SYNOPSIS: Inside the temple called The Pearl Of Sea And Sky, an elemental rift has loosed mistgoblins on the solid world. Unless they are driven back, the temple and the town and all around will dissolve into mist, mist, endless mist...
STORY: The Azure Order has long controlled the Pearl. At its heart lies a great treasure -- an honest, straightforward oracle. When the heretical Verdant Order gained strength, the Azure dug deep for power to crush them. Too deep. Now the Azure are being consumed by what they worship, the Verdant are blundering into danger, and the oracle is lost in a maze of living fog.
SETTING: The Pearl is a sphere of white stone atop a spire of rock that overlooks the sea. At the base of the spire is a small fishing town. Stone steps twist toward the temple's arched entrance as the wind blows mournful chords from horns carved from giant shells. Today, a heavy purple mist writhes out of every door, window, and chimney of the sphere. Voices call out, perhaps for help, perhaps for victims.
SO?: The vapors have transformed the building into an ever-shifting labyrinth. It has no fixed map. The only easy entrance is the arched doorway atop the winding stairs. When the PCs enter the fog here, roll a random location from the chart below -- that's where they end up. Whenever someone leaves the room, they go to a new random location. It all ends when the PCs find a way to close the portal (or just go home).
INSIDE THE PEARL
1-10% Main Worship Hall -- Large circular room with a ritual pool in the center and a ceiling that opens to the sky. Tall iron candleabras surround the pool. Every time this room is entered, 1d4 mistgoblins will be here.
11-15% Small Chapel -- Small circular room with silver and platinum holy symbols on the walls. 1 mistgoblin is here every time. This is not a specific room.
16-20% A Priest's Cell -- Bare rectangle with a stone bed, uncomfortable pillow, and 25% chance of interesting/valuable personal items. Also a 25% chance of a Random NPC. This is not a specific room.
21-25% Scriptorum -- The books and scrolls in this long rectangular room are a ruined purple mess. 25% chance of a Random NPC.
26-30% Divination Room -- This oval room near the top of the sphere has a water-filled stone bowl and several round windows. Priests gazed into them, hoping for revelations. 50% chance of a Random NPC here.
31-35% Ritual Pool -- This oval room is a pool that drops from 3 feet to 8 feet in depth. 1d6 mistgoblins are always here; one Possessed Azure is here the first time. He has a small amount of sapphire jewelry.
36-40% Ritual Eyrie -- A narrow room at the top of the sphere. Its ceiling has a locked grate leading to the outside of the Pearl.
41-50% The Oracle's Seat -- Deep in the base of the Pearl is the oracle, a holy knight of sea and sky. As long as she remains in her stone seat, her elemental masters grant her true farsight. But she's old and tired and ready for another champion to replace her. The oracle will answer ONE yes/no question with 90% accuracy for each person who finds her . Her armor and sword are gifts from the elements, and make her a formidable combatant, although she'll die of old age shortly after leaving the stone seat.
51-60% Chamber Of Icons -- A sculpture gallery full of stylized, geometric representations of air and water. 1d3 Possessed Azure are here the first time, playfully destroying the icons.
61-65% Miscellaneous Storage -- Whatever random stuff priests might need, you'll find it here. 25% chance of 1 mistgoblin. 50% chance of a Random NPC. This is not a specific room.
66-70% Feasthall -- A small band of Azure are making a stand here. They'll aid friendly PCs, but refuse to leave unless under extreme duress. When first encountered there are 6 of them, but each subsequent time 1d3-1 will have perished. If saved and dried, the tapestries on the wall would be valuable.
71-75% Kitchen -- The cookfire has gone out, the roast is rapidly spoiling, and the floor is covered in knives and broken glass. 1d2 mistgoblins are here every time, along with a 50% chance of a Possessed Azure.
76-85% Chasm Of Fog -- Everyone here is falling slowly through semi-liquid fog. 2d6 mistgoblins are always here. After falling for 2d4 rounds, the PCs will land in another random area.
868-95% River Of Mist -- Everyone here sinks into a mist that's nearly as thick as water. Break out those drowning rules. 1d4 mistgoblins are always here. After sinking for 2d8 rounds, the PCs will emerge in another random area.
96-100% The Forgotten Portal -- A gap in the wall of an otherwise-normal storage room. The horrible purple mist spews out. Seal it somehow and the problem will dissipate in 3d6 minutes, at which point everything goes back to normal. 1d4 mistgoblins are always here until then, and a new one emerges from the gap every 2d6 rounds.
***If someone has already gone from one specific room to another specific room, or if they have gotten directions from an NPC like Pysander or Lecitalma, they can attempt to cut through the mist to find that specific location. The fog that fills halls and doorways can be momentarily dispersed by a powerful blow -- a warrior doing maximum damage with a two-handed weapon, for example.
Random NPCs
1-10% Rumeltocey -- Azure priest. Freaking out. She wants to fight the mist, the Verdant, and anything else handy.
11-20% Posaydal -- Azure priest. Trying to use magic to control the mist. Failing.
21-30% Hariostem -- Azure librarian. Believes the order has fallen, and all that remains is to record its passing.
31-50% Locke -- Former Azure priest. Now a Possessed Azure, and he retains his command of magic. Trying to escape the Pearl.
51-60% Thalessa -- Azure servant. She ran errands in town. Now she's ready to find a new job.
61-70% Pysander -- Verdant follower. Mediocre swordswoman. She's found the Forgotten Portal once already.
71-80% Kekond -- Verdant follower. Lover of Lecitalma. Gullible; she believes the whispers of the mist and is likely to be possessed soon.
81-90% Lightbringer -- Verdant leader. Seems to be a muscular elf wizard. Actually a fast-talking illusionist with a poor sense of self-preservation.
91-100% Lecitalma -- Local fisherman. Lover of Kekond. Trying to save her. Their pledge-amulets can track each other.
OTHER NOTES: Everything within the temple is permeated by a thick, writhing purple mist. Any unprotected flame has a 2 in 6 chance of being extinguished every minute; protected flames like lanterns have a 1 in 6 chance. The mist does glow faintly. Characters can see approximately 15 feet in this dim light.
Mistgoblins are squat humanoids made of living fog. They attack solid beings on sight. Their boneless arms combine the dangers of axes and whips. Any successful attack has a 10% chance of hitting the opponent's face, causing the target's lungs to fill with the purple mist (unless the target is holding their breath, with all the complications that entails). After 4 rounds of breathing the mist, the target becomes Possessed. Mistgoblins are relatively easy to hit, but shrug off most damage from solid attacks.
If you tire of mistgoblins, mephits or air/water elementals would be appropriate critters too.
Possessed beings are solid bodies being animated by mistgoblin vapors. They can use weapons and tools, but under normal circumstances they have no access to their memories or spells. If the vapors can be drawn out of the victim's lungs, they will return to normal.
In addition to any treasure that PCs steal from the temple or its inhabitants, the purple mist itself has some value. If bottled in an airtight or watertight container, it can be carried away from the Pearl. The mist provides faint illumination and could serve as an exotic spell component. If enough of it is heated with magical fire, it will boil away to leave behind a random assortment of blue and green gems.
STORY: The Azure Order has long controlled the Pearl. At its heart lies a great treasure -- an honest, straightforward oracle. When the heretical Verdant Order gained strength, the Azure dug deep for power to crush them. Too deep. Now the Azure are being consumed by what they worship, the Verdant are blundering into danger, and the oracle is lost in a maze of living fog.
SETTING: The Pearl is a sphere of white stone atop a spire of rock that overlooks the sea. At the base of the spire is a small fishing town. Stone steps twist toward the temple's arched entrance as the wind blows mournful chords from horns carved from giant shells. Today, a heavy purple mist writhes out of every door, window, and chimney of the sphere. Voices call out, perhaps for help, perhaps for victims.
SO?: The vapors have transformed the building into an ever-shifting labyrinth. It has no fixed map. The only easy entrance is the arched doorway atop the winding stairs. When the PCs enter the fog here, roll a random location from the chart below -- that's where they end up. Whenever someone leaves the room, they go to a new random location. It all ends when the PCs find a way to close the portal (or just go home).
INSIDE THE PEARL
1-10% Main Worship Hall -- Large circular room with a ritual pool in the center and a ceiling that opens to the sky. Tall iron candleabras surround the pool. Every time this room is entered, 1d4 mistgoblins will be here.
11-15% Small Chapel -- Small circular room with silver and platinum holy symbols on the walls. 1 mistgoblin is here every time. This is not a specific room.
16-20% A Priest's Cell -- Bare rectangle with a stone bed, uncomfortable pillow, and 25% chance of interesting/valuable personal items. Also a 25% chance of a Random NPC. This is not a specific room.
21-25% Scriptorum -- The books and scrolls in this long rectangular room are a ruined purple mess. 25% chance of a Random NPC.
26-30% Divination Room -- This oval room near the top of the sphere has a water-filled stone bowl and several round windows. Priests gazed into them, hoping for revelations. 50% chance of a Random NPC here.
31-35% Ritual Pool -- This oval room is a pool that drops from 3 feet to 8 feet in depth. 1d6 mistgoblins are always here; one Possessed Azure is here the first time. He has a small amount of sapphire jewelry.
36-40% Ritual Eyrie -- A narrow room at the top of the sphere. Its ceiling has a locked grate leading to the outside of the Pearl.
41-50% The Oracle's Seat -- Deep in the base of the Pearl is the oracle, a holy knight of sea and sky. As long as she remains in her stone seat, her elemental masters grant her true farsight. But she's old and tired and ready for another champion to replace her. The oracle will answer ONE yes/no question with 90% accuracy for each person who finds her . Her armor and sword are gifts from the elements, and make her a formidable combatant, although she'll die of old age shortly after leaving the stone seat.
51-60% Chamber Of Icons -- A sculpture gallery full of stylized, geometric representations of air and water. 1d3 Possessed Azure are here the first time, playfully destroying the icons.
61-65% Miscellaneous Storage -- Whatever random stuff priests might need, you'll find it here. 25% chance of 1 mistgoblin. 50% chance of a Random NPC. This is not a specific room.
66-70% Feasthall -- A small band of Azure are making a stand here. They'll aid friendly PCs, but refuse to leave unless under extreme duress. When first encountered there are 6 of them, but each subsequent time 1d3-1 will have perished. If saved and dried, the tapestries on the wall would be valuable.
71-75% Kitchen -- The cookfire has gone out, the roast is rapidly spoiling, and the floor is covered in knives and broken glass. 1d2 mistgoblins are here every time, along with a 50% chance of a Possessed Azure.
76-85% Chasm Of Fog -- Everyone here is falling slowly through semi-liquid fog. 2d6 mistgoblins are always here. After falling for 2d4 rounds, the PCs will land in another random area.
868-95% River Of Mist -- Everyone here sinks into a mist that's nearly as thick as water. Break out those drowning rules. 1d4 mistgoblins are always here. After sinking for 2d8 rounds, the PCs will emerge in another random area.
96-100% The Forgotten Portal -- A gap in the wall of an otherwise-normal storage room. The horrible purple mist spews out. Seal it somehow and the problem will dissipate in 3d6 minutes, at which point everything goes back to normal. 1d4 mistgoblins are always here until then, and a new one emerges from the gap every 2d6 rounds.
***If someone has already gone from one specific room to another specific room, or if they have gotten directions from an NPC like Pysander or Lecitalma, they can attempt to cut through the mist to find that specific location. The fog that fills halls and doorways can be momentarily dispersed by a powerful blow -- a warrior doing maximum damage with a two-handed weapon, for example.
Random NPCs
1-10% Rumeltocey -- Azure priest. Freaking out. She wants to fight the mist, the Verdant, and anything else handy.
11-20% Posaydal -- Azure priest. Trying to use magic to control the mist. Failing.
21-30% Hariostem -- Azure librarian. Believes the order has fallen, and all that remains is to record its passing.
31-50% Locke -- Former Azure priest. Now a Possessed Azure, and he retains his command of magic. Trying to escape the Pearl.
51-60% Thalessa -- Azure servant. She ran errands in town. Now she's ready to find a new job.
61-70% Pysander -- Verdant follower. Mediocre swordswoman. She's found the Forgotten Portal once already.
71-80% Kekond -- Verdant follower. Lover of Lecitalma. Gullible; she believes the whispers of the mist and is likely to be possessed soon.
81-90% Lightbringer -- Verdant leader. Seems to be a muscular elf wizard. Actually a fast-talking illusionist with a poor sense of self-preservation.
91-100% Lecitalma -- Local fisherman. Lover of Kekond. Trying to save her. Their pledge-amulets can track each other.
OTHER NOTES: Everything within the temple is permeated by a thick, writhing purple mist. Any unprotected flame has a 2 in 6 chance of being extinguished every minute; protected flames like lanterns have a 1 in 6 chance. The mist does glow faintly. Characters can see approximately 15 feet in this dim light.
Mistgoblins are squat humanoids made of living fog. They attack solid beings on sight. Their boneless arms combine the dangers of axes and whips. Any successful attack has a 10% chance of hitting the opponent's face, causing the target's lungs to fill with the purple mist (unless the target is holding their breath, with all the complications that entails). After 4 rounds of breathing the mist, the target becomes Possessed. Mistgoblins are relatively easy to hit, but shrug off most damage from solid attacks.
If you tire of mistgoblins, mephits or air/water elementals would be appropriate critters too.
Possessed beings are solid bodies being animated by mistgoblin vapors. They can use weapons and tools, but under normal circumstances they have no access to their memories or spells. If the vapors can be drawn out of the victim's lungs, they will return to normal.
In addition to any treasure that PCs steal from the temple or its inhabitants, the purple mist itself has some value. If bottled in an airtight or watertight container, it can be carried away from the Pearl. The mist provides faint illumination and could serve as an exotic spell component. If enough of it is heated with magical fire, it will boil away to leave behind a random assortment of blue and green gems.
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