GLoGtober Day 8: Mystery

 MYSTERY

Someone somewhere had a post about “6 mysteries in your campaign”. I can’t remember where it was, else I would link it here (if you know where it is, pop it in the comments), but it was about having 6 mysteries in your campaign that need to be solved over the course of a campaign. I think this is great, so I’m going to do this for my upcoming 5e game. Potential players begone!

Rime of the Winter Saint (My version of RotF for an upcoming 5e game)

1 What caused the eternal night?

Shortly after the campaign begins, the sun refuses to rise on the icy slopes of the Karzan Empire. This is because Saint Auril (saint of winter’s cruelty) has gone mad, using an enchantment in her holiest text, the White Codicil, to blanket the skies in perpetual darkness.

2 What drove Saint Auril mad?

Her heart was frozen in a ritual that let out a surge of chaotic magic. I'm undecided as to who conducted the ritual and why, but it drove Auril mad and warped the ley lines of the North. The original ritual-performer probably wants to warp the ley lines across the multiverse fr some nefarious purpose. Maybe it's Vecna. I actually like that idea. It's gonna be Vecna.

3 How can you cure her madness?

Kill one of her three forms, then take it to the duergar fortress and reheat it in the Stoneheart Hearth, an ancient Dwarvish artifact stolen from an abandoned city. To power the forge and thaw her heart, you need to sacrifice memories or emotions, but if you do, Auril will return lucid and capable of reversing the damage she had wrought..

4 How do you stop her enchantment?

The lucid Auril needs the Codicil and sufficient time to mount a countercharm. Unfortunately, she will be vulnerable, and many parties have many reasons to interrupt the ritual...

5 What’s up with those obelisks?

Obelisks of chadalyn (a mix of mithril and Shatterstar) dot the landscape at irregular intervals, covered in strange, ancient runes. These are connected with the surge of power, during Vecna's ley-line warping ritual. He harnessed the obelisks that were previously built by an arcane empire or some shit, and now they're letting out a low key psychic network thing.

6 What are all these wizards looking for?

The Karzan Empire is home to an influx of arcanists from all over, hailing from all sorts of orders and academies. They are here because they detected a massive surge of arcane power, scrambling the use of their spells and making their magics chaotic. This surge occurred at the same time Auril went mad, and the mages are trying to figure out how to harness the power for themselves. However, the secret subreason is that Vecna is sending out subliminal signals through the obelisks to draw arcanists in the hope of expanding the warped ley lines, and thus his influence.

And now I know what's up in my campaign. I hope this inspires you to put 6 Mysteries into your next set of campaign prep! Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.