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IRON DM 2023 Tournament Thread
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<blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 9181333" data-attributes="member: 67"><p>Round 1, Match 1: Snarf Zagyg vs. Rune</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 26px">Echoes of Regret</span></strong></p><p></p><p><em>A 5e D&D scenario for low-level characters.</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Hook:</strong> </p><p></p><p>An advertisement with a map.</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Looking to forget your troubles?</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Looking to dispel the curse of boredom?</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Visit the Memory Merchant before it’s too late!</em></p><p></p><p><strong>The Bargain:</strong> </p><p></p><p>The Memory Merchant, Dabda. </p><p></p><p>A plea: “I am cursed to forget. Please preserve my remaining memories before they are lost forever. Regretfully, I can only exchange a memory for a memory. Use them to find the source of the curse and unmake it. Hurry! I can not return your memories if they perish!”</p><p></p><p>Each memory exchanged costs the PCs a language or skill/tool proficiency. Each gained, a trinket that grants a power once daily:</p><p></p><p><strong>* </strong>Crumpled wedding invitation. <strong>Memory:</strong> Dabda reads the invitation over and over again. Dabda doesn’t cry. Just something in the eyes. <strong>Power:</strong> Denial, allowing the user a rerolled saving throw.</p><p></p><p><strong>* </strong>Seemingly endless tangle of woolen yarn. <strong>Memory:</strong> Dabda is gifted a woolen shirt by a laughing eladrin, but walks away angrily. <strong>Power:</strong> Silence, as per the spell, in the face of frivolity.</p><p></p><p>*Colorful mask. <strong>Memory:</strong> Gentle rain refracts faerie lights into dancing rainbows. Dabda weaves his way through a courtyard full of masked revelers. If Dabda laughs with them, can happiness become true? <strong>Power:</strong> Charm Person, as per the spell, to pretend to belong. </p><p></p><p>*Holy symbol of light, fading. <strong>Memory:</strong> Dabda seeks purpose through a life of clerical service. The deity offers light and hope, but hope is a lie. <strong>Power:</strong> Darkness, as per the spell, to combat the lying light.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Dabda prepares a ritual. “I must send you into my fading memories. In the center you will hopefully find the source of the curse. Read this scroll and hasten back.” </p><p></p><p><strong>The Labyrinth:</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A maze of shifting memories. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Masked revelers form walls, always in flux.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A disembodied inner voice whispers self-criticisms and doubt, echoed by the revelers.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Infectious and mocking laughter.</li> </ul><p>Whenever forced to stop and consider a decision, or confronted with something demanding attention, the PCs must make a DC 14 Wisdom save or suffer the effects of a Hideous Laughter spell.</p><p></p><p>The inner voice and the laughter can be silenced by activating the woolen yarn or some other means. </p><p></p><p>Additionally, the yarn could be used to mark their way through the labyrinth.</p><p></p><p><strong>Courtyard Masquerade:</strong></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Heart of the labyrinth.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Masked revelers dance in a light rain. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Above, dancing lights refract into rainbows across the courtyard.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">At the center, Dabda, alone. “I don’t know why I can’t join them. Is there something wrong with me?” </li> </ul><p>The PCs may engage with him, or might conclude that it is time to read the scroll.</p><p></p><p><strong>Line 1:</strong> <em>A debt unpaid, a prayer unsent.</em> </p><p></p><p>Once read, the crowd turns on the PCs (treat as zombies) and the rainbows become color spray spells. Their effects might be avoided by carefully using the crowd as fodder, or disabled by, for instance, targeting the dancing lights with darkness. </p><p></p><p><strong>Line 2:</strong><em> A death delayed, a life unspent. </em></p><p></p><p>Suddenly, Dabda stands alone with the PCs in the empty corridors of his mind. The inner voice returns, manifested as a banshee, but with an insidious whisper instead of a wail. Magical silence may be helpful here, if available. </p><p></p><p><strong>Line 3:</strong><em> Regret unmade, a path unbent. </em></p><p></p><p>Dabda addresses the PCs. “This is hopeless. Only one path forward makes sense. Slay me. Grant me peace at last.”</p><p></p><p>Doing so expels them from Dabda’s now-shattered mind, leaving them unable to reclaim their memories, but able keep Dabda’s. </p><p></p><p><strong>A Different Path:</strong></p><p></p><p>The PCs may attempt a different solution at any point, perhaps bypassing the scroll entirely: They could talk. And listen. </p><p></p><p>Dabda is afraid. Talking helps, even when it makes no sense. “I’ve been trying to change the past. That is beyond me. I at least can face the future without regrets. I release you from our bargain.”</p><p></p><p>The PCs are thus returned, memories intact, manifested into representative trinkets. Dabda’s also are offered. </p><p></p><p>If the PCs choose to visit Dabda in the future, they will find that no magical means short of a wish can restore the lost memories, nor halt the decay. There are good days and bad. Eventually even eating requires assistance. Ultimately, Dabda will die, but perhaps not alone.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rune, post: 9181333, member: 67"] Round 1, Match 1: Snarf Zagyg vs. Rune [B][size=15]Echoes of Regret[/size][/B] [I]A 5e D&D scenario for low-level characters.[/I] [B]Hook:[/B] An advertisement with a map. [indent][I]Looking to forget your troubles? Looking to dispel the curse of boredom? Visit the Memory Merchant before it’s too late![/I][/indent] [B]The Bargain:[/B] The Memory Merchant, Dabda. A plea: “I am cursed to forget. Please preserve my remaining memories before they are lost forever. Regretfully, I can only exchange a memory for a memory. Use them to find the source of the curse and unmake it. Hurry! I can not return your memories if they perish!” Each memory exchanged costs the PCs a language or skill/tool proficiency. Each gained, a trinket that grants a power once daily: [B]* [/B]Crumpled wedding invitation. [B]Memory:[/B] Dabda reads the invitation over and over again. Dabda doesn’t cry. Just something in the eyes. [B]Power:[/B] Denial, allowing the user a rerolled saving throw. [B]* [/B]Seemingly endless tangle of woolen yarn. [B]Memory:[/B] Dabda is gifted a woolen shirt by a laughing eladrin, but walks away angrily. [B]Power:[/B] Silence, as per the spell, in the face of frivolity. *Colorful mask. [B]Memory:[/B] Gentle rain refracts faerie lights into dancing rainbows. Dabda weaves his way through a courtyard full of masked revelers. If Dabda laughs with them, can happiness become true? [B]Power:[/B] Charm Person, as per the spell, to pretend to belong. *Holy symbol of light, fading. [B]Memory:[/B] Dabda seeks purpose through a life of clerical service. The deity offers light and hope, but hope is a lie. [B]Power:[/B] Darkness, as per the spell, to combat the lying light. Dabda prepares a ritual. “I must send you into my fading memories. In the center you will hopefully find the source of the curse. Read this scroll and hasten back.” [B]The Labyrinth:[/B] [LIST] [*]A maze of shifting memories. [*]Masked revelers form walls, always in flux. [*]A disembodied inner voice whispers self-criticisms and doubt, echoed by the revelers. [*]Infectious and mocking laughter. [/LIST] Whenever forced to stop and consider a decision, or confronted with something demanding attention, the PCs must make a DC 14 Wisdom save or suffer the effects of a Hideous Laughter spell. The inner voice and the laughter can be silenced by activating the woolen yarn or some other means. Additionally, the yarn could be used to mark their way through the labyrinth. [B]Courtyard Masquerade:[/B] [LIST] [*]Heart of the labyrinth. [*]Masked revelers dance in a light rain. [*]Above, dancing lights refract into rainbows across the courtyard. [*]At the center, Dabda, alone. “I don’t know why I can’t join them. Is there something wrong with me?” [/LIST] The PCs may engage with him, or might conclude that it is time to read the scroll. [B]Line 1:[/B] [I]A debt unpaid, a prayer unsent.[/I] Once read, the crowd turns on the PCs (treat as zombies) and the rainbows become color spray spells. Their effects might be avoided by carefully using the crowd as fodder, or disabled by, for instance, targeting the dancing lights with darkness. [B]Line 2:[/B][I] A death delayed, a life unspent. [/I] Suddenly, Dabda stands alone with the PCs in the empty corridors of his mind. The inner voice returns, manifested as a banshee, but with an insidious whisper instead of a wail. Magical silence may be helpful here, if available. [B]Line 3:[/B][I] Regret unmade, a path unbent. [/I] Dabda addresses the PCs. “This is hopeless. Only one path forward makes sense. Slay me. Grant me peace at last.” Doing so expels them from Dabda’s now-shattered mind, leaving them unable to reclaim their memories, but able keep Dabda’s. [B]A Different Path:[/B] The PCs may attempt a different solution at any point, perhaps bypassing the scroll entirely: They could talk. And listen. Dabda is afraid. Talking helps, even when it makes no sense. “I’ve been trying to change the past. That is beyond me. I at least can face the future without regrets. I release you from our bargain.” The PCs are thus returned, memories intact, manifested into representative trinkets. Dabda’s also are offered. If the PCs choose to visit Dabda in the future, they will find that no magical means short of a wish can restore the lost memories, nor halt the decay. There are good days and bad. Eventually even eating requires assistance. Ultimately, Dabda will die, but perhaps not alone. [/QUOTE]
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