3.5 Imperial Audiance

Overview

Emperor Calus receives the fireteam in his royal court once more to speak with them about their tour. He asks them all to share their thoughts on the splendor of his barge, and if they feel like they realized anything about themselves or others during the tour. He admits that he was indeed testing the fireteam members, disguising the initiative rights of his Shadow organization as a sightseeing tour. Calus says that while he was entertained, he feels unsatisfied with the experience as he feels there is still much to learn about his new Shadow recruits. Calus wants to put himself on the front line against the fireteam and ask questions of them in combat. He offers the following deal to the fireteam; they may leave now with their collected rewards, or they may take part in one final test. Until they do take the final test both Bentley and Ernesto will not be considered Shadows. Additionally, they will be expected to take this test immediately upon their return to the Leviathan. Calus says:
"I cannot in good conscience trust my Champions to stand by me until I know firsthand how they fare in the face of true despair, in the face of the power that awaits us all at the End."


After the encounter finishes (or if the party chooses to leave on the first time of asking) Calus speaks to the party and sends them to the treasure room by way of the elevator in the middle of the room. He uses the opportunity to mention the following to individual members of the fireteam:

Judge	I applaud your reservedness in these challenges, as you know you have nothing left that you need to prove to me. I understand that you preferred to let the new Shadows spotlight though I still hoped to push you, find other ways you may be useful to me. But I see now that I have understood your abilities quite thoroughly. My advice flows freely to those who continue to impress me, Champion. I wish you luck in your efforts to unravel the mysteries within that tome you carry.
Bentley	So strong in your Light, but so sporadic! The risks of your limitless potential are greatly outweighed by the bounty of their reward. I foresee many successful endeavors in your future should you finally weed out that weakness, and I am indeed overjoyed to count you among my own in the face of the coming end.
Ernesto	I am flattered by your reverence for my splendor, member of the Hunter tribe. Let them raise you up, drink in these riches and grow fat with strength. Lay bedrock to support the weight of your achievement in my court, new Champion of mine. The embrace of my power is open to you now.
Undecided	To those among you still undecided in your affiliation, I hope that this glimpse into but a small portion of my might, grace, and generosity has moved you in your hesitation. The mutual benefit of our allegiance should now be abundantly clear. You have passed my tests, I await the day you elect to join my court., All that remains is to declare your intent.

Encounter

Arena

The arena for this encounter is divided into two zones: Calus' Court, where the encounter begins, and The Mind Prison, where the main mechanic is generated.

Calus' Court

Calus' Court is a large, mostly open arena with three major landmarks. The first is Calus' Throne, which sits atop a raised structure that dominates the northern part of the arena. Calus stands atop this throne and attacks from this position, he does not move. The second major landmark are the four pillars that stand in the middle of the arena. Previously, these had been occupied with Counselors but stand empty to begin this encounter. Atop these pillars are the same 4 symbols that the party has seen since the beginning of their time working for Calus (Cup/Axes/Dog/Sun). The third major landmark is a door at the foot of Calus' throne, from which Loyalist troops will enter the arena to do combat with the players during the flow of the encounter.

The Mind Prison

The Mind Prison is a long, runway-like area made of coarse grey cobblestone. individual stones stick out from the floor, creating ramps sporadically along its length. Additionally, chunks of the floor are missing, opening up into a yawning abyss of inky black space & starlight. Present before the party upon their first entry to the southern area will be a waist-high purple bumper/barrier, and three Psionic Pearls. At the far northern end, a massive psionic projection of Calus dominates the sky.

Enemies

Loyalists

In Calus' Court, Loyalist troopers will periodically emerge from the doorway at the foot of Calus' throne. These are mainly Phalanxes, but can also include Legionaries, Gladiators, Psions, or Centurions. The number of new combatants is either 1 or 2, depending on a coin flip. A D6 is used to decide units:

Legionary	1
Gladiator	2
Psion	3
Centurion	4
Phalanx	5-6

Emperor Calus

Though his physical body has long deteriorated due to his psionic experiments, Emperor Calus is present in the throne room in the form of an automaton controlled by his powerful will. This automaton possesses a combination of psionic abilities and built-in weaponry that he can use to assert his dominance. The automaton is incredibly resilient to all forms of damage, and possesses a Damage Point value of 65 as well as advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. Its girth does have its drawbacks, as the automaton automatically fails all Dexterity saving throws.

Intact

The Emperor's automaton begins this encounter Intact, with access to his basic attack & the Mind Dungeon. Emperor Calus' goal is not to kill any member of the fireteam, but instead test their ability to communicate swiftly and effectively while paying mind to their positioning. He will only attack players he can see, or those he determines are distracted. If he cannot attack, Calus will call out to the effect of "I enjoy hide-and-seek, but I grow bored of waiting." If Calus does not find a target to attack, a set of Loyalist troops is guaranteed to spawn next round.

Damaged

After the HP of the Intact automaton is reduced to 0, Emperor Calus enters his Damaged state. During the Damaged phase, Emperor Calus implements two new actions; Vengeance Cannon and Meteor Storm. If the party manages to trigger the Damaged phase, Emperor Calus can see that they are indeed formidable and a threat. He will now attack more aggressively, utilizing his additional actions to damage targets he is aware of but cannot see. The number of Loyalist troops in this phase should be significantly reduced, with Calus being the main threat.

Projected

Inside the Mind Prison, an enormous projected Calus face looms over the arena. While players are present in the Mind Prison, the Projection imposes its Compulsion to Dominate action on the players. The goal of the Projection is to draw in all the players in the Mind Dungeon and return them to the courtroom and unleash its Psionic Rending unopposed.

Counselors

While players are present in the Mind Prison, Psion Counselors will appear on the four plates in the middle of the courtroom. These Counselors have no turn in the initiative order, and exist to enable the encounter mechanics. If a Counselor is banished by way of a melee attack, all Counselors are removed from the field of play until the next mechanical phase begins.

Psionic Projections

Inside the Mind Prison, while the Counselors are present, players will see three Psionic Projections floating in the air. These three Projections move as a group on Initiative 0, losing all speed ties. On their turn, they perform a single action to attempt to Juggle the players in the Mind Prison. The Projections are minonized, and only require a single successful attack roll to be banished.

Mechanics

The main mechanic of this encounter is the duality of the Court and the Mind Prison. The mechanic involves communicating between the two areas to coordinate which Counselor to banish from the Court based on the projections in the Mind Prison.

Banishing

The Counselors in the Courtroom must be banished from their plates in order to unlock the Psionic Augmentation function of the arena. To banish a Counselor, a player must damage them with a melee attack from inside their energy bubble. Upon succeeding, all Counselors will be banished from the arena. Similarly, Psionic Projections in the Mind Prison must be banished to reveal symbols to the players in the Mind Prison. To banish a Psionic Projection in the Mind Prison, they must be hit with a ranged attack of any kind.

Symbols

The four symbols that have been present all across Calus' ship are also a key component of this encounter. Each Counselor in the Courtroom sits beneath their own unique symbol. Upon banishing a Psionic Projection in the Mind Prison, one of these 4 symbols will appear in their place. The goal is to banish the Counselor in the Courtroom that is not present in the Mind Prison; the Psion that is not represented is feeding the Projection of Calus with additional Psionic power to enable the Psionic Rending attack, failing to interrupt the correct one in the Courtroom will forcibly return all players from the Mind Prison and unleash the Psionic Rending attack.

Terrain

The terrain within the Mind Prison is perilous, containing both pitfalls and raised ramps designed to dislodge the occupants from safe footing. Each set of Psionic Projections also spawns a barrier that can be used to brace against the Compulsion to Dominate. When a Counselor is successfully banished, the barrier will despawn and be replaced by one closer to the Projection of Calus. While transitioning between barricades, players will slide in straight lines along the floor. If players slide across a pitfall or over a ramp, they succumb immediately to the Compulsion to Dominate and are sucked and returned to the Courtroom.

Psionic Augmentation

After the Mind Prison is successfully navigated and the Psionic Rend has been resolved, all players are returned to the Courtroom. At this time, the four plates in the Courtroom will begin to swirl with Psionic energy. While standing within this Psionic energy, all players receive a +60 modifier to their attack damage. When one of these plates is activated, the plate grants this bonus for 3 rounds of the initiative order to any players that attack from within the area of effect. Only one plate may be activated at a time. The +60 modifier is removed immediately upon exiting the area of effect, or upon the expiration of the effect at the end of 2 rounds. If no plates are activated after 3 rounds of their empowerment, then the bonus is lost, and Emperor Calus repeats the Mind Prison cycle.


During Calus' Damaged phase, more than one plate may be activated at once. During this time, Calus will strike the active plate with a Meteor Storm ability after 2 rounds. This move is telegraphed and can be avoided by moving to another plate and continuing to attack.

Calus' Health

The health of Emperor Calus in both the Intact and Damaged versions function on a tally-like system. Each form has a tally of 10 "health", each tally representing one attack that dealt enough damage to exceed the damage point of 65. When 10 such attacks hit, the health of that form of Emperor Calus is considered to be empty, and all effects that result from that condition begin immediately.

Ideal Flow

Upon accepting Calus' challenge, a pair of Loyalist soldiers enter the arena to do combat. At the start of the second turn, Calus uses his Mind Prison ability to begin the encounter in earnest. All six players are teleported to the Mind Prison. Three choose to collect the Psionic Pearls they see before them, and are returned to the Courtroom. At this time, the Counselors appear, as do the Psionic Projections, and the Projection of Calus begins its Compulsion to Dominate. The players in the Mind Prison banish the Psionic Projections and retrieve the three symbols from their plane, relaying them to the players in the Courtroom. The Courtroom players banish the correct Counselor, which advances the barriers in the Mind Prison. This process is repeated until the Psionic Rending phase takes effect.


When Psionic Rend is triggered, the Courtroom team will have a handful of Loyalist soldiers to deal with while the Mind Prison team are banishing the final set of Psionic Projections. At the end of the Psionic Rend turn, its effects are resolved and the Psionic Augmentation plates become available. This is where damage can be done to Emperor Calus. This entire process then repeats until Calus' automaton is brought to its Damaged phase.


After entering Damaged phase, Calus begins the next round by banishing the players to the Mind Prison again. The encounter repeats, but with the Calus automaton attacking players more aggressively and fewer Loyalists present in the arena. When the Psionic Augmentation plates become available, the encounter can be finished off by the players using all 4 plates.


When he is defeated, Calus will speak with the party about their actions from the smoking wreckage of his automaton (see earlier for individual messages before reading this one):


"Absolutely...magnificent... This power you possess is potent but wasted in your species' ignorance. May the scene you see before you serve as a reminder that everything you perceive is not as it seems. There is a truth out there, beyond what your people and your Vanguard tells you. I possess the true means to an agency beyond your feeble Light. Seek out my company, and I will guide you to your true potential. May this serve as my parting address to you, and parting gifts to serve you as a reminder of them. Go collect them. Bahr'Toran waits to see you off."


The party descends to the reward room, and passes along a long runway to a chest containing their prizes that are flanked by hundreds of Calus automatons. Bahr'Toran collects them from there, and they are escorted to the landing docks to leave the Leviathan.

Rewards

• 6,200 glimmer
• 10 Quality plasteel
• 1d4 Fine Exotic Engrams
• 3 Spinweave armor sets (Stage 1 Loyalist style
• 1 Spinwire armor set (Stage 1 Loyalist style
• 1 Plasteel armor set (Stage 1 Loyalist style
• 5 Shadow Medallions

Parent Plot

3. Grow Fat From Strength