Dimension of White Castles & Black Forests

This world has no color. Everything you see is black, white, or a shade of gray. This is the people and the places. The people here know what color is; they can see it, though they can't easily describe it. The animals react very strongly to color- sneaking is almost impossible for any being not monochrome, or at least dressed in very muted tones- even the soft pinks and browns of human flesh is like a ultra-saturated glowing neon to the beings so used to the colorless expanse.

The sky is always overcast during the day, though at night it gets very black. Shadows are long. The clouds and mists are white. This land is an endless array of forests and hills, mountains which can be climbed and over it; yet another forest and more hills.

To enter this world requires magic, or to find a time and place in your world where the sky and earth are so gray, so washed out and the fog is so thick there appears to be no separation of any. If you walk on without thought of where you are going, you will arrive here on a 1 in 6 chance. Getting back is much more difficult.

Everything here grows like a plant- including the people. The only civilization in this place are the great walled fortresses, which grow from small stone huts or single standing towers, mushroom out, and grow organically to fit new spinnerets and chambers over hundreds of years. The residents of these fortresses bud from them spontaneously; also growing the same way. They begin as tiny gnomes or pixies; a librarian as big as your thumb in the newly grown library ward, born into their job and position- no childhood or marriages make these people who they are, they just are as they were made. Eventually, they grow to a near human size, but will always be distinct from their black and white features and alien personas. Near the end of their lives, the people grow huge and gnarled like an old tree; a giant philosopher-king sitting on his throne, knees taking up most of the space in the great hall. The woodsman on the hunt for the big bad wolf, white bearded, his head peaking over the endless pine. Eventually, when they die, they will fuse back into the earth, once again returned to the cycle of the Strange and Eternal.

The White Woads
These are the tended, game-filled wood around the castles. They are their own simple ecosystem- all white deer and all black wolves, little gray riding hood walks through the trees to pick flowers while a big gray wolfman watches from the bushes. All white fish promise you knowledge if you put them back when you hook them out of a river filled with black stones.

Occasionally, the nobles and huntsmen of the white castles go out into these woods. They hunt gray foxes that dart through the underbrush under the snapping jowls of dogs- every color of the monochrome rainbow. Whenever you explore these lands, you are bound to run into somebody or something mildly friendly, but unmovable from their task. These places are mostly safe; perhaps even safer then inside the organic walls of the great growing castle.

The weather switches between bright summer day (white) and stormy (gray)- to finally night (very black). There are no seasons, though the people of this realm will babble on about how its a good season for their crops- when there are no seasons and there are no crops. "Everyone knows the fisher boy goes by the river during a nice summer's day!" meanwhile, everyone is still wearing their cloaks and coats.

The people here only live in stone places; and only stone places are civilization. If you were to chop down some trees and build a house, they wouldn't recognize it. They would think of it is a very strange tree. Even the witch on the outskirts of the castles who knows spells and lures children to be eaten still lives in a little stone house.

All the animals here can talk. Farm animals tell rumors, birds curse you if you disturb their nests, and wolves will let you go if you give them something bright red- inherently attracted to the color of blood despite the blood of everything here being a slick silver. The most dangerous are probably the wolves. Occasionally, you might find a stone bridge that gives birth to a big troll who demands payment to cross; but he's pretty easy to trick.

Gray Witch (3+2 HD, +1 AC, 1d4+1 gnarled cane, casts Spells)
Morale- 8
Numbers- One or Two (Sisters)

Magical old woman. Relatively friendly, but primarily eats children to survive. Will settle for a gnome or halfling- even a dwarf if its a lean season. She'll invite you into her home if you have a positive or neutral reaction check- and there will be a 1 in 3 chance she's got a kid in a cage waiting to be tonight's supper. Any implication that you disagree with this or will try to free the child and the spells will start flying. It's nothing personal, that's just her role.

When killed, the speckled witch will have a collection of runes and odd trinkets that could teach a magic user a random Black or White spell; rolled below.

Black & White Spells
Roll 1d3 for a Black Spell
Roll 1d3+3 for a White Spell
Roll 1d2+2 for a Gray Spell
Roll 1d6 for a totally random colorless Spell.

[1] Great Black Beast
Summons forth a great riding beast- the size of an elephant. Its woolly body is pitch black and is moves almost noiselessly. There is no better transport for moving over huge distances in the dead of the night. Whoever rides the beast may bid it to march or charge- this creature has no tusks or trunk but can be a formidable siege weapon. It takes 1 damage per candle size light source every round that is nearby it- and it dies instantly in the sunlight. Even starlight will make it weak and eventually cause it to collapse 1d3 hours after it is produced. Only during an eclipse or in the pitch black night will this monster survive longer.

[2] Panther Straps
Dark leather straps burst from the object in question and fashion strongly to whoever wields it next. They are fit so tightly that any object bound with these is immune to being disarmed or knocked off even from the effects of a Loose spell or other magical effect. They cannot be stolen free by imps or other little thievish creatures. Poorly fitting armor is strapped well; granting up to +1 AC from the armor if their body could not make full use of it before.

This straps can be cut by metal over the course of an exploration turn, but are otherwise permanent. If used on an object that is burning hot or lined with spikes, makes an effective trap that is a pain to remove. Add an exploration turn to the time to doff any armor equipped by use of this spell.

[3] Beetleskin
Gives any object a shield of shiny, dark gray carapace. The carapace-shield levitates just an inch off of the object; absorbing all attacks coming from a single direction decided when the spell is cast. The carapace has 14 AC and caster level in hit points before it is destroyed.

[4] Powdered Silver
Conjures a light handful of light silvery metal powder. This dust has the same properties as silver does; weapons given a coat of it harm werewolves, for example. Circles drawn of the silver will be antimagical in nature. Cursed items shriek when dusted by this; and it can be used as a holy symbol of a pinch is thrown at an undead creature or vampire.

The dust is very lightweight, and as such blows away easily in the air. It has a 1 in 10 chance of being blown away every round when outdoors; with an instant loss if the weather is bad. Indoors it can remain more stable, but will blow away if a door is opened nearby or if the party moves past at anything but a snails pace in walking speed.

[5] Healer's Smock
Garbs the caster and up to two others in white aprons, masks, and gloves. These clean pieces of clothing are barriers to disease and sickness; and miasma breaks upon their touch. While performing first aid or healing, you restore +2 more hit points per healing item or procedure used. Diseases are beaten back by one extra day's worth of progression. While this provides no help at curing or ending curses; anyone dressed in such clean and pure garments will be immune to catching them themselves, even if the disease is highly transmutable.

Every time you use this smock or heal someone, it becomes slightly less pure, slowly changing its color from white, to off white, to silver, to gray. After healing or defending oneself against disease 5 times, the protection of these clean garments are lost and they will rapidly degrade into black matted rags.

[6] Angel Switch
This spell must be cast on an all white twig. Common in this Dimension, hard to get anywhere else. The twig is imbued with holy energy, dealing 1d4+1 damage to undead and being able to be used as a holy symbol. The switch remains sanctified in this manner until the switch is stained with blood- or in other words, you strike a living thing too hard.

The switch has a second property. If used to spank an intelligent being, the switch causes them great pain and forces them to make a save or tell the truth on one question being asked. The switch snaps and has no power against someone who is already aligned with Good or Order.

The Living Castles
The castles here are alive. These fortresses grow on their own and spit out civilization, like spores, or perhaps a defense mechanism. It is an upright dungeon. They are also played like dungeons.

Despite being the "civilization" of this world, they are by no means any safer then the gentle wilderness outside- far from it. Interior chambers of the castle sometimes trap beings or rooms that are meant to be connected to the outside- a giant princess wishing so badly to see the outside world again- her towers windows encased in the stone of the rest of the castle- she will lash out at anyone who dares enter this chamber. Not all of the people in this place are friendly; while there are those formed as the King and Wizard, some are created in the guise of the Executioner or Highwayman. The newly borns may be small; a tiny rat-sized hooded man with a proportionally "giant axe"- deals 1d2 damage, but eventually they will grow up and become huge, their minds more twisted with age as they yearn to be returned to the soil.

Everyone in the castle is a medieval stereotype. Think of fairy tales, or Shrek, and that's generally what the people there should follow. They don't have names- only titles. The thought of needing that much differentiation between two individuals is pointless; after all, people only are what they do. Kings are noble, Queens are pretty but schemers. Princesses are naive and lovely in all way, Princes are charming and adventurous. To give one of them a name is received as a secret treasure- held close their chest. "This is my name? Just for me?" They cannot think of or even imagine names, only the intruders from other worlds and realms have that power. Some will trade their goods or services for a strong name. Others will call the guards on you for trying to cast a witchcraft on them.

The people and places here are intentionally anachronistic. The castles feel more like Hollywood movie sets, or a Disney film, then an actual medieval castle. They are always made of undressed stone with some tapestries hung around. There may be a garden in a courtyard or a tiny plot of cabbages outside the front gate, and peasants leading around donkeys with ropes, but there's no farming economy. It's nowhere near enough food to support this population; the castle provides for these people. Storerooms that open in its interior are already full of food. There are no hovels and villages for the serfs; they just sleep on the stone floor of the great hall or in a side passage. "Where else would peasants sleep?"

The castles reproduce via budding. They always begin as a small structure of a different purpose- a lonely wizard tower, a stone circle or monument for fairytale creatures to congregate, or a tiny gatehouse. They are always made of stone though- the forests here are untouched. The treasure trove of white and black lumber is only of interest to a single "character" that these castles spawn- the Woodsman or Lumberjack. He's the one that is most "awake" to reality, the one most distant and aware of the world outside of the fairy tale fiction of the castle- he's the one who knows most about the forest and its creatures. Only by his axe is the forest held back from consuming the great white castles. He is a part of this process too- he is the clear cutter that opens up space for the castle to grow. He's an evolutionary measure- he destroys the competition and opens up the ground for this kind of arcane "flora" to expand- but he's most aware of his place in the cycle.

The Black Forests
Far away from the growing castles are the wastelands- the Black Forests. The trees here are darker, with deeper shadows and shade. You will need a torch to wander these woodlands- even during a dreary overcast day. Wood from your world burns red and yellow, wood from here burns a very pure titanium white. Both attract the eyes from the lurkers in the dark places.

The Black Forests are more cruel then the White Woads. There is still a fairytale logic, but this is where the rules are more Grimm. Human wanderers, monochrome as they are, are replaced with little men with unpronounceable names and weird hybrids of various animals. This is the other side of this realm's ecological coin. The landscape itself is more chaotic; drawn from a primordial state of being. And in the darkest forests you can find the ruins of what was once a White Castle- a Black Ruin.

The Black Ruin was once a shining White Castle- still organic in shape, but now decayed. Just as a classic dungeon, it crawls with monsters, traps, and strange beings. The stone itself has changed color- it is not merely a trick of shadow, but the dead castle stones literally turn black when dead for so long, creating a shadowy spot of darkness in the world. The old bones of the residents of one of the white castles remain here- wishing only the castle remain strong.

The only people who live around these are criminals, vagrants- negative stereotypes. Even the witches of the White Woads go by a series of logical steps- they can be tricked by clever young boys and impressed by brave little girls. In a Black Ruin, there are thieves and tomb robbers, monochrome black and gray, who have never actually stolen anything, but yet rely on it as their career of "choice". You can hire some of these to be your retainers if you wish; though their loyalty and personalities will remain as thin as the shadows on the wall.

Black Knight (7+1 HD, +6 AC from Armor, +4 To-Hit, 1d8+2 Midnight Broadsword, Magic Shield, Unyielding Strength)
Morale- 13
Number- Just One

Honor bound black knight. Always fighting for some promise- nobody shall cross this bridge, or nobody will touch the sacred tree's treasure, and so on. Upon the final hit that would kill the knight- the Knight gets one final attack in revenge to anyone in melee which deals +2 To-Hit and Damage. This Black Knight will always be carrying or guarding an Achromatic Treasure- roll 1d4+4 on the table below.

Treasure Table
Roll a 1d4 for treasures found in the White Woads
Roll a 1d8 for treasures found in a White Castle
Roll a 1d4+8 for treasures found in a Black Ruin
Roll a 1d12 for a treasure found in a Black Forest OR for a totally random Treasure.

[1] Silver mushroom. Cures blindness.
[2] Chalk dew. Can be drank to recover +1 Hit Point or be used as paint thinner.
[3] Little Fairy, trapped in a jar. If you let her out she'll cast a 1st level magic spell for you.
[4] Milk Spiderweb. If you sew this into a garment you can repair it as per the spell Mending, or you can spin it into a bowstring which will make the bow +1.
[5] Mesa Dust. Can be sprinkled over a horse or donkey and it will find its way back home.
[6] Little Eagle Carving. Worth sentimental value to a villager living in a castle; equal to a favor.
[7] Black and White Portrait of a Noble. Worth novel value to someone outside of this realm. If the paint is removed, the parchment it is otherworldly bright white (Spectralon)
[8] Vantablack Handkerchief. Wizard can use this to cast Darkness, once per day, or you can burn it to cast a bright-white flash which blinds creatures with Darkvision for 1d4 rounds.
[9] Fortress Enchantment. Magical force in the air that rolls for a random encounter if you speak above a whisper in this area. Its just a sullen wooden plaque that says "Quiet Please!"
[10] Ashen Ring of Might. Grants +1 to your Strength score each day you wear it. After four days, it becomes stuck on your finger and would need to be amputated. If you reach 23 Strength with this, your heart bursts in your chest and you die.
[11] Pale Ring of Wisdom. Grants +1 to your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma each day, until all three are at least at a +1 Modifier. If you take off the ring, you instantly lose these stats.
[12] Silvered Golden Cache. Chest of off-white metal that is this realm's gold. Worth quite a lot to a scholar, worth quite a lot more to a banker. Like 30,000c worth.

Flying Cosmic Fortress Generator

Above the world; above the sapphire mountains, above the sky-lands, above even the realms of dawn and dusk- there are the cosmic realms. Space, with glowing stars and planets and cosmic streams. These places, so far away that no mortals, or even immortals from your realm scarcely go.

For one reason or another, you've ended up here. But this realm is too abstract and deadly for a living thing; it is infinite and boundless in all directions and ways. There are Fortresses here; anchors of sanity and reality in this hostile place. These flying castles all look artificial, created from wood or brick or platinum- like flying fortresses in the cosmic void.

Flying Cosmic Fortresses
These cosmic fortresses are flying on the astral/cosmic realms. It's basically outer space, but remember this is fantasy outer space. Gravity is still down, you can breath in the air (it's cold and sterile), it's warm enough to not freeze, and so on. However, these effects that protect beings only exist in and a short distance outside it. If you "fell" off the fortress you'd fall down into the void and then float around like it was outer space.

The Fortresses themselves are totally alone and isolated. It's not possible to leave one without some kind of powerful magic or divine aide. You are within a far realm now; distant and separated from the Gods and Spirits of your home world. All Cleric spells and magic is cast as though the caster is a level lower.

To create a Flying Cosmic Fortress; roll once on each table below.

What does the Flying Cosmic Fortress look like? - Roll d20
[1] Fortress carved into a single giant stone.
[2] Stereotypical castle with a moat that endlessly drops water into the void.
[3] Ancient jungle temple.
[4] Huge overgrown tree or plant, windows carved into branches and stems.
[5] Giant Mansion floating in space.
[6] Multiple towers w/ Spinnerets.
[7] Like a giant bee hive or insect nest. Original inhabitants may or may not be exterminated.
[8] Crafted from metal, roughly bolted together.
[9] Looks like a giant crystal. All the "windows" here are colored as the crystal is. Random Color.
[10] Like a giant sailing ship. Like the ark, but huge-er and in space.
[11] Artificial donut shape from smooth stone. Normal gravity; down.
[12] Looks like a weird dark mass, undulating in space. Inside is a little better.
[13] Icosahedron sphere. Made of brass and exotic metals. Many inner chambers.
[14] Like a miniature city- brims with magictech lights.
[15] Glacier. Crevice leads to interior. Endless blizzard 5 in 6 turns on top.
[16] Looks like a chunk ripped from the normal world; a grassland with a small house on it. The edge just drops into void. House houses tunnel to interior dungeon inside the whole thing.
[17] Giant chained body of some space whale or other horrible giant creature from the depths of the cosmic realms. May or may not still be alive.
[18] Massive yawning cave entrance. The inside is subterranean, but has a large central chamber that looks out into the void. From inside, looks like a giant mouth kinda.
[19] Looks like a giant dark cube from the outside. Doors on the sides sheer-drop into void. No balconies, but sides are not perfectly smooth. Butt-clenching jumps on the outside.
[20] Separate chambers connected with large colorful tubes of various lengths and sizes. Looks like a god damn McDonald's playplace.

What's this Flying Cosmic Fortress's Special Feature? - Roll d8
[1] Fortress is a sphere. Gravity similar to our moon regardless of size. Think Mario Galaxy.
[2] It's really, really big. Megadungeon.
[3] Has a secondary fortress with the same designs as the first connected to it by a long chain.
[4] Built on/in/around a giant dead/sleeping megaverse giant God thing.
[5] Has a guidance system and could eventually be flown around like a really cool starship.
[6] Has a Room of Requirement like effect. Safe rooms or fresh water chambers appear when adventurers seek them. The rooms stop appearing if abused.
[7] The bottom has a second fortress, inverse gravity, light/dark world, etc. Roll again on the appearance table for the other side.
[8] Race of intelligent, neutral beings live there called the Curators. Use the Fantasy Race Generator to give them an appearance. They live in the walls, perform maintenance, and may believe the otherworldly entity who governs this place created them (it probably didn't).

What can you see in the Void next to this Flying Cosmic Fortress? - Roll d12
[1] Black hole sucking up light. Fortress is not at risk. Don't fly off that direction.
[2] Several small "islands" of the same design as the main Fortress.
[3] Huge metal scaffolding and frames connected to island; possibly interstellar dock?
[4] It's surrounded by a nebula cloud; hard to see through.
[5] Field of undead servitors. Spaced apart evenly; a spherical defense grid.
[6] Shipwrecked hauls of space boats.
[7] Giant tentacles coming out of black portals. Fingers of an old one- mostly inactive.
[8] Swirling "winds" of elemental or magical energy. Turbulent approach.
[9] Buoys or signposts- hinting at dangers or distances.
[10] Stars. They are extra bright around this Fortress, making it dazzling.
[11] Nothing.
[12] Absolutely nothing.

What kind of Dangers are in this Fortress? - Roll d10
[1] Mechanical traps. Has a gravity changing puzzle that can fling you into void if you fuck up.
[2] Contains a cosmic forge or engine. Sporadically releases intense magic radiation.
[3] It's crumbling or being eroded by cosmic nothingness. Watch your step.
[4] Eternal guardian statue-people things. Only attack if you break "rules". Laser eyes.
[5] It has been used as storage for all manner of dangerous and cursed magic items.
[6] Infested with cosmic pests. Dangerous, only because cosmic. Think this blogpost.
[7] The place is partially cloaked in layers of astral space; the player-characters own ego and personal experiences begin to warp the place and manifest. Think Silent Hill.
[8] Fortress Stalkers. Monsters that are made of the same material and look just like parts of the fortress. Slink around silently and try to kill people. Native to this place.
[9] Otherworldly phenomena like time dilation, gravity anomalies, recursive hallways, non-euclidean geometry and more. Has a paradox contained within crystal; mostly safe.
[10] Masses of reactive elemental slime. Colored as element. Deal 1d6 damage of a random element when touched or disturbed. On a roll of 6, you suffer an extra effect.

How did you get to this Flying Cosmic Fortress? - Roll d6
[1] Walked through an unmarked portal / doorway in space-time.
[2] Extreme spell failure / broke a major magical artifact and this was the result.
[3] Took the Airship up too high. It can't come down without special preparations.
[4] It wasn't flying at first. Activated some dungeon's mechanism; it lifted off.
[5] Willing accepted a challenge from a powerful otherworldly entity to win favor. (Roll subtable)
[6] Unwillingly whisked away at the whim of some powerful otherworldly entity. (Roll subtable)

(Subtable) Why did some Supernatural being send you here? - Roll d6
[1] To test your resolve against difficult challenges.
[2] To perform some minor bit of "house keeping" that it doesn't want to do itself.
[3] To observe your kind in action up close and personal.
[4] To punish or execute. If you manage to survive, it will be impressed and let you go.
[5] To participate in a multiverse tournament battle to the death!
[6] It made a mistake when trying to teleport you somewhere else. 1 in 1000 chance if you teleport via genie you end up here instead. Takes 2d6 days for it to find you again.

Oh and if you want a quick way to understand and suck up the exact artstyle and feel I'm going for, just go play Amid Evil.

Dimension of Candle Canyons

Light a candle and hold it to your breast. Go into the mountain pass, turn past the silent stones and look not where you go. Before you know it- now you're here. Endless sky above and crag below; where you are you shall not know.

The Candle Canyons
This is an alternate dimension. To arrive here requires a magical portal, or for one to arrive through a small ritual as described in the poem above. The land is craggy and mountainous, becoming incredibly steep and impossible to proceed upwards; mostly you will pass through canyons which, much like a natural labyrinth, seem to extend outwards infinitely in all directions. While you will never see the sun or source of light in the sky; there is both day and night here.

However, even during the darkest nights light is abundant in the form of the candles. The candles are everywhere in this realm. They float in the air; appearing as traditional, generic beeswax candles, but made by unseen hands. All of them are lit, and gently float over the passes and rocks of the canyons you are in, always providing a gentle light with which to see. It seems as though the candles are less numerous in the day, with more and more of them appearing at dusk, being strung along by invisible, undetectable winds. This has given rise to the belief that somewhere in this realm is a great candle-maker, who makes these candles by day and lets them fly at night to light all corners of this realm.

If you manage to reach up or shoot down a candle, you will find it as it is- a wax candle. You can carry it around or use it to light fires or whatever. It's just a candle. Once a candle has been knocked from the air, it will not fly on its own power again.

The land and stones of the Canyon are very uniform. The air is dry and arid, with a hint of warm desert breezes just above the canyon you are in, floating on the sky. The air here is strange, charged with the magics of air and fire, making it difficult to float or fly any higher then a few feet- going high enough to scan the entire range seems nearly impossible- though the few who have only report seeing an endlessly stretched mountain range in all directions. The rocks are a light brown, with deeper reds and oranges in the underground and the soils on the ground. There are plants here, occasionally, but all of them are shrubs, small patches of wild grasses, and a very rare collection of mountain flowers on slightly more open areas. Without trees, finding firewood is near impossible- but thankfully the candles eliminate the need for light for camping and the rocks absorb the heat from the day beautifully, making the days and nights both pleasant and comfortable. However, you will have to rely on magical fire or simply get used to dry and cold rations for eating if you spend a long time here.

As for the wildlife; shrubs and grasses are most common. Small streams of water sometimes pool from the rocks and spill down the canyon basins, creating small green ravines in little creeks, but then the water will just disappear into a crack of under a heavy stone and be gone again- the water here is too uncommon and unpredictable to act as a landmark or guide- there are no rivers branching to form a great ocean. The most common creatures here are the rock lizards, who come out during the daylight hours to eat the occasional rust-red gnat or wasp. Small bee hives are sometimes built in a crevice, complete with lazy bees seeking mountain flowers and making golden honey.

The only other natural animal that seems to exist here are wild mountain goats. They are only about the size of a domestic goat, are always a ruddy rust color, and are always found alone. They are incredibly skittish, despite having no natural predators, and seem to almost purposefully avoid leading tracks on soft sands- despite predators using scent more often, almost as if they are avoiding intelligent trackers who may try to find them. Their droppings are also the color of the rocks here, which ends up making their leavings look like little pebbles, and the goats are said to lick the stones at some places to give their digestive tract their unique coloration. These goats are rare, and hunting one with anything but a very skilled tracker is impossible. Some believe that this indicates they are going extinct and the remainders have evolved to avoid capture, while others think they are just this wily as a consequence of being created to live in this realm.

Stone Etchings
All around the canyons are etchings in the stone. These primitive drawings vary in style and subject, but all seem very old. The etchings usually depict humanoid creatures with long limbs, drawn with white circles on the head to depict wisdom or, in some interpretations, magical ability. It is unknown if these drawings were made by the many-limbed witches of the candle canyons, or if it was survivors, or a yet unknown dead culture who made them.

The stone etchings are also not on the surface; they lead inwards. The canyons are sunk into the endless stone and mountains of this realm; but even then there are inlets. Cavities grown in the rocks and stones, these caves are thankfully shallow- and always lit with candles, who float inside to keep the darkness away. The etchings are most common in these places, shelters for whoever created the scratchings. Here the subject matter varies; some will draw the goats that inhabit this realm, where as others draw landmarks or arrows to guide whoever reads them long after. Sometimes, these stone etchings will lead to treasure caches hidden between the crags of a stone- but they won't always warn of what lies inside those cracks.

While nobody is sure who made the etchings, everyone is sure of what they used to make them. The occasional dark gray colored stone found in these chambers or among the stones of the canyons is not of the same material as the rest of this world. Instead; these dark stones contain ore for a dark heavy metal- a stone of this material with a sharp tip can easily scratch the red dusty stones in this place.

Spiderwitches
The biggest threat that exists in this realm to outside explorers is, by far, the spiderwitches. These many-limbed witches appear as old crones with extra arms and legs, often stretched to exaggerated lengths. They can crawl over the stones- and while they move silently, their distorted shadows over the rocks, backlit by a floating candle, or their occasional mumbling in an ancient language, can give you a warning that they are coming. Spiderwitches are incredibly solitary; but seem to exist in a hierarchy, with ever larger and more powerful witches calling upon a handful of smaller ones if you offend her.

The Spiderwitches are predators. They attack on sight, except during the night- they would prefer to retreat. It seems they are more audacious during the day, as though the lack the candles around encourages their behavior, while the flying candles repel them. Beyond being dangerous foes in a close range fight, with sharp claws and wild flailing arms and legs; they are also skilled with magic and curses, and are known to be very territorial and aggressive.

The Spiderwitches seem live on the top of the mountain peaks- a few shallow crags and stones for shelter during the night, hiding away from the light of the candles that float down into the valleys and crags of this rocky realm. Whenever you see a dark peak in the distance, untouched by the candlelight, you can assume a Spiderwitch is up there. Worse yet, she is watching you.

Finally; the dangerous witches do have some amount of treasure. It's never in gold or jewels, nor the rotting bone charms and unspeakable substances smeared on their skin, but in the biological anomalies that lie within and on their bodies. Some think that the spiderwitches were never born, living in this realm since time began as nigh-immortals, and are all incredibly old- old enough for some very interesting things to grow from their ancient dusted flesh. If you slay a spiderwitch, you will find something interesting in her flesh- roll on the table below.

Spiderwitch Anomaly Table - Roll 1d10 for Regular Spiderwitch, 2d12 for an Ancient Spiderwitch
[1] Knot of Hair. Found in their filthy, matted hair. This gray ball of hairs seems harder then it should be- blades break before it is untangled. If smashed with hammers and fed into a forge the blade made with it will be magic, granting +1 to hit and damage and being immune to most magic spells. Whatever metal the blade is made with will also turn a dark gray-black and have no shine.

[2] Armpit Mushrooms. Found in the crook of the arm, filthily humid. These tiny black mushrooms seem to squiggle around in your grasp and live on past the death of their host. If cut into pieces and dried; act as a potion reagent that cures insanity and demonic possession. If you're dumb enough to cook and eat them the food will taste absolutely delicious. They are also highly addictive- causing a levels worth of drain if you go a month without a meal laced with them.

[3] Squiggling Thing. Found in the folds of a sagging stomach- or an unexpected marsupial pouch on this witch. Appears like a tiny pink embryo of some nameless mammalian creature. If you bury it in the earth you will be relieved of one disease or curse that ails you. If you eat it live you will gain +1d6 Hit Points and +1 permanent Strength, but will be reviled by all sentient creatures for a year and a day. It will die in three days once removed from the "mother".

[4] Flesh Roach. Found in an open wound- it obviously lived under that skin before the cut. It's a large black roach with a foul attitude- need a pair of metal calipers to pull it out, it will bite your fingers off (2 damage) if you try to pull it out with your hands. The roach is a parasite and will burrow into any living flesh it's placed on, granting whoever is implanted with it +1 AC and the ability to climb walls like a spider, at the cost of aging at double the rate.

[5] Scarified Skin. Found on (several) excess hands, from the palm to the elbow. These hands have been scratched with ominous bloody patterns, long since scabbed over and healed. They also have arcane formula inscribed on them; and could act as a form of mobile spellbook. Magic users could inspect these and study them to find a new spell, but have a 1 in 6 chance of activating a curse that reanimates all the severed hands in an attempt to strangle the one stealing their secrets.

[6] Venom Gland. Found in the mouth. Spiderwitches are not known to bite- but perhaps this one may already show you what her venom does. It's a tiny black-gray sac which contains a potent venom. Anyone struck by a weapon coated in this venom must save or take 2d6 damage each day for the next five days. Each day, they also shrink about 10% of their height, which does not come back, as their body crushes down on their innards. If you trick someone to drink this there is no save, but the venom tastes so bitter and horrible that its taste is almost impossible to mask. The gland contains 2d4 doses.

[7] Great Seed. Found in the stomach. It is a small tan seed that has somehow resisted being digested for who knows how long it laid in her acidic stomach. The seed will grow into a massive tree- though it will take many centuries to fully grow- which reaches to the first heaven above. Strangely, the seed doesn't seem native to the Candle Canyons dimension, and the soil here is too arid and poor to cause the seed to germinate at all.

[8] Witch Roe. Found clinging to the inside of the thighs. Tiny green "eggs". If you eat some, god forbid, you are wracked with terrible nightmares and maniac episodes for about a year. In exchange, you also learn a new random 1st level spell which you can cast once per day, permanently. If you are not a magic user, scale this spell as though you are a magic user of 1/2 your level.

[9] Frosty Cataract. Found in one gray eye. This tiny hard disc of witch-material grants a certain degree of stealth. People around you seem to pay you no mind- they can perceive you, they just choose not to interact or think about it too much. Wearing an object incorporated with this cataract grants +3 to stealth checks or lets you slip up once without degrading to a lower stealth level. If you snap the cataract its magic is permanently lost but for the next 3 days everyone in the world forgets you exist and forget anything you said or did the moment you are out of their sight.

[10] Little Red Mouse. Found under the witch's tongue, trembling. These mice are impossible to find; if any even exist in the wild in the canyons. You can only find obedient, pet mice in the mouths of slain witches. Their relationship with the witches is unknown, but they probably eat whatever the witch eats. These mice can crawl up to an whisper in your ear- their whiskers hinting at ways to turn situations to your advantage- granting +1 to reaction checks or +1 in 6 chance for any role involving diplomacy or law/debate. If you open your mouth, it will crawl under your tongue and accept you as its new owner.

[11] Stone Arrowhead. Found a few inches from the heart. Made of the same unusual dark gray stone found in a few of the etching caves- this arrowhead narrowly missed its mark inside one of these fearsome witches and remained in her body afterwards. If you affix it to an arrow and fire it true- getting either an 18 or higher on your attack roll against a spiderwitch, it instantly slays her. Whenever this happens, you will find the witch's heart has turned to stone with the arrow still connected to it, meaning it can only be used once.

[12] Beast Core. Found in the chest, between the lungs, pulsing with energy. This core is normally only found in the hearts of powerful monsters- used by Xianxia cultivators for their endless quest for immortality. Anyone who eats the core de-ages towards their physical prime by 1d20 years and gain +2 to all saving throws permanently, but each year has a 1 in 6 chance to turn into a Random Animal. They will change into an animal for that year, acting as that animal would, until they return to their normal form with that time missing from their memory. They will always retain a small quirk of appearance or personality from this animal form.

Sunken Cisterns
Deep beneath the canyons, and in the safer caverns which are marked with the etchings of some ancient people or explorers from before, there lay hidden ways deeper within. Though hidden in the rocks, small "buttons" made of carved stones or cracks too smooth or straight to have formed naturally are incorporated into these etchings. If one is to press or pull on these subtle clues, they will be rewarded with a passageway opening up to them.

Within these carved passages are large underground cisterns; huge pools made of the rock of the canyons themselves, carved smoothly into massive cisterns and aqueducts. Water lays undisturbed here- the water here in this darkness is clean and fresh as any mountain spring, contrary to as it may appear and how long it is remained here. Some claim that there is a hidden network of wind traps and dew-creating etchings in the stone above them that catch moisture from the air outside; but no droplets seem to come down nor new water flowing into the cisterns. Neither is the water in the cistern at risk of spoiling or becoming dusty or fetid- the water is as clean as though it had just rained down that very day. The cisterns themselves contain small lakes worth of water; you could sink in one and not be able to reach the bottom in a single breath, and the great stone reservoirs are filled to the absolute brim- any breaking of the surface tension causes it to spill down onto the floor below.

Between cistern-systems are rocky tunnels similar to sewers, but clean and only present to move water. Many passages remain bone dry; overfill systems in the event the cisterns overflow one day. Unlike the caverns above, there are no scratches or artworks adorning the walls, besides the occasional sculpture garden. Perhaps the people above are ancestors, or descendants, locked away from these stone cities.

Dwellings are also down here, their inhabitants long gone. Carved into the walls of large square "courtyards" which are built around central stone fire pits. The places are studiously clean, the only hint of dirt or use by anyone are the piled up ashes inside the central firepits. The dwellings are like facades; rarely ever more then one room deep, always with a window or door facing the central pit. Off from these central "town squares" are small chambers; often heavily ceremonial but lacking in any utility or outside connections, as though they are only there to provide a private place to speak. Small stone firepits are central in these rooms as well; but small enough to produce light that is more intimate, unlike the bonfires of the great chambers.

The most perplexing thing about these ancient cisterns and the adjoining places around them, perhaps, is the total lack of remains or artifacts. No skeletons of ancient peoples, no long since rotted foodstuffs or rusting weapons of the ruling class. Almost nothing is down here. Water is plentiful, though light and food is not, and the chambers themselves seem almost bereft of living things. Even the spiderwitches don't come down here. The only real threat here is the size; the pure scale of things puts the upper world of endless peaks and canyons into perspective. In any direction you roam you will find stairs leading deeper and hallways in all directions. Identical smooth hallways stretching onwards into nigh-infinity. One could spend entire lifetimes walking the halls here and finding nothing except for the living places, the chambers, pools of clean water, and the statues which hold tiny carvings of ancient and forgotten words. The longer one roams the more one must consider the absurdity of this place; was this once the living space of an ancient civilization, who vacated or died off? Or was it being built for one, prepared and pristine, but never entered?

Dimension of Distant Towers

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 Fog

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.

The Landless

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 Treasures

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

[1] Jar of Hu'Tuli's Fog

[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 5^th 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.

Jar of Hu'Tuli's Fog

This is a glass jar with a silvered rim and legs for support- it can stand freely on its own or be carried with a strap. The jar appears to be filled with a thick, opaque mist that sluggishly rolls and boils over itself as it moves, it gives off a dim green-blue glow in darkness.

The lid of the jar is made of a pure silver and is fastened with the glass in such a manner that it cannot be opened; only a tiny twisting part in the center can be turned to open the jar. This pinprick of an opening lets out a tiny bit of the magic mist over time- much like a censor or incense burner. Usually you would open the jar and either leave it in place or carry it with you; either way after one turn of being open the air is filled with a thick mist. This fog seems to take over the local reality- birds go silent and the sun is dimmed. If you are indoors the fog seems to rise from the floor, if you are outdoors it whisks around nearby trees as though hiding out of sight.

Once the Jar has been opened for one turn and the air is filled with mist- replace all wandering monster encounters with Hu'Tuli Figments and Hu'Tuli Entities. These encounters take the place of normal ones- these only apply to wandering monsters, as the magical fog keeps away other foes or makes them lost when trying to find you, thus you only run into the figments or entities instead. However stationary encounters- such as stumbling across an orc's camp, will still trigger as normal. If other people are within the fog you bring for at least a turn, then they too are subject to this rule.

After the jar has been closed, it takes 1d6 turns for the fog to dissipate while indoors or 1d2 while outdoors. When the fog is gone, the world will return to as it was.

Whenever you roll for wandering encounters; there is a 1 in 8 chance you will encounter the Hu'Tuli Entities, otherwise, encounter Hu'Tuli Figments. As the Hu'Tuli Entities are much more dangerous; their coming is foreshadowed by a howling wind. If the players stuff up the jar immediately and run or hide; the entities will disappear 4 rounds after combat is initiated, as though the mist just dissipated enough to no longer support those otherworldly foes.

Hu'Tuli Figments (1+2 HD, +1 To Hit, +2 AC, Fog Baton attack at 1d6+1 [cold damage], ghostly apparitions, made of mist)

Morale- N/A

Number- 2d6

The Hu'Tuli Figments appear like shadows. They look like people you know, barely obscured by the fog. Getting closer doesn't show more detail, that's just how they look. They attack with batons made of the mist- which pass through physical matter. When a baton hits your body, it goes right through, but it chills you to the bone dealing cold damage. As this damage is not a physical tearing of the body, it can be cured by simply warming up at a fire, but enough at once can be enough to kill.

The beings are ghostly and as such cannot be hit by normal weapons- they pass through them. Only magic weapons, weapons made of silver, spells, or special kung-fu attacks can hurt them.

The Figments are also made of mist, meaning they can move through any kind of terrain and disappear and reappear at will- meaning they attack from all sides and cannot be surprised. Certain spells or techniques, such as blowing on them with a magic fan, can break them apart and stun them for 1d4 rounds. While they appear like ghosts, they are not undead and cannot be turned.

Hu'Tuli Entities (4 HD, +2 to hit, +4 AC, Windchill attack at 1d8+2 [cold damage], Scythe attack at 1d6+2, ghostly, howling, windborn)

Morale- 17

Number- 1d10

The Hu'Tuli Entities look like rough humanoid shapes made of a smooth, gray ice with holes. The holes in their body is also how they create the wind sound- the howling wind that accompanies their arrival is their trademark. These Entities are much more powerful then the Figments, and seem to possess a greater intelligence. Where as the Figments seem to just be following their nature or attacking anything they sense as prey, the Entities almost seem to be intentionally targeting intruders into their realm, as anyone using the Jar has one foot in a different plane.

The Entities blast out elemental cold in the form of a wind blast that hits anything in front of them, every round. Treat this like a ranged arrow attack. They also attack with small metal scythes they hold in their unformed hands; spare scythes can be seen hanging from the holes in their body, the hooks flying off when they are struck by a hard blow.

These are magical creatures; solid but still as spirits. They are somewhat transparent but are certainly more physical then the Figments. They are still immune to normal weapons and require magic attacks to be defeated. Additionally, their signature howl is their most frightening feature. Untrained hirelings and animals must make a morale check or flee when they hear the sound- anyone who flees will be lost to the mist, and must make a saving throw or be trapped in that cold, misty realm if the Jar is closed again before they are found.

Finally, as Windborn creations they are immune to the normal tricks that work on the Figments; they cannot be pushed away or harmed back by winds. This ability also extends to supernatural winds, as well as making them immune to being knocked back, shoved, or knocked prone- as their body will float back up, carried by the stringing mist.

Walks-In-Emeralds

The world is made up of many realms. The “Higher” realms of the Gods and Divine beings, the “Lower” realms of the dead and demonic. Then there are the realms of man and beast; of the mortal realms. But there are leftovers. Spaces between spaces from the creation of the world. Most of these realms are places where monsters have come from, or places that mad Wizards have created and slipped away into. But there is one that is totally empty. It is a silent, dark place. No mind sculpts this realm or gives it a purpose.

Except for just one.

Walks-In-Emeralds

The Realm of Emeralds is a left over dimension. Perhaps from the creation of the world, a fractal part of the Sacred Sapphire from which all things came. Or perhaps it was once the afterlife or prelife of a race or god, which became desolate after a spiritual exodus from the place. Maybe it was created once, long ago, or it simply always existed.

The Realm of Emeralds is a dark, shadowy place wrapped in an eternal twilight. Everything there is stained in shades of green. Everything in the realm of the mortals is copied here; it is exactly as wide and vast as the mortal realm, but totally devoid of life. It is a very quiet, lonely place. Only one being here disturbs the Emeralds, and that is known as the Walks-In-Emeralds. It is technically a sexless being, but appears as a male humanoid of elderly age, and is usually referred to as a him. It is a one of kind thing, with no other race or caste of beings that are exactly the same. It seemingly can understand language, but is not known to speak. It is also intelligent, but has its own goals and intelligence that run contrary to what most living beings understand.

The Walks-In-Emeralds is a very lonely spirit, its home realm is the Realm of Emeralds, but is can leave its home dimension. It may open portals between the realms, stepping from the Realm of Emeralds and stepping into the mortal realm at the same location within the real world. Once there, the Walks-In-Emeralds can fight and be fought like any normal creature. However, it rarely seeks conflict and prefers to run; if the Walks-In-Emeralds opens a dimensional portal, it only takes one round to open and step through it, and will automatically use this ability if it drops to half HP.

Its main goal in our world is to touch things. Usually it touches living things, though it will sometimes touch inanimate objects too. It prefers to touch people when they are sleeping as to allow its magical powers to spread, but will always attempt to touch 2d6 living beings or objects during each visit. It also prefers to spread its touch out to wide an area as possible, as to better enrich the Realm of Emeralds.

The Realm of Emeralds

The Realm of Emeralds is a dark dimension. Everything in the mortal realm is mirrored here, but decayed and lessened in some fashion. If you just finished building a castle, the castle would appear in this realm too, but crumbling and overgrown with moss. The realm is filled with dark mist, which nourishes the Walks-In-Emeralds. Every turn in the Realm of Emeralds, the Walks-In-Emeralds regains one hit point, meaning that in just a few days it can make a full recovery and be ready to strike again.

The Realm is a dark mirror to the world, but is devoid of living things. The only exception are plants, but the plants here are almost crystalline, with transparent and weak leaves, barely moving or swaying in the wind. There are no animals or people. It is a sad place. However, the Walks-In-Emeralds brings more energy into its realm by touching things.

Anything touched by the being will appear in the other realm, a copy. It appears as a ghost or phantom of the thing in question, spilling forth light from whatever surface was touched and is colored with the green energy in the mortal realm. Within this realm, it is like a ghostly copy that mimics the motions and actions of the first; it brings light and movement to this realm in some capacity. Similarly to the buildings, these manifestations are “lesser” then their real counterparts. They appear as spirits or as moving images and sounds, discordant smells, sometimes appearing from multiple different times in the real world at the same time in this one. The Walks-In-Emeralds may only be doing this so that its realm is more lively, or because this gives it power.

These manifestations can also be controlled by the Walks-In-Emeralds. They have ½ the power of their real world counterparts; an orc warrior with a green blemish in the real world appears as a spirit in the Emerald one, and when the Walks-In-Emeralds commands it, it will fight on his behalf with ½ the Orc's hit dice and dealing half the damage. It is very real here, however lessened, a servant of the realm's mysterious master.

Walks-In-Emeralds (6+2 HD, 14 AC, +2 to hit, 1d6+1 Emerald Staff, Emerald Command, Spells)

Morale- 12 (+2 in its dimension)

The Walks-In-Emeralds can transport itself between worlds, and is a physical being. It can be killed, though it is a wily creature and is very difficult to capture or corner, due to its power to open portals between dimensions. It can open and step through a portal in one round, meaning once it activates this power you have one round to kill it before it passes through. If you are touching the being when it passes through, you will be dragged into its realm. Once there, it has little qualms about killing people invading its silent realm- you can escape only by finding an area where the wall between worlds is thin, or by grabbing the Walks-In-Emeralds again when it leaves its realm.

Anything the Walks-In-Emeralds has touched is considered part of its growing domain. In the mortal realm, this means people or objects touched by it, with its emerald magic growing on their skin or emerald paint stuck to the bricks or metal. With a motion it can command these objects to animate or beings to obey its commands; intelligent beings get a saving throw to resist. Usually, the Walks-In-Emeralds doesn't want the beings it touches to die and avoids killing them; it simply wants to spread its emerald infection in the world to enrich its own realm, not cause mass destruction, but will force beings infected by its touch to jump in the way and block anyone chasing it so it can escape. Within its home realm, it can command the constructs of emerald light, which it will animate to ½ of their full power that they would have in the mortal realm.

The Walks-In-Emeralds can also cast spells. It has the same number of spells and casts spells as though it was a 5^th level Magic User. Most of its powers are based on disabling attacks; Slow, Sleep, Color Spray, and other staple spells are likely to be in its arsenal. The Walks-In-Emeralds can also cast two bonus spells per day of any level, of any spells it knows.

The Walks-In-Emeralds also knows (has invented?) a few unique spells. If you manage to kill or defeat the being, you may be able to learn these spells by reading the inside of its skull. It has no known spellbook or arcane laboratory in its home dimension, except the mirror-world version of sorcerer lairs in the mortal realm. The books in these realms are printed on pure emerald sheets of crystal paper- but there is a 1 in 100 chance that any book may have a few usable runes barely legible. These runes could help teach a Magic User some of this being's unique spells.

Walks-In-Emeralds Unique Spells – (Roll 1d6 to determine what spell you learn by studying it)

[1] Emerald Flames - 1^st Level

This is a buff spell. The caster changes the elemental affinity of fire within themselves for the rest of the day. The Walks-In-Emeralds always has this spell effect on. This changes the color and powers of all the fire spells of the caster; turning their conjured flames to dark emerald and their summoned lighting to lime green. All prepared fire, lighting, and highly energetic evocations are altered. They deal a bonus dice of the appropriate size on a damage roll, and opponents hit by them save at -2. These spells don't kill however, instead knocking the target to 1 HP, helpless, and scarring their body with emerald patterns across their flesh and clothes.

[2] Flash of Crimson - 1^st level

When cast by the Walks-In-Emeralds; causes everything around them to turn bright red for a second, which generates a supernatural fear and desire to flee in everyone around. All targets must make a save at minus the caster's HD or level, or else they flee the area; they must flee for at least 3 rounds, unless otherwise blocked. The Walks-In-Emeralds will use this ability to scare off foes before disappearing back through a portal if it is too risky to do so otherwise. After the first time you are subject to this ability, you can expect it next time and now no longer flee from it.

If this spell is learned and cast by someone else, it has no effect unless enough green material is nearby to create the supernatural red light. Wizards who wish to use this spell will need to be wearing a green robe and hat, have green skin, or be wearing a piece of jewelry studded with emeralds worth at least 6,000c or greater in value.

[3] Brittle Patch - 2^nd level

This spell is used to patch up a hole, either in a piece of clothing, a crack in the wall, or the hole of a ship. The Walks-In-Emeralds can also use this to patch up wounds, which is much more difficult and requires a Mage of at least 6^th level to perform, even though a lower level Magician can cast this spell.

The patch cast by this spell has two effects. First, for all beings who lack the true sight or ability to reveal illusions; this spell makes the patched object look exactly as though it was totally whole and mended on its own. If this spell is used on wounds, it creates the illusion of a rapid although natural covering and healing of the wound. However, this spell does not truly “fix” the object in question. The bucket that is mended will still leak, though not in an obvious way. The patched hole in the wall will still be drafty, but people will not be able to identify the source. Wounds healed are not really healed, and are instead kept in a state of injury though without pain or open pathway for infection or further aggravation; hit points are not restored for the value of the injury, just patched over and ignored, even with natural healing.

The second power of this spell is that when the caster dies, this spell is undone. This means that all damaged things are opened back up on the slaying of the caster; including wounds, mended ropes and armor, and many more. The Walks-In-Emeralds has many beings and important monuments patched by this spell, though anything patched by this spell can be truly restored with an appropriate healing or mending spell. Killing the Walks-In-Emeralds will cause quite a lot of damage to be done to the world, however unintentionally it will happen; the being may project psychic images of this to the party members, but it is unlikely to be understood unless someone in the party has a Wisdom modifier of +2 or better to understand the defense mechanism of this otherworldly being.

[4] Mask of Obliviousness - 3^rd level

This spell can only be cast on an unaware target. Cast on a single person, they will not be able to notice you for the rest of their life, or until the spell is otherwise removed. This “not noticing” includes invisibility, auditory, and even touch, though the person will be aware if they are being touched or moved and think a ghost or supernatural force is touching them. The victim of this spell will not accept any proof of the proposed individual, and will not be able to defend themselves from one sneak attack. Every time the caster attacks or casts a magic spell upon the victim, they get a chance to save and break free from the effect.

The spell creates a spectral “mask” over their eyes, which can only be seen by holy men or those who have the true sight. If Walks-In-Emeralds casts this on somebody, the mask will appear a dark crystal green. If anybody else casts this spell on a person, it will appear as a dark shadowy mask. If a rival Wizard of a higher level investigates, they can see your Wizard vigil hidden in the vapors and know you cast the spell upon this victim.

[5] Green Gateway - 4^th level

This spell allows the caster to open a portal into the Realm of Emeralds. This portal is permanent. The Walks-In-Emeralds will notice the portal in 2d6 weeks after it has been opened, but cannot destroy it outright with its magical powers. The Walks-In-Emeralds can open and close portals on its own with ease, but this spell may be required to actually go into its realm and chase it directly.

[6] Magic Malcontent - 4^th level

This spell is chaotic, and the Walks-In-Emeralds only uses it in serious fights, or battles when it is defending itself in its own realm and can no longer flee. The spell magically prepares and casts the caster's other prepared spells, one every round, starting from the lowest level prepared spell and going to the highest until all of their spells have been exhausted. This spell can be ended prematurely by the caster concentrating for one round and skipping their normal action.

This spell creates a spiritual, Emerald-Energy duplicate that begins to cast the caster's spells. In the mortal realm, it is barely visible as a green shimmer, but in the Realm of Emeralds, it is an obvious spectral copy of the spell caster- motioning and blasting magical energy outwards. Every round, this entity casts a spell of the caster's without hesitation, but will still cast the spell in a way that is beneficial to the caster. Offensive spells will be targeted towards random enemies, Defensive spells on their allies or the caster themselves, miscellaneous spells are cast on random objects or in the most useful way they could be used in that context, and so on. If all the enemies are removed or defeated, the spirit will still cast offensive spells but will be cast them on random objects nearby or the corpses of the caster's enemies; it must cast the magic it has been granted, even if it is no longer useful.