Session 86
General Notes
- Why Concalians cannot enter Material Plane en masse now:
- New: Seal on material plane makes it difficult for otherwordly beings to pass over, and even if they do, the Seal will constantly try to pull them back. Concalians are so infused by the magic of the Shadowfell that the Seal registers them as otherworlders, at least to some extent. Therefore takes a lot of effort to bring any over, and those who have been pulled over constantly feel as something is trying to rip them back over to the Shadowfell.
- They wither away faster? With Shar having said it's because of the Seal, while in reality it is Shar's own doing (rather, Shar's curse aligns them with Shadow. The Shadowfell is close to this concept, hence the speed of which they wither is slow. The Material plane is further from Shar's “shadow” concept, hence they wither/drain faster.). Done by Shar to convince them into doing her bidding.
- Concalians believe they have to break the seal and move to the Material Plane to stop the withering effect.
Act Finale Fight Details:
- Cairne getting in contact with different crystals can cause different effects, based on the crystal. Triggers if he gets really exposed to their energies, such as if they are broken or badly damaged while he's near, or gets blasted by a release in energy from them as a result of them being cracked/damaged. Cairne will take damage regardless for being hit, but can decide to reject the energy (i.e.doesn't get the option), or absorb it. If he chooses to absorb it, he can either add the new effect as a new addition to his list of possible rage effects, or replace an existing effect with this one.
- Fey: Immune to charm effects. ++
- Fell:
- Air: You can walk through creatures, and can walk through air. However, you have to end your turn on stable ground, or fall down. You cannot end your turn in the space of another creature.
- Earth:
- Fire: Gain a 15ft cone Fire Beath, akin to what Dragonborns have. DC of 8 + Con + Prof, half damage on success. Damage is a number of d6's, the number being equal to your proficiency modifier. Can be used in place of an attack, maximum of once per turn, maximum of twice per rage.
- Water:
- Lower:
- Upper: Gives you a number of d6's equal to your proficiency modifier. You can expend one or more of these as a bonus action to heal yourself or a creature you touch. Additionally, healing done to you is always maximized (i.e. dice counted as always having rolled max)
- Law: You can pick which effect you want from the table.
- Chaos: Roll on the Wild Magic Surge table at the start of each turn while raging.
Enemies
Archer stats: Concalian Veiled Enforcers
Description: Cloaked wearing leather jerkin, trousers, and ankle boots. Wears white mask with black circular mark on the forehead with a purple brim. Eyes jet black with purple streaks going from beneath the eyes down the cheeks.
-
- HP ~70/50
- AC: 15 (leather jerkin and trousers, with ankle boots)
- Actions: Multiattack, 2 attacks with bow or shortsword
- Longbow: +6 to hit, 1d8+4
- Shortsword: +6 to hit, 1d6+4
- 3/day: As bonus action, add 1d10 to next attack or damage roll with longbow.
- 1x Poison Arrows each: 1d8
- Crawler Mucus (Contact): This poison must be harvested from a dead or incapacitated crawler. A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. The poisoned creature is paralyzed. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
- 1x Arrow with Alchemist's Fire each:
- Deals an additional 1d4 damage, and the target is on fire, taking an additional 1d4 Damage at the start of their turn. Can be doused by making a DC10 Dexterity Check as an action.
Mage - Raoul Bougie
- Spatial phenomena magister. Disguised. Cabal member. Keeps track of Scillante during the auction.
- Transmutation/Conjuration Wizard
- Has Arcane Lock - will lock door.
- Will then summon Earth Elemental (Will potentially start with a chain lightning through party if nicely lines up)
Queries
Current where abouts of last known sighting of Lazruk, Merric and Orlog, and Edward's Revenge
Lazruk:
A single tome is brought forth, seemingly covering reports on covert operations. The contents appear to be spy reports detailing attempts by the Conciri to infiltrate and gain insights into arcane research conducted in Luhr, the capital of Raxum. One report lists slaves subjected to arcane experimentation, with most entries only specifying the individual's race, gender, and approximate age. However, some include guessed names or nicknames. One entry for a half-orc male is annotated with “Lazruk?”. The reports suggest that the Conciri has yet to discern the exact purpose of these experiments but notes a pattern of attempts to enhance physical capabilities.
Orlog/Merric/Edward's Revenge:
The Archive offers no documents directly addressing the whereabouts of Orlog, Merric, or the ship Edward's Revenge. However, a tome is presented, its content tangentially related to the query. The book is a blend of instructions and journal entries focused on the collection of materials found in and around the Krakenbone Archipelago. The chapter revealed concerns interactions with the local inhabitants. It reads: “A group of would-be Pirate Lords seems to have consolidated power in the area, bringing other crews under their command. It is advised to avoid the main free port, Kraken's Rest, to prevent attracting their attention.” Further into the chapter is a list of ships and individuals the author suspects are aligned with these Pirate Lords. Among the entries is “Captain Merric - Edward's Revenge.” The name “Orlog” appears only once, with the author noting that he “seems to hold a privileged position with the would-be Pirate Lords.” The tome's condition suggests it is a very recent addition to the Archives.
Notes made during this query's creation:
-
- Lazruk: A single tome appears, that seems to that contains spy reports. The Conciri seems to have tried stealing/getting insights into the Arcane Research done in Raxum's capital of Luhr. One of the reports contain a list of slaves used as test subjects for arcane experimentation. Many entries simply state the individual's race, gender, and rough age, though some also include guessed names or nicknames. One of the entries for a half-orc male reads “Lazruk?" The reports seem to indicate that the Conciri has not figured out what the experimentations are for, but notes that a lot of them appears to attempt to apply bodily enhancements.
- Orlog/Merric/Edward's Revenge
- There are no documents that seem to directly relate to whereabouts for individuals such as Orlog or Merric, or ships such as Edward's Revenge. However, a single tome is brought from the Archives. The book itself has nothing to do with the query directly, instead seeming to be part instructions and part journal on the gathering of materials found on and around the Krakenbone Archipelago. The chapter opened appears to be instructions on how to deal with the locals. Part of it reads “A group of would-be Pirate Lords appears to have brought the area, and the other crews, under their control recently. It is advised to stay away from the main free port of Kraken's Rest to avoid drawing their attention”. A bit further into the chapter is a list of ships and people whom the author believes to either be one of, or an associate of, the would-be Pirate Lords. One of the entries reads “Captain Merric - Edward's Revenge”.
- The chapter also mentions a few other individuals whom the author seem to have taken note of. In these notes, the name “Orlog” is mentioned only once, with the author merely noting that he “appears to hold some sort of privileged relation to the would-be Pirate Lords.”
- Judging by the tome's appearence, it seems to be a very recent addition to the Archives.
- “appears to have some sort of connection to the would-be Pirate Lords.”
- Tome from a Magister on how to obtain certain magical materials from the flora and fauna on and around the Krakenbone Archipelago.
- The author mentions getting the impression that Orlog had something to do with the “coup” that took place recently
- NOTE: Krakenbone Archipelago
- Skyyran Pit - embraced by the central horseshoe shaped island.
- Kraken's Rest - Main Free Port. Name meant to be intimidating for those who are not familiar with it. Is located at “the tip of the horseshoe” of the central island. Most crews are afraid of sailing too near the pit.
- Other supporting Free Ports:
- Gloomhaven
- Driftwood Isle
- Tide's Edge
Items still in storage
FIND OUT WHAT THIS DOES
When loosing concentration, the effect ends at the start of your turn instead of ending immediately.
AC13+Dex (max +2). While Chain Shirts are normally counted as Medium Armor, this one counts as Light, and can be worn beneath other clothing.
Of unknown origin. Can be turned into any melee simple or martial weapon as a Bonus Action. Deals an additional 1d6 damage (of the weapon's normal type) on the first Attack made within 1 minute after having changed shape.
THOSE BELOW HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN YET
This mantle changes color and texture with the seasons. While wearing it, you can use a bonus action to change its effect based on the season: Spring (casting Faerie Fire), Summer (casting Flaming Sphere), Autumn (casting Gust of Wind), Winter (castingIce Knife). This ability can be used once per long rest.
NEW: Can change the mantle's current “season" as an action. Once the first spell is cast each day, the Mantle will change into the “opposite” season, and you'll no longer be to change it's season for the rest of the day. Can be used twice per day: Once for whichever season you initially pick, and then you can cast the spell associated with the “opposite” season once.
All spells and abilities have their damage type changed to Fire. This change does not apply to Bludgeoning, Slashing, or Piercing damage. Spells and abilities dealing Fire damage deal an additional +1 damage per damage die rolled.
Casting a spell grants you Barkskin until the start of your next turn. You are always under the effect of Barkskin while shapeshifted or polymorphed.
This amulet has a moonstone at its center. While wearing it, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made during the night, and you can cast Moonbeam once per long rest.
- You basically gain some 1st level Wild Magic Sorcerer perks. i.e. a few spells you can cast once per day + a version of Wild Magic table when using them.
These rugged boots are designed for long journeys. While wearing them, you can move at your normal speed over difficult terrain without penalty. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track creatures.
asd
TRICKSTER_FEY's Mirror Frame
This tiny mirror frame has a tiny string attached to its top.
Once per long rest: As an Action you can spin the Mirror Frame while holding it up towards a creature within 30ft, causing you to swap places with them. An unwilling creature can attempt a DC14 Charisma Saving throw to avoid the effect.
Glove of Entanglement
1/Day: Once per day, when the druid casts a spell that deals damage, they can choose to have vines burst from the ground to restrain the target. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained until the end of their next turn.
if the spell hit multiple targets, each target must make the same save.
Battlemage's Glove
The Battlemage's Glove is a sleek, black leather gauntlet that extends to just below the elbow, embroidered with intricate arcane symbols that shimmer faintly when touched. Thin veins of silver run through the fabric, pulsing softly in time with the wearer's magic. The fingertips are reinforced with polished metal caps, which glow with a soft, otherworldly light when spells are prepared. Despite its sturdy appearance, the glove feels almost weightless, designed for precision and control.
Who said casters cant be in melee?
While attuned to the Battlemage's Glove, you gain a +1 to Spell Attack Rolls.
Additionally, any Spell Attack made against an enemy in melee range can be done as a Melee Spell Attack (thus avoiding disadvantage should the spell normally require a Ranged Spell attack)
Chromatic Ring
- Once per day, you may cast Chromatic Orb as a 1st level spell without expending a Spell Slot.
- You may also expend one of your own spell slots to cast Chromatic Orb additional times through the ring.
The Chromatic Ring is a slender, silver band inlaid with a delicate line of shifting gemstones, each one constantly changing color in a slow, mesmerizing gradient. The hues flow seamlessly through the entire spectrum, giving the impression that the ring holds a living rainbow within its stones.
Chromatic Sphere:
Once per day, you may cast Flaming Sphere as a 1st level spell without expending a Spell Slot. You also know the Flaming Sphere spell, and may expend a Spell Slot to cast the spell additional times just like any other known spell.
Additionally, when casting Flaming Sphere, you can pick its damage type from one of the following: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, Poison, Radiant
Two-Faced Medallion
This Two-Faced Medallion bears two striking visages. One side shows a face of serene beauty, with eyes gently closed and a soft, peaceful smile. Flowing hair, adorned with delicate wildflowers and ivy, frames its gentle features, and a warm glow seems to radiate from its surface. The opposite side shows an intense face with narrow, piercing eyes, the wildflowers and ivy now twisted with long thorns. Her mouth is set in a fierce snarl, lips pulled back to reveal clenched teeth, conveying a raw, unforgiving power.
Twin-Aspect:
- Dealing damage with a Spell increases the healing done by your next healing Spell by 1d6
- Healing yourself or an ally with a Spell increases the damage of your next damaging spell by 1d6
Cantrips do not trigger these effects.
Gloves of Entanglement:
1/Day: Once per day, when the druid casts a spell that deals damage, they can choose to have vines burst from the ground to restrain the target. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained until the end of their next turn.
if the spell hit multiple targets, each target must make the same save.
Will of Concalia
Greek Chlamys style mantle. Status symbol among Concalian warriors.You have resistance to all damage while below 20HP. (Does not reduce damage that brings you below 20 HP, only damage taken while already below 20 HP)Potentially: Once per day, the first time you are brought to 0 HP, you may do a single action before rolling your first Death Save. You do not gain this benefit if something causes you to fail a Death Save (such as by taking additional damage) before your turn. Does not work on effects that immediately kill you upon reaching 0 HP, and the effect only triggers if brought to 0 HP in a encounter-related scenario.The Marcandrians recovered this Mantle from a Concalian Ruin. It was later acquired by the Conciri and brought into their collection for study.
Two-Faced Medallion
Dealing damage with a spell increases next healing done by a spell by 1d6.Healing an ally with a spell increases the damage of your next damaging spell by 1d6.-
Battlemage's gloves
Gain +1 to Spell Attack RollsRanged Spell Attacks can be made as Melee Spell Attacks while adjacent to a hostile creature, targeting a creature in Melee range.
The Helping Hand
Once per day, you may use your reaction to give another
Chromatic Ring
Once per day, you may cast Chromatic Orb as a 1st level spell without expending a Spell Slot.You may also expend one of your own spell slots to cast Chromatic Orb additional times through the ring.
Ravanelli's Ring
Ravanelli's Archive Emblem
This elegant ring is adorned with six iridescent gems, each meticulously set around its exterior rim. The gems shimmer with a spectrum of colors that shift and flow like liquid light. However, their hues appears to be anchored to an immovable point in space—an effect akin to gazing through a tiny window onto an expansive mural. The gems reflect color in a manner so that, no matter how you orient or move the gems, the same point in space will always reflect the same color.
The Conciri Compound's defensive measures are disabled while the ring is within its magical field.
Session 85
Queries
Describe your primary function
The first tome describes the creation of a magical field designed to hold all of the Conciri's classified documents. The author argues that understanding dangerous magic is essential for combating its misuse, and that such knowledge should be stored for future protection. The solution was the Archive Field, which securely stores documents and retrieves records related to any problem it is asked about. The 'brain' of the archive is a large tome that tracks the topics of each book and their locations.
The second tome discusses upgrades to the Archive Field, implemented after some thefts occurred. These upgrades mainly involve security measures that trigger if unauthorized beings enter the archive or try to remove documents from its area.
Bring me info on Valiant#35913
Tomes on attempts to recreate
The first set of tomes retrieved discuss efforts by members of the Conciri to replicate the creation of Valiants and other constructs of Concalian design. These books detail attempts to recreate the body and replicate the arcane patterns found in the recovered constructs. Despite their efforts, the members have been unable to make the constructs function as intended. A major issue is the lack of a known power source capable of replicating the constructs' desired capabilities. Even when briefly powered, the constructs acted mindlessly, similar to modern golems. The general consensus is that the true secret behind the constructs' advanced abilities likely lies in the unknown ritual and power source used by the Concalian creators, which is not detectable in the recovered remains.
Old Concalian Tomes
Another set of ancient and fragile tomes, written in Concalian, documents experimental attempts to upgrade their constructs and provide them with a new power source. Though not noted explicitly, it is clear from the tomes that some event caused the constructs to become cut off from whatever originally fueled their cores. A recurring theme is that the constructs' power cores were draining, leading to eventual shutdown. Each tome discusses a different set of experimental upgrades, and accompanying booklets list the participants and outcomes of each experiment. These booklets detail numerous failures, with the tomes following up by making adjustments or iterating on the procedures. The details of each experiment are extremely complex, generally aiming to establish an additional method for gathering and transferring power throughout the construct's body without disrupting the existing system.
Valiant#35913 appears in the list of each booklet, marked as successful in receiving these modifications. However, in the booklet associated with the final upgrade in the series, there are numerous failures recorded, with Valiant#35913 listed next. There is no indication whether this upgrade was attempted or successful, and the tome describing this final upgrade is missing.
An additional tome describes a method developed to recharge a construct's core by consuming magical items, though it is noted as unsustainable due to inefficiency and the limited supply of such items. Additionally, another tome provides a sort ofpsychological evaluation of the constructs, observing that as a construct's power diminishes below a certain threshold, its intelligence and sophistication begin to decline as well. In the final weeks before shutdown, the constructs reportedly lose all personality and self-awareness, eventually becoming incapable of even basic tasks.
Author for experimental tomes: Forgesmith Mallius
Show me what magical items are stored here
Several books appear. However, none of which seem to be a "list of magical items stored in the archives". The books instead appear to describe research on items of magic that are, or at least have been, in the Conciri's possession. The Archive Field does not seem to keep track of items stored.
Mysterious kidnapping records of children from around 25 years ago
An older set of records details fey creatures in the Vincari Forest attacking and sometimes kidnapping people nearby, including children. The records focus on the Conciri's involvement in aiding the Marcandrians in their efforts to locate the missing individuals. These efforts ultimately led to the apparent eradication of the fey in the Vincari Forest. Additionally, a few tomes describe items and beings, including fey, that were retrieved and kept by the Conciri for study.
A newer tome records the enlistment of a magister by House Grimani to prevent fey attacks on people entering the Forbidden Forest, as the House wanted to exploit the forest's resources. The tome includes a section describing information the magister has gotten from the locals, noting that it was not uncommon for people, including children, to disappear in the forest. It was presumed that the fey killed them and dragged their corpses away, with few attempting to search for the missing out of fear for their own lives. The author notes a peak in disappearances around 1325 AD. Despite attempts to communicate with the fey and find ways to keep them at bay, the magister nearly died from a hostile encounter at the forest's edge. He ultimately abandoned the request, concluding that it was not feasible to eliminate the fey without an expanded and more focused effort.
Author: Magister Zenad Getran, of the institute of Arcane Biology.
Another tome details efforts to combat sea monsters believed to be responsible for the disappearance of several ships near the northern coast of Marcandria. The tome includes a list of lost ships, with estimated times of disappearance and the names of those on board. A couple of entries from around 1328 AD, or 25 years ago, mention children among the passengers on some of these ships. None of the names listed are familiar.
- Author: Sinibal Calvacanti
Floor 2
Items still there:
- Mithral Chain Shirt
- AC13+Dex. While Chain Shirts are normally counted as Medium Armor, this one counts as Light, and can be worn beneath other clothing.
- Headband: Attunement
- When involuntarily loosing concentration on a spell, the effect ends at the start of your next turn instead of ending immediately.
- Morphic Weapon
- Turns into any weapon as a bonus action. Deals an additional 1d6 Force damage on the first attack after having changed form
- Kål-svart sverd.
- Chalice
-
Enemies:
- Raoul Bougie - Spatial phenomena magister. Disguised. Cabal member. Keeps track of Scillante during the auction.
- Transmutation/Conjuration Wizard
- Concalian Veiled Enforcers
Notes on session:
- Around 13:00 on 29th.
- Read queries that appeared, so probably around 1-1.5 hours have elapsed.
- Cairne query:
- Last known whereabouts of Lazruk, Merric, Orlog, or Edward's Revenge.
- Current where abouts of last known sighting of Lazruk, Merric and Orlog. And Edward’s Revenge.
-
To Session 85
- Finish Cabal with refactoring - Enforcers and Shades are Nightsworn Concalians, sent by Shar to assist the Cabal as the “muscle” and as the ones transferring information within the organization discretely.
- Archive queries:
- Mentions of Valiant
- Diagrams of “upgrades" - the Valiants, and other construct models, are running out of power. A series of “experimental upgrades” are performed on a bunch of them. Are lists of participants with notes, with list for each “upgrade”, all assertaining to their Core, how it gathers power and how it funnels it to their bodies. Valiant is far down the first list, though several entries are “stryket over”. Each entry has a note associated with it, either describing the procedure as having been completed, or if it's been “strøket ut”, a note regarding why. Typical reasons are them either having run out of power and deactivated, been lost in the conflict, or something having gone wrong during the upgrade.
- Valiant is the 1st entry on the last list that's not been “strøket ut”. This procedure seems to be making modifications to the core itself in an attempt to make it perpetually self-powering. All the “strøket ut” valiants above seem to have failed, with the diagrams showing signs of having been modified probably just as many times as there have been attempts.
- NOTE: Fullfør timeline.
- De finner ut hvordan nye typene med constructs er powered. Flees the capitol to gather support against this blasphemy. Civil war ensues.
- Time passes. Battles ensue. The civil war drags on. The Valiants cores, and the cores of other modules, are starting to run out of power, seemingly being cut off from whatever power fueled them in the past. The clergy's golems does not seem to have this problem. Valiant's side therefore gets pushed back over time.
- They start looking for ways to make the cores self-sufficient, i.e. no longer run out of power. As Valiant is about to have the last step of the final procedure, the order is given to immediately depart for a mission - a forward repair facility for the enemy's constructs has been found, and is currently lightly guarded, with the enemy armies “out of position” to defend it. They are to take it and secure it. Serves as a strategically important target to take out, and secondarily they want their Forgesmit to look at the procedures the enemy use to find any potential weaknesses, or to perhaps help them figure out how to make their Valiants no longer run out of power.
- They secure it, but enemy returns earlier than they thought, making them trapped. Forgesmith dies. Valiant “rescues” angel, who in its final breath digs their hand deep into Valiant's chest, overloading him with power, allowing him to beat the incoming enemies, but the angel's last efforts also causes the building they're in to collapse, burying Valiant with it. - Valiant's part ends here.
- With the Forgesmiths dead, Valiant's side grow desperate, knowing their remaining Valiants and other constructs will soon run out of power. In a hail-mary attempt to win the war, they decide to lure the enemy by letting them assault their home city. They will have as much of the army as they can maneuver around the enemy, and march straight for the Capitol while the enemy is busy with their home city. They are basically sacrificing their own home, along with a portion of their army that must remain there to delay the enemy and make them believe the army is still there, in order to give them a chance to enter the capitol and stop the Forges. They hope that if the evil of the current Forges are revealed, the clergy will loose their support.
- They sort of succeed - they barely manage to free the archangel as their forces are slaughtered. Though in a twist of fate, the angel condemns the entire race to the Shadowfell.
- Note on cool names for other COnstruct models
- Stalwart – praevalidum // Praval? Pravalum?
- Dauntless
Savior/Preserver/Protector – Servator- Enduring - perennem // Perennium
-
Ravanelli Estate
- Time: About 03.00AM on the 29th. Festival will start in about 15 hours (around 17.00-18.00)
- Currently in basement. Just fought Shade/Enforcers from the Castigian Cabal, of Concalian descent.
- "Their skin begins to crack, releasing faint tendrils of black smoke. Tiny flakes peel off and float upwards, disintegrating into shadowy wisps that vanish into the air."
- If they speak some last words: “Nightsinger embrace me”? (Ambleceme, Doma Noctus".
- Concalian words for Nightsinger: “Doma Noctus”
- Potential Cabal names for Nightsinger: The Hidden One. The Unseen Hand. Enlightener?
- Note to self: Concalians have trouble passing through to the Material Plane, and “decay" MUCH faster when on it. This is in part why they are motivated to create a huge crack in the world's seal, beleiving it will let them pass over easier. Shar has also convinced them that breaking it and passing over will dispell the curse placed on them, making it so they no longer waste away.
- EVENTS:
- Just finished combat with Concalians allied with Castigian Cabal - Cabal sees them as servants the Nightsinger has brought to aid them.
- One got away, having opened the basemen. reinforcements are on the way. Let's say group has 5+ 1-2d6 turns before they sow up.
Cabal Documents on Table:
A large amounts of paper, as well as a few maps, and a couple of books.
Many of the papers seem to be reports regarding ship movements, specifically ships belonging to the Marcandrian Royal Armada. The Huntsman, the Marcandrian capital ship currently docked in Alatri, is among the ships being tracked. Some of the books here appears to be logs of reported movements, spanning back years.
One book, however, seems to instead log outgoing shipments, smuggled out from the city with the help of Privateer ships. Among the goods the log describes are tons worth of fused Concalian crystals. The destination of these shipments is not listed.
Additions with roll:
Ship tracking: The Marcandrian Royal flagship, the Concord, had its last entry about a year ago. They seem to have stopped caring about tracking its position since then.
Privateer Ships listed in log: At least a dozen different ships, among them Edward's Revenge, whose last smuggled goods out of Alatri a few months ago.
Shipment timeline: Seems to have started a little over 2 years ago. Last outgoing shipment was about a month ago. There logs seem to indicate there's been some frustration since the nearby shores off Alatri got infested with sea-monsters. A couple of privateer ships are also indicated as having been sunk due to these sea-monsters.
What was shipped off: In addition to the fused concalian crystals, vast amounts of magic materials and magical items seems to have been among the smuggled goods.
Documents In archives
These archives contain rows upon rows of letters, documents, and books. The archives seem very well organized. The contents seem to include:
- Documents on official agreements, such as treaties, pacts, and trade agreements. These documents outline the terms laid forth by said alliance, trade agreement, and other agreement,
- Legal Documents. These includes official decrees, contracts, and charters. These include land deeds, contracts, and feudal charters between House Ravanelli and their vassals – which detail acerage, taxes, and the duties and responsibilities the vassal agrees to in exchange for being granted land. Laws, regulations, edicts, proclamations. Decrees of pardons/amnesty, and decrees of confiscation/expropriation are also among these.
- Documents detailing the terms for each of House Ravanelli's vassals can be found here – the terms laid forth for them in terms of taxes, duties, responsibilities, etc, are not always equal.
- .
- Financial Records. Records detailing House Ravanelli's finances, including accounts, ledgers, budgets, and financial transactions. Some documents also detail inventories of assets, properties, and resources owned by the family.
- Ravanelli family seems to historically having been quite wealthy.
- There seems to have been a sharp increase in expenditures related to mercenaries, espionage, bribes, etc, starting early 1350. The family seems to currently be running a massive deficit, tapping into the funds they've stockpiled and selling off assets in order to finance this.
- Correspondences and Communications: These are records of letters, messages, and other forms of communication exchanged between the ducal family and various parties, including other noble houses, government officials, diplomats, and influential individuals.
- Espionage Reports and Intelligence: Reports compiled by spies, agents, or intelligence operatives employed by the ducal house. These reports may contain information on rival houses, political intrigue, military movements, economic activities, and other matters of strategic interest.
- Strategic Plans and Policies: Documents outlining long-term strategies, policies, and objectives of the ducal family, including plans for governance, defense, expansion, and diplomacy.
- Personal Journals and Diaries: Private writings of family members, such as personal journals, diaries, and memoirs, providing insights into their thoughts, experiences, and personal lives.
- Historical Records and Archives: Documents of historical significance to the ducal family, such as records of past events, achievements, and milestones in the family's history.
- Genealogical Records. Records documenting the family lineage, ancestry, and genealogy of House Ravanelli, including pedigrees, family trees, birth certificates, and marriage records.
Additions with roll:
- Recent strategic plans:
- They appear to be gathering support to try get Mariana Ravanelli to ascend to the currently-empty Marcandrian throne. They seem to be in competition with the ducal houses of de Vesci and Grimani, with the documents seeming to convey that relations between the three houses are quite sour at the moment. Three Casodonian houses are also listed as vying for the Casodonian ducal seat. Their plans for the two remaining ducal houses – house Bologni and house Moretti – seem to involve trying to convince them into backing House Ravanelli by the time they're done dealing with the current turmoil in their respective duchies (in part also to prevent more contenders).
- Most of House Ravanelli's family members thus seem to have been away from Alatri for most of the past couple of years in order to garner support, with Mariana Ravanelli herself staying in Vessina.
- Legal documents
- Includes a decree that forbids burials in Alatri – all burials must happen outside the city's perimeter. An accompanying document, that seem to be addressed to the writer's descendants, is very insistent that this decree must not be reversed so long as the apparent curse beneath the city remains.
- Financial records
- House Ravanelli seem to be tapping heavily into their wealth, starting Winter 1349 – when the royal family was assassinated. This money has been used to, amongst others, bribes, military equipment, and the hiring of mercenaries.
- Correspondences and communications
- Vast array of recipients, on a vast array of issues. A lot of them recently seem to be in regards to garnering support for House Ravanelli's claim to the Marcandrian throne. Other noble families, and members from factions such as the Fulcrum, Wayfarer's Union, Meranzeum, Joybringers, Greenwardens, and so on.
- Intelligence and espionage
- House Ravanelli seems well aware of Elena “the Grin”, and are keeping track of her. The records seem to indicate that House Ravanelli and Elena the Grin has an informal agreement, where Elena keeps a leash on the other criminals in Alatri, and make sure they don't do anything stupid that would upset the citizenry, in return for House Ravanelli mostly looking the other way.
- House Ravanelli's view: “There will always be a kingpin, beheading one will only open the path for another, so let's make a not-so-bad option that we can work with holds the position of kingpin.”
- personal journals and correspondences
- Old journals and correspondences belonging to duchess Fioretta Ravanelli seem to indicate that her, Euphemia Moretti, and someone called Elrithia Renfallan have been rather close friends for decades.
- intelligence and espionage
- Seem to have been quite an effort into figuring out who was behind the royal family's assassination, with little luck. They seem concerned that one – or more – of the other houses vying for the Marcandrian throne could have been involved, and are thus also concerned about their and their subjects' future should someone involved in said assassination ascend to the Marcandrian throne.
Regarding Ravanelli Documents: It seems people have been looking at quite a few of the records. Some seem to be missing, others seem to have been placed back.
Documents include: Personal correspondences, confidential reports, + more confidential versions of what's found in state office.
There are also a lot of documents that either are or that describe the exchanges between the Ravanelli family and other parties, be that other noble families, other factions, both within Marcandria and abroad. Documents that relates to diplomacy in a sense. The topics are many, though one that often comes up for exchanges within Marcandria are negotiations on promises and favors in return for the other party supporting House Ravanelli's claim to the Marcandrian throne.
Study and Escape corridor:
- Study is somewhat dusty. Only a large writing desk, with a chair, and a bookcase has been placed here.
- Drawers contain ink and quill, as well as stacks of blank papers, envelopes, as well as a few wax sticks placed together with a wax spoon.
- Only a few items in the bookcase.
- Duchess Ravanelli: Personal correspondences, mostly letters, with a few books consisting of old letters bound together.
- Most of the recent entries seem to entail gathering support for a Mariana Ravanelli's claim to the Marcandrian throne.
- There are a couple of correspondences between Ravanelli and Headmistress Moretti, mostly scheduling meetings. The language used in these seems to indicate the two as old friends.
- Mariana Ravanelli: Mostly correspondences on getting support for her claim. Many of the letters seem to be discussions and deliberations on promises and demands related to garnering someone's support.
- People whose been using the studies, i.e. who has personal correspondences: Mariana Ravanelli, Raffel Ravanelli, Alvis Ravanelli, Fioretta Ravanelli
- Getting out:
- The drawers have a luxurious carved finish, that fan out from a central point on each drawer
- No obvious button. Perception check: The centerpiece is a button, though the craftmanship is so immaculate that it's almost entirely invisible.
- The button is also pretty hard to push in, to the point where if you were to just press to check if it was a button, you'd probably stop pressing before applying enough force to make it move.
- Pushing these buttons on the two top drawers simultaneously makes the bookcase move, rotating slightly from the wall, revealing a hidden path.
Escape corridor:
- Quite slim. There are no lamps or crystals to give off light, though the walls, floor, and ceiling have the occasional arcane rune that glows faintly, making it barely possible to see.
- If they investigate these symbols: Arcana check. Warding runes - Abjuration. Two types of runes. One seems to prevent detection. The other seems to prevent certain types of creatures from entering the corridor.
- Corridor is long, with a rather long decline.
Night
- Narthael:
- He's at 35 out of 50 for getting flyer shapeshifting. Though he called the staff useless, and the staff is a part of his mothers (literary).
- Valanthe is rather mad, berating Bhin on how hurt Thiala got when Bhin called her useless.
- DC15 Persuasion if he wants them to each him how to turn into birds tonight, else he's just going to be berated by Valanthe for a bit more before they leave for the night.
- If he succeeds, Thiala will be the one teaching him. It's her turn after all. You can see she there's dried sap on her cheeks, and the lesson is far more transactional than it usually is with her - she's clearly stil lsad.
- The lessen consists of her blindfolding you, has you lie on your stomach on the ground, before she starts making gusts of wind to hover you in the air. She instructions she gives, in a somewhat melancholy tone, is to feel and attune yourself to the wind, trying to feel what the bird feels, and in the moment you feel you've aligned perfectly with the wind, shapeshift.
- Wisdom check. If he gets 15 or more, he succeeds in becoming a bird, and can from now on shapeshift into flyers.
- Ari:
- Your dream consists of you, or perhaps someone else, you can't really tell for sure, is sitting with your head dug into your knees, in a muffled-out street as the contours of other beings move past you, up and down the street. You, or whoever's eyes your looking out from, is constantly at the verge of panic, taking quick glances at the vague outlines of the beings moving past while praying that they do not notice you.
Conciri Compound
1. Forbidden Archives
- Large somewhat circular room, two floors beneath the ceiling. Both the floor and ceiling is covered in thin but deeply interwoven patterns that appears to make out arcane symbols. Braziers and statues are strategically placed along the walls - the braziers having almost solid flames with apparently no fuel source, and the statues holding staves with large iridescent gems.
- 3 large tables are placed at the center - two having thick stacks of blank papers, with accompanying ink vials and quills. The last table, the only one with a chair, has a single huge tome.
- At the far left and right side of the room, from the perspective of sitting in front of the tome, are two large tables, with the only item on each of these tables being a large lever. On the far forward direction, from the perspective of looking at the tome, is what appears to be a circular staircase going further down, though the stairs are behind rune-engraved metal bars.
- At the “north” side is a long corridor that eventually leads to a staircase going upwards.
- Bordering each quadrant of this somewhat circular room are four large sections filled to the brim with books. Part of the walls here are windowed, allowing you to look into them, though the thick doors appears to be locked. These doors appears to have medium side slits, akin to a “mail slot"
The Tome:
- Approaching the tome will cause the text “What knowledge do you seek from the archives?" to just appear on the left page that's open. The pages are otherwise blank.
- They must make a specific ask for something to happen. if they just ask “what can you give me, or something vague, nothing will happen.
- Asking a question will cause two things to happen:
- 1. A series of tomes will fly from the adjacent rooms, through the slits in the doors, and to the central tables, where they are neatly lined up, all open at the beginning of whatever section of the book starts taking about what was asked about.
- 2. The tome will write “X retrieved Y from the archive”, “X retrieved Z from the archive”, and so on, listing up each book that was retrieved.
- The name listed here will be their real name.
- So Narthael will be “Guiliani Viani”
- Valiant will perhaps be something like Aegis Prime, or Redeemer? There's a cool name written down somewhere, from far back, if only I can find it again.
- Cairne will be Cairne. Nothing fancy here.
- Will Arilile Mountainfield perhaps say Liviana Mountainfield? Is that too dark?
- if they ask what the tome is:
- Books will come, as per usual. The tomes that open will describe the making of an intelligent magical “librarian” of sorts, that is to serve at the forbidden sections of the Conciri's archives. It is described as knowing what is written in each tome placed in the archieve, and is able to retrieve the relevant tomes for any topic it's asked about.
- If they ask about a log: The tome will retrieve a log with names of those who have accessed the archives. Euphemia Moretti is heavily featured in the tomes, though a myriad of other high-ranking members of the Conciri are also there. However, over the past year or so, the majority of the entries are for a “Te'Lik” and a “Rahier de Maromme”, only rarely featuring the names of others.
Getting out of the room
- As simple as pulling both the levers. Doesn't have to be simultaneously.
Countermeasures:
- Faintly glowing magic circle will follow you both on the floor and roof as you move about in the room. This does nothing so long as the defensive measures are not triggered. If triggered, these will Levitate the person, with the goal of making them helplessly trapped floating in the air.
- The statues will try to Counterspell every spell cast with a +5 to the check. if a spell is counterspelled by them, the target will take 1d6 Psychic damage per level of the spell, with Cantrips dealing 1d6 Damage.
- On Initiative 20, a Fire Elemental will spawn from one of the Braziers, preferring one near an enemy. Each statue will also shoot a 1st level magic missile spell. This goes on indefinitely.
Artifact Storage
- Experimentation area
- Countermeasure System