# Summary: The Museum of Orethys - Preamble

## Overview
The PCs drew the Donjon card and are imprisoned in the **Museum of Orethys**, a demiplane created 100 years ago by the wizard Orethys to collect interesting people as living exhibits. Orethys died 60 years ago fighting an exhibit, but the museum persists.

## The Museum's Nature

**Physical Structure:**
- Hundreds of floating islands in a cavern, each containing a building/diorama with 1-2 people
- Islands organized in "floors" at similar elevations, ~8 feet apart horizontally, ~30 feet between floors
- Cavern edges are mist that teleports anyone entering back to their starting point (5th floor)
- Each island has its own weather and terrain from its origin

**Stasis Effect:**
- All exhibits (people, buildings, objects) are frozen in time
- People repeat the same day endlessly, cannot form new memories, don't recognize visitors
- Injuries/death are temporary - everything resets after hours or if attention shifts
- Items taken from exhibits vanish 1-2 hours after being set down (unless held)
- Supplies regenerate constantly in pantries/shops
- PCs also benefit: death teleports them back to starting location, fully restored

**Time and Magic:**
- Time passes at inconsistent rates vs. the multiverse
- Arcane/divine magic, gravity, and physics work normally
- No flight allowed for PCs (harpies above block climbing up)

## Key NPCs

**Caretakers (Aarakocra):**
- **Keira** - Talkative, frustrated caretaker. Has a magical guidebook listing all exhibits and their locations
- **Qurak** - Calmer companion who moderates Keira
- Bound by geas to patrol museum forever; immortal but bored
- Hate Orethys but must serve the museum
- Will eventually approach PCs to determine if they're guests or exhibits

**Diometron:**
- Another exhibit who refuses to stay on his island, explores constantly
- Mentioned by caretakers as similar to the PCs

## Starting Situation

**Party Formation:**
- All PCs drew Donjon but arrived separately due to time distortion
- DM runs one PC solo briefly, then introduces second PC - both experience **Deck Awareness** (see hovering cards showing what each drew)
- Rest of party spotted on nearby island (~10 feet away)
- Must improvise bridge (ropes, ladders) to unite
- Start location: 5th floor, near "The Tavern of the South Gate"

**Exhibit Assignment:**
- PCs are supposed to be exhibit "The Deck of Many Things" inside Castle Green
- Castle Green's arrival is "delayed" - exhibit doesn't exist yet
- This is why they're wandering instead of frozen in stasis

## Escape Solution

**The Puzzle:**
1. Ask NPCs (hypothetically) about planar travel to avoid triggering their mental blocks
2. NPCs suggest *sending* (call for help) and *plane shift* (travel between planes)
3. PCs must find someone in museum who can cast *sending*
4. Contact a friend outside who will eventually find someone powerful to cast *plane shift*
5. Rescue arrives (don't reveal this - let players discover it)

**Exploration Constraints:**
- Can't climb upward (no flight, harpies on 6th floor cut ropes)
- Can descend floors via ropes tied to trees/posts
- Ropes vanish after ~1 hour if left unattended (return to origin)
- Must explore floors 5 down to bottom

## Key Destinations

**Guest Services (Bottom Floor):**
- Contains guidebooks that list all exhibits, locations, and inhabitants
- Critical for finding spellcasters and locating Diometron
- PCs learn about this from Keira

**The Harpy Eyrie (6th Floor):**
- Directly above starting location
- Hostile harpies prevent upward travel

## DM Notes

**Teaching New Players:**
- Museum's no-death stasis makes it safe for inexperienced players
- Use repetition shortcuts: don't roleplay identical conversations/actions multiple times
- Emphasize "you have infinite time" to reduce travel/duplication tedium

**Pacing:**
- Let PCs explore 3+ exhibits randomly to discover stasis effects
- Introduce caretakers when PCs tire of random exploration OR reach floor 3
- Caretakers provide direction: "get a guidebook from guest services"

**Atmosphere:**
- Mix of fascinating people from across multiverse (Orethys chose interesting individuals)
- Most are low/zero level (Orethys avoided powerful beings)
- Exhibits don't notice other islands unless directly shown
- Mental blocks prevent exhibits from processing their imprisonment

**Deck Connection:**
- Unusual that all PCs arrived together at same time
- The Deck is binding their fates together, not just punishing them
- More is happening than just standard Donjon card effects