Tag: fiction

Skill Challenge: The Riddle of the River Stones

This is a skill challenge designed to be used with my Skill Challenge rules!

The Riddle of the River Stones

Easy skill challenge
Theme. Fog-bound superstition and faded blessings mask the theft of sacred relics beneath Longspear’s docks.

Goal. Discover the purpose of the stolen River Stones and restore them to the Shrine of the Riverfather.

Structure. 3 successes before 2 failures. Each attempt uses a different skill. Repeat uses incur disadvantage unless strongly justified.

Setting. Beneath a tangle of piers and ropes at the Longspear waterfront stands the Shrine of the Riverfather—a moss-covered statue of Obad-Hai, hunched over a weathered basin once enchanted to glow at night and part the river mists. Now, it is dark and forgotten, its magic faded. Rumors of strange lights and ghostly voices from the nearby sewer mouths have begun to spread.

Complication. After the first failure, the goblins who found the stones in the sewers become aware they’re being pursued. They may ambush the party, attempt to escape with the stones, or bargain for a safe passage.

NARRATIVE COMPONENTS

The Eyes of the Riverfather. Two white agates shaped like smooth, glimmering eyes. When set into the statue’s face, they once allowed Obad-Hai’s gaze to pierce fog, illusions, and malice across the docks. Stolen long ago by a halfling smuggler, they were recently uncovered by goblins rooting through sewer rubble.

The Shrine of the Riverfather. Set beneath the wharf, the shrine was a source of safety for sailors and riverfolk. In times past, it glowed faintly at night, offering a beacon of calm. Now it sits inert, its blessing stolen and its worshippers dwindling.

A Hidden Way. Behind warped planks and collapsed crates lies a disused sewer grate. Within, amid rotted ropes and the bones of a halfling clutching a pouch of river-polished stones, the path to the truth winds downward.

SUGGESTED SKILLS

Arcana (DC 15) Success: You sense threads of illusion and divination magic lingering in the statue. The stones were once enchanted to reveal truth through river fog. Failure: A fading magical ward pulses, disorienting you. You suffer disadvantage on your next check.

History (DC 13) Success: Town records confirm that the Eyes were stolen decades ago. Fog and river accidents have increased ever since. Failure: A misfiled ledger sends you searching the wrong shrine, costing time and attention.

Religion (DC 14) Success: You discern that the shrine is aligned with spring rites. Restoring the Eyes must be done at dawn with flowing water and reverent silence. Failure: A mistaken ritual offends local wildlife. Birds scatter in panic, and suspicious eyes turn toward the party.

Investigation (DC 15) Success: Faint scrapes and socket markings confirm that two stones were pried loose recently. Failure: You chip part of the statue while examining it—subsequent checks related to the shrine suffer a –2 penalty.

Insight (DC 13) Success: Locals mention a halfling sculptor from Dawnvale who vanished years ago—right after the shrine first darkened. Failure: You wrongly implicate the dwarves of Stoneglen. Word spreads, and Brother Thorek is not pleased.

Persuasion (DC 14) Success: An aging dock elder recalls the theft—how a grieving halfling blamed Longspear for turning away from Obad-Hai. Failure: A question lands poorly. A priest of Obad-Hai bars you from further inquiry unless atonement or proof is offered.

OUTCOME

Success (3 successes before 2 failures):
The party recovers the Eyes or fashions suitable replicas and restores them to the shrine through dawn ritual and reverent water. Fog lifts, river traffic calms, and a soft green glow returns to the statue’s gaze. As the shrine awakens, one party member—who completes the final check—receives the Charm of the Rolling Fields.

Failure (2 failures before 3 successes):
The shrine remains dark. Word of arcane meddling spreads among the faithful. River spirits stir, and the Watch begins asking pointed questions. The party may need to placate angry clergy or seek a powerful cleric to undo the spiritual damage done.

You can also find this on the homebrewery!

Magic Item: Draught of Final Remembrance

Inspired in part by the book A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill, the draught of Final Remembrance is used to prepare new initiates by Nepenthe Priests.

Draught of Final Remembrance

Adventuring Gear (potion), uncommon

Brewed from the dusk-petals of the Nepenthe flower and steeped in ritual incense, this luminous tea smells sweet but tastes bitter. It is commonly used by the secretive Nepenthe Priests to prepare victims for indoctrination as Empty Vessels—willing, pliant souls freed of pain, purpose, and memory.

When You Drink This Draught:

  • You fall into a deep, trance-like sleep for 1d4 + 4 hours. You cannot be awakened by normal means. Only a lesser restoration spell or stronger magic ends the effect prematurely.
  • Upon awakening:
    • You permanently forget a single painful memory—chosen by the DM or agreed upon with the player.
    • You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks for the next 24 hours.
    • You gain the benefits of a long rest, even if you have already taken one within the last 24 hours.
    • If you are suffering from any form of Madness, it is cured.
  • After 24 hours, you gain one level of exhaustion.
  • Upon your next sleep, you experience a vivid dream or hallucination of an impossible city, with twisting non-Euclidean geometry and a towering cyclopean spire that watches you.

Cumulative Effect

Each time you consume a Draught of Final Remembrance and gain exhaustion from it, mark one level of corruption (tracked by exhaustion levels caused specifically by this draught). After accruing 7 levels of exhaustion in this way, even if they are later removed, You lose all memories, personality, and independent will. You become an Empty Vessel, a docile creature incapable of acting on your own. You will follow the last person who administered the draught and carry out their commands without question.

Only a wish spell or divine intervention can restore your identity and autonomy.

Shelf Life

The draught can be bottled, but loses its potency 24 hours after brewing.