D&D 5E Obelisks? [spoilers YES]

[Eyes of Nine]

I guess there's obelisks that have been appearing in adventures for years? I've read, run or played in almost all the adventures, and I'm not clear on when/where the obelisks appear

Can someone point to some of the obelisks in question? Like which encounter or location in which adventure path?

Feel free to mask your spoiler response with the spoiler tags but fair warning to readers of this thread - I totally expect to hear spoilers here

 

[Oofta]

Hit one recently in the jungles of Chult in Tomb of Annihilation at the entrance of the actual tomb itself is one example. It's the only mod I've played recently, so that's 100% for me.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I guess there's obelisks that have been appearing in adventures for years? I've read, run or played in almost all the adventures, and I'm not clear on when/where the obelisks appear

Can someone point to some of the obelisks in question? Like which encounter or location in which adventure path?

Feel free to mask your spoiler response with the spoiler tags but fair warning to readers of this thread - I totally expect to hear spoilers here

I have run some and read a few but this is the first I have heard of them also.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Not fully read up on the obelisks, but the most blatant one is in Rime of the Frostmaiden:

Spoiler: Rime of the Frostmaiden

It's in the crashed Netherese flying city of Ythryn, and is especially notable because unlike the ones in other adventures, it can be activated, whereupon it triggers one of the alternate endings by promptly transporting the PCs thousands of years into the past to when Netheril was at its height and stranding them there.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

One got stolen by cloud giants at the start of SKT
There's one in a random (?) encounter in OotA
There's one in Chult that can act as a portal if you happen to have another item (some glasses, IIRC) on you.
There's at least one in RotFM in the crashed Netherese city under the ice.

 

[pukunui]

EDIT: Ninja'd.

There's also at least one in Curse of Strahd. I think that's where the speculation about the obelisks first began, because Jeremy made some comment about them at the time.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

I think there's one in Avernus as well.

 

[pukunui]

I seem to recall there being some talk about the ancient portal stones at the hunting lodge in Hoard of the Dragon Queen being part of the mysterious obelisk set as well.

 

[pukunui]

There's also one in the earth cult temple in Princes of the Apocalypse.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

One got stolen by cloud giants at the start of SKT
There's one in a random (?) encounter in OotA
There's one in Chult that can act as a portal if you happen to have another item (some glasses, IIRC) on you.
There's at least one in RotFM in the crashed Netherese city under the ice.

Ok, remember the one in SKT
Huh, would love it if someone was able to point it out in OotA. There were some parts of that AP that we skipped
The Chultan one... Hmm, will have to review. It'll be a while before my players get there
Ah yes, I remember there were actually quite a few obelisks in RotFM in the city (one of my favorite locations across the WotC adventures)

 

[UngainlyTitan]

There's also one in the earth cult temple in Princes of the Apocalypse.

I missed that one. The party tackled the Earth cult last and I was wrapping up the campaign, so I mostly skipped the temple and more or less barrelled along to the final show down with the final encounter with the prophet.

 

[pukunui]

Huh, would love it if someone was able to point it out in OotA. There were some parts of that AP that we skipped

It's in the Whorlstone Tunnels beneath Gracklstugh.

The Chultan one... Hmm, will have to review. It'll be a while before my players get there

It's in Omu outside the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods.

Ah yes, I remember there were actually quite a few obelisks in RotFM in the city (one of my favorite locations across the WotC adventures)

There's only the one black obelisk that is related to the others here - the one that, if activated, can send the PCs back in time thousands of years.

I missed that one. The party tackled the Earth cult last and I was wrapping up the campaign, so I mostly skipped the temple and more or less barrelled along to the final show down with the final encounter with the prophet.

It's in the "Shrine of Bleeding Stone" room - there's a black pudding that resides inside the obelisk.


EDIT: Found another one! There's a black obelisk that radiates abjuration magic in Shadowdusk Hold (Level 22 of Undermountain) in Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

EDIT 2: And another one! There's an obelisk of black metal with an abjuration aura near the Aeor Crash Site in the Eiselcross adventure included in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.

 

[J.Quondam]

They're just like Easter eggs!
Except that they're ominous. And obelisk-shaped. And probably not made of chocolate or marshmallows.
So... not really like easter eggs, after all.

 

[darjr]

From years ago.

Spoilers in the video

 

[darjr]

Obelisks

 

[darjr]

I printed my own in anticipation.
I plan to paint them and light them up inside so the runes glow.

 

[darjr]

There are Obelisks in AL adventures going back to the very first one.

DDEX1-01 Defiance in Phlan (5e) - Wizards of the Coast | D&D 5th Edition | Dungeon Masters Guild

DDEX1-01 Defiance in Phlan (5e) - Defiance in Phlan The Cult of the Dragon has come to Phlan, a lawless refuge on the Moonsea. Now, with no significant au

www.dmsguild.com

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Here's a sidebar from RotFM:

Spoiler: Obelisks

SECRET OF THE OBELISKS

In this adventure, we learn the secret of the obelisks that have appeared in other fifth edition adventures published by Wizards of the Coast, including Tomb of Annihilation and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

The first group of these magical obelisks was crafted by a secret society of spellcasters called the Weavers. These obelisks could alter reality on a grand scale, sending a region or an entire world back to an earlier time (effectively erasing part of history). The obelisks were constructed to counteract the effects of calamitous spells and cataclysmic events.

An evil wizard named Vecna stole one such obelisk and used it to erase the obelisk’s creators from existence. Vecna also stole the knowledge needed to create new ones. That knowledge later came into the possession of Netherese wizards, who built similar obelisks of their own. They believed that if some catastrophe destroyed their empire, these obelisks could help restore it. Unfortunately for them, most of the obelisks built to protect Netheril were stolen or otherwise lost over time, as were records of their purpose and information about how to activate them.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

I'm betting Vecna will use the Obelisks to "reset" the timeline of all D&D worlds, so the next edition lore can start from a blank state, since RotFM says he used it to erase the Weavers from existence, and you can reset the timeline to before Karsu's Folly with the one present in the adventure.

 

[OB1]

An Obelisk also shows up in Explorers Guide to Wildemount. It gives off abjuration magic and travelers that complete a long rest within proximity of the stone are visited with terrible dreams of strange, alien places and visions difficult to understand.