102 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
# Summary: The Museum of Orethys - Preamble
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## Overview
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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.
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## The Museum's Nature
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**Physical Structure:**
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- Hundreds of floating islands in a cavern, each containing a building/diorama with 1-2 people
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- Islands organized in "floors" at similar elevations, ~8 feet apart horizontally, ~30 feet between floors
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- Cavern edges are mist that teleports anyone entering back to their starting point (5th floor)
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- Each island has its own weather and terrain from its origin
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**Stasis Effect:**
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- All exhibits (people, buildings, objects) are frozen in time
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- People repeat the same day endlessly, cannot form new memories, don't recognize visitors
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- Injuries/death are temporary - everything resets after hours or if attention shifts
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- Items taken from exhibits vanish 1-2 hours after being set down (unless held)
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- Supplies regenerate constantly in pantries/shops
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- PCs also benefit: death teleports them back to starting location, fully restored
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**Time and Magic:**
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- Time passes at inconsistent rates vs. the multiverse
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- Arcane/divine magic, gravity, and physics work normally
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- No flight allowed for PCs (harpies above block climbing up)
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## Key NPCs
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**Caretakers (Aarakocra):**
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- **Keira** - Talkative, frustrated caretaker. Has a magical guidebook listing all exhibits and their locations
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- **Qurak** - Calmer companion who moderates Keira
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- Bound by geas to patrol museum forever; immortal but bored
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- Hate Orethys but must serve the museum
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- Will eventually approach PCs to determine if they're guests or exhibits
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**Diometron:**
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- Another exhibit who refuses to stay on his island, explores constantly
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- Mentioned by caretakers as similar to the PCs
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## Starting Situation
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**Party Formation:**
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- All PCs drew Donjon but arrived separately due to time distortion
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- DM runs one PC solo briefly, then introduces second PC - both experience **Deck Awareness** (see hovering cards showing what each drew)
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- Rest of party spotted on nearby island (~10 feet away)
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- Must improvise bridge (ropes, ladders) to unite
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- Start location: 5th floor, near "The Tavern of the South Gate"
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**Exhibit Assignment:**
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- PCs are supposed to be exhibit "The Deck of Many Things" inside Castle Green
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- Castle Green's arrival is "delayed" - exhibit doesn't exist yet
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- This is why they're wandering instead of frozen in stasis
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## Escape Solution
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**The Puzzle:**
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1. Ask NPCs (hypothetically) about planar travel to avoid triggering their mental blocks
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2. NPCs suggest *sending* (call for help) and *plane shift* (travel between planes)
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3. PCs must find someone in museum who can cast *sending*
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4. Contact a friend outside who will eventually find someone powerful to cast *plane shift*
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5. Rescue arrives (don't reveal this - let players discover it)
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**Exploration Constraints:**
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- Can't climb upward (no flight, harpies on 6th floor cut ropes)
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- Can descend floors via ropes tied to trees/posts
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- Ropes vanish after ~1 hour if left unattended (return to origin)
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- Must explore floors 5 down to bottom
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## Key Destinations
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**Guest Services (Bottom Floor):**
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- Contains guidebooks that list all exhibits, locations, and inhabitants
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- Critical for finding spellcasters and locating Diometron
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- PCs learn about this from Keira
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**The Harpy Eyrie (6th Floor):**
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- Directly above starting location
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- Hostile harpies prevent upward travel
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## DM Notes
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**Teaching New Players:**
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- Museum's no-death stasis makes it safe for inexperienced players
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- Use repetition shortcuts: don't roleplay identical conversations/actions multiple times
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- Emphasize "you have infinite time" to reduce travel/duplication tedium
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**Pacing:**
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- Let PCs explore 3+ exhibits randomly to discover stasis effects
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- Introduce caretakers when PCs tire of random exploration OR reach floor 3
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- Caretakers provide direction: "get a guidebook from guest services"
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**Atmosphere:**
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- Mix of fascinating people from across multiverse (Orethys chose interesting individuals)
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- Most are low/zero level (Orethys avoided powerful beings)
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- Exhibits don't notice other islands unless directly shown
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- Mental blocks prevent exhibits from processing their imprisonment
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**Deck Connection:**
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- Unusual that all PCs arrived together at same time
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- The Deck is binding their fates together, not just punishing them
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- More is happening than just standard Donjon card effects
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