The Plain of Sighing Stones

[Hactarcomp]

I'm preparing the next adventure for my party over Thanksgiving (it's either that or watch football) and it's going to involve a trek through the Shadowfell. I plan to start them in Gloomwrought, have some interesting events there and then set them on the path to the place the Raven Queen used to flee to Pandemonium when she trapped Umborous there. Since nothing except the bit about her fleeing him and trapping him in Pandemonium are in there, I figured I'd send them somewhere interesting in the Shadowfell. I ran across the Plain of Sighing Stones in MoTP and really liked the idea of a desert in the Shadowfell. I pictured it being temperate and bone dry, perhaps being one of the few places in the Shadowfell that does not feel (despite all one does to warm oneself) clammy.

There's a problem- the Plain of Sighing Stones is not in Gloomwrought and Beyond and is not mentioned in HoS (not surprising, but I figured I'd look there too, just in case). MoTP mentions the Zamar-Sha, who paint themselves white with chalk, work themselves into frenzies with weird plants, and use strange toxins on their weapons.

So I'm turning to you guys- what do you think the Plain of Sighing Stones is like? What weird beasties are around in it? How prevalent are the undead? And what should the stop where the Raven Queen left the Shadowfell for Pandemonium to trap a Primordial be like?

Both fluff and crunch are welcome. The players will be around level 10 when they hit this desert.

 

[delericho]

That is a cool name.

To me, the name "Sighing Stones" speaks of melancholy and loss. So, a trackless desert in which it is easy to miss landmarks and trails. A place where memory becomes fuzzy, and where things that drop out of sight are never seen again.

And, of course, the stones...

Everywhere the PCs go, they should encounter these stones, roughly human-sized, that periodically let out an all-too-human sigh. And when they aren't watched, are you sure they're staying in the same place?

As they travel, the PCs encounter a wanderer, lost in the desert. He's given up hope, and simply sat down. The last of his water is gone. And he can no longer move - as the life is leaving him, his feet have turned to stone. For that is the fate of those who linger too long - they join the very stones that give this place its name!

Encounters with the living should probably be few. Consider things like Eberron-style living spells, or stone elementals, or insane beasts. The major tribe are the aforementioned Zamar-Sha, who stave off the misery of the place with their hallucinogens. But the problem is that they give them a false elation, prevent them from seeing friend from foe, and eventually claim their sanity.

 

[Shadus]

And, of course, the stones...

Everywhere the PCs go, they should encounter these stones, roughly human-sized, that periodically let out an all-too-human sigh. And when they aren't watched, are you sure they're staying in the same place?

Do that, in a low-lit room and the PCs will surly be on edge. If you have any rash PCs I'd suggest planning stats on the stone for whenever they plan to attack it. A good way to play on the their fears would to build an encounter where the PCs just think there being attacked. Have the PCs make insight and endurance checks or roll a secret attack vs will or passive insight while they travel, and once the majority fails they become paranoid, and start jumping at shadows. Those that fail the check will see the shadow creatures come out of the stones, while the ones who passed under the impression that invisible monsters are attack them.

That would be made of awesome.

I also like the idea of the place being near impossible to navigate. Rolling percentage dice whenever the PCs start heading a direction, with the majority chance they will get lost, or wind up exactly where left. This could bring up the need to get a quest item used to to ones way in the Plain of Sighing Stones. Something like a torch of unveiling shadows, and could even help out in the encounter I put above to prove the monsters fake.

 

[Unwise]

It's funny how just a cool name an instantly inspire an entire adventure.

I picture the Sighing Stones as being a place of ennui, apathy and grey depression. The Shadowfell is meant to strip people of desire and leave them grey, emotionless dried husks of people. In the Desert of the Sighing Stones, this happens literally.

Eventually, people just can't see the point in continuing, so they just sit down. Then they can't see the point in standing up again...does not really matter if they eat either. Eventually they dry out, sand builds up on them, and a little magic happens, and all that is left is a dry stone, that sometimes sighs at the futility of it all.

Suggested Skill challenges include:
- Desert survival (endurance, nature, perception)
- Withstand the despair (endurance, insight, arcana, religion)

At this stage, I think it is a good idea to have them fail, or at least feel that they will never make it out. They require too many successes and will surely fail eventually. The reason for this is that they can be in the early stages of of slowly dying from depression when they are attacked.

The enemies come to kill them and this gets their blood pumping, the fight for survival is never as real as well you are split open by a sword. You never feel as alive as when dodging an axe. They dispatch the enemies are triumphantly continue on their way, full of life again. The enemies ended up helping them survive.

Finally, to keep some roleplaying in the session, I would include another encounter. The PCs come across some very humanoid rocks near the edge of the desert. These are clearly people who have given up all hope. By using social skills, insight and religion, they can inspire them to break out of the malaise. A physical party could even carry them out.

If your party are not good guys, you might want to have these Sighing people say things that let the PCs know they have very valuable information. That way even mercenary characters will care about them.

One last note, I would hint at there actually being something that gets enraged when they leave the desert. The whole place is spookier if you think there is a creature living below it that actually feeds on their despair. Oooh, cool imagery though. What if at the center of the desert is a huge bone white tree that is flourishing, maybe even a mirage of water. The effects of ennui get much stronger the closer you get to it. Nature rolls could tell that roots from that tree spread out all across the desert, perhaps to each of those sitting stones.