Chapter 12a – The Temple of Desna

Return of the Pharaohs

Chapter 12a – The Temple of Desna

Details

When the group approaches the Temple of Desna, they will see a large, bent, tree-shaped structure with a huge beautifully colored butterfly perched upon the horizontal trunk high overhead. Between the massive roots of the tree are openings into a grotto where groups of visitors are serenely entering and exiting. A garden swarming with live butterflies surrounds many of the visitors who are wearing colors just as varied as the butterflies themselves. Here and there, white-hooded servants, wearing the holy symbol of their goddess (purple butterfly) stand impassively near the entrances. There are about a dozen people in the shrine at this time, meditating or marveling at the central pool of greenish glowing water and plants. A few people are filling their waterskins from the fountain as the water is fresh and inviting. There is a slight conjuration magic to it and it will act as a neutralize poison but only good for one dose.

Once the party gets to the shrine, there will be no obvious way to the structure above, but at some point during the trip to the shrine the Stewards will inform them that they may gain access to the Temple at sundown this day and they should return here at that time (it is about 6 hours until sundown and they have been travelling for about 2-3 hours today since the Sphere was activated).

The party can spend the day as they wish. Some of the more interesting places they may visit are on separate sheet. One of the places is The Breath of Night (above) which is highly endorsed by Decklan, who will be parting ways at this time. If the party does not visit The Breath, Ramos will have a brief vision:

Your mind wanders for a moment, contemplating your next move, when the world around you becomes hazy and undefined. A shapely elven woman appears in front of you with large diaphanous wings that seem to be made of blue stars. In a voice that both awes and comforts you, she says “Seek the place where mortals may feel the soft brush of my hand while they explore the boundaries of night and I will smile upon thee.” Then, just as suddenly, the world becomes real again and you see your friends nearby.

Anyone who partakes of the ‘experience’ will not only gain the effects listed above but will also gain the benefits of a full night’s sleep for refreshing spells.

Sunset at the Temple

When the party returns at sunset and as the sun begins to fade across the horizon, the white-hooded servants will be ushering people out of the shrine where they are gathering in small groups in the gardens. One of the hooded attendants will gesture for the group to approach and invite them inside the shrine. Once the group is inside, they notice that there are 8 of the attendants nearby, but the remaining public are all outside in the gardens. Then a very unusual thing happens:

As the sun sets, the grotto in which you are gathered becomes almost insubstantial, however, above you your eyes are drawn to the colorful butterfly which is now very clear and glowing with countless blue points of light. A wispy spiral staircase winds its way up from where the pool used to be and up into the center of the butterfly. The white-robed attendants gesture you to follow them up the stairs.

Envyspawn – At some point, the characters may become curious about the white-robed Desna attendants and attempt to speak with them and discover what’s ‘under the hood’. While the group is on the material plane, these creatures appear as normal humans, although they are heavily shrouded in their robes. On the Dream Plane, they are also wearing robes, but their true form shows underneath. If they are discovered, they will immediately attack the party.

The Dimension of Dreams

Runelord Belimarius’ plan to escape the ill-fated Earthfall was to gather her most prized possessions and move them into another plane of existence, then return when the danger had abated. Using the (flawed) instructions from Karzoug, she created a Runewell to gather sin-power to fuel the planar magics necessary to move her Temple of Desna into a pocket Dream Plane that she created. At this point, her plan is working perfectly and it will be a few weeks until she realizes too late that the Runewell she created has fatal flaws. In the meantime, she has successfully created and maintained a pocket of the Dimension of Dreams for herself. One of her ploys to fuel her Runewell is the myth of the Dreaming Chamber, which tends to attract them most envious people who want to use it for their own purposes and make their dreams come true. The Runelord has perfected her recruitment process and when powerful ‘dreamers’ are brought to the Temple of Desna in hopes of gaining access to the Dreaming Chamber, they will indeed be subjected to a minor ‘dreaming miracle’ but at the same time, fuel the nearby Runewell. The lasting effects of the Dreaming Chamber usually lead to a quick death, but those who survive are easy fodder for her numerous guardians or the envyspawn who use the remaining husks to multiply their ranks.

Traits of the Dreaming Chamber (similar to the Harrowed Realm):

Ageless: Time itself passes at a rate of 10:1 here (10 minutes here = 1 minute in Material), but creatures do not age, though they must eat, drink, and sleep normally.
Self-Contained Shape: The Dreaming Chamber is finite and only contains the rooms/landscapes described.
Mildly Neutral Aligned
Limited Magic: Spells that transport a character to another plane, such as ethereal jaunt, plane shift, or shadow walk, only function if the caster succeeds at a DC 30 caster level check. Spells of the conjuration (summoning) sub-school only function if the caster succeeds at a DC 20 caster level check. A failed spell produces no effect, and still expends a spell slot.
There is a link between the minds of visitors and the reality of the Plane, however, it takes a powerful consciousness and great concentration to substantially affect the environment (see last encounter)

Into the Dreaming Chamber

D1 – The party can climb the stairs even though they look fuzzy and insubstantial. The stairs rise up about 50 feet into a circular chamber with walls that seem to be made of a swirl of stars and galaxies against a black background. If someone interacts with the walls, they feel spongy but solid. One large opening leads to another similar chamber.

D2 – The actual dreaming chamber is a large room with more of the same type of walls and seven comfortable lounge-type chairs. Each chair faces an approximately 10’ wide area of blackness where there are no stars. One of the attendants will gesture to the chairs –

“This place is called the Dreaming Chamber. The Runelord has given her permission to allow her most worthy guests to access its miraculous powers. We are now within a pocket of the Dream Dimension and very close to the Great Dreamer herself. Please have a seat, make yourselves comfortable and allow your mind to relax. Then, think about the best dream you have ever had and wished would come true. If you concentrate on that empty area in front of you, and if the Great Dreamer touches your thoughts, your dream may become reality.”

In the center of the room is a dream-illusion of a square column with a large statue of a beautiful elven woman with large butterfly wings looking to the sky above. What is actually there is a 10’ square pool, 10’ deep with a 2’ high rim containing a liquid that acts like molten platinum (and acts as lava for damage or splashing – 2d6/round if splashed or 20d6/round if immersed). The nature of the dream-illusion requires someone to interact with it to see through the illusion (DC 22 Will save) or if someone has a True Seeing, they can get a save without interacting (but TS does not automatically see through it).

Anyone who sits on one of the seats for more than 5 rounds (30 secs) will see the starry area in front of them shimmer and a confusing display of images appear. Each person must make a DC22 Will save. If they succeed, they realize that they are witnessing a mere illusion with no substance. If they fail, a powerful Permanent Image illusion will appear with a good representation of their desire. Unfortunately they will also take 1d4 Wis drain (no natural healing) as some of their life essence is pulled into the hidden Runewell. Every 5 rounds this will repeat and anyone wearing one of the Sihedron medallions takes a -4 to the Will save.

If the envyspawn realize that the party is not falling for the illusions, they will spread out and attack.

Advanced Envyspawn (see separate sheet)

If the illusion surrounding the Runewell is revealed, Brodert will recognize it at once and will shudder with the memory.

“Oh my, I’m afraid I know what that is… we had one right under Sandpoint many years ago. It’s called a Runewell and it is used to harness the energy of sin; in the case of this Runelord, I would say Envy. The power that fuels it can be used to make more of… these creatures, or it can be used for other powerful magical effects by its creator.”

The seven ‘portals’ are actually just illusions, but one of them covers an exit from this chamber which may be found with a DC22 Will save.

The Nightmare Gauntlet

No one other than Belimarius and her servants are allowed past the Dreaming Chamber, but just in case, she has created a series of protective ‘rooms’ between the Chamber and her Sapphire Sanctum. She calls this series of rooms the Nightmare Gauntlet, since each room draws from the trespasser’s own worst nightmares to create dream-constructs that are fully capable of killing their victims. These constructs are not illusion (as the party may believe from the Dream Chamber) but rather quasi-real representations of places and foes that the collective group has previously experienced. As with other places in the Dream Dimension, the group may become better at mentally bending what they experience to their own wills (see Dream Mastery below).

Dream Mastery Goal: randomly, when someone misses or is struck in combat physically or by spell, have them roll a d6 and on a 1, they can make a (base) DC32 Will save to affect the outcome.

As the party advances through the Gauntlet, they will slowly start to gain mastery over the Dream Dimension’s reality. Although Belimarius’ strong will initially created this pocket dimension, sufficiently powerful minds have a chance of altering it to their own benefit as well. Anyone who successfully overcomes the Will save to interact with the dream-constructs will get a cumulative +1 on their Will saving throws for future interactions.

D3 – Travelling down the nondescript passageway, the party is strongly reminded of travelling through the Harrowed Realm but just at the point where they are wondering when they will see something the passage opens into a wider area ahead. A long room stretches out before them with large areas of something non-descript blocking their way here and there. When the group gets into the center of the room, the details of the room gradually materialize and they find themselves in the warehouse from Sothis where they were ambushed by a group of mummy lords. At the moment of realization, the mummy lords attack.

(8) Improved Brother of Anhumet (Mummy Lord) CR 12

See separate sheet

Combat Strategy:

– Prior to attacking, the Brothers will cast on themselves; Protection from Good, Bull’s Strength

– As the party sees the Brothers, anyone within 30’ will need to save vs. their auras

– They will cast Deeper Darkness (eyes of darkness cans see through)

– They will Channel Negative Energy if group bunches up

– They will cast Touch of Evil on nearby targets

– They will cast Dread Bolt or Sandstorm Wrath at range

– They will cast Silence on spellcasters’ areas

– If within melee range, they will cast Slay Living

Once the group has finished slaying the Mummy Lords, the room will go back to looking non-descript with an opening on the far side that resumes down the starry corridor.

The Constellation Maze

Runelord Belimarius wanted to make it very difficult for anyone daring enough or powerful enough to enter her private pocket dimension so she created the Nightmare Gauntlet with two cunningly designed mazes that would perplex even then most intelligent trespassers. Between the challenges of the Gauntlet, the party will need to traverse two different mazes with their own set of rules.

M1 – The Cosmic Caravan Maze

The party will enter at M1 on the map. All the walls here are star-speckled with the same properties as the rest of the Plane, corridors are 5’ wide and 8’ high. When the group gets to a dead end, they will see a series of brighter stars and a faint line connecting some of the stars in the shape of a constellation. In the Cosmic Caravan portion of the maze, Knowledge Arcana and Knowledge Nature will help identify them.

	Arcana DC	Nature DC
Identify a constellation (part of astrology)	25	29
Know the order of the constellations in the Cosmic Caravan	30	34

These ‘walls’ act as portals which lead to another area of the maze and the next constellation in the wheel. The constellations move along the wheel and shift from each location once every 5 rounds (30 secs) in a specific pattern. 1 round before the change, the constellation will begin to pulse faster and faster in a bright blue and then change. Stepping into a constellation will transport the person to the next constellation in the wheel. To successfully navigate the maze, the party will need to 1) identify the constellations, 2) determine the order of them on any particular dead end (staying in one area during a full rotation of all 19 options will do that – some walls will be blank if not in the rotation, 3) map out the rotation of the constellation progress in the maze, and 4) go through the maze with enough time to not separate but make it through the correct portals and lead to the end (the party can only move at tactical speed due to the strangeness of the maze’s boundaries unless they use something like True Seeing or Find the Path – only one constellation as the ‘exit’ destination constellation changes each 30 secs.) They will essentially need to figure out when the exit constellation is at #19 and go into the one just before it on the wheel. Helpful spells: Find the Path, Locate Object, Divination

Constellation Rotation Table:

	Rotation ->	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
		20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
1	Stranger	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13
2	Follower	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7
3	Thrush	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3
4	Lantern Bearer	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10
5	Newlyweds	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9
6	Bridge	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18
7	Daughter	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17
8	Rider	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12
9	Patriarch	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11
10	Wagon	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5
11	Pack	9	8	15	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6
12	Mother	18	19	2	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15
13	Stargazer	17	13	16	12	7	4	11	3	14	5	10	1	6	9	8	15	18	19	2

Once the group travels to the exit #19, they will see a slightly wider passageway leading away and may or may not be obvious that they have escaped the Maze. The passage travels for about 100 feet however.

D4 – The passageway widens into a large area. When the party reaches the center of this area, the walls will recede and become more substantial, eventually manifesting as the interior of the Twilight Vault, however, its features are somewhat distorted from what they remember. Standing across from the party is the Nightwalker they have battled once before; the dread Nightshade Azuubar Raxas. Somehow, he seems even larger and more formidable than the previous time they met him. See separate sheet for his stats. Hopefully by this time the party has gained some of the Dream Mastery to make this encounter more survivable. The room is very similar although the doors do no go anywhere. The globe and pillars, however, are all filled with negative energy, so bursting one could spell disaster for the party.

Tactics:

– He will pre-cast Haste on himself and use Power Attacks

– He will close to within 30’ to allow his fear gaze to cower any weak minds, then use Confusion (15’r) on largest group and a quickened Unholy Blight (20’r)

– If not in melee, he will target a spellcaster with Finger of Death and also a quickened Unholy Blight

– He will close to melee and use Improved Disarm on most powerful melee foes and Swift Sunder each round

– If surrounded, he will use his quickened unholy blight (does not provoke AoO) and then Channel Negative Energy (30’r, no AoO)

Central Sphere and Cylinders (Hardness 30, 100 HP to breach) – If someone breaks the central sphere or one of the cylinders the pure negative energy it releases will subject anyone within a 60’ radius to the equivalent of a Harm spell (150 dam, Will save DC 25) + 2d4 Negative levels (save after 24 hours) as per Energy Drain.

Sunder vs. weapon type

o +5 Adamantine Falchion (hardness 30, HP 60)

o +2 Starsword (hardness 19, HP 25)

o +5 Dagger (hardness 30, HP 52)

o +3 Ironwood Scimitar (hardness 16, HP 35)

o +4 Longspear (hardness 13, HP 50)

If the party is successful in defeating the Dream-Raxas, the room will revert back to a non-descript widening in the passageway.

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