Ch 1: Shards of Durim

For whatever personal reasons the PCs may have, their journey has brought them to the continent of Xios. Whether they travel by land through the isthmus, or by sea along the coast, their destination is a small but busy town known as Ammerdon Outpost. Ever since the calamities made travel by air impossible and by sea dangerous, Ammerdon has been the only means of getting in and out of Xios, making a bottleneck effect of traffic going through the town. A promotion is being held by the National Guild of Xios (NGX) to recruit adventurers; Those who sign up are offered benefits such as having access to areas otherwise restricted to commonfolk, discounts at NGX brand shops, and being able to take contracts offered by the guild along with their rewards once completed. Many adventurers flock to Xios, whether it's the chance to become a hero, the fame, the fortune, or whatever their goals may be.

The Shards of Durim is the first campaign of the Prophecy of Xios trilogy, a series of campaigns based in the continent of Xios. The goal of the campaign is to collect two Shards of Durim: One from the avatar of Eldath, and one by being the champions of the Brynharde Tournament. There are ten shards in total, and PCs will need two in order to start their fate to heroes.

Level progression in this campaign is based on a milestone system. For each milestone completed, players will gain a level (For multi-class variation, see Multi-Classing in Xios). Milestones have a requirement before they can begin, and several scenes provide easy transitioning between them while allowing players to go about freely.

CAUTION:

Although not prohibited, it is not recommend for players to go beyond Fortune's Forest in this campaign, as encounters will become increasingly difficult.

Campaign Milestones

(I) New Recruits

Location: Ammerdon Outpost

The first milestone of the Shards of Durim campaign is becoming members of the National Guild of Xios (NGX). Upon arriving at the NGX lobby, the clerk will explain that in order for them to become members, they must first complete the following tasks:

1. Review and agree to the terms and conditions of the NGX policy found within the National Guild of Xios Handbook provided to them by a guild clerk.

2. Visit Father John at the local Temple of Eldath half a day's journey south of Ammerdon Outpost and complete the Trial of Adventurers.

Trial of Adventurers

The Trial of Adventurers is a test given to an adventurer to prove their strength, resourcefullness, and determination. PCs are put into a trance as their worst fears are played in their minds. If a PC faces their fear head on, the trance ends and the trial is complete. If a PC runs away from their fear, the trance ends and Father John tells them they have failed, but to reflect on what happened and try again the following day. After the trial, players are rewarded with a letter to bring back to the clerk. The letter is sealed and reads that the party members who possess this letter are qualified to become adventures of the NGX, signed by Father John.

Rewards

Once the registration is complete, the PCs will receive a clay token with the initials NGX, signifying that they are part of the guild. These tokens provide benefits that adventurers can utilize in return for their services. The party also goes up to 2nd level.

NOTE: The milestone is completed once the letter is handed to the NGX clerk. How the letter is obtained is up to the PCs.

(II) A Fateful Encounter

Location: Fortune's Forest

The second milestone comes after PCs have obtained the copper rank within the NGX. A contract will be on the quest board requiring the PCs to venture out west into Fortune's Forest and seek out an earth elemental. The contract actually has an illusion on it that says that, but when the players discover the earth elemental, the contract changes to say the following:

| Greetings heroes. My name is Brux, and I have been searching for you for over 3000 years. Find me by defeating the earth elemental, for he holds the key to your future. |

Elemental Encounter

Arriving at the location, the party encounters what appears to be an earth elemental destroying the landscape. The earth elemental was summoned by Brux FateSeer, and will try to incapacitate the party, but not kill them. If the party is incapacitated, the earth elemental will unsummon and Brux will appear to revive the party back to full HP before introducing himself. He'll tell the PCs that they are the heroes Xios has been waiting for to return it to the Great Circle Era, and give them a prophecy on a scroll. They must complete the prophecy in order to save Xios before it succumbs to complete darkness.

Brux FateSeer

Brux Fateseer is a human male druid who believes the Xios Prophecy needs to be fulfilled in order to restore the Great Circle Era. He tells the party that they must seek out the Fountain of Eldath so that they may be blessed by the goddess herself. He offers to infuse some of his magic into the obsidian tokens, allowing the PCs access to the Fountain of Eldath.

Rewards

After the visit, PCs are granted access through the barrier that prevents PCs from finding the Fountain of Eldath. The PCs also go up to the 3rd level.

(III) Meeting a Deity

Location: Fountain of Eldath

The third milestones unlocks when the PCs encounter the guardians in Fortune's Forest. They are met by The Guardians, two stone golems brought to life by the essence of Eldath seeping through the waterfall. The stone golems can speak common tongue, but are only instructed to relay the message given in the Trial of Virtue. The golems will engage any hostile threat to itself or the Fountain of Eldath, and can assemble itself back to full HP within one minute of incapacitation.

The Fountain of Eldath itself is a massive cliff with a waterfall coming down. Nobody has seen this before because it is similar to the Mordekeinen's Magnificant Mansion spell in which the waterfall is in a different dimension. The stone golems are able to open the door leading into the dimension once a PC has passed the trial.

Trial of Virtue

| To reach the stars and seek the sun,
A trial of virtue must be won,
To falter now brings certain doom,
Mute your senses, for they consume,
Heed the heart, soul and mind,
For they will guide you to divine. |

The trial tests the PCs on how committed they are to achieving their goal. The PCs are rendered unconscious, and Eldath comes to them in a dream. She says to ask whatever question they want, and she will answer to the best of her knowledge (Querstions are answered at DM's discretion). For each question they ask, a death saving roll is made secretly by the DM (a failed save is described as their life essence fading away). The PCs only regain consciousness once they no longer wish to ask any questions, and if they fail three times their character dies. Once conscious, they regain full HP and the guardians allow them to enter the waterfall.

Eldath's Avatar

A collosal stone avatar in the form of Eldath emerges from within the void of the waterfall leading to the Blessed Plains of Elysium as it addressess the PCs entering the waterfall. The avatar is the will of Eldath herself and is invulnerable to any attack or spell. The avatar speaks to the PCs with telepathy as its eyes glow yellow, telling them of how Xios was once in the Great Circle Era, full of peace and prosperity. How the evils of mortals have caused a rift between the people, and over time the land has become torn with war and hatred. The avatar asks if the party is willing to become the heroes Xios needs to fulfill the Prophecy of Xios and return the land back to the Great Circle Era.

Rewards

If the players agree to fulfill the Prophecy of Xios, the party is given a Shard of Durim from the Avatar of Eldath, and go up to the 4th level.

(IV) The Brynharde Tournament

Location: Grand City of Brynharde

Once the PCs have obtained a shard of Durim from the Eldath's avatar, their fame will have increased throughout Fortune's Forest. An invitation from the NGX is offered to participate in the Brynharde Tournament due to their heroic deeds. The tournament is the final quest of the Shards of Durim campaign; Rather than face a BBEG, the party must overcome a series of battles with other adventurering parties and claim the championship to receive a Shard of Durim.

The Brynharde Tournament

A grand tournament held once a year to discover who is the strongest adventuring party, the Brynharde Tournament tests the strength, intelligence, and cunningness of adventurers in the face of adversity. With a large arena filled with obstacles and hiding places to provide cover, the PCs must fight there way through a series of difficult battles to win the title of Brynharde Champions and earn the second shard of Durim.

Tournament Rules

The Brynharde Tournament is a party vs party competition by process of elimination. The first party to render the opposition unconscious are declared the winners and advance to the next round.

1. There is NO killing allowed in the tournament. Any player who attempts to attack an unconscious person will have their party immediately disqualified. There will be clerics on standby to heal any injuries once a player is eliminated.
2. There are no restrictions on use of magic or magical weapons. All forms of defence and offense are encouraged.
3. The parties are to have no less than three members, and no more than six members. It is a party's choice to enter the tournament with a lesser number than their opponent.
4. ALL party members must be a member of the National Guild of Xios for liability reasons.

Rewards

After the tournament is over, participating PCs go up to the 5th level. If a PC won the tournament, they are awarded with a Shard of Durim.

Additional Milestones

( * ) Glimzvordhmir's Story

Location: Shimmering Mountain

This milestone is obtained if players are able to reach the top of Shimmering Mountain to where Glimzvordhmir's lair is. The players must go through a series of tunnels throughout the mountain that was built by dwarves years ago, but has since been claimed by a goblin party. (Refer to Shimmering Mountain for details on the dungeon)

Glimzvordhmir

( * ) Unexplored Cave

Location: Fortune's Forest

( * ) Fortune's Invitation

Location: Fortune's Forest

Optional Encounters

These help players progress through the milestones if you find thigs have become stagnant.

Fortune's Eyes Introduction

The Fortune's Eyes is a notorious gang of thieves and rogues who thrive on obtaining information through various means - not all legal. They use this knowledge to influence the world politics for profit, giving opposing nations vital information for a price. The faction has also been known to be into the black market, selling illegal items to those who are looking, again for a high price. Players can choose to deal with this faction, if they're willing to accept the risks involved.

Enter Kinsly McScrute

A surprisingly cunning goblin, Kinsly McScrute is the owner of McScrute's Timber Mill, a monopoly lumber business after Eldinien was no longer allowed to cut anymore trees in Fortune's Forest. With the money he's made from the mill, he's built quite a reputation among the black market and other gangs. He runs a tight ship with all his lackies working either in the mill, the forest, or on the road delivering lumber with his makeshift vehicles. Kinsly knows all about the comings and goings at Ammerdon Outpost, and eventually the players will run into him, whether for good or bad.

Crucible of Blood Encounter

With the Trial of Adventurers test, one of the party members will experience an encounter with Groth Gul'Thuk, an orc shaman who works with the Crucible of the Blood. He has been tasked with finding anyone with a potential to be worthy of the prophecy and either convince them to join the CoB, or eliminate them. He says "I've found you" in orc language, causing the player to awake from the trial with a mark of the CoB on their chest. This allows Groth Gul'Thuk to track the player in the real world, and can only be removed by a blessing from Eldath.

Feng'Ghu's Ambush

A dangerous gnoll who recently has been spotted in Fortune's Forest, Fang'Ghu is a gnoll pack lord with six gnolls under his command. He roams through the forest looking for new adventurers to prey on, collecting their adventuring tokens as trophies. Eventually the players will encounter his hunting party and will have to defend themselves. Feng'Ghu will always worry about his own life, and if the players manage to defeat his party and he escapes, he will turn to the Crucible of the Blood for revenge on the party later on.

Roselyn Treesinger's Mission

Roselyn Treesinger is a druid that has been tasked with keeping Fortune's Forest in tact. She has made a treaty with all the villages and cities within Fortune's Forest to not cut anymore trees from the forest. They would have all their wood imported from north of Ammerdon Outpost, or south of the Spine of Xios. She has a mysterious botany shop located just south of StiltsBurrough, where players can go to buy various things from her shop. She gives one of them an Æther transmutation potion to the one with the CoB mark should they encounter Groth Gul'Thuk, and then flees to the back of her shop where there is a teleportation circle. The shop turns into a giant tree, and anyone outside of the shop during the transformation has no knowledge of the shop's existence prior.