D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Magma Veins of Hotspring

# Dungeon# Wilderness# Intrigue

The renowned Hotspring Town Spa, a haven of therapeutic waters and relaxation, is under siege. Magma-elemental parasites, born from the geothermal veins deep below, are infesting the town's intricate network of heated water pipes, causing catastrophic blockages and eruptions. The source: a series of illegal, deep-shaft mines punched into the geothermal strata by the town's ruthless spa manager to harvest rare, valuable thermal crystals. The manager's greed has awakened something ancient and furious. The town's people are divided. To save the spa, the infestation must be purged at its source, deep in the abandoned mines. But the mines hold secrets and desperate people who have their own reasons for keeping them closed.

Chronicle Prelude

The central courtyard of the Hotspring Grand Spa, once a tranquil oasis of bubbling pools and steam, is now a scene of crisis. Panicked staff and wealthy patrons crowd around fountains spewing muddy, superheated water. The town guard has set up a barricade around the 'Infestation Zone,' and the spa manager, Lord Valerius, is publicly blaming a rival spa cartel for sabotage, demanding justice.

Environmental Traits

The entire Hotspring region is under threat of total collapse. If the magma parasite infestation is not contained, the geothermal reservoir will rupture, flooding the town with molten rock and burying the spa under a new volcanic vent. The players must descend into the forbidden mines, navigate the infested piping, confront the truth of the manager's crimes, and decide the fate of both the town and the desperate souls trapped in the depths.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Lord Valerius
A middle-aged man with a once-immaculate spa manager's uniform now stained with sweat, grime, and a smear of something dark and vitreous. His face is gaunt, his eyes wide with a mixture of panic and ruthless determination. He carries a ceremonial dagger and a leather satchel. He is flanked by two grim-faced private security guards.
Elder Maren
A stout, silver-haired woman dressed in fine but practical woolen robes bearing the HPS crest—a stylized hot spring within a shield. Her expression is one of weary authority. She carries a heavy ledger of her own and a symbol of office around her neck.
Chief Miner Borin
A gaunt, bearded man with the wiry strength of a lifetime of hard labor. His clothes are patched miner's gear, and his skin bears the faint, silvery scars of minor burns. He moves with a tense alertness, and his eyes hold a desperate, intelligent fire.
Young Kael
A young woman, barely an adult, with a miner's lantern slung across her chest and a small pack. She is covered in dust and has a fresh bandage on her arm. She moves with a scout's caution and looks perpetually worried.
Captain Thale
A broad-shouldered woman in polished but functional plate armor bearing the HPS insignia. Her face is set in a stern, unyielding mask. She wields a heavy mace and carries a shield. Two guards stand at attention behind her.
Guardswoman Elara
A town guard in a worn leather jerkin and helmet, leaning against a wall near the spa entrance. She looks bored and slightly disheveled, but her eyes are sharp, missing little.
Magma Parasite Queen
A horrific amalgamation of pulsating, blackite-like magma and stolen machinery. It is the size of a large bear, with multiple limbs ending in sharp, glowing mandibles or fused with valve handles. A central, bulbous mass glows with intense heat, and it emits a high-pitched, keening screech. It is fused directly into the heart of the infested pump mechanism.
Lady Anise
A wealthy woman in singed but fine silk robes, her hair disheveled and a smudge of soot on her cheek. She is barricaded in a small equipment room off a main tunnel, looking terrified but attempting to maintain her composure.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Goblin Plight of Rivervale and the Cryptic Mine

The Lost Workshop: Heart of a Raging Core