Nitevale

A Friendly Desert Community

Theme Music
(The entire town of Nitevale is a narrative encounter. On any subsequent visits after the encounter is completed, all of the buidlings will be present, but none of the events will occur and all monsters (except for the Librarians) will be gone)

A Story Not About Them

Ahead of you, you see a town that, at first glance seems small but grows to become sprawling as you get closer. The buildings of brick and wood, appear to only reach up one or two stories, with 3 notable exceptions; 

• a grey box structure somewhere on the eastern side of town with a strange metal lattice tower sticking out of the top
• a central cathedral-like building at the end of the straight road that opens up in fron of you, painted a dark foreboding gray, with the large stained glass window on the front depicting a pink and purple spiral pattern, and a large, bulbous protrusion like the shell of a massive snail- sticking out of the far-side of the roof
• and a tall water tower somewhere on the western side of town. The tank of the tower is jet black with no writing or distict markings

As you approach the smaller buildings on the edge of town the ahead, you see a white stage coach coming toward you on a street that transitions from paved to hard-packed dirt as it leads out of town. The horse drawing the coach is also white and wearing blinders. The two people sitting in the driver's box up front are draped in black cloaks over black stained leather, their eyes covered by black tinted glasses. While they both appear to be of similar height in the seat, through proportion or build, you are compelled to describe the one on the left as "not tall" and the one on the right as "not short".
(possible party action)
As the stage coach passes the last building, it takes a sharp turn off the red clay and dirt path and heads off into the desert at a distinct angle from your approach.
(Call for a Perception check, DC 15) Nolonger facing it head-on, you can see that the coach has no windows or doors on the side, but instead has an image of a maze or labyrinth painted on the side.
(possible party action)
The two men, the one who is not tall and the one who is not short, wordlessly drive off into the desert.
(party action, they enter town)

Community Broadcast

As you pass between the first few buildings, all with dark- vacant interiors- you all notice that in addition to the odd street lanterns lining the paved cart-way, there are other poles set up at regular intervals with strange megaphone-like devices afixed to the tops.
(party action)
DM Note: Other things PCs may take notice of:

• most of the buildings so far seem completely empty, either removed of all furniture and goods, or blank facades wihtout even interior walls and rooms.
• There are no signs of people what-so-ever. No one visible, no sounds besides wind, no footprints in the dirt and dust

After a minute or so of walking, you come to an intersection as the megaphones all shudder before a voice projects from the poles around you:
Cecil: Listeners, breaking news. A group of mysterious strangers has just entered town. The group consists of three people of fae ancestry, a mustachioed human man, and... I think that's an armored Smurf- a rare sight so far from their ancestral home. 
Now, I know your first instincts may be to run them out of town while brandishing pitchforks and chanting INTERLOPERS, but I believe they may be here to see about the new denizen of the Spiralling Temple. I don't know if he's a priest or a paritioner, but I know one thing for certain; he has refused to leave!
In any case, this sharp spike in tourism is to be celebrated, not shunned. Tourism is the lifeblood of a thriving economy. Especially because we don't have any exports. So we really need them to spend some money here.
To you mysterious stangers, I say this; 
We are a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moons are beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale.
DM: the megaphone poles go silent once again, and you are left alone with the sound of the wind passing through the streets.
(Player Action)
(Call for whoever's walkingin front to make a Perception check, DC 16.)
Failure: As you continue walking forward you smack face-first into a solid wall. The street ahead of you, which continues a few more blocks straigh ahead, is blocked by some kind of nearly invisible barrier, like glass but even clearer and with almost no reflectance at all.
Success: As you continue walking, you stop just in time to notice the near imperceptable shimmer of some kind of magical barrier. A solid wall blocks you from continuing down the street, which continues a few more blocks straigh forward.
(A DC 15 Arcana check identifies this as some sot of extended Wall of Force)
Ahead of you, past the barrier, sits the building you assume to be the Spiralling Temple. To the left, the intersecting road leads to what appears to be a public green space. A few trees can be seen peaking over 10' tall, smooth, obsidian walls, broken only by a black wrought iron gate. Formed into the lattice-work of the gate are the words "Dog Park".
To the right, the street leads to a prestigious looking building with a peaked roof and a wide stoop lines with doric columns. Across the front facade of the covered portch are the words "Nitevale Public Library"
DM Note: If they try to leave the town, when the group turns around, the way they cam nolonger leads back out into the desert but simply further into town, eventually leading back to the same intersection.
The same thing will happen once more before the party is allowed to 

The Dog Park

As you approach the high obsidian wall surounding what you gather to be a dog park, the megaphone poles begin to speak up once again:
Cecil: Listeners, I have just received word that the mysterious starngers are approaching the dog park on the corner of Earl Road and Somerset. If only they could hear my broadcast, I would tell tham that this is extremely dangerous! I would tell them that dogs are not allowed in the dog park. People are not allowed in the Dog Park. You may see hooded figures in the Dog Park, but you must ignore them. Do not acknowledge the existence of the dog park.
Anyway, that's what I'd tell them if they could hear this broadcast! Next up, the Children's Fun Fact Science Corner...
DM: The voice continues to talk as the megaphones fade out and you are again met with the earie silence of the town.
(Player Action)
(If they enter) As you open the gate you are initially struck with how mundane the park appear to be. The ground is covered in short grass with a coupe trees. About 30 ft in from the gate, in the center of the square park, there is a tall black obelisk with a plaque containing what appears to have once been a poem, that's since been defaced.
The next thing you notice is that the weather has immediately changed. What was once a sunny day is now completely overcast as clouds almost ruch in to blot out the sky.
As you turn, you notice that the gate you walked in through is gone, and the smooth, obsidian wall is not completely featureless.
(attempts to climb the wall are difficult and over it is nothing but empty desert and stormy skies)
Finally, brom behind the obelisk and each of the trees, 3 cloaked figures (wraiths) emerge. They point boney fingers at the party and in raspy voices they croan, "Get out!" before rushing forward to remove you from the dog park, one way or another. Combat Music
(Combat)
As the last of the cloaked figures falls, you look to the spot on the wall where the entrance to the dog park once was, but the wall remains solid. Instead, on the opposite wall, a new gate has appeared.

The Invisible Corn Maze

Past the gate from the dog park, you enter a barren crop field. The air smells rich and earthy but the sky above is still dark and foreboding. Besides the wall of the dog park behind you- a wall that now appears to extend out to either horizon- there is nothing but empty desert scrubland as far as the eye can see, expect for directly ahead of you just across the tilled field, where sits an old farm house. On the portch of the house, is a small metal box with a short array of buttons on the front and two patches of fine metal mesh facing front on either side.
As the gate to the dog park swings closed behind you, the device sputters to life:
Cecil: -was never seen or heard from again. This has been 'Sports'. Next up; an update on the group of strangers that entered town today:
Listeners, it looks like the group of suprisingly capable strangers has exited the dog park! Which is doubly a suprise, as the cloaked figures usually do not let any who enter escape with their lives, and last last notable time someone did- former studio intern and ex-mayor, Dana Cardinal- it was after several weeks of wandering along the inside of the wall as it stretched on towards infinity before walking through an oak door into the vast dsesert otherworld. So good on them for making it out alive and in record time!
I'm seeing now that they have somehow made their way out to the homestead of John Peters, you know, the farmer? He still has the maze set up in his field of invisible corn, so maybe they can have a bit of fun after their deeply traumatizing experience. 
More on this story as it happens, but first, a word for our sponsors... 
DM: The voice goes on to read add copy as the radio cuts out and you are again met with the only the blowing of the wind and the rustling of what you can assume to be a field of invisible crops.
(Call for marching order) 

• The corn stalks, invisible as they may be, appear to be too densly planted to simply walt through
• Weapons swung at the stalks pass through as if there was nothing but empty air
• As the leader of the group rounds the first corner, the party members in back immediately notice that they disappear behind the corn. You wonder what else could be hiding between rows of invisible corn
• Unless physically connected somehow, the corn maze will separate the group

Each group or individual makes a DC 20 Investigation check. The first check an individual makes is with disadvantage due to the disorienting nature of an invisible maze.

• On a success, they escape the maze and make it to the farm house. 
• On a failure, they take 1d4 psychic damage as panic begins to set in. Sounds start to eminate from the invisible walls, you are all at once exposed in the middle of an empty field and stuck in a maze where every corner is a blind corner, You can hear something breathing heavily one or two turns behind you, it feels like something almost grabbed your foot but when you look down, it's just dirt

As you exit the maze and approach the farm house you see the front windows are completely shaded. There is only darkness inside. The front door swings open into the darkness and you hear, for the first time, people! Muffled chatter wafts out from the darkness as it sounds like multiple people are further inside carying on mundane conversations.
(Jump to Moonlite All-Nite Diner)

The Library

As you approach the Library building, the megaphone poles shudder back to life to continue their broadcast:
Cecil: -and that's the way the cooked key crumbles- or however that saying goes.
Listeners, I'm seeing a report that the mysterious starngers are approaching the Night Vale Public Library. It's really too bad they can't hear my braodcast, otherwise I'd inform them of the dangers of the library that you and I are so very aware of; its available public computers are outdated and slow, they provide a lending period of only fourteen days, the Biography section contains nothing but 33 copies of the official biography of Helen Hunt, and worst of all, it's infested with librarians.
Remember: if confronted by a librarian while looking for a book to check out, do not attempt to escape by climbing a tree. There are no trees in the library, and the precious moments it will take you to look around and realize this will allow the librarian to strike.
More on this as it develops. Next up, horoscopes...
DM: The voice continues to talk as the megaphones fade out and you are again met with the earie silence of the town.
(Player Action)
(If they enter) The interior of the library is fairly spaceous- not so much that it's obviously bigger on the inside, but just enought to make you question it. Past the vacant help desk, there are rows and rows of books across the main floor, and two balconies running the length of the building on the left and right, separated into 4 main sections; Nonfiction, Fiction, Reference, and Biographies (TR, BR, BL, TL, respectively). The room is lit by the large sanded glass windows that diffuse the light from outside, as well as electric lights hanging from the dark ceiling space above.

(Players can each chose 1 section to look at (before the encounter))

Nonfiction

•  The Deft Bowman Incident (every copy has been almost entirely redacted)
• A collection of Magazines titled 'DEATH' in all caps
• Stacks of newspapers with different dates and layouts, but the pictures are all blurred beyond recognition and each article is the same 'lorem ipsum' text
• So You've Been Drafted to the Blood Space War
• Tucked behind one of the books, misplaced in the nonfiction section, a single Spell Scroll of Toll the Dead

Fiction

• Tusk Love (Romance)
• The Darkest Disciple (Horror-Romance)
• Hunting Hunters (Action Adventure)
• A Kingdom of Hearts (Fantasy-Adventure)
• Peter Johnson and the Thunder Bringer (Fantasy-Adventure)
• Tucked behind one of the books, misplaced in the fiction section, a single Spell Scroll of Gust

Reference

• The Dangers of Wheat and Wheat By-Products
• Forbidden Technology and its Illegal Uses (every copy is completely redacted)
• Learn to Cook in 4,376 Easy Steps
• Getting Scammed 101 (every copy is blank)
• The Chronicles of Sazed: Vol IV: Athletics

Biographies

• True to the broadcaster's warning, this section contains nothing but roughly 30 copies of the official biography of someone named "Helen Hunt", exactly 33 when counted
• Tucked behind one of the books, misplaced in the biography section, a single Spell Scroll of Healing Word

(If someone instead wants to move to look for an exit to the library, resolve any book searches first)
As you move further into the library you hear low growls coming fro the rafters above. From the darkness, 3 large figures leap down- 1 to the Nonfiction section, 1 to Biographies, and one to the front lobby area, where the front door seems to have vanished from the brick wall.
They are quadrapedal, with the body and head of a lion, the wings and a second head of a dragon, and a third head of a ram. As they sniff the air and lock eyes with their prey, 1 mutters in a gutteral growl "llaaaaatte feeeess", another "nnoo libraarry caardd".

These must be the Librarians (chimeras) Combat Music
(Combat)
As the last librarian falls, one of the lights in the back of the lbrary flickers, and in the snap of darkness, an exit door appears on the wall.

Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex

As soon as the exit door is opened, the lights at the front of the library start to go out, bathing the space in perfect darkness, despite the sunlight that was streaming in from the windows only moments ago.
From the rustic brick and wood of the darkening library, the room the door open into is a stark contrast; neon lights on the walls, dark carpetting with abstract shapes and swirls in a meriad of colors across the floor. The strange cabinets to your right are recognizable from your time in Miracle City as the halmarks of the- still somewhat foreign- concept of an arcade.
To your right, a lower section of the large space, separated by a low wall with regular openings for a few steps to descent. Strange shelves filled with solid spheres of color, odd racks connected to devices that sink into the floor, surounded by cushioned benched and seats, and beyond those, long aisles of polished wood floors leading to holes in the far wall, like large hearths filled with small white rounded statues sitting in a triangular formation.
From mesh pannels in the tiled ceiling above, the voice abruptly starts speaking agins, apparently already mid-sentence:
Cecil: -was never seen or heard from again. This has been 'Sports'. Next up; an update on the group of strangers that entered town today:
Listeners, it looks like the group of suprisingly capable strangers has exited the library! Now, I don't know if they encountered any of the fearsom librarians insode, but if they did, then they may be of a strength, and reading ability rivaling that of my good friend, former teen militia leader, Councilwoman Tamika Wallace! Then again, they're not brandishing any ichor covered novels as weapons, so I'm not sure exactly how they fought off the bloodthirsty library staff.
In any case, I'm seeing now that they've somehow made their way over to the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, known locally for its bowling, arcade games, beer, buffalo wings, and the mysterious underground city located beneath the pin retrieval area of lane five, whose tiny inhabitants are intent upon conquering Night Vale.
So maybe they can have a bit of fun after their deeply traumatizing experience.
More on this story as it happens, but first, a word for our sponsors...
DM: The voice goes on to read add copy as the radio cuts out and you are met with the faint hum of the overhead lighting. 
(the players are free to explore the complex)

• There are doors to restrooms and the area behind the lanes, but no entrance/exit. The door to the library has become a storage closet.
• Each lane can be bowled once. The pins to not reset and the ball never returns.
• The arcade cabinets all flash the same randome game screens in sequence. None of them react to presses of the buttons, pushes of the joysticks, or even being unplogged.
• The consession stand is unmanned. A single tray of hot wings sits on the counter ready for pickup, still warm. There are two taps, each with enough for 1 class of beer.

The door on the wall where the lanes end leads to a space where the pins and balls are collected.
Behind the 5th lane, there is an opening in the wall opposite the real of the complex. It leads to a dark hallway that extends a couple feet before turning left.
After that corner, the dimly lit passage descends down what feels like 2 flights of stairs, and turns right again.
Rounding that corner, you pass through a door frame and are faced with a massive cavern. Above you, the ceiling is painted and lit to resemble a starry night sky. There is a metal railing in front of you, stopping you from stepping off the platform into the massive scale model of the town below. You can see the landmarks you noted when you first arrived in town, the square building with the metal tower, Spiralling Temple-though lacking it's bulbous roof protrusion, and the water tower- all in roughly the locations you'd estimated them. The model is incredibly detailed, with lights in the buildings, and little horseless carriages driving on the streets.
(Call for a Wisdom Saving Throw (DC 20))

• On a success, you marvel at the detail of this model. Whoever built it must be a skilled artisan or an accomplished mage. 
• On a failure, you are suddenly aware of the feeling of being watched as 10,000 pairs of eyes suddenly train on your face in the night sky. As you look out over the sprawling town, you see the intersection you were at earlier today. You see the dog park and the library. You shift eyes to the side to break the visual connection but then your gaze lands upon the horizon. Not a trick of perspective but an actual horizon. Your perspective shifts as the possibiliy strikes that maybe this town isn't very small but is instead just very far below, and you very high above, with only the rusty railing to stop you from plumetting to your certain doom. You take 1d8+4 Psychic damage as your mind snaps back into place. The little cars are probably just on tracks. 

The platform you stand on immediately turns right, extends about 10 feet, then turns right again, passing through another doorway out of the cavern and into another enclosed passage.
The dim hallway immediatly turns back to the left and continues to a closed door. The door swings open into the darkness and you hear, for the first time, people! Muffled chatter wafts out from the darkness as it sounds like multiple people are further inside carying on mundane conversations.
(Jump to Moonlite All-Nite Diner)

Moonlite All-Nite Diner

As soon as you step through the doorway, the muffled sounds of conversation become cleared, if not less muddled. the darkness becomes the well lit interior of a kitchen, while the passageway under the fun complex becomes bathed in unrelenting shadow, as if only one place can be seen at a time.
(Once the dllot is closed, the space beyond reverts to the walk-in cooler)
The kitchen is empty of people, though you can see through a pass-thru window, the interior of a diner. people sit at table and talk and laugh over sandwiches, chipped and fried potatoes, slices of pie and classes of bubbling drinks.
(player action)
(The people do not react to any sounds the players make or anything that's thrown through the window)
As you come around to the opening between the kitchen and the dining room, you emerge behind the counter to see the place deserted. No food, no people. Just clean tables and empty chairs. And you pass by the pass-thru window, you can hear the sounds of the cooks in the kitchen, smell the scents of frying meat and baking pastries. You can see them in there cooking, just as you saw the guests in this empty room eating.
Outside the storefront windows is an empty parking lot under a starry night sky

The Old Opera House

Q Combat Music

Botanical Gardens

q

Rattlesnake's Rest Cemetary

q

Old Woman Josie's House

Q Combat Music

The Vestibule

q

The Bizarre Sanctuary

q

The Visitor

q
The Weather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrEKYjHJik Fight
Loot

• Stone Sentinel Helm
• Woozy Shooter
• 6 star orb