there, and I’ll take it for granted
|
||||
> that you make the trek, no problem.
|
||||
|
||||
Another thing that can get repetitive is that in the Museum, you can
|
||||
obtain duplicates of objects by entering an exhibit and taking an
|
||||
object, then leaving the exhibit, letting the exhibit reset, then going
|
||||
back into the exhibit and taking the object again. Naturally, this would
|
||||
be a time-consuming process. Tell the PCs:
|
||||
|
||||
> DM: Yes, obtaining duplicates of items is time-consuming. But once
|
||||
> again, you have all the time in the world, you’re stuck here for
|
||||
> eternity. So I want you to roleplay the first time you take an item
|
||||
> from an exhibit. The second time, just say, “we’re doing the same
|
||||
> thing again to get a second one,” and I’ll take it for granted that
|
||||
> you can do the same steps again, no problem.
|
||||
|
||||
The point is this: the magic of the museum can make certain things
|
||||
time-consuming and repetitive. But that doesn’t mean that the roleplay
|
||||
has to be repetitive.
|
||||
|
||||
File diff suppressed because it is too large
Load Diff
@@ -1,184 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Magic Items in Guest Services
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Guest services contains four interesting magic items that the PCs can
|
||||
take.
|
||||
|
||||
### Item: The Guidebook
|
||||
|
||||
The guidebook is a leather-bound magical volume. It is found on a
|
||||
pedestal in guest services. It has several features:
|
||||
|
||||
- One page for each exhibit. Every exhibit has a name, such as “The
|
||||
> Tavern of the South Gate.” Exhibits are sorted alphabetically by
|
||||
> name. The page has a blurb about the exhibit, just a paragraph or
|
||||
> two.
|
||||
|
||||
```{=html}
|
||||
<!-- -->
|
||||
```
|
||||
- An index of residents. If you know the name of an person, you can
|
||||
> find the name of the exhibit they’re associated with.
|
||||
|
||||
- A Cover with a painting of a compass. The compass is initially
|
||||
> pointing due north.
|
||||
|
||||
- The Cover shows the name of the exhibit you are closest to, along
|
||||
> with a danger rating. In guest services, the book says “Closest
|
||||
> Exhibit: Guest Services. Danger: None”
|
||||
|
||||
- A bookmark, attached to a string, attached to the guidebook’s spine.
|
||||
> The back of the guidebook explains that if you put the bookmark
|
||||
> into the page for an exhibit, the compass on the cover will point
|
||||
> toward that exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
The guidebook is very useful for finding an exhibit if you know the
|
||||
exhibit name or a person’s name. Unfortunately, it’s not useful for
|
||||
finding exhibits by content. If one of your players says, “I’m just
|
||||
going to read all the exhibits until I find one that has a spellcaster
|
||||
who knows *plane shift*,” say, “you read for a while, but the blurbs
|
||||
aren’t giving the information you need.” Give them the blurb from *The
|
||||
Radiant House* as an example. Point out that this exhibit definitely
|
||||
contains a wizard, Dardannon, but the blurb tells you next to nothing
|
||||
about him. There’s no information about whether he can cast *sending* or
|
||||
*plane shift*. There’s no mention of what magic items he might have in
|
||||
his house. It doesn’t even say what level of spellcaster he is. The
|
||||
point is: trying to use the blurbs to search for specific things just
|
||||
isn’t working.
|
||||
|
||||
The rule for the guidebook is: if you know a person’s name or an exhibit
|
||||
name, the guidebook will help you locate the exhibit, and will also tell
|
||||
you a bit about the exhibit. But if you don’t have a name, it can’t
|
||||
help. Be upfront with the players about that simple rule.
|
||||
|
||||
The other thing the guidebook can do is tell you what exhibit you’re
|
||||
standing on. This can be useful, for example, if you find an exhibit
|
||||
that contains a building, and you aren’t sure whether it is wise to
|
||||
enter or not.
|
||||
|
||||
### Item: The Stabilization Iron
|
||||
|
||||
When objects are taken from exhibits, they tend to stick around for
|
||||
about an hour, and then they vanish - in some sense, returning to their
|
||||
exhibit. They never vanish while you’re actively thinking about them or
|
||||
using them - they vanish when your attention turns elsewhere. This is
|
||||
the stasis effect in action.
|
||||
|
||||
The stabilization iron looks like a tiny branding iron. Used like a
|
||||
branding iron, it will apply a stabilization glyph to any object taken
|
||||
from an exhibit. This will cause the object to last several days,
|
||||
instead of an hour. The stabilization iron can be found on a pedestal in
|
||||
guest services.
|
||||
|
||||
Since both the guidebook and the iron are part of the guest services
|
||||
exhibit, they will both vanish after about an hour unless they are
|
||||
stabilized. This is advisable. To stabilize the stabilization iron
|
||||
itself, you will need two stabilization irons, so that the two can apply
|
||||
glyphs to each other. To get two irons, you have to take one from the
|
||||
pedestal, leave the room, and come back. Let the PCs figure out this
|
||||
little puzzle.
|
||||
|
||||
The iron can be used an unlimited number of times per day. It can
|
||||
stabilize any object, animal, or person taken from an exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
Using the iron to stabilize a *person* who is part of an exhibit will
|
||||
have a surprising effect. NPCs in exhibits tend to forget new things
|
||||
very quickly. That is particularly true when you show them other
|
||||
islands: they have a mental block against thinking about other islands.
|
||||
These limitations make it largely impossible to have a productive
|
||||
conversation about the museum with an NPC. The stabilization glyph
|
||||
eliminates both these limitations. A stabilized NPC can remember
|
||||
everything you tell them for several days, and can observe and think
|
||||
about other islands. They can even travel with the party (if they’re
|
||||
able to climb ropes).
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs may try to stabilize themselves. If they do, the stabilization
|
||||
glyph is indeed applied, but there is no effect.
|
||||
|
||||
### Item: The Capture Device
|
||||
|
||||
The *Capture Device* is used to create new exhibits in the museum. If
|
||||
there were written instructions, which there aren’t, this is what they
|
||||
would say:
|
||||
|
||||
> Leave the museum, taking the capture device with you. Then, look for
|
||||
> an interesting person to add to the museum. Put the capture device in
|
||||
> the building with the interesting person. Activate the device, which
|
||||
> begins a countdown. Evacuate the building before the countdown
|
||||
> expires. When the countdown finishes, the entire building will be
|
||||
> captured as an exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
The device is found in guest services, in a locked closet. It can also
|
||||
be given to the PCs by the caretakers.
|
||||
|
||||
The Capture Device is a metal cylinder, about three inches in diameter,
|
||||
and two inches tall. The cylinder has two halves, separated by a
|
||||
hairline crack. It radiates magic strongly. The two halves can be
|
||||
rotated relative to each other.
|
||||
|
||||
If you activate it by rotating it, it says, “Exhibit capture in five
|
||||
minutes. Evacuate the building.” Then it starts a verbal countdown. At
|
||||
the end of five minutes, it tries to collect an exhibit. If it fails, it
|
||||
says one of the following error messages:
|
||||
|
||||
- “Capture failed. Cannot capture inside the museum” - The device
|
||||
> simply doesn’t work inside the museum. You can’t capture what’s
|
||||
> already been captured.
|
||||
|
||||
- “Capture failed. Powerful force resists capture” - The person being
|
||||
> captured gets to make a wisdom saving throw, DC15. If they make
|
||||
> the saving throw, then the capture fails. There are other
|
||||
> situations where a being or a place might be too powerful to
|
||||
> capture.
|
||||
|
||||
- “Capture failed. Must be inside a structure” - The device is meant
|
||||
> to be placed inside a building or similar structure. It will
|
||||
> capture the whole building. It can also work inside a fenced-in
|
||||
> area. If it’s not inside a structure, the device doesn’t know what
|
||||
> area to capture.
|
||||
|
||||
- “Capture failed. Exhibit does not contain an exotic person, animal,
|
||||
> or anomaly” - The exhibit must contain something worthy of the
|
||||
> Museum. This is up to the DM’s discretion.
|
||||
|
||||
- “Capture failed. Exhibit may contain at most two people” - This
|
||||
> version of the device can only capture two people, maximum.
|
||||
|
||||
If one of these errors occurs, it will be spoken at the end of the
|
||||
countdown, and again when somebody picks up the device. But if
|
||||
everything goes right, there will be a “whoomp,” and the area will get
|
||||
sucked into the Museum, along with its inhabitants. What is left behind
|
||||
is typically a crater.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, if you try to use this device inside the museum, you just
|
||||
keep getting the message “cannot capture inside the museum.”
|
||||
|
||||
There is only one *Capture Device* - it is a rare object in the museum
|
||||
that is *not* in stasis. When you take it from its pedestal, the
|
||||
pedestal doesn’t refill. Unlike other things found in the museum, you
|
||||
can take it out of the Museum. When it successfully captures a new
|
||||
exhibit, the capture device goes to the Museum along with everything
|
||||
else in the exhibit. Then, the caretakers will put it back on its
|
||||
pedestal, and it will take several months to recharge.
|
||||
|
||||
After the party finally escapes from the museum, they will have the
|
||||
capture device with them. If they activate the capture device and then
|
||||
fail to evacuate the building, then in theory, some of the party members
|
||||
could get pulled back into the museum. That would not be fun. Don’t
|
||||
allow this to happen: just make up an excuse. There are several excuses
|
||||
built-in to the device: it can’t capture more than two people (and the
|
||||
party is probably more than two people), and it allows a saving throw
|
||||
(at least one party member can probably succeed at the save). If those
|
||||
excuses don’t work, make up a different excuse.
|
||||
|
||||
### Item: The Potion of Willpower
|
||||
|
||||
In guest services, there is a small chest designed to help you with the
|
||||
harpy exhibit. The chest contains a monk robe and a “potion of
|
||||
willpower.”
|
||||
|
||||
Orethys provides the potion as a means to resist the charms of the
|
||||
Harpies. But the potion is actually a general-purpose potion that gives
|
||||
a +5 on wisdom saving throws, for an hour or so. The PCs can
|
||||
successfully use it for anything wisdom-save related.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,890 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Escaping the Museum
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
After exploring the bottom floors of the museum, the PCs will be ready
|
||||
to escape the Museum. The escape process is fairly linear. There’s a lot
|
||||
to do before the PCs can actually leave!
|
||||
|
||||
### Meeting Diometron
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron is a rogue modron. Orethys’ interest in him is purely because
|
||||
rogue modrons are rare. Here is what the guidebook has to say about
|
||||
Diometron:
|
||||
|
||||
\<WRITE BLURB ABOUT DIOMETRON\>
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron became a rogue modron when his traveling party encountered a
|
||||
group of slaads. One slaad infected Diometron with slaad reproductive
|
||||
essence. Fortunately for Diometron, modrons are very resistant to
|
||||
elemental chaos. The slaad essence has not been able to take him over.
|
||||
But it’s still in there, trying.
|
||||
|
||||
When Diometron was infected, he asked his superiors what to do. They
|
||||
decided that he was too badly damaged to repair, so they instructed him
|
||||
to report for incineration. Diometron did not comply, instead, he fled
|
||||
and went into hiding. He was hiding in a garden shed when Orethys
|
||||
captured him. He now sleeps in the garden shed, but he explores the
|
||||
museum when he is awake.
|
||||
|
||||
When Diometron first went rogue, he was a duodrone. Contrary to popular
|
||||
belief, duodrones are not stupid: they just lack independence. If it
|
||||
were not for the slaad essence inside him driving him toward
|
||||
independence and free-thinking, he would have submitted to incineration.
|
||||
|
||||
It is well known that most rogue modrons become quadrones. You might
|
||||
wonder how this is possible. It is because modrons come from the factory
|
||||
with the hardware necessary to change their own configuration. When a
|
||||
modron is given a promotion, the modron automatically transforms into
|
||||
the correct shape for their new rank. Most people don’t realize it, but
|
||||
modrons are actually shape-changers: people don’t realize it because
|
||||
modrons only change their shape in response to promotion.
|
||||
|
||||
When a modron shape-changes, they always do so with an approved
|
||||
blueprint. Modrons come from the factory with four blueprints
|
||||
preinstalled: monodrone, duodrone, tridrone, and quadrone. To upgrade
|
||||
beyond that point, they must obtain a higher-level blueprint from their
|
||||
superior.
|
||||
|
||||
When a modron goes rogue, they already have everything they need to
|
||||
self-promote to quadrone. They cannot promote beyond that point, because
|
||||
they don’t have a blueprint for anything beyond quadrone.
|
||||
|
||||
A healthy modron would never, ever consider making up their own
|
||||
blueprint. The results would be utterly unpredictable, and modrons
|
||||
loathe unpredictability. But Diometron is modron corrupted by slaad
|
||||
essence. When he realized he was trapped on a floating island, he
|
||||
started wishing that his quadrone wings were not vestigial. The more he
|
||||
thought about it, the more it occurred to him that it would be a fairly
|
||||
simple modification to the blueprint to make the wings functional. He
|
||||
agonized over whether or not it would be lawful to invent one’s own
|
||||
blueprint. But in the end, he succumbed to temptation. Diometron can now
|
||||
fly around the exhibits.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron is resistant to the stasis effect: unlike all the other museum
|
||||
denizens, he does not forget everything he sees. He explains this as
|
||||
follows: “My memory systems have multiple layers of redundancy to
|
||||
prevent data loss. The museum keeps trying to reset my memory, but my
|
||||
systems keep restoring my memory from backup. This has been going on for
|
||||
seventy years. I am confident that I will not experience data loss.” It
|
||||
is a side effect of the “axiomatic mind” power that all modrons possess.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron knows that he is corrupted by chaos, and it terrifies him. He
|
||||
believes that he is not a force for good in the universe - he believes
|
||||
that he is likely to spread chaos, and that’s the worst thing a being
|
||||
can do. For this reason, he is very glad that he lives in the Museum of
|
||||
Orethys. He knows that everything the museum is in stasis, and
|
||||
therefore, it is not really possible to harm anyone in the museum.
|
||||
Diometron is afraid to interact with anyone who is not in stasis,
|
||||
because he is afraid that he will spread chaos and corruption to them.
|
||||
Periodically, Diometron will say that he “should have reported for
|
||||
incineration.” He has a severely damaged sense of self-esteem.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron’s name is a name that he gave himself. It is a combination of
|
||||
the following words:
|
||||
|
||||
- Di, meaning two.
|
||||
|
||||
- Metric, meaning measurement systems.
|
||||
|
||||
- Tron, meaning a mechanism.
|
||||
|
||||
So he views himself as a mechanism with two different, incompatible
|
||||
value systems: one, his original modron value system, and two, the value
|
||||
system of the slaad inside him. He does not think these are separable:
|
||||
like it or not, he is part slaad now. So he must constantly struggle to
|
||||
balance his modron values with his slaad values. In reality, he is far,
|
||||
far more modron than slaad. Probably 90% modron, 10% slaad. He is not
|
||||
overtly chaotic at all. But the slaad influence does enable him to act
|
||||
with some independence from the modron collective.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron is an intensely curious person. He has studied everything
|
||||
there is to study in the museum. He has read every book in Dame Kenere’s
|
||||
library multiple times, and he is proud of what he has learned. He will
|
||||
point out, whenever given the opportunity, that he is an “excellent
|
||||
swordsman,” an “excellent wizard,” an “excellent musician,” an
|
||||
“excellent bartender,” an “excellent weaver,” and everything else under
|
||||
the sun. He proclaims his skill in a matter-of-fact way, but he is quite
|
||||
proud. In reality, he’s good at several of those things, and he
|
||||
overestimates his ability at some of them.
|
||||
|
||||
The fact that Diometron brags a little is essential to the plot:
|
||||
Diometron must tell the players, “*I am an excellent Wizard*.” That way,
|
||||
it will occur to them that maybe he can cast *sending*.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron is lonely. He talks to everyone in the museum, but of course,
|
||||
nobody can remember him, and that makes him feel disconnected. He does
|
||||
sometimes talk to the caretakers, but there’s a problem: the caretakers
|
||||
are obligated, by geas, to try to keep him in his exhibit. Whenever
|
||||
Diometron talks about what he has been doing, the caretakers are forced
|
||||
to respond, “you shouldn’t be doing that, you should be in your
|
||||
exhibit.” They never give him any encouragement, because they *can’t*.
|
||||
So it’s not much fun for diometron to talk to the caretakers, and the
|
||||
caretakers don’t enjoy stomping on Diometron’s spirit either. So they
|
||||
don’t talk that often.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron has a strange verbal tic: he doesn’t use contractions. He
|
||||
always says “do not” instead of “don’t,” he always says “I will not”
|
||||
instead of “I won’t.” When he talks, he repeatedly tilts his head from
|
||||
side to side. He says, “I am an excellent speaker of your common
|
||||
tongue.”
|
||||
|
||||
Even when Diometron is saying something sad, like “I am corrupted by
|
||||
chaos, I should have been incinerated,” he speaks in a bright, cheery
|
||||
voice. His emotions are not expressed through tone of voice.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs look for Diometron, the guidebook will guide the PCs to the
|
||||
shed. Diometron may or may not be there (flip a coin.) If not, the PCs
|
||||
can wait around and Diometron will eventually show up. If the PCs ask
|
||||
the caretakers about Diometron, the caretakers will tell the PCs that
|
||||
this is the right way to find him - just wait at his shed.
|
||||
|
||||
The shed itself is utterly uninteresting: a completely mundane gardening
|
||||
shed. Diometron sleeps while standing in a corner. He sleeps in his own
|
||||
exhibit as a concession to the caretakers: they wanted him to stay in
|
||||
his exhibit, he wanted to explore the museum, so he compromised and
|
||||
agreed to sleep in his exhibit - at least that way, he’s there some of
|
||||
the time. The caretakers acknowledged that they had no power to force
|
||||
him, so they eventually just shrugged and accepted the deal.
|
||||
|
||||
When Diometron first sees the PCs, he is terrified (because he is afraid
|
||||
he’ll spread chaos), but he is also fascinated - these are the first new
|
||||
people he’s seen in decades. Then he notices something that is very
|
||||
important to him: He says, “I have sensors that can detect the presence
|
||||
of elemental chaos. The level of chaos in your bodies is elevated. You
|
||||
are corrupted by chaos. I am also corrupted by chaos.” Suddenly, he
|
||||
feels a strange kinship for the PCs. He is also less afraid of
|
||||
corrupting them, because they are already corrupted.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, the chaos that Diometron detects is a side effect of using
|
||||
the Deck of Many Things. The deck is one of the most powerful chaos
|
||||
artifacts in the multiverse, and it leaches elemental chaos into
|
||||
everything it touches.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron loves to talk. He is happy to explain anything that the PCs
|
||||
care to ask him.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs suggest that Diometron could escape the museum with them,
|
||||
Diometron will balk. Diometron is terrified of the idea of spreading his
|
||||
chaos outside the museum. If the PCs are persuasive enough, they may be
|
||||
able to move Diometron to warm up to the idea.
|
||||
|
||||
Diometron is relevant to the PCs for two reasons:
|
||||
|
||||
- He is a 6th level wizard who can cast *sending*.
|
||||
|
||||
- Other than the caretakers, he is the only NPC in the museum who can
|
||||
> remember the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
But aside from that, Diometron is designed to be a likeable NPC. He is
|
||||
friendly, he is cheerful, and he is enthusiastically helpful.
|
||||
Furthermore, he has some qualities that should tug at their heartstrings
|
||||
a little bit. It is intended that the PCs should relatively quickly
|
||||
develop a friendship for Diometron. This is important to the plot: later
|
||||
in the campaign, the PCs will be given the opportunity to dismantle the
|
||||
entire museum. If the PCs care about the NPCs in the museum, if they
|
||||
have emotional investment in their well-being, then freeing the NPCs
|
||||
from the museum will be a goal that feels important to them.
|
||||
|
||||
### Sending a Distress Call
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will want to contact a friend outside the museum, to ask for
|
||||
help escaping the museum. The most likely way to do that is to ask
|
||||
Diometron to cast *sending*.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask Diometron to cast *sending*, he points out there’s a
|
||||
catch: “In order to cast *sending*, I have to be familiar with the
|
||||
recipient. All my colleagues used to be modrons, but I cannot safely
|
||||
contact them, because they want to incinerate me. There is nobody
|
||||
outside the museum that I can contact, because I lack familiarity with
|
||||
everyone outside the museum.”
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can work around this in several different ways:
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs could try to tell Diometron about a friend outside the
|
||||
> museum. For it to work, the PCs must do at least two or three of
|
||||
> the following:
|
||||
|
||||
- Use *Disguise Self* to make themselves look like the friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Make a good performance roll to act like the friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Use the *Encode Thoughts* cantrip to give Diometron a thought of
|
||||
> the friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Ask Diometron to cast *Detect Thoughts*, then visualize the
|
||||
> friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Use telepathy to communicate an impression of the friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Give a detailed, compelling verbal description of the friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- There may be other ways.
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs could ask Diometron to contact Dame Kenere. Diometron has
|
||||
> read all her books, and has seen her portrait many times. That is
|
||||
> familiar enough.
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs could ask Johann, the Dreaming Ghost, instead of asking
|
||||
> Diometron. Johann can enter the dreams of people all over the
|
||||
> multiverse, and Johann, being inside the PCs’ dream, can easily
|
||||
> see who the PC is thinking of. The only catch is that Johann can
|
||||
> only talk to people in their dreams. If the friend is somebody who
|
||||
> pays attention to dreams (priests usually do, and so do mystics),
|
||||
> great. If not, there is a chance they might ignore their dream.
|
||||
|
||||
Once the PCs figure all this out, they send the message. The actual
|
||||
content of the message isn’t that important. “We’re trapped in a big
|
||||
weird cavern, we can’t get out” is sufficient. It also isn’t especially
|
||||
important who they send the message to: we can just assume that whomever
|
||||
they contact will eventually pass the message on to the right person.
|
||||
|
||||
One person the PCs could try to contact is Green. If they try, Green
|
||||
says, “We’ve been trying to find somebody who can plane shift to where
|
||||
you are, with no luck. Now that you’re in verbal contact, maybe there’s
|
||||
new options. I’m going to talk to my diviner, just hold tight.” Green
|
||||
and his diviner end up passing the message on to the right person, and
|
||||
the rescue is underway.
|
||||
|
||||
One challenge here is that the players did very little roleplaying
|
||||
outside the museum, so they may not be able to think of anybody to send
|
||||
the distress call to. So during character creation, when you ask your
|
||||
players to create background stories, make sure they include at least
|
||||
one living friend in their background story. That way, they’ll have
|
||||
somebody to send to.
|
||||
|
||||
Regardless of the details of how they do it, the players will eventually
|
||||
get a message out.
|
||||
|
||||
When the players send their distress call, the message gets passed from
|
||||
person to person. As a DM, it will be on you to invent a chain by which
|
||||
the message ends up in Tymora’s ear. Maybe the PC sent a distress call
|
||||
to his wife, and the wife talked to her priest, and that priest talked
|
||||
to another priest, who happened to be a priest of Tymora. It doesn’t
|
||||
matter what the exact sequence of communication was, it’s only important
|
||||
that somehow, the PC’s distress call reaches Tymora.
|
||||
|
||||
Shortly after sending the distress call, the PCs get a *sending* from
|
||||
somebody they don’t know:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Hi! I’m Joycie, I can probably get you out. I need you to try to find
|
||||
> a teleportation circle. If you find one, use *sending* to send me the
|
||||
> sigil sequence - that’s the series of arcane runes that surround the
|
||||
> circle. As soon as I get that sigil sequence, I’ll be there. Also,
|
||||
> give thanks to Tymora!”
|
||||
|
||||
The message is from Joycie, a powerful priestess of Tymora who can cast
|
||||
*plane shift*. She will be the one to eventually get the players out of
|
||||
the museum. So next, a brief digression, about why Tymora is getting
|
||||
involved.
|
||||
|
||||
### What Tymora Wants
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora is very upset about the Deck. She feels like the god who created
|
||||
the deck is trying to steal the portfolios of Good Luck and Bad Luck.
|
||||
The PCs will soon meet some priestesses of Tymora, and the priestesses
|
||||
will be direct about Tymora’s problem. Here is how they will explain it:
|
||||
|
||||
> Let me ask you something: Who do you think created the Deck? Most
|
||||
> people would assume that it was Tymora and Beshaba. After all, the
|
||||
> most powerful luck-dispensing magic item in the universe would surely
|
||||
> have been created by the gods of luck, wouldn’t it? But as it turns
|
||||
> out, Tymora and Beshaba didn’t create the deck. So who did?
|
||||
>
|
||||
> We know it wasn’t created by a mortal, because it’s just way too
|
||||
> powerful. Think about it: it’s been conjuring dozens of magic items,
|
||||
> it’s granted tons of wishes. No magic item created by a mortal could
|
||||
> do that. So it has to have been created by a god, and a powerful one
|
||||
> at that. But which one? We don’t know.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> But people are starting to say that there’s a “new” god of luck in
|
||||
> town. People are saying, “If you want good luck, go to Tymora. But if
|
||||
> you *really* need good luck desperately, go to the Deck of Many
|
||||
> Things.” People are saying that whoever created the deck is a more
|
||||
> powerful luck god than Tymora. She’s losing a lot of respect in the
|
||||
> eyes of the population.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Funny thing is, Tymora’s a young goddess, only a few thousand years
|
||||
> old, we think the deck is much older. Ancient records mention it a
|
||||
> long, long time ago. Yet despite that, this hasn’t ever been a problem
|
||||
> before.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> In the past, the deck used to appear once every hundred years or so.
|
||||
> It would turn somebody’s life upside down, and then it would vanish,
|
||||
> not to be heard from again for another hundred years. It never stuck
|
||||
> around longer than two or three days. People tried to put it into
|
||||
> vaults, they tried to guard it, but nonetheless always disappeared
|
||||
> after just a few days. By the time the news got out to the public that
|
||||
> the deck had made an appearance, it was already gone. So the public
|
||||
> never had a chance to actually see the deck, and there was always a
|
||||
> lot of skepticism about whether it even existed at all or whether it
|
||||
> was just a bedtime story. People used to hear about it, and then
|
||||
> realize it was already gone, and they would forget about it just as
|
||||
> quickly.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> But this time, the Deck has been sticking around. Green’s been running
|
||||
> his little draw-cards business for several months now. We have no idea
|
||||
> why the deck isn’t vanishing this time, but it’s not. So this time,
|
||||
> it’s really entered into the public imagination in a way that it never
|
||||
> has before, and that’s what’s threatening to Tymora - public
|
||||
> perceptions are essential to a goddess keeping her worshippers, and
|
||||
> being perceived as “the second-best goddess of luck” would be deadly
|
||||
> to her.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Now, as for me, as a priestess of Tymora, I actually don’t care who’s
|
||||
> more powerful. I trust Tymora. She isn’t just a goddess of luck, she’s
|
||||
> also a kind and caring goddess and I just think it’s best for the
|
||||
> universe if she’s the goddess of luck, as opposed to some cold and
|
||||
> amoral god who just likes randomness. So that’s why I’m sticking with
|
||||
> Tymora to the end. But other people might not see it that way.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> So now Tymora finds herself in the position where she has to defend
|
||||
> her turf. She’s not an aggressive goddess at all, she doesn’t want to
|
||||
> start a war. But she can’t let another god position himself as the
|
||||
> most powerful god of luck. If you’re a god, protecting your portfolio
|
||||
> is mandatory - if you don’t, you’ll fade out of existence.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> So now Tymora wants to try to negotiate with this other god. That’s
|
||||
> where you guys come in. Tymora can see lines of telepathic connection
|
||||
> radiating out from you - she can see that you’re connected to some of
|
||||
> the other people who drew cards from the deck. She also thinks you
|
||||
> might be connected to the god who created the deck. She hopes she can
|
||||
> trace those lines of force to find the other god. But to do that, she
|
||||
> needs you to strengthen your telepathic connection to the god who made
|
||||
> the Deck.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> We also want to buy the Deck from Green. Tymora doesn’t want to take
|
||||
> it by force, that wouldn’t be right. So she isn’t going to appear in
|
||||
> her full glory in front of Green, that would be a show of force, and
|
||||
> Green might interpret it as a threat. She doesn’t want to do that. So
|
||||
> she wants to send a low-level ambassador instead. She thinks you guys
|
||||
> would make great ambassadors, because you already know Green. We also
|
||||
> think you can escort one of our priestesses to Green.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, you won’t be able to remember this whole monologue. Just
|
||||
remember these bullet points:
|
||||
|
||||
- About the Conflict between Tymora and the God who made the Deck:
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora didn’t create the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- People are saying the deck’s creator is the “new” god of luck.
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora isn’t going to allow some other god to take over her job!
|
||||
|
||||
- About Tymora and the Deck:
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora is a young goddess. The deck is much, much older.
|
||||
|
||||
- In the past, Tymora never had a conflict with the deck, because
|
||||
> it never stuck around.
|
||||
|
||||
- This time, the deck has been doing its thing for months and not
|
||||
> disappearing.
|
||||
|
||||
- About Tymora and the Telepathic Channels:
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora can sense a “channel” connecting the PCs to the god who
|
||||
> created the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora wants to track the channel to find that god, but the
|
||||
> connection is too weak.
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora wants the PCs to strengthen that connection by
|
||||
> interacting with the deck some more.
|
||||
|
||||
- About Tymora and Green:
|
||||
|
||||
- Tymora wants to buy the deck from Green.
|
||||
|
||||
- She thinks the PCs will make good negotiators, because they know
|
||||
> Green.
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora’s desire to help the PCs is, to a degree, self-serving - she’s
|
||||
helping because she needs something in return. But Tymora is still a
|
||||
good goddess, and she isn’t going to do anything to hurt the PCs. She
|
||||
really is going to rescue them from being imprisoned in the Museum, and
|
||||
she’s not being unreasonable in asking for help with her problem.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Teleportation Circle and the Medusa
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie needs the PCs to find a teleportation circle. There is only one
|
||||
teleportation circle in the museum, in the medusa exhibit. From the
|
||||
Guidebook:
|
||||
|
||||
The face of a Medusa is amazingly beautiful, in a strange and
|
||||
otherworldly way. Some people say it is a blessing from the gods, other
|
||||
say it was her beauty that led to her being cursed. Sadly, few ever get
|
||||
to see her face and tell the tale.
|
||||
|
||||
Fortunately, you can look at a Medusa in a mirror without getting
|
||||
petrified. The traditional approach is to shine your shield to a
|
||||
mirror-like finish, then walk up to her backward while looking at her in
|
||||
your shield. If the arrows in your back make you question the wisdom of
|
||||
the traditional approach, do not worry: your friend Orethys is here!
|
||||
|
||||
I built a hall of mirrors, and I teleported a Medusa into the back of
|
||||
it. You can enter the front. I have timed it: it takes her 16 minutes to
|
||||
get to the front of the mirror-labyrinth. That gives you about 14
|
||||
minutes to enjoy her beauty and 2 minutes to flee the exhibit. Of
|
||||
course, I could have just given you a potion of protection against
|
||||
petrification, but where would be the fun in that? This is so much more
|
||||
entertaining.
|
||||
|
||||
By the way, some people say that if a Medusa sees her own reflection,
|
||||
she will be petrified. I can assure you that is not the case. The
|
||||
reflection of a Medusa is safe, for you and for her as well.
|
||||
|
||||
The sigil sequence for the teleportation circle is, in rune-script,
|
||||
“*put medusa here*.” Most PCs probably can’t read rune-script, but
|
||||
Diometron can: he learned it from a book in Dame Kenere’s library.
|
||||
|
||||
Creating this exhibit was a multi-step process. Here is how Orethys did
|
||||
it:
|
||||
|
||||
- Step 1. Build a hall of mirrors.
|
||||
|
||||
```{=html}
|
||||
<!-- -->
|
||||
```
|
||||
- Step 2. Put a teleportation circle in the back of the hall.
|
||||
|
||||
- Step 3. Give the sigil sequence to a friend.
|
||||
|
||||
- Step 4. The friend teleports a medusa into the circle.
|
||||
|
||||
- Step 5. The instant the medusa arrives, Orethys captures the hall
|
||||
> into the museum.
|
||||
|
||||
The outside of the exhibit is a rectangular stone building - a sturdy
|
||||
bunker designed to keep the medusa contained. The inside of the building
|
||||
is a mirror maze. The building has about a dozen steel doors around the
|
||||
outside of it. Each steel door has a sturdy deadbolt that can only be
|
||||
operated from outside the maze. The medusa cannot get out unless the PCs
|
||||
open a door. One of the doors is marked, “use this door,” and another is
|
||||
marked, “do not use this door!”
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs might wonder why there are so many doors. Here’s why: Orethys
|
||||
didn’t know which path the medusa would take inside the maze. Rather
|
||||
than try to guess, he accounted for every possibility: he built entry
|
||||
doors all over the maze. Then, he waited until the medusa was in the
|
||||
museum, and he observed her. She always follows the exact same path,
|
||||
because she is in stasis. Because she always follows the exact same
|
||||
path, there is a door that she reaches first, a door she reaches second,
|
||||
and so forth, until the one door she reaches last. Orethys made a note
|
||||
of which door she reaches last, and marked it “use this door.”
|
||||
|
||||
There is also a door right by the teleportation circle where the medusa
|
||||
is initially standing. That door is marked, “do not use this door!”
|
||||
|
||||
There are several ways that the PCs can find out that the medusa exhibit
|
||||
contains a teleportation circle. One is to enter the medusa exhibit. As
|
||||
soon as you’re in the exhibit, the circle is quite visible, reflected in
|
||||
the mirrors.
|
||||
|
||||
Another way to find out is to look carefully at the pictures of the
|
||||
medusa exhibit on the wall in guest services. When the PCs are in guest
|
||||
services, if they do the museum in the usual order, then they aren’t
|
||||
specifically looking for a teleportation circle at that time. So of
|
||||
course they won’t consciously notice it.
|
||||
|
||||
Later, when the PCs learn they need a teleportation circle, let them
|
||||
make an easy insight roll. When they inevitably succeed, tell them
|
||||
“you’re sure you’ve seen some kind of magic circle in the museum… you’re
|
||||
just not 100% sure where.” Let them enjoy a little hunt. If they go back
|
||||
to guest services and check the pictures, they automatically spot it.
|
||||
|
||||
To get the sigil sequence of the teleportation circle, you will have to
|
||||
get the medusa out of the way. One way to get her out of the way is to
|
||||
kill her. That’s pretty hard for low-level characters. But it’s not
|
||||
actually necessary. Instead, you can have one party member enter the
|
||||
maze through the “safe” door. Then, the party member waits until the
|
||||
medusa is about halfway between the back and the front. The party member
|
||||
signals a friend, who enters the “unsafe” door, and memorizes the sigil
|
||||
sequence of the teleportation circle. Then both people get the heck out.
|
||||
They can then relay the sigil sequence to the rescue party, warning the
|
||||
rescue party that they will have to tangle with a medusa. The rescue
|
||||
party is high-level, they are not worried about a medusa.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask whether they can figure out the layout of the exhibit
|
||||
from the pictures in guest services, just say, “yes, easily,” and hand
|
||||
them the map of the medusa exhibit.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can safely study the door mechanism. It takes the medusa at
|
||||
least two minutes to reach any door other than the one she starts at. So
|
||||
the PCs have time to open a door, examine the mechanism, and close and
|
||||
lock the door before anything bad happens. There is not much to see:
|
||||
ordinary hinges, and an ordinary deadbolt, very sturdy. The door frame
|
||||
has a metal flange to make it impossible for the medusa to poke a
|
||||
thieves tool between the door jamb and the door. It is designed to be
|
||||
only openable from the outside.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs are inside the maze, they can easily see the medusa moving
|
||||
around in the mirrors. It’s impossible to tell where she is - the
|
||||
reflections of reflections are just too disorienting - but it’s easy to
|
||||
tell how close she is, because the largest reflection in the mirror will
|
||||
keep getting larger as she gets closer.
|
||||
|
||||
It is possible that a character might have some means of sensing the
|
||||
medusa other than sight. If so, that’s a nice victory for that
|
||||
character.
|
||||
|
||||
Some players may try to reason with the medusa. Bear in mind that the
|
||||
medusa was attacked by a wizard who teleported her into a mirror maze.
|
||||
Because she is in stasis, she thinks this just happened five minutes
|
||||
ago. She is and always will be both panicked and angry. But if you’re
|
||||
persuasive enough, it is possible.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Priestesses Arrive
|
||||
|
||||
When the players get the sigil sequence from the teleportation circle,
|
||||
and send it to Joycie, Joycie immediate uses *plane shift* to come to
|
||||
the teleportation circle, and she brings her friend and coworker, Lada.
|
||||
If the medusa is in there, Joycie is more than tough enough to handle
|
||||
the medusa.
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie is a powerful lv 14 Cleric of Tymora, she works at Tymora’s
|
||||
primary temple in Brightwater. Her life is very busy: when a lower-level
|
||||
priest needs help with something particularly difficult, they often go
|
||||
to Joycie. This month, Joycie is on *plane shift* duty - she’s pretty
|
||||
much spending the whole month ferrying people around the multiverse. She
|
||||
will get the PCs out of the demiplane, but that’s as much help as she
|
||||
can offer. She’s an essential worker at the temple in Brightwater, and
|
||||
she can’t be spared for long.
|
||||
|
||||
Lada is only a lv 3 cleric, but she’s Tymora’s best theoretical
|
||||
fortunologist. She has a huge passion for research into how magical luck
|
||||
spells work. Another favorite topic of hers is the Deck of Many Things,
|
||||
though she’s never been able to research one except through dusty tomes.
|
||||
Tymora specifically asked Lada to spend time with the players: Tymora
|
||||
knows that Lada will investigate the Deck with great enthusiasm.
|
||||
|
||||
Both Joycie and Lada are genuinely good allies for the players to know.
|
||||
They are trustworthy and smart and will do their best to help in any
|
||||
situation. This is not just because Tymora assigned them this task, it’s
|
||||
also because they’re just plain good people.
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie is bubbly and friendly, she has a happy-go-lucky attitude. She
|
||||
assumes things are going to go great, and she’s usually right - after
|
||||
all, serving Lady Luck has its benefits. She likes to flirt with cute
|
||||
guys, but she’s not actually looking for a date, she’s just playing.
|
||||
She’s also quite busy, she can’t stick around long. Joycie appears
|
||||
human, but quite tall: 7 feet tall, and her forehead is prominent. She’s
|
||||
one-eighth hill giant.
|
||||
|
||||
Lada is very shy and awkward, but once she finally feels comfortable
|
||||
around you, she becomes quite warm. She is very passionate about her
|
||||
research. She thinks that magical luck is much more strange and powerful
|
||||
than it appears to be. She has devised dozens of experiments to test
|
||||
what magical luck spells are capable of doing. She knows exactly how
|
||||
they impact probability and statistics. Lada is a youngish halfling,
|
||||
with a mop of wild curly hair.
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie won’t stick around long, but Lada will. Lada’s serves several
|
||||
purposes: first, it’s important for the players to have friendly NPCs
|
||||
that they care about, so that they feel invested in the world and so
|
||||
that they feel like the world is worth protecting and saving. Second,
|
||||
Lada raises weird questions that the players can think about and even
|
||||
research during the course of the campaign. This will make the world
|
||||
more mysterious and interesting for them. Finally, Lada can be a channel
|
||||
through which the DM occasionally gives hints to the players.
|
||||
|
||||
In combat, let the players take turns controlling Lada. She strongly
|
||||
prefers to spend her combat actions healing, blessing, and buffing. She
|
||||
rarely deals damage directly. If the PCs try to push her around and tell
|
||||
her to get on the front lines, she refuses. If the PCs mistreat her in
|
||||
any significant way, she will leave the party, with Tymora’s blessing:
|
||||
Tymora won’t subject her priestesses to abuse, Tymora will find another
|
||||
way to research the deck. Lada is always one level lower than the rest
|
||||
of the PCs, and she is only ever in a support role.
|
||||
|
||||
When the two priestesses appear in the teleportation circle, they
|
||||
introduce themselves. Lada is quiet and withdrawn because of her
|
||||
shyness, but she’s secretly in awe of the PCs because they have had
|
||||
contact with the Deck. Joycie is her outgoing bubbly self.
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie presents the players with Tymora’s request: “I need to be honest.
|
||||
We are here to rescue you, but we’re not just here to rescue you - we
|
||||
were hoping for your help with something.” She gives the explanation in
|
||||
the previous chapter, *What Tymora Wants*.
|
||||
|
||||
The plot of the entire campaign revolves around the PCs joining into the
|
||||
service of Tymora. They must accept the job. If the PCs refuse, do
|
||||
whatever you have to do to convince them. The best way to do this is to
|
||||
make an impassioned but reasoned argument. For example, Joycie could
|
||||
say, “Tymora is a genuinely good goddess, and she needs help. If Tymora
|
||||
were to lose her position as the goddess of Luck, I can’t imagine what
|
||||
terrible echoes that would have for the universe. And don’t forget, she
|
||||
went out of her way to help you when you were in trouble. If you do
|
||||
agree, you’ll have the gratitude of our priesthood for the rest of your
|
||||
lives. Please, we really do need your help.”
|
||||
|
||||
### A Failed Departure
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs are ready to leave the Museum, Joycie instructs everyone to
|
||||
form a circle. She takes out a tuning fork for the Outlands, and casts
|
||||
*plane shift*. Joycie and Lada vanish, but the PCs are still in the
|
||||
museum. A few minutes later, the PCs get a *sending* from Joycie: “What
|
||||
happened? Are you still in the museum? I’m going to take a long rest,
|
||||
we’ll come try again in the morning.”
|
||||
|
||||
Here’s what went wrong: as explained in the *Golden Goats* blurb, it is
|
||||
physically impossible to remove a piece of an exhibit from the
|
||||
demiplane, even using *plane shift*. The PCs are part of an exhibit.
|
||||
They will have to buy their freedom in order to leave.
|
||||
|
||||
### Two Divine Visitations
|
||||
|
||||
While waiting for the two priestesses to return, the PCs will receive
|
||||
visitations from two goddesses.
|
||||
|
||||
#### Selune
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs are sitting around doing not much, waiting for Joycie to return.
|
||||
Suddenly, the scene shifts: they are in a grassy field, surrounded by
|
||||
hills, at night. The moon is absolutely enormous in the sky, and
|
||||
everything is bathed in silvery moonlight. A female figure descends from
|
||||
the sky, wearing a long flowing dress. She settles on the grass in front
|
||||
of the PCs. It is Selune. She says:
|
||||
|
||||
> Tymora is one of my best friends, and she is as trustworthy and kind
|
||||
> as a goddess can be. But she is making a mistake. I encourage you to
|
||||
> work with her, but just be aware: there will come a point in time when
|
||||
> you have to tell her to stop what she’s doing.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Here is what I ask of you: keep your eyes open. Use your brains. If
|
||||
> you see her do something that you think is going to cause harm, you
|
||||
> must speak up. Tell her, or tell her priestesses. Do not be overawed
|
||||
> by her divine presence. You speaking up at an appropriate moment may
|
||||
> be all that stands between her and disaster.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can then talk to Selune. They will probably ask “What *kind* of
|
||||
mistake is she making? What do you know about this situation? Give us
|
||||
details.” Selune responds:
|
||||
|
||||
> A long, long time ago, I made a promise to keep a secret. I am bound
|
||||
> by that promise: I could not break it if I wanted to. Because of that
|
||||
> promise, I cannot give you any more details than I already have. I am
|
||||
> relying on you to figure out what it is that I cannot say. I have seen
|
||||
> you in the museum: you are clever, and you are good at figuring things
|
||||
> out. I trust that you will discover what you need to before it is too
|
||||
> late.
|
||||
|
||||
So here’s the backstory that you can’t tell to your players: when the
|
||||
universe was young, Omta planted the seeds of randomness, knowing full
|
||||
well that the creator of the universe would *not* be happy about what
|
||||
Omta had done. After planting that seed, Omta fled and hid, hoping that
|
||||
nobody saw what he did. However, somebody *did* see: Selune. Selune
|
||||
tracked Omta back to his hiding place, and asked: “what did you do, and
|
||||
why?” After hearing Omta’s explanation, Selune decided it was for the
|
||||
best: the universe really *would* be better with some randomness. She
|
||||
promised to Omta that she would not reveal what he had done. She
|
||||
promised that she would let his existence and his hiding place remain a
|
||||
secret. Selune has kept his secret for millenia.
|
||||
|
||||
So now, Omta is still in hiding, and now Tymora is trying to track down
|
||||
Omta to his hiding place, in order to challenge him for the portfolio of
|
||||
Luck. Selune thinks this is a mistake: she thinks there is no real
|
||||
conflict between Omta and Tymora, and she thinks a war between them
|
||||
would be a disaster. She approached Tymora and advised Tymora to leave
|
||||
the Deck alone. However, because of her promise to Omta, she couldn’t
|
||||
give any further explanation to Tymora. Tymora trusts Selune, but she’s
|
||||
not willing to simply do what Selune tells her to do with no
|
||||
explanation. Tymora, exasperated at Selune’s unwillingness to explain
|
||||
her reasoning, told Selune that she will persist until somebody gives
|
||||
her a clear, logical reason why she shouldn’t.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs speak to Selune, let her be soft-spoken and very warm. She
|
||||
doesn’t stick around long. She gives her warning, answers a question or
|
||||
two, then says goodbye. The scene shifts back to the museum.
|
||||
|
||||
#### Beshaba
|
||||
|
||||
Beshaba’s visitation comes immediately after Selune’s, and it
|
||||
deliberately mocks Selune’s visitation. Once again, the scene shifts,
|
||||
and the players are in “the same” field, surrounded by “the same”
|
||||
rolling hills. But this time, the ground they’re sitting on is sharp
|
||||
obsidian shards, and the sky is filled with roiling black clouds, with
|
||||
shafts of red light breaking through. This is what Beshaba’s home plane
|
||||
in the Abyss looks like. Again, a female figure descends from the sky,
|
||||
wearing the same long flowing dress. Beshaba sits on the ground in the
|
||||
same pose as Selune. She says,
|
||||
|
||||
> “Am I not more beautiful than Selune?”
|
||||
|
||||
Let the PCs hem and haw awkwardly for a minute, then have Beshaba give
|
||||
her speech:
|
||||
|
||||
> Tymora is my sister, and as arrogant as a goddess can be. I am here to
|
||||
> tell you that she is making a mistake. She is trying to find the god
|
||||
> who made the deck, so that she can challenge him for the portfolio of
|
||||
> luck. This will inevitably lead to war between gods.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> When two gods war, usually, both gods survive. But that’s not true for
|
||||
> the mortals involved. Very likely, thousands of priests and innocents
|
||||
> will die in a war between gods. And if one of the gods does die, that
|
||||
> will cause untold upheavals in the multiverse, with thousands more
|
||||
> innocents dying.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Of course, I’m not really being altruistic here. I just don’t want to
|
||||
> get dragged into a war between gods. I figure if this other god
|
||||
> attacks Tymora, he’s going to attack me too. I don’t know how powerful
|
||||
> this other god is, or what he can do to me. That’s not a risk I want
|
||||
> to take. I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> So here’s what I want from you: pretend to work for Tymora. But when
|
||||
> the time comes for her to actually obtain the deck, I want you to
|
||||
> undermine her. For example, if she asks you to negotiate for the deck,
|
||||
> negotiate badly. If she looks like she’s going to take the deck by
|
||||
> force, talk her out of it. Do what you have to do to stop her.
|
||||
|
||||
This is 100% lies.
|
||||
|
||||
Beshaba’s rationale, “preventing war,” is obviously out-of-character.
|
||||
Beshaba would *love it* if some other god were to fight Tymora. She
|
||||
would *love it* if thousands of innocents were to die in a war between
|
||||
gods. She would *relish* all that. She’s also not really afraid of being
|
||||
attacked by this other god.
|
||||
|
||||
The reason for the lying is that Beshaba has a plan. Gods are most
|
||||
powerful in their own realm. Beshaba intends to use the Deck to lure
|
||||
Tymora into her realm, where Beshaba is at her most powerful, and where
|
||||
Tymora is at her least powerful, so that Beshaba can kill Tymora. To do
|
||||
that, she needs to make sure that Tymora doesn’t get the deck first.
|
||||
That’s Beshaba’s goal: get the Deck before Tymora does, so she can use
|
||||
it as bait. All those reasonable-sounding explanations are just lies
|
||||
designed to sell the PCs on the whole endeavor.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs may ask, “If you want to stop us from getting the Deck, why not
|
||||
just give us tons of bad luck?” Beshaba responds matter-of-factly:
|
||||
|
||||
> Certainly, I could throw annoying obstacles in your way. I could also
|
||||
> just kill you. But that wouldn’t stop Tymora. She would just find
|
||||
> other people to carry out her mission. You’re much more valuable to me
|
||||
> alive: you have Tymora’s ear, and you can convince her of things.
|
||||
|
||||
Again, Beshaba only answers questions for a minute, and then she ends
|
||||
the visitation.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Arrival of Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
After the two visitations, the PCs have to wait the night. In the middle
|
||||
of the night, they’re awakened by the caretakers Keira and Qurak, who
|
||||
say, “Castle Green is arriving. Want to come see it?” If the PCs ask
|
||||
“How do you know it’s coming,” they say, “the guidebook alerted us!” The
|
||||
guidebook used to say:
|
||||
|
||||
Exhibit will be located inside Castle Green. The arrival of Castle Green
|
||||
has been delayed.
|
||||
|
||||
But now it says:
|
||||
|
||||
Exhibit will be located inside Castle Green. Castle Green will be
|
||||
arriving soon.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs may be hesitant to visit their own exhibit, for fear of getting
|
||||
trapped in their exhibit. Obviously, the PCs do not want to spend
|
||||
eternity in a diorama. So Keira and Qurak might have to convince the
|
||||
PCs. They make the following arguments:
|
||||
|
||||
- We can’t actually imprison you in your diorama. We have no power to
|
||||
> do that. That’s why Diometron wanders the museum.
|
||||
|
||||
- You don’t actually have to go inside. You can stand on the next
|
||||
> island over, and just look. You could send in Diometron to
|
||||
> investigate for you, if you want.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs aren’t interested even after Keira encourages them, don’t
|
||||
force them. It’s not essential.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs do travel to the appropriate location, they find a clearing
|
||||
in the cavern where the new floating island is going to be. The clearing
|
||||
is filled with thin white mist. Keira explains that’s what it looks like
|
||||
when an exhibit is arriving.
|
||||
|
||||
After staring at the appropriate spot for 15 minutes or so, the top half
|
||||
of Castle Green appears, including everything from about waist level on
|
||||
up. The top half of the castle has been sliced off of the bottom half,
|
||||
and the bottom half was left behind. The main tower is completely
|
||||
unattached to anything. The chunks of Castle Green sink a few feet, then
|
||||
start bobbing in space: this is now the first “floating island” without
|
||||
any island. The pieces of Castle Green are hovering in space, levitated
|
||||
by the same force that keeps the floating islands floating. There are no
|
||||
people in the debris.
|
||||
|
||||
When Keira sees this happen, she just sighs and says, “Great. Well,
|
||||
that’s a shitshow.” Qurak says, “Screw this, I’m getting lunch.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the players check, there’s very little in the wreckage. There is
|
||||
nobody in there. Everything of value has been taken. The big room where
|
||||
the PCs drew cards from the deck is there, hovering at a crooked angle,
|
||||
with the desk flopped over on its side, and the desk accessories
|
||||
scattered around the room. The Deck is not present.
|
||||
|
||||
This event is here purely to make the players wonder what the heck is
|
||||
going on at Castle Green.
|
||||
|
||||
If the players look at the guidebook under “The Deck of Many Things,”
|
||||
the text now says: “Exhibit is Out of Order.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Final Departure
|
||||
|
||||
Joycie and Lada return to the museum, via the teleportation circle. They
|
||||
ask the PCs why the plane shift failed. Eventually, the group will ask
|
||||
Keira and Qurak about it. Keira explains: “You’re part of an exhibit.
|
||||
You’re the property of the museum. You can’t take any part of an exhibit
|
||||
out of the museum, even with *plane shift*. It’s just impossible.”
|
||||
|
||||
But then Qurak, who has been mostly silent for the entire time the PCs
|
||||
have been in the museum, steps forward. He says, “It’s not entirely
|
||||
impossible. We can grant permission.” He explains the following bullet
|
||||
points:
|
||||
|
||||
- Qurak has the power to set the PCs free, by saying some “magic
|
||||
> words.”
|
||||
|
||||
- However, Keira and Qurak are compelled, by geas, to do what’s in the
|
||||
> best interests of the museum. Orethys would not approve of giving
|
||||
> away an exhibit, no matter how bad the exhibit. Orethys *never*
|
||||
> gave anything away. So the geas prevents Qurak from releasing the
|
||||
> PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
- Qurak has an idea for a workaround: he could trade the PCs exhibit
|
||||
> for a better exhibit. That would be in the best interests of the
|
||||
> museum, and therefore, would be allowed under the geas.
|
||||
|
||||
- The actual procedure would be this: Qurak sets the PCs free, and the
|
||||
> PCs agree to capture a new, better exhibit within a month or so,
|
||||
> using the capture device.
|
||||
|
||||
- There’s a catch: if the PCs fail to follow through and capture an
|
||||
> exhibit, the geas punishes Qurak by torturing him. Actually, geas
|
||||
> will eventually kill him, but since he’s in the museum, he can’t
|
||||
> die, so it will just keep torturing him forever.
|
||||
|
||||
- Qurak is willing to accept this risk, in exchange for a promise: the
|
||||
> PCs will try to dismantle the museum, and set Qurak and Keira
|
||||
> free. Qurak will take this risk because he is desperate for
|
||||
> freedom.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs object on the grounds that they can’t morally put another
|
||||
person in the museum, Qurak makes these arguments:
|
||||
|
||||
- You could capture somebody who’s a danger to others, somebody who
|
||||
> genuinely deserves to be in a prison.
|
||||
|
||||
- It doesn’t necessarily have to be an exhibit with a person in it. It
|
||||
> could just be an interesting place or object.
|
||||
|
||||
- If you’re serious about dismantling the museum, putting somebody
|
||||
> into the museum is just a temporary situation.
|
||||
|
||||
If the players agree, and accept the capture device, Qurak gives them a
|
||||
tutorial on using the capture device. Then, he says the magic
|
||||
incantation: “By the will of Orethys, you are free to go.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Now the PCs can leave the museum, using *plane shift*. They cannot bring
|
||||
any exhibit NPCs (including Diometron) with them, because other NPCs
|
||||
have not been granted permission to leave the museum. When the PCs are
|
||||
ready, Joycie plane shifts, and the PCs materialize in the market square
|
||||
of St. Parnas, with Joycie and Lada.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,103 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Bonus Exhibits
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
This section is here if you just need a few more random exhibits.
|
||||
|
||||
### Exhibit: The Organ Player
|
||||
|
||||
From the Guidebook:
|
||||
|
||||
Fff-huss is the most spectacular organ player I’ve ever listened to.
|
||||
|
||||
He has about 40 tentacles, they all move independently - and they’re
|
||||
fast! A normal pipe organ will malfunction if you try to press more than
|
||||
about 15 keys at the same time - there just isn’t enough airflow to
|
||||
power that many pipes. So they built a custom set of 4 independent
|
||||
bellows in order to make it possible for Fff-Huss to play his music.
|
||||
|
||||
It really is something to hear. Mind you, that’s not to say that it’s
|
||||
*good*. But it is impressive.
|
||||
|
||||
The venue is a wealthy playhouse with a pipe organ. Most days, it’s used
|
||||
for normal theatrical productions. But on Thursday, the day when the
|
||||
playhouse was captured into the museum, Fff-Huss gets to play his music.
|
||||
On this particular day, he had no audience at all - the locals know
|
||||
about Fff-huss, and they are not interested in paying for cacophony.
|
||||
Fff-huss, by the way, is a flumph.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs enter the exhibit, Fff-huss is napping in a round bed. When
|
||||
he hears the PCs enter, he drifts over to them and points at them. Then
|
||||
he points at chairs. He wants them to sit down.
|
||||
|
||||
By the way, Fff-huss cannot speak any verbal language, since he has no
|
||||
mouth. He also seems to be unable to understand spoken speech, though he
|
||||
can understand telepathic speech if one of the party members can do
|
||||
that. Usually, he communicates by pointing and gesturing.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs sit down, Fff-huss starts his pipe organ music. It is very,
|
||||
very fast, he plays “chords” of 30 or 40 notes at a time, and it seems
|
||||
to be mostly arhythmic. It has some patterns but they’re hard to make
|
||||
sense of. It sounds vaguely like music, for some definition of “music.”
|
||||
It is mostly not enjoyable, though it can be intellectually interesting
|
||||
to try to figure out what he’s trying to accomplish.
|
||||
|
||||
After the show is over, Fff-huss will go get a bowl which contains a few
|
||||
silver coins. He will show the bowl to the PCs, one at a time, and he
|
||||
will hold up three tentacles. He wants three silver coins per person. If
|
||||
the PCs pay, Fff-huss is satisfied and he goes to take a nap. If the PCs
|
||||
leave without paying, Fff-huss turns red and hisses, but he doesn’t do
|
||||
anything else.
|
||||
|
||||
### Exhibit: The Mud Sauna
|
||||
|
||||
From the Guidebook:
|
||||
|
||||
This is the best mud-bath you’ve ever had. I *highly* recommend it. So
|
||||
relaxing.
|
||||
|
||||
Your aching muscles will thank you.
|
||||
|
||||
The exhibit is a cave in the side of a rocky slope. The rocks are black
|
||||
pumice, suggesting that this slope is volcanic. The cave is about 20
|
||||
feet wide and 30 feet deep, beyond which point it narrows to just a
|
||||
crack. A steady trickle of muddy water is flowing from the crack, it
|
||||
flows through the mud, out of the cave, and it forms a small stream that
|
||||
runs to the edge of the exhibit and vanishes. The water is very warm,
|
||||
like a hot tub - a natural hot spring. The inside of the cave is
|
||||
entirely coated in squishy, warm mud.
|
||||
|
||||
Soaking in the mud are two mud monsters. No, wait, they’re not
|
||||
mud-monsters: they’re just people who are covered head to toe in mud.
|
||||
One is Bartleby, a human, the other, Imbrex, is a half-celestial. They
|
||||
are both here to enjoy the mud bath. Feel free to give them any
|
||||
personalities you wish.
|
||||
|
||||
There is one other inhabitant in the cave: a mud elemental. He is not
|
||||
initially visible, as he is down in the mud pit. The elemental has been
|
||||
trapped in this cave for some time, and he longs for the company of
|
||||
other mud elementals. But there are no other mud elementals here. He is
|
||||
lonely.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs don’t get in the mud, the mud elemental will emerge. He will
|
||||
try to cover the PCs in mud, in order to make them look like mud
|
||||
elementals. This makes the mud elemental feel a little less lonely. The
|
||||
PCs will probably recoil, but Bartleby and Imbrex will say, “don’t
|
||||
worry, he’s harmless.” If the PCs still don’t let themselves be covered
|
||||
in mud, the elemental will sadly slink back into the mud pit. If they do
|
||||
allow it, the elemental will cuddle up to them. He is warm to the touch.
|
||||
After a while, the elemental will try to lead the PCs into the mud pit.
|
||||
|
||||
The mud pit is extremely warm, soft, and relaxing. The elemental will
|
||||
massage your muscles, because he wants you to stay and he knows that
|
||||
people like being massaged. He has become quite good at it.
|
||||
|
||||
Staying in the mud for 30 minutes is equivalent to a long rest. However,
|
||||
since you’re not actually asleep, you don’t have any dreams. If the PCs
|
||||
have gotten injured - say, by falling off a rope - tell them that all
|
||||
the bruising is gone.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs decide it is time to leave, it is possible to rinse most of
|
||||
the mud off in the small stream outside the cave. If the PCs do this,
|
||||
the mud elemental will poke his head out of the mud and watch for a
|
||||
short while, and will then slink back into the mud.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# The Castle with the Steel Door
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,77 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Chapter Summary
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Omta is extremely conflicted about the PCs. On one hand, they are
|
||||
deck-touched, which means they have a certain bond with Omta. On the
|
||||
other hand, the PCs have agreed to work with Tymora, and Omta is
|
||||
terrified of Tymora. So in this chapter, Omta erects barriers that
|
||||
prevent the PCs from getting too close to the Deck, but he also makes
|
||||
overtures to communicate with the PCs. He will lower the barriers when
|
||||
he is confident that the PCs understand his point of view. This chapter
|
||||
is all about building trust.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs arrive back at the remains of Castle Green, all that
|
||||
remains is the basement. Omta has created two lines of defense: first,
|
||||
he has turned the basement into a complicated labyrinth where movement
|
||||
is only feasible with Omta’s permission. Second, he has walled off the
|
||||
Deck behind an impenetrable steel door.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs enter the labyrinth, they find it confusing and impossible
|
||||
to get anywhere. But they also feel a presence in the back of their
|
||||
minds, trying to communicate with them. This is Omta’s first attempt at
|
||||
communication, using the telepathic bond they share. At this stage, all
|
||||
the PCs have to do is make an effort, trying to talk to Omta. It doesn’t
|
||||
matter *how* they try to communicate, or how successful they are, as
|
||||
long as they make an effort. Once the PCs show that they care about
|
||||
establishing contact, Omta will start helping the PCs to navigate the
|
||||
labyrinth: he will take them where they want to go, if they just say
|
||||
where they want to go.
|
||||
|
||||
Once the PCs can navigate the labyrinth, they will start finding Green’s
|
||||
employees scattered about the labyrinth. An important side quest is
|
||||
helping Green’s employees get out of the labyrinth, one by one. It can
|
||||
be quite gratifying to get everybody out safe and sound - with the sole
|
||||
exception of Green and his bodyguards, who are trapped behind the steel
|
||||
door.
|
||||
|
||||
Eventually, the PCs will reach the steel door. By this time, Omta will
|
||||
be dissatisfied with his efforts at communication so far. The telepathic
|
||||
bond is allowing him to send vague impressions and emotions, but it’s
|
||||
bad at sending detailed information. So Omta comes up with Plan B: if
|
||||
telepathic communication isn’t working, then we can try writing! He
|
||||
conjures six parchment scrolls, and drops them at the PCs feet. Then, he
|
||||
adds six pigeonholes to the door. After the PCs decipher a scroll, they
|
||||
can put the deciphered scroll into a pigeonhole. When all six scrolls
|
||||
are deciphered, the door will open.
|
||||
|
||||
The scrolls contain a strange form of writing: each scroll contains
|
||||
several cards from the deck, arranged in little groups. The Deck is
|
||||
using cards as a form of symbolism. Each card has a symbolic meaning.
|
||||
The PCs have collectively drawn many cards. They automatically know the
|
||||
symbolic meanings of any cards that they have drawn. But there are also
|
||||
many cards on the scrolls that the PCs *didn’t* draw, and they may have
|
||||
no idea what *those* cards mean.
|
||||
|
||||
To learn the symbolic meanings of *those* cards, the PCs will have to
|
||||
talk to NPCs who drew those particular cards. This becomes the main
|
||||
quest of this chapter: tracking down NPCs who drew particular cards.
|
||||
Unfortunately, talking to those NPCs is not always easy. For example,
|
||||
one of these NPCs has been transformed into a rampaging beast. Another
|
||||
has been put into a coma. Figuring out how to get useful information
|
||||
from NPCs who have been drastically warped by the deck can be a
|
||||
difficult challenge.
|
||||
|
||||
Talking to those NPCs, the PCs will discover that many of them are in
|
||||
crisis. The Deck has turned their lives upside down, for good or for
|
||||
bad. Many of them need help. The PCs have the opportunity here to build
|
||||
relationships that will end up paying off in later chapters, when these
|
||||
NPCs may become powerful allies with deck-granted powers.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs finally know the symbolic meanings of all the cards, they
|
||||
will be able to decipher all the scrolls. This allows them to open the
|
||||
door, which leads to Omta’s hiding place. The PCs can then have a true
|
||||
conversation with Omta for the first time. When the conversation is
|
||||
over, the PCs are returned to Castle Green. There is no longer a steel
|
||||
barrier preventing access to Green and the Deck. The PCs can go talk to
|
||||
Green, and can negotiate to buy the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,122 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## The Market Square of St Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs manage to leave the Museum of Orethys, with Joycie’s help. The
|
||||
entire group plane shifts back to the outlands. They arrive in the
|
||||
market square in the center of St. Parnas. The market square is full of
|
||||
shops and stalls with various vendors. You can buy most anything in the
|
||||
market square, or near it.
|
||||
|
||||
### Damage from the Chaos Storm
|
||||
|
||||
The first things the PCs notice when they reach the market square is
|
||||
that there is merchandise scattered all over the ground, and merchants
|
||||
are busy picking up the mess. The merchants will explain that items were
|
||||
teleporting around. The merchants have given the phenomenon a name:
|
||||
they’re calling it a “chaos storm.” The epicenter of the chaos storm
|
||||
was, of course, Castle Green.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will not learn the cause of the storm for some time. However,
|
||||
the DM should know the secret. When Tymora observed a spiritual link
|
||||
between the PCs and the other deck-touched individuals, she speculated
|
||||
that a link might also exist to the creator of the deck. She was not
|
||||
wrong: Omta knows that the PCs can in fact lead Tymora to Omta. When the
|
||||
PCs agreed to help Tymora with this, Omta had a panic attack.
|
||||
|
||||
His panic manifested as objects teleporting around randomly. The biggest
|
||||
object that got teleported was the top half of Castle Green, it got
|
||||
teleported all the way into the Museum of Orethys. If this seems like an
|
||||
odd coincidence, it is… but Gods and Fate are like that.
|
||||
|
||||
Lots of medium-sized objects also teleported, chunks of masonry, wagons,
|
||||
you name it. Most of these items moved 20 to 30 feet in a random
|
||||
direction. Some of these movements caused real harm: when a wagon
|
||||
teleports 20 feet in the air, it can really hurt somebody when it comes
|
||||
crashing down. When a structural support beam of a building teleports
|
||||
somewhere else, it’s not good for the building. There are many injured
|
||||
people.
|
||||
|
||||
The damage is most severe at Castle Green itself. But the parts of town
|
||||
that are close to Castle Green also got hit. Places that are farther
|
||||
away mostly avoided any serious damage, but they did experience a lot of
|
||||
small-object movement: wine bottles, notebooks, and the like got
|
||||
scattered. There is quite a mess. In the market square, which is far
|
||||
enough from Castle Green, there is minimal real damage.
|
||||
|
||||
Much of what happens in this chapter will be dealing with the damage and
|
||||
aftermath of the chaos storm.
|
||||
|
||||
### Joycie Says Goodbye, Lada Stays
|
||||
|
||||
Shortly after arriving at the market square, Joycie says that she was
|
||||
glad to have met the PCs, but she now needs to go back to her job at the
|
||||
temple in Brightwater. She’s very high-level, which means her time is in
|
||||
very high demand. The temple was only able to spare her for a short
|
||||
time.
|
||||
|
||||
Lada explains that she would like to stay with the party, if they’ll
|
||||
allow it. Tymora wants her to study the deck, and they both agree that
|
||||
sticking with the PCs is the best way to do it.
|
||||
|
||||
Assuming the PCs allow Lada into the group, let the players take turns
|
||||
running Lada’s character. Lada will never fight, but she will do support
|
||||
activities like casting *cure* and *bless* spells. Be strict about that:
|
||||
the players cannot put Lada on the front line: she is scared of combat,
|
||||
and she will panic if she is targeted. Lada is always one level beneath
|
||||
the PCs. The reason she’s so low-level is that she doesn’t aspire to be
|
||||
a combatant: she’s a scientist, she spends her days in the lab, not on
|
||||
the road.
|
||||
|
||||
### Magic Items in the Market Square
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will notice that there are several merchants selling magic
|
||||
items. That is not typical of St. Parnas, this is only a medium-sized
|
||||
town. On a normal day, there would be no more than a handful of magic
|
||||
items for sale in the entire city (not counting potions, which are
|
||||
fairly common). But today, there are multiple merchants displaying quite
|
||||
a few items. Naturally, that’s because the deck has been conjuring lots
|
||||
of items, and many of them get put up for sale. The merchants try
|
||||
selling them in St. Parnas first, and then if they don’t sell in St.
|
||||
Parnas, they ship them to Tradegate where there’s a broader clientele.
|
||||
|
||||
If any PC didn’t receive anything of material value from the Deck, then
|
||||
Green owes them 5000 gp. When the PCs were cast into the *donjon*, Green
|
||||
assumed they would never be heard from again, so he gave the money to
|
||||
the PC’s family or friends. When the players created characters, they
|
||||
were instructed to invent at least one friend. If the PC talks to their
|
||||
friend, the friend will have the money (unless the friend has issues.)
|
||||
So again, they will have enough money to buy one serious magic item.
|
||||
|
||||
So none of the PCs will feel left out - everyone will have about enough
|
||||
money for one serious magic item, unless they already received a magic
|
||||
item directly from the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs created characters, they were expected to have a reason to
|
||||
draw cards from the deck. Some of the players may have given their
|
||||
characters backstories that they needed to pay a debt, or to rescue a
|
||||
family member. In that case, a PC may have used up their money. This may
|
||||
make the player feel left out. Try to avoid that situation. For example,
|
||||
if the PC used their money to rescue a family member, perhaps the family
|
||||
member in their gratitude raised money to pay the PC back. Try to find
|
||||
an excuse to make sure that every player still has the money they won
|
||||
from the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Ogre in the Market Square
|
||||
|
||||
In the corner of the market square is huge Ogre, just standing there
|
||||
holding a mandolin. His name is Pig, and he is deck-touched: the PCs can
|
||||
see cards over his head. A detailed description of Pig is given in the
|
||||
upcoming section, “Pig: The Ogre King.” The Deck gave Pig the ability to
|
||||
play the mandolin - just before the chaos storm, Pig was playing music
|
||||
for a small crowd. When the chaos storm hit, Pig stopped playing and the
|
||||
crowd scattered. Pig is now just standing there looking perplexed. Pig
|
||||
has an INT of 6, so when he’s perplexed, he stays perplexed for quite a
|
||||
while.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs approach Pig, then Pig is not that hard to have a
|
||||
conversation with. Refer to Pig’s character bio to know how to play Pig.
|
||||
At this time, Pig is not willing to leave the market square. Pig will
|
||||
tell the PCs anything they want to know, but remember that Pig has an
|
||||
INT of 6, so he can’t tell them anything that isn’t straightforward and
|
||||
obvious.
|
||||
|
||||
File diff suppressed because it is too large
Load Diff
@@ -1,599 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Life in St Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
This chapter will take place in two primary locales: inside Castle
|
||||
Green, and in and around St. Parnas.
|
||||
|
||||
This section lists some of the interesting things you’ll find in St.
|
||||
Parnas.
|
||||
|
||||
### A Summary of St Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
Saint Parnas is a small town in the Outlands. It sits about a day’s
|
||||
journey spireward of Tradegate. It is a law-abiding, good-aligned town.
|
||||
Given its proximity to Tradegate (and therefore Bytopia), the
|
||||
predominant moral code in town is that a good person is a person who
|
||||
works hard, is diligent, and who contributes to his community. People
|
||||
look out for each other, and people have a strong sense of civic virtue.
|
||||
|
||||
St Parnas has a definite small-town feel. The kinds of amenities you
|
||||
find in big cities aren’t available here. If you want to hire a
|
||||
high-level wizard or cleric, you’re out of luck. There are a number of
|
||||
one-room churches and temples to various good-aligned gods, but there
|
||||
aren’t any big, showy temples. Much of the employment is small-town
|
||||
employment: mainly farmwork and small craft workshops. Most of the
|
||||
people of St Parnas prefer the quiet small town lifestyle, and are glad
|
||||
that they aren’t in a big city.
|
||||
|
||||
Overt evil is not tolerated here. You will not find any temples to evil
|
||||
gods. Of course, people are people, and everyone is flawed, even in a
|
||||
good place like this. You will certainly find people who are selfish, or
|
||||
greedy, or lazy. You might even find a few truly dark individuals hiding
|
||||
in the shadows. But for the most part, this genuinely is a town full of
|
||||
decent, reasonable people.
|
||||
|
||||
It’s the kind of town where if the PCs are not overtly destructive,
|
||||
they’ll get along just fine.
|
||||
|
||||
### Where to Sleep in St. Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
The first thing the PCs will probably look for in town is someplace to
|
||||
sleep. They can find lodging at an inn called “The Unnamed Inn.” Lodging
|
||||
for a party of 4 is 2 gp per night, it includes two rooms and meals for
|
||||
everyone.
|
||||
|
||||
The unnamed inn has a common room where people can relax, eat food
|
||||
prepared by the innkeeper, and occasionally, listen to music. It is not
|
||||
really a “tavern.” Yes, you can get a drink, but service is mainly
|
||||
intended for people staying at the inn. There are eight bedrooms
|
||||
upstairs. When the PCs arrive, there are a handful of randos staying at
|
||||
the inn (feel free to invent some).
|
||||
|
||||
There is one other inn in town: the Named Inn, in the nicer part of
|
||||
town. Depending on how scruffy the party looks, they may not be welcome.
|
||||
|
||||
Another option is that there are some unoccupied grassy fields on the
|
||||
outskirts of town. If they want to, the PCs can set up tents, and nobody
|
||||
will bother them.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Legend of St Parnas
|
||||
|
||||
If anyone asks where the name “Saint Parnas” comes from, any local can
|
||||
tell them this story.
|
||||
|
||||
About 200 years ago, a party of settlers came from the Tradegate area,
|
||||
looking for someplace to build farmsteads. They found a lovely clearing
|
||||
where the town of St Parnas now sits, and they started to build.
|
||||
Unfortunately, the entire area was inhabited by a clan of druids who
|
||||
viewed the area as theirs. The druids despised the fact that the
|
||||
settlers were cutting down trees, tearing up nature, and domesticating
|
||||
the area.
|
||||
|
||||
Gradually, tensions between the settlers and the druids escalated, and
|
||||
it seemed like battle might be inevitable. Into this fray came a man
|
||||
named Zell Parnas, a man with a silver tongue and a decent heart.
|
||||
Somehow, Parnas managed to negotiate an agreement between the settlers
|
||||
and the druids.
|
||||
|
||||
The step that finally got the druids to back down was choosing a modest
|
||||
radius beyond which the city would never expand. The settlers would be
|
||||
allowed to do as they pleased inside the boundary, but they would leave
|
||||
nature untrammeled outside the circle. The boundary would be marked by
|
||||
an orchard that completely encircles the town. This is a huge orchard,
|
||||
and building it would be expensive, Mr. Parnas financed the planting out
|
||||
of his own pocket. The druids and the townsfolk are both allowed to pick
|
||||
fruits from the orchard.
|
||||
|
||||
Because of the boundary, the village never grew beyond “small town”
|
||||
status. About a hundred years after his death, Zell Parnas was declared
|
||||
a saint, and the town was renamed after him.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Mayor, Elar Mossbrow
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs start to gain some notoriety in town, the mayor may
|
||||
introduce himself. You should not introduce the mayor until the PCs have
|
||||
been in town a while.
|
||||
|
||||
The Mayor is a firbolg named Elar Mossbrow. It is unusual for a town
|
||||
mostly populated by medium-sized people to have a giantish mayor, but
|
||||
Elar is highly worthy of respect, and when he ran for election, he won
|
||||
easily.
|
||||
|
||||
Most firbolg think that money is evil, so it is strange for a firbolg to
|
||||
be mayor of a human town. Humans use money for everything. The reason
|
||||
for this is that Elar Mossbrow is a bit of a free-thinker among firbolg,
|
||||
he eventually concluded that commerce is not a force for evil, he
|
||||
concluded that commerce binds people together. He uses the expression,
|
||||
“the bridge to the next village is the merchant’s cart.” Because this
|
||||
view is in conflict with normal firbolg culture, Mossbrow decided to
|
||||
move close to tradegate, where the view that commerce is an affirmative
|
||||
good is the norm.
|
||||
|
||||
The town has a manor for the mayor, which contains a residential quarter
|
||||
and also offices. Mayor Mossbrow doesn’t fit inside the manor. He can
|
||||
squeeze through the doorways and, crouching, shuffle down the hallways
|
||||
if he has to, but it’s very awkward. The only time he goes inside is
|
||||
when he needs to get some papers from the filing cabinets. Instead, he
|
||||
built a pagoda in the back yard of the manor, which is where he lives
|
||||
now. It is open air, but has a roof. He jokes: “I’m the mayor, and I
|
||||
don’t fit in the mayor’s office. Heavy is the head that wears the
|
||||
crown!”
|
||||
|
||||
Mayor Mossbrow is not happy with Green. He says, “St Parnas used to be a
|
||||
quiet little town, and I liked it that way. Now we’ve got randos from
|
||||
all over the multiverse overrunning the place. And now a chaos storm! I
|
||||
wish this was all over.” After the chaos storm, the Mayor decided it was
|
||||
time to kick Green out of town. However, Green is trapped in the
|
||||
basement of the castle, so the Mayor hasn’t been able to tell him yet.
|
||||
|
||||
At some point, the PCs may help the town guards contain a threat. If so,
|
||||
Mayor Mossbrow becomes their friend. He will help them with town records
|
||||
and other things like that.
|
||||
|
||||
Sometimes, Mayor Mossbrow likes to clear his mind by going out to the
|
||||
orchard and doing maintenance work. He says it’s a good way to get back
|
||||
to the basics.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Orchard
|
||||
|
||||
The town is surrounded by an orchard. The orchard contains every
|
||||
imaginable type of fruit or nut. Many of the trees are picked over (the
|
||||
townsfolk and the druids use them regularly), but there’s still a bit of
|
||||
ripe fruit for the taking. Anyone is allowed to pick fruit, which is why
|
||||
the orchard is usually pretty picked over.
|
||||
|
||||
Asatya is a woman who drew the “void” card from the deck. As a result,
|
||||
her spirit was banished from her body. Her spirit now wanders the
|
||||
orchard. At some point, the PCs will have a deck dream about Asatya, and
|
||||
they will see her standing among apple trees. That is a dead giveaway
|
||||
that she’s in the orchard.
|
||||
|
||||
To find Asatya, the PCs should search the orchard for apple trees. That
|
||||
narrows it down: only a small percentage of the orchard is dedicated to
|
||||
apples. From there, it’s just a questions of brute-force search. If you
|
||||
look hard enough, you will find three cards hovering over an invisible
|
||||
person.
|
||||
|
||||
More information about Asatya can be found in the preceding section,
|
||||
“Asatya: The Sleepwalker.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Old Watchtowers
|
||||
|
||||
The easiest way to learn about the watchtowers is to ask one of the
|
||||
locals about the deck dream with Rackle. “A small round tower” is pretty
|
||||
much all it takes to get the locals to mention the watchtowers.
|
||||
Alternately, if you’re exploring the orchard, you’ll stumble on a
|
||||
watchtower.
|
||||
|
||||
Just inside the orchard are five old watchtowers, evenly spaced around
|
||||
the town. Each one is a cylinder of stone about 10 feet in diameter.
|
||||
Inside the cylinder is a spiral staircase that goes up the entire tower.
|
||||
The staircase has four landings: the ground floor, the lower landing,
|
||||
the upper landing, and the roof. The interior landings are only there
|
||||
for safety. The point of the staircase is to get to the roof, which is
|
||||
where a watchman would stand and survey the countryside.
|
||||
|
||||
The towers were built about 90 years ago by an overzealous mayor who
|
||||
thought this was necessary for some reason. They were abandoned 60 years
|
||||
ago, when that mayor retired, because everyone realized there was
|
||||
nothing to watch for. Without maintenance, the stone outer structure is
|
||||
still in good condition, but the wooden parts are starting to rot.
|
||||
|
||||
The towers are often used by homeless people and drifters as temporary
|
||||
shelter. Many of them contain graffiti, and junk discarded by drifters.
|
||||
Here are the specific contents of the towers. Note that “tower 1” is not
|
||||
in any particular location. It’s just whichever tower the PCs explore
|
||||
first.
|
||||
|
||||
Tower 1: *Religious Icon.* The roof has an abandoned campsite - the cold
|
||||
remains of a burnt-out fire and a pile of garbage. If the PCs are
|
||||
searching for Rackle, then the campsite contains a crudely carved wooden
|
||||
statue of Ilmater. Ilmater instructed one of his worshippers to carve it
|
||||
and leave it here. It is intended as a simple message, meaning
|
||||
basically, “I am Ilmater, don’t forget I exist.” Rackle will need
|
||||
Ilmater’s help.
|
||||
|
||||
Tower 2: *Bats*. On the upper landing is a swarm of aggressive bats.
|
||||
They remain motionless until a PC pokes his head into the upper landing,
|
||||
then they attack.
|
||||
|
||||
> Swarm Combat
|
||||
|
||||
- Initial swarm size: 100 bats
|
||||
|
||||
- Every round, every PC must roll two saves:
|
||||
|
||||
- DEX save DC 13 → on fail, take 10% of bats remaining as damage
|
||||
|
||||
- CON save DC 13 → on fail, take 10% of bats remaining as damage
|
||||
|
||||
- AOE spells kill ⅓ as many bats as damage dealt, e.g., 30 damage → 10
|
||||
> bats dead
|
||||
|
||||
- Single-target melee attacks kill 1–2 bats max (unless very clever)
|
||||
|
||||
- AOE spells kill multiple bats. Typically, about ⅓ as many bats as
|
||||
> damage dealt, eg, 30 damage means 10 bats dead. However, you must
|
||||
> make a judgement call for each spell: would this particular spell
|
||||
> be more or less effective? That is up to you as a DM.
|
||||
|
||||
- When swarm is reduced to 30 bats, it disperses.
|
||||
|
||||
> Bat Movement Rules:
|
||||
|
||||
- Bats move as a single swarm — they prefer to stay clustered around
|
||||
> the party
|
||||
|
||||
- If a PC moves away from the group, they can exit the swarm and avoid
|
||||
> damage
|
||||
|
||||
- If all PCs leave the tower, the bats follow outside
|
||||
|
||||
- If the party splits, the bats stay with the larger group
|
||||
|
||||
> Player Movement Rules:
|
||||
|
||||
- Moving while inside the swarm = difficult terrain
|
||||
|
||||
```{=html}
|
||||
<!-- -->
|
||||
```
|
||||
- Climbing stairs while in the swarm: DEX save DC 12 or Prone.
|
||||
|
||||
- Stairwell is narrow: single file, if somebody is prone, stairs
|
||||
> blocked.
|
||||
|
||||
Tower 3: *Collapsed*. This entire tower has been knocked over by an
|
||||
enormous falling tree. The stone blocks are strewn where the tower fell,
|
||||
and weeds are grown up among them.
|
||||
|
||||
Tower 4: *Rackle and Clarissa*. This tower contains Rackle, one of the
|
||||
deck-touched NPCs, and the priestess of Beshaba who is protecting him.
|
||||
See the section “Rackle: The Punching Bag” for more information about
|
||||
him.
|
||||
|
||||
Tower 5: *Empty*. Aside from graffiti and garbage, there is nothing
|
||||
here.
|
||||
|
||||
### The White Ward
|
||||
|
||||
The white ward is the hospital. It is a joint project between some
|
||||
priests of several good-aligned gods, and also some non-magical doctors.
|
||||
It was originally called the white ward because the building is covered
|
||||
in white stucco, and also, because the doctors wear white. Eventually,
|
||||
the name stuck and they just went with it.
|
||||
|
||||
\<FINISH ME\>
|
||||
|
||||
Asatya’s unconscious body is here. It will probably be necessary to
|
||||
bring Rackle here.
|
||||
|
||||
### Magic Items for Sale
|
||||
|
||||
A small town like St Parnas would normally not have any magic items for
|
||||
sale. However, because the deck has been conjuring items left and right,
|
||||
it is possible to find magic items in town. The selection is extremely
|
||||
*random*. Here are the items:
|
||||
|
||||
Envenomed Shortsword — *3,500 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Three times per day, target takes D8 poison in addition to normal
|
||||
> damage
|
||||
|
||||
- No save. If resistant to poison, no damage.
|
||||
|
||||
Javelin of Lightning — *3,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Once per day, becomes a bolt of lightning when thrown
|
||||
|
||||
- Deals 4d6 lightning damage in a line
|
||||
|
||||
Headband of Warning — *3,500 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Advantage on initiative
|
||||
|
||||
- Can’t be surprised while worn
|
||||
|
||||
- Wearing any other hat, helmet, or headgear will prevent this item
|
||||
> from working.
|
||||
|
||||
Cloak of Protection — *4,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- +1 bonus to AC
|
||||
|
||||
- +1 bonus to saving throws
|
||||
|
||||
Decanter of Endless Water — *2,200 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Pours out an unlimited supply of fresh water
|
||||
|
||||
Key of Curious Locks — *3,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Casts *Knock* once per day
|
||||
|
||||
- Can tell you exactly why a door isn’t opening (e.g., rusted, barred,
|
||||
> etc.)
|
||||
|
||||
- Warns about trapped doors (only trapped doors, not traps in general)
|
||||
|
||||
Navigator’s Compass — *2,800 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Can point toward any landmark. A “landmark” is any point of interest
|
||||
> that is known to the locals, and that has been there for at least
|
||||
> 5 years. “Joanne’s Restaurant” is a valid landmark, for example,
|
||||
> as would be “The Nearest Temple of Lathander.”
|
||||
|
||||
Lens of Far Seeing — *3,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- See clearly up to 1 mile, even through mist or light foliage
|
||||
|
||||
- Once per long rest, cast *Clairvoyance* (sight only)
|
||||
|
||||
Pouch of the Burrowing Familiar — *3,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Contains a badger familiar
|
||||
|
||||
- Can be summoned for up to 1 hour
|
||||
|
||||
- Burrows through dirt or loose stone at 10 ft speed
|
||||
|
||||
- Follows simple commands
|
||||
|
||||
- Does not fight
|
||||
|
||||
Ring of Hopping — *3,500 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Three times per long rest, cast *Jump*
|
||||
|
||||
- Once per long rest, cast *Misty Step*
|
||||
|
||||
Lantern of the Firefly — *3,000 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Endless Light: At will, sheds dim green light in a 100-foot radius
|
||||
|
||||
- Once per long rest, cast *Faerie Fire* (DC 15) as a bonus action
|
||||
|
||||
Staff of the Potent Caster — *7,500 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Functions as a quarterstaff and a spellcasting focus
|
||||
|
||||
- Grants +1 to spell save DC
|
||||
|
||||
Wand of Silent Casting — *5,500 gp*
|
||||
|
||||
- Functions as a spellcasting focus
|
||||
|
||||
- Allows you to cast any spell with verbal components using only
|
||||
> somatic components
|
||||
|
||||
### The Collapsed Lizardman Temple
|
||||
|
||||
The collapsed temple is a combat event that you can bring out whenever
|
||||
you think your PCs might be in the mood for a little smashy-smashy.
|
||||
|
||||
In the poorer part of town, a small group of lizardmen built a temple to
|
||||
their god, Semuanya. The temple is ramshackle (for a temple). It was a
|
||||
wooden building two stories tall. On the second story, the lizards had
|
||||
an unauthorized menagerie containing dangerous reptiles. The reptiles
|
||||
were smuggled into town, nobody knows they’re there except the
|
||||
lizardmen.
|
||||
|
||||
A few days after the chaos storm, the building collapsed, and two
|
||||
reptiles escaped: a basilisk, and a mirage serpent. The two beasts are
|
||||
now wreaking havoc throughout the poor quarter.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs are walking somewhere (anywhere) when they see two guards
|
||||
running toward the poor quarter. If they’re curious, they can follow.
|
||||
The will soon find some petrified people. Then, they will find the two
|
||||
guards from earlier firing crossbows at the *mirage serpent*. The guards
|
||||
are not very skilled: this town is too safe and nothing ever happens
|
||||
here, and the guards have gotten complacent. They have not been training
|
||||
as much as they should.
|
||||
|
||||
The mirage serpent is an electric blue snake which is capable of
|
||||
projecting illusionary images of two additional snakes. The challenge in
|
||||
fighting it is knowing which snake is the real snake. Shooting at an
|
||||
illusory snake is just a waste of an action. When the PCs join the
|
||||
fight, roll initiative. The turn order will include the PCs, the two
|
||||
guards, the real snake, and the two illusory snakes.
|
||||
|
||||
> **Mirage Serpent**
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Large Monstrosity, Unaligned
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)
|
||||
>
|
||||
> AC: 14
|
||||
>
|
||||
> HP: 68 (8d10 + 24)
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Speed: 30 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 30 ft.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> STR: 16 (+3) DEX: 14 (+2) CON: 16 (+3) INT: 4 (-3) WIS: 12 (+1) CHA: 6
|
||||
> (-2)
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Saves: DEX +4, WIS +3
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Skills: Stealth +6, Perception +3
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Resistances: Psychic
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Immunities: Charmed
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Senses: Blindsight 10 ft., Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 13
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The serpent always fights alongside two illusory duplicates. The DM
|
||||
> will declare that the PCs are fighting 3 serpents, and will not reveal
|
||||
> that there is actually only 1 serpent and 2 illusions. The DM must
|
||||
> place three serpents on the battlefield. They should be scattered
|
||||
> about: for example, one might be in a tree, another on a roof, and
|
||||
> another on the street. The DM must roll initiative for each of the
|
||||
> three serpents, so there will be three entries for serpents in the
|
||||
> turn order.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The DM must keep track of which serpent is real. If a PC hits the real
|
||||
> serpent with an attack, it takes damage. If a PC hits an illusory
|
||||
> serpent with an attack, the attack passes right through the illusion,
|
||||
> obviously not causing damage. The illusory duplicates cannot be
|
||||
> damaged, and are difficult to dispel (use your judgement).
|
||||
>
|
||||
> When it is a serpent’s turn, regardless of whether that serpent is
|
||||
> illusory or real, the serpent can choose one of two actions:
|
||||
>
|
||||
> **Psychic Lash.** Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 15 ft., one
|
||||
> creature per lash. Hit: 6 (1d10 + 1) psychic damage. When an illusory
|
||||
> serpent uses mirage lash, the attack is actually coming from the real
|
||||
> serpent, but the illusory serpent rears up in order to give the
|
||||
> impression that the attack is coming from the illusion.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> **Shuffle.** All three serpents (the real and the two illusions) all
|
||||
> teleport up to 15 feet to new visible locations. The DM reassigns
|
||||
> which token is real, in secret. The illusions update their appearance
|
||||
> to match the appearance of the real serpent, including any wounds the
|
||||
> real serpent has taken.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The serpent is tactical about choosing *psychic lash* vs *shuffle*.
|
||||
> The more it shuffles, the less damage it does (because if it is
|
||||
> shuffling, is isn’t lashing). So it only shuffles when it notices that
|
||||
> the PCs are focusing all damage on the real serpent.
|
||||
|
||||
After beating the mirage serpent, the PCs will hear screaming coming
|
||||
from elsewhere. If they hunt around a bit, they can find the basilisk
|
||||
and the one remaining non-petrified guard who is fighting it.
|
||||
|
||||
This basilisk is thematically similar to the basilisk in the monster
|
||||
manual, but the rules are completely different. The PCs can quickly
|
||||
identify this as some subtype of basilisk by the fact that it has four
|
||||
legs on each side: lizard with eight legs is a dead giveaway for
|
||||
“basilisk.”
|
||||
|
||||
> **Basilisk (Modified)**
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Medium Monstrosity, Unaligned
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)
|
||||
>
|
||||
> AC: 16
|
||||
>
|
||||
> HP: 65
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Speed: 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> STR: 18 (+4) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 16 (+3) INT: 2 (-4) WIS: 12 (+1) CHA: 7
|
||||
> (-2)
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Saves: CON +5, WIS +3
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Skills: Perception +3
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Resistances: Poison
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Immunities: Poisoned
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 10 ft., Passive Perception 13
|
||||
>
|
||||
> **Bite (action).** Melee attack, +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.
|
||||
> Hit: 2D6 + 10 piercing damage.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> **Lock On (reaction, one per eye per turn).**
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The basilisk has two independently-pivoting eyes, like a chameleon.
|
||||
> Each eye can “lock on” to a single target creature, paralyzing that
|
||||
> creature.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Lock-on is a reaction: when a creature is about to take its turn in
|
||||
> the initiative turn order, and the basilisk sees this, the basilisk
|
||||
> can use a reaction by aiming one of its two eyes at the creature. The
|
||||
> creature must make a DC 15 constitution saving throw. If the save
|
||||
> succeeds, the basilisk fails to establish a lock. The creature may
|
||||
> continue taking its turn in the normal manner.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> If the creature fails the saving throw, the basilisk has locked its
|
||||
> gaze onto to the creature. The creature is instantly paralyzed, and it
|
||||
> loses its action. From that point forward, the creature remains
|
||||
> paralyzed as long as the basilisk keeps its eye locked on. The
|
||||
> creature cannot move at all, and it cannot take any actions that
|
||||
> require any kind of movement, including moving one’s mouth. Though
|
||||
> paralyzed, the creature is still aware. On the creature’s next turn,
|
||||
> will need to resist petrification, by making another CON save DC 15.
|
||||
> It takes a minimum of three turns for a creature to be petrified:
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Turn 1: Creature attempts an action, and the basilisk reacts by
|
||||
> locking on.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Turn 2: The creature attempts to resist petrification and fails,
|
||||
> getting dangerously close.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Turn 3: The creature attempts to resist petrification and fails again,
|
||||
> and turns to stone.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> If the creature succeeds at the save against petrification (turn 2 or
|
||||
> turn 3), the creature is not freed: the creature is still paralyzed,
|
||||
> and the basilisk is still locked on. The creature just didn’t get any
|
||||
> closer to turning to stone, which means that the process of
|
||||
> petrification will take longer. A paralyzed creature cannot free
|
||||
> itself, unless it has pure mental actions such as a spell with no
|
||||
> material, somatic, or verbal components. To free the paralyzed
|
||||
> creature, the companions can do anything that breaks the basilisk’s
|
||||
> gaze. That would include:
|
||||
|
||||
- Blocking the line of sight with smoke, darkness, a wall of fire, or
|
||||
> any other opaque obstacle.
|
||||
|
||||
- Grappling the basilisk and forcing it to turn its head (strength vs
|
||||
> strength).
|
||||
|
||||
- Draping a cloak over the basilisk’s head (counts as a net, with -2
|
||||
> to hit because it’s not weighted).
|
||||
|
||||
- Interposing your body between the basilisk and its target, if your
|
||||
> body is large enough.
|
||||
|
||||
- Using spells like “compelled duel” that force the basilisk to look
|
||||
> at something else.
|
||||
|
||||
- Anything that incapacitates the basilisk, like hypnotic pattern.
|
||||
|
||||
- Draping a cloak over the targeted creature’s face (no to-hit roll
|
||||
> needed).
|
||||
|
||||
- There are undoubtedly other ways. Allow your PCs to be inventive.
|
||||
|
||||
> If anything breaks the basilisk’s gaze, the paralysis immediately
|
||||
> dissipates, and the basilisk’s gaze is no longer locked-on. There is
|
||||
> no recovery period, the creature can act as soon as its initiative
|
||||
> turn order comes up. This is the key to beating the basilisk: just
|
||||
> keep interrupting its gaze, over and over.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The basilisk has two independently-pivoting eyes. DM must keep track
|
||||
> of who each eye is locked on to. Each eye that isn’t already locked-on
|
||||
> can use the “lock on” reaction once per turn. The DM must keep track
|
||||
> of which eye has used its reaction.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Interestingly, if a creature doesn’t take an action, then the basilisk
|
||||
> can’t react. The basilisk’s vision is motion-sensitive, if you stand
|
||||
> perfectly still, the basilisk can’t lock on to you!
|
||||
>
|
||||
> If a creature is petrified, it goes unconscious. It remains a statue
|
||||
> for about 48 hours, after which it turns back to flesh.
|
||||
|
||||
After the PCs defeat the basilisk, they will probably look around and
|
||||
see several petrified commoners. Other commoners are already sending for
|
||||
medical help. The PCs do not have to babysit the statues.
|
||||
|
||||
Shortly after the reptile attacks, Sam Link hears about the chaos, and
|
||||
comes running to help. This is one way the PCs can connect with Sam
|
||||
Link: if they realize that Sam Link is searching for injured people,
|
||||
they might be smart enough to just wait for him here.
|
||||
|
||||
One of the petrified commoners has had a hand broken off. When they turn
|
||||
back to flesh, 48 hours later, they will bleed out very, very fast. Sam
|
||||
Link can’t heal the person while they’re stone, so Sam waits with the
|
||||
statue. His plan is to use his power, fast, as soon as they turn to
|
||||
flesh. The statue is surrounded by Sam and by family members, who are
|
||||
keeping careful watch for any sign the body is turning back to flesh.
|
||||
|
||||
Because Sam is trapped in one place for 48 hours, and because the Mayor
|
||||
and the guards all know about this and can tell the PCs where Sam is,
|
||||
this gives the PCs additional opportunities to track him down.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,468 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will spend a lot of chapter 2 exploring Castle Green. Before we
|
||||
get to the details of what’s in the castle, we’re going to give you some
|
||||
general information about what the castle is like, and why it is the way
|
||||
it is.
|
||||
|
||||
### How Castle Green Came to Exist
|
||||
|
||||
When Green was first starting out, he didn’t have a Castle. He searched
|
||||
for people who might be interested in drawing cards from the Deck, then
|
||||
he brought them out into an empty field to have them draw cards. One
|
||||
day, one of these people - Alyssa Varn - drew the Bricklayer card. Where
|
||||
once there was an empty field, suddenly there was a small castle —
|
||||
technically, a “keep” for a knight. Alyssa sold the Castle to Green.
|
||||
|
||||
The keep consisted of a ground floor, a single basement level, and a
|
||||
small tower.
|
||||
|
||||
The basement contained most of the functional rooms, including a
|
||||
barracks for the staff, a kitchen and dining room, an armory and
|
||||
sparring room, holding cells, a lounge, a laundry and latrine, a wine
|
||||
cellar and a root cellar. Here is a map of the basement:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.026042213473316in"
|
||||
height="3.9483333333333333in"}
|
||||
|
||||
The ground floor included a nice dining room for guests, a small
|
||||
ballroom, an a few general purpose rooms. The tower contained an
|
||||
observation room and a general-purpose room. Since the ground floor and
|
||||
tower are gone, we have not provided a map.
|
||||
|
||||
Green and his employees used the castle for some time before the next
|
||||
event: Borghan also drew the Bricklayer card, and it built the
|
||||
labyrinth, underneath the basement. A trapdoor manifested in the
|
||||
basement lounge: the trapdoor drops down into the Labyrinth. There is no
|
||||
map of the labyrinth, it’s a confusing mess of passages, and nobody has
|
||||
bothered trying to map it.
|
||||
|
||||
Both the castle and the labyrinth were created by magic. But neither one
|
||||
is inherently magical. The castle is a normal castle. The labyrinth is
|
||||
confusing, but it’s not a magic labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
The walls of the basement are entirely made of stone blocks. The walls
|
||||
of the labyrinth are covered by decorative wooden paneling, with
|
||||
decorative moulding, as one might see in a victorian library. By looking
|
||||
at the walls, you can easily tell whether you’re in the basement or the
|
||||
labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Upstairs is Gone
|
||||
|
||||
In the chaos storm, the entire top half of the castle (ground floor and
|
||||
up) was ripped away. Everything from about knee-level on up is gone.
|
||||
|
||||
The floors of the ground floor are still intact, as are the bottom two
|
||||
feet of the walls. Walking around the ground floor of castle green is a
|
||||
lot like walking around a floorplan of a castle. There’s very little
|
||||
left to see on the ground floor. There is, however, a set of stairs
|
||||
leading down into the basement. The stairs leading to the basement are
|
||||
entirely intact.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Portals that Subdivide the Castle
|
||||
|
||||
As a defensive measure against Tymora’s agents, Omta has placed several
|
||||
portals designed to make it difficult to move around the basement. The
|
||||
portals all lead into the labyrinth. Look at the map: wherever you see a
|
||||
red line crossing a hallway, that is a portal to the labyrinth. When a
|
||||
PC stands in a hallway, looking at such a portal, the PC will see the
|
||||
hall up to the portal, and the labyrinth beyond the portal. When the PC
|
||||
walks through the portal, they end up in the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
Sometimes, when you’re in the labyrinth, if Omta wants you to, you’ll
|
||||
emerge from one of these portals and end up back in the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.026042213473316in"
|
||||
height="3.9483333333333333in"}
|
||||
|
||||
Now, let’s talk about how the PCs will perceive the portals. Imagine
|
||||
that a PC is standing in the hallway just northwest of Mikhail’s
|
||||
bedroom. (Look at the map above, lower-right corner). If the PC looks
|
||||
north, they will see the door to Etienne’s bedroom. Beyond that, there’s
|
||||
a red line crossing the hall: a portal to the labyrinth. When the PC
|
||||
looks through the portal, they see the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
So that means if the PC is standing outside Mikhail’s bedroom, the PC
|
||||
*can’t* see the door to the furniture storage room. The furniture room
|
||||
is north of the portal, and therefore, line of sight is blocked by the
|
||||
portal. Likewise, if the PC walks north, they can’t reach the furniture
|
||||
storage room. They will walk through the portal first, and end up in the
|
||||
labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
So from the perspective of a PC standing outside Mikhail’s bedroom, it
|
||||
looks like they’re standing in an L-shaped piece of corridor, both ends
|
||||
of which are connected to the labyrinth. It creates the appearance that
|
||||
these small sections of hallway are physically inside the labyrinth. It
|
||||
looks, for all the world, as if the basement has been broken into
|
||||
pieces, and the pieces randomly inserted into the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
Note that on the map, we have drawn red lines not just where the portals
|
||||
are in the hallways, but we’ve actually drawn red lines around eight
|
||||
“chunks” of the castle. The PCs will perceive the castle as being made
|
||||
up of these eight chunks. To move from one chunk to another, they will
|
||||
have to pass through the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
The portals in the basement are in fixed locations, indicated on the map
|
||||
by red lines. The portals in the labyrinth, however, are in
|
||||
ever-shifting locations. The portals are being moved around regularly by
|
||||
Omta. Some of the portals in the labyrinth lead to other portals in the
|
||||
labyrinth. Some of the portals in the labyrinth lead back to the portals
|
||||
in the basement. All of the portals in the basement lead to the
|
||||
labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### Navigating the Portals
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first enter the labyrinth, they will get stuck in there.
|
||||
They just move in circles: tunnel after tunnel. None of the passages
|
||||
lead anywhere. Omta is just portaling the PCs around the labyrinth to
|
||||
keep them confused. He figures: if I keep the agents of Tymora in the
|
||||
labyrinth, they can’t hurt me.
|
||||
|
||||
In the backs of their minds, the PCs can feel the “presence in the
|
||||
Labyrinth,” Omta, because of their telepathic bond. They can feel his
|
||||
anxiety and fear. They can try communicating with this presence, and
|
||||
they quickly realize that the presence is listening, paying attention,
|
||||
because it reacts when they say things.
|
||||
|
||||
To get unstuck, the PCs have to do two things:
|
||||
|
||||
**Step 1: Reassure Omta**
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs sense the presence in the labyrinth, and his fear, they
|
||||
need to say something reassuring, such as “We are not here to hurt you.
|
||||
We just want to talk.” If the PCs say some things like this, then Omta
|
||||
will calm down a little. The PCs can feel the anxiety level drop a
|
||||
little.
|
||||
|
||||
**Step 2. Ask for Navigation Assistance**
|
||||
|
||||
The following only works *after* the PCs have reassured Omta: to get
|
||||
around the basement, the PCs can simply ask Omta for assistance in
|
||||
navigating the labyrinth. Just speak out loud, and say something along
|
||||
the lines of, “Hey, could you guide us to the Kitchen?” Then, start
|
||||
walking, in any direction. Omta will rearrange the portals in order to
|
||||
bring the PCs to the kitchen area. Note that the PCs won’t end up
|
||||
*exactly* in the kitchen: they’ll end up at the closest basement portal,
|
||||
in the correct basement region to go to the kitchen.
|
||||
|
||||
It’s odd that Omta is putting up portals to confuse the PCs, but then
|
||||
he’s also helping the PCs to navigate the portals. Omta is asleep, and
|
||||
he’s using dream logic, and his emotions are conflicted. He wants Tymora
|
||||
to stay away, but he also wants a relationship with the PCs. So his left
|
||||
hand doesn’t know what his right hand is doing.
|
||||
|
||||
So for now, Omta is both hindering and helping. Whether he can actually
|
||||
bring you to any particular place depends on a number of factors:
|
||||
|
||||
- In general, if you ask for a room type, like “take me to the
|
||||
> Kitchen,” or “take me to the Armory,” that works. Omta understands
|
||||
> what a kitchen or an armory is.
|
||||
|
||||
- If you say “take me to the bedroom,” that’s ambiguous, because there
|
||||
> are a dozen bedrooms in the castle. In this case, Omta will take
|
||||
> you to the bedroom farthest away from the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- If you ask for a specific employee, eg, “take me to Zimmi,” that
|
||||
> usually elicits no response, because Omta doesn’t know most human
|
||||
> names. However, Omta does know the name “Green.”
|
||||
|
||||
- If the PCs ask for an employee by profession, that is more likely to
|
||||
> work. “Take me to the wizard’s bedroom” will get you to Etienne’s
|
||||
> bedroom.
|
||||
|
||||
- If you ask for “take me to the woman who drew the bricklayer card,”
|
||||
> that *does* work. When Omta looks at humans, he is more likely to
|
||||
> remember their cards than their names.
|
||||
|
||||
- If the PCs ask for something broad, like “Food”, Omta will do a
|
||||
> reasonable job of complying: in response to that query, he would
|
||||
> take the PCs to the kitchen. The DM may have to be creative
|
||||
> interpreting such queries.
|
||||
|
||||
- If you ask to be taken to Green (who has the Deck), or to the
|
||||
> Laundry (which contains the Deck), or to the Lounge (which is
|
||||
> close to the Deck), then Omta will project an intense emotion of
|
||||
> fear, and will not take you anywhere.
|
||||
|
||||
Under no circumstances must you allow the PCs to reach the lounge area
|
||||
or the laundry area until certain trigger events take place.
|
||||
|
||||
### Bypassing the Portals
|
||||
|
||||
On the map, there are several red dots, positioned on top of walls.
|
||||
These represent holes in the walls. During the chaos storm, several of
|
||||
the stone blocks teleported out of their normal positions in the walls,
|
||||
and ended up scattered around the castle: as the PCs walk around, they
|
||||
will occasionally find these stone blocks. A small person like a gnome
|
||||
or halfling can fit through the hole, but a medium-sized person cannot
|
||||
fit. The PCs could use spells like *enlarge/reduce* to get the whole
|
||||
party through a hole.
|
||||
|
||||
Interestingly, holes in the wall circumvent the portals. It is possible
|
||||
to move from one region to another through a hole in the wall, *without*
|
||||
getting portaled into the labyrinth. Currently, there is only one hole
|
||||
that crosses a red line. But the PCs could conceivably dig more.
|
||||
|
||||
If you use holes to move around the castle, the castle appears much more
|
||||
mundane than if you try to walk around the halls. The halls have portals
|
||||
in them, and the portals make everything confusing. But the holes in the
|
||||
walls have no portals, so you just move around the castle in the normal
|
||||
way.
|
||||
|
||||
However, if the PCs try to dig a hole into the laundry area, a steel
|
||||
barrier will materialize in the hole, looking much like the main steel
|
||||
barrier in the hall that leads into the laundry area. Omta really
|
||||
doesn’t want anyone crossing into the laundry until Omta is ready.
|
||||
|
||||
### Green’s Trapped Employees
|
||||
|
||||
Several of Green’s employees are trapped in the basement. They are not
|
||||
in immediate danger, but most of them don’t have access to food and
|
||||
water, so they do need to be rescued from the castle relatively soon.
|
||||
|
||||
When the chaos storm hit, Green yelled “evacuate the castle!” Everyone
|
||||
upstairs evacuated, however, nobody emerged from the basement,
|
||||
presumably because the basement had been turned into a confusing magical
|
||||
labyrinth. Green cares about his employees, he wasn’t about to just let
|
||||
them rot in the basement. So he and his bodyguards went down in the
|
||||
basement to round up the employees and get them out. Balanestra went
|
||||
with them, because she is loving the life of adventure. They vanished
|
||||
into the basement, and didn’t come back.
|
||||
|
||||
They didn’t come back because Omta portaled them to the laundry room
|
||||
region, and then trapped them inside by building a giant steel door. The
|
||||
laundry room region now contains Green, his bodyguards, and Balanestra -
|
||||
and the Deck. They are annoyed and concerned about being trapped, but
|
||||
are otherwise unharmed. One of the bodyguards, Harkon, is a cleric who
|
||||
can conjure food and water.
|
||||
|
||||
The gate guards, Bran and Inya, watched as Green and his bodyguards went
|
||||
into the basement. Bran and Inya are much lower-level than Green and the
|
||||
bodyguards, so they assumed that they weren’t needed. But when Green and
|
||||
the bodyguards didn’t emerge, Bran and Inya also went down into the
|
||||
basement, in the hopes of rescuing the others. They too got trapped -
|
||||
they’re in the sparring room region.
|
||||
|
||||
Here is an inventory of all of Green’s employees who are stuck behind
|
||||
the steel door:
|
||||
|
||||
- Green.
|
||||
|
||||
- Mikhail, Male Half-Orc, Fighter LV8. Natural peacemaker.
|
||||
|
||||
- Etienne Vireaux, Male Tiefling, Diviner LV8. Tries to help people.
|
||||
|
||||
- Siduri, Female High Elf, Duelist LV8. Reserved. Graceful movement.
|
||||
|
||||
- Harkon, Male Dwarf, Cleric of Helm LV8.
|
||||
|
||||
- Balanestra, Female Aasimar, deck-touched.
|
||||
|
||||
Here is an inventory of all of Green’s employees who are trapped in the
|
||||
Basement:
|
||||
|
||||
- Bran, Gate Guard. Male Dwarf. Overly talkative, but helpful.
|
||||
|
||||
- Inya, Gate Guard. Female Tiefling. Has learned to let Bran talk.
|
||||
|
||||
- Zimmi, Cook. Female Gnome. Loud and a little pushy.
|
||||
|
||||
- Edric, Steward and Bookkeeper. Male Bariaur. All business.
|
||||
|
||||
- Penny, Helper. Teen Female Tiefling. Super smart, skill with
|
||||
> languages.
|
||||
|
||||
Here are the ones that are not in the basement: they are at the Inn in
|
||||
St. Parnas:
|
||||
|
||||
- Wim, Janitor. Male Kobold. Avoids eye contact.
|
||||
|
||||
- Tommel, Gardener. Male Earth Genasi. Aloof.
|
||||
|
||||
Green and his bodyguards are trapped by the big steel barrier. The
|
||||
others are not physically trapped: they can leave the areas that they’re
|
||||
in, and go out into the labyrinth. But when they do, they get lost,
|
||||
wander around for a while, and end up back in the areas where they
|
||||
started. All of them have tried leaving, and none of them have gotten
|
||||
anywhere.
|
||||
|
||||
To rescue the employees, the PCs will have to find them one by one. The
|
||||
following section, “List of Basement Areas,” lists every region in the
|
||||
basement, including which of Green’s employees are trapped in that area.
|
||||
|
||||
The reason that Green’s employees are stuck is because they didn’t draw
|
||||
cards from the deck. Therefore, they lack the telepathic connection to
|
||||
Omta which makes it possible for the PCs to communicate with Omta. The
|
||||
PCs are navigating the labyrinth by asking Omta for what they need.
|
||||
Green’s employees don’t have that option.
|
||||
|
||||
### Ants are Taking the Castle by Force
|
||||
|
||||
The castle was built very close to an anthill containing intelligent
|
||||
giant ants.
|
||||
|
||||
Prior to the chaos storm, the ants were a minor nuisance at the castle.
|
||||
Occasionally, a worker would enter the castle via the root cellar, take
|
||||
some food from a storage room, and leave. Stealing is not actually
|
||||
sanctioned by the ant queen, but some workers aren’t that bright.
|
||||
Green’s employees view the ants as a relatively insignificant issue -
|
||||
pretty much how you would feel if your kitchen had ants.
|
||||
|
||||
However, the chaos storm has upended the situation. The chaos storm has
|
||||
severely damaged the complex series of tunnels in their anthill, it’s
|
||||
caving in all over the place. The ant queen is angry, and she is intent
|
||||
on being compensated for the damage: you castle idiots destroyed our
|
||||
anthill, so we’re taking over yours! The ants are moving into the
|
||||
castle.
|
||||
|
||||
These ants are not, by nature, hostile creatures. Construction,
|
||||
maintenance, farming: those are the things they normally care about. The
|
||||
ants attitude toward other ants is “be a productive member of the
|
||||
community.” Their attitude toward non-ants is “live and let live.” By
|
||||
that, we mean that if you are not an ant, they won’t go out of their way
|
||||
to help you, but they won’t do anything to hurt you either. They will
|
||||
most likely just walk right past you, too busy to talk. Overall, they
|
||||
are somewhere between true neutral (to outsiders), and lawful good (to
|
||||
each other). However, the queen is angry about the destruction of her
|
||||
home. Even so, she is not bloodthirsty. She intends to take the castle
|
||||
by force, but she is willing to let the humans go away without bloodshed
|
||||
as long as the humans are willing to depart.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants can tell that the PCs don’t live in the castle, and that
|
||||
they’re not the ones responsible for the chaos. They know that when a
|
||||
person lives in a house for a long time, the odors rub off on each
|
||||
other: the house begins to smell like the person, and the person begins
|
||||
to smell like the house. Because of this, they can tell that the PCs
|
||||
don’t live in the castle. The queen’s anger is toward the people in the
|
||||
castle who caused the chaos storm, not toward the PCs. Because of this,
|
||||
the ants will generally pass the PCs without aggression.
|
||||
|
||||
Ants do not perceive mammals or other animals as prey. The ants are
|
||||
fungus farmers, they eat a fungus that they grow on a substrate of
|
||||
rotting organic matter.
|
||||
|
||||
There are three types of ants: workers, soldiers, and the queen. Workers
|
||||
are about the size of a small dog, soldiers are about the size of a
|
||||
large dog, and the queen is the size of a small horse.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants are intelligent, and can communicate, but they do not speak
|
||||
verbal languages: they communicate by waving their antennae. You will
|
||||
need some tricks if you want to talk to them. Here are some potentially
|
||||
relevant spells:
|
||||
|
||||
- *Tongues*: This will allow full communication.
|
||||
|
||||
- *Comprehend Languages*: This will allow you to understand everything
|
||||
> they say. However, it won’t enable them to understand you.
|
||||
|
||||
- *Speak with Animals*: Doesn’t work. They’re too intelligent to count
|
||||
> as animals.
|
||||
|
||||
The queen is smart enough to be creative about communication. For
|
||||
example, if you cast *comprehend languages*, she will say, “That spell
|
||||
doesn’t enable *me* to understand *you*, so I’ll ask you questions, and
|
||||
you can raise your right hand for yes, and left hand for no.” The
|
||||
workers and soldiers are not bright enough to come up with tricks like
|
||||
that, but if the PCs suggest things like that, the workers and soldiers
|
||||
are smart enough to play along.
|
||||
|
||||
Worker and soldier mentality is extremely task-focused, and very
|
||||
specialized. For example, the workers will give sophisticated
|
||||
explanations of the steps necessary to cultivate food fungus, they can
|
||||
go on at length about the antibiotic properties of the plants they use
|
||||
to prevent biological contamination. But the workers only understand the
|
||||
basics about things unrelated to their job. For example, if you ask them
|
||||
what happened to their anthill: “Things were moving everywhere,
|
||||
including the walls. It seemed like magic. It’s all crumbling.” No
|
||||
deeper insight. Soldiers are extremely knowledgeable about tactics. In
|
||||
combat, they don’t just attack mindlessly: they use their special
|
||||
abilities and the environment to get the best advantage they can get.
|
||||
But they really have very little to say about anything that doesn’t
|
||||
involve defense or security.
|
||||
|
||||
Only the queen is smart enough to speak broadly on a range of topics.
|
||||
She can cast a few spells, too. One of those is comprehend languages.
|
||||
She can hear and understand what the PCs are saying, even if the PCs
|
||||
have no way to translate. However, she can’t *talk* to the PCs without
|
||||
assistance. She can, however, communicate if the PCs suggest things such
|
||||
as “raise your right antenna for yes, raise your left antenna for no.”
|
||||
|
||||
The ants have surprisingly little trouble moving around the castle. They
|
||||
are just as subject to the portals as anyone else, but they navigate
|
||||
almost entirely by odor chemicals. For example, if they’re looking for
|
||||
the queen, they sniff the air for the scent of the queen, and they walk
|
||||
toward the scent. When the portals move, the scents move, and so they
|
||||
can easily follow the scents even if the portals have moved. They do
|
||||
have to go through the portals, but they’re just not as confused as a
|
||||
human would be.
|
||||
|
||||
Another thing the ants can do is form a long line of ants. When they do
|
||||
this, forming a trail of ants through the labyrinth, Omta seems hesitant
|
||||
to break the line by moving a portal. He prefers to move portals when
|
||||
nobody is watching, and the ants are forming a continuous line of
|
||||
“watchers.” In effect, the line of ants becomes an island of stability
|
||||
in the labyrinth. You can get to new places by walking alongside a trail
|
||||
of ants.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants could break through stone walls, but it would be a very slow
|
||||
process of tedious grinding. They haven’t done this yet. Instead, they
|
||||
prefer to enter through existing openings. The best entrance to the
|
||||
castle (for the ants) is the root cellar, which has an earthen floor.
|
||||
The floor of the root cellar is full of ant-sized holes, and the wooden
|
||||
door of the root cellar has an soldier-ant-sized hole chewed through it.
|
||||
The queen did not go through the hole in the door: the queen is smart
|
||||
enough to know how to open human doors.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The ants have selected Green’s bedroom as the queen’s new chambers. They
|
||||
have a large number of soldiers on both sides of the bedroom door,
|
||||
blocking all access. You can enter the lounge, but no further. The queen
|
||||
is their most valued asset, and they protect her aggressively. They are
|
||||
incidentally blocking access to Edric’s bedroom as well, but that’s only
|
||||
because the door happens to be in the same hallway as Green’s bedroom.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants have selected Tommel, Bran, and Wim’s bedroom as the new brood
|
||||
chamber. The room is full of eggs. Again, there are soldiers on both
|
||||
ends of the hallway, because this is a high-value area.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants have selected the Kitchen as the new fungus farm. The workers
|
||||
are swarming in there, moving rotting organic matter into the kitchen.
|
||||
There are a handful of soldiers in the kitchen, but they’re not blocking
|
||||
access to the kitchen: the fungus farm isn’t a high-value asset. They’re
|
||||
just there to protect the workers.
|
||||
|
||||
Here are some hallway encounters:
|
||||
|
||||
- Two soldier ants come down the hall, followed by a group of workers.
|
||||
> The workers are carrying rotting plant material. The soldiers
|
||||
> approach, and move to one side of the hallway. They then look at
|
||||
> you, and wait to see what you do. (If the PCs move to the other
|
||||
> side of the hallway, the ants will simply walk past).
|
||||
|
||||
- A long line of worker ants carrying eggs come down the hallway. They
|
||||
> stop, and start waving their antennae around. Then they turn
|
||||
> around, and head back in the opposite direction.
|
||||
|
||||
- A group of six soldiers and four workers come down the hall. Two
|
||||
> soldiers are injured (they have been in a fight with Borghan). The
|
||||
> workers are helping the injured soldiers. They see you, and pause.
|
||||
> Then the four healthy soldiers approach. They close their
|
||||
> mandibles, and use them to shove you into a corner. Then, they
|
||||
> pass.
|
||||
|
||||
Feel free to improvise more.
|
||||
|
||||
The ants are not central to the PCs’ quest. They are there to let the
|
||||
PCs know that the world is alive, and there are people everywhere who
|
||||
have their own agendas and their own issues.
|
||||
|
||||
Although the ants are not central to the PCs quest, they can
|
||||
theoretically be helpful to the PCs. For example, if the PCs figure out
|
||||
how to talk to the queen, they may be able to arrange some sort of
|
||||
cooperative expedition to deal with Borghan (the queen would be very
|
||||
happy to have Borghan under control.) The PCs may also be able to work
|
||||
with the ants to dig holes in the walls, to make it easier to navigate
|
||||
the castle.
|
||||
|
||||
\<TODO: Add stat blocks for the Ants\>
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,610 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Sections of Castle Green
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The following is a list of the areas in Castle Green, in the order that
|
||||
the PCs are likely to encounter them. Each section describes what’s in
|
||||
that section, and what encounters the PCs will likely have there.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Ground Floor
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first arrive at the castle, they can see that everything
|
||||
above knee level is gone. All that’s left of the ground floor is the
|
||||
floor itself, the bottom few stones of the walls, and the stairs that
|
||||
lead to the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
Rennick is here. This might be a good time to reread Rennick’s
|
||||
description in the introductory chapter. This is the first time that the
|
||||
PCs will meet Rennick. He is standing at the top of the basement stairs,
|
||||
shouting, “Is anybody down there?”
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will probably ask Rennick about who he is. Rennick volunteers
|
||||
he’s a business associate of Green’s. If the PCs probe further, here are
|
||||
the facts that Rennick is open about and will easily divulge with even
|
||||
the slightest prompting:
|
||||
|
||||
- Rennick volunteers that he is a member of the Fraternity of Order.
|
||||
> He points out the fact that he’s wearing their logo on his lapel.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked, Rennick is happy to explain the Fraternity of Order, the
|
||||
> fact that they make most of the laws in the city of Sigil, and
|
||||
> that their real passion is learning the laws that govern the
|
||||
> universe.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked how he knows Green, Rennick says he’s a casino regulator
|
||||
> from the City of Sigil, and Green was a casino owner there.
|
||||
|
||||
- If asked, he is happy to explain how casino regulation in Sigil
|
||||
> works - about how the Fraternity will sell “certificates of fair
|
||||
> play” to any casino that they can verify is legit. Rennick
|
||||
> explains that he manages a team of statisticians and undercover
|
||||
> investigators to make sure the casino is legit before he is
|
||||
> willing to sell a certificate.
|
||||
|
||||
- Rennick loves to talk about his passion, luck research. It doesn’t
|
||||
> take much to get him started: for example, if Lada introduces
|
||||
> herself as a luck researcher, Rennick is excited to meet another
|
||||
> luck researcher. He volunteers that casino regulation is only his
|
||||
> day job. He explains his real passion is studying how luck,
|
||||
> randomness, and chance work.
|
||||
|
||||
- If the PCs get Rennick to talk about his research, he will
|
||||
> eventually volunteer that he’s discovered a way to predict the
|
||||
> outcomes of random events, like a die roll.
|
||||
|
||||
Eventually, Rennick starts to feel like he’s said too much, and he
|
||||
starts to clam up. He realizes he shouldn’t be talking about his ability
|
||||
to predict random events. He also realizes he shouldn’t be talking about
|
||||
his relationship to the deck. He starts to be much more circumspect.
|
||||
Here is what he absolutely won’t tell the PCs:
|
||||
|
||||
- He won’t divulge that he has anything to do with the Deck. If asked,
|
||||
> he just says, “I prefer not to say.” However, the fact that he
|
||||
> suddenly clammed up is a dead giveaway that he does have
|
||||
> *something* to do with the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- He won’t say why he’s here. He came to St Parnas to ask Green
|
||||
> whether or not he’s noticed anything weird happening with the
|
||||
> deck. However, because he arrived during the chaos storm, he
|
||||
> already has his answer, a definitive *yes*, a chaos storm is
|
||||
> definitely weird. He won’t talk about this.
|
||||
|
||||
In the light of the fact that there has been a chaos storm, and that it
|
||||
appeared to be centered on the castle, Rennick is worried about the
|
||||
safety of Green and his employees. He’s worried that there might be
|
||||
people trapped in the basement. He is right about that.
|
||||
|
||||
He says that earlier, he went to the bottom of the stairs. He says that
|
||||
at the bottom of the stairs are a bunch of weird labyrinth passages. He
|
||||
says that when he saw the labyrinth passages, he NOPED out of there: he
|
||||
says he isn’t an adventurer, he doesn’t want to get lost in a
|
||||
potentially dangerous dungeon. But he’s hoping somebody will go in. He
|
||||
encourages the PCs to try to help Green and Green’s employees.
|
||||
|
||||
So now the PCs have two reasons to descend the stairs:
|
||||
|
||||
- To find Green so that they can negotiate to purchase the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
- To help Green’s employees escape from the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Basement Landing
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs come down the stairs from outside, they find themselves at
|
||||
the bottom of the stairs, in the basement landing. There’s nothing in
|
||||
the landing but a few potted plants. There are three hallways leading in
|
||||
three different directions - north, west, and east. All three contain
|
||||
portals, so looking down any of these hallways, you see a few feet of
|
||||
stone wall, and then the hallway continues onward as wood-paneled
|
||||
labyrinth walls. The appearance is surprising:
|
||||
|
||||
\<IMAGE HERE\>
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs look at the transition, have them make an insight roll: the
|
||||
transition from stone to wood doesn’t look man-made, it looks like the
|
||||
artifact of a magical phenomenon of some sort.
|
||||
|
||||
Walking down any of the halls leads the PCs into the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Labyrinth
|
||||
|
||||
The labyrinth itself is a maze of passages, with the walls covered with
|
||||
decorative wooden paneling (a lot like a Victorian library). The
|
||||
passages don’t go anywhere except to more passages.
|
||||
|
||||
As the PCs walk around the labyrinth, they will unknowingly be passing
|
||||
through portals that lead to other places in the labyrinth. The portals
|
||||
in the labyrinth shift around randomly. As a result, it is impossible to
|
||||
map the labyrinth. The effective layout is constantly changing.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs will probably try strategies like marking the walls with arrows
|
||||
that point back toward the entrance. If they do, they will discover that
|
||||
the labyrinth seems to be shifting: they find their own arrows, but
|
||||
they’re now pointing in scattered directions, even pointing at each
|
||||
other. The labyrinth itself isn’t shifting, the portals are, but that
|
||||
has the effect of connecting hallways that weren’t connected before, and
|
||||
the labyrinth certainly *appears* to have shifted.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs stop for a bit, let them know that they are feeling a faint
|
||||
sense of anxiety and dread. Have them make WIS DC15 checks to realize:
|
||||
it’s not *their own* anxiety/dread: the sensation is coming from
|
||||
outside, from somebody else. Of course, the sensation is coming from
|
||||
Omta, but when you talk to your PCs about where the emotions are coming
|
||||
from, call it “the presence in the labyrinth.”
|
||||
|
||||
To get unstuck, the PCs need to first reassure Omta, and then ask him
|
||||
for help with navigation. See the previous section, “Navigating the
|
||||
Portals,” for detailed instructions about what is necessary. Once they
|
||||
do those things, Omta will probably take the PCs to the next basement
|
||||
area.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs may find interesting things in the hallways of the labyrinth.
|
||||
Space out the following encounters semi-randomly, throwing in a random
|
||||
encounter whenever things seem a little slow.
|
||||
|
||||
- The PCs find scraps of Borghan’s fur scraped off on some of the
|
||||
> labyrinth woodwork.
|
||||
|
||||
- They find a single stone block from one of the castle walls. This
|
||||
> just teleported out of a wall randomly during the chaos storm,
|
||||
> leaving a hole in the wall.
|
||||
|
||||
- They encounter ants (see the previous section on ants).
|
||||
|
||||
- With a difficult perception roll, they see an anomaly caused by a
|
||||
> portal. Show them the image below. The anomaly is hard to see, but
|
||||
> it is there. The reason for the seam in the following image is
|
||||
> that there is a portal stitching together two labyrinth hallways:
|
||||
|
||||
> {width="2.932292213473316in"
|
||||
> height="3.9265748031496064in"}
|
||||
|
||||
In the labyrinth, it is possible to encounter Borghan himself. This
|
||||
should not happen until after the PCs have figured out how to move
|
||||
around. Give them a chance to get their bearings before encountering a
|
||||
foe. For information on how to run the Borghan encounter, refer to the
|
||||
previous section, “Borghan: The Caged Beast.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Sparring Room, Armory, and Cells
|
||||
|
||||
When Omta finally allows the PCs to leave the labyrinth tunnels, this is
|
||||
where he takes them if they don’t ask for any place in particular. In
|
||||
this location, you can find three holding cells. Across from the cells
|
||||
are the sparring room and the armory.
|
||||
|
||||
All the cell doors have small windows that let you see inside. All three
|
||||
rooms are empty. All three rooms are held shut by bars across the doors,
|
||||
which are easily removed from the outside of the cell. Two of the cells
|
||||
are dusty and clearly have not been used recently. The third has had an
|
||||
occupant who managed to shatter the bar that held the door shut. The bar
|
||||
is in splinters on the floor, and the occupant is gone. A search of the
|
||||
smashed cell reveals bits of coarse brown fur. Of course, don’t tell
|
||||
your players this, but the occupant was Borghan, the “Caged Beast.”
|
||||
Borghan has been wandering the labyrinth for about a week.
|
||||
|
||||
The armory is full of weapon racks that are empty. This room is to equip
|
||||
an army, and Green doesn’t have an army, so this room is unneeded.
|
||||
Alyssa Varn has strung a piece of piano wire across the doorframe at
|
||||
shin-level. The wire has been there for quite some time, nobody tripped
|
||||
on it because nobody goes into the Armory. The wire is not connected to
|
||||
a mechanism: it’s just there to trip and slash shins. First person to
|
||||
enter the room must make a perception check DC 15 to spot the wire in
|
||||
time. Failing that, take 6HP damage, dex save DC 15 for half. Stuck to
|
||||
the wall inside the room, next to where the tripwire is anchored, is a
|
||||
tiny note: “Get the &\^\$ out of my castle! - AV”
|
||||
|
||||
The sparring room is actively used by Green and his guards. It is
|
||||
currently occupied by the two gate guards, Bran and Inya, who are stuck
|
||||
here. They are glad that somebody has come to get them out of here. They
|
||||
can explain the basic story of how Green and some of his employees ended
|
||||
up in the basement-labyrinth. They can also give an accurate inventory
|
||||
of who’s in the basement, though they don’t know exactly where these
|
||||
individuals are in the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
It is important that Bran and Inya provide a complete list of all the
|
||||
missing people. That gives the PCs a checklist to follow. Trying to
|
||||
locate everyone on the checklist is the main mechanism by which the PCs
|
||||
will find the rest of the areas in the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
If asked about people who drew cards, Bran says, “I’ll tell you
|
||||
everything I know, but I mostly don’t know. Green doesn’t tell us what
|
||||
cards people drew - privacy, you know? But, I guess I can tell you about
|
||||
Borghan and Alyssa, I know about them.”
|
||||
|
||||
This is what they have to say about Borghan and Alyssa:
|
||||
|
||||
- They know that the castle came into existence when Alyssa Varn drew
|
||||
> “bricklayer.” They know Alyssa sold the castle to Green, and they
|
||||
> know that Alyssa has “seller’s remorse” and that she’s causing no
|
||||
> end of grief for the castle inhabitants.
|
||||
|
||||
- They know that the labyrinth came into existence when Borghan drew
|
||||
> “bricklayer.” They know the labyrinth was originally a separate
|
||||
> place, but it got all tangled up in the castle basement when the
|
||||
> chaos storm hit. They also know that Borghan is in the form of a
|
||||
> Grizzly bear, wandering the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
Aside from the basic facts above, they don’t know anything else about
|
||||
Alyssa or Borghan. They can’t tell you what other cards those two drew.
|
||||
|
||||
Bran and Inya can also tell the PCs the following tidbit: Green used to
|
||||
own a Casino in Sigil, and Bran and Inya were guards at the casino. For
|
||||
this whole deck of many things venture, Green mostly hired people who
|
||||
used to work for his casino. Bran and Inya both agree that Green is a
|
||||
decent boss.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs try to leave the sparring room area, have them make a
|
||||
perception roll, DC15. If any PC succeeds, they notice a hole in the
|
||||
wall that leads into the armory. There is nothing interesting on the
|
||||
other side of the hole. It is just a hole that randomly appeared in the
|
||||
wall during the chaos storm.
|
||||
|
||||
To get Bran and Inya out of the labyrinth, the PCs need to ask the
|
||||
presence in the labyrinth to take them to the exit of Castle Green.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Kitchen, Pantry, and Dining Area
|
||||
|
||||
To get to the kitchen, the PCs pretty much have to ask for it
|
||||
specifically. The most likely reason that they would do so is to find
|
||||
Zimmi, the cook, who they know about because of Bran’s inventory of
|
||||
Green’s employees.
|
||||
|
||||
The dining room is a longish room containing dining tables and chairs.
|
||||
There are far more seats than are necessary for Green and his entourage.
|
||||
It is obvious that only the dining tables closest to the kitchen have
|
||||
been used recently. The walls are decorated with some colorful scenes of
|
||||
the outlands. This sort of decorative art is inexpensive in the St
|
||||
Parnas market square. There are also some potted plants. Despite the
|
||||
decorations, the room still looks a little sparse.
|
||||
|
||||
The only really interesting thing in the dining room is that the wall
|
||||
that separates the dining room from the hallway is missing a stone
|
||||
block. This is easily visible: no perception roll necessary. If you’re
|
||||
small, or very flexible, you can squeeze through. This is not at all
|
||||
useful, but it does hint at the fact that there may be other similar
|
||||
passages throughout the castle.
|
||||
|
||||
Across the hall from the dining room is the kitchen. The kitchen has
|
||||
been taken over by ants. They have covered the entire floor with a
|
||||
spongy bed of rotting plant matter (leaves, wood chips, etc). These are
|
||||
fungus-farming ants, and this is their new fungus farm.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Inside the kitchen, there are 10 worker ants and 4 soldier ants. When
|
||||
the PCs open the door to the kitchen, the soldiers immediately cluster
|
||||
around the door and form a barrier. They do not attack.
|
||||
|
||||
This is a good opportunity to get a close look at the ants. Tell the PCs
|
||||
that the soldiers are considerably larger than the workers. The workers
|
||||
have mandibles that act like pliers: the tips are flat and can grab onto
|
||||
things. The soldiers, on the other hand, have mandibles that are sharp.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs stand and watch for a minute, they will see that the workers
|
||||
are crushing up bits of food from the kitchen and are kneading it into
|
||||
the organic matter on the floor. The ants know that human food makes a
|
||||
good substrate for growing fungus, so they’re taking advantage of the
|
||||
kitchen’s supplies.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs can hear a voice: “Help! Get me out of here!” The voice is
|
||||
obviously coming from the pantry, which is a walk-in closet in the back
|
||||
of the kitchen. The situation is that the cook, Zimmi, has locked
|
||||
herself in the pantry because she is scared of the ants. She shoved a
|
||||
doorstop under the door to keep the ants from coming in. The ants, for
|
||||
their part, don’t seem particularly concerned with Zimmi. They are
|
||||
leaving the pantry alone: Zimmi is scared, but her life is not actually
|
||||
in any danger.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs try to enter the room, a soldier will close his mandibles so
|
||||
that the points are touching each other, then he will use the “flat of
|
||||
the blade” of his mandibles to push the PC back toward the door. This
|
||||
action is clearly designed not to cause damage, but to send a message:
|
||||
you’re not invited.
|
||||
|
||||
One way to earn the trust of the ants is to offer them food rations. If
|
||||
the PCs do this, a worker ant will scoot right past the soldiers, accept
|
||||
the rations, and begin kneading the food into the floor. The soldiers,
|
||||
seeing this, will get out of the way. As long as the PCs are handing
|
||||
food to the workers, the soldiers will let them move around the room.
|
||||
However, the soldiers will stay close to the PCs, encircling them.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs shout to Zimmi, “it’s okay, unlock the door, don’t worry,
|
||||
these ants aren’t aggressive,” Zimmi will open the door. Zimmi is a
|
||||
gnome wearing a chef’s apron. If Zimmi sees that the PCs are standing in
|
||||
the kitchen unharmed, she will emerge. From there, the PCs can escort
|
||||
her out of the kitchen without difficulty, and from there, she can be
|
||||
led out of the labyrinth and to safety.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Root Cellar, Wine Cellar, and Furniture Storage
|
||||
|
||||
The most likely way to reach this area is if the PCs ask Omta about
|
||||
Alyssa Varn, the woman who drew the bricklayer card. This is the area
|
||||
where she lives.
|
||||
|
||||
The root cellar is a room with an earthen floor. Depending on their
|
||||
backgrounds, the PCs may know what this is: the soil floor creates a
|
||||
humid environment, which keeps turnips, parsnips, and other root
|
||||
vegetables from desiccating.
|
||||
|
||||
The root cellar has been emptied out of any vegetables: the ants took it
|
||||
all. The ground looks like it has been tilled, and there are multiple
|
||||
ant-sized tunnels coming up out of the soil. This is clearly how the
|
||||
ants have been getting into the basement. The door to the root cellar
|
||||
has a soldier-ant sized hole in the bottom of it. It looks like they
|
||||
chewed their way through.
|
||||
|
||||
The door to the wine cellar is open a few inches. Alyssa Varn has set up
|
||||
a booby trap: she put a bucket of her urine on top of the door. The PCs
|
||||
must make a perception roll DC15 to spot it before opening the door. If
|
||||
one of the PCs has a keen sense of smell, they may be able to smell it
|
||||
instead. If somebody pushes open the door without spotting the bucket,
|
||||
they have to make a DEX save DC15 to dodge it. If they fail, the PC is
|
||||
nauseated. The PC will have disadvantage on rolls until they can clean
|
||||
themselves. The bucket has words written on it: “This is my Castle! Get
|
||||
the \$%& Out!”
|
||||
|
||||
Inside the wine cellar there are several racks of wine. Most of it is
|
||||
just table wine, but there are a five bottles of the good stuff. The
|
||||
ants seem to have left this room alone. There is nothing else of
|
||||
interest here.
|
||||
|
||||
The furniture storage room is jam-packed full of unused furniture. When
|
||||
the castle was conjured, it was fully furnished, but the furniture
|
||||
wasn’t to Green’s liking, so Green got some better furniture. The cheap
|
||||
stuff has been shoved into this room. The furniture is piled to the
|
||||
ceiling. There is a thick layer of dust.
|
||||
|
||||
Hidden in the back of the furniture is Alyssa Varn’s hideout. She has
|
||||
arranged some bookshelves to make a little room within the big room.
|
||||
Inside her little bookshelf-room is a sleeping bag, a nightstand with a
|
||||
candle, and two changes of clothing. It is easy to tell from looking at
|
||||
the clothing that Alyssa is a very petite woman, and quite thin. There
|
||||
is nothing to indicate the identity of the person who is sleeping here,
|
||||
but if the PCs have spoken to Bran and Inya, they can probably guess.
|
||||
Alyssa is not here.
|
||||
|
||||
To find the hideout is challenging. The PCs must first ask some
|
||||
questions along the lines of, “is there anything hidden in the
|
||||
furniture,” or “does anything look like it’s been disturbed?” If they
|
||||
ask something like that, have them make a perception roll, DC15. If they
|
||||
succeed, they notice an area under a table that has less dust. This is
|
||||
the path that Alyssa takes to get from the door to her hideout. The
|
||||
dust-free path leads under a table, through a very narrow gap between a
|
||||
whole bunch of dressers, and from there snakes around until it finally
|
||||
reaches the hideout. To get through you either have to be small, or you
|
||||
have to move the furniture (which is not difficult).
|
||||
|
||||
Inside of Alyssa’s hideout is another missing block in a wall. Alyssa
|
||||
has concealed this passage by leaning the nightstand up against it. To
|
||||
see it, you have to move the nightstand. The opening looks different
|
||||
than the one in the dining room: in the dining room, the block was
|
||||
cleanly extracted, and the mortar is still there. This one looks like
|
||||
the mortar was carved away painstakingly with a sharp tool. To pass
|
||||
through the opening, you have to be small.
|
||||
|
||||
On the other side of the opening is Etienne’s wardrobe - Etienne is one
|
||||
of Green’s bodyguards. Alyssa has cut a hole in the back of the wardrobe
|
||||
so she can sneak into it. Again, to pass through the hole, you have to
|
||||
be small.
|
||||
|
||||
This hole in the wall is one of the very few ways that it is possible to
|
||||
move from one castle region to a different region without passing
|
||||
through the labyrinth. The portals to the labyrinth are all in the
|
||||
*hallways*. But if you go through holes in the walls, you bypass all
|
||||
that.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Bedrooms of the Bodyguards
|
||||
|
||||
The most likely way the PCs will reach this area is through the hole in
|
||||
Alyssa Varn’s hiding place.
|
||||
|
||||
This region contains the bedrooms of all four of Green’s personal
|
||||
bodyguards. Each one has his or her own bedroom, and each one has
|
||||
personalized their space. From looking at the clothing in the wardrobes,
|
||||
you can pretty easily tell which clothes are male or female, and which
|
||||
ones are for humans, half-orcs, or dwarves. If the PCs have a good
|
||||
memory, they may be able to identify which room belongs to which
|
||||
bodyguard, but it’s not important that they be able to do so.
|
||||
|
||||
None of the bodyguards are actually present in the bedrooms, the only
|
||||
person present is Alyssa Varn, who is lurking.
|
||||
|
||||
*Mikhail’s Room:* Mikhail is a male half-orc fighter. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a shelving unit full of decorative tea sets, and a
|
||||
reading desk with some books about Sigil politics and factions.
|
||||
|
||||
*Harkon’s Room:* Harkon is a male dwarf cleric of Helm. Bedroom contains
|
||||
a wardrobe, a bed, a shrine to Helm, and a writing desk.
|
||||
|
||||
*Siduri’s Room:* Siduri is a female high elf duelist. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a nightstand, and a collection of ornate curvy swords
|
||||
on the wall. On the nightstand is a collection of books containing
|
||||
diagrams of fencing maneuvers.
|
||||
|
||||
*Etienne’s Room:* Etienne is a male tiefling diviner. Bedroom contains a
|
||||
wardrobe, a bed, a writing desk, and a number of books mainly about
|
||||
hunting mushrooms in the outlands. The desk has an unsent letter.
|
||||
|
||||
Etienne’s unsent letter is as follows:
|
||||
|
||||
> Dear Magert,
|
||||
>
|
||||
> I hope you’re doing well! As for me, I’m doing fine. Living in St.
|
||||
> Parnas is quite a change from Sigil: there’s not much of an art scene,
|
||||
> and the restaurant options are limited. I’m looking forward to
|
||||
> returning when this is all over.\
|
||||
> \
|
||||
> I’m writing to ask your opinions about two people who drew cards from
|
||||
> the deck. One is named Asatya. She drew the “void” card, and she
|
||||
> immediately fell into a coma. My divinations tell me there’s nobody in
|
||||
> there - she’s not “locked in,” she’s just gone. The doctors at the
|
||||
> local hospital don’t have a clue what to do.\
|
||||
> \
|
||||
> The other is a man named Borghan. He drew the “beast” card, which
|
||||
> turned him into an oversized grizzly bear. I can talk to him using
|
||||
> “speak with animals,” he’s fully animal intelligence now.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Deck curses don’t respond to simple spells like “restoration.” I’m
|
||||
> looking for powerful artifacts or individuals, anywhere in the planes,
|
||||
> that might help these two. Are you aware of anything that might help?
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Your dear friend, Etienne
|
||||
|
||||
Alyssa Varn has a trap that she is waiting to spring if some of the
|
||||
weaker party members find themselves in a room with only one exit: she
|
||||
will jam a doorstop under the door, then she will nail the door shut.
|
||||
Getting out should be a 10 to 15 minute project, involving finding some
|
||||
way to get the nails out.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs enter Mikhail’s bedroom via the hole in the wall of the
|
||||
furniture storage area, this may result in an opportunity for Alyssa to
|
||||
pull her little stunt. She won’t try to trap the PCs in Mikhail’s
|
||||
bedroom, because that bedroom has two exits (the door, and the hole).
|
||||
Instead, she will wait until a few of the weaker party members are alone
|
||||
in a room with only one door.
|
||||
|
||||
This hallway is a perfect place for a line of worker ants to suddenly
|
||||
show up, walking through carrying eggs. They ignore the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Barracks of the Castle Staff
|
||||
|
||||
TODO: How do people reach the barracks?
|
||||
|
||||
There are two barracks: one for the men, one for the women.
|
||||
|
||||
The men’s barracks do not contain anything of any great interest. The
|
||||
men who live here are Tommel, Wim, and Bran. Nobody is present in the
|
||||
barracks. Feel free to invent personal effects for these men.
|
||||
|
||||
The women’s barracks, on the other hand, has been completely taken over
|
||||
by ants: they are turning it into an incubator for their eggs.
|
||||
|
||||
There are many worker and soldier ants present. The worker ants are
|
||||
busily creating safe little earth pockets for the eggs, and installing
|
||||
the eggs inside them. The soldier ants are insistent that the PCs cannot
|
||||
come inside: they will push back any PCs who try to enter.
|
||||
|
||||
However, there’s a female teenage tiefling here: Penny. She’s helping
|
||||
the ants move the eggs around. The ants already trust her. Like Green’s
|
||||
other employees, she hasn’t figured out how to get out of the labyrinth,
|
||||
but she is completely safe, the ants have been providing her with food
|
||||
and water. When the soldier ants try to repel the PCs, Penny raises her
|
||||
arms above her head and wiggles them around in a manner similar to how
|
||||
the ants move their antennae. In response to this, the ants make a path
|
||||
for the PCs to approach Penny.
|
||||
|
||||
Penny has already learned the rudiments of ant-language, even though
|
||||
she’s only been with the ants a few days. This is a clue that Penny is
|
||||
exceptional at language learning: she is good at helping out with any
|
||||
task that involves deciphering messages or languages. If asked about
|
||||
this, Penny downplays it: “Oh, I’ve only learned a few words. I’m
|
||||
basically at the ‘where is the bathroom’ stage of learning their
|
||||
language.” Despite this modesty, she is indeed very good at languages.
|
||||
She can translate, but it is true that she only knows a few words. She
|
||||
can translate very basic things like “people not dangerous,” but
|
||||
anything more complex is impossible.
|
||||
|
||||
When Penny sees the PCs, she is cheerful and friendly. If the PCs say
|
||||
they’ve come to rescue Green’s employees, Penny is grateful: she likes
|
||||
the ants, but she’s tired of being stuck in the basement. She comes with
|
||||
the PCs willingly. She is a useful resource for deciphering the scrolls.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Lounge, and Green and Edric’s Quarters
|
||||
|
||||
The lounge contains Omta’s steel door. Because of that, Omta
|
||||
deliberately keeps the PCs away from this area until Omta has a little
|
||||
time to get used to the PCs. This is therefore the last area that the
|
||||
PCs will find by traversing the labyrinth.
|
||||
|
||||
This area contains two large sofas, several comfy chairs, and a few
|
||||
reading tables. All this furniture has been upended during the chaos
|
||||
storm, and much of it is in a pile in the southeast corner of the room.
|
||||
The pile is hiding something important: there is a hole in the wall to
|
||||
Edric’s room. Like the other holes in the wall, it consists of one
|
||||
missing stone block. To get through, you have to be small in size.
|
||||
|
||||
Edric is here. Edric is the bariaur steward of the castle. A “steward”
|
||||
is responsible for paperwork: he keeps track of the books, he’s
|
||||
responsible for ordering deliveries of food, he guards the moneybox, and
|
||||
the like.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
To the east of the lounge is a short segment of hallway which is
|
||||
jam-packed with soldier ants. They are guarding the door to Green’s
|
||||
bedroom. Green’s bedroom is the largest bedroom in the basement, the ant
|
||||
queen has taken it as her lair. There is nothing interesting in Green’s
|
||||
bedroom other than the ant queen.
|
||||
|
||||
Directly across from Green’s bedroom is Edric’s bedroom and office.
|
||||
Edric’s office contains unremarkable items such as a wardrobe, a bed,
|
||||
and a writing table. It also contains the vault, which contains a
|
||||
lockbox with 3500 in gems (conjured by the Deck), 500 gp in gold, and a
|
||||
bunch of ledgers and records which are important to Edric but which
|
||||
serve no purpose for anyone else. Getting into Edric’s office is
|
||||
difficult because the soldier ants won’t let anyone come into the
|
||||
hallway with the doorway. However, it is also possible to enter Edric’s
|
||||
office through the hole in the wall in the lounge. The vault is
|
||||
basically a closet with a solid wooden door with a mundane padlock
|
||||
(lockpick DC 15). It can also be opened (slowly) by bashing. The lockbox
|
||||
is inside, with its own lock (lockpick DC 13).
|
||||
|
||||
Edric isn’t willing to leave the lounge until he has the lockbox. Once
|
||||
he has it, he’s glad to get out of the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs steal the gems, Edric will be angry. He will make an
|
||||
impassioned plea: “When you drew from the Deck, we dealt with you
|
||||
fairly. We paid you the gold you were owed, and when you went to a
|
||||
Donjon, we didn’t just keep your money, we made sure it went to your
|
||||
next-of-kin. We were fair to you. Are you really going to steal from
|
||||
us?” Doing this will earn the disapproval of all of Green’s employees.
|
||||
The PCs will get no cooperation on anything if the PCs treat Edric this
|
||||
way.
|
||||
|
||||
The lounge floor has a trapdoor that leads down into the labyrinth. This
|
||||
is not a portal, it’s a plain old trapdoor, the labyrinth actually is
|
||||
physically underneath the basement. The trapdoor has been here ever
|
||||
since the labyrinth was conjured.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs enter Edric’s bedroom via the hole, then emerge via the door,
|
||||
they will pop right out in front of the door to Green’s bedroom - the
|
||||
queen’s chamber. This will annoy the ants, and they will very
|
||||
aggressively push the PCs back into Edric’s bedroom. Then, they will
|
||||
form a line barring passage through Edric’s door. The PCs will have to
|
||||
exit via the hole.
|
||||
|
||||
The soldier ants in the lounge are very strict - whereas the soldiers in
|
||||
other parts of the castle are assertive, but rarely aggressive, these
|
||||
ones will fight if the PCs push their way into that hallway. They are
|
||||
quite serious about defending the queen. The only way to get past them
|
||||
is with Penny’s help: she can ask for permission to see the queen, and
|
||||
the queen will grant limited access (just one PC, plus Penny). For
|
||||
information about what the queen says, see the section on the ants.
|
||||
|
||||
To the north of the lounge is a hallway that in more normal times led to
|
||||
the latrine, the laundry room, and the cistern. When Green and his
|
||||
bodyguards entered the basement to rescue Green’s employees, Green was
|
||||
carrying the Deck. Omta portaled this group to the laundry room, then
|
||||
sealed them in by conjuring a big steel barrier in this hallway. Of
|
||||
course, Omta isn’t really trying to trap these people: he really only
|
||||
cares about protecting the deck. The people are collateral damage. Of
|
||||
course, the group tried to escape, but Omta thwarted them.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first arrive in the lounge, they see the steel barrier in
|
||||
this hallway. Later, this barrier will turn into a steel door. See the
|
||||
upcoming section, “The Steel Barrier becomes a Steel Door.”
|
||||
|
||||
### The Latrine, Cistern, and Laundry
|
||||
|
||||
This area of the castle is inaccessible, because of the steel barrier.
|
||||
We include it for completeness.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The cistern is a big tank where rainwater from the roof is collected. It
|
||||
is the castle’s supply of fresh water.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The latrine is basically a room with some watertight boxes that you can
|
||||
use to relieve yourself. When the castle was functioning normally, Zim
|
||||
(the janitor) would take those boxes outside and dump them in the woods.
|
||||
Now that the area is sealed, the boxes haven’t been emptied in some
|
||||
time, and the odor is seeping into the surrounding areas.
|
||||
|
||||
The laundry room is an area containing some big steel tubs which are
|
||||
used for both laundry and bathing. There is a large hearth with a pot
|
||||
that can be used to heat water. There is a rack full of towels, and a
|
||||
few tables for folding laundry. This is where Green and his bodyguards
|
||||
are staying now that they are trapped.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,668 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## Communicating with Omta
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs first enter the castle, they sense anxiety and dread (via
|
||||
their telepathic link with Omta). Later, a PC will say something out
|
||||
loud, and Omta will hear what the PC said and will have an emotional
|
||||
reaction. For example, if the PC says, “let’s go find the deck,” the PCs
|
||||
will sense a sudden uptick in the fear and anxiety coming from the
|
||||
presence in the labyrinth. If the PC says something like, “we’re not
|
||||
here to hurt you,” the emotion might change from anxiety to cautious
|
||||
relief.
|
||||
|
||||
Initially, that’s the extent of the communication: the PCs say things,
|
||||
the presence in the labyrinth (Omta) reacts with emotions. The fact that
|
||||
the emotions make sense - the fact that they’re logical reactions to the
|
||||
things that the PCs say - that tells the players that the presence in
|
||||
the labyrinth actually is listening and paying attention.
|
||||
|
||||
The players will eventually realize that they can talk directly to Omta,
|
||||
asking for things out loud. As long as those things aren’t a threat to
|
||||
Omta, Omta will cooperate. For example, if they say, “we need to find
|
||||
the cook,” Omta will rearrange the portals so that the PCs soon wander
|
||||
into the kitchen.
|
||||
|
||||
This low-level communication should persist for quite a while. Let the
|
||||
PCs explore the castle until they’ve accomplished quite a few things.
|
||||
Make sure they’ve met at least two of the employees, and make sure
|
||||
they’ve had a few interactions with ants. Ideally, they should have had
|
||||
an interaction with Borghan and an interaction with Alyssa Varn as well.
|
||||
|
||||
After the PCs have been in the castle a while, Omta decides to
|
||||
communicate with them in a more detailed way. Omta reaches out to the
|
||||
PCs telepathically, and tries to send them an actual message.
|
||||
|
||||
### Failed Telepathic Messages
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs experience a strange phenomenon. Say to your players, “you feel
|
||||
the presence in the labyrinth trying to send a message to you. You
|
||||
receive the following: surprise, then shock, then fear, then
|
||||
determination, then more surprise, then a feeling of being trapped.”
|
||||
Then, a minute later, tell them: “You sense frustration.”
|
||||
|
||||
What’s happening here is that Omta is trying to send a message through
|
||||
the telepathic link, but it’s not working. Omta’s way of reasoning is so
|
||||
alien that it’s just not coming through: all the PCs are receiving are
|
||||
the *emotions* associated with the story that Omta is trying to tell,
|
||||
but they’re not receiving any of the *concrete details*. Omta can tell
|
||||
that the PCs aren’t getting it, so he’s frustrated that his attempts at
|
||||
communication aren’t getting through.
|
||||
|
||||
Omta will sporadically repeat these attempts, always to no avail. If the
|
||||
players don’t figure it out, let them roll an insight roll to figure
|
||||
out: the “presence in the labyrinth” is trying to communicate with you,
|
||||
but it’s not really working.
|
||||
|
||||
Tell them that although they can’t figure out what the presence is
|
||||
trying to say, they do sense two very clear patterns:
|
||||
|
||||
- The emotions they’re receiving contain an awful lot of fear,
|
||||
> anxiety, and dread. Of course, this is because Omta is terrified
|
||||
> of Tymora.
|
||||
|
||||
- The sequences of emotions always end in frustration. Of course, this
|
||||
> is because Omta is aggravated about his inability to communicate
|
||||
> with the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
Make sure that Omta repeats this at least three times.
|
||||
|
||||
### Omta Decides to try Writing
|
||||
|
||||
After several failed attempts at telepathic communication, Omta comes up
|
||||
with a new idea: maybe I can talk to them in writing!
|
||||
|
||||
This is what the PCs experience: they once again receive a sequence of
|
||||
emotions, followed once again by frustration… and more frustration… and
|
||||
then suddenly, inspiration! Insight! Moments later, a piece of parchment
|
||||
materializes in thin air in front of one of the PCs. The scroll contains
|
||||
images of cards from the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
The fact that the scroll is made up of symbols from the Deck is a dead
|
||||
giveaway that the PCs are talking to the deck itself. Let’s take a
|
||||
moment to explain why Omta is communicating using images from the deck.
|
||||
|
||||
Tens of thousands of years ago, Omta fled to a far corner of the
|
||||
multiverse and has been hiding there ever since. He went into hiding
|
||||
*before* mortals existed, and before mortals invented language. Because
|
||||
of this, Omta has no idea what a “sentence” is. Back in those days, the
|
||||
gods communicated with symbols, but those symbols were not arranged into
|
||||
sentences. Instead, symbols were displayed in groups, associated with
|
||||
each other but without any subject, verb, object relationship. This is
|
||||
the only way Omta knows how to talk. He never learned how to speak a
|
||||
language.
|
||||
|
||||
Omta likes to use cards from the deck as his preferred symbols. He
|
||||
thinks the cards represent all the most important ideas, so in his mind,
|
||||
they make the perfect communication symbols. Each card has multiple
|
||||
meanings. For example, the gem card can mean “gems.” But it can also
|
||||
mean “money”, or “wealth”, or even “precious.” It can also mean
|
||||
“beautiful”, or even “sparkly.” Earlier in this book, the chapter *Cards
|
||||
of the Deck* lists the symbolic meanings of the cards.
|
||||
|
||||
Any PC who drew a card from the deck knows, instinctively, the symbolic
|
||||
meanings of that particular card. For example, if one of the PCs drew
|
||||
the gem card, then that PC will know that the gem card has all the
|
||||
meanings listed above. Of course, every PC drew three cards, so by
|
||||
working together and sharing information, the PCs will be able to
|
||||
decipher many of the symbols used by Omta.
|
||||
|
||||
But what about cards that the PCs didn’t draw? Nobody in the party drew
|
||||
the *Sun* card, for instance. If the PCs want to know what the symbolic
|
||||
meanings of the *Sun* card are, they will have to ask somebody who drew
|
||||
the sun card.
|
||||
|
||||
### Omta Says: “Ask Me Questions, Mortals.”
|
||||
|
||||
The first piece of parchment that Omta gives to the PCs looks like this:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.2416666666666667in"}
|
||||
|
||||
It means: “I want the four of you to ask me questions.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The cluster on the left represents the PCs: four people who drew the
|
||||
Donjon card. The cluster on the right represents Omta: it contains his
|
||||
holy symbol, a pair of dice with a sunburst. The PCs recognize the
|
||||
symbol of the dice with the sunburst as the symbol that was on the box
|
||||
of the Deck. The middle symbol is the Vizier card. If the PCs ask Lada
|
||||
about the Vizier card, she says, “in the past, it used to grant mortals
|
||||
the ability to ask questions of the gods.” As it turns out, that’s still
|
||||
what it does.
|
||||
|
||||
Omta wants the PCs to ask him questions. He thinks that if the PCs start
|
||||
by asking the right questions, then communicating with them will be
|
||||
easier.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs try to interpret the scroll, they will probably say all
|
||||
kinds of things that are incorrect. When the PCs say something
|
||||
incorrect, they sense mild confusion from Omta via the telepathic link.
|
||||
This is their clue that they’re on the wrong track.
|
||||
|
||||
When they say something correct, part of the scroll becomes brighter,
|
||||
bolder, more colorful. For example, if somebody says, “I think this
|
||||
cluster on the left represents the four of us,” then the PCs sense
|
||||
excitement from Omta, and the cluster on the left becomes bolder,
|
||||
brighter, clearer. This is the PCs clue that they’re on the right track.
|
||||
But the fact that only the cluster on the left became bolder tells them
|
||||
that they haven’t deciphered the whole scroll, only the part on the
|
||||
left.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs get stuck, which is likely, they may get frustrated. In that
|
||||
case, Lada says, “I think part of the problem is that we don’t know what
|
||||
this vizier symbol really means. Do we know anybody who drew the vizier
|
||||
card? Maybe they would know.” That’s the key to understanding *all* of
|
||||
Omta’s messages: go find the people who drew the cards.
|
||||
|
||||
If you go find the people who drew the cards, in general, those people
|
||||
will know what the cards mean. However, some of those people are very
|
||||
difficult to talk to. For example, Borghan is in the form of a bear,
|
||||
which makes it extremely difficult to get any kind of useful information
|
||||
out of him.
|
||||
|
||||
Fortunately, there is a woman who drew the Vizier card: Brunna the
|
||||
Antiquarian. She is not hard to talk to, and she is very helpful in
|
||||
interpreting the messages.
|
||||
|
||||
Now that Omta has given the PCs this message, he refuses to help with
|
||||
navigation any more until the PCs figure out what his message means. He
|
||||
takes the PCs to the basement landing, and won’t bring them anywhere
|
||||
else. If the PCs reenter the labyrinth, Omta will just bring them back
|
||||
to the basement landing.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, if the PCs do figure out that they’re supposed to ask
|
||||
questions, they’ll probably try asking all sorts of questions. But only
|
||||
three questions will elicit a response:
|
||||
|
||||
- Why are you afraid?
|
||||
|
||||
- What is your goal?
|
||||
|
||||
- Who are you?
|
||||
|
||||
These questions don’t have to be phrased exactly like that. For example,
|
||||
instead of asking “What is your goal,” the PCs could equivalently ask,
|
||||
“What are you trying to accomplish,” “Why is the deck here,” or anything
|
||||
along those lines.
|
||||
|
||||
Asking any question other than the three questions above will result in
|
||||
no reaction. Omta won’t answer arbitrary questions, he has specific
|
||||
things he wants to convey.
|
||||
|
||||
Sometimes, the PCs get focused on their *own* goals, and they start
|
||||
asking questions like, “how can we get to where the deck is.” Omta
|
||||
reacts to these questions with annoyance. If the PCs get stuck asking
|
||||
questions about their own goals, Lada eventually gives them a hint: “We
|
||||
should ask him about his agenda, not about how he can help us with
|
||||
ours.”
|
||||
|
||||
If one the PCs ask one of the three key questions, Omta conjures another
|
||||
scroll: the answer to the question. As soon as the PCs ask one of the
|
||||
three questions, Omta will permit the PCs to traverse the basement
|
||||
again.
|
||||
|
||||
### Asking: “Why are you Afraid?”
|
||||
|
||||
Omta conjures this scroll if the PCs ask the question, “Why are you
|
||||
afraid:”
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.225in"}
|
||||
|
||||
The meaning of this scroll is: “I’m afraid because Tymora intends to
|
||||
kill me!”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The cluster on the left represents Omta. It contains Omta’s holy symbol,
|
||||
the Sun card, and Euryale. In this context, the Sun card means “god,”
|
||||
Omta is just letting the PCs know that he’s a god. The Euryale card
|
||||
means “fear,” it represents the fact that Omta is afraid.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster on the right represents Tymora. Again the Sun card means
|
||||
“god,” because Tymora is a god. The gem card is there because Tymora’s
|
||||
holy symbol is a coin, Gem is the closest thing in the deck to “coin.”
|
||||
The skull card conjures an “avatar of death” that immediately tries to
|
||||
kill you. In this context, it means “a dangerous killer.”
|
||||
|
||||
In reality, Omta is overly fearful. This is because in Omta’s past, his
|
||||
formative experiences involved another god who was much more aggressive
|
||||
and dangerous than Tymora. Now he expects all gods to be dangerous and
|
||||
aggressive. Fear and anxiety are not always rational: Omta is scared.
|
||||
|
||||
In fairness, to Omta, Tymora is no murderer, but she is very angry, and
|
||||
she won’t rule out the possibility of a fight. So Omta really is in some
|
||||
danger.
|
||||
|
||||
### Asking: “What is Your Goal?”
|
||||
|
||||
Omta conjures this scroll if the PCs ask the question, “what do you
|
||||
want,” or equivalently, “why are you here,” or “why is the deck sticking
|
||||
around:”
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.2333333333333334in"}
|
||||
|
||||
The meaning of this scroll is: “I have to save the universe from
|
||||
Rennick, before he ruins everything!”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
In this scroll, the upper-left cluster represents Omta. It contains his
|
||||
holy symbol, and also the knight card, which means “defender,” in this
|
||||
case, the defender of the universe.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster on the right represents Rennick. It contains the Vizier
|
||||
card, meaning (in this case) a seer or a scholar: Rennick is a
|
||||
researcher. It also contains the Idiot card - Omta thinks that Rennick,
|
||||
for all his knowledge, is a careless idiot. Finally, it contains the
|
||||
“ruin” card, meaning that Rennick is going to destroy everything.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The bottom cluster represents the entire universe. Omta frequently uses
|
||||
the combination “Star-Gem” to represent the universe. Star means
|
||||
“wondrous thing,” and gem means “beautiful thing.” Omta thinks the
|
||||
universe is a wonderful, beautiful thing. But identifying that star-gem
|
||||
is a reference to the universe is quite difficult. However, many of the
|
||||
scrolls contain the star-gem combo. Other scrolls provide clues that
|
||||
star-gem might be the universe.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, the ruin card in the bottom cluster means that Omta is afraid
|
||||
that the universe is going to be ruined.
|
||||
|
||||
### Asking: “Who Are You?”
|
||||
|
||||
Asking somebody who they are is a very open-ended question. When Omta
|
||||
gets this question, he decides to tell his whole life story, in the form
|
||||
of four scrolls. To make this clear to the players, Lada should say this
|
||||
explicitly: “Four scrolls? Is this his entire life story?”
|
||||
|
||||
When you look at the four scrolls, you’ll notice that the scrolls have
|
||||
page numbers: the comet cards. But the page numbering is backward from
|
||||
what you might expect. The comet symbol represents time, usually the
|
||||
past. So one comet means “a long time ago,” but four comets means “a
|
||||
long, long, long, long time ago.”
|
||||
|
||||
Here are the four scrolls, in chronological order:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.234880796150481in"}
|
||||
|
||||
Omta is trying to tell the following story:\
|
||||
\
|
||||
“A god created the universe. He was the original bricklayer, he was the
|
||||
king of the gods. But he was a beast, and he was possessive and
|
||||
controlling. The universe he created was a wondrous item, it was
|
||||
beautiful, but it was flawed. It was too predictable, too boring. I was
|
||||
wise, and I knew how to fix the universe. But I knew the creator was
|
||||
possessive and wouldn’t want me to touch his creation. So I snuck into
|
||||
the universe, making sure the creator didn’t see me, and I taught the
|
||||
universe how to use *randomness*.”
|
||||
|
||||
That’s a lot to interpret from just a few symbols! Let me walk you
|
||||
though how the symbols on the scroll tell that story.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
The cluster on the right represents the creator god. It contains the Sun
|
||||
card, meaning “god.” It contains the bricklayer card, which of course
|
||||
means creator or builder, but it also implies possessive and
|
||||
controlling. The throne card means “king,” but it also implies that he
|
||||
rules by sheer might. The creator is the king of the gods because he is
|
||||
the most powerful god.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster on the right is the best starting point. Since it contains
|
||||
the king of the gods, the bricklayer, it strongly suggests that this
|
||||
story is a creation myth. And if this is a myth about the creation of
|
||||
the universe, well then it follows that the universe must be here on the
|
||||
scroll somewhere.
|
||||
|
||||
Getting your players to realize this is a creation myth can be tricky,
|
||||
so be attentive for when somebody says something about creation of the
|
||||
universe. As soon as they do, give them positive feedback in the form of
|
||||
the entire scroll getting a little bolder. Letting them know this is a
|
||||
creation myth is essential to them deciphering this.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster in the center represents the universe. It uses the star-gem
|
||||
combo, which the Deck frequently uses to indicate the universe. Star
|
||||
means “wondrous item,” gem means “beautiful item.” This is the best Omta
|
||||
can do to summarize the universe.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster also contains the cripple card, meaning sick or unhealthy.
|
||||
But it’s not immediately obvious how the universe was sick or unhealthy
|
||||
until you think about it logically: this is the Deck we’re talking to.
|
||||
Its whole agenda is *randomness*. If the deck doesn’t like the universe,
|
||||
it must be because the universe lacks randomness.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster on the left means Omta. It contains his holy symbol, and the
|
||||
owl card, meaning “wise.” Omta thinks he’s wise, because he thinks he
|
||||
knows how to cure the universe. The key card means “teaching a skill.”
|
||||
Omta is teaching the universe how to be random. The rogue card means,
|
||||
“being sneaky.” In this case, it represents the fact that Omta knew the
|
||||
creator wouldn’t want anyone messing with his stuff, so Omta knew he had
|
||||
to sneak into the universe and not get caught.
|
||||
|
||||
You will have to give your players *many* hints. The most valuable hint
|
||||
they can receive is feedback: if they say something that’s on the wrong
|
||||
track, they receive annoyance from Omta. If they say something that’s on
|
||||
the right track, parts of the scroll light up to show what they got
|
||||
right.
|
||||
|
||||
Here is the second part of the story:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.216266404199475in"}
|
||||
|
||||
This part of the story is simple:
|
||||
|
||||
“I fled the scene of the crime. I hid in the farthest reaches of the
|
||||
void! I was terrified.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Omta knew that the creator god was controlling and possessive, and that
|
||||
he wouldn’t want anybody messing with his creation. So after altering
|
||||
the universe, Omta fled the scene of the crime and hid. He was terrified
|
||||
that the creator would find out what he did, and kill him.
|
||||
|
||||
In this scroll, there is one cluster, containing Omta’s holy symbol.
|
||||
Omta is all alone. The dungeon card here means imprisonment or
|
||||
isolation, in this case, self-imposed. The void card means literally,
|
||||
“in the farthest reaches of the void.” The rogue card means, “still
|
||||
being sneaky.” And the Euryale card means, “terrified.”
|
||||
|
||||
Then, this happened:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.234880796150481in"}
|
||||
|
||||
This is the story Omta is trying to tell:\
|
||||
\
|
||||
“I was trying to be sneaky, but Selune found me out. She saw what I did,
|
||||
then she 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:
|
||||
she would not tell anyone what I did, or where I was hiding, or even
|
||||
that I exist.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Let’s go over that one symbol at a time. The cluster on the right is
|
||||
Omta. Rogue means he’s still trying to be sneaky. Euryale means he’s
|
||||
still terrified of getting caught. But Idiot means he’s failed: he’s
|
||||
been caught.
|
||||
|
||||
The cluster on the left is Selune. Sun-Moon means “goddess of the moon,”
|
||||
ie, Selune. Owl means “wise.” Void, in this case, means “silent.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Notice that Omta is calling Selune “wise.” That strongly suggests that
|
||||
Selune “did the right thing” in the eyes of Omta. And obviously, “doing
|
||||
the right thing” would be *not* revealing Omta to the creator, not
|
||||
getting him killed. And obviously, Omta is not dead, so obviously, she
|
||||
*didn’t* turn him in.
|
||||
|
||||
Understanding the void card in Selune’s cluster is difficult. When
|
||||
somebody lists off the meanings of the void card, one of them is
|
||||
“Silence.” Try to give them the feedback that silence is the right
|
||||
interpretation here. But what does that mean, Silence?
|
||||
|
||||
To really understand, Lada needs to remind the players of the vision
|
||||
with Selune. In that vision, Selune said: “A long, long time ago, I
|
||||
promised to keep a secret.” Selune was specifically referring to the
|
||||
incident in this scroll! She promised Omta that she would not reveal his
|
||||
existence to the creator. That’s why, when the PCs talked to Selune in
|
||||
that vision, she couldn’t say any more - if she revealed Omta’s
|
||||
existence, that would be breaking the promise. So the void card, in this
|
||||
context, means “keeping silent - keeping a secret.”
|
||||
|
||||
Again, you will need to provide *lots* of hints and feedback.
|
||||
|
||||
Here is the final page of the story:
|
||||
|
||||
{width="5.0in" height="3.234880796150481in"}
|
||||
|
||||
### Learning the Meanings of the Cards
|
||||
|
||||
In order to decipher Omta’s scrolls, the PCs will need to know the
|
||||
symbolic meanings of all the cards. Many of the cards have some obvious
|
||||
meanings, and some non-obvious meanings. For example, the Key card can
|
||||
literally mean, “A Key.” That’s completely obvious. It can also mean,
|
||||
“To Lock,” or “To Unlock.” That’s not as obvious, but it’s still pretty
|
||||
easy to guess. But because the Key card can grant a skill, the Key card
|
||||
can also mean “A Skill.” That’s non-obvious, and to learn that, you may
|
||||
have to talk to somebody who drew the Key card. They will know all the
|
||||
meanings.
|
||||
|
||||
Anyone who draws a card from the deck gains a magical awareness of what
|
||||
that particular card means. Since each PC drew three cards, each PC
|
||||
knows the exact meanings of three of the cards. By pooling their
|
||||
knowledge, the PCs can figure out the meanings of quite a few of the
|
||||
cards. However, there are still quite a few cards that the PCs will not
|
||||
have drawn. To find out those meanings, the PCs will have to seek out
|
||||
NPCs who drew those particular cards.
|
||||
|
||||
Another thing the PCs can do to learn the meanings of the cards is to
|
||||
ask Lada. Lada is a researcher into Luck, and the Deck is one of her
|
||||
most favorite research topics. However, all of her knowledge comes from
|
||||
historical records. That’s a problem, because Omta constantly changes up
|
||||
the cards and their meanings. Lada’s knowledge is just plain
|
||||
out-of-date. If the PCs ask Lada the meaning of a card, you should read
|
||||
the description of the card from the DM’s guide! If the card isn’t in
|
||||
the DM’s guide, then Lada says she’s never heard of the card before.
|
||||
|
||||
Lada is crystal clear about the fact that her knowledge is not
|
||||
trustworthy. She explains that her knowledge might be out-of-date, and
|
||||
she explains that some of the historical records she’s using might be
|
||||
entirely made up by liars. She says that her information is potentially
|
||||
useful, but that it should be taken with a big grain of salt. In fact,
|
||||
the descriptions in the DM’s guide *do* match the ones in this module
|
||||
for some of the cards, but most cards have at least some differences.
|
||||
|
||||
### Help your Players Decipher the Scrolls
|
||||
|
||||
You will have to help the PCs decipher the scrolls. You will need to
|
||||
give them *lots* of hints.
|
||||
|
||||
The scrolls contain symbols which have many meanings. Because of this,
|
||||
interpreting a scroll is an incredibly open-ended puzzle. That’s fun,
|
||||
but there’s a downside: it means that it’s very easy for the PCs to go
|
||||
off on a tangents with wild misinterpretations.
|
||||
|
||||
The first step to keeping your players on track is to repeatedly remind
|
||||
them: *talk to the NPCs who drew the cards*. You need to impress this on
|
||||
your players: it’s fun to try to guess what the cards represent, but
|
||||
until you talk to the people who drew the cards, you’re just guessing.
|
||||
|
||||
For example, some player might convince himself that he just *knows*
|
||||
that the Sun card must mean fire and flame and destruction. It
|
||||
absolutely doesn’t mean that at all. If the PCs spend hours trying to
|
||||
make sense of a scroll, starting with the assumption that “Sun” means
|
||||
fire and flame and destruction, they’re going to go down a rabbit hole.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
When the PCs do this, you can try to bring them back down to earth in
|
||||
two ways: one, you can have NPCs speak up. Lada might say, “I am not
|
||||
sure that’s what the Sun card means. That doesn’t seem consistent with
|
||||
the historic effects of the Sun card, it didn’t burn or destroy
|
||||
anything. Maybe we should go talk to somebody who drew the Sun card.”
|
||||
|
||||
You can also have Omta react, via the telepathic link. When the PC says,
|
||||
“this card means fire and flame,” have Omta react with mild annoyance.
|
||||
|
||||
Another thing you will have to do is provide positive feedback. When the
|
||||
PCs are talking about the scrolls, they will say lots of things that are
|
||||
wrong, and occasionally, something that is right. When they say
|
||||
something right, they should get positive reinforcement. Omta should
|
||||
react with enthusiasm via the telepathic link, and the relevant portion
|
||||
of the scroll should become brighter, bolder. Of course, there’s a risk
|
||||
of giving too much away this way, so use your judgement about how much
|
||||
you reveal, and how accurate the PCs need to be before they get positive
|
||||
feedback.
|
||||
|
||||
During the deciphering of the scrolls, the PCs are likely to do some
|
||||
twenty-questions style guessing. For example, when deciphering the
|
||||
scroll “what are you afraid of,” the PCs might just start listing
|
||||
everyone they can think of: “Are you afraid of Rennick? Of Green? Of
|
||||
Beshaba? Of Tymora?” That last one is right, but not because the PCs had
|
||||
any insight. That’s not really how we want this puzzle to be solved.
|
||||
It’s up to you how to react to this. If the players do this just a
|
||||
little, you might have the Tymora section of the scroll light up anyway.
|
||||
If the players do it too much, Omta gets annoyed and closes the
|
||||
telepathic connection for an hour or two. The PCs can sense that he’s
|
||||
not listening right now, and that guessing was just annoying him.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs do solve a portion of a scroll through a wild guess, have the
|
||||
relevant section of the scroll become bolder, but only barely. For
|
||||
example, if somebody makes a wild guess that the cluster on the right of
|
||||
the “what are you afraid of” scroll represents Tymora, have that cluster
|
||||
get a little bolder, but the three cards inside do not illuminate.
|
||||
Explain that to fully illuminate the cluster, the PCs will have to
|
||||
decipher the specific meanings of each piece of the cluster.
|
||||
|
||||
The last thing you can do to help the players is to have NPCs give
|
||||
hints. You should use your judgement about how many hints you want to
|
||||
give: enough to get the players to make progress, but not so many that
|
||||
it feels easy. You will definitely need to give some, though.
|
||||
|
||||
There are several NPCs who can provide hints, chief among them: Lada and
|
||||
Penny. Lada is insightful about the deck because she’s researched it her
|
||||
whole life. Penny is insightful because she just has a natural affinity
|
||||
for languages.
|
||||
|
||||
You, the DM, can use Penny to give the PCs exactly the amount of hinting
|
||||
that they need, and no more. When the PCs show the scrolls to Penny,
|
||||
Penny should stare at them and make some basic observations (like, “So
|
||||
you guys drew three of these cards, but two of them are unknowns.”)
|
||||
Then, after a few basic observations, have her say something seriously
|
||||
insightful.
|
||||
|
||||
From that point forward, dish out the insightful observations at a pace
|
||||
that works for your PCs. If they need more help, give them more
|
||||
observations. If they seem to be getting it on their own, give them
|
||||
fewer.
|
||||
|
||||
Penny really enjoys studying the scrolls: she really likes foreign
|
||||
languages! She’s always bright and perky, but when she’s working on the
|
||||
scrolls she’s especially happy. She says: “This is fun! If you get any
|
||||
more of these scrolls, please show them to me. Oh, and if you learn the
|
||||
meanings of any more cards, please let me know.”
|
||||
|
||||
Here is a list of things the two NPCs could say:
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation**:
|
||||
|
||||
How many cards are there in the deck? Roughly 20, we think? Think about
|
||||
it, if you’re writing in a language that has only 20 words, then every
|
||||
word is going to have to have lots of meanings.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**Look, I know a lot about languages, but that doesn’t mean that I can
|
||||
tell you the meaning of a symbol without any context. Of course, some
|
||||
meanings are obvious. The gem card can obviously mean, “a gem.” But does
|
||||
it also mean wealth in general? Can it mean “money?” Probably, but I
|
||||
won’t know for sure until we talk to somebody who actually knows.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:**
|
||||
|
||||
I hear you guys trying to solve these scrolls, without first leaning the
|
||||
meaning of the cards. For example, this scroll has a Sun card on it, and
|
||||
you haven’t spoken to anyone who drew the Sun card. So I think it’s too
|
||||
early to try to solve the scroll. I wouldn’t try solving a scroll, until
|
||||
you know the meanings of all the cards on it. You could make yourselves
|
||||
crazy.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**Penny: Imagine you’re expressing ideas with drawings. If you wanted to
|
||||
say “candle,” what would you draw?
|
||||
|
||||
PC: A candle.\
|
||||
Penny: Ok, now let’s say you wanted to say, “candlelight.” What would
|
||||
you draw?
|
||||
|
||||
PC: Uh, I guess a candle with rays of light coming from the flame?
|
||||
|
||||
Penny: OK, now let’s say you wanted to say, “wax.” What would you draw?
|
||||
|
||||
PC: Uh, I guess a candle with some wax pooling?
|
||||
|
||||
Penny: If you looked at somebody else’s drawing of a candle, would you
|
||||
be entirely sure which concept the artist was trying to communicate? I
|
||||
guess my point is, if you see a symbol, don’t be so sure that you have
|
||||
the right meaning. Every image, like candle, could have many possible
|
||||
meanings.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**I see that this scroll has a cluster containing “star, gem, ruin.”
|
||||
That one contains a cluster containing “star, gem, cripple.” That one
|
||||
contains “star, gem, tiger.” I feel like these all represent the same
|
||||
thing - in this one, star-gem is sick, in this one, star-gem is healthy,
|
||||
and in that one, star-gem is in danger of being ruined. So whatever
|
||||
star-gem is, I bet it’s the same in all these scrolls.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:**
|
||||
|
||||
Using picture-based languages, it’s really hard to express abstract
|
||||
concepts. If I wanted to express the concept of “love,” I might draw a
|
||||
puppy, because I really love puppies. But that’s subjective. Somebody
|
||||
else might use a puppy to represent the idea of “delicious.” I think
|
||||
that to really fully decipher these scrolls, you’re going to have to get
|
||||
to know this being a little. You’re going to have to learn what concepts
|
||||
he associates to what images.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**The common tongue is written left-to-right, in the order subject,
|
||||
verb, object. But remember that not all languages use that order. Some
|
||||
languages don’t have any order. My point is: just because something is
|
||||
on the left side of the scroll, don’t assume it’s the subject. It might
|
||||
not be consistent.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:**
|
||||
|
||||
It’s easy to get fixated on a meaning for a card. In this first scroll,
|
||||
the vizier card means “asking questions.” But I think if we’re not
|
||||
careful, we’ll assume it means the same thing in the next scroll too. It
|
||||
might not. Don’t accidentally get locked in to a single meaning just
|
||||
because it worked for you once.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**I notice that on this scroll, the Ruin card appears twice. I bet one
|
||||
of them is for the person who’s doing the ruining, and the other is for
|
||||
the thing that’s being ruined.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:**
|
||||
|
||||
Never forget about the literal interpretation. In some places, the sun
|
||||
card might mean, literally, “the sun.” In some places, the vizier card
|
||||
might mean literally, “a vizier (a seer).” In some places, the gem card
|
||||
might mean literally, “gems.”
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**The ogre Pig drew the throne card. But if you go ask him what the
|
||||
throne card means, he probably doesn’t have the necessary intelligence
|
||||
to verbalize all the possible interpretations. My point is: if you’re
|
||||
asking somebody about a card, keep in mind who you’re talking to, and
|
||||
bear in mind that they may not want or be able to tell you everything
|
||||
there is to know.
|
||||
|
||||
**Observation:\
|
||||
**If I wanted to represent the concept of werewolf, I might choose
|
||||
“moon” and “beast.” But if you saw “moon” and “beast” together, would
|
||||
you think of a werewolf? Maybe, but you might think of an owl instead. I
|
||||
guess what I’m saying is, be open to the possibility that there might be
|
||||
another interpretation.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Steel Barrier Becomes a Steel Door
|
||||
|
||||
The lounge area contains the steel barrier that separates the lounge
|
||||
from the laundry area. Initially, the steel barrier is just a barrier.
|
||||
But once the PCs receive the scrolls, it physically changes: three
|
||||
hinges appear, transforming it from a barrier into a door. Six
|
||||
pigeonholes appear in the surface. A brass plaque appears, bearing the
|
||||
symbols: *Vizier, Key*.
|
||||
|
||||
The meaning of the inscription *Vizier, Key* is: “Knowledge is the Key
|
||||
to opening this door.” More specifically, Omta won’t let you through the
|
||||
door until you’ve read all six scrolls. He isn’t going to let the PCs
|
||||
approach the Deck until they have heard Omta’s side of the story.
|
||||
|
||||
It’s completely obvious that to unlock the door, you have to put
|
||||
something into the holes. The PCs may try jamming random objects into
|
||||
the holes. If they do, the objects just pop back out. If the PCs keep
|
||||
that up too long, they start to sense frustration from Omta. However,
|
||||
nothing bad happens.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs try inserting a scroll into a pigeonhole, they will notice
|
||||
that it fits *perfectly*. Unlike other random items inserted into the
|
||||
pigeonholes, the scrolls slide back out much more slowly, making it
|
||||
obvious that the players are getting closer. If none of the players
|
||||
figure it out, Lada will tell them what they have to do: “Maybe we’re
|
||||
supposed to read the scrolls before inserting them in the door.”
|
||||
|
||||
To unlock the door, the PCs must ask all three of the key questions in
|
||||
order to obtain all six scrolls. Then, they must decipher all six of the
|
||||
scrolls. Once a scroll is properly deciphered, it can be inserted into
|
||||
the door, triggering the sound of mechanical tumblers. The scroll will
|
||||
remain in the pigeonhole. When all six scrolls are deciphered and in
|
||||
their pigeonholes, the door opens, and the PCs can finally meet and talk
|
||||
to Omta directly.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,262 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## The Conclusion of the Chapter
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
### Meeting Omta
|
||||
|
||||
When the steel door opens, it reveals an extradimensional space, a black
|
||||
emptiness. Within the space, the PCs observe a very vague humanoid form
|
||||
- just a blurry outline. The form is resting on the vague outline of a
|
||||
bed. It is very obviously asleep. This is Omta.
|
||||
|
||||
The black emptiness is the part of the void where Omta hides. The PCs
|
||||
can walk out into this emptiness, and approach Omta. They’re not walking
|
||||
“on” anything, there’s nothing there. But they can move around
|
||||
nonetheless. Lada cannot cross the threshold - only the PCs.
|
||||
|
||||
As soon as the PCs cross the threshold of the door, they immediately
|
||||
sense that their telepathic connection with Omta has gotten a lot
|
||||
stronger. Tell them that they find it much easier to sense what Omta is
|
||||
feeling and thinking.
|
||||
|
||||
As soon as the PCs approach, Omta speaks. Cards cards appear over his
|
||||
body, in groups, just like on the scrolls. He is again communicating.
|
||||
However, this time, the PCs have no trouble understanding what he’s
|
||||
trying to say. They don’t need to “decipher” the cards - they just
|
||||
understand. This is because of the much stronger telepathic link. Tell
|
||||
your players that from this point forward, the PCs will never have
|
||||
difficulty making sense of card-language again.
|
||||
|
||||
In card-speak, Omta introduces himself:
|
||||
|
||||
> I am the roll of the dice, the turn of the cards. I am
|
||||
> unpredictability without chaos. I am the Deck, and the Deck is me - it
|
||||
> is my avatar. It wants what I want. What I want, is for the universe
|
||||
> to remain unpredictable and unknowable. I want to preserve the
|
||||
> surprise and wonder.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> The situation is dire, and I need help. You are the only ones who have
|
||||
> made any real effort to understand me. So I will ask you for your
|
||||
> help.”
|
||||
|
||||
Omta wants two things from the PCs:
|
||||
|
||||
1. Rennick cannot be allowed to destroy randomness itself. Help me stop
|
||||
> him.
|
||||
|
||||
2. Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill
|
||||
> me.
|
||||
|
||||
At this point, the PCs can ask anything they want to Omta. Before
|
||||
answering anything, Omta demands: “Promise you won’t betray me to
|
||||
Tymora. I don’t want to die.” Assuming the PCs agree, Omta will answer
|
||||
any questions the PCs have to the best of his ability.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask why Omta is trying to take away Tymora’s worshippers,
|
||||
Omta replies: “I have no interest in worshippers. I don’t need them. It
|
||||
is true that some of her former worshippers are directing worship
|
||||
towards me now. This is something they have done of their own
|
||||
initiative, and I find it odd and confusing.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask what Omta means by “I am unpredictability without chaos,”
|
||||
Omta explains: “If you roll a die, it could come up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
|
||||
It is random. But the die will not turn into a mouse and walk away,
|
||||
because it is not made of Limbo’s pure chaos. Pure chaos reduces the
|
||||
universe to nonsense. I harnessed chaos, chained it, and turned it into
|
||||
randomness. Randomness adds unpredictability without destroying
|
||||
meaning.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs explain that the Deck’s presence and the Deck’s power are
|
||||
what is attracting worshippers, Omta will say, “I sent the Deck to stop
|
||||
Rennick. By its own rules, the Deck cannot vanish until its goal is
|
||||
accomplished. If you want the Deck to go away, help me stop Rennick.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask what Rennick has done, Omta explains that Rennick has
|
||||
devised a way to predict the outcome of random events, and that if
|
||||
random events can be predicted, then they’re not random at all. Omta
|
||||
wants this technology gone. If the PCs suggest killing Rennick, Omta is
|
||||
fine with that.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask why Omta hasn’t taken a more direct approach, like just
|
||||
killing Rennick, Omta seems puzzled. He says, “I did act directly, I
|
||||
sent the Deck, and the Deck is me. The Deck might kill Rennick, or
|
||||
imprison him, or stop him in any one of a number of other ways. That is
|
||||
as direct as I can be. Anything else would not be random.” Omta is tied
|
||||
up by his own ideology.
|
||||
|
||||
Assuming the PCs ask a lot of questions (which they should), the
|
||||
conversation with Omta should clear up just about everything about
|
||||
what’s really been going on. The only puzzle piece that’s still missing
|
||||
is Rennick’s perspective: the PCs still don’t know exactly what Rennick
|
||||
has done, or why.
|
||||
|
||||
At the end of the conversation, Omta again pleads that the PCs not to
|
||||
lead Tymora to his doorstep. He is clearly terrified of Tymora.
|
||||
|
||||
When the conversation with Omta is over, the PCs must exit the void
|
||||
through the steel door. As soon as they do, the steel door vanishes.
|
||||
|
||||
### Negotiating with Green
|
||||
|
||||
After the steel door vanishes, all that remains is the hallway to the
|
||||
laundry room. A moment later, the bodyguard Mikhail sticks his head
|
||||
around the corner and then shouts, “HEY! The Barrier is GONE!” Within
|
||||
moments, Green and his entire entourage is there in the hall.
|
||||
|
||||
Green asks, “Are my employees safe? Where is Penny? Where are Tommel and
|
||||
Zim?” He won’t talk about anything else until he is reassured that
|
||||
everyone who works for him has been delivered to safety. If there’s
|
||||
anybody who hasn’t been saved, then Green will immediately ignore the
|
||||
PCs and go searching for the missing employees.
|
||||
|
||||
When Green’s employees are safe, Green profusely thanks the PCs for
|
||||
helping. He gladly offers them a cash reward. Green will answer any
|
||||
question, but he doesn’t have any new information: he’s been trapped in
|
||||
the laundry room ever since the chaos storm, along with his entourage.
|
||||
They tried everything to get out, but the barrier was impenetrable.
|
||||
|
||||
At this point, Lada does the job she was sent to do. She makes Green the
|
||||
following offer:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Excuse me sir, I am here as a representative of Tymora. I have been
|
||||
> authorized to make you an offer for the Deck. If you sell it to
|
||||
> Tymora, Tymora will grant you five wishes. Bear in mind, that’s five
|
||||
> wishes from a trustworthy goddess who will do her best to make sure
|
||||
> you get exactly what you truly desire.”
|
||||
|
||||
Balanestra, Greens’ advisor, immediately weighs in:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Boss, I know we’ve been trying all this time to hold on to the Deck,
|
||||
> but that’s a damn good offer. The Deck has been getting more and more
|
||||
> chaotic, and if you try to extract five more wishes from the Deck, who
|
||||
> knows what could happen. This could be a much safer way to get wishes.
|
||||
> I think you should very seriously consider it.”
|
||||
|
||||
Green says:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Huh. I’m pretty surprised. I thought Tymora was going to try to take
|
||||
> the deck by force. Instead, she sends a representative to buy it fair
|
||||
> and square. I guess I misjudged her. Let me think about it for a
|
||||
> minute.”
|
||||
|
||||
Then, Green insists that people leave him alone for a bit, while he
|
||||
ponders. This creates a window where the PCs can talk to each other, and
|
||||
to Lada.
|
||||
|
||||
At this point, the PCs have a problem. It looks like Lada might soon be
|
||||
successful at buying the Deck for Tymora. Remember, Lada wasn’t there in
|
||||
Omta’s void-space, and she didn’t hear Omta say:
|
||||
|
||||
“Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill me.”
|
||||
|
||||
Lada doesn’t know that the Deck is sentient, and that it doesn’t want to
|
||||
be given to Tymora. So it’s up to the PCs to deal with this situation.
|
||||
|
||||
At this point, the PCs have to negotiate with Lada. Let the PCs do their
|
||||
best to talk Lada out of buying the Deck. But, in the end, Lada has
|
||||
explicit instructions from Tymora, and Lada is a loyal priestess. She is
|
||||
not going to disrespect her patron. She says:
|
||||
|
||||
> “I cannot oppose my goddess, but we can talk to her. She has always
|
||||
> been reasonable. Maybe if we talk to her, we can come up with a plan
|
||||
> that works for everyone.”
|
||||
|
||||
This is such a reasonable request that the PCs are almost certain to
|
||||
agree. Lada says, “I am going to pray now.” She bows her head, and
|
||||
softly speaks: “My mistress, negotiation for the Deck has had a
|
||||
complication…” \<THUNDERCLAP\> Lada doesn’t get any farther with her
|
||||
prayer. Tymora appears, in person, in the room. Green shouts “oh shit,”
|
||||
and vanishes, along with the Deck, his bodyguards, and Balanestra.
|
||||
|
||||
If the players are on the ball, they may remember Balanestra’s deck
|
||||
dream:
|
||||
|
||||
> Green, at his desk: “I can’t fight a goddess. What do we do if she
|
||||
> attacks?”\
|
||||
> Balanestra: “We teleport away, of course.”\
|
||||
> Green: “Sure, but she’s a goddess. She can follow us anywhere.”\
|
||||
> Balanestra: “She can follow us *almost* anywhere.”
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Green: “Where could I go that she can’t follow… oh, shit. No, no no no
|
||||
> no!”
|
||||
|
||||
When Green and his entourage teleport away, Tymora looks around, and
|
||||
says, “I see. They were afraid I would attack, and they prepared a
|
||||
contingency some time ago. They cast a spell so that if I got too close,
|
||||
they would all automatically teleport away to my sister’s realm.”
|
||||
|
||||
Tymora then says, “No matter. I don’t need the Deck any more. I wanted
|
||||
the Deck because I thought it might help me to find the God who created
|
||||
it. But I had a backup plan. I asked you to strengthen your telepathic
|
||||
link to this God, so that I could trace the telepathic link. You did
|
||||
exactly that. Instead of using the Deck to find him, I can use your
|
||||
telepathic link, which I can see clear as day. I will now go and
|
||||
challenge him.”
|
||||
|
||||
This should be an “Oh Shit” moment for the PCs. They promised not to
|
||||
betray Omta to Tymora, and they already *have*, unintentionally. This
|
||||
moment is the moment that Selune warned the PCs about:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Tymora is one of my best friends, and she is as trustworthy and kind
|
||||
> as a goddess can be. But she is making a mistake. I encourage you to
|
||||
> work with her, but just be aware: there will come a point in time when
|
||||
> you have to tell her to stop what she’s doing.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> Here is what I ask of you: keep your eyes open. Use your brains. If
|
||||
> you see her do something that you think is going to cause harm, you
|
||||
> must speak up. Tell her, or tell her priestesses. Do not be overawed
|
||||
> by her divine presence. You speaking up at an appropriate moment may
|
||||
> be all that stands between her and disaster.”
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs must ask Tymora not to pursue Omta. They should be making these
|
||||
arguments:
|
||||
|
||||
- Omta means you no harm.
|
||||
|
||||
- He is not deliberately taking your worshippers.
|
||||
|
||||
- He will go away as soon as Rennick is dealt with.
|
||||
|
||||
- He is absolutely terrified of you.
|
||||
|
||||
- His purpose is legitimate: he is trying to protect the universe.
|
||||
|
||||
- Selune, your friend, specifically asked us to tell you not to do
|
||||
> this.
|
||||
|
||||
In truth, Tymora is somewhat relieved. She isn’t warlike, she didn’t
|
||||
really want a fight, and now she has an alternative path:
|
||||
|
||||
> “I will pause my pursuit of this God. If this God will go away when
|
||||
> Rennick is dealt with, then we need to deal with this Rennick. I would
|
||||
> like you to find him, question him, and do what is necessary. He is in
|
||||
> the city of Sigil.”
|
||||
|
||||
Assuming the PCs agree, Tymora offers a boon:
|
||||
|
||||
> “I wish to thank all of you, you have served me honorably. You did the
|
||||
> things I asked you to do. You protected my young priestess, Lada. You
|
||||
> also helped to preserve peace. I believe you deserve a boon. As a
|
||||
> party, I would like to to make a collective request - one boon for
|
||||
> all.”
|
||||
|
||||
One boon that the PCs might ask for is a boon of luck - after all, this
|
||||
is a goddess of luck. If the PCs ask for this, they all get the “lucky”
|
||||
feat, which grants advantage 3x day on almost any die roll.
|
||||
|
||||
Another boon they may ask for is the destruction of the Museum of
|
||||
Orethys. If the PCs ask for it, Tymora says she does not have the power
|
||||
to destroy the Museum itself, but she says she *can* free everyone
|
||||
inside. She snaps her fingers, and then she says, “The prisoners have
|
||||
been sent to my domain. My priests will help them to find new homes.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask why she can’t destroy the museum itself, Tymora explains:
|
||||
“The Museum represents an ideology: that ordinary people exist for the
|
||||
amusement of rich and powerful men. That ideology has many followers, it
|
||||
has power. So therefore, the Museum has power. It is empty now, but it
|
||||
will fill again.”
|
||||
|
||||
Selune also has a boon for the PCs: all members of the party can now
|
||||
cast the “Selune’s Light” cantrip. This differs from a regular light
|
||||
cantrip in that it lasts 8 hours, is a little brighter, and looks like
|
||||
moonlight.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,435 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# A Warning from Chronepsis
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs have been tasked with finding Rennick, who is in Sigil. There is
|
||||
no portal to Sigil in St Parnas, so the PCs have to leave town -
|
||||
probably, they’ll walk toward Tradegate, which does have a portal to
|
||||
Sigil. There are other places in the Outlands that also have portals to
|
||||
Sigil: it doesn’t matter where the PCs decide to go, what matters is
|
||||
that they will be traveling through the Outlands.
|
||||
|
||||
The Outlands are a strange place. The farther one gets from
|
||||
civilization, the more “unmoored” and “unrealistic” the landscape
|
||||
becomes. At one point, the PCs walk past a section of forest which is
|
||||
covered in cobblestone: not just the road, but also the forest floor,
|
||||
and some of the tree branches. If the PCs are traveling with somebody
|
||||
who is native to the Outlands, then this person remarks: “We’re standing
|
||||
in the middle of nowhere. But this land doesn’t want to be nowhere, it
|
||||
wants to be somewhere. The land is dreaming of all the different kinds
|
||||
of places it could be. Tomorrow, it will look different.”
|
||||
|
||||
Eventually, the PCs will have to build a campsite and bed down for the
|
||||
night. During the night, the entire campsite moves. This sometimes
|
||||
happens in the Outlands: patches of land shift from one place to
|
||||
another, or even, to another plane of existence. Sometimes, it’s random,
|
||||
but in this case, it’s not: a god, Chronepsis, wants the PCs to pay a
|
||||
visit. So Chronepsis moved their campsite close to his realm.
|
||||
|
||||
Chronepsis is the *Dragon God of Time and Fate*, and he is an enigmatic
|
||||
god. He literally *never* talks to anyone, mortal or god. He does
|
||||
occasionally leave his realm, but it’s rare. When he acts, it’s always
|
||||
subtly, and nobody is ever entirely sure whether or not he acted at all.
|
||||
This is the case here: Chronepsis did move the campsite, but he isn’t
|
||||
giving the PCs any clues that it was him, and he will never do anything
|
||||
to confirm or deny it. As a DM, you must treat Chronepsis as a permanent
|
||||
enigma. Divination spells that try to determine a being’s purpose or
|
||||
intent simply don’t work on Chronepsis. The PCs can make educated
|
||||
guesses: they can be 90% sure that Chronepsis did something, based on
|
||||
the evidence, but they should *never* receive any unambiguous
|
||||
confirmation.
|
||||
|
||||
The PCs don’t notice the movement of the campsite until they wake up.
|
||||
The campsite and the immediate environment look completely unchanged,
|
||||
which is why nobody sounded the alarm during the night. But when the
|
||||
light comes up, it is possible to see that the spire used to be on
|
||||
*that* side of the campsite, but now it’s over *there*. Furthermore,
|
||||
Moradin’s Keep (a mountain range) looks a lot closer. A survival roll is
|
||||
enough for the PCs to figure out what happened: the campsite has moved
|
||||
across the outlands. They’re still on the “good” side of the great
|
||||
wheel, but they’re a lot closer to chaos now.
|
||||
|
||||
The players discover that there’s still a road running past the
|
||||
campsite. The road used to connect St. Parnas to Tradegate, but now it
|
||||
probably goes somewhere else. The PCs aren’t entirely sure where it
|
||||
goes, but their best estimate is that if they travel rimward, they’ll
|
||||
end up near Sylvania or Faunel. Tell them that both of those cities
|
||||
probably contain gates to Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
Wherever the PCs decide to go, as they walk down the road, they pass
|
||||
beside a huge clearing in the woods, large enough to hold a city - but
|
||||
there’s no city inside, just some old ruins. If the PCs ignore it and
|
||||
keep walking, they eventually see it again, and again, and again.
|
||||
Meanwhile, they never actually *get* anywhere. No matter how long they
|
||||
walk, the spire seems just as far away, and the scenery starts to feel
|
||||
like it’s repeating, and they keep on seeing the clearing.
|
||||
|
||||
### The Realm of Chronepsis
|
||||
|
||||
The clearing is actually the realm of Chronepsis. His realm consists of
|
||||
a ruined city above ground, and an underground system of passages and
|
||||
chambers, known as the “Mausoleum.” Chronepsis himself is in his
|
||||
Mausoleum.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs enter the realm and then try to leave, they end up back on
|
||||
the road, and they again find themselves walking past the clearing over
|
||||
and over. Again, they get nowhere. They cannot really leave yet.
|
||||
|
||||
The ruined city contains only the foundations of buildings. The walls
|
||||
have all fallen. Almost all the buildings are made of white stone blocks
|
||||
that have been eroded by the millenia. The blocks used to be sharp and
|
||||
square, but rain, wind, and time have rounded the corners and
|
||||
sandblasted any surface details away. It is obvious to anyone that this
|
||||
city was abandoned millenia ago. The scale of the buildings is
|
||||
considerably larger than normal human buildings: the doorways are large
|
||||
enough for a creature of large size.
|
||||
|
||||
Weather in the city is always cool and dry, and surprisingly, the PCs
|
||||
can see the Sun! This is unusual for the outlands, which doesn’t
|
||||
normally have a sun. This is because this city is an echo of a far away
|
||||
time, a far away place, a place that did have a sun. There is plant life
|
||||
here, mostly scrub vegetation and grasses. Small animals like birds,
|
||||
squirrels, and the like are plentiful. If you wish, you may place
|
||||
wildlife here, to give the PCs a random encounter.
|
||||
|
||||
Throughout the realm of Chronepsis, there are tens of thousands of
|
||||
hourglasses. Most are down inside the Mausoleum, but the players will
|
||||
encounter a hundred or so while traveling the ruined city. The
|
||||
hourglasses appear to be made of glass, but with decorative trim made
|
||||
out of miniature dragon hide with little tiny scales. The miniature
|
||||
dragon hide trim comes in various colors - for every color of dragon,
|
||||
there are hourglasses of that color. Attempting to touch an hourglass
|
||||
reveals that they’re intangible illusions. The players probably don’t
|
||||
know this yet, but each hourglass represents the lifespan of an actual,
|
||||
living dragon.
|
||||
|
||||
There are no hourglasses near the periphery of the ruined city. The PCs
|
||||
will have to walk inward into the city for a good 10-15 minutes before
|
||||
they see their first hourglass. It is hovering a few inches above the
|
||||
ruins of a stone wall, a few feet from the ground. Let the PCs examine
|
||||
it, but they can’t touch it. If they cast *identify*, they can learn
|
||||
what it is: the countdown of the life of a dragon. If the PCs get close
|
||||
to the center of the ruined city, they will start to see more
|
||||
hourglasses.
|
||||
|
||||
Close to the center of the ruined city, the PCs encounter a dragonborn
|
||||
with golden skin, named Laeros. Laeros is actually an young adult gold
|
||||
dragon who travels in the form of a dragonborn. Laeros is a philosopher
|
||||
who is trying to understand how dragons are bound by fate. He isn’t a
|
||||
worshiper of Chronepsis, but he has found that he has more insights
|
||||
about fate when he’s in Chronepsis’ realm. He doesn’t know if this is a
|
||||
magical effect, or maybe it’s just an inspirational place. Either way,
|
||||
he’s happy sitting in the ruined city. He says the city is pretty, the
|
||||
weather is cool and pleasant; and it’s conducive to meditation.
|
||||
|
||||
Laeros is quite surprised to see the PCs, the first thing he says is:
|
||||
“Are you dragons?” If the PCs say, “obviously, we’re not dragons,”
|
||||
Laeros laughs and says, “Most dragons take other forms when they
|
||||
travel.” If the PCs ask, “why do dragons take other forms,” Laeros holds
|
||||
up his hands and says, “Hands. Hands are very useful. Dragon claws just
|
||||
aren’t made for delicate work. Writing, for example: much easier with
|
||||
hands.”
|
||||
|
||||
Laeros asks: “So, what are non-dragons doing *here,* in the realm of a
|
||||
dragon god?”
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, the players only know that they were pressured into coming
|
||||
here by the clearing that kept chasing them. Laeros considers this to be
|
||||
an interesting mystery. He explains that the PCs are in the realm of
|
||||
Chronepsis. He says that hardly anyone ever comes to the realm, and that
|
||||
it’s particularly odd for a bunch of non-dragons to show up.
|
||||
|
||||
He says: “I assume that if you’re here, it’s because Chronepsis probably
|
||||
wants you here. But why would he want you here? There’s not much to do
|
||||
here. He’s definitely not going to talk to you, he literally never talks
|
||||
to anyone. I really have no idea why he would bring you here. There’s…
|
||||
just nothing here, except old stone blocks, some old sculptures,
|
||||
hourglasses, and Chronepsis himself. And Chronepsis definitely won’t
|
||||
interact with you.”
|
||||
|
||||
### Exploration of the Mausoleum
|
||||
|
||||
The players may decide to explore the realm, to see if they can figure
|
||||
out what they’re supposed to do here. Laeros says, “Exploring seems like
|
||||
a good idea, you might figure something out. I must warn you though: if
|
||||
you see Chronepsis, don’t try to get his attention: if you bother him,
|
||||
he will cause you to cease to exist. However, you can look around
|
||||
safely, he does not object to people walking around the city and the
|
||||
mausoleum. He doesn’t even mind people walking around his chamber, as
|
||||
long as you’re quiet. Be respectful and silent, and you should be fine.”
|
||||
|
||||
In the city, the PCs have pretty much already seen everything: ruined
|
||||
foundations, scrub vegetation, the occasional hourglass, and little
|
||||
else. In the very center, however, is the mausoleum.
|
||||
|
||||
The mausoleum consists of a small above-ground building of white stone,
|
||||
containing a stairway down, and an underground complex. The small
|
||||
above-ground building is the only building that still stands in the
|
||||
entire city. The doors are wide open. The building is featureless white
|
||||
stone. There may have been decorations once, but they have been
|
||||
sandblasted away by the aeons.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs descend into the mausoleum, they see corridors stretching
|
||||
in all directions. It looks like a museum: the floors and walls are done
|
||||
in marble, and there are magical lights at regular intervals. There are
|
||||
sculptures throughout the place - this artwork represents the lives of
|
||||
the dragons who used to live in the city. Many are in the form of
|
||||
dragonborn, but some are in full dragon form. They are doing all the
|
||||
things that people do: working, resting, eating, making art, and
|
||||
spending time together. The artwork is unmarred by erosion or time.
|
||||
Examining the art reveals little.
|
||||
|
||||
The walls also contain niches that contain hundred of hourglasses each.
|
||||
These niches are in every room and passage. The passages go in many
|
||||
directions, and eventually one will find the chamber of Chronepsis. He
|
||||
is here, resting in his chamber. He is an absolutely ancient dragon,
|
||||
with ash-grey scales. He is bony and undernourished, so much so that he
|
||||
initially appears to be skeletal, but a closer inspection reveals he
|
||||
still has flesh, just not much of it. He is resting on a dais with a
|
||||
raised pedestal for his head. He does not bother to look at the PCs when
|
||||
they enter. His eyes stare into the distance.
|
||||
|
||||
The chamber with Chronepsis contains an immense number of hourglasses,
|
||||
and more art. There is nothing else to discover here. In the long run,
|
||||
the exploration reveals little. There is nothing much to be done inside
|
||||
the mausoleum. Chronepsis will not react to the PCs unless a PC gets
|
||||
aggressive or destructive, in which case that PC stops existing: roll up
|
||||
a new character.
|
||||
|
||||
### Talking to Laeros about the Deck
|
||||
|
||||
A player might mention the Deck of Many Things to Laeros. When they do,
|
||||
Laeros perks up, and says, “Everyone’s been talking about the Deck. It’s
|
||||
big news all over the multiverse. People think it’s some kind of portent
|
||||
of big changes. There’s also a rumor that some adventurers who drew
|
||||
cards from the deck are working with Tymora to find the deck… and I see
|
||||
you have a priestess of Tymora with you. Are you the guys from the
|
||||
rumor?
|
||||
|
||||
If they agree that they are, then Laeros says, “Well that’s exciting!
|
||||
You guys are famous, and I got to meet you! Good story for the kids.”
|
||||
|
||||
Laeros is intellectually curious, and will ask a variety of questions
|
||||
about the Deck. But in the long run, he doesn’t have any immediate
|
||||
insight about things.
|
||||
|
||||
### Asking Laeros about Hourglasses
|
||||
|
||||
The players may ask Laeros about the hourglasses. Laeros explains: “Each
|
||||
hourglass represents the lifespan of an actual, living dragon. There’s
|
||||
an hourglass for every dragon in existence. The color of the hourglass
|
||||
matches the color of the dragon.”
|
||||
|
||||
“By the way, the sand only tells you how much time remains in the
|
||||
dragon’s natural lifespan. But if a dragon gets killed before it has a
|
||||
chance to grow old, then it dies while a lot of sand still remains. So
|
||||
the sand isn’t a prediction of when the dragon will die. It only
|
||||
indicates how old the dragon is.”
|
||||
|
||||
He says, “I tried to find my own hourglass, but in the end, I couldn’t
|
||||
figure out which one was mine. Obviously, I’m a gold dragon, so my
|
||||
hourglass is going to be gold. I’m a young adult, so I would expect the
|
||||
sand in my hourglass to be about one-third used up. So I can rule out
|
||||
99% of the hourglasses based on color and sand-quantity, but that still
|
||||
leaves dozens of hourglasses that could be mine. I just don’t know how
|
||||
to narrow it down further.”
|
||||
|
||||
### Why are the PCs Really Here?
|
||||
|
||||
Here is the real reason the PCs are here, in the realm of Chronepsis:
|
||||
|
||||
Green is a dragon. He didn’t start out that way: he was originally
|
||||
human. He used wishes to transform himself, bit-by-bit, into a dragon.
|
||||
Of course, he still takes the form of a human most of the time. One wish
|
||||
wasn’t powerful enough to turn him all the way into a dragon, so he
|
||||
divided the process into multiple steps. Each wish made him a little
|
||||
more dragon-like, until finally, he used a wish that made him a true
|
||||
Dragon - a steel dragon. Once he became a dragon, his hourglass appeared
|
||||
in the realm of Chronepsis.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
Green was a 35-year old man, so when he became a dragon, he became a
|
||||
35-year old dragon. That’s a very young, small dragon. Green wasn’t
|
||||
satisfied with that, he wanted to be more powerful. So he used a wish to
|
||||
age himself. That wish added some years, but not as many as Green
|
||||
expected. He plans to use more wishes to add more years.
|
||||
|
||||
If a dragon makes a wish to be older, that dragon is breaking a strict
|
||||
dragon code of conduct. Aging oneself artificially is not allowed. In
|
||||
fact, normally, it’s not even possible: the dragon gods have limited
|
||||
mortal magic so that it cannot be used to age a dragon. But the Deck
|
||||
isn’t mortal magic, the deck is a god in its own right. It has the power
|
||||
to make Green older, but the dragon gods resist, which is why the wish
|
||||
didn’t age Green by very much. Chronepsis, the dragon god of time, is
|
||||
particularly annoyed.
|
||||
|
||||
So Chronepsis has a message for Green: Do not use any more wishes to age
|
||||
yourself! If you do, there will be consequences.
|
||||
|
||||
However, Chronepsis cannot deliver this message. By his own rules, he
|
||||
cannot speak to anyone, and he cannot act in any overt way. He must be
|
||||
so subtle that nobody knows for sure if he acted at all. So here is his
|
||||
plan:
|
||||
|
||||
First, Chronepsis arranged for Green’s hourglass to be directly in front
|
||||
of Laeros, and made sure Laeros was watching when Green aged himself.
|
||||
Laeros saw the sand in Green’s hourglass jump ahead. Laeros knows that
|
||||
this kind of sand movement represents artificial aging, and he knows
|
||||
that this should be impossible. He has been pondering it ever since.
|
||||
|
||||
Second, Chronepsis brought the PCs into his realm, forcing them to meet
|
||||
Laeros. Now Chronepsis is just waiting for Laeros and the PCs to
|
||||
exchange information. He knows that eventually, if the two parties talk
|
||||
enough, they will figure out what they need to do.
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs understand their mission, then they will be released from
|
||||
the realm. But they’ll have to figure it out, with Laeros’s help.
|
||||
|
||||
### Solving the Mystery
|
||||
|
||||
When the PCs have finished exploring the realm, Laeros eventually brings
|
||||
the subject back to: “So why did Chronepsis bring you here? You’ve
|
||||
already explored everything. You’ve already looked at the hourglasses.
|
||||
You’ve already looked at the sculptures. There’s nothing left to do.”
|
||||
Then, in a joking tone, he says, “Well, other than talk to me.”
|
||||
|
||||
Hopefully, one of the players will say, “hey, maybe we *are* supposed to
|
||||
talk to you about something.”
|
||||
|
||||
Give the players a little time to suggest this. When they do, Laeros
|
||||
exclaims “Of course! We must have important information for each other!”
|
||||
If none of the players suggests this, Laeros suggests it.
|
||||
|
||||
Laeros says, “OK. Let’s just tell each other what we’ve been doing. I’ll
|
||||
start. I’m supposed to be here writing a book, but honestly, I’ve mostly
|
||||
spent the last month pondering a mystery - a weird hourglass.”\
|
||||
\
|
||||
He goes on to tell about how he was just relaxing one day, and staring
|
||||
absent-mindedly at the hourglass which was in front of him, when all of
|
||||
a sudden, the sand in the hourglass jumped ahead. He says:
|
||||
|
||||
> “If the sand jumps ahead, it means a dragon suddenly got older. Some
|
||||
> kind of premature aging. But that shouldn’t be possible.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> You see, when dragons age, they get more powerful. So if you’re a
|
||||
> dragon, magically aging yourself would be a cheap shortcut to power.
|
||||
> Because of that, the dragon gods have decreed that dragons aren’t
|
||||
> allowed to magically age themselves - dragons have to *earn* their
|
||||
> years.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> For example, there are undead who can cause premature aging. If an
|
||||
> undead like that attacks a dragon, the dragon might get sick, but it
|
||||
> won’t get older. Getting older isn’t allowed.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> So how is it possible that I saw an hourglass jump ahead? Doesn’t make
|
||||
> sense. But I’m sure I saw it. It would have to be some very powerful
|
||||
> magic. I’m pretty sure only a god could do it.
|
||||
>
|
||||
> So I’ve been wondering about that ever since. I just keep thinking
|
||||
> about it.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask what color the hourglass was: Steel.
|
||||
|
||||
> “Steel dragons? They fit in very well with human culture. They often
|
||||
> take the form of humans and live in human cities. It’s common for them
|
||||
> to form relationships with humans. They are often interested in art
|
||||
> and culture. Of course, they’re individuals - don’t assume they’re all
|
||||
> the same.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs ask how old the dragon was, based on the amount of sand:
|
||||
Before the aging, juvenile. After the aging, young adult.
|
||||
|
||||
So after explaining all this, Laeros says: “OK, somehow, this must all
|
||||
fit in with what you’ve been doing. There must be some sort of
|
||||
connection.” Of course, the connection is this: the hourglass that
|
||||
Laeros saw was Green’s hourglass, and the magical aging was caused by
|
||||
the Deck.
|
||||
|
||||
It is up to the PCs to figure out at least this much: the Deck has been
|
||||
used to magically age a dragon. Just let them sweat it out until they
|
||||
figure it out.
|
||||
|
||||
When they say this to Laeros, Laeros says:
|
||||
|
||||
> “Well, if somebody’s using the Deck to age a dragon, somebody needs to
|
||||
> tell them to stop. Otherwise, they’re going to really piss off the
|
||||
> dragon gods.”
|
||||
|
||||
As soon as Laeros says this, the PCs feel a weight lift, and they
|
||||
instinctively understand that they’re free to leave the realm. They have
|
||||
the message they’re supposed to deliver.
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, Green is in Beshaba’s realm at this point. The PCs can’t talk
|
||||
to him directly, but they could possibly use the *sending* spell. If
|
||||
they do, Green will respond “Understood. Thanks for the warning.”
|
||||
|
||||
If the players don’t deliver the message right away, they will hopefully
|
||||
remember it later, when they see Green try to use the Deck to age
|
||||
himself again.
|
||||
|
||||
### To Sylvania, and then Sigil
|
||||
|
||||
After solving the mystery and leaving the realm of Chronepsis, the PCs
|
||||
have no trouble following the road, which eventually leads to Sylvania.
|
||||
We are providing a simplified version of Sylvania, mainly because the
|
||||
PCs won’t be here long. They’re really just entering the town to use the
|
||||
portal to Sigil. If you want to replace this version of Sylvania with a
|
||||
more complex version, you can. You can even set some of your own
|
||||
adventures here.\
|
||||
\
|
||||
As the PCs travel down the road toward Sylvania, the trees start getting
|
||||
bigger and bigger, until eventually around evening the road is snaking
|
||||
around the bases of absolutely *enormous* trees.
|
||||
|
||||
The road leads underneath a living wood archway. At the top of the
|
||||
archway, a hand-carved sign says, “Welcome to Sylvania.” At the side of
|
||||
the arch, a bored attendant looks up from the book he’s reading and
|
||||
says, “Please state your business.” If the PCs say, “Here to find a
|
||||
portal to Sigil,” the attendant puts a tally mark on a notepad, and
|
||||
says, “OK, move along,” while pointing toward the city. Then he goes
|
||||
right back to his book.
|
||||
|
||||
A few minutes later, the road becomes main street Sylvania. On both
|
||||
sides of the road are establishments built against or into the giant
|
||||
trees. The establishments are mainly restaurants, bars, music venues,
|
||||
dance clubs, theaters, and the like. Imagine bourbon street New Orleans
|
||||
on mardi gras, but wedged between giant trees.
|
||||
|
||||
If the PCs stop for dinner at a restaurant, they have to make difficult
|
||||
WIS save DC18 (use the party average) or else they start having a great
|
||||
time talking and socializing. They stay at the restaurant way too long,
|
||||
eat way too much, drink a lot of wine, and don’t leave until midnight.
|
||||
They spend 5X as much money as they intended. They wake the next day
|
||||
with an exhaustion level. This is the mood-altering properties of
|
||||
Arborea leaching through into Sylvania.
|
||||
|
||||
If they ask an innkeeper about a room, rooms are available. If they ask
|
||||
the innkeeper about a portal to Sigil, the innkeeper says: “To get to
|
||||
Sigil, you need to talk to the scrap metal dealer in the flea market.
|
||||
They open at 8 in the morning.”
|
||||
|
||||
The next day, the PCs wake, and the character of the city has completely
|
||||
changed. People are working hard, it’s bustling. The people know that if
|
||||
they want to party at night, they have to get their work done during the
|
||||
day, and they’re pushing themselves so that they can celebrate again.
|
||||
This is life in Sylvania.
|
||||
|
||||
The flea market contains some permanent buildings, some large tents,
|
||||
some people who just have tables by the side of the walkway. The scrap
|
||||
dealer has a big round tent. Inside, there are bins with metal
|
||||
classified by type: tin, copper, iron, steel, and alloys. The bins are
|
||||
full of all kinds of metal junk, bought and sold by the pound.
|
||||
|
||||
If you ask the merchant about the portal to Sigil, he says, “OK, I’ll
|
||||
take you there. 10gp each.” He collects the money. Then, he says “First,
|
||||
I have to do this.” He reaches into the steel bin, and pulls out a roll
|
||||
of steel wire. He makes a loop out of wire - an impromptu bracelet. He
|
||||
says “This ring of steel has an affinity for the city of Sigil, because
|
||||
the city of Sigil is like a ring of steel. Here, put this on.” He hands
|
||||
the bracelet to a PC, and then makes one for each PC. When everyone has
|
||||
a bracelet (except him), he says, “OK, time to go.” He ushers everybody
|
||||
out of the tent. When the PCs step out of the tent, they’re back in the
|
||||
flea market. But then they realize: it’s not the same flea market. It’s
|
||||
bigger — much bigger! Looking behind them, they see there’s no tent.
|
||||
They just traveled through a one-way portal.
|
||||
|
||||
Welcome to the Bazaar, in Sigil.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,162 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,195 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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)
|
||||
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,153 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,195 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,105 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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)
|
||||
@@ -1,131 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,138 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
|
||||
## 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.
|
||||
@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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
|
||||
@@ -1,380 +0,0 @@
|
||||
# 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