Adventure #2 - The Eye in Shadow

[reefwood]

The Eye in Shadow

1,020 YK (24 yrs after the Last War)

The Ring of Siberys orbits the world above the equator. It is composed of countless fragments – told by legend to be the remains of the slain progenitor wyrm – from which sunmotes (yellow/gold dragonshards) fall to Eberron. The largest fragment is known as the Eye of Siberys. In 3 months there will be a lunar eclipse. Eberron will be between the sun and the moon, but also, the Eye will be between Eberron and the moon. This extremely rare occurrence is known as “the Eye in shadow” and has only been recorded once in the current age. Over 700 years ago when the Rajah Lord beneath Thrane almost broke free of its spiritual coil imprisonment. Tira Miron sacrificed herself to keep it bound, and thus, the Silver Flame came into being as a renewed binding and guiding voice against supernatural evils. Ancient records lend evidence that the Eye was in shadow when the Quori of Dal Quor, and later the Daelkyr of Xoriat, invaded Eberron, and some legends say that the Eye first fell into shadow when the fiends began their slow ascent through Khyber and again when they finally erupted across Eberron. The upcoming Eye in shadow will take place above the Thunder Sea.

[reefwood]

POST-SCRIPT
The rajah explodes when the eidelon tears open its throat. A ball of unholy fire engulfs everyone atop the meteor. Kaaz is able to avoid the brunt of the blast and resist its aftereffects, but the others do not do as well. Razel watches her skeleton vaporize, and while the flames burn intensely, her soul is scorched even more severely. The summoned creatures vanish, the eidelon falls to the ground, and Orpas suffers the worst of the blast.

The base of the volcano begins to crumble. Everyone remaining takes flight or hops on the flying carpet as the meteor teeters. As they begin to fly away, the meteor rolls into the ocean, and the fresh lava rock is battered to pieces by the waves. The flight east brings 3 rowboats into view. The other members of the order. The Tattered Sail was destroyed by the meteor show with all hands lost. There is no sign to the west of the ship that carried the Dragon Below cult, but far to the north, a smaller ship is found adrift. It appears to be the vessel that carried the Gatekeepers. No one is aboard. Galin d'Lyrandar is a skilled sailor but knows the minimally experienced members of the order would not survive the treacherous voyage all the way back to Khorvaire across the Thunder Sea during the stormy summer season. Instead, he guides the ship south to Xen'drik.

During the journey, the colorful sphere taken from within the seed is inspected. It proves to be beyond the ability of anyone aboard to fully comprehend, but some insights are gleaned. The surface appears to be composed of dragon scales. Overwhelming auras of conjuration and divination emanate from it, as does a strong chaotic aura. Those who study the sphere are left with a feeling of despair for the rest of the day and haunted at night by dreams of the dead which take place in constantly shifting settings.


[OOC: A few things...

First, the seed bonuses fade in an hour, but drinking from the Seed of Siberys allows the imbiber to take on Wyrm Form (Su) for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 +Constitution modifier. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Wyrm Form provides sacred bonuses to ability scores as well as a dragon breath, dragon body, and dragon resistance. While in Wyrm Form, you are considered to be dragon-blooded for the purpose of spell effects, magic items, etc. Wyrm Form is activated with a standard action and can be dismissed with a free action.

Kaaz
Dragon Ability: +4 Cha, +2 Dex
Dragon Breath: 6d6 fire, 60 ft line
Dragon Body: bite (1d8 +Str mod x1.5, treated as magic for overcoming DR/magic)
Dragon Resistance: fire 10

Razel
Dragon Ability: +4 Dex, +2 Str
Dragon Breath: 6d6 cold, 60 ft line
Dragon Body: 2 claws (1d6 +Str mod, treated as magic for overcoming DR/magic)
Dragon Resistance: cold 10

Orpas
Dragon Ability: +4 Cha, +2 Dex
Dragon Breath: 6d6 acid, 60 ft line
Dragon Body: +2 natural armor bonus, DR 5/magic
Dragon Resistance: acid 10


Second, the unholy fireball from the Rajah Balor imposed permanent disabilities upon the following characters:
Razel: -4 penalty to resist death effects & spells
Orpas: -4 penalty to resist death effects & spells, vulnerability to fire
Eidelon: -4 penalty to resist death effects & spells, vulnerability to fire

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Thirdly, please post any questions and/or character reactions. In addition to any posts I make in reply to player posts, I will make another post next week of some notable events that occur in the upcoming years. Then, I will make a final post before the next adventure of events that occur over the next several years or decades.

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Finally, here is another summary of the saving throws against the unholy fireball:

Kaaz: 312 hp (resist fire 20), 9 Action Points, 3 Hero Points
Reflex save: 2 / 19 +18 = 37, success!
-30 fire damage = -10 fire damage --> Fort 18 +25 = 43, success!
-30 unholy damage --> Fort 19 +25 = 44, success!
= 272 hp, 9 Action Points, 3 Hero Points

Razel: 200+ hp (resist fire 20), 4 Action Points, 2 Hero Points
Reflex save: 11 +14 = 25 +3 action point = 28, fail!
-60 fire damage --> -40 fire damage --> Fort 4 +11 = 15 (Hero Point) --> natural 20, success!
-60 unholy damage ---> Fort 14+11 = 25, fail
= 100+ hp, 4 Action Points, 1 Hero Point

-Skeleton: 80+ hp
Reflex save: 11 +14 = 25 +3 action point = 28, fail
-60 fire damage
-60 unholy damage
= -40 hp, destroyed

Orpas: 135 hp / 15 temp hp (fire resist 20), 2 Action Points, 2 Hero Points
Reflex save: 15 +8 = 23, fail
-60 fire damage = -40 fire damage --> Fort 13 +10 = 23, fail
-60 unholy damage --> Fort 10 +10 = 20, fail
= 50 hp

-Eidelon: 85 hp (resist fire 30)
Reflex save: 5 +8 = 13, fail
-60 fire damage = -30 fire damage ---> Fort 11 +13 = 24, fail
-60 unholy damage ---> Fort 15 +8 = 23, fail
= -5 hp (unconscious?)

--Azata: 66 hp (resist fire 10)
Reflex save: 4 +9 = 13, fail
-60 fire damage = -50 fire damage
-60 unholy damage
= -56 hp, sent back to home plane

--Archon #1: 13 hp
Reflex save: 7 +3 = 10, fail
-60 fire damage
-60 unholy damage
= -107 hp, sent back to home plane

--Archon #2: 13 hp
Reflex save: 19 +3 = 22, fail
-60 fire damage
-60 unholy damage
= -107 hp, sent back to home plane]

[reefwood]

In The Years That Follow... (1,021 – 1,026 YK)

1,021 YK – The Pact of Shielding is established by nations surrounding the Mournland in an effort to bolster patrols which keep at bay the monstrous terrors emerging from the devastated wasteland. The pact also calls for the arrest of scavengers returning from the ruins of Cyre and the return of relics to the colony of New Cyre.

1,023 YK – House Cannith unites and breaks apart. House leaders in the north - Baron Jorlanna in Aundair and Baron Zorlan in Karrnath - come to terms in the spring. Summer and autumn sees them win control of most Tinkerer and Fabricator Guild contracts across Khorvaire. In winter, Baron Merrix in southern Breland officially separates from House Cannith. House Merrix focuses its efforts on exporting goods and services overseas through the world-renown ports of Sharn.

1,026 YK – The Sun-Kin shifters of Tragorn Isle (Lhazaar Principalities) recover an ancestral artifact which finally dissipates the mighty storm that has been raging above Tempest Isle since before humans came to Khorvaire.

1,027 YK – A powerful earthquake rocks the elven island-continent of Aerenal. Pylas Talaear, the port city which connects Aerenal to the rest of the world, is all but destroyed. The elves remain secretive about the degree of damage inland, but hundreds, perhaps thousands, reportedly sail to the militant elven nation of Valenar in southern Khorvaire.

[reefwood]

Over The Decades... (1,021 – 1,040 YK)

Karrnath – The civil war that started in 1,019 YK threatens the military academy in Rekkenmark (pop. 14,900) and the capital of Korth (pop. 85,000) for nearly two years until Warlord Renn ir'Tanar is captured and publicly executed for treason. From that point, the uprising is contained to the southwestern corner of the nation. That is until Count Vedim ir'Omik suffers a similar fate the following year. Warlord Charl ir'Loran retreats with the remaining rebel forces into the Nightwood. Guerilla warfare is all but snuffed out over the next decade, so it comes as a great shock when rebel forces seize control of Karrlakton (pop. 60,000) over the course of a week. Rebels win decisive victories against the undead armies in the coming months to expand their new gain and reclaim lost territory. Several more years of war settle into an uneasy stalemate.

Mror Holds – The Jhorash'tar orc clans have always been known as savages that follow no tenets. Threatening the dwarves for centuries until King Galifar planted the seeds of peace and civilization in the Ironroot Mountains. The past millennium has seen the orcs diminish while the dwarves created a nation. All out war over vast swaths of territory dwindled to skirmishes for rich mineral resources which faded to meager bandit raids. Little was seen of the orcs for over a decade as they continued to retreat deeper below the surface. Until they reemerged from the Goradra Gap, which reaches up from the depths of Khyber, and claimed the long abandoned ruins of Noldrunhold. Threateningly close to the sacred Fist of Onatar. Rumors claim the orcs have been warped by fiendish powers, and the dwarven clans have reached out to the Talenta Plains and House Jorasco for assistance.

Q'Barra – House Deneith adds ranks of lizardfolk from several of the Cold Sun Tribes. Small numbers are dispatched to serve in the warm, wild regions of Khorvaire, but the majority are sent to Xen'drik where, unlike many others, they thrive in the hot wet jungle without the need for vigorous physical training or magical support to acclimate.

Thrane – The bubonic plague strikes small towns along the eastern border with the Mournland. This occurs once every few years until a devastating outbreak ravages the city of Aruldusk (pop. 7,400) in 1,038 YK. House Orien shuts down the lightning rail to help contain the disease, but hundreds flee to the countryside on foot. The plague engulfs the southern half of the nation. Aundair and Breland set up refugee camps along their borders with Thrane to aid the sick and prevent them from spreading the sickness into their lands.