Mondevai - User contributions [en]

Arranis

2026-04-12T22:06:50Z

Ariese: Created page with "==Perspectives of Arranis Magis: Researcher and Ice Mage of Ethasadril== Arranis Magis was born into the great city of Ethasdril to his parents Paelias and Naivara. Because of the influence of a great number of winter eladrin his time of birth, Ethasadril was in a state of winter season, and Arranis immediately became connected to the characteristics of the season. However this connection was not made by natural means in Eladrin standards. When Arranis was only 7 years..."

==Perspectives of Arranis Magis: Researcher and Ice Mage of Ethasadril==

Arranis Magis was born into the great city of Ethasdril to his parents Paelias and Naivara. Because of the influence of a great number of winter eladrin his time of birth, Ethasadril was in a state of winter season, and Arranis immediately became connected to the characteristics of the season. However this connection was not made by natural means in Eladrin standards. When Arranis was only 7 years old, a freak blizzard/lighting storm approached Ethasadril. As the storm subsided, Arranis came into contact with the di-polar snowstorm . In this instance, the snowstorm had been electrically charged by the lightning, however, it was uniquely di-polar, meaning the snow was slightly more negatively charged than positive. When Arranis made contact with the snowstorm, he became connected to the essences of both winter, and more importantly, the imbalanced juxtaposition of electricity.

As Arranis matured, he realized the effects of his connection to the snowstorm. He had become far more adept in the uses of both electrical and ice magic, and more importantly, his personality had been altered by the di-polar substance. As the snow was slightly unbalanced in electrical charge, so is, in an analytical sense, Arranis’s personality. In a brief summary, Arranis’ primary characteristics and strengths revolve around being a deliberative, magical, patient, and having the unique ability to perceive things from more than one perspective. Arranis is an opportunist. This means he makes decisions that may anger some, and make others happy, but in the end it usually works out for him. He is able to think quickly and make sound conclusions in tough situations, however, they do not favor any side of a moral code. In fact, one could argue that Arranis is simply unaligned, desiring simply to bring balance between his actions. However, he will favor disorder in some situations.

As his parents were a highly regarded researcher and a politician in Ethasadril, Arranis is undoubtedly highly intelligent. However, his father Paelias always seemed to be preoccupied with bolstering the influence of winter in Ethasadril. Arranis wanted nothing to do with these political matters. He instead turned to self education and quickly rose through the academic ranks of the Eladrin. Over time, Arranis became most intrigued by two things in this world: the essence of marmaron, and the region of the shadowfell.

When Arranis was 20 years old, he decided he would venture into the surrounding Aspen forest of Ethasdril to study the reserves of white marmaron there. In Ethasdril, forests move with the people, and their growth and movement is controlled by rather indigenous individuals known as Shifters. Shifters are dedicated caretakers of the forest, but have known to be wildly seductive at times to explorers. As Arranis was study a pocket of white marmaron, a shifter by the name of Aurora took interest in him. Arranis was intensley fascinated by her knowledge of the forest and her shifting abilities, and over time the two began to love one another. One day, as Arranis was walking with Aurora, she led him to the river of Thain. She simply gave him to command to "drink", and Arranis, trusting her, did so. From this experience Arranis was forever bounded to Thain, and Aurora instructed him to bring a source of this water with him in his travels, as it may grant him speed and endurance in battle. Shortly after, Arranis told Aurora of his commitment to his research, and that he would be leaving shortly. In an intense moment of passion and love, the two lovers said their goodbyes. Arranis would leave for Fallcrest, and Aurora to where the forest took her. Whether Aurora is bearing Arranis's child or not is known only to her, and their love is forever secret between the two of them.

A key point to mention is that although Arranis is by no means a necromancer, he does support the idea of rejuvenation and believes that his research may lead to the control of such matters. Arranis knows there are plenty of rejuvenation rituals within the world already, but he aspires to create a new one: one that is more effective, more efficient, and ultimately more powerful than the others. Although Eladrin live to be well over 150 years old, there is plenty of conflict within the cities of Ethasadril and Ginwil. Most of the inhabitants are tired of their sporadically changing seasons, and would rather things be constant. Arranis’s balanced nature combined with the political pressure by his father contributes to Arranis' primary focus: extending the life of the Eladrin (and perhaps all of Mondevai) in hopes to bring more balance to their homeland thus reducing political tensions amongst Eladrin.

To do this, Arranis created a plan. He must venture into the rest of Mondevai and discover the secrets of the shadowfell realm and the blue marmaron itself. Arranis hopes to find a way to control the lost souls of the shadowfell region and direct them to either the Gates of Eternity or their previous corporeal bodies. By doing this Arranis hopes to reduce the number of lost souls in the world, prevent uprising of the undead, and ultimately create a ritual that will save those who otherwise could not be saved. Arranis's ritual will break the laws of death, for those who could not be saved in time will gain another chance at life. Upon returning the newly departed soul to the body, he hopes to spark the life force of the nearly dead, enabling them to be stabilized and healed to full health. Arranis will look in to several details regarding the ritual such as a) Where in the shadowfell region a departing soul first makes contact, b) how quickly a soul leaves the body, and c) how much of a soul is transferred from the body at any given point in time. This ritual is not for those who are incapacitated or beyond saving. Rather, Arranis works for those who were capable of being saved beforehand, but simply ran out of time; effectively distinguishing between what is and what isn't considered "truly dead."

Upon presenting his ideas to the high council of Eladrin, Arranis was immediately granted rite of passage to the rest of Mondevai by the Eladrin to conduct his research. He was given a small amount of funding for his research, and hopes to return to Ethasdril with more knowledge of rejuvenation. Through his own research in Ethasdril, Arranis came upon a way in how the path the souls travel through the shadowfell realm could be controlled. Extremely wealthy families of Mondevai have certain books written in an ancient language that upon the death of a family member, would be read over the deceased body. The magic within the book would guide the departed soul safely to the Gates of Eternity, ensuring that they would not be lost. Arranis may belief these books may form the basis of his ritual. At some point, a cartographer and paleoarcanist by the name of Galen had established a collection of these books. Arranis then set out to the city of Fallcrest to talk to Galen about the matter. Upon entering the city of Fallcrest, Arranis came into contact with a group of adventurers: Alexi the dravic cleric, Vaerun the human fighter, and Vyse the unlucky human rogue. And so the adventure has continued from there...

*****

Notes from the writer: Hopefully you (the reader) have seen the nature of Arranis’s personality and its reflection in his research. His cause is ultimately with good intentions for the world, however it is by controlled disorder that Arranis hopes to achieve his goal. Although one may not agree with some of his actions, one may realize this is simply his nature and that you should trust his intelligence if disorder is involved.

Further adventure notes:

Fallcrest: Upon first meeting Galen, Arranis was struck in the face by a flying river, effectively separating the party. Many months later, Arranis met Galen again in the temple of Banikon, but circumstances did not allow for formal discussion of the books (although they were probably lost in the hellgate attack anyhow), and unfortunately, Galen was slain by Tieflings.

The rescuing of Amasa: Means of rescue: Controlled disorder (in the form of a directed riot).

Conclusions: “Ah, a powerful Shadar-Kai! Perhaps he may act as my guide to the shawdowfell region in the future. I did save his life, now if only he could remember more about himself…….”

The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth

2026-04-12T22:06:05Z

Ariese:

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="5"|[[The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth]]
|-
!colspan="5"|Fall 2010 - Summer 2012
|-
!Player
!Name
!Race
!Class
!Levels
|-
| Stephen
| [[Alexi]]
| Dravon
| Cleric ([[Hlyn]])
| 1-12
|-
| Brian
| [[Vyse]]
| Human
| Rogue
| 1-12
|-
| Marshall
| Lorthos*
| Dragonborn
| Fighter
| 1-3
|-
|
| [[Vaeru]]
| Human
| Fighter
| 3-12
|-
| Chase
| Antivan*
| Yuan-ti
| Ranger
| 2-3
|-
|
| [[Arranis]]*
| Eladrin
| Wizard
| 5-12
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Deceased

A campaign that ran from level 1 to mid-paragon tier, at which point college graduation made it impossible to carry on. The party saved Fallcrest and the Thunderspire from devilish plots, then founded a colony on the isle of [[Arginmarl]].

== Journals ==

[[Alexi's Event Log]]

[[Vyse's Journal]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 1]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 2]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 3]]

== Event Log ==

[Kobold Hall :: Level 1 :: February 4, 2011]

[Fallcrest :: Level 1 :: February 11, 2011]

[Winterhaven :: Level 1 :: February 17, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 1 :: February 25, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: March 18, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: March 25, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: April 1, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 3 :: April 8, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 3 :: April 13, 2011]

[Winterhaven :: Level 3 :: April 20, 2011]

[Fallcrest :: Level 4 :: April 27, 2011]

[Thunderspire Sea :: Level 4 :: April 30, 2011]

[Prison Days :: Level 5 :: May 6, 2011]

[Prison Days Redux :: Level 5 :: September 2, 2011]

[Prison Days Redux :: Level 5 :: September 9, 2011]

[Thundermarl :: Level 5 :: September 23, 2011]

Vaeru

2026-04-12T22:05:54Z

Ariese: Created page with "As the adventurers sat down around the fire to eat their trail rations all eyes turned to the man that had agreed to carry Lorthos' body back to Winterhaven. He was tall, for a human, with a long scar over his left eye and without his armor on, it was easier to notice that he bore many other scars besides the prominent one on his face. From the scars one would expect him to be some sort of barbarian who charged into battle without a thought of injury or death, yet the..."

As the adventurers sat down around the fire to eat their trail rations all eyes turned to the man that had agreed to carry Lorthos' body back to Winterhaven. He was tall, for a human, with a long scar over his left eye and without his armor on, it was easier to notice that he bore many other scars besides the prominent one on his face. From the scars one would expect him to be some sort of barbarian who charged into battle without a thought of injury or death, yet the adventurers' noticed his speech suggested otherwise. He spoke with a slight elvish accent that had all but disappeared over what must have been many years of travel and adventures.

"So, what's your story?" asked Crow

"Where would you like me to start?"

"At the very beginning"

"Then so I will. I was born to the elves of the Lelyaie while they were traveling in the Gaoland forests. Born a human, even as a small child I felt like everyone was silently looking down on me. I never did feel entirely at home despite my parents' assurances that the rest of the Lelyaie cared for me just as much as they did. I could never stop noticing the differences between the other children and myself. While the other children grew lithe and wiry, I grew strong and tall. While they could hunt in the forests as quiet as a breeze through the trees, I often felt like a herd beast with them, and while they loved the woods and wilderness I loved visiting the towns and the cities.

So as soon as I was old enough and the Lelyaie had left the Goaland forests to head North for the Healink forests I departed from them in Krace to visit the cities there. I continued my travels into Ethasadril then up into Haelink where I visited some of the great Eladrin cities before continuing north into Tiban.

As I was traveling to one of the dragonborn cities it was my misfortune to come across a marsh created by the meeting of many rivers. With the river slowed in the marsh a great number of the undead were roving the area and I had to fight my way out. I barely made it out alive. I stumbled into a dragonborn camp half dead whose commander decided that anyone who could survive what I did must be worth the delay and let the cleric get to work healing me.

I found out from the cleric that the dragonborn had been one of the regular patrols from Gartok to keep the undead away from the city. And that the captain of this patrol intended to recommend me for training, if I wanted it, so I could join the patrols. I decided to accept his offer. So it was that I fought and trained with the Garvok patrols for several years before I decided to continue my visits and to head back East to visit the cities in Ginwil and Fornmidr which is when I came across all of you.

Vyse

2026-04-12T22:04:32Z

Ariese: Created page with "==The Misadventures of Vyse the Unlucky Rogue== Considered an unlucky, yet rare birth by his humanoid parents (the exact race is unknown), Vyse was left outside to freeze to death by his ashamed parents. Luckily, this lad was rescued by passerbys. His saviors were travelling performers of mixed races, moving from town to town in hopes of a stable income. At the age of 5 he began to repay his "family" by becoming a servant for the circus memebers. It was a dull and h..."

==The Misadventures of Vyse the Unlucky Rogue==

Considered an unlucky, yet rare birth by his humanoid parents (the exact race is unknown), Vyse was left outside to freeze to death by his ashamed parents. Luckily, this lad was rescued by passerbys. His saviors were travelling performers of mixed races, moving from town to town in hopes of a stable income. At the age of 5 he began to repay his "family" by becoming a servant for the circus memebers. It was a dull and hardworking life for Vyse. Many times he found himself cleaning the element filled facilities of the circus's alchemist, Nantun. Cleaning vials and organizing his notes, Vyse learned quite a bit about alchemy in his spare time. Vyse felt his life was going no where until the circus acquired the daring knife talents of Mostreau The Swift (human) five years later. Vyse was intrigued by Mostreau's professionalism and sought to become his apprentice.

Luckily for Vyse, his dream came true when he turned 14.

Mostreau was had begun to contract vision problems, though he was barely 45, thus making his dagger tricks less popular with audiences. The circus knew it wouldn't be long before Mostreau would become a useless member. The circus managers searched for a new attraction, but to no avail. Vyse was supposed to be cleaning Mostreau's tent, not practicing with his knives when Jurok the Dragonborn manager walked in searching for Mostreau. Jurok was furious with Vyse and threatened to throw him on the streets again. Mostreau arrived minutes later and was impressed to see that Vyse had landed every knife on the target. He interupts Jurok scolding Vyse and asks Vyse to throw one more knife. Vyse is shocked to see that his role model just asked him to perfom a trick. As his heart feels like it will stop, Vyse somehow manages to throw the last knife on to the bullseye. Mostreau declares that Vyse is to no longer serve the managers and now to become his apprentice. Jork is furious at first, but then realizes that Vyse could revive the knife act once Mostreau can see no more.

2 years pass as Vyse learns the ways of dagger throwing from Mostreau.

When Vyse turns 16, Mostreau declares that Vyse is ready to perfom for money. His first performance is a success, making Vyse the most popular attraction in the circus. Mostreau bids his farewell the next day, knowing his job is complete. Vyse is saddened but promises to do his best.

5 years pass as Vyse and the rest of the circus continue to travel.

The circus sets up its tent a few miles East of Fallcrest for their next performance. During the performance Vyse spots a man in the audience who bore an uncanny resemblance to Mostreau. The man is talking with another unknown figure. Never the less, the performance goes on without a hitch. After a daring yet brilliant performance, the audience goes wild with applause for Vyse and his trusted daggers. That night, Vyse journeys into Fallcrest to celebrate his successes at a bar. He passes out drunk, not hearing the multitude of townspeople rushing towards the edge of town. The small piece of white marmaron protecting the circus had been lit ablaze, ultimately destroying the circus and the sleeping performers. Having not returned to his tent that night, many villagers believe that Vyse had performed such a horrible deed. Overcome with feelings of sadness and confusion, Vyse escapes before authorities can apprehend him.

Vyse wandered aimlessly, angered that he had been framed for deaths of the only people close to him. Days pass Vyse without coming in contact with civilization. He realizes that he is deep in the wilderness without much hope, a dagger being his only tool. His prospects were grim, die alone in the middle of no where, or die by the hands of those who accused him of murder. His pace grew slower and slower, as if he was enticing the scavengers to start working on his walking corpse. Then he heard it! A trickle, but it grew louder. At last a river appeared before his eyes. He knelt down to quench his thirst, oblivious to his surroundings.

"Take one sip and I'll gut you!" said the Shadar-Kai who had uncloaked from shade form as he held his blade at Vyse's throat. "Go ahead, I'm practically dead to the world anyway" Vyse mumbled. "So you accept your death?" questioned the Shadar-Kai. "Yes." responded the rogue, as he closed his eyes and recounted the plentiful circus memories. Just then, Vyse felt the pressure release from his neck. "Looks like it's your lucky day" the Shadar-Kai said mockingly, "when death comes, most are not ready to accept it. Banikon teaches us that we must always be ready, as if every second were our last." Vyse retorted "So you're a Shadar-Kai? I've heard stories about your kind, but never seen one for myself. Shouldn't you be guarding the Shadowfell?"

Emotionlessly, the Shadar-Kai explained that the river leads to the Shadowfell. "I simply could not allow you to drink from these waters without making a sacrifice. Your life would have made an excellent collateral, but you have impressed me. Something else will have to do." Vyse quickly brought out his aging dagger "Will this do?" The Shader-Kai nodded and Vyse gently lowered his blade into the current. "That knife has had quite the life" said the Shader-Kai. "Indeed, it was passed down to me" said Vyse as he watched Mostreau's dagger disappear from sight. "You are young with much life left to live, but you accept death as a part of life. Come here." commanded the Shader-Kai. Vyse cautiously moved towards him. The Shader-Kai took a bottle and filled it with the nearby water. "Banikon thinks highly of you. Recieve the water that bears his name." The Shader-Kai then pours the bottle over Vyse's head, drenching his face and shoulders. Vyse could taste what seemed like blood as the water trickled around his lips. "Drink from these waters human, and rest assured your chances of survival are higher." Vyse opened his eyes, suddenly feeling a wave of energy. To his surprise, the Shader-Kai had vanished, only leaving the bottle of river water.

A year has past, Vyse has taken on small theviery jobs in order to survive...but the curiosity as to who started the fire still remains.

Bearing little resemblance to the youthful performer he once was, Vyse manages to return to Fallcrest undetected in order to give his respects to his "family" and hopefully learn who actually started the fire. Feeling rather guilty, he enters a nearby temple to pray. A cleric of Hlyn, Alexi, overhears the somber rogue and offers him some peace of mind. Vyse convinces Alexi to grab a drink with him while they exchange stories. Suddenly, a rather flustered wizard named Stephan stumbles across their table with a job offer. He needs adventurer's to help him clear the nearby Kobold Hall. Vyse, looking for a change of pace in his life instantly accepts the job. Alexi is worried for his new friend and decides to join on the adventure..................

Alexi

2026-04-12T22:02:18Z

Ariese: Created page with "==The Early History of Lord Alexi Kholodov, Baron of Arginmarl, Devoted Cleric of Hlyn== ''As Recorded by Amalia Elekthon'' The Hlynite disciple and Baron of Arginmarl was not always so blessed, and in fact seemed doomed to encounter much suffering even before birth. Alexi's mother Annessa grew up and lived in the dravic port city of Ablemarr working as the clerk of the local tax collector. Every other season a dravic oligarch would come with a large escort to the reve..."

==The Early History of Lord Alexi Kholodov, Baron of Arginmarl, Devoted Cleric of Hlyn==

''As Recorded by Amalia Elekthon''

The Hlynite disciple and Baron of Arginmarl was not always so blessed, and in fact seemed doomed to encounter much suffering even before birth. Alexi's mother Annessa grew up and lived in the dravic port city of Ablemarr working as the clerk of the local tax collector. Every other season a dravic oligarch would come with a large escort to the revenue office and collect the governments portion of the cities revenue for transfer to the capital. During Annessa's employment at the tax office Rachmon the Regal oversaw the mid year rotation for the revenue collection of Ablemarr. The corrupt oligarch took a liking to Annessa and wooed the clerk into an affair. After three years of this relationship Annessa became with child and sent word for Rachmon requesting to take residence with him in his manor. The oligarch denied any affiliation with the child and used his power to all but blacklist the now heartbroken dravoness. Thus into the filth and enmity of port city slums, Alexi was born.

A strong child from the start, Alexi was a charismatic leader for the slum children at first, but as soon as the young minds were capable of prejudice Alexi was ridiculed. To fuel the young dravon's reproach of Alexi was not only his bastard origins, but the form of his spikes. The noblest of noble dravon are always commended for the grandeur of their spikes, but poor Alexi had just a straight line of nubby protrusions down the middle of his spine lending his appearance to that of a malnourished human. Constantly berated for his human appearance and illegitimate conception, the dravon fled with a heart of contempt at the age of 19.

Alexi traveled the continent of Letier as a migrant worker grudgingly using the connections offered by his dravic heritage to traverse the placida in search of a power with which he could return to Ablemarr and bring justice to those who had persecuted him in his youth. He joined up with a small troop of outcast workers and went west with them following their employment through the seasons. It was a rag tag group of individuals, mostly Genasi and Dravon numbering 12 in all with Alexi being the thirteenth. All along his travels Alexi still nurtured his desire for retribution which grew rapidly as a result of the teifling employers' further mistreatment of himself and the other workers in the company. After a few years of labor his ingenuity and charisma paved the way for him to become the supervisor of the small troop of outcasts and dealt shrewdly with their employers, trusting nothing but the fruit of his own labor. At the age of 27 Alexi had a run in with a particularly wealthy teifling who had cheated one of his few human laborers. Enraged Alexi went to him and demanded recompense for which the wealthy teifling accused him of assault and had him thrown out of the city. He then turned to the human and nearly struck for taking such an offense in stride. Taken aback by their leader's outburst the small troop of workers asked Alexi to leave them. Alexi then took his share of the money he had earned over the years from their savings and left them with a small fortune in his pockets. He bought a weeks passage on a ship at the local port and sailed north to Haelink.

Upon arrival Alexi went to a nearby Eladrin town in search of livelihood, but because of his cold demeanor it was difficult for the him to mesh with the Ximenian culture of the Feykind even as he learned their language. He wandered the forest northward to near the edge of the forest and eventually took up residence in an encampment known as Ovmek. Originally a dwarven foothold in the Feyland during the now much quieter land disputes between the elves and dwarves, the king of Haelink was content to leave Ovmek mostly unchanged after gaining control over the area as an act of homage to the loving Ximena. The outpost has a different look to it compared to most other towns of the forest due to its dwarven origin, with a mildly defensive stone wall surrounding an inner area and many of the buildings stand built of stone on the forest floor rather than the more common wooden tree dwellings of the Fey. In this town the elves live in a tense but fruitful peace with a small community of dwarves and Alexi was able to find work here as a gatherer for an elven employer by the name of Faelnir.

While working in the woods Alexi came across an old wayshrine to the verogod Nemo. Overjoyed by the thought of the lord of justice helping his plight he began to supplicate daily at the shrine, and did his best to rebuild and maintain it. Alexi constantly prayed for the retribution of the strong and powerful whom he held that because of their strength they inherently prey on the poor and weak. He specifically pleaded for the Lord of pure justice to grant him vengeance on those who wronged him in Ablemarr including the father his mother never mentioned. As days passed he slowly gathered and formed stones to fit the altar, and even though neither brute force nor precision were ever strengths of his, the shrine was finally rebuilt. As he place the final touch, an ornamental gold scale, upon the altar, Alexi finally felt like things were going to get set right. To celebrate the completion of the altar and further magnify Nemo's power, Alexi took a short pilgrimage to his Godspike and partook in a ritual Baptism of Reincarnation under a stream of Justice, bringing some of the verogod's power upon himself. It was however with his return that his true fate would unfold.

It was a perfect morning the next time Alexi strolled through the woods on the way to his daily rite at the shrine to Nemo, and there was neither a cloud on the sky nor a breeze under his cloak. The dravon was puzzled by the stillness of the air, but put it aside since these things can never really be predicted anywhere on the Letier. As he turned the corner he noticed that another individual sitting cross-legged before the shrine. The figure wore an old tattered traveler's cloak, much like the one Alexi himself had on, which concealed a massive shape under it which appeared to be strapped to the back of what the dravon could now identify as a human as he drew closer. Confused at first, Alexi grew slightly pleased by the thought of a companion in his dedication to Justice, as he approached the person spoke and began to rise. "Ah, you've arrived.... Good," She said, and her words were muffled as if they weren't able to easily reach Alexi but still somehow echoed in his mind as if they were never spoken at all but merely thought. Taken aback by the voice of who he was sure to be a man based on the object concealed under her cloak, he suddenly noticed that her golden hair was gently flowing without the aid of the wind and as she stood her cloak whirled about her as if caught in an eddy. Leaves began to jump from nearby trees and began to cycle through their seasonal coloration at an incredible rate as they were assimilated into what became a small vortex centered upon her. This was magic unlike any Alexi had ever seen or heard of before and as she turned to face him he began to worry about her intentions for meeting him there. Now facing him, her ruddy, weather-beaten face was a sight to behold, and was flushed as if from windburn or extreme cold. Her cloak whipped back to reveal an old chainmail tunic adorning her and Alexi could tell just by a glance that the scars on her strong arms were not just for show. Lightning blue eyes, full of terrible power fixed the dravon in his place even as her mouth curved into a soft smile. "Fret not, child," The woman spoke to him in common, though in an old and archaic sort of way that one only reads in translations of ancient scripts. As the danger in her eyes diminished the whirlwind around her seemed to strengthen, and though the situation seemed impossible Alexi felt slightly more at ease. The woman continued. "I am impressed greatly by your dedication, yet saddened that it will ever fall on deaf ears and a cold heart. What is it you seek in your supplications?" After a moment Alexi realized he should answer, and struggling to find the words he finally stammered, "I....only ask that....justice be served." She replied, "Justice is indeed a worthy endeavor, but only if motivated by the noblest of causes. I see naught that is noble to be gained from your justice." The flustered dravon was singed by this assault on his hard work and newest hope and exclaimed, "Well, what else can I seek?!" She smiled and turned toward the altar which appeared less and less impressive as she approached it. From behind the altar she turned back to him and, reaching under her cloak, revealed an enormous shield crafted of black marmaron which she brought above her head with both arms. "What you desire is not justice,"She said as the wind around her suddenly stopped and her eyes grew ablaze with blue light, "Seek instead the Light of Honor!" With the last word she brought down her great bulwark and smote the altar creating a blinding flash of light so bright that Alexi had to turn away and was rendered sightless for a moment afterward. When the world began to blur back into vision Alexi saw that the altar had been completely destroyed and the golden scale he had placed on it was flowing down the front in a molten mess. He hastily scanned the area for any sign of the women and in desperation he cried out to her, "Who are you?" though he already knew well the significance of this encounter. A voice echoed in his mind just as before saying, "My name holds little importance. That you should identify yourself is what is now crucial. Go in the light, for Honor strive, the needy serve, and the weak protect. Only then will manifest your true identity." As her voice faded from his mind a splash of water landed on the molten pool in Alexi's crumbled monument to a false sense of redemption, and looking up he saw a mountain of water bearing down on the forest from a northwesterly direction. A fleck of light slipped across the steaming hunk of gold and Alexi notice that it had fallen into the shape of a crude escutcheon and seemed to be exuding a blue-white glow. Snatching it from the rubble he was hardly surprised that the metal that was white hot moments ago was now cool to the touch, and as a cold spray washed over Ovmek the newly born acolyte of Shieldmaiden Hlyn sprinted back to the town and began his work for the great protectress.

As he was running through the woods Alexi felt the ground shake underneath him, and heard the crashing of a thousand timbers being rent in two by the lake that had been tossed into the forest under the influence of the chaos that plagued the now departed Verogodess. The air grew dank with the smell of lake water as an erratic rain of splashed lake water fell on the old dwarven fort-town, and Alexi pushed his limits to finally make it to Ovmek just as the first wave of flooding washed over the walls and leveled a swath of buildings on the north side of town. Water filled the streets and encumbered Alexi's oxygen-deprived legs causing him to trip and fall forward into the wash. He struggled to grab a nearby fencepost before the current could carry him out of town and rising up from the muck of the first wave he ran onward to meet the second one. Bending under the stress of the waters one of the larger Feycherry trees which was home to a few families of elves slowly splintered and began a descent directly on course for the residential area of town. Filled with the passion of Hlyn, Alexi gripped his golden artifact and thrust both hands at the falling arbor with a great and desperate bellow. Suddenly a great white flame was flung from the golden escutcheon and burned through one of the greater limbs and sending it to the ground harmlessly outside the walls of the town. As the tree crashed onto the stony walls a large limb broke free and began hurtling towards a fleeing mother and child at deadly speeds. "Watch out!" the dravon cried in earnest, and just as the branch bore down on the woman a great ethereal shield deflected the splintered sharp end of the branch away from her head and caused the woman to instead be struck in the leg by a much greener portion. Alexi breathed a short prayer of healing for the woman and hurried to aid any survivors housed in the fallen Feycherry. By the time he had stabilized and evacuated the victims in the tree, Alexi could see the tail end of the flash flood slide out of the town, and under his leadership a clean up operation began.

After his uncharacteristic compassion and assistance during the disaster at Ovmek both the elves and dwarves were struck by the newly changed dravon as he became more involved and open as a member of the town. After a few months Alexi bought a small shop and converted it into a shrine-clinic where he acted as a healer for the city and offered shelter to the poor, the needy and road worn travelers. Three years passed as Alexi's charisma skyrocketed with the local people; some dwarves joined his clinic as Hlynite followers which allowed Alexi to delve more into the historical and religious studies involved in the Church of the Protectress. In his thirst for knowledge the dravon learned the language of the ancient scripts and also read the draconic tomes of the many dragonborn followers of Hlyn and it quickly became apparent to him that there was more to be learned outside the small town of Ovmek. It was with this in mind that Alexi journeyed off after a handwritten annotation that mentioned a Vault of Hlyn to the north near Dragonborn territory. He left the shrine-clinic in the hands of his friends at Ovmek under the leadership of his first pupil Borik and the devoted priests there who still lend a helping hand to any that ask. So it was with a curious mind and a willing heart that Alexi the Dravon cleric of Hlyn arrived in Fallcrest at the age of 33 where he came across a young human, Vyse, and agreed to assist him in a seemingly small endeavor.

And after all this; his adventure was only beginning....

(for further documentation of the life of Lord Kholodov see the Journals of Captain Vaeru)

The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth

2026-04-12T22:01:04Z

Ariese:

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="5"|[[The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth]]
|-
!colspan="5"|Fall 2010 - Summer 2012
|-
!Player
!Name
!Race
!Class
!Levels
|-
| Stephen
| [[Alexi]]
| Dravon
| Cleric ([[Hlyn]])
| 1-12
|-
| Brian
| [[Vyse]]
| Human
| Rogue
| 1-12
|-
| Marshall
| [[Lorthos]]*
| Dragonborn
| Fighter
| 1-3
|-
|
| [[Vaeru]]
| Human
| Fighter
| 3-12
|-
| Chase
| Antivan*
| Yuan-ti
| Ranger
| 2-3
|-
|
| [[Arranis]]*
| Eladrin
| Wizard
| 5-12
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Deceased

A campaign that ran from level 1 to mid-paragon tier, at which point college graduation made it impossible to carry on. The party saved Fallcrest and the Thunderspire from devilish plots, then founded a colony on the isle of [[Arginmarl]].

== Journals ==

[[Alexi's Event Log]]

[[Vyse's Journal]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 1]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 2]]

[[Vaeru's Journal 3]]

== Event Log ==

[Kobold Hall :: Level 1 :: February 4, 2011]

[Fallcrest :: Level 1 :: February 11, 2011]

[Winterhaven :: Level 1 :: February 17, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 1 :: February 25, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: March 18, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: March 25, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 2 :: April 1, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 3 :: April 8, 2011]

[Winterhaven Keep :: Level 3 :: April 13, 2011]

[Winterhaven :: Level 3 :: April 20, 2011]

[Fallcrest :: Level 4 :: April 27, 2011]

[Thunderspire Sea :: Level 4 :: April 30, 2011]

[Prison Days :: Level 5 :: May 6, 2011]

[Prison Days Redux :: Level 5 :: September 2, 2011]

[Prison Days Redux :: Level 5 :: September 9, 2011]

[Thundermarl :: Level 5 :: September 23, 2011]

Vaeru's Journal 3

2026-04-12T21:54:39Z

Ariese: Created page with "==13 January 2012== As I walk to our weekly briefing I think on the almost eight months since we landed upon this island; we have been prosperous and for that I am grateful to Alexi's leadership and to the colonists hard work. Without them we would have perished to the very last thing I would wish to die from, starvation. I have used this time to practice my swordsmanship and to work with my guardsmen in improving theirs. At first I had no idea how to train the mage, La..."

==13 January 2012==

As I walk to our weekly briefing I think on the almost eight months since we landed upon this island; we have been prosperous and for that I am grateful to Alexi's leadership and to the colonists hard work. Without them we would have perished to the very last thing I would wish to die from, starvation. I have used this time to practice my swordsmanship and to work with my guardsmen in improving theirs. At first I had no idea how to train the mage, Lavinia, who was part of the guards as I have very little knowledge of magic. After consulting with Arranis as well as Lavinia and the rest of the guards we began training in formations that if it came to combat would allow her to use her spells to the greatest effect. The captain of the ship had attempted to sound the depths but after letting out a league's worth of rope and finding no bottom he abandoned trying. Finally I reached the door to Alexi's manor and stepped inside to join those already seated at the table. Alexi was at the head of the table as usual, Vyse was toying with his dagger and Arranis was late which wasn't unusual for him. The seneschal, Rolf, was also seated as well as the representatives of the guilds. We discussed the upcoming harvest festival and Alexi assigned the minstrels guild some of the preparations and said he would go over the rest with the priestesses. Throfinn, of the miner's guild, mentioned that the mines were going to be shutting down as they had found glass. Alexi asked him why and explained that he had heard some of the reason why finding glass was a reason to stop digging but not all of it. Throfinn told us that it was a long story but he'd be glad to tell it at the tavern tonight at the harvest festival if we still cared to hear it. After a little more business, Alexi dismissed the meeting and I went to go through some sword forms at the barracks while some of the others went to prepare the harvest festival. Later, that same evening, I went to the tavern for some coffee and to take Throfinn up on his promise to tell the story. Once there, I found him Alexi, Arranis, and Vise already the bar. I ordered some coffee and after some pleasant conversation Throfinn launched into a tale that his grandfather had told him that his grandfather's grandfather had told him. It was about a miner that kept digging after the glass and found that demons put silver in the rock to lead miners down to the depths and to a man who wanted to suck out their soul. As Throfinn was finishing his tale we heard a crackling from outside. I and the others got up and went out to see firebats causing havoc and leaving with several of our goats. Alexi sent a messenger to tell people to stay in their homes until this had been dealt with. I sent some guards to protect the goats. We decided to head to the mine with Throfinn as guide since that's where the bats were heading.

Within minutes we had reached the mine. Throfinn led us to a fork in the mine and told us the right passage led to where the miners had run into glass. I noticed that the further into the mine we got and especially when we made it clear we intended to go all the way down the shaft with glass the more uncomfortable Lorfin seemed. Alexi must have noticed this too and told Throfinn he could go if he wanted. Within a few minutes we came upon the charred and stinking remains of the goats that the fire-bats had taken. We continued to go down the rather steep incline deeper into the mine when a light flashed at us from farther down the tunnel. The light continued to flash as we approached the end of the tunnel and when we reached it I realized it was the light we had been using to navigate the tunnel. In front of me there was a kind of pit with glass walls. The hole was too small for me to fit through but I thought the rest of our group would probably fit. Arranis had another plan though, he pulled out his mirror which began to hum. Then he faced towards the hole and there was a shattering sound as it made the hole much larger. Arranis was a too tired from focusing his will through the mirror to do it again but he gave the mirror to Alexi for him to do the same.

After we had broken through to the other side I was blinded as Arranis' magelight placed on my helmet shone back on me from a mirrored ceiling. I found myself standing on a metal grate and we began looking around the room. In the middle of the room was a large tube with two slots on its top at the other end, on closer examination the slots were labeled in a language I didn't understand. I asked Alexi to come over and see if he could read it for us and it turned out the first slot was labeled 'lens' and the other labeled 'mirror'. We also found a table with a sextant, some other gadgets, and some extremely worn leather. On the opposite side of the tube from where we came in there was a ladder which we climbed down to enter a dark room with walls made of a kind cloth and a great many pinpricks of light shining through. In the center of the room were two half columns with black orbs embedded in the top of them. On closer examination of the cloth walls they seemed to be on rails at the top of bottom but they did not move when I tried to pull them aside. Alexi went over to one of the orbs and put his on it and then looked as though he were focusing on something but then he took his hand off. Then he went over to the other orb and at his touch the curtains began moving. Then I noticed a double door that looked to be made of wood but felt like it was made of metal. Alexi pointed out that the floor in here was covered in muddy footprints and Vise said that he couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door. Alexi then put his hand on the first orb again and asked what its password might be, I suggested 'Caiphon' as we kept running into the name. When Alexi said it though the pinpricks of light grew brighter and became orbs and out of the orbs came shadows that attacked. With a swing of my sword I dispatched many and Arranis' thunder blast took out just as many. Then the real fight began as one of the shadows seemed to take control of Vyse and a different one vanished suddenly. We battled desparately on as the shadows alternately bound, blinded, and controlled one of us but in the end we came out victorious.

After the fight we noticed a slime in the room from a creature that was probably worm-like and had many legs. Alexi took out a sunrod to look down a slimy ladder in one corner of the room, as soon as had put the light down there we heard a skittering and decided to go out the door instead. Outside there was vast darkness but with a little light we made out a gravel path with water on the sides. Along the sides we found posts with small dials near chest level which we found that when turned the top of the posts lit up. After a while we came upon a great statue with a scepter held imperiously and hummingbirds on its shoulders, but where the head should have been there was a blackened stump. Around the statue the gravel path circled and split off to become several different paths. On the opposite side of the statue we found a small lever which I pulled. There was shhh sound and then a thunk as four holes opened up around the base of the statue and a sucking noise was heard. We decided that rather than try to fit in those holes we would go down the left path where we eventually came upon a barracks with flag flying in front. Alexi recognized the flag as that of Hlyn's and we went inside after breaking through an old door. Inside we found a small room with another door leading into what must have been the sleeping quarters. There we saw two ghosts with cloaks, and then we heard a keening as the cloaks flew off and attacked us. As Vyse and I fought the ghosts, Arranis was enveloped in one of the cloaks and was shut into the other room. We soon realized how much more dangerous the cloak creatures were and began attacking them instead of the ghosts. Eventually we managed to escape the cloaks and kill both them and the ghosts. We explored the room a little and found a belt that Arranis said the enchantment on was intended to keep its wearer alive and gave it to Vise. Then we moved to the blocked stair which Arranis blasted a path through for us. At the top of the stairs we found the armory. There were many rusted swords and some broken armor but I didn't think that after however long these things had been left to rot down here there would be anything worthwhile when Alexi found some fancy gloves he said would help him heal. Determining there was nothing else here we returned to the statue.

==15 January 2012==

At this point we decided to go back and explore the under level of the observatory. When we got there I went down the slimy ladder first and upon turning around was met by a large many-legged insect. With Arranis light behind me I also saw behind the large insect many small blue spheres that all popped releasing what must have been hundreds of tiny chittering copies of what was already standing before me. I heard Vise sliding down behind me as Arranis materialized in a corner near me while I had begun fighting the monstrous insect. Then the swarm dissipated a little as many of them jumped onto me and began biting. It was extraordinarily painful but the survival of my friends and I depended on continuing to fight until these things were dead though I couldn't help but be slightly incapacitated at times. At some point in the fight I fell but I quickly awoke to healing glow to fight again. Eventually after going out a second time I awoke to Alexi's healing and many dead insects.

As soon as Arranis recovered he sent a bolt of lightning at the eggs from which the swarm had hatched in vengeance of the pain they had caused. In a continuation of the insect room we found several boxes which Vyse opened to reveal three glass disks ensconced in velvet. In another box we found mirrors in the exact same setting, with one missing and another broken. Apparently though we already had the missing one, the Harr Mirror, and the other mirrors were the Utan and Jord. Alexi picked up the Jord mirror as we heard a humming from another room. Inside that room we found a six foot tall golden perfect circle with a small hole in the exact center. Around the rim Alexi was able to read 'OBSERVE CAPITOL LOCK' and said it reminded him of the gold circle that he had seen in Kobold hall. Weary from our adventures we made our way back to Arginmarl to rest.

==20 January 2012==

After resting I sent a message to my guards about what we found and to be wary of further attacks by creatures from the mines. I also let them know that they could stop guarding the goats for now. After meeting up with everyone else we came to the conclusion that we should also send messages about what we had found to the miners' and cartographers' guilds before we headed back in. When we had returned the statue we took the path counterclockwise from the one that ended in the barrack of Hlyn. After some time we came upon a place where the road dipped into the water for about forty feet. We decided to wade through it as we stirred up what appeared to fine white sand that wouldn't come off after we'd exited. I also noticed as I continued to walk that I was feeling at peak and that my companions had grown a bit paler.

At the end of the road we reached a row of houses against a rock wall with the last across deeper body of water than the one we had waded through earlier. I began to try and smash in the door of the first house in order to have a look inside since there were no windows; however, the door put up a surprising amount of resistance. In the meantime, Vyse swam across the the third house and Arranis joined him to see if there was any difference in between the third house and the other two. I began to feel light headed as the door began to splinter under my blows until it finally broke with a rush of water as I was almost knocked over by the torrent that had suddenly been released. The strange white sand was washed away by this water as was I when felt a bite on my armor and saw a creature rising below me with a long lizard-like head. I looked around for my companions and saw another head rising towards Vyse. Vyse, seeing this, shouted at Arranis to make some ice as a platform for us which he did as the final six heads of a beast I had heard tales about from my time with dragonborn emerged from the water. We began to fight the hydra when with a loud crack that must have been the disintegration of the building holding the water back the water began to drown us. Vyse and I immediately began swimming for the statue of Banikon hoping that the lever we had pulled earlier would be able to suck away the water so we could breath again.

Just when I reached the statue Vyse pulled the lever and the current became irresistable as I was sucked underneath the statue. When I finally had gotten a little sense of wear I was I began heading towards a light that the current kept pushing me from but I eventually emerged onto a coarse sand beach hacking up the water I had breathed in as I had made my final gasp to the surface. Once I had recovered a bit, I found that the beach formed a circle and that an ancient barnacle encrusted boat was on the other side of ring of water from me. Fungi on the walls surrounding us were lighting the place as we gathered and Arranis showed us a ring he had found on the statue's finger as he was sucked under it. We went over to search the boat and I found I had to stoop to get inside. There we found an arm that was half halfling and half of something that was scaly, green, and had webbed hands. We left the boat and Alexi went into a hole, then with a burst of light he came back out, informed us he had just rid the world of a few more zombies and that that way led to a dead end. He mentioned that it had been rather vile in there as we went through the other hole to find a tunnel filled with a faint silvery light. Further on the floor became slick with blood and ended in a chain leading down a drop off. I looked down to see a bluish liquid as I grabbed the chain and began to slip down its slick surface as my hands got torn by spikes on the chain. I saw movement below and fearing some foul creature I pulled out my sword and as I hit the water I sliced the creature in half. The creature had been a helpless halfling struggling to not drown. Saddened by the life I had just ended I found everyone else except Vyse safe and sound at the bottom of a sort of slide. We waited awhile until Vyse eventually came down having been overly cautious considering our past experiences with a similar device.

We continued on and the further we went the brighter the silver glow became until finally we reached an arch. Just inside was a silver tree on a silver floor with buckets of silver hanging off of it. Below the tree was a small frog looking creature, clothed in disgusting rags with webbed feet and hands. It was almost the exact scene that Throfin had described to us in his story.

==27 January 2012==

With a quick glance I noticed that the thin film of silvery liquid created a five foot square around each of us as if avoiding us and that the tree looked like an oak with the exception of its silvery color and the silvery drops that came from its leaves. I charged the creature and as I came close to it I felt a sort of madness tugging at the edge of my mind. I ignored it as it burbled and continued to cut it down with my sword. A shout from behind caused me turn my head for moment to see the silvery liquid reassembling the mangled halflings. Having cut down the creature, I rushed to help my friends against the halfling puppets as Arranis warned us that the silvery liquid was water super-saturated with chaos. With each stroke of my sword against these things I became continually frustrated as the chaos reassembled them to fight on. In a short lull in the fighting I looked around to see that Arranis had almost faded from view and then with another strike from the creatures he vanished completely. I do not know who first shouted to hit them with the marmaron we carried but when I did hit one of the creatures it crumpled. Then Alexi called to us to push our enemies into an area that he had put a piece of marmaron into. I hauled the one I had punched with my ring into square formed by the marmaron just as the silver was about to reassemble the creature. With continued application of our strength we managed to separate all of the bodies from the silver and were finally able to take a breather.

Worried that if we left the bodies the chaos would just reanimate them and come after us we dragged them uphill in a passageway. The chaos infused water inched after us but we would have some time before the chaos could cross the hundred feet or so it would take to reach us. Ahead there was an orange glow which Vise reported was due to a fire that the strange green creatures were throwing buckets of silver into. Arranis vanished and seconds later we heard thunder and then a screech. We rushed in to find one of the creatures struggling to escape the flames and a few more moving to attack Arranis. After dispatching the creatures and tossing all of the dead into the flames to burn beyond reassembly by the chaos we went down a corridor that sloped down into a room filled with water and that began in shallows and ended in unusually dark water. In the center of all this water one of the green creatures was wearing a contrivance of bone on its head that I took for a crown but at the site of us it went underwater. No matter what Arranis did he could not get light to show up in the depths so I began wading into the water. As soon as I was waste deep in the water I was hit by something that felt like a battering ram. It was shark that had chomped down on me. As I struggled with the shark I noticed that Vise had gotten into the same position only he had managed to grab hold of its fin and was stabbing it in the gills and eyes. That was the last I saw of everyone as the shark dragged me to depths and our fight continued. Five seconds past, ten seconds past and I kept fighting the shark. I felt water disturbances near me and lashed out to hit the other shark. Then, as that shark suddenly died and began floating up I continued my fight and just as I was running out of breath a stroke of my sword killed it. I began swimming up but my lungs were beginning to give out. I gasped as I reached the surface and pulled myself onto one of the small floating islands that were in the room. After I had caught my breath, Alexi informed me that the creature had escaped out another door. We began to look closer at the room and Alexi made the discovery that one of the islands was a model of Arginmarl which led us to believe that this room was some sort of map. Alexi began drawing the place out as the rest of us continued to rest.

==3 February 2012==

With the map drawn out, Vise went through the gate after cautiously checking it for traps and the rest of us followed. A few feet in and I was able to touch the bottom but only barely and I, along with the others, began to swim walk our way forward. A little further in an arm of the Kuo-ta we'd been fighting floated up to Vise. We continued into a room with several crabs of different sizes. There were many smaller crabs, two medium sized ones, and one gigantic one in the center of the room away from the water. Around the room I could see swords and maces, some of which were snapped in two. Each crab had one claw disproportianate to the other claw except the giant crab who's claws were both massive. In the room there was also some grass which I thought was just that until Vise warned us all against stepping in it since it was actually grab grass. The crabs attacked and I engaged the large one as everyone began to get out of the water. Arranis, who had managed get behind the large crab while attacking the smaller ones noticed that the strange glowing stuff on the underside of the crab was actually covering broken shell. I was then grabbed by the crab but then Vise stabbed the crab in its weakspot and it exploded in a shower of powder that sparkled blue and green. When this powder landed on the surviving crabs they all grew to the size of the large crab Vise had just killed. Then Arranis used his ice hand to smash into the weakness of one of the two remaining giant crabs and that one exploded as the one before it had. The final crab became a gargantuan monster that grabbed Alexi, a quick stab from Vise caused that one to explode too though and Alexi was launched into the air. First he smashed into the cieling and then he came right back down and smashed into the ground.

While Alexi healed himself and the rest of us Arranis identified the dust as residuum and gathered quit a bit of it. I found several intact magical swords and packed them away as well. The next corridor was lit by a light that seemed both blinding and dim at the same time and with minutes of walking we reached its source. It was a spherical rock on pedestal with a golden band around it in the center of the room. Around it there was a shark head as well as a headless dravon. At the back of the room we could see sharks in the water. The floor also seemed to have patches of ice but Vise identified it as actual glass and that the glass became purer as it got closer to the pedestal. Further examination of the dead dravon revealed that he was more of shark-dravon as his left foot ended in a shark flipper, around his neck was a silver symbol that Alexi told us was rumored to be associated with a shadow organization known as the Irken guard. A closer look at the pedestal revealed some script on the rock. I approached and copied it down for Alexi to read but some of the inscription seemed to go under the rock. I also noticed that although I felt slightly pushed away from it at first as I got closer I felt pulled to the stone. After I had given Alexi the inscription he read "And lo they feasted on the fruit of heaven...". I went to flip the rock to get the rest of the inscription but as I did, I felt as though I had suddenly been suspended in a void but the feeling vanished as I felt myself surrounded by water, which strangely enough I could breathe. Then I noticed that I had fins and green scales instead of skin, it was clear that I was no longer human. I swam out and found myself in the pool where the sharks had been and my friends readying weapons. I shouted at them "Wait, it's me!" and they put them down and began asking me questions as to what I was and how this had happened. I noticed that my left shoulder burned and as I lifted my armor a bit to see my left shoulder I saw my scar had turned a bright red.

Having resolved that it was still me, though I was now clearly a different species, we continued down another tunnel that gradually sloped up and seemed to have been formed from something superheated as the walls were mostly glass. Eventually we came into a cavern overgrown with grass so tall we could not see over it. We began pushing through the grass but as we did we heard rustling to our left and right. We stopped and deciding to we needed to know what was ahead had Vise get on my shoulders where he reported a statue and a lamp post about 200 feet ahead with a large object near the statue. Alexi shouted out, "who there?" but got no response. When we began moving again, the rustling began again and when we varied our speed the rustling grew or decreased with it.

Just as we exited the grass I noticed a wire around my foot, I picked up and gave it hard pull. Two boards came flying out of the grass and smashed together with a clap and released a gout of flame. The field instantly caught fire and burnt out almost as quickly as there was nothing that burnt long enough to sustain it. Vise crept up to the hulking mass next to the statue and reported it was the hydra we had fought earlier that had been decapitated when the statues holes had closed.

We then marched on to the observatory where Arranis decided to toy with the telescope. He used the symbol from the dead dravon to somehow unlock the machine and with even more fiddling managed to get the room to hum and the mirrors surrounding the room to go transparent to reveal...rock. Unsurprising given that we in the middle of a mountain. I wanted to return to town and said as much but Arranis continued toying with the telescope. Suddenly there was an incredibly bright flash and blinded I heard rock crashing around me. My vision cleared and I was able to see the sky and as it turned out Arranis had used some combination of the mirrors and lenses to blow the mountain apart. I looked down upon a rockslide smashing the lighthouse into the sea. I hoped that the lighthouse keeper had not joined the long list of Arranis' casualties but I doubted anyone could manage to survive that.

Arranis and Alexi pulled the mirrors and lenses out and we exited what was left of the mountain. At the bottom we came upon the lighthouse keeper and the only member of the cartographer's guild here on the island, Toll. He had survived the destruction because we had asked him to be here to give him our rough maps and to task him with making better ones. Alexi had to explain that the strange shark creature standing beside him was actually me, the captain of the guards but after that he was able to give the cartographer what he drawn earlier.

We returned to town and I went to my quarters for a much needed rest.

==17 February 2012==

I awoke to the itch of dry scales and after a quick jump in the lake I set out for the council chambers. I arrived to join in the discussion on how to close the dangerous parts of the vault we had uncovered. It was decided that after a final exploration the tunnel would be collapsed by the Miner's Guild. I joined Alexi, Arranis, the miners, and priests of Hlyn later that day as we returned to the site of our recent adventures. In the vault, Vise gathered some mushrooms and Arranis wanted to go pick up more residuum but couldn't make it past the room with the stone so Alexi, Vise, and I all went and collected as much as we could. It was tedious work as we didn't have a broom and the task was similar to sweeping a house. On our way out after the dwarves had collapsed the tunnels Alexi said it would be best no one could open the statue and fall through to the silver tree area so I broke the lever.

The next day Arranis told us of his observations of the purple star. He said it was actually a purple nebula with a shadow at the center. There was also something that looked like a purple comet heading in this direction. After he told us this he offered to make the enchantment on my sword stronger and to give my guards enchanted armor and weapons. After this had been done I was approached and asked to tell my story at the festival tonight and I agreed.

That night the harvest festival started with wood piled and ready to be lit and a large sheet covering something near the wood. Then the artisans revealed a massive silver throne with our adventures inlaid around it, simultaneously Arranis lit the bonfire with a fireball and the throne gleamed in the gold light from the fire. Then a bard began singing of our adventures as Alexi awkwardly went to sit on his throne. Then eladrin and elf girls made a path as they passed tossing petals and after them came Vise with crown of flowers with a beautiful eladrin maiden on his arm. I was told afterward that this was part of the autumn eladrin's tradition for the harvest festival. Then they began to judge the pies that everyone had made for the festival. There was pecan pie, apple pie, and tons of pear pie. Vise and the 'queen' chose apple pie as the best and it was the popular
choice as well. I also noticed Xeriope sitting next Arranis and they were clearly getting along amicably. When there were dances Xeriope and Arranis danced. Vise and many danced since he was obligated to accept but I did not, my new appearance may have had something to with that. After the dances though I couldn't find Arranis or Xeriope around anymore when it came time for the stories. The first story was something about a kid, a dragon, and evil brother and redemption. It was a story that I'd heard a hundred times in a hundred forms. In time I told my story which I've mostly catalogued here in this journal. Then there were more stories and eventually the stories ended and I was approached by an elderly elf who asked me "What was the name of your tribe again?" I replied "the Lelyaie"
"I thought that was what you said but it can't be. My grandfather was the last of the Lelyaie, I remember his stories and I can't believe that you are that old. I just want to know where you're from."
He didn't seem upset just curious, and I answered him "that may be, but I remember traveling with the Lelyaie as a child". At that he began walking off as it was late and everyone was tired I didn't go after him. As I went to rest though, what the elf had told me kept echoing in my mind. How was it that the last of the Lelyaie had died seventy years ago but I remembered leaving them only about eight years ago. I decided to go find the elf tomorrow and ask about the stories he had mentioned.

Morning came and I rose to find the elf that had spoken to me yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't have his name and everyone was still resting in their homes after the festivities. Eventually, I ran into Alexi who was beginning the preparations to sail on the freshwater current that had been discovered in the sea. Once he had seen to what provisions were to be supplied I returned to the guard house to drill the guards. When that was done I returned to the ship to familiarize myself with what had been stowed aboard. Satisfied that I knew the manifest and where everything was placed, I returned home to rest.

I awoke once again with the objective to find the elf that I had spoken to the night of the harvest festival. I was finally successful in finding him as everyone was finally up and about evidenced when I saw Alexi and the Hlynn priests head for the vault, no doubt returning to the barracks we found there; and Vise searching the ruins of the lighthouse for his things. When I found the elf I asked him about the stories he had mentioned and he told me of his grandfather traveling with the Aspen shifters and how they had lovingly taken care of the trees where they traveled. He finally told me of the great tragedy when all but his grandfather had died in forest fire. From the stories, I gathered that this had happened even longer ago than I originally supposed. The events he described must have happened over a hundred years ago. My confusion only grew at this even larger discrepancy between how old I was and when these things were supposed to have happened.

After my meeting with the elf, Alexi called a meeting to explain where he and the rest of our party were going and to leave others in charge. He put Rolf in tempory command while he was gone and I put Lavinia in charge of the guards until my return. With the ship fully ready we prepared to depart.

==2 March 2012==

Before we had left we were stopped by the priestess of Ximena as she told Alexi about a broken piece of marmaron in the temple. With no further clues as to what had happened we assumed it to be some sort of accident and left to board the ship.

On the first day, curious as to what the taste of this freshwater current was Vise tasted some of it. He said it tasted like honey which Alexi said was associated with Thane. The rest of the day passed uneventfully much as the rest of the voyage did bar the appearance of some sharks.

We returned to Arginmarl where I noticed that the stonemason were making excellent progress in making stairs to the vault. The priestess of Ximena ran up to Alexi to inform him that Xeriope had been missing for about a week. Once we figured out that Arranis had been the last to see her and we searched his place for any signs of where she had gone he noticed that his marmaron was gone. We then came to the conclusion that the accident with the marmaron wasn't an accident at all, but an incident. Xeriope must have used the marmaron to make a portal but even with Arranis' arcane knowledge and the information he had gleaned from the book he found in hell he couldn't figure out where the portal had taken her. With no way to follow her we decided that we should make another voyage. I suggested that this time, we voyage for three weeks and see if we couldn't make it to another island.

The next morning we began preparations to leave, and Arranis informed us of his observations of the purple star. He said that last night he had noticed arcane energy in the form of motes drifting toward the nubula from Mondevai and that occasionally, the nebula itself would coalesce into a symbol we were all familiar with, the same symbol that had formed around the detonated grandstone in Thundermarl. We began to suspect that this purple star was the dawnstar that had been referred to in the cultist's journal. With this new information we decided that Lavinia should take over the observations while Arranis was with us on this next voyage. I met up the guards to appoint another temporary captain as Lavinia would be occupied. Then we set out upon our second voyage on the freshwater current.

Except for some sharks the voyage was uneventful until we came to an island on the sixth day. The island was low and covered in jungle and as we approached we went through a red stain originating from one of the sharks we had seen before pierced by a great many tiny spears. In order to get closer to the island we boarded a small boat and as we reached shore we saw five humans surrounded by Kuo-Toa. The humans seemed primitive as they were only clothed in skins and bones and we noticed a large squid moving toward us from the water. Vise and Alexi tried to talk to everyone but Kuo-Toa ignored them and the humans ran in fear at Alexi. While the squid destroyed our boat, I had engaged what seemed to be the Kuo-Toa's leader when Arranis sent a sphere of blood streaking into the Kuo-Toa. It burst and as each Kuo-Toa was struck it splattered into blood. The few remaining Kuo-Toa fled and the humans thanked us for our help. Finally able to take a good look at the humans I noticed their party was made up of shaman who was older than the other three, one woman, and two men, who all looked to be in the prime of their lives. The chief, on seeing me excitedly asked who I was and if I was sent by the gods. After a quick reply we were able to gather that they were here to complete a ritual involving sacred insects in order to gather more friends to their cause. They explained that their resources had been depleted after having to fend off the Kuo-Toa that had come about a month ago on giant squids. We asked the chief if we could help with their ritual and after they explained that we had to summon and subdue some sort of insect queen to take her king which apparently grew with the sharks and made them their friends. We began to head to where they thought the inland shrine was. As we began to take up our usual marching order the chief and the rest of the humans looked horrified that we were standing so close to each other and asked why we invited misfortune. We realized that they referred to how chaos gathered around humans without the effect of marmaron to keep it at bay. Once we explained that a few of our party was carrying marmaron they understood and we continued our journey into the interior of the island.

==19 March 2012==

The shaman explained further that the altar to Salvulcian had to be lit in order to knock out the insect when Alexi interupted him to ask if anyone else had heard a crashing in the underbrush. Before anyone could reply a massive fury creature, roughly humanoid, and with four arms, burst out of the underbrush. I got into a fighting stance but the creature rushed past flailing its arms. Vise asked if anyone knew what it was and someone mentioned it was a gorillan. Then, in the direction the gorillan had come from we heard an ominous hum. Then Vise yelled "Stirges!" as four large insects came out of the woods. The two in front were angrily buzzing while the two in back were swollen and drunkenly flying about. Arranis sent a drop of blood springing from his hand to blast blood at them. Then leeches dropped from the trees and started to go after him. Arranis attacked but instead of the usual effects there was a quiet low crackle as of thunder far away. Then there was a deafening rumble as an explosion went off where Arranis had been. Alexi, Vyse, and I after being stabbed and bled by the leeches and stirges managed to defeat them and started to look for Arranis. Alexi tried using the knowledge of magic that he had to figure out where Arranis had gone but to no avail. We shouted for him but after we started to go hoarse we gave up looking and the shaman consoled us by saying, "sorry about your friend, his magic failed him".

We continued walking towards the center of the island when Alexi noticed glints through the trees and Alexi realized it was water. We soon reached the lake that he had glimpsed and found it to be roiling in the center. We didn't have to wait long to find out why. What looked like a giant stirge burst from the water followed by several Kuo-Toa. The queen as we started calling it flew off into the forest and the Kuo-toa followed, then we went after the Kuo-Toa. At first it looked like we might catch up but after stumbling over pitfalls and smacking into inumerable branches we lost them.

When we stopped to catch our breath we realized we were completely lost. I climbed a tree and then helped Alexi up. I couldn't see anything but when I helped Alexi higher into the tree he saw a grey building off in the distance. It took us a half hour to get to the building, I saw two symbols over the portal. The first was for Dravic territory, the second was for the house of Illaca. We entered it to find two dead Dravon and around twenty dead Kuo-Toa. We dragged the bodies out but just as we finished Vyse yelled "We've got company!", when a giant iron golem started circling the house. Alex tried to order it to stop but it didn't respond. It couldn't enter the building though so we stayed inside and continued looking around. At the end of a hallway we found a barred white door and through it we found a tranced eladrin sitting against one of the walls. It was Arranis! He explained that he had been captured and that the only thing that had foiled his escape was that the door was barred and locked from the other side.

Down another hall we found another door with a lock that Vise casually picked when Arranis warned us that the door had a lightning trap on it. Vise found the wire and snipped it to deactivate the trap. Inside we found what looked like a typical dravon office. There were also some strange pictures that Arranis and Alexi were able to determine were actually portals that let one see the dravon capital, Valmark, where there was rioting. There were also logs in dravon. Alexi and Arranis began examining them and then Arranis cast some sort of ritual that let me and Vise understand the books as well. We began reading for things Alexi instructed us to look for. Damn boring book if you ask me, it spent page after page on Salvultian's travels in a boat.
(26 April 2012)
Once we were finished with the books we snuck out past the golem where we found a large steel cage with a clear coating on the bars. Dead Kuo-Toa surrounded the cage and every one of them was blackened as if burnt. The door to the cage was broken and on closer inspection the cage seemed to be rubberized in some way or other. Vise also noticed some large tridactyl footprints but none of us could place the creature that they belonged to.
Then, out of nowhere, we were ambushed by Kuo-Toa. One launched a globe of water into Alexi's mouth, practically drowning him until he recovered. Another threw a trident, crackling with lightning, at me; which I dodged. Then the golem charged me and suddenly I was 100ft in the air. Alexi managed to command the golem away but it was only a temporary solution as I came smashing down and Alexi went up. We fled the golem when we found our attacks did no damage at all.
Eventually we met up in the woods, completely winded from our flight. During that time we introduced ourselves to Minuialwen who had helped us out in our fight with the Kuo-Toa and the golem. None of us could pronounce her name right so when we figured out that her name in common meant 'Dawn' that's what we decided to call her. During the conversation Vise interupted to tell us that about what looked like one of the queen's larvae heading through the underbrush. However, instead of following the trail we decided it would be best to have Dawn lead us back to her tribe.
We arrived to find two tribesmen sitting next to a grey shrine who told us that we needed to lure the queen to shrine somehow. We asked for advice but since they'd never done this either they had none to give. We decided to head to the lake where we found the queen, the stirges, and some strange glowing rocks. Curious as to what the rocks are and whether they could be used to lure the queen, I swam out to them only to find out that they were actually a Behir, as it swallowed me. Inside the belly of the beast, I began stabbing it and doing anything I could think of to make it throw me back up. Eventually I managed to trigger it's gag reflex and escape its belly only to knocked out by its attack as it caught up to me.
I awoke to Dawn rescuscitating me in the water and together we began swimming back to the shore. After we had reached the shore I noticed an adventuring kit come bubbling up from the depths. It turned that the Behir had stayed away from Dawn and I because it was trying to digest Arranis and apparently his adventuring kit didn't go down too well. When Alexi noticed he began a prayer which the Behir burped during.
Saddened at the lost of our friend Dawn tracked the queen back to the altar where the shaman called her over and showed her how to cut a tadpole from the queen. Then the shaman threw each tadpole like creature into a pouch full of water and we began our trek back. As it was getting late we headed back to the gray stone building with the Irken guard to rest. There we got Dawn to make a map of the area and Alexi found the golem's control switch on one of the Irken guard. We rested without any interruptions that night thanks to golems patrol.
The next morning, we headed for the shore. Once there the shaman through dust into the water and soon a great number of whale sharks had gathered. The shaman waded into the shallows and then stabbed one in the head and deposited one of the "kings" inside along with a piece of black marmaron. Although I was initially taken aback when the shaman stabbed the shark in the head, his use of the "king" and the black marmaron let me on to what he was doing.
When he was finished we asked him if he would take us back to our ship and he had just agreed when he suddenly had a spear sticking through him. The Kuo-Toas had ambushed us again but only to their detriment as not a single one escaped us alive.
Between Dawn and the remainder of her tribe they were able to ferry us back to our ship where we discovered another difficulty in having lost Arranis. We'd lost the person most capable of steering our ship. While Alexi was trying to figure out how to get us back with his limited magical knowledge Vise found the shaman's bag somewhere. He looked through it to show us some herbs and black marmaron. When Alexi had gotten down the rudiments of steering the ship we began to head back. A day out from Arginmarl I noticed that the comet that Arranis had always been so obsessed over had vanished from the night sky and the next morning one our sailor's found that the 'river' we were sailing on which used to be sweet was now bitter.
==28 April 2012==
When we reached Arginmarl the sailor who had found that the 'river' was bitter was dead. It turned out that the river was poisonous and so Alexi assigned Vise to look into the matter. Alexi also announced that there would be a meeting tomorrow before he announced his plans to us of using the black marmaron from the shaman to reactivate the portal back to the continent. I went to go see my guards who were practicing the usual drills, while Alexi went to go see Toll, our cartographer. I practiced my sword work among my guards for a while when Alexi sent a messenger informing me to meet him and Vise in his den. During the meeting we discussed several current issues but eventually the conversation turned to Arranis. I suggested that we should add a plaque to the telescope memoralizing him since that is where he spent most of his time on the island since its discovery. We agreed it was good plan and the discussion continued on until Alexi informed us that Count Illaca had come to him in a dream and told him about the reason for the unrest in addition to announcing that he would be touring Arginmarl. The unrest was because the confederacy of the scale was falling apart over doctrinal issues. Alexi also informed us that Illaca had not looked well and seemed to trying to hide it with the way he dressed. We also established that our two dragonborn were to come immediately to me for safety if there were any problems during Lord Illaca's visit. At this point Alexi began discussing things of significantly less interest to me until he asked what could be done in case the conflict spread here. I informed him that there really wasn't much we could do besides guard the portal and be cautious in our outside dealings. Alexi then assigned Rolf to prepare for Lord Illaca's arrival and stated that when the time came he and Lavinia would open the portal. Then with Rolf's help Alexi determined what the icon of the colony would be and what our contribution to the empire would be.
After the long discussion had finished Alexi sent for Kalas and Lavinia to join us at the vault where Alexi intended to get the portal working. As soon as we arrived Alexi put the marmaron in the center of the ring and with the sound of a bell chime it began to spin as its center glowed green. Alexi and I walked through to no effect. Then we tried stepping inside, again to no effect. Then Alexi muttered something and vanished only to reappear instantaneously. I assumed that he had said the words engraved on the portal and that those were the keys to using the portals. He later explained this confirming what I assumed he done. Alexi also mentioned that the gold ring underneath the ice in Szartharax's cave that they had found had an identical function to this one. Alexi spoke to Kalas and got him to agree to register this vault as soon as the portal was operational.
The next day I awoke and headed to the guard house to discover that we had new uniforms for the ceremonies involved with Lord Illaca's arrival. Outside I found Alexi's house well decorated; the streets impecably cleaned; and the innkeeper, his wife, and Rolf looking exhausted. Alexi then had Rolf, me, two of my guards, and Kallas join him in heading to the vault portal. Shortly after we arrived two Dravon dressed completely in black showed up with their hands on their broadswords. They winked back out and then twelve guards in scale mail and armed with broadswords winked in. I had my guards greet them as four dravon in cloth two with staffs and the other two the scouts that had come before winked in. Finally, Illaca himself winked in. Alexi and Illaca began to talk as one of the dravon blinked out and moments later blinked back in. This became a constant as the wizards continued to blink in and out throughout the time Illaca and Alexi were meeting. Illaca asked about the room below which began a tour of the vault that Alexi gave Illaca. As we continued walking around I heard muffled explosions and turned to see the mages leveling the area for easier entrance into the portal room. After the tour had finished we retired to the village for lunch.
In the village, groups of citizens cheeried Illaca's arrival and Illaca complemented Alexi on the city's appearance. When we had arrived at Alexi's residence and settled around the table Illaca pulled out a massive stack of papers, handed them to Alexi, and explained that he would need to get his servants or head of house (Rolf) to fill out the documents. With that meeting out of the way we went back outside where I saw 200 empire horsemen in the steets. Illaca and Alexi went with them while I staid behind.

Vaeru's Journal 2

2026-04-12T21:52:16Z

Ariese: Created page with "==23 September 2011== Once outside we decided it would be best to find a place to rest. As we searched I heard rumor of a place near where we were. It was a run down inn called the "Slag n Ore" in the slums. With Vyse's condition being as it was we thought it best if we looked elsewhere. We continued up into the city where I found "The Hips" an inn made from the pelvis bone of a giant. We found the innkeep, Gosh Pelsturn, tired and drunk but still able to communica..."

==23 September 2011==

Once outside we decided it would be best to find a place to rest. As we searched I heard rumor of a place near where we were. It was a run down inn called the "Slag n Ore" in the slums. With Vyse's condition being as it was we thought it best if we looked elsewhere. We continued up into the city where I found "The Hips" an inn made from the pelvis bone of a giant. We found the innkeep, Gosh Pelsturn, tired and drunk but still able to communicate the rate for rooms. We went on but the innkeep said "Hey, what about that other one?" at first I didn't realize what he was talking about. It became clear he meant the invalid Dravon that I was carrying. Vyse expertly flipped him another coin and we found our rooms and promptly went to sleep. We notice that no one is up and about and we hear kind of a bang. When we awake, Alexi notices that the tattoo on the Dravon I've been hauling around is a symbol for the cult of Syrian. Arranis and I go out to find a healer to help the Dravon while Alexi and Vyse head out to do something else. As we exit I the sound of the clanging hammers of the massive temple to Pardacia central to the area grows clearer. We headed down back into the slums where we heard of a run-down alchemy shop. On our way, we kept hearing complaints against the Dravon and Arranis heard mention of a strange suicide. Arranis asked one person we passed what happened. He told us that genasi and dravon had commited suicide around a grand stone and that the navy had cordoned the area off.

Eventually we found the alchemy shop I'd heard tell of. It's proprietor, an old pale dravon with worn spines, looked up when we came in.
"Our friend has some sort of disease, can you help him?"
The dravon pulled down strange purple concoction and said "well, this is a miracle potion". I thought he was trying to sell us poison but Arranis told me it would help with curing a disease although it certainly wouldn't ensure a miraculous recovery. When the dravon named his price of 150 gold, it was too much for the both of us, I told him we might come back later. I hoped we might be able to get Vyse to pay for it but in the mean time we headed for the grandstone where the suicides had occurred.

When we got there Arranis tried to get us a closer look by talking to a guard. The guard did not oblige and Arranis' further prodding got him a glimpse of steel. We moved off where I saw a building I might get a better look from. I told Arranis to watch the cultist and my armor as I took it off to better climb the building. On my first try, I slipped off of a moldy part of the building but on my second I was able to pull myself to a window and from there to the roof. From the roof I could see that the guards had set a large perimeter around the grandstone. I also saw that weird symbol we kept finding with the five rays, at the corners of which were white sheets covering lumps and around each lump were groups of guards. There were also tents and shacks around the grandstone which I assumed the dravon navy had taken over. I climbed down and told Arranis who decided he wanted a better look. He thought the best way would be to try and distract the guards, which he quickly tried but the guards after jumping a couple times, got used to. Then he started making those same loud cracks in the middle of the crowd. The crowd, lacking the discipline of the guards began to push against them. It moved the dravon perimeter back but we still couldn't see any better because of the disturbances in the crowd. I decided that this wasn't getting us anywhere and told Arranis as much but he insisted that it would work. I told him if he continued he would be the cause of these people's suffering when the dravon cracked down on the refugees but he ignored me and kept up those loud cracks in the crowd. I'd had enough so I started heading to the stairs with dravon over my shoulder hoping Arranis would give up his fool plan and follow. Crazy wizards. After getting almost halfway to the stairs I hear screams and turn around to find that Arranis' sounds have pushed people hard enough into the guards that they'd drawn their weapons and had started cutting them down. I couldn't see Arranis, so I decided I'd head back and try to find him before he got himself killed. Suddenly, the mob charged the dravon and it turned into a full fledged riot. I couldn't find Arranis anywhere when I saw him on the other side of the grandstone and began pushing my way towards him. As I got closer I saw that he was dragging a human behind him. The human was bleeding and he had a nasty burn. Then I noticed the strangest thing of all. He had no shadow. We began making our way to the stairs while I spewed curses at the idiot wizard for causing all this trouble when suddenly there was a loud rumble that began to get louder.

Portals were opening around the grandstone and dravon wizards were coming out and started launching fireballs at the crowd. Then I heard snorts come from the human Arranis was dragging and noticed that Arranis couldn't pull the man any further as if some great unseen hand was holding. A giant shadow bull appeared from the human, it had thousands of eyes and great wings rose from its back. It turned and stared at a fierce tiefling woman riding a Nightmare that had just appeared behind the Dravon. Pointing her sword she led a charge of...things. I do not know what to call them. (DM note: they were kruthiks.) The human regained consciousness and both of us bolted for the stairs while Arranis stayed and stared. We got back to the level with Pardacia's temple and stopped to regain our breath. Arranis arrived and told how the tiefling had driven back the dravon with a wall of flame and that the refugees had followed her into a cliff.

Arranis and I questioned what was going on, especially since we had seen a similar shadow beast with Vyse. When the human heard mention of that he asked what was going on, how could someone have no shadow? I told him to turn around and look for his. Shocked that he didn't have a shadow, Arranis asked him what he remembered. He told us he only remembered waking up to a massacre and running for his life and that his name was Amasa.

With all of us exhausted we headed back to "The Hips" and rented rooms. Amasa collapsed, while Arranis told me how he had used the riot to sneak behind the guards and confirm that the symbol was the one that we had seen before and Alexi and Vyse said they had seen thrice before. He also said that the people under the sheets had been people we knew. Ki-amar was under the first sheet, Octavian under another, and Tommon under another. The fourth was a female dravon and the fifth was empty with a trail of blood to where he had found Amasa. He said that all the dead had been bloodless and the veins in their eyes were gold.

Alexi and Vyse soon returned and we were about to retire for the night when Alexi heard loud Dravic and Dwarven voices. As we all listened closer we heard the raucous laughter and cheering of what must have been the dravon purchasing a round of drinks for the dwarves. Alexi decided to head down and listen for information while the rest of us decided to rest.

==30 September 2011==

Upon waking the next morning we gathered to determine what we would do in the city. We agreed that we should continue our search for a healer and so we split up. Vyse and Arranis would search one area while Alexi and I would see if we could find anyone in the upper class area of the city. Before we headed up though; we first visited the temple to see if there were any interesting weapons or other items that we could buy, there were not and we began our trek up to the noble quarters.

It was then that we noticed below us a commotion and we began heading back down to find out what it was. When we got there, all traces of what had occurred were gone so we kept heading down. Then, I heard a disembodied voice greet me. I looked around but there was no body to go with the voice until Arranis released whatever magic was making him invisible. He told us that he and Vyse had been the cause of the disturbance.

Some guards had asked about the dravon with the tattoos of Syrien that Vyse, he, and Amassa had been carrying around while looking for a healer. Arranis had flat out refused him and when pressed he had attacked the guard in order to try and keep the dravon so we could gather information from him when he finally woke up. Things went very bad from there.

Arranis told us how as soon as the fight broke out Amassa made a run for it and that thought Vyse and he had wounded a guard they overwhelmed them and captured Vyse while Arranis turned invisible and ran away. While I was upset at Arranis for once again causing unnecessary trouble I was more worried about Vyse and after a quick discussion we thought we might get some from the Genassi that had broken out of prison with us. We decided to go look for them in the slums.

When we got there it was completely empty. There wasn’t a soul to be seen except for guards forming a kind of barrier around the place. Alexi went to speak with one of them and ask what happened. The guard replied “There was a riot, know anything?”

“I know nothing, good luck in finding who started it though”

We gave up and returned to the inn where we found Amassa, who cursed Arranis for starting the fight. It was then I noticed that Amassa wasn’t exactly human, like I thought he was. Now that I took the time to look he was too pale, and his eyes were somehow off from what I was used to seeing in my reflection. Alexi told me later that Amassa is a Shadar Kai, a race I was unfamiliar with. I also noticed that he seemed to have found a massive sword from somewhere and that he had a new cloak and other items that he must have stolen on his way back from Arranis insanities.

The earth quaked and I barely kept my balance as everything began to rattle. Then there was this massive thud as if mountain had fallen into the sea. Alexi looked out and shouted that the temple was gone. We rushed out and saw the miners in a panic. We headed to the mines where Alexi got a foreman to explain that part of the mines had collapsed and there were miners trapped inside. Asking how we could help he directed us to a building where we were asked if were a rescue crew we confirmed and were quickly shown to a room where we were teleported deep inside the mine. Arranis made his orb glow with light and we saw some dead dravon miners and mine carts. I wondered what dravon miners were doing in here, since I had only seen dwarves going in and out of the mines. With the light from Arranis’ orb I found a small black rod with only a button on the bottom still functional. I stowed it in my pack and we began our long walk down the tracks.

As we were walking Alexi told us what he’d heard last night. First, Lord Illica had declared seven days of feasting. Then a dravon related a tale of his brother who’d served with the Lord.

[insert story here]

We eventually came upon a tunnel that curved off the main path; we went down it only to find a massive crevasse. I pressed the button on the rod to see if it would make a difference as there was a mine cart track along the wall, we waited, but nothing happened so we moved on. Back along the main track we saw a fork where we decided to keep following where the track was connected. We soon came upon where tracks made a jump above us and soon after came upon a small circular room where the track turned on itself. It was there we found more dead miners who had been mining marmaron judging from the scattered pieces of it and its characteristic color in the rock walls. I heard a “uuuuhhhhhh...” and I quickly turned, drawing my sword, to cut it down. The zombie started exuding a cold mist but with Amassa’s help it was soon dead.

==14 October 2011==

It appeared as though this room had been one of the mines more active sites. It was clear from the walls that there had been mining very recently. While we were looking around, Alexi noticed another control rod. There was a dial on the bottom marked with the numbers 0, 6, 12, and 24. We debated on what the dial was for, it was suggested it might be a timer for how long miners were to work but it was decided the only real way to find out was to use it and see. We went back to the fork that had led us to this room where Alexi used the rod. We heard a kind of ringing from the rails which got louder. The sound continued to grow incrementally louder until a minecart rolled in along the tracks. Alexi hit the button again to see what would happen which caused the minecart to vanish. Next Alexi set the knob on the bottom to twelve and we waited. This time, the noise was louder and when the minecart reached us it was going as fast as I could at a dead sprint without my armor. Alexi continued to toy with the rod until he felt familiar with the controls.

Alexi summoned another minecart and we all got in and he set it to twelve. We then came back to the jump we'd seen earlier and Alexi stopped the cart before we got there. We climbed out to test at what speed the cart would make it. At twelve, sparks flew as the wheels left the rail and then the cart smashed into the wall below the other side of the jump. Alexi sent another minecart at 24 and that one made it. Alexi summoned another one that we got into, he set the speed to 24 and we held on tight as we went for the jump.

As soon as the cart crashed down on the other side it began to speed up as we rushed headlong down a massive incline. We peered ahead into the darkness but we missed an upcoming bump and were almost launched from the cart. I did my best to keep the cart steady through the turns and bumps while Amassa looked ahead for any way to slow us down and keep us on the track. We raced forward going impossibly fast, my eyes teared up from the wind as we felt a jerk from behind. I looked to see Amassa fighting off some sort of giant bat. Amassa continued to use the control rod to try and slow us down when we suddenly launch off a jump. Alexi yelled at Amassa to quick put the speed at zero as the jump ends in tight turn and a wall. Just in time, we landed with our speed under control so we don't smash into the wall; as I looked forward I noticed a strange light.

"Wraiths!", I yelled as the first one came into view. Amassa quickly switched the rod to twelve but it took a while to get the cart going. Once we were clear of the wraiths we came upon a final room as our cart bumped against the end of the track. We looked around to find another control rod but Alexi noticed that this one had a reverse button on it and some sort of ladder. After toying with it Amassa attempted to get a cart back to us. On the first attempt a loud boom echoed up from tunnel. With more experimenting Amassa managed to get a minecart to arrive with a crunch as it bounced off of the stop and a dead wight fell off the front of the cart.

We got in and headed back the way we came eventually getting to the area we had given up on before as being impossible to cross. With the minecart at top speed we crossed it and continued down the track as descended and curved to the left ever so slightly. Ahead, we could just make out a light and I was hoping not to come across more wraiths but the closer we got the clearer it became the light was natural. Then the minecart entered a room that looked to have been carved out of the rock, littered with dead bodies. At the end of the room was a large door slightly ajar, with the seal of the House of Illica. We took a closer look at the bodies lying about to find they all appeared strangled and they were all facing towards the door. Amassa told us that the whoever or whatever had done this had used powers similar to his own as the shadows were ripped.

==21 October 2011==

Amassa silently creeped up to the door and listened for any signs of life, apparently hearing none he cracked the door to look in. Then he motioned us in where I saw a small well lit room with plush blue carpet, a luxurient desk, and dead Dravon at the desk. The Dravon was unsurprising given the site outside and closer look let us know that he was likely just a clerk for the House of Illica. Arranis pulled up the rug to reveal a solid stone floor, I suppose he was looking for trap doors.

We then ventured down a short hallway to find a short corridor attached to it. We cautiously listened to each door before opening them but there were no surprises waiting for us. One room was a bathroom, another was a storage room with a cask of neverending ale. It really would have been nice to cart that away but impractical. Amassa discovered the final room was an office. Inside we found a folder and quill on the desk and at the back a large window looked out on a bright purple star. The folder contained a few hastily scrawled notes some of which were ripped, and a map. All of it was in Dravic so Alexi read off dates and times that had been written next to specific locations in the city. As Alexi read the map, Amassa checked a large cabinet in the corner. There he found a several nice outfits and a large black blade which he handed to Arranis to examine. I then asked to see the blade and as I held it I knew its name to be Vinoss and I its wielder.

We then passed into another hallway longer than the first that divided itself. The left side was blocked by a magical barrier but the right side led to a room with a crevasse. Across the chasm was what appeared to be a vault with the symbol of Banikon. I left my armor on the one side and lept over. Amassa then picked up my armor and collapsed into shadows to suddenly appear beside me with my armor, which I put back on. Alexi soon joined while Amassa and Arranis went back to the see if they could enter the other corridor. I amused myself by further examining the door, I noticed that it had been blasted open from the inside, which seemed odd until I noticed the circle for a teleportation ritual further in. It was then that Amassa and Arranis returned. I noticed some alchemical apparatus sticking out of Amassa's pack which I assumed he had found along the other corridor.

The further we went in the more I noticed the curious nature of the lighting. There were no bright points, it was as if everything was lit by the shadow just behind the flame, except there was no flame. Soon we came into a giant room, which, judging from the buildings, must have been part of a city. The buildings circled around a central area which had trees, although not trees in the conventional sense for whatever they were made of they were giving off pure white light. As I continued to look around the room I noticed flowers that hummingbirds buzzing around them although these hummingbirds were more anti-hummingbirds than anything else as they appeared as pure shadow. Farther back I noticed a ruined viaduct and Alexi said that the building were titled Temple, Apothecary, Bath, and Library.

That was when Arranis tried to pick a flower. Suddenly, a shadow raked its claws at Arranis, and then all of us were surrounded. With a wide swing of my sword I destroyed many of the shadows only for them to reform from several strange floating lights. I continued to fight with Arranis mage-light on my sword and eventually with Alexi's holy circle glowing around me, but every time they vanished in a slash of my sword, they reappeared an instant later. I suspect that as candle extracts a moth, so the light around me attracted these shadow creatures as in the quick moments I was able to glance away I saw only I had this many around me. With time and the intermittent screech of Arranis' winter blasts the shadows began to lessen and then seemed to be driven away as the white lights that seemed to empower them were destroyed one by one.

While we were licking our wounds Arranis went and examined the flower that he'd been trying to look at before. He exclaimed that it looked just like the ones we had seen in prison, just without the purple veins. As Arranis sat down and read a ritual he had picked up somewhere I realized why the miners had been Dravon. This part of the mine must have been just a cover for this vault which led me to wonder who else was down here.

That question was quickly answered as Amassa quietly listened at the door where he reported seeing a tall dravon with a large sword and someone say "No! Let's make a break for it!" followed shortly by a "Dammit!" loud enough that all of us could hear it. Alexi then knocked on the door.

"Who's there"
"It's just me, Alexi."
"Alexi? Where are you from?"
"From Fallcrest"

The door opened to reveal our friend from Fallcrest, Gallen "get in quick before those creatures come back!". "I think we dealt with those," said Alexi as we all stepped through the door. Inside I observed a young elf maiden, who I later learned was name Tenni, and the Dravon Amassa had described who was named Victon. Gallen looked like he had a broken arm which Alexi had noticed and was healing it before I could mention it to him. From the look Victon's face it was clear he and Gallen had been arguing. From the ensuing conversation we learned that Tenni was a survivor of Fallcrest and Gallen had taken her in and that Gallen and company had been teleported down here to by the governor to study the place. Gallen continued on that the temple and apothecary held nothing of interest and that the books were trapped. We decided to head to the temple but Arranis wanted to see the bath house for some reason.

Arranis headed off to the baths as we made our way to the temple. Before long were heard Arranis' screams and I ran over to find him covered by a monster with webbed black tentacles. With a swipe of my sword I cut several of its tentacles off which seemed to convince it to flee. We then proceeded to the temple. As we entered shadowy flames ignited and ran down grooves until they had lit the altar. The shadow-flames revealed a large beast of some sort that had had its head blown completely off. On the altar there was a small black sphere with streams of water flowing in and out of it. Alexi told us that the statues were all of high ranking assassins of Banikon who had been tasked with killing immortals. It was then we saw the script behind the altar, it was in supernal so we asked Alexi to read it for us. It read:

All rivers flow to Asphaltitus
All paths lead to Muericho
Death will come for all of us
But Haven lies below

Alexi then pulled out a worn and battered script, and I realized it was the transcription he had made from the wall behind the portal after we had defeated Kalarel. Alexi explained that the black sphere was Muericho and the streams of water represented the rivers of the world. We then moved toward a black door which opened of its own accord. In the room beyond there was a pedestal with a mannequinn who wore a golden circlet. Across the room from the mannequin laid a skeleton on a small fortune in gold. Gallen's gaze immediately fell on the skeleton as he exclaimed "this must be millenia old!" He then started to put the skeleton in his pack. Suddenly the room wend pitch black and the mannequin animated and told Amassa "come and see". Then shadowy wings and eyes began to appear on it as it offered us a vision of a black cloaked figure and of a tall white dravon. The cloaked figure pulled back his hood to reveal purple horns and the horrible visage of the torturer we had seen in the dungeon and began to speak. I could not hear that well but the torturer was reporting to Lord Illica that some sort of surgery had worked though the black queen had taken a knife before something could happen. He also reported that everything was going to plan, the Tiefling girl had been turned, and that everyone was still unaware of what was going on. Then I saw Dorial Illica in a well lit room with his shadow directly underneath him and the torturer walking away. I heard him say "that Strych is creepy" and then the vision ended.

Gallen then walked up and excitedly said "You found a way out!" and while we debate about whether not to tell Gallen about what we'd just seen he, Tenni, and Victon wandered down the passage out. Suddenly we heard Tenni scream in terror and we rushed down the hallway to find Gallen and Victon decapitated. I also noticed that this was the Tieflings' stable for their Kruthiks. I caught Tenni as she was running past me but then the Tieflings were on us and I had to let her go to defend myself and the party. We managed to fight our way out and Arranis had managed to hold on to Tenni for while but eventually she escaped him and I had to grab her as we escaped through the entrance the ants had made so long ago. We took a skiff back to the Thundermarl where we went back to hips to rest.

==28 October 2011==

The next day, we heard rumors that the dwarves were hiring mercenaries to go into the crashed temple to search for survivors and to defeat a monster that was preventing more from helping. Tenni wanted to help so we headed to a shop to get her a bow and then we searched out the dwarf. Another mercenary group was haggling for a higher reward but we took a lower one, recieved a device to stop "the guardian", and we went in. Inside we found lava monsters around forges generating them. The fight went badly as Arranis couldn't figure out how to turn the anvils off for the longest time as I and the others continued to fight them. Ultimately, Arranis was able to turn the forges off and we were able to defeat the monsters but not without takin a severe beating first.

==12 November 2011==

After a short rest to lick our wounds we went on to find a large room with more anvils and an especially large one in the center. There was a cauldron that had spilled some sort of white powder all over the room. There were a few full grown rust monsters as a group of babies eating the anvils but they seemed much more interested in the anvils than us. That was when the lava monster erupted from two pools near the central anvil. Arranis suddenly shouted that the white powder was niter and was highly explosive just as one of the lava monsters ignited the powder under Amassa. The flames reached the cauldron and there was a massive explosion that I was able to throw myself out of the way of at the last second but everybody else wasn't able to get out of the way. We attacked the rust monsters and with each attack they made my armor rusted almost to pieces as Arranis summoned a bizzard to deal with the lava monsters. Eventually, we defeated the rust monsters and began to look around. On the table we found a few magical throwing hammers as well as Battleforged Shield for Alexi.

Arranis was nowhere to be seen when we hear voice yelling "use the button!", then there was a crash as a massive brass guardian smashed through the wall at the end of the chamber. Amassa quickly aimed the device at the guardian and deactivated it. Arranis reappears, a little worse for wear for being part of the wall that the guardian smashed through but Alexi quickly healed him and we moved into a chamber with doors to our left and right. Down the right passage we found a pit. The upper part seemed to go to the top of the temple as we could see the "sun" but the lower part was pitch black and as I looked closely the blackness seemed to shiver and vibrate.

Along the left passage we found many bedrooms and several dwarves dead from the fall of the temple, we also found a bathroom. At the very end of the passage was a library, where dog homunculi silently watched. Amassa threw a small rock in, at which their eyes glowed red but then returned to the dull black orbs they had been. We continued to examine the room to notice blueprints on a table inside. I walked in but as soon as I crossed the threshold the homunculi attacked, I made a defensive retreat back out the corridor hoping they would follow into the range of Alexi, Amassa, and Arranis but as soon as I was outside the door they ceased and returned to their initial positions.

We then spent a great deal of time discussing the merits of leaving and going into the to finally decide that Arranis, and Amassa would teleport in while Alexi and I waited outside. The homunculi didn't attack because they seemed to only watch the door any other activity seemed to be completely ignored. While our teleporting friends explored the library, Alexi and I returned to examine the pit. Alexi decided to see what would happen if he tossed his hammer at the wall. It hit with no sound at all and then the darkness exploded outward at us. I was completely absorbed and I noticed it was swarm of Void humminbirds. We ran down the hall to try and warn the others but the hummingbirds activated the homunculi before we reached them. They managed to teleport out before anything happened, while I and Amassa remained covered in void humminbirds. Most of the birds flew off as Arranis explained that he had found a few rituals and that the blueprint was for a kind of sun stone like the one already used to light this place. Weary from our battles we used the bedrooms to rest.

We awoke to explore the North passage where we found a room with dwarven clerics guarded by large mechanical beings. At the end of which were two door on the left and right onto the roof. On the roof we saw the top of the hole that whatever had burst out of the underground had made as well as many dead dwarves and a few eladrin. We found two mutilated bodies as well. One dwarf and one eladrin both with tattoos of basilisks. It was then that I noticed the pull of the void humming birds towards the bay. I had almost forgotten that they were still fluttering around both myself and Amassa.

We decided that the best place to continue looking for the beast we were sent to slay was down the hole. We lowered a rope and climbed down to find a passage with a set of stair going off to the left and at the end of the passage we found a large door embossed with a gold and ebony basilisk. Inside we found some tables with dissected bodies and a coded book. In the corner there was an unnatural darkness and a horrible stench and as I stepped inside the darkness there was a splash as though I had stepped into a puddle. After feeling around a bit I determined that this must have been where the bodies no longer on the tables had been cast aside. While I was exploring the darkness, I heard a thud, and I stepped out to find half a body lying in the middle of the room. Amassa opened the door but it was pitch black and no matter how bright Arranis made his light it showed nothing more than a midnight black.

Amassa stepped out and began feeling around in the darkness, I followed him as he said he felt something like porcelain ahead. He withdrew, but I decided to try and determine what this porcelain object was as it had not been here before. I felt a hole with warm air coming out and as my hand went further along the porcelain shape, I felt feathers. Suddenly, the thing let loose a terrible screech as it grabbed me and flew to the roof. In the gray of morning it looked like a giant vulture as I began stabbing and slashing with my sword to get it to release me.

When it had reached about thirty feet it dropped me. Agile I am not but I managed to break the worst of the fall and as I rolled to my feet I prepared for the bird's next attack. Soon Arranis, Alexi, and Amassa reached the roof and the fight began in earnest. Seeing reinforcements the bird animated shadows to control the dead like puppets. At the end, the bird grabbed Amassa and was able to rip the armor off of him with its talons. I noticed that Amassa bore the same scar that I did in that moment as sliced off the birds head landed on his feet just as the carcass thumped down beside him.

The artificial sun began brightening for morning when we heard a noise on the street below. We looked to see Lord Illica and several horsemen below. Upon seeing us he said "Oh, you managed to kill that bird" and motioned that he wished to talk to us closer. We climbed down to the main entrance where Lord Illica noticed Vinoss sheathed on my back. He outstretched his hand as he spoke "thanks for finding my sword". Not wishing to anger the regent I handed him Vinoss, I still had my old sword anyway. Illica then asked Alexi if he was the lead to which Alexi responded yes. Illica offered Alexi a horse and then had another of his men go to fetch the rest of horses for our travel as he rode off with Alexi.

When the horses arrived and we began to wander around I noticed that the elf-girl we had come to know as Tenny was not around any longer. It is my hope that she had not gotten lost or killed in the temple but I suppose I may never know. When I left my musings I noticed Arranis had taken us to a strange shop that looked to sell the things he could use. Afterwards I began looking around for armor as the set of chainmail I was wearing seemed to longer hold off the strikes of assailants as it used to. I eventually came upon a fine set of meliorating plate armor which I spent all the gold I had on me to purchase. With our purchases completed, Arranis and I decided to head back to the Hips where its proprietor handed us two notes. The first was from Alexi and told us to meet him at an address in the nobles' quarter. The second was a note from Amassa explaining that he had remembered other business to attend to and that he left a few things for us in our quarters.

Arranis and I set out for the noble's quarter on the horses Illica had given us. Upon reaching the address Arranis knocked on the door, the door opened and Alexi invited us in where he explained that Illica had mad him the baron of Fallcrest. Alexi explained that though the disaster we had witnessed had almost completely destroyed the town, Illica was providing Alexi a ship with supplies and people to help rebuild the town. He continued that all that was left for him to do was to take are of the manifest and extra supplies as well as a few formalities and we could be on our way.

We then headed down to the bay where the void birds had been tugging to see Alexi's ship. As we approached the ship a guard called out "who goes there" to which Alexi responded "Lord Kholodov". Then a shorter Dravon who called himself Dante Rolf and identified himself as assigned to be Alexi's quartermaster. Alexi asked about the ship and Rolf which is the name he preferred seemed to give a fair description that I wasn't paying that much attention to. Rolf also informed Alexi that he could begin loading passengers and any cargo Alexi wished to add. Rolf then handed Alexi a key and we descended into the ship to determine who and what we would need to start this colony and eventually we came up with this list:

Crew:

10 Troops
02 Blacksmiths
02 Carpenters
03 Merchants
02 Masons
02 Cartographers
07 Minstrels
02 Miners
01 Priest of Hlyn
01 Priest of Ximenia
33 Citizens

We began to discuss what we should to from here deciding on decoding the book we had found in the temple. Unfortunately none of us had a clue of what to do until someone suggested trying to find the Syrien cult member I'd been hauling around after our adventure in the prison. Alexi lead us to the Dravon headquarters and we entered a room full scribbling clerks. I tried to ask the clerks about the cult member but they completely ignored me. Alexi then spoke up and asked about the dravon and one of the clerks was able to find him for us. The clerk led us down a long flight of stairs and then an even longer hallway and eventually to a heavily barred door. The clerk showed opened it with a "Welcome to the chamberpot", then he led us to cell 32, which was labeled

Name: Aletsi
Incarcerated: Suspicion of treason

Alexi then asked for the prisoner's file and the clerk responded that he would get it on the way out. When we got back Alexi asked how to go about pardoning him as we needed "Aletsi" for our expedition. The clerk then gave Alexi a form 26A and left. Arranis was able to make enough sense of the form in order to fill out and once returned to the clerk he let us know it would be a few days. Arranis quietly slipped him some gold and the clerk replied, "Ah, excuse me, just a minute". While waiting for the clerk to return we discussed further what the colony expedition would need.

After about an hour "Aletsi" was brought out in chains. Alexi asked and found out from "Aletsi" that his name was actually Kalas. Upon Alexi's request for help Kalas gave him a blank stare. We were also informed by the guards that in order for the "Aletsi" to be released, he had to be released to Alexi's guards. Alexi made me acting captain and I took custody of Kalas. We then returned to the mansion. Upon our return we inquired of Kalas how he was feeling and what he remembered. He replied that he was fine and that the last thing he remembered was the Dravic army marching into Thundermarl. We then asked him to decode the Syrien cult book. He refused. We then brought up how we rescued him and he continued to refuse. Finally we told him of the deaths of his compatriots and he agreed to help us then. He then began to read the book. It turned out it was a personal journal of a lower member of the cult. Many of the entries were trivial descriptions of meals and grudges but at the end Kalas began to page through faster and faster. He read us the last entries . Kalas continued flipping through the empty pages of the journal until at the back blood dripped out and we found the words "ITS NAME IS CAIPHON" written in blood. Kalas was visibly shaken by what he had read and asked "Resurrection doesn't work? What's going on!?". Seeing Kalas confusion Alexi offered him a place on the colony ship which Kalas accepted.

The next day at the beginning of the parade Lord Illica introduced us to captain of the guard, Bontreche; his general, Lord Garth; and the dwarf acting as regent of Thundermarl, Darthan. Bontreche informed us that we would be stopping at each grandstone and at the end there was a special treat that the captain and the mages had prepared. Illica seemed uncomfortable in the frills of high society. As the parade got underway I saw the throngs of people gathered to see the parade and watched Illica's speech at the platforms set up at each grandstone. By the sixth grandstone, I was tired of the speech; by the ninth, I could have given the speech myself. Finally we reached the eleventh and the end of Illica's speech. That's when Captain Nesai and the mages began chanting. Alexi asked what they were doing and Illica responded that he should wait and see. I noticed the wind had picked up and that the crowds on the lower levels had begun cheering. I peered over the edge to see the temple rising from below. Suddenly there was a thunderous sound and Illica snapped "What's this!?" at his captain. The captain replied that it was nothing. I started to notice people on the miner tier falling off the ledges. Alexi and Illica both asked what was going on as I noticed green shapes moving on the lower levels. Captain Nessai conjured a magical lens in the air and showed us Kruthiks among the people. We then saw a black cloaked figure approach Illica after a quick discussion Illica followed him and Arranis mentioned he had a bad feeling about this. I began to smell the smoke of many burning buildings and the light from many fires on the lower levels. Then there came a massive blast as a grandstone caught fire. Illica urgently told Alexi "Get the mages out of here!" as he handed him a treasury slip and said "Save as many civilians as you can!". As we went over the mages the temple began to crash back down as we got their attention. With the people and mages at our back I charged a tiefling line and we managed to punch a hole and get through. We headed for the minstrels guild in order to teleport the people an mages out. Just as we got there we heard the thunderous report of another grandstone catching fire. As we rushed through the corridors of the minstrels guild one the mages stopped at a door and told us that Illica had used the room before. Once inside the mages activated the teleportation circle. As the portal opened I saw Dast, Ghavat, Vyse, and about forty tiefling as the wind from a storm of arrows brushed my face.

==2 December 2011==

The arrows killed the mages before they had time to react as they were directly in front of the portal. Arranis, as he was with the rest of the mages was bleeding out on the ground when Vyse said "Where's Illica!? He was supposed to be here!". Alexi went over to heal Arranis when I heard screams. I ran back out to see the citizens that had followed us getting massacred by demons. The tieflings from the portal charged in front of me as I threw a hammer. Arranis, looking well after having been made a pincussion, launched a ball of lightning that exploded among the demons. Dast shouted above the melee that we needed to reach the bathouse. We run for it but the demons are faster and after a quick battle where we managed to get away we reached the bathouse. Once inside Dast drainded a pool then yanked a grate off and yelled "We've got to get to the bottom!". Then it seemed as though the world flickered and I was in a prison made of red stone I had never before seen or heard of but as quickly as things had changed they were back to normal. Entering the grate we splashed into the sewers. As we rushed through the sewer I noticed skittering noises and we came upon a wererat we had met below the prison. Arranis put him to sleep and took a necklace of keys off of the rat. I pulled him out of the water and we moved on. The wererat woke up again and Gavotte plunged his weapon into him leaving the wererat gasping for life as he muttered "Want...shiny....". Vyse casually flicked his dagger into the wererat's throat, killing him. Then we reached a grate and we all pulled together to wrench it out of our way as we stepped into a view of the dravon headquarters. Ahead of us we saw Pavan at the head of a small army riding Nightmares as Dorial Illica and Stryke were leading another group towards Pavan. Then there was another muffled boom probably from another grandstone that caught fire and suddenly I could see a massive red gate before everything returned to normal. As we approached Pavahn and Illica Gavotte said he hadn't seen Pavahn in weeks and he was surprised to see Stryke with Illica. Then a dense green fog descended as something began to shimmer near Gavotte. I saw bright green lights starting to come toward us the thing that was shimmering solidified into existence in front of us. It was a creature that looked like Stryke but upon its forehead was the word 'HEMLOCK'. Hemlock grasped a massive battle-axe on his back as Gavotte looked on in terror and with a mighty swing Hemlock beheaded Gavotte in front of us. I looked around to see Dast in shock, one of the tieflings cowering on the ground, and the other nowhere to be seen. I picked up the tiefling and shouted "Pull yourself together" as Alexi and I headed towards Dorial while Arranis and Vyse made their way to Pavahn. Another thunderous boom sounded and I found myself in a red hallway feeling like my soul was slowly being leeched from my body. We ran down the hallway of red brick as I glanced behind to see stone like that in Thundermarl. We quickly reached a left turn in the hallway and then where an identical passaged converged into another one we met the rest of our party. We rushed further down the hallway only to find our way barred by a massive gate. On the other side was a massive circular room with two large X-shaped crosses at the back. On one was a tiefling just past his prim with a gilded horns but one of them had been sawed off. On the other cross was a man with red skin who would have been handsome if not for the bruises covering his body. In a gate on the right side of the room were Stryke, Dorial, and Hemlock. On the left side Pavahn. In the middle of the room there was a circle. Pavahn looked at the tiefling with gilded horns and shouted "My liege" in an anguished voice and Dorial turn to Stryke and mused "So that's what happened to him." Then Dorial looked our way and Alexi shouted across to him "What is going on!?". Dorial teleported to us and told Alexi "you've been a good man, and you've done a lot of good" and he then cast a spell at the end of which my soul seemed to longer be leaking from my body. I looked past Dorial to see Pavahn toward and just as she passed the circle it burst into flame in the form of a rune of Sirrien and then the rune shaped itself into Imix, the elemental lord of fire. Dorial shouted "What is that doing here!? Kill it!". Then Dorial, Stryke, Hemlock, and Pavahn engaged Imix in an epic battle and destroyed him.

Then we moved over to the crosses where the tiefling and the red man hung. Near them were two cases with a dagger each. As we moved closer Pavahn looked upon the tiefling and said reverently, "It's Helphon". Then Strych smashed a case holding a sheathed dagger in front of Helphon just as Dorial smashed one in front of the red man. Strych drew a long silver dagger from its sheath and sliced the air. Where he sliced I could see bright stars but one star, a purple one, gleamed brighter than the rest. Then columns of purple light shone down around Pavahn, Dorial, and Helphon. Their faces erupted into tentacles and when the tentacles were gone Helphone's forehead read 'ANTIMONY' and Pavahn's red 'CURARE'. In that same time Dorial had ripped off his glove to reveal a bright red hand and smashed the other case to draw a pure black dagger. Dorial sliced the air and just befor e he vanished he shouted "This isn't over yet!". After Dorial teleported a purple column of light ascended from where he had been and the purple star seemed to draw closer to Mondevai. Then the room disintegrated as though it were only a facade and revealed itself to be covered in symbols of Sirrien as though it were one giant temple. Then the tiefling said "It's just like dad said; it's just like Turath". Then a symbol appeared on the floor; an eye in the center of five petals.

==9 December 2011==

Leaving the room we took the hallway on the left and we came upon a room at the end which Vise entered only to get caged. Further in the room were two demons and a Succubus. We fought as well as we could but the Succubus kept gaining control over us as we were about to strike her down. Arranis and I fled back into the room leaving Alexi unconscious in the hallway. Then Alexi walked through the doorway and told us that just as the Succubus was kissing Dast he called down sacred flame upon her and left naught but ashes. After licking our wounds we moved on to find what appeared to be part of "The Hips" sticking into the room and to our surprise when we entered we found that it indeed was "The Hips". We went out the other side to find Gosh Pellsturn and a group of scared townspeople. We asked Gosh what he had seen and he told us that he just been serving when suddenly the everything changed to how it was now. In the yard with Gosh and the townspeople was a well that seemed well over a hundred feet deep. We decided to check the other door that led off from the room with the cage traps. It led into a hallway that continued straight into a room and branched off to the right into a silver door with six locks and Sirrien symbolism. Vise worked on picking the silver door but to no avail. So we went into the other room. It had paintings of dretches covering each wall, in the very center was a golden tattoo stylus with a tube connecting it into the ground. I picked up the stylus and felt the flow of ink coming into it and when I pressed the trigger to examine the ink it rushed out as the doors slammed shut and the ink continued to flow even when I had released the trigger. The ink formed dretches and soon the entire room was filled with them. I struggled to escape their grasp and reach the door and bash it open. I shouted for help as started to reach the inn. The tiefling yelled out, "Throw water at them!" and despite my best efforts to escape and Alexi's to keep me from succumbing to the dretches I blacked out. I awoke to Alexi's healing and a demonic tattoo on my right shoulder. We returned to the well and pulled up a bucket of it to find a bubbly red liquid. I tested it by pouring it on some grass, and the grass became greener; so I took a sip and found the liquid had a bloody after-taste. I began to feel my soul slipping away again and Arranis told us that we only had a little over an hour before our souls would be drained from us. We returned to the silver door and resolved to smash it down. Alexi and I charged the door with our shields and as we braced to hit the door we passed right through it! When all of us had entered we heard a click and spiked walls on either side of us began to close in. Then ghostly apparitions began to assault us. They must have been truly ancient ghosts as they had lost all form of what they once were. When the ghosts had been banished the walls slowed but they continued to move in on us. I decided to push against them to buy time for the others to figure out but just as I reached out to push against them I fell through, where I found lever that I pulled to halt their advance. We continued on to fine a larger hallway that gradually changed into a dwarven tunnel and ended in two massive wooden doors. Vise peeked through and told us of a massive cathedral and lines of knights. We entered and at the far end we saw a ritual circle and a man in a black coat and a silver mask with the symbol of Sirrien on it. Vise warned us of two shadowy figures beside him. An arrow flew out and took an elderly eladrin in the shoulder, then the eladrin disolved into nothing. The knights lowered their weapons and the ritual mound exploded. The shadows beside the man in the silver mask vanished. Then the ritual mound exploded and a skeletal dragon emerged. Vise shouted "It's Szartharax!". I charged the skeletal frost dragon and began the dance of the sword as my companions let loose with everything they had. In the fight Szartharax roared "Give me your gold and your soul!" and Vise took the opportunity to plunge his dagger into the roof of Szartharax mouth, shattering its skull and defeating the dragon.

==13 December 2011==

On each side of the cathedral there was a spiral staircase. We decided to take the left one first, it led to nothing so we went up the right side where we glimpsed a reddish light up ahead. Halfway up we saw half a door merged with the wall. At the top of the room we found a room that was part library, part temple. I went to look out one of the windows onto a vast red plain. At the base of the cathedral there was a glowing viscous red liquid. In the distance there were several crashed ships and beyond them a giant city of obsidian. Vise joined me at the window and he staring further and harder than I, noticed that the city's flags were emblazoned with the symbol of Sirrien. In the library part of the room Arranis found a gold mechanism and a book that detailed how marmaron will take one between worlds. Alexi having heard us talking about the plane beyond said we should try and make our way to the ships, as they will have marmaron enough to get us home before our souls are completely gone. Examining the library further, we noticed that all the books were on tieflings; and specifically focusing on Salvulcian, he stole magic and gave it to the tieflings. As we began to exit the strange room we noticed that the glass seemed to be moving, then what we saw solidified into golems. One of the golems was hit by Alexi's sacred flame and it exploded in brilliant light. Vise ran to shatter one of the windows hoping to destroy the golem it came from, but when he did some of the golems vanished from our sight. In time we learned the secret of these golems. When viewed in green light, normal damage could effect them; in blue, magic; in white, radiant; but in red light, the light of this strange world, they vanished. Once we understood this we were able to defeat the golems.

Arranis made a portal at the broken window to the ground below. Once all of us and the townsfolk were through we made our way to the gatehouse for a drawbridge. Inside we found a human who asked for the toll, we bargained him down to 3000 gold and we went out upon the bridge. Lava snakes jumped onto the bridge from the sides and at the end stood a giant demon with great horns and wings who was wreathed in flames. Fearing the worst, I charged the demon hoping to distract him as the part and townsfolk went past. Alas, but the demon's strength was overwhelming and were it not for the tiefling intervention in convincing it we had right to pass, I would have perished. Then we sprinted to end of the bridge. At the gatehouse Vise peeked out to see a legion of undead and Arranis noticed a massive amount of magic energy building near the boats and a fire spell set to use it. We started walking towards the boats and the zombies began to turn towards. Then we began to shamble as zombies do and they turned their attention away. When we reached the ship we heard "Get to your post, prepare to activate the amplification ritual." the voice sounded familiar but I couldn't make out who it belonged to. Then Vise recognized a Yuan-ti as Crow and one of the people wore that same silver mask and black robes we had seen earlier. It was a race to get Alexi to the amplification circle so he could annihilate the undead with holy might. We fought through the zombies and the masked men to reach it, and we made it just in time. Then Alexi let loose a burst of holy light unlike anything I've ever seen. It was blinding even with my eyes closed and when reached Calarel and Crow they melted into dust. The zombies were blown into dust as Stephan was flung far off the ship. Off in the distance we saw Stephan stumbling to his feet and heard the crackle of lightning as zombie part began flying towards him in a maelstrom. We ignited the smaller piece of marmaron and then below there were only stars. In the distance we heard a roar as the ship began to roll. Then I began to make out a massive dragon made from the flesh and bones of the undead. It landed on the ship and bones extended from it, stabbing at me as made to stab it. Then Stephan's form appeared on the shoulder of the dragon and he let loose a fireball. Hit by the strange dragon, I went unconscious. Then I felt Alexi's healing hand and I was back to fighting Stephan. Then Stephan's skull peered out from the dragon's mouth and said "You would let Banikon have his way? Our mistress was going to get ressurection back!" then Alexi replied "There has to be a better way!". With Vise's final strike Stephan said "May Caiphon take you." then he exploded in purple light.

I began to hear wind rushing up below I could see boats, Alexi quickly healed us and as we rush closer to the sea I noticed hobgoblins in a raiding party on the boats. One of the hobgoblins had huge guilded canines. Then our ship smashed into the raiding parties boats and everything went black for me.

Vaeru's Journal 1

2026-04-12T21:48:51Z

Ariese: Created page with "==25 April 2011== After entering Thunderspire, we found ourselves walking on a cobblestone path dimly lit by torches. Farther down the path we came across a dead horse and a shattered cart. After examining the cart and horse we found that the driver had been trapped underneath and likely died from either the impact of the cart or starvation. The horse clearly died from a massive blow to the head. Upon further examination of the area I noticed little white chunks mo..."

==25 April 2011==

After entering Thunderspire, we found ourselves walking on a cobblestone path dimly lit by torches. Farther down the path we came across a dead horse and a shattered cart. After examining the cart and horse we found that the driver had been trapped underneath and likely died from either the impact of the cart or starvation. The horse clearly died from a massive blow to the head. Upon further examination of the area I noticed little white chunks moving away. These turned out to be pieces of marmaron jewelry that were being carried away by ants. We picked these up and I and Vise put on the rings while Arranis and Alexi put on the amulets. There was an extra ring that Alexi decided he would hold onto.

On past the horse and the cart there was a gaping fissure in the earth about 30 feet wide with water trickling down into it. Alexi dropped a sunrod down into it and just as it disappeared from view it began getting brighter again. With that, a geyser of water erupted from the hole and had I not drawn and plunged my sword into the cobblestone I would not have kept my feet. The others however, didn't manage to keep their feet and were washed into the fissure. Unable to find a good place to tie a rope to, I jumped in after them. As I was falling I noticed that the rest of the party was fighting some water elementals immediately before I hit the water. It felt like some of the biggest hits I've ever taken but after recovering I helped finish off the water elementals. Soon after, the geyser subsided and I was left sinking in my armor. After figuring out how to swim with all the extra weight I swam to the rocky shore Vise had already thrown a sunrod onto. Once we had all managed to get onto shore we found a number of people who turned out to be Alexi's old crew, they were sick with something but between Alexi's cleric abilities and the small amount of healing knowledge I'd gained with the dragonborn we managed to stabilize them. Our wizard, Arranis, managed to dry some driftwood and then light it to make a campfire that we dragged the sick around to keep them warm. After Alexi spoke with his old friends we learned that two of them had been dragged off by ants and Alexi decided to go after them; naturally, we went with him.

Once we were through a short tunnel I entered a small room where some ants immediately attacked, they quickly died to my sword work and a barrage of knives and spells from the others. Once we had cleared the antechamber we tried to relax a little only for more ants to come at us which we again dispatched. Rather than wait for more ants to show up, we moved on and found a much bigger room where the ants were harvesting mushrooms. Vise noticed a mural depicting a battle between angels and demons that had been partially obscured by the mushrooms and the ants' constructions as well as a small altar to Nairo in the far corner from where we entered. I went straight to the middle of the room where the ants converged on me and I swept the smaller ones away like so much chaff with a single sweeping blow of my sword but the larger ones kept biting and grabbing me. Then one of the ants knocked on one of the larger mushrooms which released toxic spores that seeped into my wounds. The pain was unbearable and I fell unconscious to awaken with Alexi, our cleric, administering aid to me. Able to get back on my feet I helped finish off the remaining ants.

With the ants dead, I dusted myself off and treated some of my larger cuts while Vise wandered around gathering mushrooms; for what, I have no clue but I suppose he wouldn't bother unless he had something useful to do with them. We found another tunnel at the far end of the room on the same side as where we entered and after following a short tunnel we found another chamber similar to the one before the main chamber except that the ants had made it of gold coins, glass, and random bits of treasure. I tried to pull a few of the coins out only to have the entire wall collapse on me. I decided to leave before more of the chamber collapsed but Vise stayed and searched for awhile and then emerged with a large magical sword, some strange chainmail, and an orb that seemed to contain a thunderstorm. He gave the orb to Arranis, the chainmail to Alexi, and the sword to me.

Opposite where we had entered this large chamber was another tunnel slick with ant spittle. At the end of which we found a pit and a sturdy looking rope ladder attached to some sort of sculpture. I crouched low and leapt for the ladder but came up short and fell about fifteen feet before I could grab hold of it. Suddenly, the sculpture gave way and I was falling again. With a sudden jerk the sculpture stopped falling and I tried with all my might to hold on to the ladder but my own momentum was too much. Much to my chagrin, I was falling again. I hit an acrid smelling liquid hard and felt my flesh begin to burn. In sheer panic I managed to swim out of it before my skin had been burned off only to be knocked back in by a couple of ants. After I had gotten back onto the low ledge for the second time I killed the ants with a single vengeful swing. Farther on, I could make out some stairs and I hoped I could find someplace to lay up and tend to the acid burns. Luckily, I ran into the rest of the party who seemed to have had some trouble of their own as I noticed Arranis had punctures in his leather armor and a few chain links in Alexi's mail had been rent open. With a little healing and the relief of finding everyone, I felt much better and we moved on down a long tunnel at the end of which we found the queen's nest. Flying drones attacked us and just as the fight seemed to be turning against us we began to hear a whining, then there were tremors that closed off the tunnel we had entered as Kruthiks burst through the far wall and attacked the ants. Vise and I were still fighting two of the ants that had attacked us when Alexi noticed two ants come through a small hole to our left carrying some marmaron. The Kruthik Hive Queen missed with a massive spray of acid and hit the ants and the marmaron. Suddenly, it was pitch black. I attempted to light a sunrod but the roomed remained as though all light had left the world. Then the shadow gathered into a massive black lion which jumped into Vise's shadow and he went out as though hit by a giant's club. Then Vise stood back up as though nothing had happened, meanwhile the kruthiks and ants had killed each other. I went first and followed the Hive Queen's tunnel into a room that seemed to be a Kruthik stable. That's when I noticed the greedy gleam of a rust monster's eyes as it hungrily looked at my armor. I slashed with my sword but to no avail, it seemed to have used the metal it had eaten to give itself a hard carapace. With its attack my armor started rusting and Vise got into a position to exploit its vulnerable spot as Arranis shot a ray of frost at it. Its tongue lashed out and dissolved my armor and then sucked it in. In vengeance, I sunk my sword into its face, killing it. After splitting it open, I found all that was left of my armor, just the residuum that had enchanted my scale armor. Alexi kindly gave me his old chainmail and we dragged his companions that we had found in the Ant Queen's lair into this room. Vise wandered around a storeroom for a bit before we decided to knock on a massive red door with the symbol for the Turathy empire carved into its center and the emblems of Salvotian and Nairo on either side. A slit was pulled open and violet eyes framed in a red face peered out and asked "Who are you?".

==30 April 2011==

After we answered, we heard some muttering before the door opened and whole squad of teiflings relieved us of our weapons and marched us into a waiting room. We were taken to see their lord in a room sparsely decorated with cacti. The lord turned out to be Gavotte, the tiefling who helped us kill Kalarel. He was surprised to see us but before we could give any explanation a soldier suggested we be executed for killing their kruthiks. Suddenly, from outside, we heard a soldier yell "Why are the lights out!". Gavotte sent someone to investigate while Alexi explained how we wound up here. After we recounted our adventures. Gavotte hatefully mentioned a Dravon route out of this place and we gathered he also knew what had caused that strange wind in Fallcrest; though he never told us. Then we heard a bang on the door, I opened it to find a guard on the floor and Vyse, who had snuck off sometime earlier. He quickly explained what had happened and with the rest of us vouching for him, Gavotte accepted his story.

Having finished the conversation we secured Gavotte's help in digging a way to Alexi's crew. One of them had been eaten and all of the eyes of the sick were rimmed in purple. On the way back to Gavotte's base I saw a black cat with a collar, which was strange but I gave it no further thought. We carried the rest of the crew back to Gavotte's base and he kindly let us stay the night. I slept peacefully in my hammock after the exhaustion of the day but I awoke in the morning to see large claw marks in the stone of the hall and Arranis holding a weird heart. Arranis explained that he and Vyse had heard strange noises in the night and woke up to find the strange claw marks as well as a cat who had dropped the heart. Alexi visited his crew and noticed that those the disease inflicted were getting worse.

The tieflings had prepared a boat for us which we found Arranis could steer using magic but he could only just manage it. He managed to get us to some docks where we noticed a great many Dravon. We determined that Vyse and Alexi would go and see if they could find a way into the city and some help for Alexi's sick crew.

After waiting for a bit, I saw Vyse and Alexi running as fast as they could back to us but before we could cast off with them aboard the guards had boarded. We fought, but one of the guards knocked me out with a blow to the head.

==7 May 2011==

I awoke to find myself in prison with two other humans. Vyse got us out and we, along with many other prisoners, attempted a jail break and I led the charge only to get bottlenecked by some soldiers as the guard wizards rained spells upon our heads. After taking one too many hits again I fell unconscious.

==21 August 2011==

I awoke to find myself in a cage. From what I overheard of the guards' conversation I came to understand that we were being moved to a higher security prison. On my way in I noticed many of the building to be built of what appeared to be giant bones. The prison itself was set into an overhanging cliff. Our cells hung thousands of feet into the air with a window/toilet that let us see the Dravon headquarters. After listening to the guards and talking with my dravon cellmate I discovered we were in the Dravic colony of Thundermarl. This colony had once been an ancient Dwarven city, [DM note: a minotaur city which was taken over by the dwarves. The eladrin later established a town in the cauldera. All three races are still present. Very multicultural.] abandoned, autumn Eladrin began to take residence in it. While the Eladrin still lived on the surface the Dravon had taken control of the city and turned it into a colony.

==26 August 2011==

For months I had lived off two meals of gruel a day and I was beginning to think that I, along with my companions who I spoke to through our window, were going to spend the rest of our lives here. Then I noticed the lake glowing purple and a strange silence. I tried to see if the guards were around by pushing on the trapdoor above me but none came. Then I heard heavy thumps as of bodies hitting a floor. That's when things got really strange. A man cloaked in black descended into Octavian's cell to give him a drink, he suddenly yelled "I'm free!" and vanished. I noticed the water in the lake beginning to roil as the cloaked man continued to give prisoners, including members of Alexi's crew, the drink and one by one they all vanished. Down on the lake a massive dravic ship breached the surface. Then the black cloaked man entered my cell and asked my name. Ki-Amar (my cellmate) answered quickly and was given the cup. I answered but the cloaked man vanished. Vyse took the cup but a strange voice that came from his cell said "Come and see." I went back to my window and saw that the ship had a tall Dravon on a white stallion surrounded by a great many dravon soldiers.

I decided it was time to get out. I leapt for the trapdoor and managed to hold on and swing myself out. Up top I found all the guards on the floor and a wizard just beginning to stir. Arranis teleported himself out as a great dog rushed over and grabbed me by the leg. I kept kicking at the dog, trying to get it off, until I saw a sword lying next to one of the incapacitated guards. Shaking the dog off and getting to the dead guard, I heard the sounds of Arranis and the other wizard having a little duel of their own. With my borrowed sword and shield and Vyse holding a strange shadowy dagger I'd never seen before we took on the dog while Arranis finished off the wizard. Someone eventually got around to kicking the rope ladder down to Alexi so he could climb out of his cell. Once the guards were down, I put on the scale mail of one of them and we made our way to the door.

==2 September 2011==

Upon exiting the prison room we came into a familiar room. It was a guardshack very similiar to the one we entered the last time on our first ill fated prison break. This time there were two guards their commander and two wizards waiting for us. While Vyse threw his strange shadow dagger at one of the guards I moved in to attack. Lorric, our fellow dwarf prisoner moved in on the other guard and Arranis cast a spell that made one of the guards drowsy. The wizards hands let loose with bolts of electricity that nearly fried me but Alexi healed most of that. The drowsy guard soon fell asleep and Vyse quickly slit his throat as I took on their commander. She didn't last long against the combination of our weapons and Arranis' freezing attacks. With the fall of the last guard, the mages quickly followed.

We checked to see if our captors had any good equipment. We found that the leader had on a girdle of the oxen, which I put on and Vyse took her leather armor. After a few odd looks he let us know planned to use the breasts of the armor for his gold one he finds it. After a great laugh among us all we took a look around and found two rooms on either side. One of which was a kind of lounge in which we gathered enough rations for about twenty days and the other had a spiral staircase. I tried to lift the solid iron portcullis on the far end of the room to see if we could get out that way but it was beyond my strength. So we went down the spiral staircase. At the bottom we found a damp stone room with an inch of disgusting brown muck. Vyse and I mucked through it to some doors through which we could only hear rushing water. So we went through to find a broken pipe and another room within this main room that had a kind of cage inside attached to ropes at its corners. Vyse couldn't manage to pick the lock so we moved on through another set of doors.

As soon as I had opened that set of doors there was a click and then a buzzing sound. Arranis told us it wasn't magical and as I entered the room we found round saws spinning down the walls and white water rushing along the raised floor into the previous room but at least this water was clean. Vyse ran through the water to get to the switch but was interrupted by two halberds that swept out of the ceiling and knocked him down. Finally Arranis got to the door after making sure his boots didn't touch the muck by purifying the water around him. Blasted Eladrin Wizard... He blinked out of existence and then back in next to the switch and flipped it, halting the buzz of the saws. I then moved past Vyse only to get hit by the halberds myself. Arranis turned the trap off again and Vyse and I crawled to the door.

We heard shrieks of agony on the other side and I burst through to find a what appeared to be a Dravon with white hair, only his skin was white, and he had horns, and he seemed...stretched. He was covered in purple pustles. Across the room their were two cells; one held a water Ganasi and the other a short rat-like human. In each cell monstrous spiked lizards were attacking the chained prisoners. I rushed over to the human's cell and pulled off the bar and attacked the beast inside while Vyse threw his dagger at the hideous Dravon. The Dravon flashed in front of Lorric who had just entered the room and with a blast of purplish black, Lorric's head was gone. Vyse turned around to bury his dagger in the Dravon's heart but as soon as it touched, the Dravon with a crack, swirled into black and purple clouds and vanished. Vyse heard a plink as something metal struck the stone beneath rushing water and he ran off to grab it.

Meanwhile, Arranis had gotten to the Genasi's cell and was trying to get the beast away from the poor guy. Vyse soon joined him but they were engulfed by an acidic mess the monster belched forth. Realizing how tough these monters were I used my shield to beat the monster I had engaged back into the cell and slammed the bar back into place. I engaged the other beast as Alexi got past to help the now unconscious Genasi. I was knocked unconscious but Alexi got me up to continue the fight as we cut, stabbed, and launched spell after spell at the monster until with a flourish Vyse put his dagger through its eye.

It was too late for the human in the other cell but Arranis whiled away some time by killing the remaining monster with a 1,000 stings.

==9 September 2011==

With the other beast doomed to a slow death, I walked over to the poor soul on the table. He was unconscious and no matter what I did it seemed he would not wake. I noticed Vyse begin to wander about the place examining vials, and other strange items on shelves while Arranis began talking to the genasi. It was then I noticed the strange glass vial with a needle on the end of it. I called Vyse over since he seemed to have a knowledge of these things and he told me that it was a syringe. He said that the torturer probably used it to inject the disease he had seen in other vials in the room. It was then I noticed that the person on the table appeared drained, as though he wouldn't be able to stand in a stiff wind and that it seemed he was just a little worse off than he was just a little while ago. Meanwhile the genasi had said something about knowing the way out and interested to know how we could finally leave this accursed prison. The genasi walked off to that grate in the trap area, turned to water, and flowed through the grate. I thought then that our only chance of getting out had just run away.

In the mean time Vyse had harvested a disgusting substance from the horned frog as well as gathered other things from the room. He handed me a minotaur horn to hold onto and told us that with the proper equipment he might be able to brew some potions that gave us invisibility, make us more resilient, and to heal us. Suddenly, we heard a click from the grate. Arranis was the first to get over to it and showed us that the grate had opened as well a tunnel beyond it. The genasi came through for us after all. I picked up the man on the table and we ventured down the tunnel and as we walked Arranis noticed a strange tattoo on the dravon's back. Alexi told us it was symbol of Sirrien as we came to the end of the tunnel, where we found a hole with the water rushing into it. Above us was kind of a rock chimney. For a great deal of time we debated what we should do, climb the chimney or go down the hole. Finally, fed up with the indecision I leapt into the hole. It was a long way down and I slammed into metal bars that must have been part of a ladder many times as I fell. With a great splash I fell into a deep, cold pool of water. I struggled to the surface against the weight of my armor and saw the genasi that had opened the grate. I tried to get his attention but it became apparent that he was only just conscious so I decided to go back up the ladder to show my friends the easier way down. About forty feet from the bottom a large mass of boots and clothing slammed into me and back down the hole I fell. As Arranis and I recovered and I pulled the dravon we'd been carrying around to shore. Vyse and Alexi climbed down the ladder. While the rest of us were drying ourselves off Vyse creeped down the hallway. In a few moments he returned and told us of two genasi at the other end behind a many colored curtain made of many materials. We followed Vyse and entered the room where a water genasi with a sword and an earth genasi with a hammer were talking. Across the room we notice what appears to be piles of rubbish. Noticing us the genasi turned and the earth genasi noticed the water genasi I was carrying and shouted "Is that Dast!? That's Dast!". The genasi then approached us warily and insinuated we were spies especially considering that Alexi was a Dravon. Alexi was able to convince them otherwise and we asked if we could look through the piles. They told us to go ahead. Arranis cleaned things as we eventually managed to find most of our sleeping rolls, sunrods, and other miscellaneous useful items that the dravon must have thrown away. Vyse, determined to find his other things, continued to dig in the filth. Vyse found nothing and looked a little sick from his efforts as asked the genasi about sleeping quarters. They showed us a cave we could sleep in and we rested after a brutal day.

When we awoke, I went to find the water genasi I had carried up from the pool. Eventually, I found him in one of the nearby caves and asked him why he was being tortured. He told me that the torturer was asking about some temple and vault which he knew nothing about. Returning to my friends Arranis told us about how the person who usually smuggled food into their hideout hadn't shown up in a while. We ran into another genasi who told us about a coven of wererats coming from somewhere who seemed to be well equipped and might know how to get out of here. He mentioned that the might be coming from the sewers.

We then headed back the way we had come previously back to the room where the broken pipe was leaking. I squeezed through and the rest of the group followed, after exiting the pipe I found myself in a larger one with stairs at the other side. Vyse went up them to see and he called us up having run into a man very similar in appearance to the prisoner that the horned frog had killed. We talked to man, who had a set of keys on him that he said he had found. We asked getting out of here and he said we'd have to be a rat to manage it. We also noticed some boxes behind us which he became very defensive of, saying they were his. We again mentioned getting out which continued to get us nowhere. Then we mentioned the other rat man which upset him even more as he learned the genasi had survived and his brother was dead since it was apparently the genasi that had gotten them in trouble in the first place. I attempted to comfort him a little but it only made things worse. While he was inconsolable, I, frustrated whispered we should just take the keys from him. Which the rat-man overheard and screamed "No!" ran away, transformed into a rat and fled into the grated pipe entirely out of our reach.

Next we turned our attention to the boxes the wererat had been so protective of. One of them had a backward seven. We opened that one first and inside we found all our good armor weapons that had been taken from us when we arrived at the prison. I took my bastard sword and put on the familiar dwarven chainmail. In the other box, which had a backward twenty-six, Arranis found a small ivory mirror, I thought the little thing worthless but apparently it was useful to him as he took it. After traveling back down the stairs and squeezing through that pipe again. Vyse wanted to try and pick the lock on the room with the cage in it again. Thinking it was useless as he hadn't managed it before I watched ready to go back down to the caves and try to figure some other way out of here. By some stroke of luck, the lock clicked and Vyse swung open the door.

The cage inside had ropes attached to it hanging all the way down from somewhere high above us. We got in and began trying to pull ourselves up. With a few minor slips me managed to get to the top, where we surprised three dravon; two wizards, and a soldier. Both I and Arranis were able to jump out, despite the floor suddenly being rather sticky but Alexi and Vyse couldn't break free of the stuff. They slipped on the ropes and it fell out of my sight as I engaged the soldier. The fight was arduous as I tried to survive the wizards and the soldier in such a confined space trying to keep them off Arranis but a strong blow knocked me out.

I awoke to find Arranis looking at some lever across the room. I figured one of them might raise and lower the cage so I pulled one of them, only to realize my mistake as an iron gate began to slowly rise and I heard the scrambling of dravon guards. I tried to pull the lever back to shut the gate but it wouldn't budge. Realizing it was hopeless, once the gate was open enough I charged for a massive dravon with a terrible looking axe. He yelled at one of the smaller dravon around him wielding a crossbow, who whipped out a wand and cast some strange spell which made the dravon's eyes glow yellow and their skin red. I swung a mighty blow with my sword only for it to glance off as if I was trying to hit solid steel. An icy ray flew over my shoulder to simply be absorbed. I continued to try and hit them but to no avail, when Alexi and Vyse arrived. Alexi launched a bright spear of light from his hand only for me to see the same thing as with the icy ray. The warden's axe's blows were raining down on me and I questioned whether this was to be my last fight. Then Vyse suddenly yelled, "push them into the cells!" I tried pushing the warden but he laughed it off and with parry from his shield smashed me to the floor.

I switched tactics and tried pushing one of the smaller ones only for him to run right back into the formation. Finally with a group effort we rushed on of the little ones into a cell and slammed it shut on him. The dravon's magic blocking bars prevented him from getting out and we began to desparately push the at the dravon trying to get them into the cells. Exhausted, I began a final push to get the last dravon with a lit wand into a cell. As we slammed the cell door, the warden's eyes stopped glowing and the remaining dravon returned to normal. We descended with a vengeance. With furious swings of my sword I vented my earlier frustration at the uselessness of my previous assaults. Vyse found chink after chink in the warden's armor through which to plunge his dagger. Each time the warden ignited in Alexi's radiant fire I felt as though I could fight forever and each time the Arranis icy rays chilled me as they passed the feeling of inevitable victory grew stronger. It was then, at my greatest confidence the warden landed a blow that would have felled a tree and everything went black. I had the last laugh, as I awoke to find the warden dead and the dravon still locked in the cells we had pushed them into.

After we had gathered our strength Arranis used a small button below the levers that I had missed earlier to lower us back down. We went to the caves and told the genasi that we had found a way out and as we left the gates of the prison one of the genasi handed Vyse a small trinket. It looked like a silver spiderweb with a ruby in the center, and told us "we will remember this, thank you," as we went our separate ways into the city.

Vyse's Journal

2026-04-12T21:47:38Z

Ariese: Created page with "Some Randoms Thoughts on the Journey so far. -Before Kobold Hall I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was actually excited for this job that Eladrin gave Alexi and I. I haven't felt this adventurous since the circus was still active. Even though it's been a year, I still can't believe everyone is dead. I'm glad I was able to pay my respects today and that I made a new friend (Alexi). I thought Kobolds were weaklings, but I guess there are a lot of them which is w..."

Some Randoms Thoughts on the Journey so far.

-Before Kobold Hall

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was actually excited for this job that Eladrin gave Alexi and I. I haven't felt this adventurous since the circus was still active. Even though it's been a year, I still can't believe everyone is dead. I'm glad I was able to pay my respects today and that I made a new friend (Alexi). I thought Kobolds were weaklings, but I guess there are a lot of them which is why Stefan hired us for assistance. Wait, Stefan just hired another. Wow! He's a Dragonborn! Don't mess around with those guys, they'll rip a puny human like me into pieces. Lorthos is his name. Seriously, how many kobolds are there???? Lorthos looks like he could take on an army of them.

Having stocked up on supplies and getting to know the group a little better, we are now heading towards the gloomy Kobold Hall.

-After Kobold Hall

What can I say about our first adventure together, IT WAS A DISASTER! We completed the mission, barely. Turns out that everyone in the party, including our benefactor, is a novice. Lorthos, who initially reminded me of Jurok, the Dragonborn I feared all my years growing up, could hardly overcome these pitiful kobolds. I took a beating knifing my way through the hoards of them. To top it all off, Stefan didn't say anything about a DRAGON! Even though we were exhausted from fending off Kobolds, we managed to fight this great white beast until the uthinkable happened; Alexi knocked me unconcious on accident. Next thing I remember was waking up outside the hall only to learn that Lorthos managed to make a deal with the dragon. The dragon let us go at the simple price of 2,000 gold and he wants it by next week. This is ridiculous, we were so close to defeating it. Alexi has convinced us to give it another shot.

-Kobold Hall part Deux

Stefan is dead. He died AFTER we defeated the dragon. Perfect timing. I may joke about death, but it's only because I have learned to deal with losing so many who were close to me. Without Stefan's abilities, I doubt we could have ousted the dragon. We didn't even know Stefan that well, but we gave him a decent burial. I'm glad we did that. Looks like we'll be returning to Fallcrest.

Months later..........

Things had taken a turn for the worst once we arrived in Thundermarl. After escaping from the dravon prison and exploring the city, it was only ironic that I ended up back in prison a short time later. My own comrade Arranis left me in the hands of a couple of brutish dravon guards during my last encounter on the streets of Thundermarl. Just when I thought we were going to learn more about the comatose cult member we had been carrying around, the guards take him and put me in the maximum security prison. I barely survived my first night in that wretched place. The interrogator choked me until I was able to blurt out a lie to satisfy his intel needs. After resting in my wonderfully smelling shit hole of a cell, the wall opened up and Dast was standing there! It was fortunate that the genasi had not forgotten about me. I followed him and I was amazed at what I saw. Under Thundermarl there is a large community of genasi led by Dast's older brother, Flueric Olio. I'm still impressed that so many are able to live in the damp, foreboding underbelly of Thundermarl. These people need a place to call their home. Dast has informed me that they will all soon make a break for it and leave Thundermarl and the corrupt dravon leadership. These people have showed kindness to me, I'll do anything to help them escape.

Well it looks like the genasi have a deal with the tieflings. So far their alliance seems to be based on one common goal; the death of the House of Illica. If that monster of women Pavane will cooperate with us, we might be able to kill the governor without much problem.

Alexi's Event Log

2026-04-12T21:46:59Z

Ariese: Created page with "=Alexi's Island Journal= ==1st Entry== As I awoke from the crash and looked around a wave of relief came over me, we'd made it. I uttered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Protectress and as I rose to my feet I noticed both Vyse and Vaeru lying on the ground with weapons clasped in outstretched arms about twenty feet apart. I hurried to Vyse and knelt to beseech Hyln on his behalf and seeing him stir I turned next to Vaeru to do the same. As the battered warrior got to h..."

=Alexi's Island Journal=

==1st Entry==

As I awoke from the crash and looked around a wave of relief came over me, we'd made it. I uttered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Protectress and as I rose to my feet I noticed both Vyse and Vaeru lying on the ground with weapons clasped in outstretched arms about twenty feet apart. I hurried to Vyse and knelt to beseech Hyln on his behalf and seeing him stir I turned next to Vaeru to do the same. As the battered warrior got to his feet I noticed the eladrin shape of Arranis begin to show signs of life near the stern. Content that we had survived I ordered Vaeru to follow me into the lower decks of the ship and search for any survivors, and after some time we gathered the remainder of our crew, colonists and other refugees from the disaster on the deck of the then unnamed Aecris. I tasked myself and Vaeru with the healing of those that had suffered more than simple abrasions and noticed a Ximenian priestess and a shield-sister of mine doing the same with the assistance of their acolytes. As the events of the past hours began to set in, many of the people began to break down either in tears or into a trauma induced lunacy while others wore a visage of blank disbelief. The emotion of the group as a whole was one of hopelessness. I noticed eyes began to follow me as I went from victim to victim and as I rose from assisting the last of the wounded I understood what needed to be done. Lord Illica saw something in me, and now these people expected it of me. I turned to Arranis, asked if he could amplify my voice a touch, cleared my throat and began:

“Friends... the day seems to be a bleak one. We have lost many a friend, family member and fellow citizen in a catastrophe the likes of which none of us have ever seen save for in the darkest of dreams. I regret to inform you that this disaster, however, was no illusion wrought in slumber. Every hour of it, from the eruption of Thundermarl to the onset of the horde of undeath, was a very real and terrible event. There will be a time when we will mourn greatly the loss of our comrades, but that time, regrettably, is not yet at hand. The Shieldmaiden of Sigil saw it fit that we survive, and if we are to survive then we must come together. As a group we must see to it that the efforts of the Protectress are not wasted and begin to rebuild a semblance of our former lives here on this island. We must work to tune the rhythms of the reconstruction of our hearts with the rhythm of the practical reconstruction of our daily lives, and I assure you.... I assure you that not one life lost will be forgotten. When the time comes we will mourn the deaths and celebrate the lives of all who were taken from us in these past hours of peril. My friends, this day is indeed a bleak one, but tomorrow, on the other hand, holds a nature that is dependant on us. I believe tomorrow will be the start of many days with a much more positive nature than that of today.”

As I finished a few of people who had already collected their wits began a slow, scattered and mournful applause that slowly passed through to the rest of the people who weren't already using their hands to console the ones who were still reclaiming their will. And so it was that I gave my first speech as 'Lord Alexi Kholodov, Baron of the Dravic Empire' in the darkest of times to the most unfortunate of people.

The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth

2026-04-12T21:46:27Z

Ariese:

The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth

2026-04-12T21:44:50Z

Ariese: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" !colspan="5"|The Chronicles of Iront(w)ooth |- !colspan="5"|Fall 2010 - Summer 2012 |- !Player !Name !Race !Class !Levels |- | Stephen | Alexi | Dravon | Cleric (Hlyn) | 1-12 |- | Brian | Vyse | Human | Rogue | 1-12 |- | Marshall | Lorthos* | Dragonborn | Fighter | 1-3 |- | | Vaeru | Human | Fighter | 3-12 |- | Chase | Antivan* | Yuan-ti | Ranger | 2-3 |- | | Arranis* | Eladrin | Wizard | 5-12 |} <nowiki>*</nowiki> Decea..."

Karmic Houses

2025-12-24T03:35:18Z

Ariese: /* Karmic Houses */

__FORCETOC__
Since the onset of [[The Flows]], the world has been out of balance. Members of the Holy Kingdom of [[Zantaashi]] believe that there is a karmic flow to the world and it is the duty of every sentient creature to attempt to fix the karmic imbalance that created The flows.

The Yuan-ti use the standard monetary mark system (gold, silver, and copper) found in the rest of the world, but to their culture it is a secondary measure of wealth. The so-called Masters of Karma operate the five houses of karma in society. By marking their scales or skin with a small tattoo ritual, these masters keep track of debts of the population.

== Background ==

For much of history, people lived in relative karmic balance with the world. One person may be slightly out of balance one way or another, but it all evened out for the most part. As long as this karmic balance continued, the world was a garden, bountiful and great.

At some point there arose a great kingdom that’s capital was called [[Sigil]]. While the people of Sigil did great works, they also were a selfish people. They placed individuals on pedestals and each looked out for himself. Eventually the greed and the selfishness of Sigil grew to be too much and The Flows arose in response to the great karmic debt created. Rigor punishes those whose karmic debt was too great during life. Vim and vigor transfer karma from one person to another, and Flux punishes those who refuse to be a member of the community.

After the onset of The Flows and before the people came to understand karma, many tried to continue on as normal, doing as best they could with the new changes. Every once in awhile, [[#Bronzemen|Bronzemen]] showed up to slaughter a town whose people had unknowingly accrued a large karmic debt. Fearful of these Bronzemen, people began to band together in larger groups, to better defend themselves against these atrocities. As they began to help each other more and more, the people realized that those cities those cities who worked together were never attacked by the bronze men. Thus, the Karmic Houses were born.

----

== Karmic Houses ==
At the Karmic Houses, individuals can either donate in order to accrue karma, or can partake of the offerings by exchanging in their existing karma. The masters of the Houses track an individual’s karmic balance with magical tattoos, applied in a holy ritual. These masters keep close record of the total balance of the population and will take action if they feel one has accrued too much of a debt. These 'houses' are named for the five Vigils: Death, Life, Chance, Change, and Time.

Each commandery has it's own flavor: while each house has loosely prescribed duties, many local houses blend, overlap, or are even omitted in small towns. Censuses might be taken by Life in a western barony, yet communicate their results to the House of Time in the duke's capital. The network of inter-house correspondence and responsibility is a full-time job for its clerks, and a frequent nightmare for urban migrants. The local lord is typically responsible for militia-raising, petty justice, and whatever pittance of monetary taxation might be required, but other matters of administration are left to the masters of the Houses.

=== Change ===
The '''House of Change''' doesn't just handle changing property. The house also serves as a system of schools throughout the land. Citizens can receive education through a karmic debt, or spend time teaching others to gain karma. Land registration, immigration, and professional licensing are frequently handled by the local Change house.

=== Chance ===
Most popular by far is the '''House of Chance''', where legalized gambling of all sorts takes place. If one makes good on his wagers, he comes away with cash- but also a karmic debt. Conversely, if one pays into the house with their losses, a karmic gain is granted... with an overhead fee, of course. Should a territory be inclined toward elections, the house of Chance will often officially oversee them. Many ports are governed by the house of Chance, not just from the metaphysical nature of risky sea ventures, but also as a convenient place sailors spend their time.

=== Death ===
The '''House of Death''' serves to exact the final price for karma. Bounties are placed on those who have too great a debt of karma, and positive karma can be obtained by collecting these. When a local lord needs justice at a scale above their jurisdiction or means, the House is called upon to meet the task.

=== Life ===
The '''House of Life''' provides healing and midwifery for the price of karma, and volunteering time or supplies buys positive karma here. Most have a records section for births and deaths, and are the center of public health administration—even sewers.

=== Time ===
The '''House of Time''' provides slaves and servants who have bought their karmic debt down with the promise of subservience. These laborers are often fiercely loyal to their debt, even refusing freedom when liberated by conquering armies. Infrastructure, surveillance, and many long-term tasks are left to the House of Time to devise.

=== Clerks and Clerics ===
The bureaucracy of the Houses of Karma employs many Clerics, not as representatives of a god (at least officially, some Clerics do rever the nominal patron of the House), but as enforcers and exemplars of the Houses's laws.

Those Clerics may select from the following domains:

'''Chance''': Order, Tempest, War

'''Change''': Arcana, Knowledge, Light, Order

'''Death''': Death, Grave, Order

'''Life''': Life, Order

'''Time''': Nature, Order

== Bronzemen ==

As recently as four hundred years ago and as far back as the early origins of the Houses, there are written accounts, perhaps apocryphal, about men made of bronze who brutally murdered those whose karmic debt became too great.

The earliest accounts speak of the Houses of Karma being created to prevent one's debt from becoming too great and causing an encounter with these automatons. Since the careful recording keeping of the masters became public and the tattoos of Houses became common, there have been no record of these creatures.

Whether something similar existed to inspire the stories or they were just (as other sources claim) the early enforcers of the House of Death, the mythical Bronzemen remain a common children's tale in the Holy Kingdom of Zantaashi.

Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T23:44:41Z

Ariese:

Mondevai: a Dungeons and Dragons setting where giant quakes rearrange the bustling cities, tumultuous oceans, and lush forests in an unending rearrangement. Nations strive and people toil for supremacy in a world bathed in chaos. Immortals wander among men, trying to preserve the little of a forgotten paradise that remains. The planet, cracked along thousands of unnatural faults, is drawn after the artifacts they hold.

* Setting Information: [[Setting]]

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Mondevai]]

Log-ins are requested but not required for Mondevai content.

Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T23:43:50Z

Ariese:

Mondevai: a 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons setting where giant quakes rearrange the bustling cities, tumultuous oceans, and lush forests in an unending rearrangement. Nations strive and people toil for supremacy in a world bathed in chaos. Immortals wander among men, trying to preserve the little of a forgotten paradise that remains. The planet, cracked along thousands of unnatural faults, is drawn after the artifacts they hold.

* Setting Information: [[Setting]]

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Mondevai]]

Log-ins are requested but not required for Mondevai content.

Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T23:43:14Z

Ariese:

Mondevai: a 5th edition world where giant quakes rearrange the bustling cities, tumultuous oceans, and lush forests in an unending rearrangement. Nations strive and people toil for supremacy in a world bathed in chaos. Immortals wander among men, trying to preserve the little of a forgotten paradise that remains. The planet, cracked along thousands of unnatural faults, is drawn after the artifacts they hold.

* Setting Information: [[Setting]]

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Mondevai]]

Log-ins are requested but not required for Mondevai content.

Main Page

2025-11-23T23:42:44Z

Ariese: Protected "Main Page" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

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Main Page

2025-11-23T23:42:24Z

Ariese: Replaced content with "<div class="mp-col"> {{Main Page/Box | title = Mondevai and Alush Campaign Setting Wiki | content = {{Main Page/Welcome_Banner}} }} </div> <div class="mp-row"> <div class="mp-col"> {{Main Page/Box | title = Mondevai | content = {{Main Page/Mondevai}} }} </div> <div class="mp-col"> {{Main Page/Box | title = Alush | content = {{Main Page/Alush}} }} </div> </div>"

Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T23:42:17Z

Ariese:

Mondevai: a 5th edition world where giant quakes rearrange the bustling cities, tumultuous oceans, and lush forests in an unending rearrangement. Nations strive and people toil for supremacy in a world bathed in chaos. Immortals wander among men, trying to preserve the little of a forgotten paradise that remains. The planet, cracked along thousands of unnatural faults, is drawn after the artifacts they hold.

* Setting Information: [[Setting]]
* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Mondevai]]

Log-ins are requested but not required for Mondevai content.

Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T23:40:04Z

Ariese:

Template:Main Page/Alush

2025-11-23T23:30:43Z

Ariese:

'''Alush''' is a tabletop roleplaying game about community, transformation, and survival in a world that is constantly growing—literally. You and your fellow player will take on the roles of Player Characters (PCs) called Guardians: chosen figures entrusted to protect and guide their people, the residents of a small community called an Alush, as it grows in a strange and shifting land.

* Learn the rules: [[Alush Rules]]

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Alush]]

Alush '''requires''' login to a player account to view some information.

Template:Main Page/Welcome Banner

2025-11-23T23:25:34Z

Ariese: Created page with "Welcome to the landing page for the Mondevai and Alush campaign settings."

Welcome to the landing page for the Mondevai and Alush campaign settings.

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2025-11-23T23:09:16Z

Ariese:

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2025-11-23T23:01:47Z

Ariese:

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Template:Main Page/Mondevai

2025-11-23T22:55:03Z

Ariese: Created page with "'''Mondevai''' Some stuff about the setting * Campaign Logs: Book of Mondevai"

'''[[Setting|Mondevai]]'''

Some stuff about the setting

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Mondevai]]

Template:Main Page/Alush

2025-11-23T22:52:00Z

Ariese: Created page with "'''Alush''' Some stuff about the setting * Campaign Logs: Book of Alush * Learn the rules: Alush Rules"

'''[[Alush]]'''

Some stuff about the setting

* Campaign Logs: [[Book of Alush]]

* Learn the rules: [[Alush Rules]]

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2025-11-23T22:48:15Z

Ariese:

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2025-11-23T22:47:28Z

Ariese: Created page with "<div class="mp-box"> <div class="mp-box-title">{{{title}}}</div> <div class="mp-box-content"> {{{content}}} </div> </div>"

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The Ginwil Frontier

2025-11-23T02:34:28Z

Ariese: /* Recommended Pages */

A wine festival dominates the city of [[Puerto Desafiar]], a moment of revelry before an expedition from [[Zantaashi]] sets out to the unexplored continent of [[Ginwil]].

== Players ==
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="5"|[[The Ginwil Frontier]]
|-
!colspan="5"|Winter 2025 - Ongoing
|-
!Player
!Name
!Race
!Class
!Levels
|-
| Devin
| ???
| ???
| Cleric (???)
| 1+
|-
| Fallon
| ???
| ???
| Monk
| 1+
|-
| Pam
| ???
| Yuan-Ti
| Paladin (Crown)
| 1+
|-
| Tiffany
| ???
| ???
| ???
| 1+
|}

----

== Recommended Pages ==
''' Mechanical: '''

[[Races]] of the world, to select from.

[[Herbalism]] and Alchemy, as practiced in Zantaashi.

'''Geographical:'''

[[Puerto Desafiar]]: The city the adventure begins in, at the height of the summer wine festival.

[[Setting|Mondevai]], a brief introduction to the setting.

[[Letier|A Map]] of the known world as of 1809 DGC. The campaign takes place in the 1820s, and some lands may have [[Shift|shifted]] since.

[[Rivers]] of the world. Many of these descend beneath the surface, pass through the Underdark and beyond, and resurface elsewhere in the world.

'''Political:'''

[[Zantaashi]] is the nation of origin for the Expedition.

[[Confederacy_of_the_Scale|The Confederacy of the Scale]] is a multi-national treaty dedicated to preserving the arcane and religious mysteries of [[Sigil]].

[[Tri-Cartel_Blanche|The Tri-Cartel Blanche]] are three guilds that span across most nations and have become powers to rival nations.

'''Religious and Philosophical:'''

[[Sylvanism]], a broad catch-all for elven relgions. This page discribes one of the more common belief set.

[[Karmic_Houses|The Houses of Karma]], a national philosophy of Zantaashi.

[[Cosmic_Church|The Cosmic Church]], the most prevalent religion on the continent of Letier. Unlikely to matter to the players, but any foreign members of the expedition may adhere to a branch. Due to the Confederacy, the religion has some presence in Zantaashi.

'''Historical and Legendary:'''

[[Myths_and_Legends|Mythical figures]] in the world.

[[Elynd]], the arch-fey that are said to live deep in forests or in the Feywild storm.

[[Enclaves]] are remnants of the ancient city of Sigil, full of mysteries and artifacts.

'''Arcane:'''

[[Fahrstone]], a critical resource in the world, protecting civilization from an otherwise inhospitable environment.

[[The_Flows|The Flows]], the sources of magic in the world. This page needs to be updated.

== Journal Links ==
[[Ginwil_Frontier_Journal|Journal]]

----

== Major NPCs ==

----

== Miscellaneous Documents ==

----

[[Category:Beachfront_Real_Estate]]
[[Category:Campaign_Hub]]

The Ginwil Frontier

2025-11-23T02:32:56Z

Ariese: /* Players */

A wine festival dominates the city of [[Puerto Desafiar]], a moment of revelry before an expedition from [[Zantaashi]] sets out to the unexplored continent of [[Ginwil]].

== Players ==
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="5"|[[The Ginwil Frontier]]
|-
!colspan="5"|Winter 2025 - Ongoing
|-
!Player
!Name
!Race
!Class
!Levels
|-
| Devin
| ???
| ???
| Cleric (???)
| 1+
|-
| Fallon
| ???
| ???
| Monk
| 1+
|-
| Pam
| ???
| Yuan-Ti
| Paladin (Crown)
| 1+
|-
| Tiffany
| ???
| ???
| ???
| 1+
|}

----

== Recommended Pages ==
'''Geographical:'''

[[Puerto Desafiar]]: The city the adventure begins in, at the height of the summer wine festival.

[[Setting|Mondevai]], a brief introduction to the setting.

[[Letier|A Map]] of the known world as of 1809 DGC. The campaign takes place in the 1820s, and some lands may have [[Shift|shifted]] since.

[[Rivers]] of the world. Many of these descend beneath the surface, pass through the Underdark and beyond, and resurface elsewhere in the world.

'''Political:'''

[[Zantaashi]] is the nation of origin for the Expedition.

[[Confederacy_of_the_Scale|The Confederacy of the Scale]] is a multi-national treaty dedicated to preserving the arcane and religious mysteries of [[Sigil]].

[[Tri-Cartel_Blanche|The Tri-Cartel Blanche]] are three guilds that span across most nations and have become powers to rival nations.

'''Religious and Philosophical:'''

[[Sylvanism]], a broad catch-all for elven relgions. This page discribes one of the more common belief set.

[[Karmic_Houses|The Houses of Karma]], a national philosophy of Zantaashi.

[[Cosmic_Church|The Cosmic Church]], the most prevalent religion on the continent of Letier. Unlikely to matter to the players, but any foreign members of the expedition may adhere to a branch. Due to the Confederacy, the religion has some presence in Zantaashi.

'''Historical and Legendary:'''

[[Myths_and_Legends|Mythical figures]] in the world.

[[Elynd]], the arch-fey that are said to live deep in forests or in the Feywild storm.

[[Enclaves]] are remnants of the ancient city of Sigil, full of mysteries and artifacts.

'''Arcane:'''

[[Fahrstone]], a critical resource in the world, protecting civilization from an otherwise inhospitable environment.

[[The_Flows|The Flows]], the sources of magic in the world. This page needs to be updated.

== Journal Links ==
[[Ginwil_Frontier_Journal|Journal]]

----

== Major NPCs ==

----

== Miscellaneous Documents ==

----

[[Category:Beachfront_Real_Estate]]
[[Category:Campaign_Hub]]

Herbalism

2025-11-23T02:30:22Z

Ariese: /* Crafting Potions */

THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===
Players can perform Alchemy Attempts, which are the equivalent to Rituals. This process takes 10 minutes to complete and results in a single dose of your concoction.

To start a basic Alchemy Attempt, select an ingredient to work with. Ingredients have the term Effect in front of the description. When crafting, you can only have one of these base ingredients unless an ingredient says otherwise.

Once you have your base ingredient, you can add other up to 3 other ingredients that have the Modifier term in front of the description. Total up the DC adjustment values for the ingredients to find the difficulty of the Alchemy attempt.

: '''Alchemy Attempt DC''' = 10 + all ingredient difficulty modifiers combined.

On a successful Alchemy Attempt roll, you create the vial of paste, powder, or liquid. On a failure, the vial’s contents don’t look exactly like they should. It is up to the DM to decide whether the character knows if the potion will work correctly.

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are, in order from most debilitating to most vitalizing: '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T02:29:59Z

Ariese: /* Crafting Potions */

THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===
Players can perform Alchemy Attempts, which are the equivalent to Rituals. This process takes 10 minutes to complete and results in a single dose of your concoction.

To start a basic Alchemy Attempt, select an ingredient to work with. Ingredients have the term Effect in front of the description. When crafting, you can only have one of these base ingredients unless an ingredient says otherwise.

Once you have your base ingredient, you can add other up to 3 other ingredients that have the Modifier term in front of the description. Total up the DC adjustment values for the ingredients to find the difficulty of the Alchemy attempt.

: '''Alchemy Attempt''' DC = 10 + all ingredient difficulty modifiers combined.

On a successful Alchemy Attempt roll, you create the vial of paste, powder, or liquid. On a failure, the vial’s contents don’t look exactly like they should. It is up to the DM to decide whether the character knows if the potion will work correctly.

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are, in order from most debilitating to most vitalizing: '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T02:25:12Z

Ariese:

THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are, in order from most debilitating to most vitalizing: '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:39:22Z

Ariese: /* Alchemical Theory */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are, in order from most debilitating to most vitalizing: '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:38:43Z

Ariese: /* Alchemical Theory */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are, in order from most debilitating to most beneficial: '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:38:02Z

Ariese: /* Alchemy */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.
=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Alchemical Theory ===
Alchemists in Zantaashi classify ingredients into one of seven categories, depending on their Base Effect. These are '''Staticizing, Ruining, Decaying, Enduring, Incorporating, Expanding,''' and '''Innovating'''. In addition to providing a clue as to their usage, it also aids in quickly determining the most effective antidote and relevant Revector ingredients.

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

When multiple ''different'' Revector Effects would trigger at the same time (if, for instance, both potions have two Base Effects), randomly determine which Revector triggers.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
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| ???
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|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:33:06Z

Ariese: /* Revectors */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revector Effects ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. When an Uncommon or higher rarity ingredient is used in a brew and that potion is ingested during the effect of another potion, the second brew's '''Revector''' effect may trigger.

Each ingredient has a Revector (though it takes a skilled herbalist to discover it). This denotes the Family of the ingredient that must be in the first potion to trigger the Revector effect. The type of effect is determined by the Family of the Base Effect and the Family and Rarity of the Revector. See the example in the next section.

Common ingredients do not have new Revector effects. Instead, they act as antidotes, allowing the imbiber to make an immediate Constitution Save with advantage against the effect of their Revector.

Revector Effects are often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
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|-
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| ???
|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:24:14Z

Ariese: /* Identifying Ingredients */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns the '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-23T01:22:02Z

Ariese: /* Ingredients */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==
Life: Shift 1 ↑
Death: Shift 1 ↓
Chance: Shift random
Change: Shift ↑ or ↓ to the middle
Time: Tag allows other tags to pick which activates

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="6"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Revector
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-22T20:00:00Z

Ariese: /* Ingredients */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="7"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Reactive Effect(s)
!Revector(s)
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
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|-
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| ???
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| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
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|-
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|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:59:04Z

Ariese: /* Ingredients */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Reactive Effect(s)
!Revectors
!DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
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| ???
|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:58:47Z

Ariese: /* Ingredients */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Base Effect
!Reactive Effect(s)
!Revectors
|DC
!Source
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
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|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:57:44Z

Ariese: /* Alchemy */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

=== Revectors ===
When two potions combine, frequently when the second is given as an antidote to the first, the ingredients inside may react with each other to cause new, dramatic effects to take place. This is often used by wealthy Zantaashi over the course of an expensive dinner party to demonstrate both their skill at poisoncraft and provide entertainment for their erudite or high-society guests. For large, important gatherings guests can expect to be imbibing several largely-harmless effects during the dishes of the evening, and often check in with an alchemist employed by the host's estate beforehand if they have concerns.

== Transmutation ==

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Details
|DC
!Found in
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
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|-
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|-
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|}

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:53:02Z

Ariese:

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

== Transmutation ==

== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
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!Ingredient
!Rarity
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Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:52:07Z

Ariese: /* Preservation */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking. Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

=== Known Ingredients ===
== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Details
|DC
!Found in
|-
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|-
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|}

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

== Transmutation ==

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:51:54Z

Ariese: /* Preservation */

Poison occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Herbalists are not an uncommon sight deep in the marshes, braving the wild dangers to find rare ingredients for new toxins. Even children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.
Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages. Members of the different Houses of Karma are able to cast ‘’’Purify Food and Drink’’’ on certain compounds to draw out different potentials depending on the secret House techniques used.
Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo. What’s more, each toxin tends to have more than one potential ‘’revector,’’ a compound that acts not just as an antidote, but changes the initial poison into one with a different effect.
== Herbalism ==
The process of gathering ingredients can be a risky and rewarding endeavour. When travelling the swamps of Zantaashi or the forests of Ginwil, a character can attempt to use their Herbalism kit and skills to seek out these reagents to sell or make their own elixirs. Inside encounter areas, a character that sees a potential ingredient can attempt an Herbalism roll to collect the specific reagents. During downtime or travel, they can also attempt (at intervals of the GM’s discretion) to harvest ingredients along their path. In either situation, the roll is a D20 plus their Herbalism Modifier:
: '''Herbalism Modifier''' = WIS or INT Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a Herbalism Kit you’re proficient with.

=== Identifying Ingredients ===
After the player has gathered some ingredients, the DM can determine whether or not the character has past experience with it. This can be done either through a quick decision by the DM, or by rolling for the knowledge. If the second option is chosen, the player would perform an Herbalism check at a DC of 10 + DC
Difficulty of the ingredient (see below for rare ingredients).

If the player fails the roll, the character does not recognize the ingredient enough to understand its purpose. Another attempt can be made after the player has researched more about the ingredient, or has another party member identify it for them. A player cannot roll again for the same ingredient if they do not
already know what it is, or have gained insight on it.

If the player succeeded the roll, the character recognizes the ingredient and has a general idea of what it can do as a '''Base Effect''' in a concoction. Additionally, if the player surpassed the DC by 5 or more, the character learns a '''Reactive Effect''' or '''Revector''' of that ingredient. See the ''Alchemy'' section below for more information.

=== Gathering During Gameplay ===
''Rules for gathering ingredients are from ''"Herbalism and Alchemy v1.2"'', by Dalagrath.''

In between the dungeon delving, the sword slashing and the spell casting, the players usually have a period of rest. Many occasions call for a short or long rest during these times. Gathering plants or herbs is not considered a strenuous activity, and does not interrupt the resting periods that allow movement.

For these occasions, a player would announce to their DM that they would like to gather some plant life around the area. The player would then roll a DC 15 Herbalism check. Remember, a player can use a Herbalism Kit to increase their total modifier by their proficiency bonus if they are proficient with the kit as well.

=== Gathering During Downtime and Travel ===
During periods in between sessions, also known as Downtime, a player can perform an Herbalism check as well. As a general rule, a party can roll once for gathering ingredients per day of travel during downtime, or for every day in game time if the party isn’t going to be traveling. Gathering from the same location, or in a major city, may yield diminished or no results.

A successful gathering check results in the same fashion as if gathering during the session.

=== Preservation ===
Ingredients used in alchemical potion-making are at the very least ''slightly'' magical. As such, their effects begin to wane shortly after picking.

Most ingredients only last about a day in game time before losing their full potential. If used past this time period, the concoction can have slightly altered effects, or not work at all.

A good way to preserve ingredients from expiring too early is to use an '''Ingredient Pouch''' (25 gp, 1 lb). Every pouch operates differently, but costs the same. Some of these pouches keep the ingredients dry, while others merely remove oxygen from the container. Any style of these pouches extends the ingredient life of floral ingredients to a week, and ingredients of animal or monstrous origin to a month.

Many House and private alchemists maintain home-grown stocks of floral ingredients so that they always have a supply on hand when they need it. Players with five of the same type of floral ingredient may combine them with a '''Fahrric Pot''' (250 gp, 10 lbs) to grow small supply of their own. Rather than producing a measured quantity, these pots (assuming they are kept watered and lit), grant the player access to a single reagent of that type each day that cannot be stockpiled.

=== Known Ingredients ===
== Ingredients ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:middle; width: 100%;"
!colspan="5"|Ingredients
|-
!Ingredient
!Rarity
!Details
|DC
!Found in
|-
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
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|-
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| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

== Alchemy ==

: '''Alchemy Modifier''' = INT or WIS Modifier + Proficiency Bonus if using a valid tool you’re proficient with.

=== Crafting Potions ===

== Transmutation ==

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:43:54Z

Ariese:

Herbalism

2025-11-22T19:19:52Z

Ariese:

Zantaashi

2025-11-22T18:59:50Z

Ariese: /* Poisoncraft */

[[Image:Mirelands.png|thumb|right|300px|A small town in the Mirelands.]]

The Holy Kingdom of Zantaashi has traditionally held that it is their duty to restore the karmic balance to the world, in the hopes of eventually ridding the world of The Flows. Having acknowledged that the fey live in relative karmic balance with nature, and being content to leave them alone for the time being, the Holy Kingdom focused much of its efforts on conquering and converting the reptilian states.

Unable to break the stalemate between the reptilian nations, the Holy Kingdom has turned to the study of the past. Children are encouraged to join the Archeralds’ Guild and to seek out new Enclaves. According to the laws of the Holy Kingdom, any Enclave discovered by a citizen becomes the property of the kingdom. The Kingdom has expanded this way, bringing its Karmic Houses to new places as citizens discover more Enclaves and the Kingdom gains the right to build around them.

== The Mirelands ==
The mainland of Zantaashi is a large island called, simply, the Mirelands. Aside from a single large mountain called Urien’s Baffle, the island is a perpetually humid swamp of mangrove-lined canals and floating reed plains.

The high ziggurats of the Houses of Karma do more than provide the bureaucracy of the Kingdom. These monumental stone structures dot even the wilderness, acting as Fahrstone anchor-nodes that resist Shifts and provide a navigation point amid the ever changing canals.
Cartographers’ Guild explorers find consistent work, charting and recharting paths through reeds after each Shift.

=== Life in the Swamp ===
==== Structures ====
The houses of Karma rise tall from a shifting marsh, but everything beneath them is flexible: wooden galleries, draped cloths, reed-canopies, and walkway-nets that can be rebuilt after Shifts. Many homes are even built aboard reed islands, able to be moved to a more prosperous location when needed.

Homes and districts revolve around the Houses. Beyond their Karmic duty, each house is a stone vault to hold the Fahrstone of the district or hamlet safe from fire and theft. The lower hall of the house is a gathering place for community decisions and announcements. A larger ziggurat in a town or city will likely see citizens employed (or indentured) in the House of Change to teach children with its walls.

Wealthier individuals who can afford both Fahrstone and building stone raise their own rocky manors on hills. The houses are often whitewashed stone walls and tile-roofed in the traditional black and teal colors of the Kingdom. Patterns in the walls echo snake coils, water vortexes, grapevines, and cyclical karmic diagrams. It's common to see these echoed on family sashes and jewelry. Red, black, and gold are common accent colors, often used to offset (or obscure) Karmic tattoos.
==== Urban Life ====
Zantaashi cities are wet labyrinths of stone sanctums, floating gardens, clan-courtyards, and reed markets.

The markets of Zantaashi are lively and fragrant, spread along broad stone causeways or set atop rafts tethered to wooden posts. Merchants call out from beneath draped canopies, offering fermented grape-liquors, lacquered reed-baskets, medicinal venoms, and brightly dyed silks.
Boats glide through the canals bearing fish, vegetables from floating gardens, and travelers moving between the quarters. Lanterns hung from bamboo poles illuminate the waterways at night, their reflections doubling the warm light on the mirror-still surface.

Music is ever-present: reed flutes, hand drums, and the soft chime of metal ornaments stitched into dancers’ garments.
Wine is a focal point of any evening. The local vintage reigns supreme, as every town of repute has a vineyard or two to mirror the great Enclave of the capital, but merchants keep a steady supply of new vintages (and news) flowing through taverns and boathouses.
==== On the Hills ====
[[Image:YTN.png|thumb|right|300px|A Yuan-Ti noble surveys his vineyard.]]
Elevation is uncommon for much of the kingdom, but shifts often leave small crests in the swamp. Out of the bog, these are prized locations to establish a vineyard within an easy journey of a town.

Petty lords and rich merchants use the solid foundation to raise more sprawling manors. The broader world of the aristocrat has led to a stylistic fusion of these manors: they feature the broad carved-stone bases of the House ziggurats holding up a Tibanese-style villa. Clay tile roofs of teal and wide courtyards host elaborate tasting parties for the wealthy of the region, and the hands of the Houses have found it difficult to reach beyond their walls.

==== In the Reeds ====
Beyond the stone causeways and canals, the marsh opens into a quieter world of reed villages and drifting homesteads. Life in these rural stretches is slower, shaped by the murmur of water against stilts and the soft rustle of wind through towering reed-beds.

Houses here are light and flexible things: woven walls of reeds, roofs thatched with marshgrass, and planks strung atop pilings sunk deep into the silt. Entire hamlets can be moved over a season if the channels change, and many families treat Shift relocation as a simple fact of life rather than catastrophe. Children learn to read the marsh by its scents and currents, following the subtle changes in color that foretell a new waterway or a sinking platform.

Narrow walkways connect home to home, though most travel is done by punt or paddle. Fishers rise before dawn to cast nets into mirror-flat shallows, while reedcutters move through the fields at a safe Flux distance from each other, harvesting tall stalks that will become baskets, mats, and the very walls that shelter them. Floating gardens drift between households, anchored just long enough to tend the crops before being guided downstream to fresher soil.

Evenings in the reedlands are marked by small gatherings rather than celebration. Families sit on low platforms above darkening water, cooking stews of riverfish and leafy marsh vegetables. Oil-lamps made from hollow gourds hang from the rafters, their glow softened by woven shades. Far from the noise of the cities, music is gentle—quiet flute songs, simple reed-harps, and the steady rhythm of oars tapping lightly against boat hulls.

Wine is rarer here, treasured and reserved for festivals or the arrival of distant kin. More common is a mild tea brew, technically illegal, steeped in clay jars and sipped while listening to the chorus of frogs that rises with the night. Travelers from the cities often remark that time seems to slow in the reedlands.
==== What to Wear ====
[[Image:Hathphool.png|thumb|left|125px|A traditional Yuan-ti Hathphool over the karmic tattoo.]]
Zantaashi fashion favors draped, layered garments suited for humidity. Common attire includes light wraps of moth-eel silk, prized for their coolness and subtle scale-pattern shimmer. Formal coats feature braided collars with embedded serpentine scales.

Many wear sashes showing House employment, woven with the serpentine sigils. For coming-of-age or other important dates, many Yuan-Ti receive Karmic Hathphools: jewelry that fastens around the dominant hand of a person, highlighting and decorating their Karmic tattoo. This and other jewelry is often jade, obsidian, or worked gold, typically carved into flowing, cyclical motifs.

Face paints of white, teal, or cinnabar are worn for festivals, rites, and formal court appearances. Certain colors denote karmic status; others are simply favored by particular aristocratic houses.

=== The Houses of Karma ===
See: [[Karmic Houses]]
=== Etiquette ===
Zantaashi culture is structured around visible karma, measured speech, and ritualized respect. The Houses may administer law, but it is etiquette that governs daily life. Even small breaches can cause karmic suspicion, loss of face, or formal censure in harsher cities.
Greetings are performed with the dominant hand, gentle rapping backs of hands, displayed so the Karmic tattoo can be seen. To conceal the mark during a greeting is a grave discourtesy unless one is a child.

Speech is expected to be careful, almost musical. Interrupting is considered a mark of spiritual imbalance. It is customary to pause briefly before answering a question—signaling that one has weighed the karmic weight of the response. Outsiders often mistake this for hesitation.
Colors communicate mood and status. White indicates ritual cleansing or bureaucratic duty. Teal marks one as engaged in honorable business. Red is reserved for celebration or award. Cinnabar warns of karmic impurity; to wear it casually is scandalous. Gold is a privilege of nobles and House officials.

Hospitality follows ancient marsh custom similar to most cultures in Mondevai. A visitor offered sustenance (here; wine, fish stew, or bread) must take at least one bite; refusal implies distrust of the host’s karma. Guests who stay overnight must leave a token of gratitude—often a woven charm, a thimble of an antidote, or a small glass bead.

Public behavior emphasizes quiet dignity. Loud laughter, weeping, or shouting is frowned upon except during festivals. Many citizens wear small charms or Hathphool chains to dampen nervous fidgeting, as restless hands are believed to leak good karma into the air.

House etiquette is strictest. One must enter a House by climbing every one of the tall Ziggurat steps, avoid stepping on engraved serpent motifs, and never speak while passing beneath a house banner. Violations are rarely punished harshly, but are remembered by house officials—accumulated slights can affect one’s treatment by bureaucrats for years.

Insults are subtle. Calling someone “unanchored” implies instability. Observing that a person “walks quickly for one with a heavy karma” is a sharp rebuke. The greatest insult is to publicly call attention to someone’s tattoo and ask if the glow seems dimmer than last week.
==== Poisoncraft ====
[[Herbalism|Poison]] occupies a complex, paradoxical place in Zantaashi life—feared, revered, and thoroughly normalized. Where Marrans treat poison as criminal and Tiban view it as dishonorable, Zantaashi regard it as a tool of balance, a teacher, and a reminder of the fragility of mortal existence.

Every household keeps at least one venom tonic, used in tiny doses to treat fever, open the senses, or guard the stomach against swamp water parasites. Children are taught early to recognize the smell of common plant venoms and the color shifts that mark dangerous herbs.

Artisanal poisoners, licensed by the local House of Life or Death, operate much like apothecaries. Their shops sell soporific reeds, venom salves, antitoxins, incense that sharpens the mind, and tinctures that—when ritually applied—are said to “brighten the karmic mark.” These poisoners are considered valuable businesses, and many come from respected lineages.

Ritual poisons play a major role in House ceremonies. Initiates ingest a carefully measured venom draft known as The Narrow Path, meant to bring clarity and focus. During certain festivals, nobles carry jewel-encrusted vials of symbolic poison that they drip into reflecting pools to ward off spiritual stagnation. As antidotes are crafted alongside their poisons by tradition, dangerous games of vigor are held in the House of Chance and private salons.

Justice can involve poison as well. Minor disputes may be resolved through the Dewdrop Test, in which both parties place a droplet of neutralizing tonic upon their karmic tattoos. Lies cause both the immediate loss of Karma and a painful burning sensation. More serious accusations may involve a “choice of trials,” one of which is the Serpent’s Sip: a tiny dose of venom accompanied by meditation. Surviving without distress is taken as a sign of innocence.

Agriculture relies on poison as well. Vineyard keepers burn venom smoke in the evenings to drive off pests, and certain fruit trees in the hills are pruned using toxin-coated blades to discourage parasitic growth.

The Legions use poisons with great care. The Second Legion in particular maintains an elite corps who craft battlefield venoms. These are rarely lethal—Zantaashi doctrine holds that needless death disrupts karmic flow—but can numb limbs, cloud the mind, or make enemies near their limits fall into a helpless slumber.

Social perception varies by region. Rural reed-folk respect poison as a tool of survival; urban Zantaashi regard it as an art and a philosophical discipline. Nobles wear Hathphool with miniature venom-pendants as symbols of self-control. Only the most devout ascetics avoid poison entirely, believing their karmic mark must remain untouched.

Criminal use is harshly punished, but even criminals tend to use nonlethal toxins. Purposefully crafting a venom with no antidote is a near-sacred taboo—such actions can result in karmic censure, exile, or the rare penalty known as Tattoo Unmaking, where one’s Karmic mark is ritually extinguished and blackened, marking the individual as no longer welcome in society.

=== Military ===
For centuries, the Holy Kingdom waged war on and off with the reptilian states on Letier. They focused mainly on the Tibanese states, with the intention of expanding to the Marran Empire once they had conquered the free states. For a time, it appeared as though the yuan-ti kingdom would win and their lands would all be subsumed. However, some of the city-states, seeing their doom, joined forces with the Marran Empire to the south.

The Holy Kingdom could not stand long against the combined forces of the navies of the Marran Empire and the fiercely independent Tibanese fighters. Eventually, they were forced to accept their defeat. One hundred and fifty years ago, the Marran Empire and the Free States of Tiban forced the yuan-ti to sign a treaty, joining the Confederacy of the Scale and disbanding their standing army.

The Karmic Houses were compelled to dissolve the royal host. For a century the kingdom possessed only marsh-wardens, canal guards, and ceremonial Karmic guild-watchers, many of whom served more as bureaucrats than soldiers.

When the Turathi threat arose, this restriction was lifted. A single legion was raised and committed to the Confederacy’s march eastward. Though small in number, the Zantaashi contingent earned great renown for its discipline, its uncanny adaptability to difficult terrain, and its mastery of poisonous warfare.

In the half century since the razing of Turath, the kingdom has expanded its forces to three legions and a modest marsh-navy, each shaped as much by the doctrines of the Karmic Houses as by the marsh that defines Zantaashi life.

The Zantaashi military is considered disciplined (though unusual in doctrine) and especially terrain-adapted. They are adept in poisoncraft, though lack the magical might or shock troops of the other Scale armies.

Confederacy joint commanders guarding the demonic desert frequently pair a Zantaashi detachment with Marran engineering units or Tiban light cavalry for balanced operations.

==== Structure of the Modern Forces ====
Each Zantaashi legion is built around a distinct philosophy and maintains its own traditions, insignia, weapons, and recruitment pools. All three report to the king officially, who acts as a commander in chief at the pleasure of the Karmic Houses.
==== The First Legion ====
Diplomats’ elite honor-guards, ceremonial detachments, and (limited) magical support, this elite Legion was the second to be raised: as an enforcement and political arm of the Houses.

Their armor is pale, nearly white, etched with silver serpents. Robes of teal or sunset-red cloak the metal. Their officers wear crescent-shaped diadems and elaborate Hathphool set with moonstone.

In rare cases, the First acts as internal police for the Karmic Houses. Their officers occasionally serve as Confederacy representatives abroad.
==== The Second Legion ====
Skirmishers, ambushers, scouts, poisoners, and marsh-light infantry. They wear light, angular armor of layered reed-plates reinforced with serpent-scale motifs. Face coverings are common: half-masks shaped like stylized fangs or coils. Many wear glowing Karmic Hathphool indicating battle-readiness.

Despite their name, it's the Second Legion that has the longest history. They were raised to fight in the Turathi marsh as skirmishers; a necessary role for the invasion and one the other scale nations completely lacked.

They’re trained for ambushes, night operations, and poison warfare. During their original tour, they also served as forward scouts for the Confederacy campaign.
==== The Third Legion ====
Defensive specialists, combat engineers, shield-lines, and heavy infantry. Heavily armored for a marsh culture, though “heavy” by Zantaashi standards still means articulated plates over treated leather.

This legion was raised for the defense of holdings both domestic and foreign. They specialize in holding causeways, securing Fahrstone emplacements, fighting in tight formations, and the construction of temporary walkways and floating forts.

Their armor plates are lacquered a deep teal, inlaid with pale stone. Helmets resemble stylized serpent-heads with narrow sight slits.

Traditional kit includes:
Short, broad marsh-cleavers
Long spears used for both fighting and maneuvering over swampy terrain
Tower shields made of lacquered reeds.
==== The Marsh Navy ====
A small fleet meant for patrolling reed-channels, escorting merchant routes, and projecting presence in the shallow seas around the Mirelands.

Their vessels are low-draft, ornate, and lightly armed, but crewed by some of the most skilled small-water navigators in Mondevai.

Vessel Types:
Reedcutters
Fast patrol craft made of resin-sealed reeds over a shallow frame. Used for scouting and border enforcement.

Glassbacks
Medium war-boats with hulls strengthened by a lacquered reed-glass composite. Their bows curve upward like serpent heads, sometimes bearing a Fahrstone casing.

Harvest Barges
Heavily modified agricultural platforms that can serve as floating troop-stages in wartime. Slow, but nearly unsinkable.
== Politics ==
=== Zantaashi Aristocracy ===
The aristocracy of Zantaashi is a carefully pruned vine: once sprawling, violent, and unruly, but now trained into a narrow trellis defined almost entirely by the law of Enclave discovery. Though the King is ceremonially “first among nobles,” it is the Karmic Houses who choose the sovereign, oversee the aristocratic rolls, and regulate noble privileges. The nobles themselves constitute a small, wealthy caste whose claims to authority vary wildly in antiquity, legitimacy, and actual landholdings.

==== Origins of the Aristocracy (Pre-Treaty) ====
Before the Treaty of the Scale was signed, Zantaashi aristocrats arose through three primary means: conquest, control of a mighty enclave, or (later) Karmic mandate.

In the centuries before the marsh-palaces and Karmic bureaucracy matured, Zantaashi was a loose archipelago of reed-clan strongholds. A noble lineage was often founded by a chief who controlled a defensible stretch of marsh, a canal chokepoint, or an enclave with military use. These proto-enclave lords were often the most stable of the old aristocracy.

These early nobles commanded private armies, held slaves, raided rival lineages for tribute, and erected the first ziggurats for their personal Karmic priests. Their rule was charisma-based and frequently ended in blood.

As the Karmic Houses consolidated power, they began “officially” granting noble status to individuals who performed great services. These were the Mandated Nobles, considered more legitimate than the warlords but rarely militarily powerful.

==== The Old Houses Today ====
Only five of the ancient lineages survive in recognizable form. They are called the Pale Serpents — a term of both reverence and quiet mockery. Their holdings are usually tiny compared to modern enclave lords, but they command immense prestige. Their sigils are older than the Karmic Houses.

These lineages did not adapt well to the Treaty. They wear their seniority like armor but possess little real political power unless they can marry, maneuver, or luck their way into a newly found enclave. Occasionally, a member is elected King to soothe or garner support for “old ways.”
==== The New Noble Order ====
The Treaty radically redefined nobility, both in power and in the means of becoming one. While the Houses still ordain a noble, the only lawful path for ascension is to find an Enclave.

The enclave itself is not owned by the aristocrat: by law, it belongs to the Kingdom. The aristocrat only owns and rules the surface land directly above its boundaries.

Footprints vary massively in value: minor enclaves grant small garden plots, single-home holdings, or slabs of marsh, while major enclaves grant whole hills, vineyard terraces, or canal districts.

===== Inheritance =====
Aristocracy is hereditary, except in the case of severe Karmic debt. The noble title carries forward even if the physical land shifts, floods, or declines in value — which it often does.
===== Ascension =====
After uncovering an enclave and registering it with the Archeralds and House of Change, the finder is granted or elevated in rank by the size of their new holdings.

Most discovered enclaves aren’t discovered by commoners, though. Most are “found” by wealthy Houses, trading consortia, political blocs, and old noble lines trying to regain influence.

They fund exploration crews and simply install themselves as the rightful finders. This keeps the noble class numerically stable and prevents rapid upward mobility.

Private citizens do occasionally stumble across a small enclave. These “Marsh-Blessed” almost always become minor nobles with tiny holdings, tiny income, and outsized prestige. Most are quickly married into larger houses or bought out.

===== Composition =====
There are three tiers of modern nobles:

The Foundling Lords (Petty Nobility)
The majority. These are the nobles created since the Treaty. Often bureaucrats, merchants, or scholars politically entangled with one or more Karmic Houses. Their power comes from money, connections, and access to House courts. Estates range from modest marsh-holds to major canal districts.

They tend to be pragmatic, urbane, and fiercely protective of their (tiny) enclave rights. Many are simply merchants who continue running their family business with only a small bump in notoriety.

The Pale Serpents (Old Lineages)
The pre-Treaty nobility. They have ancestral prestige but diminished land. Their local House of Life contains elaborate genealogies, though they are largely suspicious of the Karmic bureaucracy.

Some branches are nearly destitute; others maintain ceremonial power through marriage alliances.

The Great Enclave-Lords
A tiny handful of nobles controlling the largest enclaves discovered since the Treaty began. Their estates are effectively small city-states, filled with wine terraces, stepped gardens, or marsh-anchors of immense importance.

They maintain private household guards and wield soft power through patronage, ritual philanthropy, and foreign marriages
The Houses watch them carefully.
=== Foreign Polities ===
So far from the busy continent of Letier, the Kingdom has few neighbors on the surface. Only the fey of Ginwil and the Migrant Holds come to call by sea. With no major uplift, trade to Zaantashi is rare as well.

Only the most adventurous traders and eager Tri-Cartel aspirants make it this far out by boat. What major trade there is to be done happens slowly and with heavy regulation through the Enclave gates.
==== Marran Empire ====
The Empire maintains a sizable embassy in Zantaashi City, but has little official presence beyond that. As the majority of archeralds are from the major cities of the Empire, there is nevertheless a cultural representation in the guild halls throughout the Kingdom. Occasional small skirmishes break out over enclave claims, but Marrans rarely win in the swamps.

Marrans typically find Zantaashi impossible to coerce, and that echoes from personal interactions to military ones: their marsh terrain and island location negates the underdark naval advantages of the Empire.

Zantaashi citizens meanwhile tend to distrust Marran mechanization, seeing it as spiritually destabilizing.
==== Tiban ====
As the two smaller members of the Confederacy of the Scale, Tibanese and Zantaashi have the fewest open conflicts because both dislike Marran hegemony.

Tibanese respect Zantaashi spirituality and adherence to their own form of honor, but view them as inscrutable due to the disparity.
Zantaashi likewise interprets Tiban honor-culture as a kind of karmic discipline.
==== Fey Kingdoms ====
The Fey Kingdoms have only a small diplomatic representation here, despite the large numbers of Hael living in the Mirelands. With no fey-dominant cities (outside of the Migrant Hold port calls in Windhaven), few trade routes, and no recent arrivals of the Feywild storm, interactions between these nations hold little formal purpose.
==== Fornmidr ====
The Forn outposts in Ginwil are a distant travel for ships, but some trade between the two nations is accomplished by Enclave gate. Dwarven stonecutters are a prized hire for the ziggurats of the Houses and the ever present need for Fahrstone keeps Zantaashi wine and peat flowing out to the mountains.

[[Category:Nations]]
[[Category:Zantaashi]]
[[Category:Yuan-ti]]