21 Props & Handouts — Session 0.5
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Vault Door — Elevation View
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ VAULT WORKS — LOWMARK SITE DOCUMENT 7 of 12 ║
║ Vault Approach: Door Elevation Drawn: T.H. Check: M.A. ║
║ Scale 1:25 Year: 43 P.R. (forty-three, Post-Ritual) ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│ ║
║ │▓ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᛟ ᚺ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᛞ ╭────────╮ ᚾ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᛜ │ ✦ │ ᛁ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᛚ ╰────────╯ ᛃ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ᛗ ᛖ ᛒ ᛏ ᛊ ᛉ ᛈ ᛇ ▓│ ║
║ │▓ ▓│ ║
║ │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ║
║ │ │ ARCH INSCRIPTION (see elevation detail │ │ ║
║ │ │ B): "Four marks upon the road of │ │ ║
║ │ │ return. [four lines — see detail B] │ │ ║
║ │ │ In the order that it happened." │ │ ║
║ │ │ │ │ ║
║ │ │ LOWER PLAQUE: "We did not come here to │ │ ║
║ │ │ celebrate the failure. We came here to │ │ ║
║ │ │ understand it. Press what you know in │ │ ║
║ │ │ the order that it happened." │ │ ║
║ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ║
║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
║ ║
║ Door: 240cm H × 120cm W × 40cm D. Stone: pre-existing fabric. ║
║ Rune ring: cut added by this team. Activation: see Document 4. ║
║ ✦ Central face: blind seal. Structural only. Do not alter. ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝Vault — Floor Plan
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ REF: VLT-002 VAULT — FLOOR PLAN (TOP VIEW) SCALE: 1:50 ║
║ Dimensions: approx. 50ft × 40ft. Pre-Ritual foundation. ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ NORTH ║
║ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ [V] │ ║
║ │ ↑ ┌──────────────────┐ │ ║
║ │ VAULT [P1] │ │ [P2] │ ║
║ │ ENTRY ???? │ WORKBENCH │ ???? │ ║
║ │ (from bridge) │ (cover) │ │ ║
║ │ └──────────────────┘ │ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ ╔════════╗ │ ║
║ │ · · · · ║ ║ · · · · │ ║
║ │ ║ [A] ║ │ ║
║ │ RITUAL CHALK ║ ANCHOR ║ RITUAL CHALK │ ║
║ │ MARKINGS ║ RING ║ MARKINGS │ ║
║ │ · · · · ║ ║ · · · · │ ║
║ │ ╚════════╝ │ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ ┌──────────────────┐ │ ║
║ │ [P4] │ WORKBENCH │ [P3] │ ║
║ │ ???? │ (cover) │ ???? │ ║
║ │ └──────────────────┘ │ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ [S1] [S2] [S3] │ ║
║ │ SEALED SEALED SEALED │ ║
║ │ ALCOVE ALCOVE ALCOVE │ ║
║ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
║ SOUTH ║
║ ║
║ [V] Vault entry from bridge stairs (north wall, west side) ║
║ [A] Primer Anchor — ring of stone, 6ft diameter, waist height ║
║ [P1–P4] Stone plinths, each bearing a carved symbol and a ║
║ two-layer rotating mechanism. Labels unknown. ║
║ [S1–S3] Sealed alcoves — stone doors, no visible mechanism ║
║ · · · = Ritual chalk marks (10ft radius from anchor) ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝Plinth — Dial Mechanism (Side Section)
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ REF: ANC-001 CALIBRATION PLINTH — SIDE SECTION SCALE: 1:8 ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ ┌──────────┐ ║
║ │ CARVED │ ← Symbol face — varies per plinth ║
║ │ SYMBOL │ ║
║ ─────────────┤ ├───────── stone cap ║
║ │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│ ║
║ INNER RING → │╔════════╗│ 4 runes. Rotates independently. ║
║ (Top layer) │║ ║│ Turn until correct rune aligns. ║
║ │╚════════╝│ ║
║ OUTER RING → │╔════════╗│ 8 runes. Second adjustment. ║
║ (Bot. layer) │║ ║│ Set after inner ring. ║
║ │╚════════╝│ ║
║ │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│ ║
║ ─────────────┤ ├───────── waist-height ║
║ │░ PLINTH │ ║
║ │░░ BODY ░░│ ║
║ └──────────┘ ║
║ ║
║ OPERATION: Set inner ring. Set outer ring. ║
║ Correct alignment: mechanism warms noticeably. ║
║ Wrong alignment: stays cold. No damage. Try again. ║
║ ║
║ Each plinth carries an inscription that describes its setting. ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝Approach Map — Lower Levels
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ REF: MAP-001 DAWNHALL LOWMARK — LOWER LEVELS SCALE: 1:75 ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ GROUND FLOOR (above) ║
║ ╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║
║ ║ [FOOD] [SICKROOM] [NOTICE] [BERRIC] ║ ║
║ ║ [HATCH ↓] ║ ║
║ ╚═════════════════════╪════════════════════╝ ║
║ │ ladder ║
║ ┌─────────────────────┴─────────────────────┐ UPPER BASEMENT ║
║ │ [SHELVES] [PIPE SYSTEMS] │ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ [CRATE SW] · chalk marks · │ ║
║ │ │ ║
║ │ [REINFORCED DOOR →] │──────────────→ ║
║ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║
║ │ stairs ║
║ ┌──────────┐ STAIRCASE (narrow, single file) ║
║ │ step 1 │ ║
║ │ step 2 │ ║
║ │ step 3 │ ║
║ │ step 4 │ ║
║ └────┬─────┘ ║
║ │ landing ║
║ ┌────┴────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────┐ ║
║ │[LAND-│≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈ BRIDGE (4ft wide / 40ft long) ≈│ │→DOOR║
║ │ ING] │ 20ft drop to cistern below │ │ ║
║ └──────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┴──────┘ ║
║ ║
║ ≈ = bridge surface. 4ft wide. Single file. No railing. ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝Sera Voss — Personal Letter
Something is happening in Varenhold and I do not feel safe writing it plainly.
I found an access record in a Lowmark Dawnhall — a basement entry in handwriting I recognised from Spire administrative documents. Someone with archive access authorised an open-ended inspection of a basement that the steward says has been empty for decades. The record is six weeks old. No one went in. Not officially.
I am going to look at it. I have contacts in the Healers’ Guild who can get me access. I will be careful.
But if I am not careful enough — come to Varenhold. Ask for Berric at the Dawnhall on Crestwick Lane. Tell him Sera sent you. He is a good man. He will know something is wrong before I do.
Come if you still trust me.
— S.V.
P.S. Bring your lockpicks. Just in case.
I have been down. I have seen something. I do not know what it is. I think I know who built it.
I am afraid of what that means.
Dawnhall Maintenance Ledger
DAWNHALL — CRESTWICK LANE, LOWMARK MAINTENANCE AND ACCESS RECORD
Date Entry Auth.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[early year] Candle stock replenished, 200ct B.H.
[early year] East lantern housing repaired B.H.
[spring] Patient intake: 14 new cases I.R.
[spring] Roof tile replacement, north face B.H.
[6 wks ago] Lower storage — inspection and ░░░░
ongoing assessment, open-ended ░░░░
duration ░░░░
[5 wks ago] Blanket request submitted B.H.
[4 wks ago] Flour delivery confirmed, 40 sacks B.H.
[3 wks ago] Lantern oil, east wall, 3 units B.H.Restorer Supply Note (Coded)
Found folded in a supply crate.
WKUHH QLJKWV. LI QR ZRUG EB GDZQ — DQG WKHUH
LV QR GDZQ — SXOO EDFN. WKH VHTXHQFH LV
FRQILUPHG. WKH VDLQW KDV ZKDW VKH QHHGV.
GR QRW FRPH GRZQ. LI VKH VHQGV ZRUG, PHHW
DW WKH EXWWRQ ODQH ZHOO.
— F.Written in pencil on the back, faint:
SHIFT — THREE
Vault Sealing Document
DOCUMENT OF FORMAL SEALING Second Restoration Attempt — Final Record
We seal this vault as a record, not in shame.
When the first ritual failed, it did not fail because the goal was wrong. It failed because the method was wrong, and because those who attempted it did not fully understand their own failure. We have spent twenty years understanding it.
The nature of that failure is encoded in the door of this vault. We did not build a lock. We built a lesson. The door asks only that the one who opens it has understood what we understood, in the order in which we came to understand it.
We began where all honest inquiry begins: with the storm that cannot be recalled, the disruption that made everything else necessary. Without acknowledging that — truly, not performatively — nothing that follows has meaning.
From that acknowledgment came the necessity that drove the second attempt: the need of a city without its sun, the need we could not set aside regardless of the risk. We did not pretend we were not desperate. Desperation honestly named is the only kind that can be worked with.
The correction we devised was sound. The controlled flame of a smith who knows his metal — measured, sustained, patient. That is what the third mark asks for. We did not provide it with sufficient patience. That error is documented elsewhere in this vault.
The fourth mark is the goal we did not reach. We name it anyway. A claim made before the work is finished is not a lie. It is an intention.
Let whoever opens this door have read the walls.
Signed: V. —————— M. —————— E. ——————
Calibration Manual — Excerpt
PRIMER ANCHOR — CALIBRATION NOTES Working document, Second Attempt
The four plinths each house a two-layer adjustment mechanism. Both layers must align before the ring will accept stabilization.
The inscriptions on each plinth describe the correct alignment. They are not metaphorical. They name the pairing directly, in the form of a relationship between two forces. Read them as equations.
Each ring has a dominant force and a receiving force. The inner ring (smaller, top layer) carries the active element. The outer ring (larger, bottom layer) carries the purpose to which that force is directed.
The bell sounds because a human hand is the instrument of a divine message. The chain holds because an immediate need is bound to the patience of seasons. The eye opens because trust between partners reveals what is hidden. The flame reaches its destination because a disruptive force has been given a singular direction.
These are not riddles. They are descriptions of what each ring is doing when it functions correctly. The runes that satisfy those descriptions are the correct settings.
Margin note, different hand:
Ring Three. Ehwaz, not Raidho. Partnership and trust, not travel and journey. The Eye cares how you move toward something, not that you move. If the ring stays cold and you believe you have it right, you have Raidho. Try again with Ehwaz.
Ring Four: once both runes align, make your check immediately. The Flame ring does not wait.
Makers’ Failure Analysis
FOR WHOEVER COMES NEXT
We are writing this quickly. The vault must be sealed before morning.
The second attempt failed. We know why.
The failure was the third mark.
We understood the sequence correctly. We are confident in that. The error was not in what we knew but in how we used what we knew.
The third mark governs controlled fire — the smith’s flame, not the bonfire. It requires patience. A sustained, deliberate, measured burn. We pressed it too hard and too fast. We were certain we understood it. Certainty and patience are not the same thing. The ring amplified our urgency instead of our intention. The anchor overloaded.
The sequence is right. The calibration method is right. The correction is in the application.
Hold the third mark steady. Do not rush it. It is the one that fails people who believe they understand it.
The third attempt will succeed. We will not be alive to make it. Whoever reads this: you have what we could not provide — knowledge of two failures instead of one. Use it.
Crowded into the corner, last entry before sealing:
The sealed alcoves contain what we could not bring ourselves to destroy. Be careful with them. They are not dangerous. They are sad.
Page from Maerin’s Codex
MY RECORD OF THE SECOND ATTEMPT SITE
I have been given something extraordinary.
A letter arrived three weeks ago with no return address. Inside: a map of the Crestwick Dawnhall, a floor plan of a vault beneath it I had never heard existed, a door sequence, and a complete copy of a calibration manual. The sender said the vault was built by the same scholars who created the Dawnborn. That the second attempt failed but was not wrong. That the sequence is correct.
I verified what I could. The Dawnhall is real. The lower floor is real. The door is real. I pressed the sequence and the door opened. I heard the anchor hum.
The makers were right. The failure was technical, not fundamental. A third attempt, made with full knowledge of two failures, can succeed.
I do not know who sent the letter. The handwriting was formal, precise, administrative. I have seen that style in Spire documents. I cannot imagine a Spire official sending this to me — they would suppress it, not share it.
I chose not to investigate the source. The work felt more important than the question.
I should have investigated the source.
Someone gave me exactly what I needed to do exactly what they wanted me to do. I have been thinking about what that means since the party came down the stairs.
If I was used — what was I used for?
The Letter Without a Sender
The records I provide have been held under Tier 4 archive restriction for fifty-one years. They were not destroyed during the consolidation — only sealed. The door sequence encoded in the vault’s own stone was not as obscured as the makers believed.
The floor plan was recovered from a civic survey conducted during the original construction, preserved in a secondary archive under a misdirected filing reference.
I provide these materials because the makers’ work was correct and their failure was recoverable. What they built should not remain sealed. The city has waited long enough.
I ask only that the work proceed without interference. The sequence is encoded in the door itself and in the Sealing Document. The calibration manual is complete. The rest is execution.
Do not attempt to find me.
— [a single initial, stylised, that could be read as either “E” or “T”]
Maerin’s handwriting, back of the page:
Tier 4. Civic survey archives. Spire administrative script. Deep access. Operational reach in the Lowmark. I chose not to ask. I am no longer certain that was wisdom.
Bridge Guard’s Written Orders
You are holding the crossing. No one passes to the door.
If they are armed and look capable: delay them. Talk. You have three of the four door marks. Do not give them freely. Make them earn it. The Saint keeps the fourth herself and there is a reason for that.
If they take you down, you have done your job. The Saint will have enough time.
You were not told the fourth mark because we do not have it. The Saint derived it herself from the vault wall on her first entry. She has not shared it with anyone.
Hold the bridge. That is the whole job.
Guard’s own handwriting, margin:
I don’t actually know what they’re doing down there. I was told it was important. I trust Maerin. That has to be enough.
I hope it is.
Dr. Ilya Ren — Case Notes
LOWMARK DAWNHALL — PATIENT NOTES
Grey sickness cases have worsened approximately 30% above baseline in 72 hours. No external factor I can identify.
Case 14-F (woman, mid-40s): two nights ago, normal Stage 1 cold sensitivity. Last night: full extremity discolouration, Stage 2 light sensitivity. This progression takes months. Not two days.
Case 7-M (man, 60s, stable for four months): now deteriorating. Asked if anything had changed. He said the light in the building felt wrong. Warmer than usual but hollow.
The amber lanterns have a grey edge that amber lanterns should not have. I have noticed it since yesterday.
I was told there is a ceremony in the basement and to leave it alone. The access record looked official. I respected that.
I am no longer comfortable with that decision.
Whatever is below this floor is running the lantern mechanism in reverse. The Dawnhall lanterns slow grey sickness progression. Something down there is accelerating it. If it does not stop tonight, Case 14 crosses Stage 2 by morning. I have nothing left to give her after that.
Someone stop the pulse. I do not care how.
Restorer Street Pamphlet
THE DAWN IS NOT GONE. IT IS WAITING.
Fifty years ago, the people of Varenhold tried to bring back the sun. They failed.
Failure is not the same as impossibility.
The scholars who led the first attempt understood what went wrong. They did not give up. They tried again — quietly, without permission — and they came closer than anyone has admitted. The second attempt was not a catastrophe. It was an interruption. The work was sealed, not abandoned.
We do not ask you to believe in miracles. We ask you to believe in method.
The sun can return. The grey sickness can end. Not through prayer or patience or the Council’s permission, but through finishing what was started.
The Dawnhalls are proof that this city knows how to survive the dark.
We are proof that this city has not stopped trying to end it.
If you are grieving someone the grey sickness took: we see you. If you want to help: find us. We are not hard to find.
RESTORERS — LOWMARK CHAPTER
Dawn returns when we stop accepting the dark as permanent.
Flash Vial
FLASH VIAL Consumable — thrown weapon
Thrown, range 20/40 ft. No attack roll required.
All creatures within 5 ft of the impact point make a DC 12 Constitution save or are blinded until end of their next turn.
A sealed vial of amber-resin compound. Shatters on impact and releases a burst of concentrated light.
Ritual Lantern of Warding
RITUAL LANTERN OF WARDING Wondrous Item
Charges: ☐ ☐ ☐ (regain 1d3 at dawn)
Action — 1 charge: All creatures within 30 ft make DC 14 Wisdom save or are frightened of the bearer for 1 minute (Constitution save DC 14 ends on each of their turns).
Free action: Bright light 30 ft, dim light 60 ft.
An iron lantern wrapped in ritual cord. The flame inside burns amber even in complete darkness.
Ritual Chain (+1 Flail)
RITUAL CHAIN Weapon — +1 Flail
+7 to hit | Reach 10 ft | 2d6+5 bludgeoning
On hit: target makes DC 15 Strength save or is grappled (escape DC 15).
While grappled near a ledge or drop: DC 12 Dexterity save at start of each turn or dragged 5 ft toward the edge.
The enchantment fades after one week outside ritual context.
Primer Lantern
PRIMER LANTERN Wondrous Item (rare)
Charges: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ (regain 1d3 at dawn)
Attack — 1 charge: +7 to hit, range 30 ft. Hit: 2d8 radiant. Target makes DC 15 Constitution save or blinded until end of its next turn.
Daylight — 2 charges: Cast daylight as an action.
Free action: Bright light 30 ft, dim light 60 ft.
A lantern of worked bronze and amber glass. The flame responds to intent.
Charged Amber Shard ×4
CHARGED AMBER SHARD Consumable thrown weapon — 4 total
+5 to hit | Range 20/40 ft (thrown) | 1d8 radiant
Charged for 1 hour after combat ends. After 1 hour: inert stone, deals 1d4 bludgeoning only.
Fragments of amber supersaturated with anchor energy. The glow fades as the charge bleeds out.
Restorer Sash
RESTORER SASH Wondrous Item (social)
While wearing this sash visibly:
- Advantage on Persuasion checks with Restorer-sympathetic Lowmark residents.
- Disadvantage on Deception checks when lying to those same people.
Deep red cloth with an amber-thread sunrise pattern. Unmistakable.
Restorer Lieutenant Token
RESTORER LIEUTENANT TOKEN Social item
A small carved bone disc stamped with a stylised lantern. Recognised by Restorer rank-and-file as a sign of authority within the movement.
Opens faction dialogue with Restorers who would otherwise be hostile.
Does not work on Restorer leadership — they know who holds a lieutenant rank.
Restorer Codex
RESTORER CODEX Plot item — Maerin’s hand-bound journal
Contains:
- The history of the second ritual attempt as Maerin understood it
- Three scholar names — the makers, still living
- A partial map of anchor network sites across Varenhold
- The door sequence and method she was given, with her own annotations
- Her growing doubt, written in the margins, about who actually sent her the materials
Critical evidence. Multiple factions will want this. The Restorers will want it back.
Ixa — Memory Fragment [Ixa’s player only]
When you come close to the door, something happens behind your eyes.
Not pain. Not a vision. More like a word you almost remember — the kind that sits at the edge of sleep.
Fragment One — The Stonework
You have seen these marks before. Not this door. Different stone, different room. But the same hands made them. You know the pattern of the chisel work. You know the depth of the cuts. You have been near something these hands built before, in a place you cannot name. The knowledge sits in your body, not your mind.
Fragment Two — A Voice
A voice — not a memory of one, but the voice itself, clear as if spoken behind you.
“Acknowledge the failure before you claim the goal. The storm that cannot be recalled must be named first.”
Then, quieter: “The third mark is the one that requires patience. Do not rush it. Patience with it is the requirement.”
Fragment Three — The Hands
Hands adjusting calibration rings — two layers, exactly like the mechanisms in the room beyond the door. The hands are not yours. But you are present, nearby, aware of everything. You cannot see what runes are being set. You can feel that it is being done with great care.
Fragment Four — A Face
Briefly, a face. Looking toward you — or toward something where you are. The expression is careful. Scientific. The face belongs to someone who made something they were proud of and something they were uncertain about at the same time.
You do not know this face.
You are certain you should.
When the fragments pass: your hands are shaking slightly. You do not have to tell the others what you saw.
Grey Sickness — Clinical Reference
GREY SICKNESS — CLINICAL STAGES Healers’ Guild Standard Reference
Stage One — most Lowmark residents Cold sensitivity. Fatigue. Slow healing. Minor light sensitivity. Manageable with warmth, amber-lantern exposure, regular medicines. Progression: months to years.
Stage Two — approx. 10–15% of Lowmark population Visible grey-blue discolouration of extremities. Disrupted sleep. Moderate light sensitivity. Reduced stamina. The Dawnhall lanterns actively slow progression. Removal from lantern warmth for 48+ hours: measurable deterioration.
Stage Three — rare, not typically survivable Full extremity discolouration. Inability to tolerate magical light. Organ involvement. Requires Tier 3+ healing or direct Restoration-adjacent intervention.
What the Dawnhall lanterns do: Amber-frequency light at sustained exposure stabilises Stage 1–2 progression. The mechanism is not fully understood. The effect is documented. The lanterns are not charity. They are medicine.
Calibration Dial — Tracker
PRIMER ANCHOR — CALIBRATION TRACKER
Set the physical dial to the correct alignment for each ring. Wrong: stays cold, no damage. Correct: warms. Then make a skill check (DC 14).
| Ring | Symbol | Inner Ring | Outer Ring | Calibrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ? | ☐ | ||
| 2 | ? | ☐ | ||
| 3 | ? | ☐ | ||
| 4 | ? | ☐ |
Fill in ring symbols and rune settings as you discover them from each plinth.
Stabilization check (any skill): Arcana · Religion · Investigation · Sleight of Hand · Athletics
Fail: 1d6 radiant to acting character. DC rises to 16 until end of next turn.
All four rings calibrated: anchor stabilises. The fight ends.