Session 2.4

Overview

Aftermath

They camp out at the Aegis Peak and in the morning, Tua gives them a message to head straight West to the City of Dawn (the Sunborn Nexus AKA Lunara) Also tells them to stop by a really tall mountain that he has treasure on and take it

The Journey

About a day of travel they find the mountain, which they scale and find 3 Shadowborn Assassins who are looking at the treasure (a single wooden box).

Shadowborn Assassin

Medium humanoid (aetherborn), lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (Studded Leather) Hit Points 54HP Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)

Export to Sheets

Saving Throws DEX +6, INT +4 Skills Acrobatics +6, Deception +3, Perception +4, Stealth +8 Damage Resistances Necrotic Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14 Languages Common Challenge 2 (450 XP)

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Aether-Sight. The assassin can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet.

Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The assassin deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the assassin that isn’t incapacitated and the assassin doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Actions

Multiattack. The assassin makes two poisoned shortsword attacks.

Poisoned Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Shadow Step (Bonus Action). While in dim light or darkness, the assassin can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see that is also in dim light or darkness.

Reactions

Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that the assassin can see hits it with an attack, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.

Treasure: Devil Fruit

Ruins of Lunara

• Primary Goal:

  • Navigate the treacherous Sunken District to reach the governmental palace and stabilize the Sunborn Nexus within.

• Detailed Area Description:

  • Lunara was once a magnificent capital of gleaming white marble and gold, built in a grand, circular basin. When the Lens was activated, the city’s foundations shattered, and the entire central district sank below sea level.

  • The party arrives at the “shoreline,” which is the jagged, broken edge of the city’s higher districts. Before them lies a vast, eerie expanse of murky, brown water.

  • Sticking out of the water are the tops of grand buildings, tilted at odd angles like ancient, forgotten tombstones. Ornate bridges, now collapsed, lead from the shoreline to nowhere, their broken ends dipping into the water.

  • A constant, thick fog hangs over the water’s surface, limiting visibility and muffling sound, creating a tense, quiet atmosphere. The only sounds are the gentle lapping of water against rubble and the distant creak of stressed metal.

• Likely Player Actions & Challenges:

  1. Securing Transport: The first and most obvious challenge is crossing the water. The party will need to find a boat. They might find a damaged but repairable fishing skiff tied to a submerged dock, or they could attempt to build a makeshift raft from the abundant debris. This could involve skill checks like Intelligence (Investigation) to find materials and Wisdom (Survival) or Carpenter’s Tools checks to build a sturdy raft.

  2. Navigation: The fog and the maze-like arrangement of half-submerged buildings make navigation difficult. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check is required to plot a course toward the towering governmental palace at the district’s center. Failure means they get lost, wasting time and potentially triggering an extra hazard encounter.

  3. Environmental Hazards: The water itself is a threat.

     • Void-Touched Sharks: These patrol the deeper channels. They might attack the boat directly, requiring the party to fend them off or repair the damage.

     • Abyssal Tentacles: In narrower passages between buildings, these can erupt from the depths, attempting to grapple characters and pull them from the boat into the murky water.

     • Unstable Ruins: As the party gets closer to the center, some of the ruined buildings are unstable. A loud noise or a poorly navigated turn could cause a section of a building to collapse into the water, creating a dangerous wave that could capsize their vessel (requiring a group Dexterity saving throw to stay aboard).

• Aetheric View Description:

  • When a character activates their Aetheric senses, the mundane world fades to grey, and the world of energy is revealed in brilliant color.

  • Looking out at the Sunken District, they see a breathtaking and tragic sight: a massive, radiant sphere of brilliant, golden Sunborn energy pulsing weakly at the district’s heart—the Sunborn Nexus.

  • From this central point, faint, golden lines of Aetheric power spread out like a spiderweb, tracing the original ley lines of the city. However, many of these lines are now shattered and broken, fizzling out into nothingness.

  • Most importantly, they can clearly see three thick, writhing tendrils of sickly, violet Void energy originating from the dark, murky depths. These tendrils have latched onto the golden sphere of the Nexus, pulsing malevolently as they “choke” the light, causing it to flicker and dim. This view gives the party a clear, visual representation of their goal: they must sever those three violet tendrils to save the golden heart.

The Nexus Point

The Sunken Palace: Cleansing the Nexus

• Primary Goal:

  • Cleanse the Sunborn Nexus by systematically destroying the three Void Tendrils corrupting it and then sealing the resulting Aetheric breaches.

• Arena Description:

  • Location: The grand throne room of the former governmental palace. The ornate, domed ceiling is 60 feet high, though partially collapsed, allowing murky light to filter in.

  • Layout: A 40-foot diameter circular marble platform rises from the center of the room. The rest of the chamber is flooded with murky, waist-deep water, which is considered difficult terrain.

  • The Nexus: In the center of the platform, a 15-foot diameter sphere of pulsating golden light (the Sunborn Nexus) hovers 10 feet off the ground. It illuminates the entire chamber in bright, warm light.

  • Cover: Several toppled marble pillars and large pieces of floating debris are scattered throughout the water, providing half cover.

  • The Tendrils: Three thick, shadowy tendrils, made of solidified Void energy, emerge from the murky water at different points around the central platform. They snake upwards and attach to the golden Nexus sphere, visibly “choking” it.

• Enemy Details:

  • Void Tendril (Stationary Object)

    • Armor Class: 14

    • Hit Points: 50

    • Damage Vulnerabilities: Radiant

    • Damage Resistances: Necrotic, Poison

    • Corruption (Passive Ability): At the end of each round (on initiative count 0), this tendril spawns one Aether Geist in an unoccupied space in the water within 5 feet of its base.

  • Aether Geist

    • Type: Medium Undead

    • Armor Class: 13

    • Hit Points: 40 (9d8)

    • Resistances & Immunities: Standard for the creature type; resistant to non-magical physical damage.

    • Actions: Life Drain. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6+4) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken.

• Encounter Mechanics & Flow:

  1. Start of Combat: The encounter begins when the party enters the throne room.

  2. The Escalating Threat: The primary pressure comes from the Void Tendrils. At the end of every round, each active tendril spawns a new Aether Geist. (e.g., With 3 tendrils active, 3 new Geists appear each round).

  3. Objective 1: Destroy a Tendril: The party must focus their attacks on one of the Void Tendrils.

  4. Severing the Corruption: When a tendril’s HP is reduced to 0, two things happen immediately:

     • It stops spawning new Geists.

     • All Aether Geists that were spawned by that specific tendril dissolve into nothingness as their connection is severed.

  5. Objective 2: Cleanse the Breach: Destroying a tendril leaves a festering purple “Void Breach” on the golden Nexus sphere. A character must be on the central platform, underneath the breach, and use their action to make a DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

     • On Success: The character channels their own Aether into the wound. With a brilliant flash, the breach is sealed and that section of the Nexus returns to its pure golden state.

     • On Failure: The character is blasted by raw Void energy, taking 3d6 psychic damage, and the breach remains. They or another character can attempt to cleanse it again on a subsequent turn.

  • Winning the Encounter: The encounter is won, and the Sunborn Nexus is stabilized, once all three Void Tendrils are destroyed and all three Void Breaches are successfully cleansed.