L1-14. The Audience of Measures 'North Court'

Suel function & theme (ancient use)

• Original role: The audience room where the outpost’s steward took petitions, pronounced judgments, and—when war demanded—commanded raids.
• Pantheon weave:
• Wee Jas (law/magic): the circle and ledger-line borders; judgments delivered with ritual weight.
• Lendor (measure/time): six-bead motifs cut into the throne’s riser; court proceeded by count.
• Syrul (lies/cruelty): the nobles’ benign smiles belying atrocity—propaganda masked as piety.
• Pyremius (fire/assassins): scorched throne face; burned edges of frescoes.
• Beltar (spite, dwarven hate): derro celebrated as instruments of terror.

Table reward: If a PC calls out the deity tells correctly (Religion/History DC 12), grant advantage on one Insight check made later in this room or during parley with Suel-touched foes (they’re “reading the performance”).

Layout & security

• Twin Portcullises (A at the corridor, B at the room mouth).
• AC 19 (iron), HP 27, damage threshold 5.
• Operate: Hand-cranks sit just inside the room in shallow alcoves (left/right of the throat). An operator can drop A or B (one per crank) as an action.
• Tactic: With both down, intruders are penned in the throat; jets (see Nozzles) make that pen lethal.
• Side doors: East and West doors leave the oval (key later each can be barred from within (DC 14 Athletics to force).
• Throne: Centered toward the north curve; secret door behind (below).

Features & checks

Lurid Frescoes (ovoid walls)

• From the doorway: pastoral scenes; up close they resolve into atrocity under smiling rule.
• Investigation DC 12: Reworking is obvious—domestic Suel motifs over-painted with cruelty.
• Religion/History DC 12: Name the deities above (Syrul/Pyremius/Beltar emphasis) and their agenda.
• Scraped black spirals in one corner hint a forbidden sign erased long ago.

Summoning Circle (floor)

• Arcana DC 13: Crude, hastily sketched; not a true circle. The erased nick breaks the binding.
• Interact:
• Complete the nick (chalk, charcoal, blood): the circle primes the room’s defenses—see Nozzles: Gas Sweep—and emits a low hum; Wee Jas likes order, even misapplied.
• Erase more (1 action): you disarm the circle’s linkage to the jets (no gas effect) until redrawn.

Floor Nozzles (hazard + trap)

• Scattered one-inch metal nozzles project ½–1 inch from the floor; lantern light catches their rims.
• Moving at full speed (Dash) across the circle area calls for Dex save DC 12 or the creature falls prone (stock trip hazard).
• Bitter almond odor hangs near them (Perception DC 11).
• Gas Sweep (tied to circle & cranks): If either portcullis is dropped while the circle is intact (even crudely) or someone sits upon the throne’s seat-stone (see below), bellows under the floor vent almond gas through the nozzles for 3 rounds in a 20-ft-radius low cloud.
• Creatures that start their turn in the cloud make a Con save DC 13: on a failure take 2d6 poison and are poisoned until the end of their next turn; success = half, no condition.
• The cloud hugs the floor (lightly obscured a gust of wind or similar disperses it in 1 round.
• Disable: Thieves’ Tools DC 16 to wedge the nearest nozzle manifold (action; 3 successes total to silence the room). Religion DC 14 while reciting a measured chant also suppresses the jets for 1 minute (Lendor’s mercy).

Black Basalt Throne (burnt)

• Porous basalt (same as the complex altar stone charred along the arms.
• Investigation DC 12: Finds a scorched thumb plate under the right arm; pressing it arms the gas (if circle intact) or drops Gate B (if it’s up).
• Secret Door: Behind the throne, a hairline seam. Find DC 15 Perception/Investigation (DC 13 if the six-bead riser marks are examined). Open: press left armrest bead, then right, then push—panel swings to a cramped judge’s passage (2-ft-wide crawl, linking to small records niches between 14E/14W; you can route this to a future archive/treasury).

Orc Defacement & Mess

• Bloody handprint “flowers” ring the lower wall (orc ritual graffiti).
• Meal remains scatter the steps; a bottle lies on the seat; breadcrumbs crunch (Stealth –2 here unless moving half speed).

Secret Door & Cart Passage (DM Notes)

Where: Hidden in the far-north curve of the chamber, inside the fresco band where the three pale Suel nobles (two fair-haired men and a red-haired woman) smile over scenes of Derro atrocities. The door’s seam runs through the fresco’s balance motif and is nearly invisible in dim light.

Discovering the Door (clues)

• Wheel Scars (DC 12 Investigation): Two faint, parallel grooves cut the floor stones, running north from behind the throne toward the curved wall—evidence of a two-wheeled cart having passed this way long ago.
• Balance Motif (DC 11 Religion/History): The red-haired noble cradles a balance scale; around it, six tiny ruby insets (worn smooth) are set in an arc—the Suel six-count of Lendor.
• Draft & Dust (DC 13 Perception): A cool thread of air leaks at the scale’s beam; dust takes a sharp turn along a hairline seam.
• Ward Sense (Detect Magic): Faint abjuration across the scale and throne arms.

How Suel Priests Opened It (the “Measure Rite”)

The rite is simple but specific—anyone with Suel training can deduce it.

1. Kneel at the throne (or stand square before it) and place your right palm flat on the right armrest where six shallow cups are worn smooth.
2. Tap the six cups in order from lowest to highest (left-to-right, the Suel six-count of Lendor).
3. Speak the watch-phrase in Old Suloise while you keep your hand on the arm:
4. “Lendor’s Measure, Ruby’s Law; Jascar’s Stone—Suloise pass.”
5. Face north (toward the fresco) and lift your hand. The scale’s beam sinks, stones grind softly, and the fresco swings inward to reveal the passage.

Figuring it out:

• Religion (Suel Lore) DC 12 identifies the six-count and balance as a priest’s access rite.
• Investigation DC 12 notices the cup wear on the right armrest and worn rubies by the scale.
• Speaking the phrase without Old Suloise yields Disadvantage unless aided by Comprehend Languages or the Ruby Stacks tomes (Room 16), which grant Advantage on the check to perform the rite correctly.
• A successful Arcana or Performance DC 11 covers pronunciation/cadence if using a translation.

Failure & the Gas Nozzles

This room already contains 1-inch floor nozzles (faint almond odor).

• If the cups are tapped out of order or the phrase is wrong/missing, the nozzles puff a thin, bitter gas.
• Saves: Constitution save DC 13 (or your module: Poison CL 3). Fail: Poisoned for 1 minute and disadvantage on Strength & Dexterity checks; Success: no condition, but you cough (no stealth this round).
• Disabling: Thieves’ Tools or Tinker’s Tools DC 12 to plug enough nozzles to negate the effect; Medicine DC 12 to prep vinegar-soaked cloth grants Advantage on the next save here.

Other Ways In (if they don’t solve it)

• Knock: Opens the door for 1 minute.
• Dispel Magic: DC 15 against the ward; suppresses for 1 minute.
• Brute Force: 150 hp of bludgeoning damage at the fresco seam (loud; alerts nearby orcs—arrive in 7 rounds if any remain).

The Hidden Passage (to the north exit)

• Dimensions: 10 ft wide, ceiling 10–11 ft, smooth cart-friendly stone.
• Grade: Gentle up-slope (about 1:12) leading north for roughly 100 yards.
• Traffic marks: Ancient wheel ruts and iron scuffs; very light dust.
• Light/air: Cool, still air; no sconces—pitch black without light.

The Outside Egress (concealed)

• Terminus: A stone plug disguised as a fallen-slab outcrop in scrub and stone, 100 yards north of the Audience Hall’s exterior line.
• Inside latch: A counter-weighted lever shaped like a small balance scale; pull down (six-count detent) to roll the plug outward silently.
• Outside find (DC 15 Survival/Investigation): Fine roller tracks and an inconspicuous finger recess under a lichen lip; without the inside lever it’s near-impossible to shift from outside (treat as DC 25 Athletics, or requires tools/pulleys).

Quick Table Cues

• Hint 1: “Six tiny rubies arc around the fresco’s scale—each worn flat by many fingers.”
• Hint 2: “The throne’s right arm bears six shallow cups, smoothed by time.”
• Hint 3: “A thread of air kisses your cheek as you face the fresco; dust bends along a hairline.”
• Consequence: Wrong taps; bitter almond breath rises from pinholes in the floor…

Occupation (Howling Moon overlay)

• Usually unmanned, but bodyguards from 18 or an elite from 11/12 check it whenever horns sound.
• If the party triggers a gate or sits the throne, expect 2–4 orcs in 1 round, Krak + bodyguards by 3–4 rounds, and the barracks flood by 6.

Orc door-barks to taste:

“Pink skins are here! Drop the teeth! Gas them! No more games—time to die!”

Using the Ruby Circle of Audience (Room 14)

Suel Summoning Circle by 3orcs

A practical ritual system for Suel priests & clerics in your game, 5e-friendly.

This circle was the outpost’s petition & judgment ring—a Wee Jas legal ward laid over Lendor’s cadence. It can still be used by a cleric (or paladin/warlock) devoted to a Suel deity to call, bind, and bargain with a fitting servant (celestial/undead/fiend/derro emissary), provided the rite honors that god’s idiom.

What the circle does (at your table)

Mechanically, completing the rite creates a Magic Circle in the drawn ring (as the spell, centered on the floor), then performs a summoning appropriate to the patron (see lists below). This room’s almond gas can be woven into the rite as a binding amplifier.

• Circle: While intact and empowered, counts as a magic circle against the called creature’s type; it can’t cross the line, has disadvantage to attack targets outside, and can’t teleport out.
• Gas assist: If the jet system is used correctly (below), add +2 to the binding DC and impose disadvantage on any check the entity makes to disrupt or deface the circle. (The gas is laced with funerary oils; it chokes mortals but “thickens the veil” for planar bindings.)

If the circle’s tiny missing segment is left erased, the circle does not empower. Redraw it (chalk/charcoal/blood) before the rite.

Requirements (minimum)

• Devotion: At least one participant must worship a Suel deity; advantage if they are a cleric/paladin/warlock of that deity.
• Language: Someone must speak Old Suloise (or use Comprehend Languages all spoken parts are in Suel.
• Materials (consumed):
• Ruby-dusted chalk or cinnabar/ash sticks (25 gp) to scribe the circle.
• Three measures of incense (Wee Jas or generic temple blend, 25 gp).
• Oil for the jets: 2 flasks (from Rm 9 or stores).
• Offering fitting the patron (examples below).
• Time & effort: 10 minutes (minor petition) to 1 hour (major petition).
• Sealing the room: Drop one portcullis (A or B) or bar the side doors; dark is acceptable.

Rite of the Ruby Measure (step-by-step)

1. Scribe & Restore. Redraw the missing nick; complete the circle with ruby-dusted chalk.
2. Arcana or Religion (DC 13) to set the geometry correctly. On success, the circle hums softly.
3. Set the Measure. Walk the circumference by six-count (Lendor’s cadence) while a second officiant recites the Suel maxim:
   “On the Measure, Mercy; off the Measure, Fall.”
4. Religion or Performance (DC 13); advantage if everyone moves in time.
5. Vent the Nozzles (optional binding amp).
6. Open one jet manifold and vent almond gas for 3 rounds while fanning it across the ring at floor level.
7. All living celebrants make Con saves DC 13 each round or take 2d6 poison (half on success) and are poisoned until end of next turn. Masks/veils negate disadvantage.
8. If you skip the gas, reduce the binding DC by 2.
9. Offering. Place an appropriate sacrifice on the inner line (not graphic—value/meaning matters):
10. Wee Jas: a written oath, a funerary tag, or a law tablet (or 50 gp worth of rubies/ledger vellum).
11. Lendor: a crafted metronome/hourglass; 50 gp in fine sand and brass.
12. Syrul: a silvered mask or false confession worth 50 gp.
13. Pyremius: sealed vial of scented oil + live coal (or 50 gp of rare resins).
14. Beltar: forged dwarf-coin or a broken tool worth 50 gp; a promise of spite.
15. Jascar/Fortubo (rare in this room): hammered nail-iron or a kept oath sworn on stone.
16. Invoke. Officiant makes the Ritual Check: Religion (DC 15) if they are a follower of the target deity; otherwise Arcana (DC 17). On success, the Magic Circle ignites (dim ruby) and the summoned appears inside it. On failure, see Mishaps.
17. Bind & Bargain (10 minutes). For a willing Planar Ally style parley, offer payment/favor fitting the patron (typically 100–500 gp value, or a deed). For a compelled summon, the entity attempts a Charisma save against your Binding DC (10 + proficiency + your Wis/Cha mod +2 if gas was used). On a fail, it remains bound for 1 hour or until you dismiss it; on a success it may try to deceive, stall, or disrupt the circle.

Dismissal: A reverent six-count walk counter-clockwise with the invocation’s closing line ends the rite and returns the entity.