Embedded Files
Down a Desert Burrow, Part 1
Springtime: Lanternwurm transported two planar explorers, sisters Lucillia and Geraldine Honeycutt, back from their expedition in The Snake Turtle Crystal Caper back to the Green. The party learns of the discoveries in the Underdark about planar travel. Winter has passed with Lanternwurm surviving the harsh season and the party recuperating from their travels.
During their downtime, the party members made use of their loot. Arcturius-9 traded his crystalline fragment from the Shifting Prison for components to a skull cannon implant. He got his friends together and Farrow did the installation in her new quarters. She had the operation go well, installing the transformation implant, as well as fixing Arcturius-9’s droid form defect from a previous implant, and adding an ability to act as a reflector and amplifier for her ominstaff force beams.
Happy with that work, Farrow used her own crystal to fashion a far realm shard that could summon otherworldly forces. She used the opportunity to work with Einkhorn to attune the item to her staff, healing that relationship. Her arm still suffered from the phantom flesh and glowing bones the Shifting Prison marked her with, but she wrapped it up and continued working.
Khonshu also still bore the alteration of a black scaled hand, but set to work on crafting his crystal into an elemental shard that allowed him to take a fragment of an elemental into his homunculus Canary to travel with him. Communing with the fire elemental that powered Lanternwurm’s transportation circle, he worked out a relationship. The elemental would have to wait for a name but was curious to see what it could.
Corwen held on to his share of the treasure and stuck to working with the guard. In his spare time, he brewed some fancier healing potions for the party.
Agent had information for the group, the flying engine Cloudhope had been spotted in the area south near the Badlands. It was the first time the engine had been seen in a while, it had been tethered to the Agony Engine in the mountains all winter. From their intelligence, there were two points of possible interest in the area, a small settlement and a small location of old ruins.
Time was of the essence if they wanted to find out what was going on. A cloaked Lanternwurm could drop them off near one of the points. The party decided to look at the settlement first. Corwen gathered information and learned it was called Pepplefen, a small collection of people who mostly worked as moisture farmers. Coming up with disguising cloaks and a cover story as anthropology students from the Locks University, they set out.
On route, they were approached by a horse-drawn carriage. The vehicle seemed ill-suited to the badlands and the older man driving was dressed in a top hat and out of place clothing. He asked them directions to Locktown but dismissed them and rode off when they couldn’t answer.
Continuing on to Pepplefen, the group split up to see what they could learn. At the inn, which was a simple bed and breakfast house, Farrow and Khonshu got a room, but not much information room the owner. At the tavern, Arcturius-9 and Corwen spoke to two older men about the strange sighting in the sky the day before. The ruins to the east were not thought to be anything of note, only a gathering spot for youth occasionally.
Deciding to investigate separate locations before heading to the ruins, Corwen found the owner of the alchemy shop wanting information from the university he couldn’t provide. The old woman did show him a telescope she used to observe the flying sanctuary engine spotted the day before. Beyond that she only had expense potions to offer.
Meanwhile, Farrow went to the mill where moisture farmers were working on their equipment. Though nothing special, they persevered in a tough environment. Farrow showed them some ways to increase their efficiency, but they did not take well to being showed up by a city slicker.
Khonshu visited a house that acted as a shrine to the local wind goddess. He found a man working on renovations with his two sons. The man was friendly and offered a blessing of luck in searching when asked. Khonshu left a tip for them on the way out.
Arcturius-9 found the community hall empty. After breaking in the back door, nothing of interest appeared and he snuck away before anyone saw.
Waiting until sun down, the party left the inn for the badlands and walked the half hour to the ruins. Farrow sent her drone ahead to scout. They found ruins older than anything in the area, with much of the structures collapsed and a statue with sandblasted features. Farrow came across a large four legged insect monster in one of the structures and stealthily backed away. Alerting the party, they placed themselves strategically to confront two of the monsters. After a scuffle, their weapons took down their foes. Examining the bodies and taking a sample of the corrosive fluid leaking from one, they determined the creatures were rust monsters.
A hole in the ground within one of the structures seemed suspicious and Farrow’s drone camera explored below. A tunnel ended in an illusory rock wall that flickered as if partially dispelled. Beyond was a metal door with a crystal access panel.
The party headed down and saw the door bore the mark of Section 37, the infamous faction from Lanternwurm that had been excised. Khonshu and Farrow identified the dark metal on the door as dimeritium, a metal with anti-magic properties.
The metal door was controlled mechanically and Corwen couldn’t get it to open with his theives’ tools. Farrow pulled out her chime of opening and magically slid it open with a tone. Beyond was a metallic room lit by crystal lights. Benches lined the walls and a large garbage pile sat in front of another door. The smell of rotten eggs or flesh started seeping in.
Before they could move too far, the decaying, fungal heap sprouted tentacles and attacked. The fought off the creature, but it latched on to Arcturius-9 and engulfed the cyborg. When Corwen fired a shot, the monster used Arcturius-9 as a shield, further damaging the fighter. Farrow called out and fired a force beam that Arcturius-9 caught with an open faceplate and fired back into the shambling mound. A tentacle lashed out from Farrow’s staff to disrupt the creature and make it frightened of her. Khonshu and Mule fiercely attacked, the tiefling conjured a fire to burn the moist mound and struck with his polearm. Arcturius-9 broke free and slashed away to trim the monster down. Corwen provided cover fire until Khonshu could strike the final blow. Examining the pile, Farrow realized it was undead.
The next door also proved unopenable to Corwen’s tools or Arcturius-9s force. Farrow expeneded another charge of the chime to open it and reveal a larger space beyond. The smell intensified and several bodies lay on the floor. They each wore a protective hazardous material suit, some were slashed open while others seemed bludgeoned to death.
A lone cat wandered the area. The bodies didn’t reveal much to them but Farrow found indecipherable logbooks at some desks, which she took. Khonshu found a room that was some combination of kitchen, lab, and workshop. Some food and experimental equipment was out as if they had been caught by surprise.
A water tank and metal box contraption stood down the hall, along with an equipment area with alchemist's and mechanical tools. Farrow attracted the cat with some mayonnaise from their alchemy jug, the animal didn’t seem afraid of them. Arcturius-9 also petted the cat. Around this point, both Khonshu and Farrow were overcome with a wave of compulsion to taste and eat the flesh of the deceased. Khonshu held his willpower, but Farrow was drawn to the corpses. The party helped steady them, unable to find the cause, though Farrow’s phantom limb throbbed.
Checking the metal box, Khonshu and Corwen found it had crystal domes and spouts that could be connection nozzles. The device might have acted as an air compressor or vacuum. When disturbed, a small whirlwind was seen inside, an air elemental powered device. This gave Khonshu and the elemental envoy within Canary some idea for dialogue as the party looked down the next hallway.
Loot
Skull Cannon
Wondrous item, rare, 0 lb.
Activating this implant, your face plate shifts to reveal a cyborg skull, which glows and emits a blast.
This implant has 3 charges. While installed, you can use your action to cast one of the following spells from the implant, even if you are incapable of casting spells:
Eye Beams. eldritch blast (1 charge to cast at 5th level; +5 to hit with ranged spell attack), or
Mouth Beam. pulse wave (3 charges; spell save DC 15).
No components are required. The implant regains all expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the implant's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, you gain one level of exhaustion.
If you are targeted by a magitech omnistaff's arcane ray, you may use a reaction to catch the beam and redirect it through the skull cannon, increasing its damage dice from d8s to d10s.
Far Realm Shard
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement by an engineer), 1 lb.
This writhing crystal is steeped in the warped essence of the Far Realm, a memento of an alternate reality in the Shifting Prison.
As an action, you can attach the shard to a Tiny object (such as a weapon or a piece of jewelry) or detach it. It falls off if your attunement to it ends. You can use the shard as a spellcasting focus while you hold or wear it.
When you use an energy while you are holding or wearing the shard, you can cause a slimy tentacle to rip through the fabric of reality and strike one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The creature must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC or take 3d6 psychic damage and become frightened of you until the start of your next turn.
Elemental Envoy Shard
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement by a homunculus), 1 lb.
This crystal allows a fragment of the essence of an elemental to experience the world through the attuned homunculus. As an action, you can attach the shard to your homunculus or detach it. It falls off if the attunement to it ends. You can use the shard as a spellcasting focus while your homunculus is within 5 ft. of you.
The shard carries a default elemental charge (air, earth, fire, or water). It can only carry one type of charge at a time, but can revert to its default charge type if you take a bonus action on your turn to command it. The elemental in the shard can act as an envoy; the shard can change its charge type by communication and negotiating with an elemental of the associated type, or by connecting with an elemental power source or energy font. You can guide this interaction with a Charisma-based skill check.
Consult the Elemental Essence Shards table for the shard's essence and property. When you cast a levelled artificer spell while your homunculus is in contact with you, you can use that property.
Element / Flame Color / Property
Air / white / You can immediately fly up to 60 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Earth / green / You gain resistance to a damage type of your choice until the start of your next turn.
Fire / red / One target within 120 feet of you that you can see catches fire. The burning target takes 2d10 fire damage at the start of its next turn, and then the flames go out.
Water / blue / You create a wave of water that bursts out from you in a 10-foot radius. Each creature of your choice that you can see in that area takes 2d6 cold damage and must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be pushed 10 feet away from you and fall prone.
3 Potions of Healing. Corwen's brewing.
Charm of the Ghoul. Farrow and Khonshu.
This charm allows you to use an action to eat a mouthful of flesh from a humanoid that has been dead no longer than 1 day. When you do, you regain 3d8 + 3 hit points.
Google Sites
Report abuse