3.4 Royal Baths
Overview
After wrangling Calus' pets in the Pleasure Gardens, Calus mentions that he will be pivoting his tour and allowing the party the chance to unwind in his royal baths. Bahr'Toran leads the party to the baths, where Calus explains that the baths are a place where many of his Shadows end up finding great comradery with the Loyalist legion. This is a chance for the party to unwind and talk about their plans for the future, and the Bathers in the area will also propose to them a challenge of endurance to see if the three Shadows, and the other Lightbearers, are up to the task.Encounter
Arena
The Royal Baths are an expansive square bathhouse with five distinct sections: four separate tiered bathing areas in each corner and a central deck/common area dividing the area in half vertically. Each bathing area consists of four long benches arranged around a boiling pressure plate, and a trapezoidal well with a long chain descending deep into it. The chain rises to the ceiling and runs inside the common space in the middle of the area. The floor of these sections consists of waist-high, murky brown liquid that inflicts acid damage on non-Cabal creatures without a coating of bathing salve.The middle portion of the area is solid ground, the same marble stone material that appears everywhere in the Leviathan. A series of platforms and stairs runs vertically across the arena, through a large communal changing area and sauna. The players enter from the south, the lowest portion of the arena, with the north being the highest. The baths flow from the north to the south.
The inside of the sauna house is dominated by a shallow pool that the cabal sit on the edge of and dangled their toes in, with an enormous boiling plate in the middle causing the bathwater to steam. It's stinky steam, it smells like methane.
Challenge of Endurance
The other Cabal bathers in the area appear to be engaging in some sort of activity that results in periodic cheers and excitement. If the party chooses to investigate, they'll find that they are taking turns standing on the boiling plates in the different bathing areas until a gong sounds, at which point they all clap and cheer. Inside the sauna, the party would be able to see the sound of the gong correspond with a set of lanterns rise up from wells in the corners of the room. The bathers will try to entice the players to partake in this test of the constitution, especially the three Shadows who they want to weigh against their own strength. If the Shadows agree, pressure will fall on the other Lightbearers to not be outdone by their peers.Mechanics
Bathwater
The water in the arena is acidic and will deal 1d6 acid damage to any non-Cabal creatures that ends its turn while making contact with it. This effect can be wholly negated by the presence of Salve.Salve
Salve is psionic energy present in the bathing area that can be gained through the sauna. A reaction between the heated bathwater and the aura of the lamps causes creatures within the sauna to become coated in this Salve, which grants immunity to acid damage and resistance to Solar damage. The salve is smelly and imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks while it is applied. The effects last for 10 minutes or until the salve is removed. The effective strength of a Salve can be quantified into 5 stages, with 5 being the most potent and 1 being the least potent before it disappears completely. Creatures that end their turn in the sauna have their salve level raised to 5 immediately.Plates
Each boiling plate in the arena acts as a pressure plate as well, and by standing on the plates the chains in the arena will move to raise the bells out of the sauna wells. The plates deal Solar damage to any creatures that end their turn within a 5ft radius of them due to their heat, and can remove the salve applied to a character over time. Failing a saving throw reduces the solar damage by half, and succeeding negates the damage entirely. Both outcomes will reduce any Salve level by 1 regardless of damage dealt.| Salve Level | CON Save DC | Solar Damage |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 11 | 1d4 |
| 4 | 12 | 2d4 |
| 3 | 13 | 1d6 |
| 2 | 14 | 2d6 |
| 1 | 15 | 1d8 |
| 0 | 17 | 1d10 |
Lamps
The inside of the sauna has 2 trapezoidal wells in the northern corners, each containing a set of three psionic lamps. These lamps are attached to chains that run into the ceiling and are raised up by combined pressure on the two corresponding bath plates on the perimeter of the area. The east lamps are raised by simultaneous pressure on the eastern plates, and the same holds true for the west plates. When the pressure plates are activated and the lamps rise, they rise until they hit the ceiling and sound a gong in the bathhouse. The lamps require a total of 10 turns to fully rise (1 minute) and sound their gong, and progress towards that goal is made at the end of each turn.Bathers
The bathers in the arena are known to roughhouse with one another, and it is no exception with the Lightbearers. Once at the end of every turn, before lamp progress is increased, the Architect will roll 1d8 to determine whether or not a bather attempts to push one of the participants off their plate and pause their lamp progress.- 1 = Axes
- 2 = Cup
- 3 = None
- 4 = None
- 5 = Hound
- 6 = Sun
- 7 = None
- 8 = None
Ideal Flow
Each team separates to their respective sides of the baths, and simultaneously all four plates will be activated by members of the team stepping down onto them. At this point, "initiative" begins. Each team takes turns moving in a grouped initiative and relays with one another through the sauna trading off standing on the plates. Every turn should involve a change in plate personnel, including the first turn. The players will rotate between their teams' plates until the bell tolls for one of the teams.Rewards
From Calus' good graces:- 4,200 glimmer
- 1 chalice of Royal Wine
- 1 Auto Rifle T1 (Firing Line)
- All previously listed rewards
- 1,200 glimmer
- 1 Submachine Gun T2 (Secret Round, Rangefinder)
- 1 Pulse Rifle T1 (Firing Line)
Parent Plot
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