All around you is
sky. Beneath is clouds that get thicker, above is the open air. You
can taste rain on the air, but it is not raining. It is gray and
moody. You see no green or living things anywhere, only stone towers
that have stood far before you were ever born. You are far from home.
This place, the
Dimension of Distant Towers, may not actually be in another
dimension. It may be a free-floating mass, an empty cityscape that
travels with the clouds. The Nespa live in a realm of shadowy,
comfortable twilight- that is within the clouds and skies of the
night. Could it be so that these towers are within each and every
raining cloud?
Regardless of
where it truly is, the Dimension of Distant Towers is a cold, quiet
place. It is filled with many mysteries, and its spires have stood
without being mapped or conquered. Still, there are great rewards for
those who have climbed to the top of its most distant towers.
The Towers are
seemingly erected in air. There is no ground beneath them. Some
theorize those who fall fall for eternity, others think you will
simply fall out of the bottom of a cloud (and then fall to earth, and
then die). Still others think that there are merely more towers
beneath, and more towers above, perhaps the towers are inverted at
the base, or maybe they're just infinitely stacked on top of each
other, like a city built on the ruins of another.
Always you can
hear the trickling of water. Sometimes it is the pitter-patter of
rain, other times it is more like a babbling brook or the roar of a
river. They are far beneath you- this is thought to be the water held
in the clouds before it is released to the land below. But many
scholars believe the “Dimension” of the Distant Towers is
separate, it is a plane or an otherspace. It has no physical or
energetic connection with our reality except what we bring to it.
While the purpose of the water is a mystery; it is common here.
Despite the towers being structures of stone, they never seem to
erode away with time, and even finding efflorescence from long
evaporated water is a difficult challenge. It rains every day,
multiple times, and the rain is always a gentle one. With a few
buckets or pails out it is enough to get everything you need for
drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
Besides the air
and the water, the towers are the only solid ground. There is very
little plants here; only a few terrace gardens which range from
overrun and abandoned eons ago to dead to seemingly tended with love
and care. This is the biggest hurdle to explorers in the towers;
little to no access for plant life to forage or grow yourself.
Hunting is an entire other matter.
Sadly, many people
who have been trapped in the Dimension of Distant Towers for extended
periods of time have gone mad. Many from starvation or the isolation,
but some from the magic or even cruel ambiance of this place. They
may babble about titans moving in the fog, as tall as the towers,
with missing faces replaced with hands. Others report that the towers
are like trees that grow, with legends of “lumberjacks” who may
chop one down and cause it and everyone on it to fall to their death
that could strike at any moment.
The Towers
Made of stone, the
towers are the main feature of this odd dimension. Each tower varies
in height, though all of them have many floors hidden underneath
their turrets. Whenever one enters into this realm, they will appear
within a runic circle painted into the floor in one of the great
turret spires. From there, one can look out the windows and see
distant towers in every direction, shrouded by mist and fog. Nobody
knows how large this realm truly is, or if it has an end at all. It
is for this view that the realm got its name. The towers themselves
are of an architectural design that seems ageless; while the worn
stones look old they are not all eroding or crumbling away. Their
design is very well crafted, making up all use of space and the
weight of the tower is supported well by its thick exterior walls- if
the pressures of weight and the wind even work in this realm as they
do back home.
(sidenote- No idea
if it's better if all the towers have the same architectural style or
different ones, I love the idea of going between gray European stone
towers to Islamic minarets to Japanese style wood pagodas with paper
walls, etc. But the oppressive and disorienting atmosphere of only
having one tower style is nice too, makes it seem like a sort of
ancient evil or the construction of something alien. You'll have to
decide for yourself which one you like more.)
Within each tower
are multiple floors. The floors go downwards from the turret, and
descend from a spiral staircase around the edge of the tower's
interior. Floors are circular and can sometimes contain multiple
rooms, even having complex layouts themselves depending on the size
of the tower. These floors are where the majority of the dangers lay-
monsters, traps, and spells guard every place. This is also where
great treasures have been found. Randomly scattered throughout the
towers are doors and hallways that seemingly lead to nowhere; many
doors directly lead to the outside of the tower, meaning carelessness
means falling into the gray void. The turrets of towers seem to be
the safer places- except for the various flying creatures which roost
here. You will unfortunately not always enter a tower by its turret
or spinneret.
From within one
tower, there is no obvious way forward. With no bridges or ground
between them, the towers seem eternally isolated. For many explorers,
the journey ends here, but progression is possible. Within each tower
will be a series of switches, rune stones that fit into mysterious
wall sockets, or incantations written on scrolls which can be cast to
create the bridges. Bridges between towers appear from any entrance
to a tower and will then appear before your eyes, snapping together
from the mist itself into shape. The bridge will curve around and
lead to another tower. The pathways between the towers are set, they
could be mapped, but they are invisible unless active and crumble
quickly once you leave the pathway. There is also no guarantee where
a bridge could take you- it could take you to the closest tower
across from where you stand, or it could loop around the tower you
are in to go another direction, or the bridge itself could travel
straight into the fog, its destination so far away you can't even see
the tower it belongs to before you start your journey. Strangely,
these bridges have been enchanted to allow mostly safe passage
between places- they will not fall apart while you are on them. Many
explorers have set up camp multiple times along a bridge, but turning
around isn't possible. Once the fog swallows up the back end of the
bridge and you can't see the tower you came from, the bridge has
crumbled up until that point and you must press onwards.
These are the only
race to inhabit this place. Living in scattered solitude, the Landless
are gargoyles, or rather, they look like what gargoyles are carved to
appear as in the real world. It seems the design of a gargoyle one
may put on a cathedral was based on the Landless, or perhaps it was
the other way around from some primordial dreaming. In the standard
fantasy world, gargoyles are powerful creatures made of stone. Here,
these gargoyles are made of flesh and blood. The Landless are
travelers at heart and have the power of flight. Their bodies are
medium to small in size, and are tough but not nearly as hard as
stone. As creatures of the sky, they are resistant to lightning and
take ½ damage from all lightning spells, attacks, and breath
weapons.
The Landless have
the power to fly, but with a caveat. Flying causes their wings to
heat up incredibly quickly from the friction over their bumpy skin
and too-small wings. Within the Realm of Distant Towers, this isn't a
problem, as the air is always thick with mist and cool, and the sun
is always hidden behind the clouds even on the brightest days. The
Landless can fly and when they land, condensed water drips from their
wings and steam rises from their backs after a long flight. If a
Landless manages to emigrate to the mortal realm however, they will
find flying during a hot day impossible, and difficult to fly without
a thick fog to cool them down. Downgrade flight abilities to only
being able to glide at night or a cloudy day without fog, or not
being able to fly at all in direct sunlight. During a foggy day or
night, they can fly freely, or in any place with enough moisture and
coolness, such as a cave.
The Landless have
their own culture. Mainly, they focus on minding their own business
and introspection, which is probably why they can survive in such a
strange and unfriendly place- and why that place is still so unknown.
They live in tiny family bands that travel across very wide
territories. Due to the scarcity of food as well as lack of
socialization, almost any group of explorers here could be seen as a
threat, or as prey to be hunted. The Landless' primary diet involves
eating the fat tower spiders, fruit hanging from a rare terrace
orchard, or plucking the pigeons out of the air since it's too hard
to catch them on foot. Their level of technology is essentially
savagery- using the iron tools or weapons found throughout the old
tower tombs and vaults is easier then making their own, they have no
writing or farming, and they don't wear clothes beyond rags. They
also don't wear armor, since their skin is as tough as leather and
anything heavier would just weigh them down. These primitive tribes
tell stories and have long oral histories- their stories are filled
with romantic tales of fallen Landless who spend years or decades
flying back up to their homes to defeat a usurper, or tales of an
eternal moon that will one day wrap the world in its blanket of sleep
forever. Worryingly, many of the tales the Landless have for each
other, their monsters and myths, mimic those stories of the insane
castaways trapped in this dimension tell of their long isolation,
giving credence to the unknown forces at work.
Also you can let
your players play these if you want, but I don't really like PCs with
flight. This is why they can only fly in fog, so it works in this
Dimension really well but in the normal world it's just a useful
power, not as game breaking.
Dangers & Monsters
Beyond the
Landless, many dangers live in and about the towers, creating a
challenge for adventurers and the natives alike. Firstly- any fall
would be lethal of course. The towers are structurally sound, but
old. Many weak balconies and open holes in the sides of some of the
structures can lead straight out into the abyss below. The bridges
between the towers are also solid, they are magically enchanted to
grant safe passage, but their handrails and guards are not fullproof-
it is easily possible for one to get thrown off in a melee. Many
explorers also climb the outsides of the towers to reach locked rooms
by going in through their windows and to get to higher floors
otherwise unreachable, but the slick stone from the fog and general
lack of handholds means that this too is very dangerous.
For more
environmental threats, there is also the lack of food. Water is in
abundance here, both the ambient fog which provides plenty of
moisture and condensation (even a novice magician can condense
drinking water from moisture in the air when it is this plentiful),
but the numerous fountains, inner aqueducts, and various bathhouses
and cisterns within each tower. But food is hard to come by. The rare
living creatures in the tower are birds which are hard to catch and
small, spiders which are even smaller and unappetizing, and the
fruits and plants growing on the occasional tower side orchard.
Taking any amount of food from this place is very likely to draw the
ire of the Landless, even if you are otherwise on friendly terms with
them.
Another is the
weather. Usually, the air is with a chilly breeze- like a morning
before the sun. The temperature here is cool but livable. Sometimes
though, there is a cold snap. The temperature in a specific tower
will drop rapidly- so much so that it will grow ice and the waters
inside will freeze over. You can even see this from the other towers;
one in the distance will randomly be white and frost covered, snow
flakes dropping from its awnings. More often then not, this is the
result of the Iceflies. Large beagle-sized insects that fly
through the air with a heavy drone. These creatures bring ice and
cold with them wherever they go; they travel in small swarms between
towers from time to time, only moving in the darkest part of the
night and then roosting within a tower. By the time the morning comes
and the clouds of this place are lit up; your tower would become
deathly cold without warning. Your potions may have been frozen
solid, and some of your companions without proper sleeping equipment
may have died or be seriously ill. With the lack of wood to burn for
fuel except that which you brought, your only hope is to either
conjure a bridge or seek the Iceflies somewhere in the tower and slay
them.
On the outside of
the towers and traveling between them- a few predators live. Besides
the Landless, there are flying jaguars. Dark gray fur, huge claws and
teeth and powerful bodies. These creatures have a skin membrane under
their body to let them fly, much akin to a flying squirrel or bat.
The small tower spiders are nothing compared to the huge ghost-strand
spiders. They are nearly invisible, with bodies like glass, and they
only string a single, unbreakable, inescapable strand of web between
the towers. This magical strand of web can snap the spines of
anything flying into it at full speed- and yet have the strength to
hold the limp body in place for the spider to come and feed. Finally-
there are the great black ouroboros- huge snakes which are too big to
fit inside any of the towers. They wrap around each spire and bite
their own tails, slowly rising through muscle contractions that can
take years to reach the top; from a distance, they just appear as
another landing. They don't seem to eat anything- as they must bite
their own tail lest they fall from the tower. But those who try to
use them as a circular platform around the tower be warned- the
snakes can expand themselves just enough so your body slips between
them and the tower, and then they will crush you against the stone
harder then any mortal could withstand. No one can retrieve a body
from one crushed by a black ouroboros like this- it is stuck until it
falls free as the snake mysteriously ascends upwards.
Deeper within the
towers is another threat- the long dead bones of ancient protectors,
which rise again to guard the towers from intruders. They are known
as the Tarsal Defenders. The bones of these beings are astonishingly
similar to those of orcs and humans, but no living specimen has ever
been seen or even depicted in those tombs that house them. They have
broad, oval faces in their skulls, with spikes of bone which no doubt
gave them a fearsome expression. Distinctly different from the
Landless- no wings either, ruling out the most sensible options. They
lay in silent tombs, many armed with gray-blue polearms of unusual
shape, and a few also adorned in shiny armor of the same type. Their
protective armor is as good as the finest from our realm, and seems
to have the innate ability to defend against spells of ice and
lightning. Nobody knows what these beings may have been- the original
inhabitants of the towers? An alien race come to live here when
leaving their home realm? A slave race created just to die and be
animated in defense of a mad sorcerer's project? These undead beings
have bones which are more similar to petrified wood and minerals
formed into shape then the long dead bones of creatures; necromantic
magic cannot raise them nor has any successful attempt to raise one
from the dead to speak or study them ever worked either. Any bones
from these beings taken from the Dimension of Distant Towers never
stir again- except the tiniest, subtle vibrations whenever it rains
outside.
The Realm of
Distant Tower is home to many treasures. As mysterious and dangerous
as the land is; it is still being explored for the chance to claim
some of its riches.
Firstly, the
creatures and dangers of the lands themselves are valuable. While the
Landless produce nothing of value themselves- some evil empires have
consorted to capture them and use them as slaves. Of course, the
difficulty of both capturing and keeping flying slaves makes this
little more then a dream. Less amoral explorers find that the
creatures of the realm are bountiful as they are dangerous- the pelts
of flying jaguars, the scales of the ouroboros, ghost-strand spider
silk, the chitin plates of an icefly all have high values. Even the
Tarsal Defenders are of value- not for their unusual bones which are
prized only by scholars, but for their armor and weapons, which fit
well enough into human or orcish hands and are very strong for how
common they seem to be.
Secondly, the
treasure troves. In terms of raw wealth, the Dimension of Distant
Towers is also bountiful. Deep within the towers, especially those
infested with the Tarsal Defenders or filled to the brim with deadly
mechanical and magical traps, are hoards of wealth. There is no gold
native to this dimension, strangely enough, it seems their choice for
wealth was silver. This rare type of silver is stunningly pure and
beautiful, seemingly immune to being tarnished and is both
lightweight and highly prized for artisans. Some towers have hoards
of the stuff in every shape and form- brilliant chalices for unseen
lips, metal mirrors, bracelets and trinkets of unparalleled shine.
These treasure hoards have been seemingly left here for eons,
untouched and waiting to be claimed- if only one can endure the
hardships to find them and take them back.
Finally, there is
magic. The Dimension of Distant Towers is an alien realm to our own,
misty and peerless. Within it is the unreality of its fog and
geometry- it is no wonder the place practically sings with the arcane
and unknowable. The first time a magician steps through the portal,
they may brush their hand across the stonework in awe at how it all
feels- though with time they will acclimate to it, perhaps even
finding the real world dull in comparison. This magical aura over the
whole realm, plus the treasures left behind by the ancients, means
that this place is teeming with magical artifacts and treasures
beyond your wildest dreams.
20 Distant Towers Treasures
– Roll 1d20 for what you find inside a Tower
[2]
Pale Pink Juice. In the Dimension of Distant Towers, seeing anything
with warm colors like red or yellow is so rare it really stands out,
even if it is really a very pale pink. The Pale Pink juice is kept in
a glass-and-silver pitcher, the contents of which are always cool.
The Juice itself is a magic fluid and can sustain a person for a full
day for both their food and water for a fully day, as well as delay
any diseases or conditions they have for that day as well, but they
will return once the medicinal effects have worn off. The pitcher
contains 8 cups.
[3]
Silvered Spectacles. Pair of fine spectacles with silver rims,
bridge, and temple. The silvered body is very thin and nearly
weightless, once you place it on it grants vision so clear that
almost all forms of blindness are cured for as long as it is worn.
Additionally, the spectacles can see shapes in fog extending outwards
from where you could see the outline of a person, place, or thing
without the fog, but this shape lacks detail and only grants vague
information. In the Dimension of Distant Towers you can locate towers
for miles around as featureless black pillars.
[4]
Scale Ear. Looks like a metal dragon scale made of many layers of
absolutely wafer thin silver metal. It has a band that fits around
the head; acts as a prosthetic ear to those who are deaf; they can
'hear' the scales tiny vibrations and muffled clinks of the silver
against each other. If someone with healthy ears wears it, they get
+1 to initiative or to avoid being surprised but only from enemies
approaching from that direction.
[5]
Apex Redeemer. It is a small silver pyramid, flaked with snow white
dust. Anyone who opens it can confess a sin, a broken promise, or a
curse they are suffering from and it will be swallowed by the
pyramid. The pyramid will then tarnish and turn dark, and the person
will be free from the guilt. If the pyramid is opened, the curse or
guilt will move to whoever opened the pyramid.
[6]
Baby Square. Silver metal square frame. It is only a few square pipes
of metal, the center is open to the air. Very lightweight, all sides
are a cubit in length and the corners are dented. If this square is
placed on the ground or thrown over a baby or child, they cannot
leave the square. This ability only works on creatures small enough
whose normal stance fits in the square and who are mentally similar
to children. It works on human children, fairies and brownies,
goblins, halflings, etc.
[7]
Rod of Death & Fog. It's a magic rod, made of a greenish-blue
metal this time; immune to most earthly forms of corrosion. If bent
out of shape, it will reform when next exposed to moonlight. Deals
1d8 magical blast damage and once per day can cast the spell Fog,
or suck up fog in the air equal to the duration or volume to the
spell.
[8]
Bridge Stick. This looks like a dowel of sanded wood, a rarity in the
Towers. If you point this at a tower you can see in the Dimension of
Distant Towers, a hastily made bridge will appear of wood. This
bridge lacks guardrails and will begin to fall apart from the area it
was created all the way to its destination after 1 turn. If you're
still on the bridge, it falls apart at a brisk walking speed. The rod
is consumed upon use. You find 1d3 dowels at once whenever you roll
this result.
[9]
Flash Photograph. Long metal bar filled with some strange white
powder. If you hold it up and expose the small hole on one end to an
open flame, or pierce with with a flaming bit of rope- the entire bar
flashes brightly a piece of parchment will come up out of the bar.
This parchment will have taken a photograph of whatever the length of
the bar was facing. It's a medieval version of a Polaroid, but it is
in black and white and grainy. Still, better then any other recording
items in a generic fantasy world, so it's a magical artifact now.
[10]
Octopus Shield. This shield is made of a dark gray wood with a silver
“octopus” on the face. The octopus is three dimensional- jutting
out from the shield with its eight long tendrils symmetrically going
outwards from the center to grip the edge of the shield. It is called
an octopus though resembles no earthly creature- it has no eyes
carved on it and is subtly different, and may instead be an extinct
or very rare creature from this realm. This is a magic shield that
grants +2 AC and reflects the first Death
or Disintegration
spell cast on the user back to the caster, once per day. The octopus
tarnishes after it has blocked the first spell, and returns its shine
when it recharges.
[11]
Rammer. It's a small wooden baton, made of dark gray wood. Its head
has the horns and head of an unknown animal- the head feels
incredibly dense. If you slam this into an something, it deals 1d8+1
damage as though you just smashed it with a sledge hammer or
battering ram. Rammer can be held and used in a grapple due to its
small size. It never runs out of charge but if you drop it on your
foot it'll break bones.
[12]
Foamer. Silver canister that, if pressed at one end, fires white foam
out the other end. You can use it on yourself or on another thing in
melee. At range- It is hard to aim or use as is, disadvantage on
ranged attacks, but if a simple device is made during downtime it can
be shaped as a crossbow and have no disadvantage. The foam from this
canister seals up wounds at a range, healing 1d6 points of damage,
but also slows the target the more foam is put on them. One shot =
half movement speed or count encumbrance as encumbered. After two
shots = move at a crawl or as heavily encumbered. Three shots =
immobile. The foam bubbles away after one hour OR after one turn if
washed off with water or during the rain.
[13]
Silver Mushroom. Looks like a mushroom, or dick I guess, with a thick
head, made of the silvered metal. It is a mechanical puzzle that is
Bewilderingly difficult to solve (12), requires screwing the head,
stem, and levers on the side in a specific speed and order in order
to open it up. Inside the mushroom is 2d4 Instant Death Tablets. They
are bright blue poison tablets that kill instantly when consumed. One
to kill a man, two to kill an ogre, three for a dragon, four for
anything bigger. It takes a number of seconds equal to the number of
pills swallowed to kill whatever ate them.
[14]
Spellsling Staff. This long silver staff has a larger chamber near
the top, which can be opened up. Within the chamber you can put
something that glows bright to use the staff as an impromptu torch OR
you can prepare a spell and drain the energies into the staff's
chamber. Then, you can sling the staff to cast the spell instantly,
no need for incarnations. This means instead of resolving a spell at
the end of the combat round or at the start of the next round; the
spell activates at the moment of the MU's action that combat round.
The staff can only hold one spell at a time and has a 1 in 6 chance
to break if holding a spell of any greater power then 5th
level or higher.
[15]
Mysterious Iron Ship. This small ship looks big enough for a rat to
pilot, not a man. It's clearly a toy, but if dropped will always fall
to the ground gently. The ship doesn't float in water, and yet seems
strangely buoyant. The ship is, of course, a magical airship- just
incredibly small in size. If one could enlarge it with a proper spell
or perhaps shrink down, you could use this to explore the Dimension
of Distant Towers freely- or even sail the spaces between stars.
[16]
Altimeter. Silver tube with an unusual rotating display. The display
features characters that you can't read, it's in some ancient and
alien script, but with a few months or translation you can figure out
that it shows the exact height of your location. Strangely, “zero”
is not at sea level, it seems to be somewhere far deeper, down below. This is totally a magic item in a medieval fantasy setting.
[17]
Silver Scab. This doughy ball of white-silver metal is unlike any
other in this dimension. It is partially fluid like dough, especially
if warmed up in the hands. By spreading it over a body wound, the
silver orb sinks into the cracks and cuts of the victim and fills
them, before melding with the flesh and becoming a silvery scab. This
scab heals 2d6 hit points of damage to the target's body. After 1d4
weeks, the scab can be peeled off to reveal a silver flake worth 350c
in currency. The flake is pure silver but is no longer malleable and
you probably shouldn't tell anyone you peeled it off your axe wound.
[18]
Helmet of Death-Many. It's a metal helmet with a crescent-moon shaped
black blade, going vertically along the head of the wearer. When you
wear this helmet, you must overcome its insidious control; roll a
saving throw to avoid being controlled. If you succeed the roll, the
player-character and player are not aware this helmet is cursed at
all- it is a hidden roll. If you fail the roll, the dungeon master
will temporarily take control of the player character who will
attempt to kill anyone else in the room until the helmet is pulled
off their head or they are knocked out or killed. The helmet itself
grants +2 AC and counts as a +2 Magic Helmet. It also grants whoever
wears it a bonus of +1 damage on all attacks for every “person”
they've killed in the past 24 hours, up to a maximum of +10. This
doesn't work on animals, undead, constructs, or anything without an
intelligent, emotional soul, hence it has to be a “person”.
[19]
Powdered Magic. It's a fine powder that comes in different colors-
blue, green, cyan, purple, and very rarely magenta. If a handful is
thrown at the ground creates sparks and streams and smokes of its
color- a Rogue could use this to get in an extra sneak attack or
escape a combat but it only works once. However anyone of magical
learning will see it is an incredible find- powdered magic! This rare
resource can be used to empower spells and fuse broken magic items
back together, as well as mixed with water and honey or other
reagents to create magical ink. Whenever you find this in the Towers,
you'll probably find it in a silent, undisturbed silver dish open to
the air. Each time you roll this result you find 3d8 handfuls of the
stuff.
[20]
Tarsal Defender Armory. Silent armory, untouched for uncountable
eons. Not a speck of dust mars these shining weapons. There's enough
sets of armor and weaponry to outfit a whole company of men in the
magical equipment. Armor is somewhat adjustable- fits most humans and
orcs and a few large bodied elves- dwarves or anything smaller would
need to modify the armor. Armor as magical plate that grants a bonus
against cold and lighting spells. Weapons act as +1 magic weapons,
and are also immune to being frozen in place or magnetically pulled.
