Heroes of Bastille Arise

The beginning of the "The Prison Sanctuary" campaign starts in the Shattergleam Forest. The characters are introduced to the twilight forest and the austere world of Bastille. They are working in the Shadowpine Forest forest as lumberjacks, hacking away at the remaining trees and preparing them to ship to the other Districts. They were brought to Bastille as one of the Voidlings and grew to maturity quickly. Each of the protagonists have had a falling out with the The Radiant Seat and have been branded as Duskmen. Their lives are now characterized by hard work and danger as the magic walls that protect Bastille from the Howling Abyss begin to break down.

Welcome to Bastille

This opening paragraph sets the tone for the opening scene and relays some key touchstones:
"Welcome to Bastille. You are stepping into a world filled with hardship, adventure, and political intrigue. This campaign is designed as a sandbox. There is an overarching story, but your characters are the focus of this campaign. Feel free to pursue your own goals and create your own stories. I will do my best to make the world react in a believable way to your actions weather you follow my plot hooks or not. You are the protagonist and I am simply here to bring out the best in your characters. With that said, let us delve into the world of Bastille."

Shattergleam: Your Home

It is important that the players have a working understanding of what Bastille is and the general tone of the world. This introduction along with the world map should help establish a foundation that the players can set out on.
"Bastille is as its name implies, a place of refuge. The year is DR1510 in the month of Deepwinter. The The Great Light at the center of Bastille burns brightly as it always has for as long as you can remember. It is a source of warmth and comfort even though its rays barely touch the far off district (Districts) of the Shattergleam Forest. Shattergleam is the largest of the many land masses that float through space, slowly orbiting the Great Light similarly as to how planets orbit a sun.
"At these lofty heights, the air is perpetually chilled causing an eternal cycle of precipitation to fall upon the upper half of the forest. This rain cycle, known as Istishia's Dance pours the goddesses life giving rain upon the many districts within Bastille, but Shattergleam receives the most by far. Great rivers of water flow down from the foothills into the Black Gorge where its currents power the wheels of hundreds of mills perched precariously above the raging water.
"The skies above Shattergleam are eternally filled with clouds stained purple as the land is suspended in unending twilight. The light, or lack thereof, defines the Shattergleam. Those who live here are known as Duskmen. Criminals, political dissidents, and those who have fallen out of favor with the The Radiant Seat all live out there lives here under the stigma of that moniker. Life is tough enough without being cast out to live on the fringes of Bastille. This demi-plane was only designed to hold so many refugees and as its population grows, resources are stretched to the breaking point. It is in this world that you find yourself. Dishonored and alone with a burning desire to rise above your current situation. This is Bastille. This is your home."

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Plot points/Scenes

Scene 1: The Lurkers in Shadowpine Forest

Plot Points In This Scene:

1. Exposition: Opening Monologue
2. Inciting Event: Quest/Break's Over
3. Event: Tracking Monsters or Fetching the Twilight Rangers
4. Event: Finding The Cracks In Bastille's Wall
5. Encounter: The Shadow in Shadowpine
6. Event: Quest Turn In

1. Opening Monologue:

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This is the very beginning of the campaign where the PCs are introduced to the world of Bastille and introduced to each other. The characters are all Voidlings that have been transferred from Light Watch to Shattergleam Forest in order to live their lives and contribute back to Bastille. Everyone must work after all.
"We join our players as they take shelter from the rain beneath a tarp suspended between three pine trees trying to catch their breath after felling a particularly large tree. This is your first week away from Light Watch, the seat of power in Bastille located on the giant ring that encircles the The Great Light known as Halo. Each of you, for reasons known only to yourselves, have been sent out from Light Watch in order to make a living among the other citizens of Bastille. You now find yourself in the Shadowpine Forest forest working for Itten Po, the foreman in charge of the logging operation that supplies Bastille with much needed lumber. The wages are poor and the work is hard, but you are fed and you have a home among the outcasts of the Shattergleam."
Prompt the players to introduce themselves and allow them to ask questions about the world that they would like to have clarification on. After the players become comfortable with their characters, its time to delve into the meat of the first chapter.
2. Breaks Over

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Once the players have been introduced, Itten Po will approach the group out of the rain soaked forest. He announces that their break is over. Po refers to the player characters as newbies but is not hostile towards them. He has just recieved word from the lumberjacks deep within the Shadowpine Forest were injured by some sort of creature. Logging has been halted until the threat has been dealt with. They are waiting while someone fetches the Twilight Rangers to come out and solve the problem. It has been quite a while since the messenger left and he should have been back by now.
Inciting Event:
The hook of this section is that a monster of some sort has appeared within the forest and injured some of the workers. Po has sent for help from the Twilight Rangers but they have taken overlong to arrive. Something needs to be done to solve this problem. Either kill the monster or fetch the Twilight Rangers.
3. Tracking the Monster/Fetching the Twilight Rangers

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After speaking with Itten Po, the players have a choice to attempt to slay the monster within the Shadowpine Forest or to find out what happened to the messenger sent to fetch the Twilight Rangers. The challenge for each task has slight variations but follow the same structure.
Tracking the Monster: If the players attempt to track the monster, they can glean information by talking to Itten Po or any of the other lumberjacks who are returning from the forest. Some of the information known by the workers and Po are as follows:

• Three workers were injured by the monster and two received fatal wounds.
• The types of wounds look like bite marks focused mostly around the neck.
• The attack took place near the northernmost logging site.
• Workers remember hearing howls just before the attack happened.
• With a DC13 Investigation check: One worker claims to have seen a dog made of shadows jump out of the Gloom Stone .

The goal of this event is to allow the players to investigate and be guided towards the northern half of the Shadowpine forest where the investigation can resume. If the investigation check succeeds they can travel directly to the Gloom Stone. If the players cannot discover the direct location from the workers, they can use their skills to discover the location with DC 13 ability checks. This event ends when the players arrive at the Gloom Stone.
Fetching the Twilight Rangers: If the players attempt to track down the messenger to the Twilight Rangers or fetch the Rangers themselves, they can glean information from Itten Po and the workers returning from the forest. Some of the information known by the workers and Po are as follows:

• The messenger is named Pip.
• The messenger went south towards White Glen
• The Twilight Rangers live in the Rangers Solar in White Glen.
• To get to White Glen, you must pass through the Edge Pass
• Pip is was last seen at the Edge Pass by a worker leaving White Glen.

The goal of this event is to allow the players to investigate and discover where Pip went and to decide whether they should save Pip or go to the Twilight Rangers directly.
If Pursuing Pip Pip has died while making the perilous transition over the edge of the Shattergleam land mass. His body can be found near the water slick rocks near one of the many waterfalls that pour over the edge of Shattergleam and fall towards The Great Light. His neck has been broken from falling into the Edge Pass. It is clear that Pip never managed to deliver his message to the Twilight Rangers. The players can then decide whether to deliver the message themselves or to return to the logging camp and report his death.
If Delivering Message to the Twilight Rangers: The Twilight Rangers reside in White Glen. The players must traverse south towards Edge Pass and transition to the light side of Shattergleam. Edge Pass is perilous and requires a DC 13 athletics check to pass through unharmed. Failing the check will resort to minor detrimental effects such as fall damage, a wound causing disadvantage on future ability checks, etc. After passing through Edge Pass, it is a straight shot south to reach White Glen where they must talk to the towns people in order to locate the Rangers Solar and deliver their message.
When successfully delivering the message, the Twilight Rangers will dispatch Ranger Weissup Senki to deal with the problem. Returning to Shadowpine only requires narration without any further ability checks. Senki will impart some information about the state of the Shattergleam District to the players and hint that not all is well. Senki will question Po about the events that transpired and he will reveal that the attack happened at the Gloom Stone. Senki will then ask the players to accompany him. The event ends upon arriving at the Gloom Stone.
4. Finding The Cracks In Bastille's Wall

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The goal of this event is to reveal that Bastille as a demi-plane is beginning to collapse. The reason for the collapse is unknown but the effects of the collapse are most prominently felt within the outermost Districts. Shattergleam, being the largest and furthest district from The Great Light is bearing the brunt of the collapse as monsters bleed into the Shadowpine Forest from an unknown dimension.
Gloom Stone: Gloom Stone is the location of one of the many cracks in Bastille's defenses. The stone emits a dark mist that floats through the air like ink in water. Just being near the stone is oppressive and causes paranoia. When approached or interacted with, the player interacting with the stone will be able to see into the Howling Abyss, a corrosive plane of howling wind and darkness. The player must succeed a WIS or CON saving throw DC 15 or become paralyzed for the first round of combat in the upcoming encounter. If Senki is present, he will insist that he take the risk and investigate the stone himself. He will become paralyzed for the next battle instead of a player. A Shadow Mastiff is lurking in the forest near the stone and can be discovered before the players interact with the Gloom Stone. Some of the evidence leading to the discovery of the mastiff is as follows:

• Simply looking around will reveal the site where the lumberjacks were injured. Insight check DC 12 will reveal that the workers were examining the stone when the attack began. There were eight workers total. When the attack began, it came from behind while the workers were examining the stone.
• Investigation Check DC 13: Paw prints can be seen in the wet mud surrounding the stone. They lead away from the stone and then fade as if the creature simply disappeared.
• Nature Check DC 12: The tracks belong to a large dog of some sort.

If the players are able to find the dog tracks and identify them, they will notice that new tracks are being made as the Mastiff begins to shift back into their plane giving them the option to attack with a surprise round. Their attacks will have disadvantage due to the creature being invisible. After the surprise round, the Mastiff will become visible as it transitions fully into their plane.
The event ends when the players interact with the Gloom Stone and trigger the saving throw, or when the Shadow Mastiff has been discovered.
5. The Shadow in Shadowpine

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The goal of this encounter is for the players to defeat an Alpha Shadow Mastiff.
Surprise: If the players investigated the Gloom Stone without discovering the Mastiff, they will be subject to a surprise round where the Alpha Shadow Mastiff will use its terrifying howl ability. If the player who investigated the Gloom Stone failed his saving throw, his paralysis does not end until the end of his first turn. If Senki is present, investigating the stone causes him to be paralyzed for the entirety of the battle with the Shadow Mastiff.
Discovered: If the Alpha Shadow Mastiff was discovered before interacting with the Gloom Stone, the players will get a surprise round.
The event ends when the Shadow Mastiff is defeated.
6. Quest Turn In

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The goal of this section is to distribute the rewards for completing the quest and solidify some plot points in the players minds. After defeating the Alpha Shadow Mastiff, the forest is considered safe once more. The players may return to Itten Po and receive their reward or they can attempt to deal with the Gloom Stone and seal the breach in Bastille's defenses.
The Gloom Stone: The Gloom Stone is but one of the many cracks within the barrier that is separating Bastille from the ravages of the Howling Abyss. Touching the stone allows you to see into the Howling abyss which is characterized by howling winds, cold temperatures, dim light, and a sense of intelligence as if someone is always watching. The stone has an AC of 12 and 10 HP. If destroyed, the breach to the Howling Abyss is sealed and the players receive 100 bonus experience. Upon being destroyed, the stone shatters into three pieces that are cold to the touch. Attaching these stones to any weapon grants that weapon +1 cold damage to all attacks.
Reporting to Itten Po: Iten Po has a small pot of 300 Merits set aside for the players. Po requires proof that the beast has been slain. If no proof has been brought, then the players must succeed a persuasion check DC 12 in order to receive payment. After payment has been doled out, Po will recomend that the players should head to White Glen and speak with the Twilight Rangers. Their skills could be useful to them. More importantly, Tilly the Mook needs to hear about the Gloom Stone.
Points to Reinforce:

• Monsters are entering into Bastille through strange dimensional holes.
• The Twilight Rangers are in charge of protecting Shattergleam District.
• Tilly the Mook is in charge of White Glen and needs to know about the new dangers.
• The environment of Shattergleam is incredibly wet, constantly raining, and the general structure of Bastille.
• Money does not take the classic form of gold and silver due to the rarity of metal within Bastille. Marks of Merit have replaced coinage.

Denouement

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After reporting back to Itten Po, the session is over. Allow the players to roll play their characters to a good stopping point where they can hunker down for the night and discuss what has happened. At the end, it should be clear that the next stop in the story is contained within White Glen and the key to progressing is by speaking to either Tilly the Mook or the Twilight Rangers.

Themes

The main themes that should be conveyed within this scene is that Bastille is a fantastic but harsh environment. Some main points are:

• The people here are thriving through hard work and being frugal.
• There are multiple social classes and the people within Shattergleam are known as Duskmen. They are on the bottom rung of society.
• Bastille is slowly collapsing and allowing monsters from the Howling Abyss to cross into Bastille.

Plot type

Chapter I: The Heroes of Bastille Arise