19  Session 0.5 - The Bell Beneath the Dawnhall

Central Dilemma: Can you stop something dangerous without destroying the hope it carries?

Session Goal: Introduce Varenhold and the Lowmark through escalating pressure. Test every part of the gestalt system across seven distinct challenges. End with a moral and mechanical climax that the players earned.

GM Principle for This Session: Each phase tests something different. Let each character shine in their moment. The vault is the payoff - do not rush to it.

19.1 Before Play Begins

19.1.1 What This World Is

Read this aloud to the table before the first scene:

Fifty years ago, the people of Varenhold tried to bring back the sun.

The ritual failed.

The sun did not rise. It has not risen since. Varenhold lives in permanent amber twilight - not darkness, not true day, but the light of ten thousand lanterns burning to fill a gap the sky refuses to close.

People got sick. Not all at once. Slowly, over years, the grey sickness spread through the city. It starts as cold sensitivity, fatigue, a feeling of light running out. It ends worse. The Healers slow it. No one stops it.

The Dawnhalls are what the city built to survive. Community halls in every district - food, warmth, medical care, grief, and argument. They run on amber lanterns, volunteer labor, and the stubborn belief that keeping people alive is not political. It always is.

There are people in this city called Restorers. They believe the ritual can be finished. That dawn can return. That the price has already been paid and refusing to collect what was bought is its own kind of cowardice.

Most people think they are dangerous.

Most people also understand, in the part of themselves they do not say aloud, why someone would want to believe them.

19.1.2 What the Characters Know

Each character came to Varenhold for their own reason. They do not need a shared history. They need a shared problem.

That problem is waiting beneath a Dawnhall in Lowmark.

19.1.3 The Grey Sickness - What Players Can Know

Give this to any player whose character has Medicine proficiency, a Lowmark background, or a healing role:

Grey sickness progresses in three stages. Stage one looks like ordinary illness - fatigue, sensitivity to cold, slow healing. Stage two brings the greyness: discoloration of the extremities, disrupted sleep, deepening sensitivity to magical light. Stage three is not survivable without extraordinary intervention. Most people in the Lowmark are somewhere in stage one. Have been for years. The Dawnhall lanterns help slow it. No one is sure why. The Dawnhalls are not charity. They are medicine.

19.2 Pacing Guide

Time Phase Type
0:00-0:20 Phase 1: Street Approach Combat / Stealth / Social
0:20-0:40 Phase 2: The Dawnhall Above Investigation / Social / Medicine
0:40-0:55 Phase 3: Upper Basement Lockpicking / Arcana / Clues
0:55-1:05 Phase 4: The Trapped Staircase Perception / Disable / Hazard
1:05-1:25 Phase 5: The Bridge Tactical Combat
1:25-1:45 Phase 6: The Vault Door Riddle / Rune Knowledge / Ixa
1:45-2:45 Phase 7: The Vault Everything
2:45-3:00 Aftermath and Closing Beat Roleplay / Consequences

Phases 1-5 are the marathon. Phase 6 is the threshold. Phase 7 is the klapper op de vuurpijl. Do not rush Phases 1-5 - they are the point.

19.3 Pre-Session Checklist

19.3.1 What to Draw - Map 1: Upper Basement

Dimensions: 30 x 20 ft (6 x 4 squares). Standard maintenance room.

Element Location
Stairs down from Dawnhall (S) North wall, center
Storage shelves (cover) East wall
Pipe cluster and valve wheel South wall west
Lantern equipment rack West wall
Restorer supply cache (small crate) Southwest corner
Reinforced door to lower stairs (D) South wall east
Ritual chalk marks on floor Around door frame

19.3.2 What to Draw - Map 2: The Vault (Phase 7)

Dimensions: 50 x 40 ft (10 x 8 squares). Older stone, lower ceiling, air tastes different.

Element Location
Vault entrance from stairs (V) North wall west
Primer Anchor - ring of stone (A) Center of room
Plinth 1 - Bell ring (P1) Northwest quadrant
Plinth 2 - Chain ring (P2) Northeast quadrant
Plinth 3 - Eye ring (P3) Southeast quadrant
Plinth 4 - Flame ring (P4) Southwest quadrant
Ancient workbenches (cover) East and west walls
Sealed containment alcoves (3) South wall
Restorer candles and ritual chalk Around anchor, 10-ft radius
Wall inscriptions (clues) North and east walls
Difficult terrain - broken apparatus Northeast and southwest corners

Enemy starting positions in vault: - Maerin Voss: 10 ft south of anchor, facing entrance - Anchor-Bearer 1: northwest of anchor, blocking left path - Anchor-Bearer 2: northeast of anchor, blocking right path - Dawnhall Desperate 1 and 2: near vault entrance, blocking - Dawnhall Desperate 3 and 4: near south plinths, watching

19.3.3 Dial Reference Card

Copy this to an index card. Pass to the players when they find the first plinth inscription.

CALIBRATION DIAL - 4 rings, 4 settings

Ring 1 - Bell:    Top [ ᛗ ]  Bottom [ ᚨ ]
Ring 2 - Chain:   Top [ ᚾ ]  Bottom [ ᛃ ]
Ring 3 - Eye:     Top [ ᛖ ]  Bottom [ ᛈ ]
Ring 4 - Flame:   Top [ ᚦ ]  Bottom [ ᛊ ]

Wrong setting: ring stays cold, no damage.
Correct setting: ring warms. Make stabilization check.

Do not pass this card until players find the first plinth. Let them earn each line.

19.3.4 Anchor Tracking Card

PRIMER ANCHOR
AC 15  |  HP [   40   ]
Resist: Radiant, Fire  |  Vulnerable: Thunder
Rings calibrated: [ Bell ][ Chain ][ Eye ][ Flame ]
Stabilize: [  ][  ][  ] success  /  [  ][  ] failure
Round: [1][2][3][4][5][6]

19.3.5 Other Prep

19.4 Campaign Integration

This session takes place shortly before Session 1.

19.4.1 The Vault’s History

The vault beneath the Dawnhall is not storage. It is a second-attempt site.

Fifty years ago the first ritual failed. Most people accepted this. Some did not. A small group of scholars - the same group who created the Dawnborn - continued working in secret. They believed the failure was a calibration error. That the ritual could be corrected. That a network of Primer Anchors, properly aligned, could complete what the first attempt could not.

They built this vault. They installed the Primer Anchor. They sealed it with their own analytical framework encoded in Elder Futhark. Then they failed again - quietly, without public disaster - and sealed the vault from the inside.

The general population does not know this happened. The Council’s official history does not mention a second attempt. The Spire has documents. Most are sealed.

The Restorers found this place because someone with Spire access gave them a method, a map, and the door sequence. That person has not been identified.

19.4.2 Faction Stakes — Who Wins If the Ritual Runs

The anchor is not broken. It is doing exactly what it was designed to do. If it runs to completion without interruption, it performs a second failed ritual — quieter than the first, but with consequences.

Faction If ritual completes and fails again Why
Restorers Short-term win Proof of concept. Martyrdom fuel. Recruitment spike. Leadership escapes prosecution.
The Spire Win Justification to crack down on Restorer cells, seize vault evidence, expand jurisdiction into the Lowmark. May have wanted it to run long enough to gather intelligence.
Healers’ Guild Loss Grey sickness cases spike. Dawnhall reputation damaged. They hold the human cost.
Lowmark residents Loss Anchor flare harms the sick immediately. Dawnhall becomes unsafe for weeks.
Compact Nervous Another failed ritual accelerates Varenhold’s decline as a trade hub.

The horrible positive: A completed-and-failed anchor leaves a resonance scar — a permanent magical dead zone. Grey sickness accelerates in a 3-block radius. But the resonance burn also destroys the Spire’s forensic evidence. Restorer leadership walks free. They have a new martyr site and a new recruitment story.

The party is the only actor that loses nothing from stopping this and gains everything from evidence preserved.

19.4.3 The Useful Idiots Outside

The Restorer Scouts on the street were not told about the vault. They were paid four silver each to manage crowd overflow for “a private Restorer vigil.” They believe it. If captured and pressed: “We were told it was a ceremony. We were paid to keep the crowd from getting too large. That is all we know.”

Whoever hired them had operational resources in the Lowmark — the kind of reach that does not come from a street-level faction. This is a thread.

19.4.4 The Removed Warnings

The original makers left warnings throughout the vault approach. Someone removed them recently — crude plastering over carved text, chisel marks above doorframes, plaster still pale against the older stone.

What was removed: - Above the Phase 3 doorframe: “The error was in the foundation. Do not repeat it.” - On the Phase 4 staircase wall: a diagram showing the correct anchor calibration range (which would have made Phase 7 much easier) - On the vault door surround: a line warning that the door sequence encodes the order of failure, not the order of success

Who removed it: the same person who gave Maerin the door sequence and the map. They did not want the party — or anyone else — to solve this too cleanly.

19.4.5 Connections to Sessions 1-5

This Session Connects To
Maerin Voss, Restorer Lantern-Saint Restorer faction in Sessions 1-3
Vault as second-attempt site Primer Stone investigation Sessions 2-4
The sealed containment alcoves in the vault Dawnborn research thread
Ledger access clue - Spire handwriting Archive break-in in Session 1
The door sequence given to the Restorers Who helped them - Edoran thread
Ixa’s reaction to the vault Her backstory arc across campaign

19.4.6 The Ledger Clue

In the upper basement, an Investigation DC 14 check finds a basement access entry dated six weeks ago in handwriting that does not match the steward’s. If shown to Theron Waide (Session 1, City Archivist), he recognizes it as consistent with Spire administrative documents.

19.5 Character Hooks

19.5.1 Pel (Rogue/Wizard, Lowmark native)

Pel grew up here. This Dawnhall is not abstract - it is where people in his district go when there is nowhere else. Berric Halven will mention that Sera Voss came asking about the basement three days ago and never came back. For Pel: the ledger entry is dated six weeks ago. Same as her letter. He can connect that without being told.

Gestalt spotlight - Portent + Sneak Attack: The trapped staircase glyph and the vault door sequence are exactly the kind of problems Pel’s Investigation + Arcana combination is built for. His Portent dice can guarantee a critical stabilization check when the anchor is near flare. Sneak Attack fires on every Echo when any ally is adjacent - one action can drop an Echo per round.

19.5.2 Serah Tallon (Paladin/Sorcerer, Wanderer devotee)

The Wanderer protects travelers and the lost. The sick upstairs are lost. Serah’s Lay on Hands used visibly on a grey sickness patient - in sight of the desperate locals - ends one Desperate’s hostility without a roll. Her Lucky feat can flip a failed Constitution save against the anchor’s final flare. She is the party’s safety valve.

Gestalt spotlight - Lay on Hands + Lucky: In Phase 2, before they go below, Serah can spend Lay on Hands on a visible patient. If desperate locals see it, one of them will not be in the vault fighting the party. This is the only action in the session that removes an enemy before combat begins.

19.5.3 Keiran (Monk/Ranger, Warrior of Shadow)

Speed 45, Disengage as bonus action, Darkness from Shadow Arts. On the bridge, Keiran can cross the whole span in one turn and attack from the far side. In the vault, Step of the Wind bypasses both Anchor-Bearers to reach the anchor in a single turn.

Gestalt spotlight - Bridge combat: The bridge fight is designed for Keiran. Narrow terrain punishes straight fighters. Keiran can Disengage past the Guard’s opportunity attack, cross 45 ft of bridge, and attack from behind in the same turn. Shadow Arts Darkness cast on the Guard’s position blinds him (DC 15 Dex save) and opens the path for the rest of the party.

19.5.4 Ixa (Dawnborn, made in a laboratory)

The general population does not know Ixa’s nature. She may not fully know it herself. The vault was built by the same people who made her, or people working from the same research. When she approaches it, something is wrong in a way she cannot explain.

Vault door moment: When Ixa comes within 10 feet of the vault door, she recognizes things. The stonework. The symbols carved into it. The pattern of the marks. She has seen these before - not with her eyes, in memory.

Wisdom DC 15: - Fail: The recognition overwhelms her. Fragmented memories: voices, a laboratory, hands setting calibration rings, the makers’ faces. She doubles over with a splitting headache, stunned until end of her next turn. Other players see distress - it reads as sensitivity to old magic. When she recovers, she knows at least two runes from the door sequence and one dial combination. - Success: The flashes come but do not break her. She keeps functioning. She can describe one fragment clearly - enough to identify one rune in the door sequence or confirm one dial setting the party has already guessed.

Either outcome: Ixa’s player knows this place means something. The rest of the table does not know why. Let that sit.

19.6 The Entrance Scene

This session opens with four strangers arriving at the same building for different reasons. Address each player individually before reading the Five-Senses Opening — one sentence of context, then “You approach the Dawnhall.” Once all four have been placed at the entrance, read the opening aloud.

19.6.1 Why Each Character Is Here

Pel — He has been asking around the Lowmark for Sera Voss since her letter arrived. A cloth-merchant two streets over told him Sera came to this Dawnhall three days ago asking about basement access and was never seen leaving. This building is the last known point. He needs to get inside.

Serah — She has been working the Lowmark sick-houses for days. Her patients are grey sickness sufferers who depend on this Dawnhall’s lantern warmth and Ilya Ren’s medicines. Two nights ago the medicine supply from this hall stopped. A family came to her door this morning: their daughter worsening since the Dawnhall stopped letting people in. She came to find out why Ilya stopped sending supplies — and what is wrong with the light.

Keiran — He has been watching a Restorer cell move through the Lowmark for a week. Three nights ago they carried supplies — wrapped in oilskin, heavy — through the servants’ entrance of this building. Nothing came back out. Tonight the lights in the windows changed color. He has been deciding whether to go in alone. The decision is made.

Ixa — She noticed the lanterns two days ago. Wrong resonance. The amber light in this building has something underneath it — not warmth, not fire. She has walked past four times. Each time she slows. Tonight she stopped walking. She cannot explain why she needs to be inside this building, and that is almost reason enough not to trust it — but she is here anyway.

19.6.2 Why the Entrance is Crowded

The Dawnhall serves the Lowmark every day: hot food, lantern warmth for the grey-sick, medicines from Ilya Ren. The Restorers did not announce themselves. They arrived with forged access records and moved downstairs. They are not blocking the front door — the food line and sickroom upstairs are still running — but there is a locked door where there used to be an open one, the lights are wrong, and people can feel something is off.

The crowd outside is people who came for their usual service and found the atmosphere hostile. The Restorer scouts told some of them the hall is “under maintenance.” Others felt the wrong light on their skin and did not go in. They are not blocking the entrance. They are waiting for someone to tell them it is safe.

This crowd matters: in Phase 2 they are the people the party is fighting for. In Phase 7, the Dawnhall Desperates came from among them — neighbours who followed the Restorers down believing they were protecting something.

19.6.3 How the Party Forms

The four arrive within minutes of each other — separately, on foot, from different directions. They do not know one another. The Restorer scouts notice all of them at approximately the same time.

The scouts provide the catalyst. When two watchmen step toward one stranger and then clock a second and a third arriving behind her, they have a problem. The strangers have a choice: cooperate against a common obstacle, or waste time being suspicious of each other while the scouts call for help.

Let this moment breathe. Ask each player: “What does your character do when they realize they are not the only one here?” The scouts are not the threat — the question of whether these four strangers can trust each other enough to take a single step together is.

19.7 Five-Senses Opening

19.7.1 Read-Aloud: Approaching the Dawnhall

The Lowmark smells like lamp oil and old bread and something underneath both of those things that never quite leaves - damp stone, the residue of years of amber light burning where sunlight used to be.

The Dawnhall ahead is easy to find. It is the building with the lanterns burning too bright.

You can see it from here: the amber light in the windows is not the usual warm dim. It presses against the glass. One pane is already cracked. There are people crowded outside who should be inside - some watching the door, some watching the street.

Two of them are watching you.

19.8 Phase 1: The Street Approach

What is happening: Two Restorer Scouts are posted outside the Dawnhall watching for a Guild or Council response. They are not soldiers. They are watchers. They will try to delay and warn before they fight.

Three ways through:

Fight: 3 Restorer Scouts. CR 1 each. They have Flash Vials (DC 12 Con save or blinded), use Pack Tactics, and try to disengage and warn the others if one goes down. If all three drop in the same round, no warning reaches below.

Stealth (DC 13): The crowd gives cover. A character moving with the foot traffic can approach without drawing attention. All four must succeed or the scouts notice the stragglers.

Social (DC 13 Deception or Persuasion): Posing as Healers’ Guild responders, late Dawnhall workers, or concerned locals. The scouts are not hard to fool - they are frightened volunteers, not trained agents. A convincing story with appropriate framing (mention Ilya Ren, the Guild, or the steward) drops the DC to 10.

If the scouts warn the vault: The Vault-Warden is already alert (it is always alert). Two scouts follow the party down to Phase 5, arriving at the start of round 2 from the upper basement stairwell. The Warden’s Threshold Challenge reaction fires the moment the first party member crosses the bridge midpoint.

If the scouts are captured and questioned: They know there is a group below working on something. They do not know what it is. They were told to watch and delay. They do not know the vault door sequence.

19.9 Phase 2: The Dawnhall Above

19.9.1 Read-Aloud

Inside, the Dawnhall is doing what it always does - trying to hold the district together with food and warmth and the belief that tomorrow is worth planning for.

Today that is harder than usual.

The lanterns are wrong. Not flickering - burning too steadily, too brightly. The amber light has a grey edge to it that amber light should not have. At the back of the room, behind a curtain, someone coughs with the thick sound of grey sickness in its second stage.

A man near the notice board is watching the door to the left of the food counter. He looks like he has been watching it for several hours and does not know what to do next.

Key figures:

Berric Halven - The steward. He will answer questions. He has been trying to decide whether to lock the basement door from outside or go down himself. He is relieved to see the party.

Ilya Ren - The healer. Moving fast between the food area and the sickroom. Will stop if directly approached. Never goes downstairs.

What Berric tells the party (no check): - A group arrived three nights ago with access records he did not issue - The records looked official; he did not question them - The lanterns started behaving wrong yesterday night - The sick in the sickroom got worse this morning - He has not been able to get them out - Sera Voss came by three days ago asking about the basement records. He showed her the access entry. She said to send word if anything happened. He sent word this morning. She has not come.

The ledger entry is dated six weeks ago - same as when Sera wrote to Pel.

What Ilya tells the party (if asked): - Grey sickness patients are worsening above baseline - The pulse from below is affecting them directly - She does not care about history or ritual evidence - She needs the pulse stopped before someone dies

Skill opportunities in Phase 2:

Check DC Information or Effect
Investigation 12 The basement hatch is behind the food counter, under a rug. Recently used - the rug is slightly off-center.
Investigation 14 Ledger alcove: access entry six weeks ago in handwriting that does not match Berric’s.
Arcana 12 The ambient magic is wrong. Something below is pulling light upward through the lantern system.
Medicine 11 The sickroom patients are in late stage one, early stage two. The grey tinge is worse than it should be for their recorded intake.
Insight 11 The desperate locals in the crowd are not aggressive. They are waiting. Some of them believe what the Restorers are doing might be the right thing.
History 13 Dawnhalls built in the first twenty years after the Night of the Ritual often have older foundations. Some pre-Ritual civic buildings were incorporated rather than demolished.

Serah’s moment: If Serah uses Lay on Hands on a visible grey sickness patient before going below, one of the four Dawnhall Desperates in the vault will not fight. When the party later encounters them, that Desperate stands aside.

Finding the hatch: The hatch is behind the food counter, under a worn rug, with a simple iron ring. It is not locked. Someone went down recently and did not lock it behind them.

19.10 Phase 3: The Upper Basement

19.10.1 Read-Aloud

The air below the Dawnhall is colder than it should be - not the cold of stone, but the cold of something drawing warmth upward.

The upper basement is a maintenance room: pipe systems, lantern oil storage, racks of spare glass, crates of cloth and dry goods. Functional. Unremarkable.

Except the floor.

Someone has drawn chalk marks near the far door - not maintenance marks. Ritual marks. And the door itself is reinforced with iron bands that were not part of the original construction. They are new. The door is locked from below.

What the party finds here:

Restorer supply cache (southwest corner, Investigation DC 11 to notice): A small crate with water skins, ritual chalk, a folded cloth marked with the Restorer sigil, and a handwritten note in a simple substitution cipher. The note reads (once decoded with DC 13 Intelligence or Investigation): “Three nights. If no word by dawn - and there is no dawn - pull back. The sequence is confirmed. The Saint has what she needs.”

The reinforced door (south wall east): Iron bands added recently. Locked from below with a heavy mechanism. - Pel’s Thieves’ Tools: DC 14 - Knock spell: automatic - Athletics (forcing): DC 18 (the bands are solid; possible but loud — the Vault-Warden on the bridge below hears it and is no longer surprised) - Finding the key: a Restorer soldier was stationed at the bridge landing before the Warden reactivated (his pack is still there — see Phase 5)

Skill checks in the upper basement:

Check DC Result
Arcana 12 The ritual chalk marks are a stabilization guide - someone drew reference marks for calibrating something below. They are incomplete. One symbol is smudged.
Investigation 13 Fresh tool marks around the door frame. Someone forced this door from the other side recently - the Restorers came up this way and went back down.
History 15 The door frame is older than the building above. The stones around it are pre-Ritual civic construction. This basement connects to something built before the Night of the Ritual.
Religion 13 The chalk marks include two Elder Futhark runes: ᚾ Nauthiz and ᛊ Sowilo - need and sun. A scholar used this room as a reference point for something below.
Investigation 12 Above the reinforced doorframe: chisel marks where text was carved into the stone and then removed. Only fragments remain: “…THE ERROR WAS IN THE…” and “…DO NOT…”. The removal is recent - the stone is clean where it was chiseled, the surrounding surface decades darker.

The two runes visible here are the 2nd and 4th runes in the vault door sequence. Smart players will note them.

The scraped warning above the doorframe is the first sign that someone deliberately removed the makers’ safety information. Whoever gave Maerin the sequence also made sure the warnings were gone.

19.11 Phase 4: The Trapped Staircase

19.11.1 Read-Aloud

The stairs beyond the door go down steeply - cut from older stone than everything above. The air changes immediately. Cooler. Dryer. The smell of lamp oil disappears, replaced by something older: mineral dust, and beneath that, the faint metallic scent of ritual residue.

The stairs are narrow. Single file.

The third step down does not look right.

The trap: The Restorers laid a ritual alarm glyph on the third step - a disc of chalk and wax pressed into the stone’s grain, partially covered by a dusting of debris to look like old grime.

Check DC Result
Perception 14 Spots the glyph before stepping on it.
Investigation 13 Identifies it as an alarm glyph - not a damage trap. Knows it can be disabled.
Arcana 12 Recognizes the glyph type. With one minute of work, can neutralize it (no check needed if Arcana 12 succeeds).
Sleight of Hand 12 Carefully scrapes the glyph off the stone without triggering it.

If triggered: A burst of grey-amber light fills the stairwell. Each creature on the stairs makes a DC 13 Constitution save - failure: 2d6 radiant damage and blinded until end of next turn. Success: half damage, not blinded. The Vault-Warden on the bridge below hears the burst and is no longer surprised.

If disabled: The party descends without incident. The Vault-Warden does not know they are coming (it lacks hearing beyond its tremorsense range on the bridge surface).

19.12 Phase 5: The Bridge

19.12.1 Read-Aloud

The stairs end at a landing.

Beyond the landing, the walls fall away.

You are standing at one end of a narrow stone arch — maybe four feet wide, maybe forty feet long — spanning a drop into old darkness. Below, twenty feet down, water moves slowly in what was once a civic cistern. The stone of the bridge is pre-Ritual: older, smoother, carved with marks that predate the Dawnhall above by at least a century.

On the far side, something stands with its back to the vault door.

It is shaped like a person. But it is not a person.

When it hears you, it turns. The motion is unhurried and exact. Two smooth depressions in a face of grey-amber stone catch the light. Its chest holds an iron housing — old metal, amber-set — that pulses faintly. It has been standing here, you understand without being told, for a very long time.

The bridge: 40 ft long, 4 ft wide (one square), 20-ft drop to dark water below. The drop is survivable (2d6 bludgeoning, 5 ft water, DC 12 Athletics to keep gear). Prone creatures make DC 11 Dex save at start of their turn or slide 5 ft toward the edge.

The Vault-Warden: One Vault-Warden construct (CR 5). A bound spirit — the remnant of Tolvin Heuschel, architect of the second ritual attempt — sealed into a stone guardian 200 years ago so that someone would always know what went wrong. The Warden has been here ever since. It is not on the Restorers’ side. It was not told to stand aside for them. It was told — two centuries ago — to let no unauthorized person through. It was given authorization codes by the same person who sent Maerin the map.

A Restorer soldier was stationed here before the Warden unexpectedly reactivated. His orders and gear remain in a pack by the landing wall. He has retreated into the vault to warn Maerin and has not returned. The Warden did not follow. It is watching the party.

Tactical notes: - Warden begins at the far end (40 ft), blocking the vault door - Cannot be moved, pushed, or knocked prone on the bridge (Bridge Lock) - Has tremorsense 30 ft on the bridge surface — magical darkness does not blind it - Warden’s Pulse (recharge 5–6): DC 14 Constitution save, 4d6 radiant + prone — devastating on a narrow bridge - Prone creatures who fail DC 11 Dex slide toward the edge; at the edge, a failed save is a 20-ft fall - Ranged attacks work freely; but the Warden’s Threshold Challenge reaction stops the first creature to cross the midpoint

Gear on the landing (from the fleeing Restorer’s abandoned pack): - Ritual Lantern of Warding (3 charges), Ritual Chain (functions as +1 flail, reach 10 ft) - Restorer Lieutenant Token — this is the bypass. The Warden’s Authorization sense recognizes it. A character who holds the Token openly before crossing the midpoint is not attacked.

Social option: If the party pauses and engages the Warden respectfully for one round (not attacking, not charging): - Persuasion DC 13 (automatic if Ixa is within 20 ft): Warden halts hostility for 1 minute and speaks - It will not help anyone it believes intends to complete the ritual - If convinced the party is here to stop the ritual: Persuasion DC 16 (DC 10 with Ixa), and it steps aside entirely, watching

What the Warden tells the party (if cooperative): - The full vault door sequence, verbatim: “Disruption. Need. Fire. Light. In the order we failed.” — ᚺ ᚾ ᚲ ᛊ - The warnings on this approach were removed. It is angry about this. It cannot leave the bridge to do anything about it. - If Ixa is present: it addresses her as “one of the children.” The vault was built by the same hands that made her, or people working from the same research. It will tell her the third plinth setting specifically if asked — the one most parties struggle with. - Its name: Tolvin Heuschel. Architect of the second attempt. He sealed his own consciousness here so that the record would never be lost.

Why the Warden has the full sequence: it designed the vault. Maerin independently derived her sequence from the door and the letter she received. She got it right — but she did not know the Warden existed, or that it knew.

19.13 Phase 6: The Vault Door

19.13.1 Read-Aloud

The door at the end of the bridge is not what you expected.

It is old stone — older than the bridge, older than the Dawnhall, possibly older than Varenhold’s current form. It stands eight feet tall with no handle, no keyhole, no visible mechanism.

What it has is runes.

All twenty-four Elder Futhark runes are carved into its face in a ring, each precise, each deep-cut. They are not decorative.

Above the rune ring, carved into the arch of the door frame in smaller, older lettering:

Four marks upon the road of return.

First: what fell and made restoration necessary. Second: what drove the work back into motion despite the fear. Third: the flame they carried — contained, purposeful, not the bonfire. Fourth: the name of what they worked toward. The morning not yet come.

Below the rune ring, a single line of text in old academic Varenhold:

“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.”

The puzzle: Four of the twenty-four runes are raised and can be pressed. There are two ways to identify them:

  1. By touch (DC 10 Investigation or simply running a hand along the ring): feel the four that stand slightly proud of the surface.
  2. By the arch inscription: the riddle above the ring describes all four runes by meaning, in order. Religion DC 12 or Arcana DC 13 lets a character match each description to a specific Elder Futhark rune — no need to find the raised ones first.

The four raised runes: ᚺ Hagalaz, ᚾ Nauthiz, ᚲ Kenaz, ᛊ Sowilo

The inscription is the key: “In the order that it happened.”

  • ᚺ Hagalaz: the disruption - the first ritual’s failure - came first
  • ᚾ Nauthiz: the need - what drove the second attempt - came second
  • ᚲ Kenaz: the controlled fire - the method, the correction - came third
  • ᛊ Sowilo: the sun - the goal - has not arrived yet, but is pressed last as a claim

The sequence: ᚺ → ᚾ → ᚲ → ᛊ

Wrong order: nothing. The door does not respond. No punishment. Players can try again.

Clues gathered across the session:

Source Clue
Bell inscription (existing, upstairs in hall) Positions the sequence within ritual theory
Upper basement chalk marks ᚾ Nauthiz and ᛊ Sowilo visible — 2nd and 4th
Arch inscription (vault door frame) Describes all four runes in order by meaning — Religion DC 12 or Arcana DC 13 to decode
Vault-Warden (if cooperative) Full sequence verbatim: “Disruption. Need. Fire. Light.” — ᚺ ᚾ ᚲ ᛊ
Religion DC 14 at the door The makers acknowledged failure before claiming restoration; Hagalaz first
History DC 13 at the door Inscription language consistent with second-generation ritual scholarship
Ixa’s vision (fail or success) Fills in whatever is still missing

The missing rune: ᚲ Kenaz (controlled fire, the torch, the smith’s flame) is the hardest to identify. The arch inscription calls it “the flame — contained, purposeful, not the bonfire.” A character who recognizes that description as Kenaz’s meaning (Religion DC 12) can identify it without touching the door. Without that check or the Vault-Warden’s help, only Ixa’s vision provides it directly.

Ixa at the door:

When Ixa comes within 10 feet, she recognizes things. The stonework pattern. The specific depth of the rune cuts. The shape of the text beneath the ring. She has seen these before in a way she cannot locate in any specific memory. It is like recognizing a handwriting style rather than a face.

Wisdom DC 15:

Fail: She doubles over. Fragmented memories come hard and fast: a laboratory, makers in work coats, the vault door being sealed from the inside, calibration rings spinning, a voice saying something she cannot quite hear. She is stunned until the end of her next turn. Other players see her in distress - it looks like old magic sensitivity, nothing more. When she recovers, she can name ᚲ Kenaz with certainty and describe one vault plinth inscription she has not yet read.

Success: The flashes come in controlled bursts. She does not go down. She describes a fragment - hands pressing runes, the last one being fire-related - enough to confirm ᚲ Kenaz as the third rune if the party is stuck. She cannot explain how she knows.

Either result: she is the only reason the third rune is findable without a DC 14+ Religion check. Her past is built into this door.

When the sequence is pressed correctly:

The door does not swing. It does not grind. It simply… recedes. One inch into itself, then slides aside on a mechanism that has not moved in fifty years.

The air that comes out is old and cold and smells like mineral dust and something that was once burning and is not anymore.

Beyond the door is a vault.

19.14 Phase 7: The Vault

19.14.1 Read-Aloud: Entering the Vault

The room beyond is large - larger than anything above it should contain. The stone is dark and smooth and carved everywhere with text, diagrams, and notation systems that mix academic script with Elder Futhark with something else you do not have a name for.

Four stone plinths stand at the room’s corners, each supporting a bronze ring with calibration marks. Each plinth has a short inscription in Futhark at its base.

In the center of the room, a ring of stone and metal the size of a wagon wheel pulses with grey-amber light. Not steadily. Like breathing. Like something wounded.

Around it, Restorers work with raised hands and low voices.

A woman at the anchor turns toward you.

Her face is calm. Her hands are shaking.

19.14.2 The Second-Attempt Site

The wall inscriptions (History DC 13 or Investigation DC 12 to read partially) reveal:

  • This vault was built approximately forty years after the Night of the Ritual
  • It was a second attempt at ritual restoration, conducted in secret
  • The makers believed the first failure was a calibration error in the Primer Anchor network
  • The second attempt also failed - not catastrophically, but completely
  • The makers sealed the vault from the inside and did not leave
  • There are three containment alcoves in the south wall. Two are empty. One is sealed.

What is in the sealed alcove: do not reveal this in Session 0.5. It connects to the Dawnborn research thread in Sessions 2-4.

19.14.3 Running the Scene

Four things are happening simultaneously. Track all four.

Element Status at Start Changes When
The Anchor Active, escalating Calibrated and stabilized, or destroyed
The Sickroom Above Worsening Anchor stops, or someone helps upstairs
The Restorers Defensive, not yet fighting Party acts aggressively, or anchor event triggers
The Locals Blocking, scared Civilian protected, blood spilled, anchor harms someone

Every round, one detail from above: - Someone coughs hard above - Dust falls from the vault ceiling - The anchor pulse makes the stone floor vibrate - A lantern in the upper basement flickers through the stairwell - The grey light from the anchor makes the Futhark wall inscriptions hard to read

19.15 The Primer Anchor

AC 15 | HP 40 | Damage Resistances radiant, fire | Damage Vulnerability thunder | Damage Immunities poison, psychic | Condition Immunities all

The anchor acts on initiative count 20 each round. Stop escalation if stabilized or destroyed.

19.15.1 Round Escalation

Round Effect at Initiative Count 20
1 Pulse. Pressure behind the eyes. No damage. The wall inscriptions seem to shift for a moment.
2 Creatures within 10 feet make DC 13 Constitution save. Fail: 2d6 radiant. Success: half.
3 Sickroom above worsens. Ilya Ren shouts: “Someone is seizing. Stop the pulse.” Social checks against locals at disadvantage until someone helps above or the anchor is addressed.
4 One Light-Sick Echo appears near Plinth 1 (Bell). Roll initiative for it.
5 The anchor pulls at memory and grief. Each PC hears a voice from above asking for dawn. DC 13 Wisdom save or disadvantage on next attack roll or ability check.
6 Final flare. All creatures in vault make DC 14 Constitution save. Fail: 4d6 radiant damage and blinded until end of next turn. Success: half, not blinded.

19.15.2 Calibrating the Anchor (The Dial Puzzle)

The cleanest solution. Each of the four calibration rings must be set with the physical dial before a stabilization check can succeed on that ring.

Setting the dial: Player physically sets the two-layer dial to the correct alignment, announces it, describes what their character does to the ring mechanism.

If alignment is correct: Ring warms. Make the stabilization skill check (DC 14).

If alignment is wrong: Ring stays cold. No damage. Try again next action.

Stabilization skill check (DC 14, one ring per action):

Skill How
Arcana Understand the magical feedback of this specific ring
Religion Recognize the ritual logic of the ring’s purpose
Investigation Find the physical calibration marks on the ring housing
Sleight of Hand Adjust the ring’s internal lens with precision
Athletics Force the ring into correct physical alignment

On success: mark ring as calibrated. Pulse weakens slightly. On failure: 1d6 radiant damage to acting character. DC increases to 16 until end of their next turn.

All 4 rings calibrated: Anchor stabilizes. Echoes vanish. Sick above stop worsening. Restorers lose their immediate reason to fight.

Plinth inscriptions (translated from Futhark - Investigation or Religion DC 11 to read each):

Plinth Rune Setting Inscription
Bell (P1) ᛗ top, ᚨ bottom “The bell speaks when the hand of man carries the word of god”
Chain (P2) ᚾ top, ᛃ bottom “The chain holds when necessity grasps the turning year”
Eye (P3) ᛖ top, ᛈ bottom “The eye sees when trust opens what is hidden”
Flame (P4) ᚦ top, ᛊ bottom “The flame arrives when the giant force is pointed at the sun”

Players who know their Futhark meanings can derive the settings directly. Others need Religion DC 13 or History DC 12 to interpret.

19.15.3 Destroying the Anchor

Reduce to 0 HP. Stops danger. Echoes vanish. Sick stop worsening. Evidence of the active pattern is lost. Restorers are furious. Fragments, burn marks, and the vault itself remain.

When anchor takes 15+ damage in one round, backlash: creatures within 10 ft make DC 13 Con save. Fail: 2d6 radiant. Success: half.

19.15.4 Escalation Triggers

Trigger Effect
First blood One desperate local tries to flee toward stairs
Anchor damaged Light screams; creatures within 10 ft DC 13 Con save or 2d6 radiant
Anchor calibrated (any ring) That Echo weakens; Restorers lose morale for one round
Civilian endangered Everyone reacts, even enemies
Party uses radiant magic near anchor Anchor flares; next stabilization DC +1
Party invokes a god Maerin listens one moment; next social check against her has advantage if sincere
Party mentions Corven Maerin becomes suspicious; demands to know what party knows
Party mentions the Night of the Ritual Room goes quiet one breath; anchor pulses harder; advance escalation 1 round
Party notices the sealed alcove Maerin’s eyes go to it. She says nothing. She knows something about it.

19.16 NPC Reference

19.16.1 Maerin Voss, Restorer Lantern-Saint

Occupation: Restorer preacher and ritual witness Goal: Keep the anchor active long enough to prove the second attempt contains a correctable path Attitude: Calm, intense, compassionate - dangerous when challenged Stake: Very high. She believes this is proof the makers were right.

What she says: > “You feel it, don’t you? This is not dead stone. This is an answer.”

“If we shut this down now, we may lose the first proof we have had in fifty years.”

“I do not want them hurt. But I will not let fear bury the dawn again.”

What she does not know: Someone gave her the door sequence and the map. She believes it came from a Restorer contact in the Spire. It did not. She was used as a delivery mechanism. If the party can make her understand this, her certainty cracks.

What makes her stop: Proof the anchor is harming people now. A credible promise to preserve the evidence. Seeing locals injured because of her plan. If shown the ledger entry and told the access was provided by someone with Spire connections who is not a Restorer.

19.16.2 Ilya Ren, Dawnhall Healer (upstairs, voice only)

What she says (shout from above): > “Whatever is below us, it is killing them now.”

“You can argue after they can breathe.”

“Someone is seizing. Stop the pulse. I do not care how.”

19.16.3 Berric Halven, Dawnhall Steward

What he says: > “Not here. Please, not here.”

“This hall feeds people.”

“She asked me to send word. I sent it hours ago. She lives three streets away. She would have heard the bell.”

19.16.4 Dawnhall Desperates

What they say: > “You always come to stop things. Who comes to fix them?”

“My daughter is upstairs.”

“If this is a chance, even a small one, we cannot throw it away.”

What makes them stop: A PC protects one of them. A PC visibly heals a sick person. The anchor harms someone near them. The Restorers begin acting recklessly.

19.17 Social Conflict

Short sentences during combat are free. Actual persuasion requires an action.

Situation DC
Strong argument, target is calm 13
Target is afraid or angry 15
Blood has already been spilled 17

Arguments that work:

Argument Target Effect
Protect the sick above Locals, Maerin Reduces hostility
The makers’ second attempt also failed Maerin Opens real negotiation
Preserve the evidence from the vault Maerin Buys time, opens compromise
You were given that sequence by someone who used you Maerin Her certainty cracks if believable
We can stabilize it, not destroy it Maerin Buys one round

Arguments that fail: - “The Council knows best” - “Stand down or die” - “Your hope is stupid”

These people are desperate, not foolish.

19.18 Clues Across the Session

Phase Check DC Information
Phase 2 Investigation 12 Basement hatch found
Phase 2 Investigation 14 Ledger access entry - wrong handwriting
Phase 2 Arcana 12 Ambient magic pulling downward through lanterns
Phase 3 Religion 13 ᚾ Nauthiz and ᛊ Sowilo visible in chalk marks
Phase 3 History 15 Foundations pre-Ritual, older than Dawnhall
Phase 5 Persuasion 13 Vault-Warden halts to speak; DC 16 (10 with Ixa) to stand aside entirely
Phase 5 Arcana 14 Identify Warden as a bound-spirit construct; formal acknowledgement is the right approach
Phase 6 Religion/Arcana 12/13 Arch inscription: decode four rune meanings from the carved riddle
Phase 6 Religion 14 Hagalaz pressed first — acknowledge failure before claiming restoration
Phase 6 Ixa vision DC 15 Wis ᚲ Kenaz identified, one plinth inscription
Phase 7 Investigation 12 Read plinth inscriptions for dial settings
Phase 7 History 13 Wall inscriptions - second-attempt site, sealed by makers
Phase 7 Arcana 14 The anchor is not failing. It is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It is the design that was wrong.

19.19 Scaling

19.19.1 3 Gestalt Characters

Remove both Anchor-Bearers, 2 Desperates, 1 Echo. Reduce anchor HP to 28. Maerin CR 4 (62 HP). Final flare 3d6 not 4d6. Allow 3 stabilization failures before flare. Maerin opens with negotiation, not combat.

19.19.2 4 Gestalt Characters

Remove 1 Anchor-Bearer and 1 Echo. Reduce anchor HP to 34. Maerin as written.

19.19.3 5 Gestalt Characters (Default)

As written. This is the baseline encounter balance.

19.19.4 6 Gestalt Characters

Add 1 Anchor-Bearer and 1 Echo. Increase anchor HP to 48. Add a second pressure point: a lantern regulator near the vault entrance overheating (DC 14 to cool; if ignored 2 rounds, it bursts — all creatures on the stairs make DC 13 Dex save or take 2d8 fire damage).

19.19.5 If the Party Is Struggling

  • Let the Vault-Warden speak first rather than fight (Ixa’s presence triggers this automatically)
  • Delay Round 4 Echo
  • Let Maerin call for restraint
  • Reduce anchor pulse damage by 1d6
  • Let one Desperate change sides after seeing the anchor hurt someone

19.20 Consequences

19.20.1 Clean Success

Anchor calibrated and stabilized, civilians protected, evidence preserved

Healers’ Guild trusts the party. Lowmark hears the party protected people. Maerin may become a future contact. Party gains vault access and evidence. The Council wants a private report. The Spire takes interest in the preserved anchor.

19.20.2 Practical Success

Anchor stopped, some harm, some evidence lost

Dawnhall survives but shaken. Healers grateful but frustrated. Restorers blame the party. Lowmark divided. Partial information.

19.20.3 Brutal Success

Anchor destroyed, Restorers killed, locals terrified

Danger ends. Lowmark fears the party. Restorers gain martyrs. Future Lowmark encounters harder.

19.20.4 Failure

Anchor flares, civilians harmed

Dawnhall unsafe. Grey sickness cases worsen. Restorers claim the party destroyed hope. Session 1 begins with damaged Lowmark reputation.

19.20.5 Secret Success

Sealed alcove noticed, ledger found, Maerin convinced of being used

Party learns the second attempt failed for the same reason as the first - but the makers knew why and wrote it on the wall. Maerin may contact them later. The sealed alcove is a thread. The Spire intermediary becomes a named target.

19.21 Rewards

Coin: 150 gp from Berric Halven (emergency fund) or Healers’ Guild via Ilya Ren. Plus combat loot: 4d10 gp from Maerin, 2d8 sp from scouts.

Consumables: 2 potions of healing, 1 healer’s kit

Combat Loot (see stat blocks for full detail): - Flash Vials (up to 6 from scouts) — thrown blinding grenades, DC 12 Con save - Ritual Lantern of Warding (from landing pack) — frighten effect, 3 charges, recharges - Ritual Chain (from landing pack) — +1 flail, reach 10 ft, grapple on hit - Amber Sentinel Core (from Vault-Warden, if destroyed) — warm amber crystal, magical focus, 100 gp to a scholar or artificer - Primer Lantern (from Maerin) — +7 ranged, 2d8 radiant + blind, limited charges - Charged Amber Shards (up to 4 from Bearers) — 1d8 radiant thrown, 1 hour of charge remaining - Restorer Lieutenant Token (from Guard) — faction dialogue opener Sessions 2–3

Evidence (if preserved): - Anchor fragments and calibration rings - Vault wall inscriptions (photographic record or rubbing) - Plinth Futhark texts (translatable with time) - Basement ledger access entry - The dial (if the party takes it - it is the original calibration tool)

Contacts: Ilya Ren, Berric Halven, Maerin Voss (if spared)

Information leads: - The second attempt failed. The wall says why. The same calibration error as the first. - Someone with Spire document access gave Maerin the sequence and the map - The sealed alcove exists

19.22 Stat Blocks

19.22.1 Restorer Scout

Medium humanoid (any), neutral

AC 13 (leather armor) | HP 22 (4d8+4) | Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
11 (+0) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5 Senses passive Perception 13 | Languages Common | CR 1 (200 XP)

Traits - Pack Tactics. Advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one ally is within 5 ft of the target and not incapacitated. - Non-Lethal Intent. Deals non-lethal damage unless ordered otherwise.

Actions - Amber Baton. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning (non-lethal by default). - Flash Vial (2/encounter). Thrown, range 20/40 ft. All creatures within 5 ft of impact make DC 12 Constitution save or are blinded until end of their next turn. No attack roll required. - Amber-Tipped Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/120 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing + 2 (1d4) radiant.

Bonus Action - Disengage or Dash.

Morale: If one scout drops, the others retreat to warn below. If all three drop in the same round, no warning reaches the vault. None know the vault door sequence.

Loot (per scout): 2 Flash Vials (DC 12 Con save or blinded, thrown 20/40 ft), amber-tipped crossbow bolts (10), Restorer sash (advantage on Persuasion with Restorer-sympathetic Lowmark residents), 1d6 sp.

19.22.2 Vault-Warden (Tolvin Heuschel’s Bind)

Large construct (bound spirit), neutral

AC 16 (natural armor) | HP 85 (10d10+30) | Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 8 (−1) 17 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0)

Saving Throws Str +8, Con +6 Skills Athletics +8, Perception +6 Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities poison, psychic Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft, tremorsense 30 ft (bridge surface only), passive Perception 16 Languages Common (archaic), Elder Futhark; understands most languages spoken within range CR 5 (1,800 XP)

Traits - Bridge Lock. While on the bridge: immune to forced movement, cannot be knocked prone. Athletics shove attempts automatically fail. - Construct Nature. Doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep. Immune to mind-affecting effects. - Token Authorization. Creatures holding a Restorer Lieutenant Token visibly are not targeted. The Warden pauses and observes them. If a token is produced mid-combat, the Warden pauses for one round to assess. - Imperfect Memory. The spirit within the Warden retains fragments of its original mind. If the party pauses aggression and engages respectfully (Persuasion DC 13, automatic if Ixa is within 20 ft), the Warden halts for 1 minute to speak. It will not help anyone it believes intends to complete the ritual. If convinced the party is here to stop it: Persuasion DC 16 (DC 10 with Ixa), and it stands aside entirely. - Recognize Kindred. If Ixa approaches within 20 ft, the Warden pauses all hostility and addresses her as “one of the children.” Automatic success on any Persuasion check while Ixa is present.

Actions - Multiattack. Two Crushing Blow attacks. - Crushing Blow. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning. Target makes DC 15 Strength save or is pushed 5 ft toward the bridge edge and knocked prone. - Warden’s Pulse (Recharge 5–6). The amber core releases a burst of grey-amber light. All creatures within 30 ft on the bridge make DC 14 Constitution save. Fail: 4d6 radiant damage and knocked prone. Success: half, not prone. Any prone creature on the bridge must immediately make DC 11 Dexterity save or slide 5 ft toward the edge.

Reactions - Threshold Challenge. When a creature crosses the bridge midpoint without authorization, the Warden makes one Crushing Blow against them as a reaction and the creature’s movement stops for the turn.

What It Tells the Party (if cooperative): - Full door sequence: “Disruption. Need. Fire. Light. In the order we failed.” — ᚺ ᚾ ᚲ ᛊ - The warnings on this approach were removed. It is angry. It cannot leave the bridge. - If Ixa is present: the Plinth 3 (Eye ring) setting. The one most parties struggle with. - Its name: Tolvin Heuschel. Architect of the second attempt. Sealed himself here so the record would never be lost.

Morale: Cannot be intimidated. Does not surrender. Steps aside willingly if convinced the party will stop the ritual (see Imperfect Memory trait).

Loot (if destroyed): Amber Sentinel Core — a warm amber crystal extracted from the iron housing in the Warden’s chest. Magical focus, 100 gp to a scholar or artificer. Faint inscription on the bridge stone beneath where it stood: TOLVIN HEUSCHEL — ARCHIT[ECT] — YEAR 43.

19.22.3 Maerin Voss, Restorer Lantern-Saint

Medium humanoid (human), neutral

AC 14 (studded leather) | HP 78 (12d8+24) | Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 18 (+4)

Saving Throws Wis +5, Cha +7 Skills Arcana +6, History +6, Insight +5, Persuasion +7, Religion +6 Senses passive Perception 12 | Languages Common, Elvish | CR 5 (1,800 XP)

Spellcasting. 9th-level caster (Wis, spell save DC 15, +7 to hit): - Cantrips: sacred flame (2d8 radiant, DC 15 Dex save), guidance, light - 1st level (4 slots): bless, command (DC 15 Wis), guiding bolt, healing word - 2nd level (3 slots): hold person (DC 15 Wis), silence, spiritual weapon - 3rd level (2 slots): daylight, dispel magic

Traits - Anchor Bond. Within 30 ft of the active Primer Anchor: advantage on Wisdom saves and cannot be frightened. - Voice of Conviction. When Maerin makes a sincere argument appealing to a listener’s genuine values, they make social saving throws at disadvantage (DC 14 Wis). Does not function with arguments she does not herself believe.

Actions - Primer Lantern (5 charges, regains 1d3 at dawn). Ranged/Melee Attack: +7 to hit, range 30 ft. Hit: 9 (2d8) radiant. Target makes DC 15 Constitution save or is blinded until end of its next turn. 1 charge per use. - Anchor Command (Recharge 5–6). Creatures within 20 ft make DC 15 Wisdom save. Fail: cannot willingly approach within 5 ft of the anchor until start of Maerin’s next turn. - Spellcasting. (See above.)

Bonus Action - Redirect Anchor (3/day). The anchor’s next pulse (initiative 20) affects a 15-ft radius centered on a point Maerin chooses within 60 ft — or she suppresses the next pulse entirely.

Reactions - Anchor Shield. When targeted by an attack, Maerin expends 1 Primer Lantern charge to gain +3 AC against it.

Tactics: Opens with words. Round 1: bless on Anchor-Bearers, spiritual weapon (bonus action, glowing lantern shape). Uses silence near anchor to prevent close-range spellcasting. Uses hold person on the fastest threat. Healing word on herself if below 30 HP. Calls for a halt if two allies fall or a civilian is hurt by the anchor: demands one round of negotiation.

Loot: Primer Lantern (remaining charges; +7 to hit, range 30 ft, 2d8 radiant + DC 15 Con save or blinded; daylight at will costs 2 charges; bright light 30 ft free action), Restorer Codex (hand-bound journal: second-attempt history, three scholar names still living, partial anchor-network site map, the method she was given — critical plot item for Sessions 1–3), Restorer Lantern-Saint Vestments (25 gp; advantage on Persuasion with Restorer rank-and-file), 4d10 gp.

19.22.4 Restorer Anchor-Bearer

Medium humanoid (human), neutral

AC 15 (chain mail, shield) | HP 52 (8d8+16) | Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+3) 11 (+0) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 13 (+1) 8 (-1)

Saving Throws Str +5 Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3 Damage Resistances radiant (while within 30 ft of active anchor) Senses passive Perception 13 | Languages Common | CR 3 (700 XP)

Traits - Anchor-Infused. While within 30 ft of active anchor: resistance to radiant damage, +1d6 radiant on all melee hits. - Anchor Burst. When reduced to 0 HP within 30 ft of active anchor: 10-ft radius burst. Creatures in range make DC 13 Constitution save. Fail: 1d10 radiant. Success: half.

Actions - Multiattack. Two Charged Shard Strike attacks. - Charged Shard Strike. Melee or Thrown (range 20/40 ft): +5 to hit. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) bludgeoning + 1d6 radiant (while anchor active). Non-lethal option (declared before roll): 1d10+3 bludgeoning only. - Anchor Surge (Recharge 5–6). 15-ft cone. DC 13 Constitution save or 2d8 radiant and blinded until end of next turn. Half damage and not blinded on success.

Reactions - Block the Path. When a creature moves toward the anchor, one free Shove attempt (+5 vs. DC 13 Str save). Failure: creature pushed 5 ft away from anchor.

Tactics: Protect anchor and plinth zones. Grapple or shove any character reaching a plinth. Use Anchor Surge when three or more enemies cluster. Disengage and flee if Maerin falls.

Loot (per bearer): Chain mail, shield, 2 Charged Amber Shards (thrown +5 to hit, 1d8 radiant, range 20/40 ft; retain anchor energy for 1 hour after combat, then inert 1d4 bludgeoning stones), 1d8 gp.

19.22.5 Dawnhall Desperate

Medium humanoid (any), unaligned

AC 10 | HP 13 (2d8+4) | Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 8 (-1) 10 (+0)

Senses passive Perception 9 | Languages Common | CR 1/4 (50 XP)

Not fighters. Lowmark residents who followed the Restorers down, believing the dawn could return.

Traits - Desperate Courage. Does not flee from the vault. Immediately stops fighting if a PC heals them or anyone visibly suffering near them. - Panic Threshold. If a creature within 30 ft drops to 0 HP, DC 12 Wisdom save or spend movement fleeing toward stairs.

Actions - Improvised Weapon. Melee: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) bludgeoning or slashing (crowbar, wrench, plank). - Grab and Hold. Melee grapple +3 vs. target. On success: target is grappled (escape DC 11). Grappled creatures have disadvantage on attacks not targeting this creature.

Morale: DC 13 Persuasion (action) to calm if PC protected someone or healed a patient upstairs. Stands down without check if anchor visibly harms someone near them.

Loot: Personal effects only — a locket, a worn prayer card, a coin with a name scratched on it. Each is a name, a face, a reason they are down here.

19.22.6 Light-Sick Echo

Medium undead, unaligned

AC 13 | HP 32 (5d8+10) | Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
6 (-2) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 3 (-4) 6 (-2) 3 (-4)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic, radiant | Damage Vulnerabilities thunder Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8 | Languages none | CR 2 (450 XP)

Traits - Anchor-Tethered. When the anchor is fully calibrated or destroyed, drops to 0 HP and vanishes. - Incorporeal Movement. Can move through creatures and objects as difficult terrain. Takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. - Radiant Weeping. When it takes damage, sheds bright light in a 10-ft radius until the start of its next turn.

Actions - Draining Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit. Hit: 9 (2d8) radiant. Target makes DC 13 Constitution save or HP maximum reduced by 1d6 until long rest. - Lantern Burst (Recharge 5–6). Creatures within 10 ft make DC 13 Constitution save. Fail: 9 (2d8) radiant and blinded until end of next turn. Success: half, not blinded.

Tactics: Move toward nearest living creature. Attack. No tactics, no retreat. Destroying them does not stop the anchor.

No loot — incorporeal, dissolve when anchor handled.

19.23 Bridge to Session 1

19.23.1 What the Party Knows After Session 0.5

  • The Restorers are already active in Lowmark, not a distant rumor
  • There was a second attempt at ritual restoration. It also failed. The vault wall says why.
  • Someone with Spire document access gave Maerin the door sequence and map
  • Sera Voss was investigating this. She sent word to people she trusted. She did not come.
  • The sealed alcove exists. No one opened it.

19.23.2 What They Do Not Know Yet

  • Where Sera Voss is and why she did not come
  • Who gave Maerin the sequence and what they wanted from the experiment
  • What the sealed alcove contains
  • What Primer Stones are and how many exist
  • What Edoran knows

These questions are Session 1.

19.23.3 Transition Line

Before the party leaves, Berric says:

“She asked me to send word the moment anything happened. I sent it hours ago. She lives three streets away. She would have heard the bell.”

He looks at the stairs.

“Something is wrong.”

This line can open Session 1 directly.

19.23.4 Faction Standing Tracker

Party Action Session 1 Starting Condition
Protected civilians Ilya Ren vouches for them with Healers’ Guild
Preserved vault evidence Spire takes notice; Council wants report
Calibrated anchor (not destroyed) Maerin may contact them. Not yet. Later.
Found ledger entry Pel arrives Session 1 already suspicious of who had access
Killed a local Lowmark reputation starts damaged
Opened the sealed alcove Unexpected thread opens immediately in Session 1

19.24 DM Quick Reference

19.24.1 The Seven Phases at a Glance

Phase Core Challenge Key System
1. Street 2 scouts: fight, sneak, or bluff Combat basics, Stealth, Deception
2. Hall Find hatch, talk to Berric and Ilya Investigation, Social, Medicine
3. Upper Basement Locked door, clues, chalk runes Lockpicking, Arcana, History
4. Stairs Alarm glyph Perception, Sleight of Hand, Arcana
5. Bridge Guard on narrow arch, 20-ft drop Tactical combat, Shove, Mobility
6. Vault Door 24 Futhark runes, 4 in sequence Riddle, Religion, Ixa’s moment
7. Vault Full encounter, dial calibration Everything

19.24.2 Fast DCs

Situation DC
Easy but tense 12
Standard pressure 14
Hard under danger 16
Very hard or risky 18

19.24.3 If You Get Stuck in Phase 7, Pick One

  • Anchor pulses (advance escalation)
  • Ilya Ren shouts from above
  • Maerin makes a demand
  • A local panics
  • A Light-Sick Echo appears near a plinth
  • An Anchor-Bearer moves to block a player
  • Maerin glances at the sealed alcove

19.24.4 Post-Session Question (Out of Character)

Ask the table after play:

“What did your character think was worth protecting most in that room?”

Listen. Use the answers in Session 1.