D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Obsidian Flame Pact

# Intrigue# Arcane# Wilderness

The air shimmers with heat mirage and the scent of sulfur. Mount Obsidian, a dormant volcano, has begun to stir once more—not from geological pressure, but from the agonized psychic screams of Ignis, an Efreeti Prince bound within its heart for a century. His rage fuels the tremors. The only key to his prison is the Cinderband Ring, an artifact of elemental command. It was lost, stolen, or perhaps hidden... found by a half-mad vagrant named Kael who stumbles into your camp, begging for help to 'quench the mountain's fire.' Two forces converge on him: the Ashen Watch, a monastic order who believe the Efreeti's eternal imprisonment is the only thing preventing a volcanic apocalypse; and the Ignitionists, a cult of the desperate and dispossessed who see the Efreeti as a wronged prince whose freedom could be bargained with for salvation. To find the truth, you must ascend the burning slopes, navigate the politics of ash and ember, and decide whether the world is safer with a caged god or a promised ally.

Chronicle Prelude

Your party is camped at Ember's Rest, a smoky trading post and last bastion of civilization at the base of Mount Obsidian. Refugees from the tremor-stricken valley mingle with wary pilgrims. The air tastes of coal. The vagrant, Kael, is brought to you by a panicked innkeeper, clutching his head and muttering about 'a ring of cold iron in a lake of fire.'

Environmental Traits

The immediate region is suffering from escalating seismic and volcanic activity. Tremors topple buildings, hot geysers erupt in former farmland, and the sky is perpetually hazed with ash. The ultimate victory condition is to quell the mountain's fury, but the method—perpetual imprisonment, negotiated release, or something else entirely—is yours to determine.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (9)

Kael, the Vagrant
A gaunt, hollow-eyed human wrapped in layers of soot-stained rags. His hands are scarred with old burns, and he flinches at sudden sounds. He smells of smoke and unwashed wool, but his eyes hold a terrifying, flickering awareness when he speaks of the 'ring that hurts the mountain.'
Durgan Coalheart
A stocky, powerful dwarf in weathered plate armor bearing the soot-and-ash insignia of the Ashen Watch. His face is a mask of grim determination, his beard streaked with gray and tied with iron rings. He carries the weight of generations of duty on his broad shoulders.
Lyra, the Ignitionist Prophet
A charismatic human woman with fierce, determined eyes and hair the color of copper wire. She wears practical traveler's clothes adorned with symbols of flame and change. She carries herself with the passionate conviction of a true believer, her voice resonant and persuasive.
Magma Mephit Swarm
A chittering, shifting mass of small, winged elemental creatures composed of cooled lava and flickering flame. Their bodies crack and glow as they move, leaving scorch marks on the ground. They swarm protectively around a series of bubbling sulfur vents, their hisses echoing across the broken terrain.
Obsidian Golem
A towering, humanoid construct of fused, black volcanic glass. It moves with a slow, grinding inevitability, its joints emitting sparks of friction. Its surface reflects heat haze, and its empty eye sockets glow with a deep, internal red light. It bears no markings, serving as a silent, implacable guardian.
Ignis, the Efreeti Prince
A massive, humanoid figure of living flame and smoke, bound at the wrists, ankles, and neck by chains of solidified shadow and magic. His form flickers between regal majesty and raging torment. His eyes burn like twin suns, fixed upon anyone who enters his crucible, his voice a crackling roar that shakes the very stone.
Dwarven Sluice Keeper's Echo
A translucent, shimmering apparition of a dwarf in heavy engineer's gear. It moves silently, its form flickering like heat haze. It gestures towards walls and mechanisms, its mouth moving in a silent, urgent pantomime. A faint scent of ozone and old metal clings to the spot where it appears.
Ashen Watch Scout
A hardy dwarf clad in leather armor and a hooded cloak of grey, ash-treated wool. She moves with practiced silence, her crossbow held at the ready. Her eyes are constantly scanning the treacherous terrain, her posture wary but not immediately aggressive.
Ignitionist Zealot
A human figure in scavenged armor, daubed with red and orange paint in the shape of flames. He carries a battered short sword and a determined, fanatical look in his eyes. He guards a narrow, steaming fissure that descends into the earth.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Stormspire Schism

The Brimstone Furnace