Session 20 Prep

Set Expectations

Set the expectations for the session and communicate any above table information FIRST before starting the session…

• This session might have some more railroady sections to keep the pacing on track
• Excited to see how you handle combat after a while away from it
• Ducking out for property inspection around 1220-1230 so a hard stop at 1215 for lunch.
• This dungeon will reward creative thinking and theatre of mind - don’t solely rely on the dice to solve the puzzles.
• Be the audience you would want, let’s keep the devices as minimal as we can. Call out if you need to take a short break for attention span.

Recap & Re-Familiarize

Recap the previous session events with brevity, then reintroduce them to the world.

Last we left off… you each spent some time to read through the letters left behind by Somnus - your companion who had moved on from their mission to aid you - before the conversation turned towards Aurevald. Aurevald shared with you all some touching concerns and doubts about his own abilities - even revealing that Scabb & he had been separated in their time away from the city. You all supported Aurevald and were shocked to see the Goliath return from the upstairs bedroom wearing shiny new armour with a crudely painted Imp on the front. Lady was livid at the use of her paints but was endeared by Aurevald to paint a better version on the front; with Jin helping seal the artwork for it’s longevity.

The late morning brought you all a shopping spree as you roamed around Roan finding various ways to spend your recently acquired gold before being contacted by Thelnyron Dose to meet him at Veiled Visage University. On your journey there - Axton recognized some suspicious individuals as members of the Moretti Family and advised you all avoided them for the time being - but some of you caught wind of them discussing plans and an event at the end of the month.

Thel greeted you and teleported you to see the Amensic Halfling Woman; the one you all rescued from the road earlier in your journey, at the Roan Chapel. Here Aurevald bumped into Rootkeeper Corana Leythe, where Graxious caught her attention. A short conversation was had where Graxious was surprised to learn that Corana had spoken with his Father about tending to a withered tree nearby the hidden city of Elysia.

As your business concluded in the Roan Chapel - Thel teleported all of you to a location that reminded most of you of the room where Lady’s dead body had been kept - likely another chamber deep below the Tower of Inquisition. Here, you were shown the injured and un-healing body of Davison Theros and informed of the skirmish the young mage had against Caesar Plight. Thel turned to you all and make a case that; should you feel up to the task, it would do the city and him a great deed to finish the work that Davison had started. After a brief discussion - you were instructed to return to your abode and rest up, as you would need to meet High Arcanist Dose at the city gates before dawn. This was to be a mission that was as off-the-books as it could possibly be; to avoid further scandal and rumour during the city’s current struggles.

Returning home - you all shared a meal and made your way to bed; all except SHAI who was contacted by his friend BLUE asking for support. BLUE was invited inside the safe house where the pair of Changelings enjoyed the calming substance known as Huskerdust. Unbeknownst to the two of them - this substance would have a different reaction on Aurevald.

Aurevald rushed down stairs; awoken by the vile and acrid smell of the crystal substance, grabbing SHAI by the throat and lifting him into the air. A tense situation awoke everyone in the room - barring BLUE and Graxious - as you each tried to quell your furious & confused Goliath friend as to not cause SHAI any serious harm.

As the tensions dropped, Aurevald revealed to you all more about what had happened to him and Scabb on their journey a week prior, and about the powers that he had wielded until recently. You each watched as your Goliath friend pleaded with you all to help him find Scabb at some stage in the future.

And that’s where we’ll pick up from… All of you barring Graxious are standing around the lower level of Cynthia’s abode.

The current day is Lowmark, the 24th of Vaelorn, 920 PD. It is in the late evening and you all have an early morning ahead of you.

Immediate Event

The immediate action for the Party to deal with.

Tensions into Tenderness

*Let them riff on the notes of last session, give them some time to accept/reject Aurevald’s plea (and allow Lady a moment *

• When it dies down, time for bed.

RETCON: Aurevald’s Outfit

Aurevald has a dream where they vividly & excitedly recall the events of their shopping trip with Lady to get an outfit for the ball

WING IT

Plots Points/Paths Forward

Details about various plot threads that can be explored this session - with a subheading for each one.

SUBPLT - Revenge At Hollow Crypt

• Meet Thel at the gates before dawn. Fronmark the 25th of Vaelorn is the current day.
• 2 basic health potions + 50ft of rope + 1 potion of strength
• Specially trained Military horses that make the journey twice as fast and require little navigation.
  • The travel is about 20 miles which is 6-7 hours of travel normally; but which these special horses it’s 3-4.
• “Someone will collect the horses but make sure they don’t wander too far or an investigation might occur…”

Travel:

• Whoever is leading the pack rolls a D20 for the day (less than 5 is rainy, below 15 is average, above 15 is clear skies, 20 is perfect conditions == -1 hour travel)
• Give them time to RP whilst on the road, wing descriptions of the weather/sky
  • Have moment with SHAI about The Alignment CHRPLT - The Magic of Mortality

Arrival:

The rolling hills in this area seem to reach a local maximum as you crest a hill towards what must be near the end of your journey - and with a very careful eye you see a glimpse of artificial stonework poking out from between two nearby hills. The horses seem comfortable continuing towards it.

As you approach the stonework - it is clearly of high craftsmanship and incredibly old; as cobwebs and moss cover large sections of the overarching structure. Being close to it you can make out the structure more clearly. Here you see a large, slightly raised stone tiled floor with wide, chiselled stone pillars on each of the corners, suspending a stone roof. The tiles have clearly seen better days but for the apparent age of the structure - it is miraculous for that to be the worst of the damage. It is walled in on 3 of the sides, with the only unwalled side seeming to be the entrance.

Entering the structure - you realise the stone tiled section extends far beyond what you could see before and into the hill behind it. It is dark and the echoes of your footsteps ring inside this chamber as you walk around the cold stone floor. The walls are decorated with hand carved depictions of Dwarvish individuals in the act of crafting, eating, and drinking. The floor is largely empty, although it is likely that wasn’t the case during it’s use in ancient times. You do see a small campfire and some wooden crates containing spoiled food - neither of these have been used in a long time

Searching around the place - you think you’ve come to a dead end before you see an ornate and raised section at the end of the hallway. Atop this raised section you see a stone table with 4 odd symbols engraved to it it. Each symbol is spread evenly around the table in a circular fashion. In front of the stone table is a small tablet jutting out of the floor - with a small amount of text written in similar symbols to that on the table.

• Go to SUBPLT - Revenge At Hollow Crypt for more details.

CHRPLT - The Magic of Mortality

• SHAI will see the early morning sky and clearly understand what BLUE was worried about. Without the light pollution common in the Material Plane - it’s obvious to him that LeBron James’ Retirement & Elon Musk Assassination have begun to converge.
• Detail the gist of the lesson he had at the university
  • Combinational Astrology is the concept that two-or-more constellations can combine to form a new constellation; either entirely new in nature or involving parts of the constellations involved. The study and interpretation of the input and output constellations has allowed some to predict historical events with a profound level of accuracy.
  • Though the true mechanism behind it is not understood, and it is debated if celestial objects could actually have any influence on the events of fate - the worship has persisted and reoccurred throughout various societies in the Material Plane throughout history. It is even still active in some societies in other planes.
  • It has been accepted and understood by scholars the interpretation of both the Astrological bodies themselves, as well as the events they represent can be affected by species, spirituality, and by location. In essence, those who can witness Combinational Astrology in the Material Plane might have a different perception or interpretation than those in the Feywild.
  • “The Convergence” - the point where the involved constellations begin to officially merge into a new star sign - is a point where some enlightened individuals begin to experience visions, hallucinations, or other out-of-body experiences that allow them to intuit the true implications of the event.
• Recalling the above - SHAI can begin to realize the true nature of this convergence. Either half can be deciphered but there’s probably only enough time to better understand one half of the convergence by now.
• Elon Musk Assassination is the simpler half to understand and decipher.
  • The shape of Elon Musk Assassination portrays two things, typically looking like the Common letter ‘T’ in it’s uppercase form, but it is also understood to be the insignia of a prominent entity in The Dungeon Master’s world. It is believed that this entity has a large amount of financial and social influence, potentially someone prone to corruption.
  • Potential DC 17 Arcana check to see a 3rd interpretation: with the convergence under way - shape begins to look more like the lowercase form of the letter T. The underlying implication drawn from this is that potentially this constellation more generically represents the death of a prominent figure.
• Alternatively, deciphering the constellation known as LeBron James’ Retirement seems much harder
  • The shape of the constellation is that of a mammalian creature with short horn and a long, narrow snout - often compared to Goats from the Material Plane.
  • It is well understood that LeBron James is a prominent figure in the world of The Dungeon Master and is often praised as the best basketball player in history of the sport. (small aside, this reminds SHAI he needs to check in when the NBA season is starting again to make sure he celebrates the start of the new season.) This does present a figure of highly important status but it’s unclear how that would apply to this reality.
  • Potential DC 20 Arcana check to see a 3rd interpretation: LeBron James is known by many names - GOAT James, LBJ, Bron Bron, The Chosen One - the list goes on, but the one he has become most well known by is King James - or more generically The King.