301 however if the PCs spend hours combing through the books in this library they will find a spellbook indecernable from the others with the exception that it contains several 9th level spells. Such a book is immensely valuable monetarily and to any high level wizards. There are also books detailing the truth about the cult, in detail, and a book on how to activate the bomb in the bomb room. From here there is a secret door to the real library, unlocked from this side it will still trigger an alarm if opened and isn’t disabled. The Grand Library Within this large room there are several immense bookshelves filled the brim with tomes of long forgotten lore. Within are also the four wizards of the cult. If unalarmed, they will be preparing their spells and pouring over tomes. If alarmed, they will be laying in wait for the PCs, hidden behind or atop bookshelves. Within the shelves are several books of note, of which the PCs ca find if they spend several hours combing through the immense collection. A table of books and uses are found below. The remaining doors, including the main, non-secret door, lead to collapsed rubble. The Serpent’s Pass Written in common on the secret door to the serpent’s pass is “To those as venomous as the one below, the serpent pass you must follow, to join the cause or beneath him wallow.” Within is a long, twisted hallway filled with pitfall and pendulum scythe traps. At the very beginning lying on the ground there is a chalice filled to the brim with serpent venom. If a character has partaken of the venom they must make a DC 15 con save or take 4d6 poison damage, afterwords however they will see previously invisible glowing green markings on the walls leading them away from dead ends. There are two false leads in the variable maze that is the serpent’s pass, both lead to illusory floors which drop off into vats of acid. The pass ends at a secret door to the meeting room, more well hidden than most in the dungeon (DC 17), unless the character has partaken of the poison. This path is used as an initiation into the cult, and there is no real reason for the PCs to undertake it other than sheer curiosity. The Meeting Room A moderately sized room with a large circular table at its center. It has two doors exiting into the grand hall, a secret door exiting into the serpent’s pass, and another secret door exiting into the dining room. This is where the rangers are prepping their arrows with poison, presumably about to hunt the PCs. There are theoretically 6 cultists in this room, however if the PCs take a long rest within the dungeon, 3 cultists from this room, determined at random, attack in their sleep. The room is notably sparse on wall carvings omnipresent in the rest of the temple, and is presumably where the cult would initiate new members who passed the trail of the serpent’s pass. The Dining Room
302 The dining room is a large room with an equally large dining table that has been split down the middle. At the center of the table is the rotting corpse of a bulette, that appears to have burrowed through the wall and found itself in this room, where wounds on its body would indicate it was slain. On the wall there is also a tapestry displaying the room in its former glory, with several cult members gathered around eating food, with a non cult member, presumably a sacrifice, in the middle, oddly it appears she is in a place of honor in the painting, and has the most and the best food by far. In the room is Yei and Garalt, who will attack the PCs upon entry. There is a door to the second half of the grand hall that leads to the sacrificial room. The Burial Chamber Accessed from a door oposite the dining room in the great hall is a room with naught but 6 stone coffins and the heavy stench of death. Within 3 of the coffins are the 3 lost children aside from eyesore. They seem to be dressed in ceremonial garb that they were placed in after death. They were placed in the coffins with great care and their bodies seem at rest. In one of the coffins is a mumified corpse in +1 chainmail with a +1 longsword and an amulet of protection. The other 2 remain empty, though one’s lid is open, ready for a new body to be placed within it. From here there is a secret door to the body room. The Body Room This room lies beyond a secret door at the end of a long hall accessable from a secret door from the burial chamber. Within lies a mound of dozens of dead bodies at varying stages of decomposition, most dead for over 100 years. Within is several useful trinkets, any armor or mundane weapon the PCs so desire is within the room, as well as an amulet of protection and a ring of thought shielding. The Sacrifice Room This room lies at the very end of the collapsed hall beyond a set of closed stone doors. Within are a minimum of 4 cultists, , if the PCs never encountered the library, 2 random characters from the library are also in the sacrifice room. Within the expansive room are several occult accessories including a stone alter in the center of a sacrificial circle. When the PCs enter, the cultists are standing around the circle with Eyesore’s son still alive and bound upon it, chanting in abyssal. If a character can speak abyssal, their chant indicates the true purpose of their sacrifice, to keep the serpent king from arising. Upon being discovered Reverend Martin will cease chanting whilst the others continue and beg the PCs that they do not know what they are doing and they need to allow the sacrifice to go on. Should the PCs stop the sacrifice, they will feel a slight tremor in the earth and Eyesore will be immensely grateful. However when they return to town they will find it decimated by the recently risen serpent king, In this room there is also a secret door to a long small hallway that leads to both the burial chamber and the body room.
303 The Secret of Deferens Presented here is another level 1 one shot intended for new players, with a metaphor for conception baked into the concept. This one shot involves more exploration and combat than the cult of the serpent god, but still has roleplay in the earlier sections. Like the cult of the serpent god, the one-shot is world agnostic but could easily be placed within the world of Marvelum. 0. (Character creation) Backstory: This is a one shot, your character doesn't need to be complicated. I just need three questions 1. What is your character like? 2. Why is your character in this small cliffside town of Deferens? (Passing through, visiting, etc.) 3. 1. (Roleplay) The town: An unassuming cliffside villa, really a few wooden houses and establishments dotting an otherwise barren pass through the Muldrotha mountains. Despite this, you come to fine the town teeming with color and music, in the swing of a celebration or festival with which you are unfamiliar. They have several shining cannons primed and facing the cliff's edge upon which settlement is precariously perched. The children dance and play while the elders tell stories of times long passed, though notably the working age adults bear much more somber faces. What do you do? The town is in frivolity, though the exact nature of the celebration isn't very forthcoming. It is called "the appeasement". There is a group of red robed mages protesting the festival, who will inform, if asked, that the appeasement is a lottery, to send some over the cave on the other side of the canyon to appease the great wurms that would otherwise consume the town and threaten the pass. But no one has seen a wurm in a lifetime, and these sacrifices, the red robes believe, are unnecessary and barbaric. A DC 14 perception check reveals guards and officials take note of the group talking to the red robes. A bell rings, and the lottery begins. The lottery "randomly" selects some of the red robes, and then also the "nosey travelers". 2. (Skill challenge/exploration) The group are drug to the cannons and fired out of them across the canyon. The red robes splat unsettlingly, like gory bugs on a windshield against a forcefield. This provokes gasps from the town, but as the remaining red robes concentrating on the spell are killed, the forcefield begins to disintegrate, leaving visible holes for the characters to aim for. The players can try various methods to get into these holes, acrobatics, flight, items, etc. Once on the other side the characters find a tunnel. If they investigate the tunnel they find the small den of a previous sacrifice, complete with a few rations and two potions of healing. 3. (Combat) The cave: the tunnel opens into a larger room with two other tunnels emerging from the corners. Once in this section of the cave alarms sound and 8 monodrones emerge from the walls to engage in combat led by a duodrone. If the players long rest after, it begins to rain, and those familiar with cave will know that the cave is angled downward toward the canyon and will likely flood. The two paths each lead to a small room with a golden pod that fits only one creature guarded by a pentadrone. If necessary, an additional combat with tridones and a quadrone can be conducted in the hall along the way. The pod can fit two small creatures, but only one medium creature. Once entered, it begins to raise into the sky as the cave and all those within, including their allies, turn to gold. And that, boys and girls, is where babies come from.
304 Appendix I: Maps All Maps assumed to be in used and roughly representative of the current age of the gods unless otherwise noted. Marvelum
305 World Map (Pre- Chrysalis)
306 World Map (Age of the Gods)
307 City of Marvels
308 Bay of Trepidation
309 Spellscarred Sea, Left of Marvelum
310 Dragon Island
311 The Golden Coast
312
313 Southern Wheatlands
314 New Plane
315 Dar of the Good Kingdoms
316 Appendix II: Charts and Reference Tables Weather Effects d20 Temperature 1-14 Normal for the season (Spring 60, Summer 70, Fall 50, Winter 30) 15-17 1d4 × 10 degrees Fahrenheit colder than normal 18-20 1d4 × 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal d20 Wind 1-12 None 13-17 Light Wind 18-20 Strong Wind d20 Precipitation 1-12 None 13-17 Light rain or light snowfall 18-20 Heavy rain or heavy snowfall Foraging DCs Food and Water Availability DC Abundant food and water sources 10 Limited food and water sources 15 Very little, if any, food and water sources 20 On a success, 1d6+wis mod pounds of food and gallons of water. Wilderness Navigation Terrain DC Grassland, meadow, farmland 5 Arctic, desert, hills, open sea with clear skies 10 Forest, jungle, swamp, mountains, open sea with overcast skies 15 Extreme Cold: When below 0 degrees, DC 10 constitution save at the end of each hour or level of exhaustion. Cold winter gear and resistance or immunity to cold damage automatically succeeds. Extreme Heat: When above 100 degrees, DC 5+n constitution save vs. a level of exhaustion where n is the number of hours past the first. Creatures in heavy clothes or heavy or medium armor have disadvantage on this save. Creatures with resistance or immunity to fire damage automatically succeed. Strong Wind: Disadvantage on ranged attacks at perceptions checks to hear. No hovering. Heavy Precipitation: Everything is lightly obscured, disadvantage on perception checks.
317 Random Plane Shift Table D30 Random Plane Shift 1 The PCs appear roughly 500ft in the air above a rather dismal, gray looking place. While falling, you are whipped around quite a bit by a torrent of winds. When landing, a depressed gray dragon asks what you have done to wind up here, the prison plane of Dromach. Plane shifting magics do not function here and planar criminals are thrown here without care, the torrent of winds located 400ft above prevents most flight but planar magic restores at an elevation of 500ft. There is a 600ft mountain many try to climb but it is riddled with angels claiming its climb is only for the atoned and destroying those they claim unworthy of the climb, which is treacherous enough on its own due to it passing through the torrential winds. 2 The PCs appear in a small town with darkening skies. The commoners are all mournful, as their plane will be destroyed by a cosmic terror in, if you believe the wizards, 7 days, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. If the PCs stay for several days, the darkening skies become massive black tendrils that in 7 days will destroy the plane and everything on it. The next use of plane shift automatically results in a roll on this chart. 3 The PCs appear on an island inhabited by anarchistic natives in a world of water. 4 The PCs appear in the infinite stairway to the planes, in the center of the spiral, falling eternally. A check for use of a magical planar items (such as the amulet of the planes) is at disadvantage here due to planar interference. 5 The PCs find themselves in a modern city, they just barely get a chance to see their surroundings before they are whisked away to the top of the highest building by a crimson blur who, really a mere afterimage, asks why they are in his city. If they attempt to use a magic item, they blur will take it from them before they can and ask if it is magic. 6 The PCs appear on a world on the brink of destruction at the hands of Libitina the Devastation. Various eldritch horrors make their last stand here and Nyarlothotep in the form of the white lady will send the PCs back to their home plane if they seek her out. 7 The PCs find themselves in a mind-bending place with no sense of up or down. There are various sceneries place around with no rhyme or reason, some seems melted together, some literally patch-worked with seams, and yet more with no true transition at all. The PCs, taking in their surroundings, will hear a strangely familiar voice as Chaos says “What are cats doing in my garden? Also, why are you there and not where you should be?” 8 The PCs find themselves freezing and suffocating in the cruel void of space. 9 The PCs find themselves in the cruel void of space with a stingray shaped ship made of shifting alloys and odd woods traveling towards the PCs. 10 The PCs take 6d6 psychic damage and appear with several dead futuristic soldiers, 4 dead children, and one alive, shaking child repeating “I had to do it. I had to”. The child is psionic and their surroundings is a futuristic city in an oppressive regime where psionics are illegal. 11 The PCs find themselves in the 1d9th layer of the hell of Christian myth. 12 The PCs find themselves surrounded by stars and flute music with an odd incline leading toward a book of names written in blood. 13 The PCs appear immediately in front of a bullet about to execute a man, saving the man and taking a bullet. They are in the middle of a military encampment in what is effectively the early
318 1900s. 14 The PCs appear in Call of Cthulhu 1920s New York 15 The PCs appear at the tip of the tallest tower in the plane of Avon. 16 The PCs teleport to the cacophony of worlds. 17 The PCs teleport to an iced over snowball world with minimal life and incredibly low temperatures. It is presently during a blizzard. 18 The PCs find themselves being crushed by pressure 2000ft below a plane of pure water. 19 The PCs find themselves in a gray expanse of nothingness, the void between the worlds where even the far realm cannot reach. They can strangely breath and walk, though they can choose to walk as though the ground were solid or take a step up or down as they desire. 20 The PCs find themselves in a heaven of an odd world, it molds to fits the PCs tastes and it requires a Wisdom save to leave, DC 16. In truth it is on the back of Azathoth the unknowable. 21 The PCs find themselves on New Plane with the wayfarers. 22 The PCs find themselves in Candyland. 23 The PCs find themselves in a plane of limitless potential where their every thought becomes reality, but only on that plane. 24 The PCs find themselves in the sky above a rather technologically advanced looking plane with a marut surrounding them. They ask why they are trespassing and offer to return the PCs to their home plane. 25 The PCs find themselves somehow in the City of Marvels. 26 The PCs find themselves in a world where background music is audible in game and the tone of the music determines the tone of the action and even to some extent the scenery. The Players may play their own music as it has an effect on the world as well, but the original background music never fades and continues to affect the world. 27 The PCs find themselves in a mining town built into the astral stillbirth that mines valuable unique resources. 28 The PCs find themselves on a comet of astral diamonds on an impact course to another plane. 29 The PCs find themselves in a cylinder world with a glowing sphere surrounded by a metal orb. The cylinder world is mostly forests and mountains, with a few dots of civilization, mostly racially segregated. There are several high level beasts in the woods. 30 The PCs find themselves on a world made of gold. While at first glance this appears to be a blessing, they eventually find people turned to gold. It appears to have happened slowly as many of the people are in agony and several are missing limbs, likely amputated to prevent or slow the spread of the gold. The gold is actually harmless now and inert of any magic or curse.
319 Treasure Maps D100 Location of Treasure 1-10 Near, within the same hex! 11-40 Near, within a week’s journey. 41-70 Far, roughly a season’s travel. 71-90 Far, another region. 91-100 Very Far, another plane. D6 Origin of Treasure Map 1 Made by pirates 2 Made by a fallen empire 3 Made by an adventurer 4 Made by goblins 5 Made by some ancient religious order 6 Impossible to discern D6 Where it Leads 1 A nondescript area, buried treasure. 2 A small cave. 3 An ancient ruin 4 A cache location in a town or city 5 An area currently controlled by organized monsters 6 A graveyard D6 Treasure Contained 1 None! Already looted. 2 1d100×1d10 gold in gold, gems, and art objects. 3 A plot relevant item 4 Lands and property (deeds, or the physical location cleared) 5 Uncommon Magic item and 1d100 gold 6 A rare magic item, cursed.
320 Random Island Tables D100 Random Islands 1-10 Tropical island, uninhabited 11-20 Dungeon, ruin 21-30 Indigenous culture, unadvanced 31-35 Indigenous culture, advanced 36-40 Indigenous cultures, at war 41-45 Cult of Alvyn the Wise 46-50 Cult of a demon/otherworldly entity 51-52 Dragon's lair 53-58 Smuggler's cache 59-64 Colonized 65-75 Rare fruit/herbs 76-85 Dangerous wildlife 86-90 Elemental shrine 91-98 Dangerous plants/fungus 99-100 Roll twice on this chart and ignore subsequent rolls of 99-100. D100 Random Ship Contents 1-15 Looted, nothing 16-26 Spices, ruined 27-40 Weapons, 1d100+1 gold in heavy weapons 40-45 Treasure Cruiser, 1d100×10 in gold and gems 46-56 War Ship, 1d3 ship weapons 57-70 Merchant Ship, 1d100×5 in gold, 1d100+20 in goods 71-73 Fragment of Coral City, 1 minor magical item and 1d10 platinum. 74-80 Converted base, 1d100+20 in gold and gems, 1d100×5 in weapons and armor. 81-98 Eclectic supplies, worth 1d100gp, and 5 PHB adventurer’s supplies. 99-100 Crashed flying ship, 1 moderate magic item, 1d100×10 gp in electrum. D100 Random Ship Inhabitants 1-20 No Inhabitants 21-30 Merfolk 31-40 Sahaguin 41-50 Merrow 51-60 Quippers 61-70 Adventurers/pirates 71-80 Gilded Guilds/some other major faction 81-90 Sea Monster 91-100 Magical disturbance Random Ship Names The Amerton, Epsom, Obedient, Holcombe, Chestnut, Elven, Daffodil, Kilbane, Punjabi, Juno, Decade, Success, Pelorus, Lotus, Hurricane, Highburton, Falmouth, The Pineham, Deale Castle, The Goldfinch, Felixstowe, The Maplin, Tartar, The Claudia, Ajdaha, Orontes, The Blackfly, Confounder, Ariguani, Feversham
321 Random NPC Names Female Morgan, Mckinley, Dylan, Jayden, Taniyah, Aniyah, Yesenia, Marlene, Tabitha, Bethany, Valerie, Alivia, Nancy, Brenna, Keira, Xiomara, Abagail, Lizeth, Lola, Renee, Skyla, Katherine, Veronica, Harper, Ava, Tatiana, Erika, Marin, Casey, Hillary, Yaretzi, Laurel, Lindsay, Marlie, Tianna, Miya, Kimberly, Charity, Essence, Litzy, Dahlia, Esther, Alyssa, Anastasia, Marisa, Yazmin, Amani, Alexandra, Alexis, Helen, Cloe, Eileen, Elle, Talia ,Krista, Quinn, Denise, Leila, Ashley, Phoenix, Janet, Kara, Chaya, Iris, Madison, Annabelle, Kallie, Evangeline, Shyla, Ariel, Jacquelyn, Dana, Elise, Angelique, Aleena, Peyton, Eliana, Mylie, Maia, Lana, Emely, Fiona, Hana, Luz, Christina, Aria, Precious, Gia, Kiley, Parker, Callie, Mollie, Saniyah, Liliana, Mila, Zaria, Riley, Mattie, Azaria, Lainey Male Abdiel, Savion, Jasper, Neil, Jayson, Devon, Steve, Konner, Bradyn, Marley, Carmelo, Josh, Ali, Lee, Robert, Tripp, Waylon, Donovan, Koen, Porter, Emmett, Trenton, Ross, Salvatore, Van, Marvin, Joshua, Adam, Alejandro, Jorden, Ellis, Cason, Donte, Preston, Brenden, Jaeden, Hezekiah, Donavan, Slade, Henry, Miles, Layton, Baron, Landin, Caleb, Deshawn, Marcus, Eliezer, Jase, Cristopher, Kaleb, Clay, Remington, Jesse, Milo, Brennan, Kason, Skyler, Xander, Harley, Caiden, Kadyn, Gage, Christian, Brady, Harrison, Gerardo, Malaki, Giovani, Maxim, Gianni, Adonis, Jeremy, Julian, Gregory, Kolby, Franklin, Dean, Sterling, Justus, Pierre, Gary, Kristopher, Kolton, Tyree, Zander, Aedan, Jerry, Carsen, Ezequiel, Ryder, Jeffrey, Elliott, Silas, Jovan, Elisha, Kamari, Leonardo, Alden, Lyric Last Names Murillo, Huynh, Rollins, Nunez, Mcneil, Ortega, Mcdonald, Hoover, Rangel, Bullock, Mitchell, Washington, Copeland, Macdonald, Dean, Little, Blankenship, Petersen, Skinner, Strickland, Mccarty, Bruce, Sherman, Lloyd, Delacruz, Warner, Lewis, Underwood, Acevedo, Moyer, Obrien, Christian, Hobbs, Tran, Gould, Randall, Holmes, Riley, Hogan, Thornton, Diaz, Ramirez, Velazquez, Cordova, Mcmillan, Arellano, Green, Pineda, Hinton, Stanley, Benton, Lutz, Cook, Phelps, Mcintosh, Richard, Kirk, Maldonado, Villegas, Johnson, Freeman, Simon, Dorsey, George, Boyle, Schmitt, Jimenez, Dunlap, Guerrero, Black, Farmer, Alvarez, Mcfarland, Mcintyre, Maddox, Ayers, Boone, Graham, Wiley, Fields, Snow, Casey, Conway, Baldwin, Branch, Chung, Hale, Franklin, Russell, Petty, Murphy, Best, Ferguson, Chaney, Franco, Boyer, Tapia, Spencer, Bernard, Goodwin Puritan Names Abstinence, Accepted, Aid-on-high, Amity, Approved, Arise, Ashes, Assurance, Be-courteous, Befaithful, Benevolence, Belief, Beloved, Be-strong, Be-thankful, Called, Charity, Clemency, Comfort, Concord, Confidence, Consider, Constance, Constancy, Constant, Continent, Deliverance, Delivery, Depend, Desire, Diffidence, Diligence, Discipline, Discretion, Donation, Dust, Earth, Elected, Endure, Experience, Faint-not, Faith, Faithful, Faith-my-joy, Fare-well, Fear, Fear-not, Fear-the-Lord, Felicity, Fidel, Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith, Flie-Fornication, Forsaken, Fortune, Freegift, From-above, Given, Give-thanks, Godly, God-reward, Grace, Gracious, Handmaid, Has Descendents, Hate-evil, Hatill (Hateill), Helpless, Help-on-High, Honesty, Honour, Hope, Hope-for, Hopeful, Hope-still, Humanity, Humble, Humiliation, Humility, Increase, Increased, Joy
322 Appendix III: Playing in Other Eras The world of Marvels has been through many turbulent and diverse eras, each of which presents its own interesting and unique challenges to playing and running the game in. While not a complete guide, below are some facts, tips, and tricks to running games in other eras of Marvel’s vast history. The First and Second Age Games set during the fist age would be a primitive setting, with limited items and weapons made of stone, wood, or in rare cases brass. Most armors would not be available nor would most magic items. As magic was eschewed due to Amnon’s betrayal, you may wish to ban magic entirely within this age, and this is an option. However, magic is extremely difficult to remove from the game, so perhaps the players are simply some of the first magic users on the plane, though they are exceedingly rare, most great heroes tend to be. The primary challenge in this age would be survival among fierce and untamed creatures and environments not yet tempered for human life. The only playable races would be the basic races in the players handbook, Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling as other races had not yet sprung into being. There would not yet be 36 gods, as the gods were still forming in their essences by this time, Amnon, Symma, and Whurbin exist, as well as any other early gods necessary for your campaign. A good sample adventure in the First Age would be tribal leaders attempting to lead their tribe across a dangerous expanse away from their frozen lands and establishing one of the first towns. The Second Age doesn’t bring much change to this format beyond access to more towns for NPC, fledgling empires, and slightly more common magic. The Third Age The Third Age is marked by the first divine war against Lucifer and his devils as well as the advent of forges with the gods of the forge and iron arms and armor. The Third Age is a prime setting for a divine war campaign, the players champion of old gods in a righteous crusade against the invading devils. During the third age magic items were forged, but only by the greatest of artisans in the burgeoning inner cities of fledgling empires. Amidst the devil wars, mortals wage wars against nature and against themselves as they learn to master magic and agriculture, forming empires and societies. Another possible third age adventure would be being soldiers or even kings of one of these earlier empires. This age is marked by the advancement of technology and magic, but also the ever-present danger of otherworldly invaders, namely devils. By the third age, most races, while not common, could have feasibly been on the plane of Marvels, with a few notable exceptions of Warforged, Simic Hybrids, tieflings, fey creatures, and any sufficiently magical race. The 36 gods had taken full shape sometime during the second age, but was only truly properly worshipped in this form in the third and fourth ages. God Description Alignment Qui’ara Goddess of Seeking Purpose and Travel Neutral Good/Good Raelinn God of Wealth Chaotic Good/Good Torl God of Truth and Selflessness Chaotic Good/Good Finnickan God of friendship and loyalty Lawful Good/Good Calira Goddess of Innocence and Purity Neutral Good/Good
323 Whurbin God of the earth and creation Lawful Good/Good Symma Goddess and creator of life Lawful Good/Life Lia Goddess of love Chaotic Good/Life Sariel Goddess of Harmony and Peace Neutral Good/Life Solus God of Day and Work Neutral Good/Nature Aelar God of seasons and balance Lawful Good/Nature Alvyn God of the sea Chaotic Good/Nature Helga Goddess of fertility and growth Lawful Neutral/Life Yena Goddess of health and longevity True Neutral/Life Baresh God of Instinct Chaotic Neutral/Life Gravia Goddess of Gravity and inevitability True Neutral/Nature Chaac God of weather and harsh realities Chaotic Neutral/Nature Nocta Goddess of Night and Rest True Neutral/Nature Io God of Dragons and Ferocity True Neutral/Primal Garld God of the Hunt Chaotic Neutral/Primal Urn God of the forge and moral supremacy over the elements Lawful Neutral/Primal Oriax God of passage into death and spontaneity Chaotic Neutral/Death Xendal God of judgment after death and rigid adherence Lawful Neutral/Death Alighieri God of the dead True Neutral/Death Grissila Goddess of power, ruler of demons Chaotic Evil/Evil Valoran God of Lies and Manipulation Lawful Evil/Evil Vistra Goddess of greed and envy Neutral Evil/Evil Shaveth God of Chaos and Slaughter Chaotic Evil/Evil Nevelerix Goddess of Temptation and cold Lawful Evil/Evil Lucifer God of Treachery and Devils, Foreigner Lawful Evil/Evil Visiduous God of Virility and Masculinity Lawful Evil/Primal Mugrunden God of Impulse and Rage Chaotic Evil/Primal Geruda Goddess of Poison and Venom Neutral Evil/Primal Amnon God of time Neutral Evil/Death Ibis Goddess of pestilence and disease Chaotic Evil/Death Visiduous God of war and tactics Lawful Evil/Death The Fourth Age Games in the fourth age should focus on adventure on the precipice of a brave new world. Empires, though not as expansive as the following ages, have been established, magic gods have emerged and with them came expanded sorcerers and warlocks and, most importantly, magic items. The feywild is at peak strength and fae deities play grand pranks on adventurers and entire civilizations. While the second divine war is raging, most mortals were largely unaffected, leaving this a prime age for adventure, intrigue, and danger. The gods remain primarily the dame as the third age with the replacement of Geruda with Stryx and the addition of the at the time 37th god, Malagos the God of Magic. At this point, while construct races like Warforge and Autognome are still inappropriate, most races are reasonable to see in some number in Marvelum. The Fifth Age and the Age of Nations Combined to form the respective golden age of the plane of Marvelum. Here, empires are established and perceivably immutable, providing a semblance of stability to the lives of even the common folk.
324 By this age all races, classes, and items are readily available and generally accepted by society. The beating heart of the land is the illustrious City of Marvels, a massive magical utopia the likes of which the world has never seen ruled by Grand Magistrate Mardu, protector of the world soul. These magical empires are powered by Enchantries, factories where commoner cast scrolls onto magic items all day for little pay, while spellcasters and those who could afford to get a magical education prosper on writing the scrolls those in the enchantries cast onto items for the use of the middle class. This class struggle manifested often in subtle ways, and occasionally violently. The key aspect of this age is the ready availability of on-demand magic and magic items, detailed below: Magic Pricing In the world of Marvels, magic items are easy to come by, and are often far cheaper than one would originally anticipate. Availability of magic items is still heavily dependent upon where a seeker looks for such items, as determined by the following chart Common Uncommon Rare Very Rare Legendary Hamlet 70% 30% 5% 1% 0% Village 90% 40% 10% 5% 0% Town 100% 50% 20% 10% 0% Port 100% 70% 35% 25% 1% City 100% 90% 50% 35% 5% Port Nebulous 100% 100% 70% 50% 10% City of Marvels 100% 100% 100% 75% 20% In any location where an item is not readily available (not 100%), the item’s value will fluctuate depending upon seller, type of item, etc. As a rule, Hamlets, Villages, and Towns that have less magical items sell theirs at a far higher price than is typical, and likely don’t even have a dedicated magical item shop, items being held by private citizens, or sold by regular blacksmiths and general goods stores. There are no hard and fast rules for these mark-ups (or downs) but there are for typical pricing that a character with good market or arcane knowledge would know to expect in normal circumstances, and the price one would likely be charged within the city proper itself. Common Uncommon Rare Very Rare Legendary Consumable Price 50gp 100gp 300gp 1000gp 3000gp Item Price 50gp 300gp 1000gp 5000gp 10000gp In addition to items, denizens of the world often pay for spellcasters to perform certain spells for them, for a fee. It is assumed that all Port and higher level establishments have access to at least 6th level
325 spells, and the City of Marvels has access to 9th level spells. Hamlets, Villages, and Towns may have access to much lower levels of spell depending on their highest level magic user willing to perform functions. Spells higher than 3rd or 4th level require a highly experienced spellcaster, and such a purchase should likely involve roleplay rather than simply a hand wave. The cost of the spell is just for the cast, any expensive material components for a spell are also charged to the seeker. Once again, prices fluctuate where the spells are not readily available. Cantrip 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th Price 1gp 10gp 30gp 50gp 100gp 200gp 400gp 700gp 1000gp 2000gp While the world of Marvels is magical, there are limits. Artifacts, and even legendary items, are difficult if not impossible to find even within the city proper. Searching for such things should be roleplayed and likely not left to the whim of a random chart, unless that is fitting the situation. Most items of this caliber are sold in auction, held by private citizens or organizations (mages colleges are known to harbor several legendary items and even artifacts), or held by the government in museums or official buildings. Heavy investigations should be conducted to find such items for purchase, and many of them are still out in the world, their presence and location subject of much myth and legend. Gods of the 5th Age Name of God Description Alignment/Domain Caelynn Goddess of peace and forgiveness Neutral Good/Good Raelinn God of generosity and selflessness Chaotic Good/Good Paela Goddess of happiness and hedonism Chaotic Good/Good Finnickan God of friendship and loyalty Lawful Good/Good Calira Goddess of innocence and purity Neutral Good/Good Whurbin God of the earth and creation Lawful Good/Good Symma Goddess and creator of life Lawful Good/Life Lia Goddess of love Chaotic Good/Life Sariel Goddess of peace and harmony Neutral Good/Life Philomena Goddess of beauty Neutral Good/Nature Aelar God of seasons and balance Lawful Good/Nature Alvyn God of the sea Chaotic Good/Nature Helga Goddess of fertility and growth Lawful Neutral/Life Yena Goddess of health and longevity True Neutral/Life Bharash God of instinct Chaotic Neutral/Life Grumbar God of the hunt True Neutral/Nature
326 Chaac God of weather and harsh realities Chaotic Neutral/Nature Saur God of beasts True Neutral/Nature Ormendal God of civilization Lawful Neutral/Magic Cylis God of Knowledge Lawful Neutral/Magic Sara Goddess of Resurrection Chaotic Neutral/Magic Oriax God of passage into death and spontaneity Chaotic Neutral/Death Xendal God of judgment after death and rigid adherence Lawful Neutral/Death Alighieri God of the dead True Neutral/Death Stryx Goddess of pain and torture, ruler of demons Chaotic Evil/Evil Nameless One God of lies and selfishness Lawful Evil/Evil Vistra Goddess of greed and envy Neutral Evil/Evil Mugrunden God of impulse and rage Chaotic Evil/Evil Mud God of betrayal Neutral Evil/Evil Nicor God of schemes, ruler of devils Lawful Evil/Evil Domi God of power and dominance Lawful Evil/Magic Valoran God of illusion and deception Neutral Evil/Magic Malagos God of magic Chaotic Evil/Magic Amnon God of time Neutral Evil/Death Ibis Goddess of pestilence and disease Chaotic Evil/Death Visiduous God of war and tactics Lawful Evil/Death
327 Appendix IV: Spelljammer and New Plane In the farthest northern point of Marvelum is a long since looted crashed spaceship forming the City of Chrome. Among those who travel the stars the ship would be known as a Spelljammer ship. Spelljammer was a setting between settings in second edition D&D and has no official rules in 5th edition. Below are the rules for Spelljammer within the multiverse of the plane of Marvels. Under typical Spelljammer rules all planes float adrift in crystal spheres adrift the phlogiston sea of wildspace. This wildspace can be transversed by Spelljammer ships, which resemble large animals or regular seafaring ships. They take their name from the legendary Spelljammer, a large manta ray with a town strapped to its back. All Spelljammer ships are controlled by a magical Spelljammer helm, which grants them complete control of the ship. When leaving a plane or ship all things have a small amount of gravity to them, carrying air with them as they leave. A medium creature carries an envelope of 3 minutes’ worth of air with them when they enter into wildspace. This multiverse uses these ideas with the only alteration that this multiverse does not have crystal spheres protecting the planes, they simply float adrift the phlogiston sea. Additionally, traditional Spelljammer does not have the envelopes for large ships dissipate, most helms in this multiverse are incapable of maintaining a breathable envelope without it being depleted every 100 or so days without landing on a source of adequate air, similar to refueling. Planar Sickness and Ulfrig’s Tonic Planar sickness is an affliction that occurs when someone is away from their home plane for too long. Every 30 days a creature is away from their home plane they must succeed a DC 13 constitution
328 saving throw or have their constitution score reduced by 1 until they return to their home plane are restored by Greater Restoration or greater magic. The DC increases by 1 for every additional 30 day the creature remains away from their home plane. There is a solution to Planar Sickness known as Ulfrig’s Tonic. It used to be a very rare remedy but in the past 2000 years has become far more widespread. It is detailed below Ulfrig’s Tonic Potion, Uncommon When you drink this potion, you become immune to the effects of planar sickness for 30 (uncommon), 100 (rare) days, or forever (legendary). The potion is an overall unappealing greenish gray color with the viscosity of molasses. Spelljammer Random Charts Wildspace Random Encounters D20 Wildspace Random Encounters 1-8 Peaceful Space 9 A large ort cloud obscures vision here 10 A warp gate transports the ship to a random spot in wildspace unless dodged with a DC 16 Navigation check 11-12 The ship passes several asteroids (roll on the random asteroid table) 13 A massive elemental weird attempts to engulf the ship 14 An eldritch horror of incomprehensible size floats alongside the ship, provoking a wisdom save vs. Temporary insanity from the helmsman. It is docile unless attacked. 15-16 A Wildspace storm kicks up
329 17 A friendly Spelljammer ship passes by the ship 18 An unfriendly (pirate, enemy faction) Spelljammer ship passes the ship 19 A wildspace monster teleports aboard the ship 20 Roll twice on this chart Random Asteroid Contents D20 Asteroid Contents 1-4 Barren rock 5 Minable rare material 6 A preexisting mine of a random culture 7 Minable toxic gas 8 Minable Iron 9 Inhabited by monsters 10 Explosive gasses 11 Inhabited by an exiled criminal 12 Made of ice 13 Houses a small man-made dungeon 14 Houses a small system of caves 15 Filled with lush plant life 16-20 Roll Twice on this chart Random Plane Tables Environment D20 Biome 1 Mostly Woodland 2 Entirely water 3 Entirely desert 4 A gas planet 5 Mostly Mountainous 6 Mostly Grassland 7 Ice planet 8 A dead world 9 Geographically diverse 10 Entirely urbanized, medieval 11 Entirely urbanized, sci-fi 12 Made of fire 13 Made of living flesh 14 Made of metal 15 Made of stone, barren 16 Made of stone, another biome (i.e. stone forest) 17 Composed of a deceased astral entity 18 Subterranean world 19 Comprised entirely of labyrinthian mazes 20 Post-apocalyptic landscape
330 D20 Oddity 1 An odd shape (cylindrical, flat, bytopia, etc.) 2 Large chunks of land float adrift in the sky 3 Multiple moons (1d20+3) 4 Many suns (1d8+1) 5 A geographical location with a very magical property 6 Dead magic zone (no magic functions on parts or all of plane) 7 Wild magic zone (every spell casts triggers a roll on the wild magic table) 8 Potent magic zone (all spells with dice have maxed dice values) 9 Extreme or no weather conditions 10 Heavily damaged (massive crater, split in two) 11 Sentient plane 12 Hostile atmosphere 13 Heavily irradiated 14 Exists on the back of an eldritch horror 15 Constantly has the same temperature 16 Dead Giants comprise mountains here 17 The clouds are solid and harbor civilization 18 People animated differently 19 Creatures cannot die here 20 Roll twice on this chart People D100 Inhabited 1-70 Yes 71-100 No D100 Dominant Race 1-10 D&D Races, one dominant 11-20 D&D Races, multicultural 21-25 D&D Race, single race world 26-28 Insectoids (formians) 29-32 Mindflaters 33-35 Yithian 36-37 Fey creatures 38-39 Shadowfell creatures 40-45 Undead 46-50 Sci-fi races 51-55 Dragons 56-60 Giants 61-63 Only magical monsters 64-67 Angels
331 68-70 Demons 71-73 Devils 74-76 Neogi 78-80 Underdark races 81-85 Elementals 86-90 Xvart or goblinoids 91-95 Deep ones 96-99 Plant people 100 Gods D30 Culture Roll twice on this chart 1 Primitive 2 Points of Light 3 Greek 4 Asian 5 Medieval England 6 Steampunk 7 Magocracy 8 Theocracy 9 Mezo-American 10 Warring Nations 11 Modern Weaponry 12 Post-Apocolyptic 13 Superhero world 14 Completely Alien 15 Totalitarian government with a resistance 16 Massive Empires 17 Sci-fi utopia 18 Sci-fi dystopia 19 Meritocracy 20 Communist state 21 Roman 22 Roaming barbarian bands 23 Druidic 24 Party society 25 Matriarchy 26 Martial law state (spartan) 27 Perfect democracy 28 Cultists 29 Philosopher king 30 Prison Plane
332 D20 Secret 1 The plane contains a massive amount of a rare metal 2 There is a magically and/or technologically advanced society hidden behind illusion/cloaking 3 The society of the plane is secretly controlled by a cult 4 The plane is (unknowingly) in the proximity of an eldritch horror causing strange events to transpire 5 The plane possesses knowledge of the planekiller sword or equally arcane knowledge. 6 The atmosphere here is like a drug, creating a high and is highly addictive 7 Experience is tangible here. When you kill a creature you gain their experience and grow stronger 8 Time moves much slower than normal here 9 Time moves much faster than normal here 10 Planar magic doesn't work here 11 Every hundred years this plane has a massive super-storm. This happens 3 days from now. 12 The world is only moments away from destruction 13 The entire plane is cursed, any who land here are affected by the bestow curse spell 14 The gods here are actually myth and don't really exist 15 The world is an egg for a new great old one 16 The world has strong connections to lovecraftian entities 17 The ship has actually landed in the world's shadowfell/feywild 18 The world contains bizzare, entirely different magic 19 The world completely changes every 24 hours 20 Roll twice on this chart Spelljammer Quests Devastation Relief: Some all-powerful broad is roaming wildspace vaporizing planes left and right. She we should aim to avoid, but there’s good money in ferrying away refugees from worlds she’s left marginally intact, even more in ones she’s presently attacking. “Money” here isn’t necessarily my all precious gold, but also personnel and magical secrets. Asteroids: Smaller hunks of rock floating aimlessly in wildspace, usually just a navigational nuisance but my Crows have found many to have rare and valuable materials like Oricalcum or diamonds on them, some are even shards of previously destroyed planes with fully formed magic items upon them. If we ever pass them and have time, they’re always worth a look. Extra-Planar Bounty Hunting: The Coalition is a loose syndicate of planes that enacts their will upon several other planes. With allies in the Order of Longevity and the Wayfarers among others, they are the predominate multi-planar power in the multiverse. They are willing to offer Credits (their market backed currency, usually converts to about .08875gp a Credit) for their most wanted criminals. There are too many to list here, but any pirates we face would be worth looking into, and any illithid is worth 1000c a head. Bottled Power: Wildspace storms are deadly even to the most secure of Spelljammer Ships, but if you can tame it with magical power and force a bit of it into a bottle, that storm-bit is enough to devastate entire countries. I’ve always wanted to try it.
333 Improvements: The pirate-port of Nual Djimn is a stable point in the phlogiston stream, and a place where magical upgrades to spelljammer ships are offered, as well as many other useful and interesting commodities. If we’ve ever money to burn, me and my men would love to go, and it would be useful to you as well. Death Knell: An old pirate vessel I used to work on, looks like a giant metal eagle and tolls bells of death hearable through the void of wildspace. This is a personal vendetta, we destroy or capture the Death Knell, I would offer my last remaining wish from my ring, and my Bretta, my +2 Flaming Long Rifle The Shards: Legends tell of four elemental shards once used to reforge the universe. I’ve a map to one such shard if you want to start looking for real power. Quality Ingredients: Gnarrk, my cook, may be a barbarian, but he cares deeply for his food creations. He’s been yearning for more quality ingredients to cook with since we got aboard this craft. Gnarrk says good food is its own reward, I say my men’s morale is its own reward. Weapons Dealer: There's great money to be made selling weapons to sides of some warring plane, especially weapons they don't have access to yet. I know it doesn't fit Ciaran's mission statement, but do consider it if we're exceptionally short on cash. Rare Metals: Rare metals are found on various planes, Orichalcum and adamantine being the most common, but rarer metals like Nth metal, Celerian Steel, and Rodianium are more common on some planes. These metals are not only very valuable, but also extremely useful. New Plane While not directly related to the Plane of Marvels, New Plane is perpetually a point of interest within the extra-planar scheme and introduces several extraplanar factions a party from Marvelum may encounter should they become entwined in extraplanar affairs. As such, it is included here. The new plane that arose from the ashes of Kothar immediately attracted attention from those with planar knowledge across the multiverse. Several factions set up camps on the plane, either to study, or conquer the new found lands. Each group has a different title
334 for the plane, so many have defaulted to calling it merely “new plane”. On the plane several rare materials are plentiful, and certain common materials are absent (rivers run silver with electrum, but a scrap of iron is hard to come by). Some of these rare materials are requisite for creating a newly invented tonic that can, for a time, stave off the deterioration most things occur when on a plane not native to them. It is required to be consumed once every 100 days and costs nearly 100gp a dose, making venturing to the new plane no poor man’s gambit, not that it was to begin with. It is technically called “Ulfrig’s Tonic” as Ulfrig Ericson was the dwarf alchemist who developed the decoction, but on the new plane it is usually just referred to as “tonic”. Another interesting aspect of the plane is the naturally formed, intricate underground system of caves, at some points mimicking artificial structures, all interconnected, known as the fractals. The fractals end has not been found, though there are those who would dedicate their lives to finding it. It is also where most of the indigenous lives on the plane have fled. The various factions that inhabit the new plane are as follows: The Wayfarers: A group drawing inspiration from a time before time, they seek to evacuate dying planes to more lively planes before the event of planar death using permanent planar gates. They are interested in New plane, or “New Offeri” as they take to calling it, primarily for the ingredients to Ulfrig’s Tonic being plentiful, but they also have a vested interest in potentially using it as a plane for colonization in the future. While generally the “good guys” there are rumors of very shady business occurring on their home plane of Offeri that heavily influences the organization. The splinter on New Plane are at an uneasy alliance with all other factions but the mindflayers. The Order of the Burning Flag: A group of knights, paladins, clerics, and hired mercenaries that come from a heavily lawful dying plane. They come primarily to colonize this the most lively of planes, but also to investigate and acquire some of the materials that form naturally here. The order is easily identified by their red armor and continually flaming banner. They speak in odd tongues, with only their officers knowing common language and they refer to the plane as “Unt’illi”, which some persist is just “New Plane” in whatever language they speak. They are at an uneasy alliance with the Wayfarers, and are enemies of the natives, mindflayers, and Order of Longevity. The Order of Longevity: A ragtag order of scientists and mages alike from a plane of odd technology. They seek to find and harness the plane’s soul so as to use its expanding energy to fuel as many planes as possible for as long as possible, or at least to study a still growing soul. They wear a purple infinity sign on their heraldry and higher ups carry strange, energy based weapons. They refer to the plane only as “the resource” and have a fairly finite peace with the Wayfarers and the Natives, and are actively enemies of the Order of the Burning Flag and the mindflayers. Mindflayers: Eldrich horrors desperate to regain a long fallen extra planar empire, the illthids seek only to extract this youngest plane’s soul to fuel their home plane and extra-planar weaponry, just as they wage war on other planes for similar purposes. They bear no banner, and never refer to the plane as anything consistent or decipherable. They are enemies to all other factions Natives: While the plane is exceedingly young, some life in the form of short lived races, mostly humans and goblins, have sprung up. They fight for their homes with vehement force, but as they are the least populated and least well equip of the factions, they will likely fail. They are still large enough, however, to be considered the 5th major faction of the 5 warring factions. They’re banners are crude and often no carried into battle but they do have one, a white flag with a simple red circle in the middle. They call the plane Nahir, a native tongue that simply means “home”. They have uneasy peace with the wayfarers and are at odds with every other major faction.
335 The Cult of Naturalism: A small conglomerate of several races, mostly outcasts from the main 5 factions, that believe the world should be preserved and left to its natural state, and that interfering will cause new planes to cease to appear. Some of the more fanatical members have begun to worship the plane as a god figure. They are at peace only with the natives. The Adventurer’s League: A ragtag group dedicated only to the mission of finding the end of the fractals. They have an emblem of a shining lantern midst a dark background, wear medium armor with dark to green hues and try their best to remain politically independent and neutral. In the few times they have been roped into political matters, they revealingly side with whoever the Wayfarer’s side with, though there was one exception. They are currently politically independent and are at odds with no faction. Plane of Marvels Extraplanar Bounties Libitina, the Devastation: Nearly every multi-planar power and organization has a high bounty on someone called Libitina. She is described as a human girl with a “third eye” and unimaginable power. Any who can bring down this mark would have their grandchildren want for nothing. She was last seen near the plane of gyres. Margery Fisher: A deserter from the Order of Longevity, a human woman with long red air and fair white skin. She was last seen traveling with a drow male wearing jet black leather armor near the vicinity of the old City of Marvels. There’s a 1000gp reward for Margery returned alive. Haram Sangra: A blue skinned terrorist against the Coalition. Spotted near the ruined pyramids in the sands. The Coalition is willing to pay 10,000 electrum for his capture, or 8000 for him dead. Alice: A 12 year old elven psionic girl who escaped the illithid empire. She is wanted alive for a reward of 1500 illithilins, or dead for an even 1000. She was last seen in the mountains to the east of Shrekton. Marko and Alana: Lovers from two sides of a war. They’re relations prove cooperation between the warring races possible, a dangerous message the runners of the war would pay dearly to stop. 10,000 credits are offered to any who can turn in Alana and Marko, alive or dead. Alana is a dark haired, olive skinned woman with dragonfly wings, and Marko is peach skinned tiefling sorcerer. They were last seen near the city of Redrun. Shinre the Defiler: A man who killed his own plane, Shinre is a brown skinned elven man who is never without his curved sword. There are reports that he owns a farm near the swamps. The Coalition will pay 5000 credits for his retrieval alive, and the Order of Longevity will offer 1000gp for him dead. Micheal the Lost: A blue skinned man with a bald head and a platinum piece imbedded under his eye was reported missing by the Wayfarers nearly 100 years ago. A man matching that description was spotted in Adderton, a small town to the north of the swamps. The Wayfarers never officially removed their 100 platinum reward for his return.