Reorg

CLAUDE.md

@@ -1,62 +0,0 @@
-# D&D Campaign — Planescape / Deck of Many Things
-
-This repository contains a Planescape D&D 5e campaign being documented for publication.
-
-## Repository Structure
-
-- **`Deck-of-Many-Things.md`** — The main campaign document (~160 pages). This is the publication manuscript.
-- **Everything else** — Working notes, scribbles, and reference material for the campaign's current state of play. Not part of the publication.
-
-## Setting
-
-The campaign is set in **Sigil** (the City of Doors) and surrounding Planescape locations, including the town of **St. Parnas**. It centers on the **Deck of Many Things** — a man named **Green** has been running a scheme where he recruits people to draw cards, taking a cut of wishes and gems while pawning off the risks.
-
-**Tymora**, goddess of Good Luck, is watching the situation with concern. The Deck is being used far more than it historically has, and nobody knows why it isn't vanishing.
-
-## Key NPCs
-
-- **Rennick** — Fraternity of Order employee (Casino Investigator & Theoretical Fortunologist). Has discovered something dangerous, is in hiding from Crow and the Xaositects. Has asked the party for help.
-- **Crow** — An Incantifer (aberration wizard) hunting Rennick. Uses spell constructs (Fire, Divination, Movement, Defense) each with 80 HP.
-- **Sergei Pavel** — Xaositect Bariaur Fighter LV4, also hunting Rennick. Travels with Jinn. Claims to be president of the Xaositects.
-- **Jinn** — Xaositect Water Genasi, Sergei's companion. Doesn't know what she knows until she tries. Skills and spells randomized daily.
-- **Rico Sparks** — Tout (information broker). Planetouched human with static electricity. Charges 5GP per conversation, first one's free.
-- **Lada** — Halfling Priestess of Tymora, Theoretical Fortunologist. Connected to Rennick.
-- **Rackle** — "The Punching Bag." Drew three terrible cards (Euryale, Ruin, Rogue). Lives in an abandoned watchtower near St. Parnas.
-- **Green** — Runs the Deck of Many Things operation.
-- **Tom (Timon Pherenikos)** — Fraternity of Order courthouse receptionist, half-Oread.
-- **Mr. Thorne (Darius Thorne)** — Owner of Skyledge.
-- **Jakarta** — Costume and set designer.
-
-## Key Creatures
-
-- **Sasuko-y-Saso** — Beholder-kin allied with or connected to the story.
-- **Kekele** — Aaracokra Battle Master Fighter LV5, party ally or NPC.
-- **Pig** — A giant with three stat blocks (Sick/Recovering/Fully Healed).
-- **Ant colony** — Worker, Soldier, and Queen ants with stat blocks.
-- **Goblins** — A goblin crew in a casino (Grylla the priest-leader, Snurk the warlock, six goblin fighters).
-
-## Factions
-
-- **Fraternity of Order** — Lawful bureaucratic faction. Rennick works for them. Known for absurd paperwork.
-- **Xaositects** — Chaos faction. Sergei and Jinn are members. Hostile to Rennick's ability to predict random events.
-- **Harmonium** — Law enforcement in Sigil.
-- **Incantifers** — Powerful, dangerous wizards. Crow is one.
-
-## Working Notes (not for publication)
-
-- **Character/NPC files** — `crow.md`, `kekele.md`, `sasuko.md`, `Reggie Drum, 4th Level Fighter.md`
-- **Session prep** — `Next Session.md`, `Rennick_s Messages_.md`
-- **Location/encounter files** — `The Punching Bag.md` (Rackle's story), `Fraternity-Forms.md` (bureaucratic props), `shops.md` (magic item shop inventories)
-- **Stat blocks** — `Creature Stat Blocks.md` (ants, Pig, Sisters, etc.)
-- **Visual assets** — `cards/` and `faded/` (Deck card images), `Scrolls/` (prop scrolls as SVG/PDF), `dungeon-map.svg/png`, `Steel-Door.png`, `Elar-Mossbrow.webp`
-- **Docx files** — Word versions of several markdown files
-
-## How to Help
-
-When assisting with this campaign:
-- Use **D&D 5th Edition** rules unless told otherwise.
-- Maintain consistency with established NPCs, factions, and lore described above.
-- Planescape slang is used in-world (berk, cutter, blood, the Cage, etc.).
-- Stat blocks should follow the formatting conventions already used in the existing files.
-- The campaign has a mix of humor (bureaucratic absurdity, quirky NPCs) and serious plot (powerful artifacts, assassination threats).
-- The DM values creative, flavorful content over mechanical optimization.

Deck-of-Many-Things.md

@@ -8539,8 +8539,8 @@ 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.\
-\
+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.

README.md

@@ -1,92 +0,0 @@
-# jdnd
-
-
-
-## Getting started
-
-To make it easy for you to get started with GitLab, here's a list of recommended next steps.
-
-Already a pro? Just edit this README.md and make it your own. Want to make it easy? [Use the template at the bottom](#editing-this-readme)!
-
-## Add your files
-
-- [ ] [Create](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/repository/web_editor.html#create-a-file) or [upload](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/repository/web_editor.html#upload-a-file) files
-- [ ] [Add files using the command line](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/gitlab-basics/add-file.html#add-a-file-using-the-command-line) or push an existing Git repository with the following command:
-
-```
-cd existing_repo
-git remote add origin https://www.gnaut.com/jyelon/jdnd.git
-git branch -M main
-git push -uf origin main
-```
-
-## Integrate with your tools
-
-- [ ] [Set up project integrations](https://www.gnaut.com/jyelon/jdnd/-/settings/integrations)
-
-## Collaborate with your team
-
-- [ ] [Invite team members and collaborators](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/members/)
-- [ ] [Create a new merge request](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/creating_merge_requests.html)
-- [ ] [Automatically close issues from merge requests](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/issues/managing_issues.html#closing-issues-automatically)
-- [ ] [Enable merge request approvals](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/approvals/)
-- [ ] [Automatically merge when pipeline succeeds](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/merge_when_pipeline_succeeds.html)
-
-## Test and Deploy
-
-Use the built-in continuous integration in GitLab.
-
-- [ ] [Get started with GitLab CI/CD](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/quick_start/index.html)
-- [ ] [Analyze your code for known vulnerabilities with Static Application Security Testing(SAST)](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/application_security/sast/)
-- [ ] [Deploy to Kubernetes, Amazon EC2, or Amazon ECS using Auto Deploy](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/topics/autodevops/requirements.html)
-- [ ] [Use pull-based deployments for improved Kubernetes management](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/clusters/agent/)
-- [ ] [Set up protected environments](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/environments/protected_environments.html)
-
-***
-
-# Editing this README
-
-When you're ready to make this README your own, just edit this file and use the handy template below (or feel free to structure it however you want - this is just a starting point!). Thank you to [makeareadme.com](https://www.makeareadme.com/) for this template.
-
-## Suggestions for a good README
-Every project is different, so consider which of these sections apply to yours. The sections used in the template are suggestions for most open source projects. Also keep in mind that while a README can be too long and detailed, too long is better than too short. If you think your README is too long, consider utilizing another form of documentation rather than cutting out information.
-
-## Name
-Choose a self-explaining name for your project.
-
-## Description
-Let people know what your project can do specifically. Provide context and add a link to any reference visitors might be unfamiliar with. A list of Features or a Background subsection can also be added here. If there are alternatives to your project, this is a good place to list differentiating factors.
-
-## Badges
-On some READMEs, you may see small images that convey metadata, such as whether or not all the tests are passing for the project. You can use Shields to add some to your README. Many services also have instructions for adding a badge.
-
-## Visuals
-Depending on what you are making, it can be a good idea to include screenshots or even a video (you'll frequently see GIFs rather than actual videos). Tools like ttygif can help, but check out Asciinema for a more sophisticated method.
-
-## Installation
-Within a particular ecosystem, there may be a common way of installing things, such as using Yarn, NuGet, or Homebrew. However, consider the possibility that whoever is reading your README is a novice and would like more guidance. Listing specific steps helps remove ambiguity and gets people to using your project as quickly as possible. If it only runs in a specific context like a particular programming language version or operating system or has dependencies that have to be installed manually, also add a Requirements subsection.
-
-## Usage
-Use examples liberally, and show the expected output if you can. It's helpful to have inline the smallest example of usage that you can demonstrate, while providing links to more sophisticated examples if they are too long to reasonably include in the README.
-
-## Support
-Tell people where they can go to for help. It can be any combination of an issue tracker, a chat room, an email address, etc.
-
-## Roadmap
-If you have ideas for releases in the future, it is a good idea to list them in the README.
-
-## Contributing
-State if you are open to contributions and what your requirements are for accepting them.
-
-For people who want to make changes to your project, it's helpful to have some documentation on how to get started. Perhaps there is a script that they should run or some environment variables that they need to set. Make these steps explicit. These instructions could also be useful to your future self.
-
-You can also document commands to lint the code or run tests. These steps help to ensure high code quality and reduce the likelihood that the changes inadvertently break something. Having instructions for running tests is especially helpful if it requires external setup, such as starting a Selenium server for testing in a browser.
-
-## Authors and acknowledgment
-Show your appreciation to those who have contributed to the project.
-
-## License
-For open source projects, say how it is licensed.
-
-## Project status
-If you have run out of energy or time for your project, put a note at the top of the README saying that development has slowed down or stopped completely. Someone may choose to fork your project or volunteer to step in as a maintainer or owner, allowing your project to keep going. You can also make an explicit request for maintainers.

sections/02-The Museum of Orethys - Preamble.md

@@ -1,566 +0,0 @@
-# The Museum of Orethys
-
-
-### About the Museum
-
-The PCs drew the card *Donjon,* which imprisons the victim in an
-apparently inescapable prison. For reasons known only to the deck
-itself, the deck has chosen a strange prison called the *Museum of
-Orethys*.
-
-About a hundred years ago, a powerful Wizard named Orethys took in
-interest in collecting *people*. He gathered interesting and strange
-folk from around the multiverse, and brought them to his hometown, and
-paid them to be exhibits in the original *Museum of Orethys*. However,
-the bigger his collection got, the harder it was to keep his exhibits
-from quitting, rebelling, or unionizing. Eventually, he got tired of the
-hassle, and he decided to start over.
-
-By this time, he was a much more powerful wizard, so instead of building
-the museum in his hometown, he created a demiplane to house his
-collection. He carefully designed the demiplane to make it perfect for
-storing people. His exhibits would “live” in the demiplane, but they
-would be frozen in a living stasis that would make it impossible to
-rebel or quit. They would always be the same strange, interesting people
-that they were when they were placed into the museum.
-
-When Orethys found a person worthy to be an exhibit in the Museum, he
-would take not only the person, but the building they were in, and the
-patch of land the building was standing on. That way, he wouldn’t just
-have an interesting person. He’d have a whole diorama, a person in their
-natural environment.
-
-About sixty years ago, Orethys died: he tried to make an exhibit out of
-somebody who was tough enough to fight back. Although Orethys is dead,
-the Museum of Orethys still survives. After his death, the Museum
-received no new exhibits, and no further guests showed up in the museum:
-apparently, only Orethys knew how to get there. The exhibits remain in
-stasis, sixty years later, more or less exactly as they have been the
-whole time.
-
-The demiplane appears as several hundred islands hovering in an immense
-cavernous space. Most islands consist of a patch of land, and one
-building. The patch of land is just big enough to hold the building and
-its yard. Some islands hold something larger, like a university, or a
-monastery, or a farm. A few islands have no building, only a geographic
-feature. Each building contains, on average, 1 or 2 people.
-
-The people in the exhibits are not frozen, motionless. They are allowed
-to move around and talk in order to make the exhibits more life-like.
-They go about their daily business as they did in their original lives.
-
-Yet, the people are in both a physical and a mental stasis. They are
-fundamentally incapable of doing or thinking new things, or changing in
-any meaningful way. They are trapped living the same day over and over.
-They cannot remember anything that has happened since they were
-captured. They still believe themselves to be at home. They have no
-ability to learn that they are no longer at home - or to learn anything.
-
-The physical stasis means their bodies can’t change, either. If they
-were injured at the moment when they were captured, then they’re still
-injured today. If you heal them, they’ll be injured again an hour or two
-later. If you kill one of them, they’ll reappear on their island back in
-the same state they were in when they were captured. They won’t remember
-that you attacked them, because they don’t remember anything that
-happened after their capture. They are utterly incapable of change as
-long as they’re in the museum.
-
-The buildings and the islands are also in stasis, incapable of change.
-If you break a door down, then a few hours later, the door will be back
-where it was. Even if you burn a whole building down, then if you stop
-paying attention for a while, the building will be back. If you try to
-build something on an island, it will remain for a few hours, and then
-vanish.
-
-If you approach the people, they will react as people do. Many are
-willing to answer questions. Some are friendly, offering food and water
-and assistance. A few are scared, and some are hostile. In other words,
-they’re people, with all the personality variation that implies.
-However: If you talk to them and leave, and then come back, they will
-not remember you. They will react exactly the same way as the first time
-you met them, right down to saying the same phrases.
-
-That doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent: they’re just as smart and
-creative as they were in life. They tend to be pretty interesting
-people. These individuals are here because Orethys thought that they
-were distinctive, and that they ought to be saved. You can talk to them
-and learn a lot: in fact, that’s what guests of the Museum used to do,
-back when there were guests.
-
-Exhibits come from everywhere: prime worlds, outer planes, inner planes,
-you name it. The people are of every imaginable race. Most are either
-low-level or zero-level: Orethys didn’t attempt to capture powerful
-people who could fight back.
-
-The people here only interact with other people in the same diorama.
-They don’t notice other islands, even if those other islands would
-normally be considered “attention grabbing.” For example, there could be
-a raging fire on one island, and the people on the next island over from
-that will be completely uninterested. If you deliberately draw their
-attention to some other island, they will be surprised that other
-islands even exist. But then, a mental block will take over, and they
-will direct their attention back to their own island, quickly forgetting
-that other islands exist.
-
-The people here can produce material goods, but those goods are
-transient. For example, if an island contains a baker, he may bake a
-loaf of bread. But remember, the island is in stasis, and that loaf
-wasn’t on the island when the island was captured, so it has to vanish.
-The loaf will cease to exist an hour or two after it is put down.
-
-Despite the absence of any real production, there is no shortage of
-supplies here. If somebody’s house is put in stasis at a time when its
-pantry is full, then that pantry will always be full. If you remove the
-food, then the pantry will return to its full state as soon as you stop
-paying attention to the pantry. The food you took won’t disappear from
-your inventory. You can eat it without difficulties. But if you put the
-food down and then look away, it will only remain on the ground an hour
-or two, and then vanish.
-
-The people here may talk about the future, but the future never comes.
-For example, a farmer who is busy tilling the fields in spring may talk
-about what he’s going to do at harvest-time, in the fall. But on his
-island, it will be spring forever, and he will be tilling every day,
-forever.
-
-The floating islands are hovering in a big cavern, whose “walls” are
-made of mist. The edges of the outermost islands just barely poke into
-the mist. Nothing will stop you from entering the mist. The mist does
-not smell of anything, and it doesn’t feel like anything either. If you
-enter the mist, you find yourself in what seems to be an endless expanse
-of mist. In the mist, there’s no gravity or wind, and you lose track of
-time. You also lose track of anyone around you. After being in the mist
-about 10 minutes, the mist around you will dissipate, and you’ll find
-yourself back on the island where you first appeared in the demiplane.
-From anywhere in the cavern, reaching the mist only takes a few minutes
-(assuming you have a way to cross from island to island). The cavern
-isn’t that large.
-
-Each island has its own weather. If you’re on an island with clear,
-sunny weather, then the entire cavern will appear clear and sunny to
-you. If you’re on an island with a blizzard, then the whole cavern will
-appear to be in a blizzard to you. The weather on a given island never
-changes. Each island has the terrain that it had before it was ripped
-from the multiverse. Some are grassy, some are rocky, some are sandy.
-Some might be permafrost, or desert, or you name it. It all depends on
-where they came from.
-
-The passage of time in the Museum feels normal. But the passage of time
-is not strictly tethered to the passage of time in most other parts of
-the multiverse. Time here sometimes passes faster than in the
-multiverse, sometimes slower. The reason for this is that the Museum
-doesn’t care about the passage of time. Nothing ever happens here, no
-matter how much time elapses. Nothing ever changes. When time has no
-meaning in a place, then that place gradually starts untethering itself
-from time.
-
-Arcane and divine magic work normally here. Gravity and falling damage
-are normal here. Most of the physical properties of the world here are
-normal, as they would be on a prime world.
-
-The Museum of Orethys has caretakers. These are aarakocras, they can fly
-around the cavern easily. Their job, sixty years ago, was mainly to
-attend to the guests. Orethys used a ‘geas’ spell to force them to keep
-doing their job forever. As long as they do their jobs, they can
-otherwise do as they wish. They eat at tavern and restaurant exhibits
-and they sleep wherever they like. They gain the benefit of the plane’s
-physical stasis: they can’t age, they can’t stay injured long, and they
-can’t die. But they can remember what happens from day to day. Now that
-there are no guests, they really don’t have much work to do. But the
-geas forces them to patrol the museum.
-
-### The Party is United
-
-The PCs have all been imprisoned in the *Museum of Orethys*. But even
-though they’re all in the Museum, they haven’t met each other yet. The
-DM should choose a PC, and run them solo. At this point, it will only be
-a few minutes until the party is united.
-
-The PC knows that they are standing on a strange floating island. They
-also know they drew the card *Donjon*, so they can infer that this must
-be some kind of prison. But aside from that, they don’t know much about
-the place. They certainly have no idea it’s a museum, or that they’re
-supposed to be an exhibit.
-
-The PC should start exploring the museum. As soon as they round a
-corner, or enter a building, have them spot one of the other PCs.
-
-When the two PCs see each other, they both experience a new special
-ability: *Deck Awareness*. When they look at each other, they see cards
-hovering over each other’s heads: each one knows exactly what cards the
-other one drew from the deck. They will experience this effect
-consistently every time they meet somebody who has drawn from the Deck.
-Let the PCs know they all have *Deck Awareness*. Do not tell them about
-the other deck side effects, let them learn about them over time.
-
-A few minutes after the first two player characters get together, they
-notice another group on another nearby island, staring at them. This is
-the rest of the PCs. Everyone can start roleplaying together now. The
-two groups are physically separated by being on two separate islands,
-but the two islands are only about ten feet apart. They can easily talk
-to each other. They have to find a way to cross from one island to
-another. This is not particularly hard: ladders, ropes, and the like
-work fine. These items can be found nearby. The Jump spell is also
-useful. One way or another, the party is united.
-
-It’s odd that the players all arrived at the museum at the same time, in
-roughly the same place. There is nothing on the card *Donjon* that says
-that these people should end up in the same prison, yet they did.
-Although they don’t know this, they did not draw cards on the same day,
-yet with the help of the Museum’s loose connection to time, they were
-able to appear in the museum on the same day. The deck isn’t just giving
-these people cards, it’s tying them to each other, bringing their lives
-together.
-
-Now that the party is united, the players will want to know where they
-are and what the heck is going on. To find out, they will need to
-explore the museum.
-
-### Ropes and Ladders
-
-For simplicity, we can describe the museum as consisting of “floors.” A
-“floor” is a bunch of islands that are all hovering at more or less the
-same elevation.
-
-Islands on the same floor are separated by gaps about 8 feet wide on
-average. Some acrobatic characters may be able to jump it without
-assistance. It is also possible to use the spell *jump*. Otherwise, a
-makeshift bridge may be needed. Never leave your PCs stranded. There is
-always something in the exhibit that will enable one to cross a gap. A
-rope could be tied to a tree near the edge of an exhibit. There might be
-a wooden fence that could be repurposed. There’s always something.
-
-To climb from a floor to the floor below, the most obvious method is to
-use a rope. This will require a rope of about 30 feet, which will have
-to be tied to a tree or a lamppost and then dangled down over the edge
-of the exhibit. It is also possible to use the spell *feather fall*.
-
-The islands are not perfect circles, they are irregular. There are good
-spots to climb down, and bad spots to climb down. Good spots have
-something to tie a rope to, and they have a bit of island sticking out
-below that the players can descend onto. To find a good spot, the
-players will have to go around the periphery of the island.
-
-You must not let your PCs climb upward yet. We have provided several
-obstacles to stop them:
-
--   When the players created their characters, they were not permitted
-    > to create flying characters.
-
--   Most people don’t have the physical strength to throw a rope 30 feet
-    > upward.
-
--   When throwing upward, you need the rope to catch on something on the
-    > island above. But of course, you can’t *see* what’s on the island
-    > above you. You’re throwing blind.
-
--   The floor above the PCs consists of one exhibit: *The Harpy Eyrie*.
-    > The harpies will deliberately cut ropes, and anyone clinging to a
-    > rope is a sitting duck for harpy attacks.
-
-Since the PCs start on the 5th floor, and since they can’t climb upward,
-they are currently limited to the 5th floor and below. We have provided
-a map called *The Bottom Floors of the Museum*, including everything
-from the 5th floor on down. As you can see from the map, the cavern
-narrows substantially at the bottom, so there are fewer and fewer
-islands at each level as you go down. Do not show the map to your
-players. It is for the DM only. The map includes exhibit names. You can
-find the corresponding exhibit descriptions in the upcoming chapter,
-also titled *The Bottom Floors of the Museum*.
-
-At first, let your players explore randomly. They don’t really have a
-goal or a destination yet, and they don’t have a map yet, so they really
-can’t do any better than random exploration. There are lots of strange
-and interesting things to find in the museum, so they should be
-entertained by this for a while. As the PCs travel from exhibit to
-exhibit, refer to the *The Bottom Floors of the Museum* for instructions
-on running individual exhibits.
-
-As the players climb downward, they may leave ropes dangling down, to
-make it possible to get back up. But if they leave a rope somewhere,
-then the rope only stays for about an hour after you stop paying
-attention to it. Then, it vanishes. This is because of the stasis
-effect: the rope is resetting back to its original location. If the rope
-belongs to a PC, then the rope returns back to the PC’s starting
-location. If it’s a rope that they obtained from an exhibit, then the
-rope returns to that exhibit.
-
-If ropes are disappearing, you should have the players make perception
-checks to notice that one of their ropes is gone. They might freak out,
-and wonder how they’re ever going to get back up. Let them worry: it’s
-an interesting part of the puzzle that is the museum.
-
-If the players fall while climbing, then falling damage in the cavern is
-normal. The average distance between floors about 30 feet. You can
-easily hurt yourself badly by falling, especially if you fall more than
-one level. Fortunately, travel in the demiplane is inherently safe: the
-stasis effect makes it impossible to die permanently.
-
-### No Death in the Museum
-
-Everything in the museum is in stasis, and that includes the health of
-your PCs. If they get injured or die, then the injury or death is
-impermanent. Their bodies will eventually reset back to the conditions
-they were in when they first entered the demiplane. If a PC dies, that
-PC fades out of existence, and reappears at the exact spot where he
-first entered the demiplane, back by the tavern of the south gate.
-
-That makes the Museum a perfect place for inexperienced D&D players who
-are still learning the ropes. The stakes are reduced, so new players can
-learn without fear.
-
-###  Learning about the Stasis Effect
-
-After exploring three exhibits, the PCs should be well on their way to
-figuring out that everything and everyone is in stasis. Physical objects
-revert to their original positions. Enemies killed pop back to life.
-People say the same things each time you return. There are tons of
-clues. You should look for many opportunities to show the stasis effects
-to them.
-
-### The Mist at the Edge of the Cavern
-
-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
-right back at the exact spot where they originally arrived in the
-demiplane. If they are attentive, they will realize that this is useful:
-the mist is a shortcut to the 5th floor.
-
-However, the mist is not a way to leave the demiplane. If they want to
-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.
-
-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.
-
-### 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.
-
-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.
-

sections/04-The Museum of Orethys - Magic Items in Guest Services.md

@@ -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.
-

sections/05-The Museum of Orethys - Escaping the Museum.md

@@ -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.
-

sections/06-The Museum of Orethys - Bonus Exhibits.md

@@ -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.
-

sections/07-The Castle with the Steel Door - Preamble.md

@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# The Castle with the Steel Door
-
-

sections/08-The Castle with the Steel Door - Chapter Summary.md

@@ -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.
-

sections/09-The Castle with the Steel Door - The Market Square of St Parnas.md

@@ -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.
-