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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Enkhidu" data-source="post: 1387071" data-attributes="member: 351">Allright - there are sometime its just time to call something done, post it, and go to bed. Now is one of those times.Winter Iron DM 2004 TourneyFinal Round – First Match-Up: Enkhidu vs carpedavidThe Ingredients: The Edge of the WorldElven ShipBlood MoonTarrasque EggsFire NewtsDespairThe Adventure:City on the Edge Adventure Notes: City on the Edge is a very big adventure that involves a sea voyage, a long lost civilization, and (possibly) the end of the world. Because of its size, scope, and subject matter, it is suitable for high level play.Special Note to DMs: This adventure, as written, assumes that the “Edge of the World” is a literal edge of the world. If you have determined that your campaign does not have a “flat earth,” you can still use this adventure with a few modifications. Those modifications will be listed in italics and in red at appropriate parts in the text.SynopsisThe PCs will travel into unknown waters to the edge of the world, only to find that a terrible beast set to guard a gate between worlds is dying and they must install a new guardian.General BackgroundThe earth will shake, and this shall be the first sign. And the skies will darken, and this shall be the second sign.And the moon will bleed, and it will be the third sign.And the world will bleed as the moon.…rhyme told to the young in the nests of S’suraFor ages, the world has been under threat of invasion by fiends. For equal ages, the folk of the city of S’sura barred their way, defending a permanent rift in time and space between this reality and the fiends’ reality with wits, steel, and magic. But folk grew tired of their endless war, and in the height of their power bred a great Beast to serve as a guardian for the gate. Their tactic proved to be effective – too effective.When the folk of S’sura were no longer in a perpetual state of war, they began to decline. They became more and more decadent, warring among themselves as if they could not imagine an existence without blood and death, and descended into barbarity. The S’surans, the Beast, and S’suran Magic. The S’surans, actually a race of once extremely advanced Fire Newts, were at the height of their power able to break the long stalemate with their fiendish foes by creating a creature of great and terrible power. This creature, known only as “the Beast” in their more mundane writings was then bound to an island that the S’suran’s moved by magic to its present location over the Edge of the World. As an alternative, DMs may simply state that the S’surans used their considerable power to create something very much like the edge of the world, a nearly bottomless pit that creates a continual waterfall effect around the Beast’s island.However, the Beast is not the S’surans only legacy: the city of S’sura still stands intact, if buried beneath a carpet of vines, moss, and other tropical plants. In addition, they left whole libraries of embossed metal cylinders, artwork of all sorts, and numerous magical items left by its former inhabitants. The greatest achievement of the S’surans, however, is neither their city nor the Beast, but instead the Isle of the Beast.Isle of the Beast: The Isle of the Beast is not only the home of the Beast and the gate between worlds, but is itself heavily magicked. The island is protected by a powerful dimensional lock that encompasses the whole of the island; it is likewise proofed against scrying (both effects are epic in nature for the purposes of SR). At the center of the island is the gate, and the Beast roams the whole island, killing and eating everything that moves. NPCsCaptain Laurelindalir: Elven Seadog Laurelindalir is quite possibly one of the most (in)famous pirates the world has ever known. As a result of her generations of depredations up and down the coast she is the most hated enemy of the Empire. For the same reason, she is one of the greatest heroes of the elves that have fended off advances of the Empire for two centuries.Over her many years, the captain has grown familiar with the Sisterhood of the Moon. As such, when she was approached by one of their number to captain a vessel headed to the very edge of the world, she not only accepted, she used her considerable influence in the Elven Court to supply a ship worthy of the voyage: the Seeker.The Seeker: This Elven Ship was not so much built as grown. She is a large magical ship more than capable of staying at sea for months at a time. Her living timbers still grow leaves and bear fruit, and at sea she more resembles a moving hill topped by a copse of trees than a ship. The DM may wish to further detail this ship and her crew, as the PCs may end up spending a great deal of time on board as they travel to the world’s edge.Jarlena and the Sisterhood of the Moon: The Sisterhood of the Moon is an all female group of adventurers founded by Jarlena of Den, a highly respected wizard. The Sisters are a well known and loved company, their adventures often revolve around expanding frontiers. Their latest expedition (taken at the behest of Jarlena herself) to see the ends of the earth is fully in character for the group.Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Jarlena has ties to the End of Despair, a fashionable, if somewhat gauche, cult currently popular among the wealthy and bored. Ostensibly, the cult is concerned with bringing about the end of the world in order to end all suffering, but few take them seriously. Jarlena, however, has bought into the cult wholesale. As such, when she found evidence of a way to end the world (with the death of a guardian at the edge of the world, she decided to see it for herself, and assist if possible.Jarlena is always somber and melancholy. She has been so since her husband and child died at the hands of a rival. It was her grief and despair that drove her to join with her nihilistic cult, and her despair is what drives her to think – in her disturbed state – that to save the world from a life full of grief she must destroy it.Jarlena has enchanted a number of magical pendants for the Sisterhood that bestow certain minor benefits. However, along with the benefits the pendants bestow, they also allow Jarlena to attempt to dominate the wearer one time. She put these in as a fail safe to ensure that her sisters stay loyal to her. Nasir and the S’surans: Fire Newt barbarian chief and tribeNasir is the leader of what is left of the S’surans. While he is not very intelligent, he is cunning and shrewd; like many of his race his is also full of anger and spite. He is distrustful of outsiders, and may well order an attack if he feels threatened. For generations, the remnants of the S’surans have generally avoided the homes of their ancestors. However, they also regard it as holy, and gather in one of the city’s outlying buildings (in what they call the Temple of the Stones) once each year to worship the Beast and weep for their lost heritage. The only real thing that Nasir and his people know about the Beast (other than what they could gather from the murals and mosaics in the ruins of S’sura) is the rhyme (above) that mark the death of the Beast.The Beast: TarrasqueThe Beast is unbelievably powerful. It is also unbelievably old, and it is dying. Luckily, the S’surans foresaw that the Beast might die and created an “early warning system”: when the Beast dies the Blood Moon will rise and one of the Beast’s replacements will awaken.Adventure HooksDMs wishing to introduce this adventure to their PCs could do it in one of a number of ways:-If the PCs are familiar with the Sisterhood of the Moon, then they might be approached to accompany the Sisters on their journey. This is especially true if at least one PC is female. Likewise, a friendly relation with the captain will secure an invitation. Alternately, since the Elven Court is financing this expedition, the elven nobility might ask the PCs to accompany the Seeker on its voyage to protect their investment. -The PCs, during research for other information, might run across oblique evidence of S’sura, the Beast, and the gate. Enough information might set the PCs on a road to the edge of the world, and give them incentive to join the expedition. Note that in this hook that Jarlena will likely have gained the same information as the PCs – possibly because the PCs shared that information with Jarlena or one of her associates. In that case, the PCs will actually be the ones “responsible” for the expedition in the first place. In any event, in order to follow events in the adventure, the PCs should join with the crew of the Seeker in order to reach the edge of the world.Locations -On Board the SeekerThis is the most open ended portion of the adventure. Encounters with sea monsters, run-ins with pirate hunters, and raids by sahuagin are suggested in any combination. Likewise, this is a good chance for the PCs to explore kingdoms of mermen and sunken shipwrecks (complete with sharks and giant octopi). -The ArchipelagoAfter two months of travel (following coordinates supplies by Jarlena), the Seeker will sight land. The Archipelago consists of a number of smaller islands and one large island (think Hawaii or a similar island chain). For the most part, the smaller islands will be uninhabited except for the native fauna, though the DM is encouraged to add outposts, observation platforms, and other structures from the heyday of S’sura . If the DM wishes, the first contact with Nasir’s fire newts can happen among the smaller islands. If first contact is violent, then the newts will fight as long as possible, and then flee in swift outrigger canoes (a canoe-to-lifeboat battle might be interesting!).-S’suraThe PCs should eventually make it to shore on the main island. If they do, they will likely do so with at least some of the Sisters in tow. On inspection, several things will quickly become apparent:*The island once housed a huge city of stone and gold full of tall building, ziggurats, and temples, and even though it is overgrown it is largely intact (as reference, the “ruins” of S’sura look much like present day Machu Pichu). The buildings are covered with mosaics, murals, and sculpture, as well as a difficult to decipher hieroglyphic script. *The mosaics and murals tell (with enough time spent deciphering the images and their arcane scripts) a number of stories. If the PCs spend the time to scour over enough of the images, they should be able to piece together the high points of S’suran history (referenced in the Background, above).*While most of the buildings in the ruins have been neglected, a plaza to the northwest of the city proper has been cleared for use by Nasir and his people. *On the eastern shore of the island (which is also the next to easternmost piece of land in the island chain) is another cleared area that is open to the shore. In this clearing is an immense building – the Temple of the Stones referenced above - that contains a trio of huge (15’ high) spherical stones, and on the shore are two menhirs , each with a thin but very strong adamantine chain attached firmly to the stone and trailing off into the sea. Murals in the building depict the voyage of one of these stones across the sea on a barge-like vessel using the menhir chains as guides. The murals do not show the end of the voyage, though unlike other murals in the city this one depicts rays of light from a red moon bathing the stone on its journey.The 15’ high stones are actually Tarrasque Eggs, and were left by the ancient S’surans to replace the current guardian. The Stones, the menhirs, and the surrounding grounds are holy to the S’sura.-Isle of the BeastThe Isle of the Beast is the easternmost land mass before the edge of the world, and lies about two miles directly east of S’sura’s main island. As water nears the island and the edge of the world, the water speeds up and eventually resembles a huge river on its way toward a waterfall. At the island, it becomes exactly that, as the water literally falls off the edge of the world. However, the thin (20’) lane of water between the two adamantine chains connected to the menhirs on the main island remains calm. At DMs discretion, instead of  the chains providing an area of calm water in the midst of a rushing current, the chains can instead contain an area of water that crosses the empty space around the island. This will be a 20’ wide “alleyway” of water. The chains attach to identical menhirs on the Isle of the Beast. The island itself is covered with thick jungle marked with crude “paths” of knocked over trees.Event TimelineOnce the PCs reach S’sura, a timeline will be set running. This is that timeline, as well as important NPC reactions to that timeline.-The first day PCs set foot on land, there will be an earthquake. This is the first sign of the death of the Beast, who is in its death throes.-Two days after the earthquake, dark clouds will obscure the sky. Observant PCs might notice that they come from the east, seemingly from beyond the edge of the earth. This is the Beast letting out its last breath. Nasir’s tribe will at this point be mad with fear and dread as they wait the final sign of the apocalypse. Jarlena, however, assuming she has collected enough information to know that the end of the world is nigh, will be very interested. Astute and knowledgeable PCs (ones with both appropriate Religion and Spot skills, or similar skills) will notice that she immediately changes her routine and attire to match the mourning rituals of Den. Those close to her will notice that she seems to have given herself wholly over to Despair.-On the fifth night after the earthquake, the sky will clear and the Blood Moon will rise. In response, the Tarrasque Eggs will begin to weep blood. This is the third sign of the Beasts death, and the vehicle for the birth of the Beast’s replacement. If one of the stones is brought out into the clearing and the light of the moon hits it, the stone will crack and the egg will begin to hatch – the hatching will take about 3 days to finish. The Blood Moon will remain in the sky every night for one week, after which it will revert to it’s normal appearance and the chance for the Beast to be reborn is lost.-One week after the earthquake, the first fiends will begin coming through the gate. Initially they will only be scouts, but if the fiends get a chance to report back the vanguard of a fiend army will begin making its way through the rift two weeks after the Beast dies.Assistance and BetrayalAssuming that the PCs reach the island, find the Tarrasque Eggs, and figure out that they will need to bring an egg across the chain bordered channel, they will have quite a task on their hands. However, if they approach Nasir properly, they S’surans would be of great help in moving the stones and constructing the necessary rafts and barges to carry them. If the PCs end up hatching the stone early (before they deliver it to the Isle of the Beast) they might have an even bigger problem on their hands, as a baby tarrasque goes on a rampage for food as soon as it comes out of its shell. Even worse, if the PCs do finally get the stone moving across the chained in channel, they will have Jarlena (who realizes that the world that she wants to desperately to see destroyed might just be saved) to worry about. Halfway through the trip across the channel, the wizard will attack, seeking first to find a way to dump the stone and second to nullify any resistance from the PCs – worst, she will use the dominate ability of the Sisterhood’s pendants to take control of as many of the sisters as she can to fight against the PC. This should be a very dangerous fight – the space will be cramped and those tossed into the water may just be swept over the edge of the world, and Jarlena and the dominated sisters will ask for and give nor quarter.AftermathAfter the PCs manage to deliver the baby tarrasque to the isle, their task is not yet over, as it will take about a day for the new Beast to bond with the island, grow magically to its full size, and hold its own against the fiends again. Devious RBDMs may find ways to convince the PCs that they must stay on the island long enough to ensure that the Beast is capable of taking its duties, which will likely involve the PCs protecting the new Beast from fiends bent on destroying it while they try not to become tarrasque kibble themselves.********Quick Ingredient Recap: The Edge of the World: The location of S’sura, the gate, and the BeastElven Ship: The still living ship, the SeekerBlood Moon: The sign that the Beast is dead, its light hatches the new BeastTarrasque Eggs: Replacements for the Beast. One will hatch when struck by the light of the Blood MoonFire Newts: The S’surans, once an advanced magical society, now a race stuck in barbarismDespair: Jarlena’s motivation to end the world and the cause for her betrayal</blockquote>

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