Recap: The Rituals

Back in Session #28, the description of the Grant Dragonmark ritual was first published. I am reprinting it here in an expanded form, and for the first time, the Remove Dragonmark counter-ritual as well!


GRANT DRAGONMARK

Level 10 Ritual
Casting Time: 4 hours
Reproduction Time: 16 hours
Component Cost: 5 moon slivers
Reproduction Cost: 1,000 GP
Market Price: (party can determine)
Key Skill: Arcana

You speak the incantation, calling on the power of the hidden thirteen moon, focusing on the individual who is to be the recipient of this blessing. When the ritual is ended, the chosen dragonmark appears on the person’s skin, which grants all of the abilities associated with that dragonmark as well.

This ritual has no effect on an individual who already has a dragonmark. It cannot be used to grant a second dragonmark to an individual, regardless of the existing dragonmark. If the target has had the Remove Dragonmark ritual performed on them (successfully or unsuccessfully) within the last twelve months, the ritual fails.

The Arcana check is performed at the beginning, and which mark is bestowed is decided then. If Arcana check fails the ritual cannot be performed that day.

REMOVE DRAGONMARK

Level 20 Ritual

Casting Time: 8 hours

Reproduction Time: 32 hours

Component Cost: 50 moon slivers

Reproduction Cost: 17,000 GP
Market Price: (party can determine)
Key Skill: Arcana

You speak the incantation, calling on the power of the hidden thirteen moon, focusing on the target/victim. When the ritual is ended, the target's dragonmark has been removed, and they no longer have access to the abilities that the dragonmark bestowed.

This ritual has no effect on an individual who does not currently have a dragonmark, but this does not stop the caster from performing the ritual and using it up. A concealed dragonmark (see Eberron Player's Guide, p. 116) can still be removed. A victim can only resist this ritual if they make an Arcana check at least twice that of the Arcana check of the caster performing the ritual. A removed dragonmark can be restored via the Grant Dragonmark ritual, but only after one year has passed.

The Arcana check is performed before the ritual is cast, and if Arcana check fails the ritual cannot be performed that day.

Arcana Check Result	Dragonmarks that can be bestowed/removed
9 or lower	(none, check fails)
10-20	Healing (Jurasco), Hospitality (Ghallanda), Passage (Orien), Scribing (Sivis), Handling (Vadalis)
20-30	Detection (Medani), Finding (Tharashk), Shadow (Phiarlan/Thuranni), Warding (Kundarak)
31 or higher	Making (Cannith), Sentinel (Deneith), Storm (Lyrandar)

As you learned back in Session #25 (on 1 Nymn), moon slivers are pieces of the seventh moon that fell to earth and burned into diamonds as they fell. They only fall to a plain called the Stargrounds on the island of Orthoss (which is on the far northeastern edge of Khorvaire) and are plentiful there. But the Stargrounds is also home to a deadly clan of Driders who jealously guard that area and the slivers.

Errata 11/17/2016: DC values adjusted after some play-testing.

Session #44: The Unrelaxing Break

Five days later, the party was still hanging around the House Tharashk enclave while the Order of the Lantern did their work. Tselem had been trying to learn as much as he could about what they were doing, and the Order had grudgingly agreed to let him watch for the most part. The rest of the party was mostly just relaxing, and trying to stay out of the muggy heat of the swamp.

Late that afternoon, the Order was in the basement of the enclave, doing some more work on the counter-ritual. Edge, Taumir, and Azeri were relaxing in the afternoon sun outside on the lawns & porches of the enclave (such as they were). As they did however, they saw some creatures emerge from the nearby Blackwater River and come swarming toward the buildings! The creatures looked like overgrown tadpoles, but unlike their somewhat tepid appearance, they packed quite a punch, and there were nearly two dozen of them or more! Fortunately, the party was able to defeat the individual monsters fairly easily. Destroying the humanoid wizard that appeared to be controlling them was a little trickier, but he too succumbed. The party then went back inside, tiredly leaving the monsters' corpses on the lawn.

Not long after the battle concluded, the Order of the Lantern emerged from the chambers below to announce that they had finally accomplished their goal, and the counter-ritual had at long last been made!

Rewards

• 9,000 XP each
• 10,000 GP total

Session #32: The Renewed Betrayal

As the party thought about it, they suddenly all saw in their minds a vision of Elfrich, who said to them: "Sentinels from Olath coming to apprehend you, dead or alive. Elane will protect you. Get out now. Meet us in Flamekeep." (Olath in a city a few hours journey away.)

The party decided to heed his warning and made the several hour journey to Flamekeep, arriving there that evening. They found the headquarters of the Church of the Silver Flame, and were there guided to a chamber where Elane and Elfrich were waiting for them.

Elane explained that political circumstances are conspiring against the party. Thrane and House Deneith were cracking down on past enemies, so the warrants for Taumir and Edge were being actively pursued now, and Azeri was still wanted in connection with the incident at Askelios (the victims had forgiven Azeri, but the law of course did not know that). Elane said that she wanted to help and protect them - she was very grateful for the work they did in bringing down Zelian. She proposed giving them new identities and sending them away from Aundair and Thrane. The party though this was a good idea, so they followed her to the outskirts of Flamekeep, to the church that they had launched their first expedition from.

Before leaving Flamekeep, Elfrich begged their forgiveness for his part in their troubles, and they frankly forgave him.

As they walked to the church, Elane seemed quiet, pensive. When she finally decided to speak, she said she had a confession to make.

"I think, considering the circumstances, that I should be honest with you. The day we met at Reita's home, well, that wasn't the first time I'd heard of you. You see, it was me who brought you all together in the first place. The day you all met in Passage - I had arranged for you to meet and come together. I knew what Zelian and House Deneith had done to your people, Taumir, and to your friend, Tselem, and to you personally, Edge, and I wanted to bring you together to defeat him. I had to let you come to your own realizations of why he was your enemy of course, since none of you knew."

The party was surprised by this revelation, but not concerned. They asked a few questions, and continued their journey.

When they reached the church, to their alarm. the doors came open and about a dozen creatures of fire and stone stepped out. The party immediately realized that Elane had double-crossed them. She did not even attempt to deny it. "You understand, of course, that I can't have Zelian's death linked to the Church of the Silver Flame, or me. I am sorry. But after all, you are all wanted criminals and a [racial slur for changelings]."

And with that, Elane stabbed Elfrich through the heart, killing him instantly, and began walking away.

The creatures rushed at the party, clearly intent on their destruction. Azeri and Tselem threw up magical barriers that slowed their approach, and sent forth several blasts of magical power that took out multiple opponents at once. They also weren't about to let Elane get away that easily either. The over-confident cleric was brought down under an overwhelming attack, and began to bleed to death there on the field. As the party dealt with the more serious opponents, Elane was bound and brought back from the brink of death. The treacherous churchlady proved to still be an annoyance - even bound, she managed to strike at Azeri a few times.

Within short order, only two of the attacking creatures remained, and the party was beating them down. Still, the creatures were not done yet...

Rewards
(Nothing yet, encounter is still ongoing)

Session #26: The Greed of the Mror Holds

The party had several hours to kill before the return portal opened up, so they settled in for the night. It was uneventful, and the next mid-morning (2 Nymm), they stepped through the portal and arrived back at the Goradra Gap. From there, Vondal invited them to come to his home in Frostmantle for a celebration dinner, which they accepted. He arranged for another portal, and they stepped through to arrive in his living room.

Vondal's home was no mansion, but very fine and spacious. Vondal invited them to make themselves at home, and said he would summon them when it was dinner time. The party explored the house, availed themselves of the generous library, and wondered what their next move would be.

When dinner came, Vondal had invited a few of his friends, but made no introductions. The party asked him what was to happen next, and it became clear that Vondal was cutting them out of the deal they had made. He had no intention of democratizing dragonmarks - he wanted to sell them to the highest bidder! The party left the dinner feeling annoyed and betrayed, and resolved to do something about it that evening.

Around midnight, while all the rest slept, the party awoke. Azeri made ready to cast a portal while the rest searched for where Vondal had hidden the ritual. After some doing, they found a locked box in a locked room in the basement that seemed the most likely culprit. As they headed back upstairs though, Vondal was alerted to their prescence and came after them. A short but intense battle ensued. It was cut short by Azeri casting the portal and bringing the party to Korth, and closing it before Vondal could follow them through.

The party, now in Korth in the very wee hours of the morning of 3 Nymm, found a inn and set to work opening the locked box. To their delight and relief, it contained the ritual they sought!

Rewards

• 1,000 XP each.
• 1,800 GP total (looted while searching)

Session #24: The People of the Plains

The party wailed on the Lizardfolk - their numbers were intimidating, but the fight went in the party's favor. At one point, one of them attempted to attack Tselem, at which point Edge shielded his ally by stabbing the lizardfolk through the chest and slinging its corpse across the field! Needless to say, within just a few short minutes, the party stood victorious!

As the dust settled, they realized their victory was a little Pyrrhic - the lizardfolk had slaughtered all the crew of the ship. The party found themselves alone and unattended on the docks that evening. They decided to heck with their mission, and beat it out of town, spending the night in one of the the pleasant forests that surround Newthrone.

The next day (19 Dravago), the party decided that not only did they not want to have anything to do with Newthrone and/or Riedra annexing the Talenta Plains, they also weren't going to sit idly by while it happened. They decided to try and contact the leadership of the halfling clans that roamed the Plains, so they made their way through the forests and trails of Q'barra, and then though the passes of the Endworld Mountains, and arrived on the other side, at the edge of the Blade Desert, three days later, on the evening of 22 Dravago. The next day was spent wandering the Desert, trying to get in contact with one of the halfling clans. It would be another day however (mid morning on 24 Dravago) before they finally caught up to one,

The halfing caravan, which appeared to be a family of traders, was curious and cautious but friendly to the party. One of the first people they met was a girl named Shaena, who directed them to her father. From these two the party learned that a great gathering of the clans was taking place in just a day or two, and the leader of the clans would be meeting with his fellow chieftains. The party decided this was the perfect opportunity to give their warning, and asked if they could come along to the gathering, to which Shaena's clan agreed.

The travelers arrived at the gathering place late that evening. Some of the party decided to get a feel of the camp, and wandered around, listening for gossip and news. As they were doing so, they ran into a dwarf named Travok. He was amiable, and told the party how he was there to try and make a business deal with the clans. In the course of conversation, Taumir asked if he knew anything about the 13th moon. Travok tried to hide his interest and even outright astonishment, but the party could tell they'd hit a nerve. Travok said his employer, one Vondal, would be extremely interested in meeting the party, and would they like to accompany him once the gathering was over? The party agreed, then went to bed.

The gathering the next day was a sight to behold. It was a bustling bazaar, a grand festival, a political rally, and a family reunion all rolled into one. The party was able to gain an audience with the 'president' of the clans, and gave their warning that Q'barra might attempt to invade. He thanked them for their warning and promised to take it seriously.

The next morning (26 Dravago), as the clans were beginning to pack up and depart, Travok approached them and asked if they still wanted to travel with him to meet Vondal. They said they did, and they all departed for the Ironroot Mountains. The journey took a few days, and they did not arrive at the Goradra Gap until 1 Nymm. A trading post sat there, nestled under the intimidating peaks that guarded the way to the Mror Holds, the dwarven lands. There they were met by Vondal.

Vondal was in fact extremely excited to see them. It turned out that he had at one point been very involved with the work of the Whisper Wood elves. He knew as the party did that they had developed a way to give dragonmarks to any person. Vondal saw this is a big opportunity, a way to shift the balance of power in this world in a serious way, to end the monopoly the Draongmarked had over the rest of the people of the world. He persuaded the party to join him in his goal of making the Whisper Wood elves' technique available to everyone. The party was naturally a little cautious, but they felt Vondal was being honest with them, and Taumir especially was excited to be reconnecting with his past after all this time.

There were still some things that had to be done before they could truly begin though, as Vondal began to explain...

Rewards

• 3,500 XP each.
• 4,400 GP total.
• You found an Amulet of Protection +4 (p. 249 PHB).

Session #5: The Debts Owed

It was late in the evening on the 12th day of Eyre when the party arrived in Korranberg. The Library was closed for the evening, so the party decided to head to a local Sentinel Marshall outpost to collect the bounty of 500 GP on the gnome criminal they had apprehended two days before. The bored clerk at the outpost processed the payment in relatively short order, and the party used some of their well-gotten gains to buy rooms in an inn for the night.

The next morning, they made their way to the Library, where Akta and Azeri were eager to do research. The Library is a huge complex of colleges, but they were able to find out where the materials they needed were pretty quickly. As they approached this particular repository, though, they were met by a gnome female librarian, who asked to see a library card before allowing them in. The party was stymied and annoyed. They tried intimating and cajoling her, but she didn't budge (thought she was a little apprehensive). She mentioned that there might be special passes for clerics, so they tried the administration office, but not being worshipers of Ioun, the gnomes weren't inclined to give Azeri any special consideration.

The party decided to track down Lon Visis and cash in the favor he owed them from helping out his people at the lightning rail wreck. After finding the neighborhood that is his 'base', they met the crime boss as he was eating his lunch. He seemed agreeable to their request, but said it would take him a little time, and told them to come back at dinner. The party was grateful, but also a little wary: this invitation smacked of a trap. In the intervening time, Taumir decided to track down an old contact from back in his days with the Royal Eyes, a dwarf named Mordrin. Mordrin was retired, but welcomed the party into his small apartment cheerfully. He was a little concerned to hear they were involved with Lon Visis. He told them that Lon Visis is generally honorable and humane, but still a crook, and is not the kind of person you want owing you anything. He will resent it deeply, and make you pay for it.

With this in mind, the party apprehensively made their way back to Lon Visis' territory for dinner. They were expecting to be ambushed or attacked, but also couldn't risk insulting Lon Visis by refusing or being too defensive. Lon Visis' people, a large group of hired muscle, invited them in to a resturant, and set some food in front of them. Lon Visis emerged from a back room, and presented them with the library card, good for one year and allowing one person to take in 3 guests. Akta nervously expressed their geneorsity, which Lon Visis accepted, and then made it very clear that he never wanted to see or owe them anything ever again. On this tense note, he left the room. The party ate their meal as quickly as was polite, and then were shooed out of the neighborhood.

Somewhat to their surprise, they were able to exit the neighborhood without incident. Almost immediately after leaving it though, they were confronted by two of Lon Horviv's minions (Lon Visis' rival, and the boss of the gnome they collected the bounty on). These two gnomes unleashed ochre jellies on the party, then ran for their halfling lives. The party was able to dispatch these new enemies pretty handily, and Taumir then gave chase to the gnomes, but they had disappeared.

By this time it was getting on toward dusk. The party returned to the Library, was now granted entry, and spent the next hour researching. They weren't able to get to their exact answers, but they made good progress in the hour the Library remained open that evening. When the Library closed, they made their way back to the inn for the night.

The next morning, the 14th day of Eyre, they returned to the Library, and made some startling revelations. It turns out that the Whisper Wood elves, whom Taumir had been affiliated with and who had been seeking the Thirteenth Moon, had been wiped out by a human of House Deneith who believed they were about to discover something about Dragonmarks that would undermine their power and position in the world. This threw the party for quite a loop. They wondered if maybe they should have gone to Karrnath with Zaigot, and if they should go there now to investigate further. In the end though they decided to return to the Whisper Woods and continue their investigation there. They were a little wary of the lightning rail, having had such great luck with it up till now. But an Elemental Galleon would have cost too much, and the Whisper Woods were even farther away than Passage, so travel by carriage would take way too long. So they decided to grit their teeth and get back on board.

At this point an idea came to them - they were worried about the security of the lightning rail, and in need of more cash. They decided to ask the officials at House Orien if they could serve as guards on the rail train they would board. It took a little patience and paperwork, but the officials agreed (though the pay they offered was pretty miserly). So around mid-afternoon, on the 14th day of Eyre, the party was at the major lightning rail station in Korranberg, waiting to board a coach that would take them back to the north and the Whisper Woods.

Rewards

• 600 XP each. This will bring up to Level 4! Have fun upgrading your ability scores and picking a new feat!
• You have found a pair of Shadowfell Gloves (PHB p. 247)
• (I believe you all already divided up the 500 GP from the bounty.)

Session #1: The Streets

On the 8th day of the month of Eyre, in the year 998 YK, in the city of Passage in the nation of Aundair, on the continent of Khorvaire:

Azeri, a half-elf cleric of Ioun, was walking down the street, minding her own business, when a Spiretop Drake swooped down, bit her, and made off with her holy symbol! She turned to fight and get her property back. The ensuing commotion attracted the attention of Edge, a taciturn Warforged fighter, Taumir, a friendly elf ranger, and Akta, a reserved Tiefling wizard. They made relatively short work of the creatures, and then decided to go get a drink together to celebrate their victory.

While resting at a nearby tavern, they overheard some street merchant outside, an extremely enthusiastic halfling, trying to get people to enter into a drawing he was running. The prize was 5 tickets to the lightning rail, so the party decided to participate (though some of them took a little while to be convinced). To be entered in the drawing, the players had to be blindfolded and guess what substance was in a series of bowls that the merchant presented to them. They missed most of them, but they got an entry into the drawing anyway. After waiting an hour, the halfling drew a name out of a hat -- it was the party's one entry! They had won 5 tickets to the lightning rail!

They talked about it for a little while and decided to use their lucky tickets to investigate the Library of Korranberg in Zilargo, a good distance away. As they were heading to the rail station, however, they were confronted by two elves with pet hyenas who demanded all their money. The party was declined to acquiesce to their request, and a knock-down drag-out brawl ensued. Edge and Azeri nearly succumbed to the hyena's pack assault, but in the end the four assailants were dispatched.

During the course of the fight, one of the elves yelled out in pain, "By the thirteen moon!" This had piqued Taumir's interest, as he had grown up among a enclave of half-elves living near the Starpeaks who were searching for the thirteenth moon. The party did not leave their enemy alive to question him, but after his demise they searched his person and found a scroll indicating that he had some leads on what happened to the Starpeak enclave, and he was on his way to Fort Light to investigate further. The party decided to modify their plan, and head to Fort Light, at least on the way to the University.

Rewards

• 900 XP each!
• On the elves you found 200 gp, which you can divide among the four of you (50 gp each).
• You can divide up the 5 tickets however you wish. They're worth 5 gp each.