Pillar of Force
The Pillar of Force is the wizard tower of the Archmagus Robin Firebrand. In the years immediately following the Great Sundering, it was a place people could go for help. When the Magus was struck insane by dark wizard Antoine, the curse laid illusions upon the tower rendering it nearly impossible to find. It is fully invisible, and warded with dozens of abjurations and contingency spells. The inside is larger than the outside on many of its floors and a lot of them don't even look as if they are within a tower. At the peak of the tower there is a mage cannon that can hit targets miles away with the force of a ninth level spell.
The Base:
Anyone approaching the base of the tower has no clear visual indicator that there is indeed a tower here. Even just walking around won't help, as there are enchantments on the tower so that nobody runs into it. A detect magic spell finds nothing unusual either, as there are illusions to fool that as well. Anyone who tries, however, can attempt a DC 25 arcana check to discern inconsistencies within the detect magic spell.
Your spell goes off, you are seeing the magic currents as they interact with the world. But something isn't right. You spot flows of bluestream moving in ways they shouldn't, the trees and grass aren't interacting with the yellowstream magic as much as they should. It occurs to you now that you aren't seeing magic at all, you are seeing a carefully crafted illusion projected into your mind.
A dispel magic spell(dc 17) can end the illusion and allow the caster to see the enormous amounts of magic that conceal the tower. An additional dispel magic spell(dc 17) can end the illusion around the tower and reveal it. If the party is within the area for more than 10 minutes, they must succeed dc 22 wisdom saving throws or feel compelled to leave to do something else.
The illusion of nothingness fades away, and standing before you is an enormous tower. It is built of reddish stone, fused together perfectly with not a single scratch. It shoots up into the sky, maybe a thousand feet from the bottom of the tower to the top. There are a number of balconies that reach out from the tower, looking down at the landscape. At the base though the stone is smooth with no discernible entrance. Almost as soon as the illusion falls away, you feel a rising flow of magic and abjurations all about the tower flare into motion. Within moments, rays of magical energy are blasting out from the tower to strike at you.
There are four spell turrets that are built into the tower, although they look identical to the tower. They can only be ended by a dispel magic spell (dc 15). They each attack once per turn and attack at (+12) to hit. On a hit, they deal 10d6 fire, lightning, radiant, or force damage. In order to enter the tower, one must place a hand on the tower and succeed a DC 18 Intelligence, wisdom, or charisma check. This takes an action in combat and on a success, the stone of the tower morphs into a gateway within. Once within the tower, the spell turrets stop firing.
The red stone of the tower shifts and curls back, forming a gateway that leads within.
The Reception:
Stepping within the tower, you are greeted to a scene of utter luxury. The inside of the tower is made of gleaming white marble, dimly illuminated by red lights suspended in mid air. A staircase spirals up along the sides, leading up to the next floor of the tower. This floor is covered in a soft carpet. There are several couches positioned around the room, which is nearly a hundred feet in diameter. Beside these couches, there are a number of small bookshelves filled with rather light reading material. In the center of the room, there is a marble statue of a man in a cloak, carrying a wizards staff. He looks young, although you can never tell with wizards. Directly ahead of you, there is a front desk of fine mahogany wood. Upon the desk there is a placard that reads "Welcome to the Pillar of Force, home to the great Archmagus Robin Firebrand." But your eyes are drawn almost immediately away from that, as you see a number of corpses litering the room, decayed fully to skeletons.
Desk: There are a number of files on the desk, all centuries old accounts of people and their requests. Mostly mundane stuff, all but two of them have checkmarks next to them with brief descriptions of how the Magus answered their calls for help. There is also a pouch on the desk that contains 50 gold, silver, and copper.
Corpses: There are 3 corpses within the room. 2 have on the garb of farmers, but the other has the remains of a finer white robe. Two were farmers come to ask for help with goblin attacks while the third was the clerk. They all died of starvation, locked within the tower when Antoine attacked Robin Firebrand.
Going up the stairs will lead to the next floor of the tower.
The Transport Room:
Going up the stairs, you are treated to a grandiose chamber similar to the last one. There are benches and couches in this one too, but only along the sides of the wall. Interestingly, this chamber is smaller than the previous one, only having a diameter of about fifty feet. The walls are decorated with enormous portraits, seven in all. Each one depicts a different figure, men and women all wearing cloaks and carrying staves. They each strike heroic poses, depicted in the midst of casting spells. Directly across the room, there is an enormous map on the wall, depicting continents that you didn't even know existed. In the center of the room, there is a large arcane circle of runes. Near the runes, there are a handful of destroyed mechanical creatures, lying in pieces on the floor. The Staircase continues up along the edges of the room.
Map: The map depicts all of Ithesia, even the continents that aren't Brenaurus. The map has glowing points at major cities and the mage towers of the rest of the circle. Using this tower, Robin could teleport things between teleportation circles of all the cities.
Automatons: There are 3 destroyed automatons here. A dc 21 arcana check can tell that they were run magically and had the purpose of being assistants. No modern magic has the ability to repair them.
Teleportation Circle: The teleportation circle in the center of the room connects to the one on the roof of the tower. In order to activate it in that way, a third level spell has to be unloaded into it.
Stairs: The stairs go all the way up to the ceiling but there isn't an opening to go up to the next floor.
In order to get up to the next floor, the stone must be compelled to open. Asking the corpse of the clerk can reveal that the password is "Fire Garnet". Alternatively, the lock can be dispelled with a dc of 17 or the way can be opened with a shape stone spell that overcomes a dc 20 spellcasting check to overcome the wards.
The Map Room:
As you step through the newly opened passageway, you find yourself in an even smaller room. This room is dominated by a large circular table with a three dimensional map of the entire continent. Some of the cities are different from what you know now but otherwise, it is an entirely accurate topographical map of the continent with just about all of its settlements.
Map Table: This is a scrying which can be activated with magic to zoom in on just about any part of the continent. It shifts when activated by a rune and the map itself will change to narrow in on any part of the continent. As soon as the rune is activated, the map will shift to be fully accurate to the present day brenaurus.
The Living Quarters:
The next room is quite possibly the largest yet. It is huge and lavish, with all sorts of things required for regular living. There is a large four poster bed in one corner next to a window with dressers and closets. On the table next to the bed there is a single book lain out next to a small pouch. A pair of boots are right next to the bed as well, though they look as if they have not been worn in ages. The rest of the floor seems dedicated to living space with all the simple things needed for everyday life.
Table: There is a pouch of 100 platinum on the table, as well as the journal of Robin Firebrand volume four. It has only just been started and the location of the other volumes is unknown. The boots next to the table are boots of haste.
Library:
This next floor is enormous, possibly spanning a thousand feet in diameter. All throughout the room there are rows and rows of bookshelves, laden top to bottom with huge volumes. It is also the highest, with the ceiling being nearly a hundred feet up. The bookshelves reach almost to the ceiling, yet they seem perfectly sturdy even to that height. As soon as you enter, you feel a presence descend on you. "What are you doing in my house?" The voice is old and crusty, as if it has not been used in some time. You hear huge iron footfalls across the room and a pair of glowing, runic golems step out from behind a row of bookcases. "You fools, you have trespassed in the home of Archmagus Robin Firebrand. You will meet the fate that comes to all who dare interfere with my research."
Golems: Four arcane golems guard this floor, attacking the party at the will of the archmage. Two start the battle while another two enter the battle at the start of the third round. Once they are defeated they hear the voice of Robin Firebrand again. "You shall not leave this place alive. You have tresspassed along my lands and seen my secrets. Prepare yourselves, soon you meet the shepherd of death."
Bookshelves: There are hundreds of books on history within this library and even more on the subject of arcana and the study of magic. There are also books containing the theory of just about every spell that has ever been devised. There is, however, no paper with which to copy it.
The Prison:
If the last room was the largest, then this one is the smallest. A mere fifteen feet in radius and only reaching fifteen feet to the ceiling. The walls of this room are coated with different runic drawings, each depicting chained creatures of terrifying proportions. There are all sorts of monsters from dragons to things that are worse. What draws your eye though, is a huge steel elemental with a reddish tint to it. It caries a huge sword and has its grip around a humanoid figure, encased in crystal. The second you set foot in this chamber, it rumbles to life and turns its head to stare at you, hefting its sword. It drops its prisoner and moves to attack.
Golem: There is an adamantine golem acting as warden in this room, guarding the prisoners that the room holds. It will fight to the death.
Prisoners: The prisoners are permanently held captive by the runes, unless exposed to epic magic. They include two ancient dragons, a tarrasque, a kraken, a pit fiend, and a Balor.
Sariyah: Sariyah is held captive by the adamantine golem, being captured when Robin returned, insane to his tower. She can be freed by a dispel magic spell and can then help the party.
The Laboratory:
This next room is different. It is clearly the site of arcane doings, with several runic circles and many spell ingredients strewn about. There are desks with notes on them and various staves and wands in the corner. Near the desk, a human robed wizard is flipping through his notes. As soon as you enter he turns to stare at you. His eyes stare right through you, barely even looking human. "Ah, there you are. I was just about to conduct an experiment, lucky for you that you came when you did." He moves, raising his staff as shadowy streams of magic swirl around his body, influencing his movement. "Lets get this over with then. Quickly please, I have lots of experiments to conduct."
Archmagus Robin Firebrand attacks on sight anyone who enters this room, driven to do so by the curse that runs through his brain. He is cursed to insanity to try and create an evocation that can pierce through planar barriers and thus hit any place in the multiverse instantly. He wants to use it to kill cerathor. He is probably the most sane of the Archmages. He has his spellbook on his which includes every single wizard spell in it but also his unique spells and three tenth level spells.
Notes: Robin's notes talk about various methods he has tried to use to pierce through dimensions but none of them have had much success so far. There is also a lot of rambling about the darkness in his head, and how he wants to destroy it.
Magic Items: This room has many magic items in it. These include boots of elvenkind, a cloak of invisibility, a wand of fireballs, a wand of lightning bolts, and a staff of fire.
The rest of the tower includes observatories, scrying rooms, and guest rooms. There is not much of notable worth above this room.
The Base:
Anyone approaching the base of the tower has no clear visual indicator that there is indeed a tower here. Even just walking around won't help, as there are enchantments on the tower so that nobody runs into it. A detect magic spell finds nothing unusual either, as there are illusions to fool that as well. Anyone who tries, however, can attempt a DC 25 arcana check to discern inconsistencies within the detect magic spell.
Your spell goes off, you are seeing the magic currents as they interact with the world. But something isn't right. You spot flows of bluestream moving in ways they shouldn't, the trees and grass aren't interacting with the yellowstream magic as much as they should. It occurs to you now that you aren't seeing magic at all, you are seeing a carefully crafted illusion projected into your mind.
A dispel magic spell(dc 17) can end the illusion and allow the caster to see the enormous amounts of magic that conceal the tower. An additional dispel magic spell(dc 17) can end the illusion around the tower and reveal it. If the party is within the area for more than 10 minutes, they must succeed dc 22 wisdom saving throws or feel compelled to leave to do something else.
The illusion of nothingness fades away, and standing before you is an enormous tower. It is built of reddish stone, fused together perfectly with not a single scratch. It shoots up into the sky, maybe a thousand feet from the bottom of the tower to the top. There are a number of balconies that reach out from the tower, looking down at the landscape. At the base though the stone is smooth with no discernible entrance. Almost as soon as the illusion falls away, you feel a rising flow of magic and abjurations all about the tower flare into motion. Within moments, rays of magical energy are blasting out from the tower to strike at you.
There are four spell turrets that are built into the tower, although they look identical to the tower. They can only be ended by a dispel magic spell (dc 15). They each attack once per turn and attack at (+12) to hit. On a hit, they deal 10d6 fire, lightning, radiant, or force damage. In order to enter the tower, one must place a hand on the tower and succeed a DC 18 Intelligence, wisdom, or charisma check. This takes an action in combat and on a success, the stone of the tower morphs into a gateway within. Once within the tower, the spell turrets stop firing.
The red stone of the tower shifts and curls back, forming a gateway that leads within.
The Reception:
Stepping within the tower, you are greeted to a scene of utter luxury. The inside of the tower is made of gleaming white marble, dimly illuminated by red lights suspended in mid air. A staircase spirals up along the sides, leading up to the next floor of the tower. This floor is covered in a soft carpet. There are several couches positioned around the room, which is nearly a hundred feet in diameter. Beside these couches, there are a number of small bookshelves filled with rather light reading material. In the center of the room, there is a marble statue of a man in a cloak, carrying a wizards staff. He looks young, although you can never tell with wizards. Directly ahead of you, there is a front desk of fine mahogany wood. Upon the desk there is a placard that reads "Welcome to the Pillar of Force, home to the great Archmagus Robin Firebrand." But your eyes are drawn almost immediately away from that, as you see a number of corpses litering the room, decayed fully to skeletons.
Desk: There are a number of files on the desk, all centuries old accounts of people and their requests. Mostly mundane stuff, all but two of them have checkmarks next to them with brief descriptions of how the Magus answered their calls for help. There is also a pouch on the desk that contains 50 gold, silver, and copper.
Corpses: There are 3 corpses within the room. 2 have on the garb of farmers, but the other has the remains of a finer white robe. Two were farmers come to ask for help with goblin attacks while the third was the clerk. They all died of starvation, locked within the tower when Antoine attacked Robin Firebrand.
Going up the stairs will lead to the next floor of the tower.
The Transport Room:
Going up the stairs, you are treated to a grandiose chamber similar to the last one. There are benches and couches in this one too, but only along the sides of the wall. Interestingly, this chamber is smaller than the previous one, only having a diameter of about fifty feet. The walls are decorated with enormous portraits, seven in all. Each one depicts a different figure, men and women all wearing cloaks and carrying staves. They each strike heroic poses, depicted in the midst of casting spells. Directly across the room, there is an enormous map on the wall, depicting continents that you didn't even know existed. In the center of the room, there is a large arcane circle of runes. Near the runes, there are a handful of destroyed mechanical creatures, lying in pieces on the floor. The Staircase continues up along the edges of the room.
Map: The map depicts all of Ithesia, even the continents that aren't Brenaurus. The map has glowing points at major cities and the mage towers of the rest of the circle. Using this tower, Robin could teleport things between teleportation circles of all the cities.
Automatons: There are 3 destroyed automatons here. A dc 21 arcana check can tell that they were run magically and had the purpose of being assistants. No modern magic has the ability to repair them.
Teleportation Circle: The teleportation circle in the center of the room connects to the one on the roof of the tower. In order to activate it in that way, a third level spell has to be unloaded into it.
Stairs: The stairs go all the way up to the ceiling but there isn't an opening to go up to the next floor.
In order to get up to the next floor, the stone must be compelled to open. Asking the corpse of the clerk can reveal that the password is "Fire Garnet". Alternatively, the lock can be dispelled with a dc of 17 or the way can be opened with a shape stone spell that overcomes a dc 20 spellcasting check to overcome the wards.
The Map Room:
As you step through the newly opened passageway, you find yourself in an even smaller room. This room is dominated by a large circular table with a three dimensional map of the entire continent. Some of the cities are different from what you know now but otherwise, it is an entirely accurate topographical map of the continent with just about all of its settlements.
Map Table: This is a scrying which can be activated with magic to zoom in on just about any part of the continent. It shifts when activated by a rune and the map itself will change to narrow in on any part of the continent. As soon as the rune is activated, the map will shift to be fully accurate to the present day brenaurus.
The Living Quarters:
The next room is quite possibly the largest yet. It is huge and lavish, with all sorts of things required for regular living. There is a large four poster bed in one corner next to a window with dressers and closets. On the table next to the bed there is a single book lain out next to a small pouch. A pair of boots are right next to the bed as well, though they look as if they have not been worn in ages. The rest of the floor seems dedicated to living space with all the simple things needed for everyday life.
Table: There is a pouch of 100 platinum on the table, as well as the journal of Robin Firebrand volume four. It has only just been started and the location of the other volumes is unknown. The boots next to the table are boots of haste.
Library:
This next floor is enormous, possibly spanning a thousand feet in diameter. All throughout the room there are rows and rows of bookshelves, laden top to bottom with huge volumes. It is also the highest, with the ceiling being nearly a hundred feet up. The bookshelves reach almost to the ceiling, yet they seem perfectly sturdy even to that height. As soon as you enter, you feel a presence descend on you. "What are you doing in my house?" The voice is old and crusty, as if it has not been used in some time. You hear huge iron footfalls across the room and a pair of glowing, runic golems step out from behind a row of bookcases. "You fools, you have trespassed in the home of Archmagus Robin Firebrand. You will meet the fate that comes to all who dare interfere with my research."
Golems: Four arcane golems guard this floor, attacking the party at the will of the archmage. Two start the battle while another two enter the battle at the start of the third round. Once they are defeated they hear the voice of Robin Firebrand again. "You shall not leave this place alive. You have tresspassed along my lands and seen my secrets. Prepare yourselves, soon you meet the shepherd of death."
Bookshelves: There are hundreds of books on history within this library and even more on the subject of arcana and the study of magic. There are also books containing the theory of just about every spell that has ever been devised. There is, however, no paper with which to copy it.
The Prison:
If the last room was the largest, then this one is the smallest. A mere fifteen feet in radius and only reaching fifteen feet to the ceiling. The walls of this room are coated with different runic drawings, each depicting chained creatures of terrifying proportions. There are all sorts of monsters from dragons to things that are worse. What draws your eye though, is a huge steel elemental with a reddish tint to it. It caries a huge sword and has its grip around a humanoid figure, encased in crystal. The second you set foot in this chamber, it rumbles to life and turns its head to stare at you, hefting its sword. It drops its prisoner and moves to attack.
Golem: There is an adamantine golem acting as warden in this room, guarding the prisoners that the room holds. It will fight to the death.
Prisoners: The prisoners are permanently held captive by the runes, unless exposed to epic magic. They include two ancient dragons, a tarrasque, a kraken, a pit fiend, and a Balor.
Sariyah: Sariyah is held captive by the adamantine golem, being captured when Robin returned, insane to his tower. She can be freed by a dispel magic spell and can then help the party.
The Laboratory:
This next room is different. It is clearly the site of arcane doings, with several runic circles and many spell ingredients strewn about. There are desks with notes on them and various staves and wands in the corner. Near the desk, a human robed wizard is flipping through his notes. As soon as you enter he turns to stare at you. His eyes stare right through you, barely even looking human. "Ah, there you are. I was just about to conduct an experiment, lucky for you that you came when you did." He moves, raising his staff as shadowy streams of magic swirl around his body, influencing his movement. "Lets get this over with then. Quickly please, I have lots of experiments to conduct."
Archmagus Robin Firebrand attacks on sight anyone who enters this room, driven to do so by the curse that runs through his brain. He is cursed to insanity to try and create an evocation that can pierce through planar barriers and thus hit any place in the multiverse instantly. He wants to use it to kill cerathor. He is probably the most sane of the Archmages. He has his spellbook on his which includes every single wizard spell in it but also his unique spells and three tenth level spells.
Notes: Robin's notes talk about various methods he has tried to use to pierce through dimensions but none of them have had much success so far. There is also a lot of rambling about the darkness in his head, and how he wants to destroy it.
Magic Items: This room has many magic items in it. These include boots of elvenkind, a cloak of invisibility, a wand of fireballs, a wand of lightning bolts, and a staff of fire.
The rest of the tower includes observatories, scrying rooms, and guest rooms. There is not much of notable worth above this room.
Type
Room, Tower, Wizard
