### Fragments of the Abyss: The Remnant's Challenge
Setting: The Shattered Observatory
The players find themselves in the remnants of a once-great observatory, situated atop a jagged cliff overlooking a chaotic expanse of swirling shadows and shattered star fragments. This mystical structure was destroyed during a cataclysmic event, leading to the awakening of a rift to an abyssal realm. Twisting silhouettes of dead trees and chilling whispers fill the air, making it evident that the observatory now resonates with otherworldly energies.
As the players begin to explore, they discover fragments of ancient tomes scattered around the crumbling shelves and notes detailing the ramblings of the last guardian, a wizard who succumbed to madness when he delved too deep into the secrets of the universe. These fragments hold clues to the location of a lost artifact known as the Starcaller Amulet, capable of restoring the balance between realms. However, these fragments are fiercely guarded by manifestations of the wizard’s fractured sanity.
The Challenge: Seek the Starcaller Amulet
The objective of the players is to recover the Starcaller Amulet, which lies hidden within the depths of the observatory, tightly bound by the fabric of the rift itself. To achieve this, they must navigate through the perils of the observatory, overcoming traps, puzzles, and hostile entities that prevent them from accessing the amulet’s location. Along the way, clues from the fragmented tomes will reveal important information about these challenges.
Act I: The Broken Floors and Shattered Lights
As the heroes enter the observatory, they find themselves in a grand hall filled with broken glass and celestial maps that depict a night sky both familiar and alien. The ceilings are lined with shattered stained-glass windows, casting eerie flickering lights across the room. Inside the hall, a massive chandelier hangs precariously overhead, swinging slightly as if alive.
Trap 1: The Celestial Collapse
As the players explore the room, they must make a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice that the chandelier is rigged to fall. If they trigger this trap, it will come crashing down, dealing 3d6 bludgeoning damage to any players caught underneath it. Players can attempt a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw to dodge out of the way, halving the damage on a success.
Puzzle 1: Mapping the Stars
After navigating the hazards of the hall, the players find an intricate star map on the ground, filled with swirling patterns. To proceed, they must realign the star map with a corresponding celestial alignment found within the notes of the guardian.
A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that certain stars correspond to specific elements in their surroundings. Players must orient the star map by pushing segments of the floor to match up with the constellations of the ancient days.
Failure to solve the puzzle within three attempts summons a Spectral Watcher, an aberration resulting from the wizard’s lingering despair. It attacks the party, using psychic attacks that impose disadvantage on saving throws against fear effects.
Act II: Echoes of Madness
Past the grand hall, the players descend into a spiral staircase steeped in shadows, each step reverberating with echoes—fragments of the wizard’s manic laughter and despair. As they move deeper into the observatory, they are met with remnants of the lost guardians who once protected the amulet. Their souls twisted into monstrous forms through lingering anguish.
Encounter: The Phantoms of Starfire
The players encounter three Phantoms of Starfire, former guardians transformed into ethereal wraiths that manifest the egos of their master. They wield shadowy, cosmic energies and whisper insidious thoughts to the players, attempting to turn them against one another.
- Phantom of Despair: This wraith targets the players’ minds directly, using the Fear spell once per combat.
- Phantom of Deception: This wraith shifts appearances, creating an illusion of a player’s friend or ally to distract them.
- Phantom of Illumination: Deals radiant damage with its sunburst attacks and seeks to blind players with a burst of star fire.
Despite their haunting nature, players can take advantage of their spectral forms; attacking with radiant damage causes the wraiths to become momentarily solid, allowing physical damage to affect them more severely.
Upon defeating the phantoms, players can access a hidden chamber behind the staircase filled with more fragments of the wizard’s tomes and the first piece of the Starcaller Amulet. The chamber also holds a powerful item known as the Crystal Lens, which is necessary to complete the second puzzle.
Act III: The Rift of Reflections
With the first piece of the amulet in hand, players will find themselves in an expansive rooftop observatory, shadowed by the looming rift pulsating with dark energies. Here, they face the final obstacle: an enormous, shimmering portal that seems to hum with life, reflecting the players’ own forms back at them.
Puzzle 2: Projecting the Past
To access the remaining piece of the Starcaller Amulet held within the rift, players must project their memories into the portal using the Crystal Lens. They must recount a significant event involving the virtues of their character—compassion, sacrifice, courage, or wisdom.
The players must succeed in a DC 16 Charisma (Performance) check to adequately convey their story to the portal. If they succeed, the portal grants them the final piece of the Starcaller Amulet. On failure, players face four Echoes of the Past, dark, shadowy replicas of past mistakes or regrets embodied, manifesting as reflections of their fears and failures.
Final Confrontation: Keeper of the Rift
Upon collecting all parts of the Starcaller Amulet, the rift tumbles free, giving way to the boss encounter: the Keeper of the Rift, a nightmarish entity formed from the collective despair of the wizard and guardians. The Keeper manifests grotesque limbs and faces embedded in its form, its attack patterns deal shadow and psychic damage.
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Abilities:
- Shadow Grasp: An area-of-effect attack that deals necrotic damage and gives players disadvantage on saving throws against fear.
- Mind Crush: Targets a single player’s mind, forcing them to make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or suffer psychic damage and be incapacitated for one round.
As the players engage this formidable foe, they can utilize the Starcaller Amulet to channel bursts of celestial light that counterbalance the Keeper’s darkness, granting temporary buffs and an advantage on attack rolls against it.
Conclusion: The Balance Restored
Once the Keeper of the Rift is defeated, the portal stabilizes, and the rift is sealed, returning peace to the shattered observatory. The Starcaller Amulet glows with a new radiance, recognized as a powerful tool to restore balance in the realms.
In the aftermath, the memories of the fallen guardians echo fondly in the players’ minds—a reminder of the fragile point between madness and sanity. The players can take rest and search through the observatory, discovering further treasures and knowledge left behind by the wizard.
Should they choose to share their story of triumph and madness, they could gain the favor of powerful celestial beings or become legends themselves, their names etched into the very fabric of celestial constructs.
