Dashboard - The Great Sages and The Forgotten Dragons

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Heliod

As powerful as he is arrogant, Heliod believes in his vision of a bright, orderly future and demands that his champions help bring it into being.

Heliod’s Champions

Heliod’s champions are a means to accomplish his goals. In the world, Heliod is concerned with law and order, justice and fidelity. On a larger scale, he seeks to establish his superiority over the other gods, and his mortal champions might get caught up in those schemes in ways both large and small.

The Heliod’s Quests table suggests a few adventures the god’s champions might involve themselves in.

ROLL TABLE TO VTT

d6	Adventure Goal
1	Bring a shard of sunlight to a place of unending darkness.
2	Establish law and order in a place of anarchy and lawlessness.
3	Keep people safe from a natural disaster caused by the anger of another god (such as a volcano spawned by Purphoros or a tidal wave caused by Thassa).
4	Hunt down a notorious lawbreaker who has fled from a polis into the wilderness.
5	Triumph in a contest of strength or charisma to prove Heliod’s superiority over the other gods.
6	Defeat a champion of another god (most likely Erebos, Purphoros, Phenax, or Mogis).

A Heliod Campaign

A campaign structured around champions of Heliod might cast adventurers as valiant protectors of civilization. Rampaging monsters, lawless agitators, hardened criminals, oath breakers, and the champions of Heliod’s divine enemies pose constant threats, and the characters are charged with combating them all.

At the beginning of the campaign, the characters might stand alongside other defenders of a polis against attacking monsters and receive Heliod’s blessing at a crucial moment to turn the tide of battle. Hailed as heroes by the polis, they continue to enjoy Heliod’s favor as they vanquish one threat after another.

Losing their patron’s favor is the greatest danger to champions of Heliod. If the god views them as disobedient or comes to see them as a threat, he might turn against them. At that point, characters might either try to regain his favor or seek protection with another god.

Heliod’s Villains

It’s easy for servants of Heliod—and even the god himself—to take on a villainous role in the world. Heliod’s followers easily become obsessed with upholding justice at the price of mercy, or with advancing order at the price of freedom, turning them into vicious tyrants or overzealous enforcers. On a smaller scale, someone who has suffered a grievous wrong might swear an oath of vengeance in Heliod’s name and become a deadly vigilante. When a follower of Heliod’s righteous zeal for justice turns to oppressive tyranny, Heliod himself might send champions to stop the would-be tyrant.

The Heliod’s Villains table suggests a variety of foes that might arise from among the god’s followers.

ROLL TABLE TO VTT

d6	Villain
1	A local noble imposes overwhelming punishments for even minor infractions of law.
2	A leader persecutes an entire population of people because of a crime committed by a single member.
3	An assassin starts killing everyone connected to a trial after which the perpetrator was exonerated.
4	A fanatical priest tries to undermine the priests of other gods by outlawing their holidays.
5	A tyrant suppresses free expression, punishes protesters, and quashes any form of dissent.
6	A nervous oracle (see chapter 6) identifies the characters as a threat to the stability of the polis.

Heliod’s Monsters

Heliod is rarely associated with deadly monsters, more often with celestial messengers and noble creatures. Even so, adventures that bring characters into conflict with Heliod’s agents might pit them against creatures such as those on the Heliod’s Monsters table.

Challenge	Creature	Source
1/8	Noble	MM
2	Centaur	MM
2	Griffon	MM
2	Pegasus	MM
3	Fleecemane lion	MOoT
9	Cloud giant	MM
11	Roc	MM
23	Empyrean	MM

HELIOD’S SPEAR DOLES OUT HIS BLESSINGS AS WELL AS HIS WRATH
(TERESE NIELSEN)

Heliod as Campaign Villain

Whether Heliod is a villain from the beginning of the campaign or takes a villainous turn against his former champions, a campaign centered on Heliod’s arrogance and peevishness brings the worst of the sun god’s qualities into focus.

As a campaign villain, Heliod is most likely driven by his desire to assert his rulership over the other gods of the pantheon and his kingship over everything: Nyx, the mortal world, and the Underworld. He might begin, through his agents, by enacting laws that make participation in Heliod’s rites mandatory for the citizens of a polis. From there, it’s a small step to suppressing the open worship of other gods, then trying to spread both policies to other cities. If the characters are champions of other gods, they might find themselves the targets of Heliod’s agents, marked as a threat to order and stability in the poleis.

Such a campaign might end with the characters appeasing Heliod in some way, convincing the other gods (especially Kruphix or Klothys) to intervene and rein in Heliod’s hubris, or even confronting Heliod with the support of other gods.

Heliod’s Divine Schemes

Heliod’s activities among the other gods can have a wide-ranging impact on the pantheon and the mortal world. The Heliod’s Divine Schemes table offers examples of how the god might have a mythic impact on the mortal world, embroiling the characters in the middle of divine squabbles.

ROLL TABLE TO VTT

d4	Scheme
1	Heliod decides to confront Erebos in the Underworld. He gathers fallen heroes around him as he marches on Erebos’s palace in Tizerus. Meanwhile, the sun has vanished from the sky in the mortal world, and the dead can’t enter the Underworld.
2	Heliod grows tired of the battles between Iroas and Mogis, and he decides to end their conflict by banishing Mogis. To his surprise, both gods turn against him. The resulting conflict causes the sun to rain divine blood, producing bizarre effects.
3	Angry at the hubris of nobles who boast of having the best hounds, Heliod turns all dogs into wolves and monsters that kill and run wild.
4	Heliod arms a champion with his weapon, Khrusor, but the hero goes wild with power and tries to slay Purphoros. The repercussions border on the cataclysmic, with the champion slain, Mount Velus erupting, and the spear shattered. Only Purphoros can repair the spear, and he’s hardly in the mood to do so.

Sun Temple

These multistory towers of worship rise atop mountains, hills, and the highest ground in a settlement, bringing congregants as close as possible to the sun. Huge windows, light-reflecting stone, and art depicting legendary heroes make every sun temple a bright, inspiring space.

The rites conducted in sun temples include marriages, ceremonies to honor heroes, dawn worship services, breakfast banquets, and occasionally funerals, which typically involve a pyre for the deceased. These events are held on the temple’s roof, where worshipers are closest to the sun and can feel its warmth.

Sun Temple Adventures

Sun temples honor heroes and record their deeds. An adventure in which the characters need to meet, research, protect, or confront a legendary figure might happen in one of these houses of worship. Additionally, large groups gather in these temples, potentially leading to adventures involving crowds that need to be protected, quelled, or investigated. The Sun Temple Adventures table offers plots that could occur in such a place.

ROLL TABLE TO VTT

d12	Adventure Goal
1	Acquire an artifact used by a legendary hero.
2	Defend a hero being honored in a ceremony from an assassination attempt.
3	Acquire the remains of a legendary hero from the temple’s crypts so the person can be resurrected.
4	Prevent a wedding from taking place, so the couple’s union doesn’t fulfill an ominous prophecy.
5	Expose a celebrated hero as a fraud.
6	Learn the sins of a person seeking religious counsel.
7	Find out who among a crowd of people gathered at the temple murdered a priest.
8	Disperse a mob of people who blame Heliod and his clergy for a long drought.
9	Defend the temple’s worshipers from followers of Mogis assaulting the building.
10	Offer Heliod a burnt sacrifice to gain his blessing.
11	Offer Heliod a mass sacrifice to prevent him from smiting a nearby settlement.
12	Find a hero’s firsthand account of a battle with a unique monster among the temple’s records before a rival group of adventurers does.

Sun Temple Map

The sun temple shown in map 4.4 presents a common design for Heliod’s holy sites. Most ceremonies take place on the rooftop, which is surrounded by statues of heroic figures and magnificent gardens that bloom in the dawn light. Worshipers reach the top by climbing stairs on the outside of the tower.

Floor-to-ceiling windows on the temple’s fourth level reveal a crypt with hundreds of funeral urns placed in niches on the wall and in decorative columns. Lower levels hold the personal chambers of priests, as well as quiet chambers where people can worship at small altars or seek counsel from clergy who specialize in matters of morality. The temple’s ground floor contains a museum displaying heroic artifacts and accounts of epic deeds, all of which are guarded by the ghosts of heroes interred in the crypt.

Sun Temple Villains

Although sun temples are places that glorify heroic deeds, they do attract villains eager to please Heliod, defy him, or twist his tenets. Examples of such villains appear on the Sun Temple Villains table.

ROLL TABLE TO VTT

d6	Villain
1	A once-heroic veteran seeking to regain his youthful strength tries to burn attendees at a dawn banquet as a sacrifice to Heliod.
2	A secret cabal of Phenax cult fanatics infiltrates the temple and uses details learned in private counseling sessions to blackmail worshipers.
3	An adult blue dragon, scarred by a champion of Heliod, seeks to destroy all sun temples in the hopes of bringing about everlasting night.
4	A corrupt oracle (see chapter 6) of Heliod sells counterfeit heroic artifacts to those he can’t see as being destined for greatness.
5	A lazy priest of Heliod risks bringing the god’s wrath down upon the entire temple.
6	An archmage devoted to Heliod has created a second sun, one which endlessly illuminates the land and burns those she considers wicked.

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 36 (8d8)

Speed 30 ft.

STR

13(+1)

DEX

10(+0)

CON

10(+0)

INT

1(-5)

WIS

10(+0)

CHA

1(-5)

Saving Throws DEX +2, CON +2, WIS +2

Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic

Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned,

Senses Blindsight 60 ft. (Blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 10

Languages ----

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Proficiency Bonus +2

False Appearance. If the golem is embedded in a window and motionless at the start of combat, it has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover, if a creature hasn't observed the golem move or act, that creature must succeed a DC 18 Intelligence (investigation) check to discern that the golem is animate.

Immutable Form The Golem is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.

Regeneration The Golem regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. IF the golem takes bludgeoning or thunder damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the golem's next turn. The golem is destroyed only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Unusual Nature The Golem doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Actions

Multiattack. The golem makes two Glass Sword attacks.

Glass Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage.

Bonus Actions

Dazzling Light. (Recharge 5-6) Magical, colored light springs from the golem in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the cone must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

A group of individuals trying to foil the plans of the Divelinson monarchy and locate the doorway of Draconic kin. They have banded together under the leadership of Dria Voxville and Copper. Dria and Copper founded the group together due to the recent development and changes of magical forces that have been felt. Copper had located Dria who was in hiding and promised to help protect her and guide her as long as she helps him bring control back to the magic that is in the realm.

There have been several cases of outbursts and uncontrollable magic being felt through The Horrors . Only two of them decided to investigate the magic but for different reasons. Copper wanted to put it under control while Joker wanted to play with the magic.

Dria, after discovering draconic kin has deemed to try and seek out others and put them under her protection. Thus forming the Guild of the Lost. She and Copper have discovered that draconic blood is a factor in these outbursts and have started to try and gather any that they can find.

At the same time they act as a revolutionary force against the King of Divelinson for the trauma that Dria was put under as a child.

Outfit Board

“	We heard a musical laugh and saw a splash. None of us could turn away. A girl, impossibly beautiful, bathed alone in the spring. The sway of her hips made the ogling men groan. Soon, it was all we could do to please her. Even the caravan's livestock obeyed her. And we would have done anything for her to scratch us behind the ear the way she did my horse. We fought to give her everything we had, and she rewarded us with a touch on the chin. It was more than generous so we wished her happily on her way. Eventually, we came to our senses. None of us wanted to report to King Jorsen how we'd given away all our treasure to a forest nymph, so we pummeled one another and told him we'd been robbed by bandits.	”
—Trading Places, by Jadon Chandler, Merchant

Nymphs are nature’s embodiment of physical beauty, and they guard the sacred places of the wild. They are so unbearably lovely that even a glimpse of one can blind an onlooker. Most nymphs hate evil and any who would despoil the wilds for any reason. A nymph’s demeanor is wild and mercurial. Like nature, she embodies both great beauty and fearsome danger. She can be kind and graceful to mortals who revere the wild places of the world but is also quick to strike against mortals who take more than they need or who treat nature thoughtlessly. Most nymphs are bound to a glade, or pool of some kind, however, there are a few that wander the Feywilds and the prime material unbound.

Wild Personality

The personality of a nymph is also a reflection of nature. Nymphs are mercurial creatures who may act with kindness but are also quick to strike against those who tread on nature by acting greedily or thoughtlessly. As caretakers of the woods, they favor deep forests and often shun the other races. However, due to their playfulness, curiosity and carefree nature, the strongly individual nymph can be found all over supporting a wide variety of different causes.

Embodiment of Nature

Nymphs, unless they choose to do so, do not reproduce, but are rather generated by the beauty of the natural world. The beauty of a nymph is so difficult for the mind to comprehend that the brain of an onlooker often simply stops processing visual stimuli to avoid sensory overload. Nymphs are not merely reflections of their environment but are intimately intertwined with it. If the home of a nymph is burned, used as a dumping ground, or otherwise despoiled, the nymph may fade away or become twisted. Similarly, if a nymph is injured, the beauty of the surroundings is likewise diminished, and if a nymph is killed, the area will become twisted and wither.

Sacred Places

Although the nymph may embody a forest or some larger aspect of nature, a nymph's home is a particularly secluded and pristine area, such as a grove, a pool, or a hilltop. Nymphs will defend this area against all intrusion. Nymphs will often use non-lethal force at first unless given reason to believe the intruders have ill-intent or if they reply with deadly attacks of their own.

Friends of nature, such as druids or rangers, may be given an opportunity to explain their presence, and if there is a good reason, maybe offered aid.

Nymph Names

Nymphs have several names. Their first name is in the fashion of the nearby civilization. Their secret name is in Sylvan and usually has to do with nature such as river, wind, deer, jaguar, willow, spring, etc. Many Nymphs choose to have a "last name" to reflect their personality such as a Nymph of the Tree named Tyrande Whisperwind.

Female: Aegle, Aglaia, Alcyone, Amphitrite, Arethusa, Atropos, Calliope, Calypso, Celaeno, Clio, Clotho, Clymene, Chrsothemis, Daphne, Dione, Dryope, Echo, Electra, Erato, Erytheis, Euphrosyne, Euterpe, Galatea, Hesperia, Lachesis, Lotis, Melpomene, Merope, Penelope, Polyhymnia, Procris, Maia, Scylla, Sterope, Taygete, Thalia, Thetis, Urania

Nymph Traits

Your nymph character has a variety of supernatural abilities, due to their fey blood.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Nymphs age at the same rate as elves, reaching physical maturity by age 20. Once they reach adulthood, they do not age further, and they do not die of old age.
Alignment. Nymphs tend towards chaos and goodness, but can be of any alignment.
Size. Nymphs are slightly shorter and lighter than elves. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Blinding Beauty. As an action, you can force all humanoids within 30 feet of you to succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become blinded until the end of your next turn. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until after you next roll initiative.
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Fey. Your creature type is considered to be both fey and humanoid. Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Unearthly Grace. While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC is equal to 10 + your Charisma modifier.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Sylvan.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 5″	+2d8	80 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
Height = base height + height modifier *Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

You’ve manifested some of the power of chromatic dragons, granting you the following benefits:

Chromatic Infusion. As a bonus action, you can touch a simple or martial weapon and infuse it with one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. For the next minute, the weapon deals an extra 1d4 damage of the chosen type when it hits. After you use this bonus action, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Reactive Resistance. When you take acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage, you can use your reaction to give yourself resistance to that instance of damage. You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Instigator: Jo'Han Dough

Jo'han's mother has not reached out to the guild in some time. Normally she would have returned back from her job by now but it appears that something has held her up.

She was last seen traveling to Trylinion with the task of escorting one of the Trylinion soldiers. It was a high risk assignment with a huge pay out which is what grabbed her attention. But since she has been signed on with the mission, she has lost contact with the guild.