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<blockquote data-quote="Pacio49" data-source="post: 2108547" data-attributes="member: 28472"><p><strong>Karral's Tower, Part III</strong></p><p></p><p>The next morning the party awoke, rested and refreshed. They met in the library's main conference room, and there they decided to strike out and investigate the upper floors. Marcus and Tybok grumblingly conceded that they should continue their investigation, and the party formed ranks and went upstairs from the level of the guest quarters.</p><p></p><p>They emerged on a rooftop which contained gardens, a stream, a pond, and what appeared to be meadows flecked with wildflowers and a scintillating horde of butterflies. In the center of the garden, three graceful, curving stone ramps and supports vaulted up to create three arches from which was suspended a dome. In the underside of the dome, the odd dimensional-sky was replaced with illusions of sunlight and clouds, and a gentle breeze was blowing. The illusion was fantastic, complete with warmth from the sun on their faces and the twittering of birdsong. Small crystal pylon outcroppings dotted the landscape, and because they had arrived in the morning the party was delighted to find that at a certain time the air became saturated with a fine mist, emanating from the crystals. It rose up off of the ground in lazy, wispy curls, and then slowly condensed into droplets and cascaded in a brief, yet soaking rain.</p><p></p><p>On the outer edge of the curving vault supports were staircases that each led up to the top of the outer edge of the dome, upon which rested what Zathira informed them the night before was the Upper Tower. In general, guests and visitors to Karral's tower would utilize the lower tower, with the gardens and the summoning rooms (Karral had several apprentices and often rented or lent his rooms to other wizards and sorcerers who had need of their special properties). The Upper Tower was much more restricted access.</p><p></p><p>The group spent a little while playing in the fields and peering curiously over the edge into the featureless dimension boundaries. Valar got in trouble with an Undine, a watery fae who had not been present with the dryads when Zathira forbade the taking of the party as pets. Laeka and Arien were able to hold the Undine off while Marcus fetched Zathira, who arrived and scolded the girl, who reluctantly relinquished her claim on the thief.</p><p></p><p>The upper deck included a gazebo amid the meadows, a few secluded benches and picnic spots near the streams, and a copse of trees which had been planted and grown to form the perfect druid's grove. Laeka and Valar, getting bored while the rest of the group were out checking out the grounds, decided to improvise a target on top of one of the small wooden shields that they had taken from Dorecan Manor. The two spent time playing games of dagger tossing, and Laeka decided to try some trick shots, tossing her dagger over her shoulder... bullseye.</p><p></p><p>Valar tried it... bullseye. Laeka tried it again... bullseye. Each shot taken over the shoulder... bullseye, without fail. Finally, after a few more tries, the two realized that they were literally surrounded by fae... tiny sidhe-folk no larger than a rose, or a butterfly. Indeed, several of the butterflies were actually fae, and a few of the twiglings, roots, sprouts, and petals were actually riding on butterflies. A number of them were holding the edges of the shield, and as the tall folk were chucking the daggers over their shoulder at them, they were treating it as a game and moving the shield to catch it in the center.</p><p></p><p>Laeka was immediately intrigued by the gaggle of small sidhe that had assembled, and she began to play with them quite merrily until the rest of the party appeared and the small sidhe disappeared.</p><p></p><p>Having exhausted the investigation of the current level, the group decided to ascend up to the Upper Tower, taking one of the curving vaults up to where they saw a white stone door. Inscribed on the door was a message in common, stating "Only the righteous may pass." After a few minutes of discussion and debate, Laeka was told to channel the positive energy of her God, Povra, into the door, which she did. The door shuddered and glowed and opened for the party, being replaced with an ordinary wooden door, <em>sans</em> writing.</p><p></p><p>The party led an exhaustive search of the upper tower. They discovered that there were no stairs or access points between levels aside from a teleport area, for one. On the lowest level of the tower they found the master living quarters for Karral, his personal lounge and study, and a room where he could entertain others privately. Using the teleport pad they attained the next level, which was Karral's personal laboratory and Conjuring library. Up one further level brought them to the place that made Tybok and Marcus feel as though they had died and gone to heaven... Karral's collection of spells and grimoires. The next level up was a bit of a puzzle to the group. They emerged inside a single chamber, with the same glasslike material forming the outer walls, and noticed a sort of an observation deck that circled around the tower, with one long tongue of stone that led out to nothingness. After hemming and hawing over it, Skalar pointed out that it looked rather like the small nubs on the side resembled moorings on the riverside docks. Tybok ventured forth a guess that perhaps it was used for some kind of flying ship of some sort, like they mentioned in the gnome bedtime stories.</p><p></p><p>The other odd sort of thing that the group encountered on that level was a black stone pylon with nine sides and nine doorways, one to each side, enclosing about a fifteen foot square room. Marcus used his <em>detect magic</em> and was nearly blinded from the strength of the magical energy that was contained within the pylon. He did note that it was a strange blend of magic, but that it seemed self-contained and *not* connected to the tower as a whole.</p><p></p><p>Looking at it from the outside, the group could see that there was a gray stone block in the center, looking like some kind of a table or altar, but there were no other features to be seen. Laeka took a step forward, entering the pylon, and Yovaire attempted to step in as well, but curiously enough as soon as Laeka entered there seemed to be some kind of a <em>wall of force</em> preventing anyone else from entering, no matter which doorway they tried. Nothing evil seemed to befall Laeka, but the light that was coming from the top of the pylon did change slightly to reveal some kind of carved inscription on the tabletop.</p><p></p><p>Marcus, ever curious, called in to Laeka, "What's it say?"</p><p></p><p>And Laeka, ever obliging, read aloud the inscription on the stone, saying "Umi sum." At which point the <em>wall of force</em> surrounding the pylon dropped and everyone else was allowed in. When the group was inside, the pylon sealed, and... <em>something</em> happened.</p><p>In the order in which the group crossed the threshold, a different set of words were read out, each ending in 'sum' (soom). Umi, mudo, nictu, etc. Marcus guessed (correctly) that whatever 'sum' meant, the other numbers were some kind of counting. Each party member felt a small stabbing pain in their left ring finger, and when they looked down a glowing tattoo of a spider had appeared. At that point, they all suffered severe disorientation, as they could for the moment see and sense through each others' eyes. There was a glow that surrounded Laeka, a buzzing that came from her pack. When she fished out the source of the buzzing, she found that an eldritch light was suffusing the Rod of Splendor they had picked up from Dorecan Manor, and before anyone could react the energy from that rod sank into her chest and merged with her aura, leaving a burnt-out rod in her hands, and permanently giving her a Charisma of 18.</p><p></p><p>There was a moment's hesitation, and then the light at the peak of the pylon began to shimmer and coalesce until it revealed a small image of an old man, human in seeming, but with an aura of some kind of otherworldliness about him. The image looked about for a moment, smiled kindly, and began to speak.</p><p></p><p>"Welcome, adventurers, to the Sanctum of Order. You have passed many gates and tests to stand where you do now, but the real test of your mettle has just begun. In older days, you would have entered the chamber knowing full well what you had stepped forward into, yet as I leave this Tower behind to pursue things of dire importance, I can sense that no one will enter here until much of the lore and ways I have instituted in all the places the Tower is will have faded. And so, I will explain.</p><p></p><p>"My name is Karral, and this Tower you stand in belongs to me. I do not know when, or if, I shall be able to return to it, as pleasant as the Tower has been. Yet such a center of power as this Tower has become should not be lost forever. It is our hope that someone will follow who can prove their worth and conviction, for the cause of Good, if not simply the cause of Order. To that end, I present you with the choice before you.</p><p></p><p>"You may accept the rings which now rest upon your fingers. If you take them, they will bond with your very soul for the duration of the time you wear them. They operate through a form of magic nearly unknown on your plane, and should not interfere with the trinkets you claim as 'magic rings', allowing you to wear one on each hand as you did before. They have great power, but only for those who take the time to use them. If nothing else, they will allow you to communicate mentally with your leader." At this, Karral's image stopped and nodded at Laeka. The party started to ask questions, but the image seemed not to be able to hear them, and continued on, so they stopped and listened.</p><p></p><p>"These rings will prepare you for the task ahead. You are obviously Good at heart, for none but the Righteous would have been able to gain access here. Therefore, I name you Guests of the Tower. If you accept the task ahead of you, you will keep the rings upon your fingers as you leave. You may stay here, but know that unless you are vouched as Good and worthy by those my Seneschals accept as such, you cannot gain true Residency here. Find a power of greater good and carry their vouch to my Seneschals, and you shall be offered Residency, and the tasks will be set before you to begin your work in becoming eventual Masters of the Tower yourselves.</p><p></p><p>"For now, decide whether you depart with the gift of this magical link or if you will set aside this path and depart the Tower."</p><p></p><p>The party debated, and took much time to be thorough in their deliberations. Finally they decided that there had been no indications to make them believe that Karral was anything other than good, and most likely lawful as well. Taking the leap of faith (and really really REALLY wanting to own the Tower) they all agreed and the rings became part of them.</p><p></p><p>[META: <em>The rings are psionic artifacts, with level-based and charisma-based bonuses. The individual members of the team can number up to nine, and with the consent of the Leader, Umi Sum or 'I am the first,' lower team members in the hierarchy can leave the team. The Leader has the ability to generate an actual ring that can be placed on the hand of a new person who, if willing, joins the team to fill any open slot. The ring hearkens from Karral's home plane, and the pylon is tied to it. As the party adventures, more will hopefully become clear to them on what the point is for the rings. For now, they just get the fun of playing with an artifact-level-item which has a number of surprising features.</em>]</p><p></p><p>The party left the chamber and finished off their exploration of the Upper Tower, ending with the aptly-named Observation Room, a domed top point that contained a <em>crystal ball</em> for use with scrying mounted in the center of the room, and a table which had the ability to create a 3D illusion of a map, and was currently set to demonstrate the region of the River of Stars. The <em>crystal ball</em> could be used to scry, and for those powerful enough the vision gleaned from the ball could be projected onto the walls and dome of the room. Truly gifted seers and diviners could make it actually feel like the group was present within the scene being scried.</p><p></p><p>Thus, with new toys and a new purpose, the group decided to take their evening meal with Zathira, to ask her how they should go about getting a vouch, and who the other Seneschals of the Tower might be.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pacio49, post: 2108547, member: 28472"] [b]Karral's Tower, Part III[/b] The next morning the party awoke, rested and refreshed. They met in the library's main conference room, and there they decided to strike out and investigate the upper floors. Marcus and Tybok grumblingly conceded that they should continue their investigation, and the party formed ranks and went upstairs from the level of the guest quarters. They emerged on a rooftop which contained gardens, a stream, a pond, and what appeared to be meadows flecked with wildflowers and a scintillating horde of butterflies. In the center of the garden, three graceful, curving stone ramps and supports vaulted up to create three arches from which was suspended a dome. In the underside of the dome, the odd dimensional-sky was replaced with illusions of sunlight and clouds, and a gentle breeze was blowing. The illusion was fantastic, complete with warmth from the sun on their faces and the twittering of birdsong. Small crystal pylon outcroppings dotted the landscape, and because they had arrived in the morning the party was delighted to find that at a certain time the air became saturated with a fine mist, emanating from the crystals. It rose up off of the ground in lazy, wispy curls, and then slowly condensed into droplets and cascaded in a brief, yet soaking rain. On the outer edge of the curving vault supports were staircases that each led up to the top of the outer edge of the dome, upon which rested what Zathira informed them the night before was the Upper Tower. In general, guests and visitors to Karral's tower would utilize the lower tower, with the gardens and the summoning rooms (Karral had several apprentices and often rented or lent his rooms to other wizards and sorcerers who had need of their special properties). The Upper Tower was much more restricted access. The group spent a little while playing in the fields and peering curiously over the edge into the featureless dimension boundaries. Valar got in trouble with an Undine, a watery fae who had not been present with the dryads when Zathira forbade the taking of the party as pets. Laeka and Arien were able to hold the Undine off while Marcus fetched Zathira, who arrived and scolded the girl, who reluctantly relinquished her claim on the thief. The upper deck included a gazebo amid the meadows, a few secluded benches and picnic spots near the streams, and a copse of trees which had been planted and grown to form the perfect druid's grove. Laeka and Valar, getting bored while the rest of the group were out checking out the grounds, decided to improvise a target on top of one of the small wooden shields that they had taken from Dorecan Manor. The two spent time playing games of dagger tossing, and Laeka decided to try some trick shots, tossing her dagger over her shoulder... bullseye. Valar tried it... bullseye. Laeka tried it again... bullseye. Each shot taken over the shoulder... bullseye, without fail. Finally, after a few more tries, the two realized that they were literally surrounded by fae... tiny sidhe-folk no larger than a rose, or a butterfly. Indeed, several of the butterflies were actually fae, and a few of the twiglings, roots, sprouts, and petals were actually riding on butterflies. A number of them were holding the edges of the shield, and as the tall folk were chucking the daggers over their shoulder at them, they were treating it as a game and moving the shield to catch it in the center. Laeka was immediately intrigued by the gaggle of small sidhe that had assembled, and she began to play with them quite merrily until the rest of the party appeared and the small sidhe disappeared. Having exhausted the investigation of the current level, the group decided to ascend up to the Upper Tower, taking one of the curving vaults up to where they saw a white stone door. Inscribed on the door was a message in common, stating "Only the righteous may pass." After a few minutes of discussion and debate, Laeka was told to channel the positive energy of her God, Povra, into the door, which she did. The door shuddered and glowed and opened for the party, being replaced with an ordinary wooden door, [i]sans[/i] writing. The party led an exhaustive search of the upper tower. They discovered that there were no stairs or access points between levels aside from a teleport area, for one. On the lowest level of the tower they found the master living quarters for Karral, his personal lounge and study, and a room where he could entertain others privately. Using the teleport pad they attained the next level, which was Karral's personal laboratory and Conjuring library. Up one further level brought them to the place that made Tybok and Marcus feel as though they had died and gone to heaven... Karral's collection of spells and grimoires. The next level up was a bit of a puzzle to the group. They emerged inside a single chamber, with the same glasslike material forming the outer walls, and noticed a sort of an observation deck that circled around the tower, with one long tongue of stone that led out to nothingness. After hemming and hawing over it, Skalar pointed out that it looked rather like the small nubs on the side resembled moorings on the riverside docks. Tybok ventured forth a guess that perhaps it was used for some kind of flying ship of some sort, like they mentioned in the gnome bedtime stories. The other odd sort of thing that the group encountered on that level was a black stone pylon with nine sides and nine doorways, one to each side, enclosing about a fifteen foot square room. Marcus used his [i]detect magic[/i] and was nearly blinded from the strength of the magical energy that was contained within the pylon. He did note that it was a strange blend of magic, but that it seemed self-contained and *not* connected to the tower as a whole. Looking at it from the outside, the group could see that there was a gray stone block in the center, looking like some kind of a table or altar, but there were no other features to be seen. Laeka took a step forward, entering the pylon, and Yovaire attempted to step in as well, but curiously enough as soon as Laeka entered there seemed to be some kind of a [i]wall of force[/i] preventing anyone else from entering, no matter which doorway they tried. Nothing evil seemed to befall Laeka, but the light that was coming from the top of the pylon did change slightly to reveal some kind of carved inscription on the tabletop. Marcus, ever curious, called in to Laeka, "What's it say?" And Laeka, ever obliging, read aloud the inscription on the stone, saying "Umi sum." At which point the [i]wall of force[/i] surrounding the pylon dropped and everyone else was allowed in. When the group was inside, the pylon sealed, and... [i]something[/i] happened. In the order in which the group crossed the threshold, a different set of words were read out, each ending in 'sum' (soom). Umi, mudo, nictu, etc. Marcus guessed (correctly) that whatever 'sum' meant, the other numbers were some kind of counting. Each party member felt a small stabbing pain in their left ring finger, and when they looked down a glowing tattoo of a spider had appeared. At that point, they all suffered severe disorientation, as they could for the moment see and sense through each others' eyes. There was a glow that surrounded Laeka, a buzzing that came from her pack. When she fished out the source of the buzzing, she found that an eldritch light was suffusing the Rod of Splendor they had picked up from Dorecan Manor, and before anyone could react the energy from that rod sank into her chest and merged with her aura, leaving a burnt-out rod in her hands, and permanently giving her a Charisma of 18. There was a moment's hesitation, and then the light at the peak of the pylon began to shimmer and coalesce until it revealed a small image of an old man, human in seeming, but with an aura of some kind of otherworldliness about him. The image looked about for a moment, smiled kindly, and began to speak. "Welcome, adventurers, to the Sanctum of Order. You have passed many gates and tests to stand where you do now, but the real test of your mettle has just begun. In older days, you would have entered the chamber knowing full well what you had stepped forward into, yet as I leave this Tower behind to pursue things of dire importance, I can sense that no one will enter here until much of the lore and ways I have instituted in all the places the Tower is will have faded. And so, I will explain. "My name is Karral, and this Tower you stand in belongs to me. I do not know when, or if, I shall be able to return to it, as pleasant as the Tower has been. Yet such a center of power as this Tower has become should not be lost forever. It is our hope that someone will follow who can prove their worth and conviction, for the cause of Good, if not simply the cause of Order. To that end, I present you with the choice before you. "You may accept the rings which now rest upon your fingers. If you take them, they will bond with your very soul for the duration of the time you wear them. They operate through a form of magic nearly unknown on your plane, and should not interfere with the trinkets you claim as 'magic rings', allowing you to wear one on each hand as you did before. They have great power, but only for those who take the time to use them. If nothing else, they will allow you to communicate mentally with your leader." At this, Karral's image stopped and nodded at Laeka. The party started to ask questions, but the image seemed not to be able to hear them, and continued on, so they stopped and listened. "These rings will prepare you for the task ahead. You are obviously Good at heart, for none but the Righteous would have been able to gain access here. Therefore, I name you Guests of the Tower. If you accept the task ahead of you, you will keep the rings upon your fingers as you leave. You may stay here, but know that unless you are vouched as Good and worthy by those my Seneschals accept as such, you cannot gain true Residency here. Find a power of greater good and carry their vouch to my Seneschals, and you shall be offered Residency, and the tasks will be set before you to begin your work in becoming eventual Masters of the Tower yourselves. "For now, decide whether you depart with the gift of this magical link or if you will set aside this path and depart the Tower." The party debated, and took much time to be thorough in their deliberations. Finally they decided that there had been no indications to make them believe that Karral was anything other than good, and most likely lawful as well. Taking the leap of faith (and really really REALLY wanting to own the Tower) they all agreed and the rings became part of them. [META: [i]The rings are psionic artifacts, with level-based and charisma-based bonuses. The individual members of the team can number up to nine, and with the consent of the Leader, Umi Sum or 'I am the first,' lower team members in the hierarchy can leave the team. The Leader has the ability to generate an actual ring that can be placed on the hand of a new person who, if willing, joins the team to fill any open slot. The ring hearkens from Karral's home plane, and the pylon is tied to it. As the party adventures, more will hopefully become clear to them on what the point is for the rings. For now, they just get the fun of playing with an artifact-level-item which has a number of surprising features.[/i]] The party left the chamber and finished off their exploration of the Upper Tower, ending with the aptly-named Observation Room, a domed top point that contained a [i]crystal ball[/i] for use with scrying mounted in the center of the room, and a table which had the ability to create a 3D illusion of a map, and was currently set to demonstrate the region of the River of Stars. The [i]crystal ball[/i] could be used to scry, and for those powerful enough the vision gleaned from the ball could be projected onto the walls and dome of the room. Truly gifted seers and diviners could make it actually feel like the group was present within the scene being scried. Thus, with new toys and a new purpose, the group decided to take their evening meal with Zathira, to ask her how they should go about getting a vouch, and who the other Seneschals of the Tower might be. [/QUOTE]
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