![[Azura Temple Map.png]]
Type: Non-Combat Challenge
Location: The Hall of Resonance (Song of Liraethen)
Goal: Restore the ancient Elven melody to cleanse the hall’s corruption.
As you enter the Hall of Resonance, the silver columns hum with distorted tones.
The ancient song of the elves — once a hymn of harmony — has been twisted by the Soul Devourer’s presence.
You must realign the tones and awaken the true melody before the hall collapses into silence.
The challenge unfolds over 3 Phases, each representing a growing wave of resonance.
At least one success in each phase is required to progress.
If the group fails two consecutive phases, the hall rejects them — the trial fails.
Goal: Understand what the hall is trying to communicate.
Checks:
Insight (understand the emotional tone and corruption)
Perception (sense which tones are stable or false)
History / Dimensions / Nature (recall the Song of Liraethen or similar elven rituals)
Success: You identify the correct tone patterns and the safest columns to approach.
Failure: Discord rises; faint screams echo through the hall. (+1 Discord)
Goal: Attune the runes to the correct harmonic flow.
Checks:
Music (replicate or harmonize with the runes)
Insight (feel the emotional rhythm and adjust)
Perception (sustain focus amid growing distortion)
Success: The tones begin to stabilize; silver light flickers across the walls.
Failure: The song breaks apart; your senses blur. (+1 Discord)
Goal: Sustain the pure song against the corruption’s backlash.
Checks:
Music (lead the final verse)
Vigor (endure the pressure of the harmonic surge)
Perception (resist the haunting whispers)
Success:
The melody blooms into radiant harmony — the hall clears of corruption.
Each participant gains +1 Advantage on all checks against demonic or mental influence until dawn.
A vision shows the Soul Devourer’s arrival — and a way to weaken it.
Failure:
The hall screams in agony and falls silent.
Each participant suffers 1 Grit loss and hears the corrupted song in their dreams.
Once a sanctuary of serene elven worship, the Temple of Laira now stands as a scar upon the wilderness of Exotia — a monument to both divine beauty and infernal corruption. Hidden deep within an overgrown glade where the ancient trees weave a living canopy of emerald light, the temple emerges from the moss and mist like a fossil of grace turned to grief.
Marble towers rise from the undergrowth, their white stone veins now blackened by time and ash. Vines crawl across the cracked elven carvings, twisting through runes that once sang with light but now pulse faintly with a sickly red glow. The once-holy bridges of silverleaf wood that spanned tranquil ponds are broken and half-submerged, the water beneath them reflecting a dim, shifting crimson from somewhere within the ruins.
The air grows still as you approach. No birds sing here — only the whisper of distant chanting carried by the wind, a remnant of a ritual that never ended. The scent of petrichor mingles with something older, wrong — scorched earth and decayed offerings. The forest itself seems to hold its breath, unwilling to trespass.
At the heart of the ruins, the main archway yawns open like a wound in the world. Elven reliefs depicting the ascension of spirits have been defaced, their faces clawed away and replaced with spiraling demonic sigils. The faint hum of power emanates from within — a rhythm that beats in time with your pulse, as though the temple itself is alive, and waiting.
Here, where once the Fay and Elves communed with light and song, the Soul Devourer of Nedel has rooted itself, twisting the sacred halls into a labyrinth of despair and hunger. Every echo, every flicker of shadow within its halls is a reminder of what was lost… and of what still feeds in the dark.
Light: Dark Source: (No Source) Challenge: Encounter 12 Skeleton Swordsmen
Walls Ash-covered tiles Floors Scorched stone Decor Charred table Flavor A fire elemental’s ember still glows; it begins to reform.
Event Roaming Monster Effect A Wight crosses the room; may trigger combat or stealth checks.
Elements: A set of heavy manacles, open and empty
Light: Lit Source: Sunstones Challenge: Hanging Rocks/Ceiling Debris Risk of falling rocks; perception checks to notice, Reaction to dodge.
Walls Mossy cobbles Floors Slick green slime patches Decor Broken portal frame Flavor A fire elemental’s ember still glows; it begins to reform.
Event Mysterious Message Effect Runic glyphs, blood trails, or whispered voices appear, hinting at upcoming events.
Elements: A velvet cushion, covered in dust
Light: Dim Source: Glowing Mushrooms Challenge: Loose Stones Unstable rocks; risk of sliding or small rockfall.
Walls Mossy cobbles Floors Slick green slime patches Decor Broken portal frame Flavor The portal flickers back to life for a few seconds — you glimpse another realm.
Event Trap Reset Effect A previously disarmed trap resets or triggers accidentally.
Elements: A cracked hourglass, sand frozen inside
Light: Dim Source: Brazier Challenge: Underground Lake Must swim or find alternative route Walls Cracked sandstone Floors Moss-covered carvings Decor Rusted weapons rack Flavor The portal flickers back to life for a few seconds — you glimpse another realm.
Event Treasure Appears Effect Hidden loot is revealed naturally or magically (glimmering chest, unsealed alcove).
Elements: A skeleton slumped against a chair, untouched
Light: Lit Source: Lantern Challenge: Contaminated Corpses Grave Gust Roll Walls Slick stone Floors Dripping limestone Decor Collapsed pillar Flavor You hear distant chanting — a new cult has made this hall their shrine.
Event Four Cultists worship Nedel, they attack the party or demand sacrifice. Effect: They raise the corpses as Baaru (4) Elements: An old, forgotten goblet, still damp
Light: Lit Source: Lantern Challenge: Contaminated Corpses Grave Gust Roll Walls Slick stone Floors Dripping limestone Decor Collapsed pillar Flavor You hear distant chanting — a new cult has made this hall their shrine.
Event Four Cultists worship Nedel, they attack the party or demand sacrifice. Effect: They raise the corpses as Baaru (4) Elements: An old, forgotten goblet, still damp
Light: Lit Source: Lantern Challenge: Pitfall Hidden depressions; perception to detect, Reaction to avoid falling. Walls Icy flagstone Floors Dripping limestone Decor Collapsed pillar Flavor You hear distant chanting — a new cult has made this hall their shrine.
Event Four Cultists worship Nedel, they attack the party or demand sacrifice. Effect: They raise the corpses as Baaru (4) Elements: An old, forgotten goblet, still damp
Light Dim Source Torch Challenge Encounter (Manticores) Walls Rough-hewn stone walls Floors Dripping moss Decor Half-buried door Flavor You uncover an ancient banner — it marks the return of a forgotten house.
Event Undead Awakening Effect Skeletons or Baaru rise from previous corpses; combat may ensue.
Elements: A set of silverware, neatly arranged
Light Lit Source (Sunstones) Challenge Chasm Effect A deep gap; players must jump, climb, or use ropes. Falling causes damage.
Walls Moldy cobblestone Floors Slimy brickwork Decor Old brazier Flavor You trigger a summoning sigil — something partially forms and speaks your name.
Event Trap Reset Effect A previously disarmed trap resets or triggers accidentally.
Elements: A skeleton slumped against a chair, untouched
Challenge Encounter Effect Soul Devourer & Acolytes Walls Charred bricks Floors Metal lattice Decor Blackened altar Flavor A group of cultists are finishing a dark ritual — can you stop them in time?
Event Environmental Shift Effect Wind, sudden darkness, or tremor changes the terrain (dust clouds, falling rocks).
Elements: A dagger embedded in wood
Challenge Soul Pit of the Devourer
Effect Soul Devourer & Acolytes
Walls Charred bricks streaked with veins of molten red, still pulsing faintly as if alive. The scent of brimstone and burnt flesh lingers in the air.
Floors Metal lattice suspended over a pit of faintly glowing ash. Through the gaps, you can see ghostly shapes writhing beneath—souls trapped and consumed over centuries. Each step echoes hollowly, as though the dungeon itself is listening.
Decor A blackened altar carved from obsidian, its surface etched with demonic sigils. Chains hang from the ceiling above it, some ending in rusted hooks, others still bearing fragments of bone. A dagger is embedded in a warped wooden stand nearby, its blade slick with congealed blood that refuses to dry.
Flavor A group of cultists chant in unison around the altar, their voices blending with the low, guttural hum emanating from the pit. A shadowy form stirs within the ash below — the Soul Devourer awakening to feed again. Can you stop the rite before it fully manifests?
Event Environmental Shift
Effect A violent tremor shakes the room as the demon’s hunger surges. The lattice floor bends and warps; dust and embers swirl in the sudden darkness. The dagger glows faintly red, resonating with the creature’s call — perhaps a key to sealing it… or freeing it.
Elements: A dagger embedded in wood, blackened altar, trembling metal floor, whispering souls below.