**Shards of Fate: The Haunted Pinnacle's Challenge**
The Setting: The Haunted Pinnacle
High atop the jagged cliffs of the Greywatch Mountains stands the Haunted Pinnacle, a towering spire that pierces the darkened sky. Once a revered site of knowledge and enlightenment for arcane scholars, it is now a shadow of its former self. Rumor has it that the Pinnacle is haunted by the phantoms of scholars who perished in a great calamity as they tried to harness forbidden magical shards known as the Shards of Fate.
The air is thick with enchantment as the adventurers approach. Jagged rocks and ethereal mists swirl around the base of the Pinnacle, and the unsettling sound of whispers can be heard on the wind. The Pinnacle itself is etched with intricate runes that glow faintly, hinting at the ancient magical secrets contained within. To succeed, the party must secure one of these Shards, each rumored to grant extraordinary power but also carry grave consequences.
The Goal: Securing a Shard of Fate
The party’s quest is straightforward: locate and secure one of the Shards of Fate within the Pinnacle. However, the process involves navigating through traps, overcoming spectral guardians, and solving cryptic puzzles. The adventurers will also discover hints about the past atrocities committed within the Pinnacle, setting the stage for a moral conflict that can influence their choices throughout the encounter.
Approach and Investigation
As the adventurers ascend the cragged path leading to the Pinnacle, they must first deal with a formidable barrier: a colossal stone door etched with magical runes that react to the whispers in the wind. This door serves as the first obstacle.
The Whispering Door
- Challenge Level: Medium
- Mechanics: The whispers can be deciphered with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check. Listening carefully, the players realize they need to attune to the whispers and answer the questions spoken aloud to unlock the door.
Questions for the Adventurers:
- "What is your deepest fear?"
- "What do you seek above all else?"
- "What price would you pay for power?"
Each answer impacts the runes, causing one to glow brighter until one can finally unlock the door’s mechanism. If the players answer incorrectly—about their desires or fears—the door releases a burst of necrotic energy, dealing 2d6 necrotic damage to anyone in proximity.
Entering the Pinnacle
Once the door is unlocked, the adventurers step into the dimly lit entry hall, lined with portraits of past scholars, their eyes seemingly following the party. A sense of doom permeates the air, and as they step deeper inside, they encounter three spectral guardians, the Shadows of Knowledge, who guard the path ahead.
Shadows of Knowledge
- Challenge Level: Hard (CR 5)
- Statistics: Use the Wraith stats with the addition of a 20 ft. flying speed.
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Abilities:
- Incorporate Knowledge: When a Shadow of Knowledge strikes a player, they can drain their wisdom temporarily (1d4) and gain resistance to that damage type until their next turn.
- Haunting Revelation: Attack on a failed saving throw (DC 15) deals psychic damage instead of necrotic.
The Shadows will challenge the party with riddles regarding arcane wisdom. Each correct answer allows the adventurers to pass without confrontation, while they face the Shadows in combat if they fail. Combat with the Shadows reveals important lore about the Shards of Fate and their history, with each victory over them granting the players some beneficial insight about the powers of the shards.
The Chamber of Shattered Realities
Defeating the Shadows opens a passage to the Chamber of Shattered Realities, a vast dome filled with shards of magical glass floating within a luminous energy storm. Each shard embodies different elements and can be reached by navigating a bewildering array of arcane traps.
The Arcane Shard Traps
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Types of Traps:
- Illusory Boundaries: Sections of the chamber are obscured with illusions, making players perceive false dangers and obstacles. A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals safe paths, while failure causes disorientation, inflicting disadvantage on subsequent navigation checks.
- Lightning Glyphs: Glyphs scattered across the floor discharge arcs of lightning (Dexterity saving throw DC 14 to avoid 2d8 lightning damage). Players can disable the traps by damaging the glowing runes using arcana (DC 15) checks.
As the players traverse the Chamber, they must also navigate the energy storm, which can sweep them toward floating shards of chaos, dealing random elemental damage (fire, ice, acid, and lightning) each round if they fail a DC 14 Acrobatics check.
Confrontation: The Shardkeeper
Once the adventurers successfully collect a shard, they are confronted by the Shardkeeper—a once-great scholar cursed to guard the shards. The Shardkeeper retains immense power but is tormented by the memory of its past. It offers the players a choice: discard the shard and save it from further corruption or harness its power and face the consequences.
The Shardkeeper
- Challenge Level: Very Hard (CR 7)
- Statistics: Use Ghost stats but with added spellcasting abilities like Phantom Steed, Mirror Image, and Dispel Magic.
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Abilities:
- Spectral Grasp: Grapples a target for one turn, dealing 1d10 force damage and reducing their movement.
- Memory Lapse: Causes players to relive the tragic past of the Pinnacle; all players must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 16) or take 4d6 psychic damage and become frightened for their next turn.
During the confrontation, the adventurers can persuade the Shardkeeper to release them from its torment, granting them safe passage and a boon if they engage in a thorough narrative conflict, focusing on the emotions and regrets of the Shardkeeper.
Resolution: Choices Have Consequences
Upon either defeating or persuading the Shardkeeper, the adventurers secure their chosen Shard of Fate. However, their decisions echo throughout the Pinnacle. If they choose to take the shard, they test the delicate balance between power and responsibility. They may discover whether their choices lead to rewards or tragic consequences when they attempt to use the shard’s abilities outside the Pinnacle.
However, if they chose to free the Shardkeeper and relinquish the shard, they gain the Shardkeeper as an ally and potentially learn deep insights about magic and the dark dealings of the past, leading to further quests and challenges tied to the history of the Pinnacle and its ancient scholars.
The encounter concludes as the adventurers make their way back down the Pinnacle, either enhanced by their newfound powers or the blessings of an ethereal ally, with the haunting whispers of the Pinnacle left trailing behind as they return to the world below.
