Arc 0: The Origins of Abericlase
We start in Bundushur. Each character will make their way towards the grand hall in the center with the council of 9 arch mages will be waiting to start the ceremony. Their list of items will be given and a map presented of the current status of the dungeon. Before getting there, the god of destruction will place his hand on them in some shape form or fashion be it through a child awing them, an old man asking for assistance up, or a woman getting fresh water. Doesn't matter. Each player with have their own interaction before entering the grand halls of bundushur.
JJ will be awakened by the patrons of the inn and he will be handed a lucky coin.
Jordan and Dustin will be confronted by an acolyte of the goddess of night and offer blessings unto them.
The bird will be confronted by a couple of kids that may or may not respond well.
The gnome will run across an old man that has a hover cart for a wheel chair that will malfunction in front of him.
Have them roll to see which of the 9 will be present. They will be sent to fiaprae.
The Quest for the Missing Socks:
A wizard has lost all their left socks and begs the heroes to help him find them. The socks have been stolen by a mischievous faerie who hides them in bizarre places, such as inside a mimic disguised as a laundry basket. Inside of the left socks, there is a dust that they can collect.
Faerie’s Sockdust Powder: This magical powder is a curious mix of enchanted faerie dust and sock fibers. When sprinkled over an area or object, the powder reveals hidden pathways, invisible objects, or illusions. In the dungeon, it will be paramount for revealing the true nature of a seemingly simple, but unsolvable, puzzle. The heroes might need to sprinkle it on a seemingly blank wall or an enchanted object that holds the key to unlocking the dungeon’s mystery.
The Talking Furniture Conundrum:
A wizard’s tower is filled with enchanted furniture that has developed personalities. The heroes must solve a riddle posed by a sassy wardrobe, a flirtatious sofa, and an overly dramatic chandelier to retrieve a key item. The item will be a magic mirror that the wizard has been working on to translate the text of a riddle in the dungeon to allow for safe passage. The Mirror of Deciphering This ornate, magical mirror is intricately designed with runes and symbols. When held up to the riddle or text, it creates a creature of darkness that appears to come out of the text and ask them the question from the direction of the mirror.
Riddle:
"Oh, darling, won't you sit for a spell?
I'm plush, I'm soft—I'll treat you so well.
Rest your feet, your weary head,
I'll cradle you close like silk on a bed.
I’ve seen you eyeing me, don’t be shy,
Come closer now, I don’t bite… unless you lie.
What am I, love, so eager and true,
That I just can’t wait to hold onto you?" - a couch
Riddle:
"I hang above, bright and bold,
I hold light but never cold.
I shimmer, sway, and softly gleam,
Casting shadows in your dream.
I’m seen in halls of kings and queens,
Yet never touch the ground, it seems.
What am I?" - A Chandelier
"What has to be broken before you can use it?"
Answer: An egg.
Giant Chicken Stampede:
A wizard's farm experiment goes awry, and the heroes must deal with a stampede of giant chickens. The chickens are more of an annoyance than a threat, but they have hilarious abilities like laying explosive eggs or causing earthquakes with their clucks. Orb of Expansive Size
This small, unassuming orb has the power to enlarge a single tiny object to a massive size. When activated, it can transform something as small as a key or a coin into a size large enough to interact with the environment in a significant way. In the midst of the chaos caused by the giant chickens, the heroes can use this orb to enlarge a key or a similar small item, allowing them to open or pass through a doorway that’s otherwise impassable.
The town will be up in arms regarding the stolen lockstone.
The Bandit Brigade:
A small group of bandits has been attacking a city and it's up to the heroes group to get the lockstone back.
The Gilded Lockstone
This item is a small, shiny, golden gem that appears to be a valuable treasure, but it’s actually an enchanted key-like object. The bandits, drawn to its lustrous appearance, stole it thinking it’s a precious gem. However, its true function is magical—when pressed into specific indentations in the dungeon, it shifts parts of the dungeon’s structure, such as lowering bridges, opening hidden doors, or deactivating traps.
The group will be provided a map to the dungeon along with all the items that make it easy to go through. Small encounters will occur that they can blow through and a dragon can be included along with some big nasty looking creatures...but mostly goblins, kobolds, and zombies.
Malzathrax provides some colorful commentary regarding the state of the world and is going to give them a singular chance to step away as "the boss" wants to continue to have followers. His master is very much into theatrics. He will send them to anywhere else in the world that the desire to start over and will remove all memories of this place and replace them with whatever their choosing is. It wouldn't have been the first time that this has happened. If the group chooses to stay, they learn the grand arc secret:
In the beginning there was creation and destruction. The goddess of creation created the world as it is, destruction kept her creation in check, and the six gods were created. For a time, she was happy but as eons passed she became less and less fulfilled. She was missing something. Both her and destruction in secret decided that they would create a "child" of their own. That child was neither creation and life nor destruction nor death. For a time, they were happy and creation raised the child god. The child though saw through the facade that it didn't belong in the world, saw the additional love that the lesser beings than him were getting from his mother. The child became more and more jealous.
A fight broke out. The goddess of war fell to the plane of creation. The other gods eventually fell until creation was the only one that was left and a curse was placed upon her since she could not be destroyed. During their battle the world was destroyed and when it did and the current gods were lifeforms that were in the dream that were plucked and given responsiblities which is why the god of light like to gamble, the god of magic is an introvert, etc. The gods are replacements that are echoes of their former selves and even though they are gods of this world, they are not real.
Destruction can dream walk which is how he is able to appear before them and the entire ritual of campaign 2 was for undeath to dream walk out of his cage. The group finds out the truth of the world and that the Abericlase is actually the coffins of the original bodies that were plucked to become the gods and goddesses as part of the beginning of the dream along with their associated world item. (Like Krorone's scales). References can be made back to the hat attempting to destroy the world tree to "save the world", Arty saying "he knows the truth of the world and must stop the group". Looking into the history from Chloe's hoard, and the book just seeming to start somewhere rather than at a beginning.
If the goddess of creation awakens then the current world disappears and in gathering the artifacts together they can perform a ritual to awaken her, stop undeath for good, and the world...vanishes without a trace. This is the choice that they are given. Should they decide that it is their destiny to do so, then they will be leveled down to 1 as destruction's touch unburden's them from their dreamy chains; it just so happens though that destruction has been watching this group and has decided that they have enough promise that they should be given a chance...also Felotl put good odds on them. They cannot let anyone know of the truth or it could cause an issue and if the dream shatters, then she won't awaken but fall even farther into the curse that she's in.
destruction broke the abericlase and put the world into the spiral down to implant the lore needed for someone inside to break the curse.
In accepting this, they will become essentially dream walkers that both exist and don't exist in places and will start to notice various inconsistencies with the world like an empty town one day and then a populated town the next where it has a robust history that never happened. The chance of rememberence waxes and wanes like the tides and the days and even the image of them has faded to be a more generic looking image where dart would be a small tiny bird, the gorc would just be a goblin, etc...so their resources are limited to their own. They must achieve power under their own accord now outside of the dream-state. Destruction states that there are other groups that follow that will be given the same choice. The doors to the dungeon open and they take their first steps towards their destiny.
Related Session Reports
Comments